Electron Emission Observations from As-Grown and Vacuum-Coated Chemical Vapor Deposited Diamond

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lamouri, A.; Wang, Yaxin; Mearini, G. T.; Krainsky, I. L.; Dayton, J. A., Jr.; Mueller,W.

1996-01-01

Field emission has been observed from chemical vapor deposited diamond grown on Mo and Si substrates. Emission was observed at fields as low as 20 kV/cm. The samples were tested in the as-grown form, and after coating with thin films of Au, CsI, and Ni. The emission current was typically maximum at the onset of the applied field, but was unstable, and decreased rapidly with time from the as-grown films. Thin Au layers, approximately 15 nm thick, vacuum deposited onto the diamond samples significantly improved the stability of the emission current at values approximately equal to those from uncoated samples at the onset of the applied field. Thin layers of CsI, approximately 5 nm thick, were also observed to improve the stability of the emission current but at values less than those from the uncoated samples at the onset of the applied field. While Au and CsI improved the stability of the emission, Ni was observed to have no effect.

Characterization of Cu buffer layers for growth of L10-FeNi thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mizuguchi, M.; Sekiya, S.; Takanashi, K.

2010-05-01

A Cu(001) layer was fabricated on a Au(001) layer to investigate the use of Cu as a buffer layer for growing L10-FeNi thin films. The epitaxial growth of a Cu buffer layer was observed using reflection high-energy electron diffraction. The flatness of the layer improved drastically with an increase in the substrate temperature although the layer was an alloy (AuCu3). An FeNi thin film was epitaxially grown on the AuCu3 buffer layer by alternate monatomic layer deposition and the formation of an L10-FeNi ordered alloy was expected. The AuCu3 buffer layer is thus a promising candidate material for the growth of L10-FeNi thin films.

Fabrication and characterization of {110}-oriented Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films on Pt/SiO2/Si substrates using PdO//Pd buffer layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oshima, Naoya; Uchiyama, Kiyoshi; Ehara, Yoshitaka; Oikawa, Takahiro; Ichinose, Daichi; Tanaka, Hiroki; Sato, Tomoya; Uchida, Hiroshi; Funakubo, Hiroshi

2017-10-01

A strongly {110}-oriented perovskite-type thin film of tetragonal Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O3 (PZT) was successfully obtained on a (100)Si substrate using a {101}PdO//{111}Pd thin film as a buffer layer. The {101}PdO//{111}Pd thin film buffer layer was obtained by oxidizing {111}Pd after depositing {111}Pd on a {111}Pt/TiO x /SiO2/{100}Si substrate. Using this buffer layer, a {110} c -oriented SrRuO3 (SRO) thin film was deposited by sputtering as a bottom electrode of PZT thin films. Subsequently, the {110}-oriented PZT thin film can be deposited on a (110) c SRO thin film by metal-organic chemical deposition (MOCVD) and its properties can be compared with those of PZT thin films with other orientations of {100} and {111}. Among the {100}, {110}, {111}-oriented PZT films, the {100}-oriented one showed the largest remnant polarization, which is in good agreement with those of the PZTs epitaxially grown in the 〈100〉, 〈110〉, and 〈111〉 directions. The other properties, i.e., piezoelectricity and dielectric constants, also showed similar anisotropic tendencies, which is in good agreement with the data reported in the epitaxially grown PZTs.

Characterization of aluminum selenide bi-layer thin film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boolchandani, Sarita; Soni, Gyanesh; Srivastava, Subodh; Vijay, Y. K.

2018-05-01

The Aluminum Selenide (AlSe) bi-layer thin films were grown on glass substrate using thermal evaporation method under high vacuum condition. The morphological characterization was done using SEM. Electrical measurement with temperature variation shows that thin films exhibit the semiconductor nature. The optical properties of prepared thin films have also been characterized by UV-VIS spectroscopy measurements. The band gap of composite thin films has been calculated by Tauc's relation at different temperature ranging 35°C-100°C.

Characteristics of the surface layer of barium strontium titanate thin films deposited by laser ablation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craciun, V.; Singh, R. K.

2000-04-01

Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (BST) thin films grown on Si by an in situ ultraviolet-assisted pulsed laser deposition (UVPLD) technique exhibited significantly higher dielectric constant and refractive index values and lower leakage current densities than films grown by conventional PLD under similar conditions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) investigations have shown that the surface layer of the grown films contained, besides the usual BST perovskite phase, an additional phase with Ba atoms in a different chemical state. PLD grown films always exhibited larger amounts of this phase, which was homogeneously mixed with the BST phase up to several nm depth, while UVPLD grown films exhibited a much thinner (˜1 nm) and continuous layer. The relative fraction of this phase was not correlated with the amount of C atoms present on the surface. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy did not find any BaCO3 contamination layer, which was believed to be related to this new phase. X-ray diffraction measurement showed that although PLD grown films contained less oxygen atoms, the lattice parameter was closer to the bulk value than that of UVPLD grown films. After 4 keV Ar ion sputtering for 6 min, XPS analysis revealed a small suboxide Ba peak for the PLD grown films. This finding indicates that the average Ba-O bonds are weaker in these films, likely due to the presence of oxygen vacancies. It is suggested here that this new Ba phase corresponds to a relaxed BST surface layer.

Free and bound excitons in thin wurtzite GaN layers on sapphire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merz, C.; Kunzer, M.; Kaufmann, U.; Akasaki, I.; Amano, H.

1996-05-01

Free and bound excitons have been studied by photoluminescence in thin (0268-1242/11/5/010/img8) wurtzite-undoped GaN, n-type GaN:Si as well as p-type GaN:Mg and GaN:Zn layers grown by metal-organic chemical vapour phase deposition (MOCVD). An accurate value for the free A exciton binding energy and an estimate for the isotropically averaged hole mass of the uppermost 0268-1242/11/5/010/img9 valence band are deduced from the data on undoped samples. The acceptor-doped samples reveal recombination lines which are attributed to excitons bound to 0268-1242/11/5/010/img10 and 0268-1242/11/5/010/img11 respectively. These lines are spectrally clearly separated and the exciton localization energies are in line with Haynes' rule. Whenever a comparison is possible, it is found that the exciton lines in these thin MOCVD layers are ultraviolet-shifted by 20 to 25 meV as compared to quasi-bulk (0268-1242/11/5/010/img12) samples. This effect is interpreted in terms of the compressive hydrostatic stress component which thin GaN layers experience when grown on sapphire with an AlN buffer layer.

Liftoff process for exfoliation of thin film photovoltaic devices and back contact formation

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

Haight, Richard A.; Hannon, James B.; Oida, Satoshi

A method for forming a back contact on an absorber layer in a photovoltaic device includes forming a two dimensional material on a first substrate. An absorber layer including Cu--Zn--Sn--S(Se) (CZTSSe) is grown over the first substrate on the two dimensional material. A buffer layer is grown on the absorber layer on a side opposite the two dimensional material. The absorber layer is exfoliated from the two dimensional material to remove the first substrate from a backside of the absorber layer opposite the buffer layer. A back contact is deposited on the absorber layer.

Optical, Electrical, and Crystal Properties of TiO2 Thin Films Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition on Silicon and Glass Substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kupa, I.; Unal, Y.; Cetin, S. S.; Durna, L.; Topalli, K.; Okyay, A. K.; Ates, H.

2018-05-01

TiO2 thin films have been deposited on glass and Si(100) by atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique using tetrakis(diethylamido)titanium(IV) and water vapor as reactants. Thorough investigation of the properties of the TiO2/glass and TiO2/Si thin films was carried out, varying the deposition temperature in the range from 100°C to 250°C while keeping the number of reaction cycles fixed at 1000. Physical and material property analyses were performed to investigate optical and electrical properties, composition, structure, and morphology. TiO2 films grown by ALD may represent promising materials for future applications in optoelectronic devices.

Thickness dependence of crystal and optical characterization on ZnO thin film grown by atomic layer deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baek, Seung-Hye; Lee, Hyun-Jin; Lee, Sung-Nam

2018-06-01

We studied the thickness dependence of the crystallographic and optical properties of ZnO thin films grown on c-plane sapphire substrate using atomic layer deposition. High-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) revealed two peaks at 34.5° and 36.2° in the initial growth stage of ZnO on the sapphire substrate, corresponding to the (002) and (101) ZnO planes, respectively. However, as the thickness of the ZnO film increased, the XRD intensity of the (002) ZnO peak increased drastically, compared with that of the (101) ZnO peak. This indicated that (002) and (101) ZnO were simultaneously grown on the c-plane sapphire substrate in the initial growth stage, and that (002) ZnO was predominantly grown with the increase in the thickness of ZnO film. The ZnO thin film presented an anisotropic surface structure at the initial stage, whereas the isotropic surface morphology was developed with an increase in the film thickness of ZnO. These observations were consistent with the HR-XRD results.

Low-Temperature Atomic Layer Deposition of CuSbS2 for Thin-Film Photovoltaics.

PubMed

Riha, Shannon C; Koegel, Alexandra A; Emery, Jonathan D; Pellin, Michael J; Martinson, Alex B F

2017-02-08

Copper antimony sulfide (CuSbS 2 ) has been gaining traction as an earth-abundant absorber for thin-film photovoltaics given its near ideal band gap for solar energy conversion (∼1.5 eV), large absorption coefficient (>10 4 cm -1 ), and elemental abundance. Through careful in situ analysis of the deposition conditions, a low-temperature route to CuSbS 2 thin films via atomic layer deposition has been developed. After a short (15 min) postprocess anneal at 225 °C, the ALD-grown CuSbS 2 films were crystalline with micron-sized grains, exhibited a band gap of 1.6 eV and an absorption coefficient >10 4 cm -1 , as well as a hole concentration of 10 15 cm -3 . Finally, the ALD-grown CuSbS 2 films were paired with ALD-grown TiO 2 to form a photovoltaic device. This photovoltaic device architecture represents one of a very limited number of Cd-free CuSbS 2 PV device stacks reported to date, and it is the first to demonstrate an open-circuit voltage on par with CuSbS 2 /CdS heterojunction PV devices. While far from optimized, this work demonstrates the potential for ALD-grown CuSbS 2 thin films in environmentally benign photovoltaics.

Strain relaxation of thin Si{sub 0.6}Ge{sub 0.4} grown with low-temperature buffers by molecular beam epitaxy

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

Zhao, M.; Hansson, G. V.; Ni, W.-X.

A double-low-temperature-buffer variable-temperature growth scheme was studied for fabrication of strain-relaxed thin Si{sub 0.6}Ge{sub 0.4} layer on Si(001) by using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), with particular focuses on the influence of growth temperature of individual low-temperature-buffer layers on the relaxation process and final structural qualities. The low-temperature buffers consisted of a 40 nm Si layer grown at an optimized temperature of {approx}400 deg. C, followed by a 20 nm Si{sub 0.6}Ge{sub 0.4} layer grown at temperatures ranging from 50 to 550 deg. C. A significant relaxation increase together with a surface roughness decrease both by a factor of {approx}2, accompaniedmore » with the cross-hatch/cross-hatch-free surface morphology transition, took place for the sample containing a low-temperature Si{sub 0.6}Ge{sub 0.4} layer that was grown at {approx}200 deg. C. This dramatic change was explained by the association with a certain onset stage of the ordered/disordered growth transition during the low-temperature MBE, where the high density of misfit dislocation segments generated near surface cusps largely facilitated the strain relaxation of the top Si{sub 0.6}Ge{sub 0.4} layer.« less

Structural and optical properties of PbS thin films grown by chemical bath deposition

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

Seghaier, S.; Kamoun, N.; Guasch, C.

2007-09-19

Lead sulphide thin films are grown on glass substrates at various deposition times tD, in the range of 40-60 min per step of 2 min, using the chemical bath deposition technique. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy are used to characterize the film structure. The surface composition is analysed by Auger electron spectroscopy. It appears that the as-prepared thin films are polycrystalline with cubic structure. Nanometric scale crystallites are uniformly distributed on the surface. They exhibit almost a stoechiometric composition with a [Pb]/[S] ratio equal to 1.10. Optical properties are studied in the range of 300-3300 nm by spectrophotometric measurements.more » Analysis of the optical absorption data of lead sulphide thin layers reveals a narrow optical direct band gap equal to 0.46 eV for the layer corresponding to a deposition time equal to 60 min.« less

Effect of a low-temperature-grown GaAs layer on InAs quantum-dot photoluminescence

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

Kosarev, A. N.; Chaldyshev, V. V., E-mail: chald.gvg@mail.ioffe.ru; Preobrazhenskii, V. V.

2016-11-15

The photoluminescence of InAs semiconductor quantum dots overgrown by GaAs in the low-temperature mode (LT-GaAs) using various spacer layers or without them is studied. Spacer layers are thin GaAs or AlAs layers grown at temperatures normal for molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). Direct overgrowth leads to photoluminescence disappearance. When using a thin GaAs spacer layer, the photoluminescence from InAs quantum dots is partially recovered; however, its intensity appears lower by two orders of magnitude than in the reference sample in which the quantum-dot array is overgrown at normal temperature. The use of wider-gap AlAs as a spacer-layer material leads to the enhancementmore » of photoluminescence from InAs quantum dots, but it is still more than ten times lower than that of reference-sample emission. A model taking into account carrier generation by light, diffusion and tunneling from quantum dots to the LT-GaAs layer is constructed.« less

Effect of ZnO seed layer on the morphology and optical properties of ZnO nanorods grown on GaN buffer layers

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

Nandi, R., E-mail: rajunandi@iitb.ac.in; Mohan, S., E-mail: rajunandi@iitb.ac.in; Major, S. S.

2014-04-24

ZnO nanorods were grown by chemical bath deposition on sputtered, polycrystalline GaN buffer layers with and without ZnO seed layer. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction show that the ZnO nanorods on GaN buffer layers are not vertically well aligned. Photoluminescence spectrum of ZnO nanorods grown on GaN buffer layer, however exhibits a much stronger near-band-edge emission and negligible defect emission, compared to the nanorods grown on ZnO buffer layer. These features are attributed to gallium incorporation at the ZnO-GaN interface. The introduction of a thin (25 nm) ZnO seed layer on GaN buffer layer significantly improves the morphology andmore » vertical alignment of ZnO-NRs without sacrificing the high optical quality of ZnO nanorods on GaN buffer layer. The presence of a thick (200 nm) ZnO seed layer completely masks the effect of the underlying GaN buffer layer on the morphology and optical properties of nanorods.« less

Tuning of in-plane optical anisotropy by inserting ultra-thin InAs layer at interfaces in (001)-grown GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells

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

Yu, J. L., E-mail: jlyu@semi.ac.cn; Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083; Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials Chemistry and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002

2015-01-07

The in-plane optical anisotropy (IPOA) in (001)-grown GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells (QWs) with different well widths varying from 2 nm to 8 nm has been studied by reflectance difference spectroscopy. Ultra-thin InAs layers with thickness ranging from 0.5 monolayer (ML) to 1.5 ML have been inserted at GaAs/AlGaAs interfaces to tune the asymmetry in the QWs. It is demonstrated that the IPOA can be accurately tailored by the thickness of the inserted ultra-thin InAs layer at the interfaces. Strain-induced IPOA has also been extracted by using a stress apparatus. We find that the intensity of the strain-induced IPOA decreases with the thickness ofmore » the inserted InAs layer, while that of the interface-induced IPOA increases with the thickness of the InAs layer. Theoretical calculations based on 6 band k ⋅ p theory have been carried out, and good agreements with experimental results are obtained. Our results demonstrate that, the IPOA of the QWs can be greatly and effectively tuned by inserting an ultra-thin InAs layer with different thicknesses at the interfaces of QWs, which does not significantly influence the transition energies and the transition probability of QWs.« less

Room-temperature bonding of epitaxial layer to carbon-cluster ion-implanted silicon wafers for CMOS image sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koga, Yoshihiro; Kadono, Takeshi; Shigematsu, Satoshi; Hirose, Ryo; Onaka-Masada, Ayumi; Okuyama, Ryousuke; Okuda, Hidehiko; Kurita, Kazunari

2018-06-01

We propose a fabrication process for silicon wafers by combining carbon-cluster ion implantation and room-temperature bonding for advanced CMOS image sensors. These carbon-cluster ions are made of carbon and hydrogen, which can passivate process-induced defects. We demonstrated that this combination process can be used to form an epitaxial layer on a carbon-cluster ion-implanted Czochralski (CZ)-grown silicon substrate with a high dose of 1 × 1016 atoms/cm2. This implantation condition transforms the top-surface region of the CZ-grown silicon substrate into a thin amorphous layer. Thus, an epitaxial layer cannot be grown on this implanted CZ-grown silicon substrate. However, this combination process can be used to form an epitaxial layer on the amorphous layer of this implanted CZ-grown silicon substrate surface. This bonding wafer has strong gettering capability in both the wafer-bonding region and the carbon-cluster ion-implanted projection range. Furthermore, this wafer inhibits oxygen out-diffusion to the epitaxial layer from the CZ-grown silicon substrate after device fabrication. Therefore, we believe that this bonding wafer is effective in decreasing the dark current and white-spot defect density for advanced CMOS image sensors.

Electronic and Optical Properties of Atomic Layer-Deposited ZnO and TiO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ates, H.; Bolat, S.; Oruc, F.; Okyay, A. K.

2018-05-01

Metal oxides are attractive for thin film optoelectronic applications. Due to their wide energy bandgaps, ZnO and TiO2 are being investigated by many researchers. Here, we have studied the electrical and optical properties of ZnO and TiO2 as a function of deposition and post-annealing conditions. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a novel thin film deposition technique where the growth conditions can be controlled down to atomic precision. ALD-grown ZnO films are shown to exhibit tunable optical absorption properties in the visible and infrared region. Furthermore, the growth temperature and post-annealing conditions of ZnO and TiO2 affect the electrical properties which are investigated using ALD-grown metal oxide as the electron transport channel on thin film field-effect devices.

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

Bolat, S., E-mail: bolat@ee.bilkent.edu.tr, E-mail: aokyay@ee.bilkent.edu.tr; Tekcan, B.; UNAM, National Nanotechnology Research Center, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800

We report GaN thin film transistors (TFT) with a thermal budget below 250 °C. GaN thin films are grown at 200 °C by hollow cathode plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition (HCPA-ALD). HCPA-ALD-based GaN thin films are found to have a polycrystalline wurtzite structure with an average crystallite size of 9.3 nm. TFTs with bottom gate configuration are fabricated with HCPA-ALD grown GaN channel layers. Fabricated TFTs exhibit n-type field effect characteristics. N-channel GaN TFTs demonstrated on-to-off ratios (I{sub ON}/I{sub OFF}) of 10{sup 3} and sub-threshold swing of 3.3 V/decade. The entire TFT device fabrication process temperature is below 250 °C, which is the lowest process temperaturemore » reported for GaN based transistors, so far.« less

The effects of GaN nanocolumn arrays and thin SixNy buffer layers on the morphology of GaN layers grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on Si(111) substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shubina, K. Yu; Pirogov, E. V.; Mizerov, A. M.; Nikitina, E. V.; Bouravleuv, A. D.

2018-03-01

The effects of GaN nanocolumn arrays and a thin SixNy layer, used as buffer layers, on the morphology of GaN epitaxial layers are investigated. Two types of samples with different buffer layers were synthesized by PA-MBE. The morphology of the samples was characterized by SEM. The crystalline quality of the samples was assessed by XRD. The possibility of synthesis of continuous crystalline GaN layers on Si(111) substrates without the addition of other materials such as aluminum nitride was demonstrated.

Low-temperature atomic layer deposition of CuSbS 2 for thin-film photovoltaics

DOE PAGES

Riha, Shannon C.; Koegel, Alexandra A.; Emery, Jonathan D.; ...

2017-01-24

Copper antimony sulfide (CuSbS 2) has been gaining traction as an earth-abundant absorber for thin-film photovoltaics given its near ideal band gap for solar energy conversion (~1.5 eV), large absorption coefficient (>10 4 cm –1), and elemental abundance. Through careful in situ analysis of the deposition conditions, a low-temperature route to CuSbS 2 thin films via atomic layer deposition has been developed. After a short (15 min) post process anneal at 225 °C, the ALD-grown CuSbS 2 films were crystalline with micron-sized grains, exhibited a band gap of 1.6 eV and an absorption coefficient >10 4 cm –1, as wellmore » as a hole concentration of 10 15 cm –3. Finally, the ALD-grown CuSbS 2 films were paired with ALD-grown TiO 2 to form a photovoltaic device. This photovoltaic device architecture represents one of a very limited number of Cd-free CuSbS 2 PV device stacks reported to date, and it is the first to demonstrate an open-circuit voltage on par with CuSbS 2/CdS heterojunction PV devices. As a result, while far from optimized, this work demonstrates the potential for ALD-grown CuSbS 2 thin films in environmentally benign photovoltaics.« less

Structural and electrical characterization of ultra-thin SrTiO3 tunnel barriers grown over YBa2Cu3O7 electrodes for the development of high Tc Josephson junctions.

PubMed

Félix, L Avilés; Sirena, M; Guzmán, L A Agüero; Sutter, J González; Vargas, S Pons; Steren, L B; Bernard, R; Trastoy, J; Villegas, J E; Briático, J; Bergeal, N; Lesueur, J; Faini, G

2012-12-14

The transport properties of ultra-thin SrTiO(3) (STO) layers grown over YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7) electrodes were studied by conductive atomic force microscopy at the nano-scale. A very good control of the barrier thickness was achieved during the deposition process. A phenomenological approach was used to obtain critical parameters regarding the structural and electrical properties of the system. The STO layers present an energy barrier of 0.9 eV and an attenuation length of 0.23 nm, indicating very good insulating properties for the development of high-quality Josephson junctions.

Growth and characterization of CdS buffer layers by CBD and MOCVD

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

Morrone, A.A.; Huang, C.; Li, S.S.

1999-03-01

Thin film CdS has been widely used in thin-film photovoltaic devices. The most efficient Cu(In,&hthinsp;Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGS) solar cells reported to date utilized a thin CdS buffer layer prepared by a reactive solution growth technique known as chemical bath deposition (CBD). Considerable effort has been directed to better understand the role and find a replacement for the CBD CdS process in CIGS-based solar cells. We reported a low temperature ({approximately}150&hthinsp;{degree}C) Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) CdS thin film buffer layer process for CIGS absorbers. Many prior studies have reported that CBD CdS contains a mixture of crystal structures. Recent investigationsmore » of CBD CdS thin films by ellipsometry suggested a multilayer structure. In this study we compare CdS thin films prepared by CBD and MOCVD and the effects of annealing. TED and XRD are used to characterize the crystal structure, the film microstructure is studied by HRTEM, and the optical properties are studied by Raman and spectrophotometry. All of these characterization techniques reveal superior crystalline film quality for CdS films grown by MOCVD compared to those grown by CBD. Dual Beam Optical Modulation (DBOM) studies showed that the MOCVD and CBD CdS buffer layer processes have nearly the same effect on CIGS absorbers when combined with a cadmium partial electrolyte aqueous dip. {copyright} {ital 1999 American Institute of Physics.}« less

Domain matched epitaxial growth of (111) Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}TiO{sub 3} thin films on (0001) Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} with ZnO buffer layer

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

Krishnaprasad, P. S., E-mail: pskrishnaprasu@gmail.com, E-mail: mkj@cusat.ac.in; Jayaraj, M. K., E-mail: pskrishnaprasu@gmail.com, E-mail: mkj@cusat.ac.in; Antony, Aldrin

2015-03-28

Epitaxial (111) Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}TiO{sub 3} (BST) thin films have been grown by pulsed laser deposition on (0001) Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} substrate with ZnO as buffer layer. The x-ray ω-2θ, Φ-scan and reciprocal space mapping indicate epitaxial nature of BST thin films. The domain matched epitaxial growth of BST thin films over ZnO buffer layer was confirmed using Fourier filtered high resolution transmission electron microscope images of the film-buffer interface. The incorporation of ZnO buffer layer effectively suppressed the lattice mismatch and promoted domain matched epitaxial growth of BST thin films. Coplanar inter digital capacitors fabricated on epitaxial (111) BSTmore » thin films show significantly improved tunable performance over polycrystalline thin films.« less

Titanium nitride as a seed layer for Heusler compounds

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

Niesen, Alessia, E-mail: aniesen@physik.uni-bielefeld.de; Glas, Manuel; Ludwig, Jana

Titanium nitride (TiN) shows low resistivity at room temperature (27 μΩ cm), high thermal stability and thus has the potential to serve as seed layer in magnetic tunnel junctions. High quality TiN thin films with regard to the crystallographic and electrical properties were grown and characterized by x-ray diffraction and 4-terminal transport measurements. Element specific x-ray absorption spectroscopy revealed pure TiN inside the thin films. To investigate the influence of a TiN seed layer on a ferro(i)magnetic bottom electrode in magnetic tunnel junctions, an out-of-plane magnetized Mn{sub 2.45}Ga as well as in- and out-of-plane magnetized Co{sub 2}FeAl thin films were depositedmore » on a TiN buffer, respectively. The magnetic properties were investigated using a superconducting quantum interference device and anomalous Hall effect for Mn{sub 2.45}Ga. Magneto optical Kerr effect measurements were carried out to investigate the magnetic properties of Co{sub 2}FeAl. TiN buffered Mn{sub 2.45}Ga thin films showed higher coercivity and squareness ratio compared to unbuffered samples. The Heusler compound Co{sub 2}FeAl showed already good crystallinity when grown at room temperature on a TiN seed-layer.« less

Method of making an icosahedral boride structure

DOEpatents

Hersee, Stephen D.; Wang, Ronghua; Zubia, David; Aselage, Terrance L.; Emin, David

2005-01-11

A method for fabricating thin films of an icosahedral boride on a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate is provided. Preferably the icosahedral boride layer is comprised of either boron phosphide (B.sub.12 P.sub.2) or boron arsenide (B.sub.12 As.sub.2). The provided method achieves improved film crystallinity and lowered impurity concentrations. In one aspect, an epitaxially grown layer of B.sub.12 P.sub.2 with a base layer or substrate of SiC is provided. In another aspect, an epitaxially grown layer of B.sub.12 As.sub.2 with a base layer or substrate of SiC is provided. In yet another aspect, thin films of B.sub.12 P.sub.2 or B.sub.12 As.sub.2 are formed on SiC using CVD or other vapor deposition means. If CVD techniques are employed, preferably the deposition temperature is above 1050.degree. C., more preferably in the range of 1100.degree. C. to 1400.degree. C., and still more preferably approximately 1150.degree. C.

Heterojunction oxide thin-film transistors with unprecedented electron mobility grown from solution.

PubMed

Faber, Hendrik; Das, Satyajit; Lin, Yen-Hung; Pliatsikas, Nikos; Zhao, Kui; Kehagias, Thomas; Dimitrakopulos, George; Amassian, Aram; Patsalas, Panos A; Anthopoulos, Thomas D

2017-03-01

Thin-film transistors made of solution-processed metal oxide semiconductors hold great promise for application in the emerging sector of large-area electronics. However, further advancement of the technology is hindered by limitations associated with the extrinsic electron transport properties of the often defect-prone oxides. We overcome this limitation by replacing the single-layer semiconductor channel with a low-dimensional, solution-grown In 2 O 3 /ZnO heterojunction. We find that In 2 O 3 /ZnO transistors exhibit band-like electron transport, with mobility values significantly higher than single-layer In 2 O 3 and ZnO devices by a factor of 2 to 100. This marked improvement is shown to originate from the presence of free electrons confined on the plane of the atomically sharp heterointerface induced by the large conduction band offset between In 2 O 3 and ZnO. Our finding underscores engineering of solution-grown metal oxide heterointerfaces as an alternative strategy to thin-film transistor development and has the potential for widespread technological applications.

Heterojunction oxide thin-film transistors with unprecedented electron mobility grown from solution

PubMed Central

Faber, Hendrik; Das, Satyajit; Lin, Yen-Hung; Pliatsikas, Nikos; Zhao, Kui; Kehagias, Thomas; Dimitrakopulos, George; Amassian, Aram; Patsalas, Panos A.; Anthopoulos, Thomas D.

2017-01-01

Thin-film transistors made of solution-processed metal oxide semiconductors hold great promise for application in the emerging sector of large-area electronics. However, further advancement of the technology is hindered by limitations associated with the extrinsic electron transport properties of the often defect-prone oxides. We overcome this limitation by replacing the single-layer semiconductor channel with a low-dimensional, solution-grown In2O3/ZnO heterojunction. We find that In2O3/ZnO transistors exhibit band-like electron transport, with mobility values significantly higher than single-layer In2O3 and ZnO devices by a factor of 2 to 100. This marked improvement is shown to originate from the presence of free electrons confined on the plane of the atomically sharp heterointerface induced by the large conduction band offset between In2O3 and ZnO. Our finding underscores engineering of solution-grown metal oxide heterointerfaces as an alternative strategy to thin-film transistor development and has the potential for widespread technological applications. PMID:28435867

Electrically tunable infrared metamaterial devices

DOEpatents

Brener, Igal; Jun, Young Chul

2015-07-21

A wavelength-tunable, depletion-type infrared metamaterial optical device is provided. The device includes a thin, highly doped epilayer whose electrical permittivity can become negative at some infrared wavelengths. This highly-doped buried layer optically couples with a metamaterial layer. Changes in the transmission spectrum of the device can be induced via the electrical control of this optical coupling. An embodiment includes a contact layer of semiconductor material that is sufficiently doped for operation as a contact layer and that is effectively transparent to an operating range of infrared wavelengths, a thin, highly doped buried layer of epitaxially grown semiconductor material that overlies the contact layer, and a metallized layer overlying the buried layer and patterned as a resonant metamaterial.

Corrosion resistance of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride on copper

PubMed Central

Mahvash, F.; Eissa, S.; Bordjiba, T.; Tavares, A. C.; Szkopek, T.; Siaj, M.

2017-01-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a layered material with high thermal and chemical stability ideal for ultrathin corrosion resistant coatings. Here, we report the corrosion resistance of Cu with hBN grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Cyclic voltammetry measurements reveal that hBN layers inhibit Cu corrosion and oxygen reduction. We find that CVD grown hBN reduces the Cu corrosion rate by one order of magnitude compared to bare Cu, suggesting that this ultrathin layer can be employed as an atomically thin corrosion-inhibition coating. PMID:28191822

Flexible and High-Performance Amorphous Indium Zinc Oxide Thin-Film Transistor Using Low-Temperature Atomic Layer Deposition.

PubMed

Sheng, Jiazhen; Lee, Hwan-Jae; Oh, Saeroonter; Park, Jin-Seong

2016-12-14

Amorphous indium zinc oxide (IZO) thin films were deposited at different temperatures, by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using [1,1,1-trimethyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)silanaminato]indium (INCA-1) as the indium precursor, diethlzinc (DEZ) as the zinc precursor, and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) as the reactant. The ALD process of IZO deposition was carried by repeated supercycles, including one cycle of indium oxide (In 2 O 3 ) and one cycle of zinc oxide (ZnO). The IZO growth rate deviates from the sum of the respective In 2 O 3 and ZnO growth rates at ALD growth temperatures of 150, 175, and 200 °C. We propose growth temperature-dependent surface reactions during the In 2 O 3 cycle that correspond with the growth-rate results. Thin-film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated with the ALD-grown IZO thin films as the active layer. The amorphous IZO TFTs exhibited high mobility of 42.1 cm 2 V -1 s -1 and good positive bias temperature stress stability. Finally, flexible IZO TFT was successfully fabricated on a polyimide substrate without performance degradation, showing the great potential of ALD-grown TFTs for flexible display applications.

Influences of Indium Tin Oxide Layer on the Properties of RF Magnetron-Sputtered (BaSr)TiO3 Thin Films on Indium Tin Oxide-Coated Glass Substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Tae Song; Oh, Myung Hwan; Kim, Chong Hee

1993-06-01

Nearly stoichiometric ((Ba+Sr)/Ti=1.08-1.09) and optically transparent (BaSr)TiO3 thin films were deposited on an indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrate by means of rf magnetron sputtering for their application to the insulating layer of an electroluminescent flat panel display. The influence of the ITO layer on the properties of (BaSr)TiO3 thin films deposited on the ITO-coated substrate was investigated. The ITO layer did not affect the crystallographic orientation of (BaSr)TiO3 thin film, but enhanced the grain growth. Another effect of the ITO layer on (BaSr)TiO3 thin films was the interdiffusion phenomenon, which was studied by means of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). As the substrate temperature increased, interdiffusion intensified at the interface not only between the grown film and ITO layer but also between the ITO layer and base glass substrate. The refractive index (nf) of (BaSr)TiO3 thin film deposited on a bare glass substrate was 2.138-2.286, as a function of substrate temperature.

Microscopic Electronic and Mechanical Properties of Ultra-Thin Layered Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-07-25

Graphene single layers grown by chemical vapor deposition on single crystal Cu substrates are subject to nonuniform physisorption strains that...the observed highly nonuniform strains. 4. Connecting dopant bond type with electronic structure in N-doped graphene (reference [4]) Robust methods

Hybrid Organic/ZnO p-n Junctions with n-Type ZnO Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Łuka, G.; Krajewski, T.; Szczerbakow, A.; Łusakowska, E.; Kopalko, K.; Guziewicz, E.; Wachnicki, Ł.; Szczepanik, A.; Godlewski, M.; Fidelus, J. D.

2008-11-01

We report on fabrication of hybrid inorganic-on-organic thin film structures with polycrystalline zinc oxide films grown by atomic layer deposition technique. ZnO films were deposited on two kinds of thin organic films, i.e. pentacene and poly(dimethylosiloxane) elastomer with a carbon nanotube content (PDMS:CNT). Surface morphology as well as electrical measurements of the films and devices were analyzed. The current density versus voltage (I-V) characteristics of ITO/pentacene/ZnO/Au structure show a low-voltage switching phenomenon typical of organic memory elements. The I-V studies of ITO/PDMS:CNT/ZnO/Au structure indicate some charging effects in the system under applied voltages.

Mechanics of graded glass composites and zinc oxide thin films grown at 90 degrees Celsius in water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fillery, Scott Pierson

2007-06-01

The purpose of this research was to study the mechanical stability of two different material systems. The glass laminate system, exhibiting a threshold strength when placed under an applied load and ZnO thin films grown on GaN buffered Al2O3 substrates, exhibiting variations in film stability with changes to the Lateral Epitaxial Overgrowth architecture. The glass laminates were fabricated to contain periodic thin layers containing biaxial compressive stresses using ion exchange treatments to create residual compressive stresses at the surface of soda lime silicate glass sheets. Wafer direct bonding of the ion exchanged glass sheets resulted in the fabrication of glass laminates with thin layers of compressive stress adjacent to the glass interfaces. The threshold flexural strength of the ion exchanged glass laminates was determined to be 112 MPa after the introduction of indentation cracks with indent loads ranging from 1kg to 5kg and the laminates were found to exhibit a threshold strength, i.e., a stress below which failure will not occur. Contrary to similar ceramic laminates where cracks either propagate across the compressive layer or bifurcate within the compressive layer, the cracks in the glass laminates were deflected along the interface between the bonded sheets. ZnO films were grown on (0001) GaN buffered Al2O3 substrates by aqueous solution routes at 90°C. The films were found to buckle under compressive residual stresses at film thicknesses greater than 4mum. Lateral epitaxial overgrowth techniques using hexagonal hole arrays showed an increasing film stability with larger array spacing, resulting in film thicknesses up to 92mum. Stress determinations using Raman spectroscopy indicated that stress relaxation at the free surface during film growth played a major role in film stability. Investigations using Finite Element Analysis and Raman spectroscopy demonstrated that the strain energy within the film/substrate system decreased with increasing array spacing. ZnO films grown on III-nitride LED devices for use as transparent conducting layers showed intrinsic n-type doping, high transparency and adequate electrical contact resistance, resulting in linear light output with forward bias current and improved light extraction.

Gold coated metal nanostructures grown by glancing angle deposition and pulsed electroplating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grüner, Christoph; Reeck, Pascal; Jacobs, Paul-Philipp; Liedtke, Susann; Lotnyk, Andriy; Rauschenbach, Bernd

2018-05-01

Nickel based nanostructures are grown by glancing angle deposition (GLAD) on flat and pre-patterned substrates. These fabricated porous thin films were subsequently coated by pulsed electroplating with gold. The morphology and conformity of the gold coating were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Controlled growth of closed gold layers on the nanostructures could be achieved, while the open-pore structure of the nanosculptured thin films was preserved. Such gold coated nanostructures are a candidate for optical sensing and catalysis applications. The demonstrated method can be applied for numerous material combinations, allowing to provide GLAD thin films with new surface properties.

Effects of O2 plasma post-treatment on ZnO: Ga thin films grown by H2O-thermal ALD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Yueh-Lin; Chuang, Jia-Hao; Huang, Tzu-Hsuan; Ho, Chong-Long; Wu, Meng-Chyi

2013-03-01

Transparent conducting oxides have been widely employed in optoelectronic devices using the various deposition methods such as sputtering, thermal evaporator, and e-gun evaporator technologies.1-3 In this work, gallium doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Ga) thin films were grown on glass substrates via H2O-thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) at different deposition temperatures. ALD-GZO thin films were constituted as a layer-by-layer structure by stacking zinc oxides and gallium oxides. Diethylzinc (DEZ), triethylgallium (TEG) and H2O were used as zinc, gallium precursors and oxygen source, respectively. Furthermore, we investigated the influences of O2 plasma post-treatment power on the surface morphology, electrical and optical property of ZnO:Ga films. As the result of O2 plasma post-treatment, the characteristics of ZnO:Ga films exhibit a smooth surface, low resistivity, high carrier concentration, and high optical transmittance in the visible spectrum. However, the transmittance decreases with O2 plasma power in the near- and mid-infrared regions.

STM study of the Ga thin films grown on Si(111) surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Min-Long; Tu, Yu-Bing; Sun, Kai; Ye, Juan; Hao, Shao-Jie; Xiao, Hua-Fang; Wang, Ya-Li; Xie, Zheng-Bo; Wang, Jun-Zhong

2017-09-01

Structural evolution of Ga thin films grown on the Si(111)-√{ 3 } × √{ 3 } -Ga template have been investigated with a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The first Ga layer exhibits a stripe structure along the base vectors of Si(111) lattices. Individual Ga dimers have been directly visualized from the high-resolution STM images of the first Ga layer. The second Ga layer reveals a pseudo 1×1 structure with respect to the Si(111). A new 5×5 phase has been found in the second Ga layer when annealing the sample to 120 ℃. Further annealing to 150 ℃ leads to the formation of 6.3×6.3 phase, which is more stable than the 5×5 phase. The existences of a variety of superstructures of Ga films demonstrates the delicate balance between the interactions of Si(111)-Ga and Ga-Ga. These results shed important light on the epitaxial growth mechanism of Ga films on semiconductor surfaces.

Atomic layer deposition synthesized TiO{sub x} thin films and their application as microbolometer active materials

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

Tanrikulu, Mahmud Yusuf, E-mail: mytanrikulu@adanabtu.edu.tr; Rasouli, Hamid Reza; Ghaffari, Mohammad

2016-05-15

This paper demonstrates the possible usage of TiO{sub x} thin films synthesized by atomic layer deposition as a microbolometer active material. Thin film electrical resistance is investigated as a function of thermal annealing. It is found that the temperature coefficient of resistance values can be controlled by coating/annealing processes, and the value as high as −9%/K near room temperature is obtained. The noise properties of TiO{sub x} films are characterized. It is shown that TiO{sub x} films grown by atomic layer deposition technique could have a significant potential to be used as a new active material for microbolometer-based applications.

Hyperbolic and Plasmonic Properties of Silicon/Ag Aligned Nanowire Arrays

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-17

Cleveland, J. D. Caldwell, E. Foos, J. Niinistö, and M. Ritala, “Spoof-like plasmonic behavior of plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition grown Ag thin...M. Leskela, “ Plasma -enhanced atomic layer deposition of silver thin films,” Chem. Mater. 23(11), 2901–2907 (2011). 52. O. J. Glembocki, S. M. Prokes...all principal components of the dielectric permittivity tensor are positive, the iso-frequency surface is “closed” and forms a spheroid or ellipsoid

Indium droplet formation in InGaN thin films with single and double heterojunctions prepared by MOCVD

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Indium gallium nitride (InGaN) samples with single heterojunction (SH) and double heterojunction (DH) were prepared using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. SH has a layer of InGaN thin film (thicknesses, 25, 50, 100, and 200 nm) grown on an uGaN film (thickness, 2 μm). The DH samples are distinguished by DH uGaN film (thickness, 120 nm) grown on the InGaN layer. Reciprocal space mapping measurements reveal that the DH samples are fully strained with different thicknesses, whereas the strain in the SH samples are significantly relaxed with the increasing thickness of the InGaN film. Scanning electron microscopy results show that the surface roughness of the sample increases when the sample is relaxed. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images of the structure of indium droplets in the DH sample indicate that the thickness of the InGaN layer decreases with the density of indium droplets. The formation of these droplets is attributed to the insufficient kinetic energy of indium atom to react with the elements of group V, resulting to aggregation. The gallium atoms in the GaN thin film will not be uniformly replaced by indium atoms; the InGaN thin film has an uneven distribution of indium atoms and the quality of the epitaxial layer is degraded. PMID:25024692

Impact of bimetal electrodes on dielectric properties of TiO2 and Al-doped TiO2 films.

PubMed

Kim, Seong Keun; Han, Sora; Jeon, Woojin; Yoon, Jung Ho; Han, Jeong Hwan; Lee, Woongkyu; Hwang, Cheol Seong

2012-09-26

Rutile structured Al-doped TiO(2) (ATO) and TiO(2) films were grown on bimetal electrodes (thin Ru/thick TiN, Pt, and Ir) for high-performance capacitors. The work function of the top Ru layer decreased on TiN and increased on Pt and Ir when it was thinner than ~2 nm, suggesting that the lower metal within the electrodes influences the work function of the very thin Ru layer. The use of the lower electrode with a high work function for bottom electrode eventually improves the leakage current properties of the capacitor at a very thin Ru top layer (≤2 nm) because of the increased Schottky barrier height at the interface between the dielectric and the bottom electrode. The thin Ru layer was necessary to achieve the rutile structured ATO and TiO(2) dielectric films.

Demonstrating antiphase domain boundary-free GaAs buffer layer on zero off-cut Si (0 0 1) substrate for interfacial misfit dislocation GaSb film by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ha, Minh Thien Huu; Hoang Huynh, Sa; Binh Do, Huy; Nguyen, Tuan Anh; Luc, Quang Ho; Chang, Edward Yi

2017-08-01

High quality 40 nm GaSb thin film was grown on the zero off-cut Si (0 0 1)-oriented substrate using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition with the temperature-graded GaAs buffer layer. The growth time of the GaAs nucleation layer, which was deposited at a low temperature of 490 °C, is systematically investigated in this paper. Cross-sections of the high resolution transmission electron microscopy images indicate that the GaAs compound formed 3D-islands first before to quasi-2D islands, and finally formed uniform GaAs layer. The optimum thickness of the 490 °C-GaAs layer was found to be 10 nm to suppress the formation of antiphase domain boundaries (APDs). The thin GaAs nucleation layer had a root-mean-square surface roughness of 0.483 nm. This allows the continued high temperature GaAs buffer layer to be achieved with low threading dislocation density of around 7.1  ×  106 cm-2 and almost invisible APDs. Finally, a fully relaxed GaSb film was grown on the top of the GaAs/Si heterostructure using interfacial misfit dislocation growth mode. These results indicate that the GaSb epitaxial layer can be grown on Si substrate with GaAs buffer layer for future p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) applications.

Selective-area catalyst-free MBE growth of GaN nanowires using a patterned oxide layer.

PubMed

Schumann, T; Gotschke, T; Limbach, F; Stoica, T; Calarco, R

2011-03-04

GaN nanowires (NWs) were grown selectively in holes of a patterned silicon oxide mask, by rf-plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE), without any metal catalyst. The oxide was deposited on a thin AlN buffer layer previously grown on a Si(111) substrate. Regular arrays of holes in the oxide layer were obtained using standard e-beam lithography. The selectivity of growth has been studied varying the substrate temperature, gallium beam equivalent pressure and patterning layout. Adjusting the growth parameters, GaN NWs can be selectively grown in the holes of the patterned oxide with complete suppression of the parasitic growth in between the holes. The occupation probability of a hole with a single or multiple NWs depends strongly on its diameter. The selectively grown GaN NWs have one common crystallographic orientation with respect to the Si(111) substrate via the AlN buffer layer, as proven by x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. Based on the experimental data, we present a schematic model of the GaN NW formation in which a GaN pedestal is initially grown in the hole.

Enhanced photovoltaic performances of graphene/Si solar cells by insertion of a MoS₂ thin film.

PubMed

Tsuboi, Yuka; Wang, Feijiu; Kozawa, Daichi; Funahashi, Kazuma; Mouri, Shinichiro; Miyauchi, Yuhei; Takenobu, Taishi; Matsuda, Kazunari

2015-09-14

Transition-metal dichalcogenides exhibit great potential as active materials in optoelectronic devices because of their characteristic band structure. Here, we demonstrated that the photovoltaic performances of graphene/Si Schottky junction solar cells were significantly improved by inserting a chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown, large MoS2 thin-film layer. This layer functions as an effective electron-blocking/hole-transporting layer. We also demonstrated that the photovoltaic properties are enhanced with the increasing number of graphene layers and the decreasing thickness of the MoS2 layer. A high photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 11.1% was achieved with the optimized trilayer-graphene/MoS2/n-Si solar cell.

Unexpected structural and magnetic depth dependence of YIG thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooper, J. F. K.; Kinane, C. J.; Langridge, S.; Ali, M.; Hickey, B. J.; Niizeki, T.; Uchida, K.; Saitoh, E.; Ambaye, H.; Glavic, A.

2017-09-01

We report measurements on yttrium iron garnet (YIG) thin films grown on both gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) and yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) substrates, with and without thin Pt top layers. We provide three principal results: the observation of an interfacial region at the Pt/YIG interface, we place a limit on the induced magnetism of the Pt layer, and confirm the existence of an interfacial layer at the GGG/YIG interface. Polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR) was used to give depth dependence of both the structure and magnetism of these structures. We find that a thin film of YIG on GGG is best described by three distinct layers: an interfacial layer near the GGG, around 5 nm thick and nonmagnetic, a magnetic "bulk" phase, and a nonmagnetic and compositionally distinct thin layer near the surface. We theorize that the bottom layer, which is independent of the film thickness, is caused by Gd diffusion. The top layer is likely to be extremely important in inverse spin Hall effect measurements, and is most likely Y2O3 or very similar. Magnetic sensitivity in the PNR to any induced moment in the Pt is increased by the existence of the Y2O3 layer; any moment is found to be less than 0.02 μB/atom .

Study of annealing effect on the growth of ZnO nanorods on ZnO seed layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sannakashappanavar, Basavaraj S.; Pattanashetti, Nandini A.; Byrareddy, C. R.; Yadav, Aniruddh Bahadur

2018-04-01

A zinc oxide (ZnO) seed layer was deposited on the SiO2/Si substrate by RF sputtering. To study the effect of annealing, the seed layers were classified into annealed and unannealed thin films. Annealing of the seed layers was carried at 450°C. Surface morphology of the seed layers were studied by Atomic force microscopy. ZnO nanorods were then grown on both the types of seed layer by hydrothermal method. The morphology and the structural properties of the nanorods were characterized by X-ray diffraction and Scanning electron microscopy. The effect of seed layer annealing on the growth and orientation of the ZnO nanorods were clearly examined on comparing with the nanorods grown on unannealed seed layer. The nanorods grown on annealed seed layers were found to be well aligned and oriented. Further, the I-V characteristic study was carried out on these aligned nanorods. The results supports positively for the future work to further enhance the properties of developed nanorods for their wide applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Monolithically interconnected silicon-film™ module technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DelleDonne, E. J.; Ford, D. H.; Hall, R. B.; Ingram, A. E.; Rand, J. A.; Barnett, A. M.

1999-03-01

AstroPower is developing an advanced thin-silicon-based, photovoltaic module product. A low-cost monolithic interconnected device is being integrated into a module that combines the design and process features of advanced light trapped, thin-silicon solar cells. This advanced product incorporates a low-cost substrate, a nominally 50-μm thick grown silicon layer with minority carrier diffusion lengths exceeding the active layer thickness, light trapping due to back-surface reflection, and back-surface passivation. The thin silicon layer enables high solar cell performance and can lead to a module conversion efficiency as high as 19%. These performance design features, combined with low-cost manufacturing using relatively low-cost capital equipment, continuous processing and a low-cost substrate, will lead to high-performance, low-cost photovoltaic panels.

Photoconductivity of ultra-thin Ge(GeSn) layers grown in Si by low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy

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

Talochkin, A. B., E-mail: tal@isp.nsc.ru; Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090; Chistokhin, I. B.

2016-04-07

Photoconductivity (PC) spectra of Si/Ge(GeSn)/Si structures with the ultra-thin (1.0–2.3 nm) Ge and GeSn alloy layers grown by the low-temperature (T = 100 °C) molecular beam epitaxy are studied. Photoresponse in the range of 1.2–0.4 eV related to light absorption in the buried Ge(GeSn) layer is observed. It is shown that in case of lateral PC, a simple diffusion model can be used to determine the absorption coefficient of this layer α ∼ 10{sup 5 }cm{sup −1}. This value is 100 times larger than that of a single Ge quantum dot layer and is reached significantly above the band gap of most bulk semiconductors. The observedmore » absorption is caused by optical transitions between electron and hole states localized at the interfaces. The anomalous high value of α can be explained by the unusual state of Ge(GeSn) layer with high concentration of dangling bonds, the optical properties of which have been predicted theoretically by Knief and von Niessen (Phys. Rev. B 59, 12940 (1999)).« less

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

1974-01-01

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

Effect of NiFeCr seed and capping layers on exchange bias and planar Hall voltage response of NiFe/Au/IrMn trilayer structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talantsev, Artem; Elzwawy, Amir; Kim, CheolGi

2018-05-01

Thin films and cross junctions, based on NiFe/Au/IrMn structures, were grown on Ta and NiFeCr seed layers by magnetron sputtering. The effects of substitution of Ta with NiFeCr in seed and capping layers on an exchange bias field are studied. A threefold improvement of the exchange bias value in the structures, grown with NiFeCr seed and capping layers, is demonstrated. The reasons for this effect are discussed. Formation of clusters in the NiFeCr capping layer is proved by atomic force microscopy technique. Ta replacement on NiFeCr in the capping layer results in the enhancement of magnetoresistive response and a reduction of noise.

Positron annihilation spectroscopy for the determination of thickness and defect profile in thin semiconductor layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zubiaga, A.; García, J. A.; Plazaola, F.; Tuomisto, F.; Zúñiga-Pérez, J.; Muñoz-Sanjosé, V.

2007-05-01

We present a method, based on positron annihilation spectroscopy, to obtain information on the defect depth profile of layers grown over high-quality substrates. We have applied the method to the case of ZnO layers grown on sapphire, but the method can be very easily generalized to other heterostructures (homostructures) where the positron mean diffusion length is small enough. Applying the method to the ratio of W and S parameters obtained from Doppler broadening measurements, W/S plots, it is possible to determine the thickness of the layer and the defect profile in the layer, when mainly one defect trapping positron is contributing to positron trapping at the measurement temperature. Indeed, the quality of such characterization is very important for potential technological applications of the layer.

Epitaxial ferromagnetic oxide thin films on silicon with atomically sharp interfaces

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

Coux, P. de; CEMES-CNRS, 29 rue Jeanne Marvig, BP 94347, Toulouse Cedex 4; Bachelet, R.

A bottleneck in the integration of functional oxides with silicon, either directly grown or using a buffer, is the usual formation of an amorphous interfacial layer. Here, we demonstrate that ferromagnetic CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} films can be grown epitaxially on Si(111) using a Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} buffer layer, and remarkably the Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Si(111) interface is stable and remains atomically sharp. CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} films present high crystal quality and high saturation magnetization.

Improvement of laser molecular beam epitaxy grown SrTiO3 thin film properties by temperature gradient modulation growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jin Long; Hao, J. H.; Li, Y. R.

2007-09-01

Oxygen diffusion at the SrTiO3/Si interface was analyzed. A method called temperature gradient modulation growth was introduced to control oxygen diffusion at the interface of SrTiO3/Si. Nanoscale multilayers were grown at different temperatures at the initial growing stage of films. Continuous growth of SrTiO3 films was followed to deposit on the grown sacrificial layers. The interface and crystallinity of SrTiO3/Si were investigated by in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction and x-ray diffraction measurements. It has been shown that the modulated multilayers may help suppress the interfacial diffusion, and therefore improve SrTiO3 thin film properties.

Matching characteristics of different buffer layers with VO2 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Kai; Zhang, Dongping; Liu, Yi; Guan, Tianrui; Qin, Xiaonan; Zhong, Aihua; Cai, Xingmin; Fan, Ping; Lv, Weizhong

2016-10-01

VO2 thin films were fabricated by reactive DC magnetron sputtering on different buffer layers of MgF2, Al2O3 and TiO2, respectively. The crystallinity and orientation relationship, thickness of VO2 thin films, atoms vibrational modes, optical and electrical property, surface morphology of films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering microscopy, step profiler, spectrophotometer, four-probe technique, and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. XRD results investigated that the films have preferential crystalline planes VO2 (011). The crystallinity of VO2 films grown on TiO2 buffer layers are superior to VO2 directly deposited on soda-lime glass. The Raman bands of the VO2 films correspond to an Ag symmetry mode of VO2 (M). The sample prepared on 100nm TiO2 buffer layer appears nanorods structure, and exhibits remarkable solar energy modulation ability as high as 5.82% in full spectrum and 23% in near infrared spectrum. Cross-sectional SEM image of the thin films samples indicate that MgF2 buffer layer has clear interface with VO2 layer. But there are serious interdiffusion phenomenons between Al2O3, TiO2 buffer layer with VO2 layer.

Characterization of Y-Ba-Cu-O thin films and yttria-stabilized zirconia intermediate layers on metal alloys grown by pulsed laser deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reade, R. P.; Mao, X. L.; Russo, R. E.

1991-08-01

The use of an intermediate layer is necessary for the growth of YBaCuO thin films on polycrystalline metallic alloys for tape conductor applications. A pulsed laser deposition process to grow controlled-orientation yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) films as intermediate layers on Haynes Alloy No. 230 was developed and characterized. YBaCuO films deposited on these YSZ-coated substrates are primarily c-axis oriented and superconducting as deposited. The best YBaCuO films grow on (001)-oriented YSZ intermediate layers and have Tc (R = 0) = 86.0 K and Jc about 3000 A/sq cm at 77 K.

Interpretation of transport measurements in ZnO-thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petukhov, Vladimir; Stoemenos, John; Rothman, Johan; Bakin, Andrey; Waag, Andreas

2011-01-01

In order to interpret results of temperature dependent Hall measurements in heteroepitaxial ZnO-thin films, we adopted a multilayer conductivity model considering carrier-transport through the interfacial layer with degenerate electron gas as well as the upper part of ZnO layers with lower conductivity. This model was applied to the temperature dependence of the carrier concentration and mobility measured by Hall effect in a ZnO-layer grown on c-sapphire with conventional high-temperature MgO and low-temperature ZnO buffer. We also compared our results with the results of maximum entropy mobility-spectrum analysis (MEMSA). The formation of the highly conductive interfacial layer was explained by analysis of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images taken from similar layers.

Spin-hall-active platinum thin films grown via atomic layer deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schlitz, Richard; Amusan, Akinwumi Abimbola; Lammel, Michaela; Schlicht, Stefanie; Tynell, Tommi; Bachmann, Julien; Woltersdorf, Georg; Nielsch, Kornelius; Goennenwein, Sebastian T. B.; Thomas, Andy

2018-06-01

We study the magnetoresistance of yttrium iron garnet/Pt heterostructures in which the Pt layer was grown via atomic layer deposition (ALD). Magnetotransport experiments in three orthogonal rotation planes reveal the hallmark features of spin Hall magnetoresistance. To estimate the spin transport parameters, we compare the magnitude of the magnetoresistance in samples with different Pt thicknesses. We check the spin Hall angle and the spin diffusion length of the ALD Pt layers against the values reported for high-quality sputter-deposited Pt films. The spin diffusion length of 1.5 nm agrees well with that of platinum thin films reported in the literature, whereas the spin Hall magnetoresistance Δ ρ / ρ = 2.2 × 10 - 5 is approximately a factor of 20 smaller compared to that of our sputter-deposited films. Our results demonstrate that ALD allows fabricating spin-Hall-active Pt films of suitable quality for use in spin transport structures. This work provides the basis to establish conformal ALD coatings for arbitrary surface geometries with spin-Hall-active metals and could lead to 3D spintronic devices in the future.

Effect of growth temperature on the epitaxial growth of ZnO on GaN by ALD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Särkijärvi, Suvi; Sintonen, Sakari; Tuomisto, Filip; Bosund, Markus; Suihkonen, Sami; Lipsanen, Harri

2014-07-01

We report on the epitaxial growth of ZnO on GaN template by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Diethylzinc (DEZn) and water vapour (H2O) were used as precursors. The structure and the quality of the grown ZnO layers were studied with scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) measurements and positron annihilation spectroscopy. The ZnO films were confirmed epitaxial, and the film quality was found to improve with increasing deposition temperature in the vicinity of the threshold temperature of two dimensional growth. We conclude that high quality ZnO thin films can be grown by ALD. Interestingly only separate Zn-vacancies were observed in the films, although ZnO thin films typically contain fairly high density of surface pits and vacancy clusters.

Aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition of ultra-thin CuOx films as hole transport material for planar perovskite solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhixin; Chen, Shuqun; Li, Pingping; Li, Hongyi; Wu, Junshu; Hu, Peng; Wang, Jinshu

This paper reports on the fabrication of CuOx films to be used as hole transporting layer (HTL) in CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Ultra-thin CuOx coatings were grown onto FTO substrates for the first time via aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) of copper acetylacetonate in methanol. After incorporating into the PSCs prepared at ambient air, a highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.26% with HTL and of 3.34% without HTL were achieved. Our work represents an important step in the development of low-cost CVD technique for fabricating ultra-thin metal oxide functional layers in thin film photovoltaics.

Effect of processing parameters on microstructure of MoS{sub 2} ultra-thin films synthesized by chemical vapor deposition method

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

Song, Yang; You, Suping; Sun, Kewei

2015-06-15

MoS{sub 2} ultra-thin layers are synthesized using a chemical vapor deposition method based on the sulfurization of molybdenum trioxide (MoO{sub 3}). The ultra-thin layers are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and atomic force microscope (AFM). Based on our experimental results, all the processing parameters, such as the tilt angle of substrate, applied voltage, heating time and the weight of source materials have effect on the microstructures of the layers. In this paper, the effects of such processing parameters on the crystal structures and morphologies of the as-grown layers are studied. It is found that the film obtainedmore » with the tilt angle of 0.06° is more uniform. A larger applied voltage is preferred to the growth of MoS{sub 2} thin films at a certain heating time. In order to obtain the ultra-thin layers of MoS{sub 2}, the weight of 0.003 g of source materials is preferred. Under our optimal experimental conditions, the surface of the film is smooth and composed of many uniformly distributed and aggregated particles, and the ultra-thin MoS{sub 2} atomic layers (1∼10 layers) covers an area of more than 2 mm×2 mm.« less

Characterization of high-{kappa} LaLuO{sub 3} thin film grown on AlGaN/GaN heterostructure by molecular beam deposition

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

Yang Shu; Huang Sen; Chen Hongwei

2011-10-31

We report the study of high-dielectric-constant (high-{kappa}) dielectric LaLuO{sub 3} (LLO) thin film that is grown on AlGaN/GaN heterostructure by molecular beam deposition (MBD). The physical properties of LLO on AlGaN/GaN heterostrucure have been investigated with atomic force microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and TEM. It is revealed that the MBD-grown 16 nm-thick LLO film is polycrystalline with a thin ({approx}2 nm) amorphous transition layer at the LLO/GaN interface. The bandgap of LLO is derived as 5.3 {+-} 0.04 eV from O1s energy loss spectrum. Capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of a Ni-Au/LLO/III-nitride metal-insulator-semiconductor diode exhibit small frequency dispersion (<2%) and reveal amore » high effective dielectric constant of {approx}28 for the LLO film. The LLO layer is shown to be effective in suppressing the reverse and forward leakage current in the MIS diode. In particular, the MIS diode forward current is reduced by 7 orders of magnitude at a forward bias of 1 V compared to a conventional Ni-Au/III-nitride Schottky diode.« less

Atomic layer deposition of Al-incorporated Zn(O,S) thin films with tunable electrical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Helen Hejin; Jayaraman, Ashwin; Heasley, Rachel; Yang, Chuanxi; Hartle, Lauren; Mankad, Ravin; Haight, Richard; Mitzi, David B.; Gunawan, Oki; Gordon, Roy G.

2014-11-01

Zinc oxysulfide, Zn(O,S), films grown by atomic layer deposition were incorporated with aluminum to adjust the carrier concentration. The electron carrier concentration increased up to one order of magnitude from 1019 to 1020 cm-3 with aluminum incorporation and sulfur content in the range of 0 ≤ S/(Zn+Al) ≤ 0.16. However, the carrier concentration decreased by five orders of magnitude from 1019 to 1014 cm-3 for S/(Zn+Al) = 0.34 and decreased even further when S/(Zn+Al) > 0.34. Such tunable electrical properties are potentially useful for graded buffer layers in thin-film photovoltaic applications.

Highly Oriented Atomically Thin Ambipolar MoSe2 Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), together with other two-dimensional (2D) materials, have attracted great interest due to the unique optical and electrical properties of atomically thin layers. In order to fulfill their potential, developing large-area growth and understanding the properties of TMDCs have become crucial. Here, we have used molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) to grow atomically thin MoSe2 on GaAs(111)B. No intermediate compounds were detected at the interface of as-grown films. Careful optimization of the growth temperature can result in the growth of highly aligned films with only two possible crystalline orientations due to broken inversion symmetry. As-grown films can be transferred onto insulating substrates, allowing their optical and electrical properties to be probed. By using polymer electrolyte gating, we have achieved ambipolar transport in MBE-grown MoSe2. The temperature-dependent transport characteristics can be explained by the 2D variable-range hopping (2D-VRH) model, indicating that the transport is strongly limited by the disorder in the film. PMID:28530829

Broadband light-emitting diode

DOEpatents

Fritz, Ian J.; Klem, John F.; Hafich, Michael J.

1998-01-01

A broadband light-emitting diode. The broadband light-emitting diode (LED) comprises a plurality of III-V compound semiconductor layers grown on a semiconductor substrate, with the semiconductor layers including a pair of cladding layers sandwiched about a strained-quantum-well active region having a plurality of different energy bandgaps for generating light in a wavelength range of about 1.3-2 .mu.m. In one embodiment of the present invention, the active region may comprise a first-grown quantum-well layer and a last-grown quantum-well layer that are oppositely strained; whereas in another embodiment of the invention, the active region is formed from a short-period superlattice structure (i.e. a pseudo alloy) comprising alternating thin layers of InGaAs and InGaAlAs. The use a short-period superlattice structure for the active region allows different layers within the active region to be simply and accurately grown by repetitively opening and closing one or more shutters in an MBE growth apparatus to repetitively switch between different growth states therein. The broadband LED may be formed as either a surface-emitting LED or as an edge-emitting LED for use in applications such as chemical sensing, fiber optic gyroscopes, wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) fiber-optic data links, and WDM fiber-optic sensor networks for automobiles and aircraft.

Broadband light-emitting diode

DOEpatents

Fritz, I.J.; Klem, J.F.; Hafich, M.J.

1998-07-14

A broadband light-emitting diode is disclosed. The broadband light-emitting diode (LED) comprises a plurality of III-V compound semiconductor layers grown on a semiconductor substrate, with the semiconductor layers including a pair of cladding layers sandwiched about a strained-quantum-well active region having a plurality of different energy bandgaps for generating light in a wavelength range of about 1.3--2 {micro}m. In one embodiment of the present invention, the active region may comprise a first-grown quantum-well layer and a last-grown quantum-well layer that are oppositely strained; whereas in another embodiment of the invention, the active region is formed from a short-period superlattice structure (i.e. a pseudo alloy) comprising alternating thin layers of InGaAs and InGaAlAs. The use a short-period superlattice structure for the active region allows different layers within the active region to be simply and accurately grown by repetitively opening and closing one or more shutters in an MBE growth apparatus to repetitively switch between different growth states therein. The broadband LED may be formed as either a surface-emitting LED or as an edge-emitting LED for use in applications such as chemical sensing, fiber optic gyroscopes, wavelength-divisionmultiplexed (WDM) fiber-optic data links, and WDM fiber-optic sensor networks for automobiles and aircraft. 10 figs.

Effects of different wetting layers on the growth of smooth ultra-thin silver thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ni, Chuan; Shah, Piyush; Sarangan, Andrew M.

2014-09-01

Ultrathin silver films (thickness below 10 nm) are of great interest as optical coatings on windows and plasmonic devices. However, producing these films has been a continuing challenge because of their tendency to form clusters or islands rather than smooth contiguous thin films. In this work we have studied the effect of Cu, Ge and ZnS as wetting layers (1.0 nm) to achieve ultrasmooth thin silver films. The silver films (5 nm) were grown by RF sputter deposition on silicon and glass substrates using a few monolayers of the different wetting materials. SEM imaging was used to characterize the surface properties such as island formation and roughness. Also the optical properties were measured to identify the optical impact of the different wetting layers. Finally, a multi-layer silver based structure is designed and fabricated, and its performance is evaluated. The comparison between the samples with different wetting layers show that the designs with wetting layers which have similar optical properties to silver produce the best overall performance. In the absence of a wetting layer, the measured optical spectra show a significant departure from the model predictions, which we attribute primarily to the formation of clusters.

Development of buffer layer structure for epitaxial growth of (100)/(001)Pb(Zr,Ti)O3-based thin film on (111)Si wafer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayasaka, Takeshi; Yoshida, Shinya; Tanaka, Shuji

2017-07-01

This paper reports on the development of a novel buffer layer structure, (100)SrRuO3/(100)LaNiO3/(111)Pt/(111)CeO2, for the epitaxial growth of a (100)/(001)-oriented Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT)-based thin film on a (111)Si wafer. (111)Pt and (111)CeO2 were epitaxially grown on (111)Si straightforwardly. Then, the crystal orientation was forcibly changed from (111) to (100) at the LaNiO3 layer owing to its strong (100)-self-orientation property, which enabled the cube-on-cube epitaxial growth of the subsequent (100)SrRuO3 layer and preferentially (100)/(001)-oriented PZT-based thin film. The PZT-based epitaxial thin films were comprehensively characterized in terms of the crystallinity, in-plane epitaxial relationships, piezoelectricity, and so forth. This buffer layer structure for the epitaxial growth of PZT can be applied to piezoelectric micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) vibrating ring gyroscopes.

Effect of dopent on the structural and optical properties of ZnS thin film as a buffer layer in solar cell application

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

Vashistha, Indu B., E-mail: indu-139@yahoo.com; Sharma, S. K.; Sharma, Mahesh C.

2015-08-28

In order to find the suitable alternative of toxic CdS buffer layer, deposition of pure ZnS and doped with Al by chemical bath deposition method have been reported. Further as grown pure and doped thin films have been annealed at 150°C. The structural and surface morphological properties have been characterized by X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM).The XRD analysis shows that annealed thin film has been polycrystalline in nature with sphalerite cubic crystal structure and AFM images indicate increment in grain size as well as growth of crystals after annealing. Optical measurement data give band gap of 3.5more » eV which is ideal band gap for buffer layer for solar cell suggesting that the obtained ZnS buffer layer is suitable in a low-cost solar cell.« less

Tunneling Spectroscopy of Superconducting MoN and NbTiN Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition.

DOE PAGES

Groll, Nickolas; Klug, Jeffrey A.; Cao, Chaoyue; ...

2014-03-03

A tunneling spectroscopy study is presented of superconducting MoN and Nbo.8Tio.2N thin films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The films exhibited a superconducting gap of 2meV and 2.4meV, respectively, with a corresponding critical temperature of 11.5K and 13.4 K, among the highest reported Tc values achieved by the ALD technique.Tunnel junctions were obtained using a mechanical contact method with a Au tip. While the native oxides of these films provided poor tunnel barriers, high quality tunnel junctions with low zero bias conductance (below rvl0%) were obtained using an artificial tunnel barrier of Ah03 on the film's surface grown exmore » situ by ALD. We find a large critical current density on the order of 4 x 106Ncm2 at T =0.8Tc for a 60 run MoN film and demonstrate conformal coating capabilities of ALD onto high aspect ratio geometries. These results suggest that the ALD technique offers significant promise for thin film superconducting device applications.« less

Improved growth of GaN layers on ultra thin silicon nitride/Si (1 1 1) by RF-MBE

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

Kumar, Mahesh; Roul, Basanta; Central Research Laboratory, Bharat Electronics, Bangalore 560013

High-quality GaN epilayers were grown on Si (1 1 1) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy using a new growth process sequence which involved a substrate nitridation at low temperatures, annealing at high temperatures, followed by nitridation at high temperatures, deposition of a low-temperature buffer layer, and a high-temperature overgrowth. The material quality of the GaN films was also investigated as a function of nitridation time and temperature. Crystallinity and surface roughness of GaN was found to improve when the Si substrate was treated under the new growth process sequence. Micro-Raman and photoluminescence (PL) measurement results indicate that the GaN filmmore » grown by the new process sequence has less tensile stress and optically good. The surface and interface structures of an ultra thin silicon nitride film grown on the Si surface are investigated by core-level photoelectron spectroscopy and it clearly indicates that the quality of silicon nitride notably affects the properties of GaN growth.« less

Tunneling spectroscopy of superconducting MoN and NbTiN grown by atomic layer deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groll, Nickolas R.; Klug, Jeffrey A.; Cao, Chaoyue; Altin, Serdar; Claus, Helmut; Becker, Nicholas G.; Zasadzinski, John F.; Pellin, Michael J.; Proslier, Thomas

2014-03-01

A tunneling spectroscopy study is presented of superconducting MoN and Nb0.8Ti0.2N thin films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The films exhibited a superconducting gap of 2 meV and 2.4 meV, respectively, with a corresponding critical temperature of 11.5 K and 13.4 K, among the highest reported Tc values achieved by the ALD technique. Tunnel junctions were obtained using a mechanical contact method with a Au tip. While the native oxides of these films provided poor tunnel barriers, high quality tunnel junctions with low zero bias conductance (below ˜10%) were obtained using an artificial tunnel barrier of Al2O3 on the film's surface grown ex situ by ALD. We find a large critical current density on the order of 4 × 106 A/cm2 at T = 0.8Tc for a 60 nm MoN film and demonstrate conformal coating capabilities of ALD onto high aspect ratio geometries. These results suggest that the ALD technique offers significant promise for thin film superconducting device applications.

Optical transparency of graphene layers grown on metal surfaces

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

Rut’kov, E. V.; Lavrovskaya, N. P.; Sheshenya, E. S., E-mail: sheshenayket@gmail.ru

It is shown that, in contradiction with the fundamental results obtained for free graphene, graphene films grown on the Rh(111) surface to thicknesses from one to ~(12–15) single layers do not absorb visible electromagnetic radiation emitted from the surface and influence neither the brightness nor true temperature of the sample. At larger thicknesses, such absorption occurs. This effect is observed for the surfaces of other metals, specifically, Pt(111), Re(1010), and Ni(111) and, thus, can be considered as being universal. It is thought that the effect is due to changes in the electronic properties of thin graphene layers because of electronmore » transfer between graphene and the metal substrate.« less

Tuning the surface morphology of aluminium doped zinc oxide thin films by arrayed nanorods through chemical growth process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devasia, Sebin; Anila, E. I.

2018-04-01

Here we report the growth and characterization of chemically grown aluminium doped zinc oxide nanorods on seed layers. The seed layers were prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis which acted as the growth centers. The growth duration of nanorods were varied from 3h to 12h in steps of 3h. Further, investigations on their structural, morphological, electrical and optical properties. The SEM images confirmed the hexagonal shaped nanorod arrays grown on the seed layers. Later, the x-ray diffraction measurements revealed the pure zinc oxide phase of the samples. Photoluminescence and photoconductivity studies were carried out to analyze the potential of its optoelectronic properties.

Thermoelectric Properties and Microstructure of Ca3 Co 4 O 9 thin films on SrTiO3 and Al2 O 3 Substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paulauskas, T.; Qiao, Q.; Gulec, A.; Klie, R. F.; Ozdemir, M.; Boyraz, C.; Mazumdar, D.; Gupta, A.

2011-03-01

Ca 3 Co 4 O9 (CCO), a misfit layered structure exhibiting large Seebeck coefficient at temperatures up to 1000K has attracted increasing attention as a novel high-temperature thermoelectric material. In this work, we investigate CCO thin films grown on SrTi O3 (001) and Al 2 O3 (0001) using pulsed laser deposition. Quality of the thin films was examined using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and thermoelectric transport measurements. HRTEM images show incommensurate stacks of Cd I2 -type Co O2 layer alternating with rock-salt-type Ca 2 Co O3 layer along the c-axis. Perovskite buffer layer about 10nm thick was found present between CCO and SrTi O3 accompanied by higher density of stacking faults. The CCO grown on Al 2 O3 exhibited numerous misoriented grains and presence of Ca x Co O2 phase. Seebeck coefficient measurements yield an improvement for both samples compared to the bulk value. We suggest that thermoelectric properties of CCO increase due to additional phonon scattering at the stacking faults as well as at the film surfaces/interfaces. This research was supported by the US Army Research Office (W911NF-10-1-0147) and the Sivananthan Undergraduate Research Fellowship.

Very low-refractive-index optical thin films consisting of an array of SiO2 nanorods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xi, J.-Q.; Kim, Jong Kyu; Schubert, E. F.; Ye, Dexian; Lu, T.-M.; Lin, Shawn-Yu; Juneja, Jasbir S.

2006-03-01

The refractive-index contrast in dielectric multilayer structures, optical resonators, and photonic crystals is an important figure of merit that creates a strong demand for high-quality thin films with a low refractive index. A SiO2 nanorod layer with low refractive index of n=1.08, to our knowledge the lowest ever reported in thin-film materials, is grown by oblique-angle electron-beam deposition of SiO2. A single-pair distributed Bragg reflector employing a SiO2 nanorod layer is demonstrated to have enhanced reflectivity, showing the great potential of low-refractive-index films for applications in photonic structures and devices.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2011-03-01

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

Structural tuning of residual conductivity in highly mismatched III-V layers

DOEpatents

Han, Jung; Figiel, Jeffrey J.

2002-01-01

A new process to control the electrical conductivity of gallium nitride layers grown on a sapphire substrate has been developed. This process is based on initially coating the sapphire substrate with a thin layer of aluminum nitride, then depositing the gallium nitride thereon. This process allows one to controllably produce gallium nitride layers with resistivity varying over as much as 10 orders of magnitude, without requiring the introduction and activation of suitable dopants.

Process for growing a film epitaxially upon a MgO surface

DOEpatents

McKee, Rodney Allen; Walker, Frederick Joseph

1997-01-01

A process and structure wherein optical quality perovskites, such as BaTiO.sub.3 or SrTiO.sub.3, are grown upon a single crystal MgO substrate involves the epitaxial build up of alternating planes of TiO.sub.2 and metal oxide wherein the first plane grown upon the MgO substrate is a plane of TiO.sub.2. The layering sequence involved in the film build up reduces problems which would otherwise result from the interfacial electrostatics at the first atomic layers, and these oxides can be stabilized as commensurate thin films at a unit cell thickness or grown with high crystal quality to thicknesses of 0.5-0.7 .mu.m for optical device applications.

Aligned carbon nanotube, graphene and graphite oxide thin films via substrate-directed rapid interfacial deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Arcy, Julio M.; Tran, Henry D.; Stieg, Adam Z.; Gimzewski, James K.; Kaner, Richard B.

2012-05-01

A procedure for depositing thin films of carbon nanostructures is described that overcomes the limitations typically associated with solution based methods. Transparent and conductively continuous carbon coatings can be grown on virtually any type of substrate within seconds. Interfacial surface tension gradients result in directional fluid flow and film spreading at the water/oil interface. Transparent films of carbon nanostructures are produced including aligned ropes of single-walled carbon nanotubes and assemblies of single sheets of chemically converted graphene and graphite oxide. Process scale-up, layer-by-layer deposition, and a simple method for coating non-activated hydrophobic surfaces are demonstrated.A procedure for depositing thin films of carbon nanostructures is described that overcomes the limitations typically associated with solution based methods. Transparent and conductively continuous carbon coatings can be grown on virtually any type of substrate within seconds. Interfacial surface tension gradients result in directional fluid flow and film spreading at the water/oil interface. Transparent films of carbon nanostructures are produced including aligned ropes of single-walled carbon nanotubes and assemblies of single sheets of chemically converted graphene and graphite oxide. Process scale-up, layer-by-layer deposition, and a simple method for coating non-activated hydrophobic surfaces are demonstrated. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Droplet coalescence, catenoid formation, mechanism of film growth, scanning electron micrographs showing carbon nanotube alignment, flexible transparent films of SWCNTs, AFM images of a chemically converted graphene film, and SEM images of SWCNT free-standing thin films. See DOI: 10.1039/c2nr00010e

Far-infrared transmission in GaN, AlN, and AlGaN thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

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

Ibanez, J.; Hernandez, S.; Alarcon-Llado, E.

2008-08-01

We present a far-infrared transmission study on group-III nitride thin films. Cubic GaN and AlN layers and c-oriented wurtzite GaN, AlN, and Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N (x<0.3) layers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs and Si(111) substrates, respectively. The Berreman effect allows us to observe simultaneously the transverse optic and the longitudinal optic phonons of both the cubic and the hexagonal films as transmission minima in the infrared spectra acquired with obliquely incident radiation. We discuss our results in terms of the relevant electromagnetic theory of infrared transmission in cubic and wurtzite thin films. We compare the infrared resultsmore » with visible Raman-scattering measurements. In the case of films with low scattering volumes and/or low Raman efficiencies and also when the Raman signal of the substrate material obscures the weaker peaks from the nitride films, we find that the Berreman technique is particularly useful to complement Raman spectroscopy.« less

Liquid-Phase Epitaxial Growth of ZnS, ZnSe and Their Mixed Compounds Using Te as Solvent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamura, Hiroshi; Aoki, Masaharu

1981-01-01

Epitaxial layers of ZnS, ZnSe and their mixed compounds were grown on ZnS substrates by the liquid-phase epitaxial growth (LPE) method using Te as the solvent. The open-tube slide-boat technique was used, and a suitable starting temperature for growth was found to be 850°C for ZnS and 700-800°C for ZnSe. The ZnS epitaxial layers grown on {111}A and {111}B oriented ZnS substrates were thin (˜1 μm) and smooth, had low, uniform Te concentrations (˜0.1 at.%) and were highly luminescent. The ZnSe epitaxial layers were relatively thick (10-30 μm) and had fairly high Te concentrations (a few at.%). Various mixed compound ZnS1-xSex were also grown on ZnS substrates.

Nucleant layer effect on nanocolumnar ZnO films grown by electrodeposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tolosa, Maria D. Reyes; Damonte, Laura C.; Brine, Hicham; Bolink, Henk J.; Hernández-Fenollosa, María A.

2013-03-01

Different ZnO nanostructured films were electrochemically grown, using an aqueous solution based on ZnCl2, on three types of transparent conductive oxides grow on commercial ITO (In2O3:Sn)-covered glass substrates: (1) ZnO prepared by spin coating, (2) ZnO prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering, and (3) commercial ITO-covered glass substrates. Although thin, these primary oxide layers play an important role on the properties of the nanostructured films grown on top of them. Additionally, these primary oxide layers prevent direct hole combination when used in optoelectronic devices. Structural and optical characterizations were carried out by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and optical transmission spectroscopy. We show that the properties of the ZnO nanostructured films depend strongly on the type of primary oxide-covered substrate used. Previous studies on different electrodeposition methods for nucleation and growth are considered in the final discussion.

Nucleant layer effect on nanocolumnar ZnO films grown by electrodeposition.

PubMed

Tolosa, Maria D Reyes; Damonte, Laura C; Brine, Hicham; Bolink, Henk J; Hernández-Fenollosa, María A

2013-03-23

Different ZnO nanostructured films were electrochemically grown, using an aqueous solution based on ZnCl2, on three types of transparent conductive oxides grow on commercial ITO (In2O3:Sn)-covered glass substrates: (1) ZnO prepared by spin coating, (2) ZnO prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering, and (3) commercial ITO-covered glass substrates. Although thin, these primary oxide layers play an important role on the properties of the nanostructured films grown on top of them. Additionally, these primary oxide layers prevent direct hole combination when used in optoelectronic devices. Structural and optical characterizations were carried out by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and optical transmission spectroscopy. We show that the properties of the ZnO nanostructured films depend strongly on the type of primary oxide-covered substrate used. Previous studies on different electrodeposition methods for nucleation and growth are considered in the final discussion.

Nucleant layer effect on nanocolumnar ZnO films grown by electrodeposition

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Different ZnO nanostructured films were electrochemically grown, using an aqueous solution based on ZnCl2, on three types of transparent conductive oxides grow on commercial ITO (In2O3:Sn)-covered glass substrates: (1) ZnO prepared by spin coating, (2) ZnO prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering, and (3) commercial ITO-covered glass substrates. Although thin, these primary oxide layers play an important role on the properties of the nanostructured films grown on top of them. Additionally, these primary oxide layers prevent direct hole combination when used in optoelectronic devices. Structural and optical characterizations were carried out by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and optical transmission spectroscopy. We show that the properties of the ZnO nanostructured films depend strongly on the type of primary oxide-covered substrate used. Previous studies on different electrodeposition methods for nucleation and growth are considered in the final discussion. PMID:23522332

Role of indium tin oxide electrode on the microstructure of self-assembled WO3-BiVO4 hetero nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Haili; Li, Chao; Van, Chien Nguyen; Dong, Wenxia; Qi, Ruijuan; Zhang, Yuanyuan; Huang, Rong; Chu, Ying-Hao; Duan, Chun-Gang

2017-11-01

Self-assembled WO3-BiVO4 nanostructured thin films were grown on a (001) yttrium stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrate by the pulsed laser deposition method with and without the indium tin oxide (ITO) bottom electrode. Their microstructures including surface morphologies, crystalline phases, epitaxial relationships, interface structures, and composition distributions were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. In both samples, WO3 formed nanopillars embedded into the monoclinic BiVO4 matrix with specific orientation relationships. In the sample with the ITO bottom electrode, an atomically sharp BiVO4/ITO interface was formed and the orthorhombic WO3 nanopillars were grown on a relaxed BiVO4 buffer layer with a mixed orthorhombic and hexagonal WO3 transition layer. In contrast, a thin amorphous layer appears at the interfaces between the thin film and the YSZ substrate in the sample without the ITO electrode. In addition, orthorhombic Bi2WO6 lamellar nanopillars were formed between WO3 and BiVO4 due to interdiffusion. Such a WO3-Bi2WO6-BiVO4 double heterojunction photoanode may promote the photo-generated charge separation and further improve the photoelectrochemical water splitting properties.

Elucidating doping driven microstructure evolution and optical properties of lead sulfide thin films grown from a chemical bath

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohanty, Bhaskar Chandra; Bector, Keerti; Laha, Ranjit

2018-03-01

Doping driven remarkable microstructural evolution of PbS thin films grown by a single-step chemical bath deposition process at 60 °C is reported. The undoped films were discontinuous with octahedral-shaped crystallites after 30 min of deposition, whereas Cu doping led to a distinctly different surface microstructure characterized by densely packed elongated crystallites. A mechanism, based on the time sequence study of microstructural evolution of the films, and detailed XRD and Raman measurements, has been proposed to explain the contrasting microstructure of the doped films. The incorporation of Cu forms an interface layer, which is devoid of Pb. The excess Cu ions in this interface layer at the initial stages of film growth strongly interact and selectively stabilize the charged {111} faces containing either Pb or S compared to the uncharged {100} faces that contain both Pb and S. This interaction interferes with the natural growth habit resulting in the observed surface features of the doped films. Concurrently, the Cu-doping potentially changed the optical properties of the films: A significant widening of the bandgap from 1.52 eV to 1.74 eV for increase in Cu concentration from 0 to 20% was observed, making it a highly potential absorber layer in thin film solar cells.

Growth and characterization of thin Cu-phthalocyanine films on MgO(001) layer for organic light-emitting diodes

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Surface morphology and thermal stability of Cu-phthalocyanine (CuPc) films grown on an epitaxially grown MgO(001) layer were investigated by using atomic force microscope and X-ray diffractometer. The (002) textured β phase of CuPc films were prepared at room temperature beyond the epitaxial MgO/Fe/MgO(001) buffer layer by the vacuum deposition technique. The CuPc structure remained stable even after post-annealing at 350°C for 1 h under vacuum, which is an important advantage of device fabrication. In order to improve the device performance, we investigated also current-voltage-luminescence characteristics for the new top-emitting organic light-emitting diodes with different thicknesses of CuPc layer. PMID:23181826

Growth and characterization of thin Cu-phthalocyanine films on MgO(001) layer for organic light-emitting diodes.

PubMed

Bae, Yu Jeong; Lee, Nyun Jong; Kim, Tae Hee; Cho, Hyunduck; Lee, Changhee; Fleet, Luke; Hirohata, Atsufumi

2012-11-26

Surface morphology and thermal stability of Cu-phthalocyanine (CuPc) films grown on an epitaxially grown MgO(001) layer were investigated by using atomic force microscope and X-ray diffractometer. The (002) textured β phase of CuPc films were prepared at room temperature beyond the epitaxial MgO/Fe/MgO(001) buffer layer by the vacuum deposition technique. The CuPc structure remained stable even after post-annealing at 350°C for 1 h under vacuum, which is an important advantage of device fabrication. In order to improve the device performance, we investigated also current-voltage-luminescence characteristics for the new top-emitting organic light-emitting diodes with different thicknesses of CuPc layer.

Quality improvements of ZnxCdyMg1-x-ySe layers grown on InP substrates by a thin ZnCdSe interfacial layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, L.; Yang, B. X.; Tamargo, M. C.; Snoeks, E.; Zhao, L.

1998-03-01

The quality of lattice-matched ZnxCdyMg1-x-ySe epitaxial layers grown on (001) InP substrates with a III-V buffer layer has been improved by initially growing a ZnCdSe interfacial layer (50 Å) at low temperature. The widths of double crystal x-ray rocking curves for ZnxCdyMg1-x-ySe epilayers with band gaps as high as 3.05 eV were reduced to about 70 arcsec. The defect density evaluated from etch pit density and plan-view transmission electron microscopy measurements was reduced by two orders of magnitude, to 106-107cm-2. The photoluminescence band edge emission became more symmetric and slightly narrower. It is proposed that an initial two-dimensional growth mode has been achieved by incorporating such a lattice-matched ZnCdSe layer.

The low coherence Fabry-Pérot interferometer with diamond and ZnO layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majchrowicz, D.; Den, W.; Hirsch, M.

2016-09-01

The authors present a fiber-optic Fabry-Pérot interferometer built with the application of diamond and zinc oxide (ZnO) thin layers. Thin ZnO films were deposited on the tip of a standard telecommunication single-mode optical fiber (SMF- 28) while the diamond layer was grown on the plate of silicon substrate. Investigated ZnO layers were fabricated by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and the diamond films were deposited using Microwave Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (μPE CVD) system. Different thickness of layers was examined. The measurements were performed for the fiber-optic Fabry-Pérot interferometer working in the reflective mode. Spectra were registered for various thicknesses of ZnO layer and various length of the air cavity. As a light source, two superluminescent diodes (SLD) with central wavelength of 1300 nm and 1550 nm were used in measurement set-up.

Fluoride Thin Films: from Exchange Bias to Multferroicity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Trent A.

This dissertation concerns research into the growth and characterization fluoride thin films by molecular beam epitaxy. After a discussion of relevant background material and experimental procedures in the first two chapters, we study exchange bias in magnetic multilayers incorporating the uniaxial antiferromagnet FeF2, grown to varying thicknesses, sandwiched between ferromagnetic Co layers with fixed thicknesses of 5 and 20 nm. Several bilayers with only the 20 nm thick Co layer were grown for comparative study. The samples were grown on Al2O3 (112¯0) substrates at room temperature. In-situ RHEED and x-ray diffraction indicated the films were polycrystalline. The films were determined to have low surface and interlayer roughness, as determined by AFM and x-ray reflectivity. After field-cooling to below the Neel temperature of FeF2 in a magnetic field of 1 kOe, magnetic hysteresis loops were measured as a function of temperature. We found that both layers had a negative exchange bias, with the exchange bias of the thinner layer larger than that of the thicker layer. In addition, the coercivity below the blocking temperature TB of the thinner layer was significantly larger than that of the thick layer, even though the coercivity of the two layers was the same for T > TB. The exchange bias effect, manifested by a shift in these hysteresis loops, showed a strong dependence on the thickness of the antiferromagnet. Anisotropic magnetoresistance measurements provided additional insight into the magnetization reversal mechanism within the ferromagnets. The thickness dependent exchange anisotropy of trilayer and bilayer samples is explained by adapting a random field model to the antiferromagnet/ferromagnet interface. Finally, We investigate the temperature dependent growth, as well as the magnetic and ferroelectric properties of thin films of the multiferroic compounds BaMF4, where M = Fe, Co, Ni. The films were grown to thicknesses of 50 or 100 nm on single crystal Al2O3 (0001) substrates. X-ray diffraction showed that this family of films grew epitaxially in the (010) orientation, but were twinned in the plane, with three domain orientations rotated by 120 degrees relative to one another. Measurements of the remanent hysteresis via interdigitated electrodes showed that the compounds M = Co, and Ni were ferroelectric, but no switching behavior was observed in the Fe system at electric fields up to 400 kV/cm. Measurements of the field-cooled and zero-field-cooled magnetic moment confirmed low temperature antiferromagnetic behavior, and found new weak ferromagnetic phases induced by strain.

Magnetic tunnel junctions with monolayer hexagonal boron nitride tunnel barriers

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

Piquemal-Banci, M.; Galceran, R.; Bouzehouane, K.

We report on the integration of atomically thin 2D insulating hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) tunnel barriers into Co/h-BN/Fe magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). The h-BN monolayer is directly grown by chemical vapor deposition on Fe. The Conductive Tip Atomic Force Microscopy (CT-AFM) measurements reveal the homogeneity of the tunnel behavior of our h-BN layers. As expected for tunneling, the resistance depends exponentially on the number of h-BN layers. The h-BN monolayer properties are also characterized through integration into complete MTJ devices. A Tunnel Magnetoresistance of up to 6% is observed for a MTJ based on a single atomically thin h-BN layer.

Effect of SiC buffer layer on GaN growth on Si via PA-MBE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kukushkin, S. A.; Mizerov, A. M.; Osipov, A. V.; Redkov, A. V.; Telyatnik, R. S.; Timoshnev, S. N.

2017-11-01

The study is devoted to comparison of GaN thin films grown on SiC/Si substrates made by the method of atoms substitution with the films grown directly on Si substrates. The growth was performed in a single process via plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The samples were studied via optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, ellipsometry, and a comparison of their characteristics was made. Using chemical etching in KOH, the polarity of GaN films grown on SiC/Si and Si substrates was determined.

Structural, magnetic and electronic properties of pulsed-laser-deposition grown SrFeO3-δ thin films and SrFeO3-δ /La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perret, E.; Sen, K.; Khmaladze, J.; Mallett, B. P. P.; Yazdi-Rizi, M.; Marsik, P.; Das, S.; Marozau, I.; Uribe-Laverde, M. A.; de Andrés Prada, R.; Strempfer, J.; Döbeli, M.; Biškup, N.; Varela, M.; Mathis, Y.-L.; Bernhard, C.

2017-12-01

We studied the structural, magnetic and electronic properties of SrFeO3-δ (SFO) thin films and SrFeO3-δ /La2/3 Ca1/3 MnO3 (LCMO) superlattices that have been grown with pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on La0.3 Sr0.7 Al0.65 Ta0.35 O3 (LSAT) substrates. X-ray reflectometry and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) confirm the high structural quality of the films and flat and atomically sharp interfaces of the superlattices. The STEM data also reveal a difference in the interfacial layer stacking with a SrO layer at the LCMO/SFO and a LaO layer at the SFO/LCMO interfaces along the PLD growth direction. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) data suggest that the as grown SFO films and SFO/LCMO superlattices have an oxygen-deficient SrFeO3-δ structure with I4/ mmm space group symmetry (δ≤slant 0.2 ). Subsequent ozone annealed SFO films are consistent with an almost oxygen stoichiometric structure (δ ≈ 0 ). The electronic and magnetic properties of these SFO films are similar to the ones of corresponding single crystals. In particular, the as grown SrFeO3-δ films are insulating whereas the ozone annealed films are metallic. The magneto-resistance effects of the as grown SFO films have a similar magnitude as in the single crystals, but extend over a much wider temperature range. Last but not least, for the SFO/LCMO superlattices we observe a rather large exchange bias effect that varies as a function of the cooling field.

Space-charge behavior of 'Thin-MOS' diodes with MBE-grown silicon films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lieneweg, U.; Bean, J. C.

1984-01-01

Basic theoretical and experimental characteristics of a novel 'Thin-MOS' technology, which has promising aspects for integrated high-frequency devices up to several hundred gigahertz are presented. The operation of such devices depends on charge injection into undoped silicon layers of about 1000-A thickness, grown by molecular beam epitaxy on heavily doped substrates, and isolation by thermally grown oxides of about 100-A thickness. Capacitance-voltage characteristics measured at high and low frequencies agree well with theoretical ones derived from uni and ambipolar space-charge models. It is concluded that after oxidation the residual doping in the epilayer is less than approximately 10 to the 16th/cu cm and rises by 3 orders of magnitude at the substrate interface within less than 100 A and that interface states at the oxide interface can be kept low.

Optical properties of epitaxial BiFeO3 thin film grown on SrRuO3-buffered SrTiO3 substrate.

PubMed

Xu, Ji-Ping; Zhang, Rong-Jun; Chen, Zhi-Hui; Wang, Zi-Yi; Zhang, Fan; Yu, Xiang; Jiang, An-Quan; Zheng, Yu-Xiang; Wang, Song-You; Chen, Liang-Yao

2014-01-01

The BiFeO3 (BFO) thin film was deposited by pulsed-laser deposition on SrRuO3 (SRO)-buffered (111) SrTiO3 (STO) substrate. X-ray diffraction pattern reveals a well-grown epitaxial BFO thin film. Atomic force microscopy study indicates that the BFO film is rather dense with a smooth surface. The ellipsometric spectra of the STO substrate, the SRO buffer layer, and the BFO thin film were measured, respectively, in the photon energy range 1.55 to 5.40 eV. Following the dielectric functions of STO and SRO, the ones of BFO described by the Lorentz model are received by fitting the spectra data to a five-medium optical model consisting of a semi-infinite STO substrate/SRO layer/BFO film/surface roughness/air ambient structure. The thickness and the optical constants of the BFO film are obtained. Then a direct bandgap is calculated at 2.68 eV, which is believed to be influenced by near-bandgap transitions. Compared to BFO films on other substrates, the dependence of the bandgap for the BFO thin film on in-plane compressive strain from epitaxial structure is received. Moreover, the bandgap and the transition revealed by the Lorentz model also provide a ground for the assessment of the bandgap for BFO single crystals.

Enhanced spin-valve giant magneto-resistance in non-exchange biased sandwich films

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

Mao, M; Cerjan, C; Law, B

2000-02-17

A large giant magnetoresistance (GMR) value of 7.5% has been measured in simple NiFeCo(1)/Cu/NiFeCo(2) sandwich films grown on a 30 {angstrom} Cr seed layer. This spin-valve GMR effect is consistent with the differential switching of the two NiFeCo layers due to an enhanced coercivity of the NiFeCo(1) layer grown on the Cr seed layer. A change in growth texture of the NiFeCo(1) layer from fcc (111) to bcc (110) crystallographic orientation leads to an increase in magnetic anisotropy and an enhancement in coercivity. The GMR value increases to 8.7% when a thin CoFe interfacial enhancing layer is incorporated. Further enhancementmore » in GMR values up to 14% is seen in the sandwich films by nano-oxide layer formation. The specular reflection at oxide/magnetic layer interface further extends the mean free path of spin-polarized electrons.« less

Epitaxial growth of metallic buffer layer structure and c-axis oriented Pb(Mn1/3,Nb2/3)O3-Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin film on Si for high performance piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thao, Pham Ngoc; Yoshida, Shinya; Tanaka, Shuji

2017-12-01

This paper reports on the development of a metallic buffer layer structure, (100) SrRuO3 (SRO)/(100) Pt/(100) Ir/(100) yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) layers for the epitaxial growth of a c-axis oriented Pb(Mn1/3,Nb2/3)O3-Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PMnN-PZT) thin film on a (100) Si wafer for piezoelectric micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) application. The stacking layers were epitaxially grown on a Si substrate under the optimal deposition condition. A crack-free PMnN-PZT epitaxial thin films was obtained at a thickness up to at least 1.7 µm, which is enough for MEMS applications. The unimorph MEMS cantilevers based on the PMnN-PZT thin film were fabricated and characterized. As a result, the PMnN-PZT thin film exhibited -10 to -12 C/m2 as a piezoelectric coefficient e 31,f and ˜250 as a dielectric constants ɛr. The resultant FOM for piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (pMUT) is higher than those of general PZT and AlN thin films. This structure has a potential to provide high-performance pMUTs.

Process for growing a film epitaxially upon a MGO surface and structures formed with the process

DOEpatents

McKee, Rodney Allen; Walker, Frederick Joseph

1998-01-01

A process and structure wherein optical quality perovskites, such as BaTiO.sub.3 or SrTiO.sub.3, are grown upon a single crystal MgO substrate involves the epitaxial build up of alternating planes of TiO.sub.2 and metal oxide wherein the first plane grown upon the MgO substrate is a plane of TiO.sub.2. The layering sequence involved in the film build up reduces problems which would otherwise result from the interfacial electrostatics at the first atomic layers, and these oxides can be stabilized as commensurate thin films at a unit cell thickness or grown with high crystal quality to thicknesses of 0.5-0.7 .mu.m for optical device applications.

Electrical properties of thin film transistors with zinc tin oxide channel layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Seunghwan; Oh, Gyujin; Kim, Eun Kyu

2017-10-01

We have investigated thin film transistors (TFTs) with zinc tin oxide (ZTO) channel layer fabricated by using an ultra-high vacuum radio frequency sputter. ZTO thin films were grown at room temperature by co-sputtering of ZnO and SnO2, which applied power for SnO2 target was varied from 15 W to 90 W under a fixed sputtering power of 70 W for ZnO target. A post-annealing treatment to improve the film quality was done at temperature ranges from 300 to 600 °C by using the electrical furnace. The ZTO thin films showed good electrical and optical properties such as Hall mobility of more than 9 cm2/V·s, specific resistivity of about 2 × 102 Ω·cm, and optical transmittance of 85% in visible light region by optical bandgap of 3.3 eV. The ZTO-TFT with an excellent performance of channel mobility of 19.1 cm2/V·s and on-off ratio ( I on / I off ) of 104 was obtained from the films grown with SnO2 target power of 25 W and post-annealed at 450 °C. This result showed that ZTO film is promising on application to a high performance transparent TFTs.

QCM gas sensor characterization of ALD-grown very thin TiO2 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boyadjiev, S.; Georgieva, V.; Vergov, L.; Szilágyi, I. M.

2018-03-01

The paper presents a technology for preparation and characterization of titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films suitable for gas sensor applications. Applying atomic layer deposition (ALD), very thin TiO2 films were deposited on quartz resonators, and their gas sensing properties were studied using the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) method. The TiO2 thin films were grown using Ti(iOPr)4 and water as precursors. The surface of the films was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) used for a composition study. The research was focused on the gas-sensing properties of the films. Films of 10-nm thickness were deposited on quartz resonators with Au electrodes and the QCMs were used to build highly sensitive gas sensors, which were tested for detecting NO2. Although very thin, these ALD-grown TiO2 films were sensitive to NO2 already at room temperature and could register as low concentrations as 50 ppm, while the sorption was fully reversible, and the sensors could be fully recovered. With the technology presented, the manufacturing of gas sensors is simple, fast and cost-effective, and suitable for energy-effective portable equipment for real-time environmental monitoring of NO2.

Studies of molecular-beam epitaxy growth of GaAs on porous Si substrates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mii, Y. J.; Kao, Y. C.; Wu, B. J.; Wang, K. L.; Lin, T. L.; Liu, J. K.

1988-01-01

GaAs has been grown on porous Si directly and on Si buffer layer-porous Si substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy. In the case of GaAs growth on porous Si, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals that the dominant defects in GaAs layers grown on porous Si are microtwins and stacking faults, which originate from the GaAs/porous Si interface. GaAs is found to penetrate into the porous Si layers. By using a thin Si buffer layer (50 nm), GaAs penetration diminishes and the density of microtwins and stacking faults is largely reduced and localized at the GaAs/Si buffer interface. However, there is a high density of threading dislocations remaining. Both Si (100) aligned and four degree tilted substrates have been examined in this study. TEM results show no observable effect of the tilted substrates on the quality of the GaAs epitaxial layer.

Hydrogen plasma treatment of very thin p-type nanocrystalline Si films grown by RF-PECVD in the presence of B(CH3)3

PubMed Central

Filonovich, Sergej Alexandrovich; Águas, Hugo; Busani, Tito; Vicente, António; Araújo, Andreia; Gaspar, Diana; Vilarigues, Marcia; Leitão, Joaquim; Fortunato, Elvira; Martins, Rodrigo

2012-01-01

We have characterized the structure and electrical properties of p-type nanocrystalline silicon films prepared by radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and explored optimization methods of such layers for potential applications in thin-film solar cells. Particular attention was paid to the characterization of very thin (∼20 nm) films. The cross-sectional morphology of the layers was studied by fitting the ellipsometry spectra using a multilayer model. The results suggest that the crystallization process in a high-pressure growth regime is mostly realized through a subsurface mechanism in the absence of the incubation layer at the substrate-film interface. Hydrogen plasma treatment of a 22-nm-thick film improved its electrical properties (conductivity increased more than ten times) owing to hydrogen insertion and Si structure rearrangements throughout the entire thickness of the film. PMID:27877504

Metallic atomically-thin layered silicon epitaxially grown on silicene/ZrB 2

DOE PAGES

Gill, Tobias G.; Fleurence, Antoine; Warner, Ben; ...

2017-02-17

We observe a new two-dimensional (2D) silicon crystal, using low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and it's formed by depositing additional Si atoms onto spontaneously-formed epitaxial silicene on a ZrB 2 thin film. From scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (STS) studies, we find that this atomically-thin layered silicon has distinctly different electronic properties. Angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) reveals that, in sharp contrast to epitaxial silicene, the layered silicon exhibits significantly enhanced density of states at the Fermi level resulting from newly formed metallic bands. Furthermore, the 2D growth of this material could allow for direct contacting tomore » the silicene surface and demonstrates the dramatic changes in electronic structure that can occur by the addition of even a single monolayer amount of material in 2D systems.« less

Drastic reduction of adsorption of CO and H2 on (111)-type Pd layers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poppa, H.; Soria, F.

1983-01-01

Clean surfaces of (111)-type Pd layers, grown from the vapor phase on Mo(110) at room temperature, were used to study the adsorption of CO and H2 by temperature-programmed desorption, Auger electron spectroscopy, and low-energy electron diffraction. Mild annealing of the as-grown layers during a single desorption cycle (to about 600 K) drastically reduces the adsorption for both adsorbates. Low-dose argon-ion bombardment introduces surface imperfections which restore a high adsorption probability. The results are interpreted in terms of particular (111)-type surface structures that persist tp layer thicknesses of about four monolayers; the results raise questions with respect to the surface structure of supported thin epitaxial islands and particles of Pd and possibly also with respect to conventional methods of preparing bulk surfaces of Pd for adsorption studies.

Mg2Sn heterostructures on Si(111) substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dózsa, L.; Galkin, N. G.; Pécz, B.; Osváth, Z.; Zolnai, Zs.; Németh, A.; Galkin, K. N.; Chernev, I. M.; Dotsenko, S. A.

2017-05-01

Thin un-doped and Al doped polycrystalline Mg-stannide films consisting mainly of Mg2Sn semiconductor phase have been grown by deposition of Sn-Mg multilayers on Si(111) p-type wafers at room temperature and annealing at 150 °C. Rutherford backscattering measurement spectroscopy (RBS) were used to determine the amount of Mg and Sn in the structures. Raman spectroscopy has shown the layers contain Mg2Sn phase. Cross sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) measurements have identified Mg2Sn nanocrystallites in hexagonal and cubic phases without epitaxial orientation with respect to the Si(111) substrate. Significant oxygen concentration was found in the layer both by RBS and TEM. The electrical measurements have shown laterally homogeneous conductivity in the grown layer. The undoped Mg2Sn layers show increasing resistivity with increasing temperature indicating the scattering process dominates the resistance of the layers, i.e. large concentration of point defects was generated in the layer during the growth process. The Al doped layer shows increase of the resistance at low temperature caused by freeze out of free carriers in the Al doped Mg2Sn layer. The measurements indicate the necessity of protective layer grown over the Mg2Sn layers, and a short time delay between sample preparation and cross sectionalTEM analysis, since the unprotected layer is degraded by the interaction with the ambient.

Impact of molybdenum out diffusion and interface quality on the performance of sputter grown CZTS based solar cells.

PubMed

Dalapati, Goutam Kumar; Zhuk, Siarhei; Masudy-Panah, Saeid; Kushwaha, Ajay; Seng, Hwee Leng; Chellappan, Vijila; Suresh, Vignesh; Su, Zhenghua; Batabyal, Sudip Kumar; Tan, Cheng Cheh; Guchhait, Asim; Wong, Lydia Helena; Wong, Terence Kin Shun; Tripathy, Sudhiranjan

2017-05-02

We have investigated the impact of Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 -Molybdenum (Mo) interface quality on the performance of sputter-grown Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) solar cell. Thin film CZTS was deposited by sputter deposition technique using stoichiometry quaternary CZTS target. Formation of molybdenum sulphide (MoS x ) interfacial layer is observed in sputter grown CZTS films after sulphurization. Thickness of MoS x layer is found ~142 nm when CZTS layer (550 nm thick) is sulphurized at 600 °C. Thickness of MoS x layer significantly increased to ~240 nm in case of thicker CZTS layer (650 nm) under similar sulphurization condition. We also observe that high temperature (600 °C) annealing suppress the elemental impurities (Cu, Zn, Sn) at interfacial layer. The amount of out-diffused Mo significantly varies with the change in sulphurization temperature. The out-diffused Mo into CZTS layer and reconstructed interfacial layer remarkably decreases series resistance and increases shunt resistance of the solar cell. The overall efficiency of the solar cell is improved by nearly five times when 600 °C sulphurized CZTS layer is applied in place of 500 °C sulphurized layer. Molybdenum and sulphur diffusion reconstruct the interface layer during heat treatment and play the major role in charge carrier dynamics of a photovoltaic device.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2014-01-01

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

Homoepitaxial growth of β-Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films by low pressure chemical vapor deposition

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

Rafique, Subrina; Han, Lu; Zhao, Hongping, E-mail: hongping.zhao@case.edu

2016-05-02

This paper presents the homoepitaxial growth of phase pure (010) β-Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films on (010) β-Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} substrate by low pressure chemical vapor deposition. The effects of growth temperature on the surface morphology and crystal quality of the thin films were systematically investigated. The thin films were synthesized using high purity metallic gallium (Ga) and oxygen (O{sub 2}) as precursors for gallium and oxygen, respectively. The surface morphology and structural properties of the thin films were characterized by atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Material characterization indicates the growth temperature played anmore » important role in controlling both surface morphology and crystal quality of the β-Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films. The smallest root-mean-square surface roughness of ∼7 nm was for thin films grown at a temperature of 950 °C, whereas the highest growth rate (∼1.3 μm/h) with a fixed oxygen flow rate was obtained for the epitaxial layers grown at 850 °C.« less

The role of defects in the electrical properties of NbO2thin film vertical devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joshi, Toyanath; Borisov, Pavel; Lederman, David

Epitaxial NbO2 thin films were grown on Si:GaN layers deposited on Al2O3 substrates using pulsed laser deposition. Pulsed current-voltage (IV) curves and self-sustained current oscillations were measured across a 31 nm NbO2 film and compared with a similar device made from polycrystalline NbO2 film grown on TiN-coated SiO2/Si substrate. Crystal quality of the as grown films was determined from x-ray diffractometric, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy data. The epitaxial film device was found to be more stable than the defect-rich polycrystalline sample in terms of current switching and oscillation behaviors. This work was supported in part by FAME, one of six centers of STARnet, a Semiconductor Research Corporation program sponsored by MARCO and DARPA (Contract 2013-MA-2382), and the WVU Shared Research Facilities.

Thin transparent W-doped indium-zinc oxide (WIZO) layer on glass.

PubMed

Lee, Young-Jun; Lim, Byung-Wook; Kim, Joo-Hyung; Kim, Tae-Won; Oh, Byeong-Yun; Heo, Gi-Seok; Kim, Kwang-Young

2012-07-01

Annealing effect on structural and electrical properties of W-doped IZO (WIZO) films for thin film transistors (TFT) was studied under different process conditions. Thin WIZO films were deposited on glass substrates by RF magnetron co-sputtering technique using indium zinc oxide (10 wt.% ZnO-doped In2O3) and WO3 targets in room temperature. The post annealing temperature was executed from 200 degrees C to 500 degrees C under various O2/Ar ratios. We could not find any big difference from the surface observation of as grown films while it was found that the carrier density and sheet resistance of WIZO films were controlled by O2/Ar ratio and post annealing temperature. Furthermore, the crystallinity of WIZO film was changed as annealing temperature increased, resulting in amorphous structure at the annealing temperature of 200 degrees C, while clear In2O3 peak was observed for the annealed over 300 degrees C. The transmittance of as-grown films over 89% in visible range was obtained. As an active channel layer for TFT, it was found that the variation of resistivity, carrier density and mobility concentration of WIZO film decreased by annealing process.

Direct growth of nanocrystalline hexagonal boron nitride films on dielectric substrates

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

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

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

Thermoelectric properties of Bi 2Sr 2Co 2O y thin films and single crystals

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

Diao, Zhenyu; Lee, Ho Nyung; Chisholm, Matthew F.

Bi 2Sr 2Co 2O 9 exhibits a misfit-layered structure with good thermoelectric properties. We have investigated the thermoelectric properties of Bi 2Sr 2Co 2O y in both thin-film and single-crystal forms. Among thin films grown at different temperatures, we find that both the in-plane thermoelectric power (Sab) and electrical resistivity (ρab) vary in an opposite trend, i.e., Sab is high when ρab is small. This results in large power factor (S ab 2/ρab~5.5 μW/K 2 cm for the film grown at 700 °C), comparable to that for whiskers. For single crystals, the electrical resistivity shows metallic behavior in a largemore » temperature range, but has higher magnitude than that of films grown at 675 °C and 700 °C. The annealing of single crystals under Ar atmosphere leads to even higher resistivity while S ab is improved. Lastly, we discuss the thermoelectric performance of this material considering both oxygen concentration and phase purity.« less

Thermoelectric properties of Bi 2Sr 2Co 2O y thin films and single crystals

DOE PAGES

Diao, Zhenyu; Lee, Ho Nyung; Chisholm, Matthew F.; ...

2017-02-02

Bi 2Sr 2Co 2O 9 exhibits a misfit-layered structure with good thermoelectric properties. We have investigated the thermoelectric properties of Bi 2Sr 2Co 2O y in both thin-film and single-crystal forms. Among thin films grown at different temperatures, we find that both the in-plane thermoelectric power (Sab) and electrical resistivity (ρab) vary in an opposite trend, i.e., Sab is high when ρab is small. This results in large power factor (S ab 2/ρab~5.5 μW/K 2 cm for the film grown at 700 °C), comparable to that for whiskers. For single crystals, the electrical resistivity shows metallic behavior in a largemore » temperature range, but has higher magnitude than that of films grown at 675 °C and 700 °C. The annealing of single crystals under Ar atmosphere leads to even higher resistivity while S ab is improved. Lastly, we discuss the thermoelectric performance of this material considering both oxygen concentration and phase purity.« less

Thermally activated decomposition of (Ga,Mn)As thin layer at medium temperature post growth annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melikhov, Y.; Konstantynov, P.; Domagala, J.; Sadowski, J.; Chernyshova, M.; Wojciechowski, T.; Syryanyy, Y.; Demchenko, I. N.

2016-05-01

The redistribution of Mn atoms in Ga1-xMnxAs layer during medium-temperature annealing, 250-450 oC, by Mn K-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) recorded at ALBA facility, was studied. For this purpose Ga1-xMnxAs thin layer with x=0.01 was grown on AlAs buffer layer deposited on GaAs(100) substrate by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) followed by annealing. The examined layer was detached from the substrate using a “lift-off” procedure in order to eliminate elastic scattering in XAFS spectra. Fourier transform analysis of experimentally obtained EXAFS spectra allowed to propose a model which describes a redistribution/diffusion of Mn atoms in the host matrix. Theoretical XANES spectra, simulated using multiple scattering formalism (FEFF code) with the support of density functional theory (WIEN2k code), qualitatively describe the features observed in the experimental fine structure.

Structural enhancement of ZnO on SiO2 for photonic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruth, Marcel; Meier, Cedrik

2013-07-01

Multi-layer thin films are often the basis of photonic devices. Zinc oxide (ZnO) with its excellent optoelectronic properties can serve as a high quality emitter in structures like microdisks or photonic crystals. Here, we present a detailed study on the enhancement of the structural properties of low-temperature MBE grown ZnO on silica (SiO2). By thermal annealing a grain coalescence of the initially polycrystalline layer leads to an enhancement of the electronic structure, indicated by a blue shift of the photoluminescence (PL) signal maximum. Oxygen atmosphere during the annealing process prevents the creation of intrinsic defects by out-diffusion. Pre-annealing deposited SiO2 capping layers instead obstruct the recrystallization and lead to less intense emission. While thin capping layers partially detach from the ZnO film at high temperatures and cause higher surface roughness and the weakest emission, thicker layers remain smoother and exhibit a significantly stronger photoluminescence.

Performance Enhancement of a GaAs Detector with a Vertical Field and an Embedded Thin Low-Temperature Grown Layer

PubMed Central

Currie, Marc; Dianat, Pouya; Persano, Anna; Martucci, Maria Concetta; Quaranta, Fabio; Cola, Adriano; Nabet, Bahram

2013-01-01

Low temperature growth of GaAs (LT-GaAs) near 200 °C results in a recombination lifetime of nearly 1 ps, compared with approximately 1 ns for regular temperature ∼600 °C grown GaAs (RT-GaAs), making it suitable for ultra high speed detection applications. However, LT-GaAs detectors usually suffer from low responsivity due to low carrier mobility. Here we report electro-optic sampling time response measurements of a detector that employs an AlGaAs heterojunction, a thin layer of LT-GaAs, a channel of RT-GaAs, and a vertical electric field that together facilitate collection of optically generated electrons while suppressing collection of lower mobility holes. Consequently, these devices have detection efficiency near that of RT-GaAs yet provide pulse widths nearly an order of magnitude faster—∼6 ps for a cathode-anode separation of 1.3 μm and ∼12 ps for distances more than 3 μm. PMID:23429510

Tunneling Spectroscopy of MoN and NbxTi1-xN Thin Films Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Chaoyue; Groll, Nickolas; Klug, Jeffrey; Becker, Nicholas; Altin, Serdar; Proslier, Thomas; Zasadzinski, John

2014-03-01

Tunneling I(V) and dI/dV vs. V are reported on superconducting thin films of MoN and NbxTi1-xN using a point contact method with a Au tip. The films are grown by the chemical process of atomic layer deposition (ALD) onto various substrates (Si, quartz, sapphire) held at 450 C. Resistively measured superconducting Tc values up to 12K and 13K are found for the MoN and NbxTi1-xN respectively. Artificial tunnel barriers (1-3 nm thick) of Al2O3, also grown by ALD, are shown to provide much improved tunneling characteristics compared to the native oxides. Relatively high quality gap features are observed with zero-bias conductance values as low as ~ 10% of the high bias values. Gap parameters Δ ~ 2.0meV are found for the MoN and Δ ~ 2.0-2.4 meV for the NbxTi1-xN which follow the BCS temperature dependence and close near the measured film Tc indicating bulk superconductivity at the surface. The suitability of such conformal ALD grown films for potential superconducting devices is discussed. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science under contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.

Atomic layer deposition of indium oxide thin film from a liquid indium complex containing 1-dimethylamino-2-methyl-2-propoxy ligands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Jeong Hwan; Jung, Eun Ae; Kim, Hyo Yeon; Kim, Da Hye; Park, Bo Keun; Park, Jin-Seong; Son, Seung Uk; Chung, Taek-Mo

2016-10-01

In2O3 thin films were grown from a newly developed, liquid, homoleptic, In-based complex, tris(1-dimethylamino-2-methyl-2-propoxy)indium [In(dmamp)3], and O3 by atomic layer deposition (ALD) at growth temperatures of 150-200 °C. In(dmamp)3 exhibited single-step evaporation with negligible residue and excellent thermal stability between 30 and 250 °C. The self-limiting surface reaction of In2O3 during ALD was demonstrated by varying the In(dmamp)3 and O3 pulse lengths, with a growth rate of 0.027 nm/cycle achieved at 200 °C. The In2O3 films grown at temperatures over 175 °C exhibited negligible concentrations of impurities, whereas that grown below 175 °C had concentrations of residual C of 6-8 at.%. Glancing angle X-ray diffraction revealed that the In2O3 films were polycrystalline in nature when the deposition temperature was greater than 200 °C. The In2O3 films grown at 150-200 °C exhibited carrier concentrations of 1.5 × 1018-6.6 × 1019 cm-3, resistivities of 15.1-2 × 10-3 Ω cm, and Hall mobilities of 0.8-42 cm2/(V s).

Well-aligned Vertically Oriented ZnO Nanorod Arrays and their Application in Inverted Small Molecule Solar Cells.

PubMed

Lin, Ming-Yi; Wu, Shang-Hsuan; Hsiao, Li-Jen; Budiawan, Widhya; Chen, Shih-Lun; Tu, Wei-Chen; Lee, Chia-Yen; Chang, Yia-Chung; Chu, Chih-Wei

2018-04-25

This manuscript describes how to design and fabricate efficient inverted solar cells, which are based on a two-dimensional conjugated small molecule (SMPV1) and [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM), by utilizing ZnO nanorods (NRs) grown on a high quality Al-doped ZnO (AZO) seed layer. The inverted SMPV1:PC71BM solar cells with ZnO NRs that grew on both a sputtered and sol-gel processed AZO seed layer are fabricated. Compared with the AZO thin film prepared by the sol-gel method, the sputtered AZO thin film exhibits better crystallization and lower surface roughness, according to X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM) measurements. The orientation of the ZnO NRs grown on a sputtered AZO seed layer shows better vertical alignment, which is beneficial for the deposition of the subsequent active layer, forming better surface morphologies. Generally, the surface morphology of the active layer mainly dominates the fill factor (FF) of the devices. Consequently, the well-aligned ZnO NRs can be used to improve the carrier collection of the active layer and to increase the FF of the solar cells. Moreover, as an anti-reflection structure, it can also be utilized to enhance the light harvesting of the absorption layer, with the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of solar cells reaching 6.01%, higher than the sol-gel based solar cells with an efficiency of 4.74%.

Seedless-grown of ZnO thin films for photoelectrochemical water splitting application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdullah, Aidahani; Hamid, Muhammad Azmi Abdul; Chiu, W. S.

2018-04-01

We developed a seedless hydrothermal method to grow a flower like ZnO nanorods. Prior to the growth, a layer of Au thin film is sputtered onto the surface of indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrate. The morphological, structural and optical properties of the ZnO nanostructures were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and diffuse reflection measurement to understand the growth process of the working thin film. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) results suggest that the deposition of ZnO nanorods on Au nanoparticles plays an important role in enhancing the photoelectrode activity. H2 evolution from photo-splitting of water over Au-incorporated ZnO in the 0.1M NaOH liquid system was enhanced, compared to that over bare ZnO; particularly, the production of 15.5 µL of H2 gas after twenty five minutes exposure of ZnO grown on Au-coated thin film.

Synthesis and Characterization of 2-D Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pazos, S.; Sahoo, P.; Afaneh, T.; Rodriguez Gutierrez, H.

Atomically thin transition-metal dichacogenides (TMD), graphene, and boron nitride (BN) are two-dimensional materials where the charge carriers (electrons and holes) are confined to move in a plane. They exhibit distinctive optoelectronic properties compared to their bulk layered counterparts. When combined into heterostructures, these materials open more possibilities in terms of new properties and device functionality. In this work, WSe2 and graphene were grown using Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) techniques. The quality and morphology of each material was checked using Raman, Photoluminescence Spectroscopy, and Scanning Electron Microscopy. Graphene had been successfully grown homogenously, characterized, and transferred from copper to silicon dioxide substrates; these films will be used in future studies to build 2-D devices. Different morphologies of WSe2 2-D islands were successfully grown on SiO2 substrates. Depending on the synthesis conditions, the material on each sample had single layer, double layer, and multi-layer areas. A variety of 2-D morphologies were also observed in the 2-D islands. This project is supported by the NSF REU Grant #1560090 and NSF Grant #DMR-1557434.

Sulfurization effect on optical properties of Cu2SNS3 thin films grown by two-stage process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reddy, G. Phaneendra; Reddy, K. T. Ramakrishna

2017-05-01

A good phase controlled and impurity free two stage process was used to prepare Cu2SnS3 layers on glass substrates. The layers were prepared by sulfurization of sputtered Cu-Sn metallic precursors by varying the sulfurization temperature (Ts) in the range, 150-450°C, keeping the other deposition parameters constant. A complete investigation of the optical properties of the layers with sulfurization temperature was made by using the optical transmittance and reflectance measurements versus wavelength. The absorption coefficient α, was evaluated using the optical data that showed a α > 104 cm-1 for all the as-grown films. The optical bandgap of the as grown layers was determined from the second derivative diffused reflectance spectra that varied from 1.96 eV to 0.99 eV. Consequently, refractive index and extinction coefficient were calculated from Pankov's relations. In addition, the other optical parameters such as the dielectric constants, dissipation factor and also optical conductivity calculated. A detailed analysis of the dependence of all the above parameters on Ts is reported and discussed.

Robust optical properties of sandwiched lateral composition modulation GaInP structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy

DOE PAGES

Park, Kwangwook; Kang, Seokjin; Ravindran, Sooraj; ...

2016-12-26

Double-hetero structure lateral composition modulated (LCM) GaInP and sandwiched LCM GaInP having the same active layer thickness were grown and their optical properties were compared. Sandwiched LCM GaInP showed robust optical properties due to periodic potential nature of the LCM structure, and the periodicity was undistorted even for thickness far beyond the critical layer thickness. A thick LCM GaInP structure with undistorted potential that could preserve the properties of native LCM structure was possible by stacking thin LCM GaInP structures interspaced with strain compensating GaInP layers. Furthermore, the sandwiched structure could be beneficial in realizing the LCM structure embedded highmore » efficiency solar cells.« less

Organic Light Emitting Diodes with Opal Photonic Crystal Layer and Carbon Nanotube Anode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ovalle Robles, Raquel; Del Rocio Nava, Maria; Williams, Christopher; Zhang, Mei; Fang, Shaoli; Lee, Sergey; Baughman, Ray; Zakhidov, Anvar

2007-03-01

We report electroluminescence intensity and spectral changes in light emission from organic light emitting diode (OLEDs) structures, which have thin transparent films of opal photonic crystal (PC). The anode in such PC-OLED is laminated on opal layer from free standing optically transparent multiwall carbon nanotubes (T-CNT) sheets made by dry spinning from CVD grown forests. Silica and polystyrene opal films were grown on glass substrates by vertical sedimentation in colloids in thermal baths and the particle size of opal spheres ranges from 300 nm to 450 nm. The use of T-CNTs, (coated by PEDOT-PSS to avoid shorting) as hole injector, allows to eliminate the use of vacuum deposition of metals and permits to achieve tunneling hole injection regime from CNT tips into Alq^3 emission layer

Strain and Structure Heterogeneity in MoS2 Atomic Layers Grown by Chemical Vapour Deposition

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-18

substrate and material. To better explain the experimental results and estimate the strain transferred to MoS2 layer under such tensile tests, a 3D... ACS Nano 7, 7126 7131 (2013). 29. He, K., Poole, C., Mak, K. F. & Shan, J. Experimental demonstration of continuous electronic structure tuning via...transition as it is thinned down from multi layer to monolayer, producing a significant enhancement of photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield as a result of the

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.

Atomic layer deposition and properties of ZrO2/Fe2O3 thin films

PubMed Central

Seemen, Helina; Ritslaid, Peeter; Rähn, Mihkel; Tamm, Aile; Kukli, Kaupo; Kasikov, Aarne; Link, Joosep; Stern, Raivo; Dueñas, Salvador; Castán, Helena; García, Héctor

2018-01-01

Thin solid films consisting of ZrO2 and Fe2O3 were grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) at 400 °C. Metastable phases of ZrO2 were stabilized by Fe2O3 doping. The number of alternating ZrO2 and Fe2O3 deposition cycles were varied in order to achieve films with different cation ratios. The influence of annealing on the composition and structure of the thin films was investigated. Additionally, the influence of composition and structure on electrical and magnetic properties was studied. Several samples exhibited a measurable saturation magnetization and most of the samples exhibited a charge polarization. Both phenomena were observed in the sample with a Zr/Fe atomic ratio of 2.0. PMID:29441257

Modulation of ultrafast laser-induced magnetization precession in BiFeO3-coated La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Qian; Jin, KuiJuan; Wang, JieSu; Yao, HongBao; Gu, JunXing; Guo, HaiZhong; Xu, XiuLai; Yang, GuoZhen

2017-04-01

The ultrafast laser-excited magnetization dynamics of ferromagnetic (FM) La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO) thin films with BiFeO3 (BFO) coating layers grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy are investigated using the optical pump-probe technique. Uniform magnetization precessions are observed in the films under an applied external magnetic field by measuring the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect. The magnetization precession frequencies of the LSMO thin films with the BFO coating layers are lower than those of uncoated LSMO films, which is attributed to the suppression of the anisotropy field induced by the exchange interaction at the interface between the antiferromagnetic order of BFO and the FM order of LSMO.

Controllable poly-crystalline bilayered and multilayered graphene film growth by reciprocal chemical vapor deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Qinke; Jung, Seong Jun; Jang, Sung Kyu; Lee, Joohyun; Jeon, Insu; Suh, Hwansoo; Kim, Yong Ho; Lee, Young Hee; Lee, Sungjoo; Song, Young Jae

2015-06-01

We report the selective growth of large-area bilayered graphene film and multilayered graphene film on copper. This growth was achieved by introducing a reciprocal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process that took advantage of an intermediate h-BN layer as a sacrificial template for graphene growth. A thin h-BN film, initially grown on the copper substrate using CVD methods, was locally etched away during the subsequent graphene growth under residual H2 and CH4 gas flows. Etching of the h-BN layer formed a channel that permitted the growth of additional graphene adlayers below the existing graphene layer. Bilayered graphene typically covers an entire Cu foil with domain sizes of 10-50 μm, whereas multilayered graphene can be epitaxially grown to form islands a few hundreds of microns in size. This new mechanism, in which graphene growth proceeded simultaneously with h-BN etching, suggests a potential approach to control graphene layers for engineering the band structures of large-area graphene for electronic device applications.We report the selective growth of large-area bilayered graphene film and multilayered graphene film on copper. This growth was achieved by introducing a reciprocal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process that took advantage of an intermediate h-BN layer as a sacrificial template for graphene growth. A thin h-BN film, initially grown on the copper substrate using CVD methods, was locally etched away during the subsequent graphene growth under residual H2 and CH4 gas flows. Etching of the h-BN layer formed a channel that permitted the growth of additional graphene adlayers below the existing graphene layer. Bilayered graphene typically covers an entire Cu foil with domain sizes of 10-50 μm, whereas multilayered graphene can be epitaxially grown to form islands a few hundreds of microns in size. This new mechanism, in which graphene growth proceeded simultaneously with h-BN etching, suggests a potential approach to control graphene layers for engineering the band structures of large-area graphene for electronic device applications. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: The growth conditions, statistical studies of OM images and high-resolution STM/TEM measurements for multi-/bi-layered graphene are discussed in detail. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr02716k

Effect of metallic capping layers on the superconductivity in FeSe thin films.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shibayev, Pavel; Salehi, Maryam; Moon, Jisoo; Oh, Seongshik; Oh Lab Team

In the past few years, there has been an increased interest in understanding the superconducting behavior of iron selenide (FeSe). Past efforts of others aimed at growing FeSe thin films yielded some success in reaching a Tc of 40K, but at present there is a stark lack of consensus among groups working on this problem. We set a goal of growing FeSe on insulating SrTiO3 (STO) substrates by optimizing both the growth temperature and the protection layer. In our quest to achieve this, we concentrate on keeping track of each compound's structural evolution with temperature via RHEED, an aspect often overlooked in papers describing FeSe growth, thus presenting a unique perspective to tackling this multifaceted challenge. Our group has grown 1, 3, and 30 unit-cell thick FeSe on STO using a state-of-the-art molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system in our lab. Crucially, we expect to search for superconductivity in FeSe capped by unprecedented metallic protection layers. In addition, the FeSe/STO heterostructures with FeTe protection layers will be grown to enable comparison of existing transport data and scanning tunneling spectra (STS) to data involving our own novel cappings. Support: NSF EFRI Scholars program (1542798), EPiQS Initiative (GBMF4418).

Epitaxial pentacene films grown on the surface of ion-beam-processed gate dielectric layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chou, W. Y.; Kuo, C. W.; Cheng, H. L.; Mai, Y. S.; Tang, F. C.; Lin, S. T.; Yeh, C. Y.; Horng, J. B.; Chia, C. T.; Liao, C. C.; Shu, D. Y.

2006-06-01

The following research describes the process of fabrication of pentacene films with submicron thickness, deposited by thermal evaporation in high vacuum. The films were fabricated with the aforementioned conditions and their characteristics were analyzed using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, polarized Raman spectroscopy, and photoluminescence. Organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) were fabricated on an indium tin oxide coated glass substrate, using an active layer of ordered pentacene molecules, which were grown at room temperature. Pentacene film was aligned using the ion-beam aligned method, which is typically employed to align liquid crystals. Electrical measurements taken on a thin-film transistor indicated an increase in the saturation current by a factor of 15. Pentacene-based OTFTs with argon ion-beam-processed gate dielectric layers of silicon dioxide, in which the direction of the ion beam was perpendicular to the current flow, exhibited a mobility that was up to an order of magnitude greater than that of the controlled device without ion-beam process; current on/off ratios of approximately 106 were obtained. Polarized Raman spectroscopy investigation indicated that the surface of the gate dielectric layer, treated with argon ion beam, enhanced the intermolecular coupling of pentacene molecules. The study also proposes the explanation for the mechanism of carrier transportation in pentacene films.

Group I-III-VI.sub.2 semiconductor films for solar cell application

DOEpatents

Basol, Bulent M.; Kapur, Vijay K.

1991-01-01

This invention relates to an improved thin film solar cell with excellent electrical and mechanical integrity. The device comprises a substrate, a Group I-III-VI.sub.2 semiconductor absorber layer and a transparent window layer. The mechanical bond between the substrate and the Group I-III-VI.sub.2 semiconductor layer is enhanced by an intermediate layer between the substrate and the Group I-III-VI.sub.2 semiconductor film being grown. The intermediate layer contains tellurium or substitutes therefor, such as Se, Sn, or Pb. The intermediate layer improves the morphology and electrical characteristics of the Group I-III-VI.sub.2 semiconductor layer.

Millimeter-wave monolithic diode-grid frequency multiplier

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maserjian, Joseph (Inventor)

1990-01-01

A semiconductor diode structure useful for harmonic generation of millimeter or submillimeter wave radiation from a fundamental input wave is fabricated on a GaAs substrate. A heavily doped layer of n(sup ++) GaAs is produced on the substrate and then a layer of intrinsic GaAs on said heavily doped layer on top of which a sheet of heavy doping (++) is produced. A thin layer of intrinsic GaAs grown over the sheet is capped with two metal contacts separated by a gap to produce two diodes connected back to back through the n(sup ++) layer for multiplication of frequency by an odd multiple. If only one metal contact caps the thin layer of intrinsic GaAs, the second diode contact is produced to connect to the n(sup ++) layer for multiplication of frequency by an even number. The odd or even frequency multiple is selected by a filter. A phased array of diodes in a grid will increase the power of the higher frequency generated.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2014-03-01

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

Mocvd Growth of Group-III Nitrides on Silicon Carbide: From Thin Films to Atomically Thin Layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al Balushi, Zakaria Y.

Group-III nitride semiconductors (AlN, GaN, InN and their alloys) are considered one of the most important class of materials for electronic and optoelectronic devices. This is not limited to the blue light-emitting diode (LED) used for efficient solid-state lighting, but other applications as well, such as solar cells, radar and a variety of high frequency power electronics, which are all prime examples of the technological importance of nitride based wide bandgap semiconductors in our daily lives. The goal of this dissertation work was to explore and establish new growth schemes to improve the structural and optical properties of thick to atomically thin films of group-III nitrides grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on SiC substrates for future novel devices. The first research focus of this dissertation was on the growth of indium gallium nitride (InGaN). This wide bandgap semiconductor has attracted much research attention as an active layer in LEDs and recently as an absorber material for solar cells. InGaN has superior material properties for solar cells due to its wavelength absorption tunability that nearly covers the entire solar spectrum. This can be achieved by controlling the indium content in thick grown material. Thick InGaN films are also of interest as strain reducing based layers for deep-green and red light emitters. The growth of thick films of InGaN is, however, hindered by several combined problems. This includes poor incorporation of indium in alloys, high density of structural and morphological defects, as well as challenges associated with the segregation of indium in thick films. Overcoming some of these material challenges is essential in order integrate thick InGaN films into future optoelectronics. Therefore, this dissertation research investigated the growth mechanism of InGaN layers grown in the N-polar direction by MOCVD as a route to improve the structural and optical properties of thick InGaN films. The growth of N-polar InGaN by MOCVD is challenging. These challenges arise from the lack of available native substrates suitable for N-polar film growth. As a result, InGaN layers are conventionally grown in the III-polar direction (i.e. III-polar InGaN) and typically grow under considerable amounts of stress on III-polar GaN base layers. While the structure-property relations of thin III-polar InGaN layers have been widely studied in quantum well structures, insight into the growth of thick films and N-polar InGaN layers have been limited. Therefore, this dissertation research compared the growth of both thick III-polar and N-polar InGaN films grown on optimized GaN base layers. III-polar InGaN films were rough and exhibited a high density of V-pits, while the growth of thick N-polar InGaN films showed improved structural quality and low surface roughness. The results of this dissertation work thereby provide an alternative route to the fabrication of thick InGaN films for potential use in solar cells as well as strain reducing schemes for deep-green and red light emitters. Moreover, this dissertation investigated stress relaxation in thick N-polar films using in situ reflectivity and curvature measurements. The results showed that stress relaxation in N-polar InGaN significantly differed from III-polar InGaN due to the absence of V-pits and it was hypothesized that plastic relaxation in N-polar InGaN could occur by dislocation glide, which typically is kinetically limited at such low growth temperatures required for InGaN. The second part of this dissertation research work focused on buffer free growth of GaN directly on SiC and on epitaxial graphene produced on SiC for potential vertical devices. The studies presented in this dissertation work on the growth of GaN directly on SiC compared the stress evolution of GaN films grown with and without an AlN buffer layer. Films grown directly on SiC showed reduced threading dislocation densities and improved surface roughness when compared to the growth of GaN on an AlN buffer layer. The dislocations in the GaN films grown di

Studies on transient characteristics of unipolar resistive switching processes in TiO2 thin film grown by atomic layer deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahu, Vikas Kumar; Das, Amit K.; Ajimsha, R. S.; Misra, P.

2018-05-01

The transient characteristics of resistive switching processes have been investigated in TiO2 thin films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) to study the temporal evolution of the switching processes and measure the switching times. The reset and set switching times of unipolar Au/TiO2/Pt devices were found to be ~250 µs and 180 ns, respectively in the voltage windows of 0.5–0.9 V for reset and 1.9–4.8 V for set switching processes, obtained from quasi-static measurements. The reset switching time decreased exponentially with increasing amplitude of applied reset voltage pulse, while the set switching time remained insensitive to the amplitude of the set voltage pulse. A fast reset process with a switching time of ~400 ns was achieved by applying a reset voltage of ~1.8 V, higher than that of the quasi-static reset voltage window but below the set voltage window. The sluggish reset process in TiO2 thin film and the dependence of the reset switching time on the amplitude of the applied voltage pulse was understood on the basis of a self-accelerated thermal dissolution model of conducting filaments (CFs), where a higher temperature of the CFs owing to enhanced Joule heating at a higher applied voltage imposes faster diffusion of oxygen vacancies, resulting in a shorter reset switching time. Our results clearly indicate that fast resistive switching with switching times in hundreds of nanoseconds can be achieved in ALD-grown TiO2 thin films. This may find applications in fast non-volatile unipolar resistive switching memories.

Improved Epitaxy and Surface Morphology in YBa2Cu3Oy Thin Films Grown on Double Buffered Si Wafers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, J.; Kang, L.; Wong, H. Y.; Cheung, Y. L.; Yang, J.

Highly epitaxial thin films of YBCO have been obtained on silicon wafers using a Eu2CuO4/YSZ (yttrium-stabilized ZrO2) double buffer. Our results showed that application of such a double buffer can significantly enhance the epitaxy of grown YBCO. It also leads to an excellent surface morphology. The average surface roughness was found less than 5 nm in a large range. The results of X-ray small angle reflection and positron spectroscpy demonstrate a very clear and flat interface between YBCO and buffer layers. The Eu2CuO4/YSZ double buffer could be promising for coating high-TC superconducting films on various reactive substrates.

PEALD grown high-k ZrO{sub 2} thin films on SiC group IV compound semiconductor

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

Khairnar, A. G., E-mail: agkhairnar@gmail.com; Patil, V. S.; Agrawal, K. S.

The study of ZrO{sub 2} thin films on SiC group IV compound semiconductor has been studied as a high mobility substrates. The ZrO{sub 2} thin films were deposited using the Plasma Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition System. The thickness of the thin films were measured using ellipsometer and found to be 5.47 nm. The deposited ZrO{sub 2} thin films were post deposition annealed in rapid thermal annealing chamber at temperature of 400°Ð¡. The atomic force microscopy and X-гау photoelectron spectroscopy has been carried out to study the surface topography, roughness and chemical composition of thin film, respectively.

Electrical characterization of amorphous Al2O3 dielectric films on n-type 4H-SiC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khosa, R. Y.; Thorsteinsson, E. B.; Winters, M.; Rorsman, N.; Karhu, R.; Hassan, J.; Sveinbjörnsson, E. Ö.

2018-02-01

We report on the electrical properties of Al2O3 films grown on 4H-SiC by successive thermal oxidation of thin Al layers at low temperatures (200°C - 300°C). MOS capacitors made using these films contain lower density of interface traps, are more immune to electron injection and exhibit higher breakdown field (5MV/cm) than Al2O3 films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) or rapid thermal processing (RTP). Furthermore, the interface state density is significantly lower than in MOS capacitors with nitrided thermal silicon dioxide, grown in N2O, serving as the gate dielectric. Deposition of an additional SiO2 film on the top of the Al2O3 layer increases the breakdown voltage of the MOS capacitors while maintaining low density of interface traps. We examine the origin of negative charges frequently encountered in Al2O3 films grown on SiC and find that these charges consist of trapped electrons which can be released from the Al2O3 layer by depletion bias stress and ultraviolet light exposure. This electron trapping needs to be reduced if Al2O3 is to be used as a gate dielectric in SiC MOS technology.

Observation of dopant-profile independent electron transport in sub-monolayer TiO{sub x} stacked ZnO thin films grown by atomic layer deposition

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

Saha, D., E-mail: sahaphys@gmail.com, E-mail: pmisra@rrcat.gov.in; Misra, P., E-mail: sahaphys@gmail.com, E-mail: pmisra@rrcat.gov.in; Joshi, M. P.

2016-01-18

Dopant-profile independent electron transport has been observed through a combined study of temperature dependent electrical resistivity and magnetoresistance measurements on a series of Ti incorporated ZnO thin films with varying degree of static-disorder. These films were grown by atomic layer deposition through in-situ vertical stacking of multiple sub-monolayers of TiO{sub x} in ZnO. Upon decreasing ZnO spacer layer thickness, electron transport smoothly evolved from a good metallic to an incipient non-metallic regime due to the intricate interplay of screening of spatial potential fluctuations and strength of static-disorder in the films. Temperature dependent phase-coherence length as extracted from the magnetotransport measurementmore » revealed insignificant role of inter sub-monolayer scattering as an additional channel for electron dephasing, indicating that films were homogeneously disordered three-dimensional electronic systems irrespective of their dopant-profiles. Results of this study are worthy enough for both fundamental physics perspective and efficient applications of multi-stacked ZnO/TiO{sub x} structures in the emerging field of transparent oxide electronics.« less

Substrate impact on the low-temperature growth of GaN thin films by plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition

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

Kizir, Seda; Haider, Ali; Biyikli, Necmi, E-mail: biyikli@unam.bilkent.edu.tr

2016-07-15

Gallium nitride (GaN) thin films were grown on Si (100), Si (111), and c-plane sapphire substrates at 200 °C via hollow-cathode plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition (HCPA-ALD) using GaEt{sub 3} and N{sub 2}/H{sub 2} plasma as group-III and V precursors, respectively. The main aim of the study was to investigate the impact of substrate on the material properties of low-temperature ALD-grown GaN layers. Structural, chemical, and optical characterizations were carried out in order to evaluate and compare film quality of GaN on different substrates. X-ray reflectivity measurements showed film density values of 5.70, 5.74, and 5.54 g/cm{sup 3} for GaN grown on Simore » (100), Si (111), and sapphire, respectively. Grazing incidence x-ray diffraction measurements exhibited hexagonal wurtzite structure in all HCPA-ALD grown GaN samples. However, dominant diffraction peak for GaN films grown on Si and sapphire substrates were detected differently as (002) and (103), respectively. X-ray diffraction gonio scans measured from GaN grown on c-plane sapphire primarily showed (002) orientation. All samples exhibited similar refractive index values (∼2.17 at 632 nm) with 2–3 at. % of oxygen impurity existing within the bulk of the films. The grain size was calculated as ∼9–10 nm for GaN grown on Si (100) and Si (111) samples while it was ∼5 nm for GaN/sapphire sample. Root-mean-square surface roughness values found as 0.68, 0.76, and 1.83 nm for GaN deposited on Si (100), Si (111), and sapphire, respectively. Another significant difference observed between the samples was the film growth per cycle: GaN/sapphire sample showed a considerable higher thickness value when compared with GaN/Si samples, which might be attributed to a possibly more-efficient nitridation and faster nucleation of sapphire surface.« less

The Possibility of Improved and Higher Tc Superconductors in Hybrid Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-15

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. of the oxygen sub-lattice precisely in thin films and heterostrutures; which plays a pivotal role...to influence the structure-property affair in complex oxide thin films. We have focused our study to effectively control the oxygen position...that by varying precisely the thickness of SCO layers grown on SrTiO3, one can re-arrange the oxygen ions. In particular, we show that it is possible

Adhesion Measurements of Epitaxially Lifted MBE-Grown ZnSe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mavridi, N.; Zhu, J.; Eldose, N. M.; Prior, K. A.; Moug, R. T.

2018-05-01

ZnSe layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), after processing by epitaxial lift-off, have been analyzed using fracture mechanics and thin-film interference to determine their adhesion properties on two different substrates, viz. ZnSe and glass, yielding adhesion energy of 270 ± 60 mJ m-2 and 34 ± 4 mJ m-2, respectively. These values are considerably larger than if only van der Waals forces were present and imply that adhesion arises from chemical bonding.

Investigation of layered structure SAW devices fabricated using low temperature grown AlN thin film on GaN/sapphire.

PubMed

Lin, Hui-Feng; Wu, Chun-Te; Chien, Wei-Cheng; Chen, Sheng-Wen; Kao, Hui-Ling; Chyi, Jen-Inn; Chen, Jyh-Shin

2005-05-01

Epitaxial AlN films have been grown on GaN/sapphire using helicon sputtering at 300 degrees C. The surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters fabricated on AlN/GaN/sapphire exhibit more superior characteristics than those made on GaN/sapphire. This composite structure of AlN on GaN may bring about the development of high-frequency components, which integrate and use their semiconducting, optoelectronic, and piezoelectric properties.

Epitaxial growth of YBa2Cu3O7 - delta films on oxidized silicon with yttria- and zirconia-based buffer layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pechen, E. V.; Schoenberger, R.; Brunner, B.; Ritzinger, S.; Renk, K. F.; Sidorov, M. V.; Oktyabrsky, S. R.

1993-09-01

A study of epitaxial growth of YBa2Cu3O7-δ films on oxidized Si with yttria- and zirconia-based buffer layers is reported. Using substrates with either SiO2 free or naturally oxidized (100) surfaces of Si it was found that a thin SiO2 layer on top of the Si favors high-quality superconducting film formation. Compared to yttria-stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ) single layers, YSZY2O3 double and YSZ/Y2O3YSZ triple layers allows the deposition of thin YBa2Cu3O7-δ films with improved properties including reduced aging effects. In epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7-δ films grown on the double buffer layers a critical temperature Tc(R=0)=89.5 K and critical current densities of 3.5×106 A/cm2 at 77 K and 1×107 A/cm2 at 66 K were reached.

Polycrystalline Superconducting Thin Films: Texture Control and Critical Current Density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Feng

1995-01-01

The growth processes of polycrystalline rm YBa_2CU_3O_{7-X} (YBCO) and yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ) thin films have been developed. The effectiveness of YSZ buffer layers on suppression of the reaction between YBCO thin films and metallic substrates was carefully studied. Grown on the chemically inert surfaces of YSZ buffer layers, YBCO thin films possessed good quality of c-axis alignment with the c axis parallel to the substrate normal, but without any preferred in-plane orientations. This leads to the existence of a large percentage of the high-angle grain boundaries in the YBCO films. The critical current densities (rm J_{c}'s) found in these films were much lower than those in single crystal YBCO thin films, which was the consequence of the weak -link effect of the high-angle grain boundaries in these films. It became clear that the in-plane alignment is vital for achieving high rm J_{c }s in polycrystalline YBCO thin films. To induce the in-plane alignment, ion beam-assisted deposition (IBAD) technique was integrated into the conventional pulsed laser deposition process for the growth of the YSZ buffer layers. It was demonstrated that using IBAD the in-plane orientations of the YSZ grains could be controlled within a certain range of a common direction. This ion -bombardment induced in-plane texturing was explained using the anisotropic sputtering yield theory. Our observations and analyses have provided valuable information on the optimization of the IBAD process, and shed light on the texturing mechanism in YSZ. With the in-plane aligned YSZ buffer layers, YBCO thin films grown on metallic substrates showed improved rm J_{c}s. It was found that the in-plane alignment of YSZ and that of YBCO were closely related. A direct correlation was revealed between the rm J_{c} value and the degree of the in-plane alignment for the YBCO thin films. To explain this correlation, a numerical model was applied to multi-grain superconducting paths with different textures to determine the expected rm J_{c}s. The good agreement between the experimental data and numerical results confirmed that the rm J_{c} improvement directly resulted from the reduction of the number of high-angle grain boundaries in the in-plane aligned polycrystalline YBCO thin films, and provided a guideline on the further improvement of the rm J_ {c}s of polycrystalline YBCO thin films.

Thin film GaP for solar cell application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morozov, I. A.; Gudovskikh, A. S.; Kudryashov, D. A.; Nikitina, E. V.; Kleider, J.-P.; Myasoedov, A. V.; Levitskiy, V.

2016-08-01

A new approach to the silicon based heterostructures technology consisting of the growth of III-V compounds (GaP) on a silicon substrate by low-temperature plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PE-ALD) is proposed. The basic idea of the method is to use a time modulation of the growth process, i.e. time separated stages of atoms or precursors transport to the growing surface, migration over the surface, and crystal lattice relaxation for each monolayer. The GaP layers were grown on Si substrates by PE-ALD at 350°C with phosphine (PH3) and trimethylgallium (TMG) as sources of III and V atoms. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy demonstrate that the grown GaP films have homogeneous amorphous structure, smooth surface and a sharp GaP/Si interface. The GaP/Si heterostructures obtained by PE-ALD compare favourably to that conventionally grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Indeed, spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements indicate similar interband optical absorption while photoluminescence measurements indicate higher charge carrier effective lifetime. The better passivation properties of GaP layers grown by PE-ALD demonstrate a potential of this technology for new silicon based photovoltaic heterostructure

Two-dimensional X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy study on the effect of magnetron sputtering atmosphere on GaN/SiC interface and gallium nitride thin film crystal structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Huaxiang; Zhu, Guo-Zhen; Botton, Gianluigi A.; Kitai, Adrian

2015-03-01

The growth mechanisms of high quality GaN thin films on 6H-SiC by sputtering were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The XRD θ-2θ scans show that high quality ( 0002 ) oriented GaN was deposited on 6H-SiC by reactive magnetron sputtering. Pole figures obtained by 2D-XRD clarify that GaN thin films are dominated by ( 0002 ) oriented wurtzite GaN and { 111 } oriented zinc-blende GaN. A thin amorphous silicon oxide layer on SiC surfaces observed by STEM plays a critical role in terms of the orientation information transfer from the substrate to the GaN epilayer. The addition of H2 into Ar and/or N2 during sputtering can reduce the thickness of the amorphous layer. Moreover, adding 5% H2 into Ar can facilitate a phase transformation from amorphous to crystalline in the silicon oxide layer and eliminate the unwanted { 3 3 ¯ 02 } orientation in the GaN thin film. Fiber texture GaN thin films can be grown by adding 10% H2 into N2 due to the complex reaction between H2 and N2.

Bi-layer channel structure-based oxide thin-film transistors consisting of ZnO and Al-doped ZnO with different Al compositions and stacking sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Sung Woon; Yun, Myeong Gu; Ahn, Cheol Hyoun; Kim, So Hee; Cho, Hyung Koun

2015-03-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO)-based bi-layers, consisting of ZnO and Al-doped ZnO (AZO) layers grown by atomic layer deposition, were utilized as the channels of oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs). Thin AZO layers (5 nm) with different Al compositions (5 and 14 at. %) were deposited on top of and beneath the ZnO layers in a bi-layer channel structure. All of the bi-layer channel TFTs that included the AZO layers showed enhanced stability (Δ V Th ≤ 3.2 V) under a positive bias stress compared to the ZnO single-layer channel TFT (Δ V Th = 4.0 V). However, the AZO/ZnO bi-layer channel TFTs with an AZO interlayer between the gate dielectric and the ZnO showed a degraded field effect mobility (0.3 cm2/V·s for 5 at. % and 1.8 cm2/V·s for 14 at. %) compared to the ZnO single-layer channel TFT (5.5 cm2/V·s) due to increased scattering caused by Al-related impurities near the gate dielectric/channel interface. In contrast, the ZnO/AZO bi-layer channel TFTs with an AZO layer on top of the ZnO layer exhibited an improved field effect mobility (7.8 cm2/V·s for 14 at. %) and better stability. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

RBS/Channeling Studies of Swift Heavy Ion Irradiated GaN Layers

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

Sathish, N.; Dhamodaran, S.; Pathak, A. P.

2009-03-10

Epitaxial GaN layers grown by MOCVD on c-plane sapphire substrates were irradiated with 150 MeV Ag ions at a fluence of 5x10{sup 12} ions/cm{sup 2}. Samples used in this study are 2 {mu}m thick GaN layers, with and without a thin AlN cap-layer. Energy dependent RBS/Channeling measurements have been carried out on both irradiated and unirradiated samples for defects characterization. Observed results are compared and correlated with previous HRXRD, AFM and optical studies. The {chi}{sub min} values for unirradiated samples show very high value and the calculated defect densities are of the order of 10{sup 10} cm{sup -2} as expectedmore » in these samples. Effects of irradiation on these samples are different as initial samples had different defect densities. Epitaxial reconstruction of GaN buffer layer has been attributed to the observed changes, which are generally grown to reduce the strain between GaN and Sapphire.« less

Growth of Bi2Se3 topological insulator thin film on Ge(1 1 1) substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Seungyeon; Lee, Sangsoo; Woo, Jeongseok; Lee, Geunseop

2018-02-01

Atomically smooth, single crystalline Bi2Se3 thin films were grown on a Ge(1 1 1) substrate using molecular beam epitaxy. Crystallinities of both the surface and the bulk as well as the stoichiometry of the grown film were characterized by using low-energy electron diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and photoelectron spectroscopies. Hexagonal atomic structures, quintuple layer steps observed in STM images confirmed that the Bi2Se3 film with a (0 0 0 1) surface was grown. Diffraction peak positions as well as the chemical composition determined from the core-level photoelectron spectra coincide well with those expected for the Bi2Se3 crystal. The surface state with a Dirac cone was observed in the valence photoelectron spectra, which also support that a high-quality Bi2Se3 film was grown on the Ge(1 1 1) substrate. The interface between Ge(1 1 1) and Bi2Se3(0 0 0 1) is expected to be abrupt due to the small lattice between them.

Ultrathin planar graphene supercapacitors.

PubMed

Yoo, Jung Joon; Balakrishnan, Kaushik; Huang, Jingsong; Meunier, Vincent; Sumpter, Bobby G; Srivastava, Anchal; Conway, Michelle; Reddy, Arava Leela Mohana; Yu, Jin; Vajtai, Robert; Ajayan, Pulickel M

2011-04-13

With the advent of atomically thin and flat layers of conducting materials such as graphene, new designs for thin film energy storage devices with good performance have become possible. Here, we report an "in-plane" fabrication approach for ultrathin supercapacitors based on electrodes comprised of pristine graphene and multilayer reduced graphene oxide. The in-plane design is straightforward to implement and exploits efficiently the surface of each graphene layer for energy storage. The open architecture and the effect of graphene edges enable even the thinnest of devices, made from as grown 1-2 graphene layers, to reach specific capacities up to 80 μFcm(-2), while much higher (394 μFcm(-2)) specific capacities are observed multilayer reduced graphene oxide electrodes. The performances of devices with pristine as well as thicker graphene-based structures are examined using a combination of experiments and model calculations. The demonstrated all solid-state supercapacitors provide a prototype for a broad range of thin-film based energy storage devices.

Rapid crystallization of WS2 films assisted by a thin nickel layer: An in situ energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellmer, K.; Seeger, S.; Mientus, R.

2006-08-01

By rapid thermal crystallization of an amorphous WS3+x film, deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering at temperatures below 150 °C, layer-type semiconducting tungsten disulfide films (WS2) were grown. The rapid crystallization was monitored in real-time by in situ energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction. The films crystallize very fast (>40 nm/s), provided that a thin nickel film acts as nucleation seeds. Experiments on different substrates and the onset of the crystallization only at a temperature between 600 and 700 °C points to the decisive role of seeds for the textured growth of WS2, most probably liquid NiSx drops. The rapidly crystallized WS2 films exhibit a pronounced (001) texture with the van der Waals planes oriented parallel to the surface, leading to photoactive layers with a high hole mobility of about 80 cm2/Vs making such films suitable as absorbers for thin film solar cells.

Epitaxial growth and physical properties of ternary nitride thin films by polymer-assisted deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Enriquez, Erik; Zhang, Yingying; Chen, Aiping; Bi, Zhenxing; Wang, Yongqiang; Fu, Engang; Harrell, Zachary; Lü, Xujie; Dowden, Paul; Wang, Haiyan; Chen, Chonglin; Jia, Quanxi

2016-08-01

Epitaxial layered ternary metal-nitride FeMoN2, (Fe0.33Mo0.67)MoN2, CoMoN2, and FeWN2 thin films have been grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by polymer-assisted deposition. The ABN2 layer sits on top of the oxygen sublattices of the substrate with three possible matching configurations due to the significantly reduced lattice mismatch. The doping composition and elements affect not only the out-of-plane lattice parameters but also the temperature-dependent electrical properties. These films have resistivity in the range of 0.1-1 mΩ.cm, showing tunable metallic or semiconducting behaviors by adjusting the composition. A modified parallel connection channel model has been used to analyze the grain boundary and Coulomb blockade effect on the electrical properties. The growth of the high crystallinity layered epitaxial thin films provides an avenue to study the composition-structure-property relationship in ABN2 materials through A and B-site substitution.

Complete suppression of boron transient-enhanced diffusion and oxidation-enhanced diffusion in silicon using localized substitutional carbon incorporation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carroll, M. S.; Chang, C.-L.; Sturm, J. C.; Büyüklimanli, T.

1998-12-01

In this letter, we show the ability, through introduction of a thin Si1-x-yGexCy layer, to eliminate the enhancement of enhanced boron diffusion in silicon due to an oxidizing surface or ion implant damage. This reduction of diffusion is accomplished through a low-temperature-grown thin epitaxial Si1-x-yGexCy layer which completely filters out excess interstitials introduced by oxidation or ion implant damage. We also quantify the oxidation-enhanced diffusion (OED) and transient-enhanced diffusion (TED) dependence on substitutional carbon level, and further report both the observation of carbon TED and OED, and its dependence on carbon levels.

New MBE buffer for micron- and quarter-micron-gateGaAs MESFETs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

A new buffer layer has been developed that eliminates backgating in GaAs MESFETs and substantially reduces short-channel effects in GaAs MESFETs with 0.27-micron-long gates. The new buffer is grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) at a substrate temperature of 200 C using Ga and As sub 4 beam fluxes. The buffer is crystalline, highly resistive, optically inactive, and can be overgrown with high quality GaAs. GaAs MESFETs with a gate length of 0.27 microns that incorporate the new buffer show improved dc and RF properties in comparison with a similar MESFET with a thin undoped GaAs buffer. To demonstrate the backgating performance improvement afforded by the new buffer, MESFETs were fabricated using a number of different buffer layers and structures. A schematic cross section of the MESFET structure used in this study is shown. The measured gate length, gate width, and source-drain spacing of this device are 2,98, and 5.5 microns, respectively. An ohmic contact, isolated from the MESFET by mesa etching, served as the sidegate. The MESFETs were fabricated in MBE n-GaAs layers grown on the new buffer and also in MBE n-GaAs layers grown on buffer layers of undoped GaAs, AlGaAs, and GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices. All the buffer layers were grown by MBE and are 2 microns thick. The active layer is doped to approximately 2 x 10 to the 17th/cu cm with silicon and is 0.3 microns thick.

Physical properties of nanostructured CeO2 thin films grown by SILAR method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Ishaque Ahmed; Belkhedkar, M. R.; Salodkar, R. V.; Ubale, A. U.

2018-05-01

Nanostructured CeO2 thin films have been deposited by Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) method onto glass substrate using (CeNO3)3 6H2O and NaOH as cationic and anionic precursors respectively. The structural and morphological characterizations were carried out by means of X-ray diffraction, FTIR, FESEM and EDX studies. The highly resistive (1010 Ω cm) semiconducting CeO2 film exhibits 2.95 eV optical band gap.

Magnetic and exchange bias properties of YCo thin films and IrMn/YCo bilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venkat Narayana, M.; Manivel Raja, M.; Jammalamadaka, S. Narayana

2018-02-01

We report on the structural and magnetic properties of YCo thin films and IrMn/YCo bilayers. X-ray diffraction infer that all the films are amorphous in nature. Magnetization versus magnetic field measurements reveal room temperature soft ferromagnetism in all the YCo films. Thin films which were grown at 100 W sputter power with growth rates of 0.677, 0.694 and 0.711 Å/sec show better morphology and composition than 50 W (0.333, 0.444 and 0.277 Å/sec) grown films. Perpendicular exchange bias in as deposited bilayers is evident for IrMn/YCo bilayers. Exchange bias (EB) decreases in case of in plane measurements and enhances for out of plane measurements after perpendicular field annealing. EB is more in case of out of plane direction due to large perpendicular anisotropy in comparison with in plane direction. Above the critical thickness, EB variation is explained on the basis of random field model in the Heisenberg regime, which has been proposed by Malozemoff. Indeed there exists an inverse relationship between EB and IrMn layer thickness. Evidenced vertical shift apart from the horizontal shift for magnetization loops is attributed to frozen magnetic moments in one of the layers at the interface. Present results would prove to be helpful in spintronic device applications.

Characterization of HgCdTe and Related Materials For Third Generation Infrared Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaghayenegar, Majid

Hg1-xCdxTe (MCT) has historically been the primary material used for infrared detectors. Recently, alternative substrates for MCT growth such as Si, as well as alternative infrared materials such as Hg1-xCdxSe, have been explored. This dissertation involves characterization of Hg-based infrared materials for third generation infrared detectors using a wide range of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. A microstructural study on HgCdTe/CdTe heterostructures grown by MBE on Si (211) substrates showed a thin ZnTe layer grown between CdTe and Si to mediate the large lattice mismatch of 19.5%. Observations showed large dislocation densities at the CdTe/ZnTe/Si (211) interfaces, which dropped off rapidly away from the interface. Growth of a thin HgTe buffer layer between HgCdTe and CdTe layers seemed to improve the HgCdTe layer quality by blocking some defects. A second study investigated the correlation of etch pits and dislocations in as-grown and thermal-cycle-annealed (TCA) HgCdTe (211) films. For as-grown samples, pits with triangular and fish-eye shapes were associated with Frank partial and perfect dislocations, respectively. Skew pits were determined to have a more complex nature. TCA reduced the etch-pit density by 72%. Although TCA processing eliminated the fish-eye pits, dislocations reappeared in shorter segments in the TCA samples. Large pits were observed in both as-grown and TCA samples, but the nature of any defects associated with these pits in the as-grown samples is unclear. Microstructural studies of HgCdSe revealed large dislocation density at ZnTe/Si(211) interfaces, which dropped off markedly with ZnTe thickness. Atomic-resolution STEM images showed that the large lattice mismatch at the ZnTe/Si interface was accommodated through {111}-type stacking faults. A detailed analysis showed that the stacking faults were inclined at angles of 19.5 and 90 degrees at both ZnTe/Si and HgCdSe/ZnTe interfaces. These stacking faults were associated with Shockley and Frank partial dislocations, respectively. Initial attempts to delineate individual dislocations by chemical etching revealed that while the etchants successfully attacked defective areas, many defects in close proximity to the pits were unaffected.

Stability of the tungsten diselenide and silicon carbide heterostructure against high energy proton exposure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Roger C.; Shi, Tan; Jariwala, Bhakti; Jovanovic, Igor; Robinson, Joshua A.

2017-10-01

Single layers of tungsten diselenide (WSe2) can be used to construct ultra-thin, high-performance electronics. Additionally, there has been considerable progress in controlled and direct growth of single layers on various substrates. Based on these results, high-quality WSe2-based devices that approach the limit of physical thickness are now possible. Such devices could be useful for space applications, but understanding how high-energy radiation impacts the properties of WSe2 and the WSe2/substrate interface has been lacking. In this work, we compare the stability against high energy proton radiation of WSe2 and silicon carbide (SiC) heterostructures generated by mechanical exfoliation of WSe2 flakes and by direct growth of WSe2 via metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). These two techniques produce WSe2/SiC heterostructures with distinct differences due to interface states generated during the MOCVD growth process. This difference carries over to differences in band alignment from interface states and the ultra-thin nature of the MOCVD-grown material. Both heterostructures are not susceptible to proton-induced charging up to a dose of 1016 protons/cm2, as measured via shifts in the binding energy of core shell electrons and a decrease in the valence band offset. Furthermore, the MOCVD-grown material is less affected by the proton exposure due to its ultra-thin nature and a greater interaction with the substrate. These combined effects show that the directly grown material is suitable for multi-year use in space, provided that high quality devices can be fabricated from it.

Influence of Gas Adsorption and Gold Nanoparticles on the Electrical Properties of CVD-Grown MoS2 Thin Films.

PubMed

Cho, Yunae; Sohn, Ahrum; Kim, Sujung; Hahm, Myung Gwan; Kim, Dong-Ho; Cho, Byungjin; Kim, Dong-Wook

2016-08-24

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has increasingly attracted attention from researchers and is now one of the most intensively explored atomic-layered two-dimensional semiconductors. Control of the carrier concentration and doping type of MoS2 is crucial for its application in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Because the MoS2 layers are atomically thin, their transport characteristics may be very sensitive to ambient gas adsorption and the resulting charge transfer. We investigated the influence of the ambient gas (N2, H2/N2, and O2) choice on the resistance (R) and surface work function (WF) of trilayer MoS2 thin films grown via chemical vapor deposition. We also studied the electrical properties of gold (Au)-nanoparticle (NP)-coated MoS2 thin films; their R value was found to be 2 orders of magnitude smaller than that for bare samples. While the WF largely varied for each gas, R was almost invariant for both the bare and Au-NP-coated samples regardless of which gas was used. Temperature-dependent transport suggests that variable range hopping is the dominant mechanism for electrical conduction for bare and Au-NP-coated MoS2 thin films. The charges transferred from the gas adsorbates might be insufficient to induce measurable R change and/or be trapped in the defect states. The smaller WF and larger localization length of the Au-NP-coated sample, compared with the bare sample, suggest that more carriers and less defects enhanced conduction in MoS2.

Investigation of AgInS2 thin films grown by coevaporation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arredondo, C. A.; Clavijo, J.; Gordillo, G.

2009-05-01

AgInS2 thin films were grown on soda-lime glass substrates by co-evaporation of the precursors in a two-step process. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements indicated that these compounds grow in different phases and with different crystalline structure depending upon the deposition conditions. However, through a parameter study, conditions were found to grow thin films containing only the AgInS2 phase with chalcopyrite type structure. In samples containing a mixture of several phases, the contribution in percentage terms of each phase to the whole compound was estimated with the help of the PowderCell simulation package. It was also found that the AgInS2 films present p-type conductivity, a high absorption coefficient (greater than 104 cm-1) and an energy band gap Eg of about 1.95 eV, indicating that this compound has good properties to perform as absorbent layer in thin film tandem solar cells. The effect of the deposition conditions on the optical and morphological properties was also investigated through spectral transmitance and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements.

Reliability Characterization of Digital Microcircuits - Investigation of an In-Process Oxide Reliability Screening Method

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-04-01

CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURIlY CLASSIFICATION 20. UMITATION OF ABSTRACT OF REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED...with the silicon underneath, growing a thin nitride layer. This layer of Si 3 N 4 , if not completely removed, will retard oxidation in the area...C. Shatas, K. C. Saraswat and J. D. Meindl, "Interfacial and Breakdown Characteristics of MOS Devices with Rapidly Grown Ultrathin SiO Gate

The effect of different thickness alumina capping layers on the final morphology of dewet thin Ni films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Benjamin C.; Behbahanian, Amir; Stoker, T. McKay; Fowlkes, Jason D.; Hartnett, Chris; Rack, Phillip D.; Roberts, Nicholas A.

2018-03-01

Nanoparticles on a substrate have numerous applications in nanotechnology, from enhancements to solar cell efficiency to improvements in carbon nanotube growth. Producing nanoparticles in a cost effective fashion with control over size and spacing is desired, but difficult to do. This work presents a scalable method for altering the radius and pitch distributions of nickel nanoparticles. The introduction of alumina capping layers to thin nickel films during a pulsed laser-induced dewetting process has yielded reductions in the mean and standard deviation of radii and pitch for dewet nanoparticles with no noticeable difference in final morphology with increased capping layer thickness. The differences in carbon nanotube mats grown, on the uncapped sample and one of the capped samples, is also presented here, with a more dense mat being present for the capped case.

Influence of a TiN interlayer on the microstructure and mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite films grown by pulsed laser deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelea, Valentin D.; Ristoscu, Carmen; Colis, Silviu; Arens, Simona; Pelletier, Herve; Mihailescu, Ion N.; Mille, Pierre

2001-04-01

Crystalline hydroxyapatite (HA) thin films grown on metallic substrates is the best choice for bone restoration. This is due to the good biological compatibility of the hydroxyapatite material combined with the good mechanical characteristics of the substrates. We deposit HA thin films by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) in vacuum at room temperature using a KrF* excimer laser ((lambda) equals 248 nm, (tau) FWHM >= 20 ns). The depositions were performed directly on Ti-5Al-2.5Fe or on substrates previously coated with a TiN buffer layer. The HA deposited structures were characterized by complementary techniques: GIXRD, SEM, TEM, SAED, EDS and nanoindentation. Properties of the HA films grown with and without the TiN buffer were discussed in term of microstructure and mechanical behavior. The films with interlayer preserve the stoichiometry, are completely recrystallized and present better mechanical characteristics as compared with those without buffer.

High-Performance Flexible Thin-Film Transistors Based on Single-Crystal-like Silicon Epitaxially Grown on Metal Tape by Roll-to-Roll Continuous Deposition Process.

PubMed

Gao, Ying; Asadirad, Mojtaba; Yao, Yao; Dutta, Pavel; Galstyan, Eduard; Shervin, Shahab; Lee, Keon-Hwa; Pouladi, Sara; Sun, Sicong; Li, Yongkuan; Rathi, Monika; Ryou, Jae-Hyun; Selvamanickam, Venkat

2016-11-02

Single-crystal-like silicon (Si) thin films on bendable and scalable substrates via direct deposition are a promising material platform for high-performance and cost-effective devices of flexible electronics. However, due to the thick and unintentionally highly doped semiconductor layer, the operation of transistors has been hampered. We report the first demonstration of high-performance flexible thin-film transistors (TFTs) using single-crystal-like Si thin films with a field-effect mobility of ∼200 cm 2 /V·s and saturation current, I/l W > 50 μA/μm, which are orders-of-magnitude higher than the device characteristics of conventional flexible TFTs. The Si thin films with a (001) plane grown on a metal tape by a "seed and epitaxy" technique show nearly single-crystalline properties characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, reflection high-energy electron diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The realization of flexible and high-performance Si TFTs can establish a new pathway for extended applications of flexible electronics such as amplification and digital circuits, more than currently dominant display switches.

Effects of Rapid Thermal Annealing on the Structural, Electrical, and Optical Properties of Zr-Doped ZnO Thin Films Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition.

PubMed

Wu, Jingjin; Zhao, Yinchao; Zhao, Ce Zhou; Yang, Li; Lu, Qifeng; Zhang, Qian; Smith, Jeremy; Zhao, Yongming

2016-08-13

The 4 at. % zirconium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Zr) films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) were annealed at various temperatures ranging from 350 to 950 °C. The structural, electrical, and optical properties of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) treated ZnO:Zr films have been evaluated to find out the stability limit. It was found that the grain size increased at 350 °C and decreased between 350 and 850 °C, while creeping up again at 850 °C. UV-vis characterization shows that the optical band gap shifts towards larger wavelengths. The Hall measurement shows that the resistivity almost keeps constant at low annealing temperatures, and increases rapidly after treatment at 750 °C due to the effect of both the carrier concentration and the Hall mobility. The best annealing temperature is found in the range of 350-550 °C. The ZnO:Zr film-coated glass substrates show good optical and electrical performance up to 550 °C during superstrate thin film solar cell deposition.

Effects of Rapid Thermal Annealing on the Structural, Electrical, and Optical Properties of Zr-Doped ZnO Thin Films Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition

PubMed Central

Wu, Jingjin; Zhao, Yinchao; Zhao, Ce Zhou; Yang, Li; Lu, Qifeng; Zhang, Qian; Smith, Jeremy; Zhao, Yongming

2016-01-01

The 4 at. % zirconium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Zr) films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) were annealed at various temperatures ranging from 350 to 950 °C. The structural, electrical, and optical properties of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) treated ZnO:Zr films have been evaluated to find out the stability limit. It was found that the grain size increased at 350 °C and decreased between 350 and 850 °C, while creeping up again at 850 °C. UV–vis characterization shows that the optical band gap shifts towards larger wavelengths. The Hall measurement shows that the resistivity almost keeps constant at low annealing temperatures, and increases rapidly after treatment at 750 °C due to the effect of both the carrier concentration and the Hall mobility. The best annealing temperature is found in the range of 350–550 °C. The ZnO:Zr film-coated glass substrates show good optical and electrical performance up to 550 °C during superstrate thin film solar cell deposition. PMID:28773816

The impact of ultra-thin titania interlayers on open circuit voltage and carrier lifetime in thin film solar cells

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

Moerman, David; Colbert, Adam E.; Ginger, David S., E-mail: ginger@chem.washington.edu

We study the effects of modifying indium tin oxide electrodes with ultrathin titania (TiO{sub 2}) layers grown via plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PE-ALD). We find an optimal thickness of PE-ALD-grown titania by tracking performance, which initially increases, peaks, and eventually decreases with increasing TiO{sub 2} thickness. We use scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM) to measure both the local work function and its distribution as a function of TiO{sub 2} thickness. We find that the variance in contact potential difference across the surface of the film is related to either the amorphous or anatase TiO{sub 2} form. Finally, we use localmore » SKPM recombination rate experiments, supported by bulk transient photovoltage and charge extraction measurements. We show that the optimum TiO{sub 2} thickness is the one for which the carrier lifetime is the longest and the charge carrier density is the highest, when the TiO{sub 2} is amorphous, in agreement with the device measurements.« less

Enzyme-assisted growth of nacreous CaCO3/polymer hybrid nanolaminates via the formation of mineral bridges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeom, Bongjun; Char, Kookheon

2016-06-01

Laminated nanostructures in nacre have been adopted as models in the fabrication of strong, tough synthetic nanocomposites. However, the utilization of CaCO3 biominerals in these composites is limited by the complexity of the synthesis method for nanosized biominerals. In this study, we use the enzymatic reaction of urease to generate a nanoscale CaCO3 thin film to prepare CaCO3/polymer hybrid nanolaminates. Additional layers of CaCO3 thin film are consecutively grown over the base CaCO3 layer with the intercalation of organic layers. The morphology and crystallinity of the added CaCO3 layers depend strongly on the thickness of the organic layer coated on the underlying CaCO3 layer. When the organic layer is less than 20 nm thick, the amorphous CaCO3 layer is spontaneously transformed into crystalline calcite layer during the growth process. We also observe crystalline continuity between adjacent CaCO3 layers through interconnecting mineral bridges. The formation of these mineral bridges is crucial to the epitaxial growth of CaCO3 layers, similar to the formation of natural nacre.

Material growth and characterization directed toward improving III-V heterojunction solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stefanakos, E. K.; Alexander, W. E.; Collis, W.; Abul-Fadl, A.

1979-01-01

In addition to the existing materials growth laboratory, the photolithographic facility and the device testing facility were completed. The majority of equipment for data acquisition, solar cell testing, materials growth and device characterization were received and are being put into operation. In the research part of the program, GaAs and GaA1As layers were grown reproducibly on GaAs substrates. These grown layers were characterized as to surface morphology, thickness and thickness uniformity. The liquid phase epitaxial growth process was used to fabricate p-n junctions in Ga(1-x)A1(x)As. Sequential deposition of two alloy layers was accomplished and detailed analysis of the effect of substrate quality and dopant on the GaA1As layer quality is presented. Finally, solar cell structures were formed by growing a thin p-GaA1As layer upon an epitaxial n-GaA1As layer. The energy gap corresponding to the long wavelength cutoff of the spectral response characteristic was 1.51-1.63 eV. Theoretical calculations of the spectral response were matched to the measured response.

EDITORIAL: Atomic layer deposition Atomic layer deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Godlewski, Marek

2012-07-01

The growth method of atomic layer deposition (ALD) was introduced in Finland by Suntola under the name of atomic layer epitaxy (ALE). The method was originally used for deposition of thin films of sulphides (ZnS, CaS, SrS) activated with manganese or rare-earth ions. Such films were grown for applications in thin-film electroluminescence (TFEL) displays. The ALE mode of growth was also tested in the case of molecular beam epitaxy. Films grown by ALD are commonly polycrystalline or even amorphous. Thus, the name ALE has been replaced by ALD. In the 80s ALD was developed mostly in Finland and neighboring Baltic countries. Deposition of a range of different materials was demonstrated at that time, including II-VI semiconductors (e.g. CdTe, CdS) and III-V (e.g. GaAs, GaN), with possible applications in e.g. photovoltaics. The number of publications on ALD was slowly increasing, approaching about 100 each year. A real boom in interest came with the development of deposition methods of thin films of high-k dielectrics. This research was motivated by a high leakage current in field-effect transistors with SiO2-based gate dielectrics. In 2007 Intel introduced a new generation of integrated circuits (ICs) with thin films of HfO2 used as gate isolating layers. In these and subsequent ICs, films of HfO2 are deposited by the ALD method. This is due to their unique properties. The introduction of ALD to the electronics industry led to a booming interest in the ALD growth method, with the number of publications increasing rapidly to well above 1000 each year. A number of new applications were proposed, as reflected in this special issue of Semiconductor Science and Technology. The included articles cover a wide range of possible applications—in microelectronics, transparent electronics, optoelectronics, photovoltaics and spintronics. Research papers and reviews on the basics of ALD growth are also included, reflecting a growing interest in precursor chemistry and growth processes. Summarizing, this special issue of Semiconductor Science and Technology reflects the rapidly growing interest in the ALD growth method and demonstrates the wide range of possible practical applications of ALD-grown materials, not only of high-k dielectrics, but also of a range of different materials (e.g. ZnO). Finally, I would like to thank the IOP editorial staff, in particular Alice Malhador, for their support and efforts in making this special issue possible.

Lanthanide-Assisted Deposition of Strongly Electro-optic PZT Thin Films on Silicon: Toward Integrated Active Nanophotonic Devices.

PubMed

George, J P; Smet, P F; Botterman, J; Bliznuk, V; Woestenborghs, W; Van Thourhout, D; Neyts, K; Beeckman, J

2015-06-24

The electro-optical properties of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films depend strongly on the quality and crystallographic orientation of the thin films. We demonstrate a novel method to grow highly textured PZT thin films on silicon using the chemical solution deposition (CSD) process. We report the use of ultrathin (5-15 nm) lanthanide (La, Pr, Nd, Sm) based intermediate layers for obtaining preferentially (100) oriented PZT thin films. X-ray diffraction measurements indicate preferentially oriented intermediate Ln2O2CO3 layers providing an excellent lattice match with the PZT thin films grown on top. The XRD and scanning electron microscopy measurements reveal that the annealed layers are dense, uniform, crack-free and highly oriented (>99.8%) without apparent defects or secondary phases. The EDX and HRTEM characterization confirm that the template layers act as an efficient diffusion barrier and form a sharp interface between the substrate and the PZT. The electrical measurements indicate a dielectric constant of ∼650, low dielectric loss of ∼0.02, coercive field of 70 kV/cm, remnant polarization of 25 μC/cm(2), and large breakdown electric field of 1000 kV/cm. Finally, the effective electro-optic coefficients of the films are estimated with a spectroscopic ellipsometer measurement, considering the electric field induced variations in the phase reflectance ratio. The electro-optic measurements reveal excellent linear effective pockels coefficients of 110 to 240 pm/V, which makes the CSD deposited PZT thin film an ideal candidate for Si-based active integrated nanophotonic devices.

Studies of surface morphology and optical properties of ZnO nanostructures grown on different molarities of TiO{sub 2} seed layer

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

Asib, N. A. M., E-mail: amierahasib@yahoo.com; Afaah, A. N.; Aadila, A.

Titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) seed layer was prepared by using sol-gel spin-coating technique, followed by growth of 0.01 M of Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures by solution-immersion. The molarities of TiO{sub 2} seed layer were varied from 1.1 M to 0.100 M on glass substrates. The nanostructures thin films were characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electrons Microscope (FESEM), Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. FESEM images demonstrate that needle-like ZnO nanostructures are formed on all TiO{sub 2} seed layer. The smallest diameter of needle-like ZnO nanostructures (90.3 nm) were deposited on TiO{sub 2} seed layer of 0.100 M. PL spectramore » of the TiO{sub 2}: ZnO nanostructures thin films show the blue shifted emissions in the UV regions compared to the ZnO thin film. Meanwhile, UV-vis spectra of films display high absorption in the UV region and high trasparency in the visible region. The highest absorbance at UV region was recorded for sample which has 0.100 M of TiO{sub 2} seed layer.« less

Atmospheric deposition process for enhanced hybrid organic-inorganic multilayer barrier thin films for surface protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rehman, Mohammad Mutee ur; Kim, Kwang Tae; Na, Kyoung Hoan; Choi, Kyung Hyun

2017-11-01

In this study, organic polymer poly-vinyl acetate (PVA) and inorganic aluminum oxide (Al2O3) have been used together to fabricate a hybrid barrier thin film for the protection of PET substrate. The organic thin films of PVA were developed through roll to roll electrohydrodynamic atomization (R2R-EHDA) whereas the inorganic thin films of Al2O3 were grown by roll to roll spatial atmospheric atomic layer deposition (R2R-SAALD) for mass production. The use of these two technologies together to develop a multilayer hybrid organic-inorganic barrier thin films under atmospheric conditions is reported for the first time. These multilayer hybrid barrier thin films are fabricated on flexible PET substrate. Each layer of Al2O3 and PVA in barrier thin film exhibited excellent morphological, chemical and optical properties. Extremely uniform and atomically thin films of Al2O3 with average arithmetic roughness (Ra) of 1.64 nm and 1.94 nm respectively concealed the non-uniformity and irregularities in PVA thin films with Ra of 2.9 nm and 3.6 nm respectively. The optical transmittance of each layer was ∼ 80-90% while the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of hybrid barrier was in the range of ∼ 2.3 × 10-2 g m-2 day-1 with a total film thickness of ∼ 200 nm. Development of such hybrid barrier thin films with mass production and low cost will allow various flexible electronic devices to operate in atmospheric conditions without degradation of their properties.

Short-period (AlAs)(GaAs) superlattice lasers grown by molecular beam epitaxy

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

Blood, P.; Fletcher, E.D.; Foxon, C.T.

1988-07-25

We have used short-period all-binary (AlAs)(GaAs) superlattices with layers as thin as three monolayers to synthesize the barrier and cladding regions of GaAs quantum well lasers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. By studying the threshold current of single- and double-well devices as a function of cavity length and temperature, we conclude that the optical scattering losses are very low, that the gain-current characteristics are similar to alloy barrier devices, and that there is evidence for current leakage by recombination in the barriers.

Controlled crystal growth of layered-perovskite thin films as an approach to study their basic properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Takayuki; Funakubo, Hiroshi

2006-09-01

This article describes the current progress in thin bismuth layer-structured ferroelectric films (BLSFs) including SrBi2Ta2O9 and (Bi,La)4Ti3O12, particularly those developed in the last ten years. BLSF thin films can be applied to ferroelectric random access memories because of their durable fatigue-free properties and lead-free composition. We will briefly introduce epitaxial thin films grown on a variety of substrates. Because of the difficulty in growing single crystals of sufficient size to characterize the ferroelectric behavior in specific crystal growth directions, we will characterize epitaxially grown thin films to obtain basic information about the anisotropic switching behavior, which is important for evaluating the performance of emerging materials. We will then discuss the fiber-textured growth on the (111)Pt-covered Si substrates of SrBi2Ta2O9 and Bi4Ti3O12 thin films. Because we expect that the spread crystal orientation will affect the bit-to-bit errors, we believe that the fiber-textured growth and the characterization technique for the deposited film orientation are interesting from a practical standpoint. Another specific challenge of thin film growth is the growth of a-axis-(polar axis)-oriented films. a-/b-axis-oriented films are characterized both crystallographically and by electric hysteresis loop. The hysteresis performance was in accordance with the volume fraction of the a /b domains; however, no evidence for 90° switching of the b domain by an external electric field was obtained. The control of film orientation also allows systematic studies on the effects of a structural modification and relation between spontaneous polarization and Curie temperature, examples of which are given in this paper. After a short description of the piezoelectric properties, we will conclude with a summary and the future prospects of BLSF thin films for research and applications.

Effect of Pentacene-dielectric Affinity on Pentacene Thin Film Growth Morphology in Organic Field-effect Transistors

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

S Kim; M Jang; H Yang

2011-12-31

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are fabricated by depositing a thin film of semiconductor on the functionalized surface of a SiO{sub 2} dielectric. The chemical and morphological structures of the interface between the semiconductor and the functionalized dielectric are critical for OFET performance. We have characterized the effect of the affinity between semiconductor and functionalized dielectric on the properties of the semiconductor-dielectric interface. The crystalline microstructure/nanostructure of the pentacene semiconductor layers, grown on a dielectric substrate that had been functionalized with either poly(4-vinyl pyridine) or polystyrene (to control hydrophobicity), and grown under a series of substrate temperatures and deposition rates, weremore » characterized by X-ray diffraction, photoemission spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. By comparing the morphological features of the semiconductor thin films with the device characteristics (field-effect mobility, threshold voltage, and hysteresis) of the OFET devices, the effect of affinity-driven properties on charge modulation, charge trapping, and charge carrier transport could be described.« less

Highly Oriented Growth of Piezoelectric Thin Films on Silicon Using Two-Dimensional Nanosheets as Growth Template Layer.

PubMed

Nguyen, Minh D; Yuan, Huiyu; Houwman, Evert P; Dekkers, Matthijn; Koster, Gertjan; Ten Elshof, Johan E; Rijnders, Guus

2016-11-16

Ca 2 Nb 3 O 10 (CNOns) and Ti 0.87 O 2 (TiOns) metal oxide nanosheets (ns) are used as a buffer layer for epitaxial growth of piezoelectric capacitor stacks on Si and Pt/Ti/SiO 2 /Si (Pt/Si) substrates. Highly (001)- and (110)-oriented Pb(Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 )O 3 (PZT) films are achieved by utilizing CNOns and TiOns, respectively. The piezoelectric capacitors are characterized by polarization and piezoelectric hysteresis loops and by fatigue measurements. The devices fabricated with SrRuO 3 top and bottom electrodes directly on nanosheets/Si have ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties well comparable with devices that use more conventional oxide buffer layers (stacks) such as YSZ, CeO 2 /YSZ, or SrTiO 3 on Si. The devices grown on nanosheets/Pt/Si with Pt top electrodes show significantly improved polarization fatigue properties over those of similar devices grown directly on Pt/Si. The differences in properties are ascribed to differences in the crystalline structures and the density of the films. These results show a route toward the fabrication of single crystal piezoelectric thin films and devices with high quality, long-lifetime piezoelectric capacitor structures on nonperovskite and even noncrystalline substrates such as glass or polished metal surfaces.

Characterization of reclaimed GaAs substrates and investigation of reuse for thin film InGaAlP LED epitaxial growth

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

Englhard, M.; Klemp, C.; Behringer, M.

This study reports a method to reuse GaAs substrates with a batch process for thin film light emitting diode (TF-LED) production. The method is based on an epitaxial lift-off technique. With the developed reclaim process, it is possible to get an epi-ready GaAs surface without additional time-consuming and expensive grinding/polishing processes. The reclaim and regrowth process was investigated with a one layer epitaxial test structure. The GaAs surface was characterized by an atomic force microscope directly after the reclaim process. The crystal structure of the regrown In{sub 0.5}(Ga{sub 0.45}Al{sub 0.55}){sub 0.5}P (Q{sub 55}) layer was investigated by high resolution x-raymore » diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy. In addition, a complete TF-LED grown on reclaimed GaAs substrates was electro-optically characterized on wafer level. The crystal structure of the epitaxial layers and the performance of the TF-LED grown on reclaimed substrates are not influenced by the developed reclaim process. This process would result in reducing costs for LEDs and reducing much arsenic waste for the benefit of a green semiconductor production.« less

Structural and electrical investigations of MBE-grown SiGe nanoislands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Şeker, İsa; Karatutlu, Ali; Gürbüz, Osman; Yanık, Serhat; Bakış, Yakup; Karakız, Mehmet

2018-01-01

SiGe nanoislands were grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) method on Si (100) substrates with comparative growth parameters such as annealing temperature, top Ge content and layer-by-layer annealing (LBLA). XRD and Raman data suggest that annealing temperature, top Ge content and layer-by-layer annealing (LBLA) can overall give a control not only over the amorphous content but also over yielding the strained Ge layer formation in addition to mostly Ge crystallites. Depending on the layer design and growth conditions, size of the crystallites was observed to be changed. Four Point Probe (FPP) Method via Semiconductor Analyzer shows that 100 °C rise in annealing temperature of the samples with Si0.25Ge0.75 top layers caused rougher islands with vacancies which further resulted in the formation of laterally higher resistive thin film sheets. However, vertically performed I-AFM analysis produced higher I-V values which suggest that the vertical and horizantal conductance mechanisms appear to be different. Ge top-layered samples gained greater crystalline structure and better surface conductivity where LBLA resulted in the formation of Ge nucleation and tight 2D stacking resulting in enhanced current values.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2018-05-01

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

Characterization of zinc oxide thin film for pH detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashim, Uda; Fathil, M. F. M.; Arshad, M. K. Md; Gopinath, Subash C. B.; Uda, M. N. A.

2017-03-01

This paper presents the fabrication process of the zinc oxide thin films for using to act as pH detection by using different PH solution. Sol-gel solution technique is used for preparing zinc oxide seed solution, followed by metal oxide deposition process by using spin coater on the silicon dioxide. Silicon dioxide layer is grown on the silicon wafer, then, ZnO seed solution is deposited on the silicon layer, baked, and annealing process carried on to undergo the characterization of its surface morphology, structural and crystalline phase. Electrical characterization is showed by using PH 4, 7, and 10 is dropped on the surface of the die, in addition, APTES solution is used as linker and also as a references of the electrical characterization.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2016-08-01

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

Using ALD To Bond CNTs to Substrates and Matrices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wong, Eric W.; Bronikowski, Michael J.; Kowalczyk, Robert S.

2008-01-01

Atomic-layer deposition (ALD) has been shown to be effective as a means of coating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with layers of Al2O3 that form strong bonds between the CNTs and the substrates on which the CNTs are grown. ALD is a previously developed vaporphase thin-film-growth technique. ALD differs from conventional chemical vapor deposition, in which material is deposited continually by thermal decomposition of a precursor gas. In ALD, material is deposited one layer of atoms at a time because the deposition process is self-limiting and driven by chemical reactions between the precursor gas and the surface of the substrate or the previously deposited layer.

van der Waals epitaxy of SnS film on single crystal graphene buffer layer on amorphous SiO2/Si

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, Yu; Yang, Yunbo; Guo, Fawen; Sun, Xin; Lu, Zonghuan; Mohanty, Dibyajyoti; Bhat, Ishwara; Washington, Morris; Lu, Toh-Ming; Wang, Gwo-Ching

2018-03-01

Conventional hetero-epitaxial films are typically grown on lattice and symmetry matched single crystal substrates. We demonstrated the epitaxial growth of orthorhombic SnS film (∼500 nm thick) on single crystal, monolayer graphene that was transferred on the amorphous SiO2/Si substrate. Using X-ray pole figure analysis we examined the structure, quality and epitaxy relationship of the SnS film grown on the single crystal graphene and compared it with the SnS film grown on commercial polycrystalline graphene. We showed that the SnS films grown on both single crystal and polycrystalline graphene have two sets of orientation domains. However, the crystallinity and grain size of the SnS film improve when grown on the single crystal graphene. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction measurements show that the near surface texture has more phases as compared with that of the entire film. The surface texture of a film will influence the growth and quality of film grown on top of it as well as the interface formed. Our result offers an alternative approach to grow a hetero-epitaxial film on an amorphous substrate through a single crystal graphene buffer layer. This strategy of growing high quality epitaxial thin film has potential applications in optoelectronics.

Layer uniformity in glucose oxidase immobilization on SiO 2 surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Libertino, Sebania; Scandurra, Antonino; Aiello, Venera; Giannazzo, Filippo; Sinatra, Fulvia; Renis, Marcella; Fichera, Manuela

2007-09-01

The goal of this work was the characterization, step by step, of the enzyme glucose oxidase (GOx) immobilization on silicon oxide surfaces, mainly by means of X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The immobilization protocol consists of four steps: oxide activation, silanization, linker molecule deposition and GOx immobilization. The linker molecule, glutaraldehyde (GA) in this study, must be able to form a uniform layer on the sample surface in order to maximize the sites available for enzyme bonding and achieve the best enzyme deposition. Using a thin SiO 2 layer grown on Si wafers and following the XPS Si2p signal of the Si substrate during the immobilization steps, we demonstrated both the glutaraldehyde layer uniformity and the possibility to use XPS to monitor thin layer uniformity. In fact, the XPS substrate signal, not shielded by the oxide, is suppressed only when a uniform layer is deposited. The enzyme correct immobilization was monitored using the XPS C1s and N1s signals. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements carried out on the same samples confirmed the results.

High Ms Fe16N2 thin film with Ag under layer on GaAs substrate

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

Allard Jr, Lawrence Frederick

2016-01-01

(001) textured Fe16N2 thin film with Ag under layer is successfully grown on GaAs substrate using a facing target sputtering (FTS) system. After post annealing, chemically ordered Fe16N2 phase is formed and detected by X-ray diffraction (XRD). High saturation magnetization (Ms) is measured by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). In comparison with Fe16N2 with Ag under layer on MgO substrate and Fe16N2 with Fe under layer on GaAs substrate, the current layer structure shows a higher Ms value, with a magnetically softer feature in contrast to the above cases. In addition, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is performed to characterize themore » binding energy of N atoms. To verify the role of strain that the FeN layer experiences in the above three structures, Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD) is conducted to reveal a large in-plane lattice constant due to the in-plane biaxial tensile strain. INTRODUCTION« less

Characterization of Pb-Doped GaN Thin Films Grown by Thermionic Vacuum Arc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özen, Soner; Pat, Suat; Korkmaz, Şadan

2018-03-01

Undoped and lead (Pb)-doped gallium nitride (GaN) thin films have been deposited by a thermionic vacuum arc (TVA) method. Glass and polyethylene terephthalate were selected as optically transparent substrates. The structural, optical, morphological, and electrical properties of the deposited thin films were investigated. These physical properties were interpreted by comparison with related analysis methods. The crystalline structure of the deposited GaN thin films was hexagonal wurtzite. The optical bandgap energy of the GaN and Pb-doped GaN thin films was found to be 3.45 eV and 3.47 eV, respectively. The surface properties of the deposited thin films were imaged using atomic force microscopy and field-emission scanning electron microscopy, revealing a nanostructured, homogeneous, and granular surface structure. These results confirm that the TVA method is an alternative layer deposition system for Pb-doped GaN thin films.

Spin-resolved photoemission study of epitaxially grown MoSe 2 and WSe 2 thin films

DOE PAGES

Mo, Sung-Kwan; Hwang, Choongyu; Zhang, Yi; ...

2016-09-12

Few-layer thick MoSe 2 and WSe 2 possess non-trivial spin textures with sizable spin splitting due to the inversion symmetry breaking embedded in the crystal structure and strong spin–orbit coupling. Here, we report a spin-resolved photoemission study of MoSe 2 and WSe 2 thin film samples epitaxially grown on a bilayer graphene substrate. Furthermore, we only found spin polarization in the single- and trilayer samples—not in the bilayer sample—mostly along the out-of-plane direction of the sample surface. The measured spin polarization is found to be strongly dependent on the light polarization as well as the measurement geometry, which reveals intricatemore » coupling between the spin and orbital degrees of freedom in this class of material.« less

Photo-conductive detection of continuous THz waves via manipulated ultrafast process in nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moon, Kiwon; Lee, Eui Su; Lee, Il-Min; Park, Dong Woo; Park, Kyung Hyun

2018-01-01

Time-domain and frequency-domain terahertz (THz) spectroscopy systems often use materials fabricated with exotic and expensive methods that intentionally introduce defects to meet short carrier lifetime requirements. In this study, we demonstrate the development of a nano-photomixer that meets response speed requirements without using defect-incorporated, low-temperature-grown (LTG) semiconductors. Instead, we utilized a thin InGaAs layer grown on a semi-insulating InP substrate by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) combined with nano-electrodes to manipulate local ultrafast photo-carrier dynamics via a carefully designed field-enhancement and plasmon effect. The developed nano-structured photomixer can detect continuous-wave THz radiation up to a frequency of 2 THz with a peak carrier collection efficiency of 5%, which is approximately 10 times better than the reference efficiency of 0.4%. The better efficiency results from the high carrier mobility of the MOCVD-grown InGaAs thin layer with the coincidence of near-field and plasmon-field distributions in the nano-structure. Our result not only provides a generally applicable methodology for manipulating ultrafast carrier dynamics by means of nano-photonic techniques to break the trade-off relation between the carrier lifetime and mobility in typical LTG semiconductors but also contributes to mass-producible photo-conductive THz detectors to facilitate the widespread application of THz technology.

Ex vivo optical characterization of in vivo grown tissues on dummy sensor implants using double integrating spheres measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Sandeep; Goodarzi, Mohammad; Aernouts, Ben; Gellynck, Karolien; Vlaminck, Lieven; Bockstaele, Ronny; Cornelissen, Maria; Ramon, Herman; Saeys, Wouter

2014-05-01

Near infrared spectroscopy offers a promising technological platform for continuous glucose monitoring in the human body. NIR measurements can be performed in vivo with an implantable single-chip based optical NIR sensor. However, the application of NIR spectroscopy for accurate estimation of the analyte concentration in highly scattering biological systems still remains a challenge. For instance, a thin tissue layer may grow in the optical path of the sensor. As most biological tissues allow only a small fraction of the collimated light to pass, this might result in a large reduction of the light throughput. To quantify the effect of presence of a thin tissue layer in the optical path, the bulk optical properties of tissue samples grown on sensor dummies which had been implanted for several months in goats were characterized using Double Integrating Spheres and unscattered transmittance measurements. The measured values of diffuse reflectance, diffuse transmittance and collimated transmittance were used as input to Inverse Adding-Doubling algorithm to estimate the bulk optical properties of the samples. The estimates of absorption and scattering coefficients were then used to calculate the light attenuation through a thin tissue layer. Based on the lower reduction in unscattered transmittance and higher absorptivity of glucose molecules, the measurement in the combination band was found to be the better option for the implantable sensor. As the tissues were found to be highly forward scattering with very low unscattered transmittance, the diffuse transmittance measurement based sensor configuration was recommended for the implantable glucose sensor.

Scanning Electron Microscope Studies of Interactions between Agaricus bisporus (Lang) Sing Hyphae and Bacteria in Casing Soil

PubMed Central

Masaphy, Segula; Levanon, D.; Tchelet, R.; Henis, Y.

1987-01-01

Relationships between the hyphae of Agaricus bisporus (Lang) Sing and bacteria from the mushroom bed casing layer were examined with a scanning electron microscope. Hyphae growing in the casing layer differed morphologically from compost-grown hyphae. Whereas the compost contained thin single hyphae surrounded by calcium oxalate crystals, the casing layer contained mainly wide hyphae or mycelial strands without crystals. The bacterial population in the hyphal environment consisted of several types, some attached to the hyphae with filamentlike structures. This attachment may be important in stimulation of pinhead initiation. Images PMID:16347340

Substrate effects on the epitaxial growth of ZnGeP2 thin films by open tube organometallic chemical vapor deposition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xing, G. C.; Bachmann, K. J.; Posthill, J. B.; Timmons, M. L.

1991-01-01

Epitaxial ZnGeP2-Ge films have been grown on (111)GaP substrates using MOCVD. The films grown with dimethylzinc to germane flow rate ratio R greater than 10 show mirror-smooth surface morphology. Films grown with R less than 10 show a high density of twinning, including both double position and growth twins. Compared to films grown on (001) GaP substrates, the layers on (111) GaP generally show a higher density of microstructural defects. TEM electron diffraction patterns show that the films grown on (111) GaP substrates are more disordered than films grown on (001) GaP under comparable conditions. The growth rate on (111) GaP substrates is about 2.5 times slower than that on (001) GaP, and films grown on Si substrates show extensive twinning formation. Both TEM and SEM examinations indicate that smooth epitaxial overgrowth may be easier on (111) Si substrates than on (001) Si.

A crystalline germanium flexible thin-film transistor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higashi, H.; Nakano, M.; Kudo, K.; Fujita, Y.; Yamada, S.; Kanashima, T.; Tsunoda, I.; Nakashima, H.; Hamaya, K.

2017-11-01

We experimentally demonstrate a flexible thin-film transistor (TFT) with (111)-oriented crystalline germanium (Ge) layers grown by a gold-induced crystallization method. Accumulation-mode metal source/drain p-channel Ge TFTs are fabricated on a polyimide film at ≤ 400 ° C . A field-effect mobility (μFE) of 10.7 cm2/Vs is obtained, meaning the highest μFE in the p-TFTs fabricated at ≤ 400 ° C on flexible plastic substrates. This study will lead to high-performance flexible electronics based on an inorganic-semiconductor channel.

Quantum state engineering with ultra-short-period (AlN)m/(GaN)n superlattices for narrowband deep-ultraviolet detection.

PubMed

Gao, Na; Lin, Wei; Chen, Xue; Huang, Kai; Li, Shuping; Li, Jinchai; Chen, Hangyang; Yang, Xu; Ji, Li; Yu, Edward T; Kang, Junyong

2014-12-21

Ultra-short-period (AlN)m/(GaN)n superlattices with tunable well and barrier atomic layer numbers were grown by metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy, and employed to demonstrate narrowband deep ultraviolet photodetection. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray reciprocal space mapping confirm that superlattices containing well-defined, coherently strained GaN and AlN layers as thin as two atomic layers (∼ 0.5 nm) were grown. Theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that an optical absorption band as narrow as 9 nm (210 meV) at deep-ultraviolet wavelengths can be produced, and is attributable to interband transitions between quantum states along the [0001] direction in ultrathin GaN atomic layers isolated by AlN barriers. The absorption wavelength can be precisely engineered by adjusting the thickness of the GaN atomic layers because of the quantum confinement effect. These results represent a major advance towards the realization of wavelength selectable and narrowband photodetectors in the deep-ultraviolet region without any additional optical filters.

Indium hexagonal island as seed-layer to boost a-axis orientation of AlN thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redjdal, N.; Salah, H.; Azzaz, M.; Menari, H.; Manseri, A.; Guedouar, B.; Garcia-Sanchez, A.; Chérif, S. M.

2018-06-01

Highly a-axis oriented aluminum nitride films have been grown on Indium coated (100) Si substrate by DC reactive magnetron sputtering. It is shown that In incorporated layer improve the extent of preferential growth along (100) axis and form dense AlN films with uniform surface and large grains, devoid of micro-cracks. As revealed by SEM cross section images, AlN structure consists of oriented columnar grains perpendicular to the Si surface, while AlN/In structure results in uniformely tilted column. SEM images also revealed the presence of In hexagonal islands persistent throughout the entire growth. Micro -Raman spectroscopy of the surface and the cross section of the AlN/In grown films evidenced their high degree of homogeneity and cristallinity.

Enhancement of near-infrared detectability from InGaZnO thin film transistor with MoS2 light absorbing layer.

PubMed

Pak, Sang Woo; Chu, Dongil; Song, Da Ye; Lee, Seung Kyo; Kim, Eun Kyu

2017-11-24

We report an enhancement of near-infrared (NIR) detectability from amorphous InGaZnO (α-IGZO) thin film transistor in conjunction with randomly distributed molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) flakes. The electrical characteristics of the α-IGZO grown by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering exhibit high effective mobility exceeding 15 cm 2 V -1 s -1 and current on/off ratio up to 10 7 . By taking advantages of the high quality α-IGZO and MoS 2 light absorbing layer, photodetection spectra are able to extend from ultra-violet to NIR range. The α-IGZO channel detector capped by MoS 2 show a photo-responsivity of approximately 14.9 mA W -1 at 1100 nm wavelength, which is five times higher than of the α-IGZO device without MoS 2 layer.

Enhancement of near-infrared detectability from InGaZnO thin film transistor with MoS2 light absorbing layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pak, Sang Woo; Chu, Dongil; Song, Da Ye; Kyo Lee, Seung; Kim, Eun Kyu

2017-11-01

We report an enhancement of near-infrared (NIR) detectability from amorphous InGaZnO (α-IGZO) thin film transistor in conjunction with randomly distributed molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) flakes. The electrical characteristics of the α-IGZO grown by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering exhibit high effective mobility exceeding 15 cm2 V-1 s-1 and current on/off ratio up to 107. By taking advantages of the high quality α-IGZO and MoS2 light absorbing layer, photodetection spectra are able to extend from ultra-violet to NIR range. The α-IGZO channel detector capped by MoS2 show a photo-responsivity of approximately 14.9 mA W-1 at 1100 nm wavelength, which is five times higher than of the α-IGZO device without MoS2 layer.

Oriented Y-type hexagonal ferrite thin films prepared by chemical solution deposition

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

Buršík, J., E-mail: bursik@iic.cas.cz; Kužel, R.; Knížek, K.

2013-07-15

Thin films of Ba{sub 2}Zn{sub 2}Fe{sub 12}O{sub 22} (Y) hexaferrite were prepared through the chemical solution deposition method on SrTiO{sub 3}(1 1 1) (ST) single crystal substrates using epitaxial SrFe{sub 12}O{sub 19} (M) hexaferrite thin layer as a seed template layer. The process of crystallization was mainly investigated by means of X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. A detailed inspection revealed that growth of seed layer starts through the break-up of initially continuous film into isolated grains with expressive shape anisotropy and hexagonal habit. The vital parameters of the seed layer, i.e. thickness, substrate coverage, crystallization conditions and temperature rampmore » were optimized with the aim to obtain epitaxially crystallized Y phase. X-ray diffraction Pole figure measurements and Φ scans reveal perfect parallel in-plane alignment of SrTiO{sub 3} substrate and both hexaferrite phases. - Graphical abstract: XRD pole figure and AFM patterns of Ba{sub 2}Zn{sub 2}Fe{sub 12}O{sub 22} thin film epitaxially grown on SrTiO{sub 3}(1 1 1) single crystal using seeding layer templating. - Highlights: • Single phase Y-type hexagonal ferrite thin films were prepared by CSD method. • Seed M layer breaks into isolated single crystal islands and serves as a template. • Large seed grains grow by consuming the grains within the bulk of recoated film. • We explained the observed orientation relation of epitaxial domains. • Epitaxial growth on SrTiO{sub 3}(1 1 1) with relation (0 0 1){sub M,Y}//(1 1 1){sub ST}+[1 0 0]{sub M,Y}//[2 −1 −1]{sub ST}.« less

Effect of InSb/In0.9Al0.1Sb superlattice buffer layer on the structural and electronic properties of InSb films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xiaomeng; Zhang, Yang; Guan, Min; Cui, Lijie; Wang, Baoqiang; Zhu, Zhanping; Zeng, Yiping

2017-07-01

The effect of InSb/In0.9Al0.1Sb buffer layers on InSb thin films grown on GaAs (0 0 1) substrate by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is investigated. The crystal quality and the surface morphology of InSb are characterized by XRD and AFM. The carrier transport property is researched through variable temperature hall test. The sharp interface between InSb/In0.9Al0.1Sb is demonstrated important for the high quality InSb thin film. We try different superlattice buffer layers by changing ratios, 2-0.5, thickness, 300-450 nm, and periods, 20-50. According to the function of the dislocation density to the absolute temperature below 150 K with different periods of SL buffers, we can find that the number of periods of superlattice is a major factor to decrease the density of threading dislocations. With the 50 periods SL buffer layer, the electron mobility of InSb at the room temperature and liquid nitrogen cooling temperature is ∼63,000 and ∼4600 cm2/V s, respectively. We deduce that the interface in the SL structure works as a filter layer to prevent the dislocation propagating to the upper InSb thin films.

Fabrication and improved photoelectrochemical properties of a transferred GaN-based thin film with InGaN/GaN layers.

PubMed

Cao, Dezhong; Xiao, Hongdi; Gao, Qingxue; Yang, Xiaokun; Luan, Caina; Mao, Hongzhi; Liu, Jianqiang; Liu, Xiangdong

2017-08-17

Herein, a lift-off mesoporous GaN-based thin film, which consisted of a strong phase-separated InGaN/GaN layer and an n-GaN layer, was fabricated via an electrochemical etching method in a hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution for the first time and then transferred onto quartz or n-Si substrates, acting as photoanodes during photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting in a 1 M NaCl aqueous solution. Compared to the as-grown GaN-based film, the transferred GaN-based thin films possess higher and blue-shifted light emission, presumably resulting from an increase in the surface area and stress relaxation in the InGaN/GaN layer embedded on the mesoporous n-GaN. The properties such as (i) high photoconversion efficiency, (ii) low turn-on voltage (-0.79 V versus Ag/AgCl), and (iii) outstanding stability enable the transferred films to have excellent PEC water splitting ability. Furthermore, as compared to the film transferred onto the quartz substrate, the film transferred onto the n-Si substrate exhibits higher photoconversion efficiency (2.99% at -0.10 V) due to holes (h + ) in the mesoporous n-GaN layer that originate from the n-Si substrate.

Epitaxial growth and physical properties of ternary nitride thin films by polymer-assisted deposition

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

Enriquez, Erik M.; Zhang, Yingying; Chen, Aiping

2016-08-26

Epitaxial layered ternary metal-nitride FeMoN 2, (Fe 0.33 Mo 0.67)MoN 2, CoMoN 2, and FeWN 2 thin films have been grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by polymer-assisted deposition. The ABN 2 layer sits on top of the oxygen sublattices of the substrate with three possible matching configurations due to the significantly reduced lattice mismatch. The doping composition and elements affect not only the out-of-plane lattice parameters but also the temperature-dependent electrical properties. These films have resistivity in the range of 0.1–1 mΩ·cm, showing tunable metallic or semiconducting behaviors by adjusting the composition. A modified parallel connection channel model has beenmore » used to analyze the grain boundary and Coulomb blockade effect on the electrical properties. Furthermore, the growth of the high crystallinity layered epitaxial thin films provides an avenue to study the composition-structure-property relationship in ABN 2 materials through A and B-site substitution.« less

Ultra-thin distributed Bragg reflectors via stacked single-crystal silicon nanomembranes

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

Cho, Minkyu; Seo, Jung-Hun; Lee, Jaeseong

2015-05-04

In this paper, we report ultra-thin distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) via stacked single-crystal silicon (Si) nanomembranes (NMs). Mesh hole-free single-crystal Si NMs were released from a Si-on-insulator substrate and transferred to quartz and Si substrates. Thermal oxidation was applied to the transferred Si NM to form high-quality SiO{sub 2} and thus a Si/SiO{sub 2} pair with uniform and precisely controlled thicknesses. The Si/SiO{sub 2} layers, as smooth as epitaxial grown layers, minimize scattering loss at the interface and in between the layers. As a result, a reflection of 99.8% at the wavelength range from 1350 nm to 1650 nm can be measuredmore » from a 2.5-pair DBR on a quartz substrate and 3-pair DBR on a Si substrate with thickness of 0.87 μm and 1.14 μm, respectively. The high reflection, ultra-thin DBRs developed here, which can be applied to almost any devices and materials, holds potential for application in high performance optoelectronic devices and photonics applications.« less

Titanium dioxide thin films by atomic layer deposition: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-09-01

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

Particle detector spatial resolution

DOEpatents

Perez-Mendez, V.

1992-12-15

Method and apparatus for producing separated columns of scintillation layer material, for use in detection of X-rays and high energy charged particles with improved spatial resolution is disclosed. A pattern of ridges or projections is formed on one surface of a substrate layer or in a thin polyimide layer, and the scintillation layer is grown at controlled temperature and growth rate on the ridge-containing material. The scintillation material preferentially forms cylinders or columns, separated by gaps conforming to the pattern of ridges, and these columns direct most of the light produced in the scintillation layer along individual columns for subsequent detection in a photodiode layer. The gaps may be filled with a light-absorbing material to further enhance the spatial resolution of the particle detector. 12 figs.

Particle detector spatial resolution

DOEpatents

Perez-Mendez, Victor

1992-01-01

Method and apparatus for producing separated columns of scintillation layer material, for use in detection of X-rays and high energy charged particles with improved spatial resolution. A pattern of ridges or projections is formed on one surface of a substrate layer or in a thin polyimide layer, and the scintillation layer is grown at controlled temperature and growth rate on the ridge-containing material. The scintillation material preferentially forms cylinders or columns, separated by gaps conforming to the pattern of ridges, and these columns direct most of the light produced in the scintillation layer along individual columns for subsequent detection in a photodiode layer. The gaps may be filled with a light-absorbing material to further enhance the spatial resolution of the particle detector.

SPE-LEEM Studies on the Surface and Electronic Structure of 2-D Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeh, Po-Chun; Jin, Wencan; Zaki, Nader; Zhang, Datong; Sadowski, Jerzy; Al-Mahboob, Abdullah; van de Zande, Arend; Chenet, Daniel; Dadap, Jerry; Herman, Irving; Sutter, Petter; Hone, James; Osgood, Richard

2014-03-01

In this work, we studied the surface and electronic structure of monolayer and few-layer exfoliated MoS2 and WSe2, as well as chemical-vapor-deposition (CVD) grown MoS2, using Spectroscopic Photoemission and Low Energy Electron Microscope (SPE-LEEM). LEEM measurements reveal that, unlike exfoliated MoS2, CVD-grown MoS2 exhibits grain-boundary alterations due to surface strain. However, LEEM and micro-probe low energy electron diffraction show that the quality of CVD-grown MoS2 is comparable to that of exfoliated MoS2. Micrometer-scale angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurement on exfoliated MoS2 and WSe2 single-crystals provides direct evidence for the shifting of the valence band maximum from Γ to K, when the layer number is thinned down to one, as predicted by density functional theory. Our measurements of the k-space resolved electronic structure allow for further comparison with other theoretical predictions and with transport measurements. Session I and II

Effect of substrates and thickness on optical properties in atomic layer deposition grown ZnO thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pal, Dipayan; Singhal, Jaya; Mathur, Aakash; Singh, Ajaib; Dutta, Surjendu; Zollner, Stefan; Chattopadhyay, Sudeshna

2017-11-01

Atomic Layer Deposition technique was used to grow high quality, very low roughness, crystalline, Zinc Oxide (ZnO) thin films on silicon (Si) and fused quartz (SiO2) substrates to study the optical properties. Spectroscopic ellipsometry results of ZnO/Si system, staggered type-II quantum well, demonstrate that there is a significant drop in the magnitudes of both the real and imaginary parts of complex dielectric constants and in near-band gap absorption along with a blue shift of the absorption edge with decreasing film thickness at and below ∼20 nm. Conversely, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy of ZnO/SiO2, thin type-I quantum well, consisting of a narrower-band gap semiconductor grown on a wider-band gap (insulator) substrate, shows the similar thickness dependent blue-shift of the absorption edge but with an increase in the magnitude of near-band gap absorption with decreasing film thickness. Thickness dependent blue shift, energy vs. 1/d2, in two different systems, ZnO/Si and ZnO/SiO2, show a difference in their slopes. The observed phenomena can be consistently explained by the corresponding exciton (or carrier/s) deconfinement and confinement effects at the ZnO/Si and ZnO/SiO2 interface respectively, where Tanguy-Elliott amplitude pre-factor plays the key role through the electron-hole overlap factor at the interface.

Identification of acoustic waves in ZnO materials by Brillouin light scattering for SAW device applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zerdali, M.; Bechiri, F.; Hamzaoui, S.; Teherani, F. H.; Rogers, D. J.; Sandana, V. E.; Bove, P.; Djemia, P.; Roussigné, Y.

2017-03-01

Brillouin light scattering (BLS) was conducted on melt-grown ZnO bulk crystals and ZnO thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition. The bulk ZnO crystals presented both longitudinal and transverse bulk acoustic waves. Theoretical calculations agreed well with there being one piezoelectric longitudinal branch and two transverse branches. BLS measurements conducted on ZnO thin films also revealed Rayleigh surface acoustic waves (R-SAW) guided by only the surface of the layer and Sezawa modes, guided by the film thickness. Measurements were conducted for three incidence angles in order to investigate different SAW wave numbers. Higher frequency features were identified as being related to a new class of guided longitudinal (LG) SAW modes which are not usually detected for ZnO thin films. The LG-SAW modes were observed for two incidence angles (θ=45° and 55°) corresponding to frequencies of 17.88 and 20.75 GHz, respectively. BLS measurements enable us to estimate the LG-SAW velocity as 6500 m/s. This value is three times higher than that of the currently used R-SAW. Theoretical simulations were coherent with the presence of LG modes in the ZnO layers. Such LG-SAW modes are promising for the development of novel, higher-speed SAW devices operating in the GHz-band and which could be readily incorporated in Si-based integrated circuitry.

AgGaSe2 thin films grown by chemical close-spaced vapor transport for photovoltaic applications: structural, compositional and optical properties.

PubMed

Merschjann, C; Mews, M; Mete, T; Karkatzinou, A; Rusu, M; Korzun, B V; Schorr, S; Schubert-Bischoff, P; Seeger, S; Schedel-Niedrig, Th; Lux-Steiner, M-Ch

2012-05-02

Thin films of chalcopyrite AgGaSe(2) have been successfully grown on glass and glass/molybdenum substrates using the technique of chemical close-spaced vapor transport. The high crystallinity of the samples is confirmed by grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and optical transmission/reflection spectroscopy. Here, two of the three expected direct optical bandgaps are found at 1.77(2) and 1.88(6) eV at 300 K. The lowest bandgap energy at 4 K is estimated to be 1.82(3) eV. Photoluminescence spectroscopy has further revealed the nature of the point defects within the AgGaSe(2), showing evidence for the existence of very shallow acceptor levels of 5(1) and 10(1) meV, and thus suggesting the AgGaSe(2) phase itself to exhibit a p-type conductivity. At the same time, electrical characterization by Hall, Seebeck and four-point-probe measurements indicate properties of a compensated semiconductor. The electrical properties of the investigated thin films are mainly influenced by the presence of Ag(2)Se and Ga(2)O(3) nanometer-scaled surface layers, as well as by Ag(2)Se inclusions in the bulk and Ag clusters at the layers' rear side. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd

Stabilizing Ir(001) Epitaxy on Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Using a Thin Ir Seed Layer Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition

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

Fan, Lisha; Jacobs, Christopher B.; Rouleau, Christopher M.

In this paper, we demonstrate the reproducible epitaxial growth of 100 nm thick Ir(001) films on a heteroepitaxial stack consisting of 5 nm Ir and 100 nm yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) grown on Si(001) substrates. It is shown that a 5 nm thick Ir layer grown by pulsed laser deposition in the same chamber as the YSZ film without breaking the vacuum is the key to stabilizing Ir(001) epitaxial growth. Growth of the Ir seed layer with pure (001) orientation occurs only in a narrow growth temperature window from 550 to 750 °C, and the fraction of Ir(111) increases at substratemore » temperatures outside of this window. The Ir seed layer prevents exposure of the YSZ film to air during sample transfer and enables highly reproducible Ir(001) heteroepitaxy on YSZ buffered Si(001). In contrast, if Ir is grown directly on a bare YSZ layer that was exposed to ambient conditions, the films are prone to change orientation to (111). These results reveal that preserving the chemical and structural purity of the YSZ surface is imperative for achieving Ir(001) epitaxy. The narrow range of the mosaic spread values from eight experiments demonstrates the high yield and high reproducibility of Ir(001) heteroepitaxy by this approach. Lastly, the improved Ir(001) epitaxial growth method is of great significance for integrating a variety of technologically important materials such as diamond, graphene, and functional oxides on a Si platform.« less

Stabilizing Ir(001) Epitaxy on Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Using a Thin Ir Seed Layer Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition

DOE PAGES

Fan, Lisha; Jacobs, Christopher B.; Rouleau, Christopher M.; ...

2016-11-18

In this paper, we demonstrate the reproducible epitaxial growth of 100 nm thick Ir(001) films on a heteroepitaxial stack consisting of 5 nm Ir and 100 nm yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) grown on Si(001) substrates. It is shown that a 5 nm thick Ir layer grown by pulsed laser deposition in the same chamber as the YSZ film without breaking the vacuum is the key to stabilizing Ir(001) epitaxial growth. Growth of the Ir seed layer with pure (001) orientation occurs only in a narrow growth temperature window from 550 to 750 °C, and the fraction of Ir(111) increases at substratemore » temperatures outside of this window. The Ir seed layer prevents exposure of the YSZ film to air during sample transfer and enables highly reproducible Ir(001) heteroepitaxy on YSZ buffered Si(001). In contrast, if Ir is grown directly on a bare YSZ layer that was exposed to ambient conditions, the films are prone to change orientation to (111). These results reveal that preserving the chemical and structural purity of the YSZ surface is imperative for achieving Ir(001) epitaxy. The narrow range of the mosaic spread values from eight experiments demonstrates the high yield and high reproducibility of Ir(001) heteroepitaxy by this approach. Lastly, the improved Ir(001) epitaxial growth method is of great significance for integrating a variety of technologically important materials such as diamond, graphene, and functional oxides on a Si platform.« less

Structural and dielectric properties of thin ZrO2 films on silicon grown by atomic layer deposition from cyclopentadienyl precursor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niinistö, J.; Putkonen, M.; Niinistö, L.; Kukli, K.; Ritala, M.; Leskelä, M.

2004-01-01

ZrO2 thin films with thicknesses below 20 nm were deposited by the atomic layer deposition process on Si(100) substrates at 350 °C. An organometallic precursor, Cp2Zr(CH3)2 (Cp=cyclopentadienyl, C5H5) was used as the zirconium source and water or ozone as oxygen source. The influence of oxygen source and substrate pretreatment on the dielectric properties of ZrO2 films was investigated. Structural characterization with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy was performed to films grown onto HF-etched or native oxide covered silicon. Strong inhibition of ZrO2 film growth was observed with the water process on HF-etched Si. Ozone process on HF-etched Si resulted in interfacial SiO2 formation between the dense and uniform film and the substrate while water process produced interfacial layer with intermixing of SiO2 and ZrO2. The effective permittivity of ZrO2 in Al/ZrO2/Si/Al capacitor structures was dependent on the ZrO2 layer thickness and oxygen source used. The interfacial layer formation increased the capacitance equivalent oxide thickness (CET). CET of 2.0 nm was achieved with 5.9 nm ZrO2 film deposited with the H2O process on HF-stripped Si. The ozone-processed films showed good dielectric properties such as low hysteresis and nearly ideal flatband voltage. The leakage current density was lower and breakdown field higher for the ozone-processed ZrO2 films.

GaN membrane MSM ultraviolet photodetectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muller, A.; Konstantinidis, G.; Kostopoulos, A.; Dragoman, M.; Neculoiu, D.; Androulidaki, M.; Kayambaki, M.; Vasilache, D.; Buiculescu, C.; Petrini, I.

2006-12-01

GaN exhibits unique physical properties, which make this material very attractive for wide range of applications and among them ultraviolet detection. For the first time a MSM type UV photodetector structure was manufactured on a 2.2 μm. thick GaN membrane obtained using micromachining techniques. The low unintentionally doped GaN layer structure was grown by MOCVD on high resistivity (ρ>10kΩcm) <111> oriented silicon wafers, 500μm thick. The epitaxially grown layers include a thin AlN layer in order to reduce the stress in the GaN layer and avoid cracking. Conventional contact lithography, e-gun Ni/Au (10nm /200nm) evaporation and lift-off techniques were used to define the interdigitated Schottky metalization on the top of the wafer. Ten digits with a width of 1μm and a length of 100μm were defined for each electrode. The distance between the digits was also 1μm. After the backside lapping of the wafer to a thickness of approximately 150μm, a 400nm thick Al layer was patterned and deposited on the backside, to be used as mask for the selective reactive ion etching of silicon. The backside mask, for the membrane formation, was patterned using double side alignment techniques and silicon was etched down to the 2.2μm thin GaN layer using SF 6 plasma. A very low dark current (30ρA at 3V) was obtained. Optical responsivity measurements were performed at 1.5V. A maximum responsivity of 18mA/W was obtained at a wavelength of 370nm. This value is very good and can be further improved using transparent contacts for the interdigitated structure.

Fatigue mechanism verified using photovoltaic properties of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Ming; Li, Wei; Li, Junning; Wang, Shaolan; Li, Yaqi; Peng, Biaolin; Huang, Haitao; Lou, Xiaojie

2017-03-01

The photovoltaic effect and its evolution during electrical fatigue in Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) thin films have been investigated. It is found that the photovoltaic effect of the as-grown PZT thin film is highly affected by the asymmetric Schottky barriers, which can be tuned by applying an external electric field. During fatigue processes, both open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current (Jsc) decrease considerably with the increase of the number of electrical cycles. This phenomenon could be ascribed to the degradation of the interfacial layer between the thin film and the electrode induced by highly energetic charge carriers injected from the electrode during bipolar cycling. Our work sheds light on the physical mechanism of both ferroelectric photovoltaics and polarization fatigue in thin-film ferroelectrics.

STM studies of GeSi thin layers epitaxially grown on Si(111)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Motta, N.; Sgarlata, A.; De Crescenzi, M.; Derrien, J.

1996-08-01

Ge/Si alloys were prepared in UHV by solid phase epitaxy on Si(111) substrates. The alloy formation, as a function of the evaporation rate and the Ge layer thickness has been followed in situ by RHEED and scanning tunneling microscopy. The 5 × 5 surface reconstruction appeared after annealing at 450°C Ge layers (up to 10 Å thick), obtained from a low rate Knudsen cell evaporator. In this case a nearly flat and uniform layer of reconstructed alloy was observed. When using an e-gun high rate evaporator we needed to anneal the Ge layer up to 780°C to obtain a 5 × 5 reconstruction. The grown layer was not flat, with many steps and Ge clusters; at high coverages (10 Å and more) large Ge islands appeared. Moreover, we then succeeded in visualizing at atomic resolution the top of some of these Ge islands which displayed a 2 × 1 reconstruction, probably induced from the high compressive strain due to the lattice mismatch with the substrate. We suggest that this unusual behavior could be connected to the high evaporation rate, which helped the direct formation of Ge microcrystals on the Si substrate during the deposition process.

Digitally enhanced thin layer chromatography: further development and some applications in isotopic chemistry.

PubMed

Manthorpe, Daniel P; Lockley, William J S

2013-09-01

Improvements to thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis can be made easily and cheaply by the application of digital colour photography and image analysis. The combined technique, digitally enhanced TLC (DE-TLC), is applicable to the accurate quantification of analytes in mixtures, to reaction monitoring and to other typical uses of TLC. Examples are given of the application of digitally enhanced TLC to: the deuteromethylations of theophylline to [methyl-(2)H3]caffeine and of umbelliferone to [(2)H3]7-methoxycoumarin; the selection of tertiary amine bases in deuterodechlorination reactions; stoichiometry optimisation in the borodeuteride reduction of quinizarin (1,4-dihydroxyanthraquinone) and to the assessment of xanthophyll yields in Lepidium sativum seedlings grown in deuterated media. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Correlated effects of preparation parameters and thickness on morphology and optical properties of ZnO very thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilliot, Mickaël; Hadjadj, Aomar

2015-08-01

Nano-granular ZnO layers have been grown using a sol-gel synthesis and spin-coating deposition process. Thin films with thicknesses ranging from 15 to 150 nm have been obtained by varying the number of deposition cycles and prepared with different synthesis conditions. Morphologies and optical properties have been carefully investigated by joint spectroscopic ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy. A correlation between the evolution of optical properties and grains morphology has been observed. It is shown that both synthesis temperature and concentration similarly allow us to change the correlated growth and properties evolution rate. Thickness variation associated to choice of synthesis parameters could be a useful way to tune morphology and optical properties of the nanostructured ZnO layers.

Atomic-scale identification of novel planar defect phases in heteroepitaxial YBa2Cu3O7-δ thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gauquelin, Nicolas; Zhang, Hao; Zhu, Guozhen; Wei, John Y. T.; Botton, Gianluigi A.

2018-05-01

We have discovered two novel types of planar defects that appear in heteroepitaxial YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO123) thin films, grown by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) either with or without a La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 (LCMO) overlayer, using the combination of high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) imaging and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) mapping for unambiguous identification. These planar lattice defects are based on the intergrowth of either a BaO plane between two CuO chains or multiple Y-O layers between two CuO2 planes, resulting in non-stoichiometric layer sequences that could directly impact the high-Tc superconductivity.

Simulation, fabrication and characterization of ZnO based thin film transistors grown by radio frequency magnetron sputtering.

PubMed

Singh, Shaivalini; Chakrabarti, P

2012-03-01

We report the performance of the thin film transistors (TFTs) using ZnO as an active channel layer grown by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering technique. The bottom gate type TFT, consists of a conventional thermally grown SiO2 as gate insulator onto p-type Si substrates. The X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that the ZnO films are preferentially orientated in the (002) plane, with the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. A typical ZnO TFT fabricated by this method exhibits saturation field effect mobility of about 0.6134 cm2/V s, an on to off ratio of 102, an off current of 2.0 x 10(-7) A, and a threshold voltage of 3.1 V at room temperature. Simulation of this TFT is also carried out by using the commercial software modeling tool ATLAS from Silvaco-International. The simulated global characteristics of the device were compared and contrasted with those measured experimentally. The experimental results are in fairly good agreement with those obtained from simulation.

Low Temperature Reactive Sputtering of Thin Aluminum Nitride Films on Metallic Nanocomposites

PubMed Central

Ramadan, Khaled Sayed Elbadawi; Evoy, Stephane

2015-01-01

Piezoelectric aluminum nitride thin films were deposited on aluminum-molybdenum (AlMo) metallic nanocomposites using reactive DC sputtering at room temperature. The effect of sputtering parameters on film properties was assessed. A comparative study between AlN grown on AlMo and pure aluminum showed an equivalent (002) crystallographic texture. The piezoelectric coefficients were measured to be 0.5±0.1 C m-2 and 0.9±0.1 C m-2, for AlN deposited on Al/0.32Mo and pure Al, respectively. Films grown onto Al/0.32Mo however featured improved surface roughness. Roughness values were measured to be 1.3nm and 5.4 nm for AlN films grown on AlMo and on Al, respectively. In turn, the dielectric constant was measured to be 8.9±0.7 for AlN deposited on Al/0.32Mo seed layer, and 8.7±0.7 for AlN deposited on aluminum; thus, equivalent within experimental error. Compatibility of this room temperature process with the lift-off patterning of the deposited AlN is also reported. PMID:26193701

Dielectric properties of thin C r2O3 films grown on elemental and oxide metallic substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahmood, Ather; Street, Michael; Echtenkamp, Will; Kwan, Chun Pui; Bird, Jonathan P.; Binek, Christian

2018-04-01

In an attempt to optimize leakage characteristics of α-C r2O3 thin films, its dielectric properties were investigated at local and macroscopic scale. The films were grown on Pd(111), Pt(111), and V2O3 (0001), supported on A l2O3 substrate. The local conductivity was measured by conductive atomic force microscopy mapping of C r2O3 surfaces, which revealed the nature of defects that formed conducting paths with the bottom Pd or Pt layer. A strong correlation was found between these electrical defects and the grain boundaries revealed in the corresponding topographic scans. In comparison, the C r2O3 film on V2O3 exhibited no leakage paths at similar tip bias value. Electrical resistance measurements through e-beam patterned top electrodes confirmed the resistivity mismatch between the films grown on different electrodes. The x-ray analysis attributes this difference to the twin free C r2O3 growth on V2O3 seeding.

Weak ferromagnetism and short range polar order in NaMnF3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

KC, Amit; Borisov, Pavel; Shvartsman, Vladimir V.; Lederman, David

2017-02-01

The orthorhombically distorted perovskite NaMnF3 has been predicted to become ferroelectric if an a = c distortion of the bulk Pnma structure is imposed. In order to test this prediction, NaMnF3 thin films were grown on SrTiO3 (001) single crystal substrates via molecular beam epitaxy. The best films were smooth and single phase with four different twin domains. In-plane magnetization measurements revealed the presence of antiferromagnetic ordering with weak ferromagnetism below the Néel temperature TN = 66 K. For the dielectric studies, NaMnF3 films were grown on a 30 nm SrRuO3 (001) layer used as a bottom electrode grown via pulsed laser deposition. The complex permittivity as a function of frequency indicated a strong Debye-like relaxation contribution characterized by a distribution of relaxation times. A power-law divergence of the characteristic relaxation time revealed an order-disorder phase transition at 8 K. The slow relaxation dynamics indicated the formation of super-dipoles (superparaelectric moments) that extend over several unit cells, similar to polar nanoregions of relaxor ferroelectrics.

Non-Reciprocal on Wafer Microwave Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-27

filter uses a barium hexagonal ferrite film incorporated into the dielectric layer of a microstrip transmission line. The zero-field operational...Fal,, Robert E. Camley. Millimeter wave phase shifter based on ferromagnetic resonancein a hexagonal barium ferrite thin film, Applied Physics...materials for on-wafer microwave devices concentrated on barium hexagonal ferrite (BaM) films grown on Si because these material is a good candidate

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

Moto, Kenta; Sadoh, Taizoh; Miyao, Masanobu, E-mail: miyao@ed.kyushu-u.ac.jp

Crystalline GeSn-on-insulator structures with high Sn concentration (>8%), which exceeds thermal equilibrium solid-solubility (∼2%) of Sn in Ge, are essential to achieve high-speed thin film transistors and high-efficiency optical devices. We investigate non-thermal equilibrium growth of Ge{sub 1−x}Sn{sub x} (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) on quartz substrates by using pulsed laser annealing (PLA). The window of laser fluence enabling complete crystallization without film ablation is drastically expanded (∼5 times) by Sn doping above 5% into Ge. Substitutional Sn concentration in grown layers is found to be increased with decreasing irradiation pulse number. This phenomenon can be explained on the basis of significant thermal non-equilibriummore » growth achieved by higher cooling rate after PLA with a lower pulse number. As a result, GeSn crystals with substitutional Sn concentration of ∼12% are realized at pulse irradiation of single shot for the samples with the initial Sn concentration of 15%. Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy measurements reveal the high quality of the grown layer. This technique will be useful to fabricate high-speed thin film transistors and high-efficiency optical devices on insulating substrates.« less

Materials science and integration bases for fabrication of (BaxSr1-x)TiO3 thin film capacitors with layered Cu-based electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, W.; Kabius, B.; Hiller, J. M.; Saha, S.; Carlisle, J. A.; Auciello, O.; Chang, R. P. H.; Ramesh, R.

2003-11-01

The synthesis and fundamental material properties of layered TiAl/Cu/Ta electrodes were investigated to achieve the integration of Cu electrodes with high-dielectric constant (κ) oxide thin films for application to the fabrication of high-frequency devices. The Ta layer is an excellent diffusion barrier to inhibit deleterious Cu diffusion into the Si substrate, while the TiAl layer provides an excellent barrier against oxygen diffusion into the Cu layer to inhibit Cu oxidation during the growth of the high-κ layer in an oxygen atmosphere. Polycrystalline (BaxSr1-x)TiO3 (BST) thin films were grown on the Cu-based bottom electrode by rf magnetron sputtering at temperatures in the range 400-600 °C in oxygen, to investigate the performance of BST/Cu-based capacitors. Characterization of the Cu-based layered structure using surface analytical methods showed that two amorphous oxide layers were formed on both sides of the TiAl barrier, such that the oxide layer on the free surface of the TiAl layer correlates with TiAlOx, while the oxide layer at the TiAl/Cu interface is an Al2O3-rich layer. This double amorphous barrier layer structure effectively prevents oxygen penetration towards the underlying Cu and Ta layers. The TiAlOx interfacial layer, which has a relatively low dielectric constant compared with BST, reduced the total capacitance of the BST thin film capacitors. In addition, the layered electrode-oxide interface roughening observed during the growth of BST films at high temperature, due to copper grain growth, resulted in large dielectric loss on the fabricated BST capacitors. These problems were solved by growing the BST layer at 450 °C followed by a rapid thermal annealing at 700 °C. This process significantly reduced the thickness of the TiAlOx layer and interface roughness resulting in BST capacitors exhibiting properties suitable for the fabrication of high-performance high-frequency devices. In summary, relatively high dielectric constant (280), low dielectric loss (0.007), and low leakage current (<2×10-8 A/cm2 at 100 kV/cm) were achieved for BST thin film capacitors with Cu-based electrodes.

Growth and characterization of organic layers deposited on porous-patterned Si surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorbach, Tamara Ya.; Smertenko, Petro S.; Olkhovik, G. P.; Wisz, Grzegorz

2017-01-01

The organic layers with the thickness from a few nanometers up to few micrometers have been deposited from the chemical solution at room temperature on porous patterned Si surfaces using two medical solutions: thiamine diphosphide (pH=1÷2) and metamizole sodium (pH=6÷7). Based on evolution of morphology, structural and compositional features obtained by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray analysis, reflectance high energy electron diffraction the grown mechanisms in thin organic layers are discussed in the terms of terrace-step-kink model whereas self-organized assemblies evaluated more thick layers. Transport mechanism features and possible photovoltaic properties are discussed on the base of differential current-voltage characteristics.

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.

Versatile fluoride substrates for Fe-based superconducting thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurth, F.; Reich, E.; Hänisch, J.; Ichinose, A.; Tsukada, I.; Hühne, R.; Trommler, S.; Engelmann, J.; Schultz, L.; Holzapfel, B.; Iida, K.

2013-04-01

We demonstrate the growth of Co-doped BaFe2As2 (Ba-122) thin films on CaF2 (001), SrF2 (001), and BaF2 (001) single crystal substrates using pulsed laser deposition. All films are grown epitaxially despite of a large misfit of -10.6% for BaF2 substrate. For all films, a reaction layer is formed at the interface confirmed by X-ray diffraction and for the films grown on CaF2 and BaF2 additionally by transmission electron microscopy. The superconducting transition temperature of the film on CaF2 is around 27 K, whereas the corresponding values of the films on SrF2 and BaF2 are around 22 K and 21 K, respectively. The Ba-122 on CaF2 shows almost identical crystalline quality and superconducting properties as films on Fe-buffered MgO.

Ultrafast relaxation dynamics in BiFeO 3/YBa 2Cu 3O 7 bilayers

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

Springer, D.; Nair, Saritha K.; He, Mi

The temperature dependence of the relaxation dynamics in the bilayer thin film heterostructure composed of multiferroic BiFeO 3 (BFO) and superconducting YBa 2Cu 3O 7 (YBCO) grown on (001) SrTiO 3 substrate is studied by time-resolved pump-probe technique, and compared with that of pure YBCO thin film grown under the same growth conditions. The superconductivity of YBCO is found to be retained in the heterostructure. We observe a speeding up of the YBCO recombination dynamics in the superconducting state of the heterostructure, and attribute it to the presence of weak ferromagnetism at the BFO/YBCOinterface as observed inmagnetization data. An extensionmore » of the Rothwarf-Taylor model is used to fit the ultrafast dynamics of BFO/YBCO, that models an increased quasiparticle occupation of the ferromagnetic interfacial layer in the superconducting state of YBCO.« less

Ultrafast relaxation dynamics in BiFeO 3/YBa 2Cu 3O 7 bilayers

DOE PAGES

Springer, D.; Nair, Saritha K.; He, Mi; ...

2016-02-12

The temperature dependence of the relaxation dynamics in the bilayer thin film heterostructure composed of multiferroic BiFeO 3 (BFO) and superconducting YBa 2Cu 3O 7 (YBCO) grown on (001) SrTiO 3 substrate is studied by time-resolved pump-probe technique, and compared with that of pure YBCO thin film grown under the same growth conditions. The superconductivity of YBCO is found to be retained in the heterostructure. We observe a speeding up of the YBCO recombination dynamics in the superconducting state of the heterostructure, and attribute it to the presence of weak ferromagnetism at the BFO/YBCOinterface as observed inmagnetization data. An extensionmore » of the Rothwarf-Taylor model is used to fit the ultrafast dynamics of BFO/YBCO, that models an increased quasiparticle occupation of the ferromagnetic interfacial layer in the superconducting state of YBCO.« less

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.

Ultrathin, transferred layers of thermally grown silicon dioxide as biofluid barriers for biointegrated flexible electronic systems.

PubMed

Fang, Hui; Zhao, Jianing; Yu, Ki Jun; Song, Enming; Farimani, Amir Barati; Chiang, Chia-Han; Jin, Xin; Xue, Yeguang; Xu, Dong; Du, Wenbo; Seo, Kyung Jin; Zhong, Yiding; Yang, Zijian; Won, Sang Min; Fang, Guanhua; Choi, Seo Woo; Chaudhuri, Santanu; Huang, Yonggang; Alam, Muhammad Ashraful; Viventi, Jonathan; Aluru, N R; Rogers, John A

2016-10-18

Materials that can serve as long-lived barriers to biofluids are essential to the development of any type of chronic electronic implant. Devices such as cardiac pacemakers and cochlear implants use bulk metal or ceramic packages as hermetic enclosures for the electronics. Emerging classes of flexible, biointegrated electronic systems demand similar levels of isolation from biofluids but with thin, compliant films that can simultaneously serve as biointerfaces for sensing and/or actuation while in contact with the soft, curved, and moving surfaces of target organs. This paper introduces a solution to this materials challenge that combines (i) ultrathin, pristine layers of silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) thermally grown on device-grade silicon wafers, and (ii) processing schemes that allow integration of these materials onto flexible electronic platforms. Accelerated lifetime tests suggest robust barrier characteristics on timescales that approach 70 y, in layers that are sufficiently thin (less than 1 μm) to avoid significant compromises in mechanical flexibility or in electrical interface fidelity. Detailed studies of temperature- and thickness-dependent electrical and physical properties reveal the key characteristics. Molecular simulations highlight essential aspects of the chemistry that governs interactions between the SiO 2 and surrounding water. Examples of use with passive and active components in high-performance flexible electronic devices suggest broad utility in advanced chronic implants.

Self-organization of dislocation-free, high-density, vertically aligned GaN nanocolumns involving InGaN quantum wells on graphene/SiO2 covered with a thin AlN buffer layer.

PubMed

Hayashi, Hiroaki; Konno, Yuta; Kishino, Katsumi

2016-02-05

We demonstrated the self-organization of high-density GaN nanocolumns on multilayer graphene (MLG)/SiO2 covered with a thin AlN buffer layer by RF-plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. MLG/SiO2 substrates were prepared by the transfer of CVD graphene onto thermally oxidized SiO2/Si [100] substrates. Employing the MLG with an AlN buffer layer enabled the self-organization of high-density and vertically aligned nanocolumns. Transmission electron microscopy observation revealed that no threading dislocations, stacking faults, or twinning defects were included in the self-organized nanocolumns. The photoluminescence (PL) peak intensities of the self-organized GaN nanocolumns were 2.0-2.6 times higher than those of a GaN substrate grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy. Moreover, no yellow luminescence or ZB-phase GaN emission was observed from the nanocolumns. An InGaN/GaN MQW and p-type GaN were integrated into GaN nanocolumns grown on MLG, displaying a single-peak PL emission at a wavelength of 533 nm. Thus, high-density nitride p-i-n nanocolumns were fabricated on SiO2/Si using the transferred MLG interlayer, indicating the possibility of developing visible nanocolumn LEDs on graphene/SiO2.

Ultrathin, transferred layers of thermally grown silicon dioxide as biofluid barriers for biointegrated flexible electronic systems

PubMed Central

Fang, Hui; Yu, Ki Jun; Song, Enming; Farimani, Amir Barati; Chiang, Chia-Han; Jin, Xin; Xu, Dong; Du, Wenbo; Seo, Kyung Jin; Zhong, Yiding; Yang, Zijian; Won, Sang Min; Fang, Guanhua; Choi, Seo Woo; Chaudhuri, Santanu; Huang, Yonggang; Alam, Muhammad Ashraful; Viventi, Jonathan; Aluru, N. R.; Rogers, John A.

2016-01-01

Materials that can serve as long-lived barriers to biofluids are essential to the development of any type of chronic electronic implant. Devices such as cardiac pacemakers and cochlear implants use bulk metal or ceramic packages as hermetic enclosures for the electronics. Emerging classes of flexible, biointegrated electronic systems demand similar levels of isolation from biofluids but with thin, compliant films that can simultaneously serve as biointerfaces for sensing and/or actuation while in contact with the soft, curved, and moving surfaces of target organs. This paper introduces a solution to this materials challenge that combines (i) ultrathin, pristine layers of silicon dioxide (SiO2) thermally grown on device-grade silicon wafers, and (ii) processing schemes that allow integration of these materials onto flexible electronic platforms. Accelerated lifetime tests suggest robust barrier characteristics on timescales that approach 70 y, in layers that are sufficiently thin (less than 1 μm) to avoid significant compromises in mechanical flexibility or in electrical interface fidelity. Detailed studies of temperature- and thickness-dependent electrical and physical properties reveal the key characteristics. Molecular simulations highlight essential aspects of the chemistry that governs interactions between the SiO2 and surrounding water. Examples of use with passive and active components in high-performance flexible electronic devices suggest broad utility in advanced chronic implants. PMID:27791052

Yttrium Iron Garnet Thin Films with Very Low Damping Obtained by Recrystallization of Amorphous Material

PubMed Central

Hauser, Christoph; Richter, Tim; Homonnay, Nico; Eisenschmidt, Christian; Qaid, Mohammad; Deniz, Hakan; Hesse, Dietrich; Sawicki, Maciej; Ebbinghaus, Stefan G.; Schmidt, Georg

2016-01-01

We have investigated recrystallization of amorphous Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) by annealing in oxygen atmosphere. Our findings show that well below the melting temperature the material transforms into a fully epitaxial layer with exceptional quality, both structural and magnetic. In ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) ultra low damping and extremely narrow linewidth can be observed. For a 56 nm thick layer a damping constant of α = (6.15 ± 1.50) · 10−5 is found and the linewidth at 9.6 GHz is as small as 1.30 ± 0.05 Oe which are the lowest values for PLD grown thin films reported so far. Even for a 20 nm thick layer a damping constant of α = (7.35 ± 1.40) · 10−5 is found which is the lowest value for ultrathin films published so far. The FMR linewidth in this case is 3.49 ± 0.10 Oe at 9.6 GHz. Our results not only present a method of depositing thin film YIG of unprecedented quality but also open up new options for the fabrication of thin film complex oxides or even other crystalline materials. PMID:26860816

High-temperature crystallized thin-film PZT on thin polyimide substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Tianning; Wallace, Margeaux; Trolier-McKinstry, Susan; Jackson, Thomas N.

2017-10-01

Flexible piezoelectric thin films on polymeric substrates provide advantages in sensing, actuating, and energy harvesting applications. However, direct deposition of many inorganic piezoelectric materials such as Pb(Zrx,Ti1-x)O3 (PZT) on polymers is challenging due to the high temperature required for crystallization. This paper describes a transfer process for PZT thin films. The PZT films are first grown on a high-temperature capable substrate such as platinum-coated silicon. After crystallization, a polymeric layer is added, and the polymer-PZT combination is removed from the high-temperature substrate by etching away a release layer, with the polymer layer then becoming the substrate. The released PZT on polyimide exhibits enhanced dielectric response due to reduction in substrate clamping after removal from the rigid substrate. For Pb(Zr0.52,Ti0.48)0.98Nb0.02O3 films, release from Si increased the remanent polarization from 17.5 μC/cm2 to 26 μC/cm2. In addition, poling led to increased ferroelastic/ferroelectric realignment in the released films. At 1 kHz, the average permittivity was measured to be around 1160 after release from Si with a loss tangent below 3%. Rayleigh measurements further confirmed the correlation between diminished substrate constraint and increased domain wall mobility in the released PZT films on polymers.

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and spin reorientation transition in L1{sub 0} FePt films

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

Ahn, Jae Young; Lee, Nyun Jong; Kim, Tae Hee

2011-04-01

We investigated the thickness and composition dependence of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in L1{sub 0} Fe{sub 1-x}Pt{sub x} (x = 0.4, 0.5, and 0.55) films. The FePt films with different thicknesses of 35 and 70 A were grown at the substrate temperature T{sub s} = 300 deg. C by molecular beam epitaxy coevaporation technique. A (001)-oriented epitaxial L1{sub 0} FePt film was grown on the thin (001)-oriented fcc Pt layer, while a poorly crystallized FePt film was formed on the (111)-textured Pt layer. Our results showed that, at a fixed thickness of 70 A, the PMA of FePt alloy filmsmore » is enhanced as Pt content increases from 40% to 55%.« less

Crested Tunnel Barriers for Fast, Scalable, Nonvolatile Semiconductor Memories (Theme 3)

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-01

single layer Si0 2 with similar EOT [19]. In Fig. 2, the solid symbols represent the typical I-V characteristics of an AI/(HfON-Si3N4)/Si structure. The...black curve (with open symbols ) is a simulated I-V curve for theoretical Si0 2 with the same EOT. It can be seen clearly that it takes only 3 volts for...R. Wasser , B. Reichenberg, and S. Tiedke, "Resistive switching mechanism of TiO 2 thin films grown by atomic-layer deposition", J. App/. Phys., vol

Temperature-dependent evolution of the wetting layer thickness during Ge deposition on Si(001).

PubMed

Bergamaschini, R; Brehm, M; Grydlik, M; Fromherz, T; Bauer, G; Montalenti, F

2011-07-15

The evolution of the wetting layer (WL) thickness during Ge deposition on Si(001) is analyzed with the help of a rate-equation approach. The combined role of thickness, island volume and shape-dependent chemical potentials is considered. Several experimental observations, such as WL thinning following the pyramid-to-dome transformation, are captured by the model, as directly demonstrated by a close comparison with photoluminescence measurements (PL) on samples grown at three different temperatures. The limitations of the model in describing late stages of growth are critically addressed.

A comparative study of physico-chemical properties of CBD and SILAR grown ZnO thin films

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

Jambure, S.B.; Patil, S.J.; Deshpande, A.R.

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: Schematic model indicating ZnO nanorods by CBD (Z{sub 1}) and nanograins by SILAR (Z{sub 2}). - Highlights: • Simple methods for the synthesis of ZnO thin films. • Comparative study of physico-chemical properties of ZnO thin films prepared by CBD and SILAR methods. • CBD outperforms SILAR method. - Abstract: In the present work, nanocrystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films have been successfully deposited onto glass substrates by simple and economical chemical bath deposition (CBD) and successive ionic layer adsorption reaction (SILAR) methods. These films were further characterized for their structural, optical, surface morphological and wettability properties. Themore » X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns for both CBD and SILAR deposited ZnO thin films reveal the highly crystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure. From optical studies, band gaps obtained are 2.9 and 3.0 eV for CBD and SILAR deposited thin films, respectively. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) patterns show growth of well defined randomly oriented nanorods and nanograins on the CBD and SILAR deposited samples, respectively. The resistivity of CBD deposited films (10{sup 2} Ω cm) is lower than that of SILAR deposited films (10{sup 5} Ω cm). Surface wettability studies show hydrophobic nature for both films. From the above results it can be concluded that CBD grown ZnO thin films show better properties as compared to SILAR method.« less

Trimethylamine alane for low-pressure MOVPE growth of AlGaAs-based materials and device structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, R. P.; Bryan, R. P.; Jones, E. D.; Biefield, R. M.; Olbright, G. R.

The use of trimethylamine alane (TMAA1) as an alternative to trimethylaluminum (TMA1) for low-pressure metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) of AlGaAs thin films as well as complex optoelectronic device structures has been studied in detail. AlGaAs layers were grown in a horizontal reaction chamber at 20 - 110 mbar with growth temperatures in the range 650 C less than or equal to T(sub G) less than or equal to 750 C. Wafer thickness uniformity is strongly dependent on growth pressure, and is acceptable only for the highest linear flow velocities. The 12 K photoluminescence (PL) spectra of AlGaAs layers grown using TMAA1 and TEGa exhibit uniformly intense and narrow bound-exciton emission throughout the growth temperature range investigated. To assess the viability of this new source for the low-pressure OMVPE growth of advanced optoelectronic devices, several optically-pumped vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) structures were grown using TMAA1 extensively. Room temperature lasing at 850 nm was reproducibly obtained from the VCSEL structures, with a threshold pumping power comparable to similar structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy in our laboratories.

Deposition of thin silicon layers on transferred large area graphene

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

Lupina, Grzegorz, E-mail: lupina@ihp-microelectronics.com; Kitzmann, Julia; Lukosius, Mindaugas

2013-12-23

Physical vapor deposition of Si onto transferred graphene is investigated. At elevated temperatures, Si nucleates preferably on wrinkles and multilayer graphene islands. In some cases, however, Si can be quasi-selectively grown only on the monolayer graphene regions while the multilayer islands remain uncovered. Experimental insights and ab initio calculations show that variations in the removal efficiency of carbon residuals after the transfer process can be responsible for this behavior. Low-temperature Si seed layer results in improved wetting and enables homogeneous growth. This is an important step towards realization of electronic devices in which graphene is embedded between two Si layers.

Direct determination of solid-electrolyte interphase thickness and composition as a function of state of charge on a silicon anode

DOE PAGES

Veith, Gabriel M.; Doucet, Mathieu; Baldwin, J. K.; ...

2015-08-17

Using neutron reflectometry we have determined the thickness and chemistry of the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer grown on a silicon anode as a function of state of charge and during cycling. We show the chemistry of this SEI layer becomes more LiF like with increasing lithiation and more Li-C-O-F like with delithiation. More importantly the SEI layer thickness appears to increase (about 250 ) as the electrode becomes less lithiated and thins to 180 with increasing Li content (Li 3.7Si). We attribute this breathing to the continual consumption of electrolyte with cycling.

Germanium layers grown by zone thermal crystallization from a discrete liquid source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yatsenko, A. N.; Chebotarev, S. N.; Lozovskii, V. N.; Mohamed, A. A. A.; Erimeev, G. A.; Goncharova, L. M.; Varnavskaya, A. A.

2017-11-01

It is proposed and investigated a method for growing thin uniform germanium layers onto large silicon substrates. The technique uses the hexagonally arranged local sources filled with liquid germanium. Germanium evaporates on very close substrate and in these conditions the residual gases vapor pressure highly reduces. It is shown that to achieve uniformity of the deposited layer better than 97% the critical thickness of the vacuum zone must be equal to l cr = 1.2 mm for a hexagonal arranged system of round local sources with the radius of r = 0.75 mm and the distance between the sources of h = 0.5 mm.

Formation and reconstruction of Se nanoislands at the surface of thin epitaxial ZnSe layers grown on GaAs substrates

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

Kozlovskiy, V. I.; Krivobok, V. S., E-mail: krivobok@lebedev.ru; Kuznetsov, P. I.

2016-05-15

Strained epitaxial ZnSe layers are grown on GaAs substrates by the method of vapor-phase epitaxy from metal-organic compounds. It is found that Se nanoislands with a density of 10{sup 8} to 10{sup 9} cm{sup –2} are formed at the surface of such layers. It is established that an increase in the size of Se islands and a decrease in their density take place after completion of growth. Annealing in a H{sub 2} atmosphere at a temperature higher than 260°C leads to the disappearance of Se islands and to a decrease in the surface roughness. It is shown that annealing doesmore » not lead to deterioration of the structural perfection of the epitaxial ZnSe films; rather, annealing gives rise to a decrease in the intensity of impurity–defect luminescence and to an increase in the intensity of intrinsic radiation near the bottom of the exciton band.« less

Growth of quantum three-dimensional structure of InGaAs emitting at 1 μm applicable for a broadband near-infrared light source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ozaki, Nobuhiko; Kanehira, Shingo; Hayashi, Yuma; Ohkouchi, Shunsuke; Ikeda, Naoki; Sugimoto, Yoshimasa; Hogg, Richard A.

2017-11-01

We obtained a high-intensity and broadband emission centered at 1 μm from InGaAs quantum three-dimensional (3D) structures grown on a GaAs substrate using molecular beam epitaxy. An InGaAs thin layer grown on GaAs with a thickness close to the critical layer thickness is normally affected by strain as a result of the lattice mismatch and introduced misfit dislocations. However, under certain growth conditions for the In concentration and growth temperature, the growth mode of the InGaAs layer can be transformed from two-dimensional to 3D growth. We found the optimal conditions to obtain a broadband emission from 3D structures with a high intensity and controlled center wavelength at 1 μm. This method offers an alternative approach for fabricating a broadband near-infrared light source for telecommunication and medical imaging systems such as for optical coherence tomography.

Nanometer-Thick Yttrium Iron Garnet Film Development and Spintronics-Related Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Houchen

In the last decade, there has been a considerable interest in using yttrium iron garnet (Y3Fe5O12, YIG) materials for magnetic insulator-based spintronics studies. This interest derives from the fact that YIG materials have very low intrinsic damping. The development of YIG-based spintronics demands YIG films that have a thickness in the nanometer (nm) range and at the same time exhibit low damping similar to single-crystal YIG bulk materials. This dissertation reports comprehensive experimental studies on nm-thick YIG films by magnetron sputtering techniques. Optimization of sputtering control parameters and post-deposition annealing processes are discussed in detail. The feasibility of low-damping YIG nm-thick film growth via sputtering is demonstrated. A 22.3-nm-thick YIG film, for example, shows a Gilbert damping constant of less than 1.0 x 10-4. The demonstration is of great technological significance because sputtering is a thin film growth technique most widely used in industry. The spin Seebeck effect (SSE) refers to the generation of spin voltage in a ferromagnet (FM) due to a temperature gradient. The spin voltage can produce a pure spin current into a normal metal (NM) that is in contact with the FM. Various theoretical models have been proposed to interpret the SSE, although a complete understanding of the effect has not been realized yet. In this dissertation the study of the role of damping on the SSE in YIG thin films is conducted for the first time. With the thin film development method mentioned in the last paragraph, a series of YIG thin films showing very similar structural and static magnetic properties but rather different Gilbert damping values were prepared. A Pt capping layer was grown on each YIG film to probe the strength of the SSE. The experimental data show that the YIG films with a smaller intrinsic Gilbert damping shows a stronger SSE. The majority of the previous studies on YIG spintronics utilized YIG films that were grown on single-crystal Gd3Ga5O 12 (GGG) substrates first and then capped with either a thin NM layer or a thin topological insulator (TI) layer. The use of the GGG substrates is crucial in terms of realizing high-quality YIG films, because GGG not only has a crystalline structure almost perfectly matching that of YIG but is also extremely stable at high temperature in oxygen that is the condition needed for YIG crystallization. The feasibility of growing high-quality YIG thin films on Pt thin films is explored in this dissertation. This work is of great significance because it enables the fabrication of sandwich-like NM/YIG/NM or NM/YIG/TI structures. Such tri-layered structures will facilitate various interesting fundamental studies as well as device developments. The demonstration of a magnon-mediated electric current drag phenomenon is presented as an example for such tri-layered structures.

Influence of different aspect ratios on the structural and electrical properties of GaN thin films grown on nanoscale-patterned sapphire substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Fang-Wei; Ke, Wen-Cheng; Cheng, Chun-Hong; Liao, Bo-Wei; Chen, Wei-Kuo

2016-07-01

This study presents GaN thin films grown on nanoscale-patterned sapphire substrates (NPSSs) with different aspect ratios (ARs) using a homemade metal-organic chemical vapor deposition system. The anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) technique is used to prepare the dry etching mask. The cross-sectional view of the scanning electron microscope image shows that voids exist between the interface of the GaN thin film and the high-AR (i.e. ∼2) NPSS. In contrast, patterns on the low-AR (∼0.7) NPSS are filled full of GaN. The formation of voids on the high-AR NPSS is believed to be due to the enhancement of the lateral growth in the initial growth stage, and the quick-merging GaN thin film blocks the precursors from continuing to supply the bottom of the pattern. The atomic force microscopy images of GaN on bare sapphire show a layer-by-layer surface morphology, which becomes a step-flow surface morphology for GaN on a high-AR NPSS. The edge-type threading dislocation density can be reduced from 7.1 × 108 cm-2 for GaN on bare sapphire to 4.9 × 108 cm-2 for GaN on a high-AR NPSS. In addition, the carrier mobility increases from 85 cm2/Vs for GaN on bare sapphire to 199 cm2/Vs for GaN on a high-AR NPSS. However, the increased screw-type threading dislocation density for GaN on a low-AR NPSS is due to the competition of lateral growth on the flat-top patterns and vertical growth on the bottom of the patterns that causes the material quality of the GaN thin film to degenerate. Thus, the experimental results indicate that the AR of the particular patterning of a NPSS plays a crucial role in achieving GaN thin film with a high crystalline quality.

Copper Oxide Thin Films through Solution Based Methods for Electrical Energy Conversion and Storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Changqiong

Copper oxides (Cu2O and CuO), composed of non-toxic and earth abundant elements, are promising materials for electrical energy generation and storage devices. Solution based techniques for creating thin films of these materials, such as electrodeposition, are important to understand and develop because of their potential for realizing substantial energy savings compared to traditional fabrication methods. Cuprous oxide (Cu2O), with its direct band gap, is a p-type semiconductor that is well suited for creating solution-processed photovoltaic devices (solar cells); several key advancements made toward this application are the primary focus of this thesis. Electrodeposition of single-phase, crystalline Cu2O thin films is demonstrated using previously unexplored, acidic lactate/Cu2+ solutions, which has provided additional understanding of the impacts of growth solution chemistry on film formation. The influence of pH on the resulting Cu2O thin film properties is revealed by using the same ligand (sodium lactate) at various solution pH values. Cu2O films grown from acidic lactate solutions can exhibit a distinctive flowerlike, dendritic morphology, in contrast to the faceted, dense films obtained using alkaline lactate solutions. Relative speciation distributions of the various metal complex ions present under different growth conditions are calculated using reported equilibrium association constants and experimentally supported by UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy. Dependence of thin film morphology on the lactate/Cu2+ molar ratio and applied potential is described. Cu2O/eutectic gallium-indium Schottky junction devices are formed and devices are tested under monochromatic green LED illumination. Further surface examination of the Cu2O films using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) reveals the fact that films grown from acidic lactate solution with a small lactate/Cu2+ molar ratio, which exhibit improved photovoltaic performance compared to films grown from basic lactate solution with a large lactate/Cu2+ molar ratio, are sodium-free. This finding stands in contrast to the observation that films grown in basic solution contain a significant amount of sodium impurity at their top surfaces. Therefore, it is concluded that the sodium impurities present in films grown from basic lactate solutions are detrimental to overall photovoltaic device performance by introducing interface traps and recombination centers for charge carriers, which suggests that removing these impurities may be a promising strategy for improving Cu2O based solar cells. It has been found that impurities at the surface of electrodeposited p-Cu2O films can be efficiently removed through the use of concentrated aqueous ammonia solution as a wet etching agent. The performance of Cu 2O homojunction photovoltaic devices incorporating etched p-Cu 2O as the bottom layer is higher compared to devices with as-deposited p-Cu2O layers due to an improvement of the homojunction interface quality. Reducing the density of defect states that act as carrier recombination centers is found to lead to larger open circuit voltages. Zinc-doped cuprous oxide (Zn:Cu2O) thin films have also been prepared via single step electrodeposition from an aqueous solution containing sodium perchlorate. The Zn/Cu molar ratio in the Cu2O films can be tuned by adjusting the magnitude of the applied potential and the sodium perchlorate concentration. Electrical characterization reveals that zinc dopants increase the Fermi level in Zn:Cu2O films, enabling a three-fold improvement in the power conversion efficiency of a fully electrodeposited Cu2O homojunction photovoltaic device. Complementary to the development of Cu2O based photovoltaic devices, the use of solution deposited cupric oxide (CuO) thin films for capacitive energy storage has also been investigated. A seed layer-assisted chemical bath deposition (SCBD) method has been developed to create high quality CuO thin films on transparent conductive electrode (ITO)/glass substrates. A CuO seed layer is formed by the electrodeposition of Cu2O on ITO electrode for 10 s, followed by a brief (15 min) heating step to convert the Cu 2O to CuO. The seed layer is found to be essential for the growth of micrometer-thick, adherent CuO thin films on ITO-coated glass, as no films were observed to form on substrates without a seed layer. The addition of sodium lactate to the SCBD solution can be used to tune the morphology and relative crystallinity of the CuO films. A highly crystalline CuO film has been deposited from a solution without sodium lactate, while a largely amorphous CuO film was realized using lactate/Cu2+ molar ratio equal to 1.0. The CuO film with greater amorphous character exhibited a significantly larger specific capacitance as a redox active electrode compared to the crystalline film (2700 mF/g vs. 96 mF/g).

Effect of lattice mismatch on the magnetic properties of nanometer-thick La0.9Ba0.1MnO3 (LBM) films and LBM/BaTiO3/LBM heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirzadeh Vaghefi, P.; Baghizadeh, A.; Willinger, M.; Lourenço, A. A. C. S.; Amaral, V. S.

2017-12-01

Oxide multiferroic thin films and heterostructures offer a wide range of properties originated from intrinsic coupling between lattice strain and nanoscale magnetic/electronic ordering. La0.9Ba0.1MnO3 (LBM) thin-films and LBM/BaTiO3/LBM (LBMBT) heterostructures were grown on single crystalline [100] silicon and [0001] Al2O3 using RF magnetron sputtering to study the effect of crystallinity and induced lattice mismatch in the film on magnetic properties of deposited films and heterostructures. The thicknesses of the films on Al2O3 and Si are 70 and 145 nm, respectively, and for heterostructures are 40/30/40 nm on both substrates. The microstructure of the films, state of strain and growth orientations was studied by XRD and microscopy techniques. Interplay of microstructure, strain and magnetic properties is further investigated. It is known that the crystal structure of substrates and imposed tensile strain affect the physical properties; i.e. magnetic behavior of the film. The thin layer grown on Al2O3 substrate shows out-of-plane compressive strain, while Si substrate induces tensile strain on the deposited film. The magnetic transition temperatures (Tc) of the LBM film on the Si and Al2O3 substrates are found to be 195 K and 203 K, respectively, slightly higher than the bulk form, 185 K. The LBMBT heterostructure on Si substrate shows drastic decrease in magnetization due to produced defects created by diffusion of Ti ions into magnetic layer. Meanwhile, the Tc in LBMBTs increases in respect to other studied single layers and heterostructure, because of higher tensile strain induced at the interfaces.

Structure disorder degree of polysilicon thin films grown by different processing: Constant C from Raman spectroscopy

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

Wang, Quan, E-mail: wangq@mail.ujs.edu.cn; State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000; Zhang, Yanmin

2013-11-14

Flat, low-stress, boron-doped polysilicon thin films were prepared on single crystalline silicon substrates by low pressure chemical vapor deposition. It was found that the polysilicon films with different deposition processing have different microstructure properties. The confinement effect, tensile stresses, defects, and the Fano effect all have a great influence on the line shape of Raman scattering peak. But the effect results are different. The microstructure and the surface layer are two important mechanisms dominating the internal stress in three types of polysilicon thin films. For low-stress polysilicon thin film, the tensile stresses are mainly due to the change of microstructuremore » after thermal annealing. But the tensile stresses in flat polysilicon thin film are induced by the silicon carbide layer at surface. After the thin film doped with boron atoms, the phenomenon of the tensile stresses increasing can be explained by the change of microstructure and the increase in the content of silicon carbide. We also investigated the disorder degree states for three polysilicon thin films by analyzing a constant C. It was found that the disorder degree of low-stress polysilicon thin film larger than that of flat and boron-doped polysilicon thin films due to the phase transformation after annealing. After the flat polysilicon thin film doped with boron atoms, there is no obvious change in the disorder degree and the disorder degree in some regions even decreases.« less

Solid-state microrefrigerator

DOEpatents

Ullom, Joel N.

2003-06-24

A normal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) microrefrigerator in which a superconducting single crystal is both the substrate and the superconducting electrode of the NIS junction. The refrigerator consists of a large ultra-pure superconducting single crystal and a normal metal layer on top of the superconducting crystal, separated by a thin insulating layer. The superconducting crystal can be either cut from bulk material or grown as a thick epitaxial film. The large single superconducting crystal allows quasiparticles created in the superconducting crystal to easily diffuse away from the NIS junction through the lattice structure of the crystal to normal metal traps to prevent the quasiparticles from returning across the NIS junction. In comparison to thin film NIS refrigerators, the invention provides orders of magnitude larger cooling power than thin film microrefrigerators. The superconducting crystal can serve as the superconducting electrode for multiple NIS junctions to provide an array of microrefrigerators. The normal electrode can be extended and supported by microsupports to provide support and cooling of sensors or arrays of sensors.

Electronic and optical device applications of hollow cathode plasma assisted atomic layer deposition based GaN thin films

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

Bolat, Sami, E-mail: bolat@ee.bilkent.edu.tr; Tekcan, Burak; Ozgit-Akgun, Cagla

2015-01-15

Electronic and optoelectronic devices, namely, thin film transistors (TFTs) and metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) photodetectors, based on GaN films grown by hollow cathode plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition (PA-ALD) are demonstrated. Resistivity of GaN thin films and metal-GaN contact resistance are investigated as a function of annealing temperature. Effect of the plasma gas and postmetallization annealing on the performances of the TFTs as well as the effect of the annealing on the performance of MSM photodetectors are studied. Dark current to voltage and responsivity behavior of MSM devices are investigated as well. TFTs with the N{sub 2}/H{sub 2} PA-ALD based GaN channels aremore » observed to have improved stability and transfer characteristics with respect to NH{sub 3} PA-ALD based transistors. Dark current of the MSM photodetectors is suppressed strongly after high-temperature annealing in N{sub 2}:H{sub 2} ambient.« less

Studies on morphology, electrical and optical characteristics of Al-doped ZnO thin films grown by atomic layer deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Li; Chen, Xinliang; Zhou, Zhongxin; Guo, Sheng; Zhao, Ying; Zhang, Xiaodan

2018-03-01

Al doped ZnO (AZO) films deposited on glass substrates through the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique are investigated with various temperatures from 100 to 250 °C and different Zn : Al cycle ratios from 20 : 0 to 20 : 3. Surface morphology, structure, optical and electrical properties of obtained AZO films are studied in detail. The Al composition of the AZO films is varied by controlling the ratio of Zn : Al. We achieve an excellent AZO thin film with a resistivity of 2.14 × 10‑3 Ω·cm and high optical transmittance deposited at 150 °C with 20 : 2 Zn : Al cycle ratio. This kind of AZO thin films exhibit great potential for optoelectronics device application. Project supported by the State Key Development Program for Basic Research of China (Nos. 2011CBA00706, 2011CBA00707) and the Tianjin Applied Basic Research Project and Cutting-Edge Technology Research Plan (No. 13JCZDJC26900).

Altering thermal transport by strained-layer epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majdi, Tahereh; Pal, Souvik; Hafreager, Anders; Murad, Sohail; Sahu, Rakesh P.; Puri, Ishwar K.

2018-05-01

Since strain changes the interatomic spacing of matter and alters electron and phonon dispersion, an applied strain can modify the thermal conductivity k of a material. We show how the strain induced by heteroepitaxy is a passive mechanism to change k in a thin film. Molecular dynamics simulations of the deposition and epitaxial growth of ZnTe thin films provide insights into the role of interfacial strain in the conductivity of a deposited film. ZnTe films grow strain-free on lattice-matched ZnTe substrates, but similar thin films grown on a lattice-mismatched CdTe substrate exhibit ˜6% biaxial in-plane tensile strain and ˜7% uniaxial out-of-plane compressive strain. In the T = 700 K-1100 K temperature range, the conductivities of strained ZnTe layers decrease to ˜60% of their unstrained values. The resulting understanding of dk/dT shows that strain engineering can be used to alter the performance of a thermal rectifier and also provides a framework for enhancing thermoelectric devices.

High sensitivity Schottky junction diode based on monolithically grown aligned polypyrrole nanofibers: Broad range detection of m-dihydroxybenzene.

PubMed

Ameen, Sadia; Akhtar, M Shaheer; Seo, Hyung-Kee; Shin, Hyung Shik

2015-07-30

Aligned p-type polypyrrole (PPy) nanofibers (NFs) thin film was grown on n-type silicon (100) substrate by an electrochemical technique to fabricate Schottky junction diode for the efficient detection of m-dihydroxybenzene chemical. The highly dense and well aligned PPy NFs with the average diameter (∼150-200 nm) were grown on n-type Si substrate. The formation of aligned PPy NFs was confirmed by elucidating the structural, compositional and the optical properties. The electrochemical behavior of the fabricated Pt/p-aligned PPy NFs/n-silicon Schottky junction diode was evaluated by cyclovoltametry (CV) and current (I)-voltage (V) measurements with the variation of m-dihydroxybenzene concentration in the phosphate buffer solution (PBS). The fabricated Pt/p-aligned PPy NFs/n-silicon Schottky junction diode exhibited the rectifying behavior of I-V curve with the addition of m-dihydroxybenzene chemical, while a weak rectifying I-V behavior was observed without m-dihydroxybenzene chemical. This non-linear I-V behavior suggested the formation of Schottky barrier at the interface of Pt layer and p-aligned PPy NFs/n-silicon thin film layer. By analyzing the I-V characteristics, the fabricated Pt/p-aligned PPy NFs/n-silicon Schottky junction diode displayed reasonably high sensitivity ∼23.67 μAmM(-1)cm(-2), good detection limit of ∼1.51 mM with correlation coefficient (R) of ∼0.9966 and short response time (10 s). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anodic etching of GaN based film with a strong phase-separated InGaN/GaN layer: Mechanism and properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Qingxue; Liu, Rong; Xiao, Hongdi; Cao, Dezhong; Liu, Jianqiang; Ma, Jin

2016-11-01

A strong phase-separated InGaN/GaN layer, which consists of multiple quantum wells (MQW) and superlattices (SL) layers and can produce a blue wavelength spectrum, has been grown on n-GaN thin film, and then fabricated into nanoporous structures by electrochemical etching method in oxalic acid. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique reveals that the etching voltage of 8 V leads to a vertically aligned nanoporous structure, whereas the films etched at 15 V show branching pores within the n-GaN layer. Due to the low doping concentration of barriers (GaN layers) in the InGaN/GaN layer, we observed a record-low rate of etching (<100 nm/min) and nanopores which are mainly originated from the V-pits in the phase-separated layer. In addition, there exists a horizontal nanoporous structure at the interface between the phase-separated layer and the n-GaN layer, presumably resulting from the high transition of electrons between the barrier and the well (InGaN layer) at the interface. As compared to the as-grown MQW structure, the etched MQW structure exhibits a photoluminescence (PL) enhancement with a partial relaxation of compressive stress due to the increased light-extracting surface area and light-guiding effect. Such a compressive stress relaxation can be further confirmed by Raman spectra.

Laser induced local structural and property modifications in semiconductors for electronic and photonic superstructures - Silicon carbide to graphene conversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yue, Naili

Graphene is a single atomic layer two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal crystal of carbon atoms with sp2-bonding. Because of its various special or unique properties, graphene has attracted huge attention and considerable interest in recent years. This PhD research work focuses on the development of a novel approach to fabricating graphene micro- and nano-structures using a 532 nm Nd:YAG laser, a technique based on local conversion of 3C-SiC thin film into graphene. Different from other reported laser-induced graphene on single crystalline 4H- or 6H- SiC, this study focus on 3C-SiC polycrystal film grown using MBE. Because the SiC thin film is grown on silicon wafer, this approach may potentially lead to various new technologies that are compatible with those of Si microelectronics for fabricating graphene-based electronic, optoelectronic, and photonic devices. The growth conditions for depositing 3C-SiC using MBE on Si wafers with three orientations, (100), (110), and (111), were evaluated and explored. The surface morphology and crystalline structure of 3C-SiC epilayer were investigated with SEM, AFM, XRD, μ-Raman, and TEM. The laser modification process to convert 3C-SiC into graphene layers has been developed and optimized by studying the quality dependence of the graphene layers on incident power, irradiation time, and surface morphology of the SiC film. The laser and power density used in this study which focused on thin film SiC was compared with those used in other related research works which focused on bulk SiC. The laser-induced graphene was characterized with μ-Raman, SEM/EDS, TEM, AFM, and, I-V curve tracer. Selective deposition of 3C-SiC thin film on patterned Si substrate with SiO2 as deposition mask has been demonstrated, which may allow the realization of graphene nanostructures (e.g., dots and ribbons) smaller than the diffraction limit spot size of the laser beam, down to the order of 100 nm. The electrical conductance of directly written graphene micro-ribbon (< 1 μm) was measured via overlaying two micro-electrodes using e-beam lithography and e-beam evaporation. The crystalline quality (stacking order, defect or disorder, strain, crystallite size, etc.) of laser-induced graphene was analyzed using Raman spectroscopy through the comparison with pristine natural graphite and CVD-grown monolayer graphene on SiO2/Si and other substrates. The experimental results reveal the feasibility of laser modification techniques as an efficient, inexpensive, and versatile (any shape and location) means in local synthesis of graphene, especially in patterning graphene nanostructures. Different from other laser induced graphene research works, which were concentrated on bulk SiC wafers, this PhD research work focuses on thin film SiC grown on Si (111) for the first time.

Printable CIGS thin film solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Xiaojuan

2014-03-01

Among the various thin film solar cells in the market, CuInGaSe thin film cells have been considered as the most promising alternatives to silicon solar cells because of their high photo-electricity efficiency, reliability, and stability. However, many fabrication of CIGS thin film are based on vacuum processes such as evaporation sputtering techniques which are not cost efficient. This work develops a method using paste or ink liquid spin-coated on glass that would be to conventional ways in terms of cost effective, non-vacuum needed, quick processing. A mixture precursor was prepared by dissolving appropriate amounts of chemicals. After the mixture solution was cooled, a viscous paste prepared and ready for spin-coating process. A slight bluish CIG thin film substrate was then put in a tube furnace with evaporation of metal Se by depositing CdS layer and ZnO nanoparticle thin film coating to a solar cell fabrication. Structure, absorption spectrum, and photo-conversion efficiency for the as-grown CIGS thin film solar cell under study.

Multilayer porous structures of HVPE and MOCVD grown GaN for photonic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braniste, T.; Ciers, Joachim; Monaico, Ed.; Martin, D.; Carlin, J.-F.; Ursaki, V. V.; Sergentu, V. V.; Tiginyanu, I. M.; Grandjean, N.

2017-02-01

In this paper we report on a comparative study of electrochemical processes for the preparation of multilayer porous structures in hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) and metal organic chemical vapor phase deposition (MOCVD) grown GaN. It was found that in HVPE-grown GaN, multilayer porous structures are obtained due to self-organization processes leading to a fine modulation of doping during the crystal growth. However, these processes are not totally under control. Multilayer porous structures with a controlled design have been produced by optimizing the technological process of electrochemical etching in MOCVD-grown samples, consisting of five pairs of thin layers with alternating-doping profiles. The samples have been characterized by SEM imaging, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and micro-reflectivity measurements, accompanied by transfer matrix analysis and simulations by a method developed for the calculation of optical reflection spectra. We demonstrate the applicability of the produced structures for the design of Bragg reflectors.

Hyperbranched TiO2-CdS nano-heterostructures for highly efficient photoelectrochemical photoanodes.

PubMed

Mezzetti, Alessandro; Balandeh, Mehrdad; Luo, Jingshan; Bellani, Sebastiano; Tacca, Alessandra; Divitini, Giorgio; Cheng, Chuanwei; Ducati, Caterina; Meda, Laura; Fan, Hongjin; Di Fonzo, Fabio

2018-08-17

Quasi-1D-hyperbranched TiO 2 nanostructures are grown via pulsed laser deposition and sensitized with thin layers of CdS to act as a highly efficient photoelectrochemical photoanode. The device properties are systematically investigated by optimizing the height of TiO 2 scaffold structure and thickness of the CdS sensitizing layer, achieving photocurrent values up to 6.6 mA cm -2 and reaching saturation with applied biases as low as 0.35 V RHE . The high internal conversion efficiency of these devices is to be found in the efficient charge generation and injection of the thin CdS photoactive film and in the enhanced charge transport properties of the hyperbranched TiO 2 scaffold. Hence, the proposed device represents a promising architecture for heterostructures capable of achieving high solar-to-hydrogen efficiency.

An investigation of the effects of radiation exposure on stability constraints in epitaxial SiGe strained layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Tianbing; Sutton, Akil K.; Haugerud, Becca M.; Henderson, Walter; Gnana Prakash, A. P.; Cressler, John D.; Doolittle, Alan; Liu, Xuefeng; Joseph, Alvin; Marshall, Paul W.

2006-07-01

The thermodynamic stability of device-relevant epitaxial SiGe strained layers under proton irradiation is investigated using X-ray diffraction techniques, and compared with its stability constrain under high-temperature annealing. Irradiation with 63 MeV protons is found to introduce no significant microdefects into the SiGe thin films, regardless of starting stability condition of the SiGe film, and thus does not appear to be an issue for the use of SiGe HBT technology in emerging space systems. The strain relaxation of SiGe thin film under thermal annealing, however, is sensitive to the composition and thickness of the as-grown samples, as expected, with the subsequent lattice relaxation of the unstable samples occurring at a much higher rate than that of metastable samples.

ZnO/p-GaN heterostructure for solar cells and the effect of ZnGa2O4 interlayer on their performance.

PubMed

Nam, Seung Yong; Choi, Yong Seok; Lee, Ju Ho; Park, Seong Ju; Lee, Jeong Yong; Lee, Dong Seon

2013-01-01

We report the usage of ZnO material as an alternative for n-GaN for realizing III-nitride based solar cell. The fabricated solar cell shows large turn-on voltage of around 8 volts and a rapid decrease of photocurrent at low bias voltage under darkness and 1-sun illumination conditions, respectively. This phenomenon can be attributed to the formation of high-resistive ultra-thin layers at the ZnO/ p-GaN junction interface during high temperature deposition. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies carried out on the grown samples reveals that the ultra-thin layer consists of ZnGa2O4. It is found that the presence of insulating ZnGa2O4 film is detrimental in the performance of proposed heterostructure for solar cells.

Growth and characterization of single crystalline Zn0.8-xMg0.2AlxO films with UV band gap on GaN/Al2O3 template by RF magnetron sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Min-Sung; Lee, Byung-Teak

2013-02-01

Single crystalline Zn0.8-xMg0.2AlxO thin films were grown on a GaN/Al2O3 template. As the Al content is increased from 0 to 0.06, the optical band gap increased from 3.6 eV to 4.0 eV, growth rate decreased from 6 nm/min to 3 nm/min, and the surface roughness decreased from 17 nm to 0.8 nm. It was observed that interfacial layers were formed between the thin films and the substrates, identified as cubic MgAl2O4 in the case of ZnMgAlO/GaN and cubic MgO in the case of ZnMgO/GaN. It was proposed that the MgAl2O4 layer, with low lattice mismatch of ˜7% against the GaN substrate, acted as the buffer layer to correlate the film and the substrate, resulting in growth of the single crystalline thin films in the case of the ZnMgAlO/GaN system.

Remarkably high mobility ultra-thin-film metal-oxide transistor with strongly overlapped orbitals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei Shih, Chen; Chin, Albert; Fu Lu, Chun; Fang Su, Wei

2016-01-01

High mobility channel thin-film-transistor (TFT) is crucial for both display and future generation integrated circuit. We report a new metal-oxide TFT that has an ultra-thin 4.5 nm SnO2 thickness for both active channel and source-drain regions, very high 147 cm2/Vs field-effect mobility, high ION/IOFF of 2.3 × 107, small 110 mV/dec sub-threshold slope, and a low VD of 2.5 V for low power operation. This mobility is already better than chemical-vapor-deposition grown multi-layers MoS2 TFT. From first principle quantum-mechanical calculation, the high mobility TFT is due to strongly overlapped orbitals.

Remarkably high mobility ultra-thin-film metal-oxide transistor with strongly overlapped orbitals

PubMed Central

Wei Shih, Chen; Chin, Albert; Fu Lu, Chun; Fang Su, Wei

2016-01-01

High mobility channel thin-film-transistor (TFT) is crucial for both display and future generation integrated circuit. We report a new metal-oxide TFT that has an ultra-thin 4.5 nm SnO2 thickness for both active channel and source-drain regions, very high 147 cm2/Vs field-effect mobility, high ION/IOFF of 2.3 × 107, small 110 mV/dec sub-threshold slope, and a low VD of 2.5 V for low power operation. This mobility is already better than chemical-vapor-deposition grown multi-layers MoS2 TFT. From first principle quantum-mechanical calculation, the high mobility TFT is due to strongly overlapped orbitals. PMID:26744240

Enhancing crystalline silicon solar cell efficiency with SixGe1-x layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, Adnan; Cheow, S. L.; Azhari, A. W.; Sopian, K.; Zaidi, Saleem H.

Crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell represents a cost effective, environment-friendly, and proven renewable energy resource. Industrially manufacturing of c-Si solar has now matured in terms of efficiency and cost. Continuing cost-effective efficiency enhancement requires transition towards thinner wafers in near term and thin-films in the long term. Successful implementation of either of these alternatives must address intrinsic optical absorption limitation of Si. Bandgap engineering through integration with SixGe1-x layers offers an attractive, inexpensive option. With the help of PC1D software, role of SixGe1-x layers in conventional c-Si solar cells has been intensively investigated in both wafer and thin film configurations by varying Ge concentration, thickness, and placement. In wafer configuration, increase in Ge concentration leads to enhanced absorption through bandgap broadening with an efficiency enhancement of 8% for Ge concentrations of less than 20%. At higher Ge concentrations, despite enhanced optical absorption, efficiency is reduced due to substantial lowering of open-circuit voltage. In 5-25-μm thickness, thin-film solar cell configurations, efficiency gain in excess of 30% is achievable. Therefore, SixGe1-x based thin-film solar cells with an order of magnitude reduction in costly Si material are ideally-suited both in terms of high efficiency and cost. Recent research has demonstrated significant improvement in epitaxially grown SixGe1-x layers on nanostructured Si substrates, thereby enhancing potential of this approach for next generation of c-Si based photovoltaics.

Temperature Dependence of Morphology and Growth Mechanism of Vapor-Grown Cd crystals as Affected by Bi Impurities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yumoto, Hisami; Hasiguti, Ryukiti R.

1984-07-01

Hexagonal prismatic Cd crystals having {10\\bar{1}0} prismatic planes, or occasionally having {11\\bar{2}0} prismatic planes, were grown as high-temperature-type Cd crystals by the thin layer VLS mechanism at Ts (growth temperature) ≥ Tt (transition temperature range: 250-260°C). Pencil-shaped Cd crystals (low-temperature-type Cd crystals) were grown, having {10\\bar{1}0} and {11\\bar{2}0} prismatic planes and {10\\bar{1}1} pyramidal planes by the mixed-type VLS mechanism at Ts≤Tt. When the growth temperature was decreased below Tt, the shape of the solid-liquid interface changed from rounded to faceted. Three processes for the termination of the mixed-type VLS growth are proposed.

Electrical response of electron selective atomic layer deposited TiO2‑x heterocontacts on crystalline silicon substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahiboz, Doğuşcan; Nasser, Hisham; Aygün, Ezgi; Bek, Alpan; Turan, Raşit

2018-04-01

Integration of oxygen deficient sub-stoichiometric titanium dioxide (TiO2‑x) thin films as the electron transporting-hole blocking layer in solar cell designs are expected to reduce fabrication costs by eliminating high temperature processes while maintaining high conversion efficiencies. In this paper, we conducted a study to reveal the electrical properties of TiO2‑x thin films grown on crystalline silicon (c-Si) substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. Effect of ALD substrate temperature, post deposition annealing, and doping type of the c-Si substrate on the interface states and TiO2‑x bulk properties were extracted by performing admittance (C-V, G-V) and current-voltage (J-V) measurements. Moreover, the asymmetry in C-V and J-V measurements between the p-n type and n-n TiO2‑x-c-Si heterojunction types were examined and the electron transport selectivity of TiO2‑x was revealed.

Vertically Oriented Growth of GaN Nanorods on Si Using Graphene as an Atomically Thin Buffer Layer.

PubMed

Heilmann, Martin; Munshi, A Mazid; Sarau, George; Göbelt, Manuela; Tessarek, Christian; Fauske, Vidar T; van Helvoort, Antonius T J; Yang, Jianfeng; Latzel, Michael; Hoffmann, Björn; Conibeer, Gavin; Weman, Helge; Christiansen, Silke

2016-06-08

The monolithic integration of wurtzite GaN on Si via metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy is strongly hampered by lattice and thermal mismatch as well as meltback etching. This study presents single-layer graphene as an atomically thin buffer layer for c-axis-oriented growth of vertically aligned GaN nanorods mediated by nanometer-sized AlGaN nucleation islands. Nanostructures of similar morphology are demonstrated on graphene-covered Si(111) as well as Si(100). High crystal and optical quality of the nanorods are evidenced through scanning transmission electron microscopy, micro-Raman, and cathodoluminescence measurements supported by finite-difference time-domain simulations. Current-voltage characteristics revealed high vertical conduction of the as-grown GaN nanorods through the Si substrates. These findings are substantial to advance the integration of GaN-based devices on any substrates of choice that sustains the GaN growth temperatures, thereby permitting novel designs of GaN-based heterojunction device concepts.

Strain effect in epitaxial VO2 thin films grown on sapphire substrates using SnO2 buffer layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Heungsoo; Bingham, Nicholas S.; Charipar, Nicholas A.; Piqué, Alberto

2017-10-01

Epitaxial VO2/SnO2 thin film heterostructures were deposited on m-cut sapphire substrates via pulsed laser deposition. By adjusting SnO2 (150 nm) growth conditions, we are able to control the interfacial strain between the VO2 film and SnO2 buffer layer such that the semiconductor-to-metal transition temperature (TC) of VO2 films can be tuned without diminishing the magnitude of the transition. It is shown that in-plane tensile strain and out-of-plane compressive strain of the VO2 film leads to a decrease of Tc. Interestingly, VO2 films on SnO2 buffer layers exhibit a structural phase transition from tetragonal-like VO2 to tetragonal-VO2 during the semiconductor-to-metal transition. These results suggest that the strain generated by SnO2 buffer provides an effective way for tuning the TC of VO2 films.

Optical properties of bulk gallium nitride single crystals grown by chloride-hydride vapor-phase epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agyekyan, V. F.; Borisov, E. V.; Serov, A. Yu.; Filosofov, N. G.

2017-12-01

A gallium nitride crystal 5 mm in thickness was grown by chloride-hydride vapor-phase epitaxy on a sapphire substrate, from which the crystal separated during cooling. At an early stage, a three-dimensional growth mode was implemented, followed by a switch to a two-dimensional mode. Spectra of exciton reflection, exciton luminescence, and Raman scattering are studied in several regions characteristic of the sample. Analysis of these spectra and comparison with previously obtained data for thin epitaxial GaN layers with a wide range of silicon doping enabled conclusions about the quality of the crystal lattice in these characteristic regions.

Growth of IZO/IGZO dual-active-layer for low-voltage-drive and high-mobility thin film transistors based on an ALD grown Al2O3 gate insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Xingwei; Zhang, Hao; Ding, He; Zhang, Jianhua; Huang, Chuanxin; Shi, Weimin; Li, Jun; Jiang, Xueyin; Zhang, Zhilin

2014-12-01

We successfully integrated the high-performance oxide thin film transistors with novel IZO/IGZO dual-active-layers. The results showed that dual-active-layer (IZO/IGZO) TFTs, compared with single active layer IGZO TFTs and IZO TFTs, exhibited the excellent performances; specifically, a high field effect mobility of 14.4 cm2/Vs, a suitable threshold voltage of 0.8 V, a high on/off ratio of more than 107, a steep sub-threshold swing of 0.13 V/dec, and a substantially small threshold voltage shift of 0.51 V after temperature stress from 293 K to 353 K. In order to understand the superior performance, the density-of-states (DOS) were investigated based on the temperature-dependent transfer curves. The superior electric properties were attributed to the smaller DOS and higher carrier concentration. The proposed IZO/IGZO-TFT in this paper can be used as driving devices in the next-generation flat panel displays.

Influence of film thickness and Fe doping on LPG sensing properties of Mn3O4 thin film grown by SILAR method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belkhedkar, M. R.; Ubale, A. U.

2018-05-01

Nanocrystalline Fe doped and undoped Mn3O4 thin films have been deposited by Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) method onto glass substrates using MnCl2 and NaOH as cationic and anionic precursors. The grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM)) have been carried out to analyze structural and surface morphological properties of the films. The LPG sensing performance of Mn3O4thin films have been studied by varying temperature, concentration of LPG, thickness of the film and doping percentage of Fe. The LPG response of the Mn3O4thin films were found to be enhances with film thickness and decreases with increased Fe doping (0 to 8 wt. %) at 573 K temperature.

Impact of strain on electronic defects in (Mg,Zn)O thin films

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

Schmidt, Florian, E-mail: fschmidt@physik.uni-leipzig.de; Müller, Stefan; Wenckstern, Holger von

2014-09-14

We have investigated the impact of strain on the incorporation and the properties of extended and point defects in (Mg,Zn)O thin films by means of photoluminescence, X-ray diffraction, deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), and deep-level optical spectroscopy. The recombination line Y₂, previously detected in ZnO thin films grown on an Al-doped ZnO buffer layer and attributed to tensile strain, was exclusively found in (Mg,Zn)O samples being under tensile strain and is absent in relaxed or compressively strained thin films. Furthermore a structural defect E3´ can be detected via DLTS measurements and is only incorporated in tensile strained samples. Finally it ismore » shown that the omnipresent deep-level E3 in ZnO can only be optically recharged in relaxed ZnO samples.« less

Nanoscale Solid State Batteries Enabled by Thermal Atomic Layer Deposition of a Lithium Polyphosphazene Solid State Electrolyte

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

Pearse, Alexander J.; Schmitt, Thomas E.; Fuller, Elliot J.

Several active areas of research in novel energy storage technologies, including three-dimensional solid state batteries and passivation coatings for reactive battery electrode components, require conformal solid state electrolytes. We describe an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process for a member of the lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) family, which is employed as a thin film lithium-conducting solid electrolyte. The reaction between lithium tert-butoxide (LiO tBu) and diethyl phosphoramidate (DEPA) produces conformal, ionically conductive thin films with a stoichiometry close to Li 2PO 2N between 250 and 300°C. The P/N ratio of the films is always 1, indicative of a particular polymorph ofmore » LiPON which closely resembles a polyphosphazene. Films grown at 300°C have an ionic conductivity of (6.51 ± 0.36)×10 -7 S/cm at 35°C, and are functionally electrochemically stable in the window from 0 to 5.3V vs. Li/Li +. We demonstrate the viability of the ALD-grown electrolyte by integrating it into full solid state batteries, including thin film devices using LiCoO 2 as the cathode and Si as the anode operating at up to 1 mA/cm 2. The high quality of the ALD growth process allows pinhole-free deposition even on rough crystalline surfaces, and we demonstrate the fabrication and operation of thin film batteries with the thinnest (<40nm) solid state electrolytes yet reported. Finally, we show an additional application of the moderate-temperature ALD process by demonstrating a flexible solid state battery fabricated on a polymer substrate.« less

Nanoscale Solid State Batteries Enabled by Thermal Atomic Layer Deposition of a Lithium Polyphosphazene Solid State Electrolyte

DOE PAGES

Pearse, Alexander J.; Schmitt, Thomas E.; Fuller, Elliot J.; ...

2017-04-10

Several active areas of research in novel energy storage technologies, including three-dimensional solid state batteries and passivation coatings for reactive battery electrode components, require conformal solid state electrolytes. We describe an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process for a member of the lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) family, which is employed as a thin film lithium-conducting solid electrolyte. The reaction between lithium tert-butoxide (LiO tBu) and diethyl phosphoramidate (DEPA) produces conformal, ionically conductive thin films with a stoichiometry close to Li 2PO 2N between 250 and 300°C. The P/N ratio of the films is always 1, indicative of a particular polymorph ofmore » LiPON which closely resembles a polyphosphazene. Films grown at 300°C have an ionic conductivity of (6.51 ± 0.36)×10 -7 S/cm at 35°C, and are functionally electrochemically stable in the window from 0 to 5.3V vs. Li/Li +. We demonstrate the viability of the ALD-grown electrolyte by integrating it into full solid state batteries, including thin film devices using LiCoO 2 as the cathode and Si as the anode operating at up to 1 mA/cm 2. The high quality of the ALD growth process allows pinhole-free deposition even on rough crystalline surfaces, and we demonstrate the fabrication and operation of thin film batteries with the thinnest (<40nm) solid state electrolytes yet reported. Finally, we show an additional application of the moderate-temperature ALD process by demonstrating a flexible solid state battery fabricated on a polymer substrate.« less

Surface conductance of graphene from non-contact resonant cavity.

PubMed

Obrzut, Jan; Emiroglu, Caglar; Kirillov, Oleg; Yang, Yanfei; Elmquist, Randolph E

2016-06-01

A method is established to reliably determine surface conductance of single-layer or multi-layer atomically thin nano-carbon graphene structures. The measurements are made in an air filled standard R100 rectangular waveguide configuration at one of the resonant frequency modes, typically at TE 103 mode of 7.4543 GHz. Surface conductance measurement involves monitoring a change in the quality factor of the cavity as the specimen is progressively inserted into the cavity in quantitative correlation with the specimen surface area. The specimen consists of a nano-carbon-layer supported on a low loss dielectric substrate. The thickness of the conducting nano-carbon layer does not need to be explicitly known, but it is assumed that the lateral dimension is uniform over the specimen area. The non-contact surface conductance measurements are illustrated for a typical graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition process, and for a high quality monolayer epitaxial graphene grown on silicon carbide wafers for which we performed non-gated quantum Hall resistance measurements. The sequence of quantized transverse Hall resistance at the Landau filling factors ν = ±6 and ±2, and the absence of the Hall plateau at ν = 4 indicate that the epitaxially grown graphene is a high quality mono-layer. The resonant microwave cavity measurement is sensitive to the surface and bulk conductivity, and since no additional processing is required, it preserves the integrity of the conductive graphene layer. It allows characterization with high speed, precision and efficiency, compared to transport measurements where sample contacts must be defined and applied in multiple processing steps.

Growth of a delta-doped silicon layer by molecular beam epitaxy on a charge-coupled device for reflection-limited ultraviolet quantum efficiency

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoenk, Michael E.; Grunthaner, Paula J.; Grunthaner, Frank J.; Terhune, R. W.; Fattahi, Masoud; Tseng, Hsin-Fu

1992-01-01

Low-temperature silicon molecular beam epitaxy is used to grow a delta-doped silicon layer on a fully processed charge-coupled device (CCD). The measured quantum efficiency of the delta-doped backside-thinned CCD is in agreement with the reflection limit for light incident on the back surface in the spectral range of 260-600 nm. The 2.5 nm silicon layer, grown at 450 C, contained a boron delta-layer with surface density of about 2 x 10 exp 14/sq cm. Passivation of the surface was done by steam oxidation of a nominally undoped 1.5 nm Si cap layer. The UV quantum efficiency was found to be uniform and stable with respect to thermal cycling and illumination conditions.

Impurity distribution and microstructure of Ga-doped ZnO films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kvit, A. V.; Yankovich, A. B.; Avrutin, V.; Liu, H.; Izyumskaya, N.; Özgür, Ü.; Morkoç, H.; Voyles, P. M.

2012-12-01

We report microstructural characterization of heavily Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) thin films on GaN and sapphire by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. Growth under oxygen-rich and metal-rich growth conditions leads to changes in the GZO polarity and different extended defects. For GZO layers on sapphire, the primary extended defects are voids, inversion domain boundaries, and low-angle grain boundaries. Ga doping of ZnO grown under metal-rich conditions causes a switch from pure oxygen polarity to mixed oxygen and zinc polarity in small domains. Electron energy loss spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy spectrum imaging show that Ga is homogeneous, but other residual impurities tend to accumulate at the GZO surface and at extended defects. GZO grown on GaN on c-plane sapphire has Zn polarity and no voids. There are misfit dislocations at the interfaces between GZO and an undoped ZnO buffer layer and at the buffer/GaN interface. Low-angle grain boundaries are the only threading microstructural defects. The potential effects of different extended defects and impurity distributions on free carrier scattering are discussed.

Increase in the diffusion length of minority carriers in Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1–x}N alloys ({sub x} = 0–0.1) fabricated by ammonia molecular beam epitaxy

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

Malin, T. V., E-mail: mal-tv@mail.ru; Gilinsky, A. M.; Mansurov, V. G.

2015-10-15

The room-temperature diffusion length of minority carriers in n-Al{sub 0.1}Ga{sub 0.9}N layers grown by ammonia molecular beam epitaxy on sapphire (0001) substrates used in structures for ultraviolet photodetectors is studied. Measurements were performed using the spectral dependence of the photocurrent recorded in a built-in p–n junction for thin samples and using the induced electron-current procedure for films up to 2 µm thick. The results show that the hole diffusion length in n-AlGaN films is 120–150 nm, which is larger than in GaN films grown under similar growth conditions by a factor of 3–4. This result can be associated with themore » larger lateral sizes characteristic of hexagonal columns in AlGaN layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. No increase in the hole diffusion length is observed for thicker films.« less

Substrate temperature influence on the properties of GaN thin films grown by hollow-cathode plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition

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

Alevli, Mustafa, E-mail: mustafaalevli@marmara.edu.tr; Gungor, Neşe; Haider, Ali

2016-01-15

Gallium nitride films were grown by hollow cathode plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition using triethylgallium and N{sub 2}/H{sub 2} plasma. An optimized recipe for GaN film was developed, and the effect of substrate temperature was studied in both self-limiting growth window and thermal decomposition-limited growth region. With increased substrate temperature, film crystallinity improved, and the optical band edge decreased from 3.60 to 3.52 eV. The refractive index and reflectivity in Reststrahlen band increased with the substrate temperature. Compressive strain is observed for both samples, and the surface roughness is observed to increase with the substrate temperature. Despite these temperature dependent material properties,more » the chemical composition, E{sub 1}(TO), phonon position, and crystalline phases present in the GaN film were relatively independent from growth temperature.« less

Negative charge trapping effects in Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films grown by atomic layer deposition onto thermally oxidized 4H-SiC

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

Schilirò, Emanuela, E-mail: emanuela.schiliro@imm.cnr.it; Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università degli Studi di Catania, and INSTM udr Catania, viale Andrea Doria 6, 95125, Catania; Lo Nigro, Raffaella

This letter reports on the negative charge trapping in Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films grown by atomic layer deposition onto oxidized silicon carbide (4H-SiC). The films exhibited a permittivity of 8.4, a breakdown field of 9.2 MV/cm and small hysteresis under moderate bias cycles. However, severe electron trapping inside the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} film (1 × 10{sup 12} cm{sup −2}) occurs upon high positive bias stress (>10 V). Capacitance-voltage measurements at different temperatures and stress conditions have been used to determine an activation energy of 0.1 eV. The results provide indications on the possible nature of the trapping defects and,more » hence, on the strategies to improve this technology for 4H-SiC devices.« less

Probing the bulk ionic conductivity by thin film hetero-epitaxial engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pergolesi, Daniele; Roddatis, Vladimir; Fabbri, Emiliana; Schneider, Christof W.; Lippert, Thomas; Traversa, Enrico; Kilner, John A.

2015-02-01

Highly textured thin films with small grain boundary regions can be used as model systems to directly measure the bulk conductivity of oxygen ion conducting oxides. Ionic conducting thin films and epitaxial heterostructures are also widely used to probe the effect of strain on the oxygen ion migration in oxide materials. For the purpose of these investigations a good lattice matching between the film and the substrate is required to promote the ordered film growth. Moreover, the substrate should be a good electrical insulator at high temperature to allow a reliable electrical characterization of the deposited film. Here we report the fabrication of an epitaxial heterostructure made with a double buffer layer of BaZrO3 and SrTiO3 grown on MgO substrates that fulfills both requirements. Based on such template platform, highly ordered (001) epitaxially oriented thin films of 15% Sm-doped CeO2 and 8 mol% Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 are grown. Bulk conductivities as well as activation energies are measured for both materials, confirming the success of the approach. The reported insulating template platform promises potential application also for the electrical characterization of other novel electrolyte materials that still need a thorough understanding of their ionic conductivity.

Effect of Mg doping in ZnO buffer layer on ZnO thin film devices for electronic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giri, Pushpa; Chakrabarti, P.

2016-05-01

Zinc Oxide (ZnO) thin films have been grown on p-silicon (Si) substrate using magnesium doped ZnO (Mg: ZnO) buffer layer by radio-frequency (RF) sputtering method. In this paper, we have optimized the concentration of Mg (0-5 atomic percent (at. %)) ZnO buffer layer to examine its effect on ZnO thin film based devices for electronic and optoelectronic applications. The crystalline nature, morphology and topography of the surface of the thin film have been characterized. The optical as well as electrical properties of the active ZnO film can be tailored by varying the concentration of Mg in the buffer layer. The crystallite size in the active ZnO thin film was found to increase with the Mg concentration in the buffer layer in the range of 0-3 at. % and subsequently decrease with increasing Mg atom concentration in the ZnO. The same was verified by the surface morphology and topography studies carried out with scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic electron microscopy (AFM) respectively. The reflectance in the visible region was measured to be less than 80% and found to decrease with increase in Mg concentration from 0 to 3 at. % in the buffer region. The optical bandgap was initially found to increase from 3.02 eV to 3.74 eV by increasing the Mg content from 0 to 3 at. % but subsequently decreases and drops down to 3.43 eV for a concentration of 5 at. %. The study of an Au:Pd/ZnO Schottky diode reveals that for optimum doping of the buffer layer the device exhibits superior rectifying behavior. The barrier height, ideality factor, rectification ratio, reverse saturation current and series resistance of the Schottky diode were extracted from the measured current voltage (I-V) characteristics.

Insight into the Near-Conduction Band States at the Crystallized Interface between GaN and SiN x Grown by Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition.

PubMed

Liu, Xinyu; Wang, Xinhua; Zhang, Yange; Wei, Ke; Zheng, Yingkui; Kang, Xuanwu; Jiang, Haojie; Li, Junfeng; Wang, Wenwu; Wu, Xuebang; Wang, Xianping; Huang, Sen

2018-06-12

Constant-capacitance deep-level transient Fourier spectroscopy is utilized to characterize the interface between a GaN epitaxial layer and a SiN x passivation layer grown by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD). A near-conduction band (NCB) state E LP ( E C - E T = 60 meV) featuring a very small capture cross section of 1.5 × 10 -20 cm -2 was detected at 70 K at the LPCVD-SiN x /GaN interface. A partially crystallized Si 2 N 2 O thin layer was detected at the interface by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Based on first-principles calculations of crystallized Si 2 N 2 O/GaN slabs, it was confirmed that the NCB state E LP mainly originates from the strong interactions between the dangling bonds of gallium and its vicinal atoms near the interface. The partially crystallized Si 2 N 2 O interfacial layer might also give rise to the very small capture cross section of the E LP owing to the smaller lattice mismatch between the Si 2 N 2 O and GaN epitaxial layer and a larger mean free path of the electron in the crystallized portion compared with an amorphous interfacial layer.

Studying Pulsed Laser Deposition conditions for Ni/C-based multi-layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bollmann, Tjeerd R. J.

2018-04-01

Nickel carbon based multi-layers are a viable route towards future hard X-ray and soft γ-ray focusing telescopes. Here, we study the Pulsed Laser Deposition growth conditions of such bilayers by Reflective High Energy Electron Diffraction, X-ray Reflectivity and Diffraction, Atomic Force Microscopy, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and cross-sectional Transmission Electron Microscopy analysis, with emphasis on optimization of process pressure and substrate temperature during growth. The thin multi-layers are grown on a treated SiO substrate resulting in Ni and C layers with surface roughnesses (RMS) of ≤0.2 nm. Small droplets resulting during melting of the targets surface increase the roughness, however, and cannot be avoided. The sequential process at temperatures beyond 300 °C results into intermixing between the two layers, being destructive for the reflectivity of the multi-layer.

Effect of precursor on epitaxially grown of ZnO thin film on p-GaN/sapphire (0 0 0 1) substrate by hydrothermal technique

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

Sahoo, Trilochan; Ju, Jin-Woo; Kannan, V.

2008-03-04

Single crystalline ZnO thin film on p-GaN/sapphire (0 0 0 1) substrate, using two different precursors by hydrothermal route at a temperature of 90 deg. C were successfully grown. The effect of starting precursor on crystalline nature, surface morphology and optical emission of the films were studied. ZnO thin films were grown in aqueous solution of zinc acetate and zinc nitrate. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that all the thin films were single crystalline in nature and exhibited wurtzite symmetry and c-axis orientation. The thin films obtained with zinc nitrate had a more pitted rough surface morphology compared to the filmmore » grown in zinc acetate. However the thickness of the films remained unaffected by the nature of the starting precursor. Sharp luminescence peaks were observed from the thin films almost at identical energies but deep level emission was slightly prominent for the thin film grown in zinc nitrate.« less

Evaluation of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors grown on ZrTi buffer layers with sapphire substrates

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

Ren, Fan; Pearton, Stephen J.; Ahn, Shihyun

Here, AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have been grown on sapphire substrates, using ZrTi buffer layers to provide in-plane lattice-matching to hexagonal GaN. X-ray diffraction (XRD) as well as cross-section transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to assess the quality of the HEMT structure. The XRD 2θ scans showed full-width-at-half-maximum values of 0.16°, 0.07°, and 0.08° for ZrTi alloy, GaN buffer layer, and the entire HEMT structure, respectively. TEM studies of the GaN buffer layer and the AlN/ZrTi/AlN stack showed the importance of growing thin AlN buffer layers on the ZrTi layer prior to growth of the GaN buffermore » layer. The density of threading dislocations in the GaN channel layer of the HEMT structure was estimated to be in the 10 8 cm –2 range. The HEMT device exhibited a saturation drain current density of 820 mA/mm, and the channel of the fabricated HEMTs could be well modulated. A cutoff frequency (f T) of 8.9 GHz and a maximum frequency of oscillation (f max) of 17.3 GHz were achieved for HEMTs with gate dimensions of 1 × 200 μm.« less

Evaluation of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors grown on ZrTi buffer layers with sapphire substrates

DOE PAGES

Ren, Fan; Pearton, Stephen J.; Ahn, Shihyun; ...

2016-09-21

Here, AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have been grown on sapphire substrates, using ZrTi buffer layers to provide in-plane lattice-matching to hexagonal GaN. X-ray diffraction (XRD) as well as cross-section transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to assess the quality of the HEMT structure. The XRD 2θ scans showed full-width-at-half-maximum values of 0.16°, 0.07°, and 0.08° for ZrTi alloy, GaN buffer layer, and the entire HEMT structure, respectively. TEM studies of the GaN buffer layer and the AlN/ZrTi/AlN stack showed the importance of growing thin AlN buffer layers on the ZrTi layer prior to growth of the GaN buffermore » layer. The density of threading dislocations in the GaN channel layer of the HEMT structure was estimated to be in the 10 8 cm –2 range. The HEMT device exhibited a saturation drain current density of 820 mA/mm, and the channel of the fabricated HEMTs could be well modulated. A cutoff frequency (f T) of 8.9 GHz and a maximum frequency of oscillation (f max) of 17.3 GHz were achieved for HEMTs with gate dimensions of 1 × 200 μm.« less

Amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide thin-film transistors using organic-inorganic hybrid films deposited by low-temperature plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition for all dielectric layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Chao-Jui; Chang, Ching-Hsiang; Chang, Kuei-Ming; Wu, Chung-Chih

2017-01-01

We investigated the deposition of high-performance organic-inorganic hybrid dielectric films by low-temperature (close to room temperature) inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD) with hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO)/O2 precursor gas. The hybrid films exhibited low leakage currents and high breakdown fields, suitable for thin-film transistor (TFT) applications. They were successfully integrated into the gate insulator, the etch-stop layer, and the passivation layer for bottom-gate staggered amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) TFTs having the etch-stop configuration. With the double-active-layer configuration having a buffer a-IGZO back-channel layer grown in oxygen-rich atmosphere for better immunity against plasma damage, the etch-stop-type bottom-gate staggered a-IGZO TFTs with good TFT characteristics were successfully demonstrated. The TFTs showed good field-effect mobility (μFE), threshold voltage (V th), subthreshold swing (SS), and on/off ratio (I on/off) of 7.5 cm2 V-1 s-1, 2.38 V, 0.38 V/decade, and 2.2 × 108, respectively, manifesting their usefulness for a-IGZO TFTs.

High quality nitrogen-doped zinc oxide thin films grown on ITO by sol-gel method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pathak, Trilok Kumar; Kumar, Vinod; Purohit, L. P.

2015-11-01

Highly transparent N-doped ZnO thin films were deposited on ITO coated corning glass substrate by sol-gel method. Ammonium nitrate was used as a dopant source of N with varying the doping concentration 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 at%. The DSC analysis of prepared NZO sols is observed a phase transition at 150 °C. X-ray diffraction pattern showed the preferred (002) peak of ZnO, which was deteriorated with increased N concentrations. The transmittance of NZO thin films was observed to be ~88%. The bandgap of NZO thin films increased from 3.28 to 3.70 eV with increased N concentration from 0 to 3 at%. The maximum carrier concentration 8.36×1017 cm-3 and minimum resistivity 1.64 Ω cm was observed for 3 at% N doped ZnO thin films deposited on glass substrate. These highly transparent ZnO thin films can be used as a window layer in solar cells and optoelectronic devices.

Oxygen vacancy-driven evolution of structural and electrical properties in SrFeO 3₋δ thin films and a method of stabilization

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

Enriquez, Erik M.; Chen, Aiping; Harrell, Zachary John

Epitaxial SrFeO 3-δ (SFO) thin films have been grown on various substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The structural and electrical properties of SFO thin films are monitored with time in different atmospheres at room temperature, showing time-dependent crystal structure and electrical conductivity. The increased out-of-plane lattice parameter and resistivity over time are associated with the increased oxygen vacancies density in SFO thin films. The epitaxial strain plays an important role in determining the initial resistivity, and the sample environment determines the trend of resistivity change over time. An amorphous Al 2O 3 passivation layer has been found to be effectivemore » in stabilizing the structure and electrical properties of SFO thin films. Lastly, this work explores time dependent structure and properties variation in oxide films and provides a way to stabilize thin film materials that are sensitive to oxygen vacancies.« less

Oxygen vacancy-driven evolution of structural and electrical properties in SrFeO 3₋δ thin films and a method of stabilization

DOE PAGES

Enriquez, Erik M.; Chen, Aiping; Harrell, Zachary John; ...

2016-10-03

Epitaxial SrFeO 3-δ (SFO) thin films have been grown on various substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The structural and electrical properties of SFO thin films are monitored with time in different atmospheres at room temperature, showing time-dependent crystal structure and electrical conductivity. The increased out-of-plane lattice parameter and resistivity over time are associated with the increased oxygen vacancies density in SFO thin films. The epitaxial strain plays an important role in determining the initial resistivity, and the sample environment determines the trend of resistivity change over time. An amorphous Al 2O 3 passivation layer has been found to be effectivemore » in stabilizing the structure and electrical properties of SFO thin films. Lastly, this work explores time dependent structure and properties variation in oxide films and provides a way to stabilize thin film materials that are sensitive to oxygen vacancies.« less

Effects of substrate conductivity on cell morphogenesis and proliferation using tailored, atomic layer deposition-grown ZnO thin films

PubMed Central

Choi, Won Jin; Jung, Jongjin; Lee, Sujin; Chung, Yoon Jang; Yang, Cheol-Soo; Lee, Young Kuk; Lee, You-Seop; Park, Joung Kyu; Ko, Hyuk Wan; Lee, Jeong-O

2015-01-01

We demonstrate that ZnO films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) can be employed as a substrate to explore the effects of electrical conductivity on cell adhesion, proliferation, and morphogenesis. ZnO substrates with precisely tunable electrical conductivity were fabricated on glass substrates using ALD deposition. The electrical conductivity of the film increased linearly with increasing duration of the ZnO deposition cycle (thickness), whereas other physical characteristics, such as surface energy and roughness, tended to saturate at a certain value. Differences in conductivity dramatically affected the behavior of SF295 glioblastoma cells grown on ZnO films, with high conductivity (thick) ZnO films causing growth arrest and producing SF295 cell morphologies distinct from those cultured on insulating substrates. Based on simple electrostatic calculations, we propose that cells grown on highly conductive substrates may strongly adhere to the substrate without focal-adhesion complex formation, owing to the enhanced electrostatic interaction between cells and the substrate. Thus, the inactivation of focal adhesions leads to cell proliferation arrest. Taken together, the work presented here confirms that substrates with high conductivity disturb the cell-substrate interaction, producing cascading effects on cellular morphogenesis and disrupting proliferation, and suggests that ALD-grown ZnO offers a single-variable method for uniquely tailoring conductivity. PMID:25897486

Tuning the Phase and Microstructural Properties of TiO2 Films Through Pulsed Laser Deposition and Exploring Their Role as Buffer Layers for Conductive Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agarwal, S.; Haseman, M. S.; Leedy, K. D.; Winarski, D. J.; Saadatkia, P.; Doyle, E.; Zhang, L.; Dang, T.; Vasilyev, V. S.; Selim, F. A.

2018-04-01

Titanium oxide (TiO2) is a semiconducting oxide of increasing interest due to its chemical and thermal stability and broad applicability. In this study, thin films of TiO2 were deposited by pulsed laser deposition on sapphire and silicon substrates under various growth conditions, and characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), optical absorption spectroscopy and Hall-effect measurements. XRD patterns revealed that a sapphire substrate is more suitable for the formation of the rutile phase in TiO2, while a silicon substrate yields a pure anatase phase, even at high-temperature growth. AFM images showed that the rutile TiO2 films grown at 805°C on a sapphire substrate have a smoother surface than anatase films grown at 620°C. Optical absorption spectra confirmed the band gap energy of 3.08 eV for the rutile phase and 3.29 eV for the anatase phase. All the deposited films exhibited the usual high resistivity of TiO2; however, when employed as a buffer layer, anatase TiO2 deposited on sapphire significantly improves the conductivity of indium gallium zinc oxide thin films. The study illustrates how to control the formation of TiO2 phases and reveals another interesting application for TiO2 as a buffer layer for transparent conducting oxides.

Q factor limitation at short wavelength (around 300 nm) in III-nitride-on-silicon photonic crystal cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tabataba-Vakili, Farsane; Roland, Iannis; Tran, Thi-Mo; Checoury, Xavier; El Kurdi, Moustafa; Sauvage, Sébastien; Brimont, Christelle; Guillet, Thierry; Rennesson, Stéphanie; Duboz, Jean-Yves; Semond, Fabrice; Gayral, Bruno; Boucaud, Philippe

2017-09-01

III-nitride-on-silicon L3 photonic crystal cavities with resonances down to 315 nm and quality factors (Q) up to 1085 at 337 nm have been demonstrated. The reduction of the quality factor with decreasing wavelength is investigated. Besides the quantum well absorption below 340 nm, a noteworthy contribution is attributed to the residual absorption present in thin AlN layers grown on silicon, as measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry. This residual absorption ultimately limits the Q factor to around 2000 at 300 nm when no active layer is present.

Thickness-dependent structure and properties of SnS2 thin films prepared by atomic layer deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Wondeok; Shin, Seokyoon; Ham, Giyul; Lee, Juhyun; Lee, Seungjin; Choi, Hyeongsu; Jeon, Hyeongtag

2017-03-01

Tin disulfide (SnS2) thin films were deposited by a thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) method at low temperatures. The physical, chemical, and electrical characteristics of SnS2 were investigated as a function of the film thickness. SnS2 exhibited a (001) hexagonal plane peak at 14.9° in the X-ray diffraction (XRD) results and an A1g peak at 311 cm-1 in the Raman spectra. These results demonstrate that SnS2 thin films grown at 150 °C showed a crystalline phase at film thicknesses above 11.2 nm. The crystallinity of the SnS2 thin films was evaluated by a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed that SnS2 consisted of Sn4+ and S2- valence states. Both the optical band gap and the transmittance of SnS2 decreased as the film thickness increased. The band gap of SnS2 decreased from 3.0 to 2.4 eV and the transmittance decreased from 85 to 32% at a wavelength of 400 nm. In addition, the resistivity of the thin film SnS2 decreased from 1011 to 106 Ω·cm as the film thickness increased.

ZnS nanostructured thin-films deposited by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction

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

Deshmukh, S. G., E-mail: deshmukhpradyumn@gmail.com; Jariwala, Akshay; Agarwal, Anubha

ZnS thin films were grown on glass substrate using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique at room temperature. Aqueous solutions of ZnCl{sub 2} and Na{sub 2}S 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 grainmore » 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{sup −1} and 1094 cm{sup −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.« less

Tuning the dead-layer behavior of La{sub 0.67}Sr{sub 0.33}MnO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} via interfacial engineering

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

Peng, R.; Xu, H. C.; Xia, M.

The dead-layer behavior, deterioration of the bulk properties in near-interface layers, restricts the applications of many oxide heterostructures. We present the systematic study of the dead-layer in La{sub 0.67}Sr{sub 0.33}MnO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} grown by ozone-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Dead-layer behavior is systematically tuned by varying the interfacial doping, while unchanged with varied doping at any other atomic layers. In situ photoemission and low energy electron diffraction measurements suggest intrinsic oxygen vacancies at the surface of ultra-thin La{sub 0.67}Sr{sub 0.33}MnO{sub 3}, which are more concentrated in thinner films. Our results show correlation between interfacial doping, oxygen vacancies, and the dead-layer, whichmore » can be explained by a simplified electrostatic model.« less

Sharp chemical interface in epitaxial Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} thin films

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

Gálvez, S.; Rubio-Zuazo, J., E-mail: rubio@esrf.fr; Salas-Colera, E.

Chemically sharp interface was obtained on single phase single oriented Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} (001) thin film (7 nm) grown on NiO (001) substrate using oxygen assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Refinement of the atomic structure, stoichiometry, and oxygen vacancies were determined by soft and hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, low energy electron diffraction and synchrotron based X-ray reflectivity, and X-ray diffraction. Our results demonstrate an epitaxial growth of the magnetite layer, perfect iron stoichiometry, absence of oxygen vacancies, and the existence of an intermixing free interface. Consistent magnetic and electrical characterizations are also shown.

TiO2 coatings via atomic layer deposition on polyurethane and polydimethylsiloxane substrates: Properties and effects on C. albicans growth and inactivation process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pessoa, R. S.; dos Santos, V. P.; Cardoso, S. B.; Doria, A. C. O. C.; Figueira, F. R.; Rodrigues, B. V. M.; Testoni, G. E.; Fraga, M. A.; Marciano, F. R.; Lobo, A. O.; Maciel, H. S.

2017-11-01

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) surges as an attractive technology to deposit thin films on different substrates for many advanced biomedical applications. Herein titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were successful obtained on polyurethane (PU) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates using ALD. The effect of TiO2 films on Candida albicans growth and inactivation process were also systematic discussed. TiCl4 and H2O were used as precursors at 80 °C, while the reaction cycle number ranged from 500 to 2000. Several chemical, physical and physicochemical techniques were used to evaluate the growth kinetics, elemental composition, material structure, chemical bonds, contact angle, work of adhesion and surface morphology of the ALD TiO2 thin films grown on both substrates. For microbiological analyses, yeasts of standard strains of C. albicans were grown on non- and TiO2-coated substrates. Next, the antifungal and photocatalytic activities of the TiO2 were also investigated by counting the colony-forming units (CFU) before and after UV-light treatment. Chlorine-doped amorphous TiO2 films with varied thicknesses and Cl concentration ranging from 2 to 12% were obtained. In sum, the ALD TiO2 films suppressed the yeast-hyphal transition of C. albicans onto PU, however, a high adhesion of yeasts was observed. Conversely, for PDMS substrate, the yeast adhesion did not change, as observed in control. Comparatively to control, the TiO2-covered PDMS had a reduction in CFU up to 59.5% after UV treatment, while no modification was observed to TiO2-covered PU. These results pointed out that ALD chlorine-doped amorphous TiO2 films grown on biomedical polymeric surfaces may act as fungistatic materials. Furthermore, in case of contamination, these materials may also behave as antifungal materials under UV light exposure.

Modeling growth kinetics of thin films made by atomic layer deposition in lateral high-aspect-ratio structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ylilammi, Markku; Ylivaara, Oili M. E.; Puurunen, Riikka L.

2018-05-01

The conformality of thin films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is studied using all-silicon test structures with long narrow lateral channels. A diffusion model, developed in this work, is used for studying the propagation of ALD growth in narrow channels. The diffusion model takes into account the gas transportation at low pressures, the dynamic Langmuir adsorption model for the film growth and the effect of channel narrowing due to film growth. The film growth is calculated by solving the diffusion equation with surface reactions. An efficient analytic approximate solution of the diffusion equation is developed for fitting the model to the measured thickness profile. The fitting gives the equilibrium constant of adsorption and the sticking coefficient. This model and Gordon's plug flow model are compared. The simulations predict the experimental measurement results quite well for Al2O3 and TiO2 ALD processes.

High sensitive formaldehyde graphene gas sensor modified by atomic layer deposition zinc oxide films

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

Mu, Haichuan; Zhang, Zhiqiang; Wang, Keke

2014-07-21

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films with various thicknesses were fabricated by Atomic Layer Deposition on Chemical Vapor Deposition grown graphene films and their response to formaldehyde has been investigated. It was found that 0.5 nm ZnO films modified graphene sensors showed high response to formaldehyde with the resistance change up to 52% at the concentration of 9 parts-per-million (ppm) at room temperature. Meanwhile, the detection limit could reach 180 parts-per-billion (ppb) and fast response of 36 s was also obtained. The high sensitivity could be attributed to the combining effect from the highly reactive, top mounted ZnO thin films, and high conductivemore » graphene base network. The dependence of ZnO films surface morphology and its sensitivity on the ZnO films thickness was also investigated.« less

Metal-oxide thin-film transistor-based pH sensor with a silver nanowire top gate electrode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoo, Tae-Hee; Sang, Byoung-In; Wang, Byung-Yong; Lim, Dae-Soon; Kang, Hyun Wook; Choi, Won Kook; Lee, Young Tack; Oh, Young-Jei; Hwang, Do Kyung

2016-04-01

Amorphous InGaZnO (IGZO) metal-oxide-semiconductor thin-film transistors (TFTs) are one of the most promising technologies to replace amorphous and polycrystalline Si TFTs. Recently, TFT-based sensing platforms have been gaining significant interests. Here, we report on IGZO transistor-based pH sensors in aqueous medium. In order to achieve stable operation in aqueous environment and enhance sensitivity, we used Al2O3 grown by using atomic layer deposition (ALD) and a porous Ag nanowire (NW) mesh as the top gate dielectric and electrode layers, respectively. Such devices with a Ag NW mesh at the top gate electrode rapidly respond to the pH of solutions by shifting the turn-on voltage. Furthermore, the output voltage signals induced by the voltage shifts can be directly extracted by implantation of a resistive load inverter.

Improving the properties of zinc oxide thin-film surface acoustic wave device on glass substrate by introducing double alumina layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shih, Wen-Ching; Huang, Yi-Fan; Wu, Mu-Shiang

2017-10-01

ZnO films with c-axis (0002) orientation have been successfully grown by RF magnetron sputtering on Al2O3/glass substrates. The alumina films were firstly deposited on glass substrates, and then secondly deposited on interdigital transducer/ZnO film/alumina film/glass substrates by electron beam evaporation. The crystalline structure and surface roughness of the films were investigated by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The phase velocity and coupling coefficient of the surface acoustic wave (SAW) device were both increased when we deposited the double alumina layers. On the other hand, the temperature coefficient of frequency becomes better if we increase the thickness of the lower alumina film. The experimental result is beneficial for improving the performance of the ZnO thin-film SAW devices on inexpensive glass substrates.

Patterned growth of p-type MoS 2 atomic layers using sol-gel as precursor

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

Zheng, Wei; Lin, Junhao; Feng, Wei

2D layered MoS 2 has drawn intense attention for its applications in flexible electronic, optoelectronic, and spintronic devices. Most of the MoS 2 atomic layers grown by conventional chemical vapor deposition techniques are n-type due to the abundant sulfur vacancies. Facile production of MoS 2 atomic layers with p-type behavior, however, remains challenging. Here, a novel one-step growth has been developed to attain p-type MoS 2 layers in large scale by using Mo-containing sol–gel, including 1% tungsten (W). Atomic-resolution electron microscopy characterization reveals that small tungsten oxide clusters are commonly present on the as-grown MoS 2 film due to themore » incomplete reduction of W precursor at the reaction temperature. These omnipresent small tungsten oxide clusters contribute to the p-type behavior, as verified by density functional theory calculations, while preserving the crystallinity of the MoS 2 atomic layers. The Mo containing sol–gel precursor is compatible with the soft-lithography techniques, which enables patterned growth of p-type MoS 2 atomic layers into regular arrays with different shapes, holding great promise for highly integrated device applications. Lastly, an atomically thin p–n junction is fabricated by the as-prepared MoS 2, which shows strong rectifying behavior.« less

Patterned growth of p-type MoS 2 atomic layers using sol-gel as precursor

DOE PAGES

Zheng, Wei; Lin, Junhao; Feng, Wei; ...

2016-07-19

2D layered MoS 2 has drawn intense attention for its applications in flexible electronic, optoelectronic, and spintronic devices. Most of the MoS 2 atomic layers grown by conventional chemical vapor deposition techniques are n-type due to the abundant sulfur vacancies. Facile production of MoS 2 atomic layers with p-type behavior, however, remains challenging. Here, a novel one-step growth has been developed to attain p-type MoS 2 layers in large scale by using Mo-containing sol–gel, including 1% tungsten (W). Atomic-resolution electron microscopy characterization reveals that small tungsten oxide clusters are commonly present on the as-grown MoS 2 film due to themore » incomplete reduction of W precursor at the reaction temperature. These omnipresent small tungsten oxide clusters contribute to the p-type behavior, as verified by density functional theory calculations, while preserving the crystallinity of the MoS 2 atomic layers. The Mo containing sol–gel precursor is compatible with the soft-lithography techniques, which enables patterned growth of p-type MoS 2 atomic layers into regular arrays with different shapes, holding great promise for highly integrated device applications. Lastly, an atomically thin p–n junction is fabricated by the as-prepared MoS 2, which shows strong rectifying behavior.« less

Surface structures of L10-MnGa (001) by scanning tunneling microscopy and first-principles theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corbett, J. P.; Guerrero-Sanchez, J.; Richard, A. L.; Ingram, D. C.; Takeuchi, N.; Smith, A. R.

2017-11-01

We report on the surface reconstructions of L10-ordered MnGa (001) thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a 50 nm Mn3N2 (001) layer freshly grown on a magnesium oxide (001) substrate. Scanning tunneling microscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and reflection high energy electron diffraction are combined with first-principles density functional theory calculations to determine the reconstructions of the L10-ordered MnGa (001) surface. We find two lowest energy reconstructions of the MnGa (001) face: a 1 × 1 Ga-terminated structure and a 1 × 2 structure with a Mn replacing a Ga in the 1 × 1 Ga-terminated surface. The 1 × 2 reconstruction forms a row structure along [100]. The manganese:gallium stoichiometry within the surface based on theoretical modeling is in good agreement with experiment. Magnetic moment calculations for the two lowest energy structures reveal important surface and bulk effects leading to oscillatory total magnetization for ultra-thin MnGa (001) films.

In-plane dielectric properties of epitaxial Ba{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}TiO{sub 3} thin films grown on GaAs for tunable device application

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

Yang Zhibin; Hao Jianhua

2012-09-01

We have epitaxially deposited ferroelectric Ba{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}TiO{sub 3} (BST) thin films grown on GaAs substrate via SrTiO{sub 3} buffer layer by laser molecular beam epitaxy. Structural characteristics of the heterostructure were measured by various techniques. The in-plane dielectric properties of the heteroepitaxial structure under different applying frequency were investigated from -190 to 90 Degree-Sign C, indicating Curie temperature of the BST film to be around 52 Degree-Sign C. At room temperature, the dielectric constant of the heterostructure under moderate dc bias field can be tuned by more than 30% and K factor used for frequency agile materials is foundmore » to be close to 8. Our results offer the possibility to combine frequency agile electronics of ferroelectric titanate with the high-performance microwave capabilities of GaAs for room temperature tunable device application.« less

Fabrication of n-ZnO:Al/p-Si(100) heterojunction diode and its characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parvathy Venu, M.; Dharmaprakash, S. M.; Byrappa, K.

2018-04-01

Aluminum doped ZnO (n-ZnO:Al) nanostructured thin films were grown on ZnO seed layer coated p-Si(100) substrate employing hydrothermal technique. X-ray diffraction pattern revealed that the ZnO:Al film possess hexagonal wurtzite structure with preferential orientation along (002) direction. Photoluminescence of the sample displayed near band edge emission peak in the ultra-violet region and defect level emission peak in the visible region. The as grown thin film was used in the fabrication of n-ZnO:Al/p-Si heterojunction diode and the room temperature current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics were studied. The heterojunction exhibited fairly good rectification with an ideality of 2.49 and reverse saturation current of 2 nA. The barrier height was found to be 0.668 eV from the I-V measurements. The C-V measurements showed a decrease in the capacitance of the heterojunction with an increase in the reverse bias voltage.

Naturally formed ultrathin V2O5 heteroepitaxial layer on VO2/sapphire(001) film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Littlejohn, Aaron J.; Yang, Yunbo; Lu, Zonghuan; Shin, Eunsung; Pan, KuanChang; Subramanyam, Guru; Vasilyev, Vladimir; Leedy, Kevin; Quach, Tony; Lu, Toh-Ming; Wang, Gwo-Ching

2017-10-01

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) and vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) thin films change their properties in response to external stimuli such as photons, temperature, electric field and magnetic field and have applications in electronics, optical devices, and sensors. Due to the multiple valence states of V and non-stoichiometry in thin films, it is challenging to grow epitaxial, single-phase V-oxide on a substrate, or a heterostructure of two epitaxial V-oxides. We report the formation of a heterostructure consisting of a few nm thick ultrathin V2O5 epitaxial layer on pulsed laser deposited tens of nm thick epitaxial VO2 thin films grown on single crystal Al2O3(001) substrates without post annealing of the VO2 film. The simultaneous observation of the ultrathin epitaxial V2O5 layer and VO2 epitaxial film is only possible by our unique reflection high energy electron diffraction pole figure analysis. The out-of-plane and in-plane epitaxial relationships are V2O5[100]||VO2[010]||Al2O3[001] and V2O5[03 2 bar ]||VO2[100]||Al2O3[1 1 bar 0], respectively. The existence of the V2O5 layer on the surface of the VO2 film is also supported by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy.

Oxygen Partial Pressure Impact on Characteristics of Indium Titanium Zinc Oxide Thin Film Transistor Fabricated via RF Sputtering

PubMed Central

Hsu, Ming-Hung; Chang, Sheng-Po; Chang, Shoou-Jinn; Wu, Wei-Ting; Li, Jyun-Yi

2017-01-01

Indium titanium zinc oxide (InTiZnO) as the channel layer in thin film transistor (TFT) grown by RF sputtering system is proposed in this work. Optical and electrical properties were investigated. By changing the oxygen flow ratio, we can suppress excess and undesirable oxygen-related defects to some extent, making it possible to fabricate the optimized device. XPS patterns for O 1s of InTiZnO thin films indicated that the amount of oxygen vacancy was apparently declined with the increasing oxygen flow ratio. The fabricated TFTs showed a threshold voltage of −0.9 V, mobility of 0.884 cm2/Vs, on-off ratio of 5.5 × 105, and subthreshold swing of 0.41 V/dec. PMID:28672868

Oxygen Partial Pressure Impact on Characteristics of Indium Titanium Zinc Oxide Thin Film Transistor Fabricated via RF Sputtering.

PubMed

Hsu, Ming-Hung; Chang, Sheng-Po; Chang, Shoou-Jinn; Wu, Wei-Ting; Li, Jyun-Yi

2017-06-26

Indium titanium zinc oxide (InTiZnO) as the channel layer in thin film transistor (TFT) grown by RF sputtering system is proposed in this work. Optical and electrical properties were investigated. By changing the oxygen flow ratio, we can suppress excess and undesirable oxygen-related defects to some extent, making it possible to fabricate the optimized device. XPS patterns for O 1s of InTiZnO thin films indicated that the amount of oxygen vacancy was apparently declined with the increasing oxygen flow ratio. The fabricated TFTs showed a threshold voltage of -0.9 V, mobility of 0.884 cm²/Vs, on-off ratio of 5.5 × 10⁵, and subthreshold swing of 0.41 V/dec.

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.

Lattice structure and magnetization of LaCoO3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rata, A. D.; Herklotz, A.; Schultz, L.; Dörr, K.

2010-07-01

We investigate the structure and magnetic properties of thin films of the LaCoO3 compound. Thin films are deposited by pulsed laser deposition on various substrates in order to tune the strain from compressive to tensile. Single-phase (001) oriented LaCoO3 layers were grown on all substrates despite large misfits. The tetragonal distortion of the films covers a wide range from -2% to 2.8%. Our LaCoO3 films are ferromagnetic with Curie temperature around 85 K, contrary to the bulk. The total magnetic moment is below 1 μ B /Co3+, a value relatively small for an exited spin-state of the Co3+ ions, but comparable to values reported in literature. A correlation of strain states and magnetic moment of Co3+ ions in LaCoO3 thin films is observed.

Effects of nitrogen incorporation in HfO(2) grown on InP by atomic layer deposition: an evolution in structural, chemical, and electrical characteristics.

PubMed

Kang, Yu-Seon; Kim, Dae-Kyoung; Kang, Hang-Kyu; Jeong, Kwang-Sik; Cho, Mann-Ho; Ko, Dae-Hong; Kim, Hyoungsub; Seo, Jung-Hye; Kim, Dong-Chan

2014-03-26

We investigated the effects of postnitridation on the structural characteristics and interfacial reactions of HfO2 thin films grown on InP by atomic layer deposition (ALD) as a function of film thickness. By postdeposition annealing under NH3 vapor (PDN) at 600 °C, an InN layer formed at the HfO2/InP interface, and ionized NHx was incorporated in the HfO2 film. We demonstrate that structural changes resulting from nitridation of HfO2/InP depend on the film thickness (i.e., a single-crystal interfacial layer of h-InN formed at thin (2 nm) HfO2/InP interfaces, whereas an amorphous InN layer formed at thick (>6 nm) HfO2/InP interfaces). Consequently, the tetragonal structure of HfO2 transformed into a mixture structure of tetragonal and monoclinic because the interfacial InN layer relieved interfacial strain between HfO2 and InP. During postdeposition annealing (PDA) in HfO2/InP at 600 °C, large numbers of oxidation states were generated as a result of interfacial reactions between interdiffused oxygen impurities and out-diffused InP substrate elements. However, in the case of the PDN of HfO2/InP structures at 600 °C, nitrogen incorporation in the HfO2 film effectively blocked the out-diffusion of atomic In and P, thus suppressing the formation of oxidation states. Accordingly, the number of interfacial defect states (Dit) within the band gap of InP was significantly reduced, which was also supported by DFT calculations. Interfacial InN in HfO2/InP increased the electron-barrier height to ∼0.6 eV, which led to low-leakage-current density in the gate voltage region over 2 V.

Synergistic approach to high-performance oxide thin film transistors using a bilayer channel architecture.

PubMed

Yu, Xinge; Zhou, Nanjia; Smith, Jeremy; Lin, Hui; Stallings, Katie; Yu, Junsheng; Marks, Tobin J; Facchetti, Antonio

2013-08-28

We report here a bilayer metal oxide thin film transistor concept (bMO TFT) where the channel has the structure: dielectric/semiconducting indium oxide (In2O3) layer/semiconducting indium gallium oxide (IGO) layer. Both semiconducting layers are grown from solution via a low-temperature combustion process. The TFT mobilities of bottom-gate/top-contact bMO TFTs processed at T = 250 °C are ~5tmex larger (~2.6 cm(2)/(V s)) than those of single-layer IGO TFTs (~0.5 cm(2)/(V s)), reaching values comparable to single-layer combustion-processed In2O3 TFTs (~3.2 cm(2)/(V s)). More importantly, and unlike single-layer In2O3 TFTs, the threshold voltage of the bMO TFTs is ~0.0 V, and the current on/off ratio is significantly enhanced to ~1 × 10(8) (vs ~1 × 10(4) for In2O3). The microstructure and morphology of the In2O3/IGO bilayers are analyzed by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, revealing the polycrystalline nature of the In2O3 layer and the amorphous nature of the IGO layer. This work demonstrates that solution-processed metal oxides can be implemented in bilayer TFT architectures with significantly enhanced performance.

Non-polar a-plane ZnO films grown on r-Al2O3 substrates using GaN buffer layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, C. X.; Chen, W.; Pan, X. H.; Chen, S. S.; Ye, Z. Z.; Huang, J. Y.

2016-09-01

In this work, GaN buffer layer has been used to grow non-polar a-plane ZnO films by laser-assisted and plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The thickness of GaN buffer layer ranges from ∼3 to 12 nm. The GaN buffer thickness effect on the properties of a-plane ZnO thin films is carefully investigated. The results show that the surface morphology, crystal quality and optical properties of a-plane ZnO films are strongly correlated with the thickness of GaN buffer layer. It was found that with 6 nm GaN buffer layer, a-plane ZnO films display the best crystal quality with X-ray diffraction rocking curve full-width at half-maximum of only 161 arcsec for the (101) reflection.

Synthesis of Large-area Crystalline MoTe2 Atomic layer from Chemical Vapor Deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Lin; Zubair, Ahmad; Xu, Kai; Kong, Jing; Dresselhaus, Mildred

The controlled synthesis of highly crystalline large-area molybdenum ditelluride MoTe2 atomic layers is crucial for the practical applications of this emerging material. Here we develop a novel approach for the growth of large-area, uniform and highly crystalline few-layer MoTe2 film via chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Large-area atomically thin MoTe2 film has been successfully synthesized by tellurization of a MoO3 film. The as-grown MoTe2 film is uniform, stoichiometric, and highly crystalline. As a result of the high crystallinity, the electronic properties of MoTe2 film are comparable with that of mechanically exfoliated MoTe2 flakes. Moreover, we found that two different phases of MoTe2 (2H and 1T') can be grown depending on the choice of Mo precursor. Since the MoTe2 film is highly homogenous, and the size of the film is only limited by the substrate and CVD system size, our growth method paves the way for large-scale application of MoTe2 in high performance nanoelectronics and optoelectronics.

Effect of BaSi2 template growth duration on the generation of defects and performance of p-BaSi2/n-Si heterojunction solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yachi, Suguru; Takabe, Ryota; Deng, Tianguo; Toko, Kaoru; Suemasu, Takashi

2018-04-01

We investigated the effect of BaSi2 template growth duration (t RDE = 0-20 min) on the defect generation and performance of p-BaSi2/n-Si heterojunction solar cells. The p-BaSi2 layer grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) was 15 nm thick with a hole concentration of 2 × 1018 cm-3. The conversion efficiency η increased for films grown at long t RDE, owing to improvements of the open-circuit voltage (V OC) and fill factor (FF), reaching a maximum of η = 8.9% at t RDE = 7.5 min. However, η decreased at longer and shorter t RDE owing to lower V OC and FF. Using deep-level transient spectroscopy, we detected a hole trap level 190 meV above the valence band maximum for the sample grown without the template (t RDE = 0 min). An electron trap level 106 meV below the conduction band minimum was detected for a sample grown with t RDE = 20 min. The trap densities for both films were (1-2) × 1013 cm-3. The former originated from the diffusion of Ba into the n-Si region; the latter originated from defects in the template layer. The crystalline qualities of the template and MBE-grown layers were discussed. The root-mean-square surface roughness of the template reached a minimum of 0.51 nm at t RDE = 7.5 min. The a-axis orientation of p-BaSi2 thin films degraded as t RDE exceeded 10 min. In terms of p-BaSi2 crystalline quality and solar cell performance, the optimum t RDE was determined to be 7.5 min, corresponding to approximately 4 nm in thickness.

Nitrogen-Polar (000 1 ¯ ) GaN Grown on c-Plane Sapphire with a High-Temperature AlN Buffer.

PubMed

Song, Jie; Han, Jung

2017-03-02

We demonstrate growing nitrogen-polar (N-polar) GaN epilayer on c-plane sapphire using a thin AlN buffer layer by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. We have studied the influence of the AlN buffer layer on the polarity, crystalline quality, and surface morphology of the GaN epilayer and found that the growth temperature of the AlN buffer layer played a critical role in the growth of the GaN epilayer. The low growth temperature of the AlN buffer results in gallium-polar GaN. Even a nitridation process has been conducted. High growth temperature for an AlN buffer layer is required to achieve pure N-polarity, high crystalline quality, and smooth surface morphology for a GaN epilayer.

Low-temperature atomic layer deposition of TiO{sub 2} thin layers for the processing of memristive devices

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

Porro, Samuele, E-mail: samuele.porro@polito.it; Conti, Daniele; Guastella, Salvatore

2016-01-15

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) represents one of the most fundamental techniques capable of satisfying the strict technological requirements imposed by the rapidly evolving electronic components industry. The actual scaling trend is rapidly leading to the fabrication of nanoscaled devices able to overcome limits of the present microelectronic technology, of which the memristor is one of the principal candidates. Since their development in 2008, TiO{sub 2} thin film memristors have been identified as the future technology for resistive random access memories because of their numerous advantages in producing dense, low power-consuming, three-dimensional memory stacks. The typical features of ALD, such asmore » self-limiting and conformal deposition without line-of-sight requirements, are strong assets for fabricating these nanosized devices. This work focuses on the realization of memristors based on low-temperature ALD TiO{sub 2} thin films. In this process, the oxide layer was directly grown on a polymeric photoresist, thus simplifying the fabrication procedure with a direct liftoff patterning instead of a complex dry etching process. The TiO{sub 2} thin films deposited in a temperature range of 120–230 °C were characterized via Raman spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electrical current–voltage measurements taken in voltage sweep mode were employed to confirm the existence of resistive switching behaviors typical of memristors. These measurements showed that these low-temperature devices exhibit an ON/OFF ratio comparable to that of a high-temperature memristor, thus exhibiting similar performances with respect to memory applications.« less

Effect of band-aligned double absorber layers on photovoltaic characteristics of chemical bath deposited PbS/CdS thin film solar cells.

PubMed

Ho Yeon, Deuk; Chandra Mohanty, Bhaskar; Lee, Seung Min; Soo Cho, Yong

2015-09-23

Here we report the highest energy conversion efficiency and good stability of PbS thin film-based depleted heterojunction solar cells, not involving PbS quantum dots. The PbS thin films were grown by the low cost chemical bath deposition (CBD) process at relatively low temperatures. Compared to the quantum dot solar cells which require critical and multistep complex procedures for surface passivation, the present approach, leveraging the facile modulation of the optoelectronic properties of the PbS films by the CBD process, offers a simpler route for optimization of PbS-based solar cells. Through an architectural modification, wherein two band-aligned junctions are stacked without any intervening layers, an enhancement of conversion efficiency by as much as 30% from 3.10 to 4.03% facilitated by absorption of a wider range of solar spectrum has been obtained. As an added advantage of the low band gap PbS stacked over a wide gap PbS, the devices show stability over a period of 10 days.

Investigation on optical properties of Bi2.85La0.15TiNbO9 thin films by prism coupling technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Mingfu; Chen, Hengzhi; Yang, Bin; Cao, Wenwu

2009-12-01

Layered-perovskite ferroelectric Bi2.85La0.15TiNbO9 (LBTN) optical waveguiding thin films were grown on fused silica substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that the film is highly (00 l) textured. We observed sharp and distinct transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) multimodes and measured the refractive indices of LBTN thin films at 632.8 nm. The ordinary and extraordinary refractive indices were calculated to be n TE=2.358 and n TM=2.464, respectively. The film homogeneity and the film-substrate interface were analyzed using an improved version of the inverse Wentzel-Kramer-Brillouin (iWKB) method. The refractive index of the film remains constant at n 0 within the waveguiding layer. The average transmittance of the film is 70% in the wavelength range of 400-1400 nm and the optical waveguiding properties were evaluated by the optical prism coupling method. Our results showed that the LBTN films are very good electro-optical active material.

Epitaxial Fe16N2 thin film on nonmagnetic seed layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hang, Xudong; Zhang, Xiaowei; Ma, Bin; Lauter, Valeria; Wang, Jian-Ping

2018-05-01

Metastable α″ -Fe16N2 has attracted much interest as a candidate for rare-earth-free hard magnetic materials. We demonstrate that Fe16N2 thin films were grown epitaxially on Cr seed layers with MgO (001) substrates by facing-target sputtering. Good crystallinity with the epitaxial relation MgO (001 )[110 ] ∥ Cr (001 )[100 ] ∥ Fe16N2 (001 )[100 ] was obtained. The chemical order parameter, which quantifies the degree of N ordering in the Fe16N2 (the N-disordered phase is α' -Fe8N martensite), reaches 0.75 for Cr-seeded samples. Cr has a perfect lattice constant match with Fe16N2, and no noticeable strain can be assigned to Fe16N2. The intrinsic saturation magnetization of this non-strained Fe16N2 thin film at room temperature is determined to be 2.31 T by polarized neutron reflectometry and confirmed with vibrating sample magnetometry. Our work provides a platform to directly study the magnetic properties of high purity Fe16N2 films with a high order parameter.

Photoreflectance study of the near-band-edge transitions of chemical vapor deposition-grown mono- and few-layer MoS{sub 2} films

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

Lin, Kuang-I, E-mail: kilin@mail.ncku.edu.tw; Chen, Yen-Jen; Wang, Bo-Yan

2016-03-21

Room-temperature photoreflectance (PR) and reflectance (R) spectroscopy are utilized to investigate the near-band-edge transitions of molybdenum disulfide (MoS{sub 2}) thin films grown on sapphire substrates by a hot-wall chemical vapor deposition system. The layer thickness and optical properties of the MoS{sub 2} thin films are confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscope, and photoluminescence (PL) analysis. The B exciton shows relatively weak PL intensity in comparing with the A exciton even for monolayer MoS{sub 2} films. In the R spectrum of few‐layer MoS{sub 2}, it is not possible to clearly observe exciton related features. The PR spectra have two sharp,more » derivative-like features on a featureless background. Throughout the PR lineshape fitting, the transition energies are designated as the A and B excitons at the K-point of the Brillouin zone, but at room temperature there seems to be no distinguishable feature corresponding to an H‐point transition for the mono- and few-layer MoS{sub 2} films unlike in bulk. These transition energies are slightly larger than those obtained by PL, which is attributed to the Stokes shifts related to doping level. The obtained values of valence-band spin-orbit splitting are in good agreement with those from other experimental methods. By comparing the PR lineshapes, the dominant modulation mechanism is attributed to variations of the exciton transition energies due to change in the built-in electric field. On the strength of this study, PR spectroscopy is demonstrated as a powerful technique for characterizing the near-band-edge transitions of MoS{sub 2} from monolayer to bulk.« less

Study on the occurrence of spontaneously established perpendicular exchange bias in Co{sub 49}Pt{sub 51}/IrMn bilayers

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

Tsai, C. Y.; Lin, K. F.; Hsu, Jen-Hwa, E-mail: jhhsu@phys.ntu.edu.tw

2014-05-07

In this study, perpendicular exchange bias (PEB) effect in the as-grown Co{sub 49}Pt{sub 51}/IrMn bilayers was demonstrated at room temperature using single-layered Co{sub 49}Pt{sub 51} alloy thin film as ferromagnetic (FM) layer. Several unusual features were observed in this system, viz.,: (i) the PEB was spontaneously established without any external magnetic field treatments, (ii) single-shifted loops were obtained rather than double-shifted ones, and (iii) the spontaneous PEB effect was accompanied by a reduction in perpendicular coercivity, H{sub c⊥} from 1024 to 632 Oe. The results of x–ray diffraction revealed the formation of IrMn (111) texture. Training effect studies indicate that themore » PEB effect is stable in this system with less than 5% variation in PEB value within 15 repetitive scans. Significant reduction in the PEB effect was found for the CoPt/IrMn films either grown or subjected to post-annealing under external magnetic field (H{sub ind}). The thickness dependence of PEB effect with respect to the FM and antiferromagnetic layers were also investigated and a largest PEB value of 533 Oe was obtained for the sample grown with 3-nm thick CoPt and 10-nm thick IrMn layers. The results of present study thus establish an opportunity to realize PEB effect in the absence of external field during fabrication.« less

Electrical characterization of thin nanoscale SiOx layers grown on plasma hydrogenated silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halova, E.; Kojuharova, N.; Alexandrova, S.; Szekeres, A.

2018-03-01

We analyzed the electrical characteristics of MOS structures with a SiOx layer grown on Si treated in plasma without heating. The hysteresis effect observed indicates the presence of traps spatially distributed into the oxide near the interface. The shift and the shape of the curves reveal a small oxide charge and low leakage currents, i.e. a high-quality dielectric layer. The generalized C-V curve was generated by applying the two-frequency methods on the C-V and G-V characteristics at frequencies in the range from 1 kHz to 300 kHz and by accounting for the series resistance and the leakage through the oxide layer. The energy spectra of the interface traps were calculated by comparing the experimental and the ideal theoretical C-V curves. The spectra showed the presence of interface traps with localized energy levels in the Si bandgap. These conclusions correlate well with the results on this oxide’s mechanical stress level, composition and Si-O ring structure, as well as on the interfacial region composition, obtained by our previous detailed multi-angle spectral ellipsometric studies. The ellipsometric data and the capacitance in strong accumulation of the C-V curves were used to calculate the thickness and the dielectric constants of the oxide layers.

Temperature Controlled Electrostatic Disorder and Polymorphism in Ultrathin Films of α-Sexithiophene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffman, Benjamin; Jafari, Sara; McAfee, Terry; Apperson, Aubrey; O'Connor, Brendan; Dougherty, Daniel

Competing phases in well-ordered alpha-sexithiophene (α-6T) are shown to contribute to electrostatic disorder observed by differences in surface potential between mono- and bi-layer crystallites. Ultrathin films are of key importance to devices in which charge transport occurs in the first several monolayers nearest to a dielectric interface (e.g. thin film transistors) and complex structures in this regime impact the general electrostatic landscape. This study is comprised of 1.5 ML sample crystals grown via organic molecular beam deposition onto a temperature controlled hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) passivated SiO2 substrate to produce well-ordered layer-by-layer type growth. Sample topography and surface potential were characterized simultaneously using Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy to then isolate contact potential differences by first and second layer α-6T regions. Films grown on 70° C, 120° C substrates are observed to have a bilayer with lower, higher potential than the monolayer, respectively. Resulting interlayer potential differences are a clear source of electrostatic disorder and are explained as subtle shifts in tilt-angles between layers relative to the substrate. These empirical results continue our understanding of how co-existing orientations contribute to the complex electrostatics influencing charge transport. NSF CAREER award DMR-1056861.

Piezoelectric characterization of Sc0.26Al0.74N layers on Si (001) substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinusía Lozano, M.; Pérez-Campos, A.; Reusch, M.; Kirste, L.; Fuchs, Th; Žukauskaitė, A.; Chen, Z.; Iriarte, G. F.

2018-03-01

Scandium aluminum nitride (ScAlN) films have been synthesized by pulsed-DC reactive magnetron sputtering. The degree of c-axis orientation as well as piezoelectric characteristics of the Sc0.26Al0.74N thin films grown on Si (001) at various discharge powers and processing pressures values have been investigated. According to x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, the texture of the as-grown Sc0.26Al0.74N thin films becomes more prominent in the [0001]-direction at the highest target power (700 W) and at the lowest processing pressure (4 mTorr). The piezoelectric response, as determined by measuring the d33 piezoelectric constant, shows a maximum value of -12 pC/N also at 4 mTorr and 700 W, confirming a direct correlation between the d33 piezoelectric constant and the degree of orientation in the [0001]-direction. The atomic concentration of Sc and Al in the synthesized ScAlN thin film, determined by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), reveals a Sc concentration lower than in the ScAl alloy target. The piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) shows homogeneous polarity distribution with no inversion domains. The piezoelectric layers have been used to fabricate and measure surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators on a Sc0.26Al0.74N/Si (001) bilayer system with resonance frequency of 1.4 GHz and coupling coefficient of 0.567. Such characteristic in the frequency response reveals the potential of these materials for advanced SAW devices in applications such as next generation (5 G) wireless communication systems.

Diffusion boundary layers ameliorate the negative effects of ocean acidification on the temperate coralline macroalga Arthrocardia corymbosa.

PubMed

Cornwall, Christopher E; Boyd, Philip W; McGraw, Christina M; Hepburn, Christopher D; Pilditch, Conrad A; Morris, Jaz N; Smith, Abigail M; Hurd, Catriona L

2014-01-01

Anthropogenically-modulated reductions in pH, termed ocean acidification, could pose a major threat to the physiological performance, stocks, and biodiversity of calcifiers and may devalue their ecosystem services. Recent debate has focussed on the need to develop approaches to arrest the potential negative impacts of ocean acidification on ecosystems dominated by calcareous organisms. In this study, we demonstrate the role of a discrete (i.e. diffusion) boundary layer (DBL), formed at the surface of some calcifying species under slow flows, in buffering them from the corrosive effects of low pH seawater. The coralline macroalga Arthrocardia corymbosa was grown in a multifactorial experiment with two mean pH levels (8.05 'ambient' and 7.65 a worst case 'ocean acidification' scenario projected for 2100), each with two levels of seawater flow (fast and slow, i.e. DBL thin or thick). Coralline algae grown under slow flows with thick DBLs (i.e., unstirred with regular replenishment of seawater to their surface) maintained net growth and calcification at pH 7.65 whereas those in higher flows with thin DBLs had net dissolution. Growth under ambient seawater pH (8.05) was not significantly different in thin and thick DBL treatments. No other measured diagnostic (recruit sizes and numbers, photosynthetic metrics, %C, %N, %MgCO3) responded to the effects of reduced seawater pH. Thus, flow conditions that promote the formation of thick DBLs, may enhance the subsistence of calcifiers by creating localised hydrodynamic conditions where metabolic activity ameliorates the negative impacts of ocean acidification.

Optical Analysis of Iron-Doped Lead Sulfide Thin Films for Opto-Electronic Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chidambara Kumar, K. N.; Khadeer Pasha, S. K.; Deshmukh, Kalim; Chidambaram, K.; Shakil Muhammad, G.

Iron-doped lead sulfide thin films were deposited on glass substrates using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method (SILAR) at room temperature. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the film shows a well formed crystalline thin film with face-centered cubic structure along the preferential orientation (1 1 1). The lattice constant is determined using Nelson Riley plots. Using X-ray broadening, the crystallite size is determined by Scherrer formula. Morphology of the thin film was studied using a scanning electron microscope. The optical properties of the film were investigated using a UV-vis spectrophotometer. We observed an increase in the optical band gap from 2.45 to 3.03eV after doping iron in the lead sulfide thin film. The cutoff wavelength lies in the visible region, and hence the grown thin films can be used for optoelectronic and sensor applications. The results from the photoluminescence study show the emission at 500-720nm. The vibrating sample magnetometer measurements confirmed that the lead sulfide thin film becomes weakly ferromagnetic material after doping with iron.

Very High Performance Organic Photonic Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-15

example, in photovoltaic cells based on copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) as the donor and 3.4.9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic bis- benzimidazole b (PTCBI) as...perylenetetracarboxylic bis- benzimidazole (PTCBI), the as- mixed D-A layer shows very poor Received: April 25, 2t(X4 grown, homogeneously Final version: September 13, 2(X04...perylenetetracarboxylic bis- benzimidazole thin-film photovoltaic cell with a patterned stripe of sputter- (PTCBI). Purified organic source materialss were loaded into

Substrate for thin silicon solar cells

DOEpatents

Ciszek, Theodore F.

1995-01-01

A photovoltaic device for converting solar energy into electrical signals comprises a substrate, a layer of photoconductive semiconductor material grown on said substrate, wherein the substrate comprises an alloy of boron and silicon, the boron being present in a range of from 0.1 to 1.3 atomic percent, the alloy having a lattice constant substantially matched to that of the photoconductive semiconductor material and a resistivity of less than 1.times.10.sup.-3 ohm-cm.

Towards Thermal Wavelength Scale Two- and Three-Dimensional Photonic Crystals

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-01

this now. We studied the anisotropic thermal conductivity of nanoscale graphite layers deposited by chemical vapor deposition on Ni substrates at...Braun, and David G. Cahill, “Thermal conductivity of graphite thin films grown by low temperature chemical vapor deposition on Ni (111),” submitted...that there is no degradation in the power factor. In the carbon work, we studied the deposited by chemical vapor deposition on Ni substrates at

High Performance Thin layer Chromatography: Densitometry Method for Determination of Rubraxanthone in the Stem Bark Extract of Garcinia cowa Roxb.

PubMed

Hamidi, Dachriyanus; Aulia, Hilyatul; Susanti, Meri

2017-01-01

Garcinia cowa is a medicinal plant widely grown in Southeast Asia and tropical countries. Various parts of this plant have been used in traditional folk medicine. The bark, latex, and root have been used as an antipyretic agent, while fruit and leaves have been used as an expectorant, for indigestion and improvement of blood circulation. This study aims to determine the concentration of rubraxanthone found in ethyl acetate extract of the stem bark of G. cowa by the high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC). HPTLC method was performed on precoated silica gel G 60 F254 plates using an HPTLC system with a developed mobile-phase system of chloroform: ethyl acetate: methanol: formic acid (86:6:3:5). A volume of 5 μL of standard and sample solutions was applied to the chromatographic plates. The plates were developed in saturated mode of twin trough chamber at room temperature. The method was validated based on linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), and specificity. The spots were observed at ultraviolet 243 nm. The linearity of rubraxanthone was obtained between 52.5 and 157.5 ppm/spot. The LOD and LOQ were found to be 4.03 and 13.42 ppm/spot, respectively. The proposed method showed good linearity, precision, accuracy, and high sensitivity. Therefore, it may be applied for the quantification of rubraxanthone in ethyl acetate extract of the stem bark of G. cowa . High performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) method provides rapid qualitative and quantitative estimation of rubraxanthone as a marker com¬pound in G. cowa extract used for commercial productRubraxanthone found in ethyl acetate extracts of G. cowa was successfully quantified using HPTLC method. Abbreviations Used : TLC: Thin-layer chromatography, HPTLC: High-performance thin-layer chromatography, LOD: Limit of detection, LOQ: Limit of quantification, ICH: International Conference on Harmonization.

Growth, Structural, Electronic, and Magnetic Characterization of GaN, CrN, Fe Islands on CrN, and Fe/CrN Bilayer Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alam, Khan

As a part of my Ph.D research, initially I was involved in construction and calibration of an ultra-high vacuum thin film facility, and later on I studied structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of GaN, CrN, Fe/CrN bilayers, and Fe islands on CrN thin films. All of these films were grown by molecular beam epitaxy and characterized with a variety of state-of-the-art techniques including variable temperature reflection high energy electron diffraction, low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, variable temperature vibrating sample magnetometry, variable temperature neutron diffraction and reflectometry, variable temperature x-ray diffraction, x-ray reflectometry, Rutherford backscattering, Auger electron spectroscopy, and cross-sectional tunneling electron microscopy. The experimental results are furthermore understood by comparing with numerical calculations using generalized gradient approximation, local density approximation with Hubbard correction, Refl1D, and data analysis and visual environment program. In my first research project, I studied Ga gas adatoms on GaN surfaces. We discovered frozen-out gallium gas adatoms on atomically smooth c(6x12) GaN(0001¯) surface using low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. We identified adsorption sites of the Ga adatoms on c(6x12) reconstructed surface. Their bonding is determined by measuring low unoccupied molecular orbital level. Absorption sites of the Ga gas adatoms on centered 6x12 are identified, and their asymmetric absorption on the chiral domains is investigated. In second project, I investigated magneto-structural phase transition in chromium nitride (CrN) thin films. The CrN thin films are grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Structural and magnetic transition are studied using variable temperature reflection high energy electron diffraction and variable temperature neutron diffraction. We observed a structural phase transition at the surface at 277+/-2 K, and a sharp, first-order magnetic phase transition from paramagnetic (room temperature) to antiferromagnetic (low temperature) at 280+/-3 K. Our experiments suggest that the structural transition in CrN thin films occur in out-of-plane direction, and epitaxial constraints suppress the in-plane transition; therefore, the low temperature crystal structure of CrN is tetragonal. This new model explains our structural and magnetic data at low temperatures, but it is different than the previously published orthorhombic model. In third project, I studied exchange bias and exchange spring effect in MBE grown Fe/CrN bilayer thin films. We grew Fe/CrN bilayer thin films on MgO(001) substrate by molecular beam epitaxy, and studied them using variable temperature vibrating sample magnetometry, polarized neutron reflectometry, x-ray reflectivity, and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. We observed exchange bias and exchange spring effect in all bilayer thin films. We studied the relationship of exchange bias, blocking temperature, and coercivity with Fe and CrN layers thicknesses. We used polarized neutron beam reflectometry to see if spins at Fe/CrN interface are pinned. We found a thin ferromagnetically ordered CrN layer at the interface. In my final project, I studied growth of submonolayer Fe islands on CrN thin films. These films are prepared in two stages: first, a CrN layer is grown by MBE and then a submonolayer Fe is deposited at room temperature from a carefully degassed e-beam evaporator. The films are studied at liquid helium temperature using low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. Islands are seen in STM images, after the Fe deposition, at the edges as well as at the center of atomically flat CrN terraces. However, numerical calculations performed by our collaborator Ponce-P'erez from Benem'erita Universidad Aut'onoma de Puebla show that the Fe islands are energetically unstable on the surface. The Fe atoms substitute Cr atoms in the surface layer and the Cr atoms comes out and form islands. In order to find out elemental composition of the islands, we attempted to map local density of state by measuring differential conductance spectra as a function of bias voltage using LT-STS. We observed three characteristically different spectra; one in the CrN substrate and two in the islands. The CrN substrate curve has a "U" shape near Fermi level and a peak at ≈ 105 mV. The islands spectra show Kondo-like resonances at Fermi level; some islands produce a peak whereas others produce a dip the dI/dV curves near Fermi level. Further investigations are needed to determine the origin of the peak and dip in the island curves, as well as to find the composition of the islands.

Study of composite thin films for applications in high density data storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Hua

Granular Co-alloy + oxide thin films are currently used as the magnetic recording layer of perpendicular media in hard disk drives. The microstructure of these films is composed mainly of fine (7--10 nm) magnetic grains physically surrounded by oxide phases, which produce magnetic isolation of the grains. As a result, the magnetic switching volume is maintained as small as the physical grain size. Consequently, ample number of magnetic switching units can be obtained in one recording bit, in other words, higher signal to noise ratios (SNR) can be achieved. Therefore, a good understanding and control of the microstructure of the films is very important for high areal density magnetic recording media. Interlayers and seedlayers play important roles in controlling the microstructure in terms of grain size, grain size distribution, oxide segregation and orientation dispersion of the crystallographic texture. Developing novel interlayers or seedlayers with smaller grain size is a key approach to produce smaller grain size in the recording layer. This study focuses on how to achieve smaller grain sizes in the recording layer through novel interlayer/seedlayer materials and processes. It also discusses the resulting microstructure in smaller-grain-size thin films. Metal + oxide (e.g. Ru + SiO2) composite thin films were chosen as interlayer and seedlayer materials due to their unique segregated microstructure. Such layers can be grown epitaxially on top of fcc metal seedlayers with good orientation. It can also provide an epitaxial growth template for the subsequent magnetic layer (recording layer). The metal and oxide phases in the composite thin films are immiscible. The final microstructure of the interlayer depends on factors, such as, sputtering pressure, oxide species, oxide volume fraction, thickness, alloy composition, temperature etc. Moreover, it has been found that the microstructure of the composite thin films is affected mostly by two important factors---oxide volume fraction and sputtering pressure. The latter affects grain size and grain segregation through surface-diffusion modification and the self-shadowing effect. The composite Ru + oxide interlayers were found to have various microstructures under various sputtering conditions. Four characteristic microstructure zones can be identified as a function of oxide volume fraction and sputtering pressure---"percolated" (A), "maze" (T), "granular" (B) and "embedded" (C), based on which, a new structural zone model (SZM) is established for composite thin films. The granular microstructure of zone B is of particular interest for recording media application. The grain size of interlayers is a strong function of pressure, oxide species and oxide volume fraction. Magnetic layers grown on top of these interlayers were found to be significantly affected by the interlayer microstructure. One-to-one grain epitaxial growth is very difficult to achieve when the grain size is too small. As a result, the magnetic properties of smaller grain size magnetic layers deteriorate due to poor growth. This presents a huge challenge to high areal density magnetic recording media. A novel approach of Ar-ion etched Ru seedlayer, which can improve epitaxy between interlayer and magnetic layer is proposed. This method produces interlayer thin films of: (1) smaller grain size and higher nucleation density due to both a rougher seedlayer surface and an oxide addition in the interlayer; (2) good (00.2) texture due to the growth on top of the low pressure deposited Ru seedlayer; (3) dome-shape grain morphology due to the high pressure deposition. Therefore, a significant Ru grain size reduction with enhanced granular morphology and improved grain-to-grain epitaxy with the magnetic layer was achieved. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques, such as, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), energy-filtered TEM (EFTEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and mapping, and high angle annular dark field (HAADF) imaging have been utilized to investigate elemental distribution and grain morphology in composite magnetic thin films of different grain sizes. An oxygen-rich grain shell of about 0.5 ˜ 1 nm thickness is often observed for most media with different grain sizes. Reducing the grain size increases surface to volume ratio. With more surface area, smaller grains are more vulnerable to oxidization, resulting in even greater influence of the oxide on the magnetic properties of the grains.

Voltage Scaling of Graphene Device on SrTiO3 Epitaxial Thin Film.

PubMed

Park, Jeongmin; Kang, Haeyong; Kang, Kyeong Tae; Yun, Yoojoo; Lee, Young Hee; Choi, Woo Seok; Suh, Dongseok

2016-03-09

Electrical transport in monolayer graphene on SrTiO3 (STO) thin film is examined in order to promote gate-voltage scaling using a high-k dielectric material. The atomically flat surface of thin STO layer epitaxially grown on Nb-doped STO single-crystal substrate offers good adhesion between the high-k film and graphene, resulting in nonhysteretic conductance as a function of gate voltage at all temperatures down to 2 K. The two-terminal conductance quantization under magnetic fields corresponding to quantum Hall states survives up to 200 K at a magnetic field of 14 T. In addition, the substantial shift of charge neutrality point in graphene seems to correlate with the temperature-dependent dielectric constant of the STO thin film, and its effective dielectric properties could be deduced from the universality of quantum phenomena in graphene. Our experimental data prove that the operating voltage reduction can be successfully realized due to the underlying high-k STO thin film, without any noticeable degradation of graphene device performance.

Dielectric Scattering Patterns for Efficient Light Trapping in Thin-Film Solar Cells.

PubMed

van Lare, Claire; Lenzmann, Frank; Verschuuren, Marc A; Polman, Albert

2015-08-12

We demonstrate an effective light trapping geometry for thin-film solar cells that is composed of dielectric light scattering nanocavities at the interface between the metal back contact and the semiconductor absorber layer. The geometry is based on resonant Mie scattering. It avoids the Ohmic losses found in metallic (plasmonic) nanopatterns, and the dielectric scatterers are well compatible with nearly all types of thin-film solar cells, including cells produced using high temperature processes. The external quantum efficiency of thin-film a-Si:H solar cells grown on top of a nanopatterned Al-doped ZnO, made using soft imprint lithography, is strongly enhanced in the 550-800 nm spectral band by the dielectric nanoscatterers. Numerical simulations are in good agreement with experimental data and show that resonant light scattering from both the AZO nanostructures and the embedded Si nanostructures are important. The results are generic and can be applied on nearly all thin-film solar cells.

Fabrication of zinc-dicarboxylate- and zinc-pyrazolate-carboxylate-framework thin films through vapour-solid deposition.

PubMed

Medishetty, Raghavender; Zhang, Zongji; Sadlo, Alexander; Cwik, Stefan; Peeters, Daniel; Henke, Sebastian; Mangayarkarasi, Nagarathinam; Devi, Anjana

2018-05-17

Fabrication of three-dimensional metal-organic framework (MOF) thin films has been investigated for the first time through the conversion of a ZnO layer via a pure vapour-solid deposition reaction at ambient pressure. The fabrication of MOF thin films with a dicarboxylate linker, (DMA)2[Zn3(bdc)4] (1) (bdc = 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate), and a carboxy-pyrazolate linker, [Zn4O(dmcapz)6] (2) (dmcapz = 3,5-dimethyl-4-carboxypyrazole), involves the deposition of the linker and/or the preparation of a composite film preliminarily and its subsequent conversion into a MOF film using closed cell thermal treatment. Furthermore, it was possible to isolate thin films with a MOF-5 isotype structure grown along the [110] direction, using a carboxy-pyrazolate linker. This was achieved just by the direct reaction of the ZnO film and the organic linker vapors, employing a simple route that demonstrates the feasibility of MOF thin film fabrication using inexpensive routes at ambient pressure.

Synthesis and magnetic properties of the thin film exchange spring system of MnBi/FeCo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabet, S.; Hildebrandt, E.; Alff, L.

2017-10-01

Manganese bismuth thin films with a nominal thickness of ∼40 nm were grown at room temperature onto quartz glass substrate in a DC magnetron sputtering unit. In contrast to the usual multilayer approach, the MnBi films were deposited using a single sputtering target with a stoichiometry of Mn55Bi45 (at. %). A subsequent in-situ annealing step was performed in vacuum in order to form the ferromagnetic LTP of MnBi. X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of a textured LTP MnBi hard phase after annealing at 330 °C. This film shows a maximum saturation magnetization of 530 emu/cm3, high out-of-plane coercivity of 15 kOe induced by unreacted bismuth. The exchange coupling effect was investigated by deposition of a second layer of FeCo with 1 nm and 2 nm thickness onto the LTP MnBi films. The MnBi/FeCo double layer showed as expected higher saturation magnetization with increasing thickness of the FeCo layer while the coercive field remained constant. The fabrication of the MnBi/FeCo double layer for an exchange spring magnet was facilitated by deposition from a single stoichiometric target.

Toward DNA electrochemical sensing by free-standing ZnO nanosheets grown on 2D thin-layered MoS2.

PubMed

Yang, Tao; Chen, Meijing; Kong, Qianqian; Luo, Xiliang; Jiao, Kui

2017-03-15

Very recently, the 2-dimensional MoS 2 layer as base substrate integrated with other materials has caused people's emerging attention. In this paper, a thin-layered MoS 2 was prepared through an ultrasonic exfoliation method from bulk MoS 2 and then the free-standing ZnO nanosheet was electrodeposited on the MoS 2 scaffold for DNA sensing. The ZnO/MoS 2 nanocomposite revealed smooth and vertical nanosheets morphology by scanning electron microscopy, compared with the sole MoS 2 and sole ZnO. Importantly, the partially negative charged MoS 2 layer is beneficial to the nucleation and growth of ZnO nanosheets under the effect of electrostatic interactions. Classic methylene blue, which possesses different affinities to dsDNA and ssDNA, was adopted as the measure signal to confirm the immobilization and hybridization of DNA on ZnO nanosheets and pursue the optimal synthetic conditions. And the results demonstrated that the free-standing ZnO/MoS 2 nanosheets had low detection limit (6.6×10 -16 M) and has a positive influence on DNA immobilization and hybridization. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Improved properties of barium strontium titanate thin films grown on copper foils by pulsed laser deposition using a self-buffered layer.

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

Liu, S.; Ma, B.; Narayanan, M.

2012-01-01

Ba{sub 0.6}Sr{sub 0.4}TiO{sub 3} (BST) films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition on copper foils with low-temperature self-buffered layers. The deposition conditions included a low oxygen partial pressure and a temperature of 700 C to crystallize the films without the formation of secondary phases and substrate oxidation. The results from x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy indicated that the microstructure of the BST films strongly depended on the growth temperature. The use of the self-buffered layer improved the dielectric properties of the deposited BST films. The leakage current density of the BST films on the copper foil was 4.4 xmore » 10{sup -9} A cm{sup -2} and 3.3 x 10{sup -6} A cm{sup -2} with and without the self-buffered layer, respectively. The ferroelectric hysteresis loop for the BST thin film with buffer layer was slim, in contrast to the distorted loop observed for the film without the buffer layer. The permittivity (7 0 0) and dielectric loss tangent (0.013) of the BST film on the copper foil with self-buffered layer at room temperature were comparable to those of the film on metal and single-crystal substrates.« less

Electrical properties of pseudo-single-crystalline Ge films grown by Au-induced layer exchange crystallization at 250 °C

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higashi, H.; Kudo, K.; Yamamoto, K.; Yamada, S.; Kanashima, T.; Tsunoda, I.; Nakashima, H.; Hamaya, K.

2018-06-01

We study the electrical properties of pseudo-single-crystalline Ge (PSC-Ge) films grown by a Au-induced layer exchange crystallization method at 250 °C. By inserting the SiNx layer between PSC-Ge and SiO2, we initiatively suppress the influence of the Ge/SiO2 interfacial defective layers, which have been reported in our previous works, on the electrical properties of the PSC-Ge layers. As a result, we can detect the influence of the ionized Au+ donors on the temperature-dependent hole concentration and Hall mobility. To further examine their electrical properties in detail, we also fabricate p-thin-film transistors (TFTs) with the PSC-Ge layer. Although the off-state leakage currents are suppressed by inserting the SiNx layer, the value of on/off ratio remains poor (<102). Even after the post-annealing at 400 °C for the TFTs, the on/off ratio is still poor (˜102) because of the gate-induced drain leakage current although a nominal field effect mobility is enhanced up to ˜25 cm2/V s. Considering these features, we conclude that the Au contaminations into the PSC-Ge layer can affect the electrical properties and device performances despite a low-growth temperature of 250 °C. To achieve further high-performance p-TFTs, we have to suppress the Au contaminations into PSC-Ge during the Au-induced crystallization growth.

Directly Grown Nanostructured Electrodes for High Volumetric Energy Density Binder-Free Hybrid Supercapacitors: A Case Study of CNTs//Li4Ti5O12

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuo, Wenhua; Wang, Chong; Li, Yuanyuan; Liu, Jinping

2015-01-01

Hybrid supercapacitor (HSC), which typically consists of a Li-ion battery electrode and an electric double-layer supercapacitor electrode, has been extensively investigated for large-scale applications such as hybrid electric vehicles, etc. Its application potential for thin-film downsized energy storage systems that always prefer high volumetric energy/power densities, however, has not yet been explored. Herein, as a case study, we develop an entirely binder-free HSC by using multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) network film as the cathode and Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) nanowire array as the anode and study the volumetric energy storage capability. Both the electrode materials are grown directly on carbon cloth current collector, ensuring robust mechanical/electrical contacts and flexibility. Our 3 V HSC device exhibits maximum volumetric energy density of ~4.38 mWh cm-3, much superior to those of previous supercapacitors based on thin-film electrodes fabricated directly on carbon cloth and even comparable to the commercial thin-film lithium battery. It also has volumetric power densities comparable to that of the commercial 5.5 V/100 mF supercapacitor (can be operated within 3 s) and has excellent cycling stability (~92% retention after 3000 cycles). The concept of utilizing binder-free electrodes to construct HSC for thin-film energy storage may be readily extended to other HSC electrode systems.

SPE-LEEM Studies on the Surface and Electronic Structure of 2-D Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (Part II)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Wencan; Yeh, Po-Chun; Zaki, Nader; Zhang, Datong; Sadowski, Jerzy; Al-Mahboob, Abdullah; van de Zande, Arend; Chenet, Daniel; Dadap, Jerry; Herman, Irving; Sutter, Peter; Hone, James; Osgood, Richard

2014-03-01

In this work, we studied the surface and electronic structure of monolayer and few-layer exfoliated MoS2 and WSe2, as well as chemical-vapor-deposition (CVD) grown MoS2, using Spectroscopic Photoemission and Low Energy Electron Microscope (SPE-LEEM). LEEM measurements reveal that, unlike exfoliated MoS2, CVD-grown MoS2 exhibits grain-boundary alterations due to surface strain. However, LEEM and micro-probe low energy electron diffraction show that the quality of CVD-grown MoS2 is comparable to that of exfoliated MoS2. Micrometer-scale angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurement on exfoliated MoS2 and WSe2 single-crystals provides direct evidence for the shifting of the valence band maximum from Γ to K, when the layer number is thinned down to one, as predicted by density functional theory. Our measurements of the k-space resolved electronic structure allow for further comparison with other theoretical predictions and with transport measurements. This work is supported by DOE grant DE-FG 02-04-ER-46157, research carried out in part at the CFN and NSLS, Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Epitaxial Growth of beta-Silicon Carbide (SiC) on a Compliant Substrate via Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, Sharanda L.

1996-01-01

Many lattice defects have been attributed to the lattice mismatch and the difference in the thermal coefficient of expansion between SiC and silicon (Si). Stacking faults, twins and antiphase boundaries are some of the lattice defects found in these SiC films. These defects may be a partial cause of the disappointing performance reported for the prototype devices fabricated from beta-SiC films. The objective of this research is to relieve some of the thermal stress due to lattice mismatch when SiC is epitaxially grown on Si. The compliant substrate is a silicon membrane 2-4 microns thick. The CVD process includes the buffer layer which is grown at 1360 C followed by a very thin epitaxial growth of SiC. Then the temperature is raised to 1500 C for the subsequent growth of SiC. Since silicon melts at 1415 C, the SiC will be grown on molten Silicon which is absorbed by a porous graphite susceptor eliminating the SiC/Si interface. We suspect that this buffer layer will yield less stressed material to help in the epitaxial growth of SiC.

MOVPE growth and transport characterization of Bi2-xSbxTe3-ySey films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsov, P. I.; Yakushcheva, G. G.; Shchamkhalova, B. S.; Jitov, V. A.; Temiryazev, A. G.; Sizov, V. E.; Yapaskurt, V. O.

2018-02-01

We present a first study of films of the quaternary Bi2-xSbxTe3-ySey solid solutions on (0 0 0 1) sapphire substrates grown by atmospheric pressure MOVPE. Trimethylbismuth, trimethylantimony, diisopropylselenide and diethyltelluride were used as precursors. To passivate the free bonds of the substrate and to improve the epitaxy, a thin (15 nm) ZnTe buffer layer was first grown. EDX analysis of the films grown at a temperature of 445 °C and about 10-fold excess of chalcogen in the vapor phase indicates on their compliance with V2VI3 stoichiometry. AFM and SEM investigations showed that at the initial stage of deposition the Stranski-Krastanov growth mode is dominant. Complete coalescence of nanoislands occurs at a thickness about 60 nm and further film formation is in the 2D layer-by-layer growth mode. A high mole fraction of antimony in the vapor phase leads to bad crystalline quality of the films and even to their discontinuity. Transport properties of the Bi2-xSbxTe3-ySey films were evaluated using Van der Pauw Hall effect measurements in the range of temperatures of 10-300 K. Some films are always n- or p-type; in other samples the change of conductivity from p- to n-type was observed when the temperature decreases.

Low voltage operation of IGZO thin film transistors enabled by ultrathin Al2O3 gate dielectric

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Pengfei; Du, Lulu; Wang, Yiming; Jiang, Ran; Xin, Qian; Li, Yuxiang; Song, Aimin

2018-01-01

An ultrathin, 5 nm, Al2O3 film grown by atomic-layer deposition was used as a gate dielectric for amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs). The Al2O3 layer showed a low surface roughness of 0.15 nm, a low leakage current, and a high breakdown voltage of 6 V. In particular, a very high gate capacitance of 720 nF/cm2 was achieved, making it possible for the a-IGZO TFTs to not only operate at a low voltage of 1 V but also exhibit desirable properties including a low threshold voltage of 0.3 V, a small subthreshold swing of 100 mV/decade, and a high on/off current ratio of 1.2 × 107. Furthermore, even under an ultralow operation voltage of 0.6 V, well-behaved transistor characteristics were still observed with an on/off ratio as high as 3 × 106. The electron transport through the Al2O3 layer has also been analyzed, indicating the Fowler-Nordheim tunneling mechanism.

On-surface synthesis: a promising strategy toward the encapsulation of air unstable ultra-thin 2D materials.

PubMed

Li, Qiang; Zhao, Yinghe; Guo, Jiyuan; Zhou, Qionghua; Chen, Qian; Wang, Jinlan

2018-02-22

2D black phosphorus (BP) and transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) have beneficial electronic, optical, and physical properties at the few-layer limit. However, irreversible degradation of exfoliated or chemical vapor deposition-grown ultrathin BP and TMCs like GaSe via oxidation under ambient conditions limits their applications. Herein, the on-surface growth of an oxidation-resistant 2D thin film of a metal coordination polymer is demonstrated by multiscale simulations. We show that the preparation of such heterostructures can be conducted in solution, in which pristine BP and GaSe present better stability than in an air environment. Our calculations reveal that the interaction between the polymer layer and 2D materials is dominated by van der Waals forces; thus, the electronic properties of pristine BP and GaSe are well preserved. Meanwhile, the isolation from oxygen and water can be achieved by monolayer polymers, due to the nature of their close-packed layers. Our facile strategy for enhancing the environmental stability of ultrathin materials is expected to accelerate efforts to implement 2D materials in electronic and optoelectronic applications.

Fabrication and electrical properties of low temperature-processed thin-film-transistors with chemical-bath deposited ZnO layer.

PubMed

Ahn, Joo-Seob; Kwon, Ji-Hye; Yang, Heesun

2013-06-01

ZnO film was grown on ZnO quantum dot seed layer-coated substrate by a low-temperature chemical bath deposition, where sodium citrate serves as a complexing agent for Zn2+ ion. The ZnO film deposited under the optimal condition exhibited a highly uniform surface morphology with a thickness of approimately 30 nm. For the fabrication of thin-film-transistor with a bottom-gate structure, ZnO film was chemically deposited on the transparent substrate of a seed layer-coated SiN(x)/ITO (indium tin oxide)/glass. As-deposited ZnO channel was baked at low temperatures of 60-200 degrees C to investigate the effect of baking temperature on electrical performances. Compared to the device with 60 degrees C-baked ZnO channel, the TFT performances of one with 200 degrees C-baked channel were substantially improved, exhibiting an on-off current ratio of 3.6 x 10(6) and a saturated field-effect mobility of 0.27 cm2/V x s.

Epitaxial growth of (001)-oriented Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}TiO{sub 3} thin films on a-plane sapphire with an MgO/ZnO bridge layer

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

Xiao Bo; Liu Hongrui; Avrutin, Vitaliy

2009-11-23

High quality (001)-oriented Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}TiO{sub 3} (BST) thin films have been grown on a-plane sapphire (1120) by rf magnetron sputtering using a double bridge layer consisting of (0001)-oriented ZnO (50 nm) and (001)-oriented MgO (10 nm) prepared by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. X-ray diffraction revealed the formation of three sets of in-plane BST domains, offset from one another by 30 deg., which is consistent with the in-plane symmetry of the MgO layer observed by in situ reflective high electron energy diffraction. The in-plane epitaxial relationship of BST, MgO, and ZnO has been determined to be BST [110]//MgO [110]//ZnO [1120]more » and BST [110]/MgO [110]//ZnO [1100]. Capacitance-voltage measurements performed on BST coplanar interdigitated capacitor structures revealed a high dielectric tunability of up to 84% at 1 MHz.« less

Magneto-optical properties of cerium substituted yttrium iron garnet films with reduced thermal budget for monolithic photonic integrated circuits.

PubMed

Goto, Taichi; Onbaşlı, Mehmet C; Ross, C A

2012-12-17

Thin films of polycrystalline cerium substituted yttrium iron garnet (CeYIG) were grown on an yttrium iron garnet (YIG) seed layer on Si and Si-on-insulator substrates by pulsed laser deposition, and their optical and magneto-optical properties in the near-IR region were measured. A YIG seed layer of ~30 nm thick processed by rapid thermal anneal at 800°C provided a virtual substrate to promote crystallization of the CeYIG. The effect of the thermal budget of the YIG/CeYIG growth process on the film structure, magnetic and magnetooptical properties was determined.

Engineering topological superconductors using surface atomic-layer/molecule hybrid materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uchihashi, Takashi

2015-08-01

Surface atomic-layer (SAL) superconductors consisting of epitaxially grown metal adatoms on a clean semiconductor surface have been recently established. Compared to conventional metal thin films, they have two important features: (i) space-inversion symmetry-breaking throughout the system and (ii) high sensitivity to surface adsorption of foreign species. These potentially lead to manifestation of the Rashba effect and a Zeeman field exerted by adsorbed magnetic organic molecules. After introduction of the archetypical SAL superconductor Si(111)-(√7 × √3)-In, we describe how these features are utilized to engineer a topological superconductor with Majorana fermions and discuss its promises and expected challenges.

Frictional behavior of atomically thin sheets: hexagonal-shaped graphene islands grown on copper by chemical vapor deposition.

PubMed

Egberts, Philip; Han, Gang Hee; Liu, Xin Z; Johnson, A T Charlie; Carpick, Robert W

2014-05-27

Single asperity friction experiments using atomic force microscopy (AFM) have been conducted on chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene grown on polycrystalline copper foils. Graphene substantially lowers the friction force experienced by the sliding asperity of a silicon AFM tip compared to the surrounding oxidized copper surface by a factor ranging from 1.5 to 7 over loads from the adhesive minimum up to 80 nN. No damage to the graphene was observed over this range, showing that friction force microscopy serves as a facile, high contrast probe for identifying the presence of graphene on Cu. Consistent with studies of epitaxially grown, thermally grown, and mechanically exfoliated graphene films, the friction force measured between the tip and these CVD-prepared films depends on the number of layers of graphene present on the surface and reduces friction in comparison to the substrate. Friction results on graphene indicate that the layer-dependent friction properties result from puckering of the graphene sheet around the sliding tip. Substantial hysteresis in the normal force dependence of friction is observed with repeated scanning without breaking contact with a graphene-covered region. Because of the hysteresis, friction measured on graphene changes with time and maximum applied force, unless the tip slides over the edge of the graphene island or contact with the surface is broken. These results also indicate that relatively weak binding forces exist between the copper foil and these CVD-grown graphene sheets.

Selective epitaxy using the gild process

DOEpatents

Weiner, Kurt H.

1992-01-01

The present invention comprises a method of selective epitaxy on a semiconductor substrate. The present invention provides a method of selectively forming high quality, thin GeSi layers in a silicon circuit, and a method for fabricating smaller semiconductor chips with a greater yield (more error free chips) at a lower cost. The method comprises forming an upper layer over a substrate, and depositing a reflectivity mask which is then removed over selected sections. Using a laser to melt the unmasked sections of the upper layer, the semiconductor material in the upper layer is heated and diffused into the substrate semiconductor material. By varying the amount of laser radiation, the epitaxial layer is formed to a controlled depth which may be very thin. When cooled, a single crystal epitaxial layer is formed over the patterned substrate. The present invention provides the ability to selectively grow layers of mixed semiconductors over patterned substrates such as a layer of Ge.sub.x Si.sub.1-x grown over silicon. Such a process may be used to manufacture small transistors that have a narrow base, heavy doping, and high gain. The narrowness allows a faster transistor, and the heavy doping reduces the resistance of the narrow layer. The process does not require high temperature annealing; therefore materials such as aluminum can be used. Furthermore, the process may be used to fabricate diodes that have a high reverse breakdown voltage and a low reverse leakage current.

Productivity correlated to photobiochemical performance of Chlorella mass cultures grown outdoors in thin-layer cascades.

PubMed

Masojídek, Jiří; Kopecký, Jiří; Giannelli, Luca; Torzillo, Giuseppe

2011-02-01

This work aims to: (1) correlate photochemical activity and productivity, (2) characterize the flow pattern of culture layers and (3) determine a range of biomass densities for high productivity of the freshwater microalga Chlorella spp., grown outdoors in thin-layer cascade units. Biomass density, irradiance inside culture, pigment content and productivity were measured in the microalgae cultures. Chlorophyll-fluorescence quenching was monitored in situ (using saturation-pulse method) to estimate photochemical activities. Photobiochemical activities and growth parameters were studied in cultures of biomass density between 1 and 47 g L(-1). Fluorescence measurements showed that diluted cultures (1-2 g DW L(-1)) experienced significant photostress due to inhibition of electron transport in the PSII complex. The highest photochemical activities were achieved in cultures of 6.5-12.5 g DW L(-1), which gave a maximum daylight productivity of up to 55 g dry biomass m(-2) day(-1). A midday depression of maximum PSII photochemical yield (F (v)/F (m)) of 20-30% compared with morning values in these cultures proved to be compatible with well-performing cultures. Lower or higher depression of F (v)/F (m) indicated low-light acclimated or photo-inhibited cultures, respectively. A hydrodynamic model of the culture demonstrated highly turbulent flow allowing rapid light/dark cycles (with frequency of 0.5 s(-1)) which possibly match the turnover of the photosynthetic apparatus. These results are important from a biotechnological point of view for optimisation of growth of outdoor microalgae mass cultures under various climatic conditions.

Characterisation of LSO:Tb scintillator films for high resolution X-ray imaging applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cecilia, A.; Rack, A.; Douissard, P.-A.; Martin, T.; Dos Santos Rolo, T.; Vagovič, P.; Pelliccia, D.; Couchaud, M.; Dupré, K.; Baumbach, T.

2011-05-01

Within the framework of an FP6 project (SCINTAX)1The Project SCINTAX is funded by the European Community (STRP 033 427), . we developed a new thin film single crystal scintillator for high resolution X-ray imaging based on a layer of modified LSO (Lu2SiO5) grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) on a dedicated substrate. In this work we present the characterisation of the scintillating LSO films in terms of optical and scintillation properties as well as spatial resolution performances. The obtained results are discussed and compared with the performances of the thin scintillating films commonly used in synchrotron-based micro-imaging applications.

Epitaxial ZnO/LiNbO{sub 3}/ZnO stacked layer waveguide for application to thin-film Pockels sensors

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

Akazawa, Housei, E-mail: akazawa.housei@lab.ntt.co.jp; Fukuda, Hiroshi

We produced slab waveguides consisting of a LiNbO{sub 3} (LN) core layer that was sandwiched with Al-doped ZnO cladding layers. The ZnO/LN/ZnO stacked layers were grown on sapphire C-planes by electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma sputtering and were subjected to structural, electrical, and optical characterizations. X-ray diffraction confirmed that the ZnO and LN layers were epitaxial without containing misoriented crystallites. The presence of 60°-rotational variants of ZnO and LN crystalline domains were identified from X-ray pole figures. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy images revealed a c-axis orientated columnar texture for LN crystals, which ensured operation as electro-optic sensors based on opticalmore » anisotropy along longitudinal and transversal directions. The interfacial roughness between the LN core and ZnO bottom layers as well as that between the ZnO top and the LN core layers was less than 20 nm, which agreed with surface images observed with atomic force microscopy. Outgrowth of triangular LN crystalline domains produced large roughness at the LN film surface. The RMS roughness of the LN film surface was twice that of the same structure grown on sapphire A-planes. Vertical optical transmittance of the stacked films was higher than 85% within the visible and infrared wavelength range. Following the approach adopted by Teng and Man [Appl. Phys. Lett. 56, 1734 (1990)], ac Pockels coefficients of r{sub 33} = 24-28 pm/V were derived for c-axis oriented LN films grown on low-resistive Si substrates. Light propagation within a ZnO/LN/ZnO slab waveguide as well as within a ZnO single layer waveguide was confirmed. The birefringence of these waveguides was 0.11 for the former and 0.05 for the latter.« less

Effect of Annealing Temperature on Structural, Optical, and Electrical Properties of Sol-Gel Spin-Coating-Derived Cu2ZnSnS4 Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hosseinpour, Rabie; Izadifard, Morteza; Ghazi, Mohammad Ebrahim; Bahramian, Bahram

2018-02-01

The effect of annealing temperature on structural, optical, and electrical properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films grown on a glass substrate by spin coating sol-gel technique has been studied. Structural study showed that all samples had kesterite crystalline structure. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the crystalline quality of the samples was improved by heat treatment. Optical study showed that the energy gap values for the samples ranged from 1.55 eV to 1.78 eV. Moreover, good optical conductivity values (1012 S-1 to 1014 S-1) were obtained for the samples. Investigation of the electrical properties of the CZTS thin films showed that the carrier concentration increased significantly with the annealing temperature. The photoelectrical behavior of the samples revealed that the photocurrent under light illumination increased significantly. Overall, the results show that the CZTS thin films annealed at 500°C had better structural, optical, and electrical properties and that such CZTS thin films are desirable for use as absorber layers in solar cells. The photovoltaic properties of the CZTS layer annealed at 500°C were also investigated and the associated figure of merit calculated. The results showed that the fabricated ZnS-CZTS heterojunction exhibited good rectifying behavior but rather low fill factor.

Laser damage properties of TiO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films grown by atomic layer deposition

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

Wei Yaowei; Liu Hao; Sheng Ouyang

2011-08-20

Research on thin film deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) for laser damage resistance is rare. In this paper, it has been used to deposit TiO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films at 110 deg. C and 280 deg. C on fused silica and BK7 substrates. Microstructure of the thin films was investigated by x-ray diffraction. The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of samples was measured by a damage test system. Damage morphology was studied under a Nomarski differential interference contrast microscope and further checked under an atomic force microscope. Multilayers deposited at different temperatures were compared. The results show that the filmsmore » deposited by ALD had better uniformity and transmission; in this paper, the uniformity is better than 99% over 100 mm {Phi} samples, and the transmission is more than 99.8% at 1064 nm. Deposition temperature affects the deposition rate and the thin film microstructure and further influences the LIDT of the thin films. As to the TiO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films, the LIDTs were 6.73{+-}0.47 J/cm{sup 2} and 6.5{+-}0.46 J/cm{sup 2} at 110 deg. C on fused silica and BK7 substrates, respectively. The LIDTs at 110 deg. C are notably better than 280 deg. C.« less

Optical characteristics of bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3) thin films.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahmoud, S.; Eid, A. H.; Omar, H.

Thin films of bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3) were grown by two deposition techniques, by thermal evaporation and by chemical deposition. The thermally deposited reactions consisted in depositing the individual elements, namely bismuth and sulfur, sequentially from a tungsten boat source and allowing the layers to interdiffuse to form the compound during the heat-treatment. The chemical deposition was based on the reaction between the triethanolamine compex of Bi3+ ions and thiourea in basic media. Scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction analysis were made on as-deposited and on annealed films to determine their structure. The different electronic transitions and the optical constants are determined from the transmision and reflection data of these thin films for normal incidence. The optical gaps of Bi2S3 films show a remarkable dependence on the preparation method.

Effect of annealing time on optical and electrical properties of CdS thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soliya, Vanshika; Tandel, Digisha; Patel, Chandani; Patel, Kinjal

2018-05-01

Cadmium sulphide (CdS) is semiconductor compound of II-VI group. Thin film of CdS widely used in the applications such as, a buffer layer in copper indium diselenide (CIS) hetrojunction based solar cells, transistors, photo detectors and light emitting diodes. Because of the ease of making like chemical bath deposition (CBD), screen printing and thermal evaporation. It is extensively used in the CIS based solar cells as a buffer layers. The buffer layers usually used for reducing the interface recombination of the photo generated carriers by means of improving the lattice mismatch between the layers. The optimum thickness and the optoelectronics properties of CdS thin films like, optical band gap, electrical resistivity, structure, and composition etc., are to be considering for its use as a buffer layer. In the present study the CdS thin film were grown by simple dip coating method. In this method we had prepared 0.1M Cadmium-thiourea precursor solution. Before the deposition process of CdS, glass substrate has been cleaned using Methanol, Acetone, Trichloroethylene and De-ionized (DI) water. After coating of precursor layer, it was heated at 200 °C for themolysis. Then after CdS films were annealed at 200 °C for different time and studied its influence on the optical transmission, band gap, XRD, raman and the electrical resistivity. As increasing the annealing time we had observed the average transmission of the films was reduce after the absorption edge. In addition to the blue shift of absorption edge was observed. The observed optimum band gap was around 2.50 eV. XRD and raman analysis confirms the cubuc phase of CdS. Hot probe method confirms the n-type conductivity of the CdS film. Hall probe data shows the resistivity of the films was in the order of 103 Ωcm. Observed data signifies its future use in the many optoelectronics devices.

In situ monitoring of atomic layer epitaxy via optical ellipsometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyzwa, F.; Marsik, P.; Roddatis, V.; Bernhard, C.; Jungbauer, M.; Moshnyaga, V.

2018-03-01

We report on the use of time-resolved optical ellipsometry to monitor the deposition of single atomic layers with subatomic sensitivity. Ruddlesden-Popper thin films of SrO(SrTiO3) n=4 were grown by means of metalorganic aerosol deposition in the atomic layer epitaxy mode on SrTiO3(1 0 0), LSAT(1 0 0) and DyScO3(1 1 0) substrates. The measured time dependences of ellipsometric angles, Δ(t) and Ψ(t), were described by using a simple optical model, considering the sequence of atomic layers SrO and TiO2 with corresponding bulk refractive indices. As a result, valuable online information on the atomic layer epitaxy process was obtained. Ex situ characterization techniques, i.e. transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction and x-ray reflectometry verify the crystal structure and confirm the predictions of optical ellipsometry.

Synthesis of cobalt doped BiFeO3 multiferroic thin films on p-Si substrate by sol-gel method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasannakumara, R.; Shrisha, B. V.; Naik, K. Gopalakrishna

2018-05-01

Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) and cobalt doped BiFeO3 (BiFe1-xCoxO3) nanostructure thin films were grown on p-silicon substrates by sol-gel spin coating method with a sequence of coating and annealing process. The post-annealing of the grown films was carried out under high pure argon atmosphere. The grown nanostructure thin films were characterized using XRD, FESEM, and AFM for the structural, morphological and topological studies, respectively. The elemental compositions of the samples were studied by EDX spectra. The PL spectra of the grown sample shows a narrow emission peak around 559 nm which corresponds to the energy band gap of BFO thin films. The XRD peaks of the BiFeO3 nanostructure thin film reveals the rhombohedral structure and transformed from rhombohedral to orthorhombic or tetragonal structure in Co doped BiFeO3 thin films. The Co substitution in BiFeO3 helped to obtain higher dense nanostructure thin films with smaller grain size than the BiFeO3 thin films.

Semiconductor Laser Diode Arrays by MOCVD (Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition)

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-09-01

laser diode arrays are intended to be used as an optical pump for solid state yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) lasers. In particular, linear uniform...corresponds to about . , 8080A. Such thin layer structures, while difficult to grow by such conventional growth methods as liquid phase epitaxy ( LPE ...lower yet than for DH lasers grown by LPE . , - Conventional self-aligned stripe laser This structure is formed by growing (on an n-type GaAs substrate

Substrate for thin silicon solar cells

DOEpatents

Ciszek, T.F.

1995-03-28

A photovoltaic device for converting solar energy into electrical signals comprises a substrate, a layer of photoconductive semiconductor material grown on said substrate, wherein the substrate comprises an alloy of boron and silicon, the boron being present in a range of from 0.1 to 1.3 atomic percent, the alloy having a lattice constant substantially matched to that of the photoconductive semiconductor material and a resistivity of less than 1{times}10{sup {minus}3} ohm-cm. 4 figures.

Catalyst patterning for nanowire devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Jun (Inventor); Cassell, Alan M. (Inventor); Han, Jie (Inventor)

2004-01-01

Nanowire devices may be provided that are based on carbon nanotubes or single-crystal semiconductor nanowires. The nanowire devices may be formed on a substrate. Catalyst sites may be formed on the substrate. The catalyst sites may be formed using lithography, thin metal layers that form individual catalyst sites when heated, collapsible porous catalyst-filled microscopic spheres, microscopic spheres that serve as masks for catalyst deposition, electrochemical deposition techniques, and catalyst inks. Nanowires may be grown from the catalyst sites.

Amino-functionalized sub-40 nm ultrathin Ag/ZnO transparent electrodes for flexible polymer dispersed liquid crystal devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Jinhua; Lu, Yuehui; Wu, Wenxuan; Li, Jia; Zhang, Xianpeng; Zhu, Chaoting; Yang, Ye; Xu, Feng; Song, Weijie

2017-11-01

Various flexible transparent conducting electrodes (FTCEs) have been studied for promising applications in flexible optoelectronic devices, but there are still challenges in achieving higher transparency and conductivity, lower thickness, better mechanical flexibility, and lower preparation temperatures. In this work, we prepared a sub-40 nm Ag(9 nm)/ZnO(30 nm) FTCE at room temperature, where each layer played a relatively independent role in the tailoring of the optoelectronic properties. A continuous and smooth 9-nm Ag thin film was grown on amino-functionalized glass and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates to provide good conductivity. A 30-nm ZnO cladding, as an antireflection layer, further improved the transmittance while hardly affecting the conductivity. The room-temperature grown sub-40 nm Ag/ZnO thin films on PET substrate exhibited a transmittance of 88.6% at 550 nm and a sheet resistance of 7.6 Ω.sq-1, which were superior to those of the commercial ITO. The facile preparation benefits the integration of FTCEs into various flexible optoelectronic devices, where the excellent performance of the sub-40 nm Ag/ZnO FTCEs in a flexible polymer dispersed liquid crystal device was demonstrated. Sub-40 nm Ag/ZnO FTCEs that have the characteristics of simple structure, room-temperature preparation, and easily tailored optoelectronic properties would provide flexible optoelectronic devices with more degrees of freedom.

Spectroscopic and microscopic investigation of MBE-grown CdTe (211)B epitaxial thin films on GaAs (211)B substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özden, Selin; Koc, Mumin Mehmet

2018-03-01

CdTe epitaxial thin films, for use as a buffer layer for HgCdTe defectors, were grown on GaAs (211)B using the molecular beam epitaxy method. Wet chemical etching (Everson method) was applied to the epitaxial films using various concentrations and application times to quantify the crystal quality and dislocation density. Surface characterization of the epitaxial films was achieved using Atomic force microscopy and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) before and after each treatment. The Energy Dispersive X-Ray apparatus of SEM was used to characterize the chemical composition. Untreated CdTe films show smooth surface characteristics with root mean square (RMS) roughnesses of 1.18-3.89 nm. The thicknesses of the CdTe layers formed were calculated via FTIR spectrometry and obtained by ex situ spectroscopic ellipsometry. Raman spectra were obtained for various temperatures. Etch pit densities (EPD) were measured, from which it could be seen that EPD changes between 1.7 × 108 and 9.2 × 108 cm-2 depending on the concentration of the Everson etch solution and treatment time. Structure, shape and depth of pits resulting from each etch pit implementation were also evaluated. Pit widths varying between 0.15 and 0.71 µm with heights varying between 2 and 80 nm were observed. RMS roughness was found to vary by anything from 1.56 to 26 nm.

High-Quality Solution-Processed Silicon Oxide Gate Dielectric Applied on Indium Oxide Based Thin-Film Transistors.

PubMed

Jaehnike, Felix; Pham, Duy Vu; Anselmann, Ralf; Bock, Claudia; Kunze, Ulrich

2015-07-01

A silicon oxide gate dielectric was synthesized by a facile sol-gel reaction and applied to solution-processed indium oxide based thin-film transistors (TFTs). The SiOx sol-gel was spin-coated on highly doped silicon substrates and converted to a dense dielectric film with a smooth surface at a maximum processing temperature of T = 350 °C. The synthesis was systematically improved, so that the solution-processed silicon oxide finally achieved comparable break downfield strength (7 MV/cm) and leakage current densities (<10 nA/cm(2) at 1 MV/cm) to thermally grown silicon dioxide (SiO2). The good quality of the dielectric layer was successfully proven in bottom-gate, bottom-contact metal oxide TFTs and compared to reference TFTs with thermally grown SiO2. Both transistor types have field-effect mobility values as high as 28 cm(2)/(Vs) with an on/off current ratio of 10(8), subthreshold swings of 0.30 and 0.37 V/dec, respectively, and a threshold voltage close to zero. The good device performance could be attributed to the smooth dielectric/semiconductor interface and low interface trap density. Thus, the sol-gel-derived SiO2 is a promising candidate for a high-quality dielectric layer on many substrates and high-performance large-area applications.

Correlation Between Microstructure and Optical Properties of Cu (In0.7, Ga0.3) Se2 Grown by Electrodeposition Technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chihi, Adel; Bessais, Brahim

2017-01-01

Polycrystalline thin films Cu (In0.7, Ga0.3) Se2 (CIGSe) were grown on copper foils at various cathodic potentials by using an electrodeposition technique. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the average diameter of CIGSe grains increase from 0.1 μm to 1 μm when the cathodic potential decreases. The structure and surface morphology were investigated by x-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. This structure study shows that the thin films were well crystallized in a chalcopyrite structure without unwanted secondary phases with a preferred orientation along (112) plane. Energy-dispersive x-ray analyses confirms the existence of CIGSe single phase on a copper substrate. AFM analysis indicated that the root mean square roughness decreases from 64.28 to 27.42 when the potential deposition increases from -0.95 V to -0.77 V. Using Raman scattering spectroscopy, the A1 optical phonon mode was observed in 173 cm-1 and two other weak peaks were detected at 214 cm-1 and 225 cm-1 associated with the B2 and E modes of the CIGSe phase. Through spectroscopy ellipsometry analysis, a three-layer optical model was exploited to derive the optical properties and layer thickness of the CIGSe film by least-squares fitting the measured variation in polarization light versus the obtained microstructure.

Microstructure and dielectric properties of piezoelectric magnetron sputtered w-Sc{sub x}Al{sub 1-x}N thin films

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

Zukauskaite, Agne; Wingqvist, Gunilla; Palisaitis, Justinas

2012-05-01

Piezoelectric wurtzite Sc{sub x}Al{sub 1-x}N (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) thin films were epitaxially grown by reactive magnetron co-sputtering from elemental Sc and Al targets. Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001) wafers with TiN(111) seed and electrode layers were used as substrates. X-ray diffraction shows that an increase in the Sc content results in the degradation of the crystalline quality. Samples grown at 400 deg. C possess true dielectric behavior with quite low dielectric losses and the leakage current is negligible. For ScAlN samples grown at 800 deg. C, the crystal structure is poor and leakage current is high. Transmission electron microscopymore » with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy mapping shows a mass separation into ScN-rich and AlN-rich domains for x {>=} 0.2 when substrate temperature is increased from 400 to 800 deg. C. The piezoelectric response of epitaxial Sc{sub x}Al{sub 1-x}N films measured by piezoresponse force microscopy and double beam interferometry shows up to 180% increase by the addition of Sc up to x = 0.2 independent of substrate temperature, in good agreement with previous theoretical predictions based on density-functional theory.« less

Microstructure and dielectric properties of piezoelectric magnetron sputtered w-ScxAl1-xN thin films

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

Zukauskaite, Agne; Wingqvist, Gunilla; Palisaitis, Justinas

2012-01-01

Piezoelectric wurtzite ScxAl1 xN (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) thin films were epitaxially grown by reactive magnetron co-sputtering from elemental Sc and Al targets. Al2O3(0001) wafers with TiN(111) seed and electrode layers were used as substrates. X-ray diffraction shows that an increase in the Sc content results in the degradation of the crystalline quality. Samples grown at 400 C possess true dielectric behavior with quite low dielectric losses and the leakage current is negligible. For ScAlN samples grown at 800 C, the crystal structure is poor and leakage current is high. Transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopymore » mapping shows a mass separation into ScN-rich and AlN-rich domains for x 0.2 when substrate temperature is increased from 400 to 800 C. The piezoelectric response of epitaxial ScxAl1 xN films measured by piezoresponse force microscopy and double beam interferometry shows up to 180% increase by the addition of Sc up to x = 0.2 independent of substrate temperature, in good agreement with previous theoretical predictions based on density-functional theory.« less

Unintentional carbide formation evidenced during high-vacuum magnetron sputtering of transition metal nitride thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greczynski, G.; Mráz, S.; Hultman, L.; Schneider, J. M.

2016-11-01

Carbide signatures are ubiquitous in the surface analyses of industrially sputter-deposited transition metal nitride thin films grown with carbon-less source materials in typical high-vacuum systems. We use high-energy-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy to reveal details of carbon temporal chemical state evolution, from carbide formed during film growth to adventitious carbon adsorbed upon contact with air. Using in-situ grown Al capping layers that protect the as-deposited transition metal nitride surfaces from oxidation, it is shown that the carbide forms during film growth rather than as a result of post deposition atmosphere exposure. The XPS signature of carbides is masked by the presence of adventitious carbon contamination, appearing as soon as samples are exposed to atmosphere, and eventually disappears after one week-long storage in lab atmosphere. The concentration of carbon assigned to carbide species varies from 0.28 at% for ZrN sample, to 0.25 and 0.11 at% for TiN and HfN, respectively. These findings are relevant for numerous applications, as unintentionally formed impurity phases may dramatically alter catalytic activity, charge transport and mechanical properties by offsetting the onset of thermally-induced phase transitions. Therefore, the chemical state of C impurities in PVD-grown films should be carefully investigated.

Interface and Electronic Characterization of Thin Epitaxial Co3O4 Films

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

Vaz, C.A.; Zhu, Y.; Wang, H.-Q.

2009-01-15

The interface and electronic structure of thin ({approx} 20-74 nm) Co{sub 3}O{sub 4}(1 1 0) epitaxial films grown by oxygen-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on MgAl{sub 2}O{sub 4}(1 1 0) single crystal substrates have been investigated by means of real and reciprocal space techniques. As-grown film surfaces are found to be relatively disordered and exhibit an oblique low energy electron diffraction (LEED) pattern associated with the O-rich CoO{sub 2} bulk termination of the (1 1 0) surface. Interface and bulk film structure are found to improve significantly with post-growth annealing at 820 K in air and display sharp rectangular LEED patterns,more » suggesting a surface stoichiometry of the alternative Co{sub 2}O{sub 2} bulk termination of the (1 1 0) surface. Non-contact atomic force microscopy demonstrates the presence of wide terraces separated by atomic steps in the annealed films that are not present in the as-grown structures; the step height of {approx}2.7 {angstrom} corresponds to two atomic layers and confirms a single termination for the annealed films, consistent with the LEED results. A model of the (1 x 1) surfaces that allows for compensation of the polar surfaces is presented.« less

Weak ferromagnetism and short range polar order in NaMnF3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kc, Amit; Borisov, Pavel; Shvartsman, Vladimir; Lederman, David

The orthorhombically distorted perovskite NaMnF3 has been predicted to become ferroelectric if an a = c distortion of the bulk Pnma structure is imposed. In order to test this prediction, NaMnF3 thin films were grown on SrTiO3 (100) single crystal substrates via molecular beam epitaxy. The best films were smooth and single phase with four different twin domains. In-plane magnetization measurements revealed the presence of antiferromagnetic ordering with weak ferromagnetism below the Néel temperature TN = 66 K. For the dielectric studies, NaMnF3 films were grown on a 30 nm SrRuO3 (100) layer used as a bottom electrode grown via pulsed laser deposition. The complex permittivity as a function of frequency indicated a strong Debye-like relaxation contribution characterized by a distribution of relaxation times. A power-law divergence of the characteristic relaxation time revealed an order-disorder phase transition at 8 K. The slow relaxation dynamics indicated the formation of super-dipoles (superparaelectric moments) that extend over several unit cells, similar to polar nanoregions of relaxor ferroelectrics. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (Grant 1434897) and the WVU Shared Research Facilities at West Virginia University.

Time dependence of carbon film deposition on SnO{sub 2}/Si using DC unbalanced magnetron sputtering

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

Alfiadi, H., E-mail: yudi@fi.itb.ac.id; Aji, A. S., E-mail: yudi@fi.itb.ac.id; Darma, Y., E-mail: yudi@fi.itb.ac.id

Carbon deposition on SnO{sub 2} layer has been demonstrated at low temperature using DC unbalanced magnetron-sputtering technique for various time depositions. Before carbon sputtering process, SnO{sub 2} thin layer is grown on silicon substrate by thermal evaporation method using high purity Sn wire and then fully oxidizes by dry O{sub 2} at 225°C. Carbon sputtering process was carried out at pressure of 4.6×10{sup −2} Torr by keeping the substrate temperature of 300 °C for sputtering deposition time of 1 to 4 hours. The properties of SnO{sub 2}/Si structure and carbon thin film on SnO{sub 2} is characterized using SEM, EDAX,more » XRD, FTIR, and Raman Spectra. SEM images and XRD spectra show that SnO2 thin film has uniformly growth on Si substrate and affected by annealing temperature. Raman and FTIR results confirm the formation of carbon-rich thin film on SnO{sub 2}. In addition, XRD spectra indicate that some structural change occur by increasing sputtering deposition time. Furthermore, the change of atomic structure due to the thermal annealing is analized by XRD spectra and Raman spectroscopy.« less

Red Light Emitting Schottky Diodes on p-TYPE GaN/AlN/Si(111) Substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chuah, L. S.; Hassan, Z.; Abu Hassan, H.

High quality GaN layers doped with Mg were grown on Si(111) substrates using high temperature AlN as buffer layer by radio-frequency molecular beam epitaxy. From the Hall measurements, fairly uniform high hole concentration as high as (4-5) × 1020 cm-3 throughout the GaN was achieved. The fabrication of the device is very simple. Nickel ohmic contacts and Schottky contacts using indium were fabricated on Mg-doped p-GaN films. The light emission has been obtained from these thin film electroluminescent devices. Thin film electroluminescent devices were operated under direct current bias. Schottky and ohmic contacts used as cathode and anode were employed in these investigations. Alternatively, two Schottky contacts could be probed as cathode and anode. Thin film electroluminescent devices were able to emit light. However, electrical and optical differences could be observed from the two different probing methods. The red light color could be observed when the potential between the electrodes was increased gradually under forward bias of 8 V at room temperature. Electrical properties of these thin film electroluminescent devices were characterized by current-voltage (I-V) system, the heights of barriers determined from the I-V measurements were found to be related to the electroluminescence.

Nonvolatile ferroelectric memory based on PbTiO3 gated single-layer MoS2 field-effect transistor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, Hyun Wook; Son, Jong Yeog

2018-01-01

We fabricated ferroelectric non-volatile random access memory (FeRAM) based on a field effect transistor (FET) consisting of a monolayer MoS2 channel and a ferroelectric PbTiO3 (PTO) thin film of gate insulator. An epitaxial PTO thin film was deposited on a Nb-doped SrTiO3 (Nb:STO) substrate via pulsed laser deposition. A monolayer MoS2 sheet was exfoliated from a bulk crystal and transferred to the surface of the PTO/Nb:STO. Structural and surface properties of the PTO thin film were characterized by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, respectively. Raman spectroscopy analysis was performed to identify the single-layer MoS2 sheet on the PTO/Nb:STO. We obtained mobility value (327 cm2/V·s) of the MoS2 channel at room temperature. The MoS2-PTO FeRAM FET showed a wide memory window with 17 kΩ of resistance variation which was attributed to high remnant polarization of the epitaxially grown PTO thin film. According to the fatigue resistance test for the FeRAM FET, however, the resistance states gradually varied during the switching cycles of 109. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Electronic Structure of C60/Zinc Phthalocyanine/V₂O₅ Interfaces Studied Using Photoemission Spectroscopy for Organic Photovoltaic Applications.

PubMed

Lim, Chang Jin; Park, Min Gyu; Kim, Min Su; Han, Jeong Hwa; Cho, Soohaeng; Cho, Mann-Ho; Yi, Yeonjin; Lee, Hyunbok; Cho, Sang Wan

2018-02-18

The interfacial electronic structures of a bilayer of fullerene (C 60 ) and zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) grown on vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) thin films deposited using radio frequency sputtering under various conditions were studied using X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. The energy difference between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level of the ZnPc layer and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) level of the C 60 layer was determined and compared with that grown on an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate. The energy difference of a heterojunction on all V₂O₅ was found to be 1.3~1.4 eV, while that on ITO was 1.1 eV. This difference could be due to the higher binding energy of the HOMO of ZnPc on V₂O₅ than that on ITO regardless of work functions of the substrates. We also determined the complete energy level diagrams of C 60 /ZnPc on V₂O₅ and ITO.

Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition of cerium oxide, gallium-indium-oxide, and magnesium oxide thin films: Precursor design, film growth, and film characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edleman, Nikki Lynn

A new class of volatile, low-melting, fluorine-free lanthanide metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) precursors has been developed. The neutral, monomeric cerium, neodymium, gadolinium, and erbium complexes are coordinatively saturated by a versatile, multidentate, ether-functionalized beta-ketoiminate ligand, and complex melting point and volatility characteristics can be tuned by altering the alkyl substituents on the ligand periphery. Direct comparison with lanthanide beta-diketonate complexes reveals that the present precursor class is a superior choice for lanthanide oxide MOCVD. Epitaxial CeO 2 buffer layer films have been grown on (001) YSZ substrates by MOCVD at significantly lower temperatures than previously reported using one of the newly developed cerium precursors. High-quality YBCO films grown on these CeO2 buffer layers by POMBE exhibit very good electrical transport properties. The cerium complex has therefore been explicitly demonstrated to be a stable and volatile precursor and is attractive for low-temperature growth of coated conductor multilayer structures by MOCVD. Gallium-indium-oxide thin films (GaxIn2-xO 3), x = 0.0˜1.1, have been grown by MOCVD using the volatile metal-organic precursors In(dpm)3 and Ga(dpm)3. The films have a homogeneously Ga-substituted, cubic In2O3 microstructure randomly oriented on quartz or heteroepitaxial on (100) YSZ single-crystal substrates. The highest conductivity of the as-grown films is found at x = 0.12. The optical transmission window and absolute transparency of the films rivals or exceeds that of the most transparent conductive oxides known. Reductive annealing results in improved charge transport characteristics with little loss of optical transparency. No significant difference in electrical properties is observed between randomly oriented and heteroepitaxial films, thus arguing that carrier scattering effects at high-angle grain boundaries play a minor role in the film conductivity mechanism. The synthesis and characterization of a new magnesium MOCVD precursor, Mg(dpm)2(TMEDA) is detailed. It is shown that the donating ligand TMEDA prevents oligomerization and subsequent volatility depression as observed in the commonly used [Mg(dpm)2]2. The superiority of Mg(dpm)2(TMEDA) as an MOCVD precursor is explicitly demonstrated by growth of epitaxial MgO thin films on single-crystal SrTiO3 substrates.

Isotype InGaN/GaN heterobarrier diodes by ammonia molecular beam epitaxy

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

Fireman, Micha N.; Browne, David A.; Speck, James S.

The design of isotype InGaN/GaN heterobarrier diode structures grown by ammonia molecular beam epitaxy is presented. On the (0001) Ga-polar plane, a structure consisting of a surface n{sup +} GaN contact layer, followed by a thin InGaN layer, followed by a thick unintentionally doped (UID) GaN layer, and atop a buried n{sup +} GaN contact layer induces a large conduction band barrier via a depleted UID GaN layer. Suppression of reverse and subthreshold current in such isotype barrier devices under applied bias depends on the quality of this composite layer polarization. Sample series were grown under fixed InGaN growth conditionsmore » that varied either the UID GaN NH{sub 3} flow rate or the UID GaN thickness, and under fixed UID GaN growth conditions that varied InGaN growth conditions. Decreases in subthreshold current and reverse bias current were measured for thicker UID GaN layers and increasing InGaN growth rates. Temperature-dependent analysis indicated that although extracted barrier heights were lower than those predicted by 1D Schrödinger Poisson simulations (0.9 eV–1.4 eV for In compositions from 10% to 15%), optimized growth conditions increased the extracted barrier height from ∼11% to nearly 85% of the simulated values. Potential subthreshold mechanisms are discussed, along with those growth factors which might affect their prevalence.« less

Dimensional crossover of electron weak localization in ZnO/TiO{sub x} stacked layers grown by atomic layer deposition

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

Saha, D., E-mail: sahaphys@gmail.com, E-mail: pmisra@rrcat.gov.in; Misra, P., E-mail: sahaphys@gmail.com, E-mail: pmisra@rrcat.gov.in; Joshi, M. P.

2016-01-25

We report on the dimensional crossover of electron weak localization in ZnO/TiO{sub x} stacked layers having well-defined and spatially-localized Ti dopant profiles along film thickness. These films were grown by in situ incorporation of sub-monolayer TiO{sub x} on the growing ZnO film surface and subsequent overgrowth of thin conducting ZnO spacer layer using atomic layer deposition. Film thickness was varied in the range of ∼6–65 nm by vertically stacking different numbers (n = 1–7) of ZnO/TiO{sub x} layers of nearly identical dopant-profiles. The evolution of zero-field sheet resistance (R{sub ◻}) versus temperature with decreasing film thickness showed a metal to insulator transition. Onmore » the metallic side of the metal-insulator transition, R{sub ◻}(T) and magnetoresistance data were found to be well corroborated with the theoretical framework of electron weak localization in the diffusive transport regime. The temperature dependence of both R{sub ◻} and inelastic scattering length provided strong evidence for a smooth crossover from 2D to 3D weak localization behaviour. Results of this study provide deeper insight into the electron transport in low-dimensional n-type ZnO/TiO{sub x} stacked layers which have potential applications in the field of transparent oxide electronics.« less

Performance analysis of RF-sputtered ZnO/Si heterojunction UV photodetectors with high photo-responsivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Satyendra Kumar; Hazra, Purnima; Tripathi, Shweta; Chakrabarti, P.

2016-03-01

In this paper, structural, electrical and ultraviolet photodetection parameters of RF sputtered-ZnO/Si heterojunction diodes are analyzed. In this work, ZnO thin film was deposited on bare Si substrate as well as Si substrate coated with ultrathin ZnO seed layer to exhibit the effect of seed layer on device performance. AFM image of as-grown ZnO films have exhibited the uniform growth ZnO film over the whole Si substrate with average roughness of 3.2 nm and 2.83 nm for ZnO with and without seed layer respectively. Stronger peak intensity along (002) direction, as shown in XRD spectra confirm that ZnO film grown on ZnO seed layer is having more stable wurtzite structure. Ti/Al point contacts were deposited on top of the ZnO film and a layer of Al was deposited on bottom of Si substrate for using as ohmic contacts for further device characterization at dark and under UV light of 365 nm wavelength. This process is repeated for both the films sequentially. The photo-responsivity of our proposed devices is calculated as 0.34 A/W for seed layer-mediated devices and 0.26 A/W for devices without seed layer. These values are very high as compare to the reported value of photo-responsivity for same kind of ZnO/Si heterojunction device prototypes prepared by other techniques.

Improving the electrical properties of lanthanum silicate films on ge metal oxide semiconductor capacitors by adopting interfacial barrier and capping layers.

PubMed

Choi, Yu Jin; Lim, Hajin; Lee, Suhyeong; Suh, Sungin; Kim, Joon Rae; Jung, Hyung-Suk; Park, Sanghyun; Lee, Jong Ho; Kim, Seong Gyeong; Hwang, Cheol Seong; Kim, HyeongJoon

2014-05-28

The electrical properties of La-silicate films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on Ge substrates with different film configurations, such as various Si concentrations, Al2O3 interfacial passivation layers, and SiO2 capping layers, were examined. La-silicate thin films were deposited using alternating injections of the La[N{Si(CH3)3}2]3 precursor with O3 as the La and O precursors, respectively, at a substrate temperature of 310 °C. The Si concentration in the La-silicate films was further controlled by adding ALD cycles of SiO2. For comparison, La2O3 films were also grown using [La((i)PrCp)3] and O3 as the La precursor and oxygen source, respectively, at the identical substrate temperature. The capacitance-voltage (C-V) hysteresis decreased with an increasing Si concentration in the La-silicate films, although the films showed a slight increase in the capacitance equivalent oxide thickness. The adoption of Al2O3 at the interface as a passivation layer resulted in lower C-V hysteresis and a low leakage current density. The C-V hysteresis voltages of the La-silicate films with Al2O3 passivation and SiO2 capping layers was significantly decreased to ∼0.1 V, whereas the single layer La-silicate film showed a hysteresis voltage as large as ∼1.0 V.

New X-ray insight into oxygen intercalation in epitaxial graphene grown on 4H-SiC(0001)

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

Kowalski, G., E-mail: kowal@fuw.edu.pl; Tokarczyk, M.; Dąbrowski, P.

Efficient control of intercalation of epitaxial graphene by specific elements is a way to change properties of the graphene. Results of several experimental techniques, such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, micro-Raman mapping, reflectivity, attenuated total reflection, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray reflectometry, gave a new insight into the intercalation of oxygen in the epitaxial graphene grown on 4H-SiC(0001). These results confirmed that oxygen intercalation decouples the graphene buffer layer from the 4H-SiC surface and converts it into the graphene layer. However, in contrast to the hydrogen intercalation, oxygen does not intercalate between carbon planes (in the case of few layer graphene) andmore » the interlayer spacing stays constant at the level of 3.35–3.32 Å. Moreover, X-ray reflectometry showed the presence of an oxide layer having the thickness of about 0.8 Å underneath the graphene layers. Apart from the formation of the nonuniform thin oxide layer, generation of defects in graphene caused by oxygen was also evidenced. Last but not least, water islands underneath defected graphene regions in both intercalated and non-intercalated samples were most probably revealed. These water islands are formed in the case of all the samples stored under ambient laboratory conditions. Water islands can be removed from underneath the few layer graphene stacks by relevant thermal treatment or by UV illumination.« less

Near-infrared bulk optical properties of goat wound tissue and human serum: consequences for an implantable optical glucose sensor.

PubMed

Aernouts, Ben; Sharma, Sandeep; Gellynck, Karolien; Vlaminck, Lieven; Cornelissen, Maria; Saeys, Wouter

2016-10-01

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy offers a promising technological platform for continuous glucose monitoring in the human body. Moreover, these measurements could be performed in vivo with an implantable single-chip based optical sensor. However, a thin tissue layer may grow in the optical path of the sensor. As most biological tissues are highly scattering, they only allow a small fraction of the collimated light to pass, significantly reducing the light throughput. To quantify the effect of a thin tissue layer in the optical path, the bulk optical properties of serum and tissue samples grown on implanted dummy sensors were characterized using double integrating sphere and unscattered transmittance measurements. The estimated bulk optical properties were then used to calculate the light attenuation through a thin tissue layer. The combination band of glucose was found to be the better option, relative to the first overtone band, as the absorptivity of glucose molecules is higher, while the reduction in unscattered transmittance due to tissue growth is less. Additionally, as the wound tissue was found to be highly scattering, the unscattered transmittance of the tissue layer is expected to be very low. Therefore, a sensor configuration which measures the diffuse transmittance and/or reflectance instead was recommended. (a) Dummy sensor; (b) explanted dummy sensor in tissue lump; (c) removal of dummy sensor from tissue lump; and (d) 900 µm slices of tissue lump. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Nucleation, growth, and strain relaxation of lattice-mismatched 3-5 semiconductor epitaxial layers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welser, R. E.; Guido, L. J.

1994-01-01

We have investigated the early stages of evolution of highly strained 2-D InAs layers and 3-D InAs islands grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on (100) and (111)B GaAs substrates. The InAs epilayer/GaAs substrate combination has been chosen because the lattice-mismatch is severe (approximately 7.2 percent), yet these materials are otherwise very similar. By examining InAs-on-GaAs composites instead of the more common In(x)Ga(1-x)As alloy we remove an additional degree of freedom (x) and thereby simplify data interpretation. A matrix of experiments is described in which the MOCVD growth parameters - susceptor temperature, Thin flux, and AsH3 flux - have been varied over a wide range. Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electron microprobe analysis have been employed to observe the thin film surface morphology. In the case of 3-D growth, we have extracted activation energies and power-dependent exponents that characterize the nucleation process. As a consequence, optimized growth conditions have been identified for depositing approximately 250 A thick (100) and (111)B oriented InAs layers with relatively smooth surfaces. Together with preliminary data on the strain relaxation of these layers, the above results on the evolution of thin InAs films indicate that the (111)B orientation is particularly promising for yielding lattice-mismatched films that are fully relaxed with only misfit dislocations at the epilayer/substrate interface.

Efficient Ga(As)Sb quantum dot emission in AlGaAs by GaAs intermediate layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loeber, Thomas Henning; Richter, Johannes; Strassner, Johannes; Heisel, Carina; Kimmle, Christina; Fouckhardt, Henning

2013-03-01

Ga(As)Sb quantum dots (QDs) are epitaxially grown in AlGaAs/GaAs in the Stranski-Krastanov mode. In the recent past we achieved Ga(As)Sb QDs in GaAs with an extremely high dot density of 9.8•1010 cm-2 by optimization of growth temperature, Sb/Ga flux pressure ratio, and coverage. Additionally, the QD emission wavelength could be chosen precisely with these growth parameters in the range between 876 and 1035 nm. Here we report a photoluminescence (PL) intensity improvement for the case with AlGaAs barriers. Again growth parameters and layer composition are varied. The aluminium content is varied between 0 and 90%. Reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) is used as insitu growth control to determine growth rate, layer thickness, and AlGaAs composition. Ga(As)Sb QDs, directly grown in AlxGa1-xAs emit no PL signal, even with a very low x ≈ 0.1. With additional around 10 nm thin GaAs intermediate layers between the Ga(As)Sb QDs and the AlGaAs barriers PL signals are detected. Samples with 4 QD layers and AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs barriers in between are grown. The thickness and composition of the barriers are changed. Depending on these values PL intensity is more than 4 times as high as in the case with simple GaAs barriers. With these results efficient Ga(As)Sb QD lasers are realized, so far only with pure GaAs barriers. Our index-guided broad area lasers operate continuous-wave (cw) @ 90 K, emit optical powers of more than 2•50 mW and show a differential quantum efficiency of 54% with a threshold current density of 528 A/cm2.

Structural and thermoelectric properties of epitaxially grown Bi2Te3 thin films and superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peranio, N.; Eibl, O.; Nurnus, J.

2006-12-01

Multi-quantum-well structures of Bi2Te3 are predicted to have a high thermoelectric figure of merit ZT. Bi2Te3 thin films and Bi2Te3/Bi2(Te0.88Se0.12)3 superlattices (SLs) were grown epitaxially by molecular beam epitaxy on BaF2 substrates with periods of 12 and 6nm, respectively. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction confirmed a layer-by-layer growth, x-ray diffraction yielded the lattice parameters and SL periods and proved epitaxial growth. The in-plane transport coefficients were measured and the thin films and SL had power factors between 28 and 35μW /cmK2. The lattice thermal conductivity varied between 1.60W/mK for Bi2Te3 thin films and 1.01W/mK for a 10nm SL. The best figures of merit ZT were achieved for the SL; however, the values are slightly smaller than those in bulk materials. Thin films and superlattices were investigated in plan view and cross section by transmission electron microscopy. In the Bi2Te3 thin film and SL the dislocation density was found to be 2×1010cm-2. Bending of the SL with amplitudes of 30nm (12nm SL) and 15nm (6nm SL) and a wavelength of 400nm was determined. Threading dislocations were found with a density greater than 2×109cm-2. The superlattice interfaces are strongly bent in the region of the threading dislocations, undisturbed regions have a maximum lateral sie of 500nm. Thin films and SL showed a structural modulation [natural nanostructure (nns)] with a wavelength of 10nm and a wave vector parallel to (1,0,10). This nns was also observed in Bi2Te3 bulk materials and turned out to be of general character for Bi2Te3. The effect of the microstructure on the thermoelectric properties is discussed. The microstructure is governed by the superlattice, the nns, and the dislocations that are present in the films. Our results indicate that the microstructure directly affects the lattice thermal conductivity. Thermopower and electrical conductivity were found to be negatively correlated and no clear dependence of the two quantities on the microstructure could be found.

Thin Film Synthesis of New Complex Titanates.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salvador, Paul

2008-03-01

Thin film deposition methods allow for one to synthesize rationally specific compositions in targeted crystal structures. Because most of the thermodynamic and kinetic variables that control the range of materials that can be synthesized are unknown for specific compounds/processes, epitaxial stabilization and design of artificially layered crystals are driven through empirical investigations. Using examples taken primarily from the family of complex titanates, which exhibit a range of interesting physicochemical behaviors, the thermodynamic and kinetic factors that control materials design using thin film deposition are discussed. The phase competition between the pyrochlore and the (110) layered perovskite structure in the RE2Ti2O7 family (RE = rare-earth, Bi) will be explored, using pulsed laser deposition as a synthesis method. For RE = Gd, Sm, Nd, and La, the phase stability over a wide range of conditions is dictated entirely by substrate choice, indicating that the free energies of the phases are similar enough such that by controlling nucleation one controls the phase formation. In a related fashion, the growth of AETi2O5 films (AE = Ba or Sr) will be discussed with respect to the formation of single-phase films or films that phase separate into AETiO3 and TiO2. The entire Ba1-xSrxTi2O5 series was grown and will be discussed with respect to growth technique (using MBE and PLD) and/or substrate choice. In this case, rock-salt substrates, which are not expected to interact strongly with any phase in the system, allow for the formation of single-phase films. Finally, several examples will be discussed with respect to the (SrO)m(TiO2)n system, which includes the perovskite SrTiO3 and the Ruddlesden-Popper phase Sr2TiO4, grown using layer-by-layer molecular beam epitaxy. The solid phase epitaxial formation of the perovskite SrTiO3 from superlattices of rock-salt SrO and anatase TiO2 is discussed from both a kinetic and thermodynamic perspective by exploring the growth of a range of m and n values. Using similar arguments for stability, new layered intergrowths in the SrmTiO2+m family are presented and their structures are discussed.

Growth of indium gallium arsenide thin film on silicon substrate by MOCVD technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chowdhury, Sisir; Das, Anish; Banerji, Pallab

2018-05-01

Indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) thin film with indium phosphide (InP) buffer has been grown on p-type silicon (100) by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) technique. To get a lattice matched substrate an Indium Phosphide buffer thin film is deposited onto Si substrate prior to InGaAs growth. The grown films have been investigated by UV-Vis-NIR reflectance spectroscopy. The band gap energy of the grown InGaAs thin films determined to be 0.82 eV from reflectance spectrum and the films are found to have same thickness for growth between 600 °C and 650 °C. Crystalline quality of the grown films has been studied by grazing incidence X-ray diffractometry (GIXRD).

Enhancement of nonlinear optical susceptibility of CuPc films by ITO layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganesh, V.; Zahran, H. Y.; Yahia, I. S.; Shkir, Mohd; AlFaify, S.

2016-12-01

In the present study, the Copper Phthalocyanine (CuPc)/ITO thin film was fabricated using thermal evaporation method. The structural property was analyzed by X-ray diffraction study and confirms that the thin film has been preferentially grown along (200) plane. The atomic force microscope study was carried out on deposited film and quality of thin films is assessed by calculating the roughness of the films. The direct and indirect band gap, linear and nonlinear optical characteristics of grown films were calculated by using UV-Vis-NIR spectrometer studies. The calculated values of the first direct and indirect band gaps (Eg1(d) &Eg1(ind)) are 1.879 and 1.644 eV as a fundamental gap, while the values of second direct and indirect band gap (Eg2(d) &Eg2(ind)) are 1.660 and 1.498 eV as an onset gap for CuPc. The values of nonlinear refractive index (n2) and third order nonlinear optical susceptibility (χ3) are found to be 5 × 10-8 and 8 × 10-9 (theoretical) and 5.2 × 10-8 and 1.56 × 10-7 (experimental) respectively. The optical band and third order nonlinear properties suggest that the as-prepared films are may be applied in optoelectronic and nonlinear applications.

Atomic layer deposition: an enabling technology for the growth of functional nanoscale semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biyikli, Necmi; Haider, Ali

2017-09-01

In this paper, we present the progress in the growth of nanoscale semiconductors grown via atomic layer deposition (ALD). After the adoption by semiconductor chip industry, ALD became a widespread tool to grow functional films and conformal ultra-thin coatings for various applications. Based on self-limiting and ligand-exchange-based surface reactions, ALD enabled the low-temperature growth of nanoscale dielectric, metal, and semiconductor materials. Being able to deposit wafer-scale uniform semiconductor films at relatively low-temperatures, with sub-monolayer thickness control and ultimate conformality, makes ALD attractive for semiconductor device applications. Towards this end, precursors and low-temperature growth recipes are developed to deposit crystalline thin films for compound and elemental semiconductors. Conventional thermal ALD as well as plasma-assisted and radical-enhanced techniques have been exploited to achieve device-compatible film quality. Metal-oxides, III-nitrides, sulfides, and selenides are among the most popular semiconductor material families studied via ALD technology. Besides thin films, ALD can grow nanostructured semiconductors as well using either template-assisted growth methods or bottom-up controlled nucleation mechanisms. Among the demonstrated semiconductor nanostructures are nanoparticles, nano/quantum-dots, nanowires, nanotubes, nanofibers, nanopillars, hollow and core-shell versions of the afore-mentioned nanostructures, and 2D materials including transition metal dichalcogenides and graphene. ALD-grown nanoscale semiconductor materials find applications in a vast amount of applications including functional coatings, catalysis and photocatalysis, renewable energy conversion and storage, chemical sensing, opto-electronics, and flexible electronics. In this review, we give an overview of the current state-of-the-art in ALD-based nanoscale semiconductor research including the already demonstrated and future applications.

Anisotropic magnetic switching along hard [1 1 0]-type axes in Er-doped DyFe2/YFe2 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stenning, G. B. G.; Bowden, G. J.; van der Laan, G.; Figueroa, A. I.; Bencok, P.; Steadman, P.; Hesjedal, T.

2017-10-01

Epitaxial-grown DyFe2/YFe2 multilayer thin films form an ideal model system for the study of magnetic exchange springs. Here the DyFe2 (YFe2) layers are magnetically hard (soft). In the presence of a magnetic field, exchange springs form in the YFe2 layers. Recently, it has been demonstrated that placing small amounts of Er into the centre of the YFe2 springs generates substantial changes in magnetic behavior. In particular, (i) the number of exchange-spring states is increased dramatically, (ii) the resulting domain-wall states cannot simply be described as either Néel or Bloch walls, (iii) the Er and Dy magnetic loops are strikingly different, and (iv) it is possible to engineer Er-induced magnetic exchange-spring collapse. Here, results are presented for Er-doped (1 1 0)-oriented DyFe2 (60 Å/YFe2(240 Å)15 multilayer films, at 100 K in fields of up to 12 T. In particular, we contrast magnetic loops for fields applied along seemingly equivalent hard-magnetic [1 1 0]-type axes. MBE-grown cubic Laves thin films offer the unique feature of allowing to apply the magnetic field along (i) a hard out-of-plane [1 1 0]-axis (the growth axis) and (ii) a similar hard in-plane [ 1 bar 10 ] -axis. Differences are found and attributed to the competition between the crystal-field interaction at the Er site and the long-range dipole-dipole interaction. In particular, the out-of-plane [1 1 0] Er results show the existence of a new magnetic exchange spring state, which would be very difficult to identify without the aid of element-specific technique of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD).

Evaluation of the optical characteristics of c-axis oriented zinc oxide thin films grown by sol gel spin coating technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baisakh, K.; Behera, S.; Pati, S.

2018-03-01

In this work we have systematically studied the optical characteristics of synthesized wurzite zinc oxide thin films exhibiting (002) orientation. Using sol gel spin coating technique zinc oxide thin films are grown on pre cleaned fused quartz substrates. Structural properties of the films are studied using X-ray diffraction analysis. Micro structural analysis and thickness of the grown samples are analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscopy. With an aim to investigate the optical characteristics of the grown zinc oxide thin films the transmission and reflection spectra are evaluated in the ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) range. Using envelope method, the refractive index, extinction coefficient, absorption coefficient, band gap energy and the thickness of the synthesized films are estimated from the recorded UV-VIS spectra. An attempt has also been made to study the influence of crystallographic orientation on the optical characteristics of the grown films.

Optical properties of amorphous Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3 thin films obtained by metal organic decomposition technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Fei; Xu, Zhimou

2009-08-01

In this study, the amorphous Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3 (BST0.7) thin films were grown onto fused quartz and silicon substrates at low temperature by using a metal organic decomposition (MOD)-spin-coating procedure. The optical transmittance spectrum of amorphous BST0.7 thin films on fused quartz substrates has been recorded in the wavelength range 190~900 nm. The films were highly transparent for wavelengths longer than 330 nm; the transmission drops rapidly at 330 nm, and the cutoff wavelength occurs at about 260 nm. In addition, we also report the amorphous BST0.7 thin film groove-buried type waveguides with 90° bent structure fabricated on Si substrates with 1.65 μm thick SiO2 thermal oxide layer. The design, fabrication and optical losses of amorphous BST0.7 optical waveguides were presented. The amorphous BST0.7 thin films were grown onto the SiO2/Si substrates by using a metal organic decomposition (MOD)-spin-coating procedure. The optical propagation losses were about 12.8 and 9.4 dB/cm respectively for the 5 and 10 μm wide waveguides at the wavelength of 632.8 nm. The 90° bent structures with a small curvature of micrometers were designed on the basis of a double corner mirror structure. The bend losses were about 1.2 and 0.9 dB respectively for 5 and 10 μm wide waveguides at the wavelength of 632.8 nm. It is expected for amorphous BST0.7 thin films to be used not only in the passive optical interconnection in monolithic OEICs but also in active waveguide devices on the Si chip.

Spiral crack patterns observed for melt-grown spherulites of poly(L-lactic acid) upon quenching.

PubMed

Matsuda, Futoshi; Sobajima, Takamasa; Irie, Satoshi; Sasaki, Takashi

2016-04-01

In this paper, we demonstrate the characteristic spiral cracking that appears on the surface of melt-grown poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) spherulites with relatively large sizes (greater than 0.4mm in diameter). The crack occurs via thermal shrinkage upon quenching after crystallization. Although concentric cracks on polymer spherulites have been found to occur in quite a few studies, spiral crack patterns have never been reported so far. The present spiral crack was observed for thick spherulites (> 10 μm), whereas the concentric crack pattern was frequently observed for thin spherulites (typically 5 μm). The present PLLA spherulites exhibited a non-banded structure with no apparent structural periodicity at least on the scale of the spiral pitch, and thus no direct correlation between the crack pattern and the spherulitic structure was suggested. The spiral was revealed to be largely Archimedean of which the spiral pitch increases with an increase in the thickness of the spherulite. This may be interpreted in terms of a classical mechanical model for a thin layer with no delamination from the substrate.

Etching-free patterning method for electrical characterization of atomically thin MoSe2 films grown by chemical vapor deposition.

PubMed

Utama, M Iqbal Bakti; Lu, Xin; Zhan, Da; Ha, Son Tung; Yuan, Yanwen; Shen, Zexiang; Xiong, Qihua

2014-11-07

Patterning two-dimensional materials into specific spatial arrangements and geometries is essential for both fundamental studies of materials and practical applications in electronics. However, the currently available patterning methods generally require etching steps that rely on complicated and expensive procedures. We report here a facile patterning method for atomically thin MoSe2 films using stripping with an SU-8 negative resist layer exposed to electron beam lithography. Additional steps of chemical and physical etching were not necessary in this SU-8 patterning method. The SU-8 patterning was used to define a ribbon channel from a field effect transistor of MoSe2 film, which was grown by chemical vapor deposition. The narrowing of the conduction channel area with SU-8 patterning was crucial in suppressing the leakage current within the device, thereby allowing a more accurate interpretation of the electrical characterization results from the sample. An electrical transport study, enabled by the SU-8 patterning, showed a variable range hopping behavior at high temperatures.

Seed/Catalyst-Free Growth of Gallium-Based Compound Materials on Graphene on Insulator by Electrochemical Deposition at Room Temperature.

PubMed

Rashiddy Wong, Freddawati; Ahmed Ali, Amgad; Yasui, Kanji; Hashim, Abdul Manaf

2015-12-01

We report the growth of gallium-based compounds, i.e., gallium oxynitride (GaON) and gallium oxide (Ga2O3) on multilayer graphene (MLG) on insulator using a mixture of ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) and gallium nitrate (Ga(NO3)3) by electrochemical deposition (ECD) method at room temperature (RT) for the first time. The controlling parameters of current density and electrolyte molarity were found to greatly influence the properties of the grown structures. The thicknesses of the deposited structures increase with the current density since it increases the chemical reaction rates. The layers grown at low molarities of both solutions basically show grain-like layer with cracking structures and dominated by both Ga2O3 and GaON. Such cracking structures seem to diminish with the increases of molarities of one of the solutions. It is speculated that the increase of current density and ions in the solutions helps to promote the growth at the area with uneven thicknesses of graphene. When the molarity of Ga(NO3)3 is increased while keeping the molarity of NH4NO3 at the lowest value of 2.5 M, the grown structures are basically dominated by the Ga2O3 structure. On the other hand, when the molarity of NH4NO3 is increased while keeping the molarity of Ga(NO3)3 at the lowest value of 0.8 M, the GaON structure seems to dominate where their cubic and hexagonal arrangements are coexisting. It was found that when the molarities of Ga(NO3)3 are at the high level of 7.5 M, the grown structures tend to be dominated by Ga2O3 even though the molarity of NH4NO3 is made equal or higher than the molarity of Ga(NO3)3. When the grown structure is dominated by the Ga2O3 structure, the deposition process became slow or unstable, resulting to the formation of thin layer. When the molarity of Ga(NO3)3 is increased to 15 M, the nanocluster-like structures were formed instead of continuous thin film structure. This study seems to successfully provide the conditions in growing either GaON-dominated or Ga2O3-dominated structure by a simple and low-cost ECD. The next possible routes to convert the grown GaON-dominated structure to either single-crystalline GaN or Ga2O3 as well as Ga2O3-dominated structure to single-crystalline Ga2O3 structure have been discussed.

Growth and characterization of MnGa thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy on BiSb topological insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duy Khang, Nguyen Huynh; Ueda, Yugo; Yao, Kenichiro; Hai, Pham Nam

2017-10-01

We report on the crystal growth as well as the structural and magnetic properties of Bi0.8Sb0.2 topological insulator (TI)/MnxGa1-x bi-layers grown on GaAs(111)A substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. By optimizing the growth conditions and Mn composition, we were able to grow MnxGa1-x thin films on Bi0.8Sb0.2 with the crystallographic orientation of Bi0.8Sb0.2(001)[1 1 ¯ 0]//MnGa (001)[100]. Using magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy, we detected both the L10 phase ( x < 0.6 ) and the D022 phase ( x > 0.6 ) of MnxGa1-x. For 0.50 ≤ x ≤ 0.55 , we obtained ferromagnetic L10-MnGa thin films with clear perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, which were confirmed by MCD hysteresis, anomalous Hall effect as well as superconducting quantum interference device measurements. Our results show that the BiSb/MnxGa1-x bi-layer system is promising for perpendicular magnetization switching using the giant spin Hall effect in TIs.

Growth process optimization of ZnO thin film using atomic layer deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weng, Binbin; Wang, Jingyu; Larson, Preston; Liu, Yingtao

2016-12-01

The work reports experimental studies of ZnO thin films grown on Si(100) wafers using a customized thermal atomic layer deposition. The impact of growth parameters including H2O/DiethylZinc (DEZn) dose ratio, background pressure, and temperature are investigated. The imaging results of scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy reveal that the dose ratio is critical to the surface morphology. To achieve high uniformity, the H2O dose amount needs to be at least twice that of DEZn per each cycle. If the background pressure drops below 400 mTorr, a large amount of nanoflower-like ZnO grains would emerge and increase surface roughness significantly. In addition, the growth temperature range between 200 °C and 250 °C is found to be the optimal growth window. And the crystal structures and orientations are also strongly correlated to the temperature as proved by electron back-scattering diffraction and x-ray diffraction results.

Morphology, composition and electrical properties of SnO{sub 2}:Cl thin films grown by atomic layer deposition

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

Cheng, Hsyi-En, E-mail: sean@mail.stust.edu.tw; Wen, Chia-Hui; Hsu, Ching-Ming

2016-01-15

Chlorine doped SnO{sub 2} thin films were prepared using atomic layer deposition at temperatures between 300 and 450 °C using SnCl{sub 4} and H{sub 2}O as the reactants. Composition, structure, surface morphology, and electrical properties of the as-deposited films were examined. Results showed that the as-deposited SnO{sub 2} films all exhibited rutile structure with [O]/[Sn] ratios between 1.35 and 1.40. The electrical conductivity was found independent on [O]/[Sn] ratio but dependent on chlorine doping concentration, grain size, and surface morphology. The 300 °C-deposited film performed a higher electrical conductivity of 315 S/cm due to its higher chlorine doping level, larger grain size, andmore » smoother film surface. The existence of Sn{sup 2+} oxidation state was demonstrated to minimize the effects of chlorine on raising the electrical conductivity of films.« less

Purely electronic mechanism of electrolyte gating of indium tin oxide thin films

DOE PAGES

Leng, X.; Bozovic, I.; Bollinger, A. T.

2016-08-10

Epitaxial indium tin oxide films have been grown on both LaAlO 3 and yttria-stabilized zirconia substrates using RF magnetron sputtering. Electrolyte gating causes a large change in the film resistance that occurs immediately after the gate voltage is applied, and shows no hysteresis during the charging/discharging processes. When two devices are patterned next to one another and the first one gated through an electrolyte, the second one shows no changes in conductance, in contrast to what happens in materials (like tungsten oxide) susceptible to ionic electromigration and intercalation. These findings indicate that electrolyte gating in indium tin oxide triggers amore » pure electronic process (electron depletion or accumulation, depending on the polarity of the gate voltage), with no electrochemical reactions involved. Electron accumulation occurs in a very thin layer near the film surface, which becomes highly conductive. These results contribute to our understanding of the electrolyte gating mechanism in complex oxides and may be relevant for applications of electric double layer transistor devices.« less

Glass-Like Thermal Conductivity of (010)-Textured Lanthanum-Doped Strontium Niobate Synthesized with Wet Chemical Deposition

DOE PAGES

Foley, Brian M.; Brown-Shaklee, Harlan J.; Campion, Michael J.; ...

2014-11-08

We have measured the cross-plane thermal conductivity (κ) of (010)-textured, undoped, and lanthanum-doped strontium niobate (Sr 2-xLa xNb 2O 7-δ) thin films via time-domain thermoreflectance. Then the thin films were deposited on (001)-oriented SrTiO 3 substrates via the highly-scalable technique of chemical solution deposition. We find that both film thickness and lanthanum doping have little effect on κ, suggesting that there is a more dominant phonon scattering mechanism present in the system; namely the weak interlayer-bonding along the b-axis in the Sr 2Nb 2O 7 parent structure. We also compare our experimental results with two variations of the minimum-limit modelmore » for κ and discuss the nature of transport in material systems with weakly-bonded layers. The low cross-plane κ of these scalably-fabricated films is comparable to that of similarly layered niobate structures grown epitaxially.« less

Occurrence of Aflatoxins and Aflatoxin-Producing Strains of Aspergillus spp. in Soybeans 1

PubMed Central

Bean, George A.; Schillinger, John A.; Klarman, William L.

1972-01-01

Above average rainfall in Maryland during August, September, and October 1971 resulted in heavy mold growth in soybeans while still in the field. Of 28 samples of soybean seed, aflatoxins were found in 14, 2 of which had been used in poultry feed. Aflatoxins were identified by thin-layer chromatography, spectrophotometry, and chicken embryo bioassay. Aspergillus spp. were isolated from 11 samples, and 5 of these isolates produced aflatoxins when grown in liquid culture. PMID:4673021

Optical and Structural Characterization of ZnO/TiO2 Bilayer Thin Films Grown by Sol-Gel Spin Coating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gareso, P. L.; Musfitasari; Juarlin, Eko

2018-03-01

Structural and optical properties of ZnO/TiO2 bilayers thin films have been investigated using x-ray diffraction (X-RD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and optical transmittance UV-Vis measurements. ZnO thin films were prepared by dissolving zinc acetate dehydrated into a solvent of ethanol and then added triethanolamin. In the case of TiO2 layers, tetraisoproxide was dissolved into ethanol and then added an acetate acid. The layer of ZnO was deposited first followed by TiO2 layer on a glass substrate using a spin coating technique. The ZnO/TiO2 bilayers were annealed at various temperatures from 300°C until 600°C for 60 minutes. The X-ray diffraction results show that there was an enhancement of the x-ray spectra as annealed temperature increased to 600°C in comparison to the samples that were annealed at 300°C. Based on the optical measurement of UV-Vis, the band gap energy of ZnO/TiO2 bilayer is around 3.2 eV at temperature of 300°C. This value is similar to the band gap energy of ZnO. SEM results show that there is no cluster in the surface of ZnO/TiO2 bilayer.

Strain-induced phenomenon in complex oxide thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haislmaier, Ryan

Complex oxide materials wield an immense spectrum of functional properties such as ferroelectricity, ferromagnetism, magnetoelectricity, optoelectricity, optomechanical, magnetoresistance, superconductivity, etc. The rich coupling between charge, spin, strain, and orbital degrees of freedom makes this material class extremely desirable and relevant for next generation electronic devices and technologies which are trending towards nanoscale dimensions. Development of complex oxide thin film materials is essential for realizing their integration into nanoscale electronic devices, where theoretically predicted multifunctional capabilities of oxides could add tremendous value. Employing thin film growth strategies such as epitaxial strain and heterostructure interface engineering can greatly enhance and even unlock novel material properties in complex oxides, which will be the main focus of this work. However, physically incorporating oxide materials into devices remains a challenge. While advancements in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of thin film oxide materials has led to the ability to grow oxide materials with atomic layer precision, there are still major limitations such as controlling stoichiometric compositions during growth as well as creating abrupt interfaces in multi-component layered oxide structures. The work done in this thesis addresses ways to overcome these limitations in order to harness intrinsic material phenomena. The development of adsorption-controlled stoichiometric growth windows of CaTiO3 and SrTiO3 thin film materials grown by hybrid MBE where Ti is supplied using metal-organic titanium tetraisopropoxide material is thoroughly outlined. These growth windows enable superior epitaxial strain-induced ferroelectric and dielectric properties to be accessed as demonstrated by chemical, structural, electrical, and optical characterization techniques. For tensile strained CaTiO3 and compressive strained SrTiO 3 films, the critical effects of nonstoichiometry on ferroelectric properties are investigated, where enhanced ferroelectric responses are only found for stoichiometric films grown inside of the growth windows, whereas outside of the optimal growth window conditions, ferroelectric properties are greatly deteriorated and eventually disappear for highly nonstoichiometric film compositions. Utilizing these stoichiometric growth windows, high temperature polar phase transitions are discovered for compressively strained CaTiO3 films with transition temperatures in excess of 700 K, rendering this material as a strong candidate for high temperature electronic applications. Beyond the synthesis of single phase materials using hybrid MBE, a methodology is presented for constructing layered (SrTiO3)n/(CaTiO 3)n superlattice structures, where precise control over the unit cell layering thickness (n) is demonstrated using in-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction. The effects of interface roughness and layering periodicity (n) on the strain-induced ferroelectric properties for a series of n=1-10 (SrTiO3)n/(CaTiO3) n superlattice films are investigated. It is found that the stabilization of a ferroelectric phase is independent of n, but is however strongly dominated by the degree of interface roughness which is quantified by measuring the highest nth order X-ray diffraction peak splitting of each superlattice film. A counter-intuitive realization is made whereby a critical amount of interface roughness is required in order to enable the formation of the predicted strain-stabilized ferroelectric phase, whereas sharp interfaces actually suppress this ferroelectric phase from manifesting. It is shown how high-quality complex oxide superlattices can be constructed using hybrid MBE technique, allowing the ability to control layered materials at the atomic scale. Furthermore, a detailed growth methodology is provided for constructing a layered n=4 SrO(SrTiO3)n Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) phase by hybrid MBE, where the ability to deposit single monolayers of SrO and TiO2 is utilized to build the RP film structure over a time period of 5 hours. This is the first time that a thin film RP phase has been grown using hybrid MBE, where an a stable control over the fluxes is demonstrated during relatively long time periods of growth, which advantageously facilitates the synthesis of high-quality RP materials with excellent structural and chemical homogeneity. Additionally, this work demonstrates some major advancements in optical second harmonic generation (SHG) characterization techniques of ferroelectric thin film materials. The SHG characterization techniques developed here proved to be the 'bread-and-butter' for most of the work performed in this thesis, providing a powerful tool for identifying the existence of strain-induced ferroelectric phases, including their temperature dependence and polar symmetry. The work presented in this dissertation will hopefully provide a preliminary road map for future hybrid MBE growers, scientists and researchers, to develop and investigate epitaxial strain and heterostructure layering induced phenomena in other complex oxide systems.

Etching-free patterning method for electrical characterization of atomically thin MoSe2 films grown by chemical vapor deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Utama, M. Iqbal Bakti; Lu, Xin; Zhan, Da; Ha, Son Tung; Yuan, Yanwen; Shen, Zexiang; Xiong, Qihua

2014-10-01

Patterning two-dimensional materials into specific spatial arrangements and geometries is essential for both fundamental studies of materials and practical applications in electronics. However, the currently available patterning methods generally require etching steps that rely on complicated and expensive procedures. We report here a facile patterning method for atomically thin MoSe2 films using stripping with an SU-8 negative resist layer exposed to electron beam lithography. Additional steps of chemical and physical etching were not necessary in this SU-8 patterning method. The SU-8 patterning was used to define a ribbon channel from a field effect transistor of MoSe2 film, which was grown by chemical vapor deposition. The narrowing of the conduction channel area with SU-8 patterning was crucial in suppressing the leakage current within the device, thereby allowing a more accurate interpretation of the electrical characterization results from the sample. An electrical transport study, enabled by the SU-8 patterning, showed a variable range hopping behavior at high temperatures.Patterning two-dimensional materials into specific spatial arrangements and geometries is essential for both fundamental studies of materials and practical applications in electronics. However, the currently available patterning methods generally require etching steps that rely on complicated and expensive procedures. We report here a facile patterning method for atomically thin MoSe2 films using stripping with an SU-8 negative resist layer exposed to electron beam lithography. Additional steps of chemical and physical etching were not necessary in this SU-8 patterning method. The SU-8 patterning was used to define a ribbon channel from a field effect transistor of MoSe2 film, which was grown by chemical vapor deposition. The narrowing of the conduction channel area with SU-8 patterning was crucial in suppressing the leakage current within the device, thereby allowing a more accurate interpretation of the electrical characterization results from the sample. An electrical transport study, enabled by the SU-8 patterning, showed a variable range hopping behavior at high temperatures. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Further experiments on patterning and additional electrical characterizations data. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr03817g

Role of vacancy defects in Al doped ZnO thin films for optoelectronic devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rotella, H.; Mazel, Y.; Brochen, S.; Valla, A.; Pautrat, A.; Licitra, C.; Rochat, N.; Sabbione, C.; Rodriguez, G.; Nolot, E.

2017-12-01

We report on the electrical, optical and photoluminescence properties of industry-ready Al doped ZnO thin films grown by physical vapor deposition, and their evolution after annealing under vacuum. Doping ZnO with Al atoms increases the carrier density but also favors the formation of Zn vacancies, thereby inducing a saturation of the conductivity mechanism at high aluminum content. The electrical and optical properties of these thin layered materials are both improved by annealing process which creates oxygen vacancies that releases charge carriers thus improving the conductivity. This study underlines the effect of the formation of extrinsic and intrinsic defects in Al doped ZnO compound during the fabrication process. The quality and the optoelectronic response of the produced films are increased (up to 1.52 mΩ \\cdotcm and 3.73 eV) and consistent with the industrial device requirements.

Large magnetization and high Curie temperature in highly disordered nanoscale Fe2CrAl thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dulal, Rajendra P.; Dahal, Bishnu R.; Forbes, Andrew; Pegg, Ian L.; Philip, John

2017-02-01

We have successfully grown nanoscale Fe2CrAl thin films on polished Si/SiO2 substrates using an ultra-high vacuum deposition with a base pressure of 9×10-10 Torr. The thickness of thin films ranges from 30 to 100 nm. These films exhibit cubic crystal structure with lattice disorder and display ferromagnetic behavior. The Curie temperature is greater than 400 K, which is much higher than that reported for bulk Fe2CrAl. The magnetic moments of the films varies from 2.5 to 2.8 μB per formula unit, which is larger than the reported bulk values. Thus, the disordered nanoscale Fe2CrAl films exhibit strong Fe-Fe exchange interactions through Fe-Cr-Fe and Fe-Al-Fe layers, resulting in both a large magnetization and a high Curie temperature.

Tunable blue organic light emitting diode based on aluminum calixarene supramolecular complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Legnani, C.; Reyes, R.; Cremona, M.; Bagatin, I. A.; Toma, H. E.

2004-07-01

In this letter, the results of supramolecular organic light emitting diodes using a calix[4] arene complex thin film as emitter and electron transporting layer are presented. The devices were grown onto glass substrates coated with indium-tin-oxide layer and aluminum thick (150nm) cathode. By applying a dc voltage between the device electrodes in forward bias condition, a blue light emission in the active area of the device was observed. It was found that the electroluminescent emission peak can be tuned between 470 and 510nm changing the applied voltage bias from 4.3 to 5.4V. The observed tunable emission can be associated with an energy transfer from the calixarene compound.

Sub-nanometer Atomic Layer Deposition for Spintronics in Magnetic Tunnel Junctions Based on Graphene Spin-Filtering Membranes

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

We report on the successful integration of low-cost, conformal, and versatile atomic layer deposited (ALD) dielectric in Ni–Al2O3–Co magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) where the Ni is coated with a spin-filtering graphene membrane. The ALD tunnel barriers, as thin as 0.6 nm, are grown layer-by-layer in a simple, low-vacuum, ozone-based process, which yields high-quality electron-transport barriers as revealed by tunneling characterization. Even under these relaxed conditions, including air exposure of the interfaces, a significant tunnel magnetoresistance is measured highlighting the robustness of the process. The spin-filtering effect of graphene is enhanced, leading to an almost fully inversed spin polarization for the Ni electrode of −42%. This unlocks the potential of ALD for spintronics with conformal, layer-by-layer control of tunnel barriers in magnetic tunnel junctions toward low-cost fabrication and down-scaling of tunnel resistances. PMID:24988469

Structural and magnetic properties of hexagonal Cr1-δTe films grown on CdTe(001) by molecular beam epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanazawa, Ken; Yamawaki, Kazuma; Sekita, Naoya; Nishio, Yôtarô; Kuroda, Shinji; Mitome, Masanori; Bando, Yoshio

2015-04-01

We investigated the structural and magnetic properties of Cr1-δTe thin films grown on CdTe(001) layers by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) with systematic variations of the ratio between Cr and Te fluxes and the substrate temperature Ts during the growth. Cr1-δTe of the hexagonal structure (hex-Cr1-δTe) was always formed irrespective of the growth conditions, but the growth orientation was different depending on the Cr/Te flux ratio and Ts. Hex-Cr1-δTe was grown in the [0001] axis in the range of small Cr/Te ratios and high Ts while it was also grown in the direction normal to the (1-102) plane at larger Cr/Te ratios or lower Ts. Hex-Cr1-δTe films grown in the both orientations show ferromagnetism, but they exhibit a clear contrast in the field dependence of perpendicular magnetization at 2 K; a square hysteretic loop in the film grown in the [0001] axis versus a round-shape loop in the film grown in the direction normal to the (1-102) plane. Moreover, the films grown in the [0001] axis at the smallest Cr/Te ratio show variations of ferromagnetic properties with Curie temperature (Tc) and the coercivity (Hc) varying according to the value of Ts.

Directly Grown Nanostructured Electrodes for High Volumetric Energy Density Binder-Free Hybrid Supercapacitors: A Case Study of CNTs//Li4Ti5O12

PubMed Central

Zuo, Wenhua; Wang, Chong; Li, Yuanyuan; Liu, Jinping

2015-01-01

Hybrid supercapacitor (HSC), which typically consists of a Li-ion battery electrode and an electric double-layer supercapacitor electrode, has been extensively investigated for large-scale applications such as hybrid electric vehicles, etc. Its application potential for thin-film downsized energy storage systems that always prefer high volumetric energy/power densities, however, has not yet been explored. Herein, as a case study, we develop an entirely binder-free HSC by using multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) network film as the cathode and Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) nanowire array as the anode and study the volumetric energy storage capability. Both the electrode materials are grown directly on carbon cloth current collector, ensuring robust mechanical/electrical contacts and flexibility. Our 3 V HSC device exhibits maximum volumetric energy density of ~4.38 mWh cm−3, much superior to those of previous supercapacitors based on thin-film electrodes fabricated directly on carbon cloth and even comparable to the commercial thin-film lithium battery. It also has volumetric power densities comparable to that of the commercial 5.5 V/100 mF supercapacitor (can be operated within 3 s) and has excellent cycling stability (~92% retention after 3000 cycles). The concept of utilizing binder-free electrodes to construct HSC for thin-film energy storage may be readily extended to other HSC electrode systems. PMID:25586374

Metal organic vapour-phase epitaxy growth of GaN wires on Si (111) for light-emitting diode applications

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

GaN wires are grown on a Si (111) substrate by metal organic vapour-phase epitaxy on a thin deposited AlN blanket and through a thin SiNx layer formed spontaneously at the AlN/Si interface. N-doped wires are used as templates for the growth of core-shell InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells coated by a p-doped shell. Standing single-wire heterostructures are connected using a metallic tip and a Si substrate backside contact, and the electroluminescence at room temperature and forward bias is demonstrated at 420 nm. This result points out the feasibility of lower cost nitride-based wires for light-emitting diode applications. PMID:23391377

Characterization of ALD grown TixAlyN and TixAlyC thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinnunen, S. A.; Malm, J.; Arstila, K.; Lahtinen, M.; Sajavaara, T.

2017-09-01

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) was used to grow TixAlyN and TixAlyC thin films using trimethylaluminum (TMA), titanium tetrachloride and ammonia as precursors. Deposition temperature was varied between 325 °C and 500 °C. Films were also annealed in vacuum and N2-atmosphere at 600-1000 °C. Wide range of characterization methods was used including time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis (ToF-ERDA), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray reflectometry (XRR), Raman spectroscopy, ellipsometry, helium ion microscopy (HIM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and 4-point probe measurement for resistivity. Deposited films were roughly 100 nm thick and contained mainly desired elements. Carbon, chlorine and hydrogen were found to be the main impurities.

Poly-silicon TFT AM-OLED on thin flexible metal substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afentakis, Themis; Hatalis, Miltiadis K.; Voutsas, Apostolos T.; Hartzell, John W.

2003-05-01

Thin metal foils present an excellent alternative to polymers for the fabrication of large area, flexible displays. Their main advantage spurs from their ability to withstand higher temperatures during processing; microelectronic fabrication at elevated temperatures offers the ability to utilize a variety of crystallization processes for the active layer of devices and thermally grown gate dielectrics. This can lead to high performance (high mobility, low threshold voltage) low cost and highly reliable thin film transistors. In some cases, the conductive substrate can also be used to provide power to the active devices, thus reducing layout complexity. This paper discusses the first successful attempt to design and fabricate a variety of active matrix organic light emitting diode displays on thin, flexible stainless steel foils. Different pixel architectures, such as two- and four-transistor implementations, and addressing modes, such as voltage- or current-driven schemese are examined. This work clearly demonstrates the advantages associated with the fabrication of OLED displays on thin metal foils, which - through roll-to-roll processing - can potentially result in revolutionizing today's display processing, leading to a new generation of low cost, high performance versatile display systems.

CHEMICAL SOLUTION DEPOSITION BASED OXIDE BUFFERS AND YBCO COATED CONDUCTORS

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

Paranthaman, Mariappan Parans

We have reviewed briefly the growth of buffer and high temperature superconducting oxide thin films using a chemical solution deposition (CSD) method. In the Rolling-Assisted Biaxially Textured Substrates (RABiTS) process, developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, utilizes the thermo mechanical processing to obtain the flexible, biaxially oriented copper, nickel or nickel-alloy substrates. Buffers and Rare Earth Barium Copper Oxide (REBCO) superconductors have been deposited epitaxially on the textured nickel alloy substrates. The starting substrate serves as a template for the REBCO layer, which has substantially fewer weak links. Buffer layers play a major role in fabricating the second generation REBCOmore » wire technology. The main purpose of the buffer layers is to provide a smooth, continuous and chemically inert surface for the growth of the REBCO film, while transferring the texture from the substrate to the superconductor layer. To achieve this, the buffer layers need to be epitaxial to the substrate, i.e. they have to nucleate and grow in the same bi-axial texture provided by the textured metal foil. The most commonly used RABiTS multi-layer architectures consist of a starting template of biaxially textured Ni-5 at.% W (Ni-W) substrate with a seed (first) layer of Yttrium Oxide (Y2O3), a barrier (second) layer of Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ), and a Cerium Oxide (CeO2) cap (third) layer. These three buffer layers are generally deposited using physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques such as reactive sputtering. On top of the PVD template, REBCO film is then grown by a chemical solution deposition. This article reviews in detail about the list of oxide buffers and superconductor REBCO films grown epitaxially on single crystal and/or biaxially textured Ni-W substrates using a CSD method.« less

Spin injection in epitaxial MnGa(111)/GaN(0001) heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zube, Christian; Malindretos, Joerg; Watschke, Lars; Zamani, Reza R.; Disterheft, David; Ulbrich, Rainer G.; Rizzi, Angela; Iza, Michael; Keller, Stacia; DenBaars, Steven P.

2018-01-01

Ferromagnetic MnGa(111) layers were grown on GaN(0001) by molecular beam epitaxy. MnGa/GaN Schottky diodes with a doping level of around n = 7 × 1018 cm-3 were fabricated to achieve single step tunneling across the metal/semiconductor junction. Below the GaN layer, a thin InGaN quantum well served as optical spin detector ("spin-LED"). For electron spin injection from MnGa into GaN and subsequent spin transport through a 45 nm (70 nm) thick GaN layer, we observe a circular polarization of 0.3% (0.2%) in the electroluminescence at 80 K. Interface mixing, spin polarization losses during electrical transport in the GaN layer, and spin relaxation in the InGaN quantum well are discussed in relation with the low value of the optically detected spin polarization.

High-Performance All 2D-Layered Tin Disulfide: Graphene Photodetecting Transistors with Thickness-Controlled Interface Dynamics.

PubMed

Chang, Ren-Jie; Tan, Haijie; Wang, Xiaochen; Porter, Benjamin; Chen, Tongxin; Sheng, Yuewen; Zhou, Yingqiu; Huang, Hefu; Bhaskaran, Harish; Warner, Jamie H

2018-04-18

Tin disulfide crystals with layered two-dimensional (2D) sheets are grown by chemical vapor deposition using a novel precursor approach and integrated into all 2D transistors with graphene (Gr) electrodes. The Gr:SnS 2 :Gr transistors exhibit excellent photodetector response with high detectivity and photoresponsivity. We show that the response of the all 2D photodetectors depends upon charge trapping at the interface and the Schottky barrier modulation. The thickness-dependent SnS 2 measurements in devices reveal a transition from the interface-dominated response for thin crystals to bulklike response for the thicker SnS 2 crystals, showing the sensitivity of devices fabricated using layered materials on the number of layers. These results show that SnS 2 has photosensing performance when combined with Gr electrodes that is comparable to other 2D transition metal dichalcogenides of MoS 2 and WS 2 .

Large-Area Growth of Turbostratic Graphene on Ni(111) via Physical Vapor Deposition

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

Garlow, Joseph A.; Barrett, Lawrence K.; Wu, Lijun

Single-layer graphene has demonstrated remarkable electronic properties that are strongly influenced by interfacial bonding and break down for the lowest energy configuration of stacked graphene layers (AB Bernal). Multilayer graphene with relative rotations between carbon layers, known as turbostratic graphene, can effectively decouple the electronic states of adjacent layers, preserving properties similar to that of SLG. While the growth of AB Bernal graphene through chemical vapor deposition has been widely reported, we investigate the growth of turbostratic graphene on heteroepitaxial Ni(111) thin films utilizing physical vapor deposition. By varying the carbon deposition temperature between 800–1100°C, we report an increase inmore » the graphene quality concomitant with a transition in the size of uniform thickness graphene, ranging from nanocrystallites to thousands of square microns. Combination Raman modes of as-grown graphene within the frequency range of 1650 cm ₋1 to 2300 cm ₋1, along with features of the Raman 2D mode, were employed as signatures of turbostratic graphene. Bilayer and multilayer graphene were directly identified from areas that exhibited Raman characteristics of turbostratic graphene using high-resolution TEM imaging. Lastly, Raman maps of the pertinent modes reveal large regions of turbostratic graphene on Ni(111) thin films at a deposition temperature of 1100°C.« less

Suppressing the Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 Nanoparticles by Extremely Thin Al2O3 Films Grown by Gas-Phase Deposition at Ambient Conditions

PubMed Central

Guo, Jing; Valdesueiro, David; Yuan, Shaojun; Liang, Bin; van Ommen, J. Ruud

2018-01-01

This work investigated the suppression of photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment powders by extremely thin aluminum oxide (Al2O3) films deposited via an atomic-layer-deposition-type process using trimethylaluminum (TMA) and H2O as precursors. The deposition was performed on multiple grams of TiO2 powder at room temperature and atmospheric pressure in a fluidized bed reactor, resulting in the growth of uniform and conformal Al2O3 films with thickness control at sub-nanometer level. The as-deposited Al2O3 films exhibited excellent photocatalytic suppression ability. Accordingly, an Al2O3 layer with a thickness of 1 nm could efficiently suppress the photocatalytic activities of rutile, anatase, and P25 TiO2 nanoparticles without affecting their bulk optical properties. In addition, the influence of high-temperature annealing on the properties of the Al2O3 layers was investigated, revealing the possibility of achieving porous Al2O3 layers. Our approach demonstrated a fast, efficient, and simple route to coating Al2O3 films on TiO2 pigment powders at the multigram scale, and showed great potential for large-scale production development. PMID:29364840

Large-Area Growth of Turbostratic Graphene on Ni(111) via Physical Vapor Deposition

DOE PAGES

Garlow, Joseph A.; Barrett, Lawrence K.; Wu, Lijun; ...

2016-01-29

Single-layer graphene has demonstrated remarkable electronic properties that are strongly influenced by interfacial bonding and break down for the lowest energy configuration of stacked graphene layers (AB Bernal). Multilayer graphene with relative rotations between carbon layers, known as turbostratic graphene, can effectively decouple the electronic states of adjacent layers, preserving properties similar to that of SLG. While the growth of AB Bernal graphene through chemical vapor deposition has been widely reported, we investigate the growth of turbostratic graphene on heteroepitaxial Ni(111) thin films utilizing physical vapor deposition. By varying the carbon deposition temperature between 800–1100°C, we report an increase inmore » the graphene quality concomitant with a transition in the size of uniform thickness graphene, ranging from nanocrystallites to thousands of square microns. Combination Raman modes of as-grown graphene within the frequency range of 1650 cm ₋1 to 2300 cm ₋1, along with features of the Raman 2D mode, were employed as signatures of turbostratic graphene. Bilayer and multilayer graphene were directly identified from areas that exhibited Raman characteristics of turbostratic graphene using high-resolution TEM imaging. Lastly, Raman maps of the pertinent modes reveal large regions of turbostratic graphene on Ni(111) thin films at a deposition temperature of 1100°C.« less

Large-Area Growth of Turbostratic Graphene on Ni(111) via Physical Vapor Deposition

PubMed Central

Garlow, Joseph A.; Barrett, Lawrence K.; Wu, Lijun; Kisslinger, Kim; Zhu, Yimei; Pulecio, Javier F.

2016-01-01

Single-layer graphene has demonstrated remarkable electronic properties that are strongly influenced by interfacial bonding and break down for the lowest energy configuration of stacked graphene layers (AB Bernal). Multilayer graphene with relative rotations between carbon layers, known as turbostratic graphene, can effectively decouple the electronic states of adjacent layers, preserving properties similar to that of SLG. While the growth of AB Bernal graphene through chemical vapor deposition has been widely reported, we investigate the growth of turbostratic graphene on heteroepitaxial Ni(111) thin films utilizing physical vapor deposition. By varying the carbon deposition temperature between 800 –1100 °C, we report an increase in the graphene quality concomitant with a transition in the size of uniform thickness graphene, ranging from nanocrystallites to thousands of square microns. Combination Raman modes of as-grown graphene within the frequency range of 1650 cm−1 to 2300 cm−1, along with features of the Raman 2D mode, were employed as signatures of turbostratic graphene. Bilayer and multilayer graphene were directly identified from areas that exhibited Raman characteristics of turbostratic graphene using high-resolution TEM imaging. Raman maps of the pertinent modes reveal large regions of turbostratic graphene on Ni(111) thin films at a deposition temperature of 1100 °C. PMID:26821604

Nucleation-controlled low-temperature solid-phase crystallization for Sn-doped polycrystalline-Ge film on insulator with high carrier mobility (˜550 cm2/V s)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Chang; Gao, Hongmiao; Sugino, Takayuki; Miyao, Masanobu; Sadoh, Taizoh

2018-06-01

High-speed thin-film transistors (TFTs) are required to develop the next generation of electronics, such as three-dimensional large-scale integrated circuits and advanced system-in-displays. For this purpose, high-carrier-mobility semiconductor films on insulator structures should be fabricated with low-temperature processing conditions (≤500 °C). To achieve this, we investigate solid-phase crystallization of amorphous-GeSn (a-GeSn) films (Sn concentration: 2% and thickness: 50-200 nm) on insulating substrates, where thin a-Si under-layers (thickness: 0-20 nm) are introduced between a-GeSn films and insulating substrates. The GeSn films are polycrystallized by annealing (450 °C, 20 h) for all samples irrespective of a-GeSn and a-Si thickness conditions, while the Si films remain amorphous. Analysis of crystal structures of GeSn films (thickness: 50 nm) reveals that grain sizes decrease from ˜10 μm to 2-3 μm by the introduction of a-Si under-layers (thickness: 3-20 nm). This phenomenon is attributed to the change in dominant nucleation sites from the interface to the bulk, which significantly decreases grain-boundary scattering of carriers through a decrease in the barrier heights at grain boundaries. Bulk-nucleation further becomes dominant by increasing the GeSn film thickness. As a result, a high carrier mobility of ˜550 cm2/V s is realized for GeSn films (thickness: 100 nm) grown with a-Si under-layers. This mobility is the largest among ever reported data for Ge and GeSn grown on an insulator. This technique will facilitate realization of high-speed TFTs for use in the next generation of electronics.

Effects of Substrate and Post-Growth Treatments on the Microstructure and Properties of ZnO Thin Films Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haseman, Micah; Saadatkia, P.; Winarski, D. J.; Selim, F. A.; Leedy, K. D.; Tetlak, S.; Look, D. C.; Anwand, W.; Wagner, A.

2016-12-01

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) thin films were synthesized by atomic layer deposition on silicon, quartz and sapphire substrates and characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution scanning electron microscopy, optical spectroscopy, conductivity mapping, Hall effect measurements and positron annihilation spectroscopy. XRD showed that the as-grown films are of single-phase ZnO wurtzite structure and do not contain any secondary or impurity phases. The type of substrate was found to affect the orientation and degree of crystallinity of the films but had no effect on the defect structure or the transport properties of the films. High conductivity of 10-3 Ω cm, electron mobility of 20 cm2/Vs and carrier density of 1020 cm-3 were measured in most films. Thermal treatments in various atmospheres induced a large effect on the thickness, structure and electrical properties of the films. Annealing in a Zn and nitrogen environment at 400°C for 1 h led to a 16% increase in the thickness of the film; this indicates that Zn extracts oxygen atoms from the matrix and forms new layers of ZnO. On the other hand, annealing in a hydrogen atmosphere led to the emergence of an Al2O3 peak in the XRD pattern, which implies that hydrogen and Al atoms compete to occupy Zn sites in the ZnO lattice. Only ambient air annealing had an effect on film defect density and electrical properties, generating reductions in conductivity and electron mobility. Depth-resolved measurements of positron annihilation spectroscopy revealed short positron diffusion lengths and high concentrations of defects in all as-grown films. However, these defects did not diminish the electrical conductivity in the films.

The polar lipids of Clostridium psychrophilum, an anaerobic psychrophile

PubMed Central

Guan, Ziqiang; Tian, Bing; Perfumo, Amedea; Goldfine, Howard

2013-01-01

We have examined the polar lipids of Clostridium psychrophilum, a recently characterized psychrophilic Clostridium isolated from an Antarctic microbial mat. Lipids were extracted from cells grown near the optimal growth temperature (+5 °C) and at −5 °C, and analyzed by two-dimensional thin layer chromatography and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The major phospholipids of this species are: cardiolipin, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylglycerol. Phosphatidylserine and lyso-phosphatidylethanolamine were found as minor components. The most abundant glycolipids are a monoglycosyldiradylglycerol (MGDRG) and a diglycosyldiradylglycerol (DGDRG). The latter was only seen in cells grown at −5 °C. An ethanolamine-phosphate derivative of N-acetylglucosaminyldiradylglycerol was seen in cells grown at −5 °C and an ethanolamine-phosphate derivative of MGDRG was found in cells grown at +5 °C. All lipids were present in both the all acyl and plasmalogen (alk-1′-enyl acyl) forms with the exception of PS and MGDRG, which were predominantly in the diacyl form. The significance of lipid changes at the two growth temperatures is discussed. PMID:23454375

Strain induced enhancement of magnetization in Ba{sub 2}FeMoO{sub 6} based heterostructure with (Ba{sub x}Sr{sub 1-x})TiO{sub 3}

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

Kim, Kyeong-Won; Norton, David P.; Ghosh, Siddhartha, E-mail: ghoshsid@gmail.com

2016-05-14

High quality epitaxial Ba{sub 2}FeMoO{sub 6} thin films and Ba{sub 2}FeMoO{sub 6}–(Ba{sub x}Sr{sub 1−x})TiO{sub 3} bi-layer (BL) and superlattice (SL) structures were grown via pulsed laser deposition under low oxygen pressure, and their structural, magnetic, and magneto-transport properties were examined. Superlattice and bi-layer structures were confirmed by X-ray diffraction patterns. Low temperature magnetic measurement shows that the saturation magnetization (M{sub S}) is significantly higher for SLs and almost similar or lower for BLs, when compared to phase pure Ba{sub 2}FeMoO{sub 6} thin films. The variation of the coercive field (H{sub C}) follows exact opposite trend, where BL samples have highermore » H{sub C} and SL samples have lower H{sub C} than pure Ba{sub 2}FeMoO{sub 6} thin films. Also, a significant decrease of the Curie temperature is found in both BL and SL structures compared to pure Ba{sub 2}FeMoO{sub 6} thin films. Negative magneto-resistance is seen in all the BL and SL structures as well as in pure Ba{sub 2}FeMoO{sub 6} thin films. In contrast to the magnetic properties, the magneto-transport properties do not show much variation with induced strain.« less

Growth, structure, and magnetic properties of γ-Fe2O3 epitaxial films on MgO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Y.; Kim, Y. J.; Thevuthasan, S.; Chambers, S. A.; Lubitz, P.

1997-04-01

Single-crystal epitaxial thin films of γ-Fe2O3(001) have been grown on MgO(001) using oxygen-plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The structure and magnetic properties of these films have been characterized by a variety of techniques, including reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron/Auger electron diffraction (XPD/AED), vibrating sample magnetometry, and ferromagnetic resonance. Real-time RHEED reveals that the film growth occurs in a layer-by-layer fashion. The γ-Fe2O3(001) film surface exhibits a (1×1) LEED pattern. The growth of γ-Fe2Ooverflow="scroll">3 films at 450 °C is accompanied by significant Mg outdiffusion. AED of Mg KLL Auger emission reveals that Mg substitutionally incorporates in the γ-Fe2O3 lattice, occupying the octahedral sites. Magnetic moments are ˜2300 G and ˜4500 G for γ-Fe2O3 films grown at 250 °C and 450 °C, respectively. The high magnetic moment for the films grown at 450 °C could be attributed to the high degree of structural order of the films and Mg substitution at octahedral sites.

Rapid Flame Synthesis of Atomically Thin MoO3 down to Monolayer Thickness for Effective Hole Doping of WSe2.

PubMed

Cai, Lili; McClellan, Connor J; Koh, Ai Leen; Li, Hong; Yalon, Eilam; Pop, Eric; Zheng, Xiaolin

2017-06-14

Two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum trioxide (MoO 3 ) with mono- or few-layer thickness can potentially advance many applications, ranging from optoelectronics, catalysis, sensors, and batteries to electrochromic devices. Such ultrathin MoO 3 sheets can also be integrated with other 2D materials (e.g., as dopants) to realize new or improved electronic devices. However, there is lack of a rapid and scalable method to controllably grow mono- or few-layer MoO 3 . Here, we report the first demonstration of using a rapid (<2 min) flame synthesis method to deposit mono- and few-layer MoO 3 sheets (several microns in lateral dimension) on a wide variety of layered materials, including mica, MoS 2 , graphene, and WSe 2 , based on van der Waals epitaxy. The flame-grown ultrathin MoO 3 sheet functions as an efficient hole doping layer for WSe 2 , enabling WSe 2 to reach the lowest sheet and contact resistance reported to date among all the p-type 2D materials (∼6.5 kΩ/□ and ∼0.8 kΩ·μm, respectively). These results demonstrate that flame synthesis is a rapid and scalable pathway to growing atomically thin 2D metal oxides, opening up new opportunities for advancing 2D electronics.

Room-Temperature-Processed Flexible Amorphous InGaZnO Thin Film Transistor.

PubMed

Xiao, Xiang; Zhang, Letao; Shao, Yang; Zhou, Xiaoliang; He, Hongyu; Zhang, Shengdong

2017-12-13

A room-temperature flexible amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide thin film transistor (a-IGZO TFT) technology is developed on plastic substrates, in which both the gate dielectric and passivation layers of the TFTs are formed by an anodic oxidation (anodization) technique. While the gate dielectric Al 2 O 3 is grown with a conventional anodization on an Al:Nd gate electrode, the channel passivation layer Al 2 O 3 is formed using a localized anodization technique. The anodized Al 2 O 3 passivation layer shows a superior passivation effect to that of PECVD SiO 2 . The room-temperature-processed flexible a-IGZO TFT exhibits a field-effect mobility of 7.5 cm 2 /V·s, a subthreshold swing of 0.44 V/dec, an on-off ratio of 3.1 × 10 8 , and an acceptable gate-bias stability with threshold voltage shifts of 2.65 and -1.09 V under positive gate-bias stress and negative gate-bias stress, respectively. Bending and fatigue tests confirm that the flexible a-IGZO TFT also has a good mechanical reliability, with electrical performances remaining consistent up to a strain of 0.76% as well as after 1200 cycles of fatigue testing.

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.

Growth of semimetallic ErAs films epitaxially embedded in GaAs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crook, Adam M.; Nair, Hari P.; Lee, Jong H.; Ferrer, Domingo A.; Akinwande, Deji; Bank, Seth R.

2011-10-01

We present models for the growth and electrical conductivity of ErAs films grown with the nanoparticle-seeded film growth technique. This growth mode overcomes the mismatch in rotational symmetry between the rocksalt ErAs crystal structure and the zincblende GaAs crystal structure. This results in films of ErAs grown through a thin film of GaAs that preserves the symmetry of the substrate. The conductivity of the films, as a function of film thickness, are investigated and a surface roughness model is used to explain observed trends. Transmission electron micrographs confirm the suppression of anti-phase domains. A simple diffusion model is developed to describe the diffusion and incorporation of surface erbium into subsurface ErAs layers and predict potential failure mechanisms of the growth method.

The Effect of Growth Environment on the Morphological and Extended Defect Evolution in GaN Grown by Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fini, P.; Wu, X.; Tarsa, E.; Golan, Y.; Srikant, V.; Keller, S.; Denbaars, S.; Speck, J.

1998-08-01

The evolution of morphology and associated extended defects in GaN thin films grown on sapphire by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) are shown to depend strongly on the growth environment. For the commonly used two-step growth process, a change in growth parameter such as reactor pressure influences the initial high temperature (HT) GaN growth mechanism. By means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) measurements, it is shown that the initial density of HT islands on the nucleation layer (NL) and subsequently the threading dislocation density in the HT GaN film may be directly controlled by tailoring the initial HT GaN growth conditions.

Method of growing GaN films with a low density of structural defects using an interlayer

DOEpatents

Bourret-Courchesne, Edith D.

2003-01-01

A dramatic reduction of the dislocation density in GaN was obtained by insertion of a single thin interlayer grown at an intermediate temperature (IT-IL) after the growth of an initial grown at high temperature. A description of the growth process is presented with characterization results aimed at understanding the mechanisms of reduction in dislocation density. A large percentage of the threading dislocations present in the first GaN epilayer are found to bend near the interlayer and do not propagate into the top layer which grows at higher temperature in a lateral growth mode. TEM studies show that the mechanisms of dislocation reduction are similar to those described for the epitaxial lateral overgrowth process, however a notable difference is the absence of coalescence boundaries.

Structural, optical and photoelectric properties of sprayed CdS thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandel, Tarun; Dwivedi, Shailendra Kumar; Zaman, M. Burhanuz; Rajaram, P.

2018-05-01

In this study, CdS thin films were grown via a facile spray pyrolysis technique. The crystalline phase, morphological, compositional and optical properties of the CdS thin films have been studied using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, respectively. XRD patterns show that the grown CdS films crystallized in the hexagonal structure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study shows that the surfaces of the films are smooth and are uniformly covered with nanoparticles. EDAX results reveal that the grown films have good stochiometry. UV-vis spectroscopy shows that the grown films have transparency above 80% over the entire visible region. The photo-electric response of the CdS films grown on glass substrates has been observed.

The role of nanoscale seed layers on the enhanced performance of niobium doped TiO 2 thin films on glass

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

Nikodemski, Stefan; Dameron, Arrelaine A.; Perkins, John D.

Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) coatings with decreased cost and greater process or performance versatility are needed for a variety of optoelectronic applications. Among potential new TCO candidates, doped titanium dioxide is receiving particular interest. In this study, niobium-doped titania bilayer structures consisting of a nanoscale seed layer (deposited by atomic layer deposition or RF magnetron sputtering) followed by a thick bulk-like layer were grown directly on glass in order to examine the effects of the seed layer processing on the subsequent crystallization and electrical properties of these heterostructures. Observations from Raman spectroscopy suggest that higher oxygen content in the seedmore » layer suppresses the formation of detrimental titania polymorph phases, found in films produced by annealing directly after synthesis without any exposure to oxygen. Here, our results indicate that the generation of excellent Nb:TiO 2 conductors on glass (without breaking vacuum) only occurs within a narrow processing range and that the sequential deposition of oxygen-poor layers on oxygen-rich layers is a critical step towards achieving films with low resistivity.« less

The role of nanoscale seed layers on the enhanced performance of niobium doped TiO 2 thin films on glass

DOE PAGES

Nikodemski, Stefan; Dameron, Arrelaine A.; Perkins, John D.; ...

2016-09-09

Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) coatings with decreased cost and greater process or performance versatility are needed for a variety of optoelectronic applications. Among potential new TCO candidates, doped titanium dioxide is receiving particular interest. In this study, niobium-doped titania bilayer structures consisting of a nanoscale seed layer (deposited by atomic layer deposition or RF magnetron sputtering) followed by a thick bulk-like layer were grown directly on glass in order to examine the effects of the seed layer processing on the subsequent crystallization and electrical properties of these heterostructures. Observations from Raman spectroscopy suggest that higher oxygen content in the seedmore » layer suppresses the formation of detrimental titania polymorph phases, found in films produced by annealing directly after synthesis without any exposure to oxygen. Here, our results indicate that the generation of excellent Nb:TiO 2 conductors on glass (without breaking vacuum) only occurs within a narrow processing range and that the sequential deposition of oxygen-poor layers on oxygen-rich layers is a critical step towards achieving films with low resistivity.« less

High-quality crystalline yttria-stabilized-zirconia thin layer for photonic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcaud, Guillaume; Matzen, Sylvia; Alonso-Ramos, Carlos; Le Roux, Xavier; Berciano, Mathias; Maroutian, Thomas; Agnus, Guillaume; Aubert, Pascal; Largeau, Ludovic; Pillard, Valérie; Serna, Samuel; Benedikovic, Daniel; Pendenque, Christopher; Cassan, Eric; Marris-Morini, Delphine; Lecoeur, Philippe; Vivien, Laurent

2018-03-01

Functional oxides are considered as promising materials for photonic applications due to their extraordinary and various optical properties. Especially, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) has a high refractive index (˜2.15), leading to a good confinement of the optical mode in waveguides. Furthermore, YSZ can also be used as a buffer layer to expand toward a large family of oxides-based thin-films heterostructures. In this paper, we report a complete study of the structural properties of YSZ for the development of integrated optical devices on sapphire in telecom wavelength range. The substrate preparation and the epitaxial growth using pulsed-laser deposition technique have been studied and optimized. High-quality YSZ thin films with remarkably sharp x-ray diffraction rocking curve peaks in 10-3∘ range have then been grown on sapphire (0001). It was demonstrated that a thermal annealing of sapphire substrate before the YSZ growth allowed controlling the out-of-plane orientation of the YSZ thin film. Single-mode waveguides were finally designed, fabricated, and characterized for two different main orientations of high-quality YSZ (001) and (111). Propagation loss as low as 2 dB/cm at a wavelength of 1380 nm has been demonstrated for both orientations. These results pave the way for the development of a functional oxides-based photonics platform for numerous applications including on-chip optical communications and sensing.

Low intrinsic c-axis thermal conductivity in PVD grown epitaxial Sb2Te3 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rieger, F.; Kaiser, K.; Bendt, G.; Roddatis, V.; Thiessen, P.; Schulz, S.; Jooss, C.

2018-05-01

Accurate determination and comprehensive understanding of the intrinsic c-axis thermal conductivity κc of thermoelectric layered Sb2Te3 is of high importance for the development of strategies to optimize the figure of merit in thin film devices via heterostructures and defect engineering. We present here high precision measurements of κc of epitaxial Sb2Te3 thin films on Al2O3 substrates grown by physical vapor deposition in the temperature range of 100 K to 300 K. The Kapitza resistances of the involved interfaces have been determined and subtracted from the film data, allowing access to the intrinsic thermal conductivity of single crystalline Sb2Te3. At room temperature, we obtain κc = 1.9 W/m K, being much smaller than the in-plane thermal conductivity of κa b = 5 W/m K and even lower than the thermal conductivity of nano crystalline films of κnc ≈ 2.0-2.6 W/m K published by Park et al. [Nanoscale Res. Lett. 9, 96 (2014)]. High crystallinity and very low defect concentration of the films were confirmed by x-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Our data reveal that the phonon mean free path lm f p(" separators="|T ) is not limited by defect scattering and is of intrinsic nature, i.e., due to phonon-phonon scattering similar to other soft van der Waals type bonded layered systems.

Crystallographic orientation of epitaxial BaTiO3 films: The role of thermal-expansion mismatch with the substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srikant, V.; Tarsa, E. J.; Clarke, D. R.; Speck, J. S.

1995-02-01

Expitaxial ferroelectric BaTiO3 thin films have been grown on (001) MgO and MgO-buffered (001) GaAs substrates by pulsed laser deposition to explore the effect of substrate lattice parameter. X-ray-diffraction studies showed that the BaTiO3 films on both MgO single-crystal substrates and MgO-buffered (001) GaAs substrates have a cube-on-cube epitaxy; however, for the BaTiO3 films grown on MgO the spacing of the planes parallel to the substrate was close to the c-axis dimension of the unconstrained tetragonal phase, whereas the BaTiO3 films on MgO/GaAs exhibited a spacing closer to the a-axis dimension of the unconstrained tetragonal phase. The cube-on-cube epitaxy was maintained through the heterostructures even when thin epitaxial intermediate buffer layers of SrTiO3 and La(0.5)Sr(0.5)CoO3 were used. The intermediate layers had no effect on the position of the BaTiO3 peak in theta - 2 theta scans. Together, these observations indicate that, for the materials combinations studied, it is the thermal-expansion mismatch between the film and the underlying substrate that determines the crystallographic orientation of the BaTiO3 film. Preliminary measurements indicate that the BaTiO3 films are 'weakly' ferroelectric.

Thickness-dependent domain wall reorientation in 70/30 lead magnesium niobate- lead titanate thin films

DOE PAGES

Keech, Ryan; Morandi, Carl; Wallace, Margeaux; ...

2017-04-11

Continued reduction in length scales associated with many ferroelectric film-based technologies is contingent on retaining the functional properties as the film thickness is reduced. Epitaxial and polycrystalline lead magnesium niobate - lead titanate (70PMN-30PT) thin films were studied over the thickness range of 100-350 nm for the relative contributions to property thickness dependence from interfacial and grain boundary low permittivity layers. Epitaxial PMN-PT films were grown on SrRuO 3 /(001)SrTiO 3, while polycrystalline films with {001}-Lotgering factors >0.96 were grown on Pt/TiO 2/SiO 2/Si substrates via chemical solution deposition. Both film types exhibited similar relative permittivities of ~300 at highmore » fields at all measured thicknesses with highly crystalline electrode/dielectric interfaces. These results, with the DC-biased and temperature dependent dielectric characterization, suggest irreversible domain wall mobility is the major contributor to the overall dielectric response and its thickness dependence. In epitaxial films, the irreversible Rayleigh coefficients reduced 85% upon decreasing thickness from 350 to 100 nm. The temperature at which a peak in the relative permittivity is observed was the only measured small signal quantity which was more thickness dependent in polycrystalline than epitaxial films. This is attributed to the relaxor nature present in the films, potentially stabilized by defect concentrations, and/or chemical inhomogeneity. Finally, the effective interfacial layers are found to contribute to the measured thickness dependence in the longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient.« less

Pullulan production by Aureobasidium pullulans grown on ethanol stillage as a nitrogen source.

PubMed

West, T P; Strohfus, B

1996-01-01

Pullulan production by Aureobasidium pullulans strain RP-1 using thin stillage from fuel ethanol production as a nitrogen source was studied in a medium using corn syrup as a carbon source. The use of 1% thin stillage as a nitrogen source instead of ammonium sulphate elevated polysaccharide production by strain RP-1 cells when grown on a concentration of up to 7.5% corn syrup, independent of yeast extract supplementation. Dry weights of cells grown in medium containing ammonium sulphate as the nitrogen source were higher than the stillage-grown cells after 7 days of growth. The viscosity of the polysaccharide on day 7 was higher for cells grown on thin stillage rather than ammonium sulphate as a nitrogen source. The pullulan content of the polysaccharide elaborated by ammonium sulphate-grown cells on day 7 was higher than the pullulan content of polysaccharide produced by stillage-grown cells regardless of whether yeast extract was added to the culture medium.

Low-voltage bendable pentacene thin-film transistor with stainless steel substrate and polystyrene-coated hafnium silicate dielectric.

PubMed

Yun, Dong-Jin; Lee, Seunghyup; Yong, Kijung; Rhee, Shi-Woo

2012-04-01

The hafnium silicate and aluminum oxide high-k dielectrics were deposited on stainless steel substrate using atomic layer deposition process and octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) and polystyrene (PS) were treated improve crystallinity of pentacene grown on them. Besides, the effects of the pentacene deposition condition on the morphologies, crystallinities and electrical properties of pentacene were characterized. Therefore, the surface treatment condition on dielectric and pentacene deposition conditions were optimized. The pentacene grown on polystyrene coated high-k dielectric at low deposition rate and temperature (0.2-0.3 Å/s and R.T.) showed the largest grain size (0.8-1.0 μm) and highest crystallinity among pentacenes deposited various deposition conditions, and the pentacene TFT with polystyrene coated high-k dielectric showed excellent device-performance. To decrease threshold voltage of pentacene TFT, the polystyrene-thickness on high-k dielectric was controlled using different concentration of polystyrene solution. As the polystyrene-thickness on hafnium silicate decreases, the dielectric constant of polystyrene/hafnium silicate increases, while the crystallinity of pentacene grown on polystyrene/hafnium silicate did not change. Using low-thickness polystyrene coated hafnium silicate dielectric, the high-performance and low voltage operating (<5 V) pentacene thin film transistor (μ: ~2 cm(2)/(V s), on/off ratio, >1 × 10(4)) and complementary inverter (DC gains, ~20) could be fabricated.

Nanostructure and strain effects in active thin films for novel electronic device applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Zheng

2007-12-01

There are many potential applications of ferroelectric thin films that take advantage of their unique dielectric and piezoelectric properties, such as tunable microwave devices and thin-film active sensors for structural health monitoring (SHM). However, many technical issues still restrict practical applications of ferroelectric thin films, including high insertion loss, limited figure of merit, soft mode effect, large temperature coefficients, and others. The main theme of this thesis is the advanced technique developments, and the new ferroelectric thin films syntheses and investigations for novel device applications. A novel method of additional doping has been adopted to (Ba,Sr)TiO 3 (BSTO) thin films on MgO. By introducing 2% Mn into the stoichiometric BSTO, Mn:BSTO thin films have shown a greatly enhanced dielectric tunability and a reduced insertion loss at high frequencies (10-30 GHz). A new record of a large tunability of 80% with a high dielectric constant of 3800 and an extra low dielectric loss of 0.001 at 1 MHz at room-temperature was achieved. Meanwhile, the new highly epitaxial ferroelectric (Pb,Sr)TiO3 (PSTO) thin films have been synthesized on (001) MgO substrates. PSTO films demonstrated excellent high frequency dielectric properties with high dielectric constants above 1420 and large dielectric tunabilities above 34% at room-temperature up to 20 GHz. In addition, a smaller temperature coefficient from 80 K to 300 K was observed in PSTO films compared to BSTO films. These results indicate that the Mn:BSTO and PSTO films are both good candidates for developing room-temperature tunable microwave devices. Furthermore, crystalline ferroelectric BaTiO3 (BTO) thin films have been deposited directly on metal substrate Ni through a unique in-situ substrate pre-oxidation treatment. The highly oriented nanopillar structural BTO films were grown on the buffered layers created by the pre-oxidation treatment. No interdiffusion or reaction was observed at the interface. As-grown BTO films demonstrated good ferroelectric properties and an extremely large piezoelectric response of 130 (x 10-12 C/N). These excellent preliminary results enable the long-term perspective on the unobtrusive ferroelectric thin-film active sensors for SHM applications.

Zero lattice mismatch and twin-free single crystalline ScN buffer layers for GaN growth on silicon

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

Lupina, L.; Zoellner, M. H.; Dietrich, B.

2015-11-16

We report the growth of thin ScN layers deposited by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on Sc{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Si(111) substrates. Using x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, we find that ScN films grown at 600 °C are single crystalline, twin-free with rock-salt crystal structure, and exhibit a direct optical band gap of 2.2 eV. A high degree of crystalline perfection and a very good lattice matching between ScN and GaN (misfit < 0.1%) makes the ScN/Sc{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} buffer system a very promising template for the growth of high quality GaN layers on silicon.

Enhanced ZnO Thin-Film Transistor Performance Using Bilayer Gate Dielectrics.

PubMed

Alshammari, Fwzah H; Nayak, Pradipta K; Wang, Zhenwei; Alshareef, Husam N

2016-09-07

We report ZnO TFTs using Al2O3/Ta2O5 bilayer gate dielectrics grown by atomic layer deposition. The saturation mobility of single layer Ta2O5 dielectric TFT was 0.1 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), but increased to 13.3 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) using Al2O3/Ta2O5 bilayer dielectric with significantly lower leakage current and hysteresis. We show that point defects present in ZnO film, particularly VZn, are the main reason for the poor TFT performance with single layer dielectric, although interfacial roughness scattering effects cannot be ruled out. Our approach combines the high dielectric constant of Ta2O5 and the excellent Al2O3/ZnO interface quality, resulting in improved device performance.

Stable, highly-responsive and broadband photodetection based on large-area multilayered WS2 films grown by pulsed-laser deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, J. D.; Zheng, Z. Q.; Shao, J. M.; Yang, G. W.

2015-09-01

The progress in the field of graphene has aroused a renaissance of keen research interest in layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Tungsten disulfide (WS2), a typical TMD with favorable semiconducting band gap and strong light-matter interaction, exhibits great potential for highly-responsive photodetection. However, WS2-based photodetection is currently unsatisfactory due to the low optical absorption (2%-10%) and poor carrier mobility (0.01-0.91 cm2 V-1 s-1) of the thin WS2 layers grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Here, we introduce pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) to prepare multilayered WS2 films. Large-area WS2 films of the magnitude of cm2 are achieved. Comparative measurements of a WS2-based photoresistor demonstrate its stable broadband photoresponse from 370 to 1064 nm, the broadest range demonstrated in WS2 photodetectors. Benefiting from the large optical absorbance (40%-85%) and high carrier mobility (31 cm2 V-1 s-1), the responsivity of the device approaches a high value of 0.51 A W-1 in an ambient environment. Such a performance far surpasses the CVD-grown WS2-based photodetectors (μA W-1). In a vacuum environment, the responsivity is further enhanced to 0.70 A W-1 along with an external quantum efficiency of 137% and a photodetectivity of 2.7 × 109 cm Hz1/2 W-1. These findings stress that the PLD-grown WS2 film may constitute a new paradigm for the next-generation stable, broadband and highly-responsive photodetectors.The progress in the field of graphene has aroused a renaissance of keen research interest in layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Tungsten disulfide (WS2), a typical TMD with favorable semiconducting band gap and strong light-matter interaction, exhibits great potential for highly-responsive photodetection. However, WS2-based photodetection is currently unsatisfactory due to the low optical absorption (2%-10%) and poor carrier mobility (0.01-0.91 cm2 V-1 s-1) of the thin WS2 layers grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Here, we introduce pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) to prepare multilayered WS2 films. Large-area WS2 films of the magnitude of cm2 are achieved. Comparative measurements of a WS2-based photoresistor demonstrate its stable broadband photoresponse from 370 to 1064 nm, the broadest range demonstrated in WS2 photodetectors. Benefiting from the large optical absorbance (40%-85%) and high carrier mobility (31 cm2 V-1 s-1), the responsivity of the device approaches a high value of 0.51 A W-1 in an ambient environment. Such a performance far surpasses the CVD-grown WS2-based photodetectors (μA W-1). In a vacuum environment, the responsivity is further enhanced to 0.70 A W-1 along with an external quantum efficiency of 137% and a photodetectivity of 2.7 × 109 cm Hz1/2 W-1. These findings stress that the PLD-grown WS2 film may constitute a new paradigm for the next-generation stable, broadband and highly-responsive photodetectors. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr03361f

Metallic conductance at the interface of tri-color titanate superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kareev, M.; Cao, Yanwei; Liu, Xiaoran; Middey, S.; Meyers, D.; Chakhalian, J.

2013-12-01

Ultra-thin tri-color (tri-layer) titanate superlattices ([3 u.c. LaTiO3/2 u.c. SrTiO3/3 u.c. YTiO3], u.c. = unit cells) were grown in a layer-by-layer way on single crystal TbScO3 (110) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. High sample quality and electronic structure were characterized by the combination of in-situ photoelectron and ex-situ structure and surface morphology probes. Temperature-dependent sheet resistance indicates the presence of metallic interfaces in both [3 u.c. LaTiO3/2 u.c. SrTiO3] bi-layers and all the tri-color structures, whereas a [3 u.c. YTiO3/2 u.c. SrTiO3] bi-layer shows insulating behavior. Considering that in the bulk YTiO3 is ferromagnetic below 30 K, the tri-color titanate superlattices provide an opportunity to induce tunable spin-polarization into the two-dimensional electron gas with Mott carriers.

Influences of ultra-thin Ti seed layers on the dewetting phenomenon of Au films deposited on Si oxide substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamiko, Masao; Kim, So-Mang; Jeong, Young-Seok; Ha, Jae-Ho; Koo, Sang-Mo; Ha, Jae-Geun

2018-05-01

The influences of a Ti seed layer (1 nm) on the dewetting phenomenon of Au films (5 nm) grown onto amorphous SiO2 substrates have been studied and compared. Atomic force microscopy results indicated that the introduction of Ti between the substrate and Au promoted the dewetting phenomenon. X-ray diffraction measurements suggested that the initial deposition of Ti promoted crystallinity of Au. A series of Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results revealed that Ti transformed to a Ti oxide layer by reduction of the amorphous SiO2 substrate surface, and that the Ti seed layer remained on the substrate, without going through the dewetting process during annealing. We concluded that the enhancement of Au dewetting and the improvement in crystallinity of Au by the insertion of Ti could be attributed to the fact that Au location was changed from the surface of the amorphous SiO2 substrate to that of the Ti oxide layer.

Large-Area WS2 Film with Big Single Domains Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Pengyu; Luo, Tao; Xing, Jie; Xu, Hong; Hao, Huiying; Liu, Hao; Dong, Jingjing

2017-10-01

High-quality WS2 film with the single domain size up to 400 μm was grown on Si/SiO2 wafer by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition. The effects of some important fabrication parameters on the controlled growth of WS2 film have been investigated in detail, including the choice of precursors, tube pressure, growing temperature, holding time, the amount of sulfur powder, and gas flow rate. By optimizing the growth conditions at one atmospheric pressure, we obtained tungsten disulfide single domains with an average size over 100 μm. Raman spectra, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy provided direct evidence that the WS2 film had an atomic layer thickness and a single-domain hexagonal structure with a high crystal quality. And the photoluminescence spectra indicated that the tungsten disulfide films showed an evident layer-number-dependent fluorescence efficiency, depending on their energy band structure. Our study provides an important experimental basis for large-area, controllable preparation of atom-thick tungsten disulfide thin film and can also expedite the development of scalable high-performance optoelectronic devices based on WS2 film.

Graphene: corrosion-inhibiting coating.

PubMed

Prasai, Dhiraj; Tuberquia, Juan Carlos; Harl, Robert R; Jennings, G Kane; Rogers, Bridget R; Bolotin, Kirill I

2012-02-28

We report the use of atomically thin layers of graphene as a protective coating that inhibits corrosion of underlying metals. Here, we employ electrochemical methods to study the corrosion inhibition of copper and nickel by either growing graphene on these metals, or by mechanically transferring multilayer graphene onto them. Cyclic voltammetry measurements reveal that the graphene coating effectively suppresses metal oxidation and oxygen reduction. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements suggest that while graphene itself is not damaged, the metal under it is corroded at cracks in the graphene film. Finally, we use Tafel analysis to quantify the corrosion rates of samples with and without graphene coatings. These results indicate that copper films coated with graphene grown via chemical vapor deposition are corroded 7 times slower in an aerated Na(2)SO(4) solution as compared to the corrosion rate of bare copper. Tafel analysis reveals that nickel with a multilayer graphene film grown on it corrodes 20 times slower while nickel surfaces coated with four layers of mechanically transferred graphene corrode 4 times slower than bare nickel. These findings establish graphene as the thinnest known corrosion-protecting coating.

Thermal stability of MBE-grown epitaxial MoSe2 and WSe2 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Young Jun; Choy, Byoung Ki; Phark, Soo-Hyon; Kim, Minu

Layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) draw much attention, because of its unique optical properties and band structures depending on the layer thicknesses. However, MBE growth of epitaxial films demands information about thermal stability of stoichiometry and related electronic structure for high temperature range. We grow epitaxial MoSe2 and WSe2 ultrathin films by using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We characterize stoichiometry of films grown at various growth temperature by using various methods, XPS, EDX, and TOF-MEIS. We further test high temperature stability of electronic structure for those films by utilizing in-situ ellipsometry attached to UHV chamber. We discuss threshold temperatures up to 700~1000oC, at which electronic phases changes from semiconductor to metal due to selenium deficiency. This information can be useful for potential application of TMDs for fabrication of Van der Waals multilayers and related devices. This research was supported by Nano.Material Technology Development Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. (2009-0082580), NRF-2014R1A1A1002868.

Improved interface growth and enhanced flux pinning in YBCO films deposited on an advanced IBAD-MgO based template

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, M. Z.; Zhao, Y.; Wu, X.; Malmivirta, M.; Huhtinen, H.; Paturi, P.

2018-02-01

The growth mechanism is studied from the flux pinning point of view in small-scale YBa2Cu3O6+x (YBCO) thin films deposited on a polycrystalline hastelloy with advanced IBAD-MgO based buffer layer architecture. When compared the situation with YBCO films grown on single crystal substrates, the most critical issues that affect the suitable defect formation and thus the optimal vortex pinning landscape, have been studied as a function of the growth temperature and the film thickness evolution. We can conclude that the best critical current property in a wide applied magnetic field range is observed in films grown at relatively low temperature and having intermediate thickness. These phenomena are linked to the combination of the improved interface growth, to the film thickness related crystalline relaxation and to the formation of linear array of edge dislocations that forms the low-angle grain boundaries through the entire film thickness and thus improve the vortex pinning properties. Hence, the optimized buffer layer structure proved to be particularly suitable for new coated conductor solutions.

Structural, chemical, and magnetic properties of Fe films grown on InAs(100)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruppel, L.; Witte, G.; Wöll, Ch.; Last, T.; Fischer, S. F.; Kunze, U.

2002-12-01

The structure of epitaxial Fe films grown on an InAs(100)-c(8×2)/(4×2) surface has been studied in situ by means of low-energy electron diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, while their magnetic properties were characterized ex situ by superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry at temperatures of 5 300 K. Deposition of iron at room temperature or below leads to the formation of a thin iron arsenide layer that floats on the Fe film upon further deposition. Postdeposition annealing causes no significant improvement of the film structure but activates a further arsenic diffusion through the Fe film. Significant exchange-bias effects were found at low temperatures for insufficiently capped and partially oxidized Fe films, and are attributed to noncollinear spin order at the Ag capping layer/Fe interface. For perfect, nonoxidized Fe films, such a noncollinear spin order at the Fe/InAs interface is excluded as no thermomagnetic irreversibilities were found. This indicates that the spin order at the Fe/InAs interface is suitable for spin injection.

A novel perovskite solar cell design using aligned TiO2 nano-bundles grown on a sputtered Ti layer and a benzothiadiazole-based, dopant-free hole-transporting material.

PubMed

Ameen, Sadia; Nazim, M; Akhtar, M Shaheer; Nazeeruddin, Mohammad Khaja; Shin, Hyung-Shik

2017-11-16

This work highlights the utilization of a novel hole-transporting material (HTM) derived from benzothiadiazole: 4-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-7-(5'-hexyl-[2,2'-bithiophen]-5-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (CF-BTz-ThR) and aligned TiO 2 nano-bundles (TiO 2 NBs) as the electron transporting layer (ETL) for perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The aligned TiO 2 NBs were grown on titanium (Ti)-coated FTO substrates using a facile hydrothermal method. The newly designed CF-BTz-ThR molecule with suitable highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) favored the effective hole injection from perovskite deposited aligned TiO 2 NBs thin film. The PSCs demonstrated a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of ∼15.4% with a short circuit current density (J sc ) of ∼22.42 mA cm -2 and an open circuit voltage (V oc ) of ∼1.02 V. The efficiency data show the importance of proper molecular engineering whilst highlighting the advantages of dopant-free HTMs in PSCs.

Effect of Embedded Pd Microstructures on the Flat-Band-Voltage Operation of Room Temperature ZnO-Based Liquid Petroleum Gas Sensors

PubMed Central

Ali, Ghusoon M.; Thompson, Cody V.; Jasim, Ali K.; Abdulbaqi, Isam M.; Moore, James C.

2013-01-01

Three methods were used to fabricate ZnO-based room temperature liquid petroleum gas (LPG) sensors having interdigitated metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) structures. Specifically, devices with Pd Schottky contacts were fabricated with: (1) un-doped ZnO active layers; (2) Pd-doped ZnO active layers; and (3) un-doped ZnO layers on top of Pd microstructure arrays. All ZnO films were grown on p-type Si(111) substrates by the sol-gel method. For devices incorporating a microstructure array, Pd islands were first grown on the substrate by thermal evaporation using a 100 μm mesh shadow mask. We have estimated the sensitivity of the sensors for applied voltage from –5 to 5 V in air ambient, as well as with exposure to LPG in concentrations from 500 to 3,500 ppm at room temperature (300 K). The current-voltage characteristics were studied and parameters such as leakage current, barrier height, reach-through voltage, and flat-band voltage were extracted. We include contributions due to the barrier height dependence on the electric field and tunneling through the barrier for the studied MSM devices. The Pd-enhanced devices demonstrated a maximum gas response at flat-band voltages. The study also revealed that active layers consisting of Pd microstructure embedded ZnO films resulted in devices exhibiting greater gas-response as compared to those using Pd-doped ZnO thin films or un-doped active layers.

Absence of morphotropic phase boundary effects in BiFeO3-PbTiO3 thin films grown via a chemical multilayer deposition method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Shashaank; Bhattacharjee, Shuvrajyoti; Pandey, Dhananjai; Bansal, Vipul; Bhargava, Suresh K.; Peng, Ju Lin; Garg, Ashish

2011-07-01

We report an unusual behavior observed in (BiFeO3)1- x -(PbTiO3) x (BF- xPT) thin films prepared using a multilayer chemical solution deposition method. Films of different compositions were grown by depositing several bilayers of BF and PT precursors of varying BF and PT layer thicknesses followed by heat treatment in air. X-ray diffraction showed that samples of all compositions show mixing of two compounds resulting in a single-phase mixture, also confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. In contrast to bulk compositions, samples show a monoclinic (MA-type) structure suggesting disappearance of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) at x=0.30 as observed in the bulk. This is accompanied by the lack of any enhancement of the remanent polarization at the MPB, as shown by the ferroelectric measurements. Magnetic measurements showed an increase in the magnetization of the samples with increasing BF content. Significant magnetization in the samples indicates melting of spin spirals in the BF- xPT films, arising from a random distribution of iron atoms. Absence of Fe2+ ions was corroborated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. The results illustrate that thin film processing methodology significantly changes the structural evolution, in contrast to predictions from the equilibrium phase diagram, besides modifying the functional characteristics of the BP- xPT system dramatically.

P-n junction diodes with polarization induced p-type graded InxGa1-xN layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Enatsu, Yuuki; Gupta, Chirag; Keller, Stacia; Nakamura, Shuji; Mishra, Umesh K.

2017-10-01

In this study, p-n junction diodes with polarization induced p-type layer are demonstrated on Ga polar (0001) bulk GaN substrates. A quasi-p-type region is obtained by linearly grading the indium composition in un-doped InxGa1-xN layers from 0% to 5%, taking advantage of the piezoelectric and spontaneous polarization fields which exist in group III-nitride heterostructures grown in the typical (0001) or c-direction. The un-doped graded InxGa1-xN layers needed to be capped with a thin Mg-doped InxGa1-xN layer to make good ohmic contacts and to reduce the on-resistance of the p-n diodes. The Pol-p-n junction diodes exhibited similar characteristics compared to reference samples with traditional p-GaN:Mg layers. A rise in breakdown voltage from 30 to 110 V was observed when the thickness of the graded InGaN layer was increased from 100 to 600 nm at the same grade composition.

Brilliant molecular nanocrystals emerging from sol-gel thin films: towards a new generation of fluorescent biochips.

PubMed

Dubuisson, E; Monnier, V; Sanz-Menez, N; Boury, B; Usson, Y; Pansu, R B; Ibanez, A

2009-08-05

To develop highly sensitive biosensors, we made directly available to biological aqueous solutions organic nanocrystals previously grown in the pores of sol-gel films. Through the controlled dissolution of the sol-gel surface, we obtained emerging nanocrystals that remained strongly anchored to the sol-gel coating for good mechanical stability of the final sensing device. We demonstrated that in the presence of a solution of DNA functionalized with a molecular probe, the nanocrystal fluorescence is strongly quenched by Förster resonance energy transfer thus opening the way towards very sensitive fluorescent biosensors through biomolecules grafted onto fluorescent nanocrystals. Finally, this controlled dissolution, involving weak concentrated NaOH solution, is a generic process that can be used for the thinning of any kind of sol-gel layer.

Determination of the band gap of indium-rich InGaN by means of photoacoustic spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliva, Robert; Zelewski, Szymon J.; Janicki, Łukasz; Gwóźdź, Katarzyna R.; Serafińczuk, Jarosław; Rudziński, Mariusz; Özbay, Ekmel; Kudrawiec, Robert

2018-03-01

Photoacoustic (PA) measurements have been performed on a series of In x Ga1-x N thin films grown with x > 50%. In order to illustrate the usefulness of this technique, these measurements have been compared with the results obtained by the following conventional techniques: photoluminescence, transmittance and contactless electroreflectance. Amongst all these techniques, only PA spectroscopy exhibited signal without the undesired Fabry-Perot interferences arising from the thin film and buffer layer. By accurately assessing the strain state and composition of our samples, we were able to study the compositional dependence of the band gap of our epilayers. Our results show that a bowing parameter of 1.43 eV successfully describes the compositional dependence of the band gap of InGaN.

Investigation of hexagonal boron nitride as an atomically thin corrosion passivation coating in aqueous solution.

PubMed

Zhang, Jing; Yang, Yingchao; Lou, Jun

2016-09-09

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) atomic layers were utilized as a passivation coating in this study. A large-area continuous h-BN thin film was grown on nickel foil using a chemical vapor deposition method and then transferred onto sputtered copper as a corrosion passivation coating. The corrosion passivation performance in a Na2SO4 solution of bare and coated copper was investigated by electrochemical methods including cyclic voltammetry (CV), Tafel polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). CV and Tafel analysis indicate that the h-BN coating could effectively suppress the anodic dissolution of copper. The EIS fitting result suggests that defects are the dominant leakage source on h-BN films, and improved anti-corrosion performances could be achieved by further passivating these defects.

Carbon nanotube-graphene composite film as transparent conductive electrode for GaN-based light-emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Chun Hong; Shen, Chao; M. Saheed, M. Shuaib; Mohamed, Norani Muti; Ng, Tien Khee; Ooi, Boon S.; Burhanudin, Zainal Arif

2016-08-01

Transparent conductive electrodes (TCE) made of carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphene composite for GaN-based light emitting diodes (LED) are presented. The TCE with 533-Ω/□ sheet resistance and 88% transmittance were obtained when chemical-vapor-deposition grown graphene was fused across CNT networks. With an additional 2-nm thin NiOx interlayer between the TCE and top p-GaN layer of the LED, the forward voltage was reduced to 5.12 V at 20-mA injection current. Four-fold improvement in terms of light output power was observed. The improvement can be ascribed to the enhanced lateral current spreading across the hybrid CNT-graphene TCE before injection into the p-GaN layer.

GaInAsP/InP lateral-current-injection distributed feedback laser with a-Si surface grating.

PubMed

Shindo, Takahiko; Okumura, Tadashi; Ito, Hitomi; Koguchi, Takayuki; Takahashi, Daisuke; Atsumi, Yuki; Kang, Joonhyun; Osabe, Ryo; Amemiya, Tomohiro; Nishiyama, Nobuhiko; Arai, Shigehisa

2011-01-31

We fabricated a novel lateral-current-injection-type distributed feedback (DFB) laser with amorphous-Si (a-Si) surface grating as a step to realize membrane lasers. This laser consists of a thin GaInAsP core layer grown on a semi-insulating InP substrate and a 30-nm-thick a-Si surface layer for DFB grating. Under a room-temperature continuous-wave condition, a low threshold current of 7.0 mA and high efficiency of 43% from the front facet were obtained for a 2.0-μm stripe width and 300-μm cavity length. A small-signal modulation bandwidth of 4.8 GHz was obtained at a bias current of 30 mA.

Layer-by-layer grown scalable redox-active ruthenium-based molecular multilayer thin films for electrochemical applications and beyond.

PubMed

Kaliginedi, Veerabhadrarao; Ozawa, Hiroaki; Kuzume, Akiyoshi; Maharajan, Sivarajakumar; Pobelov, Ilya V; Kwon, Nam Hee; Mohos, Miklos; Broekmann, Peter; Fromm, Katharina M; Haga, Masa-aki; Wandlowski, Thomas

2015-11-14

Here we report the first study on the electrochemical energy storage application of a surface-immobilized ruthenium complex multilayer thin film with anion storage capability. We employed a novel dinuclear ruthenium complex with tetrapodal anchoring groups to build well-ordered redox-active multilayer coatings on an indium tin oxide (ITO) surface using a layer-by-layer self-assembly process. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), UV-Visible (UV-Vis) and Raman spectroscopy showed a linear increase of peak current, absorbance and Raman intensities, respectively with the number of layers. These results indicate the formation of well-ordered multilayers of the ruthenium complex on ITO, which is further supported by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The thickness of the layers can be controlled with nanometer precision. In particular, the thickest layer studied (65 molecular layers and approx. 120 nm thick) demonstrated fast electrochemical oxidation/reduction, indicating a very low attenuation of the charge transfer within the multilayer. In situ-UV-Vis and resonance Raman spectroscopy results demonstrated the reversible electrochromic/redox behavior of the ruthenium complex multilayered films on ITO with respect to the electrode potential, which is an ideal prerequisite for e.g. smart electrochemical energy storage applications. Galvanostatic charge-discharge experiments demonstrated a pseudocapacitor behavior of the multilayer film with a good specific capacitance of 92.2 F g(-1) at a current density of 10 μA cm(-2) and an excellent cycling stability. As demonstrated in our prototypical experiments, the fine control of physicochemical properties at nanometer scale, relatively good stability of layers under ambient conditions makes the multilayer coatings of this type an excellent material for e.g. electrochemical energy storage, as interlayers in inverted bulk heterojunction solar cell applications and as functional components in molecular electronics applications.

High-energy asymmetric supercapacitors based on free-standing hierarchical Co-Mo-S nanosheets with enhanced cycling stability.

PubMed

Balamurugan, Jayaraman; Li, Chao; Peera, Shaik Gouse; Kim, Nam Hoon; Lee, Joong Hee

2017-09-21

Layered transition metal sulfides (TMS) are emerging as advanced materials for energy storage and conversion applications. In this work, we report a facile and cost-effective anion exchange technique to fabricate a layered, multifaceted, free standing, ultra-thin ternary cobalt molybdenum sulfide nanosheet (Co-Mo-S NS) architecture grown on a 3D porous Ni foam substrate. The unique Co-Mo layered double hydroxides are first synthesized as precursors and consequently transformed into ultra-thin Co-Mo-S NS. When employed as an electrode for supercapacitors, the Co-Mo-S NS delivered an ultra-high specific capacitance of 2343 F g -1 at a current density of 1 mA cm -2 with tremendous rate capability and extraordinary cycling performance (96.6% capacitance retention after 20 000 cycles). Furthermore, assembled Co-Mo-S/nitrogen doped graphene nanosheets (NGNS) in an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device delivered an excellent energy density of 89.6 Wh kg -1 , an amazing power density of 20.07 kW kg -1 , and superior cycling performance (86.8% capacitance retention after 50 000 cycles). Such exceptional electrochemical performance of Co-Mo-S NS is ascribed to the good electrical contact with the 3D Ni foam, ultra-high contact area with the electrolyte, and enhanced architectural softening during the charging/discharging process. It is expected that the fabricated, unique, ultra-thin Co-Mo-S NS have great potential for future energy storage devices.

SrZnO nanostructures grown on templated <0001> Al2O3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Labis, Joselito P.; Alanazi, Anwar Q.; Albrithen, Hamad A.; El-Toni, Ahmed Mohamed; Hezam, Mahmoud; Elafifi, Hussein Elsayed; Abaza, Osama M.

2017-09-01

The parameters of pulsed laser deposition (PLD) have been optimized to design different nanostructures of Strontium-alloyed zinc oxide (SrZnO). In this work, SrZnO nanostructures are grown on <0001>Al2O3 substrates via two-step templating/seeding approach. In the temperature range between 300 - 750 oC and O2 background pressures between 0.01 and 10 Torr, the growth conditions have been tailored to grow unique pointed leaf-like- and pitted olive-like nanostructures. Prior to the growth of the nanostructures, a thin SrZnO layer that serves as seed layer/template is first deposited on the Al2O3 substrates at ˜300oC and background oxygen pressure of 10 mTorr. The optical properties of the nanostructures were examined by UV/Vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL), while the structures/morphologies were examined by SEM, TEM, and XRD. The alloyed SrZnO nanostructures, grown by ablating ZnO targets with 5, 10, 25% SrO contents, have in common a single-crystal hexagonal nanostructure with (0002) preferential orientation and have shown remarkable changes in the morphological and optical properties of the materials. To date, this is the only reported work on optimization of laser ablation parameters to design novel SrZnO nanostructures in the 5-25% alloying range, as most related Sr-doped ZnO studies were done below 7% doping. Although the physical properties of ZnO are modified via Sr doping, the mechanism remains unclear. The PLD-grown SrZnO nanostructures were directly grown onto the Al2O3 substrates; thus making these nanomaterials very promising for potential applications in biosensors, love-wave filters, solar cells, and ultrasonic oscillators.

Biotransformation and toxicity of aniline and aniline derivatives of cyanobacteria.

PubMed

Cerniglia, C E; Freeman, J P; Van Baalen, C

1981-12-01

Agmenellum quadruplicatum strain PR-6 and Oscillatoria sp. strain JCM grown photoautotrophically in the presence of aniline metabolized the aromatic amine to formanilide, acetanilide and p-aminophenol. The metabolites were isolated by either thin-layer, gas-liquid or high pressure liquid chromatography and identified by comparison of their chromatographic, ultraviolet absorbance and mass spectral properties with those of authentic compounds. The toxicity of aniline derivatives towards Agmenellum quadruplicatum strain PR-6 indicated that the cyanobacterium was extremely sensitive to o-, m- and p-aminophenols, and phenylhydroxylamine.

GaN growth via HVPE on SiC/Si substrates: growth mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharofidinov, Sh Sh; Redkov, A. V.; Osipov, A. V.; Kukushkin, S. A.

2017-11-01

The article focuses on the study of GaN thin film growth via chloride epitaxy on SiC/Si hybrid substrate. SiC buffer layer was grown by a method of substitution of atoms, which allows one to reduce impact of mechanical stress therein on subsequent growth of III-nitride films. It is shown, that change in GaN growth conditions leads to change in its growth mechanism. Three mechanisms: epitaxial, spiral and stepwise growth are considered and mechanical stresses are estimated via Raman spectroscopy.

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

He Liang; Xiu Faxian; Huang Guan

In this paper, we report the epitaxial growth of Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} thin films on Si (111) substrate, using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We show that the as-grown samples have good crystalline quality, and their surfaces exhibit terracelike quintuple layers. Angel-resolved photoemission experiments demonstrate single-Dirac-conelike surface states. These results combined with the temperature- and thickness-dependent magneto-transport measurements, suggest the presence of a shallow impurity band. Below a critical temperature of {approx}100K, the surface states of a 7 nm thick film contribute up to 50% of the total conduction.

Metal-Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxial Reactor for the Deposition of Infrared Detector Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-09

out during 2013. A set of growth experiments to deposit CdTe and ZnTe thin films on GaAs and Si substrates was carried out to test the system...After several dummy runs, a few growth runs to deposit CdTe and ZnTe, both doped and undoped, were grown on 3-inch diameter Si substrates or part of...to deposit CdTe and ZnTe on Si and GaAs substrates for use in this project. Some layers have been processed to make solar cells. Project 3

Transport characteristics in Au/pentacene/Au diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayashi, Toshiaki; Naka, Akiyoshi; Hiroki, Masanobu; Yokota, Tomoyuki; Someya, Takao; Fujiwara, Akira

2018-03-01

We have used scanning and transmission electron microscopes (SEM and TEM) to study the structure of a pentacene thin film grown on a Au layer with and shown that it consists of randomly oriented amorphous pentacene clusters. We have also investigated the transport properties of amorphous pentacene in a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) diode structure and shown that the current is logarithmically proportional to the square root of the applied voltage, which indicates that transport occurs as the result of hopping between localized sites randomly distributed in space and energy.

Plasma impact on structural, morphological and optical properties of copper acetylacetonate thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdel-Khalek, H.; El-Samahi, M. I.; El-Mahalawy, Ahmed M.

2018-06-01

The influence of plasma exposure on structural, morphological and optical properties of copper (II) acetylacetonate thin films deposited by thermal evaporation technique was investigated. Copper (II) acetylacetonate as-grown thin films were exposed to the atmospheric plasma for different times. The exposure of as-grown cu(acac)2 thin film to atmospheric plasma for 5 min modified its structural, morphological and optical properties. The effect of plasma exposure on structure and roughness of cu(acac)2 thin films was evaluated by XRD and AFM techniques, respectively. The XRD results showed an increment in crystallinity due to exposure for 5 min, but, when the exposure time reaches 10 min, the film was transformed to an amorphous state. The AFM results revealed a strong modification of films roughness when the average roughness decreased from 63.35 nm to 1 nm as a result of interaction with plasma. The optical properties of as-grown and plasma exposured cu(acac)2 thin films were studied using spectrophotometric method. The exposure of cu(acac)2 thin films to plasma produced the indirect energy gap decrease from 3.20 eV to 2.67 eV for 10 min exposure time. The dispersion parameters were evaluated in terms of single oscillator model for as-grown and plasma exposured thin films. The influence of plasma exposure on third order optical susceptibility was studied.