Non-covalent doping of graphitic carbon nitride with ultrathin graphene oxide and molybdenum disulfide nanosheets: an effective binary heterojunction photocatalyst under visible light irradiation.

PubMed

Hu, S W; Yang, L W; Tian, Y; Wei, X L; Ding, J W; Zhong, J X; Chu, Paul K

2014-10-01

A proof of concept integrating binary p-n heterojunctions into a semiconductor hybrid photocatalyst is demonstrated by non-covalent doping of graphite-like carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with ultrathin GO and MoS2 nanosheets using a facile sonochemical method. In this unique ternary hybrid, the layered MoS2 and GO nanosheets with a large surface area enhance light absorption to generate more photoelectrons. On account of the coupling between MoS2 and GO with g-C3N4, the ternary hybrid possesses binary p-n heterojunctions at the g-C3N4/MoS2 and g-C3N4/GO interfaces. The space charge layers created by the p-n heterojunctions not only enhance photogeneration, but also promote charge separation and transfer of electron-hole pairs. In addition, the ultrathin MoS2 and GO with high mobility act as electron mediators to facilitate separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs at each p-n heterojunction. As a result, the ternary hybrid photocatalyst exhibits improved photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation compared to other reference materials. The results provide new insights into the large-scale production of semiconductor photocatalysts. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Doped Si nanoparticles with conformal carbon coating and cyclized-polyacrylonitrile network as high-capacity and high-rate lithium-ion battery anodes.

PubMed

Xie, Ming; Piper, Daniela Molina; Tian, Miao; Clancey, Joel; George, Steven M; Lee, Se-Hee; Zhou, Yun

2015-09-11

Doped Si nanoparticles (SiNPs) with conformal carbon coating and cyclized-polyacrylonitrile (PAN) network displayed capacities of 3500 and 3000 mAh g(-1) at C/20 and C/10, respectively. At 1 C, the electrode preserves a specific discharge capacity of ∼1500 mAh g(-1) for at least 60 cycles without decay. Al2O3 atomic layer deposition (ALD) helps improve the initial Coulombic efficiency (CE) to 85%. The dual coating of conformal carbon and cyclized-PAN help alleviate volume change and facilitate charge transfer. Ultra-thin Al2O3 ALD layers help form a stable solid electrolyte interphase interface.

Freestanding palladium nanosheets with plasmonic and catalytic properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Xiaoqing; Tang, Shaoheng; Mu, Xiaoliang; Dai, Yan; Chen, Guangxu; Zhou, Zhiyou; Ruan, Fangxiong; Yang, Zhilin; Zheng, Nanfeng

2011-01-01

Ultrathin metal films can exhibit quantum size and surface effects that give rise to unique physical and chemical properties. Metal films containing just a few layers of atoms can be fabricated on substrates using deposition techniques, but the production of freestanding ultrathin structures remains a significant challenge. Here we report the facile synthesis of freestanding hexagonal palladium nanosheets that are less than 10 atomic layers thick, using carbon monoxide as a surface confining agent. The as-prepared nanosheets are blue in colour and exhibit a well-defined but tunable surface plasmon resonance peak in the near-infrared region. The combination of photothermal stability and biocompatibility makes palladium nanosheets promising candidates for photothermal therapy. The nanosheets also exhibit electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of formic acid that is 2.5 times greater than that of commercial palladium black catalyst.

Ultrathin Carbon with Interspersed Graphene/Fullerene-like Nanostructures: A Durable Protective Overcoat for High Density Magnetic Storage.

PubMed

Dwivedi, Neeraj; Satyanarayana, Nalam; Yeo, Reuben J; Xu, Hai; Ping Loh, Kian; Tripathy, Sudhiranjan; Bhatia, Charanjit S

2015-06-25

One of the key issues for future hard disk drive technology is to design and develop ultrathin (<2 nm) overcoats with excellent wear- and corrosion protection and high thermal stability. Forming carbon overcoats (COCs) having interspersed nanostructures by the filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) process can be an effective approach to achieve the desired target. In this work, by employing a novel bi-level surface modification approach using FCVA, the formation of a high sp(3) bonded ultrathin (~1.7 nm) amorphous carbon overcoat with interspersed graphene/fullerene-like nanostructures, grown on magnetic hard disk media, is reported. The in-depth spectroscopic and microscopic analyses by high resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, and Raman spectroscopy support the observed findings. Despite a reduction of ~37% in COC thickness, the FCVA-processed thinner COC (~1.7 nm) shows promising functional performance in terms of lower coefficient of friction (~0.25), higher wear resistance, lower surface energy, excellent hydrophobicity and similar/better oxidation corrosion resistance than current commercial COCs of thickness ~2.7 nm. The surface and tribological properties of FCVA-deposited COC was further improved after deposition of lubricant layer.

Ultrathin Carbon with Interspersed Graphene/Fullerene-like Nanostructures: A Durable Protective Overcoat for High Density Magnetic Storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dwivedi, Neeraj; Satyanarayana, Nalam; Yeo, Reuben J.; Xu, Hai; Ping Loh, Kian; Tripathy, Sudhiranjan; Bhatia, Charanjit S.

2015-06-01

One of the key issues for future hard disk drive technology is to design and develop ultrathin (<2 nm) overcoats with excellent wear- and corrosion protection and high thermal stability. Forming carbon overcoats (COCs) having interspersed nanostructures by the filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) process can be an effective approach to achieve the desired target. In this work, by employing a novel bi-level surface modification approach using FCVA, the formation of a high sp3 bonded ultrathin (~1.7 nm) amorphous carbon overcoat with interspersed graphene/fullerene-like nanostructures, grown on magnetic hard disk media, is reported. The in-depth spectroscopic and microscopic analyses by high resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, and Raman spectroscopy support the observed findings. Despite a reduction of ~37 % in COC thickness, the FCVA-processed thinner COC (~1.7 nm) shows promising functional performance in terms of lower coefficient of friction (~0.25), higher wear resistance, lower surface energy, excellent hydrophobicity and similar/better oxidation corrosion resistance than current commercial COCs of thickness ~2.7 nm. The surface and tribological properties of FCVA-deposited COC was further improved after deposition of lubricant layer.

Ultrathin Carbon with Interspersed Graphene/Fullerene-like Nanostructures: A Durable Protective Overcoat for High Density Magnetic Storage

PubMed Central

Dwivedi, Neeraj; Satyanarayana, Nalam; Yeo, Reuben J.; Xu, Hai; Ping Loh, Kian; Tripathy, Sudhiranjan; Bhatia, Charanjit S.

2015-01-01

One of the key issues for future hard disk drive technology is to design and develop ultrathin (<2 nm) overcoats with excellent wear- and corrosion protection and high thermal stability. Forming carbon overcoats (COCs) having interspersed nanostructures by the filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) process can be an effective approach to achieve the desired target. In this work, by employing a novel bi-level surface modification approach using FCVA, the formation of a high sp3 bonded ultrathin (~1.7 nm) amorphous carbon overcoat with interspersed graphene/fullerene-like nanostructures, grown on magnetic hard disk media, is reported. The in-depth spectroscopic and microscopic analyses by high resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, and Raman spectroscopy support the observed findings. Despite a reduction of ~37 % in COC thickness, the FCVA-processed thinner COC (~1.7 nm) shows promising functional performance in terms of lower coefficient of friction (~0.25), higher wear resistance, lower surface energy, excellent hydrophobicity and similar/better oxidation corrosion resistance than current commercial COCs of thickness ~2.7 nm. The surface and tribological properties of FCVA-deposited COC was further improved after deposition of lubricant layer. PMID:26109208

Curie temperature of ultrathin ferromagnetic layer with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction

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

You, Chun-Yeol

2014-08-07

We investigate the effect of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) on the Curie temperature of the ultrathin ferromagnetic layers. It has been known that the Curie temperature of the ferromagnet depends on spin wave excitation energies, and they are affected by DMI. Therefore, the ferromagnetic transition temperature of the ultrathin ferromagnetic layer must be sensitive on the DMI. We find that the Curie temperature depends on the DMI by using the double time Green's function method. Since the DMI is arisen by the inversion symmetry breaking structure, the DMI is always important in the inversion symmetry breaking ultrathin ferromagnetic layers.

Ultrathin nondoped emissive layers for efficient and simple monochrome and white organic light-emitting diodes.

PubMed

Zhao, Yongbiao; Chen, Jiangshan; Ma, Dongge

2013-02-01

In this paper, highly efficient and simple monochrome blue, green, orange, and red organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on ultrathin nondoped emissive layers (EMLs) have been reported. The ultrathin nondoped EML was constructed by introducing a 0.1 nm thin layer of pure phosphorescent dyes between a hole transporting layer and an electron transporting layer. The maximum external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) reached 17.1%, 20.9%, 17.3%, and 19.2% for blue, green, orange, and red monochrome OLEDs, respectively, indicating the universality of the ultrathin nondoped EML for most phosphorescent dyes. On the basis of this, simple white OLED structures are also demonstrated. The demonstrated complementary blue/orange, three primary blue/green/red, and four color blue/green/orange/red white OLEDs show high efficiency and good white emission, indicating the advantage of ultrathin nondoped EMLs on constructing simple and efficient white OLEDs.

Highly stretchable and ultrathin nanopaper composites for epidermal strain sensors.

PubMed

Sun, Jingyao; Zhao, Yanan; Yang, Zhaogang; Shen, Jingjing; Cabrera, Eusebio; Lertola, Matthew J; Yang, Willie; Zhang, Dan; Benatar, Avi; Castro, Jose M; Wu, Daming; Lee, L James

2018-08-31

Multifunctional electronics are attracting great interest with the increasing demand and fast development of wearable electronic devices. Here, we describe an epidermal strain sensor based on an all-carbon conductive network made from multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) impregnated with poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) matrix through a vacuum filtration process. An ultrasonication treatment was performed to complete the penetration of PDMS resin in seconds. The entangled and overlapped MWCNT network largely enhances the electrical conductivity (1430 S m -1 ), uniformity (remaining stable on different layers), reliable sensing range (up to 80% strain), and cyclic stability of the strain sensor. The homogeneous dispersion of MWCNTs within the PDMS matrix leads to a strong interaction between the two phases and greatly improves the mechanical stability (ca. 160% strain at fracture). The flexible, reversible and ultrathin (<100 μm) film can be directly attached on human skin as epidermal strain sensors for high accuracy and real-time human motion detection.

Ultra-thin carbon-fiber paper fabrication and carbon-fiber distribution homogeneity evaluation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, L. F.; Chen, D. Y.; Wang, Q.; Li, H.; Zhao, Z. G.

2018-01-01

A preparation technology of ultra-thin Carbon-fiber paper is reported. Carbon fiber distribution homogeneity has a great influence on the properties of ultra-thin Carbon-fiber paper. In this paper, a self-developed homogeneity analysis system is introduced to assist users to evaluate the distribution homogeneity of Carbon fiber among two or more two-value images of carbon-fiber paper. A relative-uniformity factor W/H is introduced. The experimental results show that the smaller the W/H factor, the higher uniformity of the distribution of Carbon fiber is. The new uniformity-evaluation method provides a practical and reliable tool for analyzing homogeneity of materials.

Pd-Pt and Fe-Ni nanoparticles formed by covalent molecular assembly in supercritical carbon dioxide.

PubMed

Puniredd, Sreenivasa Reddy; Weiyi, Seah; Srinivasan, M P

2008-04-01

We report the formation of Pd-Pt nanoparticles within a dendrimer-laden ultrathin film matrix immobilized on a solid support and constructed by covalent layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly using supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2) as the processing medium. Particle size distribution and composition were controlled by precursor composition. The precursor compositions are optimized for Pd-Pt nanoparticles and later extended to the formation of Fe-Ni nanoparticles. As an example of the application of nanoparticles in tribology, Fe-Ni nanoparticle-laden films were observed to exhibit better tribological properties than those containing the monometallic species, thereby suggesting that combination of nanoparticles can be used to derive greater benefits.

Ultrathin Graphene Membranes as Flexible Electrodes for Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talapatra, Saikat; Kar, Swastik; Shah, Rakesh; Ghosh, Sujoy; An, Xiaohong; Simmons, Trevor; Washington, Morris; Nayak, Saroj

2010-03-01

We will present the results of our investigations of electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) or supercapacitors (SC) fabricated using graphene based ultra thin membranes. These EDLC's show far superior performance compared to other carbon nanomaterials based EDLC's devices. We found that the graphene based devices possess specific capacitance values as high as 120 F/g, with impressive power densities (˜105 kW/kg) and energy densities (˜9.2 Wh/kg). Further, these devices indicated rapid charge transfer response even without the use of any binders or specially prepared current collectors. Our ultracapacitors reflect a significant improvement over previously reported graphene-based ultracapacitors and are substantially better than those obtained with carbon nanotubes.

Synthesis of metal free ultrathin graphitic carbon nitride sheet for photocatalytic dye degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, Shakeelur; Momin, Bilal; Higgins M., W.; Annapure, Uday S.; Jha, Neetu

2018-04-01

In recent times, low cost and metal free photocatalyts driven under visible light have attracted a lot of interest. One such photo catalyst researched extensively is bulk graphitic carbon nitride sheets. But the low surface area and weak mobility of photo generated electrons limits its photocatalytic performance in the visible light spectrum. Here we present the facile synthesis of ultrathin graphitic carbon nitride using a cost effective melamine precursor and its application in highly efficient photocatalytic dye degradation of Rhodamine B molecules. Compared to bulk graphitic carbon nitride, the synthesized ultrathin graphitic carbon nitride shows an increase in surface area, a a decrease in optical band gap and effective photogenerated charge separation which facilitates the harvest of visible light irradiation. Due to these optimal properties of ultrathin graphitic carbon nitride, it shows excellent photocatalytic activity with photocatalytic degradation of about 95% rhodamine B molecules in 1 hour.

Comparison of dye doping and ultrathin emissive layer in white organic light-emitting devices with dual emissive layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xu; Qi, Yige; Yu, Junsheng

2014-09-01

White organic light-emitting devices (WOLEDs) with combined doping emissive layer (EML) and ultrathin EML have been fabricated to investigate the effect of each EML on the electroluminescent (EL) performance of the WOLEDs. Through tailoring doping concentration of bis[(4,6-difluorophenyl)-pyridinato-N,C2'](picolinate) iridium(III) (FIrpic) and thickness of ultrathin bis[2-(4-tertbutylphenyl)benzothiazolato-N,C2'] iridium (acetylacetonate) [(tbt)2Ir(acac)] EML, it is found that the change in the doping ratio of FIrpic significantly influenced the EL efficiencies and spectra, while the alteration of ultrathin EML thickness had much milder effect on the EL performance. The results indicated that ultrathin EML is in favor of reproducibility in mass production compared with doping method.

Surface passivation investigation on ultra-thin atomic layer deposited aluminum oxide layers for their potential application to form tunnel layer passivated contacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xin, Zheng; Ling, Zhi Peng; Nandakumar, Naomi; Kaur, Gurleen; Ke, Cangming; Liao, Baochen; Aberle, Armin G.; Stangl, Rolf

2017-08-01

The surface passivation performance of atomic layer deposited ultra-thin aluminium oxide layers with different thickness in the tunnel layer regime, i.e., ranging from one atomic cycle (∼0.13 nm) to 11 atomic cycles (∼1.5 nm) on n-type silicon wafers is studied. The effect of thickness and thermal activation on passivation performance is investigated with corona-voltage metrology to measure the interface defect density D it(E) and the total interface charge Q tot. Furthermore, the bonding configuration variation of the AlO x films under various post-deposition thermal activation conditions is analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Additionally, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrene sulfonate) is used as capping layer on ultra-thin AlO x tunneling layers to further reduce the surface recombination current density to values as low as 42 fA/cm2. This work is a useful reference for using ultra-thin ALD AlO x layers as tunnel layers in order to form hole selective passivated contacts for silicon solar cells.

Highly stable, protein resistant thin films on SiC-modified silicon substrates.

PubMed

Qin, Guoting; Zhang, Rui; Makarenko, Boris; Kumar, Amit; Rabalais, Wayne; López Romero, J Manuel; Rico, Rodrigo; Cai, Chengzhi

2010-05-21

Thin films terminated with oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) could be photochemically grafted onto ultrathin silicon carbide layers that were generated on silicon substrates via carbonization with acetylene at 820 degrees C. The OEG coating reduced the non-specific adsorption of fibrinogen on the substrates by 99.5% and remained resistant after storage in PBS for 4 weeks at 37 degrees C.

Ultrathin Hydrophobic Coatings Obtained on Polyethylene Terephthalate Materials in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide with Co-Solvents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumeeva, T. Yu.; Prorokova, N. P.

2018-02-01

The surface properties of ultradisperse polytetrafluoroethylene coatings on polyethylene terephthalate materials modified in a supercritical carbon dioxide medium with co-solvent additions (aliphatic alcohols) were analyzed. An atomic force microscopy study revealed the peculiarities of the morphology of the hydrophobic coatings formed in the presence of co-solvents. The contribution of the co-solvents to the formation of the surface layer with a low surface energy was evaluated from the surface energy components of the modified polyester material. The stability of the coatings against dry friction was analyzed.

Influence of C or In buffer layer on photoluminescence behaviour of ultrathin ZnO film

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

Saravanan, K., E-mail: saravanan@igcar.gov.in; Jayalakshmi, G.; Krishnan, R.

We study the effect of the indium or carbon buffer layer on the photoluminescence (PL) property of ZnO ultrathin films deposited on a Si(100) substrate. The surface morphology of the films obtained using scanning tunnelling microscopy shows spherical shaped ZnO nanoparticles of size ∼8 nm in ZnO/C/Si and ∼22 nm in ZnO/Si samples, while the ZnO/In/Si sample shows elliptical shaped ZnO particles. Further, the ZnO/C/Si sample shows densely packed ZnO nanoparticles in comparison with other samples. Strong band edge emission has been observed in the presence of In or C buffer layer, whereas the ZnO/Si sample exhibits poor PL emission. The influencemore » of C and In buffer layers on the PL behaviour of ZnO films is studied in detail using temperature dependent PL measurements in the range of 4 K–300 K. The ZnO/C/Si sample exhibits a multi-fold enhancement in the PL emission intensity with well-resolved free and bound exciton emission lines. Our experimental results imply that the ZnO films deposited on the C buffer layer showed higher particle density and better exciton emission desired for optoelectronic applications.« less

Electron transport in ultra-thin films and ballistic electron emission microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Claveau, Y.; Di Matteo, S.; de Andres, P. L.; Flores, F.

2017-03-01

We have developed a calculation scheme for the elastic electron current in ultra-thin epitaxial heterostructures. Our model uses a Keldysh’s non-equilibrium Green’s function formalism and a layer-by-layer construction of the epitaxial film. Such an approach is appropriate to describe the current in a ballistic electron emission microscope (BEEM) where the metal base layer is ultra-thin and generalizes a previous one based on a decimation technique appropriated for thick slabs. This formalism allows a full quantum mechanical description of the transmission across the epitaxial heterostructure interface, including multiple scattering via the Dyson equation, which is deemed a crucial ingredient to describe interfaces of ultra-thin layers properly in the future. We introduce a theoretical formulation needed for ultra-thin layers and we compare with results obtained for thick Au(1 1 1) metal layers. An interesting effect takes place for a width of about ten layers: a BEEM current can propagate via the center of the reciprocal space (\\overlineΓ ) along the Au(1 1 1) direction. We associate this current to a coherent interference finite-width effect that cannot be found using a decimation technique. Finally, we have tested the validity of the handy semiclassical formalism to describe the BEEM current.

Probing photoresponse of aligned single-walled carbon nanotube doped ultrathin MoS2.

PubMed

Wang, Rui; Wang, Tianjiao; Hong, Tu; Xu, Ya-Qiong

2018-08-24

We report a facile method to produce ultrathin molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) hybrids with polarized near-infrared (NIR) photoresponses, in which horizontally-aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are integrated with single- and few-layer MoS 2 through a two-step chemical vapor deposition process. The photocurrent generation mechanisms in SWNT-MoS 2 hybrids are systematically investigated through wavelength- and polarization-dependent scanning photocurrent measurements. When the incident photon energy is above the direct bandgap of MoS 2 , isotropic photocurrent signals are observed, which can be primarily attributed to the direct bandgap transition in MoS 2 . In contrast, if the incident photon energy in the NIR region is below the direct bandgap of MoS 2 , the maximum photocurrent response occurs when the incident light is polarized in the direction along the SWNTs, indicating that photocurrent signals mainly result from the anisotropic absorption of SWNTs. More importantly, these two-dimensional (2D) hybrid structures inherit the electrical transport properties from MoS 2 , displaying n-type characteristics at a zero gate voltage. These fundamental studies provide a new way to produce ultrathin MoS 2 hybrids with inherited electrical properties and polarized NIR photoresponses, opening doors for engineering various 2D hybrid materials for future broadband optoelectronic applications.

Atomic and Molecular Layer Deposition for Enhanced Lithium Ion Battery Electrodes and Development of Conductive Metal Oxide/Carbon Composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Travis, Jonathan

The performance and safety of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are dependent on interfacial processes at the positive and negative electrodes. For example, the surface layers that form on cathodes and anodes are known to affect the kinetics and capacity of LIBs. Interfacial reactions between the electrolyte and the electrodes are also known to initiate electrolyte combustion during thermal runaway events that compromise battery safety. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) and molecular layer deposition (MLD) are thin film deposition techniques based on sequential, self-limiting surface reactions. ALD and MLD can deposit ultrathin and conformal films on high aspect ratio and porous substrates such as composite particulate electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. The effects of electrode surface modification via ALD and MLD are studied using a variety of techniques. It was found that sub-nm thick coatings of Al2O 3 deposited via ALD have beneficial effects on the stability of LIB anodes and cathodes. These same Al2O3 ALD films were found to improve the safety of graphite based anodes through prevention of exothermic solid electrolyte interface (SEI) degradation at elevated temperatures. Ultrathin and conformal metal alkoxide polymer films known as "metalcones" were grown utilizing MLD techniques with trimethylaluminum (TMA) or titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) and organic diols or triols, such as ethylene glycol (EG), glycerol (GL) or hydroquinone (HQ), as the reactants. Pyrolysis of these metalcone films under inert gas conditions led to the development of conductive metal oxide/carbon composites. The composites were found to contain sp2 carbon using micro-Raman spectroscopy in the pyrolyzed films with pyrolysis temperatures ≥ 600°C. Four point probe measurements demonstrated that the graphitic sp2 carbon domains in the metalcone films grown using GL and HQ led to significant conductivity. The pyrolysis of conformal MLD films to obtain conductive metal oxide/carbon composite films is presented as a method for enabling non-conductive, but possibly electrochemically active materials, to be used for electrochemical applications.

Effect of target composition on proton acceleration in ultraintense laser-thin foil interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Qingcao; Liu, Meng; Yu, Tongpu; Ding, Pengji; Liu, Zuoye; Sun, Shaohua; Liu, Xiaoliang; Lu, Xing; Guo, Zeqin; Hu, Bitao

2012-09-01

The interactions of ultraintense circularly polarized laser pulses with a mixed solid target and a double-layer target are studied by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. Different carbon and proton compositions in the targets are used in the simulations. It is shown that the proton acceleration mechanisms in both targets are very sensitive to the ion density ratios between protons and carbon ions. For a mixed solid target, a relatively low proton density gives rise to monoenergetic peaks in the proton energy spectrum while a high proton density leads to a large cut-off energy and wide energy spread. With the increase of the ratio, the so-called directed-Coulomb-explosion becomes dominated over the radiation pressure. Surprisingly, for a double-layer target with a front proton layer and an ultrathin rear carbon layer, a highly monoenergetic proton beam with a peak energy of 1.7 GeV/u, an energy spread of ˜4%, and a divergency angle of 2° can be obtained, which might have diverse applications in medical therepy and proton imaging in future.

Biomass-Derived Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanofiber Network: A Facile Template for Decoration of Ultrathin Nickel-Cobalt Layered Double Hydroxide Nanosheets as High-Performance Asymmetric Supercapacitor Electrode.

PubMed

Lai, Feili; Miao, Yue-E; Zuo, Lizeng; Lu, Hengyi; Huang, Yunpeng; Liu, Tianxi

2016-06-01

The development of biomass-based energy storage devices is an emerging trend to reduce the ever-increasing consumption of non-renewable resources. Here, nitrogen-doped carbonized bacterial cellulose (CBC-N) nanofibers are obtained by one-step carbonization of polyaniline coated bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofibers, which not only display excellent capacitive performance as the supercapacitor electrode, but also act as 3D bio-template for further deposition of ultrathin nickel-cobalt layered double hydroxide (Ni-Co LDH) nanosheets. The as-obtained CBC-N@LDH composite electrodes exhibit significantly enhanced specific capacitance (1949.5 F g(-1) at a discharge current density of 1 A g(-1) , based on active materials), high capacitance retention of 54.7% even at a high discharge current density of 10 A g(-1) and excellent cycling stability of 74.4% retention after 5000 cycles. Furthermore, asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) are constructed using CBC-N@LDH composites as positive electrode materials and CBC-N nanofibers as negative electrode materials. By virtue of the intrinsic pseudocapacitive characteristics of CBC-N@LDH composites and 3D nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber networks, the developed ASC exhibits high energy density of 36.3 Wh kg(-1) at the power density of 800.2 W kg(-1) . Therefore, this work presents a novel protocol for the large-scale production of biomass-derived high-performance electrode materials in practical supercapacitor applications. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Logic circuits composed of flexible carbon nanotube thin-film transistor and ultra-thin polymer gate dielectric

PubMed Central

Lee, Dongil; Yoon, Jinsu; Lee, Juhee; Lee, Byung-Hyun; Seol, Myeong-Lok; Bae, Hagyoul; Jeon, Seung-Bae; Seong, Hyejeong; Im, Sung Gap; Choi, Sung-Jin; Choi, Yang-Kyu

2016-01-01

Printing electronics has become increasingly prominent in the field of electronic engineering because this method is highly efficient at producing flexible, low-cost and large-scale thin-film transistors. However, TFTs are typically constructed with rigid insulating layers consisting of oxides and nitrides that are brittle and require high processing temperatures, which can cause a number of problems when used in printed flexible TFTs. In this study, we address these issues and demonstrate a method of producing inkjet-printed TFTs that include an ultra-thin polymeric dielectric layer produced by initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) at room temperature and highly purified 99.9% semiconducting carbon nanotubes. Our integrated approach enables the production of flexible logic circuits consisting of CNT-TFTs on a polyethersulfone (PES) substrate that have a high mobility (up to 9.76 cm2 V−1 sec−1), a low operating voltage (less than 4 V), a high current on/off ratio (3 × 104), and a total device yield of 90%. Thus, it should be emphasized that this study delineates a guideline for the feasibility of producing flexible CNT-TFT logic circuits with high performance based on a low-cost and simple fabrication process. PMID:27184121

Logic circuits composed of flexible carbon nanotube thin-film transistor and ultra-thin polymer gate dielectric

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Dongil; Yoon, Jinsu; Lee, Juhee; Lee, Byung-Hyun; Seol, Myeong-Lok; Bae, Hagyoul; Jeon, Seung-Bae; Seong, Hyejeong; Im, Sung Gap; Choi, Sung-Jin; Choi, Yang-Kyu

2016-05-01

Printing electronics has become increasingly prominent in the field of electronic engineering because this method is highly efficient at producing flexible, low-cost and large-scale thin-film transistors. However, TFTs are typically constructed with rigid insulating layers consisting of oxides and nitrides that are brittle and require high processing temperatures, which can cause a number of problems when used in printed flexible TFTs. In this study, we address these issues and demonstrate a method of producing inkjet-printed TFTs that include an ultra-thin polymeric dielectric layer produced by initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) at room temperature and highly purified 99.9% semiconducting carbon nanotubes. Our integrated approach enables the production of flexible logic circuits consisting of CNT-TFTs on a polyethersulfone (PES) substrate that have a high mobility (up to 9.76 cm2 V-1 sec-1), a low operating voltage (less than 4 V), a high current on/off ratio (3 × 104), and a total device yield of 90%. Thus, it should be emphasized that this study delineates a guideline for the feasibility of producing flexible CNT-TFT logic circuits with high performance based on a low-cost and simple fabrication process.

Layered manganese oxides-decorated and nickel foam-supported carbon nanotubes as advanced binder-free supercapacitor electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Ming; Mi, Rui; Liu, Hao; Li, Fei; Zhao, Xiao Li; Zhang, Wei; He, Shi Xuan; Zhang, Yu Xin

2014-12-01

Three-dimensional carbon nanotubes@MnO2 core-shell nanostructures grown on Ni foam for binder-free capacitor electrodes have been fabricated by a floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition process and a facile hydrothermal approach. Ultrathin layered MnO2 nanosheets are uniformly coated on the surface of the carbon nanotubes (CNTs), directly grown on Ni foam. This unique well-designed binder-free electrode exhibits a high specific capacitance (325.5 F g-1 at a current density of 0.3 A g-1), good rate capability (70.7% retention), and excellent cycling stability (90.5% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles), due to the high conductivity of the close contact between CNTs and Ni foam, as well as the moderate specific surface area of the CNTs@MnO2 core-shell nanostructures. The developed synthetic strategy may provide design guidelines for constructing advanced binder-free supercapacitors electrode.

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

Enhancement of absorption and color contrast in ultra-thin highly absorbing optical coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kats, Mikhail A.; Byrnes, Steven J.; Blanchard, Romain; Kolle, Mathias; Genevet, Patrice; Aizenberg, Joanna; Capasso, Federico

2013-09-01

Recently a new class of optical interference coatings was introduced which comprises ultra-thin, highly absorbing dielectric layers on metal substrates. We show that these lossy coatings can be augmented by an additional transparent subwavelength layer. We fabricated a sample comprising a gold substrate, an ultra-thin film of germanium with a thickness gradient, and several alumina films. The experimental reflectivity spectra showed that the additional alumina layer increases the color range that can be obtained, in agreement with calculations. More generally, this transparent layer can be used to enhance optical absorption, protect against erosion, or as a transparent electrode for optoelectronic devices.

Fundamental limits of ultrathin metasurfaces

PubMed Central

Arbabi, Amir; Faraon, Andrei

2017-01-01

We present a set of universal relations which relate the local transmission, reflection, and polarization conversion coefficients of a general class of non-magnetic passive ultrathin metasurfaces. We show that these relations are a result of equal forward and backward scattering by single layer ultrathin metasurfaces, and they lead to confinement of the transmission, reflection, and polarization conversion coefficients to limited regions of the complex plane. Using these relations, we investigate the effect of the presence of a substrate, and show that the maximum polarization conversion efficiency for a transmissive metasurface decreases as the refractive index contrast between the substrate and cladding layer increases. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a single layer reflective metasurface can achieve full 2π phase shift coverage without altering the polarization if it is illuminated from the higher refractive index material. We also discuss two approaches for achieving asymmetric scattering from metasurfaces, and realizing metasurfaces which overcome the performance limitations of single layer ultrathin metasurfaces. PMID:28262739

Controlled soft-template synthesis of ultrathin C@FeS nanosheets with high-Li-storage performance.

PubMed

Xu, Chen; Zeng, Yi; Rui, Xianhong; Xiao, Ni; Zhu, Jixin; Zhang, Wenyu; Chen, Jing; Liu, Weiling; Tan, Huiteng; Hng, Huey Hoon; Yan, Qingyu

2012-06-26

We report a facile approach to prepare carbon-coated troilite FeS (C@FeS) nanosheets via surfactant-assisted solution-based synthesis. 1-Dodecanethiol is used as both the sulfur source and the surfactant, which may form different-shaped micelles to direct the growth of nanostructures. Under appropriate growth conditions, the iron and sulfur atoms react to form thin layers of FeS while the hydrocarbon tails of 1-dodecanethiol separate the thin FeS layers, which turn to carbon after annealing in Ar. Such an approach can be extended to grow C@FeS nanospheres and nanoplates by modifying the synthesis parameters. The C@FeS nanosheets display excellent Li storage properties with high specific capacities and stable charge/discharge cyclability, especially at fast charge/discharge rates.

Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Film Supported Nanofiltration Membrane with a Nearly 10 nm Thick Polyamide Selective Layer for High-Flux and High-Rejection Desalination.

PubMed

Zhu, Yuzhang; Xie, Wei; Gao, Shoujian; Zhang, Feng; Zhang, Wenbin; Liu, Zhaoyang; Jin, Jian

2016-09-01

Fabricating nanofiltration (NF) membranes with high permeating flux and simultaneous high rejection rate for desalination is rather significant and highly desired. A new avenue is reported in this work to design NF membrane by using polydopamine wrapped single-walled carbon nanotube (PD/SWCNTs) ultrathin film as support layer instead of the use of traditional polymer-based underlying layers. Thanks to the high porosity, smooth surface, and more importantly optimal hydrophilic surface of PD/SWCNTs film, a defect-free polyamide selective layer for NF membrane with thickness of as thin as 12 nm is achieved. The obtained NF membrane exhibits an extremely high performance with a permeating flux of 32 L m -2 h -1 bar -1 and a rejection rate of 95.9% to divalent ions. This value is two to five times higher than the traditional NF membranes with similar rejection rate. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Ultrathin nickel hydroxide on carbon coated 3D-porous copper structures for high performance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Kang, Kyeong-Nam; Kim, Ik-Hee; Ramadoss, Ananthakumar; Kim, Sun-I; Yoon, Jong-Chul; Jang, Ji-Hyun

2018-01-03

An ultrathin nickel hydroxide layer electrodeposited on a carbon-coated three-dimensional porous copper structure (3D-C/Cu) is suggested as an additive and binder-free conductive electrode with short electron path distances, large electrochemical active sites, and improved structural stability, for high performance supercapacitors. The 3D-porous copper structure (3D-Cu) provides high electrical conductivity and facilitates electron transport between the Ni(OH) 2 active materials and the current collector of the Ni-plate. A carbon coating was applied to the 3D-Cu to prevent the oxidation of Cu, without degrading the electron transport behavior of the 3D-Cu. The 3D-Ni(OH) 2 /C/Cu exhibited a high specific capacitance of 1860 F g -1 at 1 A g -1 , and good cycling performance, with an 86.5% capacitance retention after 10 000 cycles. When tested in a two-electrode system, an asymmetric supercapacitor exhibited an energy density of 147.9 W h kg -1 and a power density of 37.0 kW kg -1 . These results open a new area of ultrahigh-performance supercapacitors, supported by 3D-Cu electrodes.

High-efficiency/CRI/color stability warm white organic light-emitting diodes by incorporating ultrathin phosphorescence layers in a blue fluorescence layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miao, Yanqin; Wang, Kexiang; Zhao, Bo; Gao, Long; Tao, Peng; Liu, Xuguang; Hao, Yuying; Wang, Hua; Xu, Bingshe; Zhu, Furong

2018-01-01

By incorporating ultrathin (<0.1 nm) green, yellow, and red phosphorescence layers with different sequence arrangements in a blue fluorescence layer, four unique and simplified fluorescence/phosphorescence (F/P) hybrid, white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) were obtained. All four devices realize good warm white light emission, with high color rending index (CRI) of >80, low correlated color temperature of <3600 K, and high color stability at a wide voltage range of 5 V-9 V. These hybrid WOLEDs also reveal high forward-viewing external quantum efficiencies (EQE) of 17.82%-19.34%, which are close to the theoretical value of 20%, indicating an almost complete exciton harvesting. In addition, the electroluminescence spectra of the hybrid WOLEDs can be easily improved by only changing the incorporating sequence of the ultrathin phosphorescence layers without device efficiency loss. For example, the hybrid WOLED with an incorporation sequence of ultrathin red/yellow/green phosphorescence layers exhibits an ultra-high CRI of 96 and a high EQE of 19.34%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first WOLED with good tradeoff among device efficiency, CRI, and color stability. The introduction of ultrathin (<0.1 nm) phosphorescence layers can also greatly reduce the consumption of phosphorescent emitters as well as simplify device structures and fabrication process, thus leading to low cost. Such a finding is very meaningful for the potential commercialization of hybrid WOLEDs.

Laser-induced phase separation of silicon carbide

PubMed Central

Choi, Insung; Jeong, Hu Young; Shin, Hyeyoung; Kang, Gyeongwon; Byun, Myunghwan; Kim, Hyungjun; Chitu, Adrian M.; Im, James S.; Ruoff, Rodney S.; Choi, Sung-Yool; Lee, Keon Jae

2016-01-01

Understanding the phase separation mechanism of solid-state binary compounds induced by laser–material interaction is a challenge because of the complexity of the compound materials and short processing times. Here we present xenon chloride excimer laser-induced melt-mediated phase separation and surface reconstruction of single-crystal silicon carbide and study this process by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and a time-resolved reflectance method. A single-pulse laser irradiation triggers melting of the silicon carbide surface, resulting in a phase separation into a disordered carbon layer with partially graphitic domains (∼2.5 nm) and polycrystalline silicon (∼5 nm). Additional pulse irradiations cause sublimation of only the separated silicon element and subsequent transformation of the disordered carbon layer into multilayer graphene. The results demonstrate viability of synthesizing ultra-thin nanomaterials by the decomposition of a binary system. PMID:27901015

Low-Dimensional Nanomaterials as Active Layer Components in Thin-Film Photovoltaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shastry, Tejas Attreya

Thin-film photovoltaics offer the promise of cost-effective and scalable solar energy conversion, particularly for applications of semi-transparent solar cells where the poor absorption of commercially-available silicon is inadequate. Applications ranging from roof coatings that capture solar energy to semi-transparent windows that harvest the immense amount of incident sunlight on buildings could be realized with efficient and stable thin-film solar cells. However, the lifetime and efficiency of thin-film solar cells continue to trail their inorganic silicon counterparts. Low-dimensional nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes and two-dimensional metal dichalcogenides, have recently been explored as materials in thin-film solar cells due to their exceptional optoelectronic properties, solution-processability, and chemical inertness. Thus far, issues with the processing of these materials has held back their implementation in efficient photovoltaics. This dissertation reports processing advances that enable demonstrations of low-dimensional nanomaterials in thin-film solar cells. These low-dimensional photovoltaics show enhanced photovoltaic efficiency and environmental stability in comparison to previous devices, with a focus on semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes as an active layer component. The introduction summarizes recent advances in the processing of carbon nanotubes and their implementation through the thin-film photovoltaic architecture, as well as the use of two-dimensional metal dichalcogenides in photovoltaic applications and potential future directions for all-nanomaterial solar cells. The following chapter reports a study of the interaction between carbon nanotubes and surfactants that enables them to be sorted by electronic type via density gradient ultracentrifugation. These insights are utilized to construct of a broad distribution of carbon nanotubes that absorb throughout the solar spectrum. This polychiral distribution is then shown to result in record breaking performance in a carbon nanotube solar cell, and subsequent chapters study the mechanisms behind charge transfer in the polychiral carbon nanotube / fullerene solar cell. Further processing advances, chiral distribution tailoring, and solvent additives are shown to enable more uniform and larger area carbon nanotube solar cells while maintaining record-breaking performance. In order to increase overall photovoltaic performance of a carbon nanotube active layer solar cell, this dissertation also demonstrates a ternary polymer-carbon nanotube-small molecule photovoltaic with high efficiency and stability enabled by the nanomaterial. Finally, the use of the two-dimensional metal dichalcogenide molybdenum disulfide as a photovoltaic material is explored in an ultrathin solar cell with higher efficiency per thickness than leading organic and inorganic thin-film photovoltaics. Overall, this work demonstrates breakthroughs in utilizing low-dimensional nanomaterials as active layer components in photovoltaics and will inform ongoing research in making ultrathin, stable, efficient solar cells.

Graphene-Rich Wrapped Petal-Like Rutile TiO2 tuned by Carbon Dots for High-Performance Sodium Storage.

PubMed

Zhang, Yan; Foster, Christopher W; Banks, Craig E; Shao, Lidong; Hou, Hongshuai; Zou, Guoqiang; Chen, Jun; Huang, Zhaodong; Ji, Xiaobo

2016-11-01

Carbon dots inducing petal-like rutile TiO 2 wrapped by ultrathin graphene-rich layers are proposed to fabricate superior anodes for sodium-ion batteries, featuring high-rate capabilities and long-term cyclelife, benefiting from promoted electron transport and a shortened Na + diffusion length. High capacities of 144.4 mA h g -1 (at 837.5 mA g -1 ) after 1100 cycles and 74.6 mA h g -1 (at 3350 mA g -1 ) after 4000 cycles are delivered outstandingly. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Synthesizing new types of ultrathin 2D metal oxide nanosheets via half-successive ion layer adsorption and reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Linjie; Li, Yaguang; Xiao, Mu; Wang, Shufang; Fu, Guangsheng; Wang, Lianzhou

2017-06-01

Two-dimensional (2D) metal oxide nanosheets have demonstrated their great potential in a broad range of applications. The existing synthesis strategies are mainly preparing 2D nanosheets from layered and specific transition metal oxides. How to prepare the other types of metal oxides as ultrathin 2D nanosheets remains unsolved, especially for metal oxides containing alkali, alkaline earth metal, and multiple metal elements. Herein, we developed a half-successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method, which could synthesize those types of metal oxides as ultrathin 2D nanosheets. The synthesized 2D metal oxides nanosheets are within 1 nm level thickness and 500 m2 · g-1 level surface area. This method allows us to develop many new types of ultrathin 2D metal oxides nanosheets that have never been prepared before.

Field-dependent magnetization of BiFeO 3 in ultrathin La 0.7Sr 0.3MnO 3/BiFeO 3 superlattice

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

Fitzsimmons, Michael R.; Jia, Quanxi X.; Singh, Surendra

2015-12-02

We report the observation of field-induced magnetization of BiFeO 3 (BFO) in an ultrathin La 0.7Sr 0.3MnO 3 (LSMO)/BFO superlattice using polarized neutron reflectivity (PNR). The depth dependent structure and magnetic characterization of subnano layer thick (thickness ~ 0.7 nm each) LSMO/BFO hetrostructure is carried out using X-ray reflectivity and PNR techniques. Our PNR results indicate parallel alignment of magnetization as well as enhancement in magnetic moment across LSMO/BFO interfaces. The study showed an increase in average magnetization on increasing applied magnetic field at 10K. As a result, we observed a saturation magnetization of 110 ± 15 kA/m (~0.8 μmore » B/Fe) for ultrathin BFO layer (~2 unit cell) sandwiched between ultrathin LSMO layers (~ 2 unit cell).« less

Application of poly (p-phenylene oxide) as blocking layer to reduce self-discharge in supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tevi, Tete; Yaghoubi, Houman; Wang, Jing; Takshi, Arash

2013-11-01

Supercapacitors are electrochemical energy storage devices with high power density. However, application of supercapacitors is limited mainly due to their high leakage current. In this work, application of an ultra-thin layer of electrodeposited poly (p-phenylene oxide) (PPO) has been investigated as a blocking layer to reduce the leakage current. The polymer was first deposited on a glassy carbon electrode. The morphology of the film was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the film thickness was estimated to be ˜1.5 nm by using the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique. The same deposition method was applied to coat the surface of the activated carbon electrodes of a supercapacitor with PPO. The specific capacitance, the leakage current, and the series resistance were measured in two devices with and without the blocking layer. The results demonstrate that the application of the PPO layer reduced the leakage current by ˜78%. However, the specific capacitance was decreased by ˜56%, when the blocking layer was applied. Due to the lower rate of self-discharge, the suggested approach can be applied to fabricate devices with longer charge storage time.

SERS Taper-Fiber Nanoprobe Modified by Gold Nanoparticles Wrapped with Ultrathin Alumina Film by Atomic Layer Deposition

PubMed Central

Xu, Wenjie; Chen, Zhenyi; Chen, Na; Zhang, Heng; Liu, Shupeng; Hu, Xinmao; Wen, Jianxiang; Wang, Tingyun

2017-01-01

A taper-fiber SERS nanoprobe modified by gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) with ultrathin alumina layers was fabricated and its ability to perform remote Raman detection was demonstrated. The taper-fiber nanoprobe (TFNP) with a nanoscale tip size under 80 nm was made by heated pulling combined with the chemical etching method. The Au-NPs were deposited on the TFNP surface with the electrostatic self-assembly technology, and then the TFNP was wrapped with ultrathin alumina layers by the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. The results told us that with the increasing thickness of the alumina film, the Raman signals decreased. With approximately 1 nm alumina film, the remote detection limit for R6G aqueous solution reached 10−6 mol/L. PMID:28245618

Ultrathin platinum nanowires grown on single-layered nickel hydroxide with high hydrogen evolution activity.

PubMed

Yin, Huajie; Zhao, Shenlong; Zhao, Kun; Muqsit, Abdul; Tang, Hongjie; Chang, Lin; Zhao, Huijun; Gao, Yan; Tang, Zhiyong

2015-03-02

Design and synthesis of effective electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline environments is critical to reduce energy losses in alkaline water electrolysis. Here we report a hybrid nanomaterial comprising of one-dimensional ultrathin platinum nanowires grown on two-dimensional single-layered nickel hydroxide. Judicious surface chemistry to generate the fully exfoliated nickel hydroxide single layers is explored to be the key for controllable growth of ultrathin platinum nanowires with diameters of about 1.8 nm. Impressively, this hybrid nanomaterial exhibits superior electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline solution, which outperforms currently reported catalysts, and the obviously improved catalytic stability. We believe that this work may lead towards the development of single-layered metal hydroxide-based hybrid materials for applications in catalysis and energy conversion.

Re-examination of the Pt Particle Size Effect on the Oxygen Reduction Reaction for Ultrathin Uniform Pt/C Catalyst Layers without Influence from Nafion

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

Shinozaki, Kazuma; Morimoto, Yu; Pivovar, Bryan S.

The platinum 'particle size effect' on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has been re-evaluated using commercial Pt/C catalysts (2-10 nm Pt particle) and polycrystalline Pt (poly-Pt) in 0.1 M HClO4 with a rotating disk electrode method. Nafion-free catalyst layers were employed to obtain specific activities (SA) that were not perturbed (suppressed) by sulfonate anion adsorption/blocking. By using ultrathin uniform catalyst layers, O2 diffusion limitation was minimized as confirmed from the high SAs of our supported catalysts that were comparable to unsupported sputtered Pt having controlled sizes. The specific activity (SA) steeply increased for the particle sizes in the range -2-10more » nm (0.8-1.8 mA/cm2Pt at 0.9 V vs. RHE) and plateaued over -10 nm to 2.7 mA/cm2Pt for bulk poly-Pt. On the basis of the activity trend for the range of particle sizes studied, it appears that the effect of carbon support on activity is negligible. The experimental results and the concomitant profile of SA vs. particle size was found to be in an agreement to a truncated octahedral particle model that assumes active terrace sites.« less

Development of Membrane Process for Carbon Dioxide Separation from Diving Atmosphere

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-01

backing, or support layer, as is shown in Figure 17b. The ultrathin film and backing of this composite membrane, which is sometimes called a " thin - film ...As a result, the properties and performance of a thin - film laminate can be better controlled, in principle, than those of a "skinned" membrane...method of preparing an asymmetric membrane is by coating a thin nonporous film directly on the surface of a suitable microporous t __ .. NEW DEVELOPMEN"TS

Ultrathin spinel membrane-encapsulated layered lithium-rich cathode material for advanced Li-ion batteries.

PubMed

Wu, Feng; Li, Ning; Su, Yuefeng; Zhang, Linjing; Bao, Liying; Wang, Jing; Chen, Lai; Zheng, Yu; Dai, Liqin; Peng, Jingyuan; Chen, Shi

2014-06-11

Lack of high-performance cathode materials has become a technological bottleneck for the commercial development of advanced Li-ion batteries. We have proposed a biomimetic design and versatile synthesis of ultrathin spinel membrane-encapsulated layered lithium-rich cathode, a modification by nanocoating. The ultrathin spinel membrane is attributed to the superior high reversible capacity (over 290 mAh g(-1)), outstanding rate capability, and excellent cycling ability of this cathode, and even the stubborn illnesses of the layered lithium-rich cathode, such as voltage decay and thermal instability, are found to be relieved as well. This cathode is feasible to construct high-energy and high-power Li-ion batteries.

Graphene-based ultrathin microporous carbon with smaller sulfur molecules for excellent rate performance of lithium-sulfur cathode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Zhenhuan; Fang, Wenying; Zhao, Hongbin; Fang, Jianhui; Cheng, Hongwei; Doan, The Nam Long; Xu, Jiaqiang; Chen, Pu

2015-05-01

Ultrathin microporous carbon (UMPC) for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) cathode with uniform pore width of approximately 0.6 nm and dozens nm in thickness is synthesized with graphene oxide as template by glucose hydrothermal carbonization and surfactant-assisted assembling method. The UMPC supplies desirable S pregnancy space and the intimate contact between UMPC and S, therefore improving the conductivity of S@UMPC composite and dynamic performance. Smaller sulfur molecules limited in UMPC thoroughly prevent the formation of electrolyte-soluble polysulfides, hence excellent cycling performance with 900 mAh g-1 after 150 cycles is kept. Ultrathin three-dimensional carbon nanosheets are significant to fast electron transfer and Li+ diffusion contributing to excellent dynamic performance (710 mAh g-1 at 3 C).

Improvement of J(sc) in a Cu2ZnSnS4 Solar Cell by Using a Thin Carbon Intermediate Layer at the Cu2ZnSnS4/Mo Interface.

PubMed

Zhou, Fangzhou; Zeng, Fangqin; Liu, Xu; Liu, Fangyang; Song, Ning; Yan, Chang; Pu, Aobo; Park, Jongsung; Sun, Kaiwen; Hao, Xiaojing

2015-10-21

Back contact modification plays an important role in improving energy conversion efficiency of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin film solar cells. In this paper, an ultrathin carbon layer is introduced on molybdenum (Mo)-coated soda lime glass (SLG) prior to the deposition of CZTS precursor to improve the back contact and therefore enhance CZTS solar cell efficiency. By introducing this layer, the short circuit current (Jsc) and device conversion efficiency increase for both nonvacuum (sol-gel) and vacuum (sputtering) methods. Specifically, for the sol-gel based process, Jsc increases from 13.60 to 16.96 mA/cm(2) and efficiency from 4.47% to 5.52%, while for the sputtering based process, Jsc increases from 17.50 to 20.50 mA/cm(2) and efficiency from 4.10% to 5.20%. Furthermore, introduction of this layer does not lead to any deterioration of either open circuit voltage (Voc) or fill factor (FF).

Remote N2 plasma treatment to deposit ultrathin high-k dielectric as tunneling contact layer for single-layer MoS2 MOSFET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qian, Qingkai; Zhang, Zhaofu; Hua, Mengyuan; Wei, Jin; Lei, Jiacheng; Chen, Kevin J.

2017-12-01

Remote N2 plasma treatment is explored as a surface functionalization technique to deposit ultrathin high-k dielectric on single-layer MoS2. The ultrathin dielectric is used as a tunneling contact layer, which also serves as an interfacial layer below the gate region for fabricating top-gate MoS2 metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). The fabricated devices exhibited small hysteresis and mobility as high as 14 cm2·V-1·s-1. The contact resistance was significantly reduced, which resulted in the increase of drain current from 20 to 56 µA/µm. The contact resistance reduction can be attributed to the alleviated metal-MoS2 interface reaction and the preserved conductivity of MoS2 below the source/drain metal contact.

Distinguishing triplet energy transfer and trap-assisted recombination in multi-color organic light-emitting diode with an ultrathin phosphorescent emissive layer

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

Xue, Qin, E-mail: xueqin19851202@163.com; Liu, Shouyin; Xie, Guohua

2014-03-21

An ultrathin layer of deep-red phosphorescent emitter tris(1-phenylisoquinoline) iridium (III) (Ir(piq){sub 3}) is inserted within different positions of the electron blocking layer fac-tris (1-phenylpyrazolato-N,C{sup 2′})-iridium(III) (Ir(ppz){sub 3}) to distinguish the contribution of the emission from the triplet exciton energy transfer/diffusion from the adjacent blue phosphorescent emitter and the trap-assisted recombination from the narrow band-gap emitter itself. The charge trapping effect of the narrow band-gap deep-red emitter which forms a quantum-well-like structure also plays a role in shaping the electroluminescent characteristics of multi-color organic light-emitting diodes. By accurately controlling the position of the ultrathin sensing layer, it is considerably easy tomore » balance the white emission which is quite challenging for full-color devices with multiple emission zones. There is nearly no energy transfer detectable if 7 nm thick Ir(ppz){sub 3} is inserted between the blue phosphorescent emitter and the ultrathin red emitter.« less

PREFACE: Ultrathin layers of graphene, h-BN and other honeycomb structures Ultrathin layers of graphene, h-BN and other honeycomb structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geber, Thomas; Oshima, Chuhei

2012-08-01

Since ancient times, pure carbon materials have been familiar in human society—not only diamonds in jewellery and graphite in pencils, but also charcoal and coal which have been used for centuries as fuel for living and industry. Carbon fibers are stronger, tougher and lighter than steel and increase material efficiency because of their lower weight. Today, carbon fibers and related composite materials are used to make the frames of bicycles, cars and even airplane parts. The two-dimensional allotrope, now called graphene, is just a single layer of carbon atoms, locked together in a strongly bonded honeycomb lattice. In plane, graphene is stiffer than diamond, but out-of-plane it is soft, like rubber. It is virtually invisible, may conduct electricity (heat) better than copper and weighs next to nothing. Carbon compounds with two carbon atoms as a base, such as graphene, graphite or diamond, have isoelectronic sister compounds made of boron-nitrogen pairs: hexagonal and cubic boron nitride, with almost the same lattice constant. Although the two 2D sisters, graphene and h-BN, have the same number of valence electrons, their electronic properties are very different: freestanding h-BN is an insulator, while charge carriers in graphene are highly mobile. The past ten years have seen a great expansion in studies of single-layer and few-layer graphene. This activity has been concerned with the π electron transport in graphene, in electric and magnetic fields. More than 30 years ago, however, single-layer graphene and h-BN on solid surfaces were widely investigated. It was noted that they drastically changed the chemical reactivity of surfaces, and they were known to 'poison' heterogeneous catalysts, to passivate surfaces, to prevent oxidation of surfaces and to act as surfactants. Also, it was realized that the controlled growth of h-BN and graphene on substrates yields the formation of mismatch driven superstructures with peculiar template functionality on the nanometer scale. This special section contains interesting papers on graphene, h-BN and related 'honeycomb' compounds on solid surfaces, which are currently in development. Interfacial interaction strongly modifies the electronic and atomic structures of these overlayer systems and substrate surfaces. In addition, one can recognize a variety of growth phenomena by changing the surface and growth conditions, which are promising as regards fabricating those noble nanosystems. We have great pleasure in acknowledging the enthusiastic response and participation of our invited authors and their diligent preparation of the manuscripts. Ultrathin layers of graphene, h-BN and other honeycomb structures contents Ultrathin layers of graphene, h-BN and other honeycomb structuresThomas Geber and Chuhei Oshima Templating of arrays of Ru nanoclusters by monolayer graphene/Ru Moirés with different periodicitiesEli Sutter, Bin Wang, Peter Albrecht, Jayeeta Lahiri, Marie-Laure Bocquet and Peter Sutter Controllable p-doping of graphene on Ir(111) by chlorination with FeCl3N A Vinogradov, K A Simonov, A V Generalov, A S Vinogradov, D V Vyalikh, C Laubschat, N Mårtensson and A B Preobrajenski Optimizing long-range order, band gap, and group velocities for graphene on close-packed metal surfacesF D Natterer, S Rusponi, M Papagno, C Carbone and H Brune Epitaxial growth of graphene on transition metal surfaces: chemical vapor deposition versus liquid phase depositionSamuel Grandthyll, Stefan Gsell, Michael Weinl, Matthias Schreck, Stefan Hüfner and Frank Müller High-yield boron nitride nanosheets from 'chemical blowing': towards practical applications in polymer compositesXuebin Wang, Amir Pakdel, Chunyi Zhi, Kentaro Watanabe, Takashi Sekiguchi, Dmitri Golberg and Yoshio Bando BCx layers with honeycomb lattices on an NbB2(0001) surfaceChuhei Oshima Epitaxial growth of boron-doped graphene by thermal decomposition of B4CWataru Norimatsu, Koichiro Hirata, Yuta Yamamoto, Shigeo Arai and Michiko Kusunoki Mechanical exfoliation of epitaxial graphene on Ir(111) enabled by Br2 intercalationCharlotte Herbig, Markus Kaiser, Nedjma Bendiab, Stefan Schumacher, Daniel F Förster, Johann Coraux, Klaus Meerholz, Thomas Michely and Carsten Busse Low energy electron microscopy and photoemission electron microscopy investigation of grapheneK L Man and M S Altman Periodic overlayers and moiré patterns: theoretical studies of geometric propertiesKlaus Hermann Silicene structures on silver surfacesHanna Enriquez, Sébastien Vizzini, Abdelkader Kara, Boubekeur Lalmi and Hamid Oughaddou Contrast inversion of the h-BN nanomesh investigated by nc-AFM and Kelvin probe force microscopyS Koch, M Langer, S Kawai, E Meyer and Th Glatzel Probing the electronic structure and optical response of a graphene quantum disk supported on monolayer grapheneWu Zhou, Stephen J Pennycook and Juan-Carlos Idrobo Multi-oriented moiré superstructures of graphene on Ir(111): experimental observations and theoretical modelsLei Meng, Rongting Wu, Lizhi Zhang, Linfei Li, Shixuan Du, Yeliang Wang and H-J Gao The physics of epitaxial graphene on SiC(0001)H Kageshima, H Hibino and S Tanabe

Ultrathin and Atomically Flat Transition-Metal Oxide: Promising Building Blocks for Metal-Insulator Electronics.

PubMed

Cui, Qingsong; Sakhdari, Maryam; Chamlagain, Bhim; Chuang, Hsun-Jen; Liu, Yi; Cheng, Mark Ming-Cheng; Zhou, Zhixian; Chen, Pai-Yen

2016-12-21

We present a new and viable template-assisted thermal synthesis method for preparing amorphous ultrathin transition-metal oxides (TMOs) such as TiO 2 and Ta 2 O 5 , which are converted from crystalline two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) down to a few atomic layers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) were used to characterize the chemical composition and bonding, surface morphology, and atomic structure of these ultrathin amorphous materials to validate the effectiveness of our synthesis approach. Furthermore, we have fabricated metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diodes using the TiO 2 and Ta 2 O 5 as ultrathin insulating layers with low potential barrier heights. Our MIM diodes show a clear transition from direct tunneling to Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, which was not observed in previously reported MIM diodes with TiO 2 or Ta 2 O 5 as the insulating layer. We attribute the improved performance of our MIM diodes to the excellent flatness and low pinhole/defect densities in our TMO insulting layers converted from 2D TMDs, which enable the low-threshold and controllable electron tunneling transport. We envision that it is possible to use the ultrathin TMOs converted from 2D TMDs as the insulating layer of a wide variety of metal-insulator and field-effect electronic devices for various applications ranging from microwave mixing, parametric conversion, infrared photodetection, emissive energy harvesting, to ultrafast electronic switching.

Catalyst-layer ionomer imaging of fuel cells

DOE PAGES

Guetaz, Laure; Lopez-Haro, M.; Escribano, S.; ...

2015-09-14

Investigation of membrane/electrode assembly (MEA) microstructure has become an essential step to optimize the MEA components and manufacturing processes or to study the MEA degradation. For these investigations, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a tool of choice as it provides direct imaging of the different components. TEM is then widely used for analyzing the catalyst nanoparticles and their carbon support. However, the ionomer inside the electrode is more difficult to be imaged. The difficulties come from the fact that the ionomer forms an ultrathin layer surrounding the carbon particles and in addition, these two components, having similar density, present nomore » difference in contrast. In this paper, we show how the recent progresses in TEM techniques as spherical aberration (Cs) corrected HRTEM, electron tomography and X-EDS elemental mapping provide new possibilities for imaging this ionomer network and consequently to study its degradation.« less

Synthesis of Ultrathin ta-C Films by Twist-Filtered Cathodic Arc Carbon Plasmas

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-04-01

system. Ultrathin tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) films have been deposited on 6 inch wafers. Film properties have been investigated with respect to...Diamondlike films are characterized by an outstanding combination of advantageous properties : they can be very hard, tough, super-smooth, chemically...5 nm) hard carbon films are being used as protective overcoats on hard disks and read-write heads. The tribological properties of the head-disk

Selective coherent perfect absorption of subradiant mode in ultrathin bi-layer metamaterials via antisymmetric excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Wei; Zhang, Caihong; Li, Chun; Zhou, Xiaoying; Jia, Xiaoqing; Feng, Zheng; Su, Juan; Jin, Biaobing

2017-05-01

We demonstrate that the subradiant mode in ultrathin bi-layer metamaterials can be exclusively excited under two-antisymmetric-beam illumination (or equivalently, at a node of the standing wave field), while the superradiant mode is fully suppressed due to their different mode symmetry. Coherent perfect absorption (CPA) with the Lorentzian lineshape can be achieved corresponding to the subradiant mode. A theoretical model is established to distinguish the different behaviors of these two modes and to elucidate the CPA condition. Terahertz ultrathin bi-layer metamaterials on flexible polyimide substrates are fabricated and tested, exhibiting excellent agreement with theoretical predictions. This work provides physical insight into how to selectively excite the antisymmetric subradiant mode via coherence incidence.

Effects of Propylene Carbonate Content in CsPF6-Containing Electrolytes on the Enhanced Performances of Graphite Electrode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

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

Zheng, Jianming; Yan, Pengfei; Cao, Ruiguo

2016-02-10

Cesium salt has been demonstrated as an efficient electrolyte additive in suppressing the lithium (Li) dendrite formation and directing the formation of an ultrathin and stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) even in propylene carbonate (PC)-ethylene carbonate (EC)-based electrolytes. Here, we further investigate the effect of PC content in the presence of CsPF6 additive (0.05 M) on the performances of graphite electrode in Li||graphite half cells and in graphite||LiNi0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA) full cells. It is found that the performance of graphite electrode is also affected by PC content even though CsPF6 additive is present in the electrolytes. An optimal PC content ofmore » 20% by weight in the solvent mixtures is identified. The enhanced electrochemical performance of graphite electrode is attributed to the synergistic effects of the Cs+ additive and the PC solvent. The formation of a robust, ultrathin and compact SEI layer containing lithium-enriched species on the graphite electrode, directed by Cs+, effectively suppresses the PC co-intercalation and thus prevents the graphite exfoliation. This SEI layer is only permeable for de-solvated Li+ ions and allows fast Li+ ion transport through it, which therefore largely alleviates the Li dendrite formation on graphite electrode during lithiation even at high current densities. The presence of low-melting-point PC solvent also enables the sustainable operation of the graphite||NCA full cells under a wide spectrum of temperatures. The fundamental findings of this work shed light on the importance of manipulating/maintaining the electrode/electrolyte interphasial stability in a variety of energy storage devices.« less

Low cost hydrogen/novel membrane technology for hydrogen separation from synthesis gas, Phase 1. [Polyetherimide, cellulose acetate and ethylcellulose

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

Not Available

1986-01-01

The goal of this program is to develop polymer membranes useful in the preparation of hydrogen from coal-derived synthesis gas. During this quarter the first experiment were aimed at developing high performance composite membranes for the separation of hydrogen from nitrogen and carbon monoxide. Three polymers have been selected as materials for these membranes: polyetherimide cellulose acetate and ethylcellulose. This quarter the investigators worked on polyetherimide and cellulose acetate membranes. The overall structure of these membranes is shown schematically in Figure 1. As shown, a microporous support membrane is first coated with a high flux intermediate layer then with anmore » ultrathin permselective layer and finally, if necessary, a thin protective high flux layer. 1 fig., 4 tabs.« less

Designable ultra-smooth ultra-thin solid-electrolyte interphases of three alkali metal anodes.

PubMed

Gu, Yu; Wang, Wei-Wei; Li, Yi-Juan; Wu, Qi-Hui; Tang, Shuai; Yan, Jia-Wei; Zheng, Ming-Sen; Wu, De-Yin; Fan, Chun-Hai; Hu, Wei-Qiang; Chen, Zhao-Bin; Fang, Yuan; Zhang, Qing-Hong; Dong, Quan-Feng; Mao, Bing-Wei

2018-04-09

Dendrite growth of alkali metal anodes limited their lifetime for charge/discharge cycling. Here, we report near-perfect anodes of lithium, sodium, and potassium metals achieved by electrochemical polishing, which removes microscopic defects and creates ultra-smooth ultra-thin solid-electrolyte interphase layers at metal surfaces for providing a homogeneous environment. Precise characterizations by AFM force probing with corroborative in-depth XPS profile analysis reveal that the ultra-smooth ultra-thin solid-electrolyte interphase can be designed to have alternating inorganic-rich and organic-rich/mixed multi-layered structure, which offers mechanical property of coupled rigidity and elasticity. The polished metal anodes exhibit significantly enhanced cycling stability, specifically the lithium anodes can cycle for over 200 times at a real current density of 2 mA cm -2 with 100% depth of discharge. Our work illustrates that an ultra-smooth ultra-thin solid-electrolyte interphase may be robust enough to suppress dendrite growth and thus serve as an initial layer for further improved protection of alkali metal anodes.

An easily accessible carbon material derived from carbonization of polyacrylonitrile ultrathin films: ambipolar transport properties and application in a CMOS-like inverter.

PubMed

Jiao, Fei; Zhang, Fengjiao; Zang, Yaping; Zou, Ye; Di, Chong'an; Xu, Wei; Zhu, Daoben

2014-03-04

Ultrathin carbon films were prepared by carbonization of a solution processed polyacrylonitrile (PAN) film in a moderate temperature range (500-700 °C). The films displayed balanced hole (0.50 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)) and electron mobilities (0.20 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)) under ambient conditions. Spectral characterization revealed that the electrical transport is due to the formation of sp(2) hybridized carbon during the carbonization process. A CMOS-like inverter demonstrated the potential application of this material in the area of carbon electronics, considering its processability and low-cost.

Self-surface charge exfoliation and electrostatically coordinated 2D hetero-layered hybrids

PubMed Central

Yang, Min-Quan; Xu, Yi-Jun; Lu, Wanheng; Zeng, Kaiyang; Zhu, Hai; Xu, Qing-Hua; Ho, Ghim Wei

2017-01-01

At present, the technological groundwork of atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) hetero-layered structures realized by successive thin film epitaxial growth is in principle constrained by lattice matching prerequisite as well as low yield and expensive production. Here, we artificially coordinate ultrathin 2D hetero-layered metal chalcogenides via a highly scalable self-surface charge exfoliation and electrostatic coupling approach. Specifically, bulk metal chalcogenides are spontaneously exfoliated into ultrathin layers in a surfactant/intercalator-free medium, followed by unconstrained electrostatic coupling with a dissimilar transition metal dichalcogenide, MoSe2, into scalable hetero-layered hybrids. Accordingly, surface and interfacial-dominated photocatalysis reactivity is used as an ideal testbed to verify the reliability of diverse 2D ultrathin hetero-layered materials that reveal high visible-light photoreactivity, efficient charge transfer and intimate contact interface for stable cycling and storage purposes. Such a synthetic approach renders independent thickness and composition control anticipated to advance the development of ‘design-and-build' 2D layered heterojunctions for large-scale exploration and applications. PMID:28146147

Enhancement of the Rate Capability of LiFePO4 by a New Highly Graphitic Carbon-Coating Method.

PubMed

Song, Jianjun; Sun, Bing; Liu, Hao; Ma, Zhipeng; Chen, Zhouhao; Shao, Guangjie; Wang, Guoxiu

2016-06-22

Low lithium ion diffusivity and poor electronic conductivity are two major drawbacks for the wide application of LiFePO4 in high-power lithium ion batteries. In this work, we report a facile and efficient carbon-coating method to prepare LiFePO4/graphitic carbon composites by in situ carbonization of perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride during calcination. Perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride containing naphthalene rings can be easily converted to highly graphitic carbon during thermal treatment. The ultrathin layer of highly graphitic carbon coating drastically increased the electronic conductivity of LiFePO4. The short pathway along the [010] direction of LiFePO4 nanoplates could decrease the Li(+) ion diffusion path. In favor of the high electronic conductivity and short lithium ion diffusion distance, the LiFePO4/graphitic carbon composites exhibit an excellent cycling stability at high current rates at room temperature and superior performance at low temperature (-20 °C).

Layered ultra-thin coherent structures used as electrical resistors having low-temperature coefficient of resistivity

DOEpatents

Werner, T.R.; Falco, C.M.; Schuller, I.K.

1982-08-31

A thin film resistor having a controlled temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) ranging from negative to positive degrees kelvin and having relatively high resistivity. The resistor is a multilayer superlattice crystal containing a plurality of alternating, ultra-thin layers of two different metals. TCR is varied by controlling the thickness of the individual layers. The resistor can be readily prepared by methods compatible with thin film circuitry manufacturing techniques.

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

Nano-structured variable capacitor based on P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer and carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lakbita, I.; El-Hami, K.

2018-02-01

A newly organic capacitor was conceived with a variable capacitance using the inverse piezoelectric effect. The device consists of two parallel plates of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), known for their large surface area, high sensitivity and high electric conductivity, separated by a thin film of a dielectric layer of Polyinylidene fluoride and trifluoroehtylene (P(VDF-TrFE)) promising material for piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties. The obtained architecture is the CNT/PVDF-TrFE/CNT capacitor device. In this study, an ultra-thin film of P(VDF-TrFE) (54/46) with thickness of 20 nm was elaborated on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) by spin-coating. The morphology of the ultra-thin film and the mechanical behavior of CNT/P(VDF-TrFE)/CNT system were studied using the atomic force microscopy (AFM) combined with a lock-in amplifier in contact mode. All changes in applied voltage induce a change in thin film thickness according to the inverse piezoelectric effect that affect, consequently the capacitance. The results showed that the ratio of capacitance change ΔC to initial capacitance C0 is ΔC/C0=5%. This value is sufficient to use P(VDF-TrFE) as variable organic capacitor.

Charge transfer from an adsorbed ruthenium-based photosensitizer through an ultra-thin aluminium oxide layer and into a metallic substrate

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

Gibson, Andrew J.; Temperton, Robert H.; Handrup, Karsten

2014-06-21

The interaction of the dye molecule N3 (cis-bis(isothiocyanato)bis(2,2-bipyridyl-4,4′-dicarbo-xylato) -ruthenium(II)) with the ultra-thin oxide layer on a AlNi(110) substrate, has been studied using synchrotron radiation based photoelectron spectroscopy, resonant photoemission spectroscopy, and near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. Calibrated X-ray absorption and valence band spectra of the monolayer and multilayer coverages reveal that charge transfer is possible from the molecule to the AlNi(110) substrate via tunnelling through the ultra-thin oxide layer and into the conduction band edge of the substrate. This charge transfer mechanism is possible from the LUMO+2 and 3 in the excited state but not from the LUMO,more » therefore enabling core-hole clock analysis, which gives an upper limit of 6.0 ± 2.5 fs for the transfer time. This indicates that ultra-thin oxide layers are a viable material for use in dye-sensitized solar cells, which may lead to reduced recombination effects and improved efficiencies of future devices.« less

Low-cost ultra-thin broadband terahertz beam-splitter.

PubMed

Ung, Benjamin S-Y; Fumeaux, Christophe; Lin, Hungyen; Fischer, Bernd M; Ng, Brian W-H; Abbott, Derek

2012-02-27

A low-cost terahertz beam-splitter is fabricated using ultra-thin LDPE plastic sheeting coated with a conducting silver layer. The beam splitting ratio is determined as a function of the thickness of the silver layer--thus any required splitting ratio can be printed on demand with a suitable rapid prototyping technology. The low-cost aspect is a consequence of the fact that ultra-thin LDPE sheeting is readily obtainable, known more commonly as domestic plastic wrap or cling wrap. The proposed beam-splitter has numerous advantages over float zone silicon wafers commonly used within the terahertz frequency range. These advantages include low-cost, ease of handling, ultra-thin thickness, and any required beam splitting ratio can be readily fabricated. Furthermore, as the beam-splitter is ultra-thin, it presents low loss and does not suffer from Fabry-Pérot effects. Measurements performed on manufactured prototypes with different splitting ratios demonstrate a good agreement with our theoretical model in both P and S polarizations, exhibiting nearly frequency-independent splitting ratios in the terahertz frequency range.

Diffractive intermediate layer enables broadband light trapping for high efficiency ultrathin c-Si tandem cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Guijun; Ho, Jacob Y. L.; Li, He; Kwok, Hoi-Sing

2014-06-01

Light management through the intermediate reflector in the tandem cell configuration is of great practical importance for achieving high stable efficiency and also low cost production. So far, however, the intermediate reflectors employed currently are mainly focused on the light absorption enhancement of the top cell. Here, we present a diffractive intermediate layer that allows for light trapping over a broadband wavelength for the ultrathin c-Si tandem solar cell. Compared with the standard intermediate reflector, this nanoscale architectural intermediate layer results in a 35% and 21% remarkable enhancement of the light absorption in the top (400-800 nm) and bottom (800-1100 nm) cells simultaneously, and ultrathin c-Si tandem cells with impressive conversion efficiency of 13.3% are made on the glass substrate.

Ultrathin Polyaniline-based Buffer Layer for Highly Efficient Polymer Solar Cells with Wide Applicability

PubMed Central

Zhao, Wenchao; Ye, Long; Zhang, Shaoqing; Fan, Bin; Sun, Mingliang; Hou, Jianhui

2014-01-01

Interfacial buffer layers often attribute the improved device performance in organic optoelectronic device. Herein, a water-soluble hydrochloric acid doped polyanilines (HAPAN) were utilized as p-type electrode buffer layer in highly efficient polymer solar cells (PSC) based on PBDTTT-EFT and several representative polymers. The PBDTTT-EFT-based conventional PSC featuring ultrathin HAPAN (1.3 nm) delivered high PCE approximately 9%, which is one of the highest values among conventional PSC devices. Moreover, ultrathin HAPAN also exhibited wide applicability in a variety of efficient photovoltaic polymers including PBDTTT-C-T, PTB7, PBDTBDD, PBTTDPP-T, PDPP3T and P3HT. The excellent performances were originated from the high transparency, small film roughness and suitable work function. PMID:25300365

Molecular dynamics simulation on adsorption of pyrene-polyethylene onto ultrathin single-walled carbon nanotube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Lu; Lv, Wenzhen; Zhu, Hong; Xu, Qun

2016-07-01

The mechanism of the adsorption of pyrene-polyethylene (Py-PE) onto ultrathin single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) was studied by using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We found that solvent polarity and pyrene group are two critical factors in the Py-PE decoration on ultrathin SWNT. Combined MD simulations with free energy calculations, our results indicate that larger solvent polarity can decrease the contribution of conformation entropy, but contributes little to the interaction energy, moreover, larger SWNT diameter can decrease the contribution of conformation entropy but lead to the increasing of the interaction energy. In polar organic solvent (N, N-Dimethylacetamide), the pyrene group plays a key role in the adsorption of Py-PE onto ultrathin SWNT, not only facilitates the spontaneous adsorption of Py-PE onto ultrathin SWNT, but also helps to form compact structure between themselves in the final adsorption states. While in aqueous solution, pyrene group no longer works as an anchor, but still affects a lot to the final adsorption conformation. Our present work provides detailed theoretical clue to understand the noncovalent interaction between aromatic segment appended polymer and ultrathin SWNT, and helps to explore the potential application of ultrathin SWNT in the fields of hybrid material, biomedical and electronic materials.

Synthesis of ultrathin mesoporous NiCo2O4 nanosheets on carbon fiber paper as integrated high-performance electrodes for supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Fangze; Yu, Lin; Cheng, Gao; Lin, Ting; Sun, Ming; Ye, Fei; Li, Yongfeng

2014-04-01

Two-dimensional ultrathin mesoporous NiCo2O4 nanosheets on carbon fiber paper (CFP) are synthesized through a facile solvothermal method combined with a post thermal treatment. The well interconnected ultrathin NiCo2O4 nanosheets directly grown on the carbon nanofibers could allow for easy diffusion of the electrolyte, shorten the transport path of ion and electron and accommodate the strain during cycling. As a result, superior pseudocapacitive performance is achieved with large specific capacitance of 999 F g-1 at a high current density of 20 A g-1. The capacitance loss is 15.6% after 3000 cycles at a current density of 10 A g-1, displaying good cycle ability and high rate capability.

Confinement of holes and electrons in blue organic light-emitting diodes with additional red emissive layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Jin Sung; Yoo, Seung Il; Kim, Jin Wook; Yoon, Geum Jae; Yi, Seungjun; Kim, Woo Young

2016-02-01

We used various emissive layer (EML) structures with ultrathin red EMLs to enhance the charge carrier balance and carrier recombination rate in blue PHOLED devices. These EML materials have different energy gaps between highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels. The ultrathin red EMLs, which were inserted in between the blue EMLs, effectively confined the charge carriers in EML, and increased the carrier recombination rate. The thickness of the individual EML was optimized, under 30 nm of the total thickness of EML. The blue PHOLEDs with ultrathin red EMLs achieved a luminous efficiency of 19.24 cd/A, which was 28.7% higher than those without ultrathin red EMLs, and the maximum external quantum efficiency was 11.81% at 500 cd/m2.

Direct synthesis of ultrathin SOI structure by extremely low-energy oxygen implantation

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

Hoshino, Yasushi, E-mail: yhoshino@kanagawa-u.ac.jp; Yachida, Gosuke; Inoue, Kodai

2016-06-15

We performed extremely low-energy {sup 16}O{sup +} implantation at 10 keV (R{sub p} ∼ 25 nm) followed by annealing aiming at directly synthesizing an ultrathin Si layer separated by a buried SiO{sub 2} layer in Si(001) substrates, and then investigated feasible condition of recrystallization and stabilization of the superficial Si and the buried oxide layer by significantly low temperature annealing. The elemental compositions were analyzed by Rutherford backscattering (RBS) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The crystallinity of the superficial Si layer was quantitatively confirmed by ananlyzing RBS-channeling spectra. Cross-sectional morphologies and atomic configurations were observed by transmission electron microscopemore » (TEM). As a result, we succeeded in directly synthesizing an ultrathin single-crystalline silicon layer with ≤20 nm thick separated by a thin buried stoichiometric SiO{sub 2} layer with ≤20 nm thick formed by extremely low-energy {sup 16}O{sup +} implantation followed by surprisingly low temperature annealing at 1050{sup ∘} C.« less

Suppressing Shuttle Effect Using Janus Cation Exchange Membrane for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Battery Separator.

PubMed

Li, Zhen; Han, Yu; Wei, Junhua; Wang, Wenqiang; Cao, Tiantian; Xu, Shengming; Xu, Zhenghe

2017-12-27

Suppressing the shuttle effect of polysulfide ions to obtain high durability and good electrochemical performance is of great concern in the field of lithium-sulfur batteries. To address this issue, a Janus membrane consisting of an ultrathin dense layer and a robust microporous layer is fabricated using cation exchange resin. Different from the composite membranes made from polyolefin membranes, the multiple layers of the Janus membrane in this study are synchronously generated by one step, getting rid of the additional complex coating processes. Excellent overall performance is obtained by the cooperation of multiple factors. The excellent ionic selectivity of cation exchange resin renders a great suppression of the shuttle effect, endowing the lithium-sulfur battery with high Coulombic efficiency of 92.0-99.0% (LiNO 3 -free electrolyte). The ultrathin property of a dense layer renders a low ionic resistance, resulting in 60% higher discharge capacity over the entire C-rates (versus the control sample with Celgard 2400 membrane). The robust macroporous layer supports the ultrathin layer to achieve a free-standing property, ensuring the usability of the Janus membrane.

Graphene/Sulfur/Carbon Nanocomposite for High Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

PubMed Central

Jin, Kangke; Zhou, Xufeng; Liu, Zhaoping

2015-01-01

Here, we report a two-step synthesis of graphene/sulfur/carbon ternary composite with a multilayer structure. In this composite, ultrathin S layers are uniformly deposited on graphene nanosheets and covered by a thin layer of amorphous carbon derived from β-cyclodextrin on the surface. Such a unique microstructure, not only improves the electrical conductivity of sulfur, but also effectively inhibits the dissolution of polysulfides during charging/discharging processes. As a result, this ternary nanocomposite exhibits excellent electrochemical performance. It can deliver a high initial discharge and charge capacity of 1410 mAh·g−1 and 1370 mAh·g−1, respectively, and a capacity retention of 63.8% can be achieved after 100 cycles at 0.1 C (1 C = 1675 mA·g−1). A relatively high specific capacity of 450 mAh·g−1 can still be retained after 200 cycles at a high rate of 2 C. The synthesis process introduced here is simple and broadly applicable to the modification of sulfur cathode for better electrochemical performance. PMID:28347077

Ultra-thin clay layers facilitate seismic slip in carbonate faults.

PubMed

Smeraglia, Luca; Billi, Andrea; Carminati, Eugenio; Cavallo, Andrea; Di Toro, Giulio; Spagnuolo, Elena; Zorzi, Federico

2017-04-06

Many earthquakes propagate up to the Earth's surface producing surface ruptures. Seismic slip propagation is facilitated by along-fault low dynamic frictional resistance, which is controlled by a number of physico-chemical lubrication mechanisms. In particular, rotary shear experiments conducted at seismic slip rates (1 ms -1 ) show that phyllosilicates can facilitate co-seismic slip along faults during earthquakes. This evidence is crucial for hazard assessment along oceanic subduction zones, where pelagic clays participate in seismic slip propagation. Conversely, the reason why, in continental domains, co-seismic slip along faults can propagate up to the Earth's surface is still poorly understood. We document the occurrence of micrometer-thick phyllosilicate-bearing layers along a carbonate-hosted seismogenic extensional fault in the central Apennines, Italy. Using friction experiments, we demonstrate that, at seismic slip rates (1 ms -1 ), similar calcite gouges with pre-existing phyllosilicate-bearing (clay content ≤3 wt.%) micro-layers weaken faster than calcite gouges or mixed calcite-phyllosilicate gouges. We thus propose that, within calcite gouge, ultra-low clay content (≤3 wt.%) localized along micrometer-thick layers can facilitate seismic slip propagation during earthquakes in continental domains, possibly enhancing surface displacement.

Interface-induced multiferroism by design in complex oxide superlattices

PubMed Central

Guo, Hangwen; Wang, Zhen; Dong, Shuai; Ghosh, Saurabh; Saghayezhian, Mohammad; Chen, Lina; Weng, Yakui; Herklotz, Andreas; Ward, Thomas Z.; Jin, Rongying; Pantelides, Sokrates T.; Zhu, Yimei; Zhang, Jiandi; Plummer, E. W.

2017-01-01

Interfaces between materials present unique opportunities for the discovery of intriguing quantum phenomena. Here, we explore the possibility that, in the case of superlattices, if one of the layers is made ultrathin, unexpected properties can be induced between the two bracketing interfaces. We pursue this objective by combining advanced growth and characterization techniques with theoretical calculations. Using prototype La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LSMO)/BaTiO3 (BTO) superlattices, we observe a structural evolution in the LSMO layers as a function of thickness. Atomic-resolution EM and spectroscopy reveal an unusual polar structure phase in ultrathin LSMO at a critical thickness caused by interfacing with the adjacent BTO layers, which is confirmed by first principles calculations. Most important is the fact that this polar phase is accompanied by reemergent ferromagnetism, making this system a potential candidate for ultrathin ferroelectrics with ferromagnetic ordering. Monte Carlo simulations illustrate the important role of spin–lattice coupling in LSMO. These results open up a conceptually intriguing recipe for developing functional ultrathin materials via interface-induced spin–lattice coupling. PMID:28607082

Interface-induced multiferroism by design in complex oxide superlattices

DOE PAGES

Guo, Hangwen; Wang, Zhen; Dong, Shuai; ...

2017-05-19

Interfaces between materials present unique opportunities for the discovery of intriguing quantum phenomena. Here, we explore the possibility that, in the case of superlattices, if one of the layers is made ultrathin, unexpected properties can be induced between the two bracketing interfaces. We pursue this objective by combining advanced growth and characterization techniques with theoretical calculations. Using prototype La 2/3Sr 1/3MnO 3 (LSMO)/BaTiO 3 (BTO) superlattices, we observe a structural evolution in the LSMO layers as a function of thickness. Atomic-resolution EM and spectroscopy reveal an unusual polar structure phase in ultrathin LSMO at a critical thickness caused by interfacingmore » with the adjacent BTO layers, which is confirmed by first principles calculations. Most important is the fact that this polar phase is accompanied by reemergent ferromagnetism, making this system a potential candidate for ultrathin ferroelectrics with ferromagnetic ordering. Monte Carlo simulations illustrate the important role of spin–lattice coupling in LSMO. These results open up a conceptually intriguing recipe for developing functional ultrathin materials via interface-induced spin–lattice coupling.« less

Low cost hydrogen/novel membrane technology for hydrogen separation from synthesis gas, Phase 1. Quarterly technical progress report for the period ending March 31, 1986

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

Not Available

1986-12-31

The goal of this program is to develop polymer membranes useful in the preparation of hydrogen from coal-derived synthesis gas. During this quarter the first experiment were aimed at developing high performance composite membranes for the separation of hydrogen from nitrogen and carbon monoxide. Three polymers have been selected as materials for these membranes: polyetherimide cellulose acetate and ethylcellulose. This quarter the investigators worked on polyetherimide and cellulose acetate membranes. The overall structure of these membranes is shown schematically in Figure 1. As shown, a microporous support membrane is first coated with a high flux intermediate layer then with anmore » ultrathin permselective layer and finally, if necessary, a thin protective high flux layer. 1 fig., 4 tabs.« less

High quality Ge epilayer on Si (1 0 0) with an ultrathin Si1-x Ge x /Si buffer layer by RPCVD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Da; Guo, Qinglei; Zhang, Nan; Xu, Anli; Wang, Bei; Li, Ya; Wang, Gang

2017-07-01

The authors report a method to grow high quality strain-relaxed Ge epilayer on a combination of low temperature Ge seed layer and Si1-x Ge x /Si superlattice buffer layer by reduced pressure chemical vapor deposition system without any subsequent annealing treatment. Prior to the growth of high quality Ge epilayer, an ultrathin Si1-x Ge x /Si superlattice buffer layer with the thickness of 50 nm and a 460 nm Ge seed layer were deposited successively at low temperature. Then an 840 nm Ge epilayer was grown at high deposition rate with the surface root-mean-square roughness of 0.707 nm and threading dislocation density of 2.5  ×  106 cm-2, respectively. Detailed investigations of the influence of ultrathin low-temperature Si1-x Ge x /Si superlattice buffer layer on the quality of Ge epilayer were performed, which indicates that the crystalline quality of Ge epilayer can be significantly improved by enhancing the Ge concentration of Si1-x Ge x /Si superlattice buffer layer.

Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with Mn-modified ultrathin MnGa layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suzuki, K. Z.; Miura, Y.; Ranjbar, R.; Bainsla, L.; Ono, A.; Sasaki, Y.; Mizukami, S.

2018-02-01

Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (p-MTJs) with a MgO barrier and a 1-nm-thick MnGa electrode were investigated by inserting several monolayers (MLs) of Mn. The tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio systematically increased when increasing the Mn layer thickness with a maximum of 18 (38.4)% at 300 (5) K for a Mn layer thickness of 0.6-0.8 nm. This ratio is five times higher compared to that without the Mn layer. The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) field and the PMA constant of the ultrathin MnGa layer also increased up to 62-90 kOe and 6.2-11.3 Merg/cm3, respectively, with an increase in the Mn interlayer thickness, even for the ultrathin regime of the MnGa layer. For p-MTJs showing a high TMR and PMA, electron microscopy indicated the presence of 3-4 MLs of Mn at the MnGa/MgO interface; thus, the Mn modification enhanced the TMR as well as improved the PMA. This may be a promising finding to develop a Mn-based free layer for spin-transfer-torque devices for high-recording-density magnetoresistive random access memory and a sub-THz oscillator/detector.

An advanced Ni-Fe layered double hydroxide electrocatalyst for water oxidation.

PubMed

Gong, Ming; Li, Yanguang; Wang, Hailiang; Liang, Yongye; Wu, Justin Z; Zhou, Jigang; Wang, Jian; Regier, Tom; Wei, Fei; Dai, Hongjie

2013-06-12

Highly active, durable, and cost-effective electrocatalysts for water oxidation to evolve oxygen gas hold a key to a range of renewable energy solutions, including water-splitting and rechargeable metal-air batteries. Here, we report the synthesis of ultrathin nickel-iron layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) nanoplates on mildly oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Incorporation of Fe into the nickel hydroxide induced the formation of NiFe-LDH. The crystalline NiFe-LDH phase in nanoplate form is found to be highly active for oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline solutions. For NiFe-LDH grown on a network of CNTs, the resulting NiFe-LDH/CNT complex exhibits higher electrocatalytic activity and stability for oxygen evolution than commercial precious metal Ir catalysts.

Decorative power generating panels creating angle insensitive transmissive colors

PubMed Central

Lee, Jae Yong; Lee, Kyu-Tae; Seo, Sungyong; Guo, L. Jay

2014-01-01

We present ultra-thin (6 to 31 nm) undoped amorphous silicon/organic hybrid solar cell structure, which can transmit desired color of light. The transmitted colors show great angular tolerance due to the negligible optical phase associated with light propagating in ultra-thin amorphous silicon (a-Si) layers. We achieved the power conversion efficiency of the hybrid cells up to 2 %; and demonstrated that most of the absorbed photons in the undoped a-Si layer contributed to the extracted electric charges due to the suppressed electron-hole recombination in the ultra-thin a-Si layer. We also show the resonance is invariant with respect to the angle of incidence up to ±70° regardless of the polarization of the incident light. Our exploration provides a design to realize energy harvesting colored photovoltaic panels for innovative applications. PMID:24577075

Decorative power generating panels creating angle insensitive transmissive colors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jae Yong; Lee, Kyu-Tae; Seo, Sungyong; Guo, L. Jay

2014-02-01

We present ultra-thin (6 to 31 nm) undoped amorphous silicon/organic hybrid solar cell structure, which can transmit desired color of light. The transmitted colors show great angular tolerance due to the negligible optical phase associated with light propagating in ultra-thin amorphous silicon (a-Si) layers. We achieved the power conversion efficiency of the hybrid cells up to 2 %; and demonstrated that most of the absorbed photons in the undoped a-Si layer contributed to the extracted electric charges due to the suppressed electron-hole recombination in the ultra-thin a-Si layer. We also show the resonance is invariant with respect to the angle of incidence up to +/-70° regardless of the polarization of the incident light. Our exploration provides a design to realize energy harvesting colored photovoltaic panels for innovative applications.

Decorative power generating panels creating angle insensitive transmissive colors.

PubMed

Lee, Jae Yong; Lee, Kyu-Tae; Seo, Sungyong; Guo, L Jay

2014-02-28

We present ultra-thin (6 to 31 nm) undoped amorphous silicon/organic hybrid solar cell structure, which can transmit desired color of light. The transmitted colors show great angular tolerance due to the negligible optical phase associated with light propagating in ultra-thin amorphous silicon (a-Si) layers. We achieved the power conversion efficiency of the hybrid cells up to 2 %; and demonstrated that most of the absorbed photons in the undoped a-Si layer contributed to the extracted electric charges due to the suppressed electron-hole recombination in the ultra-thin a-Si layer. We also show the resonance is invariant with respect to the angle of incidence up to ± 70° regardless of the polarization of the incident light. Our exploration provides a design to realize energy harvesting colored photovoltaic panels for innovative applications.

Low-temperature atomic layer epitaxy of AlN ultrathin films by layer-by-layer, in-situ atomic layer annealing.

PubMed

Shih, Huan-Yu; Lee, Wei-Hao; Kao, Wei-Chung; Chuang, Yung-Chuan; Lin, Ray-Ming; Lin, Hsin-Chih; Shiojiri, Makoto; Chen, Miin-Jang

2017-01-03

Low-temperature epitaxial growth of AlN ultrathin films was realized by atomic layer deposition (ALD) together with the layer-by-layer, in-situ atomic layer annealing (ALA), instead of a high growth temperature which is needed in conventional epitaxial growth techniques. By applying the ALA with the Ar plasma treatment in each ALD cycle, the AlN thin film was converted dramatically from the amorphous phase to a single-crystalline epitaxial layer, at a low deposition temperature of 300 °C. The energy transferred from plasma not only provides the crystallization energy but also enhances the migration of adatoms and the removal of ligands, which significantly improve the crystallinity of the epitaxial layer. The X-ray diffraction reveals that the full width at half-maximum of the AlN (0002) rocking curve is only 144 arcsec in the AlN ultrathin epilayer with a thickness of only a few tens of nm. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy also indicates the high-quality single-crystal hexagonal phase of the AlN epitaxial layer on the sapphire substrate. The result opens a window for further extension of the ALD applications from amorphous thin films to the high-quality low-temperature atomic layer epitaxy, which can be exploited in a variety of fields and applications in the near future.

Low-temperature atomic layer epitaxy of AlN ultrathin films by layer-by-layer, in-situ atomic layer annealing

PubMed Central

Shih, Huan-Yu; Lee, Wei-Hao; Kao, Wei-Chung; Chuang, Yung-Chuan; Lin, Ray-Ming; Lin, Hsin-Chih; Shiojiri, Makoto; Chen, Miin-Jang

2017-01-01

Low-temperature epitaxial growth of AlN ultrathin films was realized by atomic layer deposition (ALD) together with the layer-by-layer, in-situ atomic layer annealing (ALA), instead of a high growth temperature which is needed in conventional epitaxial growth techniques. By applying the ALA with the Ar plasma treatment in each ALD cycle, the AlN thin film was converted dramatically from the amorphous phase to a single-crystalline epitaxial layer, at a low deposition temperature of 300 °C. The energy transferred from plasma not only provides the crystallization energy but also enhances the migration of adatoms and the removal of ligands, which significantly improve the crystallinity of the epitaxial layer. The X-ray diffraction reveals that the full width at half-maximum of the AlN (0002) rocking curve is only 144 arcsec in the AlN ultrathin epilayer with a thickness of only a few tens of nm. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy also indicates the high-quality single-crystal hexagonal phase of the AlN epitaxial layer on the sapphire substrate. The result opens a window for further extension of the ALD applications from amorphous thin films to the high-quality low-temperature atomic layer epitaxy, which can be exploited in a variety of fields and applications in the near future. PMID:28045075

Coexistence of Topological Edge State and Superconductivity in Bismuth Ultrathin Film.

PubMed

Sun, Hao-Hua; Wang, Mei-Xiao; Zhu, Fengfeng; Wang, Guan-Yong; Ma, Hai-Yang; Xu, Zhu-An; Liao, Qing; Lu, Yunhao; Gao, Chun-Lei; Li, Yao-Yi; Liu, Canhua; Qian, Dong; Guan, Dandan; Jia, Jin-Feng

2017-05-10

Ultrathin freestanding bismuth film is theoretically predicted to be one kind of two-dimensional topological insulators. Experimentally, the topological nature of bismuth strongly depends on the situations of the Bi films. Film thickness and interaction with the substrate often change the topological properties of Bi films. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy or spectroscopy and first-principle calculation, the properties of Bi(111) ultrathin film grown on the NbSe 2 superconducting substrate have been studied. We find the band structures of the ultrathin film is quasi-freestanding, and one-dimensional edge state exists on Bi(111) film as thin as three bilayers. Superconductivity is also detected on different layers of the film and the pairing potential exhibits an exponential decay with the layer thicknesses. Thus, the topological edge state can coexist with superconductivity, which makes the system a promising platform for exploring Majorana Fermions.

Controllable synthesis of ultrathin vanadium oxide nanobelts via an EDTA-mediated hydrothermal process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu-Xiang, Qin; Cheng, Liu; Wei-Wei, Xie; Meng-Yang, Cui

2016-02-01

Ultrathin VO2 nanobelts with rough alignment features are prepared on the induction layer-coated substrates by an ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-mediated hydrothermal process. EDTA acts as a chelating reagent and capping agent to facilitate the one-dimensional (1D) preferential growth of ultrathin VO2 nanobelts with high crystallinities and good uniformities. The annealed induction layer and concentration of EDTA are found to play crucial roles in the formation of aligned and ultrathin nanobelts. Variation in EDTA concentration can change the VO2 morphology of ultrathin nanobelts into that of thick nanoplates. Mild annealing of ultrathin VO2 nanobelts at 350 °C in air results in the formation of V2O5 nanobelts with a nearly unchanged ultrathin structure. The nucleation and growth mechanism involved in the formations of nanobelts and nanoplates are proposed. The ethanol gas sensing properties of the V2O5 nanobelt networks-based sensor are investigated in a temperature range from 100 °C to 300 °C over ethanol concentrations ranging from 3 ppm to 500 ppm. The results indicate that the V2O5 nanobelt network sensor exhibits high sensitivity, good reversibility, and fast response-recovery characteristics with an optimal working temperature of 250 °C. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61274074, 61271070, and 61574100).

Polysulfide Anchoring Mechanism Revealed by Atomic Layer Deposition of V2O5 and Sulfur-Filled Carbon Nanotubes for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

PubMed

Carter, Rachel; Oakes, Landon; Muralidharan, Nitin; Cohn, Adam P; Douglas, Anna; Pint, Cary L

2017-03-01

Despite the promise of surface engineering to address the challenge of polysulfide shuttling in sulfur-carbon composite cathodes, melt infiltration techniques limit mechanistic studies correlating engineered surfaces and polysulfide anchoring. Here, we present a controlled experimental demonstration of polysulfide anchoring using vapor phase isothermal processing to fill the interior of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) after assembly into binder-free electrodes and atomic layer deposition (ALD) coating of polar V 2 O 5 anchoring layers on the CNT surfaces. The ultrathin submonolayer V 2 O 5 coating on the CNT exterior surface balances the adverse effect of polysulfide shuttling with the necessity for high sulfur utilization due to binding sites near the conductive CNT surface. The sulfur loaded into the CNT interior provides a spatially separated control volume enabling high sulfur loading with direct sulfur-CNT electrical contact for efficient sulfur conversion. By controlling ALD coating thickness, high initial discharge capacity of 1209 mAh/g S at 0.1 C and exceptional cycling at 0.2 C with 87% capacity retention after 100 cycles and 73% at 450 cycles is achieved and correlated to an optimal V 2 O 5 anchoring layer thickness. This provides experimental evidence that surface engineering approaches can be effective to overcome polysulfide shuttling by controlled design of molecular-scale building blocks for efficient binder free lithium sulfur battery cathodes.

Ultrathin TiO2 layer coated-CdS spheres core-shell nanocomposite with enhanced visible-light photoactivity.

PubMed

Chen, Zhang; Xu, Yi-Jun

2013-12-26

Development of various strategies for controllable fabrication of core-shell nanocomposites (CSNs) with highly active photocatalytic performance has been attracting ever-increasing research attention. In particular, control of the ultrathin layer TiO2 shell in constructing CSNs in an aqueous phase is a significant but technologically challenging issue. Here, this paper demonstrates the interface assembly synthesis of CdS nanospheres@TiO2 core-shell photocatalyst via the electrostatic interaction of negatively charged water-stable titania precursor with positively charged CdS nanospheres (CdS NSPs), followed by the formation of the ultrathin-layer TiO2 shell through a facile refluxing process in aqueous phase. The as-formed CdS NSPs@TiO2 core-shell nanohybrid exhibits a high visible-light-driven photoactivity for selective transformation and reduction of heavy metal ions. The ultrathin TiO2 layer coated on CdS NSPs results in excellent light transmission property, enhanced adsorption capacity, and improved transfer of charge carriers and lifespan of photoinduced electron-hole pairs, which would prominently contribute to the significant photoactivity enhancement. It is anticipated that this facile aqueous-phase synthesis strategy could be extended to design a variety of more efficient CSN photocatalysts with controllable morphology toward target applications in diverse photoredox processes.

Transparent actuators and robots based on single-layer superaligned carbon nanotube sheet and polymer composites.

PubMed

Chen, Luzhuo; Weng, Mingcen; Zhang, Wei; Zhou, Zhiwei; Zhou, Yi; Xia, Dan; Li, Jiaxin; Huang, Zhigao; Liu, Changhong; Fan, Shoushan

2016-03-28

Transparent actuators have been attracting emerging interest recently, as they demonstrate potential applications in the fields of invisible robots, tactical displays, variable-focus lenses, and flexible cellular phones. However, previous technologies did not simultaneously realize macroscopic transparent actuators with advantages of large-shape deformation, low-voltage-driven actuation and fast fabrication. Here, we develop a fast approach to fabricate a high-performance transparent actuator based on single-layer superaligned carbon nanotube sheet and polymer composites. Various advantages of single-layer nanotube sheets including high transparency, considerable conductivity, and ultra-thin dimensions together with selected polymer materials completely realize all the above required advantages. Also, this is the first time that a single-layer nanotube sheet has been used to fabricate actuators with high transparency, avoiding the structural damage to the single-layer nanotube sheet. The transparent actuator shows a transmittance of 72% at the wavelength of 550 nm and bends remarkably with a curvature of 0.41 cm(-1) under a DC voltage for 5 s, demonstrating a significant advance in technological performances compared to previous conventional actuators. To illustrate their great potential usage, a transparent wiper and a humanoid robot "hand" were elaborately designed and fabricated, which initiate a new direction in the development of high-performance invisible robotics and other intelligent applications with transparency.

Ultrathin Carbon Film Protected Silver Nanostructures for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering.

PubMed

Peng, Yinshan; Zheng, Xianliang; Tian, Hongwei; Cui, Xiaoqiang; Chen, Hong; Zheng, Weitao

2016-06-23

In this article, ultrathin carbon film protected silver substrate (Ag/C) was prepared via a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method. The morphological evolution of silver nanostructures underneath, as well as the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity of Ag/C hybrid can be tuned by controlling the deposition time. The stability and reproducibility of the as-prepared hybrid were also studied. © The Author(s) 2016.

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

Functionalization of SiO2 Surfaces for Si Monolayer Doping with Minimal Carbon Contamination.

PubMed

van Druenen, Maart; Collins, Gillian; Glynn, Colm; O'Dwyer, Colm; Holmes, Justin D

2018-01-17

Monolayer doping (MLD) involves the functionalization of semiconductor surfaces followed by an annealing step to diffuse the dopant into the substrate. We report an alternative doping method, oxide-MLD, where ultrathin SiO 2 overlayers are functionalized with phosphonic acids for doping Si. Similar peak carrier concentrations were achieved when compared with hydrosilylated surfaces (∼2 × 10 20 atoms/cm 3 ). Oxide-MLD offers several advantages over conventional MLD, such as ease of sample processing, superior ambient stability, and minimal carbon contamination. The incorporation of an oxide layer minimizes carbon contamination by facilitating attachment of carbon-free precursors or by impeding carbon diffusion. The oxide-MLD strategy allows selection of many inexpensive precursors and therefore allows application to both p- and n-doping. The phosphonic acid-functionalized SiO 2 surfaces were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, whereas doping was assessed using electrochemical capacitance voltage and Hall measurements.

Omnidirectional, broadband light absorption using large-area, ultrathin lossy metallic film coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhongyang; Palacios, Edgar; Butun, Serkan; Kocer, Hasan; Aydin, Koray

2015-10-01

Resonant absorbers based on nanostructured materials are promising for variety of applications including optical filters, thermophotovoltaics, thermal emitters, and hot-electron collection. One of the significant challenges for such micro/nanoscale featured medium or surface, however, is costly lithographic processes for structural patterning which restricted from industrial production of complex designs. Here, we demonstrate lithography-free, broadband, polarization-independent optical absorbers based on a three-layer ultrathin film composed of subwavelength chromium (Cr) and oxide film coatings. We have measured almost perfect absorption as high as 99.5% across the entire visible regime and beyond (400-800 nm). In addition to near-ideal absorption, our absorbers exhibit omnidirectional independence for incidence angle over ±60 degrees. Broadband absorbers introduced in this study perform better than nanostructured plasmonic absorber counterparts in terms of bandwidth, polarization and angle independence. Improvements of such “blackbody” samples based on uniform thin-film coatings is attributed to extremely low quality factor of asymmetric highly-lossy Fabry-Perot cavities. Such broadband absorber designs are ultrathin compared to carbon nanotube based black materials, and does not require lithographic processes. This demonstration redirects the broadband super absorber design to extreme simplicity, higher performance and cost effective manufacturing convenience for practical industrial production.

NOL specular spin-valve heads using an ultrathin CoFe free layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukuzawa, Hideaki; Koi, Katsuhiko; Tomita, Hiroshi; Fuke, Hiromi Niu; Kamiguchi, Yuzo; Iwasaki, Hitoshi; Sahashi, Masashi

2001-10-01

This paper reports the film and head performance of specular spin valves with nano-oxide layer (NOL-SPSV). A large MR ratio of 17% was obtained by using an ultrathin CoFe free layer with a high conductance Cu layer, which decreases the sense current field of a free layer and brings good soft magnetic characteristics. Prototype heads with a read track width of 0.47-0.61 μm were fabricated by using NOL-SPSV films with an MR ratio of 14-15%, Hua˜400 Oe, and Hc˜5 Oe. High output signal voltage of 8-11 mV/μm was realized in the NOL-SPSV heads.

Suppression of surface segregation of the phosphorous δ-doping layer by insertion of an ultra-thin silicon layer for ultra-shallow Ohmic contacts on n-type germanium

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

Yamada, Michihiro; Uematsu, Masashi; Itoh, Kohei M., E-mail: kitoh@appi.keio.ac.jp

2015-09-28

We demonstrate the formation of abrupt phosphorus (P) δ-doping profiles in germanium (Ge) by the insertion of ultra-thin silicon (Si) layers. The Si layers at the δ-doping region significantly suppress the surface segregation of P during the molecular beam epitaxial growth of Ge and high-concentration active P donors are confined within a few nm of the initial doping position. The current-voltage characteristics of the P δ-doped layers with Si insertion show excellent Ohmic behaviors with low enough resistivity for ultra-shallow Ohmic contacts on n-type Ge.

Ultrathin diamond-like carbon film coated silver nanoparticles-based substrates for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

PubMed

Liu, Fanxin; Cao, Zhishen; Tang, Chaojun; Chen, Ling; Wang, Zhenlin

2010-05-25

We have demonstrated that by coating with a thin dielectric layer of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C), a biocompatible and optical transparent material in the visible range, the Ag nanoparticle-based substrate becomes extremely suitable for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Our measurements show that a 10 A or thicker ta-C layer becomes efficient to protect the oxygen-free Ag in air and prevent Ag ionizing in aqueous solutions. Furthermore, the Ag nanoparticles substrate coated with a 10 A ta-C film shows a higher enhancement of Raman signals than the uncoated substrate. These observations are further supported by our numerical simulations. We suggest that biomolecule detections in analytic assays could be easily realized using ta-C-coated Ag-based substrate for SERS especially in the visible range. The coated substrate also has higher mechanical stability, chemical inertness, and technological compliance, and may be useful, for example, to enhance TiO(2) photocatalysis and solar-cell efficiency by the surface plasmons.

A DFT study on NEA GaN photocathode with an ultrathin n-type Si-doped GaN cap layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Sihao; Liu, Lei; Kong, Yike; Diao, Yu

2016-10-01

Due to the drawbacks of conventional negative electron affinity (NEA) GaN photocathodes activated by Cs or Cs/O, a new-type NEA GaN photocathodes with heterojunction surface dispense with Cs activation are proposed. This structure can be obtained through the coverage of an ultrathin n-type Si-doped GaN cap layer on the p-type Mg-doped GaN emission layer. The influences of the cap layer on the photocathode are calculated using DFT. This study indicates that the n-type cap layer can promote the photoemission characteristics of GaN photocathode and demonstrates the probability of the preparation of a NEA GaN photocathode with an n-type cap layer.

The Ultrathin Limit and Dead-layer Effects in Local Polarization Switching of BiFeO3

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

Maksymovych, Petro; Huijben, Mark; Pan, Minghu

Using piezoresponse force microscopy in ultra-high vacuum, polarization switching has been detected and quantified in epitaxial BiFeO3 films from 200 down to ~ 4 unit cells. Local remnant piezoresponse was used to infer the applied electric field inside the ferroelectric volume, and account for the elusive effect of dead-layers in ultrathin films. The dead-layer manifested itself in the slower than anticipated decrease of the switching bias with film thickness, yielding apparent Kay-Dunn scaling of the switching field, while the statistical analysis of hysteresis loops revealed lateral variation of the dead-layer with sub-10 nm resolution.

Precise, Self-Limited Epitaxy of Ultrathin Organic Semiconductors and Heterojunctions Tailored by van der Waals Interactions.

PubMed

Wu, Bing; Zhao, Yinghe; Nan, Haiyan; Yang, Ziyi; Zhang, Yuhan; Zhao, Huijuan; He, Daowei; Jiang, Zonglin; Liu, Xiaolong; Li, Yun; Shi, Yi; Ni, Zhenhua; Wang, Jinlan; Xu, Jian-Bin; Wang, Xinran

2016-06-08

Precise assembly of semiconductor heterojunctions is the key to realize many optoelectronic devices. By exploiting the strong and tunable van der Waals (vdW) forces between graphene and organic small molecules, we demonstrate layer-by-layer epitaxy of ultrathin organic semiconductors and heterostructures with unprecedented precision with well-defined number of layers and self-limited characteristics. We further demonstrate organic p-n heterojunctions with molecularly flat interface, which exhibit excellent rectifying behavior and photovoltaic responses. The self-limited organic molecular beam epitaxy (SLOMBE) is generically applicable for many layered small-molecule semiconductors and may lead to advanced organic optoelectronic devices beyond bulk heterojunctions.

A study on the optics of copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) solar cells with ultra-thin absorber layers.

PubMed

Xu, Man; Wachters, Arthur J H; van Deelen, Joop; Mourad, Maurice C D; Buskens, Pascal J P

2014-03-10

We present a systematic study of the effect of variation of the zinc oxide (ZnO) and copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) layer thickness on the absorption characteristics of CIGS solar cells using a simulation program based on finite element method (FEM). We show that the absorption in the CIGS layer does not decrease monotonically with its layer thickness due to interference effects. Ergo, high precision is required in the CIGS production process, especially when using ultra-thin absorber layers, to accurately realize the required thickness of the ZnO, cadmium sulfide (CdS) and CIGS layer. We show that patterning the ZnO window layer can strongly suppress these interference effects allowing a higher tolerance in the production process.

System and Method for Fabricating Super Conducting Circuitry on Both Sides of an Ultra-Thin Layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Ari D. (Inventor); Mikula, Vilem (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A method of fabricating circuitry in a wafer includes depositing a superconducting metal on a silicon on insulator wafer having a handle wafer, coating the wafer with a sacrificial layer and bonding the wafer to a thermally oxide silicon wafer with a first epoxy. The method includes flipping the wafer, thinning the flipped wafer by removing a handle wafer, etching a buried oxide layer, depositing a superconducting layer, bonding the wafer to a thermally oxidized silicon wafer having a handle wafer using an epoxy, flipping the wafer again, thinning the flipped wafer, etching a buried oxide layer from the wafer and etching the sacrificial layer from the wafer. The result is a wafer having superconductive circuitry on both sides of an ultra-thin silicon layer.

Fabrication of silicon-on-diamond substrate with an ultrathin SiO2 bonding layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagata, Masahiro; Shirahama, Ryouya; Duangchan, Sethavut; Baba, Akiyoshi

2018-06-01

We proposed and demonstrated a sputter etching method to prepare both a flat surface (root-mean-square surface roughness of approximately 0.2–0.3 nm) and an ultrathin SiO2 bonding layer at an accuracy of approximately 5 nm in thickness to fabricate a silicon-on-diamond substrate (SOD). We also investigated a plasma activation method on a SiO2 surface using various gases. We found that O2 plasma activation is more suitable for the bonding between SiO2 and Si than N2 or Ar plasma activation. We speculate that the concentration of hydroxyl groups on the SiO2 surface was increased by O2 plasma activation. We fabricated the SOD substrate with an ultrathin (15 nm in thickness) SiO2 bonding layer using the sputter etching and O2 plasma activation methods.

Ultra-thin silicon oxide layers on crystalline silicon wafers: Comparison of advanced oxidation techniques with respect to chemically abrupt SiO2/Si interfaces with low defect densities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stegemann, Bert; Gad, Karim M.; Balamou, Patrice; Sixtensson, Daniel; Vössing, Daniel; Kasemann, Martin; Angermann, Heike

2017-02-01

Six advanced oxidation techniques were analyzed, evaluated and compared with respect to the preparation of high-quality ultra-thin oxide layers on crystalline silicon. The resulting electronic and chemical SiO2/Si interface properties were determined by a combined x-ray photoemission (XPS) and surface photovoltage (SPV) investigation. Depending on the oxidation technique, chemically abrupt SiO2/Si interfaces with low densities of interface states were fabricated on c-Si either at low temperatures, at short times, or in wet-chemical environment, resulting in each case in excellent interface passivation. Moreover, the beneficial effect of a subsequent forming gas annealing (FGA) step for the passivation of the SiO2/Si interface of ultra-thin oxide layers has been proven. Chemically abrupt SiO2/Si interfaces have been shown to generate less interface defect states.

Morphology, mechanical stability, and protective properties of ultrathin gallium oxide coatings.

PubMed

Lawrenz, Frank; Lange, Philipp; Severin, Nikolai; Rabe, Jürgen P; Helm, Christiane A; Block, Stephan

2015-06-02

Ultrathin gallium oxide layers with a thickness of 2.8 ± 0.2 nm were transferred from the surface of liquid gallium onto solid substrates, including conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). The gallium oxide exhibits high mechanical stability, withstanding normal pressures of up to 1 GPa in contact mode scanning force microscopy imaging. Moreover, it lowers the rate of photodegradation of P3HT by 4 orders of magnitude, as compared to uncovered P3HT. This allows us to estimate the upper limits for oxygen and water vapor transmission rates of 0.08 cm(3) m(-2) day(-1) and 0.06 mg m(-2) day(-1), respectively. Hence, similar to other highly functional coatings such as graphene, ultrathin gallium oxide layers can be regarded as promising candidates for protective layers in flexible organic (opto-)electronics and photovoltaics because they offer permeation barrier functionalities in conjunction with high optical transparency.

Spatially and momentum resolved energy electron loss spectra from an ultra-thin PrNiO{sub 3} layer

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

Kinyanjui, M. K., E-mail: michael.kinyanjui@uni-ulm.de; Kaiser, U.; Benner, G.

2015-05-18

We present an experimental approach which allows for the acquisition of spectra from ultra-thin films at high spatial, momentum, and energy resolutions. Spatially and momentum (q) resolved electron energy loss spectra have been obtained from a 12 nm ultra-thin PrNiO{sub 3} layer using a nano-beam electron diffraction based approach which enabled the acquisition of momentum resolved spectra from individual, differently oriented nano-domains and at different positions of the PrNiO{sub 3} thin layer. The spatial and wavelength dependence of the spectral excitations are obtained and characterized after the analysis of the experimental spectra using calculated dielectric and energy loss functions. The presentedmore » approach makes a contribution towards obtaining momentum-resolved spectra from nanostructures, thin film, heterostructures, surfaces, and interfaces.« less

Controllable Synthesis of Ordered Mesoporous Mo2C@Graphitic Carbon Core-Shell Nanowire Arrays for Efficient Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

PubMed

Zhu, Jiahui; Yao, Yan; Chen, Zhi; Zhang, Aijian; Zhou, Mengyuan; Guo, Jun; Wu, Winston Duo; Chen, Xiao Dong; Li, Yanguang; Wu, Zhangxiong

2018-06-06

Mo 2 C is a possible substitute to Pt-group metals for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Both support-free and carbon-supported Mo 2 C nanomaterials with improved HER performance have been developed. Herein, distinct from prior research, novel ordered mesoporous core-shell nanowires with Mo 2 C cores and ultrathin graphitic carbon (GC) shells are rationally synthesized and demonstrated to be excellent for HER. The synthesis is fulfilled via a hard-templating approach combining in situ carburization and localized carbon deposition. Phosphomolybdic acid confined in the SBA-15 template is first converted to MoO 2 , which is then in situ carburized to Mo 2 C nanowires with abundant surface defects. Simultaneously, GC layer (the thickness is down to ∼1.0 nm in most areas) is controlled to be locally deposited on the Mo 2 C surface because of its strong affinity with carbon and catalytic effect on graphitization. Removal of the template results in the Mo 2 C@GC core-shell nanowire arrays with the structural properties well-characterized. They exhibit excellent performance for HER with a low overpotential of 125 mV at 10 mA cm -2 , a small Tafel slope of 66 mV dec -1 , and an excellent stability in acidic electrolytes. The influences of several factors, especially the spatial configuration and relative contents of the GC and Mo 2 C components, on HER performance are elucidated with control experiments. The excellent HER performance of the mesoporous Mo 2 C@GC core-shell nanowire arrays originates from the rough Mo 2 C nanowires with diverse active sites and short charge-transfer paths and the ultrathin GC shells with improved surface area, electronic conductivity, and stabilizing effect on Mo 2 C.

Role of ultrathin metal fluoride layer in organic photovoltaic cells: mechanism of efficiency and lifetime enhancement.

PubMed

Lim, Kyung-Geun; Choi, Mi-Ri; Kim, Ji-Hoon; Kim, Dong Hun; Jung, Gwan Ho; Park, Yongsup; Lee, Jong-Lam; Lee, Tae-Woo

2014-04-01

Although rapid progress has been made recently in bulk heterojunction organic solar cells, systematic studies on an ultrathin interfacial layer at the electron extraction contact have not been conducted in detail, which is important to improve both the device efficiency and the lifetime. We find that an ultrathin BaF2 layer at the electron extraction contact strongly influences the open-circuit voltage (Voc ) as the nanomorphology evolves with increasing BaF2 thickness. A vacuum-deposited ultrathin BaF2 layer grows by island growth, so BaF2 layers with a nominal thickness less than that of single-coverage layer (≈3 nm) partially cover the polymeric photoactive layer. As the nominal thickness of the BaF2 layer increased to that of a single-coverage layer, the Voc and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) increased but the short-circuit current remained almost constant. The fill factor and the PCE decreased abruptly as the thickness of the BaF2 layer exceeded that of a single-coverage layer, which was ascribed to the insulating nature of BaF2 . We find the major cause of the increased Voc observed in these devices is the lowered work function of the cathode caused by the reaction and release of Ba from thin BaF2 films upon deposition of Al. The OPV device with the BaF2 layer showed a slightly improved maximum PCE (4.0 %) and a greatly (approximately nine times) increased device half-life under continuous simulated solar irradiation at 100 mW cm(-2) as compared with the OPV without an interfacial layer (PCE=2.1 %). We found that the photodegradation of the photoactive layer was not a major cause of the OPV degradation. The hugely improved lifetime with cathode interface modification suggests a significant role of the cathode interfacial layer that can help to prolong device lifetimes. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

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.

Multi-Layer Coating of Ultrathin Polymer Films on Nanoparticles of Alumina by a Plasma Treatment

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-01-01

Proc. Vol. 635 © 2001 Materials Research Society Multi-Layer Coating of Ultrathin Polymer Films on Nanoparticles of Alumina by a Plasma Treatment Donglu...interconnected organic and inorganic networks results in coatings with a very low permeability for gases and liquids. Hybrid materials are very suitable for... materials consist of a clear alcoholic solution that can easily be processed by classical application techniques such as dipping, spraying, or spin coating

Atomic layer deposition and post-growth thermal annealing of ultrathin MoO3 layers on silicon substrates: Formation of surface nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hongfei; Yang, Ren Bin; Yang, Weifeng; Jin, Yunjiang; Lee, Coryl J. J.

2018-05-01

Ultrathin MoO3 layers have been grown on Si substrates at 120 °C by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using molybdenum hexacarbonyl [Mo(CO)6] and ozone (O3) as the Mo- and O-source precursors, respectively. The ultrathin films were further annealed in air at Tann = 550-750 °C for 15 min. Scanning-electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy have been employed to evaluate the morphological and elemental properties as well as their evolutions upon annealing of the thin films. They revealed an interfacial SiOx layer in between the MoO3 layer and the Si substrate; this SiOx layer converted into SiO2 during the annealing; and the equivalent thickness of the MoO3 (SiO2) layer decreased (increased) with the increase in Tann. Particles with diameters smaller than 50 nm emerged at Tann = 550 °C and their sizes (density) were reduced (increased) by increasing Tann to 650 °C. A further increase of Tann to 750 °C resulted in telephone-cord-like MoO3 structures, initiated from isolated particles on the surface. These observations have been discussed and interpreted based on temperature-dependent atomic interdiffusions, surface evaporations, and/or melting of MoO3, which shed new light on ALD MoO3 towards its electronic applications.

Highly stretchable strain sensor based on polyurethane substrate using hydrogen bond-assisted laminated structure for monitoring of tiny human motions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Ying; Zhao, Yunong; Wang, Yang; Guo, Xiaohui; Zhang, Yangyang; Liu, Ping; Liu, Caixia; Zhang, Yugang

2018-03-01

Strain sensors used as flexible and wearable electronic devices have improved prospects in the fields of artificial skin, robotics, human-machine interfaces, and healthcare. This work introduces a highly stretchable fiber-based strain sensor with a laminated structure made up of a graphene nanoplatelet layer and a carbon black/single-walled carbon nanotube synergetic conductive network layer. An ultrathin, flexible, and elastic two-layer polyurethane (PU) yarn substrate was successively deposited by a novel chemical bonding-based layered dip-coating process. These strain sensors demonstrated high stretchability (˜350%), little hysteresis, and long-term durability (over 2400 cycles) due to the favorable tensile properties of the PU substrate. The linearity of the strain sensor could reach an adjusted R-squared of 0.990 at 100% strain, which is better than most of the recently reported strain sensors. Meanwhile, the strain sensor exhibited good sensibility, rapid response, and a lower detection limit. The lower detection limit benefited from the hydrogen bond-assisted laminated structure and continuous conductive path. Finally, a series of experiments were carried out based on the special features of the PU strain sensor to show its capacity of detecting and monitoring tiny human motions.

Synthesis, properties and applications of 2D non-graphene materials.

PubMed

Wang, Feng; Wang, Zhenxing; Wang, Qisheng; Wang, Fengmei; Yin, Lei; Xu, Kai; Huang, Yun; He, Jun

2015-07-24

As an emerging class of new materials, two-dimensional (2D) non-graphene materials, including layered and non-layered, and their heterostructures are currently attracting increasing interest due to their promising applications in electronics, optoelectronics and clean energy. In contrast to traditional semiconductors, such as Si, Ge and III-V group materials, 2D materials show significant merits of ultrathin thickness, very high surface-to-volume ratio, and high compatibility with flexible devices. Owing to these unique properties, while scaling down to ultrathin thickness, devices based on these materials as well as artificially synthetic heterostructures exhibit novel and surprising functions and performances. In this review, we aim to provide a summary on the state-of-the-art research activities on 2D non-graphene materials. The scope of the review will cover the preparation of layered and non-layered 2D materials, construction of 2D vertical van der Waals and lateral ultrathin heterostructures, and especially focus on the applications in electronics, optoelectronics and clean energy. Moreover, the review is concluded with some perspectives on the future developments in this field.

Prediction of transmittance spectra for transparent composite electrodes with ultra-thin metal layers

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

Zhao, Zhao; Alford, T. L., E-mail: TA@asu.edu; Khorasani, Arash Elhami

2015-11-28

Recent interest in indium-free transparent composite-electrodes (TCEs) has motivated theoretical and experimental efforts to better understand and enhance their electrical and optical properties. Various tools have been developed to calculate the optical transmittance of multilayer thin-film structures based on the transfer-matrix method. However, the factors that affect the accuracy of these calculations have not been investigated very much. In this study, two sets of TCEs, TiO{sub 2}/Au/TiO{sub 2} and TiO{sub 2}/Ag/TiO{sub 2}, were fabricated to study the factors that affect the accuracy of transmittance predictions. We found that the predicted transmittance can deviate significantly from measured transmittance for TCEs thatmore » have ultra-thin plasmonic metal layers. The ultrathin metal layer in the TCE is typically discontinuous. When light interacts with the metallic islands in this discontinuous layer, localized surface plasmons are generated. This causes extra light absorption, which then leads to the actual transmittance being lower than the predicted transmittance.« less

Photoluminescence and capacitance voltage characterization of GaAs surface passivated by an ultrathin GaN interface control layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anantathanasarn, Sanguan; Hasegawa, Hideki

2002-05-01

A novel surface passivation technique for GaAs using an ultrathin GaN interface control layer (GaN ICL) formed by surface nitridation was characterized by ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) photoluminescence (PL) and capacitance-voltage ( C- V) measurements. The PL quantum efficiency was dramatically enhanced after being passivated by the GaN ICL structure, reaching as high as 30 times of the initial clean GaAs surface. Further analysis of PL data was done by the PL surface state spectroscopy (PLS 3) simulation technique. PL and C- V results are in good agreement indicating that ultrathin GaN ICL reduces the gap states and unpins the Fermi level, realizing a wide movement of Fermi level within the midgap region and reduction of the effective surface recombination velocity by a factor of 1/60. GaN layer also introduced a large negative surface fixed charge of about 10 12 cm -2. A further improvement took place by depositing a Si 3N 4 layer on GaN ICL/GaAs structure.

Design of an ultra-thin absorption layer with magnetic materials based on genetic algorithm at the S band

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Fang; Yang, Xiaoning; Liu, Xiaoning; Niu, Tiaoming; Wang, Jing; Mei, Zhonglei; Jian, Yabin

2018-04-01

In this work, we design an ultra-thin absorption coating at the S band, and the total thickness is less than 2 mm. For incident angle less than 30 degree and the whole S band, the reflection is less than -5 dB. The coating is constructed with 4/3 layers of magnetic material with different thicknesses, which are optimized by using genetic algorithm. Analytic and simulation results confirm the correctness of the design.

Preparation and characterization of the nanoporous ultrathin multilayer films based on molybdenum polyoxometalate (Mo 38) n

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, L.; Jiang, M.; Wang, E. B.; Duan, L. Y.; Hao, N.; Lan, Y.; Xu, L.; Li, Z.

2003-11-01

Ultrathin multilayer films of the wheel-shaped molybdenum polyoxometalate cluster (Mo 38) n and poly(allylamine hydrochloride)(PAH) have been prepared by the layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly method. The ((Mo 38) n/PAH) m multilayer films have been characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). UV-VIS measurements reveal regular film growth with each (Mo 38) n adsorption. The electrochemistry behavior of the film at room temperature was investigated.

Performance enhancement in organic photovoltaic solar cells using iridium (Ir) ultra-thin surface modifier (USM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandey, Rina; Lim, Ju Won; Kim, Jung Hyuk; Angadi, Basavaraj; Choi, Ji Won; Choi, Won Kook

2018-06-01

In this study, Iridium (Ir) metallic layer as an ultra-thin surface modifier (USM) was deposited on ITO coated glass substrate using radio frequency magnetron sputtering for improving the photo-conversion efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells. Ultra-thin Ir acts as a surface modifier replacing the conventional hole transport layer (HTL) PEDOT:PSS in organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells with two different active layers P3HT:PC60BM and PTB7:PC70BM. The Ir USM (1.0 nm) coated on ITO glass substrate showed transmittance of 84.1% and work function of >5.0 eV, which is higher than that of ITO (4.5-4.7 eV). The OPV cells with Ir USM (1.0 nm) exhibits increased power conversion efficiency of 3.70% (for P3HT:PC60BM active layer) and 7.28% (for PTB7:PC70BM active layer) under 100 mW/cm2 illumination (AM 1.5G) which are higher than those of 3.26% and 6.95% for the same OPV cells but with PEDOT:PSS as HTL instead of Ir USM. The results reveal that the chemically stable Ir USM layer could be used as an alternative material for PEDOT:PSS in organic photovoltaic cells.

Electrochemical Corrosion Properties of Commercial Ultra-Thin Copper Foils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yen, Ming-Hsuan; Liu, Jen-Hsiang; Song, Jenn-Ming; Lin, Shih-Ching

2017-08-01

Ultra-thin electrodeposited Cu foils have been developed for substrate thinning for mobile devices. Considering the corrosion by residual etchants from the lithography process for high-density circuit wiring, this study investigates the microstructural features of ultra-thin electrodeposited Cu foils with a thickness of 3 μm and their electrochemical corrosion performance in CuCl2-based etching solution. X-ray diffraction and electron backscatter diffraction analyses verify that ultra-thin Cu foils exhibit a random texture and equi-axed grains. Polarization curves show that ultra-thin foils exhibit a higher corrosion potential and a lower corrosion current density compared with conventional (220)-oriented foils with fan-like distributed fine-elongated columnar grains. Chronoamperometric results also suggest that ultra-thin foils possess superior corrosion resistance. The passive layer, mainly composed of CuCl and Cu2O, forms and dissolves in sequence during polarization.

Colored ultra-thin hybrid photovoltaics with high quantum efficiency for decorative PV applications (Presentation Recording)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, L. Jay

2015-10-01

This talk will describe an approach to create architecturally compatible and decorative thin-film-based hybrid photovoltaics [1]. Most current solar panels are fabricated via complex processes using expensive semiconductor materials, and they are rigid and heavy with a dull, black appearance. As a result of their non-aesthetic appearance and weight, they are primarily installed on rooftops to minimize their negative impact on building appearance. Recently we introduced dual-function solar cells based on ultra-thin dopant-free amorphous silicon embedded in an optical cavity that not only efficiently extract the photogenerated carriers but also display distinctive colors with the desired angle-insensitive appearances [1,2]. The angle-insensitive behavior is the result of an interesting phase cancellation effect in the optical cavity with respect to angle of light propagation [3]. In order to produce the desired optical effect, the semiconductor layer should be ultra-thin and the traditional doped layers need to be eliminated. We adopted the approach of employing charge transport/blocking layers used in organic solar cells to meet this demand. We showed that the ultra-thin (6 to 31 nm) undoped amorphous silicon/organic hybrid solar cell can transmit desired wavelength of light and that most of the absorbed photons in the undoped a-Si layer contributed to the extracted electric charges. This is because the a-Si layer thickness is smaller than the charge diffusion length, therefore the electron-hole recombination is strongly suppressed in such ultra-thin layer. Reflective colored PVs can be made in a similar fashion. Light-energy-harvesting colored signage was demonstrated. Furthermore, a cascaded photovoltaics scheme based on tunable spectrum splitting can be employed to increase power efficiency by absorbing a broader band of light energy. Our work provides a guideline for optimizing a photoactive layer thickness in high efficiency hybrid PV design, which can be adopted by other material systems as well. Based on these understandings, we have also developed colored perovskite PV by integrating an optical cavity with the perovskite semiconductors [4]. The principle and experimental results will be presented. 1. J. Y. Lee, K. T. Lee, S.Y. Seo, L. J. Guo, "Decorative power generating panels creating angle insensitive transmissive colors," Sci. Rep. 4, 4192, 2014. 2. K. T. Lee, J.Y. Lee, S.-Y. Seo, and L. J. Guo, "Colored ultra-thin hybrid photovoltaics with high quantum efficiency," Light: Science and Applications, 3, e215, 2014. 3. K. T. Lee, S.-Y. Seo, J.Y. Lee, and L. J. Guo, "Ultrathin metal-semiconductor-metal resonator for angle invariant visible band transmission filters," Appl. Phys. Lett. 104, 231112, (2014); and "Strong resonance effect in a lossy medium-based optical cavity for angle robust spectrum filters," Adv. Mater, 26, 6324-6328, 2014. 4. K. T. Lee, M. Fukuda, L. J. Guo, "Colored, see-through perovskite solar cells employing an optical cavity," Submitted, 2015

The role of high work-function metallic nanodots on the performance of a-Si:H solar cells: offering ohmic contact to light trapping.

PubMed

Kim, Jeehwan; Abou-Kandil, Ahmed; Fogel, Keith; Hovel, Harold; Sadana, Devendra K

2010-12-28

Addition of carbon into p-type "window" layers in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells enhances short circuit currents and open circuit voltages by a great deal. However, a-Si:H solar cells with high carbon-doped "window" layers exhibit poor fill factors due to a Schottky barrier-like impedance at the interface between a-SiC:H windows and transparent conducting oxides (TCO), although they show maximized short circuit currents and open circuit voltages. The impedance is caused by an increasing mismatch between the work function of TCO and that of p-type a-SiC:H. Applying ultrathin high-work-function metals at the interface between the two materials results in an effective lowering of the work function mismatch and a consequent ohmic behavior. If the metal layer is sufficiently thin, then it forms nanodots rather than a continuous layer which provides light-scattering effect. We demonstrate 31% efficiency enhancement by using high-work-function materials for engineering the work function at the key interfaces to raise fill factors as well as photocurrents. The use of metallic interface layers in this work is a clear contrast to previous work where attempts were made to enhance the photocurrent using plasmonic metal nanodots on the solar cell surface.

Ultrathin metal-semiconductor-metal resonator for angle invariant visible band transmission filters

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

Lee, Kyu-Tae; Seo, Sungyong; Yong Lee, Jae

We present transmission visible wavelength filters based on strong interference behaviors in an ultrathin semiconductor material between two metal layers. The proposed devices were fabricated on 2 cm × 2 cm glass substrate, and the transmission characteristics show good agreement with the design. Due to a significantly reduced light propagation phase change associated with the ultrathin semiconductor layer and the compensation in phase shift of light reflecting from the metal surface, the filters show an angle insensitive performance up to ±70°, thus, addressing one of the key challenges facing the previously reported photonic and plasmonic color filters. This principle, described in this paper, canmore » have potential for diverse applications ranging from color display devices to the image sensors.« less

Ultra-thin L1{sub 0}-FePt for perpendicular anisotropy L1{sub 0}-FePt/Ag/[Co/Pd]{sub 30} pseudo spin valves

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

Ho, Pin; Chow, Gan Moog; Chen, Jing-Sheng, E-mail: msecj@nus.edu.sg

2014-05-07

Perpendicular anisotropy L1{sub 0}-FePt/Ag/[Co/Pd]{sub 30} pseudo spin valves (PSVs) with ultra-thin L1{sub 0}-FePt alloy free layer possessing high anisotropy and thermal stability have been fabricated and studied. The thickness of the L1{sub 0}-FePt layer was varied between 2 and 4 nm. The PSV became increasingly decoupled with reduced L1{sub 0}-FePt thickness due to the larger difference between the coercivity of the L1{sub 0}-FePt and [Co/Pd]{sub 30} films. The PSV with an ultra-thin L1{sub 0}-FePt free layer of 2 nm displayed a high K{sub u} of 2.21 × 10{sup 7} ergs/cm{sup 3}, high thermal stability of 84 and a largest giant magnetoresistance of 0.54%.

Improved DC and RF performance of InAlAs/InGaAs InP based HEMTs using ultra-thin 15 nm ALD-Al2O3 surface passivation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asif, Muhammad; Chen, Chen; Peng, Ding; Xi, Wang; Zhi, Jin

2018-04-01

Owing to the great influence of surface passivation on DC and RF performance of InP-based HEMTs, the DC and RF performance of InAlAs/InGaAs InP HEMTs were studied before and after passivation, using an ultra-thin 15 nm atomic layer deposition Al2O3 layer. Increase in Cgs and Cgd was significantly limited by scaling the thickness of the Al2O3 layer. For verification, an analytical small-signal equivalent circuit model was developed. A significant increase in maximum transconductance (gm) up to 1150 mS/mm, drain current (IDS) up to 820 mA/mm and fmax up to 369.7 GHz was observed, after passivation. Good agreement was obtained between the measured and the simulated results. This shows that the RF performance of InP-based HEMTs can be improved by using an ultra-thin ALD-Al2O3 surface passivation.

Ultrathin Lutetium Oxide Film as an Epitaxial Hole-Blocking Layer for Crystalline Bismuth Vanadate Water Splitting Photoanodes

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Wenrui; Yan, Danhua; Tong, Xiao; ...

2018-01-08

Here a novel ultrathin lutetium oxide (Lu 2O 3) interlayer is integrated with crystalline bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) thin film photoanodes to facilitate carrier transport through atomic-scale interface control. The epitaxial Lu 2O 32O 3

Antiferromagnetic exchange and magnetoresistance enhancement in ultrathin Co-Re sandwiches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freitas, P. P.; Melo, L. V.; Trindade, I.; From, M.

1992-10-01

Co-Re ultrathin sandwiches were prepared that show antiferromagnetic coupling and enhanced saturation magnetoresistance for Re spacer thicknesses below 9 Å. A field of 2.5 kOe is needed to saturate the antiferromagnetically coupled Co layers. These results are similar to those found in Co-Re superlattices.

Electronic structure evolution in doping of fullerene (C{sub 60}) by ultra-thin layer molybdenum trioxide

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

Wang, Chenggong; Wang, Congcong; Kauppi, John

2015-08-28

Ultra-thin layer molybdenum oxide doping of fullerene has been investigated using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) can be observed directly with UPS. It is observed that the Fermi level position in fullerene is modified by ultra-thin-layer molybdenum oxide doping, and the HOMO onset is shifted to less than 1.3 eV below the Fermi level. The XPS results indicate that charge transfer was observed from the C{sub 60} to MoO{sub x} and Mo{sup 6+} oxides is the basis as hole dopants.

A repeated halving approach to fabricate ultrathin single-walled carbon nanotube films for transparent supercapacitors.

PubMed

Niu, Zhiqiang; Zhou, Weiya; Chen, Jun; Feng, Guoxing; Li, Hong; Hu, Yongsheng; Ma, Wenjun; Dong, Haibo; Li, Jinzhu; Xie, Sishen

2013-02-25

Ultrathin SWCNT transparent and conductive films on flexible and transparent substrates are prepared via repeatedly halving the directly grown SWCNT films and flexible and transparent supercapacitors with excellent performance were fabricated. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High Resolution Quantitative Microbeam Analysis of Ir-coated Geological Specimens Using Conventionally Coated Standards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Armstrong, J. T.; Crispin, K. L.

2012-12-01

Traditionally, quantitative electron microbeam analyses of insulating specimens are performed after coating the materials with thin conducting layers of carbon. For x-ray lines greater than 1 keV in energy and beam voltages in excess of 10 keV, the results are insensitive to the exact thickness of the carbon coat. High resolution imaging, low voltage analysis, and analysis of specimens containing low levels of carbon require the use of substitute conductive coats. Typical substitutes for carbon coats (e.g., Au, Au-Pd, Cr, Al) require either using similarly coated standards or substantial corrections to be applied. Even when using modern multi-layer correction algorithms or Monte Carlo calculations, significant errors can result (e.g., Armstrong 2009, Armstrong and Crispin, 2012). We propose the use of ultra-thin layers of Ir as a substitute for C in the analysis of insulating geological specimens. Ir has been found to be an excellent coating material for high resolution imaging (e.g., Echlin, 2009). Sputtered layers as thin as 0.5 nm are found to be conductive, and layers of just a few nm provide good protection against beam damage with sub-nm grain size (Sebring et al., 1999). We have analyzed a series of geological materials with Ir coats between 1 - 8 nm and found similar levels of effects on emitted x-ray intensities as produced with typical carbon coat thicknesses (10-25 nm). E.g., for Ir thicknesses less than 5 nm, the reduction of intensity for x-ray lines between 1 and 7 keV are between 1-3% for a beam energy of 15 keV. The reduction in intensity for higher-energy lines such as Fe-K is actually less than produced by typical C-coats. We will present the results of these experiments and propose simple algorithmic equations which fit these data.

Influence of interface layer on optical properties of sub-20 nm-thick TiO2 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Yue-Jie; Zhang, Rong-Jun; Li, Da-Hai; Zhan, Yi-Qiang; Lu, Hong-Liang; Jiang, An-Quan; Chen, Xin; Liu, Juan; Zheng, Yu-Xiang; Wang, Song-You; Chen, Liang-Yao

2018-02-01

The sub-20 nm ultrathin titanium dioxide (TiO2) films with tunable thickness were deposited on Si substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The structural and optical properties were acquired by transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry. Afterwards, a constructive and effective method of analyzing interfaces by applying two different optical models consisting of air/TiO2/Ti x Si y O2/Si and air/effective TiO2 layer/Si, respectively, was proposed to investigate the influence of interface layer (IL) on the analysis of optical constants and the determination of band gap of TiO2 ultrathin films. It was found that two factors including optical constants and changing components of the nonstoichiometric IL could contribute to the extent of the influence. Furthermore, the investigated TiO2 ultrathin films of 600 ALD cycles were selected and then annealed at the temperature range of 400-900 °C by rapid thermal annealing. Thicker IL and phase transition cause the variation of optical properties of TiO2 films after annealing and a shorter electron relaxation time reveals the strengthened electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions in the TiO2 ultrathin films at high temperature. The as-obtained results in this paper will play a role in other studies of high dielectric constants materials grown on Si substrates and in the applications of next generation metal-oxide-semiconductor devices.

A Ga2O3 underlayer as an isomorphic template for ultrathin hematite films toward efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting.

PubMed

Hisatomi, Takashi; Brillet, Jérémie; Cornuz, Maurin; Le Formal, Florian; Tétreault, Nicolas; Sivula, Kevin; Grätzel, Michael

2012-01-01

Hematite photoanodes for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting are often fabricated as extremely-thin films to minimize charge recombination because of the short diffusion lengths of photoexcited carriers. However, poor crystallinity caused by structural interaction with a substrate negates the potential of ultrathin hematite photoanodes. This study demonstrates that ultrathin Ga2O3 underlayers, which were deposited on conducting substrates prior to hematite layers by atomic layer deposition, served as an isomorphic (corundum-type) structural template for ultrathin hematite and improved the photocurrent onset of PEC water splitting by 0.2 V. The benefit from Ga2O3 underlayers was most pronounced when the thickness of the underlayer was approximately 2 nm. Thinner underlayers did not work effectively as a template presumably because of insufficient crystallinity of the underlayer, while thicker ones diminished the PEC performance of hematite because the underlayer prevented electron injection from hematite to a conductive substrate due to the large conduction band offset. The enhancement of PEC performance by a Ga2O3 underlayer was more significant for thinner hematite layers owing to greater margins for improving the crystallinity of ultrathin hematite. It was confirmed that a Ga2O3 underlayer was applicable to a rough conducting substrate loaded with Sb-doped SnO2 nanoparticles, improving the photocurrent by a factor of 1.4. Accordingly, a Ga2O3 underlayer could push forward the development of host-guest-type nanocomposites consisting of highly-rough substrates and extremely-thin hematite absorbers.

Preparation of ultra-thin and high-quality WO{sub 3} compact layers and comparision of WO{sub 3} and TiO{sub 2} compact layer thickness in planar perovskite solar cells

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

Zhang, Jincheng; Shi, Chengwu, E-mail: shicw506@foxmail.com; Chen, Junjun

2016-06-15

In this paper, the ultra-thin and high-quality WO{sub 3} compact layers were successfully prepared by spin-coating-pyrolysis method using the tungsten isopropoxide solution in isopropanol. The influence of WO{sub 3} and TiO{sub 2} compact layer thickness on the photovoltaic performance of planar perovskite solar cells was systematically compared, and the interface charge transfer and recombination in planar perovskite solar cells with TiO{sub 2} compact layer was analyzed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results revealed that the optimum thickness of WO{sub 3} and TiO{sub 2} compact layer was 15 nm and 60 nm. The planar perovskite solar cell with 15 nm WO{submore » 3} compact layer gave a 9.69% average and 10.14% maximum photoelectric conversion efficiency, whereas the planar perovskite solar cell with 60 nm TiO{sub 2} compact layer achieved a 11.79% average and 12.64% maximum photoelectric conversion efficiency. - Graphical abstract: The planar perovskite solar cell with 15 nm WO{sub 3} compact layer gave a 9.69% average and 10.14% maximum photoelectric conversion efficiency, whereas the planar perovskite solar cell with 60 nm TiO{sub 2} compact layer achieved a 11.79% average and 12.64% maximum photoelectric conversion efficiency. Display Omitted - Highlights: • Preparation of ultra-thin and high-quality WO{sub 3} compact layers. • Perovskite solar cell with 15 nm-thick WO{sub 3} compact layer achieved PCE of 10.14%. • Perovskite solar cell with 60 nm-thick TiO{sub 2} compact layer achieved PCE of 12.64%.« less

Study of first electronic transition and hydrogen bonding state of ultra-thin water layer of nanometer thickness on an α-alumina surface by far-ultraviolet spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goto, Takeyoshi; Kinugasa, Tomoya

2018-05-01

The first electronic transition (A˜ ← X˜) and the hydrogen bonding state of an ultra-thin water layer of nanometer thickness between two α-alumina surfaces (0.5-20 nm) were studied using far-ultraviolet (FUV) spectroscopy in the wavelength range 140-180 nm. The ultra-thin water layer of nanometer thickness was prepared by squeezing a water droplet ( 1 μL) between a highly polished α-alumina prism and an α-alumina plate using a high pressure clamp ( 4.7 MPa), and the FUV spectra of the water layer at different thicknesses were measured using the attenuated total reflection method. As the water layer became thinner, the A˜ ← X˜ bands were gradually shifted to higher or lower energy relative to that of bulk water; at thicknesses smaller than 4 nm, these shifts were substantial (0.1-0.2 eV) in either case. The FUV spectra of the water layer with thickness < 4 nm indicate the formation of structured ice-like hydrogen bond (H-bond) layers for the higher energy shifts or the formation of slightly weaker H-bond layers as compared to those in the bulk liquid state for lower energy shifts. In either case, the H-bond structure of bulk liquid water is nearly lost at thicknesses below 4 nm, because of steric hydration forces between the α-alumina surfaces.

Measurement of the differential cross sections of 6Li(d,d0) for Ion Beam Analysis purposes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ntemou, E.; Aslanoglou, X.; Axiotis, M.; Foteinou, V.; Kokkoris, M.; Lagoyannis, A.; Misaelides, P.; Patronis, N.; Preketes-Sigalas, K.; Provatas, G.; Vlastou, R.

2017-09-01

In the present work, the 6Li(d,d0)6Li elastic scattering differential cross sections were measured in the energy range Ed,lab = 940-2000 keV for Elastic Backscattering Spectroscopy (EBS) purposes, using thin lithium targets, made by evaporating isotopically enriched 6LiF powder on self-supporting carbon foils, with an ultra-thin Au layer on top for normalization purposes. The experiment was carried out in deuteron beam energy steps of 20 or 30 keV and for the laboratory scattering angles of 125°, 140°, 150°, 160°, and 170°.

Microplasma Processed Ultrathin Boron Nitride Nanosheets for Polymer Nanocomposites with Enhanced Thermal Transport Performance.

PubMed

Zhang, Ri-Chao; Sun, Dan; Lu, Ai; Askari, Sadegh; Macias-Montero, Manuel; Joseph, Paul; Dixon, Dorian; Ostrikov, Kostya; Maguire, Paul; Mariotti, Davide

2016-06-01

This Research Article reports on the enhancement of the thermal transport properties of nanocomposite materials containing hexagonal boron nitride in poly(vinyl alcohol) through room-temperature atmospheric pressure direct-current microplasma processing. Results show that the microplasma treatment leads to exfoliation of the hexagonal boron nitride in isopropyl alcohol, reducing the number of stacks from >30 to a few or single layers. The thermal diffusivity of the resulting nanocomposites reaches 8.5 mm(2) s(-1), 50 times greater than blank poly(vinyl alcohol) and twice that of nanocomposites containing nonplasma treated boron nitride nanosheets. From TEM analysis, we observe much less aggregation of the nanosheets after plasma processing along with indications of an amorphous carbon interfacial layer, which may contribute to stable dispersion of boron nitride nanosheets in the resulting plasma treated colloids.

Quantitative resonant soft x-ray reflectivity of ultrathin anisotropic organic layers: Simulation and experiment of PTCDA on Au.

PubMed

Capelli, R; Mahne, N; Koshmak, K; Giglia, A; Doyle, B P; Mukherjee, S; Nannarone, S; Pasquali, L

2016-07-14

Resonant soft X-ray reflectivity at the carbon K edge, with linearly polarized light, was used to derive quantitative information of film morphology, molecular arrangement, and electronic orbital anisotropies of an ultrathin 3,4,9,10-perylene tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) film on Au(111). The experimental spectra were simulated by computing the propagation of the electromagnetic field in a trilayer system (vacuum/PTCDA/Au), where the organic film was treated as an anisotropic medium. Optical constants were derived from the calculated (through density functional theory) absorption cross sections of the single molecule along the three principal molecular axes. These were used to construct the dielectric tensor of the film, assuming the molecules to be lying flat with respect to the substrate and with a herringbone arrangement parallel to the substrate plane. Resonant soft X-ray reflectivity proved to be extremely sensitive to film thickness, down to the single molecular layer. The best agreement between simulation and experiment was found for a film of 1.6 nm, with flat laying configuration of the molecules. The high sensitivity to experimental geometries in terms of beam incidence and light polarization was also clarified through simulations. The optical anisotropies of the organic film were experimentally determined and through the comparison with calculations, it was possible to relate them to the orbital symmetry of the empty electronic states.

Quantitative resonant soft x-ray reflectivity of ultrathin anisotropic organic layers: Simulation and experiment of PTCDA on Au

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

Capelli, R.; Koshmak, K.; Giglia, A.

Resonant soft X-ray reflectivity at the carbon K edge, with linearly polarized light, was used to derive quantitative information of film morphology, molecular arrangement, and electronic orbital anisotropies of an ultrathin 3,4,9,10-perylene tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) film on Au(111). The experimental spectra were simulated by computing the propagation of the electromagnetic field in a trilayer system (vacuum/PTCDA/Au), where the organic film was treated as an anisotropic medium. Optical constants were derived from the calculated (through density functional theory) absorption cross sections of the single molecule along the three principal molecular axes. These were used to construct the dielectric tensor of themore » film, assuming the molecules to be lying flat with respect to the substrate and with a herringbone arrangement parallel to the substrate plane. Resonant soft X-ray reflectivity proved to be extremely sensitive to film thickness, down to the single molecular layer. The best agreement between simulation and experiment was found for a film of 1.6 nm, with flat laying configuration of the molecules. The high sensitivity to experimental geometries in terms of beam incidence and light polarization was also clarified through simulations. The optical anisotropies of the organic film were experimentally determined and through the comparison with calculations, it was possible to relate them to the orbital symmetry of the empty electronic states.« less

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

Guetaz, Laure; Lopez-Haro, M.; Escribano, S.

Investigation of membrane/electrode assembly (MEA) microstructure has become an essential step to optimize the MEA components and manufacturing processes or to study the MEA degradation. For these investigations, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a tool of choice as it provides direct imaging of the different components. TEM is then widely used for analyzing the catalyst nanoparticles and their carbon support. However, the ionomer inside the electrode is more difficult to be imaged. The difficulties come from the fact that the ionomer forms an ultrathin layer surrounding the carbon particles and in addition, these two components, having similar density, present nomore » difference in contrast. In this paper, we show how the recent progresses in TEM techniques as spherical aberration (Cs) corrected HRTEM, electron tomography and X-EDS elemental mapping provide new possibilities for imaging this ionomer network and consequently to study its degradation.« less

Ultrathin Coaxial Fiber Supercapacitors Achieving High Energy and Power Densities.

PubMed

Shen, Caiwei; Xie, Yingxi; Sanghadasa, Mohan; Tang, Yong; Lu, Longsheng; Lin, Liwei

2017-11-15

Fiber-based supercapacitors have attracted significant interests because of their potential applications in wearable electronics. Although much progress has been made in recent years, the energy and power densities, mechanical strength, and flexibility of such devices are still in need of improvement for practical applications. Here, we demonstrate an ultrathin microcoaxial fiber supercapacitor (μCFSC) with high energy and power densities (2.7 mW h/cm 3 and 13 W/cm 3 ), as well as excellent mechanical properties. The prototype with the smallest reported overall diameter (∼13 μm) is fabricated by successive coating of functional layers onto a single micro-carbon-fiber via a scalable process. Combining the simulation results via the electrochemical model, we attribute the high performance to the well-controlled thin coatings that make full use of the electrode materials and minimize the ion transport path between electrodes. Moreover, the μCFSC features high bending flexibility and large tensile strength (more than 1 GPa), which make it promising as a building block for various flexible energy storage applications.

Gate-tunable carbon nanotube-MoS2 heterojunction p-n diode.

PubMed

Jariwala, Deep; Sangwan, Vinod K; Wu, Chung-Chiang; Prabhumirashi, Pradyumna L; Geier, Michael L; Marks, Tobin J; Lauhon, Lincoln J; Hersam, Mark C

2013-11-05

The p-n junction diode and field-effect transistor are the two most ubiquitous building blocks of modern electronics and optoelectronics. In recent years, the emergence of reduced dimensionality materials has suggested that these components can be scaled down to atomic thicknesses. Although high-performance field-effect devices have been achieved from monolayered materials and their heterostructures, a p-n heterojunction diode derived from ultrathin materials is notably absent and constrains the fabrication of complex electronic and optoelectronic circuits. Here we demonstrate a gate-tunable p-n heterojunction diode using semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and single-layer molybdenum disulfide as p-type and n-type semiconductors, respectively. The vertical stacking of these two direct band gap semiconductors forms a heterojunction with electrical characteristics that can be tuned with an applied gate bias to achieve a wide range of charge transport behavior ranging from insulating to rectifying with forward-to-reverse bias current ratios exceeding 10(4). This heterojunction diode also responds strongly to optical irradiation with an external quantum efficiency of 25% and fast photoresponse <15 μs. Because SWCNTs have a diverse range of electrical properties as a function of chirality and an increasing number of atomically thin 2D nanomaterials are being isolated, the gate-tunable p-n heterojunction concept presented here should be widely generalizable to realize diverse ultrathin, high-performance electronics and optoelectronics.

Gate-tunable carbon nanotube–MoS2 heterojunction p-n diode

PubMed Central

Jariwala, Deep; Sangwan, Vinod K.; Wu, Chung-Chiang; Prabhumirashi, Pradyumna L.; Geier, Michael L.; Marks, Tobin J.; Lauhon, Lincoln J.; Hersam, Mark C.

2013-01-01

The p-n junction diode and field-effect transistor are the two most ubiquitous building blocks of modern electronics and optoelectronics. In recent years, the emergence of reduced dimensionality materials has suggested that these components can be scaled down to atomic thicknesses. Although high-performance field-effect devices have been achieved from monolayered materials and their heterostructures, a p-n heterojunction diode derived from ultrathin materials is notably absent and constrains the fabrication of complex electronic and optoelectronic circuits. Here we demonstrate a gate-tunable p-n heterojunction diode using semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and single-layer molybdenum disulfide as p-type and n-type semiconductors, respectively. The vertical stacking of these two direct band gap semiconductors forms a heterojunction with electrical characteristics that can be tuned with an applied gate bias to achieve a wide range of charge transport behavior ranging from insulating to rectifying with forward-to-reverse bias current ratios exceeding 104. This heterojunction diode also responds strongly to optical irradiation with an external quantum efficiency of 25% and fast photoresponse <15 μs. Because SWCNTs have a diverse range of electrical properties as a function of chirality and an increasing number of atomically thin 2D nanomaterials are being isolated, the gate-tunable p-n heterojunction concept presented here should be widely generalizable to realize diverse ultrathin, high-performance electronics and optoelectronics. PMID:24145425

Chemical gating of epitaxial graphene through ultrathin oxide layers.

PubMed

Larciprete, Rosanna; Lacovig, Paolo; Orlando, Fabrizio; Dalmiglio, Matteo; Omiciuolo, Luca; Baraldi, Alessandro; Lizzit, Silvano

2015-08-07

We achieved a controllable chemical gating of epitaxial graphene grown on metal substrates by exploiting the electrostatic polarization of ultrathin SiO2 layers synthesized below it. Intercalated oxygen diffusing through the SiO2 layer modifies the metal-oxide work function and hole dopes graphene. The graphene/oxide/metal heterostructure behaves as a gated plane capacitor with the in situ grown SiO2 layer acting as a homogeneous dielectric spacer, whose high capacity allows the Fermi level of graphene to be shifted by a few hundreds of meV when the oxygen coverage at the metal substrate is of the order of 0.5 monolayers. The hole doping can be finely tuned by controlling the amount of interfacial oxygen, as well as by adjusting the thickness of the oxide layer. After complete thermal desorption of oxygen the intrinsic doping of SiO2 supported graphene is evaluated in the absence of contaminants and adventitious adsorbates. The demonstration that the charge state of graphene can be changed by chemically modifying the buried oxide/metal interface hints at the possibility of tuning the level and sign of doping by the use of other intercalants capable of diffusing through the ultrathin porous dielectric and reach the interface with the metal.

Investigation of embedded perovskite nanoparticles for enhanced capacitor permittivities.

PubMed

Krause, Andreas; Weber, Walter M; Pohl, Darius; Rellinghaus, Bernd; Verheijen, Marcel; Mikolajick, Thomas

2014-11-26

Growth experiments show significant differences in the crystallization of ultrathin CaTiO3 layers on polycrystalline Pt surfaces. While the deposition of ultrathin layers below crystallization temperature inhibits the full layer crystallization, local epitaxial growth of CaTiO3 crystals on top of specific oriented Pt crystals occurs. The result is a formation of crystals embedded in an amorphous matrix. An epitaxial alignment of the cubic CaTiO3 ⟨111⟩ direction on top of the underlying Pt {111} surface has been observed. A reduced forming energy is attributed to an interplay of surface energies at the {111} interface of both materials and CaTiO3 nanocrystallites facets. The preferential texturing of CaTiO3 layers on top of Pt has been used in the preparation of ultrathin metal-insulator-metal capacitors with 5-30 nm oxide thickness. The effective CaTiO3 permittivity in the capacitor stack increases to 55 compared to capacitors with amorphous layers and a permittivity of 28. The isolated CaTiO3 crystals exhibit a passivation of the CaTiO3 grain surfaces by the surrounding amorphous matrix, which keeps the capacitor leakage current at ideally low values comparable for those of amorphous thin film capacitors.

Interfacial engineering with ultrathin poly (9,9-di-n-octylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFO) layer for high efficient perovskite light-emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Chunyan; Chen, Ping; Xiong, ZiYang; Liu, Debei; Wang, Gang; Meng, Yan; Song, Qunliang

2018-02-01

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have attracted great attention in the field of lighting and display due to their very high color purity and low-cost solution-process. Researchers have done a lot of work in realizing high performance electroluminescent devices. However, the current efficiency (CE) of methyl-ammonium lead halide perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) still needs to be improved. Herein, we demonstrate the enhanced performance of PeLEDs through introducing an ultrathin poly(9,9-di-n-octylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFO) buffer layer between poly(3,4-ethylendioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite. Compared to the reference device without PFO, the optimal device luminous intensity, the maximum CE, and the maximum external quantum efficiency increases from 8139 cd m-2 to 30 150 cd m-2, from 7.20 cd A-1 (at 6.8 V) to 10.05 cd A-1 (at 6.6 V), and from 1.73% to 2.44%, respectively. The ultrathin PFO layer not only reduces the exciton quenching at the interface between the hole-transport layer and emission layer, but also passivates the shallow-trap ensure increasing hole injection, as well as increases the coverage of perovskite film.

Insulator at the ultrathin limit: MgO on Ag(001).

PubMed

Schintke, S; Messerli, S; Pivetta, M; Patthey, F; Libioulle, L; Stengel, M; De Vita, A; Schneider, W D

2001-12-31

The electronic structure and morphology of ultrathin MgO films epitaxially grown on Ag(001) were investigated using low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. Layer-resolved differential conductance (dI/dU) measurements reveal that, even at a film thickness of three monolayers, a band gap of about 6 eV is formed corresponding to that of the MgO(001) single-crystal surface. This finding is confirmed by layer-resolved calculations of the local density of states based on density functional theory.

Optical bandgap of single- and multi-layered amorphous germanium ultra-thin films

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

Liu, Pei; Zaslavsky, Alexander; Longo, Paolo

2016-01-07

Accurate optical methods are required to determine the energy bandgap of amorphous semiconductors and elucidate the role of quantum confinement in nanometer-scale, ultra-thin absorbing layers. Here, we provide a critical comparison between well-established methods that are generally employed to determine the optical bandgap of thin-film amorphous semiconductors, starting from normal-incidence reflectance and transmittance measurements. First, we demonstrate that a more accurate estimate of the optical bandgap can be achieved by using a multiple-reflection interference model. We show that this model generates more reliable results compared to the widely accepted single-pass absorption method. Second, we compare two most representative methods (Taucmore » and Cody plots) that are extensively used to determine the optical bandgap of thin-film amorphous semiconductors starting from the extracted absorption coefficient. Analysis of the experimental absorption data acquired for ultra-thin amorphous germanium (a-Ge) layers demonstrates that the Cody model is able to provide a less ambiguous energy bandgap value. Finally, we apply our proposed method to experimentally determine the optical bandgap of a-Ge/SiO{sub 2} superlattices with single and multiple a-Ge layers down to 2 nm thickness.« less

Wood-Derived Ultrathin Carbon Nanofiber Aerogels.

PubMed

Li, Si-Cheng; Hu, Bi-Cheng; Ding, Yan-Wei; Liang, Hai-Wei; Li, Chao; Yu, Zi-You; Wu, Zhen-Yu; Chen, Wen-Shuai; Yu, Shu-Hong

2018-06-11

Carbon aerogels with 3D networks of interconnected nanometer-sized particles exhibit fascinating physical properties and show great application potential. Efficient and sustainable methods are required to produce high-performance carbon aerogels on a large scale to boost their practical applications. An economical and sustainable method is now developed for the synthesis of ultrathin carbon nanofiber (CNF) aerogels from the wood-based nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) aerogels via a catalytic pyrolysis process, which guarantees high carbon residual and well maintenance of the nanofibrous morphology during thermal decomposition of the NFC aerogels. The wood-derived CNF aerogels exhibit excellent electrical conductivity, a large surface area, and potential as a binder-free electrode material for supercapacitors. The results suggest great promise in developing new families of carbon aerogels based on the controlled pyrolysis of economical and sustainable nanostructured precursors. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Accelerating monoenergetic protons from ultrathin foils by flat-top laser pulses in the directed-Coulomb-explosion regime

PubMed Central

Bulanov, S. S.; Brantov, A.; Bychenkov, V. Yu.; Chvykov, V.; Kalinchenko, G.; Matsuoka, T.; Rousseau, P.; Reed, S.; Yanovsky, V.; Litzenberg, D. W.; Krushelnick, K.; Maksimchuk, A.

2008-01-01

We consider the effect of laser beam shaping on proton acceleration in the interaction of a tightly focused pulse with ultrathin double-layer solid targets in the regime of directed Coulomb explosion. In this regime, the heavy ions of the front layer are forced by the laser to expand predominantly in the direction of the pulse propagation, forming a moving longitudinal charge separation electric field, thus increasing the effectiveness of acceleration of second-layer protons. The utilization of beam shaping, namely, the use of flat-top beams, leads to more efficient proton acceleration due to the increase of the longitudinal field. PMID:18850951

Ultrathin epitaxial barrier layer to avoid thermally induced phase transformation in oxide heterostructures

DOE PAGES

Baek, David J.; Lu, Di; Hikita, Yasuyuki; ...

2016-12-22

Incorporating oxides with radically different physical and chemical properties into heterostructures offers tantalizing possibilities to derive new functions and structures. Recently, we have fabricated freestanding 2D oxide membranes using the water-soluble perovskite Sr 3Al 2O 6 as a sacrificial buffer layer. Here, with atomic-resolution spectroscopic imaging, we observe that direct growth of oxide thin films on Sr 3Al 2O 6 can cause complete phase transformation of the buffer layer, rendering it water-insoluble. More importantly, we demonstrate that an ultrathin SrTiO 3 layer can be employed as an effective barrier to preserve Sr 3Al 2O 6 during subsequent growth, thus allowingmore » its integration in a wider range of oxide heterostructures.« less

Universal liquid-phase laser fabrication of various nano-metals encapsulated by ultrathin carbon shells for deep-UV plasmonics.

PubMed

Yu, Miao; Yang, Chao; Li, Xiao-Ming; Lei, Tian-Yu; Sun, Hao-Xuan; Dai, Li-Ping; Gu, Yu; Ning, Xue; Zhou, Ting; Wang, Chao; Zeng, Hai-Bo; Xiong, Jie

2017-06-29

The exploration of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) beyond the usual visible waveband, for example within the ultraviolet (UV) or deep-ultraviolet (D-UV) regions, is of great significance due to its unique applications in secret communications and optics. However, it is still challenging to universally synthesize the corresponding metal nanostructures due to their high activity. Herein, we report a universal, eco-friendly, facile and rapid synthesis of various nano-metals encapsulated by ultrathin carbon shells, significantly with a remarkable deep-UV LSPR characteristic, via a liquid-phase laser fabrication method. Firstly, a new generation of the laser ablation in liquid (LAL) method has been developed with an emphasis on the elaborate selection of solvents to generate ultrathin carbon shells, and hence to stabilize the formed metal nanocrystals. As a result, a series of metal@carbon nanoparticles (NPs), including Cr@C, Ti@C, Fe@C, V@C, Al@C, Sn@C, Mn@C and Pd@C, can be fabricated by this modified LAL method. Interestingly, these NPs exhibit LSPR peaks in the range of 200-330 nm, which are very rare for localized surface plasmon resonance. Consequently, the UV plasmonic effects of these metal@carbon NPs were demonstrated both by the observed enhancement in UV photoluminescence (PL) from the carbon nanoshells and by the improvement of the photo-responsivity of UV GaN photodetectors. This work could provide a universal method for carbon shelled metal NPs and expand plasmonics into the D-UV waveband.

High-Performance Ultrathin Active Chiral Metamaterials.

PubMed

Wu, Zilong; Chen, Xiaodong; Wang, Mingsong; Dong, Jianwen; Zheng, Yuebing

2018-05-22

Ultrathin active chiral metamaterials with dynamically tunable and responsive optical chirality enable new optical sensors, modulators, and switches. Herein, we develop ultrathin active chiral metamaterials of highly tunable chiroptical responses by inducing tunable near-field coupling in the metamaterials and exploit the metamaterials as ultrasensitive sensors to detect trace amounts of solvent impurities. To demonstrate the active chiral metamaterials mediated by tunable near-field coupling, we design moiré chiral metamaterials (MCMs) as model metamaterials, which consist of two layers of identical Au nanohole arrays stacked upon one another in moiré patterns with a dielectric spacer layer between the Au layers. Our simulations, analytical fittings, and experiments reveal that spacer-dependent near-field coupling exists in the MCMs, which significantly enhances the spectral shift and line shape change of the circular dichroism (CD) spectra of the MCMs. Furthermore, we use a silk fibroin thin film as the spacer layer in the MCM. With the solvent-controllable swelling of the silk fibroin thin films, we demonstrate actively tunable near-field coupling and chiroptical responses of the silk-MCMs. Impressively, we have achieved the spectral shift over a wavelength range that is more than one full width at half-maximum and the sign inversion of the CD spectra in a single ultrathin (1/5 of wavelength in thickness) MCM. Finally, we apply the silk-MCMs as ultrasensitive sensors to detect trace amounts of solvent impurities down to 200 ppm, corresponding to an ultrahigh sensitivity of >10 5 nm/refractive index unit (RIU) and a figure of merit of 10 5 /RIU.

Transition metal nitride coated with atomic layers of Pt as a low-cost, highly stable electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction

DOE PAGES

Tian, Xinlong; Adzic, Radoslav R.; Luo, Junming; ...

2016-02-10

Here, the main challenges to the commercial viability of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are (i) the high cost associated with using large amounts of Pt in fuel cell cathodes to compensate for the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction, (ii) catalyst degradation, and (iii) carbon-support corrosion. To address these obstacles, our group has focused on robust, carbon-free transition metal nitride materials with low Pt content that exhibit tunable physical and catalytic properties. Here, we report on the high performance of a novel catalyst with low Pt content, prepared by placing several layers of Pt atoms on nanoparticles ofmore » titanium nickel binary nitride. For the ORR, the catalyst exhibited a more than 400% and 200% increase in mass activity and specific activity, respectively, compared with the commercial Pt/C catalyst. It also showed excellent stability/durability, experiencing only a slight performance loss after 10,000 potential cycles, while TEM results showed its structure had remained intact. The catalyst’s outstanding performance may have resulted from the ultrahigh dispersion of Pt (several atomic layers coated on the nitride nanoparticles), and the excellent stability/durability may have been due to the good stability of nitride and synergetic effects between ultrathin Pt layer and the robust TiNiN support.« less

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.

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

Two-dimensional MoS2: A promising building block for biosensors.

PubMed

Gan, Xiaorong; Zhao, Huimin; Quan, Xie

2017-03-15

Recently, two-dimensional (2D) layered nanomaterials have trigged intensive interest due to the intriguing physicochemical properties that stem from a quantum size effect connected with their ultra-thin structure. In particular, 2D molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ), as an emerging class of stable inorganic graphene analogs with intrinsic finite bandgap, would possibly complement or even surpass graphene in electronics and optoelectronics fields. In this review, we first discuss the historical development of ultrathin 2D nanomaterials. Then, we are concerned with 2D MoS 2 including its structure-property relationships, synthesis methods, characterization for the layer thickness, and biosensor applications over the past five years. Thereinto, we are highlighting recent advances in 2D MoS 2 -based biosensors, especially emphasize the preparation of sensing elements, roles of 2D MoS 2 , and assay strategies. Finally, on the basis of the current achievements on 2D MoS 2 and other ultrathin layered nanomaterials, perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for the exploration of 2D MoS 2 -based biosensors are put forward. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Materials Science and Device Physics of 2-Dimensional Semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Hui

Materials and device innovations are the keys to future technology revolution. For MOSFET scaling in particular, semiconductors with ultra-thin thickness on insulator platform is currently of great interest, due to the potential of integrating excellent channel materials with the industrially mature Si processing. Meanwhile, ultra-thin thickness also induces strong quantum confinement which in turn affect most of the material properties of these 2-dimensional (2-D) semiconductors, providing unprecedented opportunities for emerging technologies. In this thesis, multiple novel 2-D material systems are explored. Chapter one introduces the present challenges faced by MOSFET scaling. Chapter two covers the integration of ultrathin III V membranes with Si. Free standing ultrathin III-V is studied to enable high performance III-V on Si MOSFETs with strain engineering and alloying. Chapter three studies the light absorption in 2-D membranes. Experimental results and theoretical analysis reveal that light absorption in the 2-D quantum membranes is quantized into a fundamental physical constant, where we call it the quantum unit of light absorption, irrelevant of most of the material dependent parameters. Chapter four starts to focus on another 2-D system, atomic thin layered chalcogenides. Single and few layered chalcogenides are first explored as channel materials, with focuses in engineering the contacts for high performance MOSFETs. Contact treatment by molecular doping methods reveals that many layered chalcogenides other than MoS2 exhibit good transport properties at single layer limit. Finally, Chapter five investigated 2-D van der Waals heterostructures built from different single layer chalcogenides. The investigation in a WSe2/MoS2 hetero-bilayer shows a large Stokes like shift between photoluminescence peak and lowest absorption peak, as well as strong photoluminescence intensity, consistent with spatially indirect transition in a type II band alignment in this van der Waals heterostructure. This result enables new family of semiconductor heterostructures having tunable optoelectronic properties with customized composite layers and highlights the ability to build van der Waals semiconductor heterostructure lasers/LEDs.

Inverted bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells with the transfer-printed anodes and low-temperature-processed ultrathin buffer layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itoh, Eiji; Sakai, Shota; Fukuda, Katsutoshi

2018-03-01

We studied the effects of a hole buffer layer [molybdenum oxide (MoO3) and natural copper oxide layer] and a low-temperature-processed electron buffer layer on the performance of inverted bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells in a device consisting of indium-tin oxide (ITO)/poly(ethylene imine) (PEI)/titanium oxide nanosheet (TiO-NS)/poly(3-hexylthiopnehe) (P3HT):phenyl-C61-butyric acid methylester (PCBM)/oxide/anode (Ag or Cu). The insertion of ultrathin TiO-NS (˜1 nm) and oxide hole buffer layers improved the open circuit voltage V OC, fill factor, and rectification properties owing to the effective hole blocking and electron transport properties of ultrathin TiO-NS, and to the enhanced work function difference between TiO-NS and the oxide hole buffer layer. The insertion of the TiO-NS contributed to the reduction in the potential barrier at the ITO/PEI/TiO-NS/active layer interface for electrons, and the insertion of the oxide hole buffer layer contributed to the reduction in the potential barrier for holes. The marked increase in the capacitance under positive biasing in the capacitance-voltage characteristics revealed that the combination of TiO-NS and MoO3 buffer layers contributes to the selective transport of electrons and holes, and blocks counter carriers at the active layer/oxide interface. The natural oxide layer of the copper electrode also acts as a hole buffer layer owing to the increase in the work function of the Cu surface in the inverted cells. The performance of the cell with evaporated MoO3 and Cu layers that were transfer-printed to the active layer was almost comparable to that of the cell with MoO3 and Ag layers directly evaporated onto the active layer. We also demonstrated comparable device performance in the cell with all-printed MoO3 and low-temperature-processed silver nanoparticles as an anode.

Negative terahertz photoconductivity in 2D layered materials.

PubMed

Lu, Junpeng; Liu, Hongwei; Sun, Jing

2017-11-17

The remarkable qualities of 2D layered materials such as wide spectral coverage, high strength and great flexibility mean that ultrathin 2D layered materials have the potential to meet the criteria of next-generation optoelectronic devices. Photoconductivity is one of the critical parameters of materials applied to optoelectronics. In contrast to traditional semiconductors, specific ultrathin 2D layers present anomalous negative photoconductivity. This opens a new avenue for designing novel optoelectronic devices. It is important to have a deep understanding of the fundamentals of this anomalous response, in order to design and optimize such devices. In this review, we provide an overview of the observation of negative photoconductivity in 2D layered materials including graphene, topological insulators and transitional metal dichalcogenides. We also summarize recent reports on investigations into the fundamental mechanism using ultrafast terahertz (THz) spectroscopies. Finally, we conclude the review by discussing the existing challenges and proposing the possible prospects of this direction of research.

Electron Microscopy of Ultrathin Sections of Sporosarcina ureae

PubMed Central

Mazanec, K.; Kocur, M.; Martinec, T.

1965-01-01

Mazanec, K. (J. E. Purkyně University, Brno, Czechoslovakia), M. Kocur, and T. Martinec. Electron microscopy of ultrathin sections of Sporosarcina ureae. J. Bacteriol. 90:808–816. 1965.—Ultrathin sections of Sporosarcina ureae cells were studied by means of electron microscopy. The cell wall consists of several layers and is 340 A thick. The cytoplasm is of globular structure and includes ribosomelike structures, occasional mesosomes, and inclusions not precisely identifiable. The nuclear area has various shapes and is formed by filaments 10 to 20 A thick which proceed in various directions. Cell division occurs similarly to that of sarcinate. Both synchronic and asynchronic cell division was observed. The spores of S. ureae consist of an outer coat having several layers, a cortex, a spore wall, and cytoplasm. The results of the present investigation substantiate our previous suggestion that S. ureae should be transferred from the family Micrococcaceae to the family Bacillaceae. Images PMID:16562085

TOPICAL REVIEW: Ultra-thin film encapsulation processes for micro-electro-mechanical devices and systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoldt, Conrad R.; Bright, Victor M.

2006-05-01

A range of physical properties can be achieved in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) through their encapsulation with solid-state, ultra-thin coatings. This paper reviews the application of single source chemical vapour deposition and atomic layer deposition (ALD) in the growth of submicron films on polycrystalline silicon microstructures for the improvement of microscale reliability and performance. In particular, microstructure encapsulation with silicon carbide, tungsten, alumina and alumina-zinc oxide alloy ultra-thin films is highlighted, and the mechanical, electrical, tribological and chemical impact of these overlayers is detailed. The potential use of solid-state, ultra-thin coatings in commercial microsystems is explored using radio frequency MEMS as a case study for the ALD alloy alumina-zinc oxide thin film.

Polymer/metal oxide hybrid dielectrics for low voltage field-effect transistors with solution-processed, high-mobility semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Held, Martin; Schießl, Stefan P.; Miehler, Dominik; Gannott, Florentina; Zaumseil, Jana

2015-08-01

Transistors for future flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display backplanes should operate at low voltages and be able to sustain high currents over long times without degradation. Hence, high capacitance dielectrics with low surface trap densities are required that are compatible with solution-processable high-mobility semiconductors. Here, we combine poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and atomic layer deposition hafnium oxide (HfOx) into a bilayer hybrid dielectric for field-effect transistors with a donor-acceptor polymer (DPPT-TT) or single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as the semiconductor and demonstrate substantially improved device performances for both. The ultra-thin PMMA layer ensures a low density of trap states at the semiconductor-dielectric interface while the metal oxide layer provides high capacitance, low gate leakage and superior barrier properties. Transistors with these thin (≤70 nm), high capacitance (100-300 nF/cm2) hybrid dielectrics enable low operating voltages (<5 V), balanced charge carrier mobilities and low threshold voltages. Moreover, the hybrid layers substantially improve the bias stress stability of the transistors compared to those with pure PMMA and HfOx dielectrics.

Controlled Growth of NiCo2O4 Nanorods and Ultrathin Nanosheets on Carbon Nanofibers for High-performance Supercapacitors

PubMed Central

Zhang, Genqiang; (David) Lou, Xiong Wen

2013-01-01

Two one-dimensional hierarchical hybrid nanostructures composed of NiCo2O4 nanorods and ultrathin nanosheets on carbon nanofibers (CNFs) are controllably synthesized through facile solution methods combined with a simple thermal treatment. The structure of NiCo2O4 can be easily controlled to be nanorods or nanosheets by using different additives in the synthesis. These two different nanostructures are evaluated as electrodes for high performance supercapacitors, in view of their apparent advantages, such as high electroactive surface area, ultrathin and porous features, robust mechanical strength, shorter ion and electron transport path. Their electrochemical performance is systematically studied, and both of these two hierarchical hybrid nanostructures exhibit high capacitance and excellent cycling stability. The remarkable electrochemical performance will undoubtedly make these hybrid structures attractive for high-performance supercapacitors with high power and energy densities. PMID:23503561

Nano-Photonic Structures for Light Trapping in Ultra-Thin Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

PubMed Central

Pathi, Prathap; Peer, Akshit; Biswas, Rana

2017-01-01

Thick wafer-silicon is the dominant solar cell technology. It is of great interest to develop ultra-thin solar cells that can reduce materials usage, but still achieve acceptable performance and high solar absorption. Accordingly, we developed a highly absorbing ultra-thin crystalline Si based solar cell architecture using periodically patterned front and rear dielectric nanocone arrays which provide enhanced light trapping. The rear nanocones are embedded in a silver back reflector. In contrast to previous approaches, we utilize dielectric photonic crystals with a completely flat silicon absorber layer, providing expected high electronic quality and low carrier recombination. This architecture creates a dense mesh of wave-guided modes at near-infrared wavelengths in the absorber layer, generating enhanced absorption. For thin silicon (<2 μm) and 750 nm pitch arrays, scattering matrix simulations predict enhancements exceeding 90%. Absorption approaches the Lambertian limit at small thicknesses (<10 μm) and is slightly lower (by ~5%) at wafer-scale thicknesses. Parasitic losses are ~25% for ultra-thin (2 μm) silicon and just 1%–2% for thicker (>100 μm) cells. There is potential for 20 μm thick cells to provide 30 mA/cm2 photo-current and >20% efficiency. This architecture has great promise for ultra-thin silicon solar panels with reduced material utilization and enhanced light-trapping. PMID:28336851

Nano-photonic structures for light trapping in ultra-thin crystalline silicon solar cells

DOE PAGES

Pathi, Prathap; Peer, Akshit; Biswas, Rana

2017-01-13

Thick wafer-silicon is the dominant solar cell technology. It is of great interest to develop ultra-thin solar cells that can reduce materials usage, but still achieve acceptable performance and high solar absorption. Accordingly, we developed a highly absorbing ultra-thin crystalline Si based solar cell architecture using periodically patterned front and rear dielectric nanocone arrays which provide enhanced light trapping. The rear nanocones are embedded in a silver back reflector. In contrast to previous approaches, we utilize dielectric photonic crystals with a completely flat silicon absorber layer, providing expected high electronic quality and low carrier recombination. This architecture creates a densemore » mesh of wave-guided modes at near-infrared wavelengths in the absorber layer, generating enhanced absorption. For thin silicon (<2 μm) and 750 nm pitch arrays, scattering matrix simulations predict enhancements exceeding 90%. Absorption approaches the Lambertian limit at small thicknesses (<10 μm) and is slightly lower (by ~5%) at wafer-scale thicknesses. Parasitic losses are ~25% for ultra-thin (2 μm) silicon and just 1%–2% for thicker (>100 μm) cells. There is potential for 20 μm thick cells to provide 30 mA/cm2 photo-current and >20% efficiency. Furthermore, this architecture has great promise for ultra-thin silicon solar panels with reduced material utilization and enhanced light-trapping.« less

Nano-photonic structures for light trapping in ultra-thin crystalline silicon solar cells

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

Pathi, Prathap; Peer, Akshit; Biswas, Rana

Thick wafer-silicon is the dominant solar cell technology. It is of great interest to develop ultra-thin solar cells that can reduce materials usage, but still achieve acceptable performance and high solar absorption. Accordingly, we developed a highly absorbing ultra-thin crystalline Si based solar cell architecture using periodically patterned front and rear dielectric nanocone arrays which provide enhanced light trapping. The rear nanocones are embedded in a silver back reflector. In contrast to previous approaches, we utilize dielectric photonic crystals with a completely flat silicon absorber layer, providing expected high electronic quality and low carrier recombination. This architecture creates a densemore » mesh of wave-guided modes at near-infrared wavelengths in the absorber layer, generating enhanced absorption. For thin silicon (<2 μm) and 750 nm pitch arrays, scattering matrix simulations predict enhancements exceeding 90%. Absorption approaches the Lambertian limit at small thicknesses (<10 μm) and is slightly lower (by ~5%) at wafer-scale thicknesses. Parasitic losses are ~25% for ultra-thin (2 μm) silicon and just 1%–2% for thicker (>100 μm) cells. There is potential for 20 μm thick cells to provide 30 mA/cm2 photo-current and >20% efficiency. Furthermore, this architecture has great promise for ultra-thin silicon solar panels with reduced material utilization and enhanced light-trapping.« less

Ultrathin layered double hydroxide nanosheets with Ni(III) active species obtained by exfoliation for highly efficient ethanol electrooxidation.

PubMed

Xu, Liang; Wang, Zhe; Chen, Xu; Qu, Zongkai; Li, Feng; Yang, Wensheng

2018-01-10

The development of non-precious metal electrocatalysts for renewable energy conversion and storage is compelling but greatly challenging due to low activity of the existing catalysts. Herein, the ultrathin NiAl-layered double hydroxide nanosheets (NiAl-LDH-NSs) are prepared by simple liquid-exfoliation of bulk NiAl-LDHs and first used as ethanol electrooxidation catalysts. The ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) structure ensures that the LDH nanosheets expose a greater number of active sites. More importantly, much Ni(III) active species (NiOOH) in the ultrathin nanosheets are formed by the exfoliation process, which play an authentic catalytic role in the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). The presence of NiOOH remarkably improves the reactivity and electrical conductivity of LDH nanosheets. These synergistic effects lead to strikingly more than 30 times enhanced EOR activity of NiAl-LDH-NSs compared to bulk NiAl-LDHs. The obtained electrocatalytic activity is also much better than those of most Ni- and LDH-based EOR catalysts reported to date. In addition, the ultrathin NiAl-LDH-NS electrocatalyst also exhibits good long-term stability (maintain 81.8% of the original value after 10000 s). This study not only provides a highly competitive EOR catalyst, but also opens new avenues toward the design of highly efficient electrode materials that have various potential applications in supercapacitor, Ni-MH battery and other electrocatalytic systems.

Nano-Photonic Structures for Light Trapping in Ultra-Thin Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells.

PubMed

Pathi, Prathap; Peer, Akshit; Biswas, Rana

2017-01-13

Thick wafer-silicon is the dominant solar cell technology. It is of great interest to develop ultra-thin solar cells that can reduce materials usage, but still achieve acceptable performance and high solar absorption. Accordingly, we developed a highly absorbing ultra-thin crystalline Si based solar cell architecture using periodically patterned front and rear dielectric nanocone arrays which provide enhanced light trapping. The rear nanocones are embedded in a silver back reflector. In contrast to previous approaches, we utilize dielectric photonic crystals with a completely flat silicon absorber layer, providing expected high electronic quality and low carrier recombination. This architecture creates a dense mesh of wave-guided modes at near-infrared wavelengths in the absorber layer, generating enhanced absorption. For thin silicon (<2 μm) and 750 nm pitch arrays, scattering matrix simulations predict enhancements exceeding 90%. Absorption approaches the Lambertian limit at small thicknesses (<10 μm) and is slightly lower (by ~5%) at wafer-scale thicknesses. Parasitic losses are ~25% for ultra-thin (2 μm) silicon and just 1%-2% for thicker (>100 μm) cells. There is potential for 20 μm thick cells to provide 30 mA/cm² photo-current and >20% efficiency. This architecture has great promise for ultra-thin silicon solar panels with reduced material utilization and enhanced light-trapping.

Transparent actuators and robots based on single-layer superaligned carbon nanotube sheet and polymer composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Luzhuo; Weng, Mingcen; Zhang, Wei; Zhou, Zhiwei; Zhou, Yi; Xia, Dan; Li, Jiaxin; Huang, Zhigao; Liu, Changhong; Fan, Shoushan

2016-03-01

Transparent actuators have been attracting emerging interest recently, as they demonstrate potential applications in the fields of invisible robots, tactical displays, variable-focus lenses, and flexible cellular phones. However, previous technologies did not simultaneously realize macroscopic transparent actuators with advantages of large-shape deformation, low-voltage-driven actuation and fast fabrication. Here, we develop a fast approach to fabricate a high-performance transparent actuator based on single-layer superaligned carbon nanotube sheet and polymer composites. Various advantages of single-layer nanotube sheets including high transparency, considerable conductivity, and ultra-thin dimensions together with selected polymer materials completely realize all the above required advantages. Also, this is the first time that a single-layer nanotube sheet has been used to fabricate actuators with high transparency, avoiding the structural damage to the single-layer nanotube sheet. The transparent actuator shows a transmittance of 72% at the wavelength of 550 nm and bends remarkably with a curvature of 0.41 cm-1 under a DC voltage for 5 s, demonstrating a significant advance in technological performances compared to previous conventional actuators. To illustrate their great potential usage, a transparent wiper and a humanoid robot ``hand'' were elaborately designed and fabricated, which initiate a new direction in the development of high-performance invisible robotics and other intelligent applications with transparency.Transparent actuators have been attracting emerging interest recently, as they demonstrate potential applications in the fields of invisible robots, tactical displays, variable-focus lenses, and flexible cellular phones. However, previous technologies did not simultaneously realize macroscopic transparent actuators with advantages of large-shape deformation, low-voltage-driven actuation and fast fabrication. Here, we develop a fast approach to fabricate a high-performance transparent actuator based on single-layer superaligned carbon nanotube sheet and polymer composites. Various advantages of single-layer nanotube sheets including high transparency, considerable conductivity, and ultra-thin dimensions together with selected polymer materials completely realize all the above required advantages. Also, this is the first time that a single-layer nanotube sheet has been used to fabricate actuators with high transparency, avoiding the structural damage to the single-layer nanotube sheet. The transparent actuator shows a transmittance of 72% at the wavelength of 550 nm and bends remarkably with a curvature of 0.41 cm-1 under a DC voltage for 5 s, demonstrating a significant advance in technological performances compared to previous conventional actuators. To illustrate their great potential usage, a transparent wiper and a humanoid robot ``hand'' were elaborately designed and fabricated, which initiate a new direction in the development of high-performance invisible robotics and other intelligent applications with transparency. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Video records of the actuation process of the transparent wiper and the grabbing-releasing process of the transparent robot ``hand'', transmittance spectra of the PET and BOPP films, the SEM image showing the thickness of the SACNT sheet, calculation of the curvature, calculation of energy efficiency, experimental results of the control experiment, modeling of the SACNT/PET and PET/BOPP composites and experimental results of the repeatability test. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr07237a

Applications of thin carbon coatings and films in injection molding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cabrera, Eusebio Duarte

In this research, the technical feasibility of two novel applications of thin carbon coatings is demonstrated. The first application consists of using thin carbon coatings on molds for molding ultra-thin plastic parts (<0.5 mm thickness) with lower pressures by promoting wall slip. The second application consists of a new approach to provide electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding for plastic parts using in mold coated nanoparticle thin films or nanopapers to create a conductive top layer. During this research, the technical feasibility of a new approach was proven which provides injection molding of ultra-thin parts at lower pressures, without the need of fast heating/fast cooling or other expensive mold modification. An in-house developed procedure by other members of our group, was employed for coating the mold surface using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) resulting in a graphene coating with carbide bonding to the mold surface. The coating resulted in a significant decrease of surface friction and consequently easiness of flow when compared to their uncoated counterparts. Thermoplastic polymers and their composites are a very attractive alternative but are hindered by the non-conductive nature of polymers. There are two general approaches used to date to achieve EMI shielding for plastic products. One is to spray a conductive metal coating onto the plastic surface forming a layer that must maintain its shielding effectiveness (SE), and its adhesion to the plastic throughout the expected life of the product. However, metal coatings add undesirable weight and tend to corrode over time. Furthermore, scratching the coating may create shielding failure; therefore, a protective topcoat may be required. The other approach is to use polymer composites filled with conductive fillers such as carbon black (CB), carbon nanofiber (CNF), and carbon nanotube (CNT). While conductive fillers may increase the electrical conductivity of polymer composites, the loading of such fillers often cannot reach a high level (<10 wt. %) due to the dispersion difficulty and exponential increase in viscosity. In this research, the technical feasibility of a new approach to EMI shielding of plastic parts was proven using in mold coated nanoparticle thin films or nanopapers to create a conductive top layer. For many years, in-mold coating (IMC) has been commercially applied to Sheet Molding Compound (SMC) compression molded parts, as an environmentally friendly approach to improve its surface quality and provide the required conductivity for electrostatic painting using carbon black (CB). Such process can also be applied to injection molding for creating a top conductive layer. Increasing the amount of CB will increase the surface conductivity of the coated part, thus improving the paint transfer efficiency. However the CB levels needed to achieve the conductivity levels required for achieving EMI shielding would make the coating viscosity too large for proper coating. Nanopaper based composites are excellent candidates for EMI shielding because of the nanopaper's high concentration of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) (~2 wt% to 10 wt% depending on nanopaper/thermoplastic thickness and 71wt.% to 79wt.% in the nanopaper itself after resin infusion) and high conductivity of the nanopaper. Instead of premixing nanoparticles with IMC coating, nanopapers enable the use of low viscosity IMC without CB coating to impregnate the CNF network in order to reach high electrical conductivity and EMI shielding values. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

Hypervelocity nanoparticle impacts on free-standing graphene: A sui generis mode of sputtering

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

Eller, Michael J.; Della-Negra, Serge; Liang, Chao-Kai

The study of the interaction of hypervelocity nano-particles with a 2D material and ultra-thin targets (single layer graphene, multi-layer graphene, and amorphous carbon foils) has been performed using mass selected gold nano-particles produced from a liquid metal ion source. During these impacts, a large number of atoms are ejected from the graphene, corresponding to a hole of ∼60 nm{sup 2}. Additionally, for the first time, secondary ions have been observed simultaneously in both the transmission and reflection direction (with respect to the path of the projectile) from a 2D target. The ejected area is much larger than that predicted bymore » molecular dynamic simulations and a large ionization rate is observed. The mass distribution and characteristics of the emitted secondary ions are presented and offer an insight into the process to produce the large hole observed in the graphene.« less

Transparent and flexible electrodes and supercapacitors using polyaniline/single-walled carbon nanotube composite thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ge, Jun; Cheng, Guanghui; Chen, Liwei

2011-08-01

Large-scale transparent and flexible electronic devices have been pursued for potential applications such as those in touch sensors and display technologies. These applications require that the power source of these devices must also comply with transparent and flexible features. Here we present transparent and flexible supercapacitors assembled from polyaniline (PANI)/single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) composite thin film electrodes. The ultrathin, optically homogeneous and transparent, electrically conducting films of the PANI/SWNT composite show a large specific capacitance due to combined double-layer capacitance and pseudo-capacitance mechanisms. A supercapacitor assembled using electrodes with a SWNT density of 10.0 µg cm-2 and 59 wt% PANI gives a specific capacitance of 55.0 F g-1 at a current density of 2.6 A g-1, showing its possibility for transparent and flexible energy storage.

Stretchable carbon nanotube charge-trap floating-gate memory and logic devices for wearable electronics.

PubMed

Son, Donghee; Koo, Ja Hoon; Song, Jun-Kyul; Kim, Jaemin; Lee, Mincheol; Shim, Hyung Joon; Park, Minjoon; Lee, Minbaek; Kim, Ji Hoon; Kim, Dae-Hyeong

2015-05-26

Electronics for wearable applications require soft, flexible, and stretchable materials and designs to overcome the mechanical mismatch between the human body and devices. A key requirement for such wearable electronics is reliable operation with high performance and robustness during various deformations induced by motions. Here, we present materials and device design strategies for the core elements of wearable electronics, such as transistors, charge-trap floating-gate memory units, and various logic gates, with stretchable form factors. The use of semiconducting carbon nanotube networks designed for integration with charge traps and ultrathin dielectric layers meets the performance requirements as well as reliability, proven by detailed material and electrical characterizations using statistics. Serpentine interconnections and neutral mechanical plane layouts further enhance the deformability required for skin-based systems. Repetitive stretching tests and studies in mechanics corroborate the validity of the current approaches.

Transparent and flexible electrodes and supercapacitors using polyaniline/single-walled carbon nanotube composite thin films.

PubMed

Ge, Jun; Cheng, Guanghui; Chen, Liwei

2011-08-01

Large-scale transparent and flexible electronic devices have been pursued for potential applications such as those in touch sensors and display technologies. These applications require that the power source of these devices must also comply with transparent and flexible features. Here we present transparent and flexible supercapacitors assembled from polyaniline (PANI)/single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) composite thin film electrodes. The ultrathin, optically homogeneous and transparent, electrically conducting films of the PANI/SWNT composite show a large specific capacitance due to combined double-layer capacitance and pseudo-capacitance mechanisms. A supercapacitor assembled using electrodes with a SWNT density of 10.0 µg cm(-2) and 59 wt% PANI gives a specific capacitance of 55.0 F g(-1) at a current density of 2.6 A g(-1), showing its possibility for transparent and flexible energy storage. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011

GaAs shallow-homojunction solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fan, J. C. C.

1981-01-01

The feasibility of fabricating space resistant, high efficiency, light weight, low cost GaAs shallow homojunction solar cells for space application is investigated. The material preparation of ultrathin GaAs single crystal layers, and the fabrication of efficient GaAs solar cells on bulk GaAs substrates are discussed. Considerable progress was made in both areas, and conversion efficiency about 16% AMO was obtained using anodic oxide as a single layer antireflection coating. A computer design shows that even better cells can be obtained with double layer antireflection coating. Ultrathin, high efficiency solar cells were obtained from GaAs films prepared by the CLEFT process, with conversion efficiency as high as 17% at AMI from a 10 micrometers thick GaAs film. A organometallic CVD was designed and constructed.

Disorder-controlled superconductivity at YBa2Cu3O7/SrTiO3 interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia-Barriocanal, J.; Perez-Muñoz, A. M.; Sefrioui, Z.; Arias, D.; Varela, M.; Leon, C.; Pennycook, S. J.; Santamaria, J.

2013-06-01

We examine the effect of interface disorder in suppressing superconductivity in coherently grown ultrathin YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) layers on SrTiO3 (STO) in YBCO/STO superlattices. The termination plane of the STO is TiO2 and the CuO chains are missing at the interface. Disorder (steps) at the STO interface cause alterations of the stacking sequence of the intracell YBCO atomic layers. Stacking faults give rise to antiphase boundaries which break the continuity of the CuO2 planes and depress superconductivity. We show that superconductivity is directly controlled by interface disorder outlining the importance of pair breaking and localization by disorder in ultrathin layers.

Tunneling interferometry and measurement of the thickness of ultrathin metallic Pb(111) films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ustavshchikov, S. S.; Putilov, A. V.; Aladyshkin, A. Yu.

2017-10-01

Spectra of the differential tunneling conductivity for ultrathin lead films grown on Si(111) 7 × 7 single crystals with a thickness of 9 to 50 ML have been studied by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. The presence of local maxima of the tunneling conductivity is characteristic of such systems. The energies of maxima of the differential conductivity are determined by the spectrum of quantum-confined states of electrons in a metallic layer and, consequently, the local thickness of the layer. It has been shown that features of the microstructure of substrates, such as steps of monatomic height, structural defects, and inclusions of other materials covered with a lead layer, can be visualized by bias-modulation scanning tunneling spectroscopy.

Heterogeneity in ultrathin films simulated by Monte Carlo method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Jiebing; Hannon, James B.; Kellogg, Gary L.; Pohl, Karsten

2007-03-01

The 3D composition profile of ultra-thin Pd films on Cu(001) has been experimentally determined using low energy electron microscopy (LEEM).^[1] Quantitative measurements of the alloy concentration profile near steps show that the Pd distribution in the 3^rd layer is heterogeneous due to step overgrowth during Pd deposition. Interestingly, the Pd distribution in the 2^nd layer is also heterogeneous, and appears to be correlated with the distribution in the 1^st layer. We describe Monte Carlo simulations that show that correlation is due to Cu-Pd attraction, and that the 2^nd layer Pd is, in fact, laterally equilibrated. By comparing measured and simulated concentration profiles, we can estimate this attraction within a simple bond counting model. [1] J. B. Hannon, J. Sun, K. Pohl, G. L. Kellogg, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 246103 (2006)

Management of light absorption in extraordinary optical transmission based ultra-thin-film tandem solar cells

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

Mashooq, Kishwar; Talukder, Muhammad Anisuzzaman, E-mail: anis@eee.buet.ac.bd

2016-05-21

Although ultra-thin-film solar cells can be attractive in reducing the cost, they suffer from low absorption as the thickness of the active layer is usually much smaller than the wavelength of incident light. Different nano-photonic techniques, including plasmonic structures, are being explored to increase the light absorption in ultra-thin-film solar cells. More than one layer of active materials with different energy bandgaps can be used in tandem to increase the light absorption as well. However, due to different amount of light absorption in different active layers, photo-generated currents in different active layers will not be the same. The current mismatchmore » between the tandem layers makes them ineffective in increasing the efficiency. In this work, we investigate the light absorption properties of tandem solar cells with two ultra-thin active layers working as two subcells and a metal layer with periodically perforated holes in-between the two subcells. While the metal layer helps to overcome the current mismatch, the periodic holes increase the absorption of incident light by helping extraordinary optical transmission of the incident light from the top to the bottom subcell, and by coupling the incident light to plasmonic and photonic modes within ultra-thin active layers. We extensively study the effects of the geometry of holes in the intermediate metal layer on the light absorption properties of tandem solar cells with ultra-thin active layers. We also study how different metals in the intermediate layer affect the light absorption; how the geometry of holes in the intermediate layer affects the absorption when the active layer materials are changed; and how the intermediate metal layer affects the collection of photo-generated electron-hole pairs at the terminals. We find that in a solar cell with 6,6-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester top subcell and copper indium gallium selenide bottom subcell, if the periodic holes in the metal layer are square or polygon, total absorption remains approximately the same. However, the total absorption suffers significantly if the holes are triangle. The transmission spectra of incident light into the bottom subcell, and hence the absorption, change significantly for square and circle holes if the active materials change to cadmium selenide (CdSe) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) in the top and bottom subcells, respectively. Although the intermediate metal layer may induce electron-hole pair recombination due to surface defects, the short-circuit current density of an ultra-thin plasmonic solar cell with an intermediate metal layer with two-dimensional hole array is >9% of that of a structure without the intermediate metal layer.« less

Interfacial structure and electrical properties of ultrathin HfO2 dielectric films on Si substrates by surface sol-gel method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, You-Pin; Li, Ai-Dong; Qian, Xu; Zhao, Chao; Wu, Di

2009-01-01

Ultrathin HfO2 films with about ~3 nm thickness were deposited on n-type (1 0 0) silicon substrates using hafnium chloride (HfCl4) source by the surface sol-gel method and post-deposition annealing (PDA). The interfacial structure and electrical properties of ultrathin HfO2 films were investigated. The HfO2 films show amorphous structures and smooth surface morphologies with a very thin interfacial oxide layer of ~0.5 nm and small surface roughness (~0.45 nm). The 500 °C PDA treatment forms stronger Hf-O bonds, leading to passivated traps, and the interfacial layer is mainly Hf silicate (HfxSiyOz). Equivalent oxide thickness of around 0.84 nm of HfO2/Si has been obtained with a leakage current density of 0.7 A cm-2 at Vfb + 1 V after 500 °C PDA. It was found that the current conduction mechanism of HfO2/Si varied from Schottky-Richardson emission to Fowler-Nordheim tunnelling at an applied higher positive voltage due to the activated partial traps remaining in the ultrathin HfO2 films.

Few-layered CoHPO4 · 3H2O ultrathin nanosheets for high performance of electrode materials for supercapacitors.

PubMed

Pang, Huan; Wang, Shaomei; Shao, Weifang; Zhao, Shanshan; Yan, Bo; Li, Xinran; Li, Sujuan; Chen, Jing; Du, Weimin

2013-07-07

Ultrathin cobalt phosphate (CoHPO4 · 3H2O) nanosheets are successfully synthesized by a one pot hydrothermal method. Novel CoHPO4 · 3H2O ultrathin nanosheets are assembled for constructing the electrodes of supercapacitors. Benefiting from the nanostructures, the as-prepared electrode shows a specific capacitance of 413 F g(-1), and no obvious decay even after 3000 charge-discharge cycles. Such a quasi-two-dimensional material is a new kind of supercapacitor electrode material with high performance.

Solution-Processed Ultrathin TiO2 Compact Layer Hybridized with Mesoporous TiO2 for High-Performance Perovskite Solar Cells.

PubMed

Jeong, Inyoung; Park, Yun Hee; Bae, Seunghwan; Park, Minwoo; Jeong, Hansol; Lee, Phillip; Ko, Min Jae

2017-10-25

The electron transport layer (ETL) is a key component of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and must provide efficient electron extraction and collection while minimizing the charge recombination at interfaces in order to ensure high performance. Conventional bilayered TiO 2 ETLs fabricated by depositing compact TiO 2 (c-TiO 2 ) and mesoporous TiO 2 (mp-TiO 2 ) in sequence exhibit resistive losses due to the contact resistance at the c-TiO 2 /mp-TiO 2 interface and the series resistance arising from the intrinsically low conductivity of TiO 2 . Herein, to minimize such resistive losses, we developed a novel ETL consisting of an ultrathin c-TiO 2 layer hybridized with mp-TiO 2 , which is fabricated by performing one-step spin-coating of a mp-TiO 2 solution containing a small amount of titanium diisopropoxide bis(acetylacetonate) (TAA). By using electron microscopies and elemental mapping analysis, we establish that the optimal concentration of TAA produces an ultrathin blocking layer with a thickness of ∼3 nm and ensures that the mp-TiO 2 layer has a suitable porosity for efficient perovskite infiltration. We compare PSCs based on mesoscopic ETLs with and without compact layers to determine the role of the hole-blocking layer in their performances. The hybrid ETLs exhibit enhanced electron extraction and reduced charge recombination, resulting in better photovoltaic performances and reduced hysteresis of PSCs compared to those with conventional bilayered ETLs.

Evidence of a Transition Layer between the Free Surface and the Bulk.

PubMed

Ogieglo, Wojciech; Tempelman, Kristianne; Napolitano, Simone; Benes, Nieck E

2018-03-15

The free surface, a very thin layer at the interface between polymer and air, is considered the main source of the perturbations in the properties of ultrathin polymer films, i.e., nanoconfinement effects. The structural relaxation of such a layer is decoupled from the molecular dynamics of the bulk. The free surface is, in fact, able to stay liquid even below the temperature where the polymer resides in the glassy state. Importantly, this surface layer is expected to have a very sharp interface with the underlying bulk. Here, by analyzing the penetration of n-hexane into polystyrene films, we report on the existence of a transition region, not observed by previous investigations, extending for 12 nm below the free surface. The presence of such a layer permits reconciling the behavior of interfacial layers with current models and has profound implications on the performance of ultrathin membranes. We show that the expected increase in the flux of the permeating species is actually overruled by nanoconfinement.

The influence of nano-oxide layer on magnetostriction of sensing layer in bottom spin valves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, J. J.; Han, G. C.; Li, K. B.; Liu, Z. Y.; Zong, B. Y.; Wu, Y. H.

2006-05-01

The magnetostriction coefficient (λs) of ultrathin sputtered polycrystalline as-deposited and annealed Ta/Ni81Fe19(t)/Ta films was studied as a function of the thickness. λs and magnetoresistance (MR) of bottom-type spin valves (SVs) with nano-oxide layer (NOL) added in the pinned layer were investigated by using NiFe, Co90Fe10, and CoFe/NiFe/CoFe layers as free layer (FL), respectively. λs of SV with NOL increased slightly except that of CoFe FL. NOLs were added at different positions to study the effects of NOL on λs of CoFe FL. All λs of CoFe FL change from negative to positive and its absolute value also increases significantly with CoFeOx related NOL added below. Our λs and surface roughness results indicated that the structure of the film not the roughness dominates λs of ultrathin FL in SVs.

Clay induced aggregation of a tetra-cationic metalloporphyrin in Layer by Layer self assembled film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banik, Soma; Bhattacharjee, J.; Hussain, S. A.; Bhattacharjee, D.

2015-12-01

Porphyrins have a general tendency to form aggregates in ultrathin films. Also electrostatic adsorption of cationic porphyrins onto anionic nano clay platelets results in the flattening of porphyrin moieties. The flattening is evidenced by the red-shifting of Soret band with respect to the aqueous solution. In the present communication, we have studied the clay induced aggregation behaviour of a tetra-cationic metalloporphyrin Manganese (III) 5, 10, 15, 20-tetra (4 pyridyl)-21 H, 23 H-porphine chloride tetrakis (methochloride) (MnTMPyP) in Layer-by-Layer (LbL) self assembled film. The adsorption of dye molecules onto nano clay platelets resulted in the flattening of the meso substituent groups of the dye chromophore. In Layer-by-Layer ultrathin film, the flattened porphyrin molecules tagged nano clay platelets were further associated to form porphyrin aggregates. This has been clearly demonstrated from the UV-vis absorption spectroscopic studies. Atomic Force Microscopic (AFM) studies gave visual evidence of the association of organo-clay hybrid molecules in the LbL film.

White organic light-emitting diodes based on doped and ultrathin Rubrene layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yi; Jiang, Yadong; Wen, Wen; Yu, Junsheng

2010-10-01

Based on a yellow fluorescent dye of 5, 6, 11, 12-tetraphenylnaphthacene (Rubrene), WOLEDs were fabricated, with doping structure and ultrathin layer structure utilized in the devices. By doping Rubrene into blue-emitting N,N'-bis-(1- naphthyl)-N,N'-biphenyl-1,1'-biphenyl-4,4'-diamine (NPB), the device with a structure of indium-tin-oxide (ITO)/NPB (40 nm)/NPB:Rubrene (0.25 wt%, 7 nm)/2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BCP) (30 nm)/Mg:Ag exhibited a warm white light with Commissions Internationale De L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.38, 0.41) at 12 V. The electroluminescent spectrum of the OLED consisted of blue and yellow fluorescent emissions, the intensity of blue emission increased gradually relative to the orange emission with increasing voltage. This is mainly due to the recombination zone shifted towards the anode side as the transmission rate of electrons grows faster than that of holes under higher bias voltage. A maximum luminance of 7300 cd/m2 and a maximum power efficiency of 0.57 lm/W were achieved. Comparatively, by utilizing ultrathin dopant layer, the device with a structure of ITO/NPB (40 nm)/Rubrene (0.3 nm)/NPB (7 nm)/BCP (30 nm)/Mg:Ag achieved a low turn-on voltage of 3 V and a more stable white light. The peaks of EL spectra located at 430 and 560 nm corresponding to the CIE coordinates of (0.32, 0.32) under bias voltage ranging from 5 to 15 V. A maximum luminance of 5630 cd/m2 and a maximum power efficiency of 0.6 lm/W were achieved. The balanced spectra were attributed to the stable confining of charge carriers and exciton by the thin emitting layers. Hence, with simple device structure and fabricating process, the device with ultrathin layer achieved low turn-on voltage, stable white light emitting and higher power efficiency.

Monolayer-Mediated Growth of Organic Semiconductor Films with Improved Device Performance.

PubMed

Huang, Lizhen; Hu, Xiaorong; Chi, Lifeng

2015-09-15

Increased interest in wearable and smart electronics is driving numerous research works on organic electronics. The control of film growth and patterning is of great importance when targeting high-performance organic semiconductor devices. In this Feature Article, we summarize our recent work focusing on the growth, crystallization, and device operation of organic semiconductors intermediated by ultrathin organic films (in most cases, only a monolayer). The site-selective growth, modified crystallization and morphology, and improved device performance of organic semiconductor films are demonstrated with the help of the inducing layers, including patterned and uniform Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers, crystalline ultrathin organic films, and self-assembled polymer brush films. The introduction of the inducing layers could dramatically change the diffusion of the organic semiconductors on the surface and the interactions between the active layer with the inducing layer, leading to improved aggregation/crystallization behavior and device performance.

Electrostatic Assembly of Nanomaterials for Hybrid Electrodes and Supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammond, Paula

2015-03-01

Electrostatic assembly methods have been used to generate a range of new materials systems of interest for electrochemical energy and storage applications. Over the past several years, it has been demonstrated that carbon nanotubes, metals, metal oxides, polymeric nanomaterials, and biotemplated materials systems can be incorporated into ultrathin films to generate supercapacitors and battery electrodes that illustrate significant energy density and power. The unique ability to control the incorporation of such a broad range of materials at the nanometer length scale allows tailoring of the final properties of these unique composite systems, as well as the capability of creating complex micron-scale to nanoporous morphologies based on the scale of the nanomaterial that is absorbed within the structure, or the conditions of self-assembly. Recently we have expanded these capabilities to achieve new electrodes that are templated atop electrospun polmer fiber scaffolds, in which the polymer can be selectively removed to achieve highly porous materials. Spray-layer-by-layer and filtration methods of functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes and polyaniline nanofibers enable the generation of electrode systems with unusually high surface. Incorporation of psuedocapacitive nanoparticles can enhance capacitive properties, and other catalytic or metallic nanoparticles can be implemented to enhance electrochemical or catalytic function.

Ultrathin layered double hydroxide nanosheets with Ni(III) active species obtained by exfoliation for highly efficient ethanol electrooxidation

PubMed Central

Xu, Liang; Wang, Zhe; Chen, Xu; Qu, Zongkai; Li, Feng; Yang, Wensheng

2018-01-01

The development of non-precious metal electrocatalysts for renewable energy conversion and storage is compelling but greatly challenging due to low activity of the existing catalysts. Herein, the ultrathin NiAl-layered double hydroxide nanosheets (NiAl-LDH-NSs) are prepared by simple liquid-exfoliation of bulk NiAl-LDHs and first used as ethanol electrooxidation catalysts. The ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) structure ensures that the LDH nanosheets expose a greater number of active sites. More importantly, much Ni(III) active species (NiOOH) in the ultrathin nanosheets are formed by the exfoliation process, which play an authentic catalytic role in the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). The presence of NiOOH remarkably improves the reactivity and electrical conductivity of LDH nanosheets. These synergistic effects lead to strikingly more than 30 times enhanced EOR activity of NiAl-LDH-NSs compared to bulk NiAl-LDHs. The obtained electrocatalytic activity is also much better than those of most Ni- and LDH-based EOR catalysts reported to date. In addition, the ultrathin NiAl-LDH-NS electrocatalyst also exhibits good long-term stability (maintain 81.8% of the original value after 10000 s). This study not only provides a highly competitive EOR catalyst, but also opens new avenues toward the design of highly efficient electrode materials that have various potential applications in supercapacitor, Ni-MH battery and other electrocatalytic systems. PMID:29622818

Ultra-thin enhanced-absorption long-wave infrared detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Shaohua; Yoon, Narae; Kamboj, Abhilasha; Petluru, Priyanka; Zheng, Wanhua; Wasserman, Daniel

2018-02-01

We propose an architecture for enhanced absorption in ultra-thin strained layer superlattice detectors utilizing a hybrid optical cavity design. Our detector architecture utilizes a designer-metal doped semiconductor ground plane beneath the ultra-subwavelength thickness long-wavelength infrared absorber material, upon which we pattern metallic antenna structures. We demonstrate the potential for near 50% detector absorption in absorber layers with thicknesses of approximately λ0/50, using realistic material parameters. We investigate detector absorption as a function of wavelength and incidence angle, as well as detector geometry. The proposed device architecture offers the potential for high efficiency detectors with minimal growth costs and relaxed design parameters.

Tuning the ultrafast photodissociation dynamics of CH3Br on ultrathin MgO films by reducing the layer thickness to the 2D limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaida, Mihai E.; Bernhardt, Thorsten M.

2017-11-01

The femtosecond-laser induced photodissociation of CH3Br adsorbed at sub-monolayer coverage on a solid surface was investigated by time-resolved pump-probe mass spectrometry. To tune the interaction of the CH3Br molecules with the substrate, an Mo(1 0 0) surface was covered with ultrathin insulating MgO layers of variable thickness. By gradually decreasing the magnesia layer thickness to the 2D limit the photodissociation dynamics observed by detection of the methyl fragment indicates an energetic lowering of the relevant methyl bromide excited states due to the increasing spatial proximity of the metallic support. Potential orientational effects of the methyl bromide adsorption geometry are also considered.

Exchange bias and perpendicular anisotropy study of ultrathin Pt-Co-Pt-IrMn multilayers sputtered on float glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laval, M.; Lüders, U.; Bobo, J. F.

2007-09-01

We have prepared ultrathin Pt-Co-Pt-IrMn polycrystalline multilayers on float-glass substrates by DC magnetron sputtering. We have determined the optimal set of thickness for both Pt layers, the Co layer and the IrMn biasing layer so that these samples exhibit at the same time out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy and exchange bias. Kerr microscopy domain structure imaging evidences an increase of nucleation rate accompanied with inhomogeneous magnetic behavior in the case of exchange-biased films compared to Pt-Co-Pt trilayers. Polar hysteresis loops are measured in obliquely applied magnetic field conditions, allowing us to determine both perpendicular anisotropy effective constant Keff and exchange-bias coupling JE, which are significantly different from the ones determined by standard switching field measurements.

Anatase TiO2 ultrathin nanobelts derived from room-temperature-synthesized titanates for fast and safe lithium storage

PubMed Central

Wen, Wei; Wu, Jin-ming; Jiang, Yin-zhu; Yu, Sheng-lan; Bai, Jun-qiang; Cao, Min-hua; Cui, Jie

2015-01-01

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are promising energy storage devices for portable electronics, electric vehicles, and power-grid applications. It is highly desirable yet challenging to develop a simple and scalable method for constructions of sustainable materials for fast and safe LIBs. Herein, we exploit a novel and scalable route to synthesize ultrathin nanobelts of anatase TiO2, which is resource abundant and is eligible for safe anodes in LIBs. The achieved ultrathin nanobelts demonstrate outstanding performances for lithium storage because of the unique nanoarchitecture and appropriate composition. Unlike conventional alkali-hydrothermal approaches to hydrogen titanates, the present room temperature alkaline-free wet chemistry strategy guarantees the ultrathin thickness for the resultant titanate nanobelts. The anatase TiO2 ultrathin nanobelts were achieved simply by a subsequent calcination in air. The synthesis route is convenient for metal decoration and also for fabricating thin films of one/three dimensional arrays on various substrates at low temperatures, in absence of any seed layers. PMID:26133276

Low thermal conductivity in ultrathin carbon nanotube (2, 1)

PubMed Central

Zhu, Liyan; Li, Baowen

2014-01-01

Molecular dynamic simulations reveal that the ultrathin carbon nanotube (CNT) (2, 1) with a reconstructed structure exhibits a surprisingly low thermal conductivity, which is only ~16–30% of those in regular CNTs, e.g. CNT (2, 2) and (5, 5). Detailed lattice dynamic calculations suggest that the acoustic phonon modes greatly soften in CNT (2, 1) as compared to regular CNTs. Moreover, both phonon group velocities and phonon lifetimes strikingly decrease in CNT (2, 1), which result in the remarkable reduction of thermal conductivity. Besides, isotope doping and chemical functionalization enable the further reduction of thermal conductivity in CNT (2, 1). PMID:24815003

Facile fabrication of ultrathin Pt overlayers onto nanoporous metal membranes via repeated Cu UPD and in situ redox replacement reaction.

PubMed

Liu, Pengpeng; Ge, Xingbo; Wang, Rongyue; Ma, Houyi; Ding, Yi

2009-01-06

Ultrathin Pt films from one to several atomic layers are successfully decorated onto nanoporous gold (NPG) membranes by utilizing under potential deposition (UPD) of Cu onto Au or Pt surfaces, followed by in situ redox replacement reaction (RRR) of UPD Cu by Pt. The thickness of Pt layers can be controlled precisely by repeating the Cu-UPD-RRR cycles. TEM observations coupled with electrochemical testing suggest that the morphology of Pt overlayers changes from an ultrathin epitaxial film in the case of one or two atomic layers to well-dispersed nanoislands in the case of four and more atomic layers. Electron diffraction (ED) patterns confirm that the as-prepared NPG-Pt membranes maintain a single-crystalline structure, even though the thickness of Pt films reaches six atomic layers, indicating the decorated Pt films hold the same crystallographic relationship to the NPG substrate during the entire fabrication process. Due to the regular modulation of Pt utilization, the electrocatalytic activity of NPG-Pt exhibits interesting surface structure dependence in methanol, ethanol, and CO electrooxidation reactions. These novel bimetallic nanocatalysts show excellent electrocatalytic activity and much enhanced poison tolerance as compared to the commercial Pt/C catalysts. The success in the fabrication of NPG-Pt-type materials provides a new path to prepare electrocatalysts with ultralow Pt loading and high Pt utilization, which is of great significance in energy-related applications, such as direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs).

Electric field effect on exchange interaction in ultrathin Co films with ionic liquids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishibashi, Mio; Yamada, Kihiro T.; Shiota, Yoichi; Ando, Fuyuki; Koyama, Tomohiro; Kakizakai, Haruka; Mizuno, Hayato; Miwa, Kazumoto; Ono, Shimpei; Moriyama, Takahiro; Chiba, Daichi; Ono, Teruo

2018-06-01

Electric-field modulations of magnetic properties have been extensively studied not only for practical applications but also for fundamental interest. In this study, we investigated the electric field effect on the exchange interaction in ultrathin Co films with ionic liquids. The exchange coupling J was characterized from the direct magnetization measurement as a function of temperature using Pt/ultrathin Co/MgO structures. The trend of the electric field effect on J is in good agreement with that of the theoretical prediction, and a large change in J by applying a gate voltage was observed by forming an electric double layer using ionic liquids.

Ultrathin ZnS and ZnO Interfacial Passivation Layers for Atomic-Layer-Deposited HfO2 Films on InP Substrates.

PubMed

Kim, Seung Hyun; Joo, So Yeong; Jin, Hyun Soo; Kim, Woo-Byoung; Park, Tae Joo

2016-08-17

Ultrathin ZnS and ZnO films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) were employed as interfacial passivation layers (IPLs) for HfO2 films on InP substrates. The interfacial layer growth during the ALD of the HfO2 film was effectively suppressed by the IPLs, resulting in the decrease of electrical thickness, hysteresis, and interface state density. Compared with the ZnO IPL, the ZnS IPL was more effective in reducing the interface state density near the valence band edge. The leakage current density through the film was considerably lowered by the IPLs because the film crystallization was suppressed. Especially for the film with the ZnS IPL, the leakage current density in the low-voltage region was significantly lower than that observed for the film with the ZnO IPL, because the direct tunneling current was suppressed by the higher conduction band offset of ZnS with the InP substrate.

Confined Transformation Derived Ultrathin Titanate Nanosheets/ Graphene Films for Excellent Na/K Ion Storage.

PubMed

Zeng, Cheng; Xie, Fangxi; Yang, Xianfeng; Jaroniec, Mietek; Zhang, Lei; Qiao, Shizhang

2018-05-02

Confined transformation of assembled two-dimensional MXene (titanium carbide) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets was employed to prepare the free-standing films of the integrated ultrathin sodium titanate (NTO)/potassium titanate (KTO) nanosheets sandwiched between graphene layers. The ultrathin Ti-based nanosheets reduce the diffusion distance while rGO layers enhance conductivity. Incorporation of graphene into the titanate films produced efficient binder-free anodes for ion storage. The resulting NTO/rGO electrode for sodium ion batteries exhibited an excellent rate performance and long cycling stability characterized by reversible capacity of 72 mA h g-1 at 5 A g-1 after 10000 cycles. Moreover, flexible KTO/rGO electrode for potassium ion batteries maintained a reversible capacity of 75 mA h g-1 after 700 cycles at 2 A g-1. These results demonstrate the superiority of the unique sandwich-type electrodes. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Determining thickness and refractive index from free-standing ultra-thin polymer films with spectroscopic ellipsometry

DOE PAGES

Hilfiker, James N.; Stadermann, Michael; Sun, Jianing; ...

2016-08-27

It is a well-known challenge to determine refractive index (n) from ultra-thin films where the thickness is less than about 10 nm. In this paper, we discovered an interesting exception to this issue while characterizing spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) data from isotropic, free-standing polymer films. Ellipsometry analysis shows that both thickness and refractive index can be independently determined for free-standing films as thin as 5 nm. Simulations further confirm an orthogonal separation between thickness and index effects on the experimental SE data. Effects of angle of incidence and wavelength on the data and sensitivity are discussed. Finally, while others have demonstratedmore » methods to determine refractive index from ultra-thin films, our analysis provides the first results to demonstrate high-sensitivity to the refractive index from ultra-thin layers.« less

Fabrication of Inverted Bulk-Heterojunction Organic Solar Cell with Ultrathin Titanium Oxide Nanosheet as an Electron-Extracting Buffer Layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itoh, Eiji; Maruyama, Yasutake; Fukuda, Katsutoshi

2012-02-01

The contributions and deposition conditions of ultrathin titania nanosheet (TN) crystallites were studied in an inverted bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) cell in indium tin oxide (ITO)/titania nanosheet/poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT):phenyl-C61-butyric acid methylester (PCBM) active layer/MoOx/Ag multilayered photovoltaic devices. Only one or two layers of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and TN multilayered film deposited by the layer-by-layer deposition technique effectively decreased the leakage current and increased both open circuit voltage (VOC) and fill factor (FF), and power conversion efficiency (η) was increased nearly twofold by the insertion of two TN layers. The deposition of additional TN layers caused the reduction in FF, and the abnormal S-shaped curves above VOC for the devices with three and four TN layers were ascribed to the interfacial potential barrier at the ITO/TN interface and the series resistance across the multilayers of TN and PDDA. The performance of the BHJ cell with TN was markedly improved, and the S-shaped curves were eliminated following the the insertion of anatase-phase titanium dioxide between the ITO and TN layers owing to the decrease in the interfacial potential barrier.

Fabrication and characterization of ultrathin dextran layers: Time dependent nanostructure in aqueous environments revealed by OWLS.

PubMed

Saftics, Andras; Kurunczi, Sándor; Szekrényes, Zsolt; Kamarás, Katalin; Khánh, Nguyen Quoc; Sulyok, Attila; Bősze, Szilvia; Horvath, Robert

2016-10-01

Surface coatings of the polysaccharide dextran and its derivatives are key ingredients especially in label-free biosensors for the suppression of non-specific binding and for receptor immobilization. Nevertheless, the nanostructure of these ultrathin coatings and its tailoring by the variation of the preparation conditions have not been profoundly characterized and understood. In this work carboxymethylated dextran (CMD) was prepared and used for fabricating ultrathin surface coatings. A grafting method based on covalent coupling to aminosilane- and epoxysilane-functionalized surfaces was applied to obtain thin CMD layers. The carboxyl moiety of the CMD was coupled to the aminated surface by EDC-NHS reagents, while CMD coupling through epoxysilane molecules was performed without any additional reagents. The surface analysis following the grafting procedures consisted of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR), spectroscopic ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy (OWLS). The XPS and AFM measurements showed that the grafting resulted in a very thin dextran layer of a few nanometers. The OWLS method allowed devising the structure of the interfacial dextran layers by the evaluation of the optogeometrical parameters. The alteration in the nanostructure of the CMD layer with the chemical composition of the silane coverage and the pH of the grafting solution was revealed by in situ OWLS, specifically, lain down chains were found to be prevalent on the surface under neutral and basic conditions on epoxysilylated surfaces. The developed methodologies allowed to design and fabricate nanometer scale CMD layers with well-controlled surface structure, which are very difficult to characterize in aqueous environments using present instrumentations and highly hydrated surface layers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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.

'One-component' ultrathin multilayer films based on poly(vinyl alcohol) as stabilizing coating for phenytoin-loaded liposomes.

PubMed

Zasada, Katarzyna; Łukasiewicz-Atanasov, Magdalena; Kłysik, Katarzyna; Lewandowska-Łańcucka, Joanna; Gzyl-Malcher, Barbara; Puciul-Malinowska, Agnieszka; Karewicz, Anna; Nowakowska, Maria

2015-11-01

Ultrathin "one-component" multilayer polymeric films for potential biomedical applications were designed based on polyvinyl alcohol,-a non-toxic, fully degradable synthetic polymer. Good uniformity of the obtained film and adequate adsorption properties of the polymeric layers were achieved by functional modification of the polymer, which involved synthesis of cationic and anionic derivatives. Synthesized polymers were characterized by FTIR, NMR spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering measurements and elemental analysis. The layer by layer assembly technique was used to build up a multilayer film and this process was followed using UV-Vis spectroscopy and ellipsometry. The morphology and thickness of the obtained multilayered film material was evaluated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Preliminary studies on the application of the obtained multilayer film for coating of liposomal nanocarriers containing phenytoin, an antiarrhythmic drug, were performed. The coating effectively stabilizes liposomes and the effect increases with an increasing number of deposited layers until the polymeric film reaches the optimal thickness. The obtained release profiles suggest that bilayer-coated liposomes release phenytoin less rapidly than uncoated ones. The cytotoxicity studies performed for all obtained nanocarriers confirmed that none of them has negative effect on cell viability. All of the performed experiments suggest that liposomes coated with ultrathin film obtained from PVA derivatives can be attractive drug nanocarriers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

New ultrathin film heterostructure for low-e application by sputtering technique: a theoretical and experimental study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruíz-Robles, M. A.; Abundiz-Cisneros, N.; Bender-Pérez, C. E.; Gutiérrez-Lazos, C. D.; Fundora-Cruz, A.; Solís-Pomar, F.; Pérez-Tijerina, E.

2018-03-01

The design and optical characterization by UV–vis transmittance of ultrathin low-emissivity (low-e) windows by reactive sputtering are reported. Two heterostructures on a glass substrate were considered for the low-e windows. The first heterostructure is Si3N4/TiO2/ZnO/Ag/SnO2/Si3N4 and the second is Si3N4/Ag/Si3N4. The transmittance and reflectance of these heterostructures were simulated to determine the required thickness of each layer. The first heterostructure exhibited maximum transmittance of 85% at 550 nm, slightly higher than the one determined by simulation and less than 50% transmittance in the near-infrared region (900 nm). The second heterostructure exhibited transmittance greater than 86% at 550 nm and <50% transmittance in the near-infrared region. In addition, we found that the bandwidth and maximum position of the transmittance depend on the Si3N4 layer thickness. Specifically, the thickness of the first Si3N4 layer allows the modulation of the transmittance bandwidth and the thickness of the second Si3N4 layer allows the modulation of the maximum position. The low-e windows were protected by the deposition of an ultrathin film of NiCr alloy (Ni 80%, Cr 20%) that preserved the optical characteristics and decreased the maximum of the transmittance only by 3%.

Extremely Vivid, Highly Transparent, and Ultrathin Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes.

PubMed

Choi, Moon Kee; Yang, Jiwoong; Kim, Dong Chan; Dai, Zhaohe; Kim, Junhee; Seung, Hyojin; Kale, Vinayak S; Sung, Sae Jin; Park, Chong Rae; Lu, Nanshu; Hyeon, Taeghwan; Kim, Dae-Hyeong

2018-01-01

Displaying information on transparent screens offers new opportunities in next-generation electronics, such as augmented reality devices, smart surgical glasses, and smart windows. Outstanding luminance and transparency are essential for such "see-through" displays to show vivid images over clear background view. Here transparent quantum dot light-emitting diodes (Tr-QLEDs) are reported with high brightness (bottom: ≈43 000 cd m -2 , top: ≈30 000 cd m -2 , total: ≈73 000 cd m -2 at 9 V), excellent transmittance (90% at 550 nm, 84% over visible range), and an ultrathin form factor (≈2.7 µm thickness). These superb characteristics are accomplished by novel electron transport layers (ETLs) and engineered quantum dots (QDs). The ETLs, ZnO nanoparticle assemblies with ultrathin alumina overlayers, dramatically enhance durability of active layers, and balance electron/hole injection into QDs, which prevents nonradiative recombination processes. In addition, the QD structure is further optimized to fully exploit the device architecture. The ultrathin nature of Tr-QLEDs allows their conformal integration on various shaped objects. Finally, the high resolution patterning of red, green, and blue Tr-QLEDs (513 pixels in. -1 ) shows the potential of the full-color transparent display. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Detection of Quinoline in G. boninense-Infected Plants Using Functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: A Field Study.

PubMed

Akanbi, Fowotade Sulayman; Yusof, Nor Azah; Abdullah, Jaafar; Sulaiman, Yusran; Hushiarian, Roozbeh

2017-07-01

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) reinforced with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and chitosan nanoparticles (CTSNPs) were anchored on a screen-printed electrode to fabricate a multi-walled structure for the detection of quinoline. The surface morphology of the nanocomposites and the modified electrode was examined by an ultra-high resolution field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used to confirm the presence of specific functional groups on the multi-walled carbon nanotubes MWCNTs. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) were used to monitor the layer-by-layer assembly of ultra-thin films of nanocomposites on the surface of the electrode and other electrochemical characterizations. Under optimized conditions, the novel sensor displayed outstanding electrochemical reactivity towards the electro-oxidation of quinoline. The linear range was fixed between 0.0004 and 1.0 μM, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 3.75 nM. The fabricated electrode exhibited high stability with excellent sensitivity and selectivity, specifically attributable to the salient characteristics of AuNPs, CTSNPs, and MWCNTs and the synergistic inter-relationship between them. The newly developed electrode was tested in the field. The Ipa increased with an increase in the amount of quinoline solution added, and the peak potential deviated minimally, depicting the real capability of the newly fabricated electrode.

Detection of Quinoline in G. boninense-Infected Plants Using Functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: A Field Study

PubMed Central

Akanbi, Fowotade Sulayman; Yusof, Nor Azah; Abdullah, Jaafar; Sulaiman, Yusran; Hushiarian, Roozbeh

2017-01-01

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) reinforced with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and chitosan nanoparticles (CTSNPs) were anchored on a screen-printed electrode to fabricate a multi-walled structure for the detection of quinoline. The surface morphology of the nanocomposites and the modified electrode was examined by an ultra-high resolution field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used to confirm the presence of specific functional groups on the multi-walled carbon nanotubes MWCNTs. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) were used to monitor the layer-by-layer assembly of ultra-thin films of nanocomposites on the surface of the electrode and other electrochemical characterizations. Under optimized conditions, the novel sensor displayed outstanding electrochemical reactivity towards the electro-oxidation of quinoline. The linear range was fixed between 0.0004 and 1.0 μM, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 3.75 nM. The fabricated electrode exhibited high stability with excellent sensitivity and selectivity, specifically attributable to the salient characteristics of AuNPs, CTSNPs, and MWCNTs and the synergistic inter-relationship between them. The newly developed electrode was tested in the field. The Ipa increased with an increase in the amount of quinoline solution added, and the peak potential deviated minimally, depicting the real capability of the newly fabricated electrode. PMID:28671561

Ultrathin Nickel Hydroxide and Oxide Nanosheets: Synthesis, Characterizations and Excellent Supercapacitor Performances

PubMed Central

Zhu, Youqi; Cao, Chuanbao; Tao, Shi; Chu, Wangsheng; Wu, Ziyu; Li, Yadong

2014-01-01

High-quality ultrathin two-dimensional nanosheets of α-Ni(OH)2 are synthesized at large scale via microwave-assisted liquid-phase growth under low-temperature atmospheric conditions. After heat treatment, non-layered NiO nanosheets are obtained while maintaining their original frame structure. The well-defined and freestanding nanosheets exhibit a micron-sized planar area and ultrathin thickness (<2 nm), suggesting an ultrahigh surface atom ratio with unique surface and electronic structure. The ultrathin 2D nanostructure can make most atoms exposed outside with high activity thus facilitate the surface-dependent electrochemical reaction processes. The ultrathin α-Ni(OH)2 and NiO nanosheets exhibit enhanced supercapacitor performances. Particularly, the α-Ni(OH)2 nanosheets exhibit a maximum specific capacitance of 4172.5 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1. Even at higher rate of 16 A g−1, the specific capacitance is still maintained at 2680 F g−1 with 98.5% retention after 2000 cycles. Even more important, we develop a facile and scalable method to produce high-quality ultrathin transition metal hydroxide and oxide nanosheets and make a possibility in commercial applications. PMID:25168127

Synthesis of uniform layered protonated titanate hierarchical spheres and their transformation to anatase TiO2 for lithium-ion batteries.

PubMed

Wu, Hao Bin; Lou, Xiong Wen David; Hng, Huey Hoon

2012-02-13

Layered protonated titanates (LPTs), a class of interesting inorganic layered materials, have been widely studied because of their many unique properties and their use as precursors to many important TiO(2)-based functional materials. In this work, we have developed a facile solvothermal method to synthesize hierarchical spheres (HSs) assembled from ultrathin LPT nanosheets. These LPT hierarchical spheres possess a porous structure with a large specific surface area and high stability. Importantly, the size and morphology of the LPT hierarchical spheres are easily tunable by varying the synthesis conditions. These LPT HSs can be easily converted to anatase TiO(2) HSs without significant structural alteration. Depending on the calcination atmosphere of air or N(2), pure anatase TiO(2) HSs or carbon-supported TiO(2) HSs, respectively, can be obtained. Remarkably, both types of TiO(2) HSs manifest excellent cyclability and rate capability when evaluated as anode materials for high-power lithium-ion batteries. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Bioorthogonal layer-by-layer encapsulation of pancreatic islets via hyperbranched polymers

PubMed Central

Gattás-Asfura, Kerim M.; Stabler, Cherie L.

2013-01-01

The encapsulation of viable tissues via layer-by-layer polymer assembly provides a versatile platform for cell surface engineering, with nanoscale control over capsule properties. Herein, we report the development of a hyperbranched polymer-based, ultrathin capsule architecture expressing bioorthogonal functionality and tailored physiochemical properties. Random carbodiimide-based condensation of 3,5-dicarboxyphenyl glycineamide on alginate yielded a highly branched polysaccharide with multiple, spatially restricted, and readily functionalizable terminal carboxylate moieties. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) was utilized to link azido end groups to the structured alginate. Together with phosphine functionalized poly(amido amine) (PAMAM) dendrimer, nanoscale layer-by-layer coatings, covalently stabilized via Staudinger ligation, were assembled onto solid surfaces and pancreatic islets. The effects of electrostatic and/or bioorthogonal covalent interlayer interactions on the resulting coating efficiency and stability, as well as pancreatic islet viability and function, were studied. These hyperbranched polymers provide a flexible platform for the formation of covalently stabilized ultrathin coatings on viable cells and tissues. In addition, the hyperbranched nature of the polymers presents a highly functionalized surface capable of bioorthogonal conjugation of additional bioactive or labeling motifs. PMID:24063764

Polymer/metal oxide hybrid dielectrics for low voltage field-effect transistors with solution-processed, high-mobility semiconductors

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

Held, Martin; Schießl, Stefan P.; Gannott, Florentina

Transistors for future flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display backplanes should operate at low voltages and be able to sustain high currents over long times without degradation. Hence, high capacitance dielectrics with low surface trap densities are required that are compatible with solution-processable high-mobility semiconductors. Here, we combine poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and atomic layer deposition hafnium oxide (HfO{sub x}) into a bilayer hybrid dielectric for field-effect transistors with a donor-acceptor polymer (DPPT-TT) or single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as the semiconductor and demonstrate substantially improved device performances for both. The ultra-thin PMMA layer ensures a low density of trap states atmore » the semiconductor-dielectric interface while the metal oxide layer provides high capacitance, low gate leakage and superior barrier properties. Transistors with these thin (≤70 nm), high capacitance (100–300 nF/cm{sup 2}) hybrid dielectrics enable low operating voltages (<5 V), balanced charge carrier mobilities and low threshold voltages. Moreover, the hybrid layers substantially improve the bias stress stability of the transistors compared to those with pure PMMA and HfO{sub x} dielectrics.« 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.

A new bimetallic plasmonic photocatalyst consisting of gold(core)-copper(shell) nanoparticle and titanium(IV) oxide support

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Yuichi; Naya, Shin-ichi; Tada, Hiroaki

2015-10-01

Ultrathin Cu layers (˜2 atomic layers) have been selectively formed on the Au surfaces of Au nanoparticle-loaded rutile TiO2 (Au@Cu/TiO2) by a deposition precipitation-photodeposition technique. Cyclic voltammetry and photochronopotentiometry measurements indicate that the reaction proceeds via the underpotential deposition. The ultrathin Cu shell drastically increases the activity of Au/TiO2 for the selective oxidation of amines to the corresponding aldehydes under visible-light irradiation (λ > 430 nm). Photochronoamperometry measurements strongly suggest that the striking Cu shell effect stems from the enhancement of the charge separation in the localized surface plasmon resonance-excited Au/TiO2.

Ultrathin pyrolytic carbon films on a magnetic substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umair, Ahmad; Raza, Tehseen Z.; Raza, Hassan

2016-07-01

We report the growth of ultrathin pyrolytic carbon (PyC) films on nickel substrate by using chemical vapor deposition at 1000 °C under methane ambience. We find that the ultra-fast cooling is crucial for PyC film uniformity by controlling the segregation of carbon on nickel. We characterize the in-plane crystal size of the PyC film by using Raman spectroscopy. The Raman peaks at ˜1354 and ˜1584 cm-1 wavenumbers are used to extract the D and G bands. The corresponding peak intensities are then used in an excitation energy dependent equation to calculate the in-plane crystal size. Using Raman area mapping, the mean value of in-plane crystal size over an area of 100 μm × 100 μm is about 22.9 nm with a standard deviation of about 2.4 nm.

Appearance and disappearance of ferromagnetism in ultrathin LaMnO3 on SrTiO3 substrate: A viewpoint from first principles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Ming; Weng, Yakui; Zhang, Huimin; Zhang, Jun-Jie; Zhang, Yang; Dong, Shuai

2017-12-01

The intrinsic magnetic state (ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic) of ultrathin LaMnO3 films on the most commonly used SrTiO3 substrate is a long-existing question under debate. Either strain effect or nonstoichiometry was argued to be responsible for the experimental ferromagnetism. In a recent experiment [X. R. Wang, C. J. Li, W. M. Lü, T. R. Paudel, D. P. Leusink, M. Hoek, N. Poccia, A. Vailionis, T. Venkatesan, J. M. D. Coey, E. Y. Tsymbal, Ariando, and H. Hilgenkamp, Science 349, 716 (2015), 10.1126/science.aaa5198], one more mechanism, namely, the self-doping due to polar discontinuity, was argued to be the driving force of ferromagnetism beyond the critical thickness. Here systematic first-principles calculations have been performed to check these mechanisms in ultrathin LaMnO3 films as well as superlattices. Starting from the very precise descriptions of both LaMnO3 and SrTiO3, it is found that the compressive strain is the dominant force for the appearance of ferromagnetism, while the open surface with oxygen vacancies leads to the suppression of ferromagnetism. Within LaMnO3 layers, the charge reconstructions involve many competitive factors and certainly go beyond the intuitive polar catastrophe model established for LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures. Our paper not only explains the long-term puzzle regarding the magnetism of ultrathin LaMnO3 films but also sheds light on how to overcome the notorious magnetic dead layer in ultrathin manganites.

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

New possibilities for tuning ultrathin cobalt film magnetic properties by a noble metal overlayer.

PubMed

Kisielewski, M; Maziewski, A; Tekielak, M; Wawro, A; Baczewski, L T

2002-08-19

Complementary multiscale magneto-optical studies based on the polar Kerr effect are carried out on an ultrathin cobalt wedge covered with a silver wedge and subsequently with the Au thick layer. A few monolayers of Ag are found to have a substantial effect on magnetic anisotropy, the coercivity field, and Kerr rotation. The silver overlayer thickness-driven magnetic reorientation from easy axis to easy plane generates a new type of 90 degrees magnetic wall for cobalt thicknesses between 1.3 and 1.8 nm. The tuning of the wall width in a wide range is possible. Tailoring of the overlayer structure can be used for ultrathin film magnetic patterning.

Deposition and properties of cobalt- and ruthenium-based ultra-thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderson, Lucas Benjamin

Future copper interconnect systems will require replacement of the materials that currently comprise both the liner layer(s) and the capping layer. Ruthenium has previously been considered as a material that could function as a single material liner, however its poor ability to prevent copper diffusion makes it incompatible with liner requirements. A recently described chemical vapor deposition route to amorphous ruthenium-phosphorus alloy films could correct this problem by eliminating the grain boundaries found in pure ruthenium films. Bias-temperature stressing of capacitor structures using 5 nm ruthenium-phosphorus film as a barrier to copper diffusion and analysis of the times-to-failure at accelerated temperature and field conditions implies that ruthenium-phosphorus performs acceptably as a diffusion barrier for temperatures above 165°C. The future problems associated with the copper capping layer are primarily due to the poor adhesion between copper and the current Si-based capping layers. Cobalt, which adheres well to copper, has been widely proposed to replace the Si-based materials, but its ability to prevent copper diffusion must be improved if it is to be successfully implemented in the interconnect. Using a dual-source chemistry of dicobaltoctacarbonyl and trimethylphosphine at temperatures from 250-350°C, amorphous cobalt-phosphorus can be deposited by chemical vapor deposition. The films contain elemental cobalt and phosphorus, plus some carbon impurity, which is incorporated in the film as both graphitic and carbidic (bonded to cobalt) carbon. When deposited on copper, the adhesion between the two materials remains strong despite the presence of phosphorus and carbon at the interface, but the selectivity for growth on copper compared to silicon dioxide is poor and must be improved prior to consideration for application in interconnect systems. A single molecule precursor containing both cobalt and phosphorus atoms, tetrakis(trimethylphosphine)cobalt(0), yields cobalt-phosphorus films without any co-reactant. However, the molecule does not contain sufficient amounts of amorphizing agents to fully eliminate grain boundaries, and the resulting film is nanocrystalline.

Dynamics of ultra-thin polystyrene with and without a (artificial) dead layer studied by resonance enhanced dynamic light scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vianna, S. D. B.; Lin, F. Y.; Plum, M. A.; Duran, H.; Steffen, W.

2017-05-01

Using non-invasive, marker-free resonance enhanced dynamic light scattering, the dynamics of capillary waves on ultrathin polystyrene films' coupling to the viscoelastic and mechanical properties have been studied. The dynamics of ultrathin polymer films is still debated. In particular the question of what influence either the solid substrate and/or the fluid-gas interface has on the dynamics and the mechanical properties of films of glass forming liquids as polymers is in the focus of the present research. As a consequence, e.g., viscosity close to interfaces and thus the average viscosity of very thin films are prone to change. This study is focused on atactic, non-entangled polystyrene thin films on the gold surface. A slow dynamic mode was observed with Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann temperature dependence, slowing down with decreasing film thickness. We tentatively attribute this relaxation mode to overdamped capillary waves because of its temperature dependence and the dispersion with a wave vector which was found. No signs of a more mobile layer at the air/polymer interface or of a "dead layer" at the solid/polymer interface were found. Therefore we investigated the influence of an artificially created dead layer on the capillary wave dynamics by introducing covalently bound polystyrene polymer brushes as anchors. The dynamics was slowed down to a degree more than expected from theoretical work on the increase of density close to the solid liquid interface—instead of a "dead layer" of 2 nm, the interaction seems to extend more than 10 nm into the polymer.

Anionic poly(p-phenylenevinylene)/layered double hydroxide ordered ultrathin films with multiple quantum well structure: a combined experimental and theoretical study.

PubMed

Yan, Dongpeng; Lu, Jun; Ma, Jing; Wei, Min; Wang, Xinrui; Evans, David G; Duan, Xue

2010-05-18

The sulfonated phenylenevinylene polyanion derivate (APPV) and exfoliated Mg-Al-layered double hydroxide (LDH) monolayers were alternatively assembled into ordered ultrathin films (UTFs) employing a layer-by-layer method, which shows uniform yellow luminescence. UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy present a stepwise and regular growth of the UTFs upon increasing deposited cycles. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy demonstrate that the UTFs are orderly periodical layered structure with a thickness of 3.3-3.5 nm per bilayer. The APPV/LDH UTFs exhibit well-defined polarized photoemission characteristic with the maximum luminescence anisotropy of approximately 0.3. Moreover, the UTF exhibit longer fluorescence lifetime (3-3.85-fold) and higher photostability than the drop-casting APPV film under UV irradiation, suggesting that the existence of a LDH monolayer enhances the optical performance of the APPV polyanion. A combination study of electrochemistry and periodic density functional theory was used to investigate the electronic structure of the APPV/LDH system, illustrating that the APPV/LDH UTF is a kind of organic-inorganic hybrid multiple quantum well (MQW) structure with a low band energy of 1.7-1.8 eV, where the valence electrons of APPV can be confined into the energy wells formed by the LDH monolayers effectively. Therefore, this work not only gives a feasible method for fabricating a luminescence ultrathin film but also provides a detailed understanding of the geometric and electronic structures of photoactive polyanions confined between the LDH monolayers.

III-Nitride Digital Alloy: Electronics and Optoelectronics Properties of the InN/GaN Ultra-Short Period Superlattice Nanostructures.

PubMed

Sun, Wei; Tan, Chee-Keong; Tansu, Nelson

2017-07-27

The III-Nitride digital alloy (DA) is comprehensively studied as a short-period superlattice nanostructure consisting of ultra-thin III-Nitride epitaxial layers. By stacking the ultra-thin III-Nitride epitaxial layers periodically, these nanostructures are expected to have comparable optoelectronic properties as the conventional III-Nitride alloys. Here we carried out numerical studies on the InGaN DA showing the tunable optoelectronic properties of the III-Nitride DA. Our study shows that the energy gap of the InGaN DA can be tuned from ~0.63 eV up to ~2.4 eV, where the thicknesses and the thickness ratio of each GaN and InN ultra-thin binary layers within the DA structure are the key factors for tuning bandgap. Correspondingly, the absorption spectra of the InGaN DA yield broad wavelength tunability which is comparable to that of bulk InGaN ternary alloy. In addition, our investigation also reveals that the electron-hole wavefunction overlaps are remarkably large in the InGaN DA structure despite the existence of strain effect and build-in polarization field. Our findings point out the potential of III-Nitride DA as an artificially engineered nanostructure for optoelectronic device applications.

Ultrathin MoS2 and WS2 layers on silver nano-tips as electron emitters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loh, Tamie A. J.; Tanemura, Masaki; Chua, Daniel H. C.

2016-09-01

2-dimensional (2D) inorganic analogues of graphene such as MoS2 and WS2 present interesting opportunities for field emission technology due to their high aspect ratio and good electrical conductivity. However, research on 2D MoS2 and WS2 as potential field emitters remains largely undeveloped compared to graphene. Herein, we present an approach to directly fabricate ultrathin MoS2 and WS2 onto Ag nano-tips using pulsed laser deposition at low temperatures of 450-500 °C. In addition to providing a layer of chemical and mechanical protection for the Ag nano-tips, the growth of ultrathin MoS2 and WS2 layers on Ag led to enhanced emission properties over that of pristine nano-tips due to a reduction of the effective barrier height arising from charge injection from Ag to the overlying MoS2 or WS2. For WS2 on Ag nano-tips, the phasic mixture was also an important factor influencing the field emission performance. The presence of 1T-WS2 at the metal-WS2 interface in a hybrid film of 2H/1T-WS2 leads to improvement in the field emission capabilities as compared to pure 2H-WS2 on Ag nano-tips.

Few-layered CoHPO4.3H2O ultrathin nanosheets for high performance of electrode materials for supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pang, Huan; Wang, Shaomei; Shao, Weifang; Zhao, Shanshan; Yan, Bo; Li, Xinran; Li, Sujuan; Chen, Jing; Du, Weimin

2013-06-01

Ultrathin cobalt phosphate (CoHPO4.3H2O) nanosheets are successfully synthesized by a one pot hydrothermal method. Novel CoHPO4.3H2O ultrathin nanosheets are assembled for constructing the electrodes of supercapacitors. Benefiting from the nanostructures, the as-prepared electrode shows a specific capacitance of 413 F g-1, and no obvious decay even after 3000 charge-discharge cycles. Such a quasi-two-dimensional material is a new kind of supercapacitor electrode material with high performance.Ultrathin cobalt phosphate (CoHPO4.3H2O) nanosheets are successfully synthesized by a one pot hydrothermal method. Novel CoHPO4.3H2O ultrathin nanosheets are assembled for constructing the electrodes of supercapacitors. Benefiting from the nanostructures, the as-prepared electrode shows a specific capacitance of 413 F g-1, and no obvious decay even after 3000 charge-discharge cycles. Such a quasi-two-dimensional material is a new kind of supercapacitor electrode material with high performance. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr01460f

Manipulation of Spin-Torque Generation Using Ultrathin Au

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Hongyu; Haku, Satoshi; Kanno, Yusuke; Nakayama, Hiroyasu; Maki, Hideyuki; Shi, Ji; Ando, Kazuya

2018-06-01

The generation and the manipulation of current-induced spin-orbit torques are of essential interest in spintronics. However, in spite of the vital progress in spin orbitronics, electric control of the spin-torque generation still remains elusive and challenging. We report on electric control of the spin-torque generation using ionic-liquid gating of ultrathin Au. We show that by simply depositing a SiO2 capping layer on an ultrathin-Au /Ni81Fe19 bilayer, the spin-torque generation efficiency is drastically enhanced by a maximum of 7 times. This enhancement is verified to be originated from the rough ultrathin-Au /Ni81Fe19 interface induced by the SiO2 deposition, which results in the enhancement of the interface spin-orbit scattering. We further show that the spin-torque generation efficiency from the ultrathin Au film can be reversibly manipulated by a factor of 2 using the ionic gating with an external electric field within a small range of 1 V. These results pave a way towards the efficient control of the spin-torque generation in spintronic applications.

3D Interconnected and Multiwalled Carbon@MoS2 @Carbon Hollow Nanocables as Outstanding Anodes for Na-Ion Batteries.

PubMed

Wang, Yan; Qu, Qunting; Li, Guangchao; Gao, Tian; Qian, Feng; Shao, Jie; Liu, Weijie; Shi, Qiang; Zheng, Honghe

2016-11-01

Currently, the specific capacity and cycling performance of various MoS 2 /carbon-based anode materials for Na-ion storage are far from satisfactory due to the insufficient structural stability of the electrode, incomplete protection of MoS 2 by carbon, difficult access of electrolyte to the electrode interior, as well as inactivity of the adopted carbon matrix. To address these issues, this work presents the rational design and synthesis of 3D interconnected and hollow nanocables composed of multiwalled carbon@MoS 2 @carbon. In this architecture, (i) the 3D nanoweb-like structure brings about excellent mechanical property of the electrode, (ii) the ultrathin MoS 2 nanosheets are sandwiched between and doubly protected by two layers of porous carbon, (iii) the hollow structure of the primary nanofibers facilitates the access of electrolyte to the electrode interior, (iv) the porous and nitrogen-doping properties of the two carbon materials lead to synergistic Na-storage of carbon and MoS 2 . As a result, this hybrid material as the anode material of Na-ion battery exhibits fast charge-transfer reaction, high utilization efficiency, and ultrastability. Outstanding reversible capacity (1045 mAh g -1 ), excellent rate behavior (817 mAh g -1 at 7000 mA g -1 ), and good cycling performance (747 mAh g -1 after 200 cycles at 700 mA g -1 ) are obtained. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Removal of the Magnetic Dead Layer by Geometric Design

DOE PAGES

Guo, Er-jia; Roldan, Manuel; Charlton, Timothy R.; ...

2018-05-28

The proximity effect is used to engineer interface effects such as magnetoelectric coupling, exchange bias, and emergent interfacial magnetism. However, the presence of a magnetic “dead layer” adversely affects the functionality of a heterostructure. Here in this paper, it is shown that by utilizing (111) polar planes, the magnetization of a manganite ultrathin layer can be maintained throughout its thickness. Combining structural characterization, magnetometry measurements, and magnetization depth profiling with polarized neutron reflectometry, it is found that the magnetic dead layer is absent in the (111)-oriented manganite layers, however, it occurs in the films with other orientations. Quantitative analysis ofmore » local structural and elemental spatial evolutions using scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy reveals that atomically sharp interfaces with minimal chemical intermixing in the (111)-oriented superlattices. The polar discontinuity across the (111) interfaces inducing charge redistribution within the SrTiO 3 layers is suggested, which promotes ferromagnetism throughout the (111)-oriented ultrathin manganite layers. The approach of eliminating problematic magnetic dead layers by changing the crystallographic orientation suggests a conceptually useful recipe to engineer the intriguing physical properties of oxide interfaces, especially in low dimensionality.« less

Removal of the Magnetic Dead Layer by Geometric Design

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

Guo, Er-jia; Roldan, Manuel; Charlton, Timothy R.

The proximity effect is used to engineer interface effects such as magnetoelectric coupling, exchange bias, and emergent interfacial magnetism. However, the presence of a magnetic “dead layer” adversely affects the functionality of a heterostructure. Here in this paper, it is shown that by utilizing (111) polar planes, the magnetization of a manganite ultrathin layer can be maintained throughout its thickness. Combining structural characterization, magnetometry measurements, and magnetization depth profiling with polarized neutron reflectometry, it is found that the magnetic dead layer is absent in the (111)-oriented manganite layers, however, it occurs in the films with other orientations. Quantitative analysis ofmore » local structural and elemental spatial evolutions using scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy reveals that atomically sharp interfaces with minimal chemical intermixing in the (111)-oriented superlattices. The polar discontinuity across the (111) interfaces inducing charge redistribution within the SrTiO 3 layers is suggested, which promotes ferromagnetism throughout the (111)-oriented ultrathin manganite layers. The approach of eliminating problematic magnetic dead layers by changing the crystallographic orientation suggests a conceptually useful recipe to engineer the intriguing physical properties of oxide interfaces, especially in low dimensionality.« less

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.

Fabrication of Nanolaminates with Ultrathin Nanolayers Using Atomic Layer Deposition: Nucleation & Growth Issues

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-02-01

Tecnologia de Superficies y Materiales (SMCTSM), XXVII Congreso Nacional, Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico, September 26, 2007. 26. "Atomic Layer Deposition of...Nanolaminates: Fabrication and Properties" (Plenary Lecture), Sociedad Mexicana de Ciencia y Tecnologia de Superficies y Materiales (SMCTSM), XXVII

Dynamic XPS measurements of ultrathin polyelectrolyte films containing antibacterial Ag–Cu nanoparticles

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

Taner-Camcı, Merve; Suzer, Sefik, E-mail: suzer@fen.bilkent.edu.tr

Ultrathin films consisting of polyelectrolyte layers prepared by layer-by-layer deposition technique and containing also Ag and Cu nanoparticles exhibit superior antibacterial activity toward Escherichia coli. These films have been investigated with XPS measurements under square wave excitation at two different frequencies, in order to further our understanding about the chemical/physical nature of the nanoparticles. Dubbed as dynamical XPS, such measurements bring out similarities and differences among the surface structures by correlating the binding energy shifts of the corresponding XPS peaks. Accordingly, it is observed that the Cu2p, Ag3d of the metal nanoparticles, and S2p of cysteine, the stabilizer and themore » capping agent, exhibit similar shifts. On the other hand, the C1s, N1s, and S2p peaks of the polyelectrolyte layers shift differently. This finding leads us the claim that the Ag and Cu atoms are in a nanoalloy structure, capped with cystein, as opposed to phase separated entities.« less

Transport properties of ultrathin black phosphorus on hexagonal boron nitride

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

Doganov, Rostislav A.; Özyilmaz, Barbaros; Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, 2 Science Drive 3, 117542 Singapore

2015-02-23

Ultrathin black phosphorus, or phosphorene, is a two-dimensional material that allows both high carrier mobility and large on/off ratios. Similar to other atomic crystals, like graphene or layered transition metal dichalcogenides, the transport behavior of few-layer black phosphorus is expected to be affected by the underlying substrate. The properties of black phosphorus have so far been studied on the widely utilized SiO{sub 2} substrate. Here, we characterize few-layer black phosphorus field effect transistors on hexagonal boron nitride—an atomically smooth and charge trap-free substrate. We measure the temperature dependence of the field effect mobility for both holes and electrons and explainmore » the observed behavior in terms of charged impurity limited transport. We find that in-situ vacuum annealing at 400 K removes the p-doping of few-layer black phosphorus on both boron nitride and SiO{sub 2} substrates and reduces the hysteresis at room temperature.« less

Using an ultra-thin non-doped orange emission layer to realize high efficiency white organic light-emitting diodes with low efficiency roll-off

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

Zhu, Liping; Chen, Jiangshan; Ma, Dongge, E-mail: mdg1014@ciac.ac.cn

2014-06-28

By adopting an ultra-thin non-doped orange emission layer sandwiched between two blue emission layers, high efficiency white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) with reduced efficiency roll-off were fabricated. The optimized devices show a balanced white emission with Internationale de L'Eclairage of (0.41, 0.44) at the luminance of 1000 cd/m{sup 2}, and the maximum power efficiency, current efficiency (CE), and external quantum efficiency reach 63.2 lm/W, 59.3 cd/A, and 23.1%, which slightly shift to 53.4 lm/W, 57.1 cd/A, and 22.2% at 1000 cd/m{sup 2}, respectively, showing low efficiency roll-off. Detailed investigations on the recombination zone and the transient electroluminescence (EL) clearly reveal the EL processes of the ultra-thinmore » non-doped orange emission layer in WOLEDs.« less

Formation and investigation of ultrathin layers of Co2FeSi ferromagnetic alloy synthesized on silicon covered with a CaF2 barrier layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grebenyuk, G. S.; Gomoyunova, M. V.; Pronin, I. I.; Vyalikh, D. V.; Molodtsov, S. L.

2016-03-01

Ultrathin (∼2 nm) films of Co2FeSi ferromagnetic alloy were formed on silicon by solid-phase epitaxy and studied in situ. Experiments were carried out in an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) using substrates of Si(1 1 1) single crystals covered with a 5 nm thick CaF2 barrier layer. The elemental and phase composition as well as the magnetic properties of the synthesized films were analyzed by photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation and by magnetic linear dichroism in photoemission of Fe 3p and Co 3p electrons. The study shows that the synthesis of the Co2FeSi ferromagnetic alloy occurs in the temperature range of 200-400 °C. At higher temperatures, the films become island-like and lose their ferromagnetic properties, as the CaF2 barrier layer is unable to prevent a mass transfer between the film and the Si substrate, which violates the stoichiometry of the alloy.

A Comparative Study of AlGaN and InGaN Back-Barriers in Ultrathin-Barrier AlN/GaN Heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

All Abbas, J. M.; Atmaca, G.; Narin, P.; Kutlu, E.; Sarikavak-Lisesivdin, B.; Lisesivdin, S. B.

2017-08-01

Investigations of the effects of back-barrier introduction on the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) of ultrathin-barrier AlN/GaN heterostructures with AlGaN and InGaN back-barriers are carried out using self-consistent solutions of 1-dimensional Schrödinger-Poisson equations. Inserted AlGaN and InGaN back-barriers are used to provide a good 2DEG confinement thanks to raising the conduction band edge of GaN buffer with respect to GaN channel layer. Therefore, in this paper the influence of these back-barrier layers on sheet carrier density, 2DEG confinement, and mobility are systematically and comparatively investigated. As a result of calculations, although sheet carrier density is found to decrease with InGaN back-barrier layer, it is not changed with AlGaN back-barrier layer for suggested optimise heterostructures. Obtained results can give some insights for further experimental studies.

An ultra-thin, un-doped NiO hole transporting layer of highly efficient (16.4%) organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells.

PubMed

Seo, Seongrok; Park, Ik Jae; Kim, Myungjun; Lee, Seonhee; Bae, Changdeuck; Jung, Hyun Suk; Park, Nam-Gyu; Kim, Jin Young; Shin, Hyunjung

2016-06-02

NiO is a wide band gap p-type oxide semiconductor and has potential for applications in solar energy conversion as a hole-transporting layer (HTL). It also has good optical transparency and high chemical stability, and the capability of aligning the band edges to the perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3) layers. Ultra-thin and un-doped NiO films with much less absorption loss were prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) with highly precise control over thickness without any pinholes. Thin enough (5-7.5 nm in thickness) NiO films with the thickness of few time the Debye length (LD = 1-2 nm for NiO) show enough conductivities achieved by overlapping space charge regions. The inverted planar perovskite solar cells with NiO films as HTLs exhibited the highest energy conversion efficiency of 16.40% with high open circuit voltage (1.04 V) and fill factor (0.72) with negligible current-voltage hysteresis.

Catalyzed CO.sub.2-transport membrane on high surface area inorganic support

DOEpatents

Liu, Wei

2014-05-06

Disclosed are membranes and methods for making the same, which membranes provide improved permeability, stability, and cost-effective manufacturability, for separating CO.sub.2 from gas streams such as flue gas streams. High CO.sub.2 permeation flux is achieved by immobilizing an ultra-thin, optionally catalyzed fluid layer onto a meso-porous modification layer on a thin, porous inorganic substrate such as a porous metallic substrate. The CO.sub.2-selective liquid fluid blocks non-selective pores, and allows for selective absorption of CO.sub.2 from gas mixtures such as flue gas mixtures and subsequent transport to the permeation side of the membrane. Carbon dioxide permeance levels are in the order of 1.0.times.10.sup.-6 mol/(m.sup.2sPa) or better. Methods for making such membranes allow commercial scale membrane manufacturing at highly cost-effective rates when compared to conventional commercial-scale CO.sub.2 separation processes and equipment for the same and such membranes are operable on an industrial use scale.

A heat flux modulator from carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Jiang, Shaohui; Zhang, Guang; Xia, Dan; Liu, Changhong; Fan, Shoushan

2015-08-28

For a heat flux modulator, the most difficult problem is that the main carriers named 'phonons' have little response to external fields. Of the existing studies on heat flux modulators, most were theoretical work and the materials systems for the theoretical calculations were artificial lattices. In this paper, we made a heat modulator with ultrathin buckypaper which was made of multi-layer carbon nanotube sheets overlapped together, and achieved an on/off ratio whose value was 1.41 using an pendent block in experiments without special optimizations. When the temperatures of the two sides were of appropriate values, we could even see a negative heat flux. Intuitively, the heat flux was tuned by the gap between the buckypaper and the pendent gate, and we observed that there was heat transferred to the pendent block. The structure of the modulator is similar to a CNT transistor with a contactless gate, hence this type of micromodulator will be easy to manufacture in the future.

Targeted synthesis of novel hierarchical sandwiched NiO/C arrays as high-efficiency lithium ion batteries anode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Yangyang; Zhang, Huijuan; Li, Wenxiang; Fang, Ling; Wang, Yu

2016-01-01

In this contribution, the novel 2D sandwich-like NiO/C arrays on Ti foil are successfully designed and fabricated for the first time via simple and controllable hydrothermal process. In this strategy, we use green glucose as carbon source and ultrathin Ni(OH)2 nanosheet arrays as precursor for NiO nanoparticles and sacrificial templates for coupled graphitized carbon layers. This advanced sandwiched composite can not only provide large surface area for numerous active sites and continuous contact between active materials and electrolyte, but also protect the active nanoparticles from aggregation, pulverization and peeling off from conductive substrates. Furthermore, the porous structure derived from lots of substances loss under high-temperature calcinations can effectively buffer possible volume expansion and facilitate ion transfer. In this article, sandwiched NiO/C arrays, utilized as anode for LIBs, demonstrated high specific capacity (∼1458 mAh g-1 at 500 mA g-1) and excellent rate performance and cyclablity (∼95.7% retention after 300 cycles).

Lateral amorphous selenium metal-insulator-semiconductor-insulator-metal photodetectors using ultrathin dielectric blocking layers for dark current suppression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Cheng-Yi; Pan, Fu-Ming; Lin, Jian-Siang; Yu, Tung-Yuan; Li, Yi-Ming; Chen, Chieh-Yang

2016-12-01

We fabricated amorphous selenium (a-Se) photodetectors with a lateral metal-insulator-semiconductor-insulator-metal (MISIM) device structure. Thermal aluminum oxide, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited silicon nitride, and thermal atomic layer deposited (ALD) aluminum oxide and hafnium oxide (ALD-HfO2) were used as the electron and hole blocking layers of the MISIM photodetectors for dark current suppression. A reduction in the dark current by three orders of magnitude can be achieved at electric fields between 10 and 30 V/μm. The effective dark current suppression is primarily ascribed to electric field lowering in the dielectric layers as a result of charge trapping in deep levels. Photogenerated carriers in the a-Se layer can be transported across the blocking layers to the Al electrodes via Fowler-Nordheim tunneling because a high electric field develops in the ultrathin dielectric layers under illumination. Since the a-Se MISIM photodetectors have a very low dark current without significant degradation in the photoresponse, the signal contrast is greatly improved. The MISIM photodetector with the ALD-HfO2 blocking layer has an optimal signal contrast more than 500 times the contrast of the photodetector without a blocking layer at 15 V/μm.

In-situ observation of equilibrium transitions in Ni films; agglomeration and impurity effects.

PubMed

Thron, Andrew M; Greene, Peter; Liu, Kai; van Benthem, Klaus

2014-02-01

Dewetting of ultra-thin Ni films deposited on SiO2 layers was observed, in cross-section, by in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy. Holes were observed to nucleate by voids which formed at the Ni/SiO2 interface rather than at triple junctions at the free surface of the Ni film. Ni islands were observed to retract, in attempt to reach equilibrium on the SiO2 layer. SiO2 layers with 120 nm thickness were found to limit in situ heating experiments due to poor thermal conductivity of SiO2. The formation of graphite was observed during the agglomeration of ultra-thin Ni films. Graphite was observed to wet both the free surface and the Ni/SiO2 interface of the Ni islands. Cr forms surface oxide layers on the free surface of the SiO2 layer and the Ni islands. Cr does not prevent the dewetting of Ni, however it will likely alter the equilibrium shape of the Ni islands. © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Impact of ultra-thin Al2O3-y layers on TiO2-x ReRAM switching characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trapatseli, Maria; Cortese, Simone; Serb, Alexander; Khiat, Ali; Prodromakis, Themistoklis

2017-05-01

Transition metal-oxide resistive random access memory devices have demonstrated excellent performance in switching speed, versatility of switching and low-power operation. However, this technology still faces challenges like poor cycling endurance, degradation due to high electroforming (EF) switching voltages and low yields. Approaches such as engineering of the active layer by doping or addition of thin oxide buffer layers have been often adopted to tackle these problems. Here, we have followed a strategy that combines the two; we have used ultra-thin Al2O3-y buffer layers incorporated between TiO2-x thin films taking into account both 3+/4+ oxidation states of Al/Ti cations. Our devices were tested by DC and pulsed voltage sweeping and in both cases demonstrated improved switching voltages. We believe that the Al2O3-y layers act as reservoirs of oxygen vacancies which are injected during EF, facilitate a filamentary switching mechanism and provide enhanced filament stability, as shown by the cycling endurance measurements.

Sticker-type Alq(3)-based OLEDs based on printable ultrathin substrates in periodically anchored and suspended configurations.

PubMed

Yun, Su Ok; Hwang, Youngkyu; Park, Jeongpil; Jeong, Yunkyung; Kim, Suk Ho; Noh, Byeong Il; Jung, Hoon Sun; Jang, Hun Soo; Hyun, Yujun; Choa, Sung-Hoon; Ko, Heung Cho

2013-10-18

Introducing two-dimensional post arrays and a water-soluble sacrificial layer between an ultrathin substrate and a handling substrate provides controllability of the interfacial adhesion in a stable manner. The periodically anchored and suspended configuration after the chemical etching process facilitates the development of, for example, printable Alq3 -based OLEDs that can be attached to unconventional surfaces. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Ultrathin IBAD MgO films for epitaxial growth on amorphous substrates and sub-50 nm membranes

DOE PAGES

Wang, Siming; Antonakos, C.; Bordel, C.; ...

2016-11-07

Here, a fabrication process has been developed for high energy ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) biaxial texturing of ultrathin (~1 nm) MgO films, using a high ion-to-atom ratio and post-deposition annealing instead of a homoepitaxial MgO layer. These films serve as the seed layer for epitaxial growth of materials on amorphous substrates such as electron/X-ray transparent membranes or nanocalorimetry devices. Stress measurements and atomic force microscopy of the MgO films reveal decreased stress and surface roughness, while X-ray diffraction of epitaxial overlayers demonstrates the improved crystal quality of films grown epitaxially on IBAD MgO. The process simplifies the synthesis ofmore » IBAD MgO, fundamentally solves the “wrinkle” issue induced by the homoepitaxial layer on sub-50 nm membranes, and enables studies of epitaxial materials in electron/X-ray transmission and nanocalorimetry.« less

Localized Control of Curie Temperature in Perovskite Oxide Film by Capping-Layer-Induced Octahedral Distortion

DOE PAGES

Thomas, S.; Kuiper, B.; Hu, J.; ...

2017-10-27

With reduced dimensionality, it is often easier to modify the properties of ultrathin films than their bulk counterparts. Strain engineering, usually achieved by choosing appropriate substrates, has been proven effective in controlling the properties of perovskite oxide films. An emerging alternative route for developing new multifunctional perovskite is by modification of the oxygen octahedral structure. Here we report the control of structural oxygen octahedral rotation in ultrathin perovskite SrRuO 3 films by the deposition of a SrTiO 3 capping layer, which can be lithographically patterned to achieve local control. Here, using a scanning Sagnac magnetic microscope, we show an increasemore » in the Curie temperature of SrRuO 3 due to the suppression octahedral rotations revealed by the synchrotron x-ray diffraction. Lastly, this capping-layer-based technique may open new possibilities for developing functional oxide materials.« less

Fabrication and stability investigation of ultra-thin transparent and flexible Cu-Ag-Au tri-layer film on PET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prakasarao, Ch Surya; D'souza, Slavia Deeksha; Hazarika, Pratim; Karthiselva N., S.; Ramesh Babu, R.; Kovendhan, M.; Kumar, R. Arockia; Joseph, D. Paul

2018-04-01

The need for transparent conducting electrodes with high transmittance, low sheet resistance and flexibility to replace Indium Tin Oxide is ever growing. We have deposited and studied the performance of ultra-thin Cu-Ag-Au tri-layer films over a flexible poly-ethylene terephthalate substrate. Scotch tape test showed good adhesion of the metallic film. Transmittance of the tri-layer was around 40 % in visible region. Optical profiler measurements were done to study the surface features. The XRD pattern revealed that film was amorphous. Sheet resistance measured by four probe technique was around 7.7 Ohm/Δ and was stable up to 423 K. The transport parameters by Hall effect showed high conductivity and carrier concentration with a mobility of 5.58 cm2/Vs. Tests performed in an indigenously designed bending unit indicated the films to be stable both mechanically and electrically even after 50,000 bending cycles.

Localized Control of Curie Temperature in Perovskite Oxide Film by Capping-Layer-Induced Octahedral Distortion.

PubMed

Thomas, S; Kuiper, B; Hu, J; Smit, J; Liao, Z; Zhong, Z; Rijnders, G; Vailionis, A; Wu, R; Koster, G; Xia, J

2017-10-27

With reduced dimensionality, it is often easier to modify the properties of ultrathin films than their bulk counterparts. Strain engineering, usually achieved by choosing appropriate substrates, has been proven effective in controlling the properties of perovskite oxide films. An emerging alternative route for developing new multifunctional perovskite is by modification of the oxygen octahedral structure. Here we report the control of structural oxygen octahedral rotation in ultrathin perovskite SrRuO_{3} films by the deposition of a SrTiO_{3} capping layer, which can be lithographically patterned to achieve local control. Using a scanning Sagnac magnetic microscope, we show an increase in the Curie temperature of SrRuO_{3} due to the suppression octahedral rotations revealed by the synchrotron x-ray diffraction. This capping-layer-based technique may open new possibilities for developing functional oxide materials.

Ultrathin and lightweight microwave absorbers made of mu-near-zero metamaterials

PubMed Central

Zhong, Shuomin; He, Sailing

2013-01-01

We present a theory of perfect absorption in a bilayer model composed of a mu-near-zero (MNZ) metamaterial (MM) absorbing layer on a metallic substrate. Our analytical solutions reveal that a MM layer with a large purely imaginary permeability and a moderate permittivity backed by a metallic plane has a zero reflection at normal incidence when the thickness is ultrathin. The impedance-mismatched metamaterial absorber (MA) can be 77.3% thinner than conventional impedance-matched MAs with the same material loss in order to get the same absorption. A microwave absorber using double-layered spiral MMs with a thickness of only about one percent of the operating wavelength is designed and realized. An absorption efficiency above 93% at 1.74 GHz is demonstrated experimentally at illumination angles up to 60 degrees. Our absorber is 98% lighter than traditional microwave absorbers made of natural materials working at the same frequencies. PMID:23803861

Strain-induced oxygen vacancies in ultrathin epitaxial CaMnO3 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandrasena, Ravini; Yang, Weibing; Lei, Qingyu; Delgado-Jaime, Mario; de Groot, Frank; Arenholz, Elke; Kobayashi, Keisuke; Aschauer, Ulrich; Spaldin, Nicola; Xi, Xiaoxing; Gray, Alexander

Dynamic control of strain-induced ionic defects in transition-metal oxides is considered to be an exciting new avenue towards creating materials with novel electronic, magnetic and structural properties. Here we use atomic layer-by-layer laser molecular beam epitaxy to synthesize high-quality ultrathin single-crystalline CaMnO3 films with systematically varying coherent tensile strain. We then utilize a combination of high-resolution soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy and bulk-sensitive hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy in conjunction with first-principles theory and core-hole multiplet calculations to establish a direct link between the coherent in-plane strain and the oxygen-vacancy content. We show that the oxygen vacancies are highly mobile, which necessitates an in-situ-grown capping layer in order to preserve the original strain-induced oxygen-vacancy content. Our findings open the door for designing and controlling new ionically active properties in strongly-correlated transition-metal oxides.

Optimization of ion-atomic beam source for deposition of GaN ultrathin films.

PubMed

Mach, Jindřich; Šamořil, Tomáš; Kolíbal, Miroslav; Zlámal, Jakub; Voborny, Stanislav; Bartošík, Miroslav; Šikola, Tomáš

2014-08-01

We describe the optimization and application of an ion-atomic beam source for ion-beam-assisted deposition of ultrathin films in ultrahigh vacuum. The device combines an effusion cell and electron-impact ion beam source to produce ultra-low energy (20-200 eV) ion beams and thermal atomic beams simultaneously. The source was equipped with a focusing system of electrostatic electrodes increasing the maximum nitrogen ion current density in the beam of a diameter of ≈15 mm by one order of magnitude (j ≈ 1000 nA/cm(2)). Hence, a successful growth of GaN ultrathin films on Si(111) 7 × 7 substrate surfaces at reasonable times and temperatures significantly lower (RT, 300 °C) than in conventional metalorganic chemical vapor deposition technologies (≈1000 °C) was achieved. The chemical composition of these films was characterized in situ by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and morphology ex situ using Scanning Electron Microscopy. It has been shown that the morphology of GaN layers strongly depends on the relative Ga-N bond concentration in the layers.

A molecular dynamics analysis of ion irradiation of ultrathin amorphous carbon films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, J.; Komvopoulos, K.

2016-09-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations provide insight into nanoscale problems where continuum description breaks down, such as the modeling of ultrathin films. Amorphous carbon (a-C) films are commonly used as protective overcoats in various contemporary technologies, including microelectromechanical systems, bio-implantable devices, optical lenses, and hard-disk drives. In all of these technologies, the protective a-C film must be continuous and very thin. For example, to achieve high storage densities (e.g., on the order of 1 Tb/in.2) in magnetic recording, the thickness of the a-C film used to protect the magnetic media and the recording head against mechanical wear and corrosion must be 2-3 nm. Inert ion irradiation is an effective post-deposition method for reducing the film thickness, while preserving the mechanical and chemical characteristics. In this study, MD simulations of Ar+ ion irradiated a-C films were performed to elucidate the effects of the ion incidence angle and ion kinetic energy on the film thickness and structure. The MD results reveal that the film etching rate exhibits a strong dependence on the ion kinetic energy and ion incidence angle, with a maximum etching rate corresponding to an ion incidence angle of ˜20°. It is also shown that Ar+ ion irradiation mainly affects the structure of the upper half of the ultrathin a-C film and that carbon atom hybridization is a strong function of the ion kinetic energy and ion incidence angle. The results of this study elucidate the effects of important ion irradiation parameters on the structure and thickness of ultrathin films and provide fundamental insight into the physics of dry etching.

Surface and Electrical Characterization of Conjugated Molecular Wires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demissie, Abel Tesfahun

This thesis describes the surface and electrical characterization of ultrathin organic films and interfaces. These films were synthesized on the surface of gold by utilizing layer by layer synthesis via imine condensation. Film growth by imine click (condensation) chemistry is particularly useful for molecular electronics experiments because it provides a convenient means to obtain and extend ?-conjugation in the growth direction. However, in the context of film growth from a solid substrate, the reaction yield per step has not been characterized previously, though it is critically important. To address these issues, my research focused on a comprehensive characterization of oligophenyleneimine (OPI) wires via Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). In addition, we had the unique opportunity of developing the first of its kind implementation of nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) to probe the intensity of carbon atoms after each addition step. Overall the combination of various techniques indicated that film growth proceeds in a quantitative manner. Furthermore, the NRA experiment was optimized to measure the carbon content in self-assembled monolayers of alkyl thiols. The results indicated well-resolved coverage values for ultrathin films with consecutive steps of 2 carbon atoms per molecule. Another fundamental problem in molecular electronics is the vast discrepancy in the values of measured resistance per molecule between small and large area molecular junctions. In collaboration with researchers at the National University of Singapore, we addressed these issues by comparing the electrical properties of OPI wires with the eutectic gallium indium alloy (EGaIn) junction (1000 mum2), and conducting probe atomic force microscopy (CP-AFM) junction (50 nm2). Our results showed that intensive (i.e., area independent) observables such as crossover length, activation energy, and decay constants agreed very well across the two junction platforms. On the other hand, the extensive (area dependent) resistance per molecule values was 100 times higher for EGaIn junction verses CP-AFM after normalizing to contact area. This was most likely due to differences in metal-molecule contact resistances. My contribution to this collaborative work is in synthesis and timely delivery of OPI wires.. The structure-property relationships of OPI wires with 5 terminal F atoms were studied extensively by XPS. The results show similar crossover behavior obtained by molecular junction experiments. Saturated spacers (conjugation disruption units) were introduced into the molecular backbone, and their effects on the intensity of F 1s counts were measured. Overall, there was good correlation between the position and number of saturated units verses F 1s peak area. Even though core hole spectroscopy and time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations are required to fully understand the charge transport dynamics, the preliminary results point to a new ultrahigh vacuum method of measuring charge transfer rates. Overall, these experiments open significant opportunities to synthesize ultra-thin films and characterize a variety of donor-block-acceptor and metal complex systems in molecular electronics.

Superstable Ultrathin Water Film Confined in a Hydrophilized Carbon Nanotube.

PubMed

Tomo, Yoko; Askounis, Alexandros; Ikuta, Tatsuya; Takata, Yasuyuki; Sefiane, Khellil; Takahashi, Koji

2018-03-14

Fluids confined in a nanoscale space behave differently than in the bulk due to strong interactions between fluid molecules and solid atoms. Here, we observed water confined inside "open" hydrophilized carbon nanotubes (CNT), with diameter of tens of nanometers, using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A 1-7 nm water film adhering to most of the inner wall surface was observed and remained stable in the high vacuum (order of 10 -5 Pa) of the TEM. The superstability of this film was attributed to a combination of curvature, nanoroughness, and confinement resulting in a lower vapor pressure for water and hence inhibiting its vaporization. Occasional, suspended ultrathin water film with thickness of 3-20 nm were found and remained stable inside the CNT. This film thickness is 1 order of magnitude smaller than the critical film thickness (about 40 nm) reported by the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek theory and previous experimental investigations. The stability of the suspended ultrathin water film is attributed to the additional molecular interactions due to the extended water meniscus, which balances the rest of the disjoining pressures.

Correlation between the microstructures of graphite oxides and their catalytic behaviors in air oxidation of benzyl alcohol.

PubMed

Geng, Longlong; Wu, Shujie; Zou, Yongcun; Jia, Mingjun; Zhang, Wenxiang; Yan, Wenfu; Liu, Gang

2014-05-01

A series of graphite oxide (GO) materials were obtained by thermal treatment of oxidized natural graphite powder at different temperatures (from 100 to 200 °C). The microstructure evolution (i.e., layer structure and surface functional groups) of the graphite oxide during the heating process is studied by various characterization means, including XRD, N2 adsorption, TG-DTA, in situ DRIFT, XPS, Raman, TEM and Boehm titration. The characterization results show that the structures of GO materials change gradually from multilayer sheets to a transparent ultrathin 2D structure of the carbon sheets. The concentration of surface COH and HOCO groups decrease significantly upon treating temperature increasing. Benzyl alcohol oxidation with air as oxidant source was carried out to detect the catalytic behaviors of different GO materials. The activities of GO materials decrease with the increase of treating temperatures. It shows that the structure properties, including ultrathin sheets and high specific surface area, are not crucial factors affecting the catalytic activity. The type and amount of surface oxygen-containing functional groups of GO materials tightly correlates with the catalytic performance. Carboxylic groups on the surface of GO should act as oxidative sites for benzyl alcohol and the reduced form could be reoxidized by molecular oxygen. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A process for preparing an ultra-thin, adhesiveless, multi-layered, patterned polymer substrate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bryant, Robert G. (Inventor); Kruse, Nancy H. M. (Inventor); Fox, Robert L. (Inventor); Tran, Sang Q. (Inventor)

1995-01-01

A process for preparing an ultra-thin, adhesiveless, multi-layered, patterned polymer substrate is disclosed. The process may be used to prepare both rigid and flexible cables and circuit boards. A substrate is provided and a polymeric solution comprising a self-bonding, soluble polymer and a solvent is applied to the substrate. Next, the polymer solution is dried to form a polymer coated substrate. The polymer coated substrate is metallized and patterned. At least one additional coating of the polymeric solution is applied to the metallized, patterned, polymer coated substrate and the steps of metallizing and patterning are repeated. Lastly, a cover coat is applied. When preparing a flexible cable and flexible circuit board, the polymer coating is removed from the substrate.

One-Step Nickel Foam Assisted Synthesis of Holey G-Carbon Nitride Nanosheets for Efficient Visible-light Photocatalytic H2 Evolution.

PubMed

Fang, Zhenyuan; Hong, Yuanzhi; Li, Di; Luo, Bifu; Mao, Baodong; Shi, Weidong

2018-06-01

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with layered structure represents one of the most promising metal-free photocatalysts. As yet, the direct one-step synthesis of ultrathin g-C3N4 nanosheets remains a challenge. Here, few-layered holey g-C3N4 nanosheets (CNS) were fabricated by simply introducing a piece of nickel foam over the precursors during the heating process. The as-prepared CNS with unique structural advantages exhibited superior photocatalytic water splitting activity (1871.09 µmol h-1 g-1) than bulk g-C3N4 (BCN) under visible light (λ>420 nm) (≈31 fold). Its outstanding photocatalytic performance originated from the high specific surface area (240.34 m2 g-1) and mesoporous structure, which endows CNS with more active sites, efficient exciton dissociation and prolonged charge carrier lifetime. Moreover, the obvious up-shift of the conduction band leads to a larger thermodynamic driving force for photocatalytic proton reduction. This methodology not only had the advantages for the direct and green synthesis of g-C3N4 nanosheets, but also paved a new avenue to modify molecular structure and textural of g-C3N4 for advanced applications.

Layer-by-layer assembled heteroatom-doped graphene films with ultrahigh volumetric capacitance and rate capability for micro-supercapacitors.

PubMed

Wu, Zhong-Shuai; Parvez, Khaled; Winter, Andreas; Vieker, Henning; Liu, Xianjie; Han, Sheng; Turchanin, Andrey; Feng, Xinliang; Müllen, Klaus

2014-07-09

Highly uniform, ultrathin, layer-by-layer heteroatom (N, B) co-doped graphene films are fabricated for high-performance on-chip planar micro-supercapacitors with an ultrahigh volumetric capacitance of ∼488 F cm(-3) and excellent rate capability due to the synergistic effect of nitrogen and boron co-doping. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Breakthrough to Non-Vacuum Deposition of Single-Crystal, Ultra-Thin, Homogeneous Nanoparticle Layers: A Better Alternative to Chemical Bath Deposition and Atomic Layer Deposition

PubMed Central

Liao, Yu-Kuang; Liu, Yung-Tsung; Hsieh, Dan-Hua; Shen, Tien-Lin; Hsieh, Ming-Yang; Tzou, An-Jye; Chen, Shih-Chen; Tsai, Yu-Lin; Lin, Wei-Sheng; Chan, Sheng-Wen; Shen, Yen-Ping; Cheng, Shun-Jen; Chen, Chyong-Hua; Wu, Kaung-Hsiung; Chen, Hao-Ming; Kuo, Shou-Yi; Charlton, Martin D. B.; Hsieh, Tung-Po; Kuo, Hao-Chung

2017-01-01

Most thin-film techniques require a multiple vacuum process, and cannot produce high-coverage continuous thin films with the thickness of a few nanometers on rough surfaces. We present a new ”paradigm shift” non-vacuum process to deposit high-quality, ultra-thin, single-crystal layers of coalesced sulfide nanoparticles (NPs) with controllable thickness down to a few nanometers, based on thermal decomposition. This provides high-coverage, homogeneous thickness, and large-area deposition over a rough surface, with little material loss or liquid chemical waste, and deposition rates of 10 nm/min. This technique can potentially replace conventional thin-film deposition methods, such as atomic layer deposition (ALD) and chemical bath deposition (CBD) as used by the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin-film solar cell industry for decades. We demonstrate 32% improvement of CIGS thin-film solar cell efficiency in comparison to reference devices prepared by conventional CBD deposition method by depositing the ZnS NPs buffer layer using the new process. The new ZnS NPs layer allows reduction of an intrinsic ZnO layer, which can lead to severe shunt leakage in case of a CBD buffer layer. This leads to a 65% relative efficiency increase. PMID:28383488

Controllable Preparation of Ultrathin Sandwich-Like Membrane with Porous Organic Framework and Graphene Oxide for Molecular Filtration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Yuanzhi; Xu, Danyun; Zhao, Qingshan; Li, Yang; Peng, Wenchao; Zhang, Guoliang; Zhang, Fengbao; Fan, Xiaobin

2015-10-01

Porous organic frameworks (POFs) based membranes have potential applications in molecular filtration, despite the lack of a corresponding study. This study reports an interesting strategy to get processable POFs dispersion and a novel ultrathin sandwich-like membrane design. It was accidentally found that the hydrophobic N-rich Schiff based POFs agglomerates could react with lithium-ethylamine and formed stable dispersion in water. By successively filtrating the obtained POFs dispersion and graphene oxide (GO), we successfully prepared ultrathin sandwich-like hybrid membranes with layered structure, which showed significantly improved separation efficiency in molecular filtration of organic dyes. This study may provide a universal way to the preparation of processable POFs and their hybrid membranes with GO.

Spin fluctuation induced linear magnetoresistance in ultrathin superconducting FeSe films

DOE PAGES

Wang, Qingyan; Zhang, Wenhao; Chen, Weiwei; ...

2017-07-21

The discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in FeSe/STO has trigged great research interest to reveal a range of exotic physical phenomena in this novel material. Here we present a temperature dependent magnetotransport measurement for ultrathin FeSe/STO films with different thickness and protection layers. Remarkably, a surprising linear magnetoresistance (LMR) is observed around the superconducting transition temperatures but absent otherwise. The experimental LMR can be reproduced by magnetotransport calculations based on a model of magnetic field dependent disorder induced by spin fluctuation. Thus, the observed LMR in coexistence with superconductivity provides the first magnetotransport signature for spin fluctuation around the superconducting transitionmore » region in ultrathin FeSe/STO films.« less

Ultrathin phase-change coatings on metals for electrothermally tunable colors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bakan, Gokhan; Ayas, Sencer; Saidzoda, Tohir; Celebi, Kemal; Dana, Aykutlu

2016-08-01

Metal surfaces coated with ultrathin lossy dielectrics enable color generation through strong interferences in the visible spectrum. Using a phase-change thin film as the coating layer offers tuning the generated color by crystallization or re-amorphization. Here, we study the optical response of surfaces consisting of thin (5-40 nm) phase-changing Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) films on metal, primarily Al, layers. A color scale ranging from yellow to red to blue that is obtained using different thicknesses of as-deposited amorphous GST layers turns dim gray upon annealing-induced crystallization of the GST. Moreover, when a relatively thick (>100 nm) and lossless dielectric film is introduced between the GST and Al layers, optical cavity modes are observed, offering a rich color gamut at the expense of the angle independent optical response. Finally, a color pixel structure is proposed for ultrahigh resolution (pixel size: 5 × 5 μm2), non-volatile displays, where the metal layer acting like a mirror is used as a heater element. The electrothermal simulations of such a pixel structure suggest that crystallization and re-amorphization of the GST layer using electrical pulses are possible for electrothermal color tuning.

Inducing electric polarization in ultrathin insulating layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez-Castro, Jose; Piantek, Marten; Persson, Mats; Serrate, David; Hirjibehedin, Cyrus F.

Studies of ultrathin polar oxide films have attracted the interest of researchers for a long time due to their different properties compared to bulk materials. However they present several challenges such as the difficulty in the stabilization of the polar surfaces and the limited success in tailoring their properties. Moreover, recently developed Van der Waals materials have shown that the stacking of 2D-layers trigger new collective states thanks to the interaction between layers. Similarly, interface phenomena emerge in polar oxides, like induced ferroelectricity. This represents a promising way for the creation of new materials with customized properties that differ from those of the isolated layers. Here we present a new approach for the fabrication and study of atomically thin insulating films. We show that the properties of insulating polar layers of sodium chloride (NaCl) can be engineered when they are placed on top of a charge modulated template of copper nitride (Cu2N). STM studies carried out in ultra-high vacuum and at low temperatures over NaCl/Cu2N/Cu(001) show that we are able to build up and stabilize interfaces of polar surface at the limit of one atomic layer showing new properties not present before at the atomic scale.

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

Transport phenomena in SrVO3/SrTiO3 superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Man; Wolf, Stuart A.; Lu, Jiwei

2018-03-01

Epitaxial [(SrVO3)7/(SrTiO3)4] r (SVO/STO) superlattices were grown on (0 0 1)-oriented LSAT substrates using a pulsed electron-beam deposition technique. The transport properties of the superlattices were investigated by varying the number of repetitions of the SVO/STO bilayers r (1  ⩽  r  ⩽  9). A single SVO/STO bilayer (r  =  1) was semiconducting, whereas an increase in the number of repetitions r resulted in metallic behavior in the superlattices with r  ⩾  3. The transport phenomena in the SVO/STO superlattices can be regarded as conduction through parallel-coupled SVO layers, the SVO layer embedded in the superlattices showed a great enhancement in the conductivity compared with the single SVO layer. This work provides further evidence of electronic phase separation in the SVO ultrathin layer that has been recently discovered, the SVO ultrathin layer is considered as a 2D Mott insulator with metallic and insulating phases coexisting, the coupling between SVO layers embedded in the SVO/STO superlattices creates more conduction pathways with increasing number of repetitions r, resulting in a crossover from insulating to metallic behavior.

Suppression of oxygen reduction reaction activity on Pt-based electrocatalysts from ionomer incorporation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shinozaki, Kazuma; Morimoto, Yu; Pivovar, Bryan S.; Kocha, Shyam S.

2016-09-01

The impact of Nafion on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity is studied for Pt/C and Pt-alloy/C catalysts using thin-film rotating disk electrode (TF-RDE) methods in 0.1 M HClO4. Ultrathin uniform catalyst layers and standardized activity measurement protocols are employed to obtain accurate and reproducible ORR activity. Nafion lowers the ORR activity which plateaus with increasing loading on Pt catalysts. Pt particle size is found not to have significant influence on the extent of the SA decrease upon Nafion incorporation. Catalysts using high surface area carbon (HSC) support exhibit attenuated activity loss resulting from lower ionomer coverage on catalyst particles located within the deep pores. The impact of metallic composition on the activity loss due to Nafion incorporation is also discussed.

Multi-dimensional effects in radiation pressure acceleration of ions

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

Tripathi, V. K., E-mail: tripathivipin@yahoo.co.in

A laser carries momentum. On reflection from an ultra-thin overdense plasma foil, it deposits recoil momentum on the foil, i.e. exerts radiation pressure on the foil electrons and pushes them to the rear. The space charge field thus created takes the ions along, accelerating the electron-ion double layer as a single unit. When the foil has surface ripple, of wavelength comparable to laser wavelength, the radiation pressure acts non-uniformly on the foil and the perturbation grows as Reyleigh-Taylor (RT) instability as the foil moves. The finite spot size of the laser causes foil to bend. These effects limit the quasi-monomore » energy acceleration of ions. Multi-ion foils, e.g., diamond like carbon foil embedded with protons offer the possibility of suppressing RT instability.« less

Structure and growth of Bi(110) islands on Si(111)√{3 }×√{3 }-B substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagase, Kentaro; Kokubo, Ikuya; Yamazaki, Shiro; Nakatsuji, Kan; Hirayama, Hiroyuki

2018-05-01

The structure and growth of ultrathin Bi(110) islands were investigated on a Si(111)√{3 }×√{3 }-B substrate by scanning tunneling microscopy and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS). Both even- and odd-layer-height islands nucleated on a one-monolayer-thick wetting layer. The islands preferred the even layer heights over the odd layer heights with an area ratio of 3:1. A weak, long-range corrugation was observed to overlap on the atomic arrangement at the top of the islands. The average distance between the peaks of the corrugation oscillated in accordance with the alternation of even and odd layer heights. Nucleation of single- and double-layer terraces occurred on the islands with even layer heights but not on those with odd layer heights. The unit cell of the single-layer terrace was aligned with that of the underlying even-layer-height island. The inequality in the height preference and the height-dependent oscillation of the corrugation suggested that the even- and odd-layer-height islands possessed different structures. The dominance and stability against terrace nucleation of the even-layer-height islands were consistent with the theoretically predicted stability of the paired layer-stacked black-phosphorus (BP)-like structure for ultrathin Bi(110) films. The alignment of the unit cell at the terrace on the island and STS spectra suggested a BP-like/bulklike/BP-like sandwich structure for the odd-layer-height Bi(110) islands.

Lithographically Defined Three-dimensional Pore-patterned Carbon with Nitrogen Doping for High-Performance Ultrathin Supercapacitor Applications

PubMed Central

Kang, Da-Young; Moon, Jun Hyuk

2014-01-01

Supercapacitors that exhibit long cycle lives and fast charge/discharge rates are a promising energy-storage technology for next-generation mobile or wearable electronic systems. A great challenge facing the fabrication of ultrathin supercapacitor components, specifically their porous electrodes, is whether such components can be integrated with the fabrication of electronic devices, i.e., semiconductor fabrication processes. Here, we introduce the lithographic fabrication of micrometre-thick, submicrometre-pore-patterned carbon for supercapacitor electrodes. The pore patterns designed by multi-beam interference lithography and direct carbonisation of the photoresist pattern produced pore-patterned carbon films. A facile doping process was subsequently employed to introduce nitrogen atoms into the carbon, which was intended to further enhance the carbon's capacitive properties. Specifically, during these fabrication steps, we developed an approach that uses a supporting shell on the surface of the pore patterns to maintain their structural integrity. The nitrogen-doped, pore-patterned carbon electrodes exhibited an areal specific capacitance of 32.7 mF/cm2 at 0.5 mA/cm2 when used as supercapacitor electrodes, which is approximately 20 times greater than that of commercially available MWCNT films measured under the same conditions. PMID:24953307

Polyelectrolyte/Graphene Oxide Barrier Film for Flexible OLED.

PubMed

Yang, Seung-Yeol; Park, Jongwhan; Kim, Yong-Seog

2015-10-01

Ultra-thin flexible nano-composite barrier layer consists of graphene oxide and polyelectrolyte was prepared using the layer-by-layer processing method. Microstructures of the barrier layer was optimized via modifying coating conditions and inducing chemical reactions. Although the barrier layer consists of hydrophilic polyelectrolyte was not effective in blocking the water vapor permeation, the chemical reduction of graphene oxide as well as conversion of polyelectrolyte to hydrophobic nature were very effective in reducing the permeation.

Interface perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in ultrathin Ta/NiFe/Pt layered structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirayama, Shigeyuki; Kasai, Shinya; Mitani, Seiji

2018-01-01

Interface perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in ultrathin Ta/NiFe/Pt layered structures was investigated through magnetization measurements. Ta/NiFe/Pt films with NiFe layer thickness (t) values of 2 nm or more showed typical in-plane magnetization curves, which was presumably due to the dominant contribution of the shape magnetic anisotropy. The thickness dependence of the saturation magnetization of the entire NiFe layer (M s) was well analyzed using the so-called dead-layer model, showing that the magnetically active part of the NiFe layer has saturation magnetization (M\\text{s}\\text{act}) independent of t and comparable to the bulk value. In the perpendicular direction, the saturation field H k was found to clearly decrease with decreasing t, while the effective field of shape magnetic anisotropy due to the active NiFe saturation magnetization M\\text{s}\\text{act} should be independent of t. These observations show that there exists interface PMA in the layered structures. The interface PMA energy density was determined to be ∼0.17 erg/cm2 using the dead-layer model. Motivated by the correlation observed between M s and H k, we also attempted to interpret the experimental results using an alternative approach beyond the dead-layer model; however, it gives only implications on the incomplete validity of the dead-layer model and no better understanding.

Fabrication of Large-area Free-standing Ultrathin Polymer Films

PubMed Central

Stadermann, Michael; Baxamusa, Salmaan H.; Aracne-Ruddle, Chantel; Chea, Maverick; Li, Shuaili; Youngblood, Kelly; Suratwala, Tayyab

2015-01-01

This procedure describes a method for the fabrication of large-area and ultrathin free-standing polymer films. Typically, ultrathin films are prepared using either sacrificial layers, which may damage the film or affect its mechanical properties, or they are made on freshly cleaved mica, a substrate that is difficult to scale. Further, the size of ultrathin film is typically limited to a few square millimeters. In this method, we modify a surface with a polyelectrolyte that alters the strength of adhesion between polymer and deposition substrate. The polyelectrolyte can be shown to remain on the wafer using spectroscopy, and a treated wafer can be used to produce multiple films, indicating that at best minimal amounts of the polyelectrolyte are added to the film. The process has thus far been shown to be limited in scalability only by the size of the coating equipment, and is expected to be readily scalable to industrial processes. In this study, the protocol for making the solutions, preparing the deposition surface, and producing the films is described. PMID:26066738

Ultrathin Two-Dimensional Covalent Organic Framework Nanosheets: Preparation and Application in Highly Sensitive and Selective DNA Detection.

PubMed

Peng, Yongwu; Huang, Ying; Zhu, Yihan; Chen, Bo; Wang, Liying; Lai, Zhuangchai; Zhang, Zhicheng; Zhao, Meiting; Tan, Chaoliang; Yang, Nailiang; Shao, Fangwei; Han, Yu; Zhang, Hua

2017-06-28

The ability to prepare ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) covalent organic framework (COF) nanosheets (NSs) in high yield is of great importance for the further exploration of their unique properties and potential applications. Herein, by elaborately designing and choosing two flexible molecules with C 3v molecular symmetry as building units, a novel imine-linked COF, namely, TPA-COF, with a hexagonal layered structure and sheet-like morphology, is synthesized. Since the flexible building units are integrated into the COF skeletons, the interlayer stacking becomes weak, resulting in the easy exfoliation of TPA-COF into ultrathin 2D NSs. Impressively, for the first time, the detailed structural information, i.e., the pore channels and individual building units in the NSs, is clearly visualized by using the recently developed low-dose imaging technique of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). As a proof-of-concept application, the obtained ultrathin COF NSs are used as a novel fluorescence sensing platform for the highly sensitive and selective detection of DNA.

One-step fabrication of large-area ultrathin MoS2 nanofilms with high catalytic activity for photovoltaic devices.

PubMed

Liang, Jia; Li, Jia; Zhu, Hongfei; Han, Yuxiang; Wang, Yanrong; Wang, Caixing; Jin, Zhong; Zhang, Gengmin; Liu, Jie

2016-09-21

Here we report a facile one-step solution-phase process to directly grow ultrathin MoS2 nanofilms on a transparent conductive glass as a novel high-performance counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells. After an appropriate reaction time, the entire surface of the conductive glass substrate was uniformly covered by ultrathin MoS2 nanofilms with a thickness of only several stacked layers. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry reveal that the MoS2 nanofilms possess excellent catalytic activity towards tri-iodide reduction. When used in dye-sensitized solar cells, the MoS2 nanofilms show an impressive energy conversion efficiency of 8.3%, which is higher than that of a Pt-based electrode and very promising to be a desirable alternative counter electrode. Considering their ultrathin thickness, superior catalytic activity, simple preparation process and low cost, the as-prepared MoS2 nanofilms with high photovoltaic performance are expected to be widely employed in dye-sensitized solar cells.

Synthesis of Sub-2 nm Iron-Doped NiSe2 Nanowires and Their Surface-Confined Oxidation for Oxygen Evolution Catalysis.

PubMed

Gu, Chao; Hu, Shaojin; Zheng, Xusheng; Gao, Min-Rui; Zheng, Ya-Rong; Shi, Lei; Gao, Qiang; Zheng, Xiao; Chu, Wangsheng; Yao, Hong-Bin; Zhu, Junfa; Yu, Shu-Hong

2018-04-03

Ultrathin nanostructures are attractive for diverse applications owing to their unique properties compared to their bulk materials. Transition-metal chalcogenides are promising electrocatalysts, yet it remains difficult to make ultrathin structures (sub-2 nm), and the realization of their chemical doping is even more challenging. Herein we describe a soft-template mediated colloidal synthesis of Fe-doped NiSe 2 ultrathin nanowires (UNWs) with diameter down to 1.7 nm. The synergistic interplay between oleylamine and 1-dodecanethiol is crucial to yield these UNWs. The in situ formed amorphous hydroxide layers that is confined to the surface of the ultrathin scaffolds enable efficient oxygen evolution electrocatalysis. The UNWs exhibit a very low overpotential of 268 mV at 10 mA cm -2 in 0.1 m KOH, as well as remarkable long-term stability, representing one of the most efficient noble-metal-free catalysts. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Current Modulation of a Heterojunction Structure by an Ultra-Thin Graphene Base Electrode.

PubMed

Alvarado Chavarin, Carlos; Strobel, Carsten; Kitzmann, Julia; Di Bartolomeo, Antonio; Lukosius, Mindaugas; Albert, Matthias; Bartha, Johann Wolfgang; Wenger, Christian

2018-02-27

Graphene has been proposed as the current controlling element of vertical transport in heterojunction transistors, as it could potentially achieve high operation frequencies due to its metallic character and 2D nature. Simulations of graphene acting as a thermionic barrier between the transport of two semiconductor layers have shown cut-off frequencies larger than 1 THz. Furthermore, the use of n-doped amorphous silicon, (n)-a-Si:H, as the semiconductor for this approach could enable flexible electronics with high cutoff frequencies. In this work, we fabricated a vertical structure on a rigid substrate where graphene is embedded between two differently doped (n)-a-Si:H layers deposited by very high frequency (140 MHz) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The operation of this heterojunction structure is investigated by the two diode-like interfaces by means of temperature dependent current-voltage characterization, followed by the electrical characterization in a three-terminal configuration. We demonstrate that the vertical current between the (n)-a-Si:H layers is successfully controlled by the ultra-thin graphene base voltage. While current saturation is yet to be achieved, a transconductance of ~230 μ S was obtained, demonstrating a moderate modulation of the collector-emitter current by the ultra-thin graphene base voltage. These results show promising progress towards the application of graphene base heterojunction transistors.

Fabrication of high aspect ratio tungsten nanostructures on ultrathin c-Si membranes for extreme UV applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delachat, F.; Le Drogoff, B.; Constancias, C.; Delprat, S.; Gautier, E.; Chaker, M.; Margot, J.

2016-01-01

In this work, we demonstrate a full process for fabricating high aspect ratio diffraction optics for extreme ultraviolet lithography. The transmissive optics consists in nanometer scale tungsten patterns standing on flat, ultrathin (100 nm) and highly transparent (>85% at 13.5 nm) silicon membranes (diameter of 1 mm). These tungsten patterns were achieved using an innovative pseudo-Bosch etching process based on an inductively coupled plasma ignited in a mixture of SF6 and C4F8. Circular ultra-thin Si membranes were fabricated through a state-of-the-art method using direct-bonding with thermal difference. The silicon membranes were sputter-coated with a few hundred nanometers (100-300 nm) of stress-controlled tungsten and a very thin layer of chromium. Nanoscale features were written in a thin resist layer by electron beam lithography and transferred onto tungsten by plasma etching of both the chromium hard mask and the tungsten layer. This etching process results in highly anisotropic tungsten features at room temperature. The homogeneity and the aspect ratio of the advanced pattern transfer on the membranes were characterized with scanning electron microscopy after focus ion beam milling. An aspect ratio of about 6 for 35 nm size pattern is successfully obtained on a 1 mm diameter 100 nm thick Si membrane. The whole fabrication process is fully compatible with standard industrial semiconductor technology.

Interface plasmonic properties of silver coated by ultrathin metal oxides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sytchkova, A.; Zola, D.; Grilli, M. L.; Piegari, A.; Fang, M.; He, H.; Shao, J.

2011-09-01

Many fields of high technology take advantage of conductor-dielectric interface properties. Deeper knowledge of physical processes that determine the optical response of the structures containing metal-dielectric interfaces is important for improving the performance of thin film devices containing such materials. Here we present a study on optical properties of several ultrathin metal oxides deposited over thin silver layers. Some widely used materials (Al2O3, SiO2, Y2O3, HfO2) were selected for deposition by r.f. sputtering, and the created metal-dielectric structures with two of them, alumina and silica, were investigated in this work using attenuated total reflectance (ATR) technique and by variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE). VASE was performed with a help of a commercial ellipsometer at various incident angles and in a wide spectral range. A home-made sample holder manufactured for WVASE ellipsometer and operational in Otto configuration has been implemented for angle-resolved and spectral ATR measurements. Simultaneous analysis of data obtained by these two independent techniques allows elaboration of a representative model for plasmonic-related phenomena at metal-dielectric interface. The optical constants of the interface layers formed between metal and ultrathin oxide layers are investigated. A series of oxides chosen for this study allows a comparative analysis aimed for selection of the most appropriate materials for different applications.

Ultrathin MoS2 Nanosheets with Superior Extreme Pressure Property as Boundary Lubricants.

PubMed

Chen, Zhe; Liu, Xiangwen; Liu, Yuhong; Gunsel, Selda; Luo, Jianbin

2015-08-07

In this paper, a new kind of oil-soluble ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets is prepared through a one-pot process. A superior extreme pressure property, which has not been attained with other nano-additives, is discovered when the nanosheets are used as lubricant additives. The as-synthesized MoS2 nanosheet is only a few atomic layers thick and tens of nanometers wide, and it is surface-modified with oleylamine so it can be well dispersed in oil or lubricant without adscititious dispersants or surfactants. By adding 1 wt% ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets, at the temperature of 120 °C, the highest load liquid paraffin can bear is tremendously improved from less than 50 N to more than 2000 N. Based on the tribological tests and analysis of the wear scar, a lubrication mechanism is proposed. It is believed that the good dispersion and the ultrathin shape of the nanosheets ensure that they can enter the contact area of the opposite sliding surfaces and act like a protective film to prevent direct contact and seizure between them. This work enriches the investigation of ultrathin MoS2 and has potential application in the mechanical industry.

Ultrathin MoS2 Nanosheets with Superior Extreme Pressure Property as Boundary Lubricants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zhe; Liu, Xiangwen; Liu, Yuhong; Gunsel, Selda; Luo, Jianbin

2015-08-01

In this paper, a new kind of oil-soluble ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets is prepared through a one-pot process. A superior extreme pressure property, which has not been attained with other nano-additives, is discovered when the nanosheets are used as lubricant additives. The as-synthesized MoS2 nanosheet is only a few atomic layers thick and tens of nanometers wide, and it is surface-modified with oleylamine so it can be well dispersed in oil or lubricant without adscititious dispersants or surfactants. By adding 1 wt% ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets, at the temperature of 120 °C, the highest load liquid paraffin can bear is tremendously improved from less than 50 N to more than 2000 N. Based on the tribological tests and analysis of the wear scar, a lubrication mechanism is proposed. It is believed that the good dispersion and the ultrathin shape of the nanosheets ensure that they can enter the contact area of the opposite sliding surfaces and act like a protective film to prevent direct contact and seizure between them. This work enriches the investigation of ultrathin MoS2 and has potential application in the mechanical industry.

Ultrathin MoS2 Nanosheets with Superior Extreme Pressure Property as Boundary Lubricants

PubMed Central

Chen, Zhe; Liu, Xiangwen; Liu, Yuhong; Gunsel, Selda; Luo, Jianbin

2015-01-01

In this paper, a new kind of oil-soluble ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets is prepared through a one-pot process. A superior extreme pressure property, which has not been attained with other nano-additives, is discovered when the nanosheets are used as lubricant additives. The as-synthesized MoS2 nanosheet is only a few atomic layers thick and tens of nanometers wide, and it is surface-modified with oleylamine so it can be well dispersed in oil or lubricant without adscititious dispersants or surfactants. By adding 1 wt% ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets, at the temperature of 120 °C, the highest load liquid paraffin can bear is tremendously improved from less than 50 N to more than 2000 N. Based on the tribological tests and analysis of the wear scar, a lubrication mechanism is proposed. It is believed that the good dispersion and the ultrathin shape of the nanosheets ensure that they can enter the contact area of the opposite sliding surfaces and act like a protective film to prevent direct contact and seizure between them. This work enriches the investigation of ultrathin MoS2 and has potential application in the mechanical industry. PMID:26249536

Enhanced Evaporation Strength through Fast Water Permeation in Graphene-Oxide Deposition

PubMed Central

Li Tong, Wei; Ong, Wee-Jun; Chai, Siang-Piao; Tan, Ming K.; Mun Hung, Yew

2015-01-01

The unique characteristic of fast water permeation in laminated graphene oxide (GO) sheets has facilitated the development of ultrathin and ultrafast nanofiltration membranes. Here we report the application of fast water permeation property of immersed GO deposition for enhancing the performance of a GO/water nanofluid charged two-phase closed thermosyphon (TPCT). By benchmarking its performance against a silver oxide/water nanofluid charged TPCT, the enhancement of evaporation strength is found to be essentially attributed to the fast water permeation property of GO deposition instead of the enhanced surface wettability of the deposited layer. The expansion of interlayer distance between the graphitic planes of GO deposited layer enables intercalation of bilayer water for fast water permeation. The capillary force attributed to the frictionless interaction between the atomically smooth, hydrophobic carbon structures and the well-ordered hydrogen bonds of water molecules is sufficiently strong to overcome the gravitational force. As a result, a thin water film is formed on the GO deposited layers, inducing filmwise evaporation which is more effective than its interfacial counterpart, appreciably enhanced the overall performance of TPCT. This study paves the way for a promising start of employing the fast water permeation property of GO in thermal applications. PMID:26100977

Ultrathin free-standing graphene oxide film based flexible touchless sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Lin; Wang, Yingyi; Li, Guanghui; Qin, Sujie; Zhang, Ting

2018-01-01

Ultrathin free-standing graphene oxide (GO) films were fabricated by vacuum filtration method assisted with Ni(OH)2 nanosheets as the sacrifice layer. The surface of the obtained GO film is very clean as the Ni(OH)2 nanosheets can be thoroughly etched by HCl. The thickness of the GO films can be well-controlled by changing the volume of GO dispersion, and the thinnest GO film reached ~12 nm. As a novel and transparent dielectric material, the GO film has been applied as the dielectric layer for the flexible touchless capacitive sensor which can effectively distinguish the approaching of an insulator or a conductor. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61574163) and the Foundation Research Project of Jiangsu Province (Nos. BK20160392, BK20170008).

Zeroth order Fabry-Perot resonance enabled ultra-thin perfect light absorber using percolation aluminum and silicon nanofilms

DOE PAGES

Mirshafieyan, Seyed Sadreddin; Luk, Ting S.; Guo, Junpeng

2016-03-04

Here, we demonstrated perfect light absorption in optical nanocavities made of ultra-thin percolation aluminum and silicon films deposited on an aluminum surface. The total layer thickness of the aluminum and silicon films is one order of magnitude less than perfect absorption wavelength in the visible spectral range. The ratio of silicon cavity layer thickness to perfect absorption wavelength decreases as wavelength decreases due to the increased phase delays at silicon-aluminum boundaries at shorter wavelengths. It is explained that perfect light absorption is due to critical coupling of incident wave to the fundamental Fabry-Perot resonance mode of the structure where themore » round trip phase delay is zero. Simulations were performed and the results agree well with the measurement results.« less

Extraordinary optical transmission in nanopatterned ultrathin metal films without holes

DOE PAGES

Peer, Akshit; Biswas, Rana

2016-02-01

In this study, we experimentally and theoretically demonstrate that a continuous gold film on a periodically textured substrate exhibits extraordinary optical transmission, even though no holes were etched in the film. Our film synthesis started by nanoimprinting a periodic array of nanocups with a period of ~750 nm on a polystyrene film over a glass substrate. A thin non-conformal gold film was sputter-deposited on the polystyrene by angle-directed deposition. The gold film was continuous with spatial thickness variation, the film being thinnest at the bottom of the nanocup. Measurements revealed an extraordinary transmission peak at a wavelength just smaller thanmore » the period, with an enhancement of ~2.5 compared to the classically expected value. Scattering matrix simulations model well the transmission and reflectance measurements when an ultrathin gold layer (~5 nm), smaller than the skin depth is retained at the bottom of the nanocups. Electric field intensities are enhanced by >100 within the nanocup, and ~40 in the ultrathin gold layer causing transmission through it. We show a wavelength red-shift of ~30 nm in the extraordinary transmission peak when the nanocups are coated with a thin film of a few nanometers, which can be utilized for biosensing. The continuous corrugated metal films are far simpler structures to observe extraordinary transmission, circumventing the difficult process of etching the metal film. Such continuous metal films with ultrathin regions are simple platforms for non-linear optics, plasmonics, and biological and chemical sensing.« less

Interparticle coupling effect of silver-gold heterodimer to enhance light harvesting in ultrathin perovskite solar cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Zhaosheng; Ma, Tingli; Hayase, Shuzi

2018-01-01

Thin perovskite solar cells are under intensive interest since they reduce the amount of absorber layer, especially toxic lead in methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) devices and have wide application in semitransparent and tandem solar cells. However, due to the decrease of the layer thickness, thin perovskite devices with weak light-harvesting have poor performance. Moreover, the performance of plasmonic thin perovskite devices by incorporating noncoupling metal NPs cannot give comparable performance with normal devices. In this perspective, we discuss the implication of employing random silver-gold heterodimers in MAPbI3 solar cells with the aim of establishing some guidelines for the efficient ultrathin perovskite solar cells. This method induces an extraordinarily high light-harvesting for ultrathin perovskite film. And the underlying physical mechanism behind the enhanced absorption is deeply investigated by plasmon hybridization, dipolar-dipolar coupling method and FDTD simulation. We notice that perovskite embedded silver-gold heterodimer overcomes the vanished antibonding plasmon resononse (σ * ) in nonjunction area of gold/silver homodimer. A 150-nm perovskite film with embedded random silver-gold heterodimers with 80 nm size and 25 nm gap distance processes 28.15% absorption enhancement compared to the reference film, which is higher than the reported 10% for gold homodimers. And we also predict a realistic solution-processed, easy, and low-cost fabrication method, which provide a means to realize highly efficient ultrathin perovskite solar cell including other absorber-based photovoltaics.

In situ study of the electronic structure of atomic layer deposited oxide ultrathin films upon oxygen adsorption using ambient pressure XPS

DOE PAGES

Mao, Bao-Hua; Crumlin, Ethan; Tyo, Eric C.; ...

2016-07-21

In this work, ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS) was used to investigate the effect of oxygen adsorption on the band bending and electron affinity of Al 2O 3, ZnO and TiO 2 ultrathin films (~1 nm in thickness) deposited on a Si substrate by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Upon exposure to oxygen at room temperature (RT), upward band bending was observed on all three samples, and a decrease in electron affinity was observed on Al 2O 3 and ZnO ultrathin films at RT. At 80°C, the magnitude of the upward band bending decreased, and the change in the electronmore » affinity vanished. These results indicate the existence of two surface oxygen species: a negatively charged species that is strongly adsorbed and responsible for the observed upward band bending, and a weakly adsorbed species that is polarized, lowering the electron affinity. Based on the extent of upward band bending on the three samples, the surface coverage of the strongly adsorbed species exhibits the following order: Al 2O 3 > ZnO > TiO 2. This finding is in stark contrast to the trend expected on the surface of these bulk oxides, and highlights the unique surface activity of ultrathin oxide films with important implications, for example, in oxidation reactions taking place on these films or in catalyst systems where such oxides are used as a support material.« less

Broadband enhancement of dielectric light trapping nanostructure used in ultra-thin solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Dong; Xu, Zhaopeng; Bian, Fei; Wang, Haiyan; Wang, Jiazhuang; Sun, Lu

2018-03-01

A dielectric fishnet nanostructure is designed to increase the light trapping capability of ultra-thin solar cells. The complex performance of ultra-thin cells such as the optical response and electrical response are fully quantified in simulation through a complete optoelectronic investigation. The results show that the optimized light trapping nanostructure can enhances the electromagnetic resonance in active layer then lead to extraordinary enhancement of both absorption and light-conversion capabilities in the solar cell. The short-circuit current density increases by 49.46% from 9.40 mA/cm2 to 14.05 mA/cm2 and light-conversion efficiency increases by 51.84% from 9.51% to 14.44% compared to the benchmark, a solar cell with an ITO-GaAs-Ag structure.

Molecular Imaging of Ultrathin Pentacene Films: Evidence for Homoepitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yanfei; Haugstad, Greg; Frisbie, C. Daniel

2013-03-01

Ultrathin polycrystalline films of organic semiconductors have received intensive investigations due to the critical role they play in governing the performance of organic thin film transistors. In this work, a variety of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques have been employed to investigate ultrathin polycrystalline films (1-3 nm) of the benchmark organic semiconductor pentacene. By using spatially resolved Friction Force Microscopy (FFM), Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KFM) and Electrostatic Force Microscopy (EFM), an interesting multi-domain structure is revealed within the second layer of the films, characterized as two distinct friction and surface potential domains correlating with each other. The existence of multiple homoepitaxial modes within the films is thus proposed and examined. By employing lattice-revolved imaging using contact mode SPM, direct molecular evidence for the unusual homoepitaxy is obtained.

Ultrathin Composite Polymeric Membranes for CO2 /N2 Separation with Minimum Thickness and High CO2 Permeance.

PubMed

Benito, Javier; Sánchez-Laínez, Javier; Zornoza, Beatriz; Martín, Santiago; Carta, Mariolino; Malpass-Evans, Richard; Téllez, Carlos; McKeown, Neil B; Coronas, Joaquín; Gascón, Ignacio

2017-10-23

The use of ultrathin films as selective layers in composite membranes offers significant advantages in gas separation for increasing productivity while reducing the membrane size and energy costs. In this contribution, composite membranes have been obtained by the successive deposition of approximately 1 nm thick monolayers of a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) on top of dense membranes of the ultra-permeable poly[1-(trimethylsilyl)-1-propyne] (PTMSP). The ultrathin PIM films (30 nm in thickness) demonstrate CO 2 permeance up to seven times higher than dense PIM membranes using only 0.04 % of the mass of PIM without a significant decrease in CO 2 /N 2 selectivity. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

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

Hilfiker, James N.; Stadermann, Michael; Sun, Jianing

It is a well-known challenge to determine refractive index (n) from ultra-thin films where the thickness is less than about 10 nm. In this paper, we discovered an interesting exception to this issue while characterizing spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) data from isotropic, free-standing polymer films. Ellipsometry analysis shows that both thickness and refractive index can be independently determined for free-standing films as thin as 5 nm. Simulations further confirm an orthogonal separation between thickness and index effects on the experimental SE data. Effects of angle of incidence and wavelength on the data and sensitivity are discussed. Finally, while others have demonstratedmore » methods to determine refractive index from ultra-thin films, our analysis provides the first results to demonstrate high-sensitivity to the refractive index from ultra-thin layers.« less

Ultrathin-skinned asymmetric membranes by immiscible solvents treatment

DOEpatents

Friesen, Dwayne T.; Babcock, Walter C.

1989-01-01

Improved semipermeable asymmetric fluid separation membranes useful in gas, vapor and liquid separations are disclosed. The membranes are prepared by substantially filling the pores of asymmetric cellulosic semipermeable membranes having a finely porous layer on one side thereof with a water immiscible organic liquid, followed by contacting the finely porous layer with water.

Ultrathin-skinned asymmetric membranes by immiscible solvents treatment

DOEpatents

Friesen, D.T.; Babcock, W.C.

1989-11-28

Improved semipermeable asymmetric fluid separation membranes useful in gas, vapor and liquid separations are disclosed. The membranes are prepared by substantially filling the pores of asymmetric cellulosic semipermeable membranes having a finely porous layer on one side thereof with a water immiscible organic liquid, followed by contacting the finely porous layer with water.

Enhancing the magnetic anisotropy energy by tuning the contact areas of Ag and Ni at the Ag/Ni interface.

PubMed

Chow, Yu-Ting; Jiang, Bin-Han; Chang, Cheng-Hsun-Tony; Tsay, Jyh-Shen

2018-01-17

Modifying the interfacial conditions of magnetic layers by capping with overlayers can efficiently enhance the magnetic functionality of a material. However, the mechanisms responsible for this are closely related to the crystalline structure, compositional combinations, and interfacial quality, and are generally complex. In this contribution, we explored the use of Ag ultrathin overlayers on annealed . A method for preparing magnetic layers with different levels of enhanced magnetic anisotropy energy was developed. The method essentially involves simply modifying the contact area of the metallic/magnetic interface. A rougher interface results in a larger contact area between the Ag and Ni layers, resulting in an increase in magnetic anisotropy energy. Moreover, post-annealing treatments led to the segregation of Ni atoms, thus making the enhancement in the coercive force even more efficient. A model permits an understanding of the contact area and a strategy for enhancing the magnetic anisotropy energy and the coercive force was developed. Our approaches and the developed model promise to be helpful in terms of developing potential applications of ultrathin magnetic layers in the area of spintronics.

Self-current induced spin-orbit torque in FeMn/Pt multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yanjun; Yang, Yumeng; Yao, Kui; Xu, Baoxi; Wu, Yihong

2016-05-01

Extensive efforts have been devoted to the study of spin-orbit torque in ferromagnetic metal/heavy metal bilayers and exploitation of it for magnetization switching using an in-plane current. As the spin-orbit torque is inversely proportional to the thickness of the ferromagnetic layer, sizable effect has only been realized in bilayers with an ultrathin ferromagnetic layer. Here we demonstrate that, by stacking ultrathin Pt and FeMn alternately, both ferromagnetic properties and current induced spin-orbit torque can be achieved in FeMn/Pt multilayers without any constraint on its total thickness. The critical behavior of these multilayers follows closely three-dimensional Heisenberg model with a finite Curie temperature distribution. The spin torque effective field is about 4 times larger than that of NiFe/Pt bilayer with a same equivalent NiFe thickness. The self-current generated spin torque is able to switch the magnetization reversibly without the need for an external field or a thick heavy metal layer. The removal of both thickness constraint and necessity of using an adjacent heavy metal layer opens new possibilities for exploiting spin-orbit torque for practical applications.

Fulleropyrrolidinium Iodide As an Efficient Electron Transport Layer for Air-Stable Planar Perovskite Solar Cells.

PubMed

Huang, Jiabin; Yu, Xuegong; Xie, Jiangsheng; Li, Chang-Zhi; Zhang, Yunhai; Xu, Dikai; Tang, Zeguo; Cui, Can; Yang, Deren

2016-12-21

Organic-inorganic halide perovskite solar cells have attracted great attention in recent years. But there are still a lot of unresolved issues related to the perovskite solar cells such as the phenomenon of anomalous hysteresis characteristics and long-term stability of the devices. Here, we developed a simple three-layered efficient perovskite device by replacing the commonly employed PCBM electrical transport layer with an ultrathin fulleropyrrolidinium iodide (C 60 -bis) in an inverted p-i-n architecture. The devices with an ultrathin C 60 -bis electronic transport layer yield an average power conversion efficiency of 13.5% and a maximum efficiency of 15.15%. Steady-state photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) measurements show that the high performance is attributed to the efficient blocking of holes and high extraction efficiency of electrons by C 60 -bis, due to a favorable energy level alignment between the CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 and the Ag electrodes. The hysteresis effect and stability of our perovskite solar cells with C 60 -bis become better under indoor humidity conditions.

Magneto-optical properties of CoFeB ultrathin films: Effect of Ta buffer and capping layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Husain, Sajid; Gupta, Nanhe Kumar; Barwal, Vineet; Chaudhary, Sujeet

2018-05-01

The effect of adding Ta as a capping and buffer layer on ultrathin CFB(Co60Fe20B20) thin films has been investigated by magneto-optical Kerr effect. A large difference in the coercivity and saturation field is observed between the single layer CFB(2nm) and Ta(5nm)/CFB(2nm)/Ta(2nm) trilayer structure. In particular, the in-plane anisotropy energy is found to be 90kJ/m3 on CFB(2nm) and 2.22kJ/m3 for Ta(5nm)/CFB(2nm)/Ta(2nm) thin films. Anisotropy energy further reduced to 0.93kJ/m3 on increasing the CFB thinness in trilayer structure i.e., Ta(5nm)/CFB(4nm)/Ta(2nm). Using VSM measurement, the saturation magnetization is found to be 1230±50 kA/m. Low coercivity and anisotropy energy in capped and buffer layer thin films envisage the potential of employing CFB for low field switching applications of the spintronic devices.

Benzoin Radicals as Reducing Agent for Synthesizing Ultrathin Copper Nanowires.

PubMed

Cui, Fan; Dou, Letian; Yang, Qin; Yu, Yi; Niu, Zhiqiang; Sun, Yuchun; Liu, Hao; Dehestani, Ahmad; Schierle-Arndt, Kerstin; Yang, Peidong

2017-03-01

In this work, we report a new, general synthetic approach that uses heat driven benzoin radicals to grow ultrathin copper nanowires with tunable diameters. This is the first time carbon organic radicals have been used as a reducing agent in metal nanowire synthesis. In-situ temperature dependent electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopic studies show that the active reducing agent is the free radicals produced by benzoins under elevated temperature. Furthermore, the reducing power of benzoin can be readily tuned by symmetrically decorating functional groups on the two benzene rings. When the aromatic rings are modified with electron donating (withdrawing) groups, the reducing power is promoted (suppressed). The controllable reactivity gives the carbon organic radical great potential as a versatile reducing agent that can be generalized in other metallic nanowire syntheses.

8-Anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate/Layered Double Hydroxide Ultrathin Films: Small Anion Assembly and Its Potential Application as a Fluorescent Biosensor.

PubMed

Zhang, Ping; Li, Ling; Zhao, Yun; Tian, Zeyun; Qin, Yumei; Lu, Jun

2016-09-06

The fluorescent dye 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) is a widely used fluorescent probe molecule for biochemistry analysis. This paper reported the fabrication of ANS/layered double hydroxide nanosheets (ANS/LDH)n ultrathin films (UTFs) via the layer-by-layer small anion assembly technique based on electrostatic interaction and two possible weak interactions: hydrogen-bond and induced electrostatic interactions between ANS and positive-charged LDH nanosheets. The obtained UTFs show a long-range-ordered periodic layered stacking structure and weak fluorescence in dry air or water, but it split into three narrow strong peaks in a weak polarity environment induced by the two-dimensional (2D) confinement effect of the LDH laminate; the fluorescence intensity increases with decreasing the solvent polarity, concomitant with the blue shift of the emission peaks, which show good sensoring reversibility. Meanwhile, the UTFs exhibit selective fluorescence enhancement to the bovine serum albumin (BSA)-like protein biomolecules, and the rate of fluorescence enhancement with the protein concentration is significantly different with the different protein aggregate states. The (ANS/LDH)n UTF has the potential to be a novel type of biological flourescence sensor material.

Polyallylamine-Rh nanosheet nanoassemblies-carbon nanotubes organic-inorganic nanohybrids: A electrocatalyst superior to Pt for the hydrogen evolution reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Juan; Xing, Shi-Hui; Zhu, Ying-Ying; Jiang, Jia-Xing; Zeng, Jing-Hui; Chen, Yu

2018-05-01

Rationally tailoring the surface/interface structures of noble metal nanostructures emerges as a highly efficient method for improving their electrocatalytic activity, selectivity, and long-term stability. Recently, hydrogen evolution reaction is attracting more and more attention due to the energy crisis and environment pollution. Herein, we successfully synthesize polyallylamine-functionalized rhodium nanosheet nanoassemblies-carbon nanotube nanohybrids via a facile one-pot hydrothermal method. Three-dimensionally branched rhodium nanosheet nanoassemblies are consisted of two dimensionally atomically thick ultrathin rhodium nanosheets. The as-prepared polyallylamine-functionalized rhodium nanosheet nanoassemblies-carbon nanotube nanohybrids show the excellent electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic media, with a low onset reduction potential of -1 mV, a small overpotential of 5 mV at 10 mA cm-2, which is much superior to commercial platinum nanocrystals. Two dimensionally ultrathin morphology of rhodium nanosheet, particular rhodium-polyallylamine interface, and three-dimensionally networks induced by carbon nanotube are the key factors for the excellent hydrogen evolution reaction activity in acidic media.

Charge Transfer and Orbital Level Alignment at Inorganic/Organic Interfaces: The Role of Dielectric Interlayers.

PubMed

Hollerer, Michael; Lüftner, Daniel; Hurdax, Philipp; Ules, Thomas; Soubatch, Serguei; Tautz, Frank Stefan; Koller, Georg; Puschnig, Peter; Sterrer, Martin; Ramsey, Michael G

2017-06-27

It is becoming accepted that ultrathin dielectric layers on metals are not merely passive decoupling layers, but can actively influence orbital energy level alignment and charge transfer at interfaces. As such, they can be important in applications ranging from catalysis to organic electronics. However, the details at the molecular level are still under debate. In this study, we present a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of charge transfer promoted by a dielectric interlayer with a comparative study of pentacene adsorbed on Ag(001) with and without an ultrathin MgO interlayer. Using scanning tunneling microscopy and photoemission tomography supported by density functional theory, we are able to identify the orbitals involved and quantify the degree of charge transfer in both cases. Fractional charge transfer occurs for pentacene adsorbed on Ag(001), while the presence of the ultrathin MgO interlayer promotes integer charge transfer with the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital transforming into a singly occupied and singly unoccupied state separated by a large gap around the Fermi energy. Our experimental approach allows a direct access to the individual factors governing the energy level alignment and charge-transfer processes for molecular adsorbates on inorganic substrates.

Parameter Space of Atomic Layer Deposition of Ultrathin Oxides on Graphene

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of ultrathin aluminum oxide (AlOx) films was systematically studied on supported chemical vapor deposition (CVD) graphene. We show that by extending the precursor residence time, using either a multiple-pulse sequence or a soaking period, ultrathin continuous AlOx films can be achieved directly on graphene using standard H2O and trimethylaluminum (TMA) precursors even at a high deposition temperature of 200 °C, without the use of surfactants or other additional graphene surface modifications. To obtain conformal nucleation, a precursor residence time of >2s is needed, which is not prohibitively long but sufficient to account for the slow adsorption kinetics of the graphene surface. In contrast, a shorter residence time results in heterogeneous nucleation that is preferential to defect/selective sites on the graphene. These findings demonstrate that careful control of the ALD parameter space is imperative in governing the nucleation behavior of AlOx on CVD graphene. We consider our results to have model system character for rational two-dimensional (2D)/non-2D material process integration, relevant also to the interfacing and device integration of the many other emerging 2D materials. PMID:27723305

Transport in ultrathin gold films decorated with magnetic Gd atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alemani, Micol; Helgren, Erik; Hugel, Addison; Hellman, Frances

2008-03-01

We have performed four-probe transport measurements of ultrathin Au films decorated with Gd ad-atoms. The samples were prepared by quench condensation, i.e., sequential evaporation on a cryogenically cooled substrate under UHV conditions while monitoring the film thickness and resistance. Electrically continuous Au films at thickness of about 2 mono-layers of material are grown on an amorphous Ge wetting layer. The quench condensation method provides a sensitive control on the sample growth process, allowing us to tune the morphological and electrical configuration of the system. The ultrathin gold films develop from an insulating to a metallic state as a function of film thickness. The temperature dependence of the Au conductivity for different thickness is studied. It evolves from hopping transport for the insulating films, to a ln T dependence for thicker films. For gold films in the insulating regime we found a decreasing resistance by adding Gd. This is in agreement with a decreasing tunneling barrier height between metallic atoms. The Gd magnetic moments are randomly oriented for isolated atoms. This magnetic disorder leads to scattering of the charge carriers and a reduced conductivity compared to nonmagnetic materials.

Investigation of microstructure and properties of ultrathin graded ZrNx self-assembled diffusion barrier in deep nano-vias prepared by plasma ion immersion implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Jianxiong; Liu, Bo; Lin, Liwei; Lu, Yuanfu; Dong, Yuming; Jiao, Guohua; Ma, Fei; Li, Qiran

2018-01-01

Ultrathin graded ZrNx self-assembled diffusion barriers with controllable stoichiometry was prepared in Cu/p-SiOC:H interfaces by plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) with dynamic regulation of implantation fluence. The fundamental relationship between the implantation fluence of N+ and the stoichiometry and thereby the electrical properties of the ZrNx barrier was established. The optimized fluence of a graded ZrN thin film with gradually decreased Zr valence was obtained with the best electrical performance as well. The Cu/p-SiOC:H integration is thermally stable up to 500 °C due to the synergistic effect of Cu3Ge and ZrNx layers. Accordingly, the PIII process was verified in a 100-nm-thick Cu dual-damascene interconnect, in which the ZrNx diffusion barrier of 1 nm thick was successfully self-assembled on the sidewall without barrier layer on the via bottom. In this case, the via resistance was reduced by approximately 50% in comparison with Ta/TaN barrier. Considering the results in this study, ultrathin ZrNx conformal diffusion barrier can be adopted in the sub-14 nm technology node.

Probing the Band Structure of Ultrathin MoTe2 via Strain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aslan, Burak; Datye, Isha; Kuo, Hsueh-Hui; Mleczko, Michal; Fisher, Ian; Pop, Eric; Heinz, Tony

Molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) is a semiconducting layered group VI transition metal dichalcogenide with an optical band gap of 1.1 and 0.9 eV in the monolayer and bulk, respectively. The bulk crystal possesses an indirect gap whereas the monolayer has a direct one. It is still under debate whether the direct-to-indirect gap crossover occurs at the monolayer or bilayer limit at room temperature, resulting from the fact that the two gaps are very close to one another in ultrathin crystals. We take advantage of this closeness by tuning the two gaps with in-plane tensile strain. In particular, we employ photoluminescence and absorption spectroscopy to probe the near-band-edge optical transitions and study their line-shapes to distinguish the direct and indirect gaps in few-layer MoTe2. We observe that the applied strain redshifts the direct and indirect gaps at different rates and strongly affects the spectral widths of the optical transitions. Our observations help us understand what contributes to the broadening of the A exciton peak in ultrathin MoTe2 and how the direct-to-indirect gap crossover occurs with decreasing thickness.

4P-NPD ultra-thin films as efficient exciton blocking layers in DBP/C70 based organic solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patil, Bhushan R.; Liu, Yiming; Qamar, Talha; Rubahn, Horst-Günter; Madsen, Morten

2017-09-01

Exciton blocking effects from ultra-thin layers of N,N‧-di-1-naphthalenyl-N,N‧-diphenyl [1,1‧:4‧,1″:4″,1‴-quaterphenyl]-4,4‴-diamine (4P-NPD) were investigated in small molecule-based inverted organic solar cells (OSCs) using tetraphenyldibenzoperiflanthene as the electron donor material and fullerene (C70) as the electron acceptor material. The short-circuit current density (J SC) and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the optimized OSCs with 0.7 nm thick 4P-NPD were approximately 16% and 24% higher, respectively, compared to reference devices without exciton blocking layers (EBLs). Drift diffusion-based device modeling was conducted to model the full current density-voltage (JV) characteristics and external quantum efficiency spectrum of the OSCs, and photoluminescence measurements were conducted to investigate the exciton blocking effects with increasing thicknesses of the 4P-NPD layer. Importantly, coupled optical and electrical modeling studies of the device behaviors and exciton generation rates and densities in the active layer for different 4P-NPD layer thicknesses were conducted, in order to gain a complete understanding of the observed increase in PCE for 4P-NPD layer thicknesses up to 1 nm, and the observed decrease in PCE for layer thicknesses beyond 1 nm. This work demonstrates a route for guiding the integration of EBLs in OSC devices.

Enhancement of emission efficiency of colloidal CdSe quantum dots on silicon substrate via an ultra-thin layer of aluminum oxide.

PubMed

Patty, K; Sadeghi, S M; Nejat, A; Mao, C-B

2014-04-18

We demonstrate that an ultra-thin layer of aluminum oxide can significantly enhance the emission efficiency of colloidal quantum dots on a Si substrate. For an ensemble of single quantum dots, our results show that this super brightening process can increase the fluorescence of CdSe quantum dots, forming well-resolved spectra, while in the absence of this layer the emission remains mostly at the noise level. We demonstrate that this process can be further enhanced with irradiation of the quantum dots, suggesting a significant photo-induced fluorescence enhancement via considerable suppression of non-radiative decay channels of the quantum dots. We study the impact of the Al oxide thickness on Si and interdot interactions, and discuss the results in terms of photo-induced catalytic properties of the Al oxide and the effects of such an oxide on the Coulomb blockade responsible for suppression of photo-ionization of the quantum dots.

Dynamics of ultrathin V-oxide layers on Rh(111) in catalytic oxidation of ammonia and CO.

PubMed

von Boehn, B; Preiss, A; Imbihl, R

2016-07-20

Catalytic oxidation of ammonia and CO has been studied in the 10(-4) mbar range using a catalyst prepared by depositing ultra-thin vanadium oxide layers on Rh(111) (θV ≈ 0.2 MLE). Using photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) as a spatially resolving method, we observe that upon heating in an atmosphere of NH3 and O2 the spatial homogeneity of the VOx layer is removed at 800 K and a pattern consisting of macroscopic stripes develops; at elevated temperatures this pattern transforms into a pattern of circular VOx islands. Under reaction conditions the neighboring VOx islands become attracted by each other and coalesce. Similar processes of pattern formation and island coalescence are observed in catalytic CO oxidation. Reoxidation of the reduced VOx catalyst proceeds via surface diffusion of oxygen adsorbed onto Rh(111). A pattern consisting of macroscopic circular VOx islands can also be obtained by heating a Rh(111)/VOx catalyst in pure O2.

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.

Fabrication of bifunctional core-shell Fe3O4 particles coated with ultrathin phosphor layer

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Bifunctional monodispersed Fe3O4 particles coated with an ultrathin Y2O3:Tb3+ shell layer were fabricated using a facile urea-based homogeneous precipitation method. The obtained composite particles were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), quantum design vibrating sample magnetometry, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. TEM revealed uniform spherical core-shell-structured composites ranging in size from 306 to 330 nm with a shell thickness of approximately 25 nm. PL spectroscopy confirmed that the synthesized composites displayed a strong eye-visible green light emission. Magnetic measurements indicated that the composite particles obtained also exhibited strong superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature. Therefore, the inner Fe3O4 core and outer Y2O3:Tb3+ shell layer endow the composites with both robust magnetic properties and strong eye-visible luminescent properties. These composite materials have potential use in magnetic targeting and bioseparation, simultaneously coupled with luminescent imaging. PMID:23962025

Improved hole-injection and power efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes using an ultrathin cerium fluoride buffer layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Hsin-Wei; Kao, Po-Ching; Chu, Sheng-Yuan

2016-09-01

In this study, the efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) was enhanced by depositing a CeF3 film as an ultra-thin buffer layer between the ITO and NPB hole transport layer, with the structure configuration ITO/CeF3 (1 nm)/NPB (40 nm)/Alq3 (60 nm)/LiF (1 nm)/Al (150 nm). The enhancement mechanism was systematically investigated via several approaches. The work function increased from 4.8 eV (standard ITO electrode) to 5.2 eV (1-nm-thick UV-ozone treated CeF3 film deposited on the ITO electrode). The turn-on voltage decreased from 4.2 V to 4.0 V at 1 mA/cm2, the luminance increased from 7588 cd/m2 to 10820 cd/m2, and the current efficiency increased from 3.2 cd/A to 3.5 cd/A when the 1-nm-thick UV-ozone treated CeF3 film was inserted into the OLEDs.

Atomic Layer Engineering of High-κ Ferroelectricity in 2D Perovskites.

PubMed

Li, Bao-Wen; Osada, Minoru; Kim, Yoon-Hyun; Ebina, Yasuo; Akatsuka, Kosho; Sasaki, Takayoshi

2017-08-09

Complex perovskite oxides offer tremendous potential for controlling their rich variety of electronic properties, including high-T C superconductivity, high-κ ferroelectricity, and quantum magnetism. Atomic-scale control of these intriguing properties in ultrathin perovskites is an important challenge for exploring new physics and device functionality at atomic dimensions. Here, we demonstrate atomic-scale engineering of dielectric responses using two-dimensional (2D) homologous perovskite nanosheets (Ca 2 Na m-3 Nb m O 3m+1 ; m = 3-6). In this homologous 2D material, the thickness of the perovskite layers can be incrementally controlled by changing m, and such atomic layer engineering enhances the high-κ dielectric response and local ferroelectric instability. The end member (m = 6) attains a high dielectric constant of ∼470, which is the highest among all known dielectrics in the ultrathin region (<10 nm). These results provide a new strategy for achieving high-κ ferroelectrics for use in ultrascaled high-density capacitors and post-graphene technology.

Collective Behavior of Amoebae in Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bae, Albert

2005-03-01

We have discovered new aspects of social behavior in Dictyostelium discoideum by culturing high density colonies in liquid media depleted of nutrients in confined geometries by using three different preparations: I. thin (15-40um thick) and II. ultrathin (<3um) films of liquid media with a mineral oil overlayer, and III. microfluidic chambers fabricated in PDMS (˜7um tall). We find greatly reduced, if not eliminated, cell on cell layering in the microfluidic system when compared to the wetting layer preparations. The ultrathin films reveal robust behavior of cells despite flattening that increased their areas by over an order of magnitude. We also observed that the earliest synchronized response of cells following the onset of starvation, a precursor to aggregation, was hastened by reducing the thickness of the aqueous culture layer. We were surprised to find that the threshold concentration for aggregation was raised by thin film confinement when compared to bulk behavior. Finally, both the ultra thin and microfluidic preparations reveal, with new clarity, vortex states of aggregation.

Fabrication of bifunctional core-shell Fe3O4 particles coated with ultrathin phosphor layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atabaev, Timur Sh; Kim, Hyung-Kook; Hwang, Yoon-Hwae

2013-08-01

Bifunctional monodispersed Fe3O4 particles coated with an ultrathin Y2O3:Tb3+ shell layer were fabricated using a facile urea-based homogeneous precipitation method. The obtained composite particles were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), quantum design vibrating sample magnetometry, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. TEM revealed uniform spherical core-shell-structured composites ranging in size from 306 to 330 nm with a shell thickness of approximately 25 nm. PL spectroscopy confirmed that the synthesized composites displayed a strong eye-visible green light emission. Magnetic measurements indicated that the composite particles obtained also exhibited strong superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature. Therefore, the inner Fe3O4 core and outer Y2O3:Tb3+ shell layer endow the composites with both robust magnetic properties and strong eye-visible luminescent properties. These composite materials have potential use in magnetic targeting and bioseparation, simultaneously coupled with luminescent imaging.

Mechanical properties of monolayer graphene oxide.

PubMed

Suk, Ji Won; Piner, Richard D; An, Jinho; Ruoff, Rodney S

2010-11-23

Mechanical properties of ultrathin membranes consisting of one layer, two overlapped layers, and three overlapped layers of graphene oxide platelets were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging in contact mode. In order to evaluate both the elastic modulus and prestress of thin membranes, the AFM measurement was combined with the finite element method (FEM) in a new approach for evaluating the mechanics of ultrathin membranes. Monolayer graphene oxide was found to have a lower effective Young's modulus (207.6 ± 23.4 GPa when a thickness of 0.7 nm is used) as compared to the value reported for "pristine" graphene. The prestress (39.7-76.8 MPa) of the graphene oxide membranes obtained by solution-based deposition was found to be 1 order of magnitude lower than that obtained by others for mechanically cleaved graphene. The novel AFM imaging and FEM-based mapping methods presented here are of general utility for obtaining the elastic modulus and prestress of thin membranes.

Highly-flexible, ultra-thin, and transparent single-layer graphene/silver composite electrodes for organic light emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Kun; Wang, Hu; Li, Huiying; Li, Ye; Jin, Guangyong; Gao, Lanlan; Marco, Mazzeo; Duan, Yu

2017-08-01

Transparent conductive electrode (TCE) platforms are required in many optoelectronic devices, including organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). To date, indium tin oxide based electrodes are widely used in TCEs but they still have few limitations in term of achieving flexible OLEDs and display techniques. In this paper, highly-flexible and ultra-thin TCEs were fabricated for use in OLEDs by combining single-layer graphene (SLG) with thin silver layers of only several nanometers in thickness. The as-prepared SLG + Ag (8 nm) composite electrodes showed low sheet resistances of 8.5 Ω/□, high stability over 500 bending cycles, and 74% transmittance at 550 nm wavelength. Furthermore, SLG + Ag composite electrodes employed as anodes in OLEDs delivered turn-on voltages of 2.4 V, with luminance exceeding 1300 cd m-2 at only 5 V, and maximum luminance reaching up 40 000 cd m-2 at 9 V. Also, the devices could work normally under less than the 1 cm bending radius.

Chitosan-based ultrathin films as antifouling, anticoagulant and antibacterial protective coatings.

PubMed

Bulwan, Maria; Wójcik, Kinga; Zapotoczny, Szczepan; Nowakowska, Maria

2012-01-01

Ultrathin antifouling and antibacterial protective nanocoatings were prepared from ionic derivatives of chitosan using layer-by-layer deposition methodology. The surfaces of silicon, and glass protected by these nanocoatings were resistant to non-specific adsorption of proteins disregarding their net charges at physiological conditions (positively charged TGF-β1 growth factor and negatively charged bovine serum albumin) as well as human plasma components. The coatings also preserved surfaces from the formation of bacterial (Staphylococcus aureus) biofilm as shown using microscopic studies (SEM, AFM) and the MTT viability test. Moreover, the chitosan-based films adsorbed onto glass surface demonstrated the anticoagulant activity towards the human blood. The antifouling and antibacterial actions of the coatings were correlated with their physicochemical properties. The studied biologically relevant properties were also found to be dependent on the thickness of those nanocoatings. These materials are promising for biomedical applications, e.g., as protective coatings for medical devices, anticoagulant coatings and protective layers in membranes.

A Tunable Molten-Salt Route for Scalable Synthesis of Ultrathin Amorphous Carbon Nanosheets as High-Performance Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

PubMed

Wang, Yixian; Tian, Wei; Wang, Luhai; Zhang, Haoran; Liu, Jialiang; Peng, Tingyue; Pan, Lei; Wang, Xiaobo; Wu, Mingbo

2018-02-14

Amorphous carbon is regarded as a promising alternative to commercial graphite as the lithium-ion battery anode due to its capability to reversibly store more lithium ions. However, the structural disorder with a large number of defects can lead to low electrical conductivity of the amorphous carbon, thus limiting its application for high power output. Herein, ultrathin amorphous carbon nanosheets were prepared from petroleum asphalt through tuning the carbonization temperature in a molten-salt medium. The amorphous nanostructure with expanded carbon interlayer spacing can provide substantial active sites for lithium storage, while the two-dimensional (2D) morphology can facilitate fast electrical conductivity. As a result, the electrodes deliver a high reversible capacity, outstanding rate capability, and superior cycling performance (579 and 396 mAh g -1 at 2 and 5 A g -1 after 900 cycles). Furthermore, full cells consisting of the carbon anodes coupled with LiMn 2 O 4 cathodes exhibit high specific capacity (608 mAh g -1 at 50 mA g -1 ) and impressive cycling stability with slow capacity loss (0.16% per cycle at 200 mA g -1 ). The present study not only paves the way for industrial-scale synthesis of advanced carbon materials for lithium-ion batteries but also deepens the fundamental understanding of the intrinsic mechanism of the molten-salt method.

Stepwise crystallization and the layered distribution in crystallization kinetics of ultra-thin poly(ethylene terephthalate) film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuo, Biao; Xu, Jianquan; Sun, Shuzheng; Liu, Yue; Yang, Juping; Zhang, Li; Wang, Xinping

2016-06-01

Crystallization is an important property of polymeric materials. In conventional viewpoint, the transformation of disordered chains into crystals is usually a spatially homogeneous process (i.e., it occurs simultaneously throughout the sample), that is, the crystallization rate at each local position within the sample is almost the same. Here, we show that crystallization of ultra-thin poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films can occur in the heterogeneous way, exhibiting a stepwise crystallization process. We found that the layered distribution of glass transition dynamics of thin film modifies the corresponding crystallization behavior, giving rise to the layered distribution of the crystallization kinetics of PET films, with an 11-nm-thick surface layer having faster crystallization rate and the underlying layer showing bulk-like behavior. The layered distribution in crystallization kinetics results in a particular stepwise crystallization behavior during heating the sample, with the two cold-crystallization temperatures separated by up to 20 K. Meanwhile, interfacial interaction is crucial for the occurrence of the heterogeneous crystallization, as the thin film crystallizes simultaneously if the interfacial interaction is relatively strong. We anticipate that this mechanism of stepwise crystallization of thin polymeric films will allow new insight into the chain organization in confined environments and permit independent manipulation of localized properties of nanomaterials.

Stepwise crystallization and the layered distribution in crystallization kinetics of ultra-thin poly(ethylene terephthalate) film

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

Zuo, Biao, E-mail: chemizuo@zstu.edu.cn, E-mail: wxinping@yahoo.com; Xu, Jianquan; Sun, Shuzheng

2016-06-21

Crystallization is an important property of polymeric materials. In conventional viewpoint, the transformation of disordered chains into crystals is usually a spatially homogeneous process (i.e., it occurs simultaneously throughout the sample), that is, the crystallization rate at each local position within the sample is almost the same. Here, we show that crystallization of ultra-thin poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films can occur in the heterogeneous way, exhibiting a stepwise crystallization process. We found that the layered distribution of glass transition dynamics of thin film modifies the corresponding crystallization behavior, giving rise to the layered distribution of the crystallization kinetics of PET films,more » with an 11-nm-thick surface layer having faster crystallization rate and the underlying layer showing bulk-like behavior. The layered distribution in crystallization kinetics results in a particular stepwise crystallization behavior during heating the sample, with the two cold-crystallization temperatures separated by up to 20 K. Meanwhile, interfacial interaction is crucial for the occurrence of the heterogeneous crystallization, as the thin film crystallizes simultaneously if the interfacial interaction is relatively strong. We anticipate that this mechanism of stepwise crystallization of thin polymeric films will allow new insight into the chain organization in confined environments and permit independent manipulation of localized properties of nanomaterials.« less

Thickness effect of ultra-thin Ta2O5 resistance switching layer in 28 nm-diameter memory cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Tae Hyung; Song, Seul Ji; Kim, Hae Jin; Kim, Soo Gil; Chung, Suock; Kim, Beom Yong; Lee, Kee Jeung; Kim, Kyung Min; Choi, Byung Joon; Hwang, Cheol Seong

2015-11-01

Resistance switching (RS) devices with ultra-thin Ta2O5 switching layer (0.5-2.0 nm) with a cell diameter of 28 nm were fabricated. The performance of the devices was tested by voltage-driven current—voltage (I-V) sweep and closed-loop pulse switching (CLPS) tests. A Ta layer was placed beneath the Ta2O5 switching layer to act as an oxygen vacancy reservoir. The device with the smallest Ta2O5 thickness (0.5 nm) showed normal switching properties with gradual change in resistance in I-V sweep or CLPS and high reliability. By contrast, other devices with higher Ta2O5 thickness (1.0-2.0 nm) showed abrupt switching with several abnormal behaviours, degraded resistance distribution, especially in high resistance state, and much lower reliability performance. A single conical or hour-glass shaped double conical conducting filament shape was conceived to explain these behavioural differences that depended on the Ta2O5 switching layer thickness. Loss of oxygen via lateral diffusion to the encapsulating Si3N4/SiO2 layer was suggested as the main degradation mechanism for reliability, and a method to improve reliability was also proposed.

Method of passivating semiconductor surfaces

DOEpatents

Wanlass, M.W.

1990-06-19

A method is described for passivating Group III-V or II-VI semiconductor compound surfaces. The method includes selecting a passivating material having a lattice constant substantially mismatched to the lattice constant of the semiconductor compound. The passivating material is then grown as an ultrathin layer of passivating material on the surface of the Group III-V or II-VI semiconductor compound. The passivating material is grown to a thickness sufficient to maintain a coherent interface between the ultrathin passivating material and the semiconductor compound. In addition, a device formed from such method is also disclosed.

Large-Scale Precise Printing of Ultrathin Sol-Gel Oxide Dielectrics for Directly Patterned Solution-Processed Metal Oxide Transistor Arrays.

PubMed

Lee, Won-June; Park, Won-Tae; Park, Sungjun; Sung, Sujin; Noh, Yong-Young; Yoon, Myung-Han

2015-09-09

Ultrathin and dense metal oxide gate di-electric layers are reported by a simple printing of AlOx and HfOx sol-gel precursors. Large-area printed indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistor arrays, which exhibit mobilities >5 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and gate leakage current of 10(-9) A cm(-2) at a very low operation voltage of 2 V, are demonstrated by continuous simple bar-coated processes. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Electron tunneling through atomically flat and ultrathin hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Gwan-Hyoung; Yu, Young-Jun; Lee, Changgu; Dean, Cory; Shepard, Kenneth L.; Kim, Philip; Hone, James

2011-12-01

Electron tunneling through atomically flat and ultrathin hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) on gold-coated mica was investigated using conductive atomic force microscopy. Low-bias direct tunneling was observed in mono-, bi-, and tri-layer h-BN. For all thicknesses, Fowler-Nordheim tunneling (FNT) occurred at high bias, showing an increase of breakdown voltage with thickness. Based on the FNT model, the barrier height for tunneling (3.07 eV) and dielectric strength (7.94 MV/cm) of h-BN are obtained; these values are comparable to those of SiO2.

Method of passivating semiconductor surfaces

DOEpatents

Wanlass, Mark W.

1990-01-01

A method of passivating Group III-V or II-VI semiconductor compound surfaces. The method includes selecting a passivating material having a lattice constant substantially mismatched to the lattice constant of the semiconductor compound. The passivating material is then grown as an ultrathin layer of passivating material on the surface of the Group III-V or II-VI semiconductor compound. The passivating material is grown to a thickness sufficient to maintain a coherent interface between the ultrathin passivating material and the semiconductor compound. In addition, a device formed from such method is also disclosed.

Nitrogen-doped biomass-based ultra-thin carbon nanosheets with interconnected framework for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Shasha; Chen, Yaxin; Shi, Liluo; Dong, Yue; Ma, Jing; Chen, Xiaohong; Song, Huaihe

2018-04-01

In this paper, a low-cost and environmental friendly synthesis strategy is proposed to fabricate nitrogen-doped biomass-based ultra-thin carbon nanosheets (N-CNS) with interconnected framework by using soybean milk as the carbon precursor and sodium chloride as the template. The interconnected porous nanosheet structure is beneficial for lithium ion transportation, and the defects introduced by pyridine nitrogen doping are favorable for lithium storage. When used as the anodes for lithium-ion batteries, the N-CNS electrode shows a high initial reversible specific capacity of 1334 mAh g-1 at 50 mA g-1, excellent rate performance (1212, 555 and 336 mAh g-1 at 0.05, 0.5 and 2 A g-1, respectively) and good cycling stability (355 mAh g-1 at 1 A g-1 after 1000 cycles). Furthermore, this study demonstrates the prospects of biomass and soybean milk, as the potential anode for the application of electrochemical energy storage devices.

Polymeric carbon nitride nanomesh as an efficient and durable metal-free catalyst for oxidative desulfurization.

PubMed

Shen, Lijuan; Lei, Ganchang; Fang, Yuanxing; Cao, Yanning; Wang, Xinchen; Jiang, Lilong

2018-03-06

We report the first use of polymeric carbon nitride (CN) for the catalytic selective oxidation of H 2 S. The as-prepared CN with unique ultrathin "nanomeshes" structure exhibits excellent H 2 S conversion and high S selectivity. In particular, the CN nanomesh also displays better durability in the desulfurization reaction than traditional catalysts, such as carbon- and iron-based materials.

Design of hybrid two-dimensional and three-dimensional nanostructured arrays for electronic and sensing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ko, Hyunhyub

This dissertation presents the design of organic/inorganic hybrid 2D and 3D nanostructured arrays via controlled assembly of nanoscale building blocks. Two representative nanoscale building blocks such as carbon nanotubes (one-dimension) and metal nanoparticles (zero-dimension) are the core materials for the study of solution-based assembly of nanostructured arrays. The electrical, mechanical, and optical properties of the assembled nanostructure arrays have been investigated for future device applications. We successfully demonstrated the prospective use of assembled nanostructure arrays for electronic and sensing applications by designing flexible carbon nanotube nanomembranes as mechanical sensors, highly-oriented carbon nanotubes arrays for thin-film transistors, and gold nanoparticle arrays for SERS chemical sensors. In first section, we fabricated highly ordered carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays by tilted drop-casting or dip-coating of CNT solution on silicon substrates functionalized with micropatterned self-assembled monolayers. We further exploited the electronic performance of thin-film transistors based on highly-oriented, densely packed CNT micropatterns and showed that the carrier mobility is largely improved compared to randomly oriented CNTs. The prospective use of Raman-active CNTs for potential mechanical sensors has been investigated by studying the mechano-optical properties of flexible carbon nanotube nanomembranes, which contain freely-suspended carbon nanotube array encapsulated into ultrathin (<50 nm) layer-by-layer (LbL) polymer multilayers. In second section, we fabricated 3D nano-canal arrays of porous alumina membranes decorated with gold nanoparticles for prospective SERS sensors. We showed extraordinary SERS enhancement and suggested that the high performance is associated with the combined effects of Raman-active hot spots of nanoparticle aggregates and the optical waveguide properties of nano-canals. We demonstrated the ability of this SERS substrate for trace level sensing of nitroaromatic explosives by detecting down to 100 zeptogram (˜330 molecules) of DNT.

Two-dimensional ultra-thin SiO(x) (0 < x < 2) nanosheets with long-term cycling stability as lithium ion battery anodes.

PubMed

Sun, Lin; Su, Tingting; Xu, Lei; Liu, Meipin; Du, Hong-Bin

2016-03-21

Ultra-thin SiO(x) (0 < x < 2) nanosheets were obtained via a convenient solvothermal route from a Zintl compound CaSi2. After carbon coating, the SiOx@C nanosheet anodes exhibit high capacity, good rate and superior cycling performance for high-capacity lithium ion battery applications. The specific capacity can be maintained as high as 760 mA h g(-1) with almost no capacity decay after 400 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g(-1).

Suppression of oxygen reduction reaction activity on Pt-based electrocatalysts from ionomer incorporation

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

Shinozaki, Kazuma; Morimoto, Yu; Pivovar, Bryan S.

The impact of Nafion on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity is studied for Pt/C and Pt-alloy/C catalysts using thin-film rotating disk electrode (TF-RDE) methods in 0.1 M HClO4. Ultrathin uniform catalyst layers and standardized activity measurement protocols are employed to obtain accurate and reproducible ORR activity. Nafion lowers the ORR activity which plateaus with increasing loading on Pt catalysts. Pt particle size is found not to have significant influence on the extent of the SA decrease upon Nafion incorporation. Catalysts using high surface area carbon (HSC) support exhibit attenuated activity loss resulting from lower ionomer coverage on catalyst particlesmore » located within the deep pores. The impact of metallic composition on the activity loss due to Nafion incorporation is also discussed.« less

Functionalized Silk Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-06-10

properties, such as toughness, biocompatibility and biodegrability. Trends in spider silk-like block copolymer secondary structure and assembly behavior...to construct transistors on ultrathin sheets of polyimide . Briefly, the doped silicon nanomembranes were transfer printed onto a film of polyimide ...layer of polyimide was used to encapsulate the active devices. Dry etching the polymer layers completed the fabrication of an array of isolated

Ultra-thin ohmic contacts for p-type nitride light emitting devices

DOEpatents

Raffetto, Mark [Raleigh, NC; Bharathan, Jayesh [Cary, NC; Haberern, Kevin [Cary, NC; Bergmann, Michael [Chapel Hill, NC; Emerson, David [Chapel Hill, NC; Ibbetson, James [Santa Barbara, CA; Li, Ting [Ventura, CA

2012-01-03

A semiconductor based Light Emitting Device (LED) can include a p-type nitride layer and a metal ohmic contact, on the p-type nitride layer. The metal ohmic contact can have an average thickness of less than about 25 .ANG. and a specific contact resistivity less than about 10.sup.-3 ohm-cm.sup.2.

Archetypal structure of ultrathin alumina films: Grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction on Ni(111)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prévot, G.; Le Moal, S.; Bernard, R.; Croset, B.; Lazzari, R.; Schmaus, D.

2012-05-01

We have studied by grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction the atomic structure of an ultrathin alumina film grown on Ni(111). We show that, since there is neither registry between the film and the substrate nor induced Ni relaxations, this system appears to be a prototypical freestanding oxide layer. We have been able to unambiguously determine the three-dimensional structure of the film, which consists of a substrate/Al16/O24/Al24/O28 stacking within a (18.23 × 10.53 Å) R0° unit cell. From the different Al coordinations (3/4/5) in the layer and from the precise determination of the Al-O interatomic distances, we conclude that the film structure presents some similarities with the η phase of bulk alumina, which also has a high surface/bulk ratio. The precise comparison between these two structures allows us to explain that the perfect 3 ratio between the two sides of the mesh of the film is governed by the stacking of the two central planes, combining oxygen close-packed atoms below Al atoms in tetrahedral or pyramidal positions. Moreover, Al atoms at the interface plane of the ultrathin film adopt a quasitrihedral configuration, which confirms that, in the alumina η phase, Al atoms with such a coordination are located near the surface of the nanocrystals. The atomic structure is also very close to the one first proposed by Kresse [G. Kresse, M. Schmid, E. Napetschnig, M. Shishkin, L. Köhler, and P. Varga, ScienceSCIEAS0036-807510.1126/science.1107783 308, 1440 (2005)] for alumina films on NiAl(110). This strongly suggests that this atomic model, within small variations, can be extended to ultrathin alumina film on numerous other metal substrates and may be quasi-intrinsic to a freestanding layer rather than governed by the interactions between the film and the substrate.

Thickness and composition of ultrathin SiO2 layers on Si

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Marel, C.; Verheijen, M. A.; Tamminga, Y.; Pijnenburg, R. H. W.; Tombros, N.; Cubaynes, F.

2004-07-01

Ultrathin SiO2 layers are of importance for the semiconductor industry. One of the techniques that can be used to determine the chemical composition and thickness of this type of layers is x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). As shown by Seah and Spencer [Surf. Interface Anal. 33, 640 (2002)], it is not trivial to characterize this type of layer by means of XPS in a reliable way. We have investigated a series of ultrathin layers of SiO2 on Si (in the range from 0.3 to 3 nm) using XPS. The samples were also analyzed by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Rutherford backscattering (RBS), and ellipsometry. The thickness of the SiO2 layers (d) was determined from the XPS results using three different approaches: the ``standard'' equation (Seah and Spencer) for d, an overlayer-substrate model calculation, and the QUASES-Tougaard [Surf. Interface Anal. 26, 249 (1998), QUASES-Tougaard: Software package for Quantitative Analysis of Surfaces by Electron Spectroscopy, version 4.4 (2000); http://www.quases.com] method. Good agreement was obtained between the results of XPS analyses using the ``standard'' equation, the overlayer-substrate model calculation, and RBS results. The QUASES-Tougaard results were approximately 62% above the other XPS results. The optical values for the thickness were always slightly higher than the thickness according to XPS or RBS. Using the model calculation, these (relatively small) deviations from the optical results could be explained as being a consequence of surface contaminations with hydrocarbons. For a thickness above 2.5 nm, the TEM results were in good agreement with the results obtained from the other techniques (apart from QUASES-Tougaard). Below 2.5 nm, significant deviations were found between RBS, XPS, and optical data on the one hand and TEM results on the other hand; the deviations became larger as the thickness of the SiO2 decreased. This effect may be related to interface states of oxygen, which have been investigated [D. A. Muller, T. Sorsch, S. Moccio, F. H. Baumann, K. Evans-Lutterodt, and G. Timp, Nature (London) 399, 758 (1999); D. A. Muller and J. B. Neaton, Structure and Energetics of the Interface Between Si and Amorphous SiO2 in Fundamental Aspects of Silicon Oxidation, edited by Y. J. Chabal (Springer, Berlin, 2001), pp. 219-246.] by means of high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy measurements of the O K edge in ultrathin gate oxides of SiO2. .

Systems and methods for producing low work function electrodes

DOEpatents

Kippelen, Bernard; Fuentes-Hernandez, Canek; Zhou, Yinhua; Kahn, Antoine; Meyer, Jens; Shim, Jae Won; Marder, Seth R.

2015-07-07

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, systems and methods are provided for producing low work function electrodes. According to an exemplary embodiment, a method is provided for reducing a work function of an electrode. The method includes applying, to at least a portion of the electrode, a solution comprising a Lewis basic oligomer or polymer; and based at least in part on applying the solution, forming an ultra-thin layer on a surface of the electrode, wherein the ultra-thin layer reduces the work function associated with the electrode by greater than 0.5 eV. According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a device is provided. The device includes a semiconductor; at least one electrode disposed adjacent to the semiconductor and configured to transport electrons in or out of the semiconductor.

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.

Ultrastructure of Lymphocystis Virus

PubMed Central

Zwillenberg, Lutz O.; Wolf, Ken

1968-01-01

Lymphocystis virus obtained from bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) was cultured in the permanent bluegill cell line BF-2 and examined by electron microscopy in ultrathin sections of cell cultures and in negative-contrast preparations from cells and from centrifuged culture medium. According to negative-contrast preparations, the icosahedral virions have an overall diameter close to but not exceeding 300 mμ. Delicate filaments seem to issue from the vertices. In collapsed virions, an ordered array of morphological units was seen. Positively contrasted virions in ultrathin sections show a shell with three dark (heavy metal-stained) layers alternating with and separated by two clear layers. The acquisition of an additional outer membrane during release from the cell, as found in African swine fever virus, was never seen. Morphologically, lymphocystis virus is considered to be closely related to Tipula iridescent virus. Images PMID:4986903

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.

Studies of local structural distortions in strained ultrathin BaTiO3 films using scanning transmission electron microscopy.

PubMed

Park, Daesung; Herpers, Anja; Menke, Tobias; Heidelmann, Markus; Houben, Lothar; Dittmann, Regina; Mayer, Joachim

2014-06-01

Ultrathin ferroelectric heterostructures (SrTiO3/BaTiO3/BaRuO3/SrRuO3) were studied by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) in terms of structural distortions and atomic displacements. The TiO2-termination at the top interface of the BaTiO3 layer was changed into a BaO-termination by adding an additional BaRuO3 layer. High-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) imaging by aberration-corrected STEM revealed that an artificially introduced BaO-termination can be achieved by this interface engineering. By using fast sequential imaging and frame-by-frame drift correction, the effect of the specimen drift was significantly reduced and the signal-to-noise ratio of the HAADF images was improved. Thus, a quantitative analysis of the HAADF images was feasible, and an in-plane and out-of-plane lattice spacing of the BaTiO3 layer of 3.90 and 4.22 Å were determined. A 25 pm shift of the Ti columns from the center of the unit cell of BaTiO3 along the c-axis was observed. By spatially resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy studies, a reduction of the crystal field splitting (CFS, ΔL3=1.93 eV) and an asymmetric broadening of the eg peak were observed in the BaTiO3 film. These results verify the presence of a ferroelectric polarization in the ultrathin BaTiO3 film.

Synthesis of NiMn-LDH Nanosheet@Ni3S2 Nanorod Hybrid Structures for Supercapacitor Electrode Materials with Ultrahigh Specific Capacitance.

PubMed

Yu, Shuai; Zhang, Yingxi; Lou, Gaobo; Wu, Yatao; Zhu, Xinqiang; Chen, Hao; Shen, Zhehong; Fu, Shenyuan; Bao, Binfu; Wu, Limin

2018-03-27

One of the key challenges for pseudocapacitive electrode materials with highly effective capacitance output and future practical applications is how to rationally construct hierarchical and ordered hybrid nanoarchitecture through the simple process. Herein, we design and synthesize a novel NiMn-layered double hydroxide nanosheet@Ni 3 S 2 nanorod hybrid array supported on porous nickel foam via a one-pot hydrothermal method. Benefited from the ultrathin and rough nature, the well-defined porous structure of the hybrid array, as well as the synergetic effect between NiMn-layered double hydroxide nanosheets and Ni 3 S 2 nanorods, the as-fabricated hybrid array-based electrode exhibits an ultrahigh specific capacitance of 2703 F g -1 at 3 A g -1 . Moreover, the asymmetric supercapacitor with this hybrid array as a positive electrode and wood-derived activated carbon as a negative electrode demonstrates high energy density (57 Wh Kg -1 at 738 W Kg -1 ) and very good electrochemical cycling stability.

Highly efficient ultrathin-film amorphous silicon solar cells on top of imprinted periodic nanodot arrays

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

Yan, Wensheng, E-mail: yws118@gmail.com; Gu, Min, E-mail: mgu@swin.edu.au; Tao, Zhikuo

2015-03-02

The addressing of the light absorption and conversion efficiency is critical to the ultrathin-film hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells. We systematically investigate ultrathin a-Si:H solar cells with a 100 nm absorber on top of imprinted hexagonal nanodot arrays. Experimental evidences are demonstrated for not only notable silver nanodot arrays but also lower-cost ITO and Al:ZnO nanodot arrays. The measured external quantum efficiency is explained by the simulation results. The J{sub sc} values are 12.1, 13.0, and 14.3 mA/cm{sup 2} and efficiencies are 6.6%, 7.5%, and 8.3% for ITO, Al:ZnO, and silver nanodot arrays, respectively. Simulated optical absorption distribution shows high lightmore » trapping within amorphous silicon layer.« less

High-speed growth of TiO2 nanotube arrays with gradient pore diameter and ultrathin tube wall under high-field anodization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Xiaoliang; Zheng, Maojun; Ma, Li; Shen, Wenzhong

2010-10-01

Highly ordered TiO2 nanotubular arrays have been prepared by two-step anodization under high field. The high anodizing current densities lead to a high-speed film growth (0.40-1.00 µm min - 1), which is nearly 16 times faster than traditional fabrication of TiO2 at low field. It was found that an annealing process of Ti foil is an effective approach to get a monodisperse and double-pass TiO2 nanotubular layer with a gradient pore diameter and ultrathin tube wall (nearly 10 nm). A higher anodic voltage and longer anodization time are beneficial to the formation of ultrathin tube walls. This approach is simple and cost-effective in fabricating high-quality ordered TiO2 nanotubular arrays for practical applications.

High-speed growth of TiO2 nanotube arrays with gradient pore diameter and ultrathin tube wall under high-field anodization.

PubMed

Yuan, Xiaoliang; Zheng, Maojun; Ma, Li; Shen, Wenzhong

2010-10-08

Highly ordered TiO(2) nanotubular arrays have been prepared by two-step anodization under high field. The high anodizing current densities lead to a high-speed film growth (0.40-1.00 microm min(-1)), which is nearly 16 times faster than traditional fabrication of TiO(2) at low field. It was found that an annealing process of Ti foil is an effective approach to get a monodisperse and double-pass TiO(2) nanotubular layer with a gradient pore diameter and ultrathin tube wall (nearly 10 nm). A higher anodic voltage and longer anodization time are beneficial to the formation of ultrathin tube walls. This approach is simple and cost-effective in fabricating high-quality ordered TiO(2) nanotubular arrays for practical applications.

Determination of magnetic anisotropy constants in Fe ultrathin film on vicinal Si(111) by anisotropic magnetoresistance

PubMed Central

Ye, Jun; He, Wei; Wu, Qiong; Liu, Hao-Liang; Zhang, Xiang-Qun; Chen, Zi-Yu; Cheng, Zhao-Hua

2013-01-01

The epitaxial growth of ultrathin Fe film on Si(111) surface provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the contribution of magnetic anisotropy to magnetic behavior. Here, we present the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) effect of Fe single crystal film on vicinal Si(111) substrate with atomically flat ultrathin p(2 × 2) iron silicide as buffer layer. Owing to the tiny misorientation from Fe(111) plane, the symmetry of magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy changes from the six-fold to a superposition of six-fold, four-fold and a weakly uniaxial contribution. Furthermore, the magnitudes of various magnetic anisotropy constants were derived from torque curves on the basis of AMR results. Our work suggests that AMR measurements can be employed to figure out precisely the contributions of various magnetic anisotropy constants. PMID:23828508

Layered structure and related magnetic properties for annealed Fe/Ir(111) ultrathin films

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

Jiang, Pei-Cheng; Chen, Wei-Hsiang; Hsieh, Chen-Yuan

2015-05-07

After annealing treatments for fcc-Fe/Ir(111) below 600 K, the surface layers remain pseudomorphic. The Ir(111) substrate plays an important role on the expanded Fe lattice. At temperatures between 750 and 800 K, the surface composition shows a stable state and a c(2 × 4) structure is observed. We discover a layered structure composed of some Fe atoms on the top of a Fe{sub 0.5}Ir{sub 0.5} interfacial alloy supported on the Ir(111) substrate. The competition between the negative formation heat of Fe{sub 0.5}Ir{sub 0.5} and surface free energy of Fe causes the formation of layered structure. The existence of ferromagnetic dead layer coincides with themore » formation of fcc-Fe for ultrathin Fe on Fe{sub 0.5}Ir{sub 0.5}/Ir(111). For Fe films thicker than three monolayers, the linear increase of the Kerr intensity versus the Fe coverage is related to the growing of bcc-Fe on the surface where the Fe layer is incoherent to the underlying Fe{sub 0.5}Ir{sub 0.5}/Ir(111). These results emphasize the importance of the substrate induced strain and layered structure of Fe/Fe{sub 0.5}Ir{sub 0.5}/Ir(111) on the magnetic properties and provide valuable information for future applications.« less

Ultra-thin GaAs single-junction solar cells integrated with a reflective back scattering layer

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

Yang, Weiquan; Becker, Jacob; Liu, Shi

2014-05-28

This paper reports the proposal, design, and demonstration of ultra-thin GaAs single-junction solar cells integrated with a reflective back scattering layer to optimize light management and minimize non-radiative recombination. According to our recently developed semi-analytical model, this design offers one of the highest potential achievable efficiencies for GaAs solar cells possessing typical non-radiative recombination rates found among commercially available III-V arsenide and phosphide materials. The structure of the demonstrated solar cells consists of an In{sub 0.49}Ga{sub 0.51}P/GaAs/In{sub 0.49}Ga{sub 0.51}P double-heterostructure PN junction with an ultra-thin 300 nm thick GaAs absorber, combined with a 5 μm thick Al{sub 0.52}In{sub 0.48}P layer with amore » textured as-grown surface coated with Au used as a reflective back scattering layer. The final devices were fabricated using a substrate-removal and flip-chip bonding process. Solar cells with a top metal contact coverage of 9.7%, and a MgF{sub 2}/ZnS anti-reflective coating demonstrated open-circuit voltages (V{sub oc}) up to 1.00 V, short-circuit current densities (J{sub sc}) up to 24.5 mA/cm{sup 2}, and power conversion efficiencies up to 19.1%; demonstrating the feasibility of this design approach. If a commonly used 2% metal grid coverage is assumed, the anticipated J{sub sc} and conversion efficiency of these devices are expected to reach 26.6 mA/cm{sup 2} and 20.7%, respectively.« less

In situ template synthesis of hollow nanospheres assembled from NiCo2S4@C ultrathin nanosheets with high electrochemical activities for lithium storage and ORR catalysis.

PubMed

Wu, Xiaoyu; Li, Songmei; Wang, Bo; Liu, Jianhua; Yu, Mei

2017-05-10

Transition-metal sulfide hollow nanostructures have received intensive attention in energy-related applications due to their unique structural features and high electrochemical activities. Here, a well-designed composite of NiCo 2 S 4 @C is successfully fabricated using a facile in situ template removal method. The obtained composite shows unique microstructures of hollow nanospheres (∼650 nm in diameter) assembled from ultrathin NiCo 2 S 4 @C nanosheets, in which numerous scattered NiCo 2 S 4 nanoparticles are embedded in ultrathin carbon nanosheets, exhibiting mesoporous features with a high surface area of 247.25 m 2 g -1 . When used as anode materials for LIBs, NiCo 2 S 4 @C hollow nanospheres exhibit a high reversible capacity of 1592 mA h g -1 at a current density of 500 mA g -1 , enhanced cycling performance maintaining a capacity of 1178 mA h g -1 after 200 cycles, and a remarkable rate capability. Meanwhile, the hollow nanospheres display excellent catalytic activity as ORR catalysts with a four-electron pathway and superior durability to that of commercial Pt/C catalysts. Their excellent lithium storage and ORR catalysis performance can be attributed to the rational incorporation of high-activity NiCo 2 S 4 and ultrathin carbon nanosheets, as well as unique hollow microstructures, which offer efficient electron/ion transport, an enhanced electroactive material/electrolyte contact area, numerous active sites, and excellent structural stability.

Analytical high resolution microscopic investigation of organic coating on co-composted biochar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albu, Mihaela; Mayrhofer, Claudia; Hagemann, Nikolas; Joseph, Stephen; Hofer, Ferdinand; Kothleitner, Gerald

2017-04-01

Aged and/or co-composted biochar amendment improves soil fertility by changing certain proprieties like the porosity and sorption capacity, the redox properties, water holding capacity and nutrient transformations in soil. The beneficial properties have been correlated with surface functional groups resulting from the interactions between black carbon particles, inorganic and organic matter in the soil and soil biota, manure or other compost feedstock. As a result, porous organic layer and organo-mineral phases on the biochar surfaces are formed. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the porous layer and organo-mineral phases formed on co-composted biochar by using high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and electron energy loss (EELS) as well as energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The fine structure fingerprints of carbon and nitrogen edges have been used to identify the functional groups, while EDX was used to identify the mineral phases. However, in order to achieve undoubtable results a novel preparation technic of the sample has been developed. The preparation involved 3D gold sputtering on the black carbon particles in order to preserve the surface intact, embedding in resin and, ultrathin microtome cutting. The investigation was carried out using a probe corrected Titan 3G, at a voltage of 60 kV and in cryo-condition, with an EELS energy resolution of 0.15 eV and a spatial resolution down to atomic layers. We proved the presence of both C and N functional groups in the porous, heterogeneous and hydrophilic organic layer and organo-mineral agglomerates. The organic layer fully covered the outer surface of the black carbon piece, but also the surface of internal pores. Its thickness varied from 500-1000 nm on the outer surface down to a couple of nanometres on internal pores. The observed C functional groups have been identified to correspond to: aromatic, aromatic with side chain, ketone, aliphatic, carboxyl/amine carbon and, carbonyl while the N functional groups were: pyridine, imine, amide/peptide, pyrrole, and NO2-/oxidised N. The STEM analysis also revealed the formation of complex organo-mineral agglomerates involving Ca but also the redox-active Fe as iron oxide nnanoparticles and P as magnesium phosphate nnanoparticles. These findings are valuable information which contributes to the understanding of biochar reactions with soil and plants as a function of agronomic practice and environmental factors. Acknowledgment This research received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme under Grant Agreement 312483 - ESTEEM2 (Integrated Infrastructure Initiative-I3).

Layer-by-Layer Enabled Nanomaterials for Chemical Sensing and Energy Conversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paterno, Leonardo G.; Soler, Maria A. G.

2013-06-01

The layer-by-layer (LbL) technique is a wet chemical method for the assembly of ultrathin films, with thicknesses up to 100 nm. This method is based on the successive transfer of molecular layers to a solid substrate that is dipped into cationic and anionic solutions in an alternating fashion. The adsorption is mainly driven by electrostatic interactions so that many molecular and nanomaterial systems can be engineered under this method. Moreover, it is inexpensive, can be easily performed, and does not demand sophisticated equipment or clean rooms. The most explored use of the LbL technique is to build up molecular devices for chemical sensing and energy conversion. Both applications require ultrathin films where specific elements must be organized with high control of thickness and spatial distribution, preferably in the nanolength and mesolength scales. In chemical sensors, the LbL technique is employed to assemble specific sensoactive materials such as conjugated polymers, enzymes, and immunological elements onto appropriated electrodes. Molecular recognition events are thus transduced by the assembled sensoactive layer. In energy-conversion devices, the LbL technique can be employed to fabricate different device's parts including electrodes, active layers, and auxiliary layers. In both applications, the devices' performance can be fully modulated and improved by simply varying film thickness and molecular architecture. The present review article highlights the main features of the LbL technique and provides a brief description of different (bio)chemical sensors, solar cells, and organic light-emitting diodes enabled by the LbL approach.

Striped, honeycomb, and twisted moiré patterns in surface adsorption systems with highly degenerate commensurate ground states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elder, K. R.; Achim, C. V.; Granato, E.; Ying, S. C.; Ala-Nissila, T.

2017-11-01

Atomistically thin adsorbate layers on surfaces with a lattice mismatch display complex spatial patterns and ordering due to strain-driven self-organization. In this work, a general formalism to model such ultrathin adsorption layers that properly takes into account the competition between strain and adhesion energy of the layers is presented. The model is based on the amplitude expansion of the two-dimensional phase field crystal (PFC) model, which retains atomistic length scales but allows relaxation of the layers at diffusive time scales. The specific systems considered here include cases where both the film and the adsorption potential can have either honeycomb (H) or triangular (T) symmetry. These systems include the so-called (1 ×1 ) , (√{3 }×√{3 }) R 30∘ , (2 ×2 ) , (√{7 }×√{7 }) R 19 .1∘ , and other higher order states that can contain a multitude of degenerate commensurate ground states. The relevant phase diagrams for many combinations of the H and T systems are mapped out as a function of adhesion strength and misfit strain. The coarsening patterns in some of these systems is also examined. The predictions are in good agreement with existing experimental data for selected strained ultrathin adsorption 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.

Gold Nanoclusters@Ru(bpy)₃²⁺-Layered Double Hydroxide Ultrathin Film as a Cathodic Electrochemiluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer Probe.

PubMed

Yu, Yingchang; Lu, Chao; Zhang, Meining

2015-08-04

Herein, it is the first report that a cathodic electrochemiluminescence (ECL) resonance energy transfer (ERET) system is fabricated by layer-by-layer (LBL) electrostatic assembly of CoAl layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets with a mixture of blue BSA-gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) and Ru(bpy)3(2+) (denoted as AuNCs@Ru) on an Au electrode. The possible ECL mechanism indicates that the appearance of CoAl-LDH nanosheets generates a long-range stacking order of the AuNCs@Ru on an Au electrode, facilitating the occurrence of the ERET between BSA-AuNC donors and Ru(bpy)3(2+) acceptors on the as-prepared AuNCs@Ru-LDH ultrathin films (UTFs). Furthermore, it is observed that the cathodic ECL intensity can be quenched efficiently in the presence of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) in a linear range of 2.5-100 nM with a detection limit of 1.0 nM. On the basis of these interesting phenomena, a facile cathodic ECL sensor has successfully distinguished 6-MP from other thiol-containing compounds (e.g., cysteine and glutathione) in human serum and urine samples. The proposed sensing scheme opens a way for employing the layered UTFs as a platform for the cathodic ECL of Ru(bpy)3(2+).

Three-dimensional concentration of light in deeply sub-wavelength, laterally tapered gap-plasmon nanocavities

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

Tagliabue, Giulia; Thomas J. Watson, Sr. Laboratories of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125; Poulikakos, Dimos

2016-05-30

Gap-plasmons (GP) in metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structures have shown exceptional performance in guiding and concentrating light within deep subwavelength layers. Reported designs to date exploit tapered thicknesses of the insulating layer in order to confine and focus the GP mode. Here, we propose a mechanism for the three dimensional concentration of light in planar MIM structures which exploits exclusively the lateral tapering of the front metallic layer while keeping a constant thickness of the insulating layer. We demonstrate that an array of tapered planar GP nanocavities can efficiently concentrate light in all three dimensions. A semi-analytical, one-dimensional model provides understanding ofmore » the underlying physics and approximately predicts the behavior of the structure. Three-dimensional simulations are then used to precisely calculate the optical behavior. Cavities with effective volumes as small as 10{sup −5} λ{sup 3} are achieved in an ultrathin MIM configuration. Our design is inherently capable of efficiently coupling with free-space radiation. In addition, being composed of two electrically continuous layers separated by an ultrathin dielectric spacer, it could find interesting applications in the area of active metamaterials or plasmonic photocatalysis where both electrical access and light concentration are required.« less

Probing Carrier Transport and Structure-Property Relationship of Highly Ordered Organic Semiconductors at the Two-Dimensional Limit.

PubMed

Zhang, Yuhan; Qiao, Jingsi; Gao, Si; Hu, Fengrui; He, Daowei; Wu, Bing; Yang, Ziyi; Xu, Bingchen; Li, Yun; Shi, Yi; Ji, Wei; Wang, Peng; Wang, Xiaoyong; Xiao, Min; Xu, Hangxun; Xu, Jian-Bin; Wang, Xinran

2016-01-08

One of the basic assumptions in organic field-effect transistors, the most fundamental device unit in organic electronics, is that charge transport occurs two dimensionally in the first few molecular layers near the dielectric interface. Although the mobility of bulk organic semiconductors has increased dramatically, direct probing of intrinsic charge transport in the two-dimensional limit has not been possible due to excessive disorders and traps in ultrathin organic thin films. Here, highly ordered single-crystalline mono- to tetralayer pentacene crystals are realized by van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy on hexagonal BN. We find that the charge transport is dominated by hopping in the first conductive layer, but transforms to bandlike in subsequent layers. Such an abrupt phase transition is attributed to strong modulation of the molecular packing by interfacial vdW interactions, as corroborated by quantitative structural characterization and density functional theory calculations. The structural modulation becomes negligible beyond the second conductive layer, leading to a mobility saturation thickness of only ∼3  nm. Highly ordered organic ultrathin films provide a platform for new physics and device structures (such as heterostructures and quantum wells) that are not possible in conventional bulk crystals.

Synthesis of ultrathin polymer insulating layers by initiated chemical vapour deposition for low-power soft electronics.

PubMed

Moon, Hanul; Seong, Hyejeong; Shin, Woo Cheol; Park, Won-Tae; Kim, Mincheol; Lee, Seungwon; Bong, Jae Hoon; Noh, Yong-Young; Cho, Byung Jin; Yoo, Seunghyup; Im, Sung Gap

2015-06-01

Insulating layers based on oxides and nitrides provide high capacitance, low leakage, high breakdown field and resistance to electrical stresses when used in electronic devices based on rigid substrates. However, their typically high process temperatures and brittleness make it difficult to achieve similar performance in flexible or organic electronics. Here, we show that poly(1,3,5-trimethyl-1,3,5-trivinyl cyclotrisiloxane) (pV3D3) prepared via a one-step, solvent-free technique called initiated chemical vapour deposition (iCVD) is a versatile polymeric insulating layer that meets a wide range of requirements for next-generation electronic devices. Highly uniform and pure ultrathin films of pV3D3 with excellent insulating properties, a large energy gap (>8 eV), tunnelling-limited leakage characteristics and resistance to a tensile strain of up to 4% are demonstrated. The low process temperature, surface-growth character, and solvent-free nature of the iCVD process enable pV3D3 to be grown conformally on plastic substrates to yield flexible field-effect transistors as well as on a variety of channel layers, including organics, oxides, and graphene.

Self-current induced spin-orbit torque in FeMn/Pt multilayers

PubMed Central

Xu, Yanjun; Yang, Yumeng; Yao, Kui; Xu, Baoxi; Wu, Yihong

2016-01-01

Extensive efforts have been devoted to the study of spin-orbit torque in ferromagnetic metal/heavy metal bilayers and exploitation of it for magnetization switching using an in-plane current. As the spin-orbit torque is inversely proportional to the thickness of the ferromagnetic layer, sizable effect has only been realized in bilayers with an ultrathin ferromagnetic layer. Here we demonstrate that, by stacking ultrathin Pt and FeMn alternately, both ferromagnetic properties and current induced spin-orbit torque can be achieved in FeMn/Pt multilayers without any constraint on its total thickness. The critical behavior of these multilayers follows closely three-dimensional Heisenberg model with a finite Curie temperature distribution. The spin torque effective field is about 4 times larger than that of NiFe/Pt bilayer with a same equivalent NiFe thickness. The self-current generated spin torque is able to switch the magnetization reversibly without the need for an external field or a thick heavy metal layer. The removal of both thickness constraint and necessity of using an adjacent heavy metal layer opens new possibilities for exploiting spin-orbit torque for practical applications. PMID:27185656

Hybrid tandem quantum dot/organic photovoltaic cells with complementary near infrared absorption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Taesoo; Palmiano, Elenita; Liang, Ru-Ze; Hu, Hanlin; Murali, Banavoth; Kirmani, Ahmad R.; Firdaus, Yuliar; Gao, Yangqin; Sheikh, Arif; Yuan, Mingjian; Mohammed, Omar F.; Hoogland, Sjoerd; Beaujuge, Pierre M.; Sargent, Edward H.; Amassian, Aram

2017-05-01

Monolithically integrated hybrid tandem solar cells that effectively combine solution-processed colloidal quantum dot (CQD) and organic bulk heterojunction subcells to achieve tandem performance that surpasses the individual subcell efficiencies have not been demonstrated to date. In this work, we demonstrate hybrid tandem cells with a low bandgap PbS CQD subcell harvesting the visible and near-infrared photons and a polymer:fullerene—poly (diketopyrrolopyrrole-terthiophene) (PDPP3T):[6,6]-phenyl-C60-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM)—top cell absorbing effectively the red and near-infrared photons of the solar spectrum in a complementary fashion. The two subcells are connected in series via an interconnecting layer (ICL) composed of a metal oxide layer, a conjugated polyelectrolyte, and an ultrathin layer of Au. The ultrathin layer of Au forms nano-islands in the ICL, reducing the series resistance, increasing the shunt resistance, and enhancing the device fill-factor. The hybrid tandems reach a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.9%, significantly higher than the PCE of the corresponding individual single cells, representing one of the highest efficiencies reported to date for hybrid tandem solar cells based on CQD and polymer subcells.

Probing Carrier Transport and Structure-Property Relationship of Highly Ordered Organic Semiconductors at the Two-Dimensional Limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yuhan; Qiao, Jingsi; Gao, Si; Hu, Fengrui; He, Daowei; Wu, Bing; Yang, Ziyi; Xu, Bingchen; Li, Yun; Shi, Yi; Ji, Wei; Wang, Peng; Wang, Xiaoyong; Xiao, Min; Xu, Hangxun; Xu, Jian-Bin; Wang, Xinran

2016-01-01

One of the basic assumptions in organic field-effect transistors, the most fundamental device unit in organic electronics, is that charge transport occurs two dimensionally in the first few molecular layers near the dielectric interface. Although the mobility of bulk organic semiconductors has increased dramatically, direct probing of intrinsic charge transport in the two-dimensional limit has not been possible due to excessive disorders and traps in ultrathin organic thin films. Here, highly ordered single-crystalline mono- to tetralayer pentacene crystals are realized by van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy on hexagonal BN. We find that the charge transport is dominated by hopping in the first conductive layer, but transforms to bandlike in subsequent layers. Such an abrupt phase transition is attributed to strong modulation of the molecular packing by interfacial vdW interactions, as corroborated by quantitative structural characterization and density functional theory calculations. The structural modulation becomes negligible beyond the second conductive layer, leading to a mobility saturation thickness of only ˜3 nm . Highly ordered organic ultrathin films provide a platform for new physics and device structures (such as heterostructures and quantum wells) that are not possible in conventional bulk crystals.

Interface effects in ultra-thin films: Magnetic and chemical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Sungkyun

When the thickness of a magnetic layer is comparable to (or smaller than) the electron mean free path, the interface between magnetic and non-magnetic layers becomes very important factor to determine magnetic properties of the ultra-thin films. The quality of interface can enhance (or reduce) the desired properties. Several interesting physical phenomena were studied using these interface effects. The magnetic anisotropy of ultra-thin Co films is studied as function of non-magnetic underlayer thickness and non- magnetic overlayer materials using ex situ Brillouin light scattering (BLS). I observed that perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) increases with underlayer thickness and saturates after 5 ML. This saturation can be understood as a relaxation of the in-plane lattice parameter of Au(111) on top of Cu(111) to its bulk value. For the overlayer study, Cu, Al, and Au are used. An Au overlayer gives the largest PMA due to the largest in-plane lattice mismatch between Co and Au. An unusual effect was found by adding an additional layer on top of the Au overlayer. An additional Al capping layer on top of the Au overlayer reduces the PMA significantly. The possible explanation is that the misfit strain at the interface between the Al and the Au can be propagated through the Au layer to affect the magnetic properties of Co even though the in- plane lattice mismatch is less than 1%. Another interesting problem in interface interdiffusion and thermal stability in magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) structures is studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Since XPS is a very chemically sensitive technique, it allows us to monitor interface interdiffusion of the MTJ structures as-deposited and during post-deposition processing. For the plasma- oxidized samples, Fe only participates in the oxidation reduction process. In contrast to plasma-oxidized samples, there were no noticeable chemical shifts as- deposited and during post-deposition processing in air- oxidized samples. However, peak intensity variations were observed due to interface interdiffusion.

Using Ultrathin Parylene Films as an Organic Gate Insulator in Nanowire Field-Effect Transistors.

PubMed

Gluschke, J G; Seidl, J; Lyttleton, R W; Carrad, D J; Cochrane, J W; Lehmann, S; Samuelson, L; Micolich, A P

2018-06-27

We report the development of nanowire field-effect transistors featuring an ultrathin parylene film as a polymer gate insulator. The room temperature, gas-phase deposition of parylene is an attractive alternative to oxide insulators prepared at high temperatures using atomic layer deposition. We discuss our custom-built parylene deposition system, which is designed for reliable and controlled deposition of <100 nm thick parylene films on III-V nanowires standing vertically on a growth substrate or horizontally on a device substrate. The former case gives conformally coated nanowires, which we used to produce functional Ω-gate and gate-all-around structures. These give subthreshold swings as low as 140 mV/dec and on/off ratios exceeding 10 3 at room temperature. For the gate-all-around structure, we developed a novel fabrication strategy that overcomes some of the limitations with previous lateral wrap-gate nanowire transistors. Finally, we show that parylene can be deposited over chemically treated nanowire surfaces, a feature generally not possible with oxides produced by atomic layer deposition due to the surface "self-cleaning" effect. Our results highlight the potential for parylene as an alternative ultrathin insulator in nanoscale electronic devices more broadly, with potential applications extending into nanobioelectronics due to parylene's well-established biocompatible properties.

Operando SXRD of E-ALD deposited sulphides ultra-thin films: Crystallite strain and size

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giaccherini, Andrea; Russo, Francesca; Carlà, Francesco; Guerri, Annalisa; Picca, Rosaria Anna; Cioffi, Nicola; Cinotti, Serena; Montegrossi, Giordano; Passaponti, Maurizio; Di Benedetto, Francesco; Felici, Roberto; Innocenti, Massimo

2018-02-01

Electrochemical Atomic Layer Deposition (E-ALD), exploiting surface limited electrodeposition of atomic layers, can easily grow highly ordered ultra-thin films and 2D structures. Among other compounds CuxZnyS grown by means of E-ALD on Ag(111) has been found particularly suitable for the solar energy conversion due to its band gap (1.61 eV). However its growth seems to be characterized by a micrometric thread-like structure, probably overgrowing a smooth ultra-thin films. On this ground, a SXRD investigation has been performed, to address the open questions about the structure and the growth of CuxZnyS by means of E-ALD. The experiment shows a pseudo single crystal pattern as well as a powder pattern, confirming that part of the sample grows epitaxially on the Ag(111) substrate. The growth of the film was monitored by following the evolution of the Bragg peaks and Debye rings during the E-ALD steps. Breadth and profile analysis of the Bragg peaks lead to a qualitative interpretation of the growth mechanism. This study confirms that Zn lead to the growth of a strained Cu2S-like structure, while the growth of the thread-like structure is probably driven by the release of the stress from the epitaxial phase.

Magnetic properties influenced by interfaces in ultrathin Co/Ge(1 0 0) and Co/Ge(1 1 1) films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsay, J. S.; Yao, Y. D.; Cheng, W. C.; Tseng, T. K.; Wang, K. C.; Yang, C. S.

2003-10-01

Magnetic properties influenced by interfaces in ultrathin Co/Ge(1 0 0) and Co/Ge(1 1 1) films with thickness below 28 monolayers (ML) have been studied using the surface magneto-optic Kerr effect (SMOKE) technique. In both systems, the nonferromagnetic layer, as an interface between Co and Ge, plays an important role during annealing. In general, ultrathin Co films with fixed total thickness but fabricated at different temperatures on the same substrate, their Kerr hysteresis loops disappear roughly at the same temperature. This suggests that the thickness of the interfacial layer could inversely prevent the diffusion between Co and Ge substrate. From the annealing studies for both systems with total film thickness of 28 monolayers, we have found that Kerr signal disappears at 375 K for Co/Ge(1 1 1) and 425 K for Co/Ge(1 0 0) films. This suggests that Co/Ge(1 1 1) films possess a lower thermal stability than that of the Co/Ge(1 0 0) films. Our experimental data could be explained by different interfacial condition between Ge(1 0 0) and Ge(1 1 1), the different onset of interdiffusion, and the surface structure condition of Ge(1 0 0) and Ge(1 1 1).

Ultrathin Nanocrystalline Diamond Films with Silicon Vacancy Color Centers via Seeding by 2 nm Detonation Nanodiamonds.

PubMed

Stehlik, Stepan; Varga, Marian; Stenclova, Pavla; Ondic, Lukas; Ledinsky, Martin; Pangrac, Jiri; Vanek, Ondrej; Lipov, Jan; Kromka, Alexander; Rezek, Bohuslav

2017-11-08

Color centers in diamonds have shown excellent potential for applications in quantum information processing, photonics, and biology. Here we report chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films as thin as 5-6 nm with photoluminescence (PL) from silicon-vacancy (SiV) centers at 739 nm. Instead of conventional 4-6 nm detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs), we prepared and employed hydrogenated 2 nm DNDs (zeta potential = +36 mV) to form extremely dense (∼1.3 × 10 13 cm -2 ), thin (2 ± 1 nm), and smooth (RMS roughness < 0.8 nm) nucleation layers on an Si/SiO x substrate, which enabled the CVD growth of such ultrathin NCD films in two different and complementary microwave (MW) CVD systems: (i) focused MW plasma with an ellipsoidal cavity resonator and (ii) pulsed MW plasma with a linear antenna arrangement. Analytical ultracentrifuge, infrared and Raman spectroscopies, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy are used for detailed characterization of the 2 nm H-DNDs and the nucleation layer as well as the ultrathin NCD films. We also demonstrate on/off switching of the SiV center PL in the NCD films thinner than 10 nm, which is achieved by changing their surface chemistry.

Skin-Inspired Hierarchical Polymer Architectures with Gradient Stiffness for Spacer-Free, Ultrathin, and Highly Sensitive Triboelectric Sensors.

PubMed

Ha, Minjeong; Lim, Seongdong; Cho, Soowon; Lee, Youngoh; Na, Sangyun; Baig, Chunggi; Ko, Hyunhyub

2018-04-24

The gradient stiffness between stiff epidermis and soft dermis with interlocked microridge structures in human skin induces effective stress transmission to underlying mechanoreceptors for enhanced tactile sensing. Inspired by skin structure and function, we fabricate hierarchical nanoporous and interlocked microridge structured polymers with gradient stiffness for spacer-free, ultrathin, and highly sensitive triboelectric sensors (TESs). The skin-inspired hierarchical polymers with gradient elastic modulus enhance the compressibility and contact areal differences due to effective transmission of the external stress from stiff to soft layers, resulting in highly sensitive TESs capable of detecting human vital signs and voice. In addition, the microridges in the interlocked polymers provide an effective variation of gap distance between interlocked layers without using the bulk spacer and thus facilitate the ultrathin and flexible design of TESs that could be worn on the body and detect a variety of pressing, bending, and twisting motions even in humid and underwater environments. Our TESs exhibit the highest power density (46.7 μW/cm 2 ), pressure (0.55 V/kPa), and bending (∼0.1 V/°) sensitivities ever reported on flexible TESs. The proposed design of hierarchical polymer architectures for the flexible and wearable TESs can find numerous applications in next-generation wearable electronics.

Superstructures and Electronic Properties of Manganese-Phthalocyanine Molecules on Au(110) from Submonolayer Coverage to Ultrathin Molecular Films.

PubMed

Topyła, M; Néel, N; Kröger, J

2016-07-12

The adsorption of manganese-phthalocyanine molecules on Au(110) was investigated using a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. A rich variety of commensurate superstructures was observed upon increasing the molecule coverage from submonolayers to ultrathin films. All structures were associated with reconstructions of the Au(110) substrate. Molecules adsorbed in the second molecular layer exhibited negative differential conductance occurring symmetrically around zero bias voltage. A double-barrier tunneling model rationalized this observation in terms of a peaked molecular resonance at the Fermi energy together with a voltage drop across the molecular film.

Highly conductive electrospun carbon nanofiber/MnO2 coaxial nano-cables for high energy and power density supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhi, Mingjia; Manivannan, Ayyakkannu; Meng, Fanke; Wu, Nianqiang

2012-06-01

This paper presents highly conductive carbon nanofiber/MnO2 coaxial cables in which individual electrospun carbon nanofibers are coated with an ultrathin hierarchical MnO2 layer. In the hierarchical MnO2 structure, an around 4 nm thick sheath surrounds the carbon nanofiber (CNF) in a diameter of 200 nm, and nano-whiskers grow radically outward from the sheath in view of the cross-section of the coaxial cables, giving a high specific surface area of MnO2. The CNFs are synthesized by electrospinning a precursor containing iron acetylacetonate (AAI). The addition of AAI not only enlarges the specific surface area of the CNF but also greatly enhances their electronic conductivity, which leads to a dramatic improvement in the specific capacitance and the rate capability of the CNF/MnO2 electrode. The AAI-CNF/MnO2 electrode shows a specific capacitance of 311 F g-1 for the whole electrode and 900 F g-1 for the MnO2 shell at a scan rate of 2 mV s-1. Good cycling stability, high energy density (80.2 Wh kg-1) and high power density (57.7 kW kg-1) are achieved. This work indicates that high electronic conductivity of the electrode material is crucial to achieving high power and energy density for pseudo-supercapacitors.

Low RF Reflectivity Spacecraft Thermal Blanket by Using High-Impedance Surface Absorbers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costa, F.; Monorchio, A.; Carrubba, E.; Zolesi, V.

2012-05-01

A technique for designing a low-RF reflectivity thermal blanket is presented. Multi-layer insulation (MLI) blankets are employed to stabilize the temperature on spacecraft unit but they can be responsible of passive intermodulation products and high-mutual coupling between antennas since they are realized with metallic materials. The possibility to replace the last inner layer of a MLI blanket with an ultra-thin absorbing layer made of high-impedance surface absorber is discussed.

Study on influences of TiN capping layer on time-dependent dielectric breakdown characteristic of ultra-thin EOT high-k metal gate NMOSFET with kMC TDDB simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Hao; Yang, Hong; Luo, Wei-Chun; Xu, Ye-Feng; Wang, Yan-Rong; Tang, Bo; Wang, Wen-Wu; Qi, Lu-Wei; Li, Jun-Feng; Yan, Jiang; Zhu, Hui-Long; Zhao, Chao; Chen, Da-Peng; Ye, Tian-Chun

2016-08-01

The thickness effect of the TiN capping layer on the time dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) characteristic of ultra-thin EOT high-k metal gate NMOSFET is investigated in this paper. Based on experimental results, it is found that the device with a thicker TiN layer has a more promising reliability characteristic than that with a thinner TiN layer. From the charge pumping measurement and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) analysis, it is indicated that the sample with the thicker TiN layer introduces more Cl passivation at the IL/Si interface and exhibits a lower interface trap density. In addition, the influences of interface and bulk trap density ratio N it/N ot are studied by TDDB simulations through combining percolation theory and the kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) method. The lifetime reduction and Weibull slope lowering are explained by interface trap effects for TiN capping layers with different thicknesses. Project supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. SS2015AA010601), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61176091 and 61306129), and the Opening Project of Key Laboratory of Microelectronics Devices & Integrated Technology, Institute of MicroElectronics of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Light-absorption enhancement design of ultrathin perovskite solar cells with conformal structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Xinyu; Sun, Lei; Deng, Can; Tu, Yiteng; Shen, Guangming; Tan, Fengxue; Guan, Li; Yan, Wensheng

2018-06-01

We report a structural design of ultrathin perovskite solar cells based on a conformal structure at the rear surface for potential applications in both single-junction and tandem cells. The light transmittances of the front and the rear surfaces are calculated in the wavelength range of 300–800 nm via the finite difference time domain numerical simulation method. Compared with the reference cell, significant photocurrent density enhancement of 27.5% and 29.7% are achieved when the ratios of height to width of the fluorine doped tin oxide nanoblock are 2 and 3, respectively. For the case with a hole transport material layer, the enhancements of photocurrent density enhancements are 19.2% and 29.0%, respectively. When back Au is removed, the photocurrent density also has notable enhancements of 23.3% and 45.9%, respectively. The achieved results are beneficial for the development of efficient ultrathin single-junction and tandem perovskite solar cells.

Ultralight shape-recovering plate mechanical metamaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davami, Keivan; Zhao, Lin; Lu, Eric; Cortes, John; Lin, Chen; Lilley, Drew E.; Purohit, Prashant K.; Bargatin, Igor

2015-12-01

Unusual mechanical properties of mechanical metamaterials are determined by their carefully designed and tightly controlled geometry at the macro- or nanoscale. We introduce a class of nanoscale mechanical metamaterials created by forming continuous corrugated plates out of ultrathin films. Using a periodic three-dimensional architecture characteristic of mechanical metamaterials, we fabricate free-standing plates up to 2 cm in size out of aluminium oxide films as thin as 25 nm. The plates are formed by atomic layer deposition of ultrathin alumina films on a lithographically patterned silicon wafer, followed by complete removal of the silicon substrate. Unlike unpatterned ultrathin films, which tend to warp or even roll up because of residual stress gradients, our plate metamaterials can be engineered to be extremely flat. They weigh as little as 0.1 g cm-2 and have the ability to `pop-back' to their original shape without damage even after undergoing multiple sharp bends of more than 90°.

Ultra-thin alumina and silicon nitride MEMS fabricated membranes for the electron multiplication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prodanović, V.; Chan, H. W.; Graaf, H. V. D.; Sarro, P. M.

2018-04-01

In this paper we demonstrate the fabrication of large arrays of ultrathin freestanding membranes (tynodes) for application in a timed photon counter (TiPC), a novel photomultiplier for single electron detection. Low pressure chemical vapour deposited silicon nitride (Si x N y ) and atomic layer deposited alumina (Al2O3) with thicknesses down to only 5 nm are employed for the membrane fabrication. Detailed characterization of structural, mechanical and chemical properties of the utilized films is carried out for different process conditions and thicknesses. Furthermore, the performance of the tynodes is investigated in terms of secondary electron emission, a fundamental attribute that determines their applicability in TiPC. Studied features and presented fabrication methods may be of interest for other MEMS application of alumina and silicon nitride as well, in particular where strong ultra-thin membranes are required.

Thermal transport in three-dimensional foam architectures of few-layer graphene and ultrathin graphite.

PubMed

Pettes, Michael Thompson; Ji, Hengxing; Ruoff, Rodney S; Shi, Li

2012-06-13

At a very low solid concentration of 0.45 ± 0.09 vol %, the room-temperature thermal conductivity (κ(GF)) of freestanding graphene-based foams (GF), comprised of few-layer graphene (FLG) and ultrathin graphite (UG) synthesized through the use of methane chemical vapor deposition on reticulated nickel foams, was increased from 0.26 to 1.7 W m(-1) K(-1) after the etchant for the sacrificial nickel support was changed from an aggressive hydrochloric acid solution to a slow ammonium persulfate etchant. In addition, κ(GF) showed a quadratic dependence on temperature between 11 and 75 K and peaked at about 150 K, where the solid thermal conductivity (κ(G)) of the FLG and UG constituents reached about 1600 W m(-1) K(-1), revealing the benefit of eliminating internal contact thermal resistance in the continuous GF structure.

Ultrathin microwave absorber based on metamaterial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Y. J.; Yoo, Y. J.; Hwang, J. S.; Lee, Y. P.

2016-11-01

We suggest that ultrathin broadband metamaterial is a perfect absorber in the microwave regime by utilizing the properties of a resistive sheet and metamaterial. Meta-atoms are composed of four-leaf clover-shape metallic patterns and a metal plane separated by three intermediate resistive sheet layers between four dielectric layers. We interpret the absorption mechanism of the broadband by using the distribution of surface currents at specific frequencies. The simulated absorption was over 99% in 1.8-4.2 GHz. The corresponding experimental absorption was also over 99% in 2.62-4.2 GHz; however, the absorption was slightly lower than 99% in 1.8-2.62 GHz because of the sheet resistance and the changed values for the dielectric constant. Furthermore, it is independent of incident angle. The results of this research indicate the possibility of applications, due to the suppression of noxious exposure, in cell phones, computers and microwave equipments.

Increased magnetic damping in ultrathin films of Co2FeAl with perpendicular anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, Y. K.; Miura, Y.; Choi, R.; Ohkubo, T.; Wen, Z. C.; Ishioka, K.; Mandal, R.; Medapalli, R.; Sukegawa, H.; Mitani, S.; Fullerton, E. E.; Hono, K.

2017-06-01

We estimated the magnetic damping constant α of Co2FeAl (CFA) Heusler alloy films of different thicknesses with an MgO capping layer by means of time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect and ferromagnetic resonance measurements. CFA films with thicknesses of 1.2 nm and below exhibited perpendicular magnetic anisotropy arising from the presence of the interface with MgO. While α increased gradually with decreasing CFA film thickness down to 1.2 nm, it was increased substantially when the thickness was reduced further to 1.0 nm. Based on the microstructure analyses and first-principles calculations, we attributed the origin of the large α in the ultrathin CFA film primarily to the Al deficiency in the CFA layer, which caused an increase in the density of states and thereby in the scatterings of their spins.

CdO nanosheet film with a (200)-preferred orientation with sensitivity to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at low-temperatures.

PubMed

Cui, Guangliang; Li, Zimeng; Gao, Liang; Zhang, Mingzhe

2012-12-21

CdO nanosheet film can be synthesized by electrochemical deposition in an ultra-thin liquid layer by using Cd(NO(3))(2) and HNO(3) as source materials for Cd and oxygen respectively. HNO(3) is also used to adjust the pH of the electrolyte. Studies on the detailed structure indicate that the synthesized CdO nanosheet film has a face-centered cubic structure with (200)-preferred orientation. The response of the CdO nanosheet film to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at low temperature has been significantly improved by the novel structure of film. It has exhibited excellent sensitivity and selectivity to LPG at low temperature. A new growth mechanism of electrochemical deposition has been proposed to elaborate the formation of nanosheet in an ultra-thin liquid layer. The self-oscillation of potential in the growth interface and intermediate hydroxide are responsible for the formation of nanosheets.

Hot carrier-enhanced interlayer electron-hole pair multiplication in 2D semiconductor heterostructure photocells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barati, Fatemeh; Grossnickle, Max; Su, Shanshan; Lake, Roger K.; Aji, Vivek; Gabor, Nathaniel M.

2017-12-01

Strong electronic interactions can result in novel particle-antiparticle (electron-hole, e-h) pair generation effects, which may be exploited to enhance the photoresponse of nanoscale optoelectronic devices. Highly efficient e-h pair multiplication has been demonstrated in several important nanoscale systems, including nanocrystal quantum dots, carbon nanotubes and graphene. The small Fermi velocity and nonlocal nature of the effective dielectric screening in ultrathin layers of transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) indicates that e-h interactions are very strong, so high-efficiency generation of e-h pairs from hot electrons is expected. However, such e-h pair multiplication has not been observed in 2D TMD devices. Here, we report the highly efficient multiplication of interlayer e-h pairs in 2D semiconductor heterostructure photocells. Electronic transport measurements of the interlayer I-VSD characteristics indicate that layer-indirect e-h pairs are generated by hot-electron impact excitation at temperatures near T = 300 K. By exploiting this highly efficient interlayer e-h pair multiplication process, we demonstrate near-infrared optoelectronic devices that exhibit 350% enhancement of the optoelectronic responsivity at microwatt power levels. Our findings, which demonstrate efficient carrier multiplication in TMD-based optoelectronic devices, make 2D semiconductor heterostructures viable for a new class of ultra-efficient photodetectors based on layer-indirect e-h excitations.

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.

Tunable broadband near-infrared absorber based on ultrathin phase-change material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Er-Tao; Gu, Tong; Guo, Shuai; Zang, Kai-Yan; Tu, Hua-Tian; Yu, Ke-Han; Wei, Wei; Zheng, Yu-Xiang; Wang, Song-You; Zhang, Rong-Jun; Lee, Young-Pak; Chen, Liang-Yao

2017-11-01

In this work, a tunable broadband near-infrared light absorber was designed and fabricated with a simple and lithography free approach by introducing an ultrathin phase-change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) layer into the metal-dielectric multilayered film structure with the structure parameters as that: SiO2 (72.7 nm)/Ge2Sb2Te5 (6.0 nm)/SiO2 (70.2 nm)/Cu (>100.0 nm). The film structure exhibits a modulation depth of ∼72.6% and an extinction ratio of ∼8.8 dB at the wavelength of 1410 nm. The high light absorption (95%) of the proposed film structure at the wavelength of 450 nm in both of the amorphous and crystalline phase of GST, indicates that the intensity of the reflectance in the infrared region can be rapidly tuned by the blue laser pulses. The proposed planar layered film structure with layer thickness as the only controllable parameter and large reflectivity tuning range shows the potential for practical applications in near-infrared light modulation and absorption.

Two-bit multi-level phase change random access memory with a triple phase change material stack structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gyanathan, Ashvini; Yeo, Yee-Chia

2012-11-01

This work demonstrates a novel two-bit multi-level device structure comprising three phase change material (PCM) layers, separated by SiN thermal barrier layers. This triple PCM stack consisted of (from bottom to top), Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST), an ultrathin SiN barrier, nitrogen-doped GST, another ultrathin SiN barrier, and Ag0.5In0.5Sb3Te6. The PCM layers can selectively amorphize to form 4 different resistance levels ("00," "01," "10," and "11") using respective voltage pulses. Electrical characterization was extensively performed on these devices. Thermal analysis was also done to understand the physics behind the phase changing characteristics of the two-bit memory devices. The melting and crystallization temperatures of the PCMs play important roles in the power consumption of the multi-level devices. The electrical resistivities and thermal conductivities of the PCMs and the SiN thermal barrier are also crucial factors contributing to the phase changing behaviour of the PCMs in the two-bit multi-level PCRAM device.

Circular Dichroism Control of Tungsten Diselenide (WSe2) Atomic Layers with Plasmonic Metamolecules.

PubMed

Lin, Hsiang-Ting; Chang, Chiao-Yun; Cheng, Pi-Ju; Li, Ming-Yang; Cheng, Chia-Chin; Chang, Shu-Wei; Li, Lance L J; Chu, Chih-Wei; Wei, Pei-Kuen; Shih, Min-Hsiung

2018-05-09

Controlling circularly polarized (CP) states of light is critical to the development of functional devices for key and emerging applications such as display technology and quantum communication, and the compact circular polarization-tunable photon source is one critical element to realize the applications in the chip-scale integrated system. The atomic layers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) exhibit intrinsic CP emissions and are potential chiroptical materials for ultrathin CP photon sources. In this work, we demonstrated CP photon sources of TMDCs with device thicknesses approximately 50 nm. CP photoluminescence from the atomic layers of tungsten diselenide (WSe 2 ) was precisely controlled with chiral metamolecules (MMs), and the optical chirality of WSe 2 was enhanced more than 4 times by integrating with the MMs. Both the enhanced and reversed circular dichroisms had been achieved. Through integrations of the novel gain material and plasmonic structure which are both low-dimensional, a compact device capable of efficiently manipulating emissions of CP photon was realized. These ultrathin devices are suitable for important applications such as the optical information technology and chip-scale biosensing.

Electrospun polyvinyl alcohol ultra-thin layer chromatography of amino acids.

PubMed

Lu, Tian; Olesik, Susan V

2013-01-01

Electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) ultrathin layer chromatographic (UTLC) plates were fabricated using in situ crosslinking electrospinning technique. The value of these ULTC plates were characterized using the separation of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeled amino acids and the separation of amino acids followed visualization using ninhydrin. The in situ crosslinked electrospun PVA plates showed enhanced stability in water and were stable when used for the UTLC study. The selectivity of FITC labeled amino acids on PVA plate was compared with that on commercial Si-Gel plate. The efficiency of the separation varied with analyte concentration, size of capillary analyte applicator, analyte volume, and mat thickness. The concentration of 7mM or less, 50μm i.d. capillary applicator, minimum volume of analyte solution and three-layered mat provides the best efficiency of FITC-labeled amino acids on PVA UTLC plate. The efficiency on PVA plate was greatly improved compared to the efficiency on Si-Gel HPTLC plate. The hydrolysis products of aspartame in diet coke, aspartic acid and phenylalanine, were also successfully analyzed using PVA-UTLC plate. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of hydrogen on the structure and stability of ultra-thin ZnO on metal substrates

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

Bieniek, Bjoern; Hofmann, Oliver T.; Institut für Festkörperphysik, TU Graz, 8010 Graz

2015-03-30

We investigate the atomic and electronic structure of ultra-thin ZnO films (1 to 4 layers) on the (111) surfaces of Ag, Cu, Pd, Pt, Ni, and Rh by means of density-functional theory. The ZnO monolayer is found to adopt an α-BN structure on the metal substrates with coincidence structures in good agreement with experiment. Thicker ZnO layers change into a wurtzite structure. The films exhibit a strong corrugation, which can be smoothed by hydrogen (H) adsorption. An H over-layer with 50% coverage is formed at chemical potentials that range from low to ultra-high vacuum H{sub 2} pressures. For the Agmore » substrate, both α-BN and wurtzite ZnO films are accessible in this pressure range, while for Cu, Pd, Pt, Rh, and Ni wurtzite films are favored. The surface structure and the density of states of these H passivated ZnO thin films agree well with those of the bulk ZnO(0001{sup ¯})-2×1-H surface.« less

Engineering of InN epilayers by repeated deposition of ultrathin layers in pulsed MOCVD growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mickevičius, J.; Dobrovolskas, D.; Steponavičius, T.; Malinauskas, T.; Kolenda, M.; Kadys, A.; Tamulaitis, G.

2018-01-01

Capabilities of repeated deposition of ultrathin layers by pulsed metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) for improvement of structural and luminescence properties of InN thin films on GaN/sapphire templates were studied by varying the growth temperature and the durations of pulse and pause in the delivery of In precursor. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and spatially-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy were exploited to characterize the structural quality, surface morphology and luminescence properties. Better structural quality is achieved by using longer trimethylindium pulses. However, it is shown that the luminescence properties of InN epilayers correlate with the pause and pulse ratio rather than with their absolute lengths, and the deposition of 1.5-2 monolayers of InN during one growth cycle is optimal to achieve the highest PL intensity. Moreover, the use of temperature ramping enabled achieving the highest PL intensity and the smallest blue shift of the PL band. The luminescence parameters are linked with the structural properties, and domain-like patterns of InN layers are revealed.

Low-cost, high-efficiency organic/inorganic hetero-junction hybrid solar cells for next generation photovoltaic device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pudasaini, P. R.; Ayon, A. A.

2013-12-01

Organic/inorganic hybrid structures are considered innovative alternatives for the next generation of low-cost photovoltaic devices because they combine advantages of the purely organic and inorganic versions. Here, we report an efficient hybrid solar cell based on sub-wavelength silicon nanotexturization in combination with the spin-coating of poly (3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS). The described devices were analyzed by collecting current-voltage and capacitance-voltage measurements in order to explore the organic/inorganic heterojunction properties. ALD deposited ultrathin aluminium oxide was used as a junction passivation layer between the nanotextured silicon surface and the organic polymer. The measured interface defect density of the device was observed to decrease with the inclusion of an ultrathin Al2O3 passivation layer leading to an improved electrical performance. This effect is thought to be ascribed to the suppression of charge recombination at the organic/inorganic interface. A maximum power conversion efficiency in excess of 10% has been achieved for the optimized geometry of the device, in spite of lacking an antireflection layer or back surface field enhancement schemes.

Laser Radiation Pressure Acceleration of Monoenergetic Protons in an Ultra-Thin Foil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliasson, Bengt; Liu, Chuan S.; Shao, Xi; Sagdeev, Roald Z.; Shukla, Padma K.

2009-11-01

We present theoretical and numerical studies of the acceleration of monoenergetic protons in a double layer formed by the laser irradiation of an ultra-thin film. The stability of the foil is investigated by direct Vlasov-Maxwell simulations for different sets of laser-plasma parameters. It is found that the foil is stable, due to the trapping of both electrons and ions in the thin laser-plasma interaction region, where the electrons are trapped in a potential well composed of the ponderomo-tive potential of the laser light and the electrostatic potential due to the ions, and the ions are trapped in a potential well composed of the inertial potential in an accelerated frame and the electrostatic potential due to the electrons. The result is a stable double layer, where the trapped ions are accelerated to monoenergetic energies up to 100 MeV and beyond, which makes them suitable for medical applications cancer treatment. The underlying physics of trapped and untapped ions in a double layer is also investigated theoretically and numerically.

High-efficiency non-blocking phosphorescent organic light emitting diode with ultrathin emission layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Jacky; Helander, Michael G.; Wang, Zhibin; Chang, Yi-Lu; Lu, ZhengHong

2012-09-01

Non-blocking Phosphorescent Organic Light Emitting Diode (NB-PHOLED) is a highly simplified device structure that has achieved record high device performance on chlorinated ITO[1], flexible substrates[2], also with Pt based phosphorescent dopants[3] and NB-PHOLED has significantly reduced efficiency roll-off[4]. The principle novel features of NB-PHOLED is the absence of blocking layer in the OLED stack, as well as the absence of organic hole injection layer, this allows for reduction of carrier accumulation in between organic layers and result in higher efficiencies.

Structural Secrets of Multiferroic Interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyerheim, H. L.; Klimenta, F.; Ernst, A.; Mohseni, K.; Ostanin, S.; Fechner, M.; Parihar, S.; Maznichenko, I. V.; Mertig, I.; Kirschner, J.

2011-02-01

We present an experimental and theoretical study of the geometric structure of ultrathin BaTiO3 films grown on Fe(001). Surface x-ray diffraction reveals that the films are terminated by a BaO layer, while the TiO2 layer is next to the top Fe layer. Cations in termination layers have incomplete oxygen shells inducing strong vertical relaxations. Onset of polarization is observed at a minimum thickness of two unit cells. Our findings are supported by first-principles calculations providing a quantitative insight into the multiferroic properties on the atomic scale.

Comparison and characterization of different tunnel layers, suitable for passivated contact formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ling, Zhi Peng; Xin, Zheng; Ke, Cangming; Jammaal Buatis, Kitz; Duttagupta, Shubham; Lee, Jae Sung; Lai, Archon; Hsu, Adam; Rostan, Johannes; Stangl, Rolf

2017-08-01

Passivated contacts for solar cells can be realized using a variety of differently formed ultra-thin tunnel oxide layers. Assessing their interface properties is important for optimization purposes. In this work, we demonstrate the ability to measure the interface defect density distribution D it(E) and the fixed interface charge density Q f for ultra-thin passivation layers operating within the tunnel regime (<2 nm). Various promising tunnel layer candidates [i.e., wet chemically formed SiO x , UV photo-oxidized SiO x , and atomic layer deposited (ALD) AlO x ] are investigated for their potential application forming electron or hole selective tunnel layer passivated contacts. In particular, ALD AlO x is identified as a promising tunnel layer candidate for hole-extracting passivated contact formation, stemming from its high (negative) fixed interface charge density in the order of -6 × 1012 cm-2. This is an order of magnitude higher compared to wet chemically or UV photo-oxidized formed silicon oxide tunnel layers, while keeping the density of interface defect states D it at a similar level (in the order of ˜2 × 1012 cm-2 eV-1). This leads to additional field effect passivation and therefore to significantly higher measured effective carrier lifetimes (˜2 orders of magnitude). A surface recombination velocity of ˜40 cm/s has been achieved for a 1.5 nm thin ALD AlO x tunnel layer prior to capping by an additional hole transport material, like p-doped poly-Si or PEDOT:PSS.

Metallic few-layered VS2 ultrathin nanosheets: high two-dimensional conductivity for in-plane supercapacitors.

PubMed

Feng, Jun; Sun, Xu; Wu, Changzheng; Peng, Lele; Lin, Chenwen; Hu, Shuanglin; Yang, Jinlong; Xie, Yi

2011-11-09

With the rapid development of portable electronics, such as e-paper and other flexible devices, practical power sources with ultrathin geometries become an important prerequisite, in which supercapacitors with in-plane configurations are recently emerging as a favorable and competitive candidate. As is known, electrode materials with two-dimensional (2D) permeable channels, high-conductivity structural scaffolds, and high specific surface areas are the indispensible requirements for the development of in-plane supercapacitors with superior performance, while it is difficult for the presently available inorganic materials to make the best in all aspects. In this sense, vanadium disulfide (VS(2)) presents an ideal material platform due to its synergic properties of metallic nature and exfoliative characteristic brought by the conducting S-V-S layers stacked up by weak van der Waals interlayer interactions, offering great potential as high-performance in-plane supercapacitor electrodes. Herein, we developed a unique ammonia-assisted strategy to exfoliate bulk VS(2) flakes into ultrathin VS(2) nanosheets stacked with less than five S-V-S single layers, representing a brand new two-dimensional material having metallic behavior aside from graphene. Moreover, highly conductive VS(2) thin films were successfully assembled for constructing the electrodes of in-plane supercapacitors. As is expected, a specific capacitance of 4760 μF/cm(2) was realized here in a 150 nm in-plane configuration, of which no obvious degradation was observed even after 1000 charge/discharge cycles, offering as a new in-plane supercapacitor with high performance based on quasi-two-dimensional materials.

Method of making dense, conformal, ultra-thin cap layers for nanoporous low-k ILD by plasma assisted atomic layer deposition

DOEpatents

Jiang, Ying-Bing [Albuquerque, NM; Cecchi, Joseph L [Albuquerque, NM; Brinker, C Jeffrey [Albuquerque, NM

2011-05-24

Barrier layers and methods for forming barrier layers on a porous layer are provided. The methods can include chemically adsorbing a plurality of first molecules on a surface of the porous layer in a chamber and forming a first layer of the first molecules on the surface of the porous layer. A plasma can then be used to react a plurality of second molecules with the first layer of first molecules to form a first layer of a barrier layer. The barrier layers can seal the pores of the porous material, function as a diffusion barrier, be conformal, and/or have a negligible impact on the overall ILD k value of the porous material.

Few-layer nanoplates of Bi 2 Se 3 and Bi 2 Te 3 with highly tunable chemical potential.

PubMed

Kong, Desheng; Dang, Wenhui; Cha, Judy J; Li, Hui; Meister, Stefan; Peng, Hailin; Liu, Zhongfan; Cui, Yi

2010-06-09

A topological insulator (TI) represents an unconventional quantum phase of matter with insulating bulk band gap and metallic surface states. Recent theoretical calculations and photoemission spectroscopy measurements show that group V-VI materials Bi(2)Se(3), Bi(2)Te(3), and Sb(2)Te(3) are TIs with a single Dirac cone on the surface. These materials have anisotropic, layered structures, in which five atomic layers are covalently bonded to form a quintuple layer, and quintuple layers interact weakly through van der Waals interaction to form the crystal. A few quintuple layers of these materials are predicted to exhibit interesting surface properties. Different from our previous nanoribbon study, here we report the synthesis and characterizations of ultrathin Bi(2)Te(3) and Bi(2)Se(3) nanoplates with thickness down to 3 nm (3 quintuple layers), via catalyst-free vapor-solid (VS) growth mechanism. Optical images reveal thickness-dependent color and contrast for nanoplates grown on oxidized silicon (300 nm SiO(2)/Si). As a new member of TI nanomaterials, ultrathin TI nanoplates have an extremely large surface-to-volume ratio and can be electrically gated more effectively than the bulk form, potentially enhancing surface state effects in transport measurements. Low-temperature transport measurements of a single nanoplate device, with a high-k dielectric top gate, show decrease in carrier concentration by several times and large tuning of chemical potential.

Nitrogen anion-decorated cobalt tungsten disulfides solid solutions on the carbon nanofibers for water splitting.

PubMed

Wan, Meng; Li, Jiang; Li, Tao; Zhu, Han; Wu, Weiwei; Du, Mingliang

2018-06-28

A facile method to prepared nitrogen anion-decorated cobalt tungsten disulfides solid solutions retaining ultra-thin WS2-like nanosheet structures (The N-CoxW1-xS2) anchored on carbon nanofibers is developed. The synergistic effect of the WS2 nanosheets provides a secure framework for stabilizing the amorphous Co-S clusters, carbon nanofibers (CNFs) substrate and nitrogen anion-decoration significantly enhances the inherent conductivity of the catalyst, resulting in a significantly promoted hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity and stable performance compared to pure Co9S8 nanoparticles or ultra-thin WS2 nanosheets. The N-CoxW1-xS2 electrode demonstrates the excellent electrocatalytic performance, with current density of 10 mA cm-2 at a low overpotential of 93 mV and Tafel slope of 85 mV dec-1, as well as the long-term stability in acid electrolyte. The present investigation may provide a feasible strategy for incorporating other heteroatoms into transitional metal disulfides (TMDs) materials to design catalysts with highly active and stable performance for water splitting. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

BEOL compatible high tunnel magneto resistance perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions using a sacrificial Mg layer as CoFeB free layer cap

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

Swerts, J., E-mail: Johan.Swerts@imec.be; Mertens, S.; Lin, T.

Perpendicularly magnetized MgO-based tunnel junctions are envisaged for future generation spin-torque transfer magnetoresistive random access memory devices. Achieving a high tunnel magneto resistance and preserving it together with the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy during BEOL CMOS processing are key challenges to overcome. The industry standard technique to deposit the CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB tunnel junctions is physical vapor deposition. In this letter, we report on the use of an ultrathin Mg layer as free layer cap to protect the CoFeB free layer from sputtering induced damage during the Ta electrode deposition. When Ta is deposited directly on CoFeB, a fraction of the surface ofmore » the CoFeB is sputtered even when Ta is deposited with very low deposition rates. When depositing a thin Mg layer prior to Ta deposition, the sputtering of CoFeB is prevented. The ultra-thin Mg layer is sputtered completely after Ta deposition. Therefore, the Mg acts as a sacrificial layer that protects the CoFeB from sputter-induced damage during the Ta deposition. The Ta-capped CoFeB free layer using the sacrificial Mg interlayer has significantly better electrical and magnetic properties than the equivalent stack without protective layer. We demonstrate a tunnel magneto resistance increase up to 30% in bottom pinned magnetic tunnel junctions and tunnel magneto resistance values of 160% at resistance area product of 5 Ω.μm{sup 2}. Moreover, the free layer maintains perpendicular magnetic anisotropy after 400 °C annealing.« less

Organic photovoltaic cells utilizing ultrathin sensitizing layer

DOEpatents

Rand, Barry P [Princeton, NJ; Forrest, Stephen R [Princeton, NJ

2011-05-24

A photosensitive device includes a series of organic photoactive layers disposed between two electrodes. Each layer in the series is in direct contact with a next layer in the series. The series is arranged to form at least one donor-acceptor heterojunction, and includes a first organic photoactive layer comprising a first host material serving as a donor, a thin second organic photoactive layer comprising a second host material disposed between the first and a third organic photoactive layer, and the third organic photoactive layer comprising a third host material serving as an acceptor. The first, second, and third host materials are different. The thin second layer serves as an acceptor relative to the first layer or as a donor relative to the third layer.

Layer-by-layer assembled multilayer films of exfoliated layered double hydroxide and carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin for selective capacitive sensing of acephatemet.

PubMed

Gong, Jingming; Han, Xinmei; Zhu, Xiaolei; Guan, Zhangqiong

2014-11-15

Novel organic-inorganic hybrid ultrathin films were fabricated by alternate assembly of cationic exfoliated Mg-Al-layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets and carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin (CMCD) as a polyanion onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) via a layer-by-layer (LBL) approach. The multilayer films were then characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These films were found to possess a long range stacking order in the normal direction of the substrate with a continuous and uniform morphology. Its electrochemical performance was systematically investigated. Our results demonstrate that such a newly designed (LDH/CMCD)n multilayer film, combining the individual properties of CMCD (a high supramolecule recognition and enrichment capability) together with LDH nanosheets (a rigid inorganic matrix), can be applied to a sensitive, simple, and label-free capacitive detection of acephatemet (AM). Molecular docking calculations further disclose that the selective sensing behavior toward AM may be attributed to the specific binding ability of CMCD to AM. Under the optimized conditions, the capacitive change of AM was proportional to its concentration ranging from 0.001 to 0.10 μg mL(-1) and 0.1 to 0.8 μg mL(-1) with a detection limit 0.6 ng mL(-1) (S/N=3). Toward the goal for practical applications, this simple probe was further evaluated by monitoring AM in real samples. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Room Temperature Ferroelectricity in Ultrathin SnTe Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Kai; Liu, Junwei; Lin, Haicheng; Zhao, Kun; Zhong, Yong; Ji, Shuai-Hua; He, Ke; Wang, Lili; Ma, Xucun; Fu, Liang; Chen, Xi; Xue, Qi-Kun

2015-03-01

The ultrathin SnTe films with several unit cell thickness grown on graphitized SiC(0001) surface have been studied by the scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/S). The domain structures, local lattice distortion and the electronic band bending at film edges induced by the in-plane spontaneous polarization along < 110 > have been revealed at atomic scale. The experiments at variant temperature show that the Curie temperature Tc of the one unit cell thick (two atomic layers) SnTe film is as high as 280K, much higher than that of the bulk counterpart (~100K) and the 2-4 unit cell thick films even indicate robust ferroelectricity at room temperature. This Tc enhancement is attributed to the stress-free interface, larger electronic band gap and greatly reduced Sn vacancy concentration in the ultrathin films. The lateral domain size varies from several tens to several hundreds of nanometers, and the spontaneous polarization direction could be modified by STM tip. Those properties of ultrathin SnTe films show the potential application on ferroelectric devices. The work was financially supported by Ministry of Science and Technology of China, National Science Foundation and Ministry of Education of China.

Loss/gain-induced ultrathin antireflection coatings

PubMed Central

Luo, Jie; Li, Sucheng; Hou, Bo; Lai, Yun

2016-01-01

Tradional antireflection coatings composed of dielectric layers usually require the thickness to be larger than quarter wavelength. Here, we demonstrate that materials with permittivity or permeability dominated by imaginary parts, i.e. lossy or gain media, can realize non-resonant antireflection coatings in deep sub-wavelength scale. Interestingly, while the reflected waves are eliminated as in traditional dielectric antireflection coatings, the transmitted waves can be enhanced or reduced, depending on whether gain or lossy media are applied, respectively. We provide a unified theory for the design of such ultrathin antireflection coatings, showing that under different polarizations and incident angles, different types of ultrathin coatings should be applied. Especially, under transverse magnetic polarization, the requirement shows a switch between gain and lossy media at Brewster angle. As a proof of principle, by using conductive films as a special type of lossy antireflection coatings, we experimentally demonstrate the suppression of Fabry-Pérot resonances in a broad frequency range for microwaves. This valuable functionality can be applied to remove undesired resonant effects, such as the frequency-dependent side lobes induced by resonances in dielectric coverings of antennas. Our work provides a guide for the design of ultrathin antireflection coatings as well as their applications in broadband reflectionless devices. PMID:27349750

Ultrathin solution-processed single crystals of thiophene-phenylene co-oligomers for organic field-effect devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glushkova, Anastasia V.; Poimanova, Elena Yu.; Bruevich, Vladimir V.; Luponosov, Yuriy N.; Ponomarenko, Sergei A.; Paraschuk, Dmitry Yu.

2017-08-01

Thiophene-phenylene co-oligomers (TPCO) single crystals are promising materials for organic light-emitting devices, e.g., light-emitting transistors (OLETs), due to their ability to combine high luminescence and efficient charge transport. However, optical confinement in platy single crystals strongly decreases light emission from their top surface degrading the device performance. To avoid optical waveguiding, single crystals thinner than 100 nm would be beneficial. Herein, we report on solution-processed ultrathin single crystals of TPCO and study their charge transport properties. As materials we used 1,4-bis(5'-hexyl-2,2'-bithiophene-5-yl)benzene (DH-TTPTT) and 1,4-bis(5'-decyl-2,2'-bithiophene-5-yl)benzene (DD-TTPTT). The ultrathin single crystals were studied by optical polarization, atomic-force, and transmission electron microscopies, and as active layers in organic field effect transistors (OFET). The OFET hole mobility was increased tenfold for the oligomer with longer alkyl substituents (DD-TTPTT) reaching 0.2 cm2/Vs. Our studies of crystal growth indicate that if the substrate is wetted, it has no significant effect on the crystal growth. We conclude that solution-processed ultrathin TPCO single crystals are a promising platform for organic optoelectronic field-effect devices.

Hydrogen peroxide sensing using ultrathin platinum-coated gold nanoparticles with core@shell structure.

PubMed

Li, Yongxin; Lu, Qiufang; Wu, Shengnan; Wang, Lun; Shi, Xianming

2013-03-15

Ultrathin platinum-coated gold (Pt@Au) nanoparticles with core@shell structure have been developed by under-potential deposition (UPD) redox replacement technique. A single UPD Cu replacement with Pt(2+) produced a uniform Pt monolayer on the surface of gold nanoparticles, which are immobilized on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface based on electrostatic interaction. The ultrathin Pt@Au nanoparticles were confirmed by cyclic voltammetry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Voltammetry and amperometric methodologies were used to evaluate the electrocatalytic activity of the Pt@Au nanoparticles modified electrode towards the reduction of hydrogen peroxide under the physiological condition. The present results show that ultrathin Pt coating greatly enhances the electrocatalytic activity towards the reduction of hydrogen peroxide, which can be utilized to fabricate the hydrogen peroxide sensor. Chronoamperometric experiments showed that at an applied potential of 0.08 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), the current reduction of hydrogen peroxide was linear to its concentration in the range of 1-450 μΜ, and the detection limit was found to be 0.18 μM (signal-to-noise ratio, S/N=3). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enzymatically active high-flux selectively gas-permeable membranes

DOEpatents

Jiang, Ying-Bing; Cecchi, Joseph L.; Rempe, Susan; FU, Yaqin; Brinker, C. Jeffrey

2016-01-26

An ultra-thin, catalyzed liquid transport medium-based membrane structure fabricated with a porous supporting substrate may be used for separating an object species such as a carbon dioxide object species. Carbon dioxide flux through this membrane structures may be several orders of magnitude higher than traditional polymer membranes with a high selectivity to carbon dioxide. Other gases such as molecular oxygen, molecular hydrogen, and other species including non-gaseous species, for example ionic materials, may be separated using variations to the membrane discussed.

Effects of Propylene Carbonate Content in CsPF 6 -Containing Electrolytes on the Enhanced Performances of Graphite Electrode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

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

Zheng, Jianming; Yan, Pengfei; Cao, Ruiguo

2016-02-15

The effects Of propylene carbonate (PC) content in CsPF6-containing electrolytes on the performances of graphite electrode in lithium half cells and in graphite parallel to LiNi0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA) full cells are investigated. It is found that the performance of graphite electrode is significantly-affected by PC content in the CsPF6-containing electrolytes. An optimal PC content of 20% by weight in the solvent mixtures is identified. The enhanced electrochemical performance of graphite electrode can be attributed to the synergistic effects of the PC solvent and the Cs+ additive. The synergistic effects of Cs+ additive and appropriate amount of PC enable the formation ofmore » a robust, ultrathin, and compact solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer on the surface of graphite electrode, which is only permeable for desolvated Li+ ions and allows fast Li+ ion transport through it. Therefore, this SEI layer effectively suppresses the PC cointercalation and largely alleviates the Li dendrite formation on graphite electrode during lithiation even at relatively high current densities. The presence of low-melting-point PC solvent improves the sustainable operation of graphite parallel to NCA full cells under a wide temperature range. The fundamental findings also shed light On the importance of manipulating/maintaining the electrode/electrolyte interphasial stability in various energy-storage devices.« less

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.

Origin, Physical, and Mineralogical Nature of Red Clays: The Pacific Ocean Basin as a Model. (Geo-Marine Letters, An International Journal of Marine Geology. Volume 8, Number 4, 1988)

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-01-01

approximately 5 x 10 " to 1 x 10 7 m thick |500 to 1000 A) on a microtome. 13. Placement of ultrathin sections on copper grids . 14. Very light carbon...34sputtering" of ultrathin sec- tions on grids in a vacuum evaporator. After the above procedures have been accom- plished the specimens are ready for...have been described by Pusch (1966, l%7. I%8). Smart (l%7a.b). O’Brien (1971), and Foster and Dc (1971). A detailed investigation of im- pregnating

Structural Design and Photochemical Preparation of Ultrathin Molecular Film Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-01

tetracene and pentacene that have great potential as organic semiconducting materials, have been determined. Overall, we have gained to great extend a...layer of linear acenes, molecules such as tetracene and pentacene that have great potential as organic semiconducting materials, have been determined...intermolecular interaction of mono- and multi-layer linear acenes on metal A systematic study of adsorption of linear acenes, from benzene to pentacene , on metal

Photocathode quantum efficiency of ultrathin Cs2Te layers on Nb substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yusof, Zikri; Denchfield, Adam; Warren, Mark; Cardenas, Javier; Samuelson, Noah; Spentzouris, Linda; Power, John; Zasadzinski, John

2017-12-01

The quantum efficiencies (QE) of photocathodes consisting of bulk Nb substrates coated with thin films of Cs2Te are reported. Using the standard recipe for Cs2Te deposition developed for Mo substrates (220 Å Te thickness), a QE ˜11 % - 13 % at light wavelength of 248 nm is achieved for the Nb substrates, consistent with that found on Mo. Systematic reduction of the Te thickness for both Mo and Nb substrates reveals a surprisingly high residual QE ˜6 % for a Te layer as thin as 15 Å. A phenomenological model based on the Spicer three-step model along with a solution of the Fresnel equations for reflectance, R , leads to a reasonable fit of the thickness dependence of QE and suggests that layers thinner than 15 Å may still have a relatively high QE. Preliminary investigation suggests an increased operational lifetime as well. Such an ultrathin, semiconducting Cs2Te layer may be expected to produce minimal Ohmic losses for rf frequencies ˜1 GHz . The result thus opens the door to the potential development of a Nb (or Nb3Sn ) superconducting photocathode with relatively high QE and minimal rf impedance to be used in a superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) photoinjector.

Double-spiral magnetic structure of the Fe/Cr multilayer revealed by nuclear resonance reflectivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andreeva, M. A.; Baulin, R. A.; Chumakov, A. I.; Rüffer, R.; Smirnov, G. V.; Babanov, Y. A.; Devyaterikov, D. I.; Milyaev, M. A.; Ponomarev, D. A.; Romashev, L. N.; Ustinov, V. V.

2018-01-01

We have studied the magnetization depth profiles in a [57Fe (dFe) /Cr (dCr) ]30 multilayer with ultrathin Fe layers and nominal thickness of the chromium spacers dCr≈2.0 nm using nuclear resonance scattering of synchrotron radiation. The presence of a broad pure-magnetic half-order (1/2) Bragg reflection has been detected at zero external field. The joint fit of the reflectivity curves and Mössbauer spectra of reflectivity measured near the critical angle and at the "magnetic" peak reveals that the magnetic structure of the multilayer is formed by two spirals, one in the odd and another one in the even iron layers, with the opposite signs of rotation. The double-spiral structure starts from the surface with the almost-antiferromagnetic alignment of the adjacent Fe layers. The rotation of the two spirals leads to nearly ferromagnetic alignment of the two magnetic subsystems at some depth, where the sudden turn of the magnetic vectors by ˜180∘ (spin flop) appears, and both spirals start to rotate in opposite directions. The observation of this unusual double-spiral magnetic structure suggests that the unique properties of giant magnetoresistance devices can be further tailored using ultrathin magnetic layers.

A dual-stimuli-responsive fluorescent switch ultrathin film.

PubMed

Li, Zhixiong; Liang, Ruizheng; Liu, Wendi; Yan, Dongpeng; Wei, Min

2015-10-28

Stimuli-responsive fluorescent switches have shown broad applications in optical devices, biological materials and intelligent responses. Herein, we describe the design and fabrication of a dual-stimuli-responsive fluorescent switch ultrathin film (UTF) via a three-step layer-by-layer (LBL) technique: (i) encapsulation of spiropyran (SP) within an amphiphilic block copolymer (PTBEM) to give the (SP@PTBEM) micelle; (ii) the mixture of riboflavin (Rf) and poly(styrene 4-sulfonate) (PSS) to enhance the adhesion ability of small molecules; (iii) assembly of negatively charged SP@PTBEM and Rf-PSS with cationic layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoplatelets to obtain the (Rf-PSS/LDH/SP@PTBEM)n UTFs (n: bilayer number). The assembly process of the UTFs and their luminescence properties, as monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), present a uniform and ordered layered structure with stepwise growth. The resulting Rf-PSS/LDH/SP@PTBEM UTF serves as a three-state switchable multicolor (green, yellow, and red) luminescent system based on stimulation from UV/Vis light and pH, with an acceptable reversibility. Therefore, this work provides a facile way to fabricate stimuli-responsive solid-state film switches with tunable-color luminescence, which have potential applications in the areas of displays, sensors, and rewritable optical memory and fluorescent logic devices.

Time-resolved atomic force microscopy imaging studies of asymmetric PS-b-PMMA ultrathin films: Dislocation and disclination transformations, defect mobility, and evolution of nanoscale morphology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahm, J.; Sibener, S. J.

2001-03-01

Time-sequenced atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies of ultrathin films of cylinder-forming polystyrene-block-polymethylmethacrylate (PS-b-PMMA) copolymer are presented which delineate thin film mobility kinetics and the morphological changes which occur in microphase-separated films as a function of annealing temperature. Of particular interest are defect mobilities in the single layer (L thick) region, as well as the interfacial morphological changes which occur between L thick and adjacent 3L/2 thick layers, i.e., structural changes which occur during multilayer evolution. These measurements have revealed the dominant pathways by which disclinations and dislocations transform, annihilate, and topologically evolve during thermal annealing of such films. Mathematical combining equations are given to better explain such defect transformations and show the topological outcomes which result from defect-defect encounters. We also report a collective, Arrhenius-type flow of defects in localized L thick regions of the film; these are characterized by an activation energy of 377 kJ/mol. These measurements represent the first direct investigation of time-lapse interfacial morphological changes including associated defect evolution pathways for polymeric ultrathin films. Such observations will facilitate a more thorough and predictive understanding of diblock copolymer thin film dynamics, which in turn will further enable the utilization of these nanoscale phase-separated materials in a range of physical and chemical applications.

Camphor-Enabled Transfer and Mechanical Testing of Centimeter-Scale Ultrathin Films.

PubMed

Wang, Bin; Luo, Da; Li, Zhancheng; Kwon, Youngwoo; Wang, Meihui; Goo, Min; Jin, Sunghwan; Huang, Ming; Shen, Yongtao; Shi, Haofei; Ding, Feng; Ruoff, Rodney S

2018-05-21

Camphor is used to transfer centimeter-scale ultrathin films onto custom-designed substrates for mechanical (tensile) testing. Compared to traditional transfer methods using dissolving/peeling to remove the support-layers, camphor is sublimed away in air at low temperature, thereby avoiding additional stress on the as-transferred films. Large-area ultrathin films can be transferred onto hollow substrates without damage by this method. Tensile measurements are made on centimeter-scale 300 nm-thick graphene oxide film specimens, much thinner than the ≈2 μm minimum thickness of macroscale graphene-oxide films previously reported. Tensile tests were also done on two different types of large-area samples of adlayer free CVD-grown single-layer graphene supported by a ≈100 nm thick polycarbonate film; graphene stiffens this sample significantly, thus the intrinsic mechanical response of the graphene can be extracted. This is the first tensile measurement of centimeter-scale monolayer graphene films. The Young's modulus of polycrystalline graphene ranges from 637 to 793 GPa, while for near single-crystal graphene, it ranges from 728 to 908 GPa (folds parallel to the tensile loading direction) and from 683 to 775 GPa (folds orthogonal to the tensile loading direction), demonstrating the mechanical performance of large-area graphene in a size scale relevant to many applications. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Atomic layer deposition-A novel method for the ultrathin coating of minitablets.

PubMed

Hautala, Jaana; Kääriäinen, Tommi; Hoppu, Pekka; Kemell, Marianna; Heinämäki, Jyrki; Cameron, David; George, Steven; Juppo, Anne Mari

2017-10-05

We introduce atomic layer deposition (ALD) as a novel method for the ultrathin coating (nanolayering) of minitablets. The effects of ALD coating on the tablet characteristics and taste masking were investigated and compared with the established coating method. Minitablets containing bitter tasting denatonium benzoate were coated by ALD using three different TiO 2 nanolayer thicknesses (number of deposition cycles). The established coating of minitablets was performed in a laboratory-scale fluidized-bed apparatus using four concentration levels of aqueous Eudragit ® E coating polymer. The coated minitablets were studied with respect to the surface morphology, taste masking capacity, in vitro disintegration and dissolution, mechanical properties, and uniformity of content. The ALD thin coating resulted in minimal increase in the dimensions and weight of minitablets in comparison to original tablet cores. Surprisingly, ALD coating with TiO 2 nanolayers decreased the mechanical strength, and accelerated the in vitro disintegration of minitablets. Unlike previous studies, the studied levels of TiO 2 nanolayers on tablets were also inadequate for effective taste masking. In summary, ALD permits a simple and rapid method for the ultrathin coating (nanolayering) of minitablets, and provides nanoscale-range TiO 2 coatings on porous minitablets. More research, however, is needed to clarify its potential in tablet taste masking applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Construction and performance of ultra thin asphalt friction course

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-09-01

The Novachip process, also known as ultrathin friction course, was developed in France in 1986. The process utilizes a single piece of equipment to place a thin, gap-graded hot mix asphalt (HMA) onto a relatively thick layer of polymer modified aspha...

Engineering of an ultra-thin molecular superconductor by charge transfer

DOEpatents

Hla, Saw Wai; Hassanien, Abdelrahim; Kendal, Clark

2016-06-07

A method of forming a superconductive device of a single layer of (BETS).sub.2GaCl.sub.4 molecules on a substrate surface which displays a superconducting gap that increases exponentially with the length of the molecular chain is provided.

Encapsulate-and-peel: fabricating carbon nanotube CMOS integrated circuits in a flexible ultra-thin plastic film.

PubMed

Gao, Pingqi; Zhang, Qing

2014-02-14

Fabrication of single-walled carbon nanotube thin film (SWNT-TF) based integrated circuits (ICs) on soft substrates has been challenging due to several processing-related obstacles, such as printed/transferred SWNT-TF pattern and electrode alignment, electrical pad/channel material/dielectric layer flatness, adherence of the circuits onto the soft substrates etc. Here, we report a new approach that circumvents these challenges by encapsulating pre-formed SWNT-TF-ICs on hard substrates into polyimide (PI) and peeling them off to form flexible ICs on a large scale. The flexible SWNT-TF-ICs show promising performance comparable to those circuits formed on hard substrates. The flexible p- and n-type SWNT-TF transistors have an average mobility of around 60 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), a subthreshold slope as low as 150 mV dec(-1), operating gate voltages less than 2 V, on/off ratios larger than 10(4) and a switching speed of several kilohertz. The post-transfer technique described here is not only a simple and cost-effective pathway to realize scalable flexible ICs, but also a feasible method to fabricate flexible displays, sensors and solar cells etc.

Wet-chemical synthesis and applications of non-layer structured two-dimensional nanomaterials

PubMed Central

Tan, Chaoliang; Zhang, Hua

2015-01-01

Non-layer structured nanomaterials with single- or few-layer thickness have two-dimensional sheet-like structures and possess intriguing properties. Recent years have seen major advances in development of a host of non-layer structured ultrathin two-dimensional nanomaterials such as noble metals, metal oxides and metal chalcogenides. The wet-chemical synthesis has emerged as the most promising route towards high-yield and mass production of such nanomaterials. These nanomaterials are now finding increasing applications in a wide range of areas including catalysis, energy production and storage, sensor and nanotherapy, to name but a few. PMID:26303763

Structural secrets of multiferroic interfaces.

PubMed

Meyerheim, H L; Klimenta, F; Ernst, A; Mohseni, K; Ostanin, S; Fechner, M; Parihar, S; Maznichenko, I V; Mertig, I; Kirschner, J

2011-02-25

We present an experimental and theoretical study of the geometric structure of ultrathin BaTiO(3) films grown on Fe(001). Surface x-ray diffraction reveals that the films are terminated by a BaO layer, while the TiO(2) layer is next to the top Fe layer. Cations in termination layers have incomplete oxygen shells inducing strong vertical relaxations. Onset of polarization is observed at a minimum thickness of two unit cells. Our findings are supported by first-principles calculations providing a quantitative insight into the multiferroic properties on the atomic scale. © 2011 American Physical Society

Organic photovoltaic cells utilizing ultrathin sensitizing layer

DOEpatents

Forrest, Stephen R [Ann Arbor, MI; Yang, Fan [Piscataway, NJ; Rand, Barry P [Somers, NY

2011-09-06

A photosensitive device includes a plurality of organic photoconductive materials disposed in a stack between a first electrode and a second electrode, including a first continuous layer of donor host material, a second continuous layer of acceptor host material, and at least one other organic photoconductive material disposed as a plurality of discontinuous islands between the first continuous layer and the second continuous layer. Each of these other photoconductive materials has an absorption spectra different from the donor host material and the acceptor host material. Preferably, each of the discontinuous islands consists essentially of a crystallite of the respective organic photoconductive material, and more preferably, the crystallites are nanocrystals.

Electrodeposited nickel-cobalt sulfide nanosheet on polyacrylonitrile nanofibers: a binder-free electrode for flexible supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamran Sami, Syed; Siddiqui, Saqib; Tajmeel Feroze, Muhammad; Chung, Chan-Hwa

2017-11-01

To pursue high-performance energy storage devices with both high energy density and power density, one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures play a key role in the development of functional devices including energy conversion, energy storage, and environmental devices. The polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers were obtained by the versatile electrospinning method. An ultra-thin nickel-cobalt sulfide (NiCoS) layer was conformably electrodeposited on a self-standing PAN nanofibers by cyclic voltammetry to fabricate the light-weighted porous electrodes for supercapacitors. The porous web of PAN nanofibers acts as a high-surface-area scaffold with significant electrochemical performance, while the electrodeposition of metal sulfide nanosheet further enhances the specific capacitance. The fabricated NiCoS on PAN (NiCoS/PAN) nanofibers exhibits a very high capacitance of 1513 F g-1 at 5 A g-1 in 1 M potassium chloride (KCl) aqueous electrolyte with superior rate capability and excellent electrochemical stability as a hybrid electrode. The high capacitance of the NiCoS is attributed to the large surface area of the electrospun PAN nanofibers scaffold, which has offered a large number of active sites for possible redox reaction of ultra-thin NiCoS layer. Benefiting from the compositional features and electrode architectures, the hybrid electrode of NiCoS/PAN nanofibers shows greatly improved electrochemical performance with an ultra-high capacitance (1124 F g-1 at 50 A g-1). Moreover, a binder-free asymmetric supercapacitor device is also fabricated by using NiCoS/PAN nanofibers as the positive electrode and activated carbon (MSP-20) on PAN nanofibers as the negative electrode; this demonstrates high energy density of 56.904 W h kg-1 at a power density of 1.445 kW kg-1, and it still delivers the energy density of 33.3923 W h kg-1 even at higher power density of 16.5013 kW kg-1.

Nickel–cobalt layered double hydroxide ultrathin nanoflakes decorated on graphene sheets with a 3D nanonetwork structure as supercapacitive materials

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

Yan, Tao; Li, Ruiyi; Li, Zaijun, E-mail: zaijunli@263.net

2014-03-01

Graphical abstract: The microwave heating reflux approach was developed for the fabrication of nickel–cobalt layered double hydroxide ultrathin nanoflakes decorated on graphene sheets, in which ammonia and ethanol were used as the precipitator and medium for the synthesis. The obtained composite shows a 3D flowerclusters morphology with nanonetwork structure and largely enhanced supercapacitive performance. - Highlights: • The paper reported the microwave synthesis of nickel–cobalt layered double hydroxide/graphene composite. • The novel synthesis method is rapid, green, efficient and can be well used to the mass production. • The as-synthesized composite offers a 3D flowerclusters morphology with nanonetwork structure. •more » The composite offers excellent supercapacitive performance. • This study provides a promising route to design and synthesis of advanced graphene-based materials with the superiorities of time-saving and cost-effective characteristics. - Abstract: The study reported a novel microwave heating reflux method for the fabrication of nickel–cobalt layered double hydroxide ultrathin nanoflakes decorated on graphene sheets (GS/NiCo-LDH). Ammonia and ethanol were employed as precipitant and reaction medium for the synthesis, respectively. The resulting GS/NiCo-LDH offers a 3D flowerclusters morphology with nanonetwork structure. Due to the greatly enhanced rate of electron transfer and mass transport, the GS/NiCo-LDH electrode exhibits excellent supercapacitive performances. The maximum specific capacitance was found to be 1980.7 F g{sup −1} at the current density of 1 A g{sup −1}. The specific capacitance can remain 1274.7 F g{sup −1} at the current density of 15 A g{sup −1} and it has an increase of about 2.9% after 1500 cycles. Moreover, the study also provides a promising approach for the design and synthesis of metallic double hydroxides/graphene hybrid materials with time-saving and cost-effective characteristics, which can be potentially applied in the energy storage/conversion devices.« less

Coupling of microphase separation and dewetting in weakly segregated diblock co-polymer ultrathin films.

PubMed

Yan, Derong; Huang, Haiying; He, Tianbai; Zhang, Fajun

2011-10-04

We have studied the coupling behavior of microphase separation and autophobic dewetting in weakly segregated poly(ε-caprolactone)-block-poly(L-lactide) (PCL-b-PLLA) diblock co-polymer ultrathin films on carbon-coated mica substrates. At temperatures higher than the melting point of the PLLA block, the co-polymer forms a lamellar structure in bulk with a long period of L ∼ 20 nm, as determined using small-angle X-ray scattering. The relaxation procedure of ultrathin films with an initial film thickness of h = 10 nm during annealing has been followed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). In the experimental temperature range (100-140 °C), the co-polymer dewets to an ultrathin film of itself at about 5 nm because of the strong attraction of both blocks with the substrate. Moreover, the dewetting velocity increases with decreasing annealing temperatures. This novel dewetting kinetics can be explained by a competition effect of the composition fluctuation driven by the microphase separation with the dominated dewetting process during the early stage of the annealing process. While dewetting dominates the relaxation procedure and leads to the rupture of the ultrathin films, the composition fluctuation induced by the microphase separation attempts to stabilize them because of the matching of h to the long period (h ∼ 1/2L). The temperature dependence of these two processes leads to this novel relaxation kinetics of co-polymer thin films. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Effective passivation of silicon surfaces by ultrathin atomic-layer deposited niobium oxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macco, B.; Bivour, M.; Deijkers, J. H.; Basuvalingam, S. B.; Black, L. E.; Melskens, J.; van de Loo, B. W. H.; Berghuis, W. J. H.; Hermle, M.; Kessels, W. M. M. Erwin

2018-06-01

This letter reports on effective surface passivation of n-type crystalline silicon by ultrathin niobium oxide (Nb2O5) films prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and subjected to a forming gas anneal at 300 °C. A champion recombination parameter J0 of 20 fA/cm2 and a surface recombination velocity Seff of 4.8 cm/s have been achieved for ultrathin films of 1 nm. The surface pretreatment was found to have a strong impact on the passivation. Good passivation can be achieved on both HF-treated c-Si surfaces and c-Si surfaces with a wet-chemically grown interfacial silicon oxide layer. On HF-treated surfaces, a minimum film thickness of 3 nm is required to achieve a high level of surface passivation, whereas the use of a wet chemically-grown interfacial oxide enables excellent passivation even for Nb2O5 films of only 1 nm. This discrepancy in passivation between both surface types is attributed to differences in the formation and stoichiometry of interfacial silicon oxide, resulting in different levels of chemical passivation. On both surface types, the high level of passivation of ALD Nb2O5 is aided by field-effect passivation originating from a high fixed negative charge density of 1-2 × 1012 cm-3. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the passivation level provided by 1 nm of Nb2O5 can be further enhanced through light-soaking. Finally, initial explorations show that a low contact resistivity can be obtained using Nb2O5-based contacts. Together, these properties make ALD Nb2O5 a highly interesting building block for high-efficiency c-Si solar cells.

Employing Si solar cell technology to increase efficiency of ultra-thin Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells.

PubMed

Vermang, Bart; Wätjen, Jörn Timo; Fjällström, Viktor; Rostvall, Fredrik; Edoff, Marika; Kotipalli, Ratan; Henry, Frederic; Flandre, Denis

2014-10-01

Reducing absorber layer thickness below 500 nm in regular Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) solar cells decreases cell efficiency considerably, as both short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage are reduced because of incomplete absorption and high Mo/CIGS rear interface recombination. In this work, an innovative rear cell design is developed to avoid both effects: a highly reflective rear surface passivation layer with nano-sized local point contact openings is employed to enhance rear internal reflection and decrease the rear surface recombination velocity significantly, as compared with a standard Mo/CIGS rear interface. The formation of nano-sphere shaped precipitates in chemical bath deposition of CdS is used to generate nano-sized point contact openings. Evaporation of MgF 2 coated with a thin atomic layer deposited Al 2 O 3 layer, or direct current magnetron sputtering of Al 2 O 3 are used as rear surface passivation layers. Rear internal reflection is enhanced substantially by the increased thickness of the passivation layer, and also the rear surface recombination velocity is reduced at the Al 2 O 3 /CIGS rear interface. (MgF 2 /)Al 2 O 3 rear surface passivated ultra-thin CIGS solar cells are fabricated, showing an increase in short circuit current and open circuit voltage compared to unpassivated reference cells with equivalent CIGS thickness. Accordingly, average solar cell efficiencies of 13.5% are realized for 385 nm thick CIGS absorber layers, compared with 9.1% efficiency for the corresponding unpassivated reference cells.

Employing Si solar cell technology to increase efficiency of ultra-thin Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

PubMed Central

Vermang, Bart; Wätjen, Jörn Timo; Fjällström, Viktor; Rostvall, Fredrik; Edoff, Marika; Kotipalli, Ratan; Henry, Frederic; Flandre, Denis

2014-01-01

Reducing absorber layer thickness below 500 nm in regular Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells decreases cell efficiency considerably, as both short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage are reduced because of incomplete absorption and high Mo/CIGS rear interface recombination. In this work, an innovative rear cell design is developed to avoid both effects: a highly reflective rear surface passivation layer with nano-sized local point contact openings is employed to enhance rear internal reflection and decrease the rear surface recombination velocity significantly, as compared with a standard Mo/CIGS rear interface. The formation of nano-sphere shaped precipitates in chemical bath deposition of CdS is used to generate nano-sized point contact openings. Evaporation of MgF2 coated with a thin atomic layer deposited Al2O3 layer, or direct current magnetron sputtering of Al2O3 are used as rear surface passivation layers. Rear internal reflection is enhanced substantially by the increased thickness of the passivation layer, and also the rear surface recombination velocity is reduced at the Al2O3/CIGS rear interface. (MgF2/)Al2O3 rear surface passivated ultra-thin CIGS solar cells are fabricated, showing an increase in short circuit current and open circuit voltage compared to unpassivated reference cells with equivalent CIGS thickness. Accordingly, average solar cell efficiencies of 13.5% are realized for 385 nm thick CIGS absorber layers, compared with 9.1% efficiency for the corresponding unpassivated reference cells. PMID:26300619

Freestanding ultrathin single-crystalline SiC substrate by MeV H ion-slicing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Qi; Huang, Kai; You, Tiangui; Yi, Ailun; Lin, Jiajie; Zhang, Shibin; Zhou, Min; Zhang, Bin; Zhang, Bo; Yu, Wenjie; Ou, Xin; Wang, Xi

2018-05-01

SiC is a widely used wide-bandgap semiconductor, and the freestanding ultrathin single-crystalline SiC substrate provides the material platform for advanced devices. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of a freestanding ultrathin single-crystalline SiC substrate with a thickness of 22 μm by ion slicing using 1.6 MeV H ion implantation. The ion-slicing process performed in the MeV energy range was compared to the conventional case using low-energy H ion implantation in the keV energy range. The blistering behavior of the implanted SiC surface layer depends on both the implantation temperature and the annealing temperature. Due to the different straggling parameter for two implant energies, the distribution of implantation-induced damage is significantly different. The impact of implantation temperature on the high-energy and low-energy slicing was opposite, and the ion-slicing SiC in the MeV range initiates at a much higher temperature.

Fabrication of Ultra-Thin Printed Organic TFT CMOS Logic Circuits Optimized for Low-Voltage Wearable Sensor Applications.

PubMed

Takeda, Yasunori; Hayasaka, Kazuma; Shiwaku, Rei; Yokosawa, Koji; Shiba, Takeo; Mamada, Masashi; Kumaki, Daisuke; Fukuda, Kenjiro; Tokito, Shizuo

2016-05-09

Ultrathin electronic circuits that can be manufactured by using conventional printing technologies are key elements necessary to realize wearable health sensors and next-generation flexible electronic devices. Due to their low level of power consumption, complementary (CMOS) circuits using both types of semiconductors can be easily employed in wireless devices. Here, we describe ultrathin CMOS logic circuits, for which not only the source/drain electrodes but also the semiconductor layers were printed. Both p-type and n-type organic thin film transistor devices were employed in a D-flip flop circuit in the newly developed stacked structure and exhibited excellent electrical characteristics, including good carrier mobilities of 0.34 and 0.21 cm(2) V(-1) sec(-1), and threshold voltages of nearly 0 V with low operating voltages. These printed organic CMOS D-flip flop circuits exhibit operating frequencies of 75 Hz and demonstrate great potential for flexible and printed electronics technology, particularly for wearable sensor applications with wireless connectivity.

Restoring the magnetism of ultrathin LaMn O3 films by surface symmetry engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, J. J.; Song, C.; Li, F.; Gu, Y. D.; Wang, G. Y.; Pan, F.

2016-12-01

The frustration of magnetization and conductivity properties of ultrathin manganite is detrimental to their device performance, preventing their scaling down process. Here we demonstrate that the magnetism of ultrathin LaMn O3 films can be restored by a SrTi O3 capping layer, which engineers the surface from a symmetry breaking induced out-of-plane orbital occupancy to the recovered in-plane orbital occupancy. The stabilized in-plane orbital occupancy would strengthen the intralayer double exchange and thus recovers the robust magnetism. This method is proved to be effective for films as thin as 2 unit cells, greatly shrinking the critical thickness of 6 unit cells for ferromagnetic LaMn O3 as demonstrated previously [Wang et al., Science 349, 716 (2015), 10.1126/science.aaa5198]. The achievement made in this work opens up new perspectives to an active control of surface states and thereby tailors the surface functional properties of transition metal oxides.

Transport properties of ultrathin YBa2Cu3O7 -δ nanowires: A route to single-photon detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arpaia, Riccardo; Golubev, Dmitri; Baghdadi, Reza; Ciancio, Regina; Dražić, Goran; Orgiani, Pasquale; Montemurro, Domenico; Bauch, Thilo; Lombardi, Floriana

2017-08-01

We report on the growth and characterization of ultrathin YBa2Cu3O7 -δ (YBCO) films on MgO (110) substrates, which exhibit superconducting properties at thicknesses down to 3 nm. YBCO nanowires, with thicknesses down to 10 nm and widths down to 65 nm, have also been successfully fabricated. The nanowires protected by a Au capping layer show superconducting properties close to the as-grown films and critical current densities, which are limited by only vortex dynamics. The 10-nm-thick YBCO nanowires without the Au capping present hysteretic current-voltage characteristics, characterized by a voltage switch which drives the nanowires directly from the superconducting to the normal state. We associate such bistability to the presence of localized normal domains within the superconductor. The presence of the voltage switch in ultrathin YBCO nanostructures, characterized by high sheet resistance values and high critical current values, makes our nanowires very attractive devices to engineer single-photon detectors.

Fabrication of Ultra-Thin Printed Organic TFT CMOS Logic Circuits Optimized for Low-Voltage Wearable Sensor Applications

PubMed Central

Takeda, Yasunori; Hayasaka, Kazuma; Shiwaku, Rei; Yokosawa, Koji; Shiba, Takeo; Mamada, Masashi; Kumaki, Daisuke; Fukuda, Kenjiro; Tokito, Shizuo

2016-01-01

Ultrathin electronic circuits that can be manufactured by using conventional printing technologies are key elements necessary to realize wearable health sensors and next-generation flexible electronic devices. Due to their low level of power consumption, complementary (CMOS) circuits using both types of semiconductors can be easily employed in wireless devices. Here, we describe ultrathin CMOS logic circuits, for which not only the source/drain electrodes but also the semiconductor layers were printed. Both p-type and n-type organic thin film transistor devices were employed in a D-flip flop circuit in the newly developed stacked structure and exhibited excellent electrical characteristics, including good carrier mobilities of 0.34 and 0.21 cm2 V−1 sec−1, and threshold voltages of nearly 0 V with low operating voltages. These printed organic CMOS D-flip flop circuits exhibit operating frequencies of 75 Hz and demonstrate great potential for flexible and printed electronics technology, particularly for wearable sensor applications with wireless connectivity. PMID:27157914

Gap state charge induced spin-dependent negative differential resistance in tunnel junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Jun; Zhang, X.-G.; Han, X. F.

2016-04-01

We propose and demonstrate through first-principles calculation a new spin-dependent negative differential resistance (NDR) mechanism in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) with cubic cation disordered crystals (CCDC) AlO x or Mg1-x Al x O as barrier materials. The CCDC is a class of insulators whose band gap can be changed by cation doping. The gap becomes arched in an ultrathin layer due to the space charge formed from metal-induced gap states. With an appropriate combination of an arched gap and a bias voltage, NDR can be produced in either spin channel. This mechanism is applicable to 2D and 3D ultrathin junctions with a sufficiently small band gap that forms a large space charge. It provides a new way of controlling the spin-dependent transport in spintronic devices by an electric field. A generalized Simmons formula for tunneling current through junction with an arched gap is derived to show the general conditions under which ultrathin junctions may exhibit NDR.

Theoretical realization of robust broadband transparency in ultrathin seamless nanostructures by dual blackbodies for near infrared light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Lei; Hao, Jiaming; Ye, Huapeng; Yeo, Swee Ping; Qiu, Min; Zouhdi, Said; Qiu, Cheng-Wei

2013-03-01

We propose a counter-intuitive mechanism of constructing an ultrathin broadband transparent device with two perfect blackbodies. By introducing hybridization of plasmon modes, resonant modes with different symmetries coexist in this system. A broadband transmission spectrum in the near infrared regime is achieved through controlling their coupling strengths, which is governed by the thickness of high refractive index layer. Meanwhile, the transparency bandwidth is found to be tunable in a large range by varying the geometric dimension. More significantly, from the point view of applications, the proposed method of achieving broadband transparency can perfectly tolerate the misalignment and asymmetry of periodic nanoparticles on the top and bottom, which is empowered by the unique dual of coupling-in and coupling-out processes within the pair of blackbodies. Moreover, roughness has little influence on its transmission performance. According to the coupled mode theory, the distinguished transmittance performance is physically interpreted by the radiative decay rate of the entire system. In addition to the feature of uniquely robust broadband transparency, such a ultrathin seamless nanostructure (in the presence of a uniform silver layer) also provides polarization-independent and angle-independent operations. Therefore, it may power up a wide spectrum of exciting applications in thin film protection, touch screen techniques, absorber-emitter transformation, etc.We propose a counter-intuitive mechanism of constructing an ultrathin broadband transparent device with two perfect blackbodies. By introducing hybridization of plasmon modes, resonant modes with different symmetries coexist in this system. A broadband transmission spectrum in the near infrared regime is achieved through controlling their coupling strengths, which is governed by the thickness of high refractive index layer. Meanwhile, the transparency bandwidth is found to be tunable in a large range by varying the geometric dimension. More significantly, from the point view of applications, the proposed method of achieving broadband transparency can perfectly tolerate the misalignment and asymmetry of periodic nanoparticles on the top and bottom, which is empowered by the unique dual of coupling-in and coupling-out processes within the pair of blackbodies. Moreover, roughness has little influence on its transmission performance. According to the coupled mode theory, the distinguished transmittance performance is physically interpreted by the radiative decay rate of the entire system. In addition to the feature of uniquely robust broadband transparency, such a ultrathin seamless nanostructure (in the presence of a uniform silver layer) also provides polarization-independent and angle-independent operations. Therefore, it may power up a wide spectrum of exciting applications in thin film protection, touch screen techniques, absorber-emitter transformation, etc. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Comparison of transmittance spectra between structures with and without Ag film at the middle. Transmittance spectra of structures with different thicknesses of Ag film. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr34278f

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.

Vanadium dioxide film protected with an atomic-layer-deposited Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin film

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

Wang, Xiao; Cao, Yunzhen, E-mail: yzhcao@mail.sic.ac.cn; Yang, Chao

2016-01-15

A VO{sub 2} film exposed to ambient air is prone to oxidation, which will degrade its thermochromic properties. In this work, the authors deposited an ultrathin Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} film with atomic layer deposition (ALD) to protect the underlying VO{sub 2} film from degradation, and then studied the morphology and crystalline structure of the films. To assess the protectiveness of the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} capping layer, the authors performed a heating test and a damp heating test. An ultrathin 5-nm-thick ALD Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} film was sufficient to protect the underlying VO{sub 2} film heated at 350 °C. However, in amore » humid environment at prolonged durations, a thicker ALD Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} film (15 nm) was required to protect the VO{sub 2}. The authors also deposited and studied a TiO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} bilayer, which significantly improved the protectiveness of the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} film in a humid environment.« less

Highly Efficient White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with Ultrathin Emissive Layers and a Spacer-Free Structure

PubMed Central

Wu, Shengfan; Li, Sihua; Sun, Qi; Huang, Chenchao; Fung, Man-Keung

2016-01-01

Ultrathin emissive layers (UEMLs) of phosphorescent materials with a layer thickness of less than 0.3 nm were introduced for high-efficiency organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). All the UEMLs for white OLEDs can be prepared without the use of interlayers or spacers. Compared with devices fabricated with interlayers inserted in-between the UEMLs, our spacer-free structure not only significantly improves device efficiency, but also simplifies the fabrication process, thus it has a great potential in lowering the cost of OLED panels. In addition, its spacer-free structure decreases the number of interfaces which often introduce unnecessary energy barriers in these devices. In the present work, UEMLs of red, green and blue-emitting phosphorescent materials and yellow and blue phosphorescent emitters are utilized for the demonstration of spacer-free white OLEDs. Upon optimization of the device structure, we demonstrated spacer-free and simple-structured white-emitting OLEDs with a good device performance. The current and power efficiencies of our white-emitting devices are as high as 56.0 cd/A and 55.5 lm/W, respectively. These efficiencies are the highest ever reported for OLEDs fabricated with the UEML approach. PMID:27170543

Highly Efficient White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with Ultrathin Emissive Layers and a Spacer-Free Structure.

PubMed

Wu, Shengfan; Li, Sihua; Sun, Qi; Huang, Chenchao; Fung, Man-Keung

2016-05-12

Ultrathin emissive layers (UEMLs) of phosphorescent materials with a layer thickness of less than 0.3 nm were introduced for high-efficiency organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). All the UEMLs for white OLEDs can be prepared without the use of interlayers or spacers. Compared with devices fabricated with interlayers inserted in-between the UEMLs, our spacer-free structure not only significantly improves device efficiency, but also simplifies the fabrication process, thus it has a great potential in lowering the cost of OLED panels. In addition, its spacer-free structure decreases the number of interfaces which often introduce unnecessary energy barriers in these devices. In the present work, UEMLs of red, green and blue-emitting phosphorescent materials and yellow and blue phosphorescent emitters are utilized for the demonstration of spacer-free white OLEDs. Upon optimization of the device structure, we demonstrated spacer-free and simple-structured white-emitting OLEDs with a good device performance. The current and power efficiencies of our white-emitting devices are as high as 56.0 cd/A and 55.5 lm/W, respectively. These efficiencies are the highest ever reported for OLEDs fabricated with the UEML approach.

Highly Efficient White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with Ultrathin Emissive Layers and a Spacer-Free Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Shengfan; Li, Sihua; Sun, Qi; Huang, Chenchao; Fung, Man-Keung

2016-05-01

Ultrathin emissive layers (UEMLs) of phosphorescent materials with a layer thickness of less than 0.3 nm were introduced for high-efficiency organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). All the UEMLs for white OLEDs can be prepared without the use of interlayers or spacers. Compared with devices fabricated with interlayers inserted in-between the UEMLs, our spacer-free structure not only significantly improves device efficiency, but also simplifies the fabrication process, thus it has a great potential in lowering the cost of OLED panels. In addition, its spacer-free structure decreases the number of interfaces which often introduce unnecessary energy barriers in these devices. In the present work, UEMLs of red, green and blue-emitting phosphorescent materials and yellow and blue phosphorescent emitters are utilized for the demonstration of spacer-free white OLEDs. Upon optimization of the device structure, we demonstrated spacer-free and simple-structured white-emitting OLEDs with a good device performance. The current and power efficiencies of our white-emitting devices are as high as 56.0 cd/A and 55.5 lm/W, respectively. These efficiencies are the highest ever reported for OLEDs fabricated with the UEML approach.

Anomalous temperature dependence of training effect in specular spin valve using ultrathin Cr2O3-nano-oxide layer with magnetoelectric effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sawada, Kazuya; Shimomura, Naoki; Doi, Masaaki; Sahashi, Masashi

2010-05-01

Exchange bias from antiferromagnetic (AFM) oxides with a magnetoelectric (ME) effect has been studied for controlling ferromagnetic (FM) magnetizations by an applying electric field. However, thick ME oxides are needed for realizing the electrically controlled exchange biasing. Therefore, in this study the temperature dependencies of the training effect for the Cr2O3-nano-oxide-layer (NOL) are investigated for confirming the ME effect of the Cr2O3-NOL. The anomalous temperature tendencies of system dependent constant for exchange bias and magnetoresistance (MR), κHex and κMR, were observed, which are probably originated from the ME effect of the Cr2O3-NOL because (1) these anomalous temperature tendencies could not be obtained in the CoO-NOL spin valve and (2) the κHex and κMR are defined as the strength of the coupling between FM and AFM spins. It is remarkable result for us to confirm the possibility of the ME effect from the ultrathin Cr2O3 layer (less than 1 nm) because the ME effect was observed in only thick ME materials.

Dissolution-and-reduction CVD synthesis of few-layer graphene on ultra-thin nickel film lifted off for mode-locking fiber lasers

PubMed Central

Peng, Kaung-Jay; Lin, Yung-Hsiang; Wu, Chung-Lun; Lin, Sheng-Fong; Yang, Chun-Yu; Lin, Shih-Meng; Tsai, Din-Ping; Lin, Gong-Ru

2015-01-01

The in-situ dissolution-and-reduction CVD synthesized few-layer graphene on ultra-thin nickel catalyst film is demonstrated at temperature as low as 550 °C, which can be employed to form transmission-type or reflection-type saturable absorber (SA) for mode-locking the erbium-doped fiber lasers (EDFLs). With transmission-type graphene SA, the EDFL shortens its pulsewidth from 483 to 441 fs and broadens its spectral linewidth from 4.2 to 6.1 nm with enlarging the pumping current from 200 to 900 mA. In contrast, the reflection-type SA only compresses the pulsewidth from 875 to 796 fs with corresponding spectral linewidth broadened from 2.2 to 3.3 nm. The reflection-type graphene mode-locker increases twice of its equivalent layer number to cause more insertion loss than the transmission-type one. Nevertheless, the reflection-type based saturable absorber system can generate stabilized soliton-like pulse easier than that of transmission-type system, because the nonlinearity induced self-amplitude modulation depth is simultaneously enlarged when passing through the graphene twice under the retro-reflector design. PMID:26328535

Ultrathin ZnO interfacial passivation layer for atomic layer deposited ZrO2 dielectric on the p-In0.2Ga0.8As substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Chen; Lü, Hongliang; Yang, Tong; Zhang, Yuming; Zhang, Yimen; Liu, Dong; Ma, Zhenqiang; Yu, Weijian; Guo, Lixin

2018-06-01

Interfacial and electrical properties were investigated on metal-oxidesemiconductor capacitors (MOSCAPs) fabricated with bilayer ZnO/ZrO2 films by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on p-In0.2Ga0.8As substrates. The ZnO passivated In0.2Ga0.8As MOSCAPs have exhibited significantly improved capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics with the suppressed "stretched out" effect, increased accumulation capacitance and reduced accumulation frequency dispersion as well as the lower gate leakage current. In addition, the interface trap density (Dit) estimated by the Terman method was decreased dramatically for ZnO passivated p-In0.2Ga0.8As. The inherent mechanism is attributed to the fact that an ultrathin ZnO IPL employed by ALD prior to ZrO2 dielectric deposition can effectively suppress the formation of defect-related low-k oxides and As-As dimers at the interface, thus effectively improving the interface quality by largely removing the border traps aligned near the valence band edge of the p-In0.2Ga0.8As substrate.

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

Vasileiadis, Thomas; Department of Materials Science, University of Patras, GR-26504 Rio-Patras; Yannopoulos, Spyros N., E-mail: sny@iceht.forth.gr

Controlled photo-induced oxidation and amorphization of elemental trigonal tellurium are achieved by laser irradiation at optical wavelengths. These processes are monitored in situ by time-resolved Raman scattering and ex situ by electron microscopies. Ultrathin TeO₂ films form on Te surfaces, as a result of irradiation, with an interface layer of amorphous Te intervening between them. It is shown that irradiation, apart from enabling the controllable transformation of bulk Te to one-dimensional nanostructures, such as Te nanotubes and hybrid core-Te/sheath-TeO₂ nanowires, causes also a series of light-driven (athermal) phase transitions involving the crystallization of the amorphous TeO₂ layers and its transformationmore » to a multiplicity of crystalline phases including the γ-, β-, and α-TeO₂ crystalline phases. The kinetics of the above photo-induced processes is investigated by Raman scattering at various laser fluences revealing exponential and non-exponential kinetics at low and high fluence, respectively. In addition, the formation of ultrathin (less than 10 nm) layers of amorphous TeO₂ offers the possibility to explore structural transitions in 2D glasses by observing changes in the short- and medium-range structural order induced by spatial confinement.« less

Ultrathin Layered SnSe Nanoplates for Low Voltage, High-Rate, and Long-Life Alkali-Ion Batteries.

PubMed

Wang, Wei; Li, Peihao; Zheng, Henry; Liu, Qiao; Lv, Fan; Wu, Jiandong; Wang, Hao; Guo, Shaojun

2017-12-01

2D electrode materials with layered structures have shown huge potential in the fields of lithium- and sodium-ion batteries. However, their poor conductivity limits the rate performance and cycle stability of batteries. Herein a new colloid chemistry strategy is reported for making 2D ultrathin layered SnSe nanoplates (SnSe NPs) for achieving more efficient alkali-ion batteries. Due to the effect of weak Van der Waals forces, each semiconductive SnSe nanoplate stacks on top of each other, which can facilitate the ion transfer and accommodate volume expansion during the charge and discharge process. This unique structure as well as the narrow-bandgap semiconductor property of SnSe simultaneously meets the requirements of achieving fast ionic and electronic conductivities for alkali-ion batteries. They exhibit high capacity of 463.6 mAh g -1 at 0.05 A g -1 for Na-ion batteries and 787.9 mAh g -1 at 0.2 A g -1 for Li-ion batteries over 300 cycles, and also high stability for alkali-ion batteries. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Large-Area Atomic Layers of the Charge-Density-Wave Conductor TiSe2.

PubMed

Wang, Hong; Chen, Yu; Duchamp, Martial; Zeng, Qingsheng; Wang, Xuewen; Tsang, Siu Hon; Li, Hongling; Jing, Lin; Yu, Ting; Teo, Edwin Hang Tong; Liu, Zheng

2018-02-01

Layered transition metal (Ti, Ta, Nb, etc.) dichalcogenides are important prototypes for the study of the collective charge density wave (CDW). Reducing the system dimensionality is expected to lead to novel properties, as exemplified by the discovery of enhanced CDW order in ultrathin TiSe 2 . However, the syntheses of monolayer and large-area 2D CDW conductors can currently only be achieved by molecular beam epitaxy under ultrahigh vacuum. This study reports the growth of monolayer crystals and up to 5 × 10 5 µm 2 large films of the typical 2D CDW conductor-TiSe 2 -by ambient-pressure chemical vapor deposition. Atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy indicates the as-grown samples are highly crystalline 1T-phase TiSe 2 . Variable-temperature Raman spectroscopy shows a CDW phase transition temperature of 212.5 K in few layer TiSe 2 , indicative of high crystal quality. This work not only allows the exploration of many-body state of TiSe 2 in 2D limit but also offers the possibility of utilizing large-area TiSe 2 in ultrathin electronic devices. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Retardation mechanism of ultrathin Al2O3 interlayer on Y2O3 passivated gallium nitride surface.

PubMed

Quah, Hock Jin; Cheong, Kuan Yew

2014-05-28

A systematic investigation was carried out by incorporating an ultrathin aluminum oxide (Al2O3) as an interlayer between yttrium oxide (Y2O3) passivation layer and GaN substrate. The sandwiched samples were then subjected to postdeposition annealing in oxygen ambient from 400 to 800 °C. The Al2O3 interlayer was discovered to play a significant role in slowing down inward diffusion of oxygen through the Y2O3 passivation layer as well as in impeding outward diffusion of Ga(3+) and N(3-) from the decomposed GaN surface. These beneficial effects have suppressed subsequent formation of interfacial layer. A mechanism in association with the function of Al2O3 as an interlayer was suggested and discussed. The mechanism was explicitly described on the basis of the obtained results from X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution TEM, and electron energy loss spectroscopy line scan. A correlation between the proposed mechanism and metal-oxide-semiconductor characteristics of Y2O3/Al2O3/GaN structure has been proposed.

Atomic Layer Deposition in Bio-Nanotechnology: A Brief Overview.

PubMed

Bishal, Arghya K; Butt, Arman; Selvaraj, Sathees K; Joshi, Bela; Patel, Sweetu B; Huang, Su; Yang, Bin; Shukohfar, Tolou; Sukotjo, Cortino; Takoudis, Christos G

2015-01-01

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a technique increasingly used in nanotechnology and ultrathin film deposition; it is ideal for films in the nanometer and Angstrom length scales. ALD can effectively be used to modify the surface chemistry and functionalization of engineering-related and biologically important surfaces. It can also be used to alter the mechanical, electrical, chemical, and other properties of materials that are increasingly used in biomedical engineering and biological sciences. ALD is a relatively new technique for optimizing materials for use in bio-nanotechnology. Here, after a brief review of the more widely used modes of ALD and a few of its applications in biotechnology, selected results that show the potential of ALD in bio-nanotechnology are presented. ALD seems to be a promising means for tuning the hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity characteristics of biomedical surfaces, forming conformal ultrathin coatings with desirable properties on biomedical substrates with a high aspect ratio, tuning the antibacterial properties of substrate surfaces of interest, and yielding multifunctional biomaterials for medical implants and other devices.

Si photoanode protected by a metal modified ITO layer with ultrathin NiO(x) for solar water oxidation.

PubMed

Sun, Ke; Shen, Shaohua; Cheung, Justin S; Pang, Xiaolu; Park, Namseok; Zhou, Jigang; Hu, Yongfeng; Sun, Zhelin; Noh, Sun Young; Riley, Conor T; Yu, Paul K L; Jin, Sungho; Wang, Deli

2014-03-14

We report an ultrathin NiOx catalyzed Si np(+) junction photoanode for a stable and efficient solar driven oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in water. A stable semi-transparent ITO/Au/ITO hole conducting oxide layer, sandwiched between the OER catalyst and the Si photoanode, is used to protect the Si from corrosion in an alkaline working environment, enhance the hole transportation, and provide a pre-activation contact to the NiOx catalyst. The NiOx catalyzed Si photoanode generates a photocurrent of 1.98 mA cm(-2) at the equilibrium water oxidation potential (EOER = 0.415 V vs. NHE in 1 M NaOH solution). A thermodynamic solar-to-oxygen conversion efficiency (SOCE) of 0.07% under 0.51-sun illumination is observed. The successful development of a low cost, highly efficient, and stable photoelectrochemical electrode based on earth abundant elements is essential for the realization of a large-scale practical solar fuel conversion.

Optical Properties of Al-Doped ZnO Films in the Infrared Region and Their Absorption Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Hua; Zhang, Rong-Jun; Li, Da-Hai; Chen, Xin; Wang, Song-You; Zheng, Yu-Xiang; Li, Meng-Jiao; Hu, Zhi-Gao; Dai, Ning; Chen, Liang-Yao

2018-05-01

The optical properties of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films were calculated rapidly and accurately by point-by-point analysis from spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) data. It was demonstrated that there were two different physical mechanisms, i.e., the interfacial effect and crystallinity, for the thickness-dependent permittivity in the visible and infrared regions. In addition, there was a blue shift for the effective plasma frequency of AZO when the thickness increased, and the effective plasma frequency did not exist for AZO ultrathin films (< 25 nm) in the infrared region, which demonstrated that AZO ultrathin films could not be used as a negative index metamaterial. Based on detailed permittivity research, we designed a near-perfect absorber at 2-5 μm by etching AZO-ZnO alternative layers. The alternative layers matched the phase of reflected light, and the void cylinder arrays extended the high absorption range. Moreover, the AZO absorber demonstrated feasibility and applicability on different substrates.

Thermal conductivity of ultrathin nano-crystalline diamond films determined by Raman thermography assisted by silicon nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anaya, Julian; Rossi, Stefano; Alomari, Mohammed; Kohn, Erhard; Tóth, Lajos; Pécz, Béla; Kuball, Martin

2015-06-01

The thermal transport in polycrystalline diamond films near its nucleation region is still not well understood. Here, a steady-state technique to determine the thermal transport within the nano-crystalline diamond present at their nucleation site has been demonstrated. Taking advantage of silicon nanowires as surface temperature nano-sensors, and using Raman Thermography, the in-plane and cross-plane components of the thermal conductivity of ultra-thin diamond layers and their thermal barrier to the Si substrate were determined. Both components of the thermal conductivity of the nano-crystalline diamond were found to be well below the values of polycrystalline bulk diamond, with a cross-plane thermal conductivity larger than the in-plane thermal conductivity. Also a depth dependence of the lateral thermal conductivity through the diamond layer was determined. The results impact the design and integration of diamond for thermal management of AlGaN/GaN high power transistors and also show the usefulness of the nanowires as accurate nano-thermometers.

Surface hole gas enabled transparent deep ultraviolet light-emitting diode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jianping; Gao, Ying; Zhou, Ling; Gil, Young-Un; Kim, Kyoung-Min

2018-07-01

The inherent deep-level nature of acceptors in wide-band-gap semiconductors makes p-ohmic contact formation and hole supply difficult, impeding progress for short-wavelength optoelectronics and high-power high-temperature bipolar electronics. We provide a general solution by demonstrating an ultrathin rather than a bulk wide-band-gap semiconductor to be a successful hole supplier and ohmic contact layer. Free holes in this ultrathin semiconductor are assisted to activate from deep acceptors and swept to surface to form hole gases by a large electric field, which can be provided by engineered spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations. Experimentally, a 6 nm thick AlN layer with surface hole gas had formed p-ohmic contact to metals and provided sufficient hole injection to a 280 nm light-emitting diode, demonstrating a record electrical-optical conversion efficiency exceeding 8.5% at 20 mA (55 A cm‑2). Our approach of forming p-type wide-band-gap semiconductor ohmic contact is critical to realizing high-efficiency ultraviolet optoelectronic devices.

Intercorrelated In-Plane and Out-of-Plane Ferroelectricity in Ultrathin Two-Dimensional Layered Semiconductor In2Se3.

PubMed

Cui, Chaojie; Hu, Wei-Jin; Yan, Xingxu; Addiego, Christopher; Gao, Wenpei; Wang, Yao; Wang, Zhe; Li, Linze; Cheng, Yingchun; Li, Peng; Zhang, Xixiang; Alshareef, Husam N; Wu, Tom; Zhu, Wenguang; Pan, Xiaoqing; Li, Lain-Jong

2018-02-14

Enriching the functionality of ferroelectric materials with visible-light sensitivity and multiaxial switching capability would open up new opportunities for their applications in advanced information storage with diverse signal manipulation functions. We report experimental observations of robust intralayer ferroelectricity in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals layered α-In 2 Se 3 ultrathin flakes at room temperature. Distinct from other 2D and conventional ferroelectrics, In 2 Se 3 exhibits intrinsically intercorrelated out-of-plane and in-plane polarization, where the reversal of the out-of-plane polarization by a vertical electric field also induces the rotation of the in-plane polarization. On the basis of the in-plane switchable diode effect and the narrow bandgap (∼1.3 eV) of ferroelectric In 2 Se 3 , a prototypical nonvolatile memory device, which can be manipulated both by electric field and visible light illumination, is demonstrated for advancing data storage technologies.

Ultrathin body GaSb-on-insulator p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors on Si fabricated by direct wafer bonding

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

Yokoyama, Masafumi, E-mail: yokoyama@mosfet.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Takenaka, Mitsuru; Takagi, Shinichi

2015-02-16

We have realized ultrathin body GaSb-on-insulator (GaSb-OI) on Si wafers by direct wafer bonding technology using atomic-layer deposition (ALD) Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and have demonstrated GaSb-OI p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (p-MOSFETs) on Si. A 23-nm-thick GaSb-OI p-MOSFET exhibits the peak effective mobility of ∼76 cm{sup 2}/V s. We have found that the effective hole mobility of the thin-body GaSb-OI p-MOSFETs decreases with a decrease in the GaSb-OI thickness or with an increase in Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} ALD temperature. The InAs passivation of GaSb-OI MOS interfaces can enhance the peak effective mobility up to 159 cm{sup 2}/V s for GaSb-OI p-MOSFETs with themore » 20-nm-thick GaSb layer.« less

Layered host-guest long-afterglow ultrathin nanosheets: high-efficiency phosphorescence energy transfer at 2D confined interface.

PubMed

Gao, Rui; Yan, Dongpeng

2017-01-01

Tuning and optimizing the efficiency of light energy transfer play an important role in meeting modern challenges of minimizing energy loss and developing high-performance optoelectronic materials. However, attempts to fabricate systems giving highly efficient energy transfer between luminescent donor and acceptor have achieved limited success to date. Herein, we present a strategy towards phosphorescence energy transfer at a 2D orderly crystalline interface. We first show that new ultrathin nanosheet materials giving long-afterglow luminescence can be obtained by assembling aromatic guests into a layered double hydroxide host. Furthermore, we demonstrate that co-assembly of these long-lived energy donors with an energy acceptor in the same host generates an ordered arrangement of phosphorescent donor-acceptor pairs spatially confined within the 2D nanogallery, which affords energy transfer efficiency as high as 99.7%. Therefore, this work offers an alternative route to develop new types of long-afterglow nanohybrids and efficient light transfer systems with potential energy, illumination and sensor applications.

Ultra-thin layer chromatography and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy on silver nanorod array substrates prepared by oblique angle deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jing; Abell, Justin; Huang, Yao-wen; Zhao, Yiping

2012-06-01

We demonstrate the potential use of silver nanorod (AgNR) array substrates for on-chip separation and detection of chemical mixtures by ultra-thin layer chromatography (UTLC) and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The capability of the AgNR substrates to separate different compounds in a mixture was explored using a mixture of the food colorant Brilliant Blue FCF and lactic acid, and the mixtures of Methylene Violet and BSA at various concentrations. After the UTLC process, spatially-resolved SERS spectra were collected along the mobile phase development direction and the intensities of specific SERS peaks from each component were used to generate chromatograms. The AgNR substrates demonstrate the capability of separating Brilliant Blue from lactic acid, as well as revealing the SERS signal of Methylene Violet from the massive BSA background after a simple UTLC step. This technique may have significant practical implications in actual detection of small molecules from complex food or clinical backgrounds.

Defect-free erbium silicide formation using an ultrathin Ni interlayer.

PubMed

Choi, Juyun; Choi, Seongheum; Kang, Yu-Seon; Na, Sekwon; Lee, Hoo-Jeong; Cho, Mann-Ho; Kim, Hyoungsub

2014-08-27

An ultrathin Ni interlayer (∼1 nm) was introduced between a TaN-capped Er film and a Si substrate to prevent the formation of surface defects during thermal Er silicidation. A nickel silicide interfacial layer formed at low temperatures and incurred uniform nucleation and the growth of a subsequently formed erbium silicide film, effectively inhibiting the generation of recessed-type surface defects and improving the surface roughness. As a side effect, the complete transformation of Er to erbium silicide was somewhat delayed, and the electrical contact property at low annealing temperatures was dominated by the nickel silicide phase with a high Schottky barrier height. After high-temperature annealing, the early-formed interfacial layer interacted with the growing erbium silicide, presumably forming an erbium silicide-rich Er-Si-Ni mixture. As a result, the electrical contact property reverted to that of the low-resistive erbium silicide/Si contact case, which warrants a promising source/drain contact application for future high-performance metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors.

Study of series-connected polymer tandem solar cells based on a highly efficient donor material of PTB7-Th

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zang, Yue; Gao, Xiumin; Xin, Qing; Lin, Jun; Zhao, Jufeng

2017-06-01

A highly efficient donor polymer, PTB7-Th, combined with acceptor fullerene PC71BM was introduced as the subcell in the series-connected tandem devices to achieve high-performance polymer tandem solar cells. Design of the device architecture was investigated using modeling and simulation methods to identify the optimal structure and to predict performance of the tandem cells. To address the challenge of current matching between the constituent subcells, the effect of active layer thickness, different device structure, and use of ultrathin Ag film were analyzed. It was found that the distribution of optical intensity in the tandem structure can be optimized through the optical spacer effect of interfacial layers and micro-cavity effect derived from the embedded ultrathin Ag film. Our results indicate that the efficient light utilization with appropriate subcells can allow achievement of power conversion efficiency of 12%, which can be 25% higher than that of a single cell of PTB7-Th.

Interaction between perylene-derivated molecules observed by low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vernisse, Loranne; Guillermet, Olivier; Gourdon, André; Coratger, Roland

2018-03-01

Derivative perylene molecules deposited on Ag(111) and on NaCl(001) ultrathin layers have been investigated using low temperature STM and NC-AFM. When the metallic substrate is held at ambient temperature during evaporation, the molecules form characteristic trimers on the Ag(111) surface and interact through their polar groups. Close to the steps, the molecules form linear structures and seems to stand side by side. On the other hand, after deposition on a substrate cooled at liquid helium temperature, single molecules are observed both on metal and on NaCl. On the ultrathin insulator layers, the STM images present characteristic contrasts related to the molecular orbitals which favors the localization of aldehyde groups. In this case, the lateral molecular interactions may induce the formation of small assemblies in which the electronic levels are slightly shifted. A possible interpretation of this phenomenon is to take into account polar interactions and charge transfer between neighboring molecules.

Transparent ALD-grown Ta2O5 protective layer for highly stable ZnO photoelectrode in solar water splitting.

PubMed

Li, Chengcheng; Wang, Tuo; Luo, Zhibin; Zhang, Dong; Gong, Jinlong

2015-04-30

This communication describes a highly stable ZnO/Ta2O5 photoanode with Ta2O5 deposited by atomic layer deposition. The ultrathin Ta2O5 protective layer prevents corrosion of ZnO and reduces surface carrier recombination, leading to a nearly two-fold increase of photo-conversion efficiency. The transparency of Ta2O5 to sunlight is identified as the main reason for the excellent stability of the photoelectrode for 5 hours.

Ultrathin porous NiCo2O4 nanosheet arrays on flexible carbon fabric for high-performance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Du, Jun; Zhou, Gang; Zhang, Haiming; Cheng, Chao; Ma, Jianmin; Wei, Weifeng; Chen, Libao; Wang, Taihong

2013-08-14

NiCo2O4 with higher specific capacitance is an excellent pseudocapacitive material. However, the bulk NiCo2O4 material prevents the achievement of high energy desity and great rate performance due to the limited electroactive surface area. In this work, NiCo2O4 nanosheet arrays were deposited on flexible carbon fabric (CF) as a high-performance electrode for supercapacitors. The NiCo2O4 arrays were constructed by interconnected ultrathin nanosheets (10 nm) with many interparticle pores. The porous feature of NiCo2O4 nanosheets increases the amount of electroactive sites and facilitates the electrolyte penetration. Hence, the NiCo2O4/CF composites exhibited a high specific capacitance of 2658 F g(-1) (2 A g(-1)), good rate performance, and superior cycling life, suggesting the NiCo2O4/CF is a promising electrode material for flexible electrochemical capacitors.

Ultrathin molybdenum diselenide nanosheets anchored on multi-walled carbon nanotubes as anode composites for high performance sodium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhian; Yang, Xing; Fu, Yun; Du, Ke

2015-11-01

Ultrathin molybdenum diselenide nanosheets are decorated on the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) via a one-step hydrothermal method. Uniform MoSe2 nanosheets are firmly anchored on MWCNT according to the characterizations of scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM). When evaluated as anodes for sodium storage, the MoSe2@MWCNT composites deliver a reversible specific capacity of 459 mAh g-1 at a current of 200 mA g-1 over 90 cycles, and a specific capacity of 385 mAh g-1 even at a current rate of 2000 mAh g-1, which is better than the MoSe2 nanosheets. The enhanced electrochemical performance of the MoSe2@MWCNT composites can be ascribed to the synergic effects of MoSe2 nanosheets and MWCNT. The high capacity and good rate performance reveal that the MoSe2@MWCNT composites are very promising for applications in sodium-ion batteries.

Ultrathin nickel hydroxide nanosheet arrays grafted biomass-derived honeycomb-like porous carbon with improved electrochemical performance as a supercapacitive material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagaraju, Goli; Cha, Sung Min; Yu, Jae Su

2017-03-01

Three-dimensional hierarchical honeycomb-like activated porous carbon pillared ultrathin Ni(OH)2 nanosheets (Ni(OH)2 NSs@HAPC) for use as supercapacitor materials were facilely synthesized. With an aid of pine cone flowers as a biomass source, HAPC conducting scaffolds were prepared by the alkali treatment and pyrolysis methods under an inert gas atmosphere. Subsequently, the Ni(OH)2 NSs were synthesized evenly on the surface of HAPC via a solvothermal method. The resulting HAPC and Ni(OH)2 NSs@HAPC composite materials offered free pathways for effective diffusion of electrolyte ions and fast transportation of electrons when employed as an electrode material. The Ni(OH)2 NSs@HAPC composite electrode exhibited excellent electrochemical properties including a relatively high specific capacitance (Csp) value of ~ 916.4 F/g at 1 A/g with good cycling stability compared to the pristine HAPC and Ni(OH)2 NSs electrodes. Such bio-friendly derived carbon-based materials with transition metal hydroxide/oxide composite materials could be a promising approach for high-performance energy storage devices because of their advantageous properties of cost effectiveness and easy availability.

Ce-Doped NiFe-Layered Double Hydroxide Ultrathin Nanosheets/Nanocarbon Hierarchical Nanocomposite as an Efficient Oxygen Evolution Catalyst.

PubMed

Xu, Huajie; Wang, Bingkai; Shan, Changfu; Xi, Pinxian; Liu, Weisheng; Tang, Yu

2018-02-21

Developing convenient doping to build highly active oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is a practical process for solving the energy crisis. Herein, a facile and low-cost in situ self-assembly strategy for preparing a Ce-doped NiFe-LDH nanosheets/nanocarbon (denoted as NiFeCe-LDH/CNT, LDH = layered double hydroxide and CNT = carbon nanotube) hierarchical nanocomposite is established for enhanced OER, in which the novel material provides its overall advantageous structural features, including high intrinsic catalytic activity, rich redox properties, high, flexible coordination number of Ce 3+ , and strongly coupled interface. Further experimental results indicate that doped Ce into NiFe-LDH/CNT nanoarrays brings about the reinforced specific surface area, electrochemical surface area, lattice defects, and the electron transport between the LDH nanolayered structure and the framework of CNTs. The effective synergy prompts the NiFeCe-LDH/CNT nanocomposite to possess superior OER electrocatalytic activity with a low onset potential (227 mV) and Tafel slope (33 mV dec -1 ), better than the most non-noble metal-based OER electrocatalysts reported. Therefore, the combination of the remarkable catalytic ability and the facile normal temperature synthesis conditions endows the Ce-doped LDH nanocomposite as a promising catalyst to expand the field of lanthanide-doped layered materials for efficient water-splitting electrocatalysis with scale-up potential.

In Situ Integration of Ultrathin PtCu Nanowires with Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanosheets for Efficient Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction.

PubMed

Yan, Xiaoxiao; Chen, Yifan; Deng, Sihui; Yang, Yifan; Huang, Zhenna; Ge, Cunwang; Xu, Lin; Sun, Dongmei; Fu, Gengtao; Tang, Yawen

2017-11-27

Ultrathin Pt-based nanowires are considered as promising electrocatalysts owing to their high atomic utilization efficiency and structural robustness. Moreover, integration of Pt-based nanowires with graphene oxide (GO) could further increase the electrocatalytic performance, yet remains challenging to date. Herein, for the first time we demonstrate the in situ synthesis of ultrathin PtCu nanowires grown over reduced GO (PtCu-NWs/rGO) by a one-pot hydrothermal approach with the aid of amine-terminated poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM-NH 2 ). The judicious selection of PNIPAM-NH 2 facilitates the in situ nucleation and anisotropic growth of nanowires on the rGO surface and oriented attachment mechanism accounts for the formation of PtCu ultrathin nanowires. Owing to the synergy between PtCu NWs and rGO support, the PtCu-NWs/rGO outperforms the rGO supported PtCu nanoparticles (PtCu-NPs/rGO), PtCu-NWs, and commercial Pt/C toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) with higher activity and better stability, making it a promising cathodic electrocatalyst for both fuel cells and metal-air cells. Moreover, the present synthetic strategy could inspire the future design of other metal alloy nanowires/carbon hybrid catalysts. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Structure, Hydrodynamics, and Phase Transition of Freely Suspended Liquid Crystals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, Noel A.

2000-01-01

Smectic liquid crystals are phases of rod shaped molecules organized into one dimensionally (1D) periodic arrays of layers, each layer being between one and two molecular lengths thick. In the least ordered smectic phases, the smectics A and C, each layer is a two dimensional (2D) liquid. Additionally there are a variety of more ordered smectic phases having hexatic short range translational order or 2D crystalline quasi long range translational order within the layers. The inherent fluid-layer structure and low vapor pressure of smectic liquid crystals enable the long term stabilization of freely suspended, single component, layered fluid films as thin as 30A, a single molecular layer. The layering forces the films to be an integral number of smectic layers thick, quantizing their thickness in layer units and forcing a film of a particular number of layers to be physically homogeneous with respect to its layer structure over its entire area. Optical reflectivity enables the precise determination of the number of layers. These ultrathin freely suspended liquid crystal films are structures of fundamental interest in condensed matter and fluid physics. They are the thinnest known stable condensed phase fluid structures and have the largest surface-to-volume ratio of any stable fluid preparation, making them ideal for the study of the effects of reduced dimensionality on phase behavior and on fluctuation and interface phenomena. Their low vapor pressure and quantized thickness enable the effective use of microgravity to extend the study of basic capillary phenomena to ultrathin fluid films. Freely suspended films have been a wellspring of new liquid crystal physics. They have been used to provide unique experimental conditions for the study of condensed phase transitions in two dimensions. They are the only system in which the hexatic has been unambiguously identified as a phase of matter, and the only physical system in which fluctuations of a 2D XY system and Kosterlitz Thouless phase transition has been observed and 2D XY quasi long range order verified. Smectic films have enabled the precise determination of smectic layer electron density and positional fluctuation profile and have been used to show that the interlayer interactions in anti-ferroelectric tilted smectics do not extend significantly beyond nearest neighbors. The interactions which are operative in liquid crystals are generally weak in comparison to those in crystalline phases, leading to the facile manipulation of the order in liquid crystals by external agents such as applied fields and surfaces. Effects arising from weak ordering are significantly enhanced in ultrathin free films and filaments wherein the intermolecular coupling is effectively reduced by loss of neighbors. Over the past four years this research, which we now detail, has produced a host of exciting new discoveries and unexpected results, maintaining the position of the study of freely suspended liquid crystal structures as one of most exciting and fruitful areas of complex fluid physics. In addition, several potentially interesting microgravity free film experiments have been identified.

Multiscale Relaxation Dynamics in Ultrathin Metallic Glass-Forming Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bi, Q. L.; Lü, Y. J.; Wang, W. H.

2018-04-01

The density layering phenomenon originating from a free surface gives rise to the layerlike dynamics and stress heterogeneity in ultrathin Cu-Zr glassy films, which facilitates the occurrence of multistep relaxations in the timescale of computer simulations. Taking advantage of this condition, we trace the relaxation decoupling and evolution with temperature simply via the intermediate scattering function. We show that the β relaxation hierarchically follows fast and slow modes in films, and there is a β -relaxation transition as the film is cooled close to the glass transition. We provide the direct observation of particle motions responsible for the β relaxation and reveal the dominant mechanism varying from the thermal activated to the cooperative jumps across the transition.

Resistive switching of organic–inorganic hybrid devices of conductive polymer and permeable ultra-thin SiO2 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Shunsuke; Kitanaka, Takahisa; Miyashita, Tokuji; Mitsuishi, Masaya

2018-06-01

We propose a resistive switching device composed of conductive polymer (PEDOT:PSS) and SiO2 ultra-thin films. The SiO2 film was fabricated from silsesquioxane polymer nanosheets as a resistive switching layer. Devices with metal (Ag or Au)∣SiO2∣PEDOT:PSS architecture show good resistive switching performance with set–reset voltages as low as several hundred millivolts. The device properties and the working mechanism were investigated by varying the electrode material, surrounding atmosphere, and SiO2 film thickness. Results show that resistive switching is based on water and ion migration at the PEDOT:PSS∣SiO2 interface.

Resistive switching of organic-inorganic hybrid devices of conductive polymer and permeable ultra-thin SiO2 films.

PubMed

Yamamoto, Shunsuke; Kitanaka, Takahisa; Miyashita, Tokuji; Mitsuishi, Masaya

2018-06-29

We propose a resistive switching device composed of conductive polymer (PEDOT:PSS) and SiO 2 ultra-thin films. The SiO 2 film was fabricated from silsesquioxane polymer nanosheets as a resistive switching layer. Devices with metal (Ag or Au)∣SiO 2 ∣PEDOT:PSS architecture show good resistive switching performance with set-reset voltages as low as several hundred millivolts. The device properties and the working mechanism were investigated by varying the electrode material, surrounding atmosphere, and SiO 2 film thickness. Results show that resistive switching is based on water and ion migration at the PEDOT:PSS∣SiO 2 interface.

Spin-Swapping Transport and Torques in Ultrathin Magnetic Bilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saidaoui, Hamed Ben Mohamed; Manchon, A.

2016-07-01

Planar spin transport in disordered ultrathin magnetic bilayers comprising a ferromagnet and a normal metal (typically used for spin pumping, spin Seebeck and spin-orbit torque experiments) is investigated theoretically. Using a tight-binding model that puts the extrinsic spin Hall effect and spin swapping on equal footing, we show that the nature of spin-orbit coupled transport dramatically depends on the ratio between the layer thickness d and the mean free path λ . While the spin Hall effect dominates in the diffusive limit (d ≫λ ), spin swapping dominates in the Knudsen regime (d ≲λ ). A remarkable consequence is that spin swapping induces a substantial fieldlike torque in the Knudsen regime.

Study of surface atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma based on ultrathin laminated electrodes in air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Luxiang; Liu, Wenzheng; Li, Zhiyi; Ma, Chuanlong

2018-05-01

A method to generate large-area surface plasma in air by micro-discharge is proposed. Two ultrathin laminated electrode structures of non-insulating and insulating types were formed by using the nanoscale ITO conductive layer. The surface glow discharge in atmospheric air is realized in low discharge voltage by constructing the special electric field of two-dimensional unidirectional attenuation. In particular, the insulating electrode structure can avoid the loss of ITO electrodes so that the discharge stability can be increased, and the treated objects can be prevented from metal ion pollution caused by the electrode in the discharge. It has broad application prospects in the fields of aerodynamics and material surface treatment.

Fuel Cells | Hydrogen and Fuel Cells | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Reduction Reaction for Ultrathin Uniform Pt/C Catalyst Layers without Influence from Nafion, Electrochimica Acta (2016) Suppression of Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity on Pt-Based Electrocatalysts from Ionomer Durability of Iridium Nanoparticles in the Oxygen Evolution Reaction, Journal of the Electrochemical Society

Ni foam supported quasi-core-shell structure of ultrathin Ti3C2 nanosheets through electrostatic layer-by-layer self-assembly as high rate-performance electrodes of supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Yapeng; Yang, Chenhui; Que, Wenxiu; He, Yucheng; Liu, Xiaobin; Luo, Yangyang; Yin, Xingtian; Kong, Ling Bing

2017-11-01

Supercapacitor, as an important energy storage device, is a critical component for next generation electric power system, due to its high power density and long cycle life. In this study, a novel electrode material with quasi-core-shell structure, consisting of negatively charged few layer Ti3C2 nanosheets (FL-Ti3C2) and positively charged polyethyleneimine as building blocks, has been prepared by using an electrostatic layer-by-layer self-assembly method, with highly conductive Ni foam to be used as the skeleton. The unique quasi-core-shell structured ultrathin Ti3C2 nanosheets provide an excellent electron channel, ion transport channel and large effective contact area, thus leading to a great improvement in electrochemical performance of the material. The specific capacitance of the binder-free FL-Ti3C2@Ni foam electrodes reaches 370 F g-1 at the scan rate of 2 mV s-1 and a specific capacitance of 117 F g-1 is obtained even at the scan rate of 1000 mV s-1 in the electrolyte of Li2SO4, indicating a high rate performance. In addition, this electrode shows a long-term cyclic stability with a loss of only 13.7% after 10,000 circles. Furthermore, quantitative analysis has been conducted to ensure the relationship between the capacitive contribution and the rate performance of the as-fabricated electrode.

White organic light-emitting diodes with ultra-thin mixed emitting layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeon, T.; Forget, S.; Chenais, S.; Geffroy, B.; Tondelier, D.; Bonnassieux, Y.; Ishow, E.

2012-02-01

White light can be obtained from Organic Light Emitting Diodes by mixing three primary colors, (i.e. red, green and blue) or two complementary colors in the emissive layer. In order to improve the efficiency and stability of the devices, a host-guest system is generally used as an emitting layer. However, the color balance to obtain white light is difficult to control and optimize because the spectrum is very sensitive to doping concentration (especially when a small amount of material is used). We use here an ultra-thin mixed emitting layer (UML) deposited by thermal evaporation to fabricate white organic light emitting diodes (WOLEDs) without co-evaporation. The UML was inserted in the hole-transporting layer consisting of 4, 4'-bis[N-(1-naphtyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl (α-NPB) instead of using a conventional doping process. The UML was formed from a single evaporation boat containing a mixture of two dipolar starbust triarylamine molecules (fvin and fcho) presenting very similar structures and thermal properties and emitting in complementary spectral regions (orange and blue respectively) and mixed according to their weight ratio. The composition of the UML specifically allows for fine tuning of the emission color despite its very thin thickness down to 1 nm. Competitive energy transfer processes from fcho and the host interface toward fvin are key parameters to control the relative intensity between red and blue emission. White light with very good CIE 1931 color coordinate (0.34, 0.34) was obtained by simply adjusting the UML film composition.

Atomic layer deposition of insulating nitride interfacial layers for germanium metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors with high-κ oxide/tungsten nitride gate stacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Kyoung H.; Gordon, Roy G.; Ritenour, Andrew; Antoniadis, Dimitri A.

2007-05-01

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) was used to deposit passivating interfacial nitride layers between Ge and high-κ oxides. High-κ oxides on Ge surfaces passivated by ultrathin (1-2nm) ALD Hf3N4 or AlN layers exhibited well-behaved C-V characteristics with an equivalent oxide thickness as low as 0.8nm, no significant flatband voltage shifts, and midgap density of interface states values of 2×1012cm-1eV-1. Functional n-channel and p-channel Ge field effect transistors with nitride interlayer/high-κ oxide/metal gate stacks are demonstrated.

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

Enhanced Self-Organized Dewetting of Ultrathin Polymer Blend Film for Large-Area Fabrication of SERS Substrate.

PubMed

Zhang, Huanhuan; Xu, Lin; Xu, Yabo; Huang, Gang; Zhao, Xueyu; Lai, Yuqing; Shi, Tongfei

2016-12-06

We study the enhanced dewetting of ultrathin Polystyrene (PS)/Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blend films in a mixed solution, and reveal the dewetting can act as a simple and effective method to fabricate large-area surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate. A bilayer structure consisting of under PMMA layer and upper PS layer forms due to vertical phase separation of immiscible PS/PMMA during the spin-coating process. The thicker layer of the bilayer structure dominates the dewetting structures of PS/PMMA blend films. The diameter and diameter distribution of droplets, and the average separation spacing between the droplets can be precisely controlled via the change of blend ratio and film thickness. The dewetting structure of 8 nm PS/PMMA (1:1 wt%) blend film is proved to successfully fabricate large-area (3.5 cm × 3.5 cm) universal SERS substrate via deposited a silver layer on the dewetting structure. The SERS substrate shows good SERS-signal reproducibility (RSD < 7.2%) and high enhancement factor (2.5 × 10 7 ). The enhanced dewetting of polymer blend films broadens the application of dewetting of polymer films, especially in the nanotechnology, and may open a new approach for the fabrication of large-area SERS substrate to promote the application of SERS substrate in the rapid sensitive detection of trace molecules.

Enhanced Self-Organized Dewetting of Ultrathin Polymer Blend Film for Large-Area Fabrication of SERS Substrate

PubMed Central

Zhang, Huanhuan; Xu, Lin; Xu, Yabo; Huang, Gang; Zhao, Xueyu; Lai, Yuqing; Shi, Tongfei

2016-01-01

We study the enhanced dewetting of ultrathin Polystyrene (PS)/Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blend films in a mixed solution, and reveal the dewetting can act as a simple and effective method to fabricate large-area surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate. A bilayer structure consisting of under PMMA layer and upper PS layer forms due to vertical phase separation of immiscible PS/PMMA during the spin-coating process. The thicker layer of the bilayer structure dominates the dewetting structures of PS/PMMA blend films. The diameter and diameter distribution of droplets, and the average separation spacing between the droplets can be precisely controlled via the change of blend ratio and film thickness. The dewetting structure of 8 nm PS/PMMA (1:1 wt%) blend film is proved to successfully fabricate large-area (3.5 cm × 3.5 cm) universal SERS substrate via deposited a silver layer on the dewetting structure. The SERS substrate shows good SERS-signal reproducibility (RSD < 7.2%) and high enhancement factor (2.5 × 107). The enhanced dewetting of polymer blend films broadens the application of dewetting of polymer films, especially in the nanotechnology, and may open a new approach for the fabrication of large-area SERS substrate to promote the application of SERS substrate in the rapid sensitive detection of trace molecules. PMID:27922062

High efficient light absorption and nanostructure-dependent birefringence of a metal-dielectric symmetrical layered structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jen, Yi-Jun; Jhang, Yi-Ciang; Liu, Wei-Chih

2017-08-01

A multilayer that comprises ultra-thin metal and dielectric films has been investigated and applied as a layered metamaterial. By arranging metal and dielectric films alternatively and symmetrically, the equivalent admittance and refractive index can be tailored separately. The tailored admittance and refractive index enable us to design optical filters with more flexibility. The admittance matching is achieved via the admittance tracing in the normalized admittance diagram. In this work, an ultra-thin light absorber is designed as a multilayer composed of one or several cells. Each cell is a seven-layered film stack here. The design concept is to have the extinction as large as possible under the condition of admittance matching. For a seven-layered symmetrical film stack arranged as Ta2O5 (45 nm)/ a-Si (17 nm)/ Cr (30 nm)/ Al (30 nm)/ Cr (30 nm)/ a-Si (17 nm)/ Ta2O5 (45 nm), its mean equivalent admittance and extinction coefficient over the visible regime is 1.4+0.2i and 2.15, respectively. The unit cell on a transparent BK7 glass substrate absorbs 99% of normally incident light energy for the incident medium is glass. On the other hand, a transmission-induced metal-dielectric film stack is investigated by using the admittance matching method. The equivalent anisotropic property of the metal-dielectric multilayer varied with wavelength and nanostructure are investigated here.

Protecting hydrogenation-generated oxygen vacancies in BiVO4 photoanode for enhanced water oxidation with conformal ultrathin amorphous TiO2 layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yang; Zhang, Xintong; Wang, Dan; Wan, Fangxu; Liu, Yichun

2017-05-01

Introducing appropriate amount of oxygen vacancies by hydrogenation treatment is a simple and efficient way to improve the photoelectrochemical performance of nanostructured oxide photoanodes. However, the hydrogenation effect is often not durable due to the gradual healing of oxygen vacancies at or close to surface of photoanodes. Herein, we tackled the problem by conformal coating the hydrogenated nanoporous BiVO4 (H-BiVO4) photoanode with an ultrathin layer of amorphous TiO2. Photoelectrochemical measurements showed that a 4 nm-thick TiO2 layer could significantly improve the stability of H-BiVO4 photoanode for repeated working test, with negligible influence on the initial photocurrent compared to the uncoated one. Mott-Schottky and linear sweep voltammetry measurements showed that donor density and photocurrent density of the H-BiVO4 electrode almost decayed to the values of pristine BiVO4 electrode after 3 h test, while the amorphous TiO2-coated electrode only degraded by 6% and 5% of the initial values respectively in the same period. The investigation thus suggested that the amorphous TiO2 layer did protect the oxygen vacancies in H-BiVO4 photoanode by isolating these oxygen vacancies from environmental oxygen, while at the same time not impeding the interfacial charge transfer to water molecules due to its leaky nature.

Theoretical study of magnetic layers of nickel on copper; dead or alive?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ernst, A.; Lueders, M.; Temmerman, W. M.; Szotek, Z.; van der Laan, G.

2000-07-01

We studied the persistence of magnetism in ultrathin nickel films on copper. Layer-dependent magnetic moments in Ni films on the (001), (110) and (111) surfaces of Cu have been calculated using the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker Green's function method. The results show that, at temperature T = 0, a single nickel monolayer is ferromagnetic on Cu(001) and Cu(110) but magnetically `dead' on the more closely packed Cu(111) surface. Films of two and more layers of Ni are always ferromagnetic, with the magnetic moment enhanced in the surface layer but strongly reduced in the interface layer. Due to the short screening length, both the effect of the interface and that of the surface are confined to only a few atomic layers.

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

Guo, Wei; Reese, Cassandra M.; Xiong, Li

We report a simple route to engineer ultrathin polymer brush surfaces with wrinkled morphologies using postpolymerization modification (PPM), where the length scale of the buckled features can be tuned using PPM reaction time. Here, we show that partial crosslinking of the outer layer of the polymer brush under poor solvent conditions is critical to obtain wrinkled morphologies upon swelling.

Hydrogen and Fuel Cells | Chemistry and Nanoscience Research | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Reduction Reaction for Ultrathin Uniform Pt/C Catalyst Layers without Influence from Nafion,"" , "Benchmarking the Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity of Pt-Based Catalysts Using Standardized , B.S. Pivovar, S.S. Kocha. ""Suppression of Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity on Pt-Based

Plasmonic detection of possible defects in multilayer nanohole array consisting of essential materials in simplified STT-RAM cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadri-Moshkenani, Parinaz; Khan, Mohammad Wahiduzzaman; Zhao, Qiancheng; Krivorotov, Ilya; Nilsson, Mikael; Bagherzadeh, Nader; Boyraz, Ozdal

2017-08-01

Plasmonic nanostructures are highly used for sensing purposes since they support plasmonic modes which make them highly sensitive to the refractive index change of their surrounding medium. Therefore, they can also be used to detect changes in optical properties of ultrathin layer films in a multilayer plasmonic structure. Here, we investigate the changes in optical properties of ultrathin films of macro structures consisting of STT-RAM layers. Among the highest sensitive plasmonic structures, nanohole array has attracted many research interest because of its ease of fabrication, small footprint, and simplified optical alignment. Hence it is more suitable for defect detection in STT-RAM geometries. Moreover, the periodic nanohole pattern in the nanohole array structure makes it possible to couple the light to the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) mode supported by the structure. To assess the radiation damages and defects in STT-RAM cells we have designed a multilayer nanohole array based on the layers used in STT-RAM structure, consisting 4nm- Ta/1.5nm-CoFeB/2nm-MgO/1.5nm-CoFeB/4nm-Ta layers, all on a 300nm silver layer on top of a PEC boundary. The nanoholes go through all the layers and become closed by the PEC boundary on one side. The dimensions of the designed nanoholes are 313nm depth, 350nm diameter, and 700nm period. Here, we consider the normal incidence of light and investigate zeroth-order reflection coefficient to observe the resonance. Our simulation results show that a 10% change in refractive index of the 2nm-thick MgO layer leads to about 122GHz shift in SPP resonance in reflection pattern.

Impact of Film Thickness of Ultrathin Dip-Coated Compact TiO2 Layers on the Performance of Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells.

PubMed

Masood, Muhammad Talha; Weinberger, Christian; Sarfraz, Jawad; Rosqvist, Emil; Sandén, Simon; Sandberg, Oskar J; Vivo, Paola; Hashmi, Ghufran; Lund, Peter D; Österbacka, Ronald; Smått, Jan-Henrik

2017-05-31

Uniform and pinhole-free electron-selective TiO 2 layers are of utmost importance for efficient perovskite solar cells. Here we used a scalable and low-cost dip-coating method to prepare uniform and ultrathin (5-50 nm) compact TiO 2 films on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates. The thickness of the film was tuned by changing the TiCl 4 precursor concentration. The formed TiO 2 follows the texture of the underlying FTO substrates, but at higher TiCl 4 concentrations, the surface roughness is substantially decreased. This change occurs at a film thickness close to 20-30 nm. A similar TiCl 4 concentration is needed to produce crystalline TiO 2 films. Furthermore, below this film thickness, the underlying FTO might be exposed resulting in pinholes in the compact TiO 2 layer. When integrated into mesoscopic perovskite solar cells there appears to be a similar critical compact TiO 2 layer thickness above which the devices perform more optimally. The power conversion efficiency was improved by more than 50% (from 5.5% to ∼8.6%) when inserting a compact TiO 2 layer. Devices without or with very thin compact TiO 2 layers display J-V curves with an "s-shaped" feature in the negative voltage range, which could be attributed to immobilized negative ions at the electron-extracting interface. A strong correlation between the magnitude of the s-shaped feature and the exposed FTO seen in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements indicates that the s-shape is related to pinholes in the compact TiO 2 layer when it is too thin.

Carbon nanotube reinforced aluminum based nanocomposite fabricated by thermal spray forming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laha, Tapas

The present research concentrates on the fabrication of bulk aluminum matrix nanocomposite structures with carbon nanotube reinforcement. The objective of the work was to fabricate and characterize multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) reinforced hypereutectic Al-Si (23 wt% Si, 2 wt% Ni, 1 wt% Cu, rest Al) nanocomposite bulk structure with nanocrystalline matrix through thermal spray forming techniques viz. plasma spray forming (PSF) and high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spray forming. This is the first research study, which has shown that thermal spray forming can be successfully used to synthesize carbon nanotube reinforced nanocomposites. Microstructural characterization based on quantitative microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and X ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirms (i) retention and macro/sub-macro level homogenous distribution of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in the Al-Si matrix and (ii) evolution of nanostructured grains in the matrix. Formation of ultrathin beta-SiC layer on MWCNT surface, due to chemical reaction of Si atoms diffusing from Al-Si alloy and C atoms from the outer walls of MWCNTs has been confirmed theoretically and experimentally. The presence of SiC layer at the interface improves the wettability and the interfacial adhesion between the MWCNT reinforcement and the Al-Si matrix. Sintering of the as-sprayed nanocomposites was carried out in an inert environment for further densification. As-sprayed PSF nanocomposite showed lower microhardness compared to HVOF, due to the higher porosity content and lower residual stress. The hardness of the nanocomposites increased with sintering time due to effective pore removal. Uniaxial tensile test on CNT-bulk nanocomposite was carried out, which is the first ever study of such nature. The tensile test results showed inconsistency in the data attributed to inhomogeneous microstructure and limitation of the test samples geometry. The elastic moduli of nanocomposites were computed using different micromechanics models and compared with experimentally measured values. The elastic moduli of nanocomposites measured by nanoindentation technique, increased gradually with sintering attributed to porosity removal. The experimentally measured values conformed better with theoretically predicted values, particularly in the case of Hashin-Shtrikman bound method.

Spin and charge transport through carbon based systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Suyong

In this thesis, we investigate spin-dependent transport through ferromagnet-contacted single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), in which charge transport shows the Fabry-Perot (FP) interference effect, the Kondo effect and the Coulomb blockade effect at low temperatures. Hysteric magnetoresistance (MR) is observed in all three transport regimes, which can be controlled by both the external magnetic field and the gate voltage. The MR in the FP interference regime can be well understood by a model considering the intrinsic electronic structure of SWCNTs and the quantum interference effect. In the strongly interacting Kondo regime, the Kondo effect is not suppressed by the presence of nearby ferromagnetism. Several observed MR features including the non-splitted zero-bias Kondo peak and positive MR switching can be explained by the strong Kondo effect and weak ferromagnetism in the leads. In the Coulomb blockade regime, several effects that can be associated with the magneto-Coulomb effect have been observed, and isolated spin accumulation and transport through the SWCNT quantum dot have been realized by a four-probe non-local measurements. We also studied charge transport behavior through organic semiconductor pentacene thin film transistors (OTFTs) in the limit of single- or a few molecular layers of pentacene films. The charge transport in these devices can be well explained by the multiple trapping and release model. The structural disorders induced by the physical and chemical causes, such as grain boundaries, interactions with gate insulator, metal contacts and ambient conditions can be responsible for the localized trap states in the ultrathin layer OTFTs, which are further confirmed by the electric force microscopy (EFM) measurements.

Highly stable thin film transistors using multilayer channel structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nayak, Pradipta K.; Wang, Zhenwei; Anjum, D. H.; Hedhili, M. N.; Alshareef, H. N.

2015-03-01

We report highly stable gate-bias stress performance of thin film transistors (TFTs) using zinc oxide (ZnO)/hafnium oxide (HfO2) multilayer structure as the channel layer. Positive and negative gate-bias stress stability of the TFTs was measured at room temperature and at 60 °C. A tremendous improvement in gate-bias stress stability was obtained in case of the TFT with multiple layers of ZnO embedded between HfO2 layers compared to the TFT with a single layer of ZnO as the semiconductor. The ultra-thin HfO2 layers act as passivation layers, which prevent the adsorption of oxygen and water molecules in the ZnO layer and hence significantly improve the gate-bias stress stability of ZnO TFTs.

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

Nayak, Pradipta K.; Wang, Zhenwei; Anjum, D. H.

We report highly stable gate-bias stress performance of thin film transistors (TFTs) using zinc oxide (ZnO)/hafnium oxide (HfO{sub 2}) multilayer structure as the channel layer. Positive and negative gate-bias stress stability of the TFTs was measured at room temperature and at 60 °C. A tremendous improvement in gate-bias stress stability was obtained in case of the TFT with multiple layers of ZnO embedded between HfO{sub 2} layers compared to the TFT with a single layer of ZnO as the semiconductor. The ultra-thin HfO{sub 2} layers act as passivation layers, which prevent the adsorption of oxygen and water molecules in the ZnOmore » layer and hence significantly improve the gate-bias stress stability of ZnO TFTs.« less

Strain Engineering of Epitaxially Transferred, Ultrathin Layers of III-V Semiconductor on Insulator

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

The structure of the source wafer is shown schematically in Fig. 2a, with both InAs and AlGaSb layers coherently strained to the GaSb 001...is due to the surface plasmon-LO phonon FIG. 2. Color online a The structure of GaSb /AlGaSb/InAs source wafer with an assumed strain state for...insulator layers obtained from an epitaxial transfer process is studied. The as-grown InAs epilayer 10–20 nm thick on the GaSb /AlGaSb source wafer has the