Dispersion of nano-nickel into γ-Al 2O 3 studied by positron

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jun, Zhu; Wang, S. J.; Luo, X. H.

2003-10-01

The positron annihilation lifetime spectra were measured as a function of the content of the nano-nickel, of temperature, as well as of the heating time for the supported nano-nickel catalyst that was prepared by mechanical mixture nano-metal nickel particles with gamma-alumina ( γ-Al 2O 3). The lifetime spectra were well resolved into four lifetime components. The longest lifetime τ4 was assigned to ortho-positronium annihilating in the secondary pore of the γ-Al 2O 3. The results showed that part of the nano-nickel had entered into γ-Al 2O 3 by thermal diffusion at heating above 200°C and had interacted with the face of the γ-Al 2O 3, but the length of diffusion is not very large.

Enhancing the Electrochemical Behavior of Pure Copper by Cyclic Potentiodynamic Passivation: A Comparison between Coarse- and Nano-Grained Pure Copper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fattah-alhosseini, Arash; Imantalab, Omid; Attarzadeh, Farid Reza

2016-10-01

Electrochemical behavior of coarse- and nano-grained pure copper were modified and improved to a large extent by the application of cyclic potentiodynamic passivation. The efficacy of this method was evaluated on the basis of grain size which is of great importance in corrosion studies. In this study, the eight passes of accumulative roll bonding process at room temperature were successfully performed to produce nano-grained pure copper. Transmission electron microscopy image indicated that the average grain size reached below 100 nm after eight passes. On the basis of cyclic voltammetry and also the electrochemical tests performed after that, it was revealed that cyclic potentiodynamic passivation had a significant improving effect on the passive behavior of both coarse- and nano-grained samples. In addition, a superior behavior of nano-grained sample in comparison to coarse-grained one was distinguished by its smaller cyclic voltammogram loops, nobler free potentials, larger capacitive arcs in the Nyquist plots, and less charge carrier densities within the passive film.

A submerged ceramic membrane reactor for the p-nitrophenol hydrogenation over nano-sized nickel catalysts.

PubMed

Chen, R Z; Sun, H L; Xing, W H; Jin, W Q; Xu, N P

2009-02-01

The catalytic hydrogenation of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol over nano-sized nickel catalysts was carried out in a submerged ceramic membrane reactor. It has been demonstrated that the submerged ceramic membrane reactor is more suitable for the p-nitrophenol hydrogenation over nano-sized nickel catalysts compared with the side-stream ceramic membrane reactor, and the membrane module configuration has a great influence on the reaction rate of p-nitrophenol hydrogenation and the membrane treating capacity. The deactivation of nano-sized nickel is mainly caused by the adsorption of impurity on the surface of nickel and the increase of oxidation degree of nickel.

A recipe to create nano-grains on dolomite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Røyne, Anja; Pluymakers, Anne

2017-04-01

Advances in imaging techniques in recent years have allowed for easy microstructure visualization at nano-resolution, and many studies have observed nano-grains in different materials, including rocks. An important example in geological systems is their seemingly ubiquitous occurrence on so-called mirror-like slip surfaces, produced in natural and experimental earthquakes of both carbonate and silicate rocks. It is, however, not yet clear whether these nano-grains can indeed be used as a reliable indicator of seismic slip. Since carbonates are prone to decarbonation at temperatures exceeding 550 - 600 °C, nano-grain formation may be formed due to heating rather than shear. In this study, we have investigated the effect of elevated temperatures on carbonate fault rocks. We used hand-polished mirror-like dolomite protolith, as well as natural fault mirror surfaces, obtained from the Foiana Fault Zone from the Southern Alps in Italy. The samples were heated to 200 to 800 degC in a 5 hour heating cycle, followed by slow cooling ( 12 h) to room temperature. Subsequently, we imaged the samples using SEM and AFM. Nano-grain formation on the surfaces of hand-polished samples starts around 400 ° C, and is pervasive at and above 600 ° C. Fault mirror samples are initially coated with naturally formed nano-grains and only very local patches on these surfaces display obvious morphological changes due to heating. Exposing both types of sample heated to 600 °C to DI water under the AFM shows rapid recrystallization and the formation of a more porous and blade-like crystal layer on the entire surface. This happens both in hand-polished and naturally polished surfaces. Fault mirror samples that have not been heated do not change when exposed to water. We have shown that nano-grains can form as a result of heating without shear, but that samples that have experienced high shear strain have a water- and heat-resistant coating composed of otherwise morphologically

In situ synchrotron investigation of grain growth behavior of nano-grained UO 2

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

Miao, Yinbin; Yao, Tiankai; Lian, Jie

Here, we report on the study of grain growth kinetics in nano-grained UO 2 samples. Dense nano-grained UO 2 samples with well-controlled stoichiometry and grain size were fabricated using the spark plasma sintering technique. To determine the grain growth kinetics at elevated temperatures, a synchrotron wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) study was performed in situ to measure the real-time grain size evolution based on the modified Williamson-Hall analysis. The unique grain growth kinetics of nanocrystalline UO 2 at 730 °C and 820 °C were observed and explained by the difference in mobility of various grain boundaries.

In situ synchrotron investigation of grain growth behavior of nano-grained UO 2

DOE PAGES

Miao, Yinbin; Yao, Tiankai; Lian, Jie; ...

2017-01-09

Here, we report on the study of grain growth kinetics in nano-grained UO 2 samples. Dense nano-grained UO 2 samples with well-controlled stoichiometry and grain size were fabricated using the spark plasma sintering technique. To determine the grain growth kinetics at elevated temperatures, a synchrotron wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) study was performed in situ to measure the real-time grain size evolution based on the modified Williamson-Hall analysis. The unique grain growth kinetics of nanocrystalline UO 2 at 730 °C and 820 °C were observed and explained by the difference in mobility of various grain boundaries.

Microstructuring of Nickel Thin Films and Property Modification of Nickel Oxide Films by Pulsed Laser Irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itapu, Srikanth

significant increase in L and Q was observed due to the ferromagnetic material as well as the microstructuring. To verify the simulated results, a 0.8cm x 1 cm inductor stack consisting of Ni/SiO2/Cu on glass substrate is fabricated and laser assisted microstructuring is performed on Ni thin film deposited by sputtering and evaporation. For Ni film deposited by RF sputtering, a grain structure with a fine network of inter-grain gaps (or cracks) were observed from the SEM images. These inter-grain gaps result in poor heat conduction laterally and vertically, thus hindering the microbump formation. Hence, smooth Ni films were obtained by vacuum evaporation. The continuous nature of the film material (vs voids and cracks in the sputtered film case) resulted in radially symmetric thermal expansion and deformation the amount of which can be controlled (within certain limits) by the laser pulse energy. Hence, for the inductor stack with evaporated Ni thin film, a 7% increase in L and 9% increase in Q is observed when microstructuring is performed on 12% of the total inductor area. For a further increase in the microstructuring to 19 % of the total inductor area, a 9% increae in L and 10% increase in Q is observed. Similarly, recent studies indicate an exciting research in wide bandgap transition metal oxide semiconductors such as NiO to enhance room temperature ferromagnetism for multiferroic devices, supercapacitor application and resistive switching. Dopants such Cu, Li enhance the p-type conductivity of NiO films and have been studied extensively, both theoretically and experimentally. Hence, the effect of ultraviolet (UV) laser irradiation on the structural, electrical, and optical properties of nickel oxide (NiOx) thin films, deposited by reactive sputtering of nickel in an oxygen containing atmosphere was studied. It was found that the conduction type can be changed from p-type to n-type and the resistivity decreased as the number of laser pulses is increased. The as

Influence of attrition milling on nano-grain boundaries

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

Rawers, J.; Cook, D.

1999-03-01

Nanostructured materials have a relatively large proportion of their atoms associated with the grain boundary, and the method used to develop the nano-grains has a strong influence on the resulting grain boundary structure. In this study, attrition milling iron powders and blends of iron powders produced micron-size particles composed of nano-size grains. Mechanical cold-working powder resulted in dislocation generation, multiplication, and congealing that produced grain refinement. As the grain size approached nano-dimensions, dislocations were no longer sustained within the grain and once generated, rapidly diffused to the grain boundary. Dislocations on the grain boundary strained the local lattice structure which,more » as the grain size decreased, became the entire grain. Mechanical alloying of substitutional aluminium atoms into iron powder resulted in the aluminium atoms substituting for iron atoms in the grain boundary cells and providing a grain boundary structure similar to that of the iron powder processed in argon. Attrition milling iron powder in nitrogen gas resulted in nitrogen atoms being adsorbed onto the particle surface. Continued mechanical milling infused the nitrogen atoms into interstitial lattice sites on the grain boundary which also contributed to expanding and straining the local lattice.« less

Cavity evolution at grain boundaries as a function of radiation damage and thermal conditions in nanocrystalline nickel

DOE PAGES

Muntifering, Brittany; Blair, Sarah Jane; Gong, Cajer; ...

2015-12-30

Enhanced radiation tolerance of nanostructured metals is attributed to the high density of interfaces that can absorb radiation-induced defects. Here, cavity evolution mechanisms during cascade damage, helium implantation, and annealing of nanocrystalline nickel are characterized via in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Films subjected to self-ion irradiation followed by helium implantation developed evenly distributed cavity structures, whereas films exposed in the reversed order developed cavities preferentially distributed along grain boundaries. Post-irradiation annealing and orientation mapping demonstrated uniform cavity growth in the nanocrystalline structure, and cavities spanning multiple grains. Furthermore, these mechanisms suggest limited ability to reduce swelling, despite the stabilitymore » of the nanostructure.« less

Single-layer nano-carbon film, diamond film, and diamond/nano-carbon composite film field emission performance comparison

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

Wang, Xiaoping, E-mail: wxpchina64@aliyun.com, E-mail: wxpchina@sohu.com; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Modern Optical System, Shanghai 200093; Wang, Jinye

A series of single-layer nano-carbon (SNC) films, diamond films, and diamond/nano-carbon (D/NC) composite films have been prepared on the highly doped silicon substrate by using microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition techniques. The films were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and field emission I-V measurements. The experimental results indicated that the field emission maximum current density of D/NC composite films is 11.8–17.8 times that of diamond films. And the field emission current density of D/NC composite films is 2.9–5 times that of SNC films at an electric field of 3.0 V/μm. At the same time, the D/NC composite film exhibitsmore » the advantage of improved reproducibility and long term stability (both of the nano-carbon film within the D/NC composite cathode and the SNC cathode were prepared under the same experimental conditions). And for the D/NC composite sample, a high current density of 10 mA/cm{sup 2} at an electric field of 3.0 V/μm was obtained. Diamond layer can effectively improve the field emission characteristics of nano-carbon film. The reason may be due to the diamond film acts as the electron acceleration layer.« less

First-principles study of the effect of phosphorus on nickel grain boundary

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

Liu, Wenguan; Ren, Cuilan; Han, Han, E-mail: hanhan@sinap.ac.cn, E-mail: xuhongjie@sinap.ac.cn

2014-01-28

Based on first-principles quantum-mechanical calculations, the impurity-dopant effects of phosphorus on Σ5(012) symmetrical tilt grain boundary in nickel have been studied. The calculated binding energy suggests that phosphorus has a strong tendency to segregate to the grain boundary. Phosphorus forms strong and covalent-like bonding with nickel, which is beneficial to the grain boundary cohesion. However, a too high phosphorus content can result in a thin and fragile zone in the grain boundary, due to the repulsion between phosphorus atoms. As the concentration of phosphorus increases, the strength of the grain boundary increases first and then decreases. Obviously, there exists anmore » optimum concentration for phosphorus segregation, which is consistent with observed segregation behaviors of phosphorus in the grain boundary of nickel. This work is very helpful to understand the comprehensive effects of phosphorus.« less

Exploring electronic structure of one-atom thick polycrystalline graphene films: A nano angle resolved photoemission study

PubMed Central

Avila, José; Razado, Ivy; Lorcy, Stéphane; Fleurier, Romain; Pichonat, Emmanuelle; Vignaud, Dominique; Wallart, Xavier; Asensio, María C.

2013-01-01

The ability to produce large, continuous and defect free films of graphene is presently a major challenge for multiple applications. Even though the scalability of graphene films is closely associated to a manifest polycrystalline character, only a few numbers of experiments have explored so far the electronic structure down to single graphene grains. Here we report a high resolution angle and lateral resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (nano-ARPES) study of one-atom thick graphene films on thin copper foils synthesized by chemical vapor deposition. Our results show the robustness of the Dirac relativistic-like electronic spectrum as a function of the size, shape and orientation of the single-crystal pristine grains in the graphene films investigated. Moreover, by mapping grain by grain the electronic dynamics of this unique Dirac system, we show that the single-grain gap-size is 80% smaller than the multi-grain gap recently reported by classical ARPES. PMID:23942471

New possibility on InZnO nano thin film for green emissive optoelectronic devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugumaran, Sathish; Noor Bin Ahmad, Mohd; Faizal Jamlos, Mohd; Bellan, Chandar Shekar; Chandran, Sharmila; Sivaraj, Manoj

2016-04-01

Indium zinc oxide (InZnO) nano thin film was prepared from InZnO nanoparticles (NPs) by thermal evaporation technique. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed the presence of metal-oxide bond. X-ray diffraction pattern revealed the mixed phase structure. The presence of elements In, Zn and O were identified from energy dispersive X-ray analysis. Size of the NPs was found to be 171 and 263 nm by transmission electron microscopy. Scanning electron microscopy image showed the spherical shape uniform morphology with uniform distribution grains. Photoluminescence spectrum exhibited a broad green emission for InZnO nano thin film. The acquired results of structure, smooth morphology and photoluminescence property suggested that the InZnO nano thin film to be a promising material for room temperature green emissive optoelectronic, laser diodes, solar cells and other optical devices.

Nano-Crystalline Diamond Films with Pineapple-Like Morphology Grown by the DC Arcjet vapor Deposition Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Bin; Zhang, Qin-Jian; Shi, Yan-Chao; Li, Jia-Jun; Li, Hong; Lu, Fan-Xiu; Chen, Guang-Chao

2014-08-01

A nano-crystlline diamond film is grown by the dc arcjet chemical vapor deposition method. The film is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra, respectively. The nanocrystalline grains are averagely with 80 nm in the size measured by XRD, and further proven by Raman and HRTEM. The observed novel morphology of the growth surface, pineapple-like morphology, is constructed by cubo-octahedral growth zones with a smooth faceted top surface and coarse side surfaces. The as-grown film possesses (100) dominant surface containing a little amorphous sp2 component, which is far different from the nano-crystalline film with the usual cauliflower-like morphology.

Structural properties of iron and nickel mixed oxide nano particles.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dehipawala, Sunil; Samarasekara, Pubudu; Gafney, Harry

Small scale magnets have very high technological importance today. Instead of traditional expensive methods, scientists are exploring new low cost methods to produce micro magnets. We synthesized thin film magnets containing iron and nickel oxides. Films will be synthesized using sol-gel method and spin coating technique. Several different precursor concentrations were tested to find out the ideal concentrations for stable thin films. Structural properties of iron and nickel oxide particles were investigated using X-ray absorption and Mossbauer spectroscopy. PSC-CUNY.

Synthesis of nano-structure tungsten nitride thin films on silicon using Mather-type plasma focus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussnain, A.; Rawat, R. S.; Ahmad, R.; Umar, Z. A.; Hussain, T.; Lee, P.; Chen, Z.

2015-07-01

Nano-structure thin film of tungsten nitride was deposited onto Si-substrate at room temperature using Mather-type plasma focus (3.3 kJ) machine. Substrate was exposed against 10, 20, 30, and 40 deposition shots and its corresponding effect on structure, morphology, conductivity and nano-hardness has been systematically studied. The X-ray diffractormeter spectra of the exposed samples show the presence of various phases of WN and WN2 that depends on number of deposition shots. Surface morphological study revealed the uniform distribution of nano-sized grains on deposited film surface. Hardness and conductivity of exposed substrate improved with higher deposition shots. X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy survey scan of 40 deposition shots confirmed the elemental presence of W and N on Si-substrate.

Microstructure and properties of ultrafine grain nickel 200 after hydrostatic extrusion processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitek, R.; Krajewski, C.; Kamiński, J.; Spychalski, M.; Garbacz, H.; Pachla, W.; Kurzydłowski, K. J.

2012-09-01

This paper presents the results of the studies of the structure and properties of ultrafine grained nickel 200 obtained by hydrostatic extrusion processes. Microstructure was characterized by means of optical microscopy and electron transmission microscopy. Corrosion resistance was studied by impedance and potentiodynamic methods using an AutoLab PGSTAT 100 potentiostat in 0.1 M Na2SO4 solution and in acidified (by addition of H2SO4) 0.1 M NaCl solution at pH = 4.2 at room temperature. Microhardness tests were also performed. The results showed that hydrostatic extrusion produces a heterogeneous, ultrafine-grained microstructure in nickel 200. The corrosive resistance tests showed that the grain refinement by hydrostatic extrusion is accompanied by a decreased corrosive resistance of nickel 200.

Spatial height directed microfluidic synthesis of transparent inorganic upconversion nano film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiaoxia; Zhu, Cheng; Liao, Wei; Jin, Junyang; Ni, Yaru; Lu, Chunhua; Xu, Zhongzi

2017-11-01

A microfluidic-based synthesis of an inorganic upconversion nano film has been developed with a large area of dense-distributed NaYF4 crystal grains in a silica glass micro-reactor and the film exhibits high transparence, strong upconversion luminescence and robust adhesion with the substrate. The spatial heights of micro-reactors are tuned between 31 and 227 mm, which can regulate flow regimes. The synergistic effect of spatial height and fluid regime is put forward, which influences diffusion paths and assembly ways of different precursor molecules and consequently directs final distributions and morphologies of crystal grains, as well as optical properties due to diversity of surface and thickness of films. The spatial height of 110 mm is advantageous for high transmittance of upconversion film due to the flat surface and appropriate film thickness of 67 nm. The height of 150 mm is in favor of uniform distribution of upconversion fluorescence and achieving the strongest fluorescence due to minimized optical loss. Such a transparent upconversion film with a large area of uniform distribution is promising to promote the application of upconversion materials and spatial height directed microfluidic regime have a certain significance on many microfluidic synthesis.

Study on the influences of reduction temperature on nickel-yttria-stabilized zirconia solid oxide fuel cell anode using nickel oxide-film electrode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiao, Zhenjun; Ueno, Ai; Suzuki, Yuji; Shikazono, Naoki

2016-10-01

In this study, the reduction processes of nickel oxide at different temperatures were investigated using nickel-film anode to study the influences of reduction temperature on the initial performances and stability of nickel-yttria-stabilized zirconia anode. Compared to conventional nickel-yttria-stabilized zirconia composite cermet anode, nickel-film anode has the advantage of direct observation at nickel-yttria-stabilized zirconia interface. The microstructural changes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The reduction process of nickel oxide is considered to be determined by the competition between the mechanisms of volume reduction in nickel oxide-nickel reaction and nickel sintering. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was applied to analyze the time variation of the nickel-film anode electrochemical characteristics. The anode performances and microstructural changes before and after 100 hours discharging and open circuit operations were analyzed. The degradation of nickel-film anode is considered to be determined by the co-effect between the nickel sintering and the change of nickel-yttria-stabilized zirconia interface bonding condition.

Microstructure and transport properties of sol-gel derived highly (100)-oriented lanthanum nickel oxide thin films on SiO 2 /Si substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, M. W.; Wang, Z. J.; Chen, Y. N.; Zhang, Z. D.

2011-12-01

In the present work, lanthanum nickel oxide (LNO) thin films were prepared by the sol-gel method and different thermal treatments were adopted by adjusting the preheating treatment. The microstructure, crystal orientation, chemical composition and electrical properties of LNO films were analyzed to elucidate the relationship between the microstructure and the transport properties of the films. The results show that equiaxed grains predominate the microstructure of the films with pyrolysis step. Without the pyrolysis step, columnar grains are formed in the films, accompanied with an improvement in crystallinity and strengthening of the (100)-orientation. Furthermore, the metal-insulator transition temperature decreases for the films without the pyrolysis step. The effect of film microstructure on its electrical properties was discussed in terms of the existence of internal stress and the improved crystallinity.

Experimental studies of Micro- and Nano-grained UO 2: Grain Growth Behavior, Sufrace Morphology, and Fracture Toughness

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

Miao, Yinbin; Mo, Kun; Jamison, Laura M.

This activity is supported by the US Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Fuels Product Line (FPL) and aims at providing experimental data for the validation of the mesoscale simulation code MARMOT. MARMOT is a mesoscale multiphysics code that predicts the coevolution of microstructure and properties within reactor fuel during its lifetime in the reactor. It is an important component of the Moose-Bison-Marmot (MBM) code suite that has been developed by Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to enable next generation fuel performance modeling capability as part of the NEAMS Program FPL. In order to ensure the accuracy of the microstructure-basedmore » materials models being developed within the MARMOT code, extensive validation efforts must be carried out. In this report, we summarize the experimental efforts in FY16 including the following important experiments: (1) in-situ grain growth measurement of nano-grained UO 2; (2) investigation of surface morphology in micrograined UO 2; (3) Nano-indentation experiments on nano- and micro-grained UO 2. The highlight of this year is: we have successfully demonstrated our capability to in-situ measure grain size development while maintaining the stoichiometry of nano-grained UO 2 materials; the experiment is, for the first time, using synchrotron X-ray diffraction to in-situ measure grain growth behavior of UO 2.« less

Nano-Sized Grain Refinement Using Friction Stir Processing

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

friction stir weld is a very fine grain microstructure produced as a result of dynamic recrystallization. The friction stir ... Friction Stir Processing, Magnesium, Nano-size grains Abstract A key characteristic of a friction stir weld is a very fine grain microstructure...state process developed on the basis of the friction stir welding (FSW) technique invented by The Welding Institute (TWI) in 1991 [2]. During

Characterization of Magnetron Sputtered Copper-Nickel Thin Film and Alloys

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

ARL-TR-7783 ● SEP 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Characterization of Magnetron Sputtered Copper-Nickel Thin Films and Alloys...TR-7783 ● SEP 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Characterization of Magnetron Sputtered Copper-Nickel Thin Films and Alloys by Eugene...

Low Temperature, Selective Atomic Layer Deposition of Nickel Metal Thin Films.

PubMed

Kerrigan, Marissa M; Klesko, Joseph P; Blakeney, Kyle J; Winter, Charles H

2018-04-25

We report the growth of nickel metal films by atomic layer deposition (ALD) employing bis(1,4-di- tert-butyl-1,3-diazadienyl)nickel and tert-butylamine as the precursors. A range of metal and insulating substrates were explored. An initial deposition study was carried out on platinum substrates. Deposition temperatures ranged from 160 to 220 °C. Saturation plots demonstrated self-limited growth for both precursors, with a growth rate of 0.60 Å/cycle. A plot of growth rate versus substrate temperature showed an ALD window from 180 to 195 °C. Crystalline nickel metal was observed by X-ray diffraction for a 60 nm thick film deposited at 180 °C. Films with thicknesses of 18 and 60 nm grown at 180 °C showed low root mean square roughnesses (<2.5% of thicknesses) by atomic force microscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies of 18 and 60 nm thick films deposited on platinum at 180 °C revealed ionizations consistent with nickel metal after sputtering with argon ions. The nickel content in the films was >97%, with low levels of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Films deposited on ruthenium substrates displayed lower growth rates than those observed on platinum substrates. On copper substrates, discontinuous island growth was observed at ≤1000 cycles. Film growth was not observed on insulating substrates under any conditions. The new nickel metal ALD procedure gives inherently selective deposition on ruthenium and platinum from 160 to 220 °C.

Nickel oxide nanoparticles film produced by dead biomass of filamentous fungus

PubMed Central

Salvadori, Marcia Regina; Nascimento, Cláudio Augusto Oller; Corrêa, Benedito

2014-01-01

The synthesis of nickel oxide nanoparticles in film form using dead biomass of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus aculeatus as reducing agent represents an environmentally friendly nanotechnological innovation. The optimal conditions and the capacity of dead biomass to uptake and produce nanoparticles were evaluated by analyzing the biosorption of nickel by the fungus. The structural characteristics of the film-forming nickel oxide nanoparticles were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). These techniques showed that the nickel oxide nanoparticles had a size of about 5.89 nm and were involved in a protein matrix which probably permitted their organization in film form. The production and uptake of nickel oxide nanoparticles organized in film form by dead fungal biomass bring us closer to sustainable strategies for the biosynthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles. PMID:25228324

Correlated NanoSIMS, TEM, and XANES Studies of Presolar Grains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groopman, Evan Edward

The objective of this thesis is to describe the correlated study of individual presolar grains via Nano-scale Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (NanoSIMS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscopy (STXM) utilizing X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES), with a focus on connecting these correlated laboratory studies to astrophysical phenomena. The correlated isotopic, chemical, and microstructural studies of individual presolar grains provide the most detailed description of their formation environments, and help to inform astrophysical models and observations of stellar objects. As a part of this thesis I have developed and improved upon laboratory techniques for micromanipulating presolar grains and embedding them in resin for ultramicrotomy after NanoSIMS analyses and prior to TEM characterization. The new methods have yielded a 100% success rate and allow for the specific correlation of microstructural and isotopic properties of individual grains. Knowing these properties allows for inferences to be made regarding the condensation sequences and the origins of the stellar material that condensed to form these grains. NanoSIMS studies of ultramicrotomed sections of presolar graphite grains have revealed complex isotopic heterogeneities that appear to be primary products of the grains' formation environments and not secondary processing during the grains' lifetimes. Correlated excesses in 15N and 18O were identified as being carried by TiC subgrains within presolar graphite grains from supernovae (SNe). These spatially-correlated isotopic anomalies pinpoint the origin of the material that formed these grains: the inner He/C zone. Complex microstructures and isotopic heterogeneities also provide evidence for mixing in globular SN ejecta, which is corroborated by models and telescopic observations. In addition to these significant isotopic discoveries, I have also observed the first reported nanocrystalline core

Film grain noise modeling in advanced video coding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Byung Tae; Kuo, C.-C. Jay; Sun, Shijun; Lei, Shawmin

2007-01-01

A new technique for film grain noise extraction, modeling and synthesis is proposed and applied to the coding of high definition video in this work. The film grain noise is viewed as a part of artistic presentation by people in the movie industry. On one hand, since the film grain noise can boost the natural appearance of pictures in high definition video, it should be preserved in high-fidelity video processing systems. On the other hand, video coding with film grain noise is expensive. It is desirable to extract film grain noise from the input video as a pre-processing step at the encoder and re-synthesize the film grain noise and add it back to the decoded video as a post-processing step at the decoder. Under this framework, the coding gain of the denoised video is higher while the quality of the final reconstructed video can still be well preserved. Following this idea, we present a method to remove film grain noise from image/video without distorting its original content. Besides, we describe a parametric model containing a small set of parameters to represent the extracted film grain noise. The proposed model generates the film grain noise that is close to the real one in terms of power spectral density and cross-channel spectral correlation. Experimental results are shown to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed scheme.

Grain growth and pore coarsening in dense nano-crystalline UO 2+x fuel pellets

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

Yao, Tiankai; Mo, Kun; Yun, Di

Dense nano-sized UO 2+x pellets are synthesized by spark plasma sintering with controlled stoichiometries (UO 2.03 and UO 2.11) and grain sizes (~100 nm), and subsequently isothermally annealed to study their effects on grain growth kinetics and microstructure stability. The grain growth kinetics is determined and analyzed focusing on the interaction between grain boundary migration, pore growth and coalescence. Grains grow much bigger in nano-sized UO 2.11 than UO 2.03 upon thermal annealing, consistent with the fact that hyper-stoichiometric UO 2+x is beneficial for sintering due to enhanced U ion diffusion from excessive O ion interstitials. The activation energies ofmore » the grain growth for UO 2.03 and UO 2.11 are determined as ~1.0 and 1.3~2.0 eV, respectively. As compared with the micron-sized UO 2 in which volumetric diffusion dominates the grain coarsening with an activation energy of ~3.0 eV, the enhanced grain growth kinetics in nano-sized UO 2+x suggests that grain boundary diffusion controls grain growth. Lastly, the higher activation energy of more hyper-stoichiometric nano-sized UO 2.11 may be attributed to the excessive O interstitials pinning grain boundary migration.« less

Grain growth and pore coarsening in dense nano-crystalline UO 2+x fuel pellets

DOE PAGES

Yao, Tiankai; Mo, Kun; Yun, Di; ...

2017-03-25

Dense nano-sized UO 2+x pellets are synthesized by spark plasma sintering with controlled stoichiometries (UO 2.03 and UO 2.11) and grain sizes (~100 nm), and subsequently isothermally annealed to study their effects on grain growth kinetics and microstructure stability. The grain growth kinetics is determined and analyzed focusing on the interaction between grain boundary migration, pore growth and coalescence. Grains grow much bigger in nano-sized UO 2.11 than UO 2.03 upon thermal annealing, consistent with the fact that hyper-stoichiometric UO 2+x is beneficial for sintering due to enhanced U ion diffusion from excessive O ion interstitials. The activation energies ofmore » the grain growth for UO 2.03 and UO 2.11 are determined as ~1.0 and 1.3~2.0 eV, respectively. As compared with the micron-sized UO 2 in which volumetric diffusion dominates the grain coarsening with an activation energy of ~3.0 eV, the enhanced grain growth kinetics in nano-sized UO 2+x suggests that grain boundary diffusion controls grain growth. Lastly, the higher activation energy of more hyper-stoichiometric nano-sized UO 2.11 may be attributed to the excessive O interstitials pinning grain boundary migration.« less

Thermal Stress Behavior of Micro- and Nano-Size Aluminum Films

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

Hanabusa, T.; Kusaka, K.; Nishida, M.

2008-03-17

In-situ observation of thermal stresses in thin films deposited on silicon substrate was made by X-ray and synchrotron radiation. Specimens prepared in this experiment were micro- and nano-size thin aluminum films with and without passivation film. The thickness of the film was 1 micrometer for micro-size films and 10, 20 and 50 nanometer for nano-size films. The stress measurement in micro-size films was made by X-ray radiation whereas the measurement of nano-size films was made by synchrotron radiation. Residual stress measurement revealed tensile stresses in all as-deposited films. Thermal stresses were measured in a series of heating- and cooling-stage. Thermalmore » stress behavior of micro-size films revealed hysteresis loop during a heating and cooling process. The width of a hysteresis loop was larger in passivated film that unpassivated film. No hysteresis loops were observed in nano-size films with SiO{sub 2} passivation. Strengthning mechanism in thin films was discussed on a passivation film and a film thickness.« less

Development of a high-sensitivity plasticizer sensor based on a quartz crystal microbalance modified with a nanostructured nickel hydroxide film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Ruifen; Zhang, Kaihuan; Fan, Guokang; Luo, Zhiyuan; Li, Guang

2015-05-01

Nanostructured nickel hydroxide (nano-Ni(OH)2) was synthesized at a low temperature without annealing. Accordingly, a plasticizer sensor based on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) modified with the nano-Ni(OH)2 sensing film was fabricated to detect dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and its relative film thickness was optimized. The sensor worked at room temperature and exhibited a high sensitivity of 4.91 Hz ppb-1 to DBP in a low concentration range of 5-20 ppb, and an ultra-low detection limit of 5 ppb was achieved. In addition, the sensor maintained good repeatability as well as stability shown by the experimental data. The responses to five possible interferences and four other plasticizers were also measured, which indicated the excellent selectivity of the sensor and its potential use in monitoring plasticizers in a gaseous state.

Adhesion between polymers and evaporated gold and nickel films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yamada, Y.; Wheeler, D. R.; Buckley, D. H.

1984-01-01

To obtain information on the adhesion between metal films and polymeric solids, the adhesion force was measured by means of a tensile pull test. It was found that the adhesion strengths between polymeric solids and gold films evaporated on polymer substrates were (1.11 + or - 0.53) multiplied by 10(6) N/M(2) on PTFE, about 5.49 multiplied by 10(6) N/m(2) on UHMWPE, and 6.54x10(6) on 6/6 nylon. The adhesion strengths for nickel films evaporated on PTFE, UHMWPE, and 6/6 nylon were found to be a factor of 1.7 higher than those for the gold coated PTFE, UHMWPE, and 6/6 nylon. To confirm quantitatively the effect of electron irradiation on the adhesion strength between a PTFE solid and metal films, a tensile pull test was performed on the irradiated PTFE specimens, which were prepared by evaporating nickel or gold on PTFE surfaces irradiated by 2-keV electrons for various times. After irradiation, the adhesion strength increased to (4.92 + or - 0.92)x10(6) N/m(2) for nickel coated PTFE and (1.82 + or - 0.48)x10(6) N/m(2) for gold coated PTFE. The improvement in adhesion for nickel is higher than that for gold.

Effects of film growth kinetics on grain coarsening and grain shape.

PubMed

Reis, F D A Aarão

2017-04-01

We study models of grain nucleation and coarsening during the deposition of a thin film using numerical simulations and scaling approaches. The incorporation of new particles in the film is determined by lattice growth models in three different universality classes, with no effect of the grain structure. The first model of grain coarsening is similar to that proposed by Saito and Omura [Phys. Rev. E 84, 021601 (2011)PLEEE81539-375510.1103/PhysRevE.84.021601], in which nucleation occurs only at the substrate, and the grain boundary evolution at the film surface is determined by a probabilistic competition of neighboring grains. The surface grain density has a power-law decay, with an exponent related to the dynamical exponent of the underlying growth kinetics, and the average radius of gyration scales with the film thickness with the same exponent. This model is extended by allowing nucleation of new grains during the deposition, with constant but small rates. The surface grain density crosses over from the initial power law decay to a saturation; at the crossover, the time, grain mass, and surface grain density are estimated as a function of the nucleation rate. The distributions of grain mass, height, and radius of gyration show remarkable power law decays, similar to other systems with coarsening and particle injection, with exponents also related to the dynamical exponent. The scaling of the radius of gyration with the height h relative to the base of the grain show clearly different exponents in growth dominated by surface tension and growth dominated by surface diffusion; thus it may be interesting for investigating the effects of kinetic roughening on grain morphology. In growth dominated by surface diffusion, the increase of grain size with temperature is observed.

Spectroscopic And Electrochemical Studies Of Electrochromic Hydrated Nickel Oxide Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, P. C.; Nazri, G.; Lampert, C. M.

1986-09-01

The electrochrcrnic properties of hydrated nickel oxide thin films electrochemically deposited by anodization onto doped tin oxide-coated glass have been studied by transmittance measurements, cyclic voltammetry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and ion-backscattering spectrometry. The spectral transmittance is reported for films switched in both the bleached and colored states. The photopic transmittance (Tp) can be switched from T (bleached) = 0.77 to T (colored) = 0.21, and the solar transmittance (Ts) can be switched from Ts(bleached) = 0.73 to TS (colored) = 0.35. Also reported is the near-infrared transmittance (TNIR)which was found to switch fran T N,IR (bleached) = 0.72 to TNIR (colored) = 0.55. The bleached condition is noted to have very low solar absorption in both the visible and solar regions. Ion-backscattering spectrometry was performed on the hydrated nickel oxide film, yielding a camposition of Ni01.0 (dehydrated) and a film thickness of 125 A. Cyclic voltammetry showed that, for films in the bleached or colored state, the reversible reaction is Ni(0H), = NiOOH + H+ + e . Voltammnetry also showed that the switching of the film is controlled by the diffusion or protons, where OH plays a role in the reaction mechanism. Analysis of the hydrated nickel-oxide thin films by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that both the bleached and colored states contain lattice water and hydroxyl groups. The surface hydroxyl groups play an important role in the coloration and bleaching of the anodically deposited nickel oxide thin films.

The Evolution of Fabricated Gold Thin Films to Nano-Micro Particles Under Thermal Annealing Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hajivaliei, Mahdi; Nazari, Saeed

2016-06-01

Gold (Au) thin films with thickness of 35nm were prepared by electron beam deposition onto flat glass substrates under high vacuum (5.3×10-3Pa) condition and they were annealed in the range of 573-873 K for 1 and 2h in atmospheric pressure. The influence of the annealing temperature on the evolution of Au thin film to nano-micro particles was studied. Moreover, the basic properties of the films, namely morphological, structural and optical were investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the Au thin films were cubic structure phase with lattice parameter around a=4.0786Å. The most preferential orientation is along (111) planes for all Au films. The lattice parameter and grain size in the films were calculated by X-ray patterns and correlated with annealing temperatures. The obtained results of ultraviolet-visible spectrometry (UV-Vis) indicate that with increasing annealing temperature, the surface plasmon resonance peak of gold nanocrystallite will disappear which implies the size of particles are grown. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) results show that the prepared gold thin films have been converted to nano-micro gold particles in different annealing temperatures. These results lead to controlling the size of produced nanocrystallite.

SERS spectra of pyridine adsorbed on nickel film prepared by magnetron sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Daoyong; Ouyang, Yu; Chen, Li; Cao, Weiran; Shi, Shaohua

2011-02-01

As a repeating well and cheaper enhancement substrate, the nickel film was fabricated with magnetron sputtering coating instrument. Surface enhanced Raman spectra (SERS) of pyridine adsorbed on this nickel film are compared with the experimental values of gaseous pyridine, the theoretical value of pyridine solution listed in other literatures and our method is better than electro-chemical etching electrode method for large scale preparation. The enhancement factor of the nickel film is calculated and the result indicates that magnetron sputtering coating technology is feasible for obtaining good SERS active surface.

Direct growth of nano-crystalline graphite films using pulsed laser deposition with in-situ monitoring based on reflection high-energy electron diffraction technique

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

Kwak, Jeong Hun; Lee, Sung Su; Lee, Hyeon Jun

2016-03-21

We report an experimental method to overcome the long processing time required for fabricating graphite films by a transfer process from a catalytic layer to a substrate, as well as our study of the growth process of graphite films using a pulsed laser deposition combined with in-situ monitoring based on reflection high-energy electron diffraction technique. We monitored the structural evolution of nano-crystalline graphite films directly grown on AlN-coated Si substrates without any catalytic layer. We found that the carbon films grown for less than 600 s cannot manifest the graphite structure due to a high defect density arising from grain boundaries;more » however, the carbon film can gradually become a nano-crystalline graphite film with a thickness of approximately up to 5 nm. The Raman spectra and electrical properties of carbon films indicate that the nano-crystalline graphite films can be fabricated, even at the growth temperature as low as 850 °C within 600 s.« less

Grain boundaries structures and wetting in doped silicon, nickel and copper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meshinchi Asl, Kaveh

This thesis reports a series of fundamental investigations of grain boundary wetting, adsorption and structural (phases) transitions in doped Ni, Cu and Si with technological relevance to liquid metal embrittlement, liquid metal corrosion and device applications. First, intrinsically ductile metals are prone to catastrophic failure when exposed to certain liquid metals, but the atomic level mechanism for this effect is not fully understood. A nickel sample infused with bismuth atoms was characterized and a bilayer interfacial phase that is the underlying cause of embrittlement was observed. In a second related study, we showed that addition of minor impurities can significantly enhance the intergranular penetration of bismuth based liquids in polycrystalline nickel and copper, thereby increasing the liquid metal corrosion rates. Furthermore, we extended a concept that was initially proposed in the Rice-Wang model for grain boundary embrittlement to explain our observations of the impurity-enhanced intergranular penetration of liquid metals. Finally, a grain-boundary transition from a bilayer to an intrinsic is observed in the Si-Au system. This observation directly shows that a grain boundary can exhibit a first-order "phase" transition, which often implies abrupt changes in properties.

Meso-scale anisotropic hydrogen segregation near grain-boundaries in polycrystalline nickel characterized by EBSD/SIMS

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

Oudriss, A.; Le Guernic, Solenne; Wang, Zhaoying

2016-02-15

To study anisotropic hydrogen segregation and diffusion in nickel polycrystalline, Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) and Electron Back Scattered Diffraction (EBSD) are integrated to investigate hydrogen distribution around grain boundaries. Hydrogen distribution in pre-charged samples were correlated with grain boundary character by integrating high-resolution grain microstructure from EBSD inverse pole figure map and low-resolution hydrogen concentration profile map from SIMS. This multimodal imaging instrumentation shows that grain boundaries in nickel can be categorized into two families based on behavior of hydrogen distribution crossing grain boundary: the first one includes random grain boundaries with fast hydrogen diffusivity, showing a sharp gapmore » for hydrogen concentration profile cross the grain boundaries. The second family are special Σ3n grain boundaries with low hydrogen diffusivity, showing a smooth gradient of hydrogen concentration cross the grain boundary. Heterogeneous hydrogen distributions due to grain boundary family revealed by SIMS/EBSD on mesoscale further validate the recent hydrogen permeation data and anisotropic ab-initio calculations in nanoscale. The results highlight the fact that grain boundaries character impacts hydrogen distribution significantly.« less

Electrical conductivity modification using silver nano particles of Jatropha Multifida L. and Pterocarpus Indicus w. extracts films

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

Diantoro, Markus, E-mail: markus.diantoro.fmipa@um.ac.id; Hidayati, Nisfi Nahari Sani; Latifah, Rodatul

Natural polymers can be extracted from leaf or stem of plants. Pterocarpus Indicus W. (PIW) and Jatropha Multifida L. (JIL) plants are good candidate as natural polymer sources. PIW and JIW polymers contain chemical compound so-called flavonoids which has C{sub 6}-C{sub 3}-C{sub 6} carbons conjugated configuration. The renewable type of polymer as well as their abundancy of flavonoid provide us to explore their physical properties. A number of research have been reported related to broad synthesis method and mechanical properties. So far there is no specific report of electrical conductivity associated to PIW and JIL natural polymers. In order tomore » obtain electrical conductivity and its crystallinity of the extracted polymer films, it was induced on them a various fraction of silver nano particles. The film has been prepared by means of spin coating method on nickel substrate. It was revealed that FTIR spectra confirm the existing of rutine flavonoid. The crystallinity of the samples increase from 0.66%, to 4.11% associated to the respective various of silver fractions of 0.1 M to 0.5 M. SEM images show that there are some grains of silver in the film. The nature of electric conductivity increases a long with the addition of silver. The electrical conductivity increase significantly from 3.22 S/cm, to 542.85 S/cm. On the other hand, PIW films also shows similar trends that increase of Ag induce the increase its crystallinity as well as its electrical conductivity at semiconducting level. This result opens a prospective research and application of the green renewable polymer as optoelectronic materials.« less

Electrical conductivity modification using silver nano particles of Jatropha Multifida L. and Pterocarpus Indicus w. extracts films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diantoro, Markus; Hidayati, Nisfi Nahari Sani; Latifah, Rodatul; Fuad, Abdulloh; Nasikhudin, Sujito, Hidayat, Arif

2016-03-01

Natural polymers can be extracted from leaf or stem of plants. Pterocarpus Indicus W. (PIW) and Jatropha Multifida L. (JIL) plants are good candidate as natural polymer sources. PIW and JIW polymers contain chemical compound so-called flavonoids which has C6-C3-C6 carbons conjugated configuration. The renewable type of polymer as well as their abundancy of flavonoid provide us to explore their physical properties. A number of research have been reported related to broad synthesis method and mechanical properties. So far there is no specific report of electrical conductivity associated to PIW and JIL natural polymers. In order to obtain electrical conductivity and its crystallinity of the extracted polymer films, it was induced on them a various fraction of silver nano particles. The film has been prepared by means of spin coating method on nickel substrate. It was revealed that FTIR spectra confirm the existing of rutine flavonoid. The crystallinity of the samples increase from 0.66%, to 4.11% associated to the respective various of silver fractions of 0.1 M to 0.5 M. SEM images show that there are some grains of silver in the film. The nature of electric conductivity increases a long with the addition of silver. The electrical conductivity increase significantly from 3.22 S/cm, to 542.85 S/cm. On the other hand, PIW films also shows similar trends that increase of Ag induce the increase its crystallinity as well as its electrical conductivity at semiconducting level. This result opens a prospective research and application of the green renewable polymer as optoelectronic materials.

Achieving Zero Stress in Iridium, Chromium, and Nickel Thin Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Broadway, David M.; Weimer, Jeffrey; Gurgew, Danielle; Lis, Tomasz; Ramsey, Brian D.; O'Dell, Stephen L.; Ames, A.; Bruni, R.

2015-01-01

We examine a method for achieving zero intrinsic stress in thin films of iridium, chromium, and nickel deposited by magnetron sputter deposition. The examination of the stress in these materials is motivated by efforts to advance the optical performance of light-weight x-ray space telescopes into the regime of sub-arc second resolution that rely on control of the film stress to values within 10-100 MPa. A characteristic feature of the intrinsic stress behavior in chromium and nickel is their sensitivity to the magnitude and sign of the intrinsic stress with argon gas pressure, including the existence of a critical pressure that results in zero film stress. This critical pressure scales linearly with the film's density. While the effect of stress reversal with argon pressure has been previously reported by Hoffman and others for nickel and chromium, we have discovered a similar behavior for iridium. Additionally, we have identified zero stress in iridium shortly after island coalescence. This feature of film growth is used for achieving a total internal stress of -2.89 MPa for a 15.8 nm thick iridium film. The surface roughness of this low-stress film was examined using scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and x-ray reflectivity (XRR) at CuKa and these results presented and discussed.

Elucidating the mechanisms of nickel compound uptake: A review of particulate and nano-nickel endocytosis and toxicity

PubMed Central

Muñoz, Alexandra; Costa, Max

2012-01-01

Nickel (Ni) is a worldwide pollutant and contaminant that humans are exposed to through various avenues resulting in multiple toxic responses - most alarming is its clear carcinogenic nature. A variety of particulate Ni compounds persist in the environment and can be distinguished by characteristics such as solubility, structure, and surface charge. These characteristics influence cellular uptake and toxicity. Some particulate forms of Ni are carcinogenic and are directly and rapidly endocytized by cells. A series of studies conducted in the 1980’s observed this process, and we have reanalyzed the results of these studies to help elucidate the molecular mechanism of particulate Ni uptake. Originally the process of uptake observed was described as phagocytosis, however in the context of recent research we hypothesize that the process is macropinocytosis and/or clathrin mediated endocytosis. Primary considerations in determining the route of uptake here include calcium dependence, particle size, and inhibition through temperature and pharmacological approaches. Particle characteristics that influenced uptake include size, charge, surface characteristics, and structure. This discussion is relevant in the context of nanoparticle studies and the emerging interest in nano-nickel (nano-Ni), where toxicity assessments require a clear understanding of the parameters of particulate uptake and where establishment of such parameters is often obscured through inconsistencies across experimental systems. In this regard, this review aims to carefully document one system (particulate nickel compound uptake) and characterize its properties. PMID:22206756

Elucidating the mechanisms of nickel compound uptake: A review of particulate and nano-nickel endocytosis and toxicity

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

Muñoz, Alexandra; Costa, Max, E-mail: Max.Costa@nyumc.org

Nickel (Ni) is a worldwide pollutant and contaminant that humans are exposed to through various avenues resulting in multiple toxic responses — most alarming is its clear carcinogenic nature. A variety of particulate Ni compounds persist in the environment and can be distinguished by characteristics such as solubility, structure, and surface charge. These characteristics influence cellular uptake and toxicity. Some particulate forms of Ni are carcinogenic and are directly and rapidly endocytized by cells. A series of studies conducted in the 1980s observed this process, and we have reanalyzed the results of these studies to help elucidate the molecular mechanismmore » of particulate Ni uptake. Originally the process of uptake observed was described as phagocytosis, however in the context of recent research we hypothesize that the process is macropinocytosis and/or clathrin mediated endocytosis. Primary considerations in determining the route of uptake here include calcium dependence, particle size, and inhibition through temperature and pharmacological approaches. Particle characteristics that influenced uptake include size, charge, surface characteristics, and structure. This discussion is relevant in the context of nanoparticle studies and the emerging interest in nano-nickel (nano-Ni), where toxicity assessments require a clear understanding of the parameters of particulate uptake and where establishment of such parameters is often obscured through inconsistencies across experimental systems. In this regard, this review aims to carefully document one system (particulate nickel compound uptake) and characterize its properties.« less

The Influence of Different Metal Ions on the Absorption Properties of Nano-Nickel Zinc Ferrite

PubMed Central

Ma, Zhijun; Mang, Changye; Weng, Xingyuan; Si, Liwei; Zhao, Haitao

2018-01-01

The hydrothermal method was used to dope different amounts of Co2+, Mn2+, and Cu2+ in nano-nickel zinc ferrite powder. X-ray diffraction (XRD), a scanning electron microscopy (TEM), and a vector network analyzer (VNA) were used to explore the influence of doping on particle size, morphology, and electromagnetic wave absorption performance. Pure nanometer cobalt nickel zinc ferrite phase was prepared using the hydrothermal method with an increasing Co2+ content. Results showed that the grain type structure changed from a spherical structure to an irregular quadrilateral structure with the average particle size increasing from 35 nm to 60 nm. The lattice constant increased from 0.8352 to 0.8404 nm with Co2+ doping. The increasing Co2+ can change the position of the absorption peak, increase the bandwidth of the absorber, and improve the performance of the materials in GHz low frequency. The doping ratio of Mn2+ can affect the size of the lattice constant, but nanocrystals are easy to reunite without improving the electromagnetic loss. However, the absorbance performance decreases. For the doping of Cu2+, there is an agglomeration phenomenon. When the doping quantity is 0.15, the absorbing wave performance becomes better. PMID:29641477

The Influence of Different Metal Ions on the Absorption Properties of Nano-Nickel Zinc Ferrite.

PubMed

Ma, Zhijun; Mang, Changye; Weng, Xingyuan; Zhang, Qi; Si, Liwei; Zhao, Haitao

2018-04-11

The hydrothermal method was used to dope different amounts of Co 2+ , Mn 2+ , and Cu 2+ in nano-nickel zinc ferrite powder. X-ray diffraction (XRD), a scanning electron microscopy (TEM), and a vector network analyzer (VNA) were used to explore the influence of doping on particle size, morphology, and electromagnetic wave absorption performance. Pure nanometer cobalt nickel zinc ferrite phase was prepared using the hydrothermal method with an increasing Co 2+ content. Results showed that the grain type structure changed from a spherical structure to an irregular quadrilateral structure with the average particle size increasing from 35 nm to 60 nm. The lattice constant increased from 0.8352 to 0.8404 nm with Co 2+ doping. The increasing Co 2+ can change the position of the absorption peak, increase the bandwidth of the absorber, and improve the performance of the materials in GHz low frequency. The doping ratio of Mn 2+ can affect the size of the lattice constant, but nanocrystals are easy to reunite without improving the electromagnetic loss. However, the absorbance performance decreases. For the doping of Cu 2+ , there is an agglomeration phenomenon. When the doping quantity is 0.15, the absorbing wave performance becomes better.

Nanophase Nickel-Zirconium Alloys for Fuel Cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Narayanan, Sekharipuram; Whitacre, jay; Valdez, Thomas

2008-01-01

Nanophase nickel-zirconium alloys have been investigated for use as electrically conductive coatings and catalyst supports in fuel cells. Heretofore, noble metals have been used because they resist corrosion in the harsh, acidic fuel cell interior environments. However, the high cost of noble metals has prompted a search for less-costly substitutes. Nickel-zirconium alloys belong to a class of base metal alloys formed from transition elements of widely different d-electron configurations. These alloys generally exhibit unique physical, chemical, and metallurgical properties that can include corrosion resistance. Inasmuch as corrosion is accelerated by free-energy differences between bulk material and grain boundaries, it was conjectured that amorphous (glassy) and nanophase forms of these alloys could offer the desired corrosion resistance. For experiments to test the conjecture, thin alloy films containing various proportions of nickel and zirconium were deposited by magnetron and radiofrequency co-sputtering of nickel and zirconium. The results of x-ray diffraction studies of the deposited films suggested that the films had a nanophase and nearly amorphous character.

Optical characterization of thin nickel films on polymer substrates using reflectance difference spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rinnerbauer, V.; Schmidegg, K.; Hohage, M.; Sun, L. D.; Flores-Camacho, J. M.; Zeppenfeld, P.

2009-06-01

We have used reflectance difference spectroscopy (RDS) and its extension, azimuth-dependent RDS (ADRDS), to study the properties of sputtered and evaporated nickel films on biaxially oriented poly(ethylene terephtalate) (PET) films in a roll to roll web-coating process. From the full set of ADRDS spectra we extract and analyze both the intrinsic RDS spectra and the azimuthal orientation of the effective optical anisotropy of the samples. From the latter, contributions to the RDS spectra arising from the nickel layer and the PET substrate with different orientations of the optical eigenaxes can be inferred. We find an attenuation of the characteristic RDS signal of the PET substrate with increasing nickel film thickness which is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction. For film thicknesses above 20 nm another contribution to the RDS signal attributed to the optical anisotropy of the deposited nickel layers can be observed. Its strength depends on the deposition method, and is considerably larger for evaporated films than for sputtered ones. With increasing nickel film thickness, the azimuthal orientation of the sample anisotropy changes from the initial value of the PET substrate by about 20° toward the machine direction of the foil. We demonstrate that RDS is also a valuable tool for inline monitoring in the roll to roll process, as the attenuation of the RDS signal, under proper consideration of the orientation of the effective anisotropy, is a function of the film thickness and characteristic for the deposited material.

Molecular dynamics study of the role of symmetric tilt grain boundaries on the helium distribution in nickel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torres, E.; Pencer, J.

2018-04-01

Helium impurities, from either direct implantation or transmutation reactions, have been associated with embrittlement in nickel-based alloys. Helium has very low solubility in nickel, and has been found to aggregate at lattice defects such as vacancies, dislocations, and grain boundaries. The retention and precipitation of helium in nickel-based alloys have deleterious effects on the material mechanical properties. However, the underlying mechanisms that lead to helium effects in the host metal are not fully understood. In the present work, we investigate the role of symmetric tilt grain boundary (STGB) structures on the distribution of helium in nickel using molecular dynamics simulations. We investigate the family of STGBs specific to the 〈 110 〉 tilt axis. The present results indicate that accumulation of helium at the grain boundary may be modulated by details of grain boundary geometry. A plausible correlation between the grain boundary energy and misorientation with the accumulation and mobility of helium is proposed. Small clusters with up to 6 helium atoms show significant interstitial mobility in the nickel bulk, but also become sites for nucleation and grow of more stable helium clusters. High-energy GBs are found mainly populated with small helium clusters. The high mobility of small clusters along the GBs indicates the role of these GBs as fast two-dimensional channels for diffusion. In contrast, the accumulation of helium in large helium clusters at low-energy STGB creates a favorable environment for the formation of large helium bubbles, indicating a potential role for low-energy STGB in promoting helium-induced GB embrittlement.

Stripe domains and magnetoresistance in thermally deposited nickel films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sparks, P. D.; Stern, N. P.; Snowden, D. S.; Kappus, B. A.; Checkelsky, J. G.; Harberger, S. S.; Fusello, A. M.; Eckert, J. C.

2004-05-01

We report a study of the domain structure and magnetoresistance of thermally deposited nickel films. For films thicker than 17nm, we observe striped domains with period varying with film thickness as a power law with exponent 0.21+/-0.02 up to 120nm thickness. There is a negative magnetoresistance for fields out of the plane.

Grain boundary diffusion studied on nano scale by rim growth experiments with isotopically doped thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milke, R.; Dohmen, R.; Wiedenbeck, M.; Wirth, R.; Abart, R.; Becker, H.-W.

2003-04-01

Grain boundary diffusion studies by the rim growth method in the system MgO(±FeO)-SiO_2 have evolved from measuring rim growth rates to the tracing of chemical components by using isotopically enriched starting materials and SIMS analyses (Milke et al. 2001). We miniaturized this setup for grain boundary diffusion experiments by using pulsed-laser deposited (PLD) thin films (Dohmen et al. 2002). The starting samples consist of polycrystalline layers of pyroxene (en90fs10) and isotopically doped (18O, 29Si) olivine (fo90fa10) with a total thickness <= 1 μm on a polished quartz surface. A first series of experiments was performed at temperatures between 1000 and 1200^oC at fO_2 of 10-10 bar. Resulting layer thickness and chemi-cal composition were measured by Rutherford Back-Scattering (RBS) and TEM using Focused Ion Beam (FIB) preparation methods. O and Si isotope profiles were measured by SIMS depth scanning. The enstatite layers thicken during the annealing experiments with well-defined interfaces by rates for Δx^2 of 700 to 50000 nm^2/h at the chosen conditions. The iso-tope profiles show that Si acts as a slow diffusing component. From the enstatite growth rates a Dgb_Aδ can be calculated, where A is the rate-determining component. This gives a Dgb_Aδ in the range of 10-26 (at 1000^oC) to 10-24 (at 1200^oC) m^3s-1, which is well in accordance with an extrapolation from the data of Fisler et al. (1997) at 1350 to 1450^oC. This indicates that over the entire interval from 1000 to 1450^oC the reaction is controlled by diffusion of the same component and more importantly that mechanisms on the nano scale are the same as on the microscopic scale. The new method has several advantages over previously used techniques. The well-defined layers on nano scale allow one to study rim growth at lower temperatures than before and avoids therefore large extrapolations to natural conditions. The very small amount of isotopically enriched material needed for one sample makes

Grain-resolved analysis of localized deformation in nickel-titanium wire under tensile load.

PubMed

Sedmák, P; Pilch, J; Heller, L; Kopeček, J; Wright, J; Sedlák, P; Frost, M; Šittner, P

2016-08-05

The stress-induced martensitic transformation in tensioned nickel-titanium shape-memory alloys proceeds by propagation of macroscopic fronts of localized deformation. We used three-dimensional synchrotron x-ray diffraction to image at micrometer-scale resolution the grain-resolved elastic strains and stresses in austenite around one such front in a prestrained nickel-titanium wire. We found that the local stresses in austenite grains are modified ahead of the nose cone-shaped buried interface where the martensitic transformation begins. Elevated shear stresses at the cone interface explain why the martensitic transformation proceeds in a localized manner. We established the crossover from stresses in individual grains to a continuum macroscopic internal stress field in the wire and rationalized the experimentally observed internal stress field and the topology of the macroscopic front by means of finite element simulations of the localized deformation. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Near-Threshold Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior of Fine-Grain Nickel-Based Alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newman, John A.; Piascik, Robert S.

2003-01-01

Constant-Kmax fatigue crack growth tests were performed on two finegrain nickel-base alloys Inconel 718 (DA) and Ren 95 to determine if these alloys exhibit near-threshold time-dependent crack growth behavior observed for fine-grain aluminum alloys in room-temperature laboratory air. Test results showed that increases in K(sub max) values resulted in increased crack growth rates, but no evidence of time-dependent crack growth was observed for either nickel-base alloy at room temperature.

Temperature dependent and applied field strength dependent magnetic study of cobalt nickel ferrite nano particles: Synthesized by an environmentally benign method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sontu, Uday Bhasker; G, Narsinga Rao; Chou, F. C.; M, V. Ramana Reddy

2018-04-01

Spinel ferrites have come a long way in their versatile applications. The ever growing applications of these materials demand detailed study of material properties and environmental considerations in their synthesis. In this article, we report the effect of temperature and applied magnetic field strength on the magnetic behavior of the cobalt nickel ferrite nano powder samples. Basic structural properties of spinel ferrite nano particles, that are synthesized by an environmentally benign method of auto combustion, are characterized through XRD, TEM, RAMAN spectroscopy. Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS) is done to understand the nickel substitution effect on the optical properties of cobalt ferrite nano particles. Thermo magnetic studies using SQUID in the temperature range 5 K to 400 K and room temperature (300 K) VSM studies are performed on these samples. Fields of 0Oe (no applied field: ZF), 1 kOe (for ZFC and FC curves), 5 kOe (0.5 T), 50 kOe (5T) (for M-H loop study) are used to study the magnetic behavior of these nano particles. The XRD,TEM analysis suggest 40 nm crystallites that show changes in the cation distribution and phase changes in the spinel structure with nickel substitution. Raman micrographs support phase purity changes and cation redistributions with nickel substitution. Diffuse reflectance study on powder samples suggests two band gap values for nickel rich compounds. The Magnetic study of these sample nano particles show varied magnetic properties from that of hard magnetic, positive multi axial anisotropy and single-magnetic-domain structures at 5 K temperature to soft magnetic core shell like structures at 300 K temperature. Nickel substitution effect is non monotonous. Blocking temperature of all the samples is found to be higher than the values suggested in the literature.

Self-assembled metal nano-multilayered film prepared by co-sputtering method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Tianle; Fu, Licai; Qin, Wen; Zhu, Jiajun; Yang, Wulin; Li, Deyi; Zhou, Lingping

2018-03-01

Nano-multilayered film is usually prepared by the arrangement deposition of different materials. In this paper, a self-assembled nano-multilayered film was deposited by simultaneous sputtering of Cu and W. The Cu/W nano-multilayered film was accumulated by W-rich layer and Cu-rich layer. Smooth interfaces with consecutive composition variation and semi-coherent even coherent relationship were identified, indicating that a spinodal-like structure with a modulation wavelength of about 20 nm formed during co-deposition process. The participation of diffusion barrier element, such as W, is believed the essential to obtain the nano-multilayered structure besides the technological parameters.

Estimation of images degraded by film-grain noise.

PubMed

Naderi, F; Sawchuk, A A

1978-04-15

Film-grain noise describes the intrinsic noise produced by a photographic emulsion during the process of image recording and reproduction. In this paper we consider the restoration of images degraded by film-grain noise. First a detailed model for the over-all photographic imaging system is presented. The model includes linear blurring effects and the signal-dependent effect of film-grain noise. The accuracy of this model is tested by simulating images according to it and comparing the results to images of similar targets that were actually recorded on film. The restoration of images degraded by film-grain noise is then considered in the context of estimation theory. A discrete Wiener filer is developed which explicitly allows for the signal dependence of the noise. The filter adaptively alters its characteristics based on the nonstationary first order statistics of an image and is shown to have advantages over the conventional Wiener filter. Experimental results for modeling and the adaptive estimation filter are presented.

Electrodeposition of Manganese-Nickel Oxide Films on a Graphite Sheet for Electrochemical Capacitor Applications.

PubMed

Lee, Hae-Min; Lee, Kangtaek; Kim, Chang-Koo

2014-01-09

Manganese-nickel (Mn-Ni) oxide films were electrodeposited on a graphite sheet in a bath consisting of manganese acetate and nickel chloride, and the structural, morphological, and electrochemical properties of these films were investigated. The electrodeposited Mn-Ni oxide films had porous structures covered with nanofibers. The X-ray diffractometer pattern revealed the presence of separate manganese oxide (g-MnO₂) and nickel oxide (NiO) in the films. The electrodeposited Mn-Ni oxide electrode exhibited a specific capacitance of 424 F/g in Na₂SO₄ electrolyte. This electrode maintained 86% of its initial specific capacitance over 2000 cycles of the charge-discharge operation, showing good cycling stability.

In situ micro-Raman analysis and X-ray diffraction of nickel silicide thin films on silicon.

PubMed

Bhaskaran, M; Sriram, S; Perova, T S; Ermakov, V; Thorogood, G J; Short, K T; Holland, A S

2009-01-01

This article reports on the in situ analysis of nickel silicide (NiSi) thin films formed by thermal processing of nickel thin films deposited on silicon substrates. The in situ techniques employed for this study include micro-Raman spectroscopy (microRS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD); in both cases the variations for temperatures up to 350 degrees C has been studied. Nickel silicide thin films formed by vacuum annealing of nickel on silicon were used as a reference for these measurements. In situ analysis was carried out on nickel thin films on silicon, while the samples were heated from room temperature to 350 degrees C. Data was gathered at regular temperature intervals and other specific points of interest (such as 250 degrees C, where the reaction between nickel and silicon to form Ni(2)Si is expected). The transformations from the metallic state, through the intermediate reaction states, until the desired metal-silicon reaction product is attained, are discussed. The evolution of nickel silicide from the nickel film can be observed from both the microRS and XRD in situ studies. Variations in the evolution of silicide from metal for different silicon substrates are discussed, and these include (100) n-type, (100) p-type, and (110) p-type silicon substrates.

Preparation methodologies and nano/microstructural evaluation of metal/semiconductor thin films.

PubMed

Chen, Zhiwen; Jiao, Zheng; Wu, Minghong; Shek, Chan-Hung; Wu, C M Lawrence; Lai, Joseph K L

2012-01-01

Metal/semiconductor thin films are a class of unique materials that are widespread technological applications, particularly in the field of microelectronic devices. Assessment strategies of fractal and tures are of fundamental importance in the development of nano/microdevices. This review presents the preparation methodologies and nano/microstructural evaluation of metal/semiconductor thin films including Au/Ge bilayer films and Pd-Ge alloy thin films, which show in the form of fractals and nanocrystals. Firstly, the extended version of Au/Ge thin films for the fractal crystallization of amorphous Ge and the formation of nanocrystals developed with improved micro- and nanostructured features are described in Section 2. Secondly, the nano/microstructural characteristics of Pd/Ge alloy thin films during annealing have been investigated in detail and described in Section 3. Finally, we will draw the conclusions from the present work as shown in Section 4. It is expected that the preparation methodologies developed and the knowledge of nano/microstructural evolution gained in metal/semiconductor thin films, including Au/Ge bilayer films and Pd-Ge alloy thin films, will provide an important fundamental basis underpinning further interdisciplinary research in these fields such as physics, chemistry, materials science, and nanoscience and nanotechnology, leading to promising exciting opportunities for future technological applications involving these thin films.

Ion induced crystallization and grain growth of hafnium oxide nano-particles in thin-films deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhanunjaya, M.; Khan, S. A.; Pathak, A. P.; Avasthi, D. K.; Nageswara Rao, S. V. S.

2017-12-01

We report on the swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation induced crystallization and grain growth of HfO2 nanoparticles (NPs) within the HfO2 thin-films deposited by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering technique. As grown films consisted of amorphous clusters of non-spherical HfO2 NPs. These amorphous clusters are transformed to crystalline grains under 100 MeV Ag ion irradiation. These crystallites are found to be spherical in shape and are well dispersed within the films. The average size of these crystallites is found to increase with fluence. Pristine and irradiated films have been characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), grazing incident x-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and photo luminescence (PL) measurements. The PL measurements suggested the existence of different types of oxygen related defects in pristine and irradiated samples. The observed results on crystallization and grain growth under the influence of SHI are explained within the framework of thermal spike model. The results are expected to provide useful information for understanding the electronic excitation induced crystallization of nanoparticles and can lead to useful applications in electronic and photonic devices.

Grain Refinement and Mechanical Properties of Cu–Cr–Zr Alloys with Different Nano-Sized TiCp Addition

PubMed Central

Zhang, Dongdong; Bai, Fang; Wang, Yong; Wang, Jinguo; Wang, Wenquan

2017-01-01

The TiCp/Cu master alloy was prepared via thermal explosion reaction. Afterwards, the nano-sized TiCp/Cu master alloy was dispersed by electromagnetic stirring casting into the melting Cu–Cr–Zr alloys to fabricate the nano-sized TiCp-reinforced Cu–Cr–Zr composites. Results show that nano-sized TiCp can effectively refine the grain size of Cu–Cr–Zr alloys. The morphologies of grain in Cu–Cr–Zr composites changed from dendritic grain to equiaxed crystal because of the addition and dispersion of nano-sized TiCp. The grain size decreased from 82 to 28 μm with the nano-sized TiCp content. Compared with Cu–Cr–Zr alloys, the ultimate compressive strength (σUCS) and yield strength (σ0.2) of 4 wt% TiCp-reinforced Cu–Cr–Zr composites increased by 6.7% and 9.4%, respectively. The wear resistance of the nano-sized TiCp-reinforced Cu–Cr–Zr composites increased with the increasing nano-sized TiCp content. The wear loss of the nano-sized TiCp-reinforced Cu–Cr–Zr composites decreased with the increasing TiCp content under abrasive particles. The eletrical conductivity of Cu–Cr–Zr alloys, 2% and 4% nano-sized TiCp-reinforced Cu–Cr–Zr composites are 64.71% IACS, 56.77% IACS and 52.93% IACS, respectively. PMID:28786937

Characterization of Antimicrobial Poly (Lactic Acid)/Nano-Composite Films with Silver and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

PubMed Central

Chu, Zhuangzhuang; Zhao, Tianrui; Li, Lin; Fan, Jian; Qin, Yuyue

2017-01-01

Antimicrobial active films based on poly (lactic acid) (PLA) were prepared with nano-silver (nano-Ag) and nano-zinc oxide (nano-ZnO) using a solvent volatilizing method. The films were characterized for mechanical, structural, thermal, physical and antimicrobial properties. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images characterized the fracture morphology of the films with different contents of nano-Ag and nano-ZnO. The addition of nanoparticles into the pure PLA film decreased the tensile strength and elasticity modulus and increased the elongation of breaks—in other words, the flexibility and extensibility of these composites improved. According to the results of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the glass transition temperature of the PLA nano-composite films decreased, and the crystallinity of these films increased; a similar result was apparent from X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The water vapor permeability (WVP) and opacity of the PLA nano-composite films augmented compared with pure PLA film. Incorporation of nanoparticles to the PLA films significantly improved the antimicrobial activity to inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli. The results indicated that PLA films with nanoparticles could be considered a potential environmental-friendly packaging material. PMID:28773018

In situ oxidation studies on /001/ copper-nickel alloy thin films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heinemann, K.; Rao, D. B.; Douglass, D. L.

1977-01-01

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy studies are reported of (001)-oriented single crystalline thin films of Cu-3%Ni, Cu-4.6%Ni, and Cu-50%Ni alloy which were prepared by vapor deposition onto (001) NaCl substrates and subsequently annealed at around 1100 K and oxidized at 725 K at low oxygen partial pressure. At all alloy concentrations, Cu2O and NiO nucleated and grew independently without the formation of mixed oxides. The shape and growth rates of Cu2O nuclei were similar to rates found earlier. For low-nickel alloy concentrations, the NiO nuclei were larger and the number density of NiO was less than that of Cu-50%Ni films for which the shape and growth rates of NiO were identical to those for pure nickel films. Phenomena involving a reduced induction period, surface precipitation, and through-thickness growth are also described. The results are consistent with previously established oxidation mechanisms for pure copper and pure nickel films.

Film grain synthesis and its application to re-graining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schallauer, Peter; Mörzinger, Roland

2006-01-01

Digital film restoration and special effects compositing require more and more automatic procedures for movie regraining. Missing or inhomogeneous grain decreases perceived quality. For the purpose of grain synthesis an existing texture synthesis algorithm has been evaluated and optimized. We show that this algorithm can produce synthetic grain which is perceptually similar to a given grain template, which has high spatial and temporal variation and which can be applied to multi-spectral images. Furthermore a re-grain application framework is proposed, which synthesises based on an input grain template artificial grain and composites this together with the original image content. Due to its modular approach this framework supports manual as well as automatic re-graining applications. Two example applications are presented, one for re-graining an entire movie and one for fully automatic re-graining of image regions produced by restoration algorithms. Low computational cost of the proposed algorithms allows application in industrial grade software.

Nano-aggregates of cobalt nickel oxysulfide as a high-performance electrode material for supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Lifeng

2013-11-01

Nano-aggregates of cobalt nickel oxysulfide (CoNi)OxSy have been synthesized by hydrothermal processing and exhibited specific and areal capacitance as high as 592 F g-1 and 1628 mF cm-2, respectively, at a current density of 0.5 A g-1/1.375 mA cm-2. They also show high capacitance retention upon extended cycling at high rates.Nano-aggregates of cobalt nickel oxysulfide (CoNi)OxSy have been synthesized by hydrothermal processing and exhibited specific and areal capacitance as high as 592 F g-1 and 1628 mF cm-2, respectively, at a current density of 0.5 A g-1/1.375 mA cm-2. They also show high capacitance retention upon extended cycling at high rates. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental details; supplementary tables. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr03533f

Dynamic studies of nano-confined polymer thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geng, Kun

Polymer thin films with the film thickness (h0 ) below 100 nm often exhibit physical properties different from the bulk counterparts. In order to make the best use of polymer thin films in applications, it is important to understand the physical origins of these deviations. In this dissertation, I will investigate how different factors influence dynamic properties of polymer thin films upon nano-confinement, including glass transition temperature (Tg), effective viscosity (etaeff) and self-diffusion coefficient (D ). The first part of this dissertation concerns the impacts of the molecular weight (MW) and tacticity on the Tg's of nano-confined polymer films. Previous experiments showed that the Tg of polymer films could be depressed or increased as h0 decreases. While these observations are usually attributed to the effects of the interfaces, some experiments suggested that MW's and tacticities might also play a role. To understand the effects of these factors, the Tg's of silica-based poly(alpha-methyl styrene) (PalphaMS/SiOx) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA/SiOx) thin films were studied, and the results suggested that MW's and tacticities influence Tg in nontrivial ways. The second part concerns an effort to resolve the long-standing controversy about the correlation between different dynamics of polymer thin films upon nano-confinement. Firstly, I discuss the experimental results of Tg, D and etaeff of poly(isobutyl methacrylate) films supported by silica (PiBMA/SiOx). Both T g and D were found to be independent of h 0, but etaeff decreased with decreasing h 0. Since both D and etaeff describe transport phenomena known to depend on the local friction coefficient or equivalently the local viscosity, it is questionable why D and etaeff displayed seemingly inconsistent h 0 dependencies. We envisage the different h0 dependencies to be caused by Tg, D and etaeff being different functions of the local T g's (Tg,i) or viscosities (eta i). By assuming a three

Application of nano-TiO2/LDPE composite film on photocatalytic oxidation degradation of dichloromethane.

PubMed

Suwannahong, Kowit; Liengcharernsit, Winai; Sanongraj, Wipada; Kruenate, Jittiporn

2012-09-01

This study focused on the photocatalytic destruction of dichloromethane (DCM) in indoor air using the nano-TiO2/LDPE composite film as an economical photocatalyst. The nano-TiO2 was dispersed in a polyethylene matrix to form composite film. The photocatalytic activity of the nano-TiO2/LDPE composite films was evaluated through the degradation of dichloromethane(DCM) under UV-C irradiance at specific wavelength of 254 nm. The percentage of nano-TiO2 contents varied from 0, 5, and 10% (wt cat./wt LDPE composite film). The results derived from the kinetic model revealed that the photocatalytic rates of 5 and 10 wt.% nano-TiO2/ LDPE composite films follow the first order reaction while the rate of the film without TiO2 followed the zero order reaction. At low concentration of DCM, the rate of photocatalytic degradation of the DCM was slower than that at high DCM concentration. The 10 wt.% of TiO2 content of the nano-TiO2/LDPE composite film yielded the highest degradation efficiency of 78%, followed by the removal efficiency of 55% for the 5 wt.% of TiO2 content of the nano-TiO2/LDPE composite film. In contrast with the composite film containing nano-TiO2, the LDPE film without adding nano-TiO2 expressed the degradation efficiency of 28%.

Grain Refinement and Mechanical Properties of Cu-Cr-Zr Alloys with Different Nano-Sized TiCp Addition.

PubMed

Zhang, Dongdong; Bai, Fang; Wang, Yong; Wang, Jinguo; Wang, Wenquan

2017-08-08

The TiC p /Cu master alloy was prepared via thermal explosion reaction. Afterwards, the nano-sized TiC p /Cu master alloy was dispersed by electromagnetic stirring casting into the melting Cu-Cr-Zr alloys to fabricate the nano-sized TiC p -reinforced Cu-Cr-Zr composites. Results show that nano-sized TiC p can effectively refine the grain size of Cu-Cr-Zr alloys. The morphologies of grain in Cu-Cr-Zr composites changed from dendritic grain to equiaxed crystal because of the addition and dispersion of nano-sized TiC p . The grain size decreased from 82 to 28 μm with the nano-sized TiC p content. Compared with Cu-Cr-Zr alloys, the ultimate compressive strength (σ UCS ) and yield strength (σ 0.2 ) of 4 wt% TiC p -reinforced Cu-Cr-Zr composites increased by 6.7% and 9.4%, respectively. The wear resistance of the nano-sized TiCp-reinforced Cu-Cr-Zr composites increased with the increasing nano-sized TiCp content. The wear loss of the nano-sized TiC p -reinforced Cu-Cr-Zr composites decreased with the increasing TiC p content under abrasive particles. The eletrical conductivity of Cu-Cr-Zr alloys, 2% and 4% nano-sized TiCp-reinforced Cu-Cr-Zr composites are 64.71% IACS, 56.77% IACS and 52.93% IACS, respectively.

Picosecond laser micro/nano surface texturing of nickel for superhydrophobicity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, X. C.; Wang, B.; Xie, H.; Zheng, H. Y.; Lam, Y. C.

2018-03-01

A single step direct picosecond laser texturing process was demonstrated to be able to obtain a superhydrophobic surface on a nickel substrate, a key material for mold fabrication in the manufacture of various devices, including polymeric microfluidic devices. A two-scale hierarchical surface structure of regular 2D array micro-bumps with nano-ripples was produced on a nickel surface. The laser textured surface initially showed superhydrophilicity with almost complete wetting of the structured surface just after laser treatment, then quickly changed to nearly superhydrophobic with a water contact angle (WCA) of 140° in less than 1 d, and finally became superhydrophobic with a WCA of more than 150° and a contact angle hysteresis (CAH) of less than 5°. The mechanism involved in the process is discussed in terms of surface morphology and surface chemistry. The ultra-fast laser induced NiO catalytic effect was thought to play a key role in modifying the surface chemistry so as to lower the surface energy. The developed process has the potential to improve the performance of nickel mold in the fabrication of microfluidic devices.

Microstructural investigation of nickel silicide thin films and the silicide-silicon interface using transmission electron microscopy.

PubMed

Bhaskaran, M; Sriram, S; Mitchell, D R G; Short, K T; Holland, A S; Mitchell, A

2009-01-01

This article discusses the results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM)-based investigation of nickel silicide (NiSi) thin films grown on silicon. Nickel silicide is currently used as the CMOS technology standard for local interconnects and in electrical contacts. Films were characterized with a range of TEM-based techniques along with glancing angle X-ray diffraction. The nickel silicide thin films were formed by vacuum annealing thin films of nickel (50 nm) deposited on (100) silicon. The cross-sectional samples indicated a final silicide thickness of about 110 nm. This investigation studied and reports on three aspects of the thermally formed thin films: the uniformity in composition of the film using jump ratio maps; the nature of the interface using high resolution imaging; and the crystalline orientation of the thin films using selected-area electron diffraction (SAED). The analysis highlighted uniform composition in the thin films, which was also substantiated by spectroscopy techniques; an interface exhibiting the desired abrupt transition from silicide to silicon; and desired and preferential crystalline orientation corresponding to stoichiometric NiSi, supported by glancing angle X-ray diffraction results.

Amorphous nickel incorporated tin oxide thin film transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jianwen; Ren, Jinhua; Lin, Dong; Han, Yanbing; Qu, Mingyue; Pi, Shubin; Fu, Ruofan; Zhang, Qun

2017-09-01

Nickel as a dopant has been proposed to suppress excess carrier concentration in n-type tin oxide based thin film transistors (TFTs). The influences of Ni content on nickel doped tin oxide (TNO) thin films and their corresponding TFTs were investigated with experimental results showing that the TNO thin films are amorphous. Through the comparison of the transfer characteristic curves of the TNO TFTs with different Ni contents, it was observed that Ni doping is useful to improve the performance of SnO2-based TFTs by suppressing the off-state current and shifting the threshold voltage to 0 V. The amorphous TNO TFT with 3.3 at.% Ni content shows optimum performance, with field effect mobility of 8.4 cm2 V-1 s-1, saturation mobility of 6.8 cm2 V-1 s-1, subthreshold swing value of 0.8 V/decade, and an on-off current ratio of 2.1  ×  107. Nevertheless, the bias stress stability of SnO2-based TFTs deteriorate.

Combined TEM and NanoSIMS Analysis of Subgrains in a SiC AB Grain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hynes, K. M.; Amari, S.; Bernatowicz, T. J.; Lebsack, E.; Gyngard, F.; Nittler, L. R.

2011-03-01

We report the results of NanoSIMS and TEM analysis, including isotopic, structural, chemical, and subgrain data, on a SiC AB grain. This grain contains the first oldhamite subgrains observed in a presolar grain, as well as TiC- and Fe-rich subgrains.

Investigation of hydrogen evolution activity for the nickel, nickel-molybdenum nickel-graphite composite and nickel-reduced graphene oxide composite coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jinlong, Lv; Tongxiang, Liang; Chen, Wang

2016-03-01

The nickel, nickel-molybdenum alloy, nickel-graphite and nickel-reduced graphene oxide composite coatings were obtained by the electrodeposition technique from a nickel sulfate bath. Nanocrystalline molybdenum, graphite and reduced graphene oxide in nickel coatings promoted hydrogen evolution reaction in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution at room temperature. However, the nickel-reduced graphene oxide composite coating exhibited the highest electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution at room temperature. A large number of gaps between 'cauliflower' like grains could decrease effective area for hydrogen evolution reaction in slight amorphous nickel-molybdenum alloy. The synergistic effect between nickel and reduced graphene oxide promoted hydrogen evolution, moreover, refined grain in nickel-reduced graphene oxide composite coating and large specific surface of reduced graphene oxide also facilitated hydrogen evolution reaction.

Sensitometric and image analysis of T-grain film.

PubMed

Thunthy, K H; Weinberg, R

1986-08-01

The new Kodak T-grain film is the result of a new technology that makes fast films with high image resolution. The purpose of the investigation was to determine the sensitometric properties and image quality of a T-grain film (T-Mat G) and also to compare this film with a green-sensitive orthochromatic film (Ortho G) and a blue-sensitive film (XRP). The criteria for film evaluation were relative speed, average contrast, exposure latitude, and image resolution. The results showed that the T-Mat G film is twice as fast as the X-Omat RP film and, one and one-third times as fast as the Ortho G film. T-Mat G also produces high resolution and high contrast. This is contrary to the widely held notion that speed is inversely proportional to image quality.

Nonlinear refraction properties of nickel oxide thin films at 800 nm

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

Melo, Ronaldo P. Jr. de; Silva, Blenio J. P. da; Santos, Francisco Eroni P. dos

2009-11-01

Measurements of the nonlinear refractive index, n{sub 2}, of nickel oxide films prepared by controlled oxidation of nickel films deposited on substrates of soda-lime glass are reported. The structure and morphology of the samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and x-ray diffractometry. Samples of excellent optical quality were prepared. The nonlinear measurements were performed using the thermally managed eclipse Z-scan technique at 800 nm. A large value of n{sub 2}approx =10{sup -12} cm{sup 2}/W and negligible nonlinear absorption were obtained.

Development of nano/sub-micron grain structures in metastable austenitic stainless steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajasekhara, Shreyas

2007-12-01

This dissertation is a part of a collaborative work between the University of Texas, Austin-Texas, the University of Oulu, Oulu-Finland, and Outokumpu Stainless Oy, Tornio-Finland, to develop commercial austenitic stainless steels with high strength and ductility. The idea behind this work involves cold-rolling a commercial metastable austenitic stainless steel - AISI 301LN stainless steel to produce strain-induced martensite, followed by an annealing treatment to generate nano/sub-micron grained austenite. AISI 301LN stainless steel sheets are cold-rolled to 63% reduction and subsequently annealed at 600°C, 700°C, 800°C, 900°C and 1000°C for 1, 10 and 100 seconds. The samples are analyzed by X-Ray diffraction, SQUID, transmission electron microscopy, and tensile testing to fundamentally understand the microstructural evolution, the mechanism for the martensite → austenite reversion, the formation of nano/sub-micron austenite grains, and the relationship between the microstructure and the strength obtained in this stainless steel. The results show that cold-rolled AISI 301LN stainless steel consist of dislocation-cell martensite, heavily deformed lath-martensite and austenite shear bands. Subsequent annealing at 600°C for short durations of 1 and 10 seconds leads to negligible martensite to austenite reversion. These 600°C samples exhibit a similar microstructure to the cold-rolled sample. However, for samples annealed at 600°C for 100 seconds and those annealed at higher temperatures (700°C, 800°C, 900°C and 1000°C) exhibit equiaxed austenitic grains of sizes 0.2mum-10mum and secondary phase precipitates. The microstructural analysis also reveals that the martensite → austenite reversion occurs via a diffusion-type reversion mechanism. In this regard, a generalized form of Avrami's equation is used to model the kinetics of martensite → austenite phase reversion. The results from the model agree reasonably well with the experiments. Furthermore

Nano CaCO₃ imprinted starch hybrid polyethylhexylacrylate\\polyvinylalcohol nanocomposite thin films.

PubMed

Prusty, Kalyani; Swain, Sarat K

2016-03-30

Starch hybrid polyethylhexylacrylate (PEHA)/polyvinylalcohol (PVA) nanocomposite thin films are prepared by different composition of nano CaCO3 in aqueous medium. The chemical interaction of nano CaCO3 with PEHA in presence of starch and PVA is investigated by Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). X-ray diffraction (XRD) is used in order to study the change in crystallite size and d-spacing during the formation of nanocomposite thin film. The surface morphology of nanofilms is studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The topology and surface roughness of the films is noticed by atomic force microscope (AFM). The tensile strength, thermal stability and thermal conductivity of films are increased with increase in concentrations of CaCO3 nanopowder. The chemical resistance and biodegradable properties of the nanocomposite thin films are also investigated. The growth of bacteria and fungi in starch hybrid PEHA film is reduced substantially with imprint of nano CaCO3. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On hydrophilicity improvement of the porous anodic alumina film by hybrid nano/micro structuring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Weichao; Zhao, Wei; Wang, Kaige; Wang, Lei; Wang, Xuewen; Wang, Shuang; Zhang, Chen; Bai, Jintao

2017-09-01

In both, laboratory and industry, tremendous attention is paid to discover an effective technique to produce uniform, controllable and (super) hydrophilic surfaces over large areas that are useful in a wide range of applications. In this investigation, by combing porous anodic alumina (PAA) film with nano-structures and microarray of aluminum, the hydrophilicity of hybrid nano-micro structure has been significantly improved. It is found some factors can affect the hydrophilicity of film, such as the size and aspect ratio of microarray, the thickness of nano-PAA film etc. Comparing with pure nano-PAA films and microarray, the hybrid nano-micro structure can provide uniform surface with significantly better hydrophilicity. The improvement can be up to 84%. Also, this technique exhibits good stability and repeatability for industrial production. By optimizing the thickness of nano-PAA film and aspect ratio of micro-structures, super-hydrophilicity can be reached. This study has obvious prospect in the fields of chemical industry, biomedical engineering and lab-on-a-chip applications.

Foliar application with nano-silicon reduced cadmium accumulation in grains by inhibiting cadmium translocation in rice plants.

PubMed

Chen, Rui; Zhang, Changbo; Zhao, Yanling; Huang, Yongchun; Liu, Zhongqi

2018-01-01

Nano-silicon (Si) may be more effective than regular fertilizers in protecting plants from cadmium (Cd) stress. A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of nano-Si on Cd accumulation in grains and other organs of rice plants (Oryza sativa L. cv. Xiangzaoxian 45) grown in Cd-contaminated farmland. Foliar application with 5~25 mM nano-Si at anthesis stage reduced Cd concentrations in grains and rachises at maturity stage by 31.6~64.9 and 36.1~60.8%, respectively. Meanwhile, nano-Si application significantly increased concentrations of potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and iron (Fe) in grains and rachises, but imposed little effect on concentrations of calcium (Ca), zinc (Zn), and manganese (Mn) in them. Uppermost nodes under panicles displayed much higher Cd concentration (4.50~5.53 mg kg -1 ) than other aerial organs. After foliar application with nano-Si, translocation factors (TFs) of Cd ions from the uppermost nodes to rachises significantly declined, but TFs of K, Mg, and Fe from the uppermost nodes to rachises increased significantly. High dose of nano-Si (25 mM) was more effective than low dose of nano-Si in reducing TFs of Cd from roots to the uppermost nodes and from the uppermost nodes to rachises. These findings indicate that nano-Si supply reduces Cd accumulation in grains by inhibiting translocation of Cd and, meanwhile, promoting translocation of K, Mg, and Fe from the uppermost nodes to rachises in rice plants.

Growth of Monolayer Graphene on Nanoscale Copper-Nickel Alloy Thin Films

PubMed Central

Cho, Joon Hyong; Gorman, Jason J.; Na, Seung Ryul; Cullinan, Michael

2017-01-01

Growth of high quality and monolayer graphene on copper thin films on silicon wafers is a promising approach to massive and direct graphene device fabrication in spite of the presence of potential dewetting issues in the copper film during graphene growth. Current work demonstrates roles of a nickel adhesion coupled with the copper film resulting in mitigation of dewetting problem as well as uniform monolayer graphene growth over 97 % coverage on films. The feasibility of monolayer graphene growth on Cu-Ni alloy films as thin as 150 nm in total is also demonstrated. During the graphene growth on Cu-Ni films, the nickel adhesion layer uniformly diffuses into the copper thin film resulting in a Cu-Ni alloy, helping to promote graphene nucleation and large area surface coverage. Furthermore, it was found that the use of extremely thin metal catalyst films also constraint the total amount of carbon that can be absorbed into the film during growth, which helps to eliminate adlayer formation and promote monolayer growth regardless of alloying content, thus improving the monolayer fraction of graphene coverage on the thinner films. These results suggest a path forward for the large scale integration of high quality, monolayer graphene into nanoelectronic and nanomechanical devices. PMID:28669999

Structural, optical and electrical characteristics of nickel oxide thin films synthesised through chemical processing method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akinkuade, Shadrach; Mwankemwa, Benanrd; Nel, Jacqueline; Meyer, Walter

2018-04-01

A simple and cheap chemical deposition method was used to produce a nickel oxide (NiO) thin film on glass substrates from a solution that contained Ni2+ and monoethanolamine. Thermal treatment of the film at temperatures above 350 °C for 1 h caused decomposition of the nickel hydroxide into nickel oxide. Structural, optical and electrical properties of the film were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), spectrophotometry, current-voltage measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The film was found to be polycrystalline with interplanar spacing of 0.241 nm, 0.208 nm and 0.148 nm for (111), (200) and (220) planes respectively, the lattice constant a was found to be 0.417 nm. The film had a porous surface morphology, formed from a network of nanowalls of average thickness of 66.67 nm and 52.00 nm for as-deposited and annealed films respectively. Transmittance of visible light by the as-deposited film was higher and the absorption edge of the film blue-shifted after annealing. The optical band gap of the annealed film was 3.8 eV. Electrical resistivity of the film was 378 Ωm.

Chlorine gas sensing performance of palladium doped nickel ferrite thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, Pratibha; Godbole, R. V.; Bhagwat, Sunita

2016-05-01

NiFe2O4 and Pd:NiFe2O4 (Pd=1 w/o, 3 w/o and 5 w/o) thin films, p-type semiconducting oxides with an inverse spinel structure have been used as a gas sensor to detect chlorine. These films were prepared by spray pyrolysis technique and XRD was used to confirm the structure. The surface morphology was studied using SEM. Magnetization measurements were carried out at room temperature using SQUID VSM, which shows ferrimagnetic behavior of the samples. The reduction in optimum operating temperature and enhancement in response was observed on Pd-incorporation in nickel ferrite thin films. Faster response and recovery characteristic is observed Pd-incorporated nickel ferrite thin films. The long-term stability is evaluated over a period of six months. This feature may be regarded as a significant facet towards their practical application as gas sensors.

Hidden Nickel Deficiency? Nickel Fertilization via Soil Improves Nitrogen Metabolism and Grain Yield in Soybean Genotypes.

PubMed

Siqueira Freitas, Douglas; Wurr Rodak, Bruna; Rodrigues Dos Reis, André; de Barros Reis, Fabio; Soares de Carvalho, Teotonio; Schulze, Joachim; Carbone Carneiro, Marco A; Guimarães Guilherme, Luiz R

2018-01-01

Nickel (Ni)-a component of urease and hydrogenase-was the latest nutrient to be recognized as an essential element for plants. However, to date there are no records of Ni deficiency for annual species cultivated under field conditions, possibly because of the non-appearance of obvious and distinctive symptoms, i.e., a hidden (or latent) deficiency. Soybean, a crop cultivated on soils poor in extractable Ni, has a high dependence on biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), in which Ni plays a key role. Thus, we hypothesized that Ni fertilization in soybean genotypes results in a better nitrogen physiological function and in higher grain production due to the hidden deficiency of this micronutrient. To verify this hypothesis, two simultaneous experiments were carried out, under greenhouse and field conditions, with Ni supply of 0.0 or 0.5 mg of Ni kg -1 of soil. For this, we used 15 soybean genotypes and two soybean isogenic lines (urease positive, Eu3 ; urease activity-null, eu3-a , formerly eu3-e1 ). Plants were evaluated for yield, Ni and N concentration, photosynthesis, and N metabolism. Nickel fertilization resulted in greater grain yield in some genotypes, indicating the hidden deficiency of Ni in both conditions. Yield gains of up to 2.9 g per plant in greenhouse and up to 1,502 kg ha -1 in field conditions were associated with a promoted N metabolism, namely, leaf N concentration, ammonia, ureides, urea, and urease activity, which separated the genotypes into groups of Ni responsiveness. Nickel supply also positively affected photosynthesis in the genotypes, never causing detrimental effects, except for the eu3-a mutant, which due to the absence of ureolytic activity accumulated excess urea in leaves and had reduced yield. In summary, the effect of Ni on the plants was positive and the extent of this effect was controlled by genotype-environment interaction. The application of 0.5 mg kg -1 of Ni resulted in safe levels of this element in grains for human health

Kinetic model for thin film stress including the effect of grain growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chason, Eric; Engwall, A. M.; Rao, Z.; Nishimura, T.

2018-05-01

Residual stress during thin film deposition is affected by the evolution of the microstructure. This can occur because subsurface grain growth directly induces stress in the film and because changing the grain size at the surface affects the stress in new layers as they are deposited. We describe a new model for stress evolution that includes both of these effects. It is used to explain stress in films that grow with extensive grain growth (referred to as zone II) so that the grain size changes throughout the thickness of the layer as the film grows. Equations are derived for different cases of high or low atomic mobility where different assumptions are used to describe the diffusion of atoms that are incorporated into the grain boundary. The model is applied to measurements of stress and grain growth in evaporated Ni films. A single set of model parameters is able to explain stress evolution in films grown at multiple temperatures and growth rates. The model explains why the slope of the curvature measurements changes continuously with thickness and attributes it to the effect of grain size on new layers deposited on the film.

Microstructure and physical properties of nano-biocomposite films based on cassava starch and laponite.

PubMed

Valencia, Germán Ayala; Luciano, Carla Giovana; Lourenço, Rodrigo Vinicius; do Amaral Sobral, Paulo José

2018-02-01

The aim of this research was to study the effects of laponite concentrations on some properties of nano-biocomposite films based on cassava starch, focusing mainly the relation between the properties of the surface microstructure and roughness, water contact angle and gloss. Nano-biocomposite films were produced by casting. We analyzed gloss, color, opacity, water contact angle, crystallinity by X-ray diffraction, and microstructure by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Texture parameters (energy, entropy and fractal dimension) were extracted from micrographs. We observed a great impact of laponite in the morphology of nano-biocomposite films. Texture parameters correlated with surface heterogeneity and roughness. Finally, surface roughness affected the surface hydrophilicity of nano-biocomposite films. Laponite platelets were exfoliated and/or intercalated with amylose and amylopectin chains. This research reports new information on the effects of laponite concentrations on the morphological, optical and wetting properties of nano-biocomposite films aiming future industrial applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Opto-electronic characterizations of oriented nano-structure CdSe film/Si (0 0 1) heterostructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Kotb, M. S.; Al-Waheidi, Jumana Z.; Kotkata, M. F.

2014-05-01

Nano-crystalline CdSe thin films were fabricated by evaporating CdSe nano-powders on glass and p-Si (0 0 1) substrates. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated the hexagonal structure for the growing film along the (0 0 2) plane. The results revealed that the thermally evaporated thin film has a comparatively smoother surface with grain size ˜21 nm. Analysis of the absorption coefficient dependence on the photon energy predicts two direct band-gap values of 2.11 ± 0.02 and 1.71 ± 0.03 eV. On the basis of the Wemple-diDomenico single oscillator model, the values of single oscillator energy (Eu) and oscillator dispersion energy (Ed) found to be 2.71 ± 0.09 and 12.94 ± 0.35 eV, respectively. The photoluminescence measurements show levels at the following values: 1.824, 1.786, 1.682, and 1.617 eV confirming the native defects existence in the gap of CdSe films because of stoichiometric deviation. The forward I-V characteristics of Ni/CdSe/p-Si (0 0 1) structure have been primarily analyzed within the framework of a standard thermionic emission theory over the temperature range of 160-360 K. The characteristic parameters of the Ni/CdSe/p-Si(0 0 1) structure such as barrier height (φb), ideality factor (n), and series resistance (Rs) have been calculated using a method developed by Cheung-Cheung.

Growth and Characteristic of Amorphous Nano-Granular TeO2-V2O5-NiO Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hosseinzadeh, Sh.; Rahmati, A.; Bidadi, H.

2016-12-01

TeO2-V2O5-NiO thin films were deposited using thermal evaporation from 40TeO2-(60-y)V2O5-yNiO (y=0-30mol%) target. Structural analysis of the films was identified by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The amorphous TeO2-V2O5-NiO films have nanosized clear grain structure and sharp grain boundaries. DC conductivity and current-voltage (I-V) characteristic of TeO2-V2O5-NiO thin films were measured in the temperature range of 300-423K. As nickel oxide (NiO) content increases, the DC conductivity decreases up to two orders in value (10-9-10-11Sṡcm-1). Temperature dependence of conductivity is described using the small polaron hopping (SPH) model as well. Poole-Frenkel effect is observed at high external electric field. The optical absorption spectra of the TeO2-V2O5-NiO thin films were recorded in the wavelength range of 380-1100nm. The absorption coefficient revealed bandgap shrinkage (3.01-2.3eV) and band tail widening, due to an increase in NiO content. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was used to determine elemental composition. In TeO2-V2O5-NiO thin films, the NiO content is around fifth of the initial target.

Layer-dependent supercapacitance of graphene films grown by chemical vapor deposition on nickel foam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Wei; Fan, Zhongli; Zeng, Gaofeng; Lai, Zhiping

2013-03-01

High-quality, large-area graphene films with few layers are synthesized on commercial nickel foams under optimal chemical vapor deposition conditions. The number of graphene layers is adjusted by varying the rate of the cooling process. It is found that the capacitive properties of graphene films are related to the number of graphene layers. Owing to the close attachment of graphene films on the nickel substrate and the low charge-transfer resistance, the specific capacitance of thinner graphene films is almost twice that of the thicker ones and remains stable up to 1000 cycles. These results illustrate the potential for developing high-performance graphene-based electrical energy storage devices.

Inkjet-printed p-type nickel oxide thin-film transistor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Hailong; Zhu, Jingguang; Chen, Maosheng; Guo, Tailiang; Li, Fushan

2018-05-01

High-performance inkjet-printed nickel oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) with Al2O3 high-k dielectric have been fabricated using a sol-gel precursor ink. The "coffee ring" effect during the printing process was facilely restrained by modifying the viscosity of the ink to control the outward capillary flow. The impacts on the device performance was studied in detail in consideration of annealing temperature of the nickel oxide film and the properties of dielectric layer. The optimized switching ability of the device were achieved at an annealing temperature of 280 °C on a 50-nm-thick Al2O3 dielectric layer, with a hole mobility of 0.78 cm2/V·s, threshold voltage of -0.6 V and on/off current ratio of 5.3 × 104. The as-printed p-type oxide TFTs show potential application in low-cost, large-area complementary electronic devices.

Electrical and optical properties of sub-10 nm nickel silicide films for silicon solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brahmi, Hatem; Ravipati, Srikanth; Yarali, Milad; Shervin, Shahab; Wang, Weijie; Ryou, Jae-Hyun; Mavrokefalos, Anastassios

2017-01-01

Highly conductive and transparent films of ultra-thin p-type nickel silicide films have been prepared by RF magnetron sputtering of nickel on silicon substrates followed by rapid thermal annealing in an inert environment in the temperature range 400-600 °C. The films are uniform throughout the wafer with thicknesses in the range of 3-6 nm. The electrical and optical properties are presented for nickel silicide films with varying thickness. The Drude-Lorentz model and Fresnel equations were used to calculate the dielectric properties, sheet resistance, absorption and transmission of the films. These ultrathin nickel silicide films have excellent optoelectronic properties for p-type contacts with optical transparencies up to 80% and sheet resistance as low as ~0.15 µΩ cm. Furthermore, it was shown that the use of a simple anti-reflection (AR) coating can recover most of the reflected light approaching the values of a standard Si solar cell with the same AR coating. Overall, the combination of ultra-low thickness, high transmittance, low sheet resistance and ability to recover the reflected light by utilizing standard AR coating makes them ideal for utilization in silicon based photovoltaic technologies as a p-type transparent conductor.

Grain-size-dependent diamond-nondiamond composite films: characterization and field-emission properties.

PubMed

Pradhan, Debabrata; Lin, I Nan

2009-07-01

Diamond films with grain sizes in the range of 5-1000 nm and grain boundaries containing nondiamond carbon are deposited on a silicon substrate by varying the deposition parameters. The overall morphologies of the as-deposited diamond-nondiamond composite films are examined by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, which show a decrease in the surface roughness with a decrease in the diamond grain size. Although the Raman spectra show predominately nondiamond carbon features in the diamond films with smaller grain sizes, glancing-angle X-ray diffraction spectra show the absence of graphitic carbon features and the presence of very small amorphous carbon diffraction features. The CH4 percentage (%) in Ar and H2 plasma during deposition plays a crucial role in the formation of diamond films with different grain sizes and nondiamond carbon contents, which, in turn, determines the field-emission behavior of the corresponding diamond films. The smaller the grain size of the diamond, the lower is the turn-on field for electron emission. A lower turn-on field is obtained from the diamond films deposited with 2-5% CH4 than from the films deposited with either 1% or 7.5% CH4 in the Ar medium. A current density greater than 1 mA/cm2 (at 50 V/microm) is obtained from diamond films deposited with a higher percentage of CH4. A model is suggested for the field-emission mechanism from the diamond-nondiamond composite films with different diamond grain sizes and nondiamond contents.

Rare-earth nickelates RNiO3: thin films and heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Catalano, S.; Gibert, M.; Fowlie, J.; Íñiguez, J.; Triscone, J.-M.; Kreisel, J.

2018-04-01

This review stands in the larger framework of functional materials by focussing on heterostructures of rare-earth nickelates, described by the chemical formula RNiO3 where R is a trivalent rare-earth R  =  La, Pr, Nd, Sm, …, Lu. Nickelates are characterized by a rich phase diagram of structural and physical properties and serve as a benchmark for the physics of phase transitions in correlated oxides where electron–lattice coupling plays a key role. Much of the recent interest in nickelates concerns heterostructures, that is single layers of thin film, multilayers or superlattices, with the general objective of modulating their physical properties through strain control, confinement or interface effects. We will discuss the extensive studies on nickelate heterostructures as well as outline different approaches to tuning and controlling their physical properties and, finally, review application concepts for future devices.

Rare-earth nickelates RNiO3: thin films and heterostructures.

PubMed

Catalano, S; Gibert, M; Fowlie, J; Íñiguez, J; Triscone, J-M; Kreisel, J

2018-04-01

This review stands in the larger framework of functional materials by focussing on heterostructures of rare-earth nickelates, described by the chemical formula RNiO 3 where R is a trivalent rare-earth R  =  La, Pr, Nd, Sm, …, Lu. Nickelates are characterized by a rich phase diagram of structural and physical properties and serve as a benchmark for the physics of phase transitions in correlated oxides where electron-lattice coupling plays a key role. Much of the recent interest in nickelates concerns heterostructures, that is single layers of thin film, multilayers or superlattices, with the general objective of modulating their physical properties through strain control, confinement or interface effects. We will discuss the extensive studies on nickelate heterostructures as well as outline different approaches to tuning and controlling their physical properties and, finally, review application concepts for future devices.

Synthesis of ultra-nano-carbon composite materials with extremely high conductivity by plasma post-treatment process of ultrananocrystalline diamond films

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

Yeh, Chien-Jui; Leou, Keh-Chyang; Manoharan, Divinah

2015-08-24

Needle-like diamond grains encased in nano-graphitic layers are an ideal granular structure of diamond films to achieve high conductivity and superior electron field emission (EFE) properties. This paper describes the plasma post-treatment (ppt) of ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films at low substrate temperature to achieve such a unique granular structure. The CH{sub 4}/N{sub 2} plasma ppt-processed films exhibit high conductivity of σ = 1099 S/cm as well as excellent EFE properties with turn-on field of E{sub 0} = 2.48 V/μm (J{sub e} = 1.0 mA/cm{sup 2} at 6.5 V/μm). The ppt of UNCD film is simple and robust process that is especially useful for device applications.

Correlated XANES, TEM, and NanoSIMS of presolar graphite grains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groopman, Evan E.; Nittler, Larry R.

2018-01-01

We report correlated XANES, TEM, and NanoSIMS measurements of twelve presolar graphite grains extracted from primitive meteorites and for which isotopic data indicate predominantly Type-II supernovae origins. We find continued evidence for isotopic heterogeneities in presolar graphite grains, including the first observation of a radial gradient in the inferred initial 26Al/27Al within a presolar graphite grain. The XANES spectra of these samples show a variety of minor absorbances near the C K-edge, attributable to vinyl-keto, aliphatic, carboxyl, and carbonate molecules, as well as possible damage during sample preparation. Each sample exhibits homogeneous C K-edge XANES spectra within the graphite, however, showing no correlation with isotopic heterogeneities. Gradients in the isotope ratios of C, N, O, and Al could be due to both processes during condensation, e.g., mixing in stellar ejecta and granular transport, and post-condensation effects, such as isotope dilution and exchange with isotopically normal material in the early Solar System or laboratory, the latter of which is a significant issue for high-density presolar graphite grains. It remains unknown whether the mechanisms behind isotope exchange would also affect the local chemistry and therefore the XANES spectra. Ti L-edge XANES from most Ti-rich subgrains match standard spectra for TiC and potentially TiCN. A rare rutile (TiO2) subgrain has been identified, though it lacks the lowest energy L3 peak typically seen in standard spectra. Ca has also been identified by EDXS in TiC subgrains, likely due to the decay of live 44Ti at the time of formation. Future NanoSIMS measurements will determine the variability of initial 44Ti in TiC subgrains, an important constraint on mixing in the ejecta of the grains' parent supernovae.

Temperature effects in accumulation of deuterium and helium at the grain boundaries of a nano-grained tungsten

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaganovich, Igor; Krstic, Predrag; Startsev, Edward

2014-10-01

It has been known that defects in tungsten, in particular at the grain boundaries, are preferable sites for deuterium and helium retention. For the case of the nano-grained boundaries, we study by classical molecular dynamics the cumulative retention of deuterium and helium at impact energies below 100 eV as functions of tungsten temperature at models of the dislocation boundaries. We obtain a strong preference of the retention of the impact particles at the boundaries at high temperature of 1000 K. Support of PPPL LDRD grant acknowledged.

Grain Growth in Nanocrystalline Mg-Al Thin Films

DOE PAGES

Kruska, Karen; Rohatgi, Aashish; Vemuri, Rama S.; ...

2017-10-05

We report that an improved understanding of grain growth kinetics in nanocrystalline materials, and in metals and alloys in general, is of continuing interest to the scientific community. In this study, Mg-Al thin films containing ~10 wt pct Al and with 14.5 nm average grain size were produced by magnetron sputtering and subjected to heat treatments. The grain growth evolution in the early stages of heat treatment at 423 K, 473 K, and 573 K (150 °C, 200 °C, and 300 °C) was observed with transmission electron microscopy and analyzed based upon the classical equation developed by Burke and Turnbull.more » The grain growth exponent was found to be 7 ± 2 and the activation energy for grain growth was 31.1 ± 13.4 kJ/mol, the latter being significantly lower than in bulk Mg-Al alloys. The observed grain growth kinetics are explained by the Al supersaturation in the matrix and the pinning effects of the rapidly forming beta precipitates and possibly shallow grain boundary grooves. In conclusion, the low activation energy is attributed to the rapid surface diffusion which is dominant in thin film systems.« less

Grain Growth in Nanocrystalline Mg-Al Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruska, Karen; Rohatgi, Aashish; Vemuri, Rama S.; Kovarik, Libor; Moser, Trevor H.; Evans, James E.; Browning, Nigel D.

2017-12-01

An improved understanding of grain growth kinetics in nanocrystalline materials, and in metals and alloys in general, is of continuing interest to the scientific community. In this study, Mg-Al thin films containing 10 wt pct Al and with 14.5 nm average grain size were produced by magnetron sputtering and subjected to heat treatments. The grain growth evolution in the early stages of heat treatment at 423 K, 473 K, and 573 K (150 °C, 200 °C, and 300 °C) was observed with transmission electron microscopy and analyzed based upon the classical equation developed by Burke and Turnbull. The grain growth exponent was found to be 7 ± 2 and the activation energy for grain growth was 31.1 ± 13.4 kJ/mol, the latter being significantly lower than in bulk Mg-Al alloys. The observed grain growth kinetics are explained by the Al supersaturation in the matrix and the pinning effects of the rapidly forming beta precipitates and possibly shallow grain boundary grooves. The low activation energy is attributed to the rapid surface diffusion which is dominant in thin film systems.

Evidence for stable grain boundary melt films in experimentally deformed olivine-orthopyroxene rocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Kloe, R.; Drury, M. R.; van Roermund, H. L. M.

The microstructure of olivine-olivine grain boundaries has been studied in experimentally deformed (1200-1227°C, 300MPa) partially molten olivine and olivine-orthopyroxene rocks. In-situ melting produced 1vol% melt in all samples studied. Grain boundary analyses were carried out using a number of transmission electron microscopy techniques. The grain boundary chemistry in undeformed olivine-orthopyroxene starting material showed evidence for the presence of an intergranular phase along some, but not all, of the olivine-olivine boundaries. In the deformed samples, ultrathin Si-rich, Al- and Ca-bearing amorphous films have been observed along all investigated olivine-olivine grain boundaries. The chemistry of the grain boundaries, which is considered to be indicative for the presence of a thin film, was measured with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and energy-filtering imaging. The amorphous nature of the films was confirmed with diffuse dark field imaging, Fresnel fringe imaging, and high-resolution electron microscopy. The films range in thickness from 0.6 to 3.0nm, and EDX analyses show that the presence of Al and Ca is restricted to this ultrathin film along the grain boundaries. Because thin melt films have been observed in all the samples, they are thought to be stable features of the melt microstructure in deformed partially molten rocks. The transition from the occasional presence of films in the undeformed starting material to the general occurrence of the films in deformed materials suggests that deformation promotes the formation and distribution of the films. Alternatively, hot-pressing may be too short for films to develop along all grain boundaries. A difference in creep strength between the studied samples could not be attributed to grain boundary melt films, as these have been found in all deformed samples. However, a weakening effect of grain boundary melt films on olivine rheology could not be ruled out due to the lack of confirmed melt-film

Nano-aggregates of cobalt nickel oxysulfide as a high-performance electrode material for supercapacitors.

PubMed

Liu, Lifeng

2013-12-07

Nano-aggregates of cobalt nickel oxysulfide (CoNi)OxSy have been synthesized by hydrothermal processing and exhibited specific and areal capacitance as high as 592 F g(-1) and 1628 mF cm(-2), respectively, at a current density of 0.5 A g(-1)/1.375 mA cm(-2). They also show high capacitance retention upon extended cycling at high rates.

Fabrication and kinetics study of nano-Al/NiO thermite film by electrophoretic deposition.

PubMed

Zhang, Daixiong; Li, Xueming

2015-05-21

Nano-Al/NiO thermites were successfully prepared as film by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). For the key issue of this EPD, a mixture solvent of ethanol-acetylacetone (1:1 in volume) containing 0.00025 M nitric acid was proved to be a suitable dispersion system for EPD. The kinetics of electrophoretic deposition for both nano-Al and nano-NiO were investigated; the linear relation between deposition weight and deposition time in short time and parabolic relation in prolonged time were observed in both EPDs. The critical transition time between linear deposition kinetics and parabolic deposition kinetics for nano-Al and nano-NiO were 20 and 10 min, respectively. The theoretical calculation of the kinetics of electrophoretic deposition revealed that the equivalence ratio of nano-Al/NiO thermites film would be affected by the behavior of electrophoretic deposition for nano-Al and nano-NiO. The equivalence ratio remained steady when the linear deposition kinetics dominated for both nano-Al and nano-NiO. The equivalence ratio would change with deposition time when deposition kinetics for nano-NiO changed into parabolic kinetics dominated after 10 min. Therefore, the rule was suggested to be suitable for other EPD of bicomposites. We also studied thermodynamic properties of electrophoretic nano-Al/NiO thermites film as well as combustion performance.

Preparation, assessment, and comparison of α-chitin nano-fiber films with different surface charges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yan; Jiang, Jie; Liu, Liang; Zheng, Ke; Yu, Shiyuan; Fan, Yimin

2015-05-01

Chitin nano-fibers with positive and negative charges have been, respectively, produced from partially deacetylated and 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO)-mediated oxidized α-chitin. The average diameters and lengths of the TEMPO-oxidized chitin nano-fibers (TOChN) were 14 ± 4.3 and 190 ± 140 nm, respectively, and the average diameters and lengths of the partially deacetylated chitin nano-fibers (DEChN) were 6 ± 1.7 and 320 ± 105 nm, respectively. A partially deacetylated chitin nano-fiber film (DEChN-F), a TEMPO-mediated and oxidized chitin nano-fiber film (TOChN-F), and a composite film (DE-TO-ChN-F) consisting of a combination of the two were prepared by drying the dispersions at 40 °C. The DEChN-F, TOChN-F, and DE-TO-ChN-F all have similar tensile strengths of approximately 90 MPa; however, the chitosan film (Chitosan-F) had a tensile strength of approximately 30 MPa. In addition, TOChN-F and DE-TO-ChN-F have a thermal weight loss at 210 °C, and DEChN-F has a thermal weight loss at 280 °C. DEChN-F was found to have antimicrobial activity with regards to Escherichia coli. Finally, the chitin nano-fiber films could be slightly degraded by cellulase, which provided a novel biological performance of the chitin nano-material.

Electrodeposited Ni nanowires-track etched P.E.T. composites as selective solar absorbers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lukhwa, R.; Sone, B.; Kotsedi, L.; Madjoe, R.; Maaza, M.

2018-05-01

This contribution reports on the structural, optical and morphological properties of nanostructured flexible solar-thermal selective absorber composites for low temperature applications. The candidate material in the system is consisting of electrodeposited nickel nano-cylinders embedded in track-etched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) host membrane of pore sizes ranging between 0.3-0.8µm supported by conductive nickel thin film of about 0.5µm. PET were irradiated with 11MeV/u high charged xenon (Xe) ions at normal incidence. The tubular and metallic structure of the nickel nano-cylinders within the insulator polymeric host forms a typical ceramic-metal nano-composite "Cermet". The produced material was characterized by the following techniques: X-ray diffraction (XRD) for structural characterization to determine preferred crystallographic structure, and grain size of the materials; Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine surface morphology, particle size, and visual imaging of distribution of structures on the surface of the substrate; Atomic force microscopy (AFM) to characterize surface roughness, surface morphology, and film thickness, and UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer to measure the reflectance, then to determine solar absorption

Voltammetric and impedance behaviours of surface-treated nano-crystalline diamond film electrodes

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

Liu, F. B.; Jing, B.; Cui, Y.

2015-04-15

The electrochemical performances of hydrogen- and oxygen-terminated nano-crystalline diamond film electrodes were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and AC impedance spectroscopy. In addition, the surface morphologies, phase structures, and chemical states of the two diamond films were analysed by scanning probe microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The results indicated that the potential window is narrower for the hydrogen-terminated nano-crystalline diamond film than for the oxygen-terminated one. The diamond film resistance and capacitance of oxygen-terminated diamond film are much larger than those of the hydrogen-terminated diamond film, and the polarization resistances and double-layer capacitance corresponding to oxygen-terminated diamond filmmore » are both one order of magnitude larger than those corresponding to the hydrogen-terminated diamond film. The electrochemical behaviours of the two diamond film electrodes are discussed.« less

Effect of nano-silver hydrogel coating film on deep partial thickness scald model of rabbit.

PubMed

Xi, Peng; Li, Yan; Ge, Xiaojin; Liu, Dandan; Miao, Mingsan

2018-05-01

Observing the effect of nano-silver hydrogel coating film on deep partial thickness scald model of rabbit. We prepared boiling water scalded rabbits with deep II degree scald models and applied high, medium and low doses of nano-silver hydrogel coating film for different time and area. Then we compared the difference of burned paper weight before administration and after administration model burns, burn local skin irritation points infection, skin crusting and scabs from the time, and the impact of local skin tissue morphology. Rabbits deep II degree burn model successful modeling; on day 12, 18, high, medium and low doses of nano-silver hydrogel coating film significantly reduced skin irritation of rabbits infected with the integral value ( P  < 0.01, P  < 0.05); high, medium and low doses of nano-silver hydrogel coating film group significantly decreased skin irritation, infection integral value ( P  < 0.01, P  < 0.05); high, medium and low doses of nano-silver hydrogel coating film significantly reduced film rabbits' scalded skin crusting time ( P  < 0.01), significantly shortened the rabbit skin burns from the scab time ( P  < 0.01), and significantly improved the treatment of skin diseases in rabbits scald model change ( P  < 0.01, P  < 0.05). The nano-silver hydrogel coating film on the deep partial thickness burns has a significant therapeutic effect; external use has a significant role in wound healing.

Effect of lead ion concentration on the structural and optical properties of nano-crystalline PbS thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaman, S.; Mehmood, S. K.; Mansoor, M.; Asim, M. M.

2014-06-01

PbS thin films have received considerable attention because of their potential applications in opto-electronics applications. Spontaneous reaction of lead acetate and thiourea in aqueous hydrazine hydrate has been used for depositing PbS thin films on glass substrates. Structural and optical properties of PbS thin films are greatly influenced by the morality of the reactants and crystal defects in the lattice. Our work focuses on the variation in lead ion concentration and its effect on the structural and optical properties of PbS thin films. The deposited films were analyzed using XRD, SEM, spectrophotometer and dark resistance measurement. XRD patterns indicated the formation of major phase of nano crystalline PbS with minor presence of lead oxide phase. We also noticed that peak intensity ratio of I111/I200 varied by changing the Pb ion concentration. The film thickness and dark resistance increased whereas optical band gap decreased with the decreasing Pb ion concentration. SEM scans showed that the grain size is less than 100 nm and is not affected by varying Pb ion concentration.

Optical method for the determination of grain orientation in films

DOEpatents

Maris, Humphrey J.

2001-01-01

A method for the determination of grain orientation in a film sample is provided comprising the steps of measuring a first transient optical response of the film and determining the contribution to the transient optical response arising from a change in the energy distribution of the electrons in the sample, determining the contribution to the transient optical response arising from a propagating strain pulse within the sample, and determining the contribution to the transient optical response arising from a change in sample temperature of the sample. The grain orientation of the sample may be determined using the contributions to the transient optical response arising from the change in the energy distribution of the electrons, the propagating strain pulse, and the change in sample temperature. Additionally, a method for determination of the thickness of a film sample is provided. The grain orientation of the sample is first determined. The grain orientation, together with the velocity of sound and a propagation time of a strain pulse through the sample are then used to determine the thickness of the film sample.

Optical method for the determination of grain orientation in films

DOEpatents

Maris, Humphrey J.

2003-05-13

A method for the determination of grain orientation in a film sample is provided comprising the steps of measuring a first transient optical response of the film and determining the contribution to the transient optical response arising from a change in the energy distribution of the electrons in the sample, determining the contribution to the transient optical response arising from a propagating strain pulse within the sample, and determining the contribution to the transient optical response arising from a change in sample temperature of the sample. The grain orientation of the sample may be determined using the contributions to the transient optical response arising from the change in the energy distribution of the electrons, the propagating strain pulse, and the change in sample temperature. Additionally, a method for determination of the thickness of a film sample is provided. The grain orientation of the sample is first determined. The grain orientation, together with the velocity of sound and a propagation time of a strain pulse through the sample are then used to determine the thickness of the film sample.

Preparation, assessment, and comparison of α-chitin nano-fiber films with different surface charges.

PubMed

Zhang, Yan; Jiang, Jie; Liu, Liang; Zheng, Ke; Yu, Shiyuan; Fan, Yimin

2015-01-01

Chitin nano-fibers with positive and negative charges have been, respectively, produced from partially deacetylated and 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO)-mediated oxidized α-chitin. The average diameters and lengths of the TEMPO-oxidized chitin nano-fibers (TOChN) were 14 ± 4.3 and 190 ± 140 nm, respectively, and the average diameters and lengths of the partially deacetylated chitin nano-fibers (DEChN) were 6 ± 1.7 and 320 ± 105 nm, respectively. A partially deacetylated chitin nano-fiber film (DEChN-F), a TEMPO-mediated and oxidized chitin nano-fiber film (TOChN-F), and a composite film (DE-TO-ChN-F) consisting of a combination of the two were prepared by drying the dispersions at 40 °C. The DEChN-F, TOChN-F, and DE-TO-ChN-F all have similar tensile strengths of approximately 90 MPa; however, the chitosan film (Chitosan-F) had a tensile strength of approximately 30 MPa. In addition, TOChN-F and DE-TO-ChN-F have a thermal weight loss at 210 °C, and DEChN-F has a thermal weight loss at 280 °C. DEChN-F was found to have antimicrobial activity with regards to Escherichia coli. Finally, the chitin nano-fiber films could be slightly degraded by cellulase, which provided a novel biological performance of the chitin nano-material.

Structural and magnetic studies of Cr doped nickel ferrite thin films

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

Panwar, Kalpana, E-mail: kalpanapanwar99@gmail.com; Department of Physics, Govt. Women Engg. College, Ajmer-305002; Heda, N. L.

We have studied the structural and magnetic properties of Cr doped nickel ferrite thin films deposited on Si (100) and Si (111) using pulsed laser deposition technique. The films were deposited under vacuum and substrate temperature was kept at 700°C. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that films on both substrates have single phase cubic spinel structure. However, the film grown on Si (111) shows better crystalline behavior. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy suggests that films on both substrates have mixed spinel structure. These films show magnetic hysteresis behavior and magnetization value of film on Si (100) is larger than that on Simore » (111). It turns out that structural and magnetic properties of these two films are correlated.« less

Studies on nickel-tungsten oxide thin films

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

Usha, K. S.; Sivakumar, R., E-mail: krsivakumar1979@yahoo.com; Sanjeeviraja, C.

2014-10-15

Nickel-Tungsten oxide (95:5) thin films were prepared by rf sputtering at 200W rf power with various substrate temperatures. X-ray diffraction study reveals the amorphous nature of films. The substrate temperature induced decrease in energy band gap with a maximum transmittance of 71%1 was observed. The Micro-Raman study shows broad peaks at 560 cm{sup −1} and 1100 cm{sup −1} correspond to Ni-O vibration and the peak at 860 cm{sup −1} can be assigned to the vibration of W-O-W bond. Photoluminescence spectra show two peaks centered on 420 nm and 485 nm corresponding to the band edge emission and vacancies created duemore » to the addition of tungsten, respectively.« less

Effect of drying environment on grain size of titanium dioxide nano-powder synthesized via sol-gel method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zandi, Pegah; Hosseini, Elham; Rashchi, Fereshteh

2018-01-01

Titanium dioxide Nano powder has been synthesized from titanium isopropoxide (TTIP) in chloride media by sol-gel method. In this research, the effect of the drying environment, from air to oven drying at 100 °C, calcination time and temperature on nano TiO2 grain size was investigated. The synthesized powder was analyzed by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. Based on the results, the powder has been crystallized in anatase and rutile phases, due to different calcination temperatures. At temperatures above 600 °C, the Titanium dioxide nano powder has been crystallized as rutile. The crystalline structure of titanium dioxide nano powder changed because of the different calcination temperatures and time applied. The average particle size of the powder dried in air was larger than the powder dried in oven. The minimum particle size of the powder dried in air was 50 nm and in the oven was 9 nm, observed and calculated Williamson-Hall equation. All in all, with overall increasing of calcination time and temperature the grain size increased. Moreover, in the case of temperature, after a certain temperature, the grain size became constant and didn't change significantly.

Transparent, flexible supercapacitors from nano-engineered carbon films.

PubMed

Jung, Hyun Young; Karimi, Majid B; Hahm, Myung Gwan; Ajayan, Pulickel M; Jung, Yung Joon

2012-01-01

Here we construct mechanically flexible and optically transparent thin film solid state supercapacitors by assembling nano-engineered carbon electrodes, prepared in porous templates, with morphology of interconnected arrays of complex shapes and porosity. The highly textured graphitic films act as electrode and current collector and integrated with solid polymer electrolyte, function as thin film supercapacitors. The nanostructured electrode morphology and the conformal electrolyte packaging provide enough energy and power density for the devices in addition to excellent mechanical flexibility and optical transparency, making it a unique design in various power delivery applications.

Transparent, flexible supercapacitors from nano-engineered carbon films

PubMed Central

Jung, Hyun Young; Karimi, Majid B.; Hahm, Myung Gwan; Ajayan, Pulickel M.; Jung, Yung Joon

2012-01-01

Here we construct mechanically flexible and optically transparent thin film solid state supercapacitors by assembling nano-engineered carbon electrodes, prepared in porous templates, with morphology of interconnected arrays of complex shapes and porosity. The highly textured graphitic films act as electrode and current collector and integrated with solid polymer electrolyte, function as thin film supercapacitors. The nanostructured electrode morphology and the conformal electrolyte packaging provide enough energy and power density for the devices in addition to excellent mechanical flexibility and optical transparency, making it a unique design in various power delivery applications. PMID:23105970

Transparent, flexible supercapacitors from nano-engineered carbon films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Hyun Young; Karimi, Majid B.; Hahm, Myung Gwan; Ajayan, Pulickel M.; Jung, Yung Joon

2012-10-01

Here we construct mechanically flexible and optically transparent thin film solid state supercapacitors by assembling nano-engineered carbon electrodes, prepared in porous templates, with morphology of interconnected arrays of complex shapes and porosity. The highly textured graphitic films act as electrode and current collector and integrated with solid polymer electrolyte, function as thin film supercapacitors. The nanostructured electrode morphology and the conformal electrolyte packaging provide enough energy and power density for the devices in addition to excellent mechanical flexibility and optical transparency, making it a unique design in various power delivery applications.

Formation of ultra Si/Ti nano thin film for enhancing silicon solar cell efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adam, T.; Dhahi, T. S.; Mohammed, M.; Al-Hajj, A. M.; Hashim, U.

2017-10-01

An alternative electrical source has l has become the major quest of every researchers due to it numerous advantages and applications of power supply and as electronic devices are becoming more and more portable. A highly efficient power supply is become inevitable. Thus. in this study, present ultrasonic based assisted fabrication of electrochemical silicon-Titanium nano thin film by in-house simple technique, uniformly silicon Nano film was fabricated and etched with HF (40%): C2H5OH (99%):1:1, < 20 nm pore diameter of silicon was fabricated. The surface and morphology reveal that the method produce uniform nano silicon porous layer with smaller silicon pores with high etching efficiency. The silicon-Titanium integrated nano porous exhibited excellent observation properties with low reflection index ~ 1.1 compared to silicon alone thin film.

Grain growth mechanism and magnetic properties in L10-FePt thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, W.; Chen, L.

2017-08-01

This paper focuses on the grain growth mechanisms and magnetic properties of FePt thin films during an annealing process. The grain size and grain orientation distribution have been quantitatively investigated by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and the grain growth kinetics of thin films were described by the phenomenological kinetic grain growth model. The results show that the grain growth exponent and activation energy of the FePt thin films were 4.26 and 136 kJ/mol respectively, indicating that the grain growth mechanism is mainly controlled by the stochastic jumping of atoms crossing the grain boundaries. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that disorder-order transformation was concurrent with grain growth during the annealing process, slowing down the velocity of grain growth. The hysteresis loops reveal that the out-of-plane coercivity and squareness is enhanced with increasing annealing temperature and this can be attributed to the improvement of L10-ordered phase volume fraction and texture intensity.

Structural and electrical properties of nickel substituted cadmium ferrite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chethan, B.; Raj Prakash, H. G.; Vijayakumari, S. C.; Ravikiran, Y. T.

2018-05-01

Spinal nano-sized Cadmium ferrite (CD) and Nickel substituted cadmium ferrite (NSCF) were fabricated by sol-gel auto combustion method. The formation of spinal structure of ferrite materials was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The crystallites size of CF and NSCF as determined by Scherrer's formula were found to be 24.73 nm and 17.70 nm respectively. comparative study of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of CF and NSCF revealed tetrahedral absorption bands shifted slightly towards higher frequency where as octahedral bands shifted towards lower frequency side confirming interfacial interaction between Ni and CF. The AC conductivity (σ), loss tangent (tan δ) and complex plane impedance plots for both CF and NSCF are determined at various frequencies ranging from 50 kHz to 5 MHz and comparatively analyzed. The increase in AC conductivity of the NSCF nano particles as compared to CF was explained in the light of hopping model. The impedance measurement of NSCF show presence of a semi-circle corresponding to the grain boundary resistance and hence shows that the conductivity takes place largely through grain boundaries.

An examination of abnormal grain growth in low strain nickel-200

DOE PAGES

Underwood, O.; Madison, J.; Martens, R. M.; ...

2016-06-21

Here, this study offers experimental observation of the effect of low strain conditions (ε < 10%) on abnormal grain growth (AGG) in Nickel-200. At such conditions, stored mechanical energy is low within the microstructure enabling one to observe the impact of increasing mechanical deformation on the early onset of AGG compared to a control, or nondeformed, equivalent sample. The onset of AGG was observed to occur at specific pairings of compressive strain and annealing temperature and an empirical relation describing the influence of thermal exposure and strain content was developed. The evolution of low-Σ coincident site lattice (CSL) boundaries andmore » overall grain size distributions are quantified using electron backscatter diffraction preceding, at onset and during ensuing AGG, whereby possible mechanisms for AGG in the low strain regime are offered and discussed.« less

Scaling behavior of moisture-induced grain degradation in polycrystalline hybrid perovskite thin films

DOE PAGES

Wang, Qi; Chen, Bo; Liu, Ye; ...

2017-01-01

The stability of perovskite solar cells has shown a huge variation with respect to the film process and film morphology, while the underlining mechanism for the morphology-dependent degradation of the perovskite film has remained elusive. Herein, we report a scaling behavior of moisture-induced grain degradation in polycrystalline CH 3NH 3PbI 3 films. The degradation rates of CH 3NH 3PbI 3 films in moisture were shown to be sensitive to the grain sizes. The duration that was needed for different films to degrade by the same percent showed a linear relationship with the grain size, despite the fact that the filmsmore » were formed by five different deposition methods. This scaling behavior can be explained by the degradation along the in-plane direction, which is initiated at the grain boundary (GB). The GBs of CH 3NH 3PbI 3 films consist of an amorphous intergranular layer, which allows quick diffusion of moisture into the perovskite films. It was found that thermal annealing induced surface self-passivation plays a critical role in stabilizing the surfaces of thin films and single crystals by reducing the moisture-sensitive methylammonium ions at the surface. Finally, the determination of the scaling behavior of grain degradation highlights the importance of stabilizing the GBs to improve the stability of perovskite solar cells.« less

Scaling behavior of moisture-induced grain degradation in polycrystalline hybrid perovskite thin films

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

Wang, Qi; Chen, Bo; Liu, Ye

The stability of perovskite solar cells has shown a huge variation with respect to the film process and film morphology, while the underlining mechanism for the morphology-dependent degradation of the perovskite film has remained elusive. Herein, we report a scaling behavior of moisture-induced grain degradation in polycrystalline CH 3NH 3PbI 3 films. The degradation rates of CH 3NH 3PbI 3 films in moisture were shown to be sensitive to the grain sizes. The duration that was needed for different films to degrade by the same percent showed a linear relationship with the grain size, despite the fact that the filmsmore » were formed by five different deposition methods. This scaling behavior can be explained by the degradation along the in-plane direction, which is initiated at the grain boundary (GB). The GBs of CH 3NH 3PbI 3 films consist of an amorphous intergranular layer, which allows quick diffusion of moisture into the perovskite films. It was found that thermal annealing induced surface self-passivation plays a critical role in stabilizing the surfaces of thin films and single crystals by reducing the moisture-sensitive methylammonium ions at the surface. Finally, the determination of the scaling behavior of grain degradation highlights the importance of stabilizing the GBs to improve the stability of perovskite solar cells.« less

Optimized nano-transfersomal films for enhanced sildenafil citrate transdermal delivery: ex vivo and in vivo evaluation

PubMed Central

Badr-Eldin, Shaimaa M; Ahmed, Osamaa AA

2016-01-01

Sildenafil citrate (SLD) is a selective cyclic guanosine monophosphate-specific phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor used for the oral treatment of erectile dysfunction and, more recently, for other indications, including pulmonary hypertension. The challenges facing the oral administration of the drug include poor bioavailability and short duration of action that requires frequent administration. Thus, the objective of this work is to formulate optimized SLD nano-transfersomal transdermal films with enhanced and controlled permeation aiming at surmounting the previously mentioned challenges and hence improving the drug bioavailability. SLD nano-transfersomes were prepared using modified lipid hydration technique. Central composite design was applied for the optimization of SLD nano-transfersomes with minimized vesicular size. The independent variables studied were drug-to-phospholipid molar ratio, surfactant hydrophilic lipophilic balance, and hydration medium pH. The optimized SLD nano-transfersomes were developed and evaluated for vesicular size and morphology and then incorporated into hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose transdermal films. The optimized transfersomes were unilamellar and spherical in shape with vesicular size of 130 nm. The optimized SLD nano-transfersomal films exhibited enhanced ex vivo permeation parameters with controlled profile compared to SLD control films. Furthermore, enhanced bioavailability and extended absorption were demonstrated by SLD nano-transfersomal films as reflected by their significantly higher maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) and area under the curve and longer time to maxi mum plasma concentration (Tmax) compared to control films. These results highlighted the potentiality of optimized SLD nano-transfersomal films to enhance the transdermal permeation and the bioavailability of the drug with the possible consequence of reducing the dose and administration frequency. PMID:27103786

Optimized nano-transfersomal films for enhanced sildenafil citrate transdermal delivery: ex vivo and in vivo evaluation.

PubMed

Badr-Eldin, Shaimaa M; Ahmed, Osamaa Aa

2016-01-01

Sildenafil citrate (SLD) is a selective cyclic guanosine monophosphate-specific phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor used for the oral treatment of erectile dysfunction and, more recently, for other indications, including pulmonary hypertension. The challenges facing the oral administration of the drug include poor bioavailability and short duration of action that requires frequent administration. Thus, the objective of this work is to formulate optimized SLD nano-transfersomal transdermal films with enhanced and controlled permeation aiming at surmounting the previously mentioned challenges and hence improving the drug bioavailability. SLD nano-transfersomes were prepared using modified lipid hydration technique. Central composite design was applied for the optimization of SLD nano-transfersomes with minimized vesicular size. The independent variables studied were drug-to-phospholipid molar ratio, surfactant hydrophilic lipophilic balance, and hydration medium pH. The optimized SLD nano-transfersomes were developed and evaluated for vesicular size and morphology and then incorporated into hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose transdermal films. The optimized transfersomes were unilamellar and spherical in shape with vesicular size of 130 nm. The optimized SLD nano-transfersomal films exhibited enhanced ex vivo permeation parameters with controlled profile compared to SLD control films. Furthermore, enhanced bioavailability and extended absorption were demonstrated by SLD nano-transfersomal films as reflected by their significantly higher maximum plasma concentration (C max) and area under the curve and longer time to maxi mum plasma concentration (T max) compared to control films. These results highlighted the potentiality of optimized SLD nano-transfersomal films to enhance the transdermal permeation and the bioavailability of the drug with the possible consequence of reducing the dose and administration frequency.

Apparatus and method for the determination of grain size in thin films

DOEpatents

Maris, Humphrey J

2000-01-01

A method for the determination of grain size in a thin film sample comprising the steps of measuring first and second changes in the optical response of the thin film, comparing the first and second changes to find the attenuation of a propagating disturbance in the film and associating the attenuation of the disturbance to the grain size of the film. The second change in optical response is time delayed from the first change in optical response.

Apparatus and method for the determination of grain size in thin films

DOEpatents

Maris, Humphrey J

2001-01-01

A method for the determination of grain size in a thin film sample comprising the steps of measuring first and second changes in the optical response of the thin film, comparing the first and second changes to find the attenuation of a propagating disturbance in the film and associating the attenuation of the disturbance to the grain size of the film. The second change in optical response is time delayed from the first change in optical response.

Characterization of polycrystalline nickel cobaltite nanostructures prepared by DC plasma magnetron co-sputtering for gas sensing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammadi, Oday A.; Naji, Noor E.

2018-03-01

In this work, a gas sensor is fabricated from polycrystalline nickel cobaltite nano films deposited on transparent substrates by closed-field unbalanced dual-magnetrons (CFUBDM) co-sputtering technique. Two targets of nickel and cobalt are mounted on the cathode of discharge system and co-sputtered by direct current (DC) argon discharge plasma in presence of oxygen as a reactive gas. The total gas pressure is 0.5 mbar and the mixing ratio of Ar:O2 gases is 5:1. The characterization measurements performed on the prepared films show that their transmittance increases with the incident wavelength, the polycrystalline structure includes 5 crystallographic planes, the average particle size is about 35 nm, the electrical conductivity is linearly increasing with increasing temperature, and the activation energy is about 0.41 eV. These films show high sensitivity to ethanol vapor.

Theory and Device Modeling for Nano-Structured Transistor Channels

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

zinc oxide ( ZnO ) thin film transistors ( TFTs ) that contain nanocrystalline grains on the order of ~20nm. The authors of ref. 1 present results...problem in order to determine the threshold voltage. 15. SUBJECT TERMS nano-structured transistor , mesoscopic, zinc oxide , ZnO , field-effect...and R. Neidhard, “Microwave ZnO Thin - Film Transistors ”, IEEE Electron Dev. Lett. 29, 1024 (2008); doi: 10.1109/LED.2008.2001635.

The Relationship Between Microscopic Grain Surface Structure and the Dynamic Capillary-Driven Advance of Water Films over Individual Dry Natural Sand Grains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kibbey, T. C. G.; Adegbule, A.; Yan, S.

2017-12-01

The movement of nonvolatile solutes in unsaturated porous media at low water contents depends on transport in surface-associated water films. The focus of the work described here was on studying solute movement in water films advancing by capillary forces over initially-dry grain surfaces, to understand how microscopic surface roughness features influence the initial velocity of water film advance. For this work, water containing a non-adsorbing conservative tracer was used to track the movement of advancing water films. A stainless steel capillary tube connected to an external reservoir a fixed distance below the grain surface was used to transmit solution to the grain surface under negative pressure (positive capillary pressure), consistent with conditions that might be expected in the unsaturated zone. The small internal diameter of the capillary prevents solution from draining out of the capillary back into the reservoir. When the capillary is contacted with a grain surface, capillary forces that result from contact between the fluid and the rough grain surface cause water films to wick across the grain surface. Multiple experiments were conducted on the same grain, rotating the grain and varying the capillary contact point around the circumference of the grain. Imaging was conducted at fixed intervals using an automated Extended Depth of Field (EDF) imaging system, and images were analyzed to determine initial velocity. Grain surfaces were then characterized through scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging, using a hybrid stereoscopic reconstruction method designed to extract maximum detail in creating elevation maps of geologic surfaces from tilted pairs of SEM images. The resulting elevation maps were used to relate surface roughness profiles around the grain with initial velocities. Results suggest that velocity varies significant with contact point around an individual grain, and correlates quantitatively with the local grain surface structure

Effect of chromium underlayer on the properties of nano-crystalline diamond films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garratt, E.; AlFaify, S.; Yoshitake, T.; Katamune, Y.; Bowden, M.; Nandasiri, M.; Ghantasala, M.; Mancini, D. C.; Thevuthasan, S.; Kayani, A.

2013-01-01

This paper investigated the effect of chromium underlayer on the structure, microstructure, and composition of the nano-crystalline diamond films. Nano-crystalline diamond thin films were deposited at high temperature in microwave-induced plasma diluted with nitrogen, on single crystal silicon substrate with a thin film of chromium as an underlayer. Characterization of the film was implemented using non-Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy, near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure, x-ray diffraction, and atomic force microscopy. Nanoindentation studies showed that the films deposited on chromium underlayer have higher hardness values compared to those deposited on silicon without an underlayer. Diamond and graphitic phases of the films evaluated by x-ray and optical spectroscopic analyses determined consistency between the sp2 and sp3 phases of carbon in chromium sample to that of diamond grown on silicon. Diffusion of chromium was observed using ion beam analysis which was correlated with the formation of chromium complexes by x-ray diffraction.

The role of grain size and shape in strengthening of dispersion hardened nickel alloys.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilcox, B. A.; Clauer, A. H.

1972-01-01

Thermomechanical processing was used to develop various microstructures in Ni, Ni-2ThO2, Ni-20Cr, Ni-20Cr-2ThO2, Ni-20Cr-10W and Ni-20Cr-10W-2ThO2, and the influence of microstructure on room temperature and elevated temperature strength was investigated. The yield strength at 25 C increased with substructure refinement according to the Hall-Petch relation. It was found that substructure refinement was a much more potent means of strengthening at room temperature than was dispersion hardening. At elevated temperature (1093 C), the most important microstructural feature affecting strength of dispersion hardened nickel alloys was the grain aspect ratio, i.e. grain length, L, divided by grain width,l. The yield strength and creep strength increased linearly with increasing L/l.

Isothermal-desorption-rate measurements in the vicinity of the Curie temperature for H2 chemisorbed on nickel films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shanabarger, M. R.

1979-01-01

Measurements of the isothermal desorption rate of H2 chemisorbed onto polycrystalline nickel films made for temperatures spanning the Curie temperature of the nickel film are presented. Desorption kinetics were followed by measuring the decay of the change in resistance of the nickel film brought about by hydrogen chemisorption after gas-phase H2 had been rapidly evacuated. The desorption rate is found to undergo an anomalous decrease in the vicinity of the Curie temperature, accompanied by an increase in the desorption activation energy and the equilibrium constant for the chemisorbed hydrogen. The results are interpreted in terms of anomalous variations in rate constants for the formation of the precursor molecular adsorbed state and the chemisorbed atomic state due to the phase transition in the nickel. The changes in rate constants are also considered to be in qualitative agreement with theoretical predictions based on a spin coupling between the adatom and the magnetic substrate.

Chirality and grain boundary effects on indentation mechanical properties of graphene coated on nickel foil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Yuping; Lv, Jiajiang; Liu, Sheng

2018-04-01

We investigate chirality and grain boundary (GB) effects on indentation mechanical properties of graphene coated on nickel foil using molecular dynamics simulations. The models of graphene with different chirality angles, different numbers of layers and tilt GBs were established. It was found that the chirality angle of few-layer graphene had a significant effect on the load bearing capacity of graphene/nickel systems, and this turns out to be more significant when the number of layers is greater than one. The enhancement to the contact stiffness, elastic capacity and the load bearing capacity of graphene with tilt GBs was lower than that of pristine graphene.

A comparative study of gelatin and starch-based nano-composite films modified by nano-cellulose and chitosan for food packaging applications.

PubMed

Noorbakhsh-Soltani, S M; Zerafat, M M; Sabbaghi, S

2018-06-01

Environmental concerns have led to extensive research for replacing polymer-based food packaging with bio-nano-composites. In this study, incorporation of nano-cellulose into gelatin and starch matrices is investigated for this purpose. Chitosan is used to improve mechanical, anti-fungal and waterproof properties. Experiments are designed and analyzed using response surface methodology. Nano-Cellulose is synthesized via acid hydrolysis and incorporated in base matrices through wet processing. Also, tensile strength test, food preservation, transparency in visible and UV and water contact angle are performed on the nano-composite films. DSC/TGA and air permeability tests are also performed on the optimal films. The results show that increasing nano-cellulose composition to 10% leads to increase the tensile strength at break to 8121 MN/m 2 and decrease the elongation at break. Also, increasing chitosan composition from 5% to 30% can enhance food preservation up to 15 days. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introducing Overlapping Grain Boundaries in Chemical Vapor Deposited Hexagonal Boron Nitride Monolayer Films

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

We demonstrate the growth of overlapping grain boundaries in continuous, polycrystalline hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayer films via scalable catalytic chemical vapor deposition. Unlike the commonly reported atomically stitched grain boundaries, these overlapping grain boundaries do not consist of defect lines within the monolayer films but are composed of self-sealing bilayer regions of limited width. We characterize this overlapping h-BN grain boundary structure in detail by complementary (scanning) transmission electron microscopy techniques and propose a catalytic growth mechanism linked to the subsurface/bulk of the process catalyst and its boron and nitrogen solubilities. Our data suggest that the overlapping grain boundaries are comparatively resilient against deleterious pinhole formation associated with grain boundary defect lines and thus may reduce detrimental breakdown effects when polycrystalline h-BN monolayer films are used as ultrathin dielectrics, barrier layers, or separation membranes. PMID:28410557

Techniques for Achieving Zero Stress in Thin Films of Iridium, Chromium, and Nickel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Broadway, David M.; O'Dell, Stephen L.; Ramsey, Brian D.; Weimer, Jeffrey

2015-01-01

We examine techniques for achieving zero intrinsic stress in thin films of iridium, chromium, and nickel deposited by magnetron sputter deposition. The intrinsic stress is further correlated to the microstructural features and physical properties such as surface roughness and optical density at a scale appropriate to soft X-ray wavelengths. The examination of the stress in these materials is motivated by efforts to advance the optical performance of light-weight X-ray space telescopes into the regime of sub-arcsecond resolution through various deposition techniques that rely on control of the film stress to values within 10-100 MPa. A characteristic feature of the intrinsic stress behavior in chromium and nickel is their sensitivity to the magnitude and sign of the intrinsic stress with argon gas pressure and deposition rate, including the existence of a critical argon process pressure that results in zero film stress which scales linearly with the atomic mass of the sputtered species. While the effect of stress reversal with argon pressure has been previously reported by Hoffman and others for nickel and chromium, we report this effect for iridium. In addition to stress reversal, we identify zero stress in the optical functioning iridium layer shortly after island coalescence for low process pressures at a film thickness of approximately 35nm. The measurement of the low values of stress during deposition was achieved with the aid of a sensitive in-situ instrument capable of a minimum detectable level of stress, assuming a 35nm thick film, in the range of 0.40-6.0 MPa for <111> oriented crystalline silicon substrate thicknesses of 70-280 microns, respectively.

Spontaneous nano-gap formation in Ag film using NaCl sacrificial layer for Raman enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Min, Kyungchan; Jeon, Wook Jin; Kim, Youngho; Choi, Jae-Young; Yu, Hak Ki

2018-03-01

We report the method of fabrication of nano-gaps (known as hot spots) in Ag thin film using a sodium chloride (NaCl) sacrificial layer for Raman enhancement. The Ag thin film (20-50 nm) on the NaCl sacrificial layer undergoes an interfacial reaction due to the AgCl formed at the interface during water molecule intercalation. The intercalated water molecules can dissolve the NaCl molecules at interfaces and form the ionic state of Na+ and Cl-, promoting the AgCl formation. The Ag atoms can migrate by the driving force of this interfacial reaction, resulting in the formation of nano-size gaps in the film. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering activity of Ag films with nano-size gaps has been investigated using Raman reporter molecules, Rhodamine 6G (R6G).

Evaluation of the adhesion on the nano-scaled polymeric film systems.

PubMed

Park, Tae Sung; Park, Ik Keun; Yoshida, Sanichiro

2017-04-01

We applied scanning acoustic microscopy known as the V(z) curve technique to photoresist thin-film systems for the evaluation of the adhesive strength at the film-substrate interface. Through the measurement of the SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave) velocity, the V(z) curve analysis allows us to quantify the stiffness of the film-substrate interface. In addition, we conducted a nano-scratch test to quantify the ultimate strength of the adhesion through the evaluation of the critical load. To vary the adhesive conditions, we prepared thin-film specimens with three different types of pre-coating surface treatments, i.e., oxygen-plasma bombardment, HMDS (Hexametyldisilazane) treatment and untreated. The magnitudes of the quantified stiffness and ultimate strength are found consistent with each other for all the specimens tested, indicating that the pre-coating surface treatment can strengthen both the stiffness and ultimate strength of the adhesion. The results of this study demonstrate the usefulness of the V(Z) analysis as a nondestructive method to evaluate the adhesion strength of nano-structured thin-film systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impact of nano/micron vegetable carbon black on mechanical, barrier and anti-photooxidation properties of fish gelatin film.

PubMed

Ding, Junsheng; Wu, Xiaomeng; Qi, Xiaona; Guo, Heng; Liu, Anjun; Wang, Wenhang

2018-05-01

In this paper, two kinds of commonly used vegetable carbon black (VCB, 3000 mesh; nano) at 50 g kg -1 concentration (based on dried gelatin) were added to 48 g kg -1 of fish gelatin (GEL) solutions and their effects on mechanical, barrier and anti-photooxidation properties of GEL films were investigated. From the SEM images, it was shown that compared with 3000 mesh VCB (1-2 μm), nano VCB (100-200 nm) made the microstructure of GEL film more compact and more gelatin chains were cross-linked by nano VCB. The addition of nano VCB significantly increased gelatin film strength with the greatest tensile strength of 52.589 MPa and stiffness with the highest Young's modulus of 968.874 MPa, but led to the reduction of film elongation. Also, the VCB presence significantly improved water vapour and oxygen barrier properties of GEL film. Importantly, nano VCB increased GEL film with better UV barrier property due to its stronger UV absorption nature when compared with micron VCB. This property could help in the preservation of oil samples in the photooxidation accelerated test. With improved properties, the nano VCB-reinforced GEL film may have great potential for application in the edible packaging field, especially for the anti-photooxidation property. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Nano-enabled tribological thin film coatings: global patent scenario.

PubMed

Sivudu, Kurva S; Mahajan, Yashwant R; Joshi, Shrikant V

2014-01-01

The aim of this paper is to present current status and future prospects of nano-enabled tribological thin film coatings based on worldwide patent landscape analysis. The study also presents an overview of technological trends by carrying out state-of-the-art literature analysis, including survey of corporate websites. Nanostructured tribological coatings encompass a wide spectrum of nanoscale microstructures, including nanocrystalline, nanolayered, nano-multilayered, nanocomposite, nanogradient structures or their unique combinations, which are composed of single or multi-component phases. The distinct microstructural features of the coatings impart outstanding tribological properties combined with multifunctional attributes to the coated components. Their unique combination of remarkable properties make them ideal candidates for a wide range of applications in diverse fields such as cutting and metalworking tools, biomedical devices, automotive engine components, wear parts, hard disc drives etc. The patent landscape analysis has revealed that nano-enabled tribological thin film coatings have significant potential for commercial applications in view of the lion's share of corporate industry in patenting activity. The largest patent portfolio is held by Japan followed by USA, Germany, Sweden and China. The prominent players involved in this field are Mitsubishi Materials Corp., Sandvik Aktiebolag, Hitachi Ltd., Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd., OC Oerlikon Corp., and so on. The outstanding potential of nanostructured thin film tribological coatings is yet to be fully unravelled and, therefore, immense opportunities are available in future for microstructurally engineered novel coatings to enhance their performance and functionality by many folds.

[Study on anti-coagulant property of radio frequency sputtering nano-sized TiO2 thin films].

PubMed

Tang, Xiaoshan; Li, Da

2010-12-01

Nano-TiO2 thin films were prepared by Radio frequency (RF) sputtering on pyrolytic carbon substrates. The influences of sputtering power on the structure and the surface morphology of TiO2 thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that the TiO2 films change to anatase through the optimum of sputtering power. The mean diameter of nano-particle is about 30 nm. The anti-coagulant property of TiO2 thin films was observed through platelet adhesion in vitro. The result of experiment reveals the amount of thrombus on the TiO2 thin films being much less than that on the pyrolytic carbon. It also indicates that the RF sputtering Nano-sized TiO2 thin films will be a new kind of promising materials applied to artificial heart valve and endovascular stent.

Effect Of Chromium Underlayer On The Properties Of Nano-Crystalline Diamond Films

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

Garratt, Elias; AlFaify, Salem; Yoshitake, T.

2013-01-11

This paper investigated the effect of chromium underlayer on the structure, microstructure and composition of the nano-crystalline diamond films. Nano-crystalline diamond thin films were deposited at high temperature in microwave-induced plasma diluted with nitrogen, on silicon substrate with a thin film of chromium as an underlayer. The composition, structure and microstructure of the deposited layers were analyzed using non-Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry, Raman Spectroscopy, Near-Edge X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure, X-ray Diffraction and Atomic Force Microscopy. Nanoindentation studies showed that the films deposited on chromium underlayer have higher hardness values compared to those deposited on silicon without an underlayer. Diamond and graphiticmore » phases of the films evaluated by x-ray and optical spectroscopic analysis determined consistency between sp2 and sp3 phases of carbon in chromium sample to that of diamond grown on silicon. Diffusion of chromium was observed using ion beam analysis which was correlated with the formation of chromium complexes by x-ray diffraction.« less

Optical Detection and Sizing of Single Nano-Particles Using Continuous Wetting Films

PubMed Central

Hennequin, Yves; McLeod, Euan; Mudanyali, Onur; Migliozzi, Daniel; Ozcan, Aydogan; Dinten, Jean-Marc

2013-01-01

The physical interaction between nano-scale objects and liquid interfaces can create unique optical properties, enhancing the signatures of the objects with sub-wavelength features. Here we show that the evaporation on a wetting substrate of a polymer solution containing sub-micrometer or nano-scale particles creates liquid micro-lenses that arise from the local deformations of the continuous wetting film. These micro-lenses have properties similar to axicon lenses that are known to create beams with a long depth of focus. This enhanced depth of focus allows detection of single nanoparticles using a low magnification microscope objective lens, achieving a relatively wide field-of-view, while also lifting the constraints on precise focusing onto the object plane. Hence, by creating these liquid axicon lenses through spatial deformations of a continuous thin wetting film, we transfer the challenge of imaging individual nano-particles to detecting the light focused by these lenses. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate the detection and sizing of single nano-particles (100 and 200 nm), CpGV granuloviruses as well as Staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria over a wide field of view of e.g., 5.10×3.75 mm2 using a ×5 objective lens with a numerical aperture of 0.15. In addition to conventional lens-based microscopy, this continuous wetting film based approach is also applicable to lensfree computational on-chip imaging, which can be used to detect single nano-particles over a large field-of-view of e.g., >20-30 mm2. These results could be especially useful for high-throughput field-analysis of nano-scale objects using compact and cost-effective microscope designs. PMID:23889001

Effect of grain size on the melting point of confined thin aluminum films

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

Wejrzanowski, Tomasz; Lewandowska, Malgorzata; Sikorski, Krzysztof

2014-10-28

The melting of aluminum thin film was studied by a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation technique. The effect of the grain size and type of confinement was investigated for aluminum film with a constant thickness of 4 nm. The results show that coherent intercrystalline interface suppress the transition of solid aluminum into liquid, while free-surface gives melting point depression. The mechanism of melting of polycrystalline aluminum thin film was investigated. It was found that melting starts at grain boundaries and propagates to grain interiors. The melting point was calculated from the Lindemann index criterion, taking into account only atoms near to grainmore » boundaries. This made it possible to extend melting point calculations to bigger grains, which require a long time (in the MD scale) to be fully molten. The results show that 4 nm thick film of aluminum melts at a temperature lower than the melting point of bulk aluminum (933 K) only when the grain size is reduced to 6 nm.« less

CVD growth of large-grain graphene on Cu(111) thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, David L.; Diederichsen, Kyle M.; Keller, Mark W.

2013-03-01

Chemical vapor deposition of graphene on polycrystalline Cu foils has produced high quality films with carrier mobility approaching that of exfoliated graphene. Growth on single-crystal films of Cu has received less attention, despite its potential advantages for graphene quality and its importance for eventual applications. This is likely due to the difficulty of obtaining large (>= 1 mm) grains in Cu thin films, as well as dewetting and roughening of Cu films at temperatures near the Cu melting point (1084 C). We found that 450 nm of Cu(111), epitaxially grown by sputtering onto Al2O3(0001), formed > 1 mm grains when annealed at 1065 C for 40 minutes in 40 Torr of Ar and 2.5 mTorr of H2. After this annealing, adding 3 mTorr of CH4 for 8 minutes produced a monolayer graphene film covering > 99 % of the Cu surface. Stopping growth after 4 minutes produced dendritic graphene islands with 6-fold symmetry and diameter of 20 μm to 100 μm . After growth, the Cu film remained smooth except for thermal grooving at grain boundaries and a few holes of diameter ~ 10 μm where Cu dewetted completely (~ 10 holes on each 5 mm x 6 mm chip).

Modulating crystal grain size and optoelectronic properties of perovskite films for solar cells by reaction temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Xiaodong; Yang, Zhou; Yang, Dong; Zhang, Xu; Cui, Dong; Liu, Yucheng; Wei, Qingbo; Fan, Haibo; Liu, Shengzhong (Frank)

2016-02-01

Regulating the temperature during the direction contact and intercalation process (DCIP) for the transition from PbI2 to CH3NH3PbI3 modulated the crystallinity, crystal grain size and crystal grain orientation of the perovskite films. Higher temperatures produced perovskite films with better crystallinity, larger grain size, and better photovoltaic performance. The best cell, which had a PCE of 12.9%, was obtained on a film prepared at 200 °C. Further open circuit voltage decay and film resistance characterization revealed that the larger grain size contributed to longer carrier lifetime and smaller carrier transport resistance, both of which are beneficial for solar cell devices.Regulating the temperature during the direction contact and intercalation process (DCIP) for the transition from PbI2 to CH3NH3PbI3 modulated the crystallinity, crystal grain size and crystal grain orientation of the perovskite films. Higher temperatures produced perovskite films with better crystallinity, larger grain size, and better photovoltaic performance. The best cell, which had a PCE of 12.9%, was obtained on a film prepared at 200 °C. Further open circuit voltage decay and film resistance characterization revealed that the larger grain size contributed to longer carrier lifetime and smaller carrier transport resistance, both of which are beneficial for solar cell devices. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: XRD patterns and statistic results of solar cell performance. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr08935b

Nano-volcanic Eruption of Silver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Shih-Kang; Nagao, Shijo; Yokoi, Emi; Oh, Chulmin; Zhang, Hao; Liu, Yu-Chen; Lin, Shih-Guei; Suganuma, Katsuaki

2016-10-01

Silver (Ag) is one of the seven metals of antiquity and an important engineering material in the electronic, medical, and chemical industries because of its unique noble and catalytic properties. Ag thin films are extensively used in modern electronics primarily because of their oxidation-resistance. Here we report a novel phenomenon of Ag nano-volcanic eruption that is caused by interactions between Ag and oxygen (O). It involves grain boundary liquation, the ejection of transient Ag-O fluids through grain boundaries, and the decomposition of Ag-O fluids into O2 gas and suspended Ag and Ag2O clusters. Subsequent coating with re-deposited Ag-O and the de-alloying of O yield a conformal amorphous Ag coating. Patterned Ag hillock arrays and direct Ag-to-Ag bonding can be formed by the homogenous crystallization of amorphous coatings. The Ag “nano-volcanic eruption” mechanism is elaborated, shedding light on a new mechanism of hillock formation and new applications of amorphous Ag coatings.

Nano-volcanic Eruption of Silver.

PubMed

Lin, Shih-Kang; Nagao, Shijo; Yokoi, Emi; Oh, Chulmin; Zhang, Hao; Liu, Yu-Chen; Lin, Shih-Guei; Suganuma, Katsuaki

2016-10-05

Silver (Ag) is one of the seven metals of antiquity and an important engineering material in the electronic, medical, and chemical industries because of its unique noble and catalytic properties. Ag thin films are extensively used in modern electronics primarily because of their oxidation-resistance. Here we report a novel phenomenon of Ag nano-volcanic eruption that is caused by interactions between Ag and oxygen (O). It involves grain boundary liquation, the ejection of transient Ag-O fluids through grain boundaries, and the decomposition of Ag-O fluids into O 2 gas and suspended Ag and Ag 2 O clusters. Subsequent coating with re-deposited Ag-O and the de-alloying of O yield a conformal amorphous Ag coating. Patterned Ag hillock arrays and direct Ag-to-Ag bonding can be formed by the homogenous crystallization of amorphous coatings. The Ag "nano-volcanic eruption" mechanism is elaborated, shedding light on a new mechanism of hillock formation and new applications of amorphous Ag coatings.

Investigation of bioactivity and cell effects of nano-porous sol-gel derived bioactive glass film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Zhijun; Ji, Huijiao; Hu, Xiaomeng; Teng, Yu; Zhao, Guiyun; Mo, Lijuan; Zhao, Xiaoli; Chen, Weibo; Qiu, Jianrong; Zhang, Ming

2013-11-01

In orthopedic surgery, bioactive glass film coating is extensively studied to improve the synthetic performance of orthopedic implants. A lot of investigations have confirmed that nano-porous structure in bioactive glasses can remarkably improve their bioactivity. Nevertheless, researches on preparation of nano-porous bioactive glasses in the form of film coating and their cell response activities are scarce. Herein, we report the preparation of nano-porous bioactive glass film on commercial glass slide based on a sol-gel technique, together with the evaluation of its in vitro bioactivity through immersion in simulated body fluid and monitoring the precipitation of apatite-like layer. Cell responses of the samples, including attachment, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation, were also investigated using BMSCS (bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells) as a model. The results presented here provide some basic information on structural influence of bioactive glass film on the improvement of bioactivity and cellular effects.

Anodically Grown Binder-Free Nickel Hexacyanoferrate Film: Toward Efficient Water Reduction and Hexacyanoferrate Film Based Full Device for Overall Water Splitting.

PubMed

Bui, Hoa Thi; Shrestha, Nabeen K; Khadtare, Shubhangi; Bathula, Chinna D; Giebeler, Lars; Noh, Yong-Young; Han, Sung-Hwan

2017-05-31

One of the challenges in obtaining hydrogen economically by electrochemical water splitting is to identify and substitute cost-effective earth-abundant materials for the traditionally used precious-metal-based water-splitting electrocatalysts. Herein, we report the electrochemical formation of a thin film of nickel-based Prussian blue analogue hexacyanoferrate (Ni-HCF) through the anodization of a nickel substrate in ferricyanide electrolyte. As compared to the traditionally used Nafion-binder-based bulk film, the anodically obtained binder-free Ni-HCF film demonstrates superior performance in the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which is highly competitive with that shown by a Pt-plate electrode. The HER onset and the benchmark cathodic current density of 10 mA cm -2 were achieved at small overpotentials of 15 mV and 0.2 V (not iR-corrected), respectively, in 1 M KOH electrolyte, together with the long-term electrochemical durability of the film. Further, a metal-HCF-electrode-based full water-splitting device consisting of the binder-free Ni-HCF film on a Ni plate and a one-dimensional Co-HCF film on carbon paper as the electrodes for the HER and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), respectively, was designed and was found to demonstrate very promising performance for overall water splitting.

Nucleation and Growth of Crystalline Grains in RF-Sputtered TiO 2 Films

DOE PAGES

Johnson, J. C.; Ahrenkiel, S. P.; Dutta, P.; ...

2009-01-01

Amore » morphous TiO 2 thin films were radio frequency sputtered onto siliconmonoxide and carbon support films on molybdenum transmission electron microscope (TEM) grids and observed during in situ annealing in a TEM heating stage at 250 ∘ C. The evolution of crystallization is consistent with a classical model of homogeneous nucleation and isotropic grain growth. The two-dimensional grain morphology of the TEM foil allowed straightforward recognition of amorphous and crystallized regions of the films, for measurement of crystalline volume fraction and grain number density. By assuming that the kinetic parameters remain constant beyond the onset of crystallization, the final average grain size was computed, using an analytical extrapolation to the fully crystallized state. Electron diffraction reveals a predominance of the anatase crystallographic phase.« less

Influence of iron doping on tetravalent nickel content in catalytic oxygen evolving films

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

Li, Nancy; Bediako, D. Kwabena; Hadt, Ryan G.

2017-01-30

Iron doping of nickel oxide films results in enhanced activity for promoting the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Whereas this enhanced activity has been ascribed to a unique iron site within the nickel oxide matrix, we show here that Fe doping influences the Ni valency. The percent of Fe3+ doping promotes the formation of formal Ni4+, which in turn directly correlates with an enhanced activity of the catalyst in promoting OER. The role of Fe3+ is consistent with its behavior as a superior Lewis acid.

Kinetic research on dechlorinating dichlorobenzene in aqueous system by nano-scale nickel/iron loaded with CMC/NFC hydrogel.

PubMed

Wan, Xiao-Fang; Guo, Congbao; Liu, Yu; Chai, Xin-Sheng; Li, Youming; Chen, Guangxue

2018-03-01

In this study, we reported on the nano-scale nickel/iron particles loaded in carboxymethyl/nanofibrillated cellulose (CMC/NFC) hydrogel for the dechlorination of o-dichlorobenzene (DCB) in aqueous solution. The biodegradable hydrogel may provide an ideal supporting material for fastening the bimetallic nano-scale particles, which was examined and characterized by TEM, SEM-EDX, FT-IR and BET. The performance of the selected bimetallic particles was evaluated by conducting the dechlorination of DCB in the solution under different reaction conditions (e.g., pH, dosage of nickel/iron nanoparticles and temperature). The results showed that about 70% of DCB could be dechlorinated at 20 °C in 8 h, which indicated that the immobilized reactive material had a high reduction activity when Ni/Fe loading dosage in the hydrogel (18 wt%) was considered. Moreover, the reduction behavior agreed to the pseudo-first order reaction, in which the dechlorination rate was irrelative to the pH aqueous solution. A kinetic model for predicting the concentration of DCB during the reduction reaction was established based on the experimental data. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nanoscale Investigation of Grain Growth in RF-Sputtered Indium Tin Oxide Thin Films by Scanning Probe Microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamsal, B. S.; Dubey, M.; Swaminathan, V.; Huh, Y.; Galipeau, D.; Qiao, Q.; Fan, Q. H.

2014-11-01

This work studied the electronic characteristics of the grains and grain boundaries of indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films using electrostatic and Kelvin probe force microscopy. Two types of ITO films were compared, deposited using radiofrequency magnetron sputtering in pure argon or 99% argon + 1% oxygen, respectively. The average grain size and surface roughness increased with substrate temperature for the films deposited in pure argon. With the addition of 1% oxygen, the increase in the grain size was inhibited above 150°C, which was suggested to be due to passivation of the grains by the excess oxygen. Electrostatic force microscopy and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) images confirmed that the grain growth was defect mediated and occurred at defective interfaces at high temperatures. Films deposited at room temperature with 1% oxygen showed crystalline nature, while films deposited with pure argon at room temperature were amorphous as observed from KPFM images. The potential drop across the grain and grain boundary was determined by taking surface potential line profiles to evaluate the electronic properties.

Structurally Oriented Nano-Sheets in Co Thin Films: Changing Their Anisotropic Physical Properties by Thermally-Induced Relaxation

PubMed Central

Vergara, José; Favieres, Cristina; Magén, César; de Teresa, José María; Ibarra, Manuel Ricardo

2017-01-01

We show how nanocrystalline Co films formed by separated oblique nano-sheets display anisotropy in their resistivity, magnetization process, surface nano-morphology and optical transmission. After performing a heat treatment at 270 °C, these anisotropies decrease. This loss has been monitored measuring the resistivity as a function of temperature. The resistivity measured parallel to the direction of the nano-sheets has been constant up to 270 °C, but it decreases when measured perpendicular to the nano-sheets. This suggests the existence of a structural relaxation, which produces the change of the Co nano-sheets during annealing. The changes in the nano-morphology and the local chemical composition of the films at the nanoscale after heating above 270 °C have been analysed by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Thus, an approach and coalescence of the nano-sheets have been directly visualized. The spectrum of activation energies of this structural relaxation has indicated that the coalescence of the nano-sheets has taken place between 1.2 and 1.7 eV. In addition, an increase in the size of the nano-crystals has occurred in the samples annealed at 400 °C. This study may be relevant for the application in devices working, for example, in the GHz range and to achieve the retention of the anisotropy of these films at higher temperatures. PMID:29206155

Structurally Oriented Nano-Sheets in Co Thin Films: Changing Their Anisotropic Physical Properties by Thermally-Induced Relaxation.

PubMed

Vergara, José; Favieres, Cristina; Magén, César; de Teresa, José María; Ibarra, Manuel Ricardo; Madurga, Vicente

2017-12-05

We show how nanocrystalline Co films formed by separated oblique nano-sheets display anisotropy in their resistivity, magnetization process, surface nano-morphology and optical transmission. After performing a heat treatment at 270 °C, these anisotropies decrease. This loss has been monitored measuring the resistivity as a function of temperature. The resistivity measured parallel to the direction of the nano-sheets has been constant up to 270 °C, but it decreases when measured perpendicular to the nano-sheets. This suggests the existence of a structural relaxation, which produces the change of the Co nano-sheets during annealing. The changes in the nano-morphology and the local chemical composition of the films at the nanoscale after heating above 270 °C have been analysed by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Thus, an approach and coalescence of the nano-sheets have been directly visualized. The spectrum of activation energies of this structural relaxation has indicated that the coalescence of the nano-sheets has taken place between 1.2 and 1.7 eV. In addition, an increase in the size of the nano-crystals has occurred in the samples annealed at 400 °C. This study may be relevant for the application in devices working, for example, in the GHz range and to achieve the retention of the anisotropy of these films at higher temperatures.

Fabrication of resonant patterns using thermal nano-imprint lithography for thin-film photovoltaic applications.

PubMed

Khaleque, Tanzina; Svavarsson, Halldor Gudfinnur; Magnusson, Robert

2013-07-01

A single-step, low-cost fabrication method to generate resonant nano-grating patterns on poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA; plexiglas) substrates using thermal nano-imprint lithography is reported. A guided-mode resonant structure is obtained by subsequent deposition of thin films of transparent conductive oxide and amorphous silicon on the imprinted area. Referenced to equivalent planar structures, around 25% and 45% integrated optical absorbance enhancement is observed over the 450-nm to 900-nm wavelength range in one- and two-dimensional patterned samples, respectively. The fabricated elements provided have 300-nm periods. Thermally imprinted thermoplastic substrates hold potential for low-cost fabrication of nano-patterned thin-film solar cells for efficient light management.

Synthesis and characterization of cobalt doped nickel oxide thin films by spray pyrolysis method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sathisha, D.; Naik, K. Gopalakrishna

2018-05-01

Cobalt (Co) doped nickel oxide (NiO) thin films were deposited on glass substrates at a temperature of about 400 °C by spray pyrolysis method. The effect of Co doping concentration on structural, optical and compositional properties of NiO thin films was investigated. X-ray diffraction result shows that the deposited thin films are polycrystalline in nature. Surface morphologies of the deposited thin films were observed by FESEM and AFM. EDS spectra showed the incorporation of Co dopants in NiO thin films. Optical properties of the grown thin films were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy. It was found that the optical band gap energy and transmittance of the films decrease with increasing Co doping concentration.

Film Grain-Size Related Long-Term Stability of Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells.

PubMed

Chiang, Chien-Hung; Wu, Chun-Guey

2016-09-22

The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the perovskite solar cell is high enough to be commercially viable. The next important issue is the stability of the device. This article discusses the effect of the perovskite grain-size on the long-term stability of inverted perovskite solar cells. Perovskite films composed of various sizes of grains were prepared by controlling the solvent annealing time. The grain-size related stability of the inverted cells was investigated both in ambient atmosphere at relative humidity of approximately 30-40 % and in a nitrogen filled glove box (H 2 O<0.1 ppm, O 2 <10 ppm). The PCE of the solar cell based on a perovskite film having the grain size larger than 1 μm (D-10) decreases less than 10 % with storage in a glove box and less than 15 % when it was stored under an ambient atmosphere for 30 days. However, the cell using the perovskite film composed of small (∼100 nm) perovskite grains (D-0) exhibits complete loss of PCE after storage under the ambient atmosphere for only 15 days and a PCE loss of up to 70 % with storage in the glove box for 30 days. These results suggest that, even under H 2 O-free conditions, the chemical- and thermal-induced production of pin holes at the grain boundaries of the perovskite film could be the reason for long-term instability of inverted perovskite solar cells. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Influence of iron doping on tetravalent nickel content in catalytic oxygen evolving films

PubMed Central

Li, Nancy; Bediako, D. Kwabena; Hadt, Ryan G.; Hayes, Dugan; Kempa, Thomas J.; von Cube, Felix; Bell, David C.; Chen, Lin X.; Nocera, Daniel G.

2017-01-01

Iron doping of nickel oxide films results in enhanced activity for promoting the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Whereas this enhanced activity has been ascribed to a unique iron site within the nickel oxide matrix, we show here that Fe doping influences the Ni valency. The percent of Fe3+ doping promotes the formation of formal Ni4+, which in turn directly correlates with an enhanced activity of the catalyst in promoting OER. The role of Fe3+ is consistent with its behavior as a superior Lewis acid. PMID:28137835

Self-cleaning poly(dimethylsiloxane) film with functional micro/nano hierarchical structures.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiao-Sheng; Zhu, Fu-Yun; Han, Meng-Di; Sun, Xu-Ming; Peng, Xu-Hua; Zhang, Hai-Xia

2013-08-27

This paper reports a novel single-step wafer-level fabrication of superhydrophobic micro/nano dual-scale (MNDS) poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) films. The MNDS PDMS films were replicated directly from an ultralow-surface-energy silicon substrate at high temperature without any surfactant coating, achieving high precision. An improved deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) process with enhanced passivation steps was proposed to easily realize the ultralow-surface-energy MNDS silicon substrate and also utilized as a post-treatment process to strengthen the hydrophobicity of the MNDS PDMS film. The chemical modification of this enhanced passivation step to the surface energy has been studied by density functional theory, which is also the first investigation of C4F8 plasma treatment at molecular level by using first-principle calculations. From the results of a systematic study on the effect of key process parameters (i.e., baking temperature and time) on PDMS replication, insight into the interaction of hierarchical multiscale structures of polymeric materials during the micro/nano integrated fabrication process is experimentally obtained for the first time. Finite element simulation has been employed to illustrate this new phenomenon. Additionally, hierarchical PDMS pyramid arrays and V-shaped grooves have been developed and are intended for applications as functional structures for a light-absorption coating layer and directional transport of liquid droplets, respectively. This stable, self-cleaning PDMS film with functional micro/nano hierarchical structures, which is fabricated through a wafer-level single-step fabrication process using a reusable silicon mold, shows attractive potential for future applications in micro/nanodevices, especially in micro/nanofluidics.

Laboratory analogues simulating Titan's atmospheric aerosols: Compared chemical compositions of grains and thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrasco, Nathalie; Jomard, François; Vigneron, Jackie; Etcheberry, Arnaud; Cernogora, Guy

2016-09-01

Two sorts of solid organic samples can be produced in laboratory experiments simulating Titan's atmospheric reactivity: grains in the volume and thin films on the reactor walls. We expect that grains are more representative of Titan's atmospheric aerosols, but films are used to provide optical indices for radiative models of Titan's atmosphere. The aim of the present study is to address if these two sorts of analogues are chemically equivalent or not, when produced in the same N2-CH4 plasma discharge. The chemical compositions of both these materials are measured by using elemental analysis, XPS analysis and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry. The main parameter probed is the CH4/N2 ratio to explore various possible chemical regimes. We find that films are homogeneous but significantly less rich in nitrogen and hydrogen than grains produced in the same experimental conditions. This surprising difference in their chemical compositions could be explained by the efficient etching occurring on the films, which stay in the discharge during the whole plasma duration, whereas the grains are ejected after a few minutes. The higher nitrogen content in the grains possibly involves a higher optical absorption than the one measured on the films, with a possible impact on Titan's radiative models.

Detection of low-contrast images in film-grain noise.

PubMed

Naderi, F; Sawchuk, A A

1978-09-15

When low contrast photographic images are digitized by a very small aperture, extreme film-grain noise almost completely obliterates the image information. Using a large aperture to average out the noise destroys the fine details of the image. In these situations conventional statistical restoration techniques have little effect, and well chosen heuristic algorithms have yielded better results. In this paper we analyze the noisecheating algorithm of Zweig et al. [J. Opt. Soc. Am. 65, 1347 (1975)] and show that it can be justified by classical maximum-likelihood detection theory. A more general algorithm applicable to a broader class of images is then developed by considering the signal-dependent nature of film-grain noise. Finally, a Bayesian detection algorithm with improved performance is presented.

Strain Amount Dependent Grain Size and Orientation Developments during Hot Compression of a Polycrystalline Nickel Based Superalloy

PubMed Central

He, Guoai; Tan, Liming; Liu, Feng; Huang, Lan; Huang, Zaiwang; Jiang, Liang

2017-01-01

Controlling grain size in polycrystalline nickel base superalloy is vital for obtaining required mechanical properties. Typically, a uniform and fine grain size is required throughout forging process to realize the superplastic deformation. Strain amount occupied a dominant position in manipulating the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) process and regulating the grain size of the alloy during hot forging. In this article, the high-throughput double cone specimen was introduced to yield wide-range strain in a single sample. Continuous variations of effective strain ranging from 0.23 to 1.65 across the whole sample were achieved after reaching a height reduction of 70%. Grain size is measured to be decreased from the edge to the center of specimen with increase of effective strain. Small misorientation tended to generate near the grain boundaries, which was manifested as piled-up dislocation in micromechanics. After the dislocation density reached a critical value, DRX progress would be initiated at higher deformation region, leading to the refinement of grain size. During this process, the transformations from low angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) to high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) and from subgrains to DRX grains are found to occur. After the accomplishment of DRX progress, the neonatal grains are presented as having similar orientation inside the grain boundary. PMID:28772514

The effect of gap fluctuations on interacting and non-interacting polarization for nano-superconducting grains in electron- and hole-doped cuprates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afzali, R.; Alizadeh, A.

2017-12-01

The behavior of non-interacting and interacting polarization under influence of fluctuations of the superconducting gap with D-wave symmetry and under consideration of the gap dependence on nano- grain size is obtained in terms of the frequency, temperature and the size at zero and finite temperatures for rectangular cuprate nano-superconducting grains. By using Eliashberg equations and applying the relations of the fermionic dispersion for the hole-doped and electron-doped cuprates, we numerically compute the real part of size-dependent polarization for both types of cuprates. We show that the peak of real part of polarization moves to higher frequency by including the additional fluctuating part of gap (or the nano-size effect). Also, we obtain the temperatures for different frequencies, in which the effect of gap fluctuations fades. In the case of size-dependent gap, there is a critical frequency; for frequencies lower (higher) than the critical frequency, the nano-effect weakens (improves) the superconducting state. Moreover, it is concluded that the real part of polarization for hole- doped cuprates in terms of the grain size has more significant amount in comparison with electron-doped ones.

Fabrication, ultra-structure characterization and in vitro studies of RF magnetron sputter deposited nano-hydroxyapatite thin films for biomedical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Surmeneva, Maria A.; Surmenev, Roman A.; Nikonova, Yulia A.; Selezneva, Irina I.; Ivanova, Anna A.; Putlyaev, Valery I.; Prymak, Oleg; Epple, Matthias

2014-10-01

A series of nanostructured low-crystalline hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings averaging 170, 250, and 440 nm in thickness were deposited onto previously etched titanium substrates through radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The HA coatings were analyzed using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM). Cross sections of the thin specimens were prepared by FIB to study the microstructure of the coatings by TEM. The deposition process formed nano-scale grains, generating an amorphous layer at the substrate/coating interface and inducing the growth of a columnar grain structure perpendicular to the substrate surface. A microstructural analysis of the film confirmed that the grain size and crystallinity increased when increasing the deposition time. The nanostructured HA coatings were not cytotoxic, as proven by in vitro assays using primary dental pulp stem cells and mouse fibroblast NCTC clone L929 cells. Low-crystallinity HA coatings with different thicknesses stimulated cells to attach, proliferate and form mineralized nodules on the surface better than uncoated titanium substrates.

Tin doped indium oxide anodes with artificially controlled nano-scale roughness using segregated Ag nanoparticles for organic solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyo-Joong; Ko, Eun-Hye; Noh, Yong-Jin; Na, Seok-In; Kim, Han-Ki

2016-09-01

Nano-scale surface roughness in transparent ITO films was artificially formed by sputtering a mixed Ag and ITO layer and wet etching of segregated Ag nanoparticles from the surface of the ITO film. Effective removal of self-segregated Ag particles from the grain boundaries and surface of the crystalline ITO film led to a change in only the nano-scale surface morphology of ITO film without changes in the sheet resistance and optical transmittance. A nano-scale rough surface of the ITO film led to an increase in contact area between the hole transport layer and the ITO anode, and eventually increased the hole extraction efficiency in the organic solar cells (OSCs). The heterojunction OSCs fabricated on the ITO anode with a nano-scale surface roughness exhibited a higher power conversion efficiency of 3.320%, than that (2.938%) of OSCs made with the reference ITO/glass. The results here introduce a new method to improve the performance of OSCs by simply modifying the surface morphology of the ITO anodes.

Nanopattern-guided growth of single-crystal silicon on amorphous substrates and high-performance sub-100 nm thin-film transistors for three-dimensional integrated circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Jian

This thesis explores how nanopatterns can be used to control the growth of single-crystal silicon on amorphous substrates at low temperature, with potential applications on flat panel liquid-crystal display and 3-dimensional (3D) integrated circuits. I first present excimer laser annealing of amorphous silicon (a-Si) nanostructures on thermally oxidized silicon wafer for controlled formation of single-crystal silicon islands. Preferential nucleation at pattern center is observed due to substrate enhanced edge heating. Single-grain silicon is obtained in a 50 nm x 100 nm rectangular pattern by super lateral growth (SLG). Narrow lines (such as 20-nm-wide) can serve as artificial heterogeneous nucleation sites during crystallization of large patterns, which could lead to the formation of single-crystal silicon islands in a controlled fashion. In addition to eximer laser annealing, NanoPAtterning and nickel-induced lateral C&barbelow;rystallization (NanoPAC) of a-Si lines is presented. Single-crystal silicon is achieved by NanoPAC. The line width of a-Si affects the grain structure of crystallized silicon lines significantly. Statistics show that single-crystal silicon is formed for all lines with width between 50 nm to 200 nm. Using in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nickel-induced lateral crystallization (Ni-ILC) of a-Si inside a pattern is revealed; lithography-constrained single seeding (LISS) is proposed to explain the single-crystal formation. Intragrain line and two-dimensional defects are also studied. To test the electrical properties of NanoPAC silicon films, sub-100 nm thin-film transistors (TFTs) are fabricated using Patten-controlled crystallization of Ṯhin a-Si channel layer and H&barbelow;igh temperature (850°C) annealing, coined PaTH process. PaTH TFTs show excellent device performance over traditional solid phase crystallized (SPC) TFTs in terms of threshold voltage, threshold voltage roll-off, leakage current, subthreshold swing, on

Preparation and characterization of PVP-PVA–ZnO blend polymer nano composite films

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

Divya, S., E-mail: divi.fysics@gmail.com; Saipriya, G.; Hemalatha, J., E-mail: hemalatha@nitt.edu

Flexible self-standing films of PVP-PVA blend composites are prepared by using ZnO as a nano filler at different concentrations. The structural, compositional, morphological and optical studies made with the help of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) and Photoluminescence (PL) spectra are presented in this paper. The results of XRD indicate that ZnO nanoparticles are formed with hexagonal phase in the polymeric matrix. SEM images show the dispersion of ZnO nano filler in the polymer matrix. UV–vis spectra reveal that the absorption peak is centered around 235more » nm and 370 nm for the nano composite films. The blue shift is observed with decrease in the concentration of the nano filler. PL spectra shows the excitation wavelength is given at 320 nm.The emission peaks were observed at 383 nm ascribing to the electronic transitions between valence band and conduction band and the peak at 430 nm.« less

Depolarized haze of nano-porous AAO film via porosity and aspect control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tseng, Chun-Wei; Lin, Yung-Hsiang; Cheng, Chih-Hsien; Lin, Gong-Ru

2018-01-01

Multiple scattering induced haze and depolarization effects of nano-porous AAO films controlled by detuning the porosity and aspect ratio of the nano holes are investigated. The nano-porous AAO film with its porosity increasing from 12.6% to 19.3% enhances the scattering of the incident laser beam with its maximal scattering angle enlarged from 5° to 8° under TM-mode incidence and from 6° to 10° under TE-mode incidence. Because of multiple scattering within the porous holes of the AAO, the depolarization on the reflected beam by transferring its electric field from horizontal to the vertical such that the polarization ratio is degraded with a randomized haze. The porosity of AAO surface broadens from 12.6% to 19.3% when increasing the bias voltage from 40 to 60 V during the second-step of the electro-chemical anodization process, which essentially adjusts the polarization ratio under TM-mode and TE-mode incidences raise from 0.31 to 0.35 and from 0.32 to 0.48, respectively. The depolarized haze of the nano-porous AAO film is correlated with its porosity and aspect ratio controlled by the pore size and etched depth of the AAO. Under TM-mode incidence, the simulated polarization ratio increases from 0.35 to 0.38, which correlates well with experimental results. In contrast, the experiment result slightly deviates from the theoretical prediction as the TE-mode field interacts more surface area than the TM-mode field does. Such a nano-porous AAO exhibits tunable depolarized haze via the control porosity and aspect ratio, which is particularly suitable to serve as the catalytic buffer for synthesizing the hydrophobic and hazed solar energy converters.

Grain Boundary Effect on Charge Transport in Pentacene Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weis, Martin; Gmucová, Katarína; Nádaždy, Vojtech; Majková, Eva; Haško, Daniel; Taguchi, Dai; Manaka, Takaaki; Iwamoto, Mitsumasa

2011-04-01

We report on charge transport properties of polycrystalline pentacene films with variable average grain size in the range from 0.1 to 0.3 µm controlled by the preparation technology. We illustrate with the organic field-effect transistors decrease of the effective mobility and presence of traps with decrease of the grain size. Analysis of the charge transfer excitons reveals decrease of the mobile charge density and the steady-state voltammetry showed significant increase of oxygen- and hydrogen-related defects. We also briefly discuss accumulation of the defects on the grain boundary and show relation between the defect density and grain boundary length.

Automatic hammering of nano-patterns on special polymer film by using a vibrating AFM tip

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Complicated nano-patterns with linewidth less than 18 nm can be automatically hammered by using atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip in tapping mode with high speed. In this study, the special sample was thin poly(styrene-ethylene/butylenes-styrene) (SEBS) block copolymer film with hexagonal spherical microstructures. An ordinary silicon tip was used as a nano-hammer, and the entire hammering process is controlled by a computer program. Experimental results demonstrate that such structure-tailored thin films enable AFM tip hammering to be performed on their surfaces. Both imprinted and embossed nano-patterns can be generated by using a vibrating tip with a larger tapping load and by using a predefined program to control the route of tip movement as it passes over the sample’s surface. Specific details for the fabrication of structure-tailored SEBS film and the theory for auto-hammering patterns were presented in detail. PMID:22889045

In situ growth of sol-gel-derived nano-VO2 film and its phase transition characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Qiwu; Huang, Wanxia; Lu, Tiecheng; Yue, Fang; Xiao, Yang; Hu, Yanyan

2014-10-01

We reported the growth of VO2 film deposited by an inorganic sol-gel method, followed by post-annealing. An in situ evolution of the grain size in the films with different annealing temperatures (300, 500, and 700 °C for 90 min), annealing times (500 °C for 20, 40, 60, and 90 min), and film thicknesses (30, 150 and 320 nm) was observed. The results indicated that the grain size distribution in the sol-gel-derived VO2 films was mediated by the density of nucleation center, which was varied in the films with different extents of thermal deformation during the annealing. By increasing the film thickness from 30 to 320 nm, a compact nanostructure with uniform distribution of grain size could be formed. It suggested that the in situ-evolved nanostructure in the thicker VO2 film will lead to lower threshold temperature and enhanced transition intensity in the phase transition. The effect of nanoscale grain size on the lower phase transition temperature in the VO2 film was discussed.

Preparation of Nd-Fe-B/α-Fe nano-composite thick-film magnets on various substrates using PLD with high laser energy density above 10 J/cm2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakano, M.; Kondo, H.; Yamashita, A.; Yanai, T.; Itakura, M.; Fukunaga, H.

2018-05-01

PLD (Pulsed Laser Deposition) method with high laser energy density (LED) above 10 J/cm2 followed by a flash annealing enabled us to obtain isotropic nano-composite thick-film magnets with (BH)max ≧ 80 kJ/m3 on polycrystalline Ta substrates. We also have demonstrated that a dispersed structure composed of α-Fe together with Nd2Fe14B phases with the average grain diameter of approximately 20 nm could be formed on the Ta substrates. In this study, we tried to enhance the (BH)max value by controlling the microstructure due to the usage of different metal based substrates with each high melting point such as Ti, Nb, and W. Although it was difficult to vary the microstructure and to improve the magnetic properties of the films deposited on the substrates, we confirmed that isotropic thick-film magnets with (BH)max ≧ 80 kJ/m3 based on the nano-dispersed α-Fe and Nd2Fe14B phases could be obtained on various metal substrates with totally different polycrystalline structure. On the other hand, the use of a glass substrate lead to the deterioration of magnetic properties of a film prepared using the same preparation process.

Nanoscale strengthening mechanisms in metallic thin film systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schoeppner, Rachel Lynn

Nano-scale strengthening mechanisms for thin films were investigated for systems governed by two different strengthening techniques: nano-laminate strengthening and oxide dispersion strengthening. Films were tested under elevated temperature conditions to investigate changes in deformation mechanisms at different operating temperatures, and the structural stability. Both systems exhibit remarkable stability after annealing and thus long-term reliability. Nano-scale metallic multilayers with smaller layer thicknesses show a greater relative resistance to decreasing strength at higher temperature testing conditions than those with larger layer thicknesses. This is seen in both Cu/Ni/Nb multilayers as well as a similar tri-component bi-layer system (Cu-Ni/Nb), which removed the coherent interface from the film. Both nanoindentation and micro-pillar compression tests investigated the strain-hardening ability of these two systems to determine what role the coherent interface plays in this mechanism. Tri-layer films showed a higher strain-hardening ability as the layer thickness decreased and a higher strain-hardening exponent than the bi-layer system: verifying the presence of a coherent interface increases the strain-hardening ability of these multilayer systems. Both systems exhibited hardening of the room temperature strength after annealing, suggesting a change in microstructure has occurred, unlike that seen in other multilayer systems. Oxide dispersion strengthened Au films showed a marked increase in hardness and wear resistance with the addition of ZnO particles. The threshold for stress-induced grain-refinement as opposed to grain growth is seen at concentrations of at least 0.5 vol%. These systems exhibited stable microstructures during thermal cycling in films containing at least 1.0%ZnO. Nanoindentation experiments show the drop in hardness following annealing is almost completely attributed to the resulting grain growth. Four-point probe resistivity

Nano and micro mechanical properties of uncross-linked and cross-linked chitosan films

PubMed Central

Aryaei, Ashkan; Jayatissa, Ahalapitiya H.; Jayasuriya, A. Champa

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to determine the nano and micro mechanical properties for uncross-linked and cross-linked chitosan films. Specifically, we looked at nanoindentation hardness, microhardness, and elastic modulus. It is important to study the nano and microscale mechanical properties of chitosan since chitosan has been widely used for biomedical applications. Using the solvent-cast method, the chitosan films were prepared at room temperature on the cleaned glass plates. The chitosan solution was prepared by dissolving chitosan in acetic acid 1% (v/v). Tripolyphosphate (TPP) was used to create the cross-links between amine groups in chitosan and phosphate groups in TPP. In this study, atomic force microscopy was used to measure the nanoindentation hardness and surface topography of the uncross-linked and cross-linked chitosan films. Elastic modulus was then calculated from the nanoindentation results. The effective elastic modulus was determined by microhardness with some modifications to previous theories. The microhardness of the chitosan films were measured using Vicker’s hardness meter under three different loads. Our results show that the microhardness and elastic modulus for cross-linked chitosan films are higher than the uncross-linked films. However, the cross-linked chitosan films show increased brittleness when compared to uncross-linked films. By increasing the load magnitude, the microhardness increases for both uncross-linked and cross-linked chitosan films. PMID:22100082

AZO films with Al nano-particles to improve the light extraction efficiency of GaN-based light-emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chou, Ying-Hung; Yan, Jheng-Tai; Lee, Hsin-Ying; Lee, Ching-Ting

2008-02-01

The co-sputtering Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films with Al nano-particles were used to increase the extraction efficiency of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Fixing the ZnO radio frequency (RF) power of 100W and changing the Al DC power from 0 to 13W, the AZO films with various Al contents can be obtained. In the experimental results, the AZO films deposited with Al DC power of 0, 4.5 and 7W do not have Al segregation. However, the segregated Al nano-particles can be found in the AZO films deposited by Al DC power of 10W and 13W. The co-sputtering 170 nm-thick AZO films with and without Al nano-particles were deposited on the transparent area of LEDs and compared the light output intensity of conventional LEDs. The light intensity of LEDs with AZO films with Al DC power 0, 4.5 and 7W increased 10% than that of conventional LEDs. This was due to the AZO film played a role of anti-reflection coating (ARC) layer. The light intensity of LEDs with AZO film deposited using Al DC power of 10W and 13W increased about 35% and 30%, respectively. It can be deduced that the output light is scattered by the Al nano-particles existed in the AZO film.

Physical properties of spin-valve films grown on naturally oxidized metal nano-oxide surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Ming; Cerjan, Charlie; Kools, Jacques

2002-05-01

The physical properties of spin-valve films NiFe 25 Å/CoFe 10 Å/Cu(tCu)/CoFe 30 Å/IrMn 70 Å/Ta 20 Å with graded Cu layer thickness (tCu=18-45 Å) grown on the surface of metal nano-oxide layers (NOLs) were studied. The NOLs were formed from ultrathin Al, Cr, Cu, Nb, Ta, CoFe, NiFe, and NiFeCr layers by natural oxidation. The growth of the spin-valve films on NOLs has led to an enhancement in giant magnetoresistance value by up to 48%. A corresponding reduction in minimum film resistance by over 10% confirms that this enhancement originates from an increase in the mean free path of spin-polarized electrons due to the resultant specular reflection at the nano-oxide surfaces. A wide spectrum of oscillatory interlayer exchange coupling dependence on tCu for these NOL-bearing films suggests that a specular nano-oxide surface does not necessarily result in a smoother multilayer structure. The observation of an enhanced exchange biasing among these spin-valve films appears in contradiction to the observed deterioration of their crystallographic quality. As an important application, TaOx, CrOx, and NbOx could be employed as an alternative to AlOx as the barrier layer for magnetic tunnel junctions.

Surface nano-structure of polyamide 6 film by hydrothermal treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiaosong; Wang, Zhiliang; Liang, Songmiao; Jin, Yan; Lotz, Bernard; Yang, Shuguang

2018-06-01

Polyamide 6 (PA 6) melts and dissolves in super-heated water when T > 160 °C. Commercial PA 6 films were treated in super-heated water at 140 °C < T < 160 °C, i.e. below melting. Morphology, thermal behavior, mechanical properties, oxygen permeability and transparency of the film before and after hydrothermal treatment are investigated. After hydrothermal treatment, the melting temperature, crystallinity, elongation at break and toughness increase, whereas the strength decreases. The transparency and oxygen permeability decrease slightly. More interestingly, the hydrothermal treatment generates on the film surface a nano-structured layer 100 nm thick, which greatly improves adhesion and printing performance.

Thermal rectification in thin films driven by gradient grain microstructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Zhe; Foley, Brian M.; Bougher, Thomas; Yates, Luke; Cola, Baratunde A.; Graham, Samuel

2018-03-01

As one of the basic components of phononics, thermal rectifiers transmit heat current asymmetrically similar to electronic rectifiers in microelectronics. Heat can be conducted through them easily in one direction while being blocked in the other direction. In this work, we report a thermal rectifier that is driven by the gradient grain structure and the inherent gradient in thermal properties as found in these materials. To demonstrate their thermal rectification properties, we build a spectral thermal conductivity model with complete phonon dispersion relationships using the thermophysical properties of chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond films which possess gradient grain microstructures. To explain the observed significant thermal rectification, the temperature and thermal conductivity distribution are studied. Additionally, the effects of temperature bias and film thickness are discussed, which shed light on tuning the thermal rectification based on the gradient microstructures. Our results show that the columnar grain microstructure makes CVD materials unique candidates for mesoscale thermal rectifiers without a sharp temperature change.

Synthesis of Ferrite Nickel Nano-particles and Its Role as a p-Dopant in the Improvement of Hole Injection of an Organic Light-Emitting Diode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noori, Maryam; Jafari, Mohammad Reza; Hosseini, Sayed Mohsen; Shahedi, Zahra

2017-07-01

We fabricated an organometallic complex based on zinc ions using zinc complex as a fluorescent in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Also, the nano-particles of ferrite nickel were produced in a simple aqueous system prepared by mixing Ni (NO3)2, Fe (NO3)3 and deionized water solutions. The synthesized zinc bis (8-hydroxyquinoline) (Znq2) complex and NiFe2O4 nano-particles were characterized by using x-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) as well as photoluminescence spectroscopy analysis. Their energy level was also determined by some cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements. The maximum green photoluminescence was observed at 565 nm. The nano-particles of ferrite nickel were utilized in preparation of OLEDs by blending of the magnetic nano-particles with PEDOT:PSS and Zn-complex solutions. The electrical and optical performance of prepared OLEDs with/without doped nano-particle was studied. The samples were configured into two structures: (1) Indium Tin Oxide (ITO)/ poly(3,4-ethylenedi-oxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/Znq2/(2-4-biphenylyl)-5-phenyl-oxadiazole (PBD)/aluminum (Al) and (2) ITO/PEDOT:PSS:NiFe2O4(NPs)/Znq2/PBD/Al. Obtained results showed that the current density and electroluminescence efficiency were increased and the turn-on voltage decreased (about 3 V) by using nano-particles into a PEDOT:PSS layer (Hole transport layer). Also, the electroluminescence efficiency was decreased by incorporating magnetic nano-particles into a Zn-complex layer (emissive layer). It was found that utilizing NiFe2O4 nano-particles caused an increase of hole-injection layer conductivity effectively and a decrease of the turn-on voltage.

Optimization of Process Parameters of Pulsed Electro Deposition Technique for Nanocrystalline Nickel Coating Using Gray Relational Analysis (GRA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venkatesh, C.; Sundara Moorthy, N.; Venkatesan, R.; Aswinprasad, V.

The moving parts of any mechanism and machine parts are always subjected to a significant wear due to the development of friction. It is an utmost important aspect to address the wear problems in present environment. But the complexity goes on increasing to replace the worn out parts if they are very precise. Technology advancement in surface engineering ensures the minimum surface wear with the introduction of polycrystalline nano nickel coating. The enhanced tribological property of the nano nickel coating was achieved by the development of grain size and hardness of the surface. In this study, it has been decided to focus on the optimized parameters of the pulsed electro deposition to develop such a coating. Taguchi’s method coupled gray relational analysis was employed by considering the pulse frequency, average current density and duty cycle as the chief process parameters. The grain size and hardness were considered as responses. Totally, nine experiments were conducted as per L9 design of experiment. Additionally, response graph method has been applied to determine the most significant parameter to influence both the responses. In order to improve the degree of validation, confirmation test and predicted gray grade were carried out with the optimized parameters. It has been observed that there was significant improvement in gray grade for the optimal parameters.

van der Waals interaction between a moving nano-cylinder and a liquid thin film.

PubMed

Ledesma-Alonso, René; Raphaël, Elie; Salez, Thomas; Tordjeman, Philippe; Legendre, Dominique

2017-05-24

We study the static and dynamic interaction between a horizontal cylindrical nano-probe and a thin liquid film. The effects of the physical and geometrical parameters, with a special focus on the film thickness, the probe speed, and the distance between the probe and the free surface are analyzed. Deformation profiles have been computed numerically from a Reynolds lubrication equation, coupled to a modified Young-Laplace equation, which takes into account the probe/liquid and the liquid/substrate non-retarded van der Waals interactions. We have found that the film thickness and the probe speed have a significant effect on the threshold separation distance below which the jump-to-contact instability is triggered. These results encourage the use of horizontal cylindrical nano-probes to scan thin liquid films, in order to determine either the physical or geometrical properties of the latter, through the measurement of interaction forces.

Influence of modes of metal transfer on grain structure and direction of grain growth in low nickel austenitic stainless steel weld metals

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

Mukherjee, Manidipto; Saha, Saptarshi; Pal, Tapan Kumar, E-mail: tkpal.ju@gmail.com

2015-04-15

The present study elaborately discussed the effect of different modes of metal transfer (i.e., short circuit mode, spray mode and pulse mode) on grain structure and direction of grain growth in low nickel austenitic stainless steel weld metals. Electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis was used to study the grain growth direction and grain structure in weld metals. The changes in grain structure and grain growth direction were found to be essentially varied with the weld pool shape and acting forces induced by modes of metal transfer at a constant welding speed. Short circuit mode of metal transfer owing to highermore » Marangoni force (M{sub a}) and low electromagnetic force (R{sub m}) promotes the lower weld pool volume (Γ) and higher weld pool maximum radius (r{sub m}). Short circuit mode also shows curved and tapered columnar grain structures and the grain growth preferentially occurred in <001> direction. In contrast, spray mode of metal transfer increases the Γ and reduces the r{sub m} values due to very high R{sub m} and typically reveals straight and broad columnar grain structures with preferential growth direction in <111>. In the pulse mode of metal transfer relatively high M{sub a} and R{sub m} simultaneously increase the weld pool width and the primary penetration which might encourage relatively complex grain growth directions in the weld pool and cause a shift of major intensity from <001> to <111> direction. It can also be concluded that the fusion zone grain structure and direction of grain growth are solely dependent on modes of metal transfer and remain constant for a particular mode of metal transfer irrespective of filler wire used. - Highlights: • Welded joints of LNiASS were prepared by varying modes of metal transfer. • Weld pool shape, grain structure and grain growth direction were studied. • Short circuit mode shows curved and tapered grain growth in <001> direction. • Spray mode shows straight and broad columnar

Method to grow carbon thin films consisting entirely of diamond grains 3-5 nm in size and high-energy grain boundaries

DOEpatents

Carlisle, John A.; Auciello, Orlando; Birrell, James

2006-10-31

An ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) having an average grain size between 3 and 5 nanometers (nm) with not more than about 8% by volume diamond having an average grain size larger than 10 nm. A method of manufacturing UNCD film is also disclosed in which a vapor of acetylene and hydrogen in an inert gas other than He wherein the volume ratio of acetylene to hydrogen is greater than 0.35 and less than 0.85, with the balance being an inert gas, is subjected to a suitable amount of energy to fragment at least some of the acetylene to form a UNCD film having an average grain size of 3 to 5 nm with not more than about 8% by volume diamond having an average grain size larger than 10 nm.

Crystallization of amorphous silicon thin films deposited by PECVD on nickel-metalized porous silicon.

PubMed

Ben Slama, Sonia; Hajji, Messaoud; Ezzaouia, Hatem

2012-08-17

Porous silicon layers were elaborated by electrochemical etching of heavily doped p-type silicon substrates. Metallization of porous silicon was carried out by immersion of substrates in diluted aqueous solution of nickel. Amorphous silicon thin films were deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition on metalized porous layers. Deposited amorphous thin films were crystallized under vacuum at 750°C. Obtained results from structural, optical, and electrical characterizations show that thermal annealing of amorphous silicon deposited on Ni-metalized porous silicon leads to an enhancement in the crystalline quality and physical properties of the silicon thin films. The improvement in the quality of the film is due to the crystallization of the amorphous film during annealing. This simple and easy method can be used to produce silicon thin films with high quality suitable for thin film solar cell applications.

Crystallization of amorphous silicon thin films deposited by PECVD on nickel-metalized porous silicon

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Porous silicon layers were elaborated by electrochemical etching of heavily doped p-type silicon substrates. Metallization of porous silicon was carried out by immersion of substrates in diluted aqueous solution of nickel. Amorphous silicon thin films were deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition on metalized porous layers. Deposited amorphous thin films were crystallized under vacuum at 750°C. Obtained results from structural, optical, and electrical characterizations show that thermal annealing of amorphous silicon deposited on Ni-metalized porous silicon leads to an enhancement in the crystalline quality and physical properties of the silicon thin films. The improvement in the quality of the film is due to the crystallization of the amorphous film during annealing. This simple and easy method can be used to produce silicon thin films with high quality suitable for thin film solar cell applications. PMID:22901341

Defect analysis and detection of micro nano structured optical thin film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Chang; Shi, Nuo; Zhou, Lang; Shi, Qinfeng; Yang, Yang; Li, Zhuo

2017-10-01

This paper focuses on developing an automated method for detecting defects on our wavelength conversion thin film. We analyzes the operating principle of our wavelength conversion Micro/Nano thin film which absorbing visible light and emitting infrared radiation, indicates the relationship between the pixel's pattern and the radiation of the thin film, and issues the principle of defining blind pixels and their categories due to the calculated and experimental results. An effective method is issued for the automated detection based on wavelet transform and template matching. The results reveal that this method has desired accuracy and processing speed.

Novel nano-semiconductor film layer supported nano-Pd Complex Nanostructured Catalyst Pd/Ⓕ-MeOx/AC for High Efficient Selective Hydrogenation of Phenol to Cyclohexanone.

PubMed

Si, Jiaqi; Ouyang, Wenbing; Zhang, Yanji; Xu, Wentao; Zhou, Jicheng

2017-04-28

Supported metal as a type of heterogeneous catalysts are the most widely used in industrial processes. High dispersion of the metal particles of supported catalyst is a key factor in determining the performance of such catalysts. Here we report a novel catalyst Pd/Ⓕ-MeO x /AC with complex nanostructured, Pd nanoparticles supported on the platelike nano-semiconductor film/activated carbon, prepared by the photocatalytic reduction method, which exhibited high efficient catalytic performance for selective hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanone. Conversion of phenol achieved up to more than 99% with a lower mole ratio (0.5%) of active components Pd and phenol within 2 h at 70 °C. The synergistic effect of metal nanoparticles and nano-semiconductors support layer and the greatly increasing of contact interface of nano-metal-semiconductors may be responsible for the high efficiency. This work provides a clear demonstration that complex nanostructured catalysts with nano-metal and nano-semiconductor film layer supported on high specific surface AC can yield enhanced catalytic activity and can afford promising approach for developing new supported catalyst.

Facile modulation of cell adhesion to a poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate film with incorporation of polystyrene nano-spheres.

PubMed

Yang, Wenguang; Yu, Haibo; Li, Gongxin; Wang, Yuechao; Liu, Lianqing

2016-12-01

Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) is a common hydrogel that has been actively investigated for various tissue engineering applications owing to its biocompatibility and excellent mechanical properties. However, the native PEGDA films are known for their bio-inertness which can hinder cell adhesion, thereby limiting their applications in tissue engineering and biomedicine. Recently, nano composite technology has become a particularly hot topic, and has led to the development of new methods for delivering desired properties to nanomaterials. In this study, we added polystyrene nano-spheres (PS) into a PEGDA solution to synthesize a nano-composite film and evaluated its characteristics. The experimental results showed that addition of the nanospheres to the PEGDA film not only resulted in modification of the mechanical properties and surface morphology but further improved the adhesion of cells on the film. The tensile modulus showed clear dependence on the addition of PS, which enhanced the mechanical properties of the PEGDA-PS film. We attribute the high stiffness of the hybrid hydrogel to the formation of additional cross-links between polymeric chains and the nano-sphere surface in the network. The effect of PS on cell adhesion and proliferation was evaluated in L929 mouse fibroblast cells that were seeded on the surface of various PEGDA-PS films. Cells density increased with a larger PS concentration, and the cells displayed a spreading morphology on the hybrid films, which promoted cell proliferation. Impressively, cellular stiffness could also be modulated simply by tuning the concentration of nano-spheres. Our results indicate that the addition of PS can effectively tailor the physical and biological properties of PEGDA as well as the mechanical properties of cells, with benefits for biomedical and biotechnological applications.

Strongly Enhanced Piezoelectric Response in Lead Zirconate Titanate Films with Vertically Aligned Columnar Grains.

PubMed

Nguyen, Minh D; Houwman, Evert P; Dekkers, Matthijn; Rijnders, Guus

2017-03-22

Pb(Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 )O 3 (PZT) films with (001) orientation were deposited on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO 2 /Si(100) substrates using pulsed laser deposition. Variation of the laser pulse rate during the deposition of the PZT films was found to play a key role in the control of the microstructure and to change strongly the piezoelectric response of the thin film. The film deposited at low pulse rate has a denser columnar microstructure, which improves the transverse piezoelectric coefficient (d 31f ) and ferroelectric remanent polarization (P r ), whereas the less densely packed columnar grains in the film deposited at high pulse rates give rise to a significantly higher longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient (d 33f ) value. The effect of film thickness on the ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of the PZT films was also investigated. With increasing film thickness, the grain column diameter gradually increases, and also the average P r and d 33f values become larger. The largest piezoelectric coefficient of d 33f = 408 pm V -1 was found for a 4-μm film thickness. From a series of films in the thickness range 0.5-5 μm, the z-position dependence of the piezoelectric coefficient could be deduced. A local maximum value of 600 pm V -1 was deduced in the 3.5-4.5 μm section of the thickest films. The dependence of the film properties on film thickness is attributed to the decreasing effect of the clamping constraint imposed by the substrate and the increasing spatial separation between the grains with increasing film thickness.

Strongly Enhanced Piezoelectric Response in Lead Zirconate Titanate Films with Vertically Aligned Columnar Grains

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) films with (001) orientation were deposited on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrates using pulsed laser deposition. Variation of the laser pulse rate during the deposition of the PZT films was found to play a key role in the control of the microstructure and to change strongly the piezoelectric response of the thin film. The film deposited at low pulse rate has a denser columnar microstructure, which improves the transverse piezoelectric coefficient (d31f) and ferroelectric remanent polarization (Pr), whereas the less densely packed columnar grains in the film deposited at high pulse rates give rise to a significantly higher longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient (d33f) value. The effect of film thickness on the ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of the PZT films was also investigated. With increasing film thickness, the grain column diameter gradually increases, and also the average Pr and d33f values become larger. The largest piezoelectric coefficient of d33f = 408 pm V–1 was found for a 4-μm film thickness. From a series of films in the thickness range 0.5–5 μm, the z-position dependence of the piezoelectric coefficient could be deduced. A local maximum value of 600 pm V–1 was deduced in the 3.5–4.5 μm section of the thickest films. The dependence of the film properties on film thickness is attributed to the decreasing effect of the clamping constraint imposed by the substrate and the increasing spatial separation between the grains with increasing film thickness. PMID:28247756

Effect of temperature on the nano/microstructure and mechanical behavior of nanotwinned Ag films

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Huan; Geng, Jie; Ott, Ryan T.; ...

2015-06-24

In situ and ex situ annealed nanotwinned (NT) Ag thin films have been investigated by TEM and tensile testing to reveal the thermal stability of the twin boundaries, grain boundaries, dislocation densities, and their respective influence of the macroscopic yield stress. The NT Ag films synthesized by magnetron sputtering form both coherent (CTB, Σ3{111}) and incoherent (ITB, Σ3{112}) twin boundaries that are thermally stable up to 473 K (200 Celsius), i.e., no obvious changes in grain size, twin spacing, and yield stress. In situ TEM observations show the dislocations become mobile at 453 K (180 Celsius) resulting in dislocation annihilationmore » primarily at twin and grain boundaries. Rotation of grains with low-angle grain boundaries was observed during in situ heating, resulting in the growth of columnar grains above 453 K (180 Celsius). However, no noticeable changes in the spacings of CTBs were observed during the entire in situ and ex situ annealing [up to 873 K (600 Celsius)]. The increase in grain size and concomitant decrease in yield stress following annealing at various temperatures can be described by the Hall-Petch relationship, demonstrating that grain size rather than twin spacing is most sensitive to thermal annealing and plays a dominant role in the deformation of NT Ag films.« less

Sub-micron phase coexistence in small-molecule organic thin films revealed by infrared nano-imaging

PubMed Central

Westermeier, Christian; Cernescu, Adrian; Amarie, Sergiu; Liewald, Clemens; Keilmann, Fritz; Nickel, Bert

2014-01-01

Controlling the domain size and degree of crystallization in organic films is highly important for electronic applications such as organic photovoltaics, but suitable nanoscale mapping is very difficult. Here we apply infrared-spectroscopic nano-imaging to directly determine the local crystallinity of organic thin films with 20-nm resolution. We find that state-of-the-art pentacene films (grown on SiO2 at elevated temperature) are structurally not homogeneous but exhibit two interpenetrating phases at sub-micrometre scale, documented by a shifted vibrational resonance. We observe bulk-phase nucleation of distinct ellipsoidal shape within the dominant pentacene thin-film phase and also further growth during storage. A faint topographical contrast as well as X-ray analysis corroborates our interpretation. As bulk-phase nucleation obstructs carrier percolation paths within the thin-film phase, hitherto uncontrolled structural inhomogeneity might have caused conflicting reports about pentacene carrier mobility. Infrared-spectroscopic nano-imaging of nanoscale polymorphism should have many applications ranging from organic nanocomposites to geologic minerals. PMID:24916130

Atomic-Layer-Deposition of Indium Oxide Nano-films for Thin-Film Transistors.

PubMed

Ma, Qian; Zheng, He-Mei; Shao, Yan; Zhu, Bao; Liu, Wen-Jun; Ding, Shi-Jin; Zhang, David Wei

2018-01-09

Atomic-layer-deposition (ALD) of In 2 O 3 nano-films has been investigated using cyclopentadienyl indium (InCp) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) as precursors. The In 2 O 3 films can be deposited preferentially at relatively low temperatures of 160-200 °C, exhibiting a stable growth rate of 1.4-1.5 Å/cycle. The surface roughness of the deposited film increases gradually with deposition temperature, which is attributed to the enhanced crystallization of the film at a higher deposition temperature. As the deposition temperature increases from 150 to 200 °C, the optical band gap (E g ) of the deposited film rises from 3.42 to 3.75 eV. In addition, with the increase of deposition temperature, the atomic ratio of In to O in the as-deposited film gradually shifts towards that in the stoichiometric In 2 O 3 , and the carbon content also reduces by degrees. For 200 °C deposition temperature, the deposited film exhibits an In:O ratio of 1:1.36 and no carbon incorporation. Further, high-performance In 2 O 3 thin-film transistors with an Al 2 O 3 gate dielectric were achieved by post-annealing in air at 300 °C for appropriate time, demonstrating a field-effect mobility of 7.8 cm 2 /V⋅s, a subthreshold swing of 0.32 V/dec, and an on/off current ratio of 10 7 . This was ascribed to passivation of oxygen vacancies in the device channel.

Nano confinement effects on dynamic and viscoelastic properties of Selenium Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Heedong; McKenna, Gregory

2015-03-01

In current study, we use a novel nano bubble inflation technique to study nano confinement effects on the dynamic and viscoelastic properties of physical vapor deposited Selenium films. Film thicknesses ranged from 60 to 260 nm. Creep experiments were performed for the temperatures ranging from Tg,macroscopic-14 °C to Tg,\\ macroscopic + 19 °C. Time temperature superposition and time thickness superposition were applied to create reduced creep curves, and those were compared with macroscopic data [J. Non-Cryst. Solids. 2002, 307, 790-801]. The results showed that the time temperature superposition was applicable in the glassy relaxation regime to the steady-state plateau regime. However in the long time response of the creep compliance, time thickness superposition failed due to the thickness dependence on the steady-state plateau. It was observed that the steady state compliance increased with film thickness. The thickness dependence on the plateau stiffening followed a power law of DPlateau ~ h2.46, which is greater than observed in organic polymers where the exponents observed range from 0.83 to 2.0 [Macromolecules. 2012, 45 (5), 2453-2459]. National Science Foundation Grant No. CHE 1112416 and John R. Bradford Endowment at Texas Tech

Rapid nano impact printing of silk biopolymer thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Robert D.; Gray, Caprice; Mandelup, Ethan; Amsden, Jason J.; Kaplan, David L.; Omenetto, Fiorenzo G.

2011-11-01

In this paper, nano impact printing of silk biopolymer films is described. An indenter is rapidly accelerated and transfers the nanopattern from a silicon master into the silk film during an impact event that occurs in less than 1 ms. Contact stresses of greater than 100 MPa can be achieved during the short impact period with low power and inexpensive hardware. Ring shaped features with a diameter of 2 µm and a ring width of 100-200 nm were successfully transferred into untreated silk films using this method at room temperature. Mechanical modeling was carried out to determine the contact stress distribution, and demonstrates that imprinting can occur for contact stresses of less than 2 MPa. Thermal characterization at the impact location shows that raising the temperature to 70 °C has only a limited effect on pattern transfer. Contact stresses of greater than approximately 100 MPa result in excessive deformation of the film and poor pattern transfer.

Compostability assessment of nano-reinforced poly(lactic acid) films.

PubMed

Balaguer, M P; Aliaga, C; Fito, C; Hortal, M

2016-02-01

Nanomaterials can provide plastics with great advantages on mechanical and active properties (i.e. release and capture of specific substances). Therefore, packaging is expected to become one of the leading applications for these substances by 2020. There are some applications already in the market. Nevertheless, there is still some areas under development. A key issue to be analyzed is the end-of-life of these materials once they become waste, and specifically when nanomaterials are used in biodegradable products. The present study evaluated the disintegration, biodegradability, and ecotoxicity of poly(lactic acid) films reinforced with the three following nanomaterials: (1) montmorillonite modified with an ammonium quaternary salt, (2) calcium carbonate and (3) silicon dioxide. Results on disintegration showed that films completely disintegrated into visually indistinguishable residues after 6-7weeks of incubation in composting environment. Moreover, no differences were observed in the evolution of the bioresidue with respect to color, aspect, and odor in comparison with the control. It was also observed that nanomaterials did not significantly reduce the level of biodegradability of PLA (p>0.05). In fact, biodegradation was higher, without finding significant differences (p>0.05), in all the nano-reinforced samples with respect to PLA after 130days in composting (9.4% in PLA+Nano-SiO2; 34.0% in PLA+Clay1; 48.0% in PLA+Nano-CaCO3). Finally, no significant differences (p>0.05) in ecotoxicity in plants were observed as a result of the incorporation of nanoparticles in the PLA matrix. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microstructure evolution of Al-doped zinc oxide films prepared by in-line reactive mid-frequency magnetron sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, R. J.; Jiang, X.

2006-07-01

Aluminium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al or AZO) thin films were deposited on glass substrates by reactive mid-frequency (MF) magnetron sputtering from Zn/Al metallic targets. Strong (002) preferred orientation was detected by X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was observed by plan-view transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that an AZO film deposited at low substrate temperature was composed of irregular large grains; but the film prepared at high temperature was composed of moderate sized grains with a regular shape. A secondary phase of ZnO2 was also observed for the film deposited at low substrate temperature. The cross-sectional TEM study of the AZO film showed that prior to the well-aligned columnar growth an initial interfacial zone with nano crystallites were formed. The nano crystallites formed initially with a large tilt angle normal to the substrate surface and during the growth of the transition zone, the tilt angle decreased until it vanished. The evolution of the film structure is discussed in terms of evolutionary selection model and the dynamic deposition process.

Application Of Positron Beams For The Characterization Of Nano-scale Pores In Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirata, K.; Ito, K.; Kobayashi, Y.; Suzuki, R.; Ohdaira, T.; Eijt, S. W. H.; Schut, H.; van Veen, A.

2003-08-01

We applied three positron annihilation techniques, positron 3γ-annihilation spectroscopy, positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy, and angular correlation of annihilation radiation, to the characterization of nano-scale pores in thin films by combining them with variable-energy positron beams. Characterization of pores in thin films is an important part of the research on various thin films of industrial importance. The results of our recent studies on pore characterization of thin films by positron beams will be reported here.

Spectrum-per-Pixel Cathodoluminescence Imaging of CdTe Thin-Film Bevels

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

Moseley, John; Al-Jassim, Mowafak M.; Burst, James

2016-11-21

We conduct T=6 K cathodoluminescence (CL) spectrum imaging with a nano-scale electron beam on beveled surfaces of CdTe thin-films at different critical stages of standard CdTe device fabrication. The through-thickness total CL intensity profiles are consistent with a reduction in grain boundary recombination due to the CdCl2 treatment. Color-coded maps of the low-temperature luminescence transition energies reveal that CdTe thin films have remarkably non-uniform opto-electronic properties, which depend strongly on sample processing history. The grain-to-grain S content in the interdiffused CdTe/CdS region is estimated from a sample size of thirty-five grains, and the S content in adjacent grains varies significantlymore » in CdCl2-treated samples. A low-temperature luminescence model is developed to interpret spectral behavior at grain boundaries and grain interiors.« less

A new multiscale model to describe a modified Hall-Petch relation at different scales for nano and micro materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fadhil, Sadeem Abbas; Alrawi, Aoday Hashim; Azeez, Jazeel H.; Hassan, Mohsen A.

2018-04-01

In the present work, a multiscale model is presented and used to modify the Hall-Petch relation for different scales from nano to micro. The modified Hall-Petch relation is derived from a multiscale equation that determines the cohesive energy between the atoms and their neighboring grains. This brings with it a new term that was originally ignored even in the atomistic models. The new term makes it easy to combine all other effects to derive one modified equation for the Hall-Petch relation that works for all scales together, without the need to divide the scales into two scales, each scale with a different equation, as it is usually done in other works. Due to that, applying the new relation does not require a previous knowledge of the grain size distribution. This makes the new derived relation more consistent and easier to be applied for all scales. The new relation is used to fit the data for Copper and Nickel and it is applied well for the whole range of grain sizes from nano to micro scales.

Conductivity of laser printed copper structures limited by nano-crystal grain size and amorphous metal droplet shell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winter, Shoshana; Zenou, Michael; Kotler, Zvi

2016-04-01

We present a study of the morphology and electrical properties of copper structures which are printed by laser induced forward transfer from bulk copper. The percentage of voids and the oxidation levels are too low to account for the high resistivities (~4 to 14 times the resistivity of bulk monocrystalline copper) of these structures. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images of slices cut from the printed areas using a focused ion beam (FIB) show nano-sized crystal structures with grain sizes that are smaller than the electron free path length. Scattering from such grain boundaries causes a significant increase in the resistivity and can explain the measured resistivities of the structures. The TEM images also show a nano-amorphous layer (~5 nm) at the droplet boundaries which also contributes to the overall resistivity. Such morphological characteristics are best explained by the ultrafast cooling rate of the molten copper droplets during printing.

Surface induced phonon decay rates in thin film nano-structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Photiadis, D. M.

2007-12-01

Nano-scale structure significantly impacts phonon transport and related phonon relaxation rates, with order of magnitude effects on the thermal conductivity of dielectric thin films and quantum wires, and even larger effects on the lifetimes of ultrasonic phonons of micro- (nano-) oscillators. In both cases, efforts to explain the data have been hampered by our lack of knowledge of the effects of confined dimensionality on phonon-phonon scattering rates. Using a phonon Boltzmann equation with appropriate boundary conditions on the free surfaces to take surface roughness into account, we have obtained an expression yielding phonon lifetimes in 2-D dielectric nanostructures(thin films) resulting from phonon-phonon scattering in conjunction with phonon-surface scattering. We present these theoretical results and, in the limit in which surface induced losses dominate, obtain explicit predictions for the phonon lifetimes. The predicted temperature dependence of the ultrason! ic loss does not explain the observed saturation of the loss at low temperatures(τ(T) → const), but does give results of the order of magnitude of measured ultrasonic lifetimes.

Development and Verification of Sputtered Thin-Film Nickel-Titanium (NiTi) Shape Memory Alloy (SMA)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-01

Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) by Cory R Knick and Christopher J Morris Approved for public release; distribution unlimited...Laboratory Development and Verification of Sputtered Thin-Film Nickel-Titanium (NiTi) Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) by Cory R Knick and Christopher

Effect of annealing temperature on physical properties of solution processed nickel oxide thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahoo, Pooja; Thangavel, R.

2018-05-01

In this report, NiO thin films were prepared at different annealing temperatures from nickel acetate precursor by sol-gel spin coating method. These films were characterized by different analytical techniques to obtain their structural, optical morphological and electrical properties using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), UV-Vis NIR double beam spectrophotometer and Keithley 2450 source meter respectively. FESEM images clearly indicates the formation of a homogenous and porous films. Due to their porosity, they can be used in sensing applications. The optical absorption spectra elucidated that the films are highly transparent and have a suitable band gap which are in similar agreement with earlier reports. The current enhancement under illumination shows the suitability of nanostructured NiO thin films in its application in photovoltaics.

A study of structural and mechanical properties of nano-crystalline tungsten nitride film synthesis by plasma focus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussnain, Ali; Singh Rawat, Rajdeep; Ahmad, Riaz; Hussain, Tousif; Umar, Z. A.; Ikhlaq, Uzma; Chen, Zhong; Shen, Lu

2015-02-01

Nano-crystalline tungsten nitride thin films are synthesized on AISI-304 steel at room temperature using Mather-type plasma focus system. The surface properties of the exposed substrate against different deposition shots are examined for crystal structure, surface morphology and mechanical properties using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscope, field emission scanning electron microscope and nano-indenter. The XRD results show the growth of WN and WN2 phases and the development of strain/stress in the deposited films by varying the number of deposition shots. Morphology of deposited films shows the significant change in the surface structure with different ion energy doses (number of deposition shots). Due to the effect of different ion energy doses, the strain/stress developed in the deposited film leads to an improvement of hardness of deposited films.

Fabrication and characterization of controllable grain boundary arrays in solution-processed small molecule organic semiconductor films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wo, Songtao; Headrick, Randall L.; Anthony, John E.

2012-04-01

We have produced solution-processed thin films of 6,13-bis(tri-isopropyl-silylethynyl) pentacene with grain sizes from a few micrometers up to millimeter scale by lateral crystallization from a rectangular stylus. Grains are oriented along the crystallization direction, and the grain size transverse to the crystallization direction depends inversely on the writing speed, hence forming a regular array of oriented grain boundaries with controllable spacing. We utilize these controllable arrays to systematically study the role of large-angle grain boundaries in carrier transport and charge trapping in thin film transistors. The effective mobility scales with the grain size, leading to an estimate of the potential drop at individual large-angle grain boundaries of more than 1 volt. This result indicates that the structure of grain boundaries is not molecularly abrupt, which may be a general feature of solution-processed small molecule organic semiconductor thin films, where relatively high energy grain boundaries are typically formed. Transient measurements after switching from positive to negative gate bias or between large and small negative gate bias reveal reversible charge trapping, with time constants on the order of 10 s and trap densities that are correlated with grain boundary density. We suggest that charge diffusion along grain boundaries and other defects is the rate-determining mechanism of the reversible trapping.

Mechanical spectroscopy of nanocrystalline aluminum films: effects of frequency and grain size on internal friction.

PubMed

Sosale, Guruprasad; Almecija, Dorothée; Das, Kaushik; Vengallatore, Srikar

2012-04-20

Energy dissipation by internal friction is a property of fundamental interest for probing the effects of scale on mechanical behavior in nanocrystalline metallic films and for guiding the use of these materials in the design of high-Q micro/nanomechanical resonators. This paper describes an experimental study to measure the effects of frequency, annealing and grain size on internal friction at room temperature in sputter-deposited nanocrystalline aluminum films with thicknesses ranging from 60 to 120 nm. Internal friction was measured using a single-crystal silicon microcantilever platform that calibrates dissipation against the fundamental limits of thermoelastic damping. Internal friction was a weak function of frequency, reducing only by a factor of two over three decades of frequency (70 Hz to 44 kHz). Annealing led to significant grain growth and the average grain size of 100 nm thick films increased from 90 to 390 nm after annealing for 1 h at 450 (∘)C. This increase in grain size was accompanied by a decrease in internal friction from 0.05 to 0.02. Taken together, these results suggest that grain-boundary sliding, characterized by a spectrum of relaxation times, contributes to internal friction in these films. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd

Understanding luminescence properties of grain boundaries in GaN thin films and their atomistic origin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoo, Hyobin; Yoon, Sangmoon; Chung, Kunook; Kang, Seoung-Hun; Kwon, Young-Kyun; Yi, Gyu-Chul; Kim, Miyoung

2018-03-01

We report our findings on the optical properties of grain boundaries in GaN films grown on graphene layers and discuss their atomistic origin. We combine electron backscatter diffraction with cathodoluminescence to directly correlate the structural defects with their optical properties, enabling the high-precision local luminescence measurement of the grain boundaries in GaN films. To further understand the atomistic origin of the luminescence properties, we carefully probed atomic core structures of the grain boundaries by exploiting aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. The atomic core structures of grain boundaries show different ordering behaviors compared with those observed previously in threading dislocations. Energetics of the grain boundary core structures and their correlation with electronic structures were studied by first principles calculation.

Improvement of thermal stability of nano-granular TMR films by using a Mg-Al-O insulator matrix

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanie, S.; Koyama, S.

2018-05-01

A new metal-insulator nano-granular tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) film made of (Fe-Co)-(Mg-Al-O) has been investigated. It is confirmed that the film has granular structure in which crystal Fe-Co granules are surrounded by an amorphous Mg-Al-O matrix. A large MR ratio of 11.8 % at room temperature is observed for a 42 vol.%(Fe0.6Co0.4)-(Mg-Al-O) film annealed at 395 °C. The electrical resistivity increases rapidly by annealing at above the changing point (500 °C). The changing point is about 300 °C higher than that of conventional (Fe-Co)-(Mg-F) nano-granular TMR films. The 42 vol.%(Fe0.6Co0.4)-(Mg-Al-O) film also exhibits less degradation in the MR ratio at high annealing temperatures such as 600 °C. These results suggest the (Fe-Co)-(Mg-Al-O) film is superior to the (Fe-Co)-(Mg-F) film in thermal stability.

Influence of Yttrium Ion-Implantation on the Growth Kinetics and Micro-Structure of NiO Oxide Film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Huiming; Adriana, Felix; Majorri, Aroyave

2008-02-01

Isothermal and cyclic oxidation behaviours of pure and yttrium-implanted nickel were studied at 1000°C in air. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) were used to examine the micro-morphology and structure of oxide scales formed on the nickel substrate. It was found that Y-implantation significantly improved the anti-oxidation ability of nickel in both isothermal and cyclic oxidizing experiments. Laser Raman microscopy was also used to study the stress status of oxide scales formed on nickel with and without yttrium. The main reason for the improvement in anti-oxidation of nickel was that Y-implantation greatly reduced the growing speed and grain size of NiO. This fine-grained NiO oxide film might have better high temperature plasticity and could relieve parts of compressive stress by means of creeping, and maintained a ridge character and a relatively low internal stress level. Hence yttrium ion-implantation remarkably enhanced the adhesion of protective NiO oxide scale formed on the nickel substrate.

Solvent influence upon structure & throughput of poly vinyledene fluoride thin film nano-patterns by imprint lithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sankar, M. S. Ravi; Gangineni, R. B.

2018-04-01

This work aims at understanding the solvent influence upon the throughput and structure of poly vinyledene fluoride (PVDF)nano-patterned films. The PVDF thin films are deposited by spin coating method using Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), Tetrahydrofuran (THF) and 2-butanone solvents. The nano-patterns are realized by imprinting SONY 700 MB CD aluminum constructions on PVDF thin filmsusing imprint lithography technique under ambient annealing temperature and pressure. Surface morphology &imprint pattern transfer quality is evaluated with Atomic force microscopy (AFM). Raman spectroscopy is used for evaluating the structural evolutions with respect to solvent & patterning.

The structural and optical properties of Y (Y  =  Al, B, Si and Ti)-doped ZnO nano thin films from the first principles calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wenshu; Hu, Huijun; Zhang, Caili; Li, Jianguo; Li, Yuping; Ling, Lixia; Han, Peide

2017-12-01

Based on the density functional theory, the structural stability and optical properties of undoped and Y (Y  =  Al, B, Si and Ti)-doped ZnO nano thin films are investigated. The good stability of the films based on the ZnO (0 0 0 1) can be obtained when the layer is larger than 12. Moreover, the dielectric function, refractive index, absorption, and reflectivity of doped ZnO nano thin films have been analyzed in detail. In the visible light range, the values of ZnO films from 12 to 24 layers are all smaller than those of the bulk. And with the augment of the layers, the values keep increasing. All the results signify that the nano film of 12 layers possesses the lowest reflectivity and weakest absorption. In addition, there is an evident impact of some doped element on the properties of nano films. The absorption and reflectivity of Ti, Si-doped ZnO nano thin films are higher than those of the clean films, while Al, B-doped are lower, especially B-doped. Moreover, the conductivity of the doped structure is better than that of the bulk. Thus, the B-doped ZnO nano thin films could be potential candidate materials of transparent conductive films.

Charge transport through exciton shelves in cadmium chalcogenide quantum dot-DNA nano-bioelectronic thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodman, Samuel M.; Noh, Hyunwoo; Singh, Vivek; Cha, Jennifer N.; Nagpal, Prashant

2015-02-01

Quantum dot (QD), or semiconductor nanocrystal, thin films are being explored for making solution-processable devices due to their size- and shape-tunable bandgap and discrete higher energy electronic states. While DNA has been extensively used for the self-assembly of nanocrystals, it has not been investigated for the simultaneous conduction of multiple energy charges or excitons via exciton shelves (ES) formed in QD-DNA nano-bioelectronic thin films. Here, we present studies on charge conduction through exciton shelves, which are formed via chemically coupled QDs and DNA, between electronic states of the QDs and the HOMO-LUMO levels in the complementary DNA nucleobases. While several challenges need to be addressed in optimizing the formation of devices using QD-DNA thin films, a higher charge collection efficiency for hot-carriers and our detailed investigations of charge transport mechanism in these thin films highlight their potential for applications in nano-bioelectronic devices and biological transducers.

Polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors with location-controlled crystal grains fabricated by excimer laser crystallization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, Chun-Chien; Lee, Yao-Jen; Chiang, Ko-Yu; Wang, Jyh-Liang; Lee, I.-Che; Chen, Hsu-Hsin; Wei, Kai-Fang; Chang, Ting-Kuo; Chen, Bo-Ting; Cheng, Huang-Chung

2007-11-01

In this paper, location-controlled silicon crystal grains are fabricated by the excimer laser crystallization method which employs amorphous silicon spacer structure and prepatterned thin films. The amorphous silicon spacer in nanometer-sized width formed using spacer technology is served as seed crystal to artificially control superlateral growth phenomenon during excimer laser irradiation. An array of 1.8-μm-sized disklike silicon grains is formed, and the n-channel thin-film transistors whose channels located inside the artificially-controlled crystal grains exhibit higher performance of field-effect-mobility reaching 308cm2/Vs as compared with the conventional ones. This position-manipulated silicon grains are essential to high-performance and good uniformity devices.

Electrodeposition of nickel-iridium alloy films from aqueous solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Wangping; Jiang, Jinjin; Jiang, Peng; Wang, Zhizhi; Yuan, Ningyi; Ding, Jianning

2018-03-01

Nickel-iridium (Ni-Ir) alloy films were electrodeposited from aqueous solutions on copper substrates under galvanostatic conditions. The effects of bath composition and deposition time on the faradaic efficiency (FE), partial current densities, chemical composition, morphology and crystallographic structure of the films were studied. The results show that the Ni-Ir alloys with Ir content as high as 37 at% and FE as high as 44% were obtained. Increase in concentration of citric acid had little or no effect on the composition of the alloys, but resulted in a significant decrease in FE and partial current densities of Ni and Ir. The FE and the partial current density of Ni slightly decreased with increasing Ir3+ concentration, however, Ir content increased while partial current density of Ir remained stable. The increase of Ni2+ concentration could result in the increase of the FE and the rate of Ni-Ir deposition, and even no cracks formed on the surface. The surface average roughness and root mean square roughness of the film were 6.8 ± 0.3 nm and 5.4 ± 0.3 nm, respectively. The mixture phases contained significant amounts of Ni oxides and a small amount of metallic Ni, Ir and Ir oxides on the surface. After argon ion sputter cleaning, the film was mainly composed of metallic Ni and Ir. The film consisted of the amorphous and nanocrystalline phases. The Ni content in the deposits was higher than that in the electrolyte, the co-deposition of Ni-Ir alloy was a normal deposition.

Thermal behaviour and corrosion resistance of nano-ZnO/polyurethane film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Virgawati, E.; Soegijono, B.

2018-03-01

Hybrid materials Nano-ZnO/polyurethane film was prepared with different zinc oxide (ZnO) content in polyurethane as a matrix. The film was deposited on low carbon steel plate using high volume low pressure (HVLP) method. To observe thermal behaviour of the film, the sample was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to see whether any chemical reaction of ZnO in polyurethane occured. TGA and FTIR results showed that the decomposition temperature shifted to a higher point and the chemical reaction of zinc oxide in polyurethane occurred. The surface morphology changed and the corrosion resistance increased with an increase of ZnO content

Au-C allotrope nano-composite films at extreme conditions generated by intense ultra-short laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Saif A.; Saravanan, K.; Tayyab, M.; Bagchi, S.; Avasthi, D. K.

2016-07-01

Structural evolution of gold-carbon allotrope nano-composite films under relativistically intense, ultra-short laser pulse irradiation is studied in this work. Au-C nano-composite films, having 4 and 10 at.% of Au, were deposited by co-sputtering technique on silicon substrates. Au-C60 NC films with 2.5 at.% Au were deposited on 12 μm thick Al foil using co-evaporation technique. These samples were radiated with single pulse from 45 fs, 10 TW Ti:Sapphire Laser at RRCAT at an intensity of 3 × 1018 W cm-2. The morphological and compositional changes were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Rutherford back-scattering spectrometry (RBS) techniques. Laser pulse created three morphologically distinct zones around the point of impact on samples with silicon substrates. The gold content in 600 μm circular region around a point of impact is found to reduce by a factor of five. Annular rings of ∼70 nm in diameter were observed in case of Au-C NC film after irradiation. Laser pulse created a hole of about 400 μm in the sample with Al foil as substrate and wavy structures of 6 μm wavelength are found to be created around this hole. The study shows radial variation in nano-structure formation with varying local intensity of laser pulse.

Bragg coherent diffractive imaging of single-grain defect dynamics in polycrystalline films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yau, Allison; Cha, Wonsuk; Kanan, Matthew W.; Stephenson, G. Brian; Ulvestad, Andrew

2017-05-01

Polycrystalline material properties depend on the distribution and interactions of their crystalline grains. In particular, grain boundaries and defects are crucial in determining their response to external stimuli. A long-standing challenge is thus to observe individual grains, defects, and strain dynamics inside functional materials. Here we report a technique capable of revealing grain heterogeneity, including strain fields and individual dislocations, that can be used under operando conditions in reactive environments: grain Bragg coherent diffractive imaging (gBCDI). Using a polycrystalline gold thin film subjected to heating, we show how gBCDI resolves grain boundary and dislocation dynamics in individual grains in three-dimensional detail with 10-nanometer spatial and subangstrom displacement field resolution. These results pave the way for understanding polycrystalline material response under external stimuli and, ideally, engineering particular functions.

Nanoscale size effects on the mechanical properties of platinum thin films and cross-sectional grain morphology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbas, K.; Alaie, S.; Ghasemi Baboly, M.; Elahi, M. M. M.; Anjum, D. H.; Chaieb, S.; Leseman, Z. C.

2016-01-01

The mechanical behavior of polycrystalline Pt thin films is reported for thicknesses of 75 nm, 100 nm, 250 nm, and 400 nm. These thicknesses correspond to transitions between nanocrystalline grain morphology types as found in TEM studies. Thinner samples display a brittle behavior, but as thickness increases the grain morphology evolves, leading to a ductile behavior. During evolution of the morphology, dramatic differences in elastic moduli (105-160 GPa) and strengths (560-1700 MPa) are recorded and explained by the variable morphology. This work suggests that in addition to the in-plane grain size of thin films, the transitions in cross-sectional morphologies of the Pt films significantly affect their mechanical behavior.

Ultrasonic agitation-floating classification of nano-sized Ba-Mg ferrites particles formed by using self-propagating high temperature synthesis and fabrication of nickel-ferrites thin sheet by pulse-electroforming.

PubMed

Choi, Yong

2013-01-01

Nickel-nano-sized ferrites composites sheet for electromagnetic shielding was produced by pulse-electroforming in a modified nickel sulfamate solution. The ferrite particles were prepared by self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) followed by mechanical milling, and classified with an ultrasonic agitation-floating unit to obtain about 100 nm in size. Average combustion temperature and combustion propagating rate during SHS reaction were 1190 K and 5.8 mm/sec at the oxygen pressure of 1.0 MPa, respectively. The nickel-ferrite composite sheet had preferred orientation which (100) pole clearly concentrated to normal direction, whereas, (110) and (111) poles tended to split to the longitudinal direction, respectively. Maximum magnetization, residual magnetization and coercive force of the nano-sized ferrites were 27.13 A x m2/kg, 6.4 A x m2/kg and 14.58 kA/m, respectively. Complex permeability of the composites decreased with an increase in frequency, and its real value (mu'r) had the maximum at about 0.3 GHz. The dielectric constants of the composites were epsilon'r = 6.7 and epsilon"r = 0.

Organic Nano-Grains in Comet 103P/Hartley 2: The Organic Glue of Porous Aggregate Grains?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wooden, D. H.; Russo, N.Dello; Li, A.; Woodward, C. E.; Kelley, M. S.; Harker, D. E.; Cook, J. C.; Vervack, R. J.; Geballe, T. R.

2013-01-01

The GNIRS instrument on the Gemini 8-­-m telescope observed comet 103P/Hartley on 2010-­- Dec-­-04UT, a month after the EPOXI Mission encounter, and detected the 3.3 and 3.4 um bands in emission. The 3.3/3.4 ratio and the broad band widths are consistent with experiments of heated (approximately 600 K) aliphatic carbon (-CH3, -CH2) thin films. For the 3.4 micron band to be in emission, the aliphatic bonds must be attached to a carrier possessing the strongly UV-­-absorbing C=C aromatic rings, and these rings have to be less than 50-­-100 carbon atoms (4-6 Angstrom) for attached -CH bonds to also generate a 3.3 micron-band in emission. Slightly larger (=10Å) Very Small Grains (VSGs) can absorb single UV photons comparable to or exceeding their heat capacity, thermally fluctuate and release IR photon(s). The 3.3 micron and 3.4 micron bands observed by GNIRS suggest that organic macromolecules/ nano-­-grains with both aliphatic and aromatic bonds are fluorescing/thermally fluctuating in the coma. Aliphatic and aromatic materials have been seen in Stardust samples and the primitive carbonaceous chondrite 'Tagish Lake'. The larger the ratio of the -CH2/-CH3 components of the aliphatic 3.4 micron band, the more 'primitive' the organic material. In a Stardust organic globule, some aliphatic bonds were transformed into aromatic bonds during the low dosage of Transmission Electron Microscope imaging. Conversely, lab experiments show irradiation of ices containing small PAHs generates aliphatic organics. Photo-­-processing of ices also likely forms the ubiquitous aliphatic coatings that appear on the surfaces of all silicate subgrains constituting nine cometary interplanetary dust particles. The aliphatic coatings, dominated by -CH2, likely were important in sticking the aggregates together, and existed prior to incorporation of dust aggregates into comet nuclei. These comet aliphatics may be some of the sought-­-after precursors to the more robust and complex

Comparison of interaction mechanisms of copper phthalocyanine and nickel phthalocyanine thin films with chemical vapours

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ridhi, R.; Singh, Sukhdeep; Saini, G. S. S.; Tripathi, S. K.

2018-04-01

The present study deals with comparing interaction mechanisms of copper phthalocyanine and nickel phthalocyanine with versatile chemical vapours: reducing, stable aromatic and oxidizing vapours namely; diethylamine, benzene and bromine. The variation in electrical current of phthalocyanines with exposure of chemical vapours is used as the detection parameter for studying interaction behaviour. Nickel phthalocyanine is found to exhibit anomalous behaviour after exposure of reducing vapour diethylamine due to alteration in its spectroscopic transitions and magnetic states. The observed sensitivities of copper phthalocyanine and nickel phthalcyanine films are different in spite of their similar bond numbers, indicating significant role of central metal atom in interaction mechanism. The variations in electronic transition levels after vapours exposure, studied using UV-Visible spectroscopy confirmed our electrical sensing results. Bromine exposure leads to significant changes in vibrational bands of metal phthalocyanines as compared to other vapours.

Electrical characterization of grain boundaries of CZTS thin films using conductive atomic force microscopy techniques

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

Muhunthan, N.; Singh, Om Pal; Toutam, Vijaykumar, E-mail: toutamvk@nplindia.org

2015-10-15

Graphical abstract: Experimental setup for conducting AFM (C-AFM). - Highlights: • Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} (CZTS) thin film was grown by reactive co-sputtering. • The electronic properties were probed using conducting atomic force microscope, scanning Kelvin probe microscopy and scanning capacitance microscopy. • C-AFM current flow mainly through grain boundaries rather than grain interiors. • SKPM indicated higher potential along the GBs compared to grain interiors. • The SCM explains that charge separation takes place at the interface of grain and grain boundary. - Abstract: Electrical characterization of grain boundaries (GB) of Cu-deficient CZTS (Copper Zinc Tin Sulfide) thin films wasmore » done using atomic force microscopic (AFM) techniques like Conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM), Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM). Absorbance spectroscopy was done for optical band gap calculations and Raman, XRD and EDS for structural and compositional characterization. Hall measurements were done for estimation of carrier mobility. CAFM and KPFM measurements showed that the currents flow mainly through grain boundaries (GB) rather than grain interiors. SCM results showed that charge separation mainly occurs at the interface of grain and grain boundaries and not all along the grain boundaries.« less

Crossover And MTF Characteristics Of A Tabular-Grain X-Ray Film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huff, K. E.; Wagner, P. W.

1984-08-01

An orthochromatic x-ray film made with tabular silver halide grains has a significantly higher MTF when exposed with green-emitting intensifying screens than do conventional films with similar sensitometric properties. The primary reason for the improved MTF is a decrease in the amount of crossover exposure, i.e., exposure by light that has crossed the support one or more times. Two well-established sensitometric procedures for measuring crossover have been compared. One produces results accurate enough for calculations of MTF relationships. Calculated MTF relationships for tabulargrain and conventional films are compared with measured values.

Corrosion Behavior of Pure Copper Surrounded by Hank's Physiological Electrolyte at 310 K (37 °C) as a Potential Biomaterial for Contraception: An Analogy Drawn Between Micro- and Nano-grained Copper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fattah-alhosseini, Arash; Imantalab, Omid; Vafaeian, Saeed; Ansari, Ghazaleh

2017-08-01

This work aims to evaluate the corrosion behavior of pure copper from the microstructural viewpoint for a biomedical application, namely intrauterine devices. For this purpose, Tafel polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques were used to evaluate the corrosion behavior of annealed pure copper (with the average grain size of 45 ± 1 µm) and nano-grained microstructure in physiological electrolyte of Hank at 310 K (37 °C). Pure copper in nanoscale grain size, typically an average of 90 ± 5 nm, was successfully made by eight-cycle accumulative roll bonding process at room temperature. On the basis of Tafel polarization results, it was revealed that nano-grained sample had lower corrosion current density and more noble corrosion potential for prolonged exposure in Hank's physiological solution at 310 K (37 °C). In addition, the EIS results showed that the nano-grained sample had more corrosion resistance compared to the coarse-grained one for long-time immersion.

Austenite Grain Size Control in Upstream Processing of Niobium Microalloyed Steels by Nano-Scale Precipitate Engineering of TiN-NbC Composite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subramanian, S. V.; Ma, Xiaoping; Rehman, Kashif

There is a growing demand for thicker gage pipes particularly for off-shore projects. Austenite grain size control in upstream processing before pancaking is essential to obtain excellent DBTT and DWTT properties in thicker gage product. This paper examines the basic science aspects of austenite grain size control by nano-scale precipitate engineering.

One-step growth of thin film SnS with large grains using MOCVD.

PubMed

Clayton, Andrew J; Charbonneau, Cecile M E; Tsoi, Wing C; Siderfin, Peter J; Irvine, Stuart J C

2018-01-01

Thin film tin sulphide (SnS) films were produced with grain sizes greater than 1 μm using a one-step metal organic chemical vapour deposition process. Tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) was used as the substrate, having a similar work function to molybdenum typically used as the back contact, but with potential use of its transparency for bifacial illumination. Tetraethyltin and ditertiarybutylsulphide were used as precursors with process temperatures 430-470 °C to promote film growth with large grains. The film stoichiometry was controlled by varying the precursor partial pressure ratios and characterised with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to optimise the SnS composition. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to determine the phases that were present in the film and revealed that small amounts of ottemannite Sn 2 S 3 was present when SnS was deposited on to the ITO using optimised growth parameters. Interaction at the SnS/ITO interface to form Sn 2 S 3 was deduced to have resulted for all growth conditions.

Increased endothelial cell adhesion and elongation on micron-patterned nano-rough poly(dimethylsiloxane) films.

PubMed

Ranjan, Ashwini; Webster, Thomas J

2009-07-29

The success of synthetic vascular grafts is largely determined by their ability to promote vital endothelial cell functions such as adhesion, alignment, proliferation, and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition. Developing such biomaterials requires the design and fabrication of materials that mimic select properties of native extracellular matrices. Furthermore, cells of the native endothelium have elongated and aligned morphology in the direction of blood flow, yet few materials promote this type of morphology initially, but rather rely on blood flow to orient endothelial cells. Therefore, the objective of this in vitro study was to design a biomaterial that mimics the conditions of the micro- and nano-environment of vascular intima tissue suitable for endothelial cell adhesion and elongation to improve the efficacy of small synthetic vascular grafts. Towards this end, patterned poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) films consisting of periodic arrays of nano-grooves (500 nm), with spacings ranging from 22 to 80 microm, and alternating nano- and micron roughness were fabricated using a novel electron beam physical vapor deposition method followed by polymer casting. By varying pattern spacing, the area of micron- and nano-rough surface was controlled. In vitro rat aortic endothelial cell adhesion and elongation studies indicated that endothelial cell function was enhanced on patterned PDMS surfaces with the widest spacing and greatest surface area of nano-roughness, as compared to more narrow pattern spacings and non-patterned PDMS surfaces. Specifically, endothelial cells adherent on PDMS patterned films of the widest spacing (greatest nano-rough area) displayed almost twice as much elongation as cells on non-patterned surfaces. For these reasons, the present study highlighted design criteria (the use of micron patterns of nano-features on PDMS) that may contribute to the intelligent design of new-generation vascular grafts.

PECVD based silicon oxynitride thin films for nano photonic on chip interconnects applications.

PubMed

Sharma, Satinder K; Barthwal, Sumit; Singh, Vikram; Kumar, Anuj; Dwivedi, Prabhat K; Prasad, B; Kumar, Dinesh

2013-01-01

Thin silicon oxynitride (SiO(x)N(y)) films were deposited by low temperature (~300°C) plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD), using SiH(4), N(2)O, NH(3) precursor of the flow rate 25, 100, 30 sccm and subjected to the post deposition annealing (PDA) treatment at 400°C and 600°C for nano optical/photonics on chip interconnects applications. AFM result reveals the variation of roughness from 60.9 Å to 23.4 Å after PDA treatment with respect to the as-deposited films, favourable surface topography for integrated waveguide applications. A model of decrease in island height with the effect of PDA treatment is proposed in support of AFM results. Raman spectroscopy and FTIR measurements are performed in order to define the change in crystallite and chemical bonding of as-deposited as well as PDA treated samples. These outcomes endorsed to the densification of SiO(x)N(y) thin films, due to decrease in Si-N and Si-O bonds strain, as well the O-H, N-H bonds with in oxynitride network. The increase in refractive index and PL intensity of as deposited SiO(x)N(y) thin films to the PDA treated films at 400°C and 600°C are observed. The significant shift of PL spectra peak positions indicate the change in cluster size as the result of PDA treatment, which influence the optical properties of thin films. It might be due to out diffusion of hydrogen containing species from silicon oxynitride films after PDA treatment. In this way, the structural and optical, feasibility of SiO(x)N(y) films are demonstrated in order to obtain high quality thin films for nano optical/photonics on chip interconnects applications. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bragg coherent diffractive imaging of single-grain defect dynamics in polycrystalline films

DOE PAGES

Yau, Allison; Cha, Wonsuk; Kanan, Matthew W.; ...

2017-05-19

Polycrystalline material properties depend on the distribution and interactions of their crystalline grains. In particular, grain boundaries and defects are crucial in determining their response to external stimuli. A long-standing challenge is thus to observe individual grains, defects, and strain dynamics inside functional materials. Here we report a technique capable of revealing grain heterogeneity, including strain fields and individual dislocations, that can be used under operando conditions in reactive environments: grain Bragg coherent diffractive imaging (gBCDI). Using a polycrystalline gold thin film subjected to heating, we show how gBCDI resolves grain boundary and dislocation dynamics in individual grains in three-dimensionalmore » detail with 10-nanometer spatial and subangstrom displacement field resolution. Finally, these results pave the way for understanding polycrystalline material response under external stimuli and, ideally, engineering particular functions.« less

Phase and electrical properties of PZT thin films embedded with CuO nano-particles by a hybrid sol-gel route

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sreesattabud, Tharathip; Gibbons, Brady J.; Watcharapasorn, Anucha; Jiansirisomboon, Sukanda

2013-07-01

Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 or PZT thin films embedded with CuO nano-particles were successfully prepared by a hybrid sol-gel process. In this process, CuO (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 and 1 wt. %) nanopowder was suspended in an organometallic solution of PZT, and then coated on platinised silicon substrate using a spin-coating technique. The influence of CuO nano-particles' dispersion on the phase of PZT thin films was investigated. XRD results showed a perovskite phase in all films. At the CuO concentration of 0.4-1 wt. %, a second phase was observed. The addition of CuO nano-particles affected the orientation of PZT thin films. The addition was also found to reduce the ferroelectric properties of PZT thin films. However, at 0.2 wt. % CuO concentration, the film exhibited good ferroelectric properties similar to those of PZT films. In addition, the fatigue retention properties of the PZT/CuO system was observed, and it showed 14% fatigue at 108 switching bipolar pulse cycles while the fatigue in PZT thin films was found to be 17% at the same switching bipolar pulse cycles.

Selective rear side ablation of thin nickel-chromium-alloy films using ultrashort laser pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pabst, Linda; Ullmann, Frank; Ebert, Robby; Exner, Horst

2018-03-01

In recent years, the selective laser structuring from the transparent substrate side plays an increased role in thin film processing. The rear side ablation is a highly effective ablation method for thin film structuring and revels a high structuring quality. Therefore, the rear side ablation of nickel-chromium-alloy thin films on glass substrate was investigated using femtosecond laser irradiation. Single and multiple pulses ablation thresholds as well as the incubation coefficient were determined. By irradiation from the transparent substrate side at low fluences a cracking or a partly delamination of the film could be observed. By increasing the fluence the most part of the film was ablated, however, a very thin film remained at the interface of the glass substrate. This thin remaining layer could be completely ablated by two pulses. A further increase of the pulse number had no influence on the ablation morphology. The ablated film was still intact and an entire disc or fragments could be collected near the ablation area. The fragments showed no morphology change and were still in solid state.

Magnetic vortex state and multi-domain pattern in electrodeposited hemispherical nanogranular nickel films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samardak, Alexander; Sukovatitsina, Ekaterina; Ognev, Alexey; Stebliy, Maksim; Davydenko, Alexander; Chebotkevich, Ludmila; Keun Kim, Young; Nasirpouri, Forough; Janjan, Seyed-Mehdi; Nasirpouri, Farzad

2014-12-01

Magnetic states of nickel nanogranular films were studied in two distinct structures of individual and agglomerated granules electrodeposited on n-type Si(1 1 1) surface from a modified Watts bath at a low pH of 2. Magnetic force microscopy and micromagnetic simulations revealed three-dimensional out-of-plane magnetic vortex states in stand-alone hemispherical granules and their arrays, and multi-domain patterns in large agglomerates and integrated films. Once the granules coalesce into small chains or clusters, the coercivity values increased due to the reduction of inter-granular spacing and strengthening of the magnetostatic interaction. Further growth leads to the formation of a continuous granulated film which strongly affected the coercivity and remanence. This was characterized by the domain wall nucleation and propagation leading to a stripe domain pattern. Magnetoresistance measurements as a function of external magnetic field are indicative of anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) for the continuous films electrodeposited on Si substrate.

Growth of fullerene-like carbon nitride thin solid films consisting of cross-linked nano-onions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czigány, Zs.; Brunell, I. F.; Neidhardt, J.; Hultman, L.; Suenaga, K.

2001-10-01

Fullerene-like CNx (x≈0.12) thin solid films were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering of graphite in a nitrogen and argon discharge on cleaved NaCl and Si(001) substrates at 450 °C. As-deposited films consist of 5 nm diam CNx nano-onions with shell sizes corresponding to Goldberg polyhedra determined by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Electron energy loss spectroscopy revealed that N incorporation is higher in the core of the onions than at the perimeter. N incorporation promotes pentagon formation and provides reactive sites for interlinks between shells of the onions. A model is proposed for the formation of CNx nano-onions by continuous surface nucleation and growth of hemispherical shells.

Elevated temperature deformation of TD-nickel base alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petrovic, J. J.; Kane, R. D.; Ebert, L. J.

1972-01-01

Sensitivity of the elevated temperature deformation of TD-nickel to grain size and shape was examined in both tension and creep. Elevated temperature strength increased with increasing grain diameter and increasing L/D ratio. Measured activation enthalpies in tension and creep were not the same. In tension, the internal stress was not proportional to the shear modulus. Creep activation enthalpies increased with increasing L/D ratio and increasing grain diameter, to high values compared with that of the self diffusion enthalpy. It has been postulated that two concurrent processes contribute to the elevated temperature deformation of polycrystalline TD-nickel: (1) diffusion controlled grain boundary sliding, and (2) dislocation motion.

Reversal in the Size Dependence of Grain Rotation

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

Zhou, Xiaoling; Tamura, Nobumichi; Mi, Zhongying

The conventional belief, based on the Read-Shockley model for the grain rotation mechanism, has been that smaller grains rotate more under stress due to the motion of grain boundary dislocations. However, in our high-pressure synchrotron Laue x-ray microdiffraction experiments, 70 nm nickel particles are found to rotate more than any other grain size. We infer that the reversal in the size dependence of the grain rotation arises from the crossover between the grain boundary dislocation-mediated and grain interior dislocation-mediated deformation mechanisms. The dislocation activities in the grain interiors are evidenced by the deformation texture of nickel nanocrystals. This new findingmore » reshapes our view on the mechanism of grain rotation and helps us to better understand the plastic deformation of nanomaterials, particularly of the competing effects of grain boundary and grain interior dislocations.« less

Reversal in the Size Dependence of Grain Rotation

DOE PAGES

Zhou, Xiaoling; Tamura, Nobumichi; Mi, Zhongying; ...

2017-03-01

The conventional belief, based on the Read-Shockley model for the grain rotation mechanism, has been that smaller grains rotate more under stress due to the motion of grain boundary dislocations. However, in our high-pressure synchrotron Laue x-ray microdiffraction experiments, 70 nm nickel particles are found to rotate more than any other grain size. We infer that the reversal in the size dependence of the grain rotation arises from the crossover between the grain boundary dislocation-mediated and grain interior dislocation-mediated deformation mechanisms. The dislocation activities in the grain interiors are evidenced by the deformation texture of nickel nanocrystals. This new findingmore » reshapes our view on the mechanism of grain rotation and helps us to better understand the plastic deformation of nanomaterials, particularly of the competing effects of grain boundary and grain interior dislocations.« less

In situ atomic scale mechanical microscopy discovering the atomistic mechanisms of plasticity in nano-single crystals and grain rotation in polycrystalline metals.

PubMed

Han, Xiaodong; Wang, Lihua; Yue, Yonghai; Zhang, Ze

2015-04-01

In this review, we briefly introduce our in situ atomic-scale mechanical experimental technique (ASMET) for transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which can observe the atomic-scale deformation dynamics of materials. This in situ mechanical testing technique allows the deformation of TEM samples through a simultaneous double-tilt function, making atomic-scale mechanical microscopy feasible. This methodology is generally applicable to thin films, nanowires (NWs), tubes and regular TEM samples to allow investigation of the dynamics of mechanically stressed samples at the atomic scale. We show several examples of this technique applied to Pt and Cu single/polycrystalline specimens. The in situ atomic-scale observation revealed that when the feature size of these materials approaches the nano-scale, they often exhibit "unusual" deformation behaviours compared to their bulk counterparts. For example, in Cu single-crystalline NWs, the elastic-plastic transition is size-dependent. An ultra-large elastic strain of 7.2%, which approaches the theoretical elasticity limit, can be achieved as the diameter of the NWs decreases to ∼6 nm. The crossover plasticity transition from full dislocations to partial dislocations and twins was also discovered as the diameter of the single-crystalline Cu NWs decreased. For Pt nanocrystals (NC), the long-standing uncertainties of atomic-scale plastic deformation mechanisms in NC materials (grain size G less than 15 nm) were clarified. For larger grains with G<∼10 nm, we frequently observed movements and interactions of cross-grain full dislocations. For G between 6 and 10 nm, stacking faults resulting from partial dislocations become more frequent. For G<∼6 nm, the plasticity mechanism transforms from a mode of cross-grain dislocation to a collective grain rotation mechanism. This grain rotation process is mediated by grain boundary (GB) dislocations with the assistance of GB diffusion and shuffling. These in situ atomic-scale images

Depth profiling of nitrogen within 15N-incorporated nano-crystalline diamond thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garratt, E.; AlFaify, S.; Cassidy, D. P.; Dissanayake, A.; Mancini, D. C.; Ghantasala, M. K.; Kayani, A.

2013-09-01

Nano-Crystalline Diamond (NCD) thin films are a topic of recent interest due to their excellent mechanical and electrical properties. The inclusion of nitrogen is a specific interest as its presence within NCD modifies its conductive properties. The methodology adopted for the characterization of nitrogen incorporated NCD films grown on a chromium underlayer determined a correlation between the chromium and nitrogen concentrations as well as a variation in the concentration profile of elements. Additionally, the concentration of nitrogen was found to be more than three times greater for these films versus those grown on a silicon substrate.

Grain-Size-Limited Mobility in Methylammonium Lead Iodide Perovskite Thin Films

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

Reid, Obadiah G.; Yang, Mengjin; Kopidakis, Nikos

2016-09-09

We report a systematic study of the gigahertz-frequency charge carrier mobility found in methylammonium lead iodide perovskite films as a function of average grain size using time-resolved microwave conductivity and a single processing chemistry. Our measurements are in good agreement with the Kubo formula for the AC mobility of charges confined within finite grains, suggesting (1) that the surface grains imaged via scanning electron microscopy are representative of the true electronic domain size and not substantially subdivided by twinning or other defects not visible by microscopy and (2) that the time scale of diffusive transport across grain boundaries is muchmore » slower than the period of the microwave field in this measurement (-100 ps). The intrinsic (infinite grain size) minimum mobility extracted form the model is 29 +/- 6 cm2 V-1 s-1 at the probe frequency (8.9 GHz).« less

Characterization of MAPLE deposited WO3 thin films for electrochromic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boyadjiev, S. I.; Stefan, N.; Szilágyi, I. M.; Mihailescu, N.; Visan, A.; Mihailescu, I. N.; Stan, G. E.; Besleaga, C.; Iliev, M. T.; Gesheva, K. A.

2017-01-01

Tungsten trioxide (WO3) is a widely studied material for electrochromic applications. The structure, morphology and optical properties of WO3 thin films, grown by matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) from monoclinic WO3 nano-sized particles, were investigated for their possible application as electrochromic layers. A KrF* excimer (λ=248 nm, ζFWHM=25 ns) laser source was used in all experiments. The MAPLE deposited WO3 thin films were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Cyclic voltammetry measurements were also performed, and the coloring and bleaching were observed. The morpho-structural investigations disclosed the synthesis of single-phase monoclinic WO3 films consisting of crystalline nano-grains embedded in an amorphous matrix. All thin films showed good electrochromic properties, thus validating application of the MAPLE deposition technique for the further development of electrochromic devices.

Recrystallization characteristics of oxide dispersion strengthened nickel-base alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hotzler, R. K.; Glasgow, T. K.

1980-01-01

Electron microscopy was employed to study the process of recrystallization in two oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) mechanically alloyed nickel-base alloys, MA 754 and MA 6000E. MA 754 contained both fine, uniformly dispersed particles and coarser oxides aligned along the working direction. Hot rolled MA 754 had a grain size of 0.5 microns and high dislocation densities. After partial primary recrystallization, the fine grains transformed to large elongated grains via secondary (or abnormal) grain growth. Extruded and rolled MA 6000E contained equiaxed grains of 0.2 micron diameter. Primary recrystallization occurring during working eliminated virtually all dislocations. Conversion from fine to coarse grains was triggered by gamma prime dissolution; this was also a process of secondary or abnormal grain growth. Comparisons were made to conventional and oxide dispersion strengthened nickel-base alloys.

Grain refinement of a nickel and manganese free austenitic stainless steel produced by pressurized solution nitriding

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

Mohammadzadeh, Roghayeh, E-mail: r_mohammadzadeh@sut.ac.ir; Akbari, Alireza, E-mail: akbari@sut.ac.ir

2014-07-01

Prolonged exposure at high temperatures during solution nitriding induces grain coarsening which deteriorates the mechanical properties of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels. In this study, grain refinement of nickel and manganese free Fe–22.75Cr–2.42Mo–1.17N high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel plates was investigated via a two-stage heat treatment procedure. Initially, the coarse-grained austenitic stainless steel samples were subjected to an isothermal heating at 700 °C to be decomposed into the ferrite + Cr{sub 2}N eutectoid structure and then re-austenitized at 1200 °C followed by water quenching. Microstructure and hardness of samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, optical and scanning electron microscopy, andmore » micro-hardness testing. The results showed that the as-solution-nitrided steel decomposes non-uniformly to the colonies of ferrite and Cr{sub 2}N nitrides with strip like morphology after isothermal heat treatment at 700 °C. Additionally, the complete dissolution of the Cr{sub 2}N precipitates located in the sample edges during re-austenitizing requires longer times than 1 h. In order to avoid this problem an intermediate nitrogen homogenizing heat treatment cycle at 1200 °C for 10 h was applied before grain refinement process. As a result, the initial austenite was uniformly decomposed during the first stage, and a fine grained austenitic structure with average grain size of about 20 μm was successfully obtained by re-austenitizing for 10 min. - Highlights: • Successful grain refinement of Fe–22.75Cr–2.42Mo–1.17N steel by heat treatment • Using the γ → α + Cr{sub 2}N reaction for grain refinement of a Ni and Mn free HNASS • Obtaining a single phase austenitic structure with average grain size of ∼ 20 μm • Incomplete dissolution of Cr{sub 2}N during re-austenitizing at 1200 °C for long times • Reducing re-austenitizing time by homogenizing treatment before grain refinement.« less

Thick-film nickel-metal-hydride battery based on porous ceramic substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Do, Jing-Shan; Yu, Sen-Hao; Cheng, Suh-Fen

Nickel-metal-hydride (Ni-MH) batteries are prepared with thick-film and thin-film technologies based on porous ceramic substrates. The porosity and the mean pore diameter of BP ceramic substrates prepared from the argils increases from 19.81% and 0.0432 μm to 29.81% and 0.224 μm, respectively, upon increasing the ethyl cellulose content in the BP argil from 0 to 0.79%. The pore diameter of Al 2O 3 substrates prepared from Al 2O 3 powder is mainly distributed in the range 0.01-0.5 μm. The distribution of the pore diameters of BP ceramic substrates lies in two ranges, namely: 0.04-2 μm and 10-300 μm. Using BP ceramic plates and Al 2O 3 plates as substrates to fabricate thick-film Ni-MH batteries, the optimal electroactive material utilization in the batteries is 77.0 and 71.1%, respectively. On increasing the screen-printing number for preparing the cathode (Ni(OH) 2) from 1 to 3, the discharge capacity of the thick-film battery increases from 0.2917 to 0.7875 mAh, and the utilization in the battery decreases from 71.0 to 53.0%.

Solution-processed copper-nickel nanowire anodes for organic solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, Ian E.; Rathmell, Aaron R.; Yan, Liang; Ye, Shengrong; Flowers, Patrick F.; You, Wei; Wiley, Benjamin J.

2014-05-01

This work describes a process to make anodes for organic solar cells from copper-nickel nanowires with solution-phase processing. Copper nanowire films were coated from solution onto glass and made conductive by dipping them in acetic acid. Acetic acid removes the passivating oxide from the surface of copper nanowires, thereby reducing the contact resistance between nanowires to nearly the same extent as hydrogen annealing. Films of copper nanowires were made as oxidation resistant as silver nanowires under dry and humid conditions by dipping them in an electroless nickel plating solution. Organic solar cells utilizing these completely solution-processed copper-nickel nanowire films exhibited efficiencies of 4.9%.This work describes a process to make anodes for organic solar cells from copper-nickel nanowires with solution-phase processing. Copper nanowire films were coated from solution onto glass and made conductive by dipping them in acetic acid. Acetic acid removes the passivating oxide from the surface of copper nanowires, thereby reducing the contact resistance between nanowires to nearly the same extent as hydrogen annealing. Films of copper nanowires were made as oxidation resistant as silver nanowires under dry and humid conditions by dipping them in an electroless nickel plating solution. Organic solar cells utilizing these completely solution-processed copper-nickel nanowire films exhibited efficiencies of 4.9%. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr01024h

Linear Dichroism and Photoluminescence Microscopy Imaging of Grain Boundaries in Crystalline Metal-Free Phthalocyanine Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Zhenwen; Lamarche, Cody; Cour, Ishviene; Rawat, Naveen; Manning, Lane; Headrick, Randall; Furis, Madalina; Physics Dept.; Material Science Program, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405 Team

2011-03-01

We employed a combination of linear dichroism and photoluminescence microscopy with spatial resolution of 5 μ m to study the excitonic properties of solution-processed metal-free phthalocyanine (H2Pc) crystalline thin films with millimeter-sized grains. We observe a highly-localized, sharp, monomer-like emission at the high angle grain boundaries, in contrast to samples with more uniform grain orientation where no such feature has been observed. The energy difference between the grain boundary luminescence and the HOMO-LUMO singlet exciton recombination of the crystalline H2Pc is measured to be 160meV. Our systematic survey of grain boundaries indicates this localized state is never present at low angle boundaries where the π -orbital overlap between adjacent grains is significant. It supports recent results which associated a decrease in carrier mobility with the presence of large angle boundaries in similar crystalline pentacene films. This project is supported by DMR- 0722451; DMR-0348354; DMR- 0821268.

Frictional properties of lubrication greases with the addition of nickel nanoparticles in pneumatic cylinder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Ho; Lan, Chou-Wei; Guo, Jia-Bin

2011-12-01

This paper studies the influence of addition of 100 nm diameter nickel nano-particles on the friction properties of synthetic grease (Li base, VG100) in pneumatic cylinder. The friction force test of pneumatic cylinder equipment measures the frictional force between seal and cylinder bore in pneumatic cylinders. The lubricants with addition of nickel nano-particles were used for lubricating the contact interface between seal and cylinder bore. The friction force test equipment employ a load cell force sensor to measure the friction force between seals and cylinder bores. Results obtained from experimental tests are compared to determine the friction force between seals and cylinder bore in pneumatic cylinders. The study leads to the conclusion that the addition of nickel nano-particles to synthetic grease results in a decrease in friction force between seals and cylinder bores in pneumatic cylinder. This tribological behavior is closely related to the deposition of nano-particles on the rubbing surfaces

Elastic properties of porous low-k dielectric nano-films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, W.; Bailey, S.; Sooryakumar, R.; King, S.; Xu, G.; Mays, E.; Ege, C.; Bielefeld, J.

2011-08-01

Low-k dielectrics have predominantly replaced silicon dioxide as the interlayer dielectric for interconnects in state of the art integrated circuits. In order to further reduce interconnect RC delays, additional reductions in k for these low-k materials are being pursued via the introduction of controlled levels of porosity. The main challenge for such dielectrics is the substantial reduction in elastic properties that accompanies the increased pore volume. We report on Brillouin light scattering measurements used to determine the elastic properties of these films at thicknesses well below 200 nm, which are pertinent to their introduction into present ultralarge scale integrated technology. The observation of longitudinal and transverse standing wave acoustic resonances and their transformation into traveling waves with finite in-plane wave vectors provides for a direct non-destructive measure of the principal elastic constants that characterize the elastic properties of these porous nano-scale films. The mode dispersion further confirms that for porosity levels of up to 25%, the reduction in the dielectric constant does not result in severe degradation in the Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of the films.

Coarse and nano emulsions for effective delivery of the natural pest control agent pulegone for stored grain protection.

PubMed

Golden, Gilad; Quinn, Elazar; Shaaya, Eli; Kostyukovsky, Moshe; Poverenov, Elena

2018-04-01

One of the most significant contributors to the global food crisis is grain loss during storage, mainly caused by pest insects. Currently, there are two main methods used for insect pest control: fumigation and grain protection using contact insecticides. As some chemical insecticides can harm humans and the environment, there is a global tendency to reduce their use by finding alternative eco-friendly approaches. In this study, the natural pest-managing agent pulegone was encapsulated into coarse and nano emulsions. The emulsions were characterized using spectroscopic and microscopic methods and their stability and pulegone release ability were examined. The insecticidal activity of the prepared formulations against two stored product insects, rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae L.) and red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum Herbst), was demonstrated. The nano emulsion-based formulation offered significant advantages and provided powerful bioactivity, with high (> 90%) mortality rates for as long as 5 weeks for both insects, whereas coarse emulsions showed high efficacy for only 1 week. The developed pulegone-based nano emulsions could serve as a model for an effective alternative method for pest control. Although pulegone is from a natural source, toxicological studies should be performed before the widespread application of pulegone or pulegone-containing essential oils to dry food products. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Superconducting properties of Nb-Cu nano-composites and nano-alloys

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

Parab, Pradnya, E-mail: pradnyaprb@gmail.com; Kumar, Sanjeev; Bhui, Prabhjyot

The evolution of the superconducting transition temperature (T{sub c}) in nano-composite and nano-alloys of Nb-Cu, grown by DC magnetron co-sputtering are investigated. Microstructure of these films depends less strongly on the ratio of Nb:Cu but more on the growth temperature. At higher growth temperature, phase separated granular films of Nb and Cu were formed which showed superconducting transition temperatures (T{sub c}) of ~ 7.2±0.5 K, irrespective of the composition. Our results show that this is primarily influenced by the microstructure of the films determined during growth which rules out the superconducting proximity effect expected in these systems. At room temperaturemore » growth, films with nano-scale alloying were obtained at the optimal compositional range of 45-70 atomic% (At%) of Nb. These were also superconducting with a T{sub c} of 3.2 K.« less

Thermal effects in photomask engineering and nano-thermometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Dachen

Electron Beam Lithography (EBL) in photomask fabrication results in heating of the resist films. The local heating can change the chemical properties of resist, leading to placement errors. The heating induced error has been believed to be increasingly significant as the transistor minimum feature size approaches the sub 100 nm region. A Green's function approach has been developed to calculate four-dimensional temperature profiles in complex structures such as the multi-layer work-pieces being exposed in EBL. The model is being used to characterize different ebeam writing strategies to find the optimum. To provide the parameters for the model, two independent techniques have been employed: a thin film electrode method and a laser thermal-reflectance method. Unlike earlier results from polyimide films, no appreciable anisotropy was observed in thermal conductivities for the polymeric resists tested. Gold/nickel thin film thermocouples with minimum junction area of 100nm by 100nm were fabricated and calibrated. These thermocouple demonstrated a 400ns response time when heated by a 10ns laser pulse. Using these nano thermocouples, transient resist heating temperature profiles were for the first time measured at room temperature. Experimental results showed a good agreement with the Green's function model. We also observed a tradeoff in the scaling of thermocouple sensors. The smaller thermocouples may provide higher spatial and temporal resolutions but have poorer temperature resolution. In conclusion, we both modeled and measured the resist heating in EBL. In short exposure time (˜1us or less) the resist heating is nearly adiabatic, while in longer time the heating is dominated by substrate. Nano scale metallic thermocouples were explored and tradeoff was observed in dimension scaling.

Magnetic and electrical characterization of nickel-rich NiFe thin films synthesized by atomic layer deposition and subsequent thermal reduction.

PubMed

Espejo, A P; Zierold, R; Gooth, J; Dendooven, J; Detavernier, C; Escrig, J; Nielsch, K

2016-08-26

Nickel-rich NiFe thin films (Ni92Fe8, Ni89Fe11 and Ni83Fe17) were prepared by combining atomic layer deposition (ALD) with a subsequent thermal reduction process. In order to obtain Ni x Fe1-x O y films, one ALD supercycle was performed according to the following sequence: m NiCp2/O3, with m = 1, 2 or 3, followed by one FeCp2/O3 cycle. The supercycle was repeated n times. The thermal reduction process in hydrogen atmosphere was investigated by in situ x-ray diffraction studies as a function of temperature. The metallic nickel iron alloy thin films were investigated and characterized with respect to crystallinity, morphology, resistivity, and magnetism. As proof-of-concept magnetic properties of an array of Ni83Fe17, close to the perfect Permalloy stoichiometry, nanotubes and an isolated tube were investigated.

Magnetic and electrical characterization of nickel-rich NiFe thin films synthesized by atomic layer deposition and subsequent thermal reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Espejo, A. P.; Zierold, R.; Gooth, J.; Dendooven, J.; Detavernier, C.; Escrig, J.; Nielsch, K.

2016-08-01

Nickel-rich NiFe thin films (Ni92Fe8, Ni89Fe11 and Ni83Fe17) were prepared by combining atomic layer deposition (ALD) with a subsequent thermal reduction process. In order to obtain Ni x Fe1-x O y films, one ALD supercycle was performed according to the following sequence: m NiCp2/O3, with m = 1, 2 or 3, followed by one FeCp2/O3 cycle. The supercycle was repeated n times. The thermal reduction process in hydrogen atmosphere was investigated by in situ x-ray diffraction studies as a function of temperature. The metallic nickel iron alloy thin films were investigated and characterized with respect to crystallinity, morphology, resistivity, and magnetism. As proof-of-concept magnetic properties of an array of Ni83Fe17, close to the perfect Permalloy stoichiometry, nanotubes and an isolated tube were investigated.

Nano-crystalline porous tin oxide film for carbon monoxide sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Chung-Chiun (Inventor); Savinell, Robert F. (Inventor); Jin, Zhihong (Inventor)

2000-01-01

A tin oxide sol is deposited on platinum electrodes (12) of a sensor (10). The sol is calcined at a temperature of 500 to 800.degree. C. to produce a thin film of tin oxide with a thickness of about 150 nm to 2 .mu. and having a nano-crystalline structure with good stability. The sensor rapidly detects reducing gases, such as carbon monoxide, or hydrocarbons and organic vapors. Sensors using films calcined at around 700.degree. C. have high carbon monoxide selectivity with a response time of around 4 minutes and a recovery time of 1 minute, and therefore provide good detection systems for detection of trace amounts of pollutants such as toxic and flammable gases in homes, industrial settings, and hospitals.

Near band edge emission characteristics of sputtered nano-crystalline ZnO films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kunj, Saurabh; Sreenivas, K.

2016-05-01

Sputtered zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films deposited on unheated glass substrate under different sputtering gas mixtures (Ar+O2) have been investigated using X-ray diffraction and photo luminescence spectroscopy. Earlier reported studies on ZnO films prepared by different techniques exhibit either a sharp/broad near band edge (NBE) emission peak depending on the crystalline quality of the film. In the present study zinc oxide films, grown on unheated substrates, are seen to possess a preferred (002) orientation with a microstructure consisting of clustered nano-sized crystallites. The splitting in the near band edge emission (NBE) into three characteristic peaks is attributed to quantum confinement effect, and is observed specifically under an excitation of 270 nm. Deep level emission (DLE) in the range 400 to 700 nm is not observed indicating absence of deep level radiative defects.

Strain evolution of each type of grains in poly-crystalline (Ba,Sr)TiO3 thin films grown by sputtering

PubMed Central

Park, Woo Young; Park, Min Hyuk; Lee, Jong Ho; Yoon, Jung Ho; Han, Jeong Hwan; Choi, Jung-Hae; Hwang, Cheol Seong

2012-01-01

The strain states of [111]-, [110]-, and [002]-oriented grains in poly-crystalline sputtered (Ba,Sr)TiO3 thin films on highly [111]-oriented Pt electrode/Si substrates were carefully examined by X-ray diffraction techniques. Remarkably, [002]-oriented grains respond more while [110]- and [111]-oriented grains do less than the theoretically estimated responses, which is understandable from the arrangement of the TiO6 octahedra with respect to the stress direction. Furthermore, such mechanical responses are completely independent of the degree of crystallization and film thickness. The transition growth temperature between the positive and negative strains was also different depending on the grain orientation. The unstrained lattice parameter for each type of grain was different suggesting that the oxygen vacancy concentration for each type of grain is different, too. The results reveal that polycrystalline (Ba,Sr)TiO3 thin films are not an aggregation of differently oriented grains which simply follow the mechanical behavior of single crystal with different orientations. PMID:23230505

Preparation of Cu-doped nickel oxide thin films and their properties

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

Gowthami, V.; Meenakshi, M.; Anandhan, N.

2014-04-24

Copper doped Nickel oxide film was preferred on glass substrate by simple nebulizer technique keeping the substrate temperature at 350°C and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Photoluminescence (PL) and Four probe resistivity measurements. XRD studies indicated cubic structure and the crystallites are preferentially oriented along the [111] direction. Interesting results have been obtained from the study of PL spectra. A peak corresponding to 376nm in the emission spectra for 0%, 5% and 10% copper doped samples. The samples show sharp and strong UV emission corresponding to the near band edge emission under excitation of 275nm.

Preparation of biomimetic nano-structured films with multi-scale roughness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shelemin, A.; Nikitin, D.; Choukourov, A.; Kylián, O.; Kousal, J.; Khalakhan, I.; Melnichuk, I.; Slavínská, D.; Biederman, H.

2016-06-01

Biomimetic nano-structured films are valuable materials in various applications. In this study we introduce a fully vacuum-based approach for fabrication of such films. The method combines deposition of nanoparticles (NPs) by gas aggregation source and deposition of overcoat thin film that fixes the nanoparticles on a surface. This leads to the formation of nanorough surfaces which, depending on the chemical nature of the overcoat, may range from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic. In addition, it is shown that by proper adjustment of the amount of NPs it is possible to tailor adhesive force on superhydrophobic surfaces. Finally, the possibility to produce NPs in a wide range of their size (45-240 nm in this study) makes it possible to produce surfaces not only with single scale roughness, but also with bi-modal or even multi-modal character. Such surfaces were found to be superhydrophobic with negligible water contact angle hysteresis and hence truly slippery.

Seismic slip on clay nano-foliation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aretusini, Stefano; Plümper, Oliver; Spagnuolo, Elena; Di Toro, Giulio

2017-04-01

Deformation processes active at seismic slip rates (ca. 1 m/s) on smectite-rich slipping zones are not well understood, although they likely control the mechanical behaviour of: i) subduction zone faults affected by tsunamigenic earthquakes and seismic surface rupturing, and ii) landslide decollements. Here we present a set of rotary experiments performed on water-dampened 2 mm thick clay-rich (70% wt. smectite and 30% wt. opal) gouge layers sheared at slip rates V ranging from 0.01 to 1.5 m/s, for 3 m of displacement under 5 MPa normal stress. Microstructural analyses were conducted on pre- and post-sheared gouges using focused ion beam scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy. All sheared gouges were slip weakening in the first 0.1 m of displacement, with friction coefficient decreasing from 0.4-0.3 to 0.1-0.05. Then, with progressive slip, gouges evolved to slip-strengthening (final friction coefficient of 0.47-0.35) at V ≤0.1 m/s and slip-neutral (final friction of 0.05) at V=1.5 m/s. Despite the large difference in the imposed slip rate and frictional behaviour, the slipping zone always consisted of a nano-foliation defined by sub-micrometric smectite crystals wrapping opal grains. The microstructural differences were (1) the thickness of the slipping zone which decreased from 1.5 mm at V≤0.1 m/s to 0.15 mm at V=1.5 m/s, and (2) the structure of the foliated fabric, which was S/C'-type at V≤0.1 m/s and anastomosing-type at V=1.5 m/s. The presence of a similar nano-foliation in all the smectite-rich wet gouges suggests the activation of similar frictional processes, most likely grain boundary and interlayer frictional sliding aided by water films, operating from sub-seismic to seismic strain rates ( 10-10000 1/s). Water films on crystal boundaries and interlayers possibly control the micro- and nano-mechanics of smectite deformation, therefore influencing the bulk frictional behaviour during seismic slip.

Nano- and micro-scale Bi-substituted iron garnet films for photonics and magneto-optic eddy current defectoscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berzhansky, V. N.; Karavainikov, A. V.; Mikhailova, T. V.; Prokopov, A. R.; Shaposhnikov, A. N.; Shumilov, A. G.; Lugovskoy, N. V.; Semuk, E. Yu.; Kharchenko, M. F.; Lukienko, I. M.; Kharchenko, Yu. M.; Belotelov, V. I.

2017-10-01

Synthesis technology of nano-scale Bi-substituted iron garnets films with high magneto-optic activity for photonics and plasmonics applications were proposed. The micro-scale single-crystal garnet films with different types of magnetic anisotropy as a magneto-optic sensors were synthesized. It was shown that easy-axis anisotropy films demonstrated the best results for visualization of redistribution eddy current magnetic field near defects.

Investigations by Protein Film Electrochemistry of Alternative Reactions of Nickel-Containing Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenase.

PubMed

Wang, Vincent C-C; Islam, Shams T A; Can, Mehmet; Ragsdale, Stephen W; Armstrong, Fraser A

2015-10-29

Protein film electrochemistry has been used to investigate reactions of highly active nickel-containing carbon monoxide dehydrogenases (CODHs). When attached to a pyrolytic graphite electrode, these enzymes behave as reversible electrocatalysts, displaying CO2 reduction or CO oxidation at minimal overpotential. The O2 sensitivity of CODH is suppressed by adding cyanide, a reversible inhibitor of CO oxidation, or by raising the electrode potential. Reduction of N2O, isoelectronic with CO2, is catalyzed by CODH, but the reaction is sluggish, despite a large overpotential, and results in inactivation. Production of H2 and formate under highly reducing conditions is consistent with calculations predicting that a nickel-hydrido species might be formed, but the very low rates suggest that such a species is not on the main catalytic pathway.

Structure-activity correlations in a nickel-borate oxygen evolution catalyst.

PubMed

Bediako, D Kwabena; Lassalle-Kaiser, Benedikt; Surendranath, Yogesh; Yano, Junko; Yachandra, Vittal K; Nocera, Daniel G

2012-04-18

An oxygen evolution catalyst that forms as a thin film from Ni(aq)(2+) solutions containing borate electrolyte (Ni-B(i)) has been studied by in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy. A dramatic increase in catalytic rate, induced by anodic activation of the electrodeposited films, is accompanied by structure and oxidation state changes. Coulometric measurements correlated with X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectra of the active catalyst show that the nickel centers in activated films possess an average oxidation state of +3.6, indicating that a substantial proportion of nickel centers exist in a formal oxidation state of Ni(IV). In contrast, nickel centers in nonactivated films exist predominantly as Ni(III). Extended X-ray absorption fine structure reveals that activated catalyst films comprise bis-oxo/hydroxo-bridged nickel centers organized into sheets of edge-sharing NiO(6) octahedra. Diminished long-range ordering in catalyst films is due to their ostensibly amorphous nature. Nonactivated films display a similar oxidic nature but exhibit a distortion in the local coordination geometry about nickel centers, characteristic of Jahn-Teller distorted Ni(III) centers. Our findings indicate that the increase in catalytic activity of films is accompanied by changes in oxidation state and structure that are reminiscent of those observed for conversion of β-NiOOH to γ-NiOOH and consequently challenge the long-held notion that the β-NiOOH phase is a more efficient oxygen-evolving catalyst. © 2012 American Chemical Society

Wrinkling of flexoelectric nano-film/substrate systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Shengkai; Huang, Huaiwei; Liu, Yijie; Zhu, Zheng H.

2018-02-01

The study of wrinkling mechanisms essentially helps to establish stable and controllable performance in electronic products. To gain some basic understanding of the wrinkling process in flexoelectric dielectrics, this paper models the wrinkling of nano-film/substrate systems, typically seen in stretchable electronics, subjected to substrate prestrain and voltage loading on electrodes. Flexoelectricity is considered through the constitutive equations proposed by Shen and Hu, and Euler-Bernoulli beam theory is applied to formulate the expressions of wrinkling wavelength and amplitude through the Ritz method. The effects of flexoelectricity, surface parameters, prestrain, applied voltage, structural scale etc on wrinkling behaviors, including wrinkling deformation and the wrinkling critical condition, are discussed. Results reveal that the action of both flexoelectric and surface effects is significant over only a small scale range, with film thickness less than 10 nm. Alongside these issues, the fundamental difference between flexoelectric and piezoelectric effects on wrinkling behaviors is highlighted. Piezoelectricity may act as a promoter or suppressor of wrinkling initiation and amplitude, depending on the applied voltage, while flexoelectricity not only reduces the critical prestrain or voltage required for wrinkling, but also decreases the wrinkling wavelength and amplitude.

Effect of Grain Boundaries on the Performance of Thin-Film-Based Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cells: A Numerical Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chhetri, Nikita; Chatterjee, Somenath

2018-01-01

Solar cells/photovoltaic, a renewable energy source, is appraised to be the most effective alternative to the conventional electrical energy generator. A cost-effective alternative of crystalline wafer-based solar cell is thin-film polycrystalline-based solar cell. This paper reports the numerical analysis of dependency of the solar cell parameters (i.e., efficiency, fill factor, open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current density) on grain size for thin-film-based polycrystalline silicon (Si) solar cells. A minority carrier lifetime model is proposed to do a correlation between the grains, grain boundaries and lifetime for thin-film-based polycrystalline Si solar cells in MATLAB environment. As observed, the increment in the grain size diameter results in increase in minority carrier lifetime in polycrystalline Si thin film. A non-equivalent series resistance double-diode model is used to find the dark as well as light (AM1.5) current-voltage (I-V) characteristics for thin-film-based polycrystalline Si solar cells. To optimize the effectiveness of the proposed model, a successive approximation method is used and the corresponding fitting parameters are obtained. The model is validated with the experimentally obtained results reported elsewhere. The experimentally reported solar cell parameters can be found using the proposed model described here.

Biofouling of Cr-Nickel Spray Coated Films on Steel Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, Kento; Kanematsu, Hideyuki; Kuroda, Daisuke; Ikigai, Hajime; Kogo, Takeshi; Yokoyama, Seiji

2012-03-01

Nowadays, corrosion of metals brings us serious economic loss and it often reaches several percentage of GNP. Particularly the marine corrosion was serious and the counter measure was very hard to be established, since the number of factors is huge and complicated. One of the complicated factors in marine corrosion is biofouling. Biofouling was classified into two main categories, microfouling and macrofouling. The former is composed of biofilm formation mainly. Marine bacteria are attached to material surfaces, seeking for nutrition in oligotrophic environment and they excrete polysaccharide to form biofilm on metal surfaces. Then larger living matters are attached on the biofilms to develop biofouling on metal surfaces, which often lead loss and failures of metals in marine environments. From the viewpoint of corrosion protection and maintenance of marine structures, biofouling should be mitigated as much as possible. In this study, we applied spray coating to steels and investigated if chromium-nickel spray coating could mitigate the biofouling, being compared with the conventional aluminium-zinc spray coating in marine environments. The specimens used for this investigation are aluminium, zinc, aluminium-zinc, stacked chromium/nickel and those films were formed on carbon steel (JIS SS400). And the pores formed by spray coating were sealed by a commercial reagent for some specimens. All of those specimens were immersed into sea water located at Marina Kawage (854-3, Chisato, Tsu, Mie Prefecture) in Ise Bay for two weeks. The depth of the specimen was two meter from sea water surface and the distance was always kept constant, since they were suspended from the floating pier. The temperature in sea water changed from 10 to 15 degrees Celsius during the immersion test. The biofouling behavior was investigated by low vacuum SEM (Hitachi Miniscope TM1000) and X-ray fluorescent analysis. When the spray coated specimens with and without sealing agents were compared

Growth, structure, morphology, and magnetic properties of Ni ferrite films.

PubMed

Dong, Chunhui; Wang, Gaoxue; Guo, Dangwei; Jiang, Changjun; Xue, Desheng

2013-04-27

The morphology, structure, and magnetic properties of nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) films fabricated by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on Si(111) substrate have been investigated as functions of film thickness. Prepared films that have not undergone post-annealing show the better spinel crystal structure with increasing growth time. Meanwhile, the size of grain also increases, which induces the change of magnetic properties: saturation magnetization increased and coercivity increased at first and then decreased. Note that the sample of 10-nm thickness is the superparamagnetic property. Transmission electron microscopy displays that the film grew with a disorder structure at initial growth, then forms spinel crystal structure as its thickness increases, which is relative to lattice matching between substrate Si and NiFe2O4.

Developments of the Physical and Electrical Properties of NiCr and NiCrSi Single-Layer and Bi-Layer Nano-Scale Thin-Film Resistors.

PubMed

Cheng, Huan-Yi; Chen, Ying-Chung; Li, Chi-Lun; Li, Pei-Jou; Houng, Mau-Phon; Yang, Cheng-Fu

2016-02-25

In this study, commercial-grade NiCr (80 wt % Ni, 20 wt % Cr) and NiCrSi (55 wt % Ni, 40 wt % Cr, 5 wt % Si) were used as targets and the sputtering method was used to deposit NiCr and NiCrSi thin films on Al₂O₃ and Si substrates at room temperature under different deposition time. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the NiCr and NiCrSi thin films were amorphous phase, and the field-effect scanning electronic microscope observations showed that only nano-crystalline grains were revealed on the surfaces of the NiCr and NiCrSi thin films. The log (resistivity) values of the NiCr and NiCrSi thin-film resistors decreased approximately linearly as their thicknesses increased. We found that the value of temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR value) of the NiCr thin-film resistors was positive and that of the NiCrSi thin-film resistors was negative. To investigate these thin-film resistors with a low TCR value, we designed a novel bi-layer structure to fabricate the thin-film resistors via two different stacking methods. The bi-layer structures were created by depositing NiCr for 10 min as the upper (or lower) layer and depositing NiCrSi for 10, 30, or 60 min as the lower (or upper) layer. We aim to show that the stacking method had no apparent effect on the resistivity of the NiCr-NiCrSi bi-layer thin-film resistors but had large effect on the TCR value.

Dust evolution, a global view: III. Core/mantle grains, organic nano-globules, comets and surface chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, A. P.

2016-12-01

Within the framework of The Heterogeneous dust Evolution Model for Interstellar Solids (THEMIS), this work explores the surface processes and chemistry relating to core/mantle interstellar and cometary grain structures and their influence on the nature of these fascinating particles. It appears that a realistic consideration of the nature and chemical reactivity of interstellar grain surfaces could self-consistently and within a coherent framework explain: the anomalous oxygen depletion, the nature of the CO dark gas, the formation of `polar ice' mantles, the red wing on the 3 μm water ice band, the basis for the O-rich chemistry observed in hot cores, the origin of organic nano-globules and the 3.2 μm `carbonyl' absorption band observed in comet reflectance spectra. It is proposed that the reaction of gas phase species with carbonaceous a-C(:H) grain surfaces in the interstellar medium, in particular the incorporation of atomic oxygen into grain surfaces in epoxide functional groups, is the key to explaining these observations. Thus, the chemistry of cosmic dust is much more intimately related with that of the interstellar gas than has previously been considered. The current models for interstellar gas and dust chemistry will therefore most likely need to be fundamentally modified to include these new grain surface processes.

Temperature induced CuInSe2 nanocrystal formation in the Cu2Se-In3Se2 multilayer thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohan, A.; Rajesh, S.

2017-04-01

The paper deals with the impact of annealing on Cu2Se-In3Se2 multilayer structure and discusses the quantum confinements. Thermal evaporation technique was used to prepare multilayer films over the glass substrates. The films were annealed at different temperatures (150 °C-350 °C) under vacuum atmosphere. The XRD pattern reveals that the films exhibit (112) peaks with CuInSe2 Chalcopyrite structure and upon annealing crystallinity improved. The grain size comes around 13-19 nm. The optical band gap value was found to be 2.21 to 2.09 eV and band gap splitting was observed for higher annealing temperatures. The increase in the band gap is related to quantum confinement effect. SEM image shows nano crystals spread over the entire surface for higher annealing temperatures. Optical absorption and PL spectra shows the blue shift during annealing. The HR-TEM shows the particle size in the nano range and which confirms the CuInSe2 nanocrystal formation. AFM image shows the rough surface with homogenous grains for the as deposited films and smooth surface for annealed films.

Selective Photophysical Modification on Light-Emitting Polymer Films for Micro- and Nano-Patterning

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xinping; Liu, Feifei; Li, Hongwei

2016-01-01

Laser-induced cross-linking in polymeric semiconductors was utilized to achieve micro- and nano-structuring in thin films. Single- and two-photon cross-linking processes led to the reduction in both the refractive index and thickness of the polymer films. The resultant photonic structures combine the features of both relief- and phase-gratings. Selective cross-linking in polymer blend films based on different optical response of different molecular phases enabled “solidification” of the phase-separation scheme, providing a stable template for further photonic structuring. Dielectric and metallic structures are demonstrated for the fabrication methods using cross-linking in polymer films. Selective cross-linking enables direct patterning into polymer films without introducing additional fabrication procedures or additional materials. The diffraction processes of the emission of the patterned polymeric semiconductors may provide enhanced output coupling for light-emitting diodes or distributed feedback for lasers. PMID:28773248

Effect of nickel silicide gettering on metal-induced crystallized polycrystalline-silicon thin-film transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyung Yoon; Seok, Ki Hwan; Chae, Hee Jae; Lee, Sol Kyu; Lee, Yong Hee; Joo, Seung Ki

2017-06-01

Low-temperature polycrystalline-silicon (poly-Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs) fabricated via metal-induced crystallization (MIC) are attractive candidates for use in active-matrix flat-panel displays. However, these exhibit a large leakage current due to the nickel silicide being trapped at the grain boundaries of the poly-Si. We reduced the leakage current of the MIC poly-Si TFTs by developing a gettering method to remove the Ni impurities using a Si getter layer and natively-formed SiO2 as the etch stop interlayer. The Ni trap state density (Nt) in the MIC poly-Si film decreased after the Ni silicide gettering, and as a result, the leakage current of the MIC poly-Si TFTs decreased. Furthermore, the leakage current of MIC poly-Si TFTs gradually decreased with additional gettering. To explain the gettering effect on MIC poly-Si TFTs, we suggest an appropriate model. He received the B.S. degree in School of Advanced Materials Engineering from Kookmin University, Seoul, South Korea in 2012, and the M.S. degree in Department of Materials Science and Engineering from Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea in 2014. He is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul. He is involved in semiconductor device fabrication technology and top-gate polycrystalline-silicon thin-film transistors. He received the M.S. degree in innovation technology from Ecol Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France in 2013. He is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul. He is involved in semiconductor device fabrication technology and bottom-gate polycrystalline-silicon thin-film transistors. He is currently pursuing the integrated M.S and Ph.D course with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul. He is involved in semiconductor device fabrication technology and copper

Probing transport mechanisms of BaFe₂As₂ superconducting films and grain boundary junctions by noise spectroscopy.

PubMed

Barone, C; Romeo, F; Pagano, S; Adamo, M; Nappi, C; Sarnelli, E; Kurth, F; Iida, K

2014-08-22

An important step forward for the understanding of high-temperature superconductivity has been the discovery of iron-based superconductors. Among these compounds, iron pnictides could be used for high-field magnet applications, resulting more advantageous over conventional superconductors, due to a high upper critical field as well as its low anisotropy at low temperatures. However, the principal obstacle in fabricating high quality superconducting wires and tapes is given by grain boundaries. In order to study these effects, the dc transport and voltage-noise properties of Co-doped BaFe₂As₂ superconducting films with artificial grain boundary junctions have been investigated. A specific procedure allows the separation of the film noise from that of the junction. While the former shows a standard 1/f behaviour, the latter is characterized by an unconventional temperature-dependent multi-Lorentzian voltage-spectral density. Moreover, below the film superconducting critical temperature, a peculiar noise spectrum is found for the grain boundary junction. Possible theoretical interpretation of these phenomena is proposed.

Nickel oxide film with open macropores fabricated by surfactant-assisted anodic deposition for high capacitance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Wu, Mao-Sung; Wang, Min-Jyle

2010-10-07

Nickel oxide film with open macropores prepared by anodic deposition in the presence of surfactant shows a very high capacitance of 1110 F g(-1) at a scan rate of 10 mV s(-1), and the capacitance value reduces to 950 F g(-1) at a high scan rate of 200 mV s(-1).

Preparation of hybrid nano biocomposite κ-carrageenan/cellulose nanocrystal/nanoclay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakuwan, Siti Zarina; Ahmad, Ishak; Ramli, Nazaruddin

2013-11-01

Biodegradable composites film based on κ-carrageenan and nano particles as filler was prepared to study the mechanical strength of carrageenan composites. Solution casting technique was used to prepare_this biocomposite. Preparation of composite film and nano filler involve two stages, preparation of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) from kenaf with alkali treatment, bleaching, and hydrolysis followed by the preparation of two types of nano composite. Tensile test was carried on the composite film based on κ-carrageenan with the variation percentage of CNC and nano clay to obtain the optimum CNC and nano clay loading. After that hybrid nano-biocomposite film based on κ-carrageenan with the variation percentage of CNC/nano clay (OMMT) according to optimum value of composite carrageenan/CNC and composite carrageenan/nano clay film was prepared. The effect of nano filler on the mechanical properties of carrageenan films was examined. κ-carrageenan biocomposite increased with the optimum at 4% CNC and nano clay composition. Additional improvement of tensile strength with hybridization of CNC and nanoclay indicated better mechanical properties.

Nickel doping effect on properties of sprayed In2S3 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kraini, M.; Bouguila, N.; El Ghoul, J.

2018-03-01

Nickel doped In2S3 films have been prepared by the chemical spray pyrolysis technique at 350 °C on glass substrates. The Ni doping level was changed by varying Ni:In molar ratio from 0 to 4% in solution. The structural studies reveal that the Ni-doped In2S3 films are polycrystalline and exhibit a cubic structure. As the Ni:In molar ratio increases, the crystallite size decreases from 27.5 to 23 nm and RMS roughness values increase from 12 to 18 nm, respectively. The presence of Ni in the deposited films was confirmed by energy dispersive spectroscopy. Raman studies show different peaks related to In2S3 phase and do not reveal any secondary phases of In-Ni and Ni-S. The transmission coefficient is about 70-55% in the visible region and 85-75% in near-infrared region. The band gap energy increases from 2.66 to 2.82 eV for direct transitions with the increase of Ni:In ratio from 0 to 4%. The refractive index values of In2S3:Ni thin films decrease from 2.46 to 2.40 and the extinction coefficient values are in the range 0.01-0.20.

Electrochemical synthesis of three-dimensional porous networks of nickel with different micro-nano structures for the fabrication of Ni/MnOx nanocomposites with enhanced supercapacitive performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashassi-Sorkhabi, H.; La'le Badakhshan, P.

2017-10-01

We have electrochemically synthesized 3D-porous Ni/MnOx nanocomposites for supercapacitor applications. 3D porous micro-nanostructured networks of nickel were prepared using hydrogen bubbles as a dynamic template at different deposition potentials and times. The prepared nickel films were used then as 3D-porous substrates for anodic deposition of manganese oxide nanostructures. The effects of deposition potential and time on the structure of the prepared nickel scaffolds and especially on the capacitive behavior of the subsequently fabricated 3D-porous Ni/MnOx nanocomposites were investigated. The results show that the areal capacitance and especially the rate capability of prepared Ni/MnOx nanocomposites have improved with increasing the deposition potential or optimizing the deposition time of nickel films in the nanocomposites. The prepared 3D-porous Ni/MnOx nanocomposite, in which the nickel scaffold has been deposited at the potential of -6 V and duration of 90s, show almost the highest capacitive performance among all other prepared nanocomposites. This prepared nanocomposite, with the loading mass of 1.65 mg cm-2, showed the high areal capacitance of 654 mF cm-2 (396.4 F g-1) at the current density of 0.5 mA cm-2 (0.3 A g-1) in 0.5 M Na2SO4 solution. This nanocomposite also revealed the highest rate capability; the capacitance retention is about 63% (412 mF cm-2) with increasing the discharge rate from 0.5 to 20 mA cm-2, which is almost twice the observed amount of retention when the deposition potential of Ni films was -2 V (31%) or their deposition time was 45 s (34%). In addition, the prepared nanocomposite exhibited an outstanding cycling stability. The capacitance retention was about 98.91% after performing 2000 charge-discharge cycles.

Oxidation-Based Continuous Laser Writing in Vertical Nano-Crystalline Graphite Thin Films

PubMed Central

Loisel, Loïc; Florea, Ileana; Cojocaru, Costel-Sorin; Tay, Beng Kang; Lebental, Bérengère

2016-01-01

Nano and femtosecond laser writing are becoming very popular techniques for patterning carbon-based materials, as they are single-step processes enabling the drawing of complex shapes without photoresist. However, pulsed laser writing requires costly laser sources and is known to cause damages to the surrounding material. By comparison, continuous-wave lasers are cheap, stable and provide energy at a more moderate rate. Here, we show that a continuous-wave laser may be used to pattern vertical nano-crystalline graphite thin films with very few macroscale defects. Moreover, a spatially resolved study of the impact of the annealing to the crystalline structure and to the oxygen ingress in the film is provided: amorphization, matter removal and high oxygen content at the center of the beam; sp2 clustering and low oxygen content at its periphery. These data strongly suggest that amorphization and matter removal are controlled by carbon oxidation. The simultaneous occurrence of oxidation and amorphization results in a unique evolution of the Raman spectra as a function of annealing time, with a decrease of the I(D)/I(G) values but an upshift of the G peak frequency. PMID:27194181

Oxidation-Based Continuous Laser Writing in Vertical Nano-Crystalline Graphite Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loisel, Loïc; Florea, Ileana; Cojocaru, Costel-Sorin; Tay, Beng Kang; Lebental, Bérengère

2016-05-01

Nano and femtosecond laser writing are becoming very popular techniques for patterning carbon-based materials, as they are single-step processes enabling the drawing of complex shapes without photoresist. However, pulsed laser writing requires costly laser sources and is known to cause damages to the surrounding material. By comparison, continuous-wave lasers are cheap, stable and provide energy at a more moderate rate. Here, we show that a continuous-wave laser may be used to pattern vertical nano-crystalline graphite thin films with very few macroscale defects. Moreover, a spatially resolved study of the impact of the annealing to the crystalline structure and to the oxygen ingress in the film is provided: amorphization, matter removal and high oxygen content at the center of the beam; sp2 clustering and low oxygen content at its periphery. These data strongly suggest that amorphization and matter removal are controlled by carbon oxidation. The simultaneous occurrence of oxidation and amorphization results in a unique evolution of the Raman spectra as a function of annealing time, with a decrease of the I(D)/I(G) values but an upshift of the G peak frequency.

An electron microscopy examination of primary recrystallization in TD-nickel.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petrovic, J. J.; Ebert, L. J.

1972-01-01

Primary recrystallization in TD-nickel 1 in. bar has previously been regarded as the process by which the initial fine grain structure is converted to a coarse grain size (increases in grain size by 500 times) under suitable deformation and annealing conditions. This process is dependent on deformation mode. While it occurs readily after rolling transverse to the bar axis and annealing (800 C), it is completely inhibited by longitudinal rolling and swaging deformations, even for very high (1320 C) annealing temperatures. A transmission electron microscopy examination of deformation and annealing substructures indicates that primary recrystallization in TD-nickel 1 in. bar actually occurs on the sub-light optical level, to produce a grain structure similar in size to the initial fine grained state.

Self-Assembled Formation of Well-Aligned Cu-Te Nano-Rods on Heavily Cu-Doped ZnTe Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Jing; Cheng, Man Kit; Lai, Ying Hoi; Wei, Guanglu; Yang, Sean Derman; Wang, Gan; Ho, Sut Kam; Tam, Kam Weng; Sou, Iam Keong

2016-11-01

Cu doping of ZnTe, which is an important semiconductor for various optoelectronic applications, has been successfully achieved previously by several techniques. However, besides its electrical transport characteristics, other physical and chemical properties of heavily Cu-doped ZnTe have not been reported. We found an interesting self-assembled formation of crystalline well-aligned Cu-Te nano-rods near the surface of heavily Cu-doped ZnTe thin films grown via the molecular beam epitaxy technique. A phenomenological growth model is presented based on the observed crystallographic morphology and measured chemical composition of the nano-rods using various imaging and chemical analysis techniques. When substitutional doping reaches its limit, the extra Cu atoms favor an up-migration toward the surface, leading to a one-dimensional surface modulation and formation of Cu-Te nano-rods, which explain unusual observations on the reflection high energy electron diffraction patterns and apparent resistivity of these thin films. This study provides an insight into some unexpected chemical reactions involved in the heavily Cu-doped ZnTe thin films, which may be applied to other material systems that contain a dopant having strong reactivity with the host matrix.

Partial ablation of Ti/Al nano-layer thin film by single femtosecond laser pulse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaković, B.; Tsibidis, G. D.; Skoulas, E.; Petrović, S. M.; Vasić, B.; Stratakis, E.

2017-12-01

The interaction of ultra-short laser pulses with Titanium/Aluminium (Ti/Al) nano-layered thin film was investigated. The sample composed of alternating Ti and Al layers of a few nanometres thick was deposited by ion-sputtering. A single pulse irradiation experiment was conducted in an ambient air environment using focused and linearly polarized femtosecond laser pulses for the investigation of the ablation effects. The laser induced morphological changes and the composition were characterized using several microscopy techniques and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The following results were obtained: (i) at low values of pulse energy/fluence, ablation of the upper Ti layer only was observed; (ii) at higher laser fluence, a two-step ablation of Ti and Al layers takes place, followed by partial removal of the nano-layered film. The experimental observations were supported by a theoretical model accounting for the thermal response of the multiple layered structure upon irradiation with ultra-short laser pulses.

A multiscale coupled finite-element and phase-field framework to modeling stressed grain growth in polycrystalline thin films

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

Jamshidian, M., E-mail: jamshidian@cc.iut.ac.ir; Institute of Structural Mechanics, Bauhaus-University Weimar, Marienstrasse 15, 99423 Weimar; Thamburaja, P., E-mail: prakash.thamburaja@gmail.com

A previously-developed finite-deformation- and crystal-elasticity-based constitutive theory for stressed grain growth in cubic polycrystalline bodies has been augmented to include a description of excess surface energy and grain-growth stagnation mechanisms through the use of surface effect state variables in a thermodynamically-consistent manner. The constitutive theory was also implemented into a multiscale coupled finite-element and phase-field computational framework. With the material parameters in the constitutive theory suitably calibrated, our three-dimensional numerical simulations show that the constitutive model is able to accurately predict the experimentally-determined evolution of crystallographic texture and grain size statistics in polycrystalline copper thin films deposited on polyimide substratemore » and annealed at high-homologous temperatures. In particular, our numerical analyses show that the broad texture transition observed in the annealing experiments of polycrystalline thin films is caused by grain growth stagnation mechanisms. - Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Developing a theory for stressed grain growth in polycrystalline thin films. • Implementation into a multiscale coupled finite-element and phase-field framework. • Quantitative reproduction of the experimental grain growth data by simulations. • Revealing the cause of texture transition to be due to the stagnation mechanisms.« less

Grain boundary diffusion of Dy films prepared by magnetron sputtering for sintered Nd–Fe–B magnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, W.; Luo, J. M.; Guan, Y. W.; Huang, Y. L.; Chen, M.; Hou, Y. H.

2018-05-01

Dy films, deposited on the surface of sintered Nd–Fe–B magnets by magnetron sputtering, were employed for grain boundary diffusion source. High coercivity sintered Nd–Fe–B magnets were successfully prepared. Effects of sputtering power and grain boundary diffusion processes (GBDP) on the microstructure and magnetic properties were investigated in detail. The dense and uniform Dy films were beneficial to prepare high coercivity magnets by GBDP. The maximum coercivity value of 1189 kA m‑1 could be shown, which was an amplification of 22.3%, compared with that of as-prepared Nd–Fe–B magnet. Furthermore, the improved remanence and maximum energy product were also achieved through tuning grain boundary diffusion processes. Our results demonstrated that the formation of (Nd, Dy)2Fe14B shell surrounding Nd2Fe14B grains and fine, uniform and continuous intergranular RE-rich phases jointly contribute to the improved coercivity.

The Effect of Film Composition on the Texture and Grain Size of CuInS2 Prepared by Spray Pyrolysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jin, Michael H.-C.; Banger, Kulbinder K.; Harris, Jerry D.; Hepp, Aloysius F.

2003-01-01

CuInS2 was deposited by spray pyrolysis using single-source precursors synthesized in-house. Films with either (112) or (204/220) preferred orientation always showed Cu-rich and In-rich composition respectively. The In-rich (204/220)-oriented films always contained a secondary phase evaluated as an In-rich compound, and the hindrance of (112)-oriented grain growth was confirmed by glancing angle X-ray diffraction. In conclusion, only the Cu-rich (112)-oriented films with dense columnar grains can be prepared without the secondary In-rich compound. The effect of extra Cu on the grain size and the solar cell results will be also presented.

Surface passivation of nano-textured fluorescent SiC by atomic layer deposited TiO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Weifang; Ou, Yiyu; Jokubavicius, Valdas; Fadil, Ahmed; Syväjärvi, Mikael; Petersen, Paul Michael; Ou, Haiyan

2016-07-01

Nano-textured surfaces have played a key role in optoelectronic materials to enhance the light extraction efficiency. In this work, morphology and optical properties of nano-textured SiC covered with atomic layer deposited (ALD) TiO2 were investigated. In order to obtain a high quality surface for TiO2 deposition, a three-step cleaning procedure was introduced after RIE etching. The morphology of anatase TiO2 indicates that the nano-textured substrate has a much higher surface nucleated grain density than a flat substrate at the beginning of the deposition process. The corresponding reflectance increases with TiO2 thickness due to increased surface diffuse reflection. The passivation effect of ALD TiO2 thin film on the nano-textured fluorescent 6H-SiC sample was also investigated and a PL intensity improvement of 8.05% was obtained due to the surface passivation.

Formation of polycrystalline-silicon films with hemispherical grains for capacitor structures with increased capacitance

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

Novak, A. V., E-mail: novak-andrei@mail.ru

2014-12-15

The effect of formation conditions on the morphology of silicon films with hemispherical grains (HSG-Si) obtained by the method of low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) is investigated by atomic-force microscopy. The formation conditions for HSG-Si films with a large surface area are found. The obtained HSG-Si films make it possible to fabricate capacitor structures, the electric capacitance of which is twice as large in comparison to that of capacitors with “smooth” electrodes from polycrystalline silicon.

Prediction Surface Morphology of Nanostructure Fabricated by Nano-Oxidation Technology.

PubMed

Huang, Jen-Ching; Chang, Ho; Kuo, Chin-Guo; Li, Jeen-Fong; You, Yong-Chin

2015-12-04

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used for visualization of a nano-oxidation technique performed on diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin film. Experiments of the nano-oxidation technique of the DLC thin film include those on nano-oxidation points and nano-oxidation lines. The feature sizes of the DLC thin film, including surface morphology, depth, and width, were explored after application of a nano-oxidation technique to the DLC thin film under different process parameters. A databank for process parameters and feature sizes of thin films was then established, and multiple regression analysis (MRA) and a back-propagation neural network (BPN) were used to carry out the algorithm. The algorithmic results are compared with the feature sizes acquired from experiments, thus obtaining a prediction model of the nano-oxidation technique of the DLC thin film. The comparative results show that the prediction accuracy of BPN is superior to that of MRA. When the BPN algorithm is used to predict nano-point machining, the mean absolute percentage errors (MAPE) of depth, left side, and right side are 8.02%, 9.68%, and 7.34%, respectively. When nano-line machining is being predicted, the MAPEs of depth, left side, and right side are 4.96%, 8.09%, and 6.77%, respectively. The obtained data can also be used to predict cross-sectional morphology in the DLC thin film treated with a nano-oxidation process.

Coarse grained modeling of directed assembly to form functional nanoporous films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al Khatib, Amir

A coarse-grained (CG) simulation of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and Polymethylsilsesquixane nanoparticle (PMSSQ) referred to as (NP) at different sizes and concentrations were done using the Martini coarse-grained (CG) force field. The interactions between CG PEG and CG NP were parameterized from the chemical compound of each molecule and based on Martini force field. NP particles migrates to the surface of the substrate in an agreement with the experimental output at high temperature of 800K. This demonstration of nanoparticles-polymer film to direct it to self-assemble a systematically spatial pattern using the substrate surface energy as the key gating parameter. Validation of the model comparing molecular dynamics simulations with experimental data collected from previous study. NP interaction with the substrate at low interactions energy using Lennard-Johns potential were able to direct the NP to self-assemble in a hexagonal shape up to 4 layers above the substrate. This thesis established that substrate surface energy is a key gating parameter to direct the collective behavior of functional nanoparticles to form thin nanoporous films with spatially predetermined optical/dielectric constants.

Meniscus-assisted solution printing of large-grained perovskite films for high-efficiency solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Ming; Li, Bo; Cui, Xun; Jiang, Beibei; He, Yanjie; Chen, Yihuang; O'Neil, Daniel; Szymanski, Paul; Ei-Sayed, Mostafa A.; Huang, Jinsong; Lin, Zhiqun

2017-07-01

Control over morphology and crystallinity of metal halide perovskite films is of key importance to enable high-performance optoelectronics. However, this remains particularly challenging for solution-printed devices due to the complex crystallization kinetics of semiconductor materials within dynamic flow of inks. Here we report a simple yet effective meniscus-assisted solution printing (MASP) strategy to yield large-grained dense perovskite film with good crystallization and preferred orientation. Intriguingly, the outward convective flow triggered by fast solvent evaporation at the edge of the meniscus ink imparts the transport of perovskite solutes, thus facilitating the growth of micrometre-scale perovskite grains. The growth kinetics of perovskite crystals is scrutinized by in situ optical microscopy tracking to understand the crystallization mechanism. The perovskite films produced by MASP exhibit excellent optoelectronic properties with efficiencies approaching 20% in planar perovskite solar cells. This robust MASP strategy may in principle be easily extended to craft other solution-printed perovskite-based optoelectronics.

Determination of the True Lateral Grain Size in Organic–Inorganic Halide Perovskite Thin Films

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

MacDonald, Gordon A.; Heveran, Chelsea M.; Yang, Mengjin

Here, methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI 3) thin films were examined via piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and nanoindentation (NI) to determine if long-range atomic order existed across the full width and depth of the apparent grains. And from the PFM, the piezoelectric response of the films was strongly correlated with low-index planes of the crystal structure and ferroelastic domains in macroscale solution-grown MAPbI 3 crystals, which implied long-range order near the top surface. From the NI, it was found that the induced cracks were straight and extended across the full width of the apparent grains, which indicated that the long-range ordermore » was not limited to the near-surface region, but extended through the film thickness. Interestingly, the two MAPbI 3 processes examined resulted in subtle differences in the extracted electro-mechanical and fracture properties, but exhibited similar power conversion efficiencies of >17% in completed devices.« less

Determination of the True Lateral Grain Size in Organic–Inorganic Halide Perovskite Thin Films

DOE PAGES

MacDonald, Gordon A.; Heveran, Chelsea M.; Yang, Mengjin; ...

2017-09-15

Here, methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI 3) thin films were examined via piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and nanoindentation (NI) to determine if long-range atomic order existed across the full width and depth of the apparent grains. And from the PFM, the piezoelectric response of the films was strongly correlated with low-index planes of the crystal structure and ferroelastic domains in macroscale solution-grown MAPbI 3 crystals, which implied long-range order near the top surface. From the NI, it was found that the induced cracks were straight and extended across the full width of the apparent grains, which indicated that the long-range ordermore » was not limited to the near-surface region, but extended through the film thickness. Interestingly, the two MAPbI 3 processes examined resulted in subtle differences in the extracted electro-mechanical and fracture properties, but exhibited similar power conversion efficiencies of >17% in completed devices.« less

Meniscus-assisted solution printing of large-grained perovskite films for high-efficiency solar cells

PubMed Central

He, Ming; Li, Bo; Cui, Xun; Jiang, Beibei; He, Yanjie; Chen, Yihuang; O’Neil, Daniel; Szymanski, Paul; EI-Sayed, Mostafa A.; Huang, Jinsong; Lin, Zhiqun

2017-01-01

Control over morphology and crystallinity of metal halide perovskite films is of key importance to enable high-performance optoelectronics. However, this remains particularly challenging for solution-printed devices due to the complex crystallization kinetics of semiconductor materials within dynamic flow of inks. Here we report a simple yet effective meniscus-assisted solution printing (MASP) strategy to yield large-grained dense perovskite film with good crystallization and preferred orientation. Intriguingly, the outward convective flow triggered by fast solvent evaporation at the edge of the meniscus ink imparts the transport of perovskite solutes, thus facilitating the growth of micrometre-scale perovskite grains. The growth kinetics of perovskite crystals is scrutinized by in situ optical microscopy tracking to understand the crystallization mechanism. The perovskite films produced by MASP exhibit excellent optoelectronic properties with efficiencies approaching 20% in planar perovskite solar cells. This robust MASP strategy may in principle be easily extended to craft other solution-printed perovskite-based optoelectronics. PMID:28685751

Dust evolution, a global view: III. Core/mantle grains, organic nano-globules, comets and surface chemistry

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Within the framework of The Heterogeneous dust Evolution Model for Interstellar Solids (THEMIS), this work explores the surface processes and chemistry relating to core/mantle interstellar and cometary grain structures and their influence on the nature of these fascinating particles. It appears that a realistic consideration of the nature and chemical reactivity of interstellar grain surfaces could self-consistently and within a coherent framework explain: the anomalous oxygen depletion, the nature of the CO dark gas, the formation of ‘polar ice’ mantles, the red wing on the 3 μm water ice band, the basis for the O-rich chemistry observed in hot cores, the origin of organic nano-globules and the 3.2 μm ‘carbonyl’ absorption band observed in comet reflectance spectra. It is proposed that the reaction of gas phase species with carbonaceous a-C(:H) grain surfaces in the interstellar medium, in particular the incorporation of atomic oxygen into grain surfaces in epoxide functional groups, is the key to explaining these observations. Thus, the chemistry of cosmic dust is much more intimately related with that of the interstellar gas than has previously been considered. The current models for interstellar gas and dust chemistry will therefore most likely need to be fundamentally modified to include these new grain surface processes. PMID:28083090

Growth, structure, morphology, and magnetic properties of Ni ferrite films

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

The morphology, structure, and magnetic properties of nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) films fabricated by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on Si(111) substrate have been investigated as functions of film thickness. Prepared films that have not undergone post-annealing show the better spinel crystal structure with increasing growth time. Meanwhile, the size of grain also increases, which induces the change of magnetic properties: saturation magnetization increased and coercivity increased at first and then decreased. Note that the sample of 10-nm thickness is the superparamagnetic property. Transmission electron microscopy displays that the film grew with a disorder structure at initial growth, then forms spinel crystal structure as its thickness increases, which is relative to lattice matching between substrate Si and NiFe2O4. PMID:23622034

Grain wall boundaries in centimeter-scale continuous monolayer WS2 film grown by chemical vapor deposition.

PubMed

Jia, Zhiyan; Hu, Wentao; Xiang, Jianyong; Wen, Fusheng; Nie, Anmin; Mu, Congpu; Zhao, Zhisheng; Xu, Bo; Tian, Yongjun; Liu, Zhongyuan

2018-06-22

Centimeter-scale continuous monolayer WS 2 film with large tensile strain has been successfully grown on oxidized silicon substrate by chemical vapor deposition, in which monolayer grains can be more than 200 μm in size. Monolayer WS 2 grains are observed to merge together via not only traditional grain boundaries but also non-traditional ones, which are named as grain walls (GWs) due to their nanometer-scale widths. The GWs are revealed to consist of two or three layers. Though not a monolayer, the GWs exhibit significantly enhanced fluorescence and photoluminescence. This enhancement may be attributed to abundant structural defects such as stacking faults and partial dislocations in the GWs, which are clearly observable in atomically resolved high resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy images. Moreover, GW-based phototransistor is found to deliver higher photocurrent than that based on monolayer film. These features of GWs provide a clue to microstructure engineering of monolayer WS 2 for specific applications in (opto)electronics.

Grain wall boundaries in centimeter-scale continuous monolayer WS2 film grown by chemical vapor deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Zhiyan; Hu, Wentao; Xiang, Jianyong; Wen, Fusheng; Nie, Anmin; Mu, Congpu; Zhao, Zhisheng; Xu, Bo; Tian, Yongjun; Liu, Zhongyuan

2018-06-01

Centimeter-scale continuous monolayer WS2 film with large tensile strain has been successfully grown on oxidized silicon substrate by chemical vapor deposition, in which monolayer grains can be more than 200 μm in size. Monolayer WS2 grains are observed to merge together via not only traditional grain boundaries but also non-traditional ones, which are named as grain walls (GWs) due to their nanometer-scale widths. The GWs are revealed to consist of two or three layers. Though not a monolayer, the GWs exhibit significantly enhanced fluorescence and photoluminescence. This enhancement may be attributed to abundant structural defects such as stacking faults and partial dislocations in the GWs, which are clearly observable in atomically resolved high resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy images. Moreover, GW-based phototransistor is found to deliver higher photocurrent than that based on monolayer film. These features of GWs provide a clue to microstructure engineering of monolayer WS2 for specific applications in (opto)electronics.

Developments of the Physical and Electrical Properties of NiCr and NiCrSi Single-Layer and Bi-Layer Nano-Scale Thin-Film Resistors

PubMed Central

Cheng, Huan-Yi; Chen, Ying-Chung; Li, Chi-Lun; Li, Pei-Jou; Houng, Mau-Phon; Yang, Cheng-Fu

2016-01-01

In this study, commercial-grade NiCr (80 wt % Ni, 20 wt % Cr) and NiCrSi (55 wt % Ni, 40 wt % Cr, 5 wt % Si) were used as targets and the sputtering method was used to deposit NiCr and NiCrSi thin films on Al2O3 and Si substrates at room temperature under different deposition time. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the NiCr and NiCrSi thin films were amorphous phase, and the field-effect scanning electronic microscope observations showed that only nano-crystalline grains were revealed on the surfaces of the NiCr and NiCrSi thin films. The log (resistivity) values of the NiCr and NiCrSi thin-film resistors decreased approximately linearly as their thicknesses increased. We found that the value of temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR value) of the NiCr thin-film resistors was positive and that of the NiCrSi thin-film resistors was negative. To investigate these thin-film resistors with a low TCR value, we designed a novel bi-layer structure to fabricate the thin-film resistors via two different stacking methods. The bi-layer structures were created by depositing NiCr for 10 min as the upper (or lower) layer and depositing NiCrSi for 10, 30, or 60 min as the lower (or upper) layer. We aim to show that the stacking method had no apparent effect on the resistivity of the NiCr-NiCrSi bi-layer thin-film resistors but had large effect on the TCR value. PMID:28344296

Synthesis of High Symmetry Phase of Hafnium Dioxide Thin Films and Nickel Ferrite's Effect on Microstructure in Composite Heterostructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Straka, Weston J.

Hafnium dioxide has attracted a great deal of attention recently due to its potential use in two different electronic applications: CMOS and FeRAM. In CMOS, the usefulness of hafnia comes in due to its high dielectric constant and compatibility with current IC processing parameters. For FeRAM, hafnia's recent discovery to exhibit ferroelectricity in an orthorhombic phase makes this material attractive for replacement of the ferroelectric material in FeRAM. This study shows the feasibility of depositing thin films of hafnium oxide via chemical solution deposition for integration into these devices. The processing parameters necessary to produce this phase show how non-equilibrium processing plays a role in its synthesis. The temperature necessary to achieve the high symmetry phase was at 725 °C for 3 minutes on sapphire, silicon, and coated silicon substrates. The thermal conductivity of each was viewed as the property that allowed the hafnia formation. The dielectric constant of the hafnia films were between 30 and 32 with low dissipation factors and up to 47 with a poor dissipation factor all at 1 kHz. The formation of this phase was shown to be thickness independent with the high symmetry phase existing up to 300 nm film thickness. Interfacing the hafnia film with nickel ferrite was also studied to identify the possibility of using this composite for non-destructive reading of FeRAM. The magnetic properties showed an unchanged nickel ferrite film but the interface between the two was poor leading to the conclusion that more work must be done to successfully integrate these two films.

Grain Boundaries Act as Solid Walls for Charge Carrier Diffusion in Large Crystal MAPI Thin Films.

PubMed

Ciesielski, Richard; Schäfer, Frank; Hartmann, Nicolai F; Giesbrecht, Nadja; Bein, Thomas; Docampo, Pablo; Hartschuh, Achim

2018-03-07

Micro- and nanocrystalline methylammonium lead iodide (MAPI)-based thin-film solar cells today reach power conversion efficiencies of over 20%. We investigate the impact of grain boundaries on charge carrier transport in large crystal MAPI thin films using time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) microscopy and numerical model calculations. Crystal sizes in the range of several tens of micrometers allow for the spatially and time resolved study of boundary effects. Whereas long-ranged diffusive charge carrier transport is observed within single crystals, no detectable diffusive transport occurs across grain boundaries. The observed PL transients are found to crucially depend on the microscopic geometry of the crystal and the point of observation. In particular, spatially restricted diffusion of charge carriers leads to slower PL decay near crystal edges as compared to the crystal center. In contrast to many reports in the literature, our experimental results show no quenching or additional loss channels due to grain boundaries for the studied material, which thus do not negatively affect the performance of the derived thin-film devices.

Synthesis, characterization, nano-sized binuclear nickel complexes, DFT calculations and antibacterial evaluation of new macrocyclic Schiff base compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parsaee, Zohreh; Mohammadi, Khosro

2017-06-01

Some new macrocyclic bridged dianilines tetradentate with N4coordination sphere Schiff base ligands and their nickel(II)complexes with general formula [{Ni2LCl4} where L = (C20H14N2X)2, X = SO2, O, CH2] have been synthesized. The compounds have been characterized by FT-IR, 1H and 13C NMR, mass spectroscopy, TGA, elemental analysis, molar conductivity and magnetic moment techniques. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows nano-sized structures under 100 nm for nickel (II) complexes. NiO nanoparticle was achieved via the thermal decomposition method and analyzed by FT-IR, SEM and X-ray powder diffraction which indicates closeaccordance to standard pattern of NiO nanoparticle. All the Schiff bases and their complexes have been detected in vitro both for antibacterial activity against two gram-negative and two gram-positive bacteria. The nickel(II) complexes were found to be more active than the free macrocycle Schiff bases. In addition, computational studies of three ligands have been carried out at the DFT-B3LYP/6-31G+(d,p) level of theory on the spectroscopic properties, including IR, 1HNMR and 13CNMR spectroscopy. The correlation between the theoretical and the experimental vibrational frequencies, 1H NMR and 13C NMR of the ligands were 0.999, 0.930-0.973 and 0.917-0.995, respectively. Also, the energy gap was determined and by using HOMO and LUMO energy values, chemical hardness-softness, electronegativity and electrophilic index were calculated.

Magnetization enhancement due to incorporation of non-magnetic nitrogen content in (Co{sub 84}Zr{sub 16})N{sub x} nano-composite films

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

Singh, Jitendra, E-mail: jitendra@ceeri.ernet.in; Akhtar, Jamil; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, New Delhi 110001

We report the magnetic, electronic, and structural properties of nano-composite (Co{sub 84}Zr{sub 16})N{sub x} or CZN films prepared by reactive co-sputter deposition method. As-deposited CZN films have shown enhancement in magnetization (M{sub s}) with incorporation of nitrogen content, which is related to the evolution of nano-composite phase. X-ray diffraction study has confirmed poly-crystalline growth of CZN films with fcc(331) and fcc(422) phases. High-resolution transmission electron microscope study reveals that CZN films are composed of ordered and crystalline ferromagnetic Co nano-clusters, which are embedded in the nano-composite matrix. Photoemission measurements show the change in the intensity near the Fermi level mostmore » likely due to defects and shift in the core-levels binding energy with nitrogen concentration. Raman spectroscopy data show an increase in the intensity of the Raman lines with nitrogen concentration upto 20%. However, the intensity is significantly lower for 30% sample. This indicates that less nitrogen or defect states are being substituted into the lattice above 20% and is consistent with the observed magnetic behavior. Our studies indicate that defects induced due to the incorporation of non-magnetic nitrogen content play a key role to enhance the magnetization.« less

Metallographic examination of TD-nickel base alloys. [thermal and chemical etching technique evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kane, R. D.; Petrovic, J. J.; Ebert, L. J.

1975-01-01

Techniques are evaluated for chemical, electrochemical, and thermal etching of thoria dispersed (TD) nickel alloys. An electrochemical etch is described which yielded good results only for large grain sizes of TD-nickel. Two types of thermal etches are assessed for TD-nickel: an oxidation etch and vacuum annealing of a polished specimen to produce an etch. It is shown that the first etch was somewhat dependent on sample orientation with respect to the processing direction, the second technique was not sensitive to specimen orientation or grain size, and neither method appear to alter the innate grain structure when the materials were fully annealed prior to etching. An electrochemical etch is described which was used to observe the microstructures in TD-NiCr, and a thermal-oxidation etch is shown to produce better detail of grain boundaries and to have excellent etching behavior over the entire range of grain sizes of the sample.

Hybrid Energy Cell with Hierarchical Nano/Micro-Architectured Polymer Film to Harvest Mechanical, Solar, and Wind Energies Individually/Simultaneously.

PubMed

Dudem, Bhaskar; Ko, Yeong Hwan; Leem, Jung Woo; Lim, Joo Ho; Yu, Jae Su

2016-11-09

We report the creation of hybrid energy cells based on hierarchical nano/micro-architectured polydimethylsiloxane (HNMA-PDMS) films with multifunctionality to simultaneously harvest mechanical, solar, and wind energies. These films consist of nano/micro dual-scale architectures (i.e., nanonipples on inverted micropyramidal arrays) on the PDMS surface. The HNMA-PDMS is replicable by facile and cost-effective soft imprint lithography using a nanoporous anodic alumina oxide film formed on the micropyramidal-structured silicon substrate. The HNMA-PDMS film plays multifunctional roles as a triboelectric layer in nanogenerators and an antireflection layer for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), as well as a self-cleaning surface. This film is employed in triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) devices, fabricated by laminating it on indium-tin oxide-coated polyethylene terephthalate (ITO/PET) as a bottom electrode. The large effective contact area that emerged from the densely packed hierarchical nano/micro-architectures of the PDMS film leads to the enhancement of TENG device performance. Moreover, the HNMA-PDMS/ITO/PET, with a high transmittance of >90%, also results in highly transparent TENG devices. By placing the HNMA-PDMS/ITO/PET, where the ITO/PET is coated with zinc oxide nanowires, as the top glass substrate of DSSCs, the device is able to add the functionality of TENG devices, thus creating a hybrid energy cell. The hybrid energy cell can successfully convert mechanical, solar, and wind energies into electricity, simultaneously or independently. To specify the device performance, the effects of external pushing frequency and load resistance on the output of TENG devices are also analyzed, including the photovoltaic performance of the hybrid energy cells.

Synthesis and electrochemical property of LiCoO 2 thin films composed of nanosize compounds synthesized via nanosheet restacking method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quan, Zhen; Iwase, Kosuke; Sonoyama, Noriyuki

LiCoO 2 thin films with nanosize particles were synthesized on Au substrates by nanosheet restacking method and subsequent hydrothermal reaction which needs less cost than the vacuum deposition methods. The grain size of LiCoO 2 films estimated by XRD reflection was about 15 nm that was independent of the thickness of precursor cobalt hydroxide film. Comparing the rate performance of the thin films with various thickness, the optimum performance was obtained by the thin film with 5 min deposition time: 62% of the capacity was held at 400 C-rate compared with that at 20 C-rate. The results of AC-impedance analysis of electrode reaction indicate that the high rate capability of the LiCoO 2 film is obtained by the small grain size and large surface area of LiCoO 2 thin film with nano size particles.

Atomistic modelling of magnetic nano-granular thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agudelo-Giraldo, J. D.; Arbeláez-Echeverry, O. D.; Restrepo-Parra, E.

2018-03-01

In this work, a complete model for studying the magnetic behaviour of polycrystalline thin films at nanoscale was processed. This model includes terms as exchange interaction, dipolar interaction and various types of anisotropies. For the first term, exchange interaction dependence of the distance n was used with purpose of quantify the interaction, mainly in grain boundaries. The third term includes crystalline, surface and boundary anisotropies. Special attention was paid to the disorder vector that determines the loss of cubic symmetry in the crystalline structure. For the case of the dipolar interaction, a similar implementation of the fast multiple method (FMM) was performed. Using these tools, modelling and simulations were developed varying the number of grains, and the results obtained presented a great dependence of the magnetic properties on this parameter. Comparisons between critical temperature and magnetization of saturation depending on the number of grains were performed for samples with and without factors as the surface and boundary anisotropies, and the dipolar interaction. It was observed that the inclusion of these parameters produced a decrease in the critical temperature and the magnetization of saturation; furthermore, in both cases, including and not including the disorder parameters, not only the critical temperature, but also the magnetization of saturation exhibited a range of values that also depend on the number of grains. This presence of a critical interval is due to each grain can transit toward the ferromagnetic state at different values of critical temperature. The processes of Zero field cooling (ZFC), Field cooling (FCC) and field cooling in warming mode (FCW) were necessary for understanding the mono-domain regime around of transition temperature, due to the high probabilities of a Super-paramagnetic (SPM) state.

Stable solar-driven oxidation of water by semiconducting photoanodes protected by transparent catalytic nickel oxide films.

PubMed

Sun, Ke; Saadi, Fadl H; Lichterman, Michael F; Hale, William G; Wang, Hsin-Ping; Zhou, Xinghao; Plymale, Noah T; Omelchenko, Stefan T; He, Jr-Hau; Papadantonakis, Kimberly M; Brunschwig, Bruce S; Lewis, Nathan S

2015-03-24

Reactively sputtered nickel oxide (NiOx) films provide transparent, antireflective, electrically conductive, chemically stable coatings that also are highly active electrocatalysts for the oxidation of water to O2(g). These NiOx coatings provide protective layers on a variety of technologically important semiconducting photoanodes, including textured crystalline Si passivated by amorphous silicon, crystalline n-type cadmium telluride, and hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Under anodic operation in 1.0 M aqueous potassium hydroxide (pH 14) in the presence of simulated sunlight, the NiOx films stabilized all of these self-passivating, high-efficiency semiconducting photoelectrodes for >100 h of sustained, quantitative solar-driven oxidation of water to O2(g).

Research on surface modification of nano-zirconia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Wen; Zhang, Cun-Lin; Yang, Xiao-Yi

2005-02-01

The mechanisms about the aggregation and dispersibility of nano-zirconia were analyzed in detail. And nano-zirconia powders which were surface-modified with silane coupling reagent WD70 were prepared in order to disperse homogeneously in ethanol in this investigation. The grain size and grain phase of nano-zirconia were obtained by XRD. Research and characterization on the structure and surface characteristic of surface-modified nano-zirconia were achieved by XPS, TG-DSC, TEM and FT-IR. The results given by FT-IR and XPS showed WD70 was jointed on the surface of nano-zirconia through both physical adsorption and chemical binding after the de-methanol reaction between the methoxyl groups of WD70 and the hydroxy groups on the surface of nano-zirconia. And the corresponding model of surface-modified nano-zirconia was given. The images provided by TEM presented intuitionistic effect of surface modification on the dispersibility of nano-zirconia in ethanol. And TG-DSC analysis ascertained the amount of WD70 that was jointed on the surface of nano-zirconia and the amount was about 6.21 percent.

Co-sputter deposited nickel-copper bimetallic nanoalloy embedded carbon films for electrocatalytic biomarker detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shiba, Shunsuke; Kato, Dai; Kamata, Tomoyuki; Niwa, Osamu

2016-06-01

We report the fabrication of a nickel (Ni)-copper (Cu) bimetallic nanoalloy (~3 nm) embedded carbon film electrode with the unbalanced magnetron (UBM) co-sputtering technique, which requires only a one-step process at room temperature. Most of each nanoalloy body was firmly embedded in a chemically stable carbon matrix with an atomically flat surface (Ra: 0.21 nm), suppressing the aggregation and/or detachment of the nanoalloy from the electrode surface. The nanoalloy size and composition can be controlled simply by individually controlling the target powers of carbon, Ni and Cu, which also makes it possible to localize the nanoalloys near the electrode surface. This electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity for d-mannitol, which should be detected with a low detection limit in urine samples for the diagnosis of severe intestinal diseases. With a Ni/Cu ratio of around 64/36, the electrocatalytic current per metal area was 3.4 times larger than that of an alloy film electrode with a similar composition (~70/30). This improved electrocatalytic activity realized higher stability (n = 60, relative standard deviation (RSD): 4.6%) than the alloy film (RSD: 32.2%) as demonstrated by continuous measurements of d-mannitol.We report the fabrication of a nickel (Ni)-copper (Cu) bimetallic nanoalloy (~3 nm) embedded carbon film electrode with the unbalanced magnetron (UBM) co-sputtering technique, which requires only a one-step process at room temperature. Most of each nanoalloy body was firmly embedded in a chemically stable carbon matrix with an atomically flat surface (Ra: 0.21 nm), suppressing the aggregation and/or detachment of the nanoalloy from the electrode surface. The nanoalloy size and composition can be controlled simply by individually controlling the target powers of carbon, Ni and Cu, which also makes it possible to localize the nanoalloys near the electrode surface. This electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity for d

Role of high microwave power on growth and microstructure of thick nanocrystalline diamond films: A comparison with large grain polycrystalline diamond films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, C. J.; Fernandes, A. J. S.; Girão, A. V.; Pereira, S.; Shi, Fa-Nian; Soares, M. R.; Costa, F.; Neves, A. J.; Pinto, J. L.

2014-03-01

In this work, we study the growth habit of nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films by exploring the very high power regime, up to 4 kW, in a 5 kW microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition (MPCVD) reactor, through addition of a small amount of nitrogen and oxygen (0.24%) into 4% CH4 in H2 plasma. The coupled effect of high microwave power and substrate temperature on NCD growth behaviour is systematically investigated by varying only power, while fixing the remaining operating parameters. When the power increases from 2 kW to 4 kW, resulting also in rise of the Si substrate temperature higher than 150 °C, the diamond films obtained maintain the NCD habit, while the growth rate increases significantly. The highest growth rate of 4.6 μm/h is achieved for the film grown at 4 kW, which represents a growth rate enhancement of about 15 times compared with that obtained when using 2 kW power. Possible factors responsible for such remarkable growth rate enhancement of the NCD films are discussed. The evolution of NCD growth characteristics such as morphology, microstructure and texture is studied by growing thick films and comparing it with that of large grain polycrystalline (PCD) films. One important characteristic of the NCD films obtained, in contrast to PCD films, is that irrespective of deposition time (i.e. film thickness), their grain size and surface roughness remain in the nanometer range throughout the growth. Finally, based on our present and previous experimental results, a potential parameter window is established for fast growth of NCD films under high power conditions.

Influence of orientation mismatch on charge transport across grain boundaries in tri-isopropylsilylethynyl (TIPS) pentacene thin films.

PubMed

Steiner, Florian; Poelking, Carl; Niedzialek, Dorota; Andrienko, Denis; Nelson, Jenny

2017-05-03

We present a multi-scale model for charge transport across grain boundaries in molecular electronic materials that incorporates packing disorder, electrostatic and polarisation effects. We choose quasi two-dimensional films of tri-isopropylsilylethynyl pentacene (TIPS-P) as a model system representative of technologically relevant crystalline organic semiconductors. We use atomistic molecular dynamics, with a force-field specific for TIPS-P, to generate and equilibrate polycrystalline two-dimensional thin films. The energy landscape is obtained by calculating contributions from electrostatic interactions and polarization. The variation in these contributions leads to energetic barriers between grains. Subsequently, charge transport is simulated using a kinetic Monte-Carlo algorithm. Two-grain systems with varied mutual orientation are studied. We find relatively little effect of long grain boundaries due to the presence of low impedance pathways. However, effects could be more pronounced for systems with limited inter-grain contact areas. Furthermore, we present a lattice model to generalize the model for small molecular systems. In the general case, depending on molecular architecture and packing, grain boundaries can result in interfacial energy barriers, traps or a combination of both with qualitatively different effects on charge transport.

Grain Growth in Cu2ZnSnS4 Thin Films Using Sn Vapor Transport for Photovoltaic Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toyama, Toshihiko; Konishi, Takafumi; Seo, Yuichi; Tsuji, Ryotaro; Terai, Kengo; Nakashima, Yuto; Okamoto, Hiroaki; Tsutsumi, Yasuo

2013-07-01

Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films containing grains grown using Sn vapor transport (TVT) were investigated. Structural characterization revealed that the grain sizes were equal to or larger than the film thickness (1-4 µm) and significantly larger than those in the case of growth without TVT (60 nm). Furthermore, no phase separation was detected. Photothermal diffraction spectroscopy revealed that the optical absorption coefficient was very low in the subgap region, 7×101 cm-1, suggesting the suppression of defect formation. Finally, a TVT-processed thin film was used as an absorber in a solar cell, and a conversion efficiency of 6.9% was achieved.

Ultrasoft magnetic films investigated with Lorentz tranmission electron microscopy and electron holography.

PubMed

De Hosson, Jeff Th M; Chechenin, Nicolai G; Alsem, Daan-Hein; Vystavel, Tomas; Kooi, Bart J; Chezan, Antoni R; Boerma, Dik O

2002-08-01

As a tribute to the scientific work of Professor Gareth Thomas in the field of structure-property relationships this paper delineates a new possibility of Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM) to study the magnetic properties of soft magnetic films. We show that in contrast to the traditional point of view, not only does the direction of the magnetization vector in nano-crystalline films make a correlated small-angle wiggling, but also the magnitude of the magnetization modulus fluctuates. This fluctuation produces a rapid modulation in the LTEM image. A novel analysis of the ripple structure in nano-crystalline Fe-Zr-N film corresponds to an amplitude of the transversal component of the magnetization deltaMy of 23 mT and a longitudinal fluctuation of the magnetization of the order of deltaMx = 30 mT. The nano-crystalline (Fe99Zr1)1-xNx films have been prepared by DC magnetron reactive sputtering with a thickness between 50 and 1000 nm. The grain size decreased monotonically with N content from typically 100 nm in the case of N-free films to less than 10 nm for films containing 8 at%. The specimens were examined with a JEOL 2010F 200 kV transmission electron microscope equipped with a post column energy filter (GIF 2000 Gatan Imaging Filter). For holography, the microscope is mounted with a biprism (JEOL biprism with a 0.6 microm diameter platinum wire).

Deposition and characterization of ZnSe nanocrystalline thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Temel, Sinan; Gökmen, F. Özge; Yaman, Elif; Nebi, Murat

2018-02-01

ZnSe nanocrystalline thin films were deposited at different deposition times by using the Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) technique. Effects of deposition time on structural, morphological and optical properties of the obtained thin films were characterized. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was used to study the structural properties of ZnSe nanocrystalline thin films. It was found that ZnSe thin films have a cubic structure with a preferentially orientation of (111). The calculated average grain size value was about 28-30 nm. The surface morphology of these films was studied by the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). The surfaces of the thin films were occurred from small stacks and nano-sized particles. The band gap values of the ZnSe nanocrystalline thin films were determined by UV-Visible absorption spectrum and the band gap values were found to be between 2.65-2.86 eV.

Structural, optical and ac electrical characterization of CBD synthesized NiO thin films: Influence of thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, M. R.; Mukherjee, A.; Mitra, P.

2017-09-01

We have studied the electrical conductivity, dielectric relaxation mechanism and impedance spectroscopy characteristics of nickel oxide (NiO) thin films synthesized by chemical bath deposition (CBD) method. Thickness dependent structural, optical and ac electrical characterization has been carried out and deposition time was varied to control the thickness. The material has been characterized using X-ray diffraction and UV-VIS spectrophotometer. Impedance spectroscopy analysis confirmed enhancement of ac conductivity and dielectric constant for films deposited with higher deposition time. Decrease of grain size in thicker films were confirmed from XRD analysis and activation energy of the material for electrical charge hopping process was increased with thickness of the film. Decrease in band gap in thicker films were observed which could be associated with creation of additional energy levels in the band gap of the material. Cole-Cole plot shows contribution of both grain and grain boundary towards total resistance and capacitance. The overall resistance was found to decrease from 14.6 × 105 Ω for 30 min deposited film ( 120 nm thick) to 2.42 × 105 Ω for 120 min deposited film ( 307 nm thick). Activation energy value to electrical conduction process evaluated from conductivity data was found to decrease with thickness. Identical result was obtained from relaxation time approach suggesting hopping mechanism of charge carriers.

Effect of Sb on physical properties and microstructures of laser nano/amorphous-composite film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jia-Ning; Gong, Shui-Li; Sun, Mei; Shan, Fei-Hu; Wang, Xi-Chang; Jiang, Shuai

2013-11-01

A nano/amorphous-composite film was fabricated by laser cladding (LC) of the Co-Ti-B4C-Sb mixed powders on a TA15 alloy. Such film mainly consisted of Ti-Al, Co-Ti, Co-Sb intermetallics, TiC, TiB2, TiB, and the amorphous phases. Experimental results indicated that the crystal systems of TiB2 (hexagonal)/TiC (cubic) and Sb (rhombohedral) played important role on the formation of such film. Due to the mismatch of these crystals systems and mutual immiscibility of the metallic components, Sb was not incorporated in TiB2/TiC, but formed separate nuclei during the film growth. Thus, the growth of TiB2/TiC was stopped by the Sb nucleus in such LC molten pool, so as to form the nanoscale particles.

Carbon nanotube thin film strain sensor models assembled using nano- and micro-scale imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Bo Mi; Loh, Kenneth J.; Yang, Yuan-Sen

2017-07-01

Nanomaterial-based thin films, particularly those based on carbon nanotubes (CNT), have brought forth tremendous opportunities for designing next-generation strain sensors. However, their strain sensing properties can vary depending on fabrication method, post-processing treatment, and types of CNTs and polymers employed. The objective of this study was to derive a CNT-based thin film strain sensor model using inputs from nano-/micro-scale experimental measurements of nanotube physical properties. This study began with fabricating ultra-low-concentration CNT-polymer thin films, followed by imaging them using atomic force microscopy. Image processing was employed for characterizing CNT dispersed shapes, lengths, and other physical attributes, and results were used for building five different types of thin film percolation-based models. Numerical simulations were conducted to assess how the morphology of dispersed CNTs in its 2D matrix affected bulk film electrical and electromechanical (strain sensing) properties. The simulation results showed that CNT morphology had a significant impact on strain sensing performance.

Vertically porous nickel thin film supported Mn3O4 for enhanced energy storage performance.

PubMed

Li, Xiao-Jun; Song, Zhi-Wei; Zhao, Yong; Wang, Yue; Zhao, Xiu-Chen; Liang, Minghui; Chu, Wei-Guo; Jiang, Peng; Liu, Ying

2016-12-01

Three-dimensionally porous metal materials are often used as the current collectors and support for the active materials of supercapacitors. However, the applications of vertically porous metal materials in supercapacitors are rarely reported, and the effect of vertically porous metal materials on the energy storage performance of supported metal oxides is not explored. To this end, the Mn3O4-vertically porous nickel (VPN) electrodes are fabricated via a template-free method. The Mn3O4-VPN electrode shows much higher volumetric specific capacitances than that of flat nickel film supported Mn3O4 with the same loading under the same measurement conditions. The volumetric specific capacitance of the vertically porous nickel supported Mn3O4 electrode can reach 533Fcm(-3) at the scan rate of 2mVs(-1). The fabricated flexible all-solid microsupercapacitor based on the interdigital Mn3O4-VPN electrode has a volumetric specific capacitance of 110Fcm(-3) at the current density of 20μAcm(-2). The capacitance retention rate of this microsupercapacitor reaches 95% after 5000 cycles under the current density of 20μAcm(-2). The vertical pores in the nickel electrode not only fit the micro/nanofabrication process of the Mn3O4-VPN electrode, but also play an important role in enhancing the capacitive performances of supported Mn3O4 particles. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stimulated Brillouin scattering of laser in semiconductor plasma embedded with nano-sized grains

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

Sharma, Giriraj, E-mail: grsharma@gmail.com; Dad, R. C.; Ghosh, S.

2015-07-31

A high power laser propagating through semiconductor plasma undergoes Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) from the electrostrictively generated acoustic perturbations. We have considered that nano-sized grains (NSGs) ions are embedded in semiconductor plasma by means of ion implantation. The NSGs are bombarded by the surrounding plasma particles and collect electrons. By considering a negative charge on the NSGs, we present an analytically study on the effects of NSGs on threshold field for the onset of SBS and Brillouin gain of generated Brillouin scattered mode. It is found that as the charge on the NSGs builds up, the Brillouin gain is significantlymore » raised and the threshold pump field for the onset of SBS process is lowered.« less

Single-grain growth in Si film by chevron-shaped cw laser beam scanning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeh, Wenchang; Yamazaki, Satoki; Ishimoto, Akihisa; Morito, Shigekazu

2016-02-01

A single grain with a length of 450 µm and a width of 5-6 µm was grown in a 60 nm Si film on SiO2 by scanning a chevron-shaped cw laser beam, which was formed by passing a linear laser beam through a novel one-sided Dove prism. The crystal did not have any dominant orientations in both the growth and normal directions. The orientation rotated about the transverse direction at a rate of 0.47-0.51°/µm in the forward direction, which suggests that the lattice constant at the film surface was 0.049-0.053% larger than that at the film bottom.

Design and fabrication of highly hydrophobic Mn nano-sculptured thin films and evaluation of surface properties on hydrophobicity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hosseini, Somaye; Savaloni, Hadi; Gholipour-Shahraki, Mehran

2017-03-01

The wettability of solid surfaces is important from the aspects of both science and technology. The Mn nano-sculptured thin films were designed and fabricated by oblique angle deposition of Mn on glass substrates at room temperature. The obtained structure was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The wettability of thin films samples was investigated by water contact angle (WCA). The 4-pointed helical star-shaped structure exhibits hydrophobicity with static WCAs of more than 133° for a 10-mg distilled water droplet. This sample also shows the rose petal effect with the additional property of high adhesion. The Mn nano-sculptured thin films also act as a sticky surface which is confirmed by hysteresis of the contact angle obtained from advancing and receding contact angles measurements. Physicochemical property of liquid phase could effectively change the contact angle, and polar solvents in contact with hydrophobic solid surfaces do not necessarily show high contact angle value.

Nickel hydroxide nanoparticles-reduced graphene oxide nanosheets film: layer-by-layer electrochemical preparation, characterization and rifampicin sensory application.

PubMed

Rastgar, Shokoufeh; Shahrokhian, Saeed

2014-02-01

Electrochemical deposition, as a well-controlled synthesis procedure, has been used for subsequently layer-by-layer preparation of nickel hydroxide nanoparticle-reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (Ni(OH)2-RGO) on a graphene oxide (GO) film pre-cast on a glassy carbon electrode surface. The surface morphology and nature of the nano-hybrid film (Ni(OH)2-RGO) was thoroughly characterized by scanning electron and atomic force microscopy, spectroscopy and electrochemical techniques. The modified electrode appeared as an effective electro-catalytic model for analysis of rifampicin (RIF) by using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). The prepared modified electrode exhibited a distinctly higher activity for electro-oxidation of RIF than either GO, RGO nanosheets or Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles. Enhancement of peak currents is ascribed to the fast heterogeneous electron transfer kinetics that arise from the synergistic coupling between the excellent properties of RGO nanosheets (such as high density of edge plane sites, subtle electronic characteristics and attractive π-π interaction) and unique properties of metal nanoparticles. Under the optimized analysis conditions, the modified electrode showed two oxidation processes for rifampicin at potentials about 0.08 V (peak I) and 0.69 V (peak II) in buffer solution of pH 7.0 with a wide linear dynamic range of 0.006-10.0 µmol L(-1) and 0.04-10 µmol L(-1) with a detection limit of 4.16 nmol L(-1) and 2.34 nmol L(-1) considering peaks I and II as an analytical signal, respectively. The results proved the efficacy of the fabricated modified electrode for simple, low cost and highly sensitive medicine sensor well suited for the accurate determinations of trace amounts of rifampicin in the pharmaceutical and clinical preparations. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultra Thin Poly-Si Nanosheet Junctionless Field-Effect Transistor with Nickel Silicide Contact

PubMed Central

Lin, Yu-Ru; Tsai, Wan-Ting; Wu, Yung-Chun; Lin, Yu-Hsien

2017-01-01

This study demonstrated an ultra thin poly-Si junctionless nanosheet field-effect transistor (JL NS-FET) with nickel silicide contact. For the nickel silicide film, two-step annealing and a Ti capping layer were adopted to form an ultra thin uniform nickel silicide film with low sheet resistance (Rs). The JL NS-FET with nickel silicide contact exhibited favorable electrical properties, including a high driving current (>107A), subthreshold slope (186 mV/dec.), and low parasitic resistance. In addition, this study compared the electrical characteristics of JL NS-FETs with and without nickel silicide contact. PMID:29112139

Ultra Thin Poly-Si Nanosheet Junctionless Field-Effect Transistor with Nickel Silicide Contact.

PubMed

Lin, Yu-Ru; Tsai, Wan-Ting; Wu, Yung-Chun; Lin, Yu-Hsien

2017-11-07

This study demonstrated an ultra thin poly-Si junctionless nanosheet field-effect transistor (JL NS-FET) with nickel silicide contact. For the nickel silicide film, two-step annealing and a Ti capping layer were adopted to form an ultra thin uniform nickel silicide film with low sheet resistance (Rs). The JL NS-FET with nickel silicide contact exhibited favorable electrical properties, including a high driving current (>10⁷A), subthreshold slope (186 mV/dec.), and low parasitic resistance. In addition, this study compared the electrical characteristics of JL NS-FETs with and without nickel silicide contact.

ZnS nanostructured thin-films deposited by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deshmukh, S. G.; Jariwala, Akshay; Agarwal, Anubha; Patel, Chetna; Panchal, A. K.; Kheraj, Vipul

2016-04-01

ZnS thin films were grown on glass substrate using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique at room temperature. Aqueous solutions of ZnCl2 and Na2S were used as precursors. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Raman spectroscopy and optical absorption measurements were applied to study the structural, surface morphology and optical properties of as-deposited ZnS thin films. The X-ray diffraction profiles revealed that ZnS thin films consist of crystalline grains with cubic phase. Spherical nano grains of random size and well covered on the glass substrate were observed from FESEM. The average grain size were found to be 77 nm, 100 nm and 124 nm for 20 cycles, 40 cycles and 60 cycles samples respectively. For 60 cycle sample, Raman spectra show two prominent peaks at 554 cm-1 and 1094 cm-1. The optical band gap values were found to be 3.76 eV, 3.72 eV and 3.67 eV for 20 cycle, 40 cycle and 60 cycle samples respectively.

Fabrication of a pure TiO2 thin film using a self-polymeric titania nano-sol and its properties.

PubMed

Park, Won-Kyu; Song, Jeong-Hwan; Kim, Soo-Ryong; Kim, Tae-Hyun; Iwasaki, Mitusnobo

2012-02-01

A pure TiO2 thin film without adding any organic binder was fabricated by using a self-polymeric titania nano-sol (14 mass%), which was prepared by the acid peptization method. The particle size distribution in the 14 mass% TiO2 sol, in which almost of particles had a size below 10.2 nm and the crystal phase confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis was anatase. The diluted nano-sol had a capability to form a thin film at a low temperature (100-400 degrees C) on the slide glass by dipping method. The average thickness of a coating film was measured to be about 0.25-0.30 microm. A coated film had a high refractive index over 1.88 at least irrespective of the heat-treatment even at room temperature drying and showed a super-hydrophilicity (< 5 degrees) after 20 minutes under Ultra Violet light irradiation, and it sustained in the darkness during a long period over 7 days depending on the heat-treatment conditions. Atomic Force Microscopic observation shows that the morphology of a heat-treated film had a relationship with the long-term hydrophilicity in the darkness.

Ag implantation-induced modification of Ni-Ti shape memory alloy thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, V.; Singhal, R.; Vishnoi, R.; Banerjee, M. K.; Sharma, M. C.; Asokan, K.; Kumar, M.

2017-08-01

Nanocrystalline thin films of Ni-Ti shape memory alloy are deposited on an Si substrate by the DC-magnetron co-sputtering technique and 120 keV Ag ions are implanted at different fluences. The thickness and composition of the pristine films are determined by Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS). X-Ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and four-point probe resistivity methods have been used to study the structural, morphological and electrical transport properties. XRD analysis has revealed the existence of martensitic and austenite phases in the pristine film and also evidenced the structural changes in Ag-implanted Ni-Ti films at different fluences. AFM studies have revealed that surface roughness and grain size of Ni-Ti films have decreased with an increase in ion fluence. The modifications in the mechanical behaviour of implanted Ni-Ti films w.r.t pristine film is determined by using a Nano-indentation tester at room temperature. Higher hardness and the ratio of higher hardness (H) to elastic modulus (Er) are observed for the film implanted at an optimized fluence of 9 × 1015 ions/cm2. This improvement in mechanical behaviour could be understood in terms of grain refinement and dislocation induced by the Ag ion implantation in the Ni-Ti thin films.

Nano-crystallization in ZnO-doped In2O3 thin films via excimer laser annealing for thin-film transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujii, Mami N.; Ishikawa, Yasuaki; Ishihara, Ryoichi; van der Cingel, Johan; Mofrad, Mohammad R. T.; Bermundo, Juan Paolo Soria; Kawashima, Emi; Tomai, Shigekazu; Yano, Koki; Uraoka, Yukiharu

2016-06-01

In a previous work, we reported the high field effect mobility of ZnO-doped In2O3 (IZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) irradiated by excimer laser annealing (ELA) [M. Fujii et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 122107 (2013)]. However, a deeper understanding of the effect of ELA on the IZO film characteristics based on crystallinity, carrier concentrations, and optical properties is needed to control localized carrier concentrations for fabricating self-aligned structures in the same oxide film and to adequately explain the physical characteristics. In the case of as-deposited IZO film used as the channel, a high carrier concentration due to a high density of oxygen vacancies was observed; such a film does not show the required TFT characteristics but can act as a conductive film. We achieved a decrease in the carrier concentration of IZO films by crystallization using ELA. This means that ELA can form localized conductive or semi-conductive areas on the IZO film. We confirmed that the reason for the carrier concentration decrease was the decrease of oxygen-deficient regions and film crystallization. The annealed IZO films showed nano-crystalline phase, and the temperature at the substrate was substantially less than the temperature limit for flexible films such as plastic, which is 50°C. This paves the way for the formation of self-aligned structures and separately formed conductive and semi-conductive regions in the same oxide film.

Cirrus Dopant Nano-Composite Coatings

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-01

100 200 300 400 500 600 HARDNESS (HV) MICROHARDNESS - ELECTROPLATED NICKEL STANDARD DC PLATED DOPED DC PLATED DOPED PULSE PLATED ↑48% 10...STANDARD COATING HARDNESS (HV) DOPED COATING MICROHARDNESS - ELECTROPLATED ZN NI ↑32% DC ZnNi Cirrus ZnNi Current Test Applications cirrus nano

Stable solar-driven oxidation of water by semiconducting photoanodes protected by transparent catalytic nickel oxide films

DOE PAGES

Sun, Ke; Saadi, Fadl H.; Lichterman, Michael F.; ...

2015-03-11

Reactively sputtered nickel oxide (NiO x) films provide transparent, antireflective, electrically conductive, chemically stable coatings that also are highly active electrocatalysts for the oxidation of water to O 2(g). These NiO x coatings provide protective layers on a variety of technologically important semiconducting photoanodes, including textured crystalline Si passivated by amorphous silicon, crystalline n-type cadmium telluride, and hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Finally, under anodic operation in 1.0 M aqueous potassium hydroxide (pH 14) in the presence of simulated sunlight, the NiO x films stabilized all of these self-passivating, high-efficiency semiconducting photoelectrodes for >100 h of sustained, quantitative solar-driven oxidation of watermore » to O 2(g).« less

Controlling electrodeposited ultrathin amorphous Fe hydroxides film on V-doped nickel sulfide nanowires as efficient electrocatalyst for water oxidation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shang, Xiao; Yan, Kai-Li; Lu, Shan-Shan; Dong, Bin; Gao, Wen-Kun; Chi, Jing-Qi; Liu, Zi-Zhang; Chai, Yong-Ming; Liu, Chen-Guang

2017-09-01

Developing cost-effective electrocatalysts with both high activity and stability remains challenging for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in water electrolysis. Herein, based on V-doped nickel sulfide nanowire on nickel foam (NiVS/NF), we further conduct controllable electrodeposition of Fe hydroxides film on NiVS/NF (eFe/NiVS/NF) to further improve OER performance and stability. For comparison, ultrafast chemical deposition of Fe hydroxides on NiVS/NF (uFe/NiVS/NF) is also utilized. V-doping of NiVS/NF may introduce more active sites for OER, and nanowire structure can expose abundant active sites and facilitate mass transport. Both of the two depositions generate amorphous Fe hydroxides film covering on the surface of nanowires and lead to enhanced OER activities. Furthermore, electrodeposition strategy realizes uniform Fe hydroxides film on eFe/NiVS/NF confirmed by superior OER activity of eFe/NiVS/NF than uFe/NiVS/NF with relatively enhanced stability. The OER activity of eFe/NiVS/NF depends on various electrodepositon time, and the optimal time (15 s) is obtained with maximum OER activity. Therefore, the controllable electrodeposition of Fe may provide an efficient and simple strategy to enhance the OER properties of electrocatalysts.

Do grain boundaries dominate non-radiative recombination in CH 3NH 3PbI 3 perovskite thin films?

DOE PAGES

Yang, Mengjin; Zeng, Yining; Li, Zhen; ...

2017-01-13

Here, we examine GBs with respect to non-GB regions (grain surfaces (GSs) and grain interiors (GIs)) in high-quality micrometer-sized perovskite CH 3NH 3PbI 3 (or MAPbI 3) thin films using high-resolution confocal fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy in conjunction with kinetic modeling of charge-transport and recombination processes. We show that, contrary to previous studies, GBs in our perovskite MAPbI3 thin films do not lead to increased recombination but that recombination in these films happens primarily in the non-GB regions (i.e., GSs or GIs). We also find that GBs in these films are not transparent to photogenerated carriers, which is likely associated withmore » a potential barrier at GBs. Lastly, even though GBs generally display lower luminescence intensities than GSs/GIs, the lifetimes at GBs are no worse than those at GSs/GIs, further suggesting that GBs do not dominate non-radiative recombination in MAPbI 3 thin films.« less

Thermal conductivity of ultrathin nano-crystalline diamond films determined by Raman thermography assisted by silicon nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anaya, Julian; Rossi, Stefano; Alomari, Mohammed; Kohn, Erhard; Tóth, Lajos; Pécz, Béla; Kuball, Martin

2015-06-01

The thermal transport in polycrystalline diamond films near its nucleation region is still not well understood. Here, a steady-state technique to determine the thermal transport within the nano-crystalline diamond present at their nucleation site has been demonstrated. Taking advantage of silicon nanowires as surface temperature nano-sensors, and using Raman Thermography, the in-plane and cross-plane components of the thermal conductivity of ultra-thin diamond layers and their thermal barrier to the Si substrate were determined. Both components of the thermal conductivity of the nano-crystalline diamond were found to be well below the values of polycrystalline bulk diamond, with a cross-plane thermal conductivity larger than the in-plane thermal conductivity. Also a depth dependence of the lateral thermal conductivity through the diamond layer was determined. The results impact the design and integration of diamond for thermal management of AlGaN/GaN high power transistors and also show the usefulness of the nanowires as accurate nano-thermometers.

The Effects of Atmosphere on the Sintering of Ultrafine-Grained Tungsten with Ti

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Chai; Koopman, Mark; Fang, Z. Zak; Zhang, Huan

2016-11-01

Tungsten (W) is a brittle material at room temperature making it very difficult to fabricate. Although the lack of ductility remains a difficult challenge, nano-sized and ultrafine-grained (UFG) structures offer the potential to overcome tungsten's room-temperature brittleness. One way to manufacture UFG W is to compact and sinter nano-sized W powder. It is challenging, however, to control grain growth during sintering. As one method to inhibit grain growth, the effect of Ti-based additives on the densification and grain growth of nano-W powders was investigated in this study. Addition of 1% Ti into tungsten led to more than a 63% decrease in average grain size of sintered samples at comparable density levels. It was found that sintering in Ar yielded a finer grain size than sintering in H2 at similar densities. The active diffusion mechanisms during sintering were different for W-1% Ti nano powders sintered in Ar and H2.

Magnetism of Amorphous and Nano-Crystallized Dc-Sputter-Deposited MgO Thin Films

PubMed Central

Mahadeva, Sreekanth K.; Fan, Jincheng; Biswas, Anis; Sreelatha, K.S.; Belova, Lyubov; Rao, K.V.

2013-01-01

We report a systematic study of room-temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) in pristine MgO thin films in their amorphous and nano-crystalline states. The as deposited dc-sputtered films of pristine MgO on Si substrates using a metallic Mg target in an O2 containing working gas atmosphere of (N2 + O2) are found to be X-ray amorphous. All these films obtained with oxygen partial pressure (PO2) ~10% to 80% while maintaining the same total pressure of the working gas are found to be ferromagnetic at room temperature. The room temperature saturation magnetization (MS) value of 2.68 emu/cm3 obtained for the MgO film deposited in PO2 of 10% increases to 9.62 emu/cm3 for film deposited at PO2 of 40%. However, the MS values decrease steadily for further increase of oxygen partial pressure during deposition. On thermal annealing at temperatures in the range 600 to 800 °C, the films become nanocrystalline and as the crystallite size grows with longer annealing times and higher temperature, MS decreases. Our study clearly points out that it is possible to tailor the magnetic properties of thin films of MgO. The room temperature ferromagnetism in MgO films is attributed to the presence of Mg cation vacancies. PMID:28348346

The structure and properties of pulsed dc magnetron sputtered nanocrystalline TiN films for electrodes of alkali metal thermal-to-electric conversion systems.

PubMed

Chun, Sung-Yong

2013-03-01

Titanium nitride films used as an important electrode material for the design of alkali metal thermal-to-electric conversion (AMTEC) system have been prepared using dc (direct current) and asymmetric-bipolar pulsed dc magnetron sputtering. The pulse frequency and the duty cycle were varied from 5 to 50 kHz and 50 to 95%, respectively. The deposition rate, grain size and resistivity of pulsed dc sputtered films were decreased when the pulse frequency increased, while the nano hardness of titanium nitride films increased. We present in detail coatings (e.g., deposition rate, grain size, prefer-orientation, resistivity and hardness). Our studies show that titanium nitride coatings with superior properties can be prepared using asymmetric-bipolar pulsed dc sputtering.

Optimization of strength and ductility in nanotwinned ultrafine grained Ag: twin density and grain orientations

DOE PAGES

Ott, R. T.; Geng, J.; Besser, M. F.; ...

2015-06-27

Nanotwinned ultrafine grained Ag thick films with different twin densities and orientations have been synthesized by magnetron sputtering with a wide-range of deposition rates. The twin boundary (TB) spacings and orientations as well as the grain size for the different deposition conditions have been characterized by both synchrotron X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Structural characterization combined with uniaxial tensile tests of the free-standing films reveals a large increase in the yield strength for films deposited at high deposition rates without any accompanying change in the TB spacing – a behavior that is in contrast with what has beenmore » reported in the literature. We find that films deposited at lower deposition rates exhibit more randomly oriented grains with a lower overall twin density (averaged over all the grains) than the more heavily twinned grains with strong <111> fiber texture in the films deposited at higher deposition rates. The TB spacing in the twinned grains, however, does not show any significant dependence on the deposition rate. The dependence of the strength and ductility on the twin density and orientations can be described by two different soft deformation modes: 1) untwinned grains and 2) nanowinned grains that are not oriented with <111> along the growth direction. The untwinned grains provide relatively low resistance to slip, and thus decreased strength, while the nanotwinned grains that are not oriented with <111> along the growth direction are softer than nanotwinned grains that are oriented with <111> along the growth direction. We reveal that an ultrafine-grained (150-200 nm) structure consisting of a mixture of nanotwinned (~ 8-12 nm spacing) and untwined grains yields the best combination of high strength and uniform tensile ductility.« less

Characteristic of Nano-Cu Film Prepared by Energy Filtrating Magnetron Sputtering Technique and Its Optical Property

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhaoyong; Hu, Xing; Yao, Ning

2015-03-01

At the optimized deposition parameters, Cu film was deposited by the direct current magnetron sputtering (DMS) technique and the energy filtrating magnetron sputtering (EFMS) technique. The nano-structure was charactered by x-ray diffraction. The surface morphology of the film was observed by atomic force microscopy. The optical properties of the film were measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The refractive index, extinction coefficient and the thickness of the film were obtained by the fitted spectroscopic ellipsometry data using the Drude-Lorentz oscillator optical model. Results suggested that a Cu film with different properties was fabricated by the EFMS technique. The film containing smaller particles is denser and the surface is smoother. The average transmission coefficient, the refractive index and the extinction coefficients are higher than those of the Cu film deposited by the DMS technique. The average transmission coefficient (400-800 nm) is more than three times higher. The refractive index and extinction coefficient (at 550 nm) are more than 36% and 14% higher, respectively.

The correlation between nano-hardness and elasticity and fullerene-like clusters in hydrogenated amorphous carbon films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yongfu; Gao, Kaixiong; Wang, Qi; Zhang, Junyan

2018-01-01

Fullerene-like hydrogenated carbon films have outstanding mechanical and frictional properties, but their structures have never enjoyed elaboration. In this study, we investigate the relation between nano-hardness and elasticity and fullerene-like clusters by changing energy supply form (direct current and pulse) and H2 concentration in the feedstock. It is found that the films have a network of H-rich amorphous carbon and H-poor or -deficient fullerene-like carbon, and the network change can affect hardness and elastic recovery. This is due to the energy minimization process of the film growing system in a very short pulse period at low temperature.

Grain Boundary Engineering and Air Oxidation Behavior of Alloy 690

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Peng; Zhao, Liang Y.; Sridharan, Kumar; Allen, Todd R.

Grain boundary engineering (GBE) was performed on nickel-based alloy 690 by thermomechanical processing (TMP) to alter the grain boundary character distribution (GBCD). It was found that 5% and 35% thickness reduction in single and multiple steps followed by solution annealing and water quench yielded a high fraction of special boundaries. The total length fraction of the low ∑ CSL (coincidence site lattice) was as high as 87.2%. The grain boundary network was disrupted after the TMP treatment, and the average grain size calculated after exclusion of special twin boundaries can be as much as 5 times larger than the as-received (AR) sample. The GBE sample showed better oxidation resistance compared to the AR sample during the long term air oxidation. In the cyclic oxidation test, both AR and GBE samples showed a mass gain at the beginning of the test which was then followed by a mass loss. The mass change of GBE samples oscillated after the first couple cycles, while the AR sample became relatively stable. The oxide film most likely consists of duplex structures with one stable layer that was formed inside and one unstable layer that was formed outside. The stable inner layer was the protective layer and prevented alloy 690 from further oxidation.

A Noncontact Dibutyl Phthalate Sensor Based on a Wireless-Electrodeless QCM-D Modified with Nano-Structured Nickel Hydroxide.

PubMed

Chen, Daqi; Sun, Xiyang; Zhang, Kaihuan; Fan, Guokang; Wang, You; Li, Guang; Hu, Ruifen

2017-07-21

Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is a widely used plasticizer which has been found to be a reproductive and developmental toxicant and ubiquitously existing in the air. A highly sensitive method for DBP monitoring in the environment is urgently needed. A DBP sensor based on a homemade wireless-electrodeless quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) coated with nano-structured nickel hydroxide is presented. With the noncontact configuration, the sensing system could work at a higher resonance frequency (the 3rd overtone) and the response of the system was even more stable compared with a conventional quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The sensor achieved a sensitivity of 7.3 Hz/ppb to DBP in a concentration range of 0.4-40 ppb and an ultra-low detection limit of 0.4 ppb of DBP has also been achieved.

Hierarchical Micro/Nano Structures by Combined Self-Organized Dewetting and Photopatterning of Photoresist Thin Films.

PubMed

Sachan, Priyanka; Kulkarni, Manish; Sharma, Ashutosh

2015-11-17

Photoresists are the materials of choice for micro/nanopatterning and device fabrication but are rarely used as a self-assembly material. We report for the first time a novel interplay of self-assembly and photolithography for fabrication of hierarchical and ordered micro/nano structures. We create self-organized structures by the intensified dewetting of unstable thin (∼10 nm to 1 μm) photoresist films by annealing them in an optimal solvent and nonsolvent liquid mixture that allows spontaneous dewetting to form micro/nano smooth dome-like structures. The density, size (∼100 nm to millimeters), and curvature/contact angle of the dome/droplet structures are controlled by the film thickness, composition of the dewetting liquid, and time of annealing. Ordered dewetted structures are obtained simply by creating spatial variation of viscosity by ultraviolet exposure or by photopatterning before dewetting. Further, the structures thus fabricated are readily photopatterned again on the finer length scales after dewetting. We illustrate the approach by fabricating several three-dimensional structures of varying complexity with secondary and tertiary features.

Development of an electron paramagnetic resonance methodology for studying the photo-generation of reactive species in semiconductor nano-particle assembled films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Twardoch, Marek; Messai, Youcef; Vileno, Bertrand; Hoarau, Yannick; Mekki, Djamel E.; Felix, Olivier; Turek, Philippe; Weiss, Jean; Decher, Gero; Martel, David

2018-06-01

An experimental approach involving electron paramagnetic resonance is proposed for studying photo-generated reactive species in semiconductor nano-particle-based films deposited on the internal wall of glass capillaries. This methodology is applied here to nano-TiO2 and allows a semi-quantitative analysis of the kinetic evolutions of radical production using a spin scavenger probe.

Spatio-temporal behaviour of atomic-scale tribo-ceramic films in adaptive surface engineered nano-materials.

PubMed

Fox-Rabinovich, G; Kovalev, A; Veldhuis, S; Yamamoto, K; Endrino, J L; Gershman, I S; Rashkovskiy, A; Aguirre, M H; Wainstein, D L

2015-03-05

Atomic-scale, tribo-ceramic films associated with dissipative structures formation are discovered under extreme frictional conditions which trigger self-organization. For the first time, we present an actual image of meta-stable protective tribo-ceramics within thicknesses of a few atomic layers. A mullite and sapphire structure predominates in these phases. They act as thermal barriers with an amazing energy soaking/dissipating capacity. Less protective tribo-films cannot sustain in these severe conditions and rapidly wear out. Therefore, a functional hierarchy is established. The created tribo-films act in synergy, striving to better adapt themselves to external stimuli. Under a highly complex structure and non-equilibrium state, the upcoming generation of adaptive surface engineered nano-multilayer materials behaves like intelligent systems - capable of generating, with unprecedented efficiency, the necessary tribo-films to endure an increasingly severe environment.

Spatio-temporal behaviour of atomic-scale tribo-ceramic films in adaptive surface engineered nano-materials

PubMed Central

Fox-Rabinovich, G.; Kovalev, A.; Veldhuis, S.; Yamamoto, K.; Endrino, J. L.; Gershman, I. S.; Rashkovskiy, A.; Aguirre, M. H.; Wainstein, D. L.

2015-01-01

Atomic-scale, tribo-ceramic films associated with dissipative structures formation are discovered under extreme frictional conditions which trigger self-organization. For the first time, we present an actual image of meta-stable protective tribo-ceramics within thicknesses of a few atomic layers. A mullite and sapphire structure predominates in these phases. They act as thermal barriers with an amazing energy soaking/dissipating capacity. Less protective tribo-films cannot sustain in these severe conditions and rapidly wear out. Therefore, a functional hierarchy is established. The created tribo-films act in synergy, striving to better adapt themselves to external stimuli. Under a highly complex structure and non-equilibrium state, the upcoming generation of adaptive surface engineered nano-multilayer materials behaves like intelligent systems - capable of generating, with unprecedented efficiency, the necessary tribo-films to endure an increasingly severe environment. PMID:25740153

Role of substrate in the surface diffusion and kinetic roughening of nanocrystallised nickel electrodeposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nzoghe-Mendome, L.; Aloufy, A.; Ebothé, J.; El Messiry, M.; Hui, D.

2009-02-01

The surface growth and roughening of nano-crystallised Ni electrodeposits prepared at the same conditions have been studied on Cu, Au and ITO substrates. The Ni films obtained are characterised by the same face-centred cubic structure with a texture affected by the substrate chemical nature. Practically, the same small-sized grains of 83 nm mean height depicting a statistical mono-mode feature grow on Cu. A three-modal feature corresponding to the biggest and compact crystallites of 335, 368 and 400 nm mean height is obtained with Au. Two typical modes, respectively, linked to isolated big crystallites of 343 nm mean height and large zones of small grains of 170 nm height, result from the ITO effect. The surface transport properties of Ni ad-atoms on each substrate have been studied from the theoretical approach including the film global roughness measured by AFM. It is shown that the ad-atom diffusion coefficients ( D s) ranged in the interval 10 -10-10 -9 cm 2 s -1 are greatly affected by the non-equilibrium conditions of the film formation. Cu and ITO, respectively, lead to Λ s=11.92 and 14.30 nm, while the higher D s value and diffusion length Λ s=37.32 nm are obtained with Au substrate.

The History of Presolar Grains

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bernatowicz, Thomas J.

2004-01-01

Below we summarize the results of our investigations into the history of presolar grains that were conducted in the last year. During this time we have expended much of our effort in the development of experimental techniques and sample preparation methods that are needed to laboratory in December, 2000. Specific information on this instrument is contained in the Full Proposal of PI Ernst Zinner and will not be repeated here. Our general strategy in the past year has been in large measure to explore novel sample handling methods for the very small (sub-micron), but more representative, presolar grains that can now be characterized isotopically in the NanoSIMS. We have developed experimental techniques that will permit NanoSIMS analyses of the very same ultramicrotome sections studied in the TEM, and we have developed grain dispersion, handling and mounting techniques that permit NanoSIMS isotopic analysis as well as field emission SEM, high energy TEM, and atomic force microscopy of pristine presolar grains. Although much of this has been slow and very difficult work that has no immediate payoff in terms of publishable results, we considered it absolutely necessary groundwork for future discoveries, especially in the realm of individual presolar grains that have been inaccessible to past studies due to size constraints. As discussed below, we have been largely successful in these endeavors, and expect to reap the benefits of this work in the next year. We also report on our continued morphologic studies of pristine presolar grains, on our investigations of presolar graphite grains from supernovae as well as on rarer types of presotar SIC, on the search for presolar silicates, and on our efforts to obtain direct size-distribution information on presolar SiC through X-ray mapping techniques.

Negative differential resistance in nickel octabutoxy phthalocyanine and nickel octabutoxy phthalocyanine/graphene oxide ultrathin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarkar, Arup; Suresh, K. A.

2018-04-01

We find negative differential resistance (NDR) at room temperature in ultrathin films of nickel (II) 1,4,8,11,15,18,22,25-octabutoxy-29H,31H-phthalocyanine [NiPc(OBu)8] deposited on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) substrate [NiPc(OBu)8/HOPG] and NiPc(OBu)8 on graphene oxide (GO) deposited on HOPG [NiPc(OBu)8/GO/HOPG]. For the NiPc(OBu)8/HOPG system, NiPc(OBu)8 was transferred four times onto HOPG by the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. We have prepared a stable Langmuir monolayer of amphiphilic GO at the air-water interface and transferred it onto HOPG by the LB technique. Further, the monolayer of NiPc(OBu)8 was transferred four times for good coverage on GO to obtain the NiPc(OBu)8/GO/HOPG system. The current-voltage characteristics were carried out using a current sensing atomic force microscope (CSAFM) with a platinum (Pt) tip that forms Pt/NiPc(OBu)8/HOPG and Pt/NiPc(OBu)8/GO/HOPG junctions. The CSAFM, UV-visible spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry studies show that the NDR effect occurs due to molecular resonant tunneling. In the Pt/NiPc(OBu)8/GO/HOPG junction, we find that due to the presence of GO, the features of NDR become more prominent. Also, GO causes a shift in NDR voltage towards a lower value in the negative bias direction. We attribute this behavior to the role of GO in injecting holes into the NiPc(OBu)8 film.

Formation of Au nano-patterns on various substrates using simplified nano-transfer printing method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jong-Woo; Yang, Ki-Yeon; Hong, Sung-Hoon; Lee, Heon

2008-06-01

For future device applications, fabrication of the metal nano-patterns on various substrates, such as Si wafer, non-planar glass lens and flexible plastic films become important. Among various nano-patterning technologies, nano-transfer print method is one of the simplest techniques to fabricate metal nano-patterns. In nano-transfer printing process, thin Au layer is deposited on flexible PDMS mold, containing surface protrusion patterns, and the Au layer is transferred from PDMS mold to various substrates due to the difference of bonding strength of Au layer to PDMS mold and to the substrate. For effective transfer of Au layer, self-assembled monolayer, which has strong bonding to Au, is deposited on the substrate as a glue layer. In this study, complicated SAM layer coating process was replaced to simple UV/ozone treatment, which can activates the surface and form the -OH radicals. Using simple UV/ozone treatments on both Au and substrate, Au nano-pattern can be successfully transferred to as large as 6 in. diameter Si wafer, without SAM coating process. High fidelity transfer of Au nano-patterns to non-planar glass lens and flexible PET film was also demonstrated.

Work function of few layer graphene covered nickel thin films measured with Kelvin probe force microscopy

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

Eren, B.; Material Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720; Gysin, U.

2016-01-25

Few layer graphene and graphite are simultaneously grown on a ∼100 nm thick polycrystalline nickel film. The work function of few layer graphene/Ni is found to be 4.15 eV with a variation of 50 meV by local measurements with Kelvin probe force microscopy. This value is lower than the work function of free standing graphene due to peculiar electronic structure resulting from metal 3d-carbon 2p(π) hybridization.

Probing transport mechanisms of BaFe2As2 superconducting films and grain boundary junctions by noise spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Barone, C.; Romeo, F.; Pagano, S.; Adamo, M.; Nappi, C.; Sarnelli, E.; Kurth, F.; Iida, K.

2014-01-01

An important step forward for the understanding of high-temperature superconductivity has been the discovery of iron-based superconductors. Among these compounds, iron pnictides could be used for high-field magnet applications, resulting more advantageous over conventional superconductors, due to a high upper critical field as well as its low anisotropy at low temperatures. However, the principal obstacle in fabricating high quality superconducting wires and tapes is given by grain boundaries. In order to study these effects, the dc transport and voltage-noise properties of Co-doped BaFe2As2 superconducting films with artificial grain boundary junctions have been investigated. A specific procedure allows the separation of the film noise from that of the junction. While the former shows a standard 1/f behaviour, the latter is characterized by an unconventional temperature-dependent multi-Lorentzian voltage-spectral density. Moreover, below the film superconducting critical temperature, a peculiar noise spectrum is found for the grain boundary junction. Possible theoretical interpretation of these phenomena is proposed. PMID:25145385

Bulk Nanolaminated Nickel: Preparation, Microstructure, Mechanical Property, and Thermal Stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Fan; Yuan, Hao; Goel, Sunkulp; Liu, Ying; Wang, Jing Tao

2018-02-01

A bulk nanolaminated (NL) structure with distinctive fractions of low- and high-angle grain boundaries ( f LAGBs and f HAGBs) is produced in pure nickel, through a two-step process of primary grain refinement by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP), followed by a secondary geometrical refinement via liquid nitrogen rolling (LNR). The lamellar boundary spacings of 2N and 4N nickel are refined to 40 and 70 nm, respectively, and the yield strength of the NL structure in 2N nickel reaches 1.5 GPa. The impacts of the deformation path, material purity, grain boundary (GB) misorientation, and energy on the microstructure, refinement ability, mechanical strength, and thermal stability are investigated to understand the inherent governing mechanisms. GB migration is the main restoration mechanism limiting the refinement of an NL structure in 4N nickel, while in 2N nickel, shear banding occurs and mediates one-fifth of the total true normal rolling strain at the mesoscale, restricting further refinement. Three typical structures [ultrafine grained (UFG), NL with low f LAGBs, and NL with high f LAGBs] obtained through three different combinations of ECAP and LNR were studied by isochronal annealing for 1 hour at temperatures ranging from 433 K to 973 K (160 °C to 700 °C). Higher thermal stability in the NL structure with high f LAGBs is shown by a 50 K (50 °C) delay in the initiation temperature of recrystallization. Based on calculations and analyses of the stored energies of deformed structures from strain distribution, as characterized by kernel average misorientation (KAM), and from GB misorientations, higher thermal stability is attributed to high f LAGBs in this type of NL structure. This is confirmed by a slower change in the microstructure, as revealed by characterizing its annealing kinetics using KAM maps.

Synthesis, Optical and Photoluminescence Properties of Cu-Doped Zno Nano-Fibers Thin Films: Nonlinear Optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganesh, V.; Salem, G. F.; Yahia, I. S.; Yakuphanoglu, F.

2018-03-01

Different concentrations of copper-doped zinc oxide thin films were coated on a glass substrate by sol-gel/spin-coating technique. The structural properties of pure and Cu-doped ZnO films were characterized by different techniques, i.e., atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence and UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy. The AFM study revealed that pure and doped ZnO films are formed as nano-fibers with a granular structure. The photoluminescence spectra of these films showed a strong ultraviolet emission peak centered at 392 nm and a strong blue emission peak cantered at 450 nm. The optical band gap of the pure and copper-doped ZnO thin films calculated from optical transmission spectra (3.29-3.23 eV) were found to be increasing with increasing copper doping concentration. The refractive index dispersion curve of pure and Cu-doped ZnO film obeyed the single-oscillator model. The optical dispersion parameters such as E o , E d , and n_{∞}2 were calculated. Further, the nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear optical susceptibility were also calculated and interpreted.

Study of corrosion behavior on the addition of sodium citrate in nickel electroplating on SPCC steel using EIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riastuti, R.; Ramadini, C.; Siallagan, S. T.; Rifki, A.; Herdino, F.

2018-04-01

The addition of sodium citrate to nickel electroplating process as additive is useful for refining the grain size of nickel deposit. The refining of grain size in nickel deposit as coating layer can improve surface performance, one of which corrosion resistance. This paper aims to investigate the effect of sodium citrate addition as grain refiner to promote corrosion resistance on SPCC steel. This experiment used Watt’s Bath solution of NiSO4 300 g/L, NiCl4 45 g/L, H3BO3 60 g/L, wetting agent 0.2 cc/L. Sodium citrate was added in composition of 45g/L and 60g/L. Nickel were deposited by direct current using current density on 6 A/dm2 at the acidity level of 5 for 30 minutes by keeping the operating temperature stable at 50°C. The grain size of nickel deposit was observed through Optical Microscope and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The corrosion behavior of SPCC was observed by linear polarization and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) methods using 3% NaCl solution. Based on the research, the addition of sodium citrate as grain refiner will increasing corrosion resistance on SPCC steel from 0.35 to 0.05 mm/year.

Effects of cobalt in nickel-base superalloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tien, J. K.; Jarrett, R. N.

1983-01-01

The role of cobalt in a representative wrought nickel-base superalloy was determined. The results show cobalt affecting the solubility of elements in the gamma matrix, resulting in enhanced gamma' volume fraction, in the stabilization of MC-type carbides, and in the stabilization of sigma phase. In the particular alloy studied, these microstructural and microchemistry changes are insufficient in extent to impact on tensile strength, yield strength, and in the ductilities. Depending on the heat treatment, creep and stress rupture resistance can be cobalt sensitive. In the coarse grain, fully solutioned and aged condition, all of the alloy's 17% cobalt can be replaced by nickel without deleteriously affecting this resistance. In the fine grain, partially solutioned and aged condition, this resistance is deleteriously affected only when one-half or more of the initial cobalt content is removed. The structure and property results are discussed with respect to existing theories and with respect to other recent and earlier findings on the impact of cobalt, if any, on the performance of nickel-base superalloys.

Fabrication and Characterization of Fully Transparent ZnO Thin-Film Transistors and Self-Switching Nano-Diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Y.; Ashida, K.; Sasaki, S.; Koyama, M.; Maemoto, T.; Sasa, S.; Kasai, S.; Iñiguez-de-la-Torre, I.; González, T.

2015-10-01

Fully transparent zinc oxide (ZnO) based thin-film transistors (TFTs) and a new type of rectifiers calls self-switching nano-diodes (SSDs) were fabricated on glass substrates at room temperature by using low resistivity and transparent conducting Al- doped ZnO (AZO) thin-films. The deposition conditions of AZO thin-films were optimized with pulsed laser deposition (PLD). AZO thin-films on glass substrates were characterized and the transparency of 80% and resistivity with 1.6*10-3 Ωcm were obtained of 50 nm thickness. Transparent ZnO-TFTs were fabricated on glass substrates by using AZO thin-films as electrodes. A ZnO-TFT with 2 μm long gate device exhibits a transconductance of 400 μS/mm and an ON/OFF ratio of 2.8*107. Transparent ZnO-SSDs were also fabricated by using ZnO based materials and clear diode-like characteristics were observed.

Grain boundary dominated ion migration in polycrystalline organic–inorganic halide perovskite films

DOE PAGES

Shao, Yuchuan; Fang, Yanjun; Li, Tao; ...

2016-03-21

The efficiency of perovskite solar cells is approaching that of single-crystalline silicon solar cells despite the presence of large grain boundary (GB) area in the polycrystalline thin films. Here, by using a combination of nanoscopic and macroscopic level measurements, we show that the ion migration in polycrystalline perovskites is dominated through GBs. Conducting atomic force microscopy measurements reveal much stronger hysteresis both for photocurrent and dark-current at the GBs than on the grains interiors, which can be explained by faster ion migration at the GBs. The dramatically enhanced ion migration results in a redistribution of ions along the GBs aftermore » electric poling, in contrast to the intact grain area. The perovskite single-crystal devices without GBs show negligible current hysteresis and no ion-migration signal. Furthermore, the discovery of dominating ion migration through GBs in perovskites can lead to broad applications in many types of devices including photovoltaics, memristors, and ion batteries.« less

Effect of vanadium doping on structural and magnetic properties of defective nano-nickel ferrite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heiba, Zein K.; Mohamed, Mohamed Bakr; Wahba, Adel Maher; Almalowi, M. I.

2018-04-01

Nano-nickel ferrites defected by vanadium doping (NiV x Fe2-1.67 x O4, 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.25) were prepared using a simple sol gel method. Rietveld analysis revealed a nonmonotonic change in lattice parameter, oxygen parameter and magnetization upon doping with vanadium. Cation distributions suggested from either Rietveld analysis or from experimental magnetic moments were in a good agreement. For low doping values ( x = 0.05), vanadium was residing mainly in octahedral sites, while for samples with vanadium content ( x ≥ 0.1) a significant part of vanadium ions resided at tetrahedral sites; a result which has been confirmed by the analysis of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrums obtained for the samples. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) image showed fine spherical particles with size of ˜ 11 nm. All samples showed a superparamagnetic nature with a nonmonotonic change of either magnetization ( M S) or coercivity (H C) with the content of nonmagnetic V5+. The cation occupancies indicated presence of an enormous number of vacancies through doping with high valence cation V5+, making present samples potential electrodes for Li- or Na-ion batteries.

Grain growth simulation of [001] textured YBCO films grown on (001) substrates with large lattice misfit: Prediction of misorientations of the remaining boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, Jack W. H.; Ling, Shiun; Rodriguez, Julio C.; Mustapha, Zarina; Chan, Siu-Wai

2001-04-01

We study the effects of (1) the variation of grain boundary energy with misorientation and (2) the large lattice misfit (>3%) between the films and substrates on grain growth in films by method of Monte Carlo simulations. The results from the grain growth simulation in YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) films was found to concur with previous experimental observation of preferred grain orientations for YBCO films deposited on various substrates such as (001) magnesium oxide (MgO) and (001) yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ). The simulation has helped us to identify three factors influencing the competition of these [001] tilt boundaries. They are: (1) the relative depths of local minima in the boundary energy vs. misorientation curve, (2) the number of combinations of coincidence epitaxy (CE) orientations contributing to the exact misorientation for each of the high-angle-but-low-energy (HABLE) boundaries, and (3) the number of combinations of CE orientations within the angular ranges bracketing each of the exact HABLE boundaries. Hence, these factors can be applied to clarify the origin of special misorientations observed experimentally.

A facile strategy to fabricate plasmonic Cu modified TiO{sub 2} nano-flower films for photocatalytic reduction of CO{sub 2} to methanol

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

Liu, Enzhou; Qi, Lulu; Bian, Juanjuan

Graphical abstract: Photoreduction of CO{sub 2} to CH{sub 3}OH over plasmonic Cu/TiO{sub 2} film. - Highlights: • Cu nanoparticles modified TiO{sub 2} nano-flower film was prepared by a facile strategy. • Cu nanoparticles can enhance the light absorption and the Raman scattering of TiO{sub 2}. • Cu nanoparticles can effectively restrain the recombination of the charge carriers. • A synergistic mechanism is proposed for photocatalytic reduction of CO{sub 2} on Cu/TiO{sub 2} film. - Abstract: Cu nanoparticles (NPs) deposited TiO{sub 2} nano-flower films were fabricated using a combination of a hydrothermal method and a microwave-assisted reduction process. The investigations indicatedmore » that Cu NPs and TiO{sub 2} film both exhibit visible light harvesting properties based on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Cu NPs and unique nanostructures of TiO{sub 2} film. Fluorescence quenching was observed because the recombination of charge carriers was effectively suppressed by Cu NPs deposition. The experimental results indicate that Cu/TiO{sub 2} films exhibit better activity for the photocatalytic reduction of CO{sub 2} due to the charge transfer property and LSPR effect of Cu NPs. The CH{sub 3}OH production rate reached 1.8 μmol cm{sup −2} h{sup −1} (energy efficiency was 0.8%) over 0.5 Cu/TiO{sub 2} film under UV and visible light irradiation, which was 6.0 times higher than that observed over pure TiO{sub 2} film. In addition, a tentative photocatalytic mechanism is proposed to understand the experimental results over the Cu modified TiO{sub 2} nano-flower films.« less

The Effect of Film Composition on the Texture and Grain Size of CuInS2 Prepared by Spray Pyrolysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jin, Michael H.; Banger, Kulinder K.; Harris, Jerry D.; Hepp, Aloysius F.

2003-01-01

Ternary single-source precursors were used to deposit CuInS2 thin films using chemical spray pyrolysis. We investigated the effect of the film composition on texture, secondary phase formation, and grain size. As-grown films were most often In-rich. They became more (204/220)-oriented as indium concentration increased, and always contained a yet unidentified secondary phase. The (112)-prefened orientation became more pronounced as the film composition became more Cu-rich. The secondary phase was determined to be an In-rich compound based on composition analysis and Raman spectroscopy. In addition, as-grown Cu-rich (112)-oriented films did not exhibit the In-rich compound. Depositing a thin Cu layer prior to the growth of CuInS2 increased the maximum grain size from - 0.5 micron to - 1 micron, and prevented the formation of the In-rich secondary phase.

Structural and magnetic properties of Ni0.8M0.2Fe2O4 (M = Cu, Co) nano-crystalline ferrites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vijaya Babu, K.; Satyanarayana, G.; Sailaja, B.; Santosh Kumar, G. V.; Jalaiah, K.; Ravi, M.

2018-06-01

Nano-crystalline nickel ferrites are interesting materials due to their large physical and magnetic properties. In the present work, two kinds of spinel ferrites Ni0.8M0.2Fe2O4 (M = Cu, Co) are synthesized by using sol-gel auto-combustion method and the results are compared with NiFe2O4. The structural properties of synthesized ferrites are determined by using X-ray powder diffraction; scanning electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The cation distribution obtained from X-ray diffraction show that cobalt/copper occupies only tetrahedral site in spinel lattice. The lattice constant increases with the substitution of cobalt/copper. The structural parameters like bond lengths, tetrahedral and octahedral edges have been varied with the substitution. The microstructural study is carried out by using SEM technique and the average grain size is increased with nickel ferrite. The initial permeability (μi) is improving with the substitution. The observed g-value from ESR is approximately equal to standard value.

A Noncontact Dibutyl Phthalate Sensor Based on a Wireless-Electrodeless QCM-D Modified with Nano-Structured Nickel Hydroxide

PubMed Central

Sun, Xiyang; Zhang, Kaihuan; Fan, Guokang; Wang, You; Li, Guang; Hu, Ruifen

2017-01-01

Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is a widely used plasticizer which has been found to be a reproductive and developmental toxicant and ubiquitously existing in the air. A highly sensitive method for DBP monitoring in the environment is urgently needed. A DBP sensor based on a homemade wireless-electrodeless quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) coated with nano-structured nickel hydroxide is presented. With the noncontact configuration, the sensing system could work at a higher resonance frequency (the 3rd overtone) and the response of the system was even more stable compared with a conventional quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The sensor achieved a sensitivity of 7.3 Hz/ppb to DBP in a concentration range of 0.4–40 ppb and an ultra-low detection limit of 0.4 ppb of DBP has also been achieved. PMID:28753974

Biodegradable nano-films for capture and non-invasive release of circulating tumor cells.

PubMed

Li, Wei; Reátegui, Eduardo; Park, Myoung-Hwan; Castleberry, Steven; Deng, Jason Z; Hsu, Bryan; Mayner, Sarah; Jensen, Anne E; Sequist, Lecia V; Maheswaran, Shyamala; Haber, Daniel A; Toner, Mehmet; Stott, Shannon L; Hammond, Paula T

2015-10-01

Selective isolation and purification of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from whole blood is an important capability for both clinical medicine and biological research. Current techniques to perform this task place the isolated cells under excessive stresses that reduce cell viability, and potentially induce phenotype change, therefore losing valuable information about the isolated cells. We present a biodegradable nano-film coating on the surface of a microfluidic chip, which can be used to effectively capture as well as non-invasively release cancer cell lines such as PC-3, LNCaP, DU 145, H1650 and H1975. We have applied layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly to create a library of ultrathin coatings using a broad range of materials through complementary interactions. By developing an LbL nano-film coating with an affinity-based cell-capture surface that is capable of selectively isolating cancer cells from whole blood, and that can be rapidly degraded on command, we are able to gently isolate cancer cells and recover them without compromising cell viability or proliferative potential. Our approach has the capability to overcome practical hurdles and provide viable cancer cells for downstream analyses, such as live cell imaging, single cell genomics, and in vitro cell culture of recovered cells. Furthermore, CTCs from cancer patients were also captured, identified, and successfully released using the LbL-modified microchips. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Thermoelectric properties of nanocrystalline Sb2Te3 thin films: experimental evaluation and first-principles calculation, addressing effect of crystal grain size.

PubMed

Morikawa, Satoshi; Inamoto, Takuya; Takashiri, Masayuki

2018-02-16

The effect of crystal grain size on the thermoelectric properties of nanocrystalline antimony telluride (Sb 2 Te 3 ) thin films was investigated by experiments and first-principles studies using a developed relaxation time approximation. The Sb 2 Te 3 thin films were deposited on glass substrates using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. To change the crystal grain size of the Sb 2 Te 3 thin films, thermal annealing was performed at different temperatures. The crystal grain size, lattice parameter, and crystal orientation of the thin films were estimated using XRD patterns. The carrier concentration and in-plane thermoelectric properties of the thin films were measured at room temperature. A theoretical analysis was performed using a first-principles study based on density functional theory. The electronic band structures of Sb 2 Te 3 were calculated using different lattice parameters, and the thermoelectric properties were predicted based on the semi-classical Boltzmann transport equation in the relaxation time approximation. In particular, we introduced the effect of carrier scattering at the grain boundaries into the relaxation time approximation by estimating the group velocities from the electronic band structures. Finally, the experimentally measured thermoelectric properties were compared with those obtained by calculation. As a result, the calculated thermoelectric properties were found to be in good agreement with the experimental results. Therefore, we can conclude that introducing the effect of carrier scattering at the grain boundaries into the relaxation time approximation contributes to enhance the accuracy of a first-principles calculation relating to nanocrystalline materials.

Thermoelectric properties of nanocrystalline Sb2Te3 thin films: experimental evaluation and first-principles calculation, addressing effect of crystal grain size