Structural Stability of Diffusion Barriers in Cu/Ru/MgO/Ta/Si

PubMed Central

Hsieh, Shu-Huei; Chen, Wen Jauh; Chien, Chu-Mo

2015-01-01

Various structures of Cu (50 nm)/Ru (2 nm)/MgO (0.5–3 nm)/Ta (2 nm)/Si were prepared by sputtering and electroplating techniques, in which the ultra-thin trilayer of Ru (2 nm)/MgO (0.5–3 nm)/Ta (2 nm) is used as the diffusion barrier against the interdiffusion between Cu film and Si substrate. The various structures of Cu/Ru/MgO/Ta/Si were characterized by four-point probes for their sheet resistances, by X-ray diffractometers for their crystal structures, by scanning electron microscopes for their surface morphologies, and by transmission electron microscopes for their cross-section and high resolution views. The results showed that the ultra-thin tri-layer of Ru (2 nm)/MgO (0.5–3 nm)/Ta (2 nm) is an effective diffusion barrier against the interdiffusion between Cu film and Si substrate. The MgO, and Ta layers as deposited are amorphous. The mechanism for the failure of the diffusion barrier is that the Ru layer first became discontinuous at a high temperature and the Ta layer sequentially become discontinuous at a higher temperature, the Cu atoms then diffuse through the MgO layer and to the substrate at the discontinuities, and the Cu3Si phases finally form. The maximum temperature at which the structures of Cu (50 nm)/Ru (2 nm)/MgO (0.5–3 nm)/Ta (2 nm)/Si are annealed and still have low sheet resistance is from 550 to 750 °C for the annealing time of 5 min and from 500 to 700 °C for the annealing time of 30 min. PMID:28347099

Skyrmion morphology in ultrathin magnetic films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gross, I.; Akhtar, W.; Hrabec, A.; Sampaio, J.; Martínez, L. J.; Chouaieb, S.; Shields, B. J.; Maletinsky, P.; Thiaville, A.; Rohart, S.; Jacques, V.

2018-02-01

Nitrogen-vacancy magnetic microscopy is employed in the quenching mode as a noninvasive, high-resolution tool to investigate the morphology of isolated skyrmions in ultrathin magnetic films. The skyrmion size and shape are found to be strongly affected by local pinning effects and magnetic field history. Micromagnetic simulations including a static disorder, based on the physical model of grain-to-grain thickness variations, reproduce all experimental observations and reveal the key role of disorder and magnetic history in the stabilization of skyrmions in ultrathin magnetic films. This work opens the way to an in-depth understanding of skyrmion dynamics in real, disordered media.

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.

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

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.

Fabrication of Ultra-thin Color Films with Highly Absorbing Media Using Oblique Angle Deposition.

PubMed

Yoo, Young Jin; Lee, Gil Ju; Jang, Kyung-In; Song, Young Min

2017-08-29

Ultra-thin film structures have been studied extensively for use as optical coatings, but performance and fabrication challenges remain.  We present an advanced method for fabricating ultra-thin color films with improved characteristics. The proposed process addresses several fabrication issues, including large area processing. Specifically, the protocol describes a process for fabricating ultra-thin color films using an electron beam evaporator for oblique angle deposition of germanium (Ge) and gold (Au) on silicon (Si) substrates.  Film porosity produced by the oblique angle deposition induces color changes in the ultra-thin film. The degree of color change depends on factors such as deposition angle and film thickness. Fabricated samples of the ultra-thin color films showed improved color tunability and color purity. In addition, the measured reflectance of the fabricated samples was converted into chromatic values and analyzed in terms of color. Our ultra-thin film fabricating method is expected to be used for various ultra-thin film applications such as flexible color electrodes, thin film solar cells, and optical filters. Also, the process developed here for analyzing the color of the fabricated samples is broadly useful for studying various color structures.

Real-Time Deposition Monitor for Ultrathin Conductive Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hines, Jacqueline

2011-01-01

A device has been developed that can be used for the real-time monitoring of ultrathin (2 or more) conductive films. The device responds in less than two microseconds, and can be used to monitor film depositions up to about 60 thick. Actual thickness monitoring capability will vary based on properties of the film being deposited. This is a single-use device, which, due to the very low device cost, can be disposable. Conventional quartz/crystal microbalance devices have proven inadequate to monitor the thickness of Pd films during deposition of ultrathin films for hydrogen sensor devices. When the deposited film is less than 100 , the QCM measurements are inadequate to allow monitoring of the ultrathin films being developed. Thus, an improved, high-sensitivity, real-time deposition monitor was needed to continue Pd film deposition development. The new deposition monitor utilizes a surface acoustic wave (SAW) device in a differential delay-line configuration to produce both a reference response and a response for the portion of the device on which the film is being deposited. Both responses are monitored simultaneously during deposition. The reference response remains unchanged, while the attenuation of the sensing path (where the film is being deposited) varies as the film thickness increases. This device utilizes the fact that on high-coupling piezoelectric substrates, the attenuation of an SAW undergoes a transition from low to very high, and back to low as the conductivity of a film on the device surface goes from nonconductive to highly conductive. Thus, the sensing path response starts with a low insertion loss, and as a conductive film is deposited, the film conductivity increases, causing the device insertion loss to increase dramatically (by up to 80 dB or more), and then with continued film thickness increases (and the corresponding conductivity increases), the device insertion loss goes back down to the low level at which it started. This provides a

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

Tribological Behaviour of Ti:Ta-DLC Films Under Different Tribo-Test Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Efeoglu, İhsan; Keleş, Ayşenur; Totik, Yaşar; Çiçek, Hikmet; Emine Süküroglu, Ebru

2018-01-01

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films are suitable applicants for cutting tools due to their high hardness, low friction coefficient and wear rate. Doping metals in DLC films have been improved its tribological properties. In this study, titanium and tantalum doped hydrogenated DLC films were deposited by closed-field unbalanced magnetron sputtering system onto M2 high speed steels in Ar/N2/C2H2 atmosphere. The friction and wear properties of Ti:Ta-DLC film were investigated under different tribo-test conditions including in atmospheric pressure, distilled water, commercial oil and Ar atmosphere. The coated specimens were characterized by SEM and X-ray diffraction techniques. The bonding state of C-C (sp3) and C=C (sp2) were obtained with XPS. The tribological properties of Ti:Ta-DLC were investigated with pin-on-disc wear test. Hardness measurements performed by micro-indentation. Our results suggest that Ti:Ta-doped DLC film shows very dense columnar microstructure, high hardness (38.2 GPa) with low CoF (µ≈0.02) and high wear resistance (0.5E-6 mm3/Nm).

Growth of <111>-oriented Cu layer on thin TaWN films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takeyama, Mayumi B.; Sato, Masaru

2017-07-01

In this study, we examine the growth of a <111>-oriented Cu layer on a thin TaWN ternary alloy barrier for good electromigration reliability. The strongly preferentially oriented Cu(111) layer is observed on a thin TaWN barrier even in the as-deposited Cu (100 nm)/TaWN (5 nm)/Si system. Also, this system tolerates annealing at 700 °C for 1 h without silicide reaction. It is revealed that the TaWN film is one of the excellent barriers with thermal stability and low resistivity. Simultaneously, the TaWN film is a candidate for a superior underlying material to achieve the Cu(111) preferential orientation.

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.

Theoretical Methods of Domain Structures in Ultrathin Ferroelectric Films: A Review

PubMed Central

Liu, Jianyi; Chen, Weijin; Wang, Biao; Zheng, Yue

2014-01-01

This review covers methods and recent developments of the theoretical study of domain structures in ultrathin ferroelectric films. The review begins with an introduction to some basic concepts and theories (e.g., polarization and its modern theory, ferroelectric phase transition, domain formation, and finite size effects, etc.) that are relevant to the study of domain structures in ultrathin ferroelectric films. Basic techniques and recent progress of a variety of important approaches for domain structure simulation, including first-principles calculation, molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo simulation, effective Hamiltonian approach and phase field modeling, as well as multiscale simulation are then elaborated. For each approach, its important features and relative merits over other approaches for modeling domain structures in ultrathin ferroelectric films are discussed. Finally, we review recent theoretical studies on some important issues of domain structures in ultrathin ferroelectric films, with an emphasis on the effects of interfacial electrostatics, boundary conditions and external loads. PMID:28788198

Ultrathin g-C3N4 films supported on Attapulgite nanofibers with enhanced photocatalytic performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yongshuai; Zhang, Lili; Yin, Minghui; Xie, Dengyu; Chen, Jiaqi; Yin, Jingzhou; Fu, Yongsheng; Zhao, Pusu; Zhong, Hui; Zhao, Yijiang; Wang, Xin

2018-05-01

A novel visible-light-responsive photocatalyst is fabricated by introducing g-C3N4 ultrathin films onto the surface of attapulgite (ATP) via a simple in-situ depositing technique, in which ATP was pre-grafted using (3-Glycidyloxypropyl) trimethoxysilane (KH560) as the surfactant. A combination of XRD, FT-IR, BET, XPS, UV-vis, TEM and SEM techniques are utilized to characterize the composition, morphology and optical properties of the products. The results show that with the help of KH560, g-C3N4 presented as ultrathin layer is uniformly loaded onto the surface of ATP by forming a new chemical bond (Sisbnd Osbnd C). Comparing with g-C3N4 and ATP, ATP/g-C3N4 exhibits remarkably enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity in degradation of methyl orange (MO) because of its high surface area, appropriate band gap and the synergistic effect between g-C3N4 and ATP. To achieve the best photocatalyst, the ratio of g-C3N4 was adjusted by controlling the mass portion between ATP-KH560 and melamine (r = m (ATP-KH560)/m (melamine)). The highest decomposition rate of methyl orange (MO) was 96.06% when r = 0.5 and this degradation efficiency remained unchanged after 4 cycles, which is 10 times as that of pure g-C3N4 particles. Possible photocatalytic mechanism is presented.

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

Thickness-dependent enhancement of damping in C o2FeAl /β -Ta thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akansel, Serkan; Kumar, Ankit; Behera, Nilamani; Husain, Sajid; Brucas, Rimantas; Chaudhary, Sujeet; Svedlindh, Peter

2018-04-01

In the present work C o2FeAl (CFA) thin films were deposited by ion beam sputtering on Si (100) substrates at the optimized deposition temperature of 300 °C. A series of CFA films with different thicknesses (tCFA), 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 nm, were prepared and all samples were capped with a 5-nm-thick β-Ta layer. The thickness-dependent static and dynamic properties of the films were studied by SQUID magnetometry, in-plane as well as out-of-plane broadband vector network analyzer-ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements, and angle-dependent cavity FMR measurements. The saturation magnetization and the coercive field were found to be weakly thickness dependent and lie in the range 900-950 kA/m and 0.53-0.87 kA/m, respectively. The effective damping parameter (αeff) extracted from in-plane and out-of-plane FMR results reveals a 1/tCFA dependence, the values for the in-plane αeff being larger due to two-magnon scattering (TMS). The origin of the αeff thickness dependence is spin pumping into the nonmagnetic β-Ta layer and in the case of the in-plane αeff, also a thickness-dependent TMS contribution. From the out-of-plane FMR results, it was possible to disentangle the different contributions to αeff and to the extract values for the intrinsic Gilbert damping (αG) and the effective spin-mixing conductance (geff↑↓) of the CFA/ β-Ta interface, yielding αG=(1.1 ±0.2 ) ×10-3 and geff↑↓=(2.90 ±0.10 ) ×1019m-2 .

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.

Metal Adatoms and Clusters on Ultrathin Zirconia Films

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Nucleation and growth of transition metals on zirconia has been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Since STM requires electrical conductivity, ultrathin ZrO2 films grown by oxidation of Pt3Zr(0001) and Pd3Zr(0001) were used as model systems. DFT studies were performed for single metal adatoms on supported ZrO2 films as well as the (1̅11) surface of monoclinic ZrO2. STM shows decreasing cluster size, indicative of increasing metal–oxide interaction, in the sequence Ag < Pd ≈ Au < Ni ≈ Fe. Ag and Pd nucleate mostly at steps and domain boundaries of ZrO2/Pt3Zr(0001) and form three-dimensional clusters. Deposition of low coverages of Ni and Fe at room temperature leads to a high density of few-atom clusters on the oxide terraces. Weak bonding of Ag to the oxide is demonstrated by removing Ag clusters with the STM tip. DFT calculations for single adatoms show that the metal–oxide interaction strength increases in the sequence Ag < Au < Pd < Ni on monoclinic ZrO2, and Ag ≈ Au < Pd < Ni on the supported ultrathin ZrO2 film. With the exception of Au, metal nucleation and growth on ultrathin zirconia films follow the usual rules: More reactive (more electropositive) metals result in a higher cluster density and wet the surface more strongly than more noble metals. These bind mainly to the oxygen anions of the oxide. Au is an exception because it can bind strongly to the Zr cations. Au diffusion may be impeded by changing its charge state between −1 and +1. We discuss differences between the supported ultrathin zirconia films and the surfaces of bulk ZrO2, such as the possibility of charge transfer to the substrate of the films. Due to their large in-plane lattice constant and the variety of adsorption sites, ZrO2{111} surfaces are more reactive than many other oxygen-terminated oxide surfaces. PMID:27213024

Suppression of superconductivity in epitaxial MgB2 ultrathin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chen; Wang, Yue; Wang, Da; Zhang, Yan; Liu, Zheng-Hao; Feng, Qing-Rong; Gan, Zi-Zhao

2013-07-01

MgB2 ultrathin films have potential to make sensitive superconducting devices such as superconducting single-photon detectors working at relatively high temperatures. We have grown epitaxial MgB2 films in thicknesses ranging from about 40 nm to 6 nm by using the hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition method and performed electrical transport measurements to study the thickness dependence of the superconducting critical temperature Tc. With reducing film thickness d, although a weak depression of the Tc has been observed, which could be attributed to an increase of disorder (interband impurity scattering) in the film, the Tc retains close to the bulk value of MgB2 (39 K), being about 35 K in the film of 6 nm thick. We show that this result, beneficial to the application of MgB2 ultrathin films and in accordance with recent theoretical calculations, is in contrast to previous findings in MgB2 films prepared by other methods such as co-evaporation and molecular-beam epitaxy, where a severe Tc suppression has been observed with Tc about one third of the bulk value in films of ˜5 nm thick. We discuss this apparent discrepancy in experiments and suggest that, towards the ultrathin limit, the different degrees of Tc suppression displayed in currently obtained MgB2 films by various techniques may arise from the different levels of disorder present in the film or different extents of proximity effect at the film surface or film-substrate interface.

Variable substrate temperature deposition of CoFeB film on Ta for manipulating the perpendicular coercive forces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lakshmanan, Saravanan; Rao, Subha Krishna; Muthuvel, Manivel Raja; Chandrasekaran, Gopalakrishnan; Therese, Helen Annal

2017-08-01

Magnetization of Ta/CoFeB/Ta trilayer films with thick layer of CoFeB deposited under different substrate temperatures (Ts) via ultra-high vacuum DC sputtering technique has been measured with the applied magnetic field parallel and perpendicular to the plane of the film respectively to study the perpendicular coercive forces of the film. The samples were further analyzed for its structural, topological, morphological, and electrical transport properties. The core chemical states for the elements present in the CoFeB thin film were analyzed by XPS studies. Magnetization studies reveal the existence of perpendicular coercive forces in CoFeB films deposited only at certain temperatures such as RT, 450 °C, 475 °C and 500 °C. CoFeB film deposited at 475 °C exhibited a maximum coercivity of 315 Oe and a very low saturation magnetization (Ms) of 169 emu/cc in perpendicular direction. This pronounced effect in perpendicular coercive forces observed for CoFeB475 could be attributed to the effect of temperature in enhancing the crystallization of the film at the Ta/CoFeB interfaces. However at temperatures higher than 475 °C the destruction of the Ta/CoFeB interface due to intermixing of Ta and CoFeB results in the disappearance of magnetic anisotropy.

Growth and characterization of few unit-cell NbN superconducting films on 3C-SiC/Si substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, H. W.; Wang, C. L.; Huang, Y. R.; Chen, T. J.; Wang, M. J.

2017-11-01

Superconducting δ-NbN ultrathin film has become a key element in extremely sensitive detector applications in recent decades because of its excellent electronic properties. We have realized the epitaxial growth of ultrathin δ-NbN films on (100)-oriented 3C-SiC/Si substrates by dc reactive magnetron sputtering at 760 °C with a deposition rate of 0.054 nm s-1. High-resolution transmission electron microscope images confirm the excellent epitaxy of these films. Even with a thickness of 1.3 nm (˜3 unit cells), the δ-NbN film shows a superconducting transition above 8 K. Furthermore, our ultrathin δ-NbN films demonstrate a long Ginzburg-Landau superconducting coherent length ({ξ }{{G}{{L}}}(0)> 5 {{nm}}) with a critical current density of about 2.2 MA cm-2, and good stability in an ambient environment.

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.

Physicochemically functional ultrathin films by interfacial polymerization

DOEpatents

Lonsdale, Harold K.; Babcock, Walter C.; Friensen, Dwayne T.; Smith, Kelly L.; Johnson, Bruce M.; Wamser, Carl C.

1990-01-01

Interfacially-polymerized ultrathin films containing physicochemically functional groups are disclosed, both with and without supports. Various applications are disclsoed, including membrane electrodes, selective membranes and sorbents, biocompatible materials, targeted drug delivery, and narrow band optical absorbers.

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.

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

Electrical and thermal properties of Cu-Ta films prepared by magnetron sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Wen; Fu, Licai; Zhu, Jiajun; Yang, Wulin; Sang, Jianquan; Li, Deyi; Zhou, Lingping

2018-06-01

The microstructure, electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity of the sputtering deposited Cu-Ta films were investigated as a function of Ta content. The results showed that the amorphous phase formed between 20 at.% and 60 at.% Ta, and out of this range α-Cu(Ta) and β-Ta(Cu) solid solutions formed. Because the lattice distortion and β-Ta structure could significantly increase the probability of electron scattering, the electrical resistivity of the Cu-Ta films shows a 'N' type change with the increase of Ta content, and the inflection point appears at 50 at.% Ta and 60 at.% Ta respectively. As the thermal conductance is also dominated by electrons in metals films, an opposite variation tendency is found in the thermal conductivity of the Cu-Ta films. According to our knowledge, this is the first time to measure the thermal conductivity of Cu-Ta thin films.

Nucleation of fcc Ta when heating thin films

DOE PAGES

Janish, Matthew T.; Mook, William M.; Carter, C. Barry

2014-10-25

Thin tantalum films have been studied during in-situ heating in a transmission electron microscope. Diffraction patterns from the as-deposited films were typical of amorphous materials. Crystalline grains were observed to form when the specimen was annealed in-situ at 450°C. Particular attention was addressed to the formation and growth of grains with the face-centered cubic (fcc) crystal structure. As a result, these observations are discussed in relation to prior work on the formation of fcc Ta by deformation and during thin film deposition.

Physicochemically functional ultrathin films by interfacial polymerization

DOEpatents

Lonsdale, H.K.; Babcock, W.C.; Friensen, D.T.; Smith, K.L.; Johnson, B.M.; Wamser, C.C.

1990-08-14

Interfacially-polymerized ultrathin films containing physicochemically functional groups are disclosed, both with and without supports. Various applications are disclosed, including membrane electrodes, selective membranes and sorbents, biocompatible materials, targeted drug delivery, and narrow band optical absorbers. 3 figs.

FABRICATION AND OPTOELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF MgxZn1-xO ULTRATHIN FILMS BY LANGMUIR-BLODGETT TECHNOLOGY

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Dongyan; Feng, Qian; Jiang, Enying; He, Baozhu

2012-08-01

By transferring MgxZn1-xO sol and stearic acid onto a hydrophilic silicon wafer or glass plate, the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) multilayers of MgxZn1-xO (x:0, 0.2, 0.4) were deposited. After calcinations at 350°C for 0.5 h and at 500°C for 3 h, MgxZn1-xO ultrathin films were fabricated. The optimized parameters for monolayer formation and multilayer deposition were determined by the surface pressure-surface (Π-A) area and the transfer coefficient, respectively. The expended areas of stearic acid with MgxZn1-xO sols under Π-A isotherms inferred the interaction of stearic acid with MgxZn1-xO sols during the formation of monolayer at air-water interface. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to determine the crystal structures of MgxZn1-xO nanoparticles and ultrathin films. The surface morphologies of MgxZn1-xO ultrathin films were observed by scanning probe microscopy (AFM). And the optoelectronic properties of MgxZn1-xO were detected and discussed based on photoluminescence (PL) spectra.

Electrical properties of spin coated ultrathin titanium oxide films on GaAs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutta, Shankar; Pal, Ramjay; Chatterjee, Ratnamala

2015-04-01

In recent years, ultrathin (<50 nm) metal oxide films have been being extensively studied as high-k dielectrics for future metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) technology. This paper discusses deposition of ultrathin TiO2 films (˜10 nm) on GaAs substrates (one sulfur-passivated, another unpassivated) by spin coating technique. The sulfur passivation is done to reduce the surface states of GaAs substrate. After annealing at 400 °C in a nitrogen environment, the TiO2 films are found to be polycrystalline in nature with rutile phase. The TiO2 films exhibit consistent grain size of 10-20 nm with thickness around 10-12 nm. Dielectric constants of the films are found to be 65.4 and 47.1 corresponding to S-passivated and unpassivated substrates, respectively. Corresponding threshold voltages of the MOS structures are measured to be -0.1 V to -0.3 V for the S-passivated and unpassivated samples, respectively. The S-passivated TiO2 film showed improved (lower) leakage current density (5.3 × 10-4 A cm-2 at 3 V) compared to the unpassivated film (1.8 × 10-3 A/cm2 at 3 V). Dielectric breakdown-field of the TiO2 films on S-passivated and unpassivated GaAs samples are found to be 8.4 MV cm-1 and 7.2 MV cm-1 respectively.

Formation and characterization of Ta2O5/TaOx films formed by O ion implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruffell, S.; Kurunczi, P.; England, J.; Erokhin, Y.; Hautala, J.; Elliman, R. G.

2013-07-01

Ta2O5/TaOx (oxide/suboxide) heterostructures are fabricated by high fluence O ion-implantation into deposited Ta films. The resultant films are characterized by depth profiling X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM), four-point probe, and current-voltage and capacitance-voltage measurements. The measurements show that Ta2O5/TaOx oxide/suboxide heterostructures can be fabricated with the relative thicknesses of the layers controlled by implantation energy and fluence. Electrical measurements show that this approach has promise for high volume manufacturing of resistive switching memory devices based on oxide/suboxide heterostructures.

Controlled Growth of Ultrathin Film of Organic Semiconductors by Balancing the Competitive Processes in Dip-Coating for Organic Transistors.

PubMed

Wu, Kunjie; Li, Hongwei; Li, Liqiang; Zhang, Suna; Chen, Xiaosong; Xu, Zeyang; Zhang, Xi; Hu, Wenping; Chi, Lifeng; Gao, Xike; Meng, Yancheng

2016-06-28

Ultrathin film with thickness below 15 nm of organic semiconductors provides excellent platform for some fundamental research and practical applications in the field of organic electronics. However, it is quite challenging to develop a general principle for the growth of uniform and continuous ultrathin film over large area. Dip-coating is a useful technique to prepare diverse structures of organic semiconductors, but the assembly of organic semiconductors in dip-coating is quite complicated, and there are no reports about the core rules for the growth of ultrathin film via dip-coating until now. In this work, we develop a general strategy for the growth of ultrathin film of organic semiconductor via dip-coating, which provides a relatively facile model to analyze the growth behavior. The balance between the three direct factors (nucleation rate, assembly rate, and recession rate) is the key to determine the growth of ultrathin film. Under the direction of this rule, ultrathin films of four organic semiconductors are obtained. The field-effect transistors constructed on the ultrathin film show good field-effect property. This work provides a general principle and systematic guideline to prepare ultrathin film of organic semiconductors via dip-coating, which would be highly meaningful for organic electronics as well as for the assembly of other materials via solution processes.

Materials Study of NbN and Ta x N Thin Films for SNS Josephson Junctions

DOE PAGES

Missert, Nancy; Brunke, Lyle; Henry, Michael D.; ...

2017-02-15

We investigated properties of NbN and Ta xN thin films grown at ambient temperatures on SiO 2/Si substrates by reactive-pulsed laser deposition and reactive magnetron sputtering (MS) as a function of N 2 gas flow. Both techniques produced films with smooth surfaces, where the surface roughness did not depend on the N 2 gas flow during growth. High crystalline quality, (111) oriented NbN films with T c up to 11 K were produced by both techniques for N contents near 50%. The low temperature transport properties of the Ta xN films depended upon both the N 2 partial pressure usedmore » during growth and the film thickness. Furthermore, the root mean square surface roughness of Ta xN films grown by MS increased as the film thickness decreased down to 10 nm.« less

Investigations of Topological Surface States in Sb (111) Ultrathin Films by STM/STS Experiments and DFT Calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Ziyu; Yao, Guanggeng; Xu, Wentao; Feng, Yuanping; Wang, Xue-Sen

2014-03-01

Bulk Sb was regarded as a semimetal with a nontrivial topological order. It is worth exploring whether the Sb ultrathin film has the potential to be an elementary topological insulator. In the presence of quantum confinement effect, we investigated the evolution of topological surface states in Sb (111) ultrathin films with different thickness by the scanning tunneling microscopy/ spectroscopy (STM/STS) experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. By comparing the quasiparticle interference (QPI) patterns obtained from Fourier-transform scanning tunneling spectroscopy (FT-STS) and from DFT calculations, we successfully derive the spin properties of topological surface states on Sb (111) ultrathin films. In addition, based on the DFT calculations, the 8BL Sb (111) ultrathin film was proved to possess up to 30% spinseparated topological surface states within the bandgap. Therefore, the highquality 8BL Sb (111) ultrathin film could be regarded as an elementary topological insulator.

High-mobility ultrathin semiconducting films prepared by spin coating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitzi, David B.; Kosbar, Laura L.; Murray, Conal E.; Copel, Matthew; Afzali, Ali

2004-03-01

The ability to deposit and tailor reliable semiconducting films (with a particular recent emphasis on ultrathin systems) is indispensable for contemporary solid-state electronics. The search for thin-film semiconductors that provide simultaneously high carrier mobility and convenient solution-based deposition is also an important research direction, with the resulting expectations of new technologies (such as flexible or wearable computers, large-area high-resolution displays and electronic paper) and lower-cost device fabrication. Here we demonstrate a technique for spin coating ultrathin (~50Å), crystalline and continuous metal chalcogenide films, based on the low-temperature decomposition of highly soluble hydrazinium precursors. We fabricate thin-film field-effect transistors (TFTs) based on semiconducting SnS2-xSex films, which exhibit n-type transport, large current densities (>105Acm-2) and mobilities greater than 10cm2V-1s-1-an order of magnitude higher than previously reported values for spin-coated semiconductors. The spin-coating technique is expected to be applicable to a range of metal chalcogenides, particularly those based on main group metals, as well as for the fabrication of a variety of thin-film-based devices (for example, solar cells, thermoelectrics and memory devices).

Synthesis, processing and properties of TaC-TaB2-C Ceramics

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

powder used. • A very important conclusion from the present study is that the grain size of nominally pure TaC ceramics is a strong function of carbon...ceramics at temperatures as low as 1500 ◦C. The grain size of nominally pure TaC ceramics was a strong function of carbon stoichiometry. Enhanced grain...evaluate the properties of ceramics in the TaC–TaB2–C system. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Keywords: A . Sintering; B. Microstructure; D. Carbides; D. Carbon

Tg and Structural Recovery of Single Ultrathin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, Sindee

The behavior of materials confined at the nanoscale has been of considerable interest over the past two decades. Here, the focus is on recent results for single polystyrene ultrathin films studied with ultrafast scanning chip calorimetry. The Tg depression of a 20 nm-thick high-molecular-weight polystyrene film is found to be a function of cooling rate, decreasing with increasing cooling rate; whereas, at high enough cooling rates (e.g., 1000 K/s), Tg is the same as the bulk within the error of the measurements. Structural recovery is also performed with chip calorimetry as a function of aging time and temperature, and the evolution of the fictive temperature is followed. The advantages of the Flash DSC include sufficient sensitivity to measure enthalpy recovery for a single 20 nm-thick film, as well as extension of the measurements to aging temperatures as high as 15 K above nominal Tg and to aging times as short as 0.01 s. The aging behavior and relaxation time-temperature map for single ultrathin films are compared to those for bulk material. Comparison to behavior in other geometries will also be discussed.

Enhanced magnetic moment in ultrathin Fe-doped CoFe2O4 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moyer, J. A.; Vaz, C. A. F.; Kumah, D. P.; Arena, D. A.; Henrich, V. E.

2012-11-01

The effect of film thickness on the magnetic properties of ultrathin Fe-doped cobalt ferrite (Co1-xFe2+xO4) grown on MgO (001) substrates is investigated by superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry and x-ray magnetic linear dichroism, while the distribution of the Co2+ cations between the octahedral and tetrahedral lattice sites is studied with x-ray absorption spectroscopy. For films thinner than 10 nm, there is a large enhancement of the magnetic moment; conversely, the remanent magnetization and coercive fields both decrease, while the magnetic spin axes of all the cations become less aligned with the [001] crystal direction. In particular, at 300 K the coercive fields of the thinnest films vanish. The spectroscopy data show that no changes occur in the cation distribution as a function of film thickness, ruling this out as the origin of the enhanced magnetic moment. However, the magnetic measurements all support the possibility that these ultrathin Fe-doped CoFe2O4 films are transitioning into a superparamagnetic state, as has been seen in ultrathin Fe3O4. A weakening of the magnetic interactions at the antiphase boundaries, leading to magnetically independent domains within the film, could explain the enhanced magnetic moment in ultrathin Fe-doped CoFe2O4 and the onset of superparamagnetism at room temperature.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Sun-Gyu; Kim, Eunseong

2013-03-01

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

Tunable magnetic properties by interfacial manipulation of L1(0)-FePt perpendicular ultrathin film with island-like structures.

PubMed

Feng, C; Wang, S G; Yang, M Y; Zhang, E; Zhan, Q; Jiang, Y; Li, B H; Yu, G H

2012-02-01

Based on interfacial manipulation of the MgO single crystal substrate and non-magnetic AIN compound, a L1(0)-FePt perpendicular ultrathin film with the structure of MgO/FePt-AIN/Ta was designed, prepared, and investigated. The film is comprised of L1(0)-FePt "magnetic islands," which exhibits a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), tunable coercivity (Hc), and interparticle exchange coupling (IEC). The MgO substrate promotes PMA of the film because of interfacial control of the FePt lattice orientation. The AIN compound is doped to increase the difference of surface energy between FePt layer and MgO substrate and to suppress the growth of FePt grains, which takes control of island growth mode of FePt atoms. The AIN compound also acts as isolator of L1(0)-FePt islands to pin the sites of FePt domains, resulting in the tunability of Hc and IEC of the films.

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.

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.

Ultrathin planar hematite film for solar photoelectrochemical water splitting

DOE PAGES

Liu, Dong; Bierman, David M.; Lenert, Andrej; ...

2015-10-08

Hematite holds promise for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting due to its stability, low-cost, abundance and appropriate bandgap. However, it suffers from a mismatch between the hole diffusion length and light penetration length. We have theoretically designed and characterized an ultrathin planar hematite/silver nanohole array/silver substrate photoanode. Due to the supported destructive interference and surface plasmon resonance, photons are efficiently absorbed in an ultrathin hematite film. In conclusion, compared with ultrathin hematite photoanodes with nanophotonic structures, this photoanode has comparable photon absorption but with intrinsically lower recombination losses due to its planar structure and promises to exceed the state-of-the-art photocurrent ofmore » hematite photoanodes.« less

Magnetic x-ray linear dichroism of ultrathin Fe-Ni alloy films

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

Schumann, F.O.; Willis, R.F.; Goodman, K.W.

1997-04-01

The authors have studied the magnetic structure of ultrathin Fe-Ni alloy films as a function of Fe concentration by measuring the linear dichroism of the 3p-core levels in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The alloy films, grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on Cu(001) surfaces, were fcc and approximately four monolayers thick. The intensity of the Fe dichroism varied with Fe concentration, with larger dichroisms at lower Fe concentrations. The implication of these results to an ultrathin film analogue of the bulk Invar effect in Fe-Ni alloys will be discussed. These measurements were performed at the Spectromicroscopy Facility (Beamline 7.0.1) of the Advanced Lightmore » Source.« less

HIGH-k GATE DIELECTRIC: AMORPHOUS Ta/La2O3 FILMS GROWN ON Si AT LOW PRESSURE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahari, Ali; Khorshidi, Zahra

2014-09-01

In the present study, Ta/La2O3 films (La2O3 doped with Ta2O5) as a gate dielectric were prepared using a sol-gel method at low pressure. Ta/La2O3 film has some hopeful properties as a gate dielectric of logic device. The structure and morphology of Ta/La2O3 films were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Electrical properties of films were performed using capacitance-voltage (C-V) and current density-voltage (J-V) measurements. The optical bandgap of samples was studied by UV-visible optical absorbance measurement. The optical bandgap, Eopt, is determined from the absorbance spectra. The obtained results show that Ta/La2O3 film as a good gate dielectric has amorphous structure, good thermal stability, high dielectric constant (≈ 25), low leakage current and wide bandgap (≈ 4.7 eV).

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.

High-mobility ultrathin semiconducting films prepared by spin coating.

PubMed

Mitzi, David B; Kosbar, Laura L; Murray, Conal E; Copel, Matthew; Afzali, Ali

2004-03-18

The ability to deposit and tailor reliable semiconducting films (with a particular recent emphasis on ultrathin systems) is indispensable for contemporary solid-state electronics. The search for thin-film semiconductors that provide simultaneously high carrier mobility and convenient solution-based deposition is also an important research direction, with the resulting expectations of new technologies (such as flexible or wearable computers, large-area high-resolution displays and electronic paper) and lower-cost device fabrication. Here we demonstrate a technique for spin coating ultrathin (approximately 50 A), crystalline and continuous metal chalcogenide films, based on the low-temperature decomposition of highly soluble hydrazinium precursors. We fabricate thin-film field-effect transistors (TFTs) based on semiconducting SnS(2-x)Se(x) films, which exhibit n-type transport, large current densities (>10(5) A cm(-2)) and mobilities greater than 10 cm2 V(-1) s(-1)--an order of magnitude higher than previously reported values for spin-coated semiconductors. The spin-coating technique is expected to be applicable to a range of metal chalcogenides, particularly those based on main group metals, as well as for the fabrication of a variety of thin-film-based devices (for example, solar cells, thermoelectrics and memory devices).

Subatomic deformation driven by vertical piezoelectricity from CdS ultrathin films

PubMed Central

Wang, Xuewen; He, Xuexia; Zhu, Hongfei; Sun, Linfeng; Fu, Wei; Wang, Xingli; Hoong, Lai Chee; Wang, Hong; Zeng, Qingsheng; Zhao, Wu; Wei, Jun; Jin, Zhong; Shen, Zexiang; Liu, Jie; Zhang, Ting; Liu, Zheng

2016-01-01

Driven by the development of high-performance piezoelectric materials, actuators become an important tool for positioning objects with high accuracy down to nanometer scale, and have been used for a wide variety of equipment, such as atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. However, positioning at the subatomic scale is still a great challenge. Ultrathin piezoelectric materials may pave the way to positioning an object with extreme precision. Using ultrathin CdS thin films, we demonstrate vertical piezoelectricity in atomic scale (three to five space lattices). With an in situ scanning Kelvin force microscopy and single and dual ac resonance tracking piezoelectric force microscopy, the vertical piezoelectric coefficient (d33) up to 33 pm·V−1 was determined for the CdS ultrathin films. These findings shed light on the design of next-generation sensors and microelectromechanical devices. PMID:27419234

Subatomic deformation driven by vertical piezoelectricity from CdS ultrathin films.

PubMed

Wang, Xuewen; He, Xuexia; Zhu, Hongfei; Sun, Linfeng; Fu, Wei; Wang, Xingli; Hoong, Lai Chee; Wang, Hong; Zeng, Qingsheng; Zhao, Wu; Wei, Jun; Jin, Zhong; Shen, Zexiang; Liu, Jie; Zhang, Ting; Liu, Zheng

2016-07-01

Driven by the development of high-performance piezoelectric materials, actuators become an important tool for positioning objects with high accuracy down to nanometer scale, and have been used for a wide variety of equipment, such as atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. However, positioning at the subatomic scale is still a great challenge. Ultrathin piezoelectric materials may pave the way to positioning an object with extreme precision. Using ultrathin CdS thin films, we demonstrate vertical piezoelectricity in atomic scale (three to five space lattices). With an in situ scanning Kelvin force microscopy and single and dual ac resonance tracking piezoelectric force microscopy, the vertical piezoelectric coefficient (d 33) up to 33 pm·V(-1) was determined for the CdS ultrathin films. These findings shed light on the design of next-generation sensors and microelectromechanical devices.

Nonbolometric bottleneck in electron-phonon relaxation in ultrathin WSi films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sidorova, Mariia V.; Kozorezov, A. G.; Semenov, A. V.; Korneeva, Yu. P.; Mikhailov, M. Yu.; Devizenko, A. Yu.; Korneev, A. A.; Chulkova, G. M.; Goltsman, G. N.

2018-05-01

We developed the model of the internal phonon bottleneck to describe the energy exchange between the acoustically soft ultrathin metal film and acoustically rigid substrate. Discriminating phonons in the film into two groups, escaping and nonescaping, we show that electrons and nonescaping phonons may form a unified subsystem, which is cooled down only due to interactions with escaping phonons, either due to direct phonon conversion or indirect sequential interaction with an electronic system. Using an amplitude-modulated absorption of the sub-THz radiation technique, we studied electron-phonon relaxation in ultrathin disordered films of tungsten silicide. We found an experimental proof of the internal phonon bottleneck. The experiment and simulation based on the proposed model agree well, resulting in τe -ph˜14 0 -19 0 ps at TC=3.4 K , supporting the results of earlier measurements by independent techniques.

A study of the properties and microstructure of Ni 81Fe 19 ultrathin films with MgO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Minghua; Han, Gan; Ding, Lei; Wang, Xiaocui; Liu, Yang; Feng, Chun; Wang, Haicheng; Yu, Guanghua

2012-01-01

The anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) of a Ta (5 nm)/MgO (3 nm)/Ni81Fe19 (10 nm)/MgO (2 nm)/Ta (3 nm) film with MgO-Nano Oxide Layer (NOL) increases dramatically from 1.05% to 3.24% compared with a Ta (5 nm)/Ni81Fe19 (10 nm)/Ta (3 nm) film without the MgO-NOL layer after annealing at 380 °C for 2 h. Although the MgO destroys the NiFe (1 1 1) texture, it enhances the specular electron scattering of the conduction electrons at the NOL interface and suppresses the interface reactions and diffusion at the Ta/NiFe and NiFe/Ta interfaces. The NiFe (1 1 1) texture was formed after the annealing, resulting in a higher AMR ratio. X-ray photoelectron spectroscope results show that Mg and Mg2+ were present in the MgOx films.

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.

Characteristics of the Energetic Igniters Through Integrating B/Ti Nano-Multilayers on TaN Film Bridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, YiChao; Shi, Wei; Jiang, HongChuan; Cai, XianYao; Deng, XinWu; Xiong, Jie; Zhang, WanLi

2015-05-01

The energetic igniters through integrating B/Ti nano-multilayers on tantalum nitride (TaN) ignition bridge are designed and fabricated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) results show that nitrogen content has a great influence on the crystalline structure and TCR. TaN films under nitrogen ratio of 0.99 % exhibit a near-zero TCR value of approximately 10 ppm/°C. The scanning electron microscopy demonstrates that the layered structure of the B/Ti multilayer films is clearly visible with sharp and smooth interfaces. The electrical explosion characteristics employing a capacitor discharge firing set at the optimized charging voltage of 45 V reveal an excellent explosion performance by (B/Ti) n /TaN integration film bridge with small ignition delay time, high explosion temperature, much more bright flash of light, and much large quantities of the ejected product particles than TaN film bridge.

Influence of inserted Mo layer on the thermal stability of perpendicularly magnetized Ta/Mo/Co{sub 20}Fe{sub 60}B{sub 20}/MgO/Ta films

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

Li, Minghua, E-mail: mhli@ustb.edu.cn; Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095; Lu, Jinhui

2016-04-15

We studied the thermal stability of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in Ta/Mo/CoFeB/MgO/Ta films with and without inserted Mo layers. In the absence of a Mo layer, the films show PMA at annealing temperatures below 300 °C. On the other hand, the insertion of a Mo layer preserves PMA at annealing temperatures of up to 500 °C; however, a higher annealing temperature leads to the collapse of PMA. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) were used to study the microstructure of the films to understand the deterioration of PMA. The XPS results show that the segregation ofmore » Ta is partly suppressed by inserting a Mo layer. Once inserted, Mo does not remain at the interface of Ta and CoFeB but migrates to the surface of the films. The HRTEM results show that the crystallization of the MgO (001) texture is improved owing to the higher annealing temperature of the Mo inserted sample. A smooth and clear CoFeB/MgO interface is evident. The inserted Mo layer not only helps to obtain sharper and smoother interfaces but also contributes to the crystallization after the higher annealing temperature of films.« less

Structure Formation of Ultrathin PEO Films at Solid Interfaces—Complex Pattern Formation by Dewetting and Crystallization

PubMed Central

Braun, Hans-Georg; Meyer, Evelyn

2013-01-01

The direct contact of ultrathin polymer films with a solid substrate may result in thin film rupture caused by dewetting. With crystallisable polymers such as polyethyleneoxide (PEO), molecular self-assembly into partial ordered lamella structures is studied as an additional source of pattern formation. Morphological features in ultrathin PEO films (thickness < 10 nm) result from an interplay between dewetting patterns and diffusion limited growth pattern of ordered lamella growing within the dewetting areas. Besides structure formation of hydrophilic PEO molecules, n-alkylterminated (hydrophobic) PEO oligomers are investigated with respect to self-organization in ultrathin films. Morphological features characteristic for pure PEO are not changed by the presence of the n-alkylgroups. PMID:23385233

Direct evidence on Ta-Metal Phases Igniting Resistive Switching in TaOx Thin Film

PubMed Central

Kyu Yang, Min; Ju, Hyunsu; Hwan Kim, Gun; Lee, Jeon-Kook; Ryu, Han-Cheol

2015-01-01

A Ta/TaOx/Pt stacked capacitor-like device for resistive switching was fabricated and examined. The tested device demonstrated stable resistive switching characteristics including uniform distribution of resistive switching operational parameters, highly promising endurance, and retention properties. To reveal the resistive switching mechanism of the device, micro structure analysis using high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) was performed. From the observation results, two different phases of Ta-metal clusters of cubic α-Ta and tetragonal β-Ta were founded in the amorphous TaOx mother-matrix after the device was switched from high resistance state (HRS) to low resistance state (LRS) by externally applied voltage bias. The observed Ta metal clusters unveiled the origin of the electric conduction paths in the TaOx thin film at the LRS. PMID:26365532

Direct evidence on Ta-Metal Phases Igniting Resistive Switching in TaOx Thin Film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kyu Yang, Min; Ju, Hyunsu; Hwan Kim, Gun; Lee, Jeon-Kook; Ryu, Han-Cheol

2015-09-01

A Ta/TaOx/Pt stacked capacitor-like device for resistive switching was fabricated and examined. The tested device demonstrated stable resistive switching characteristics including uniform distribution of resistive switching operational parameters, highly promising endurance, and retention properties. To reveal the resistive switching mechanism of the device, micro structure analysis using high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) was performed. From the observation results, two different phases of Ta-metal clusters of cubic α-Ta and tetragonal β-Ta were founded in the amorphous TaOx mother-matrix after the device was switched from high resistance state (HRS) to low resistance state (LRS) by externally applied voltage bias. The observed Ta metal clusters unveiled the origin of the electric conduction paths in the TaOx thin film at the LRS.

Characteristics of the Energetic Igniters Through Integrating B/Ti Nano-Multilayers on TaN Film Bridge.

PubMed

Yan, YiChao; Shi, Wei; Jiang, HongChuan; Cai, XianYao; Deng, XinWu; Xiong, Jie; Zhang, WanLi

2015-12-01

The energetic igniters through integrating B/Ti nano-multilayers on tantalum nitride (TaN) ignition bridge are designed and fabricated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) results show that nitrogen content has a great influence on the crystalline structure and TCR. TaN films under nitrogen ratio of 0.99 % exhibit a near-zero TCR value of approximately 10 ppm/°C. The scanning electron microscopy demonstrates that the layered structure of the B/Ti multilayer films is clearly visible with sharp and smooth interfaces. The electrical explosion characteristics employing a capacitor discharge firing set at the optimized charging voltage of 45 V reveal an excellent explosion performance by (B/Ti) n /TaN integration film bridge with small ignition delay time, high explosion temperature, much more bright flash of light, and much large quantities of the ejected product particles than TaN film bridge.

Injection doping of ultrathin microcrystalline silicon films prepared by CC-CVD

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

Koynov, S.; Grebner, S.; Schwarz, R.

1997-07-01

Recently, the authors have proposed a cyclic method, referred to as Closed Chamber CVD (CC-CVD), for the preparation of {micro}c-Si films of high crystalline fraction at increased deposition rates. In this work, they first report new process conditions of CC-CVD, which result in growth of highly crystalline films with a sharp interface on a foreign substrate. Then these conditions are further used together with a pulsed injection of B{sub 2}H{sub 6} in an appropriate moment of each cycle, so that the disturbance of the crystallization process is prevented. A series of ultrathin {micro}c-Si films, doped by this technique, is characterizedmore » by conductivity measurements, SEM, Raman Scattering, optical transmission and UV reflection. A strong reduction of the transient interface layer is achieved and conductivity as high as 2 S/cm with an activation energy of 27 meV is reached.« less

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

Preparation of TiO2/boron-doped diamond/Ta multilayer films and use as electrode materials for supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Chao; Li, Hongji; Li, Cuiping; Li, Mingji; Qu, Changqing; Yang, Baohe

2015-12-01

We report nanostructured TiO2/boron-doped diamond (BDD)/Ta multilayer films and their electrochemical performances as supercapacitor electrodes. The BDD films were grown on Ta substrates using electron-assisted hot filament chemical vapor deposition. Ti metal layers were deposited on the BDD surfaces by radio frequency magnetron sputtering, and nanostructured TiO2/BDD/Ta thin films were prepared by electrochemical etching and thermal annealing. The successful formation of TiO2 and Ta layered nanostructures was demonstrated using scanning electron and transmission electron microscopies. The electrochemical responses of these electrodes were evaluated by examining their use as electrical double-layer capacitors, using cyclic voltammetry, and galvanostatic charge/discharge and impedance measurements. When the TiO2/BDD/Ta film was used as the working electrode with 0.1 M Na2SO4 as the electrolyte, the capacitor had a specific capacitance of 5.23 mF cm-2 at a scan rate of 5 mV s-1 for a B/C ratio of 0.1% w/w. Furthermore, the TiO2/BDD/Ta film had improved electrochemical stability, with a retention of 89.3% after 500 cycles. This electrochemical behavior is attributed to the quality of the BDD, the surface roughness and electrocatalytic activities of the TiO2 layer and Ta nanoporous structures, and the synergies between them. These results show that TiO2/BDD/Ta films are promising as capacitor electrodes for special applications.

The microwave properties of Ag(Ta0.8Nb0.2)O3 thick film interdigital capacitors on alumina substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Ku-Tak; Koh, Jung-Hyuk

2012-01-01

In this paper, we will introduce the microwave properties of Ag(Ta0.8Nb0.2)O3 thick film planar type interdigital capacitors fabricated on alumina substrates. The tailored paraelectric state of Ag(Ta,Nb)O3 allows the material to be regarded as a part of the family of microwave materials. As thick films formed in our experiment, Ag(Ta,Nb)O3 exhibited extremely low dielectric loss with relatively high dielectric permittivity. This low dielectric loss is a very important issue for microwave applications. Therefore, we investigated the microwave properties of Ag(Ta0.8Nb0.2)O3 thick film planar type interdigital capacitors. Ag(Ta0.8Nb0.2)O3 thick films were prepared by a screen-printing method on alumina substrates and were sintered at 1140 °C for 2 hrs. The XRD analysis results showed that the Ag(Ta0.8Nb0.2)O3 thick film has the perovskite structure. The frequency dependent dielectric permittivity showed that these Ag(Ta0.8Nb0.2)O3 thick film planar type interdigital capacitors have very weak frequency dispersions with low loss tangents in the microwave range.

Influence of Thickness on the Electrical Transport Properties of Exfoliated Bi2Te3 Ultrathin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mo, D. L.; Wang, W. B.; Cai, Q.

2016-08-01

In this work, the mechanical exfoliation method has been utilized to fabricate Bi2Te3 ultrathin films. The thickness of the ultrathin films is revealed to be several tens of nanometers. Weak antilocalization effects and Shubnikov de Haas oscillations have been observed in the magneto-transport measurements on individual films with different thickness, and the two-dimensional surface conduction plays a dominant role. The Fermi level is found to be 81 meV above the Dirac point, and the carrier mobility can reach ~6030 cm2/(Vs) for the 10-nm film. When the film thickness decreases from 30 to 10 nm, the Fermi level will move 8 meV far from the bulk valence band. The coefficient α in the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka equation is shown to be ~0.5, manifesting that only the bottom surface of the Bi2Te3 ultrathin films takes part in transport conductions. These will pave the way for understanding thoroughly the surface transport properties of topological insulators.

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

Nucleation of C60 on ultrathin SiO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conrad, Brad; Groce, Michelle; Cullen, William; Pimpinelli, Alberto; Williams, Ellen; Einstein, Ted

2012-02-01

We utilize scanning tunneling microscopy to characterize the nucleation, growth, and morphology of C60 on ultrathin SiO2 grown at room temperature. C60 thin films are deposited in situ by physical vapor deposition with thicknesses varying from <0.05 to ˜1 ML. Island size and capture zone distributions are examined for a varied flux rate and substrate deposition temperature. The C60 critical nucleus size is observed to change between monomers and dimers non-monotonically from 300 K to 500 K. Results will be discussed in terms of recent capture zone studies and analysis methods. Relation to device fabrication will be discussed. doi:10.1016/j.susc.2011.08.020

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.

Low emissivity Ag/Ta/glass multilayer thin films deposited by sputtering

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

Park, Sun Ho; Lee, Kee Sun; Green Home Energy Technology Center, Cheonan City

Ta is deposited on a glass substrate as an interlayer for the two-dimensional growth of Ag thin films because Ta has good thermal stability and can induce a negative surface-energy change in Ag/glass. From the transmission electron microscopy results, we concluded that the Ag crystals in the bottom layer (seemingly on Ag/Ta) were flattened; this was rarely observed in the three-dimensional growth mode. Comparing Ag/Ta/glass with Ag/glass, we found that the Ta interlayer was effective in reducing both the resistance and the emissivity, accompanied by the relatively high transmittance in the visible region. In particular, Ag(9 nm)/Ta(1 nm)/glass film showedmore » 0.08 of the emissivity, including {approx}61% of the transmittance in the visible region (wavelength: 550 nm).« less

Dissolvable Films of Silk Fibroin for Ultrathin Conformal Bio-Integrated Electronics

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-06-01

the systems described in the following, ultrathin, spin- cast films of polyimide (PI) served as a support for arrays of electrodes designed for...micropatterning of optically transparent, mechanically robust, biocompatible silk fibroin films. Adv. Mater. 20, 3070–3072 (2008). 20. Murphy, A. R., John, P. S...analysis of induced colour change on periodically nanopatterned silk films. Opt. Express 17, 21271–21279 (2009). 25. Parker, S. T. et al. Biocompatible

Effect of structure on the tribology of ultrathin graphene and graphene oxide films.

PubMed

Chen, Hang; Filleter, Tobin

2015-03-27

The friction and wear properties of graphene and graphene oxide (GO) with varying C/O ratio were investigated using friction force microscopy. When applied as solid lubricants between a sliding contact of a silicon (Si) tip and a SiO2/Si substrate, graphene and ultrathin GO films (as thin as 1-2 atomic layers) were found to reduce friction by ∼6 times and ∼2 times respectively as compared to the unlubricated contact. The differences in measured friction were attributed to different interfacial shear strengths. Ultrathin films of GO with a low C/O ratio of ∼2 were found to wear easily under small normal load. The onset of wear, and the location of wear initiation, is attributed to differences in the local shear strength of the sliding interface as a result of the non-homogeneous surface structure of GO. While the exhibited low friction of GO as compared to SiO2 makes it an economically viable coating for micro/nano-electro-mechanical systems with the potential to extend the lifetime of devices, its higher propensity for wear may limit its usefulness. To address this limitation, the wear resistance of GO samples with a higher C/O ratio (∼4) was also studied. The higher C/O ratio GO was found to exhibit much improved wear resistance which approached that of the graphene samples. This demonstrates the potential of tailoring the structure of GO to achieve graphene-like tribological properties.

Effects of thickness and annealing condition on magnetic properties and thermal stabilities of Ta/Nd/NdFeB/Nd/Ta sandwiched films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wen-Feng; Zhang, Min-Gang; Zhang, Ke-Wei; Zhang, Hai-Jie; Xu, Xiao-Hong; Chai, Yue-Sheng

2016-11-01

Ta/Nd/NdFeB/Nd/Ta sandwiched films are deposited by magnetron sputtering on Si (100) substrates, and subsequently annealed in vacuum at different temperatures for different time. It is found that both the thickness of NdFeB and Nd layer and the annealing condition can affect the magnetic properties of Ta/Nd/NdFeB/Nd/Ta films. Interestingly, the thickness and annealing temperature show the relevant behaviors that can affect the magnetic properties of the film. The high coercivity of 24.1 kOe (1 Oe = 79.5775 A/m) and remanence ratio (remanent magnetization/saturation magnetization) of 0.94 can be obtained in a Ta/Nd(250 nm)/NdFeB(600 nm)/Nd(250 nm)/Ta film annealed for 3 min at 1023 K. In addition, the thermal stability of the film is also linked to the thickness of NdFeB and Nd layer and the annealing temperature as well. The excellent thermal stability can be achieved in a Ta/Nd(250 nm)/NdFeB(600 nm)/Nd(250 nm)/Ta film annealed at 1023 K. Program supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51305290), the Higher Education Technical Innovation Project of Shanxi Province, China (Grant No. 2013133), the Fund Program for the Scientific Activities of Selected Returned Overseas Professionals of Shanxi Province, China (Grant No. 2015003), and the Program for the Key Team of Scientific and Technological Innovation of Shanxi Province, China (Grant No. 2013131009).

Tailoring Curie temperature and magnetic anisotropy in ultrathin Pt/Co/Pt films

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

Parakkat, Vineeth Mohanan; Ganesh, K. R.; Anil Kumar, P. S., E-mail: anil@physics.iisc.ernet.in

The dependence of perpendicular magnetization and Curie temperature (T{sub c}) of Pt/Co/Pt thin films on the thicknesses of Pt seed (Pt{sub s}) and presence of Ta buffer layer has been investigated in this work. Pt and Co thicknesses were varied between 2 to 8 nm and 0.35 to 1.31 nm (across the spin reorientation transition thickness) respectively and the T{sub c} was measured using SQUID magnetometer. We have observed a systematic dependence of T{sub c} on the thickness of Pt{sub s}. For 8 nm thickness of Pt{sub s} the Co layer of 0.35 nm showed ferromagnetism with perpendicular anisotropy atmore » room temperature. As the thickness of the Pt{sub s} was decreased to 2 nm, the T{sub c} went down below 250 K. XRD data indicated polycrystalline growth of Pt{sub s} on SiO{sub 2}. On the contrary Ta buffer layer promoted the growth of Pt(111). As a consequence Ta(5 nm)/Pt(3 nm)/Co(0.35 nm)/Pt(2 nm) had much higher T{sub c} (above 300 K) with perpendicular anisotropy when compared to the same stack without the Ta layer. Thus we could tune the ferromagnetic T{sub c} and anisotropy by varying the Pt{sub s} thickness and also by introducing Ta buffer layer. We attribute these observations to the micro-structural evolution of Pt{sub s} layer which hosts the Co layer.« less

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.

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.

Reactive magnetron cosputtering of hard and conductive ternary nitride thin films: Ti-Zr-N and Ti-Ta-N

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

Abadias, G.; Koutsokeras, L. E.; Dub, S. N.

2010-07-15

Ternary transition metal nitride thin films, with thickness up to 300 nm, were deposited by dc reactive magnetron cosputtering in Ar-N{sub 2} plasma discharges at 300 deg. C on Si substrates. Two systems were comparatively studied, Ti-Zr-N and Ti-Ta-N, as representative of isostructural and nonisostructural prototypes, with the aim of characterizing their structural, mechanical, and electrical properties. While phase-separated TiN-ZrN and TiN-TaN are the bulk equilibrium states, Ti{sub 1-x}Zr{sub x}N and Ti{sub 1-y}Ta{sub y}N solid solutions with the Na-Cl (B1-type) structure could be stabilized in a large compositional range (up to x=1 and y=0.75, respectively). Substituting Ti atoms by eithermore » Zr or Ta atoms led to significant changes in film texture, microstructure, grain size, and surface morphology, as evidenced by x-ray diffraction, x-ray reflectivity, and scanning electron and atomic force microscopies. The ternary Ti{sub 1-y}Ta{sub y}N films exhibited superior mechanical properties to Ti{sub 1-x}Zr{sub x}N films as well as binary compounds, with hardness as high as 42 GPa for y=0.69. All films were metallic, the lowest electrical resistivity {rho}{approx}65 {mu}{Omega} cm being obtained for pure ZrN, while for Ti{sub 1-y}Ta{sub y}N films a minimum was observed at y{approx}0.3. The evolution of the different film properties is discussed based on microstructrural investigations.« less

Nanostructured Ti-Ta thin films synthesized by combinatorial glancing angle sputter deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Motemani, Yahya; Khare, Chinmay; Savan, Alan; Hans, Michael; Paulsen, Alexander; Frenzel, Jan; Somsen, Christoph; Mücklich, Frank; Eggeler, Gunther; Ludwig, Alfred

2016-12-01

Ti-Ta alloys are attractive materials for applications in actuators as well as biomedical implants. When fabricated as thin films, these alloys can potentially be employed as microactuators, components for micro-implantable devices and coatings on surgical implants. In this study, Ti100-x Ta x (x = 21, 30) nanocolumnar thin films are fabricated by glancing angle deposition (GLAD) at room temperature using Ti73Ta27 and Ta sputter targets. Crystal structure, morphology and microstructure of the nanostructured thin films are systematically investigated by XRD, SEM and TEM, respectively. Nanocolumns of ˜150-160 nm in width are oriented perpendicular to the substrate for both Ti79Ta21 and Ti70Ta30 compositions. The disordered α″ martensite phase with orthorhombic structure is formed in room temperature as-deposited thin films. The columns are found to be elongated small single crystals which are aligned perpendicular to the (20\\bar{4}) and (204) planes of α″ martensite, indicating that the films’ growth orientation is mainly dominated by these crystallographic planes. Laser pre-patterned substrates are utilized to obtain periodic nanocolumnar arrays. The differences in seed pattern, and inter-seed distances lead to growth of multi-level porous nanostructures. Using a unique sputter deposition geometry consisting of Ti73Ta27 and Ta sputter sources, a nanocolumnar Ti-Ta materials library was fabricated on a static substrate by a co-deposition process (combinatorial-GLAD approach). In this library, a composition spread developed between Ti72.8Ta27.2 and Ti64.4Ta35.6, as confirmed by high-throughput EDX analysis. The morphology over the materials library varies from well-isolated nanocolumns to fan-like nanocolumnar structures. The influence of two sputter sources is investigated by studying the resulting column angle on the materials library. The presented nanostructuring methods including the use of the GLAD technique along with pre-patterning and a

Impact of Ultrathin C60 on Perovskite Photovoltaic Devices.

PubMed

Liu, Dianyi; Wang, Qiong; Traverse, Christopher J; Yang, Chenchen; Young, Margaret; Kuttipillai, Padmanaban S; Lunt, Sophia Y; Hamann, Thomas W; Lunt, Richard R

2018-01-23

Halide perovskite solar cells have seen dramatic progress in performance over the past several years. Certified efficiencies of inverted structure (p-i-n) devices have now exceeded 20%. In these p-i-n devices, fullerene compounds are the most popular electron-transfer materials. However, the full function of fullerenes in perovskite solar cells is still under investigation, and the mechanism of photocurrent hysteresis suppression by fullerene remains unclear. In previous reports, thick fullerene layers (>20 nm) were necessary to fully cover the perovskite film surface to make good contact with perovskite film and avoid large leakage currents. In addition, the solution-processed fullerene layer has been broadly thought to infiltrate into the perovskite film to passivate traps on grain boundary surfaces, causing suppressed photocurrent hysteresis. In this work, we demonstrate an efficient perovskite photovoltaic device with only 1 nm C 60 deposited by vapor deposition as the electron-selective material. Utilizing a combination of fluorescence microscopy and impedance spectroscopy, we show that the ultrathin C 60 predominately acts to extract electrons from the perovskite film while concomitantly suppressing the photocurrent hysteresis by reducing space charge accumulation at the interface. This work ultimately helps to clarify the dominant role of fullerenes in perovskite solar cells while simplifying perovskite solar cell design to reduce manufacturing costs.

Preparation of c-axis perpendicularly oriented ultra-thin L10-FePt films on MgO and VN underlayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Futamoto, Masaaki; Shimizu, Tomoki; Ohtake, Mitsuru

2018-05-01

Ultra-thin L10-FePt films of 2 nm average thickness are prepared on (001) oriented MgO and VN underlayers epitaxially grown on base substrate of SrTiO3(001) single crystal. Detailed cross-sectional structures are observed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Continuous L10-FePt(001) thin films with very flat surface are prepared on VN(001) underlayer whereas the films prepared on MgO(001) underlayer consist of isolated L10-FePt(001) crystal islands. Presence of misfit dislocation and lattice bending in L10-FePt material is reducing the effective lattice mismatch with respect to the underlayer to be less than 0.5 %. Formation of very flat and continuous FePt layer on VN underlayer is due to the large surface energy of VN material where de-wetting of FePt material at high temperature annealing process is suppressed under a force balance between the surface and interface energies of FePt and VN materials. An employment of underlayer or substrate material with the lattice constant and the surface energy larger than those of L10-FePt is important for the preparation of very thin FePt epitaxial thin continuous film with the c-axis controlled to be perpendicular to the substrate surface.

Ultrathin nanofibrous films prepared from cadmium hydroxide nanostrands and anionic surfactants.

PubMed

Peng, Xinsheng; Karan, Santanu; Ichinose, Izumi

2009-08-04

We developed a simple fabrication method of ultrathin nanofibrous films from the dispersion of cadmium hydroxide nanostrands and anionic surfactants. The nanostrands were prepared in a dilute aqueous solution of cadmium chloride by using 2-aminoethanol. They were highly positively charged and gave bundlelike fibers upon mixing an aqueous solution of anionic surfactant. The nanostrand/surfactant composite fibers were filtered on an inorganic membrane filter. The resultant nanofibrous film was very uniform in the area of a few centimeters square when the thickness was not less than 60 nm. The films obtained with sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STS) had a composition close to the electroneutral complex, [Cd37(OH)68(H2O)n] x 6(STS), as confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray analysis. They were water-repellent with a contact angle of 117 degrees, and the value slightly decreased with the alkyl chain length of anionic surfactants. Ultrathin nanofibrous films were stable enough to be used for ultrafiltration at pressure difference of 90 kPa. We could effectively separate Au nanoparticles of 40 nm at an extremely high filtration rate of 14000 L/(h m2 bar).

Enhanced Hydrogen Transport over Palladium Ultrathin Films through Surface Nanostructure Engineering.

PubMed

Abate, Salvatore; Giorgianni, Gianfranco; Gentiluomo, Serena; Centi, Gabriele; Perathoner, Siglinda

2015-11-01

Palladium ultrathin films (around 2 μm) with different surface nanostructures are characterized by TEM, SEM, AFM, and temperature programmed reduction (TPR), and evaluated in terms of H2 permeability and H2-N2 separation. A change in the characteristics of Pd seeds by controlled oxidation-reduction treatments produces films with the same thickness, but different surface and bulk nanostructure. In particular, the films have finer and more homogeneous Pd grains, which results in lower surface roughness. Although all samples show high permeo-selectivity to H2 , the samples with finer grains exhibit enhanced permeance and lower activation energy for H2 transport. The analysis of the data suggests that grain boundaries between the Pd grains at the surface favor H2 transfer from surface to subsurface. Thus, the surface nanostructure plays a relevant role in enhancing the transport of H2 over the Pd ultrathin film, which is an important aspect to develop improved membranes that function at low temperatures and toward new integrated process architectures in H2 and syngas production with enhanced sustainability. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Silicide formation process of Er films with Ta and TaN capping layers.

PubMed

Choi, Juyun; Choi, Seongheum; Kim, Jungwoo; Na, Sekwon; Lee, Hoo-Jeong; Lee, Seok-Hee; Kim, Hyoungsub

2013-12-11

The phase development and defect formation during the silicidation reaction of sputter-deposited Er films on Si with ∼20-nm-thick Ta and TaN capping layers were examined. TaN capping effectively prevented the oxygen incorporation from the annealing atmosphere, which resulted in complete conversion to the ErSi2-x phase. However, significant oxygen penetration through the Ta capping layer inhibited the ErSi2-x formation, and incurred the growth of several Er-Si-O phases, even consuming the ErSi2-x layer formed earlier. Both samples produced a number of small recessed defects at an early silicidation stage. However, large rectangular or square-shaped surface defects, which were either pitlike or pyramidal depending on the capping layer identity, were developed as the annealing temperature increased. The origin of different defect generation mechanisms was suggested based on the capping layer-dependent silicidation kinetics.

Hydrogen gas sensors using a thin Ta2O5 dielectric film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Seongjeen

2014-12-01

A capacitive-type hydrogen gas sensor with a MIS (metal-insulator-semiconductor) structure was investigated for high-temperature applications. In this work, a tantalum oxide (Ta2O5) layer of tens of nanometers in thickness formed by oxidizing tantalum film in rapid thermal processing (RTP) was exploited with the purpose of sensitivity improvement. Silicon carbide (SiC), which is good even at high temperatures over 500 °C, was used as the substrate. We fabricated sensors composed of Pd/Ta2O5/SiC, and the dependences of the capacitance response properties and the I-V characteristics on the hydrogen concentration were analyzed from the temperature range of room temperature to 500 °C. As a result, our hydrogen sensor showed promising performance with respect to the sensitivity and the adaptability at high temperature.

High-Pressure CO2 Sorption in Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity under Ultrathin Film Confinement.

PubMed

Ogieglo, Wojciech; Ghanem, Bader; Ma, Xiaohua; Wessling, Matthias; Pinnau, Ingo

2018-04-04

Ultrathin microporous polymer films are pertinent to the development and further spread of nanotechnology with very promising potential applications in molecular separations, sensors, catalysis, or batteries. Here, we report high-pressure CO 2 sorption in ultrathin films of several chemically different polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs), including the prototypical PIM-1. Films with thicknesses down to 7 nm were studied using interference-enhanced in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry. It was found that all PIMs swell much more than non-microporous polystyrene and other high-performance glassy polymers reported previously. Furthermore, chemical modifications of the parent PIM-1 strongly affected the swelling magnitude. By investigating the behavior of relative refractive index, n rel , it was possible to study the interplay between micropores filling and matrix expansion. Remarkably, all studied PIMs showed a maximum in n rel at swelling of 2-2.5% indicating a threshold point above which the dissolution in the dense matrix started to dominate over sorption in the micropores. At pressures above 25 bar, all PIMs significantly plasticized in compressed CO 2 and for the ones with the highest affinity to the penetrant, a liquidlike mixing typical for rubbery polymers was observed. Reduction of film thickness below 100 nm revealed pronounced nanoconfinement effects and resulted in a large swelling enhancement and a quick loss of the ultrarigid character. On the basis of the partial molar volumes of the dissolved CO 2 , the effective reduction of the T g was estimated to be ∼200 °C going from 128 to 7 nm films.

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.

Electrical transport of spin-polarized carriers in disordered ultrathin films.

PubMed

Hernandez, L M; Bhattacharya, A; Parendo, Kevin A; Goldman, A M

2003-09-19

Slow, nonexponential relaxation of electrical transport accompanied by memory effects has been induced in quench-condensed ultrathin amorphous Bi films by the application of a parallel magnetic field. This behavior, which is very similar to space-charge limited current flow, is found in extremely thin films well on the insulating side of the thickness-tuned superconductor-insulator transition. It may be the signature of a collective state that forms when the carriers are spin polarized at low temperatures and in high magnetic fields.

Chain and mirophase-separated structures of ultrathin polyurethane films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kojio, Ken; Uchiba, Yusuke; Yamamoto, Yasunori; Motokucho, Suguru; Furukawa, Mutsuhisa

2009-08-01

Measurements are presented how chain and microphase-separated structures of ultrathin polyurethane (PU) films are controlled by the thickness. The film thickness is varied by a solution concentration for spin coating. The systems are PUs prepared from commercial raw materials. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopic measurement revealed that the degree of hydrogen bonding among hard segment chains decreased and increased with decreasing film thickness for strong and weak microphase separation systems, respectively. The microphase-separated structure, which is formed from hard segment domains and a surrounding soft segment matrix, were observed by atomic force microscopy. The size of hard segment domains decreased with decreasing film thickness, and possibility of specific orientation of the hard segment chains was exhibited for both systems. These results are due to decreasing space for the formation of the microphase-separated structure.

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.

Modeling the mechanical properties of ultra-thin polymer films [Structural modeling of films of atomic scale thickness

DOE PAGES

Espinosa-Loza, Francisco; Stadermann, Michael; Aracne-Ruddle, Chantel; ...

2017-11-16

A modeling method to extract the mechanical properties of ultra-thin films (10–100 nm thick) from experimental data generated by indentation of freestanding circular films using a spherical indenter is presented. The relationship between the mechanical properties of the film and experimental parameters including load, and deflection are discussed in the context of a constitutive material model, test variables, and analytical approaches. As a result, elastic and plastic regimes are identified by comparison of finite element simulation and experimental data.

Modeling the mechanical properties of ultra-thin polymer films [Structural modeling of films of atomic scale thickness

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

Espinosa-Loza, Francisco; Stadermann, Michael; Aracne-Ruddle, Chantel

A modeling method to extract the mechanical properties of ultra-thin films (10–100 nm thick) from experimental data generated by indentation of freestanding circular films using a spherical indenter is presented. The relationship between the mechanical properties of the film and experimental parameters including load, and deflection are discussed in the context of a constitutive material model, test variables, and analytical approaches. As a result, elastic and plastic regimes are identified by comparison of finite element simulation and experimental data.

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).

Magnetic and structural characterization of ultra-thin Fe (222) films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loving, Melissa G.; Brown, Emily E.; Rizzo, Nicholas D.; Ambrose, Thomas F.

2018-05-01

Varied thickness body centered cubic (BCC) ultrathin Fe films (10-50Å) have been sputter deposited onto Si (111) substrates. BCC Fe with the novel (222) texture was obtained by H- terminating the Si (111) starting substrate then immediately depositing the magnetic films. Structural results derived from grazing incidence x-ray diffraction and x-ray reflectivity confirm the crystallographic texture, film thickness, and interface roughness. Magnetic results indicate that Fe (222) exhibits soft magnetic switching (easy axis), high anisotropy (hard axis), which is maintained across the thickness range, and a positive magnetostriction (for the thicker film layers). The observed soft magnetic switching in this system makes it an ideal candidate for future magnetic memory development as well as other microelectronics applications that utilize magnetic materials.

Exploitation of a Self-limiting Process for Reproducible Formation of Ultrathin Ni(1-x)Pt(x) Silicide Films

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

Z Zhang; B Yang; Y Zhu

This letter reports on a process scheme to obtain highly reproducible Ni{sub 1-x}Pt{sub x} silicide films of 3-6 nm thickness formed on a Si(100) substrate. Such ultrathin silicide films are readily attained by sputter deposition of metal films, metal stripping in wet chemicals, and final silicidation by rapid thermal processing. This process sequence warrants an invariant amount of metal intermixed with Si in the substrate surface region independent of the initial metal thickness, thereby leading to a self-limiting formation of ultrathin silicide films. The crystallographic structure, thickness, uniformity, and morphological stability of the final silicide films depend sensitively on themore » initial Pt fraction.« less

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2014-03-01

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

Structural phase diagram for ultra-thin epitaxial Fe 3O 4 / MgO(0 01) films: thickness and oxygen pressure dependence

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

Alraddadi, S.; Hines, W.; Yilmaz, T.

2016-02-19

A systematic investigation of the thickness and oxygen pressure dependence for the structural properties of ultra-thin epitaxial magnetite (Fe 3O 4) films has been carried out; for such films, the structural properties generally differ from those for the bulk when the thickness ≤10 nm. Iron oxide ultra-thin films with thicknesses varying from 3 nm to 20 nm were grown on MgO (001) substrates using molecular beam epitaxy under different oxygen pressures ranging from 1 × 10 -7 torr to 1 × 10 -5 torr. The crystallographic and electronic structures of the films were characterized using low energy electron diffraction (LEED)more » and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. Moreover, the quality of the epitaxial Fe 3O 4 ultra-thin films was judged by magnetic measurements of the Verwey transition, along with complementary XPS spectra. We observed that under the same growth conditions the stoichiometry of ultra-thin films under 10 nm transforms from the Fe 3O 4 phase to the FeO phase. In this work, a phase diagram based on thickness and oxygen pressure has been constructed to explain the structural phase transformation. It was found that high-quality magnetite films with thicknesses ≤20 nm formed within a narrow range of oxygen pressure. An optimal and controlled growth process is a crucial requirement for the accurate study of the magnetic and electronic properties for ultra-thin Fe 3O 4 films. Furthermore, these results are significant because they may indicate a general trend in the growth of other oxide films, which has not been previously observed or considered.« less

Dynamics of ultrathin metal films on amorphous substrates under fast thermal processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Favazza, Christopher; Kalyanaraman, Ramki; Sureshkumar, Radhakrishna

2007-11-01

A mathematical model is developed to analyze the growth/decay rate of surface perturbations of an ultrathin metal film on an amorphous substrate (SiO2). The formulation combines the approach of Mullins [W. W. Mullins, J. Appl. Phys. 30, 77 (1959)] for bulk surfaces, in which curvature-driven mass transport and surface deformation can occur by surface/volume diffusion and evaporation-condensation processes, with that of Spencer etal . [B. J. Spencer, P. W. Voorhees, and S. H. Davis, Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 26 (1991)] to describe solid-state transport in thin films under epitaxial strain. Modifications of the Mullins model to account for thin-film boundary conditions result in qualitatively different dispersion relationships especially in the limit as kho≪1, where k is the wavenumber of the perturbation and ho is the unperturbed film height. The model is applied to study the relative rate of solid-state mass transport as compared to that of liquid phase dewetting in a thin film subjected to a fast thermal pulse. Specifically, we have recently shown that multiple cycles of nanosecond (ns) pulsed laser melting and resolidification of ultrathin metal films on amorphous substrates can lead to the formation of various types of spatially ordered nanostructures [J. Trice, D. Thomas, C. Favazza, R. Sureshkumar, and R. Kalyanaraman, Phys. Rev. B 75, 235439 (2007)]. The pattern formation has been attributed to the dewetting of the thin film by a hydrodynamic instability. In such experiments the film is in the solid state during a substantial fraction of each thermal cycle. However, results of a linear stability analysis based on the aforementioned model suggest that solid-state mass transport has a negligible effect on morphological changes of the surface. Further, a qualitative analysis of the effect of thermoelastic stress, induced by the rapid temperature changes in the film-substrate bilayer, suggests that stress relaxation does not appreciably contribute to surface

Characterization of the Micro-Abrasive Wear in Coatings of TaC-HfC/Au for Biomedical Implants

PubMed Central

Guzmán, Pablo; Yate, Luis; Sandoval, Mercy; Caballero, Jose

2017-01-01

The object of this work was the deposition of a Ta-Hf-C thin film with a gold interlayer on stainless steel, via the physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique, in order to evaluate the properties of different systems subjected to micro-abrasive wear phenomena generated by alumina particles in Ringer's solution. The surface characterization was performed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The crystallographic phases exhibited for each coating were obtained by X-ray diffraction (XRD). As a consequence of modifying the composition of Ta-Hf there was evidence of an improvement in the micro-abrasive wear resistance and, for each system, the wear constants that confirm the enhancement of the surface were calculated. Likewise, these surfaces can be bioactive, generating an alternative to improve the biological fixation of the implants, therefore, the coatings of TaC-HfC/Au contribute in the development of the new generation of orthopedic implants. PMID:28773207

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.

Metal Immiscibility Route to Synthesis of Ultrathin Carbides, Borides, and Nitrides.

PubMed

Wang, Zixing; Kochat, Vidya; Pandey, Prafull; Kashyap, Sanjay; Chattopadhyay, Soham; Samanta, Atanu; Sarkar, Suman; Manimunda, Praveena; Zhang, Xiang; Asif, Syed; Singh, Abhisek K; Chattopadhyay, Kamanio; Tiwary, Chandra Sekhar; Ajayan, Pulickel M

2017-08-01

Ultrathin ceramic coatings are of high interest as protective coatings from aviation to biomedical applications. Here, a generic approach of making scalable ultrathin transition metal-carbide/boride/nitride using immiscibility of two metals is demonstrated. Ultrathin tantalum carbide, nitride, and boride are grown using chemical vapor deposition by heating a tantalum-copper bilayer with corresponding precursor (C 2 H 2 , B powder, and NH 3 ). The ultrathin crystals are found on the copper surface (opposite of the metal-metal junction). A detailed microscopy analysis followed by density functional theory based calculation demonstrates the migration mechanism, where Ta atoms prefer to stay in clusters in the Cu matrix. These ultrathin materials have good interface attachment with Cu, improving the scratch resistance and oxidation resistance of Cu. This metal-metal immiscibility system can be extended to other metals to synthesize metal carbide, boride, and nitride coatings. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Coexistence of colossal stress and texture gradients in sputter deposited nanocrystalline ultra-thin metal films

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

Kuru, Yener; Welzel, Udo; Mittemeijer, Eric J.

2014-12-01

This paper demonstrates experimentally that ultra-thin, nanocrystalline films can exhibit coexisting colossal stress and texture depth gradients. Their quantitative determination is possible by X-ray diffraction experiments. Whereas a uniform texture by itself is known to generally cause curvature in so-called sin{sup 2}ψ plots, it is shown that the combined action of texture and stress gradients provides a separate source of curvature in sin{sup 2}ψ plots (i.e., even in cases where a uniform texture does not induce such curvature). On this basis, the texture and stress depth profiles of a nanocrystalline, ultra-thin (50 nm) tungsten film could be determined.

The influence of the surface parameter changes onto the phonon states in ultrathin crystalline films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šetrajčić, Jovan P.; Ilić, Dušan I.; Jaćimovski, Stevo K.

2018-04-01

In this paper, we have analytically investigated how the changes in boundary surface parameters influence the phonon dispersion law in ultrathin films of the simple cubic crystalline structure. Spectra of possible phonon states are analyzed using the method of two-time dependent Green's functions and for the diverse combination of boundary surface parameters, this problem was presented numerically and graphically. It turns out that for certain values and combinations of parameters, displacement of dispersion branches outside of bulk zone occurs, leading to the creation of localized phonon states. This fact is of great importance for the heat removal, electrical conductivity and superconducting properties of ultrathin films.

A dual-stimuli-responsive fluorescent switch ultrathin film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhixiong; Liang, Ruizheng; Liu, Wendi; Yan, Dongpeng; Wei, Min

2015-10-01

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.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

Dynamics of ultrathin metal films on amorphous substrates under fast thermal processing

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

Favazza, Christopher; Kalyanaraman, Ramki; Sureshkumar, Radhakrishna

A mathematical model is developed to analyze the growth/decay rate of surface perturbations of an ultrathin metal film on an amorphous substrate (SiO{sub 2}). The formulation combines the approach of Mullins [W. W. Mullins, J. Appl. Phys. 30, 77 (1959)] for bulk surfaces, in which curvature-driven mass transport and surface deformation can occur by surface/volume diffusion and evaporation-condensation processes, with that of Spencer et al. [B. J. Spencer, P. W. Voorhees, and S. H. Davis, Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 26 (1991)] to describe solid-state transport in thin films under epitaxial strain. Modifications of the Mullins model to account for thin-filmmore » boundary conditions result in qualitatively different dispersion relationships especially in the limit as kh{sub o}<<1, where k is the wavenumber of the perturbation and h{sub o} is the unperturbed film height. The model is applied to study the relative rate of solid-state mass transport as compared to that of liquid phase dewetting in a thin film subjected to a fast thermal pulse. Specifically, we have recently shown that multiple cycles of nanosecond (ns) pulsed laser melting and resolidification of ultrathin metal films on amorphous substrates can lead to the formation of various types of spatially ordered nanostructures [J. Trice, D. Thomas, C. Favazza, R. Sureshkumar, and R. Kalyanaraman, Phys. Rev. B 75, 235439 (2007)]. The pattern formation has been attributed to the dewetting of the thin film by a hydrodynamic instability. In such experiments the film is in the solid state during a substantial fraction of each thermal cycle. However, results of a linear stability analysis based on the aforementioned model suggest that solid-state mass transport has a negligible effect on morphological changes of the surface. Further, a qualitative analysis of the effect of thermoelastic stress, induced by the rapid temperature changes in the film-substrate bilayer, suggests that stress relaxation does not appreciably

Ultrathin NiGe films prepared via catalytic solid-vapor reaction of Ni with GeH(4).

PubMed

Peter, Antony P; Opsomer, Karl; Adelmann, Christoph; Schaekers, Marc; Meersschaut, Johan; Richard, Olivier; Vaesen, Inge; Moussa, Alain; Franquet, Alexis; Zsolt, Tokei; Van Elshocht, Sven

2013-10-09

A low-temperature (225-300 °C) solid-vapor reaction process is reported for the synthesis of ultrathin NiGe films (∼6-23 nm) on 300 mm Si wafers covered with thermal oxide. The films were prepared via catalytic chemical vapor reaction of germane (GeH4) gas with physical vapor deposited (PVD) Ni films of different thickness (2-10 nm). The process optimization by investigating GeH4 partial pressure, reaction temperature, and time shows that low resistive, stoichiometric, and phase pure NiGe films can be formed within a broad window. NiGe films crystallized in an orthorhombic structure and were found to exhibit a smooth morphology with homogeneous composition as evidenced by glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Rutherford back-scattering (RBS) analysis. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis shows that the NiGe layers exhibit a good adhesion without voids and a sharp interface on the thermal oxide. The NiGe films were found to be morphologically and structurally stable up to 500 °C and exhibit a resistivity value of 29 μΩ cm for 10 nm NiGe films.

Application of cluster-plus-glue-atom model to barrierless Cu–Ni–Ti and Cu–Ni–Ta films

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

Li, Xiaona, E-mail: lixiaona@dlut.edu.cn; Ding, Jianxin; Wang, Miao

To improve the thermal stability of copper and avoid its diffusion into surrounding dielectrics or interfacial reactions with them, the authors applied the cluster-plus-glue-atom model to investigate barrierless Cu–Ni–M (M = Ti or Ta) seed layers. The dissolution of the third element (Ti or Ta) in the Cu lattice with the aid of Ni significantly improved the thermal stability of the Cu seed layer. The appropriate M/Ni (M = Ti or Ta) ratio was selected to obtain a low resistivity: the resistivity was as low as 2.5 μΩ cm for the (Ti{sub 1.5/13.5}Ni{sub 12/13.5}){sub 0.3}Cu{sub 99.7} film and 2.8 μΩ cm for the (Ta{sub 1.1/13.1}Ni{sub 12/13.1}){submore » 0.4}Cu{sub 99.6} film after annealing at 500 °C for 1 h. After annealing at 500 °C for 40 h, the two films remained stable without forming a Cu{sub 3}Si compound. The authors confirmed that the range of applications of the cluster-plus-glue-atom model could be extended. Therefore, a third element M with negative enthalpies of mixing with both Cu and Ni could be selected, under the premise that the mixing enthalpy of M–Ni is more negative than that of M–Cu.« less

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.

Precisely Controlled Ultrathin Conjugated Polymer Films for Large Area Transparent Transistors and Highly Sensitive Chemical Sensors.

PubMed

Khim, Dongyoon; Ryu, Gi-Seong; Park, Won-Tae; Kim, Hyunchul; Lee, Myungwon; Noh, Yong-Young

2016-04-13

A uniform ultrathin polymer film is deposited over a large area with molecularlevel precision by the simple wire-wound bar-coating method. The bar-coated ultrathin films not only exhibit high transparency of up to 90% in the visible wavelength range but also high charge carrier mobility with a high degree of percolation through the uniformly covered polymer nanofibrils. They are capable of realizing highly sensitive multigas sensors and represent the first successful report of ethylene detection using a sensor based on organic field-effect transistors. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Growth, stability and decomposition of Mg2Si ultra-thin films on Si (100)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarpi, B.; Zirmi, R.; Putero, M.; Bouslama, M.; Hemeryck, A.; Vizzini, S.

2018-01-01

Using Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), Scanning Tunneling Microscopy/Spectroscopy (STM/STS) and Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED), we report an in-situ study of amorphous magnesium silicide (Mg2Si) ultra-thin films grown by thermally enhanced solid-phase reaction of few Mg monolayers deposited at room temperature (RT) on a Si(100) surface. Silicidation of magnesium films can be achieved in the nanometric thickness range with high chemical purity and a high thermal stability after annealing at 150 °C, before reaching a regime of magnesium desorption for temperatures higher than 350 °C. The thermally enhanced reaction of one Mg monolayer (ML) results in the appearance of Mg2Si nanometric crystallites leaving the silicon surface partially uncovered. For thicker Mg deposition nevertheless, continuous 2D silicide films are formed with a volcano shape surface topography characteristic up to 4 Mg MLs. Due to high reactivity between magnesium and oxygen species, the thermal oxidation process in which a thin Mg2Si film is fully decomposed (0.75 eV band gap) into a magnesium oxide layer (6-8 eV band gap) is also reported.

The effect of growth sequence on magnetization damping in Ta/CoFeB/MgO structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Bo; Huang, Dawei; Gao, Ming; Tu, Hongqing; Wang, Kejie; Ruan, Xuezhong; Du, Jun; Cai, Jian-Wang; He, Liang; Wu, Jing; Wang, Xinran; Xu, Yongbing

2018-03-01

Magnetization damping is a key parameter to control the critical current and the switching speed in magnetic random access memory, and here we report the effect of the growth sequence on the magnetic dynamics properties of perpendicularly magnetized Ta/CoFeB/MgO structures. Ultrathin CoFeB films have been grown between Ta and MgO but with different stack sequences, i.e. substrate/Ta/CoFeB/MgO/Ta and substrate/Ta/MgO/CoFeB/Ta. The magnetization dynamics induced by femtosecond laser was investigated by using all-optical pump-probe measurements. We found that the Gilbert damping constant was modulated by reversing stack structures, which offers the potential to tune the damping parameter by the growth sequence. The Gilbert damping constant was enhanced from 0.017 for substrate/Ta/CoFeB/MgO/Ta to 0.027 for substrate/Ta/MgO/CoFeB/Ta. We believe that this enhancement originates from the increase of intermixing at the CoFeB/Ta when the Ta atom layer was grown after the CoFeB layer.

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.

Composite membranes from photochemical synthesis of ultrathin polymer films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Chao; Martin, Charles R.

1991-07-01

THERE has recently been a resurgence of interest in synthetic membranes and membrane-based processes1-12. This is motivated by a wide variety of technological applications, such as chemical separations1-7, bioreactors and sensors8,9, energy conversion10,11 and drug-delivery systems12. Many of these technologies require the ability to prepare extremely thin, defect-free synthetic (generally polymeric) films, which are supported on microporous supports to form composite membranes. Here we describe a method for producing composite membranes of this sort that incorporate high-quality polymer films less than 50-nm thick. The method involves interfacial photopolymerization of a thin polymer film on the surface of the microporous substrate. We have been able to use this technique to synthesize a variety of functionalized ultrathin films based on electroactive, photoactive and ion-exchange polymers. We demonstrate the method here with composite membranes that show exceptional gas-transport properties.

Novel self-organization mechanism in ultrathin liquid films: theory and experiment.

PubMed

Trice, Justin; Favazza, Christopher; Thomas, Dennis; Garcia, Hernando; Kalyanaraman, Ramki; Sureshkumar, Radhakrishna

2008-07-04

When an ultrathin metal film of thickness h (<20 nm) is melted by a nanosecond pulsed laser, the film temperature is a nonmonotonic function of h and achieves its maximum at a certain thickness h*. This is a consequence of the h and time dependence of energy absorption and heat flow. Linear stability analysis and nonlinear dynamical simulations that incorporate such intrinsic interfacial thermal gradients predict a characteristic pattern length scale Lambda that decreases for h>h*, in contrast to the classical spinodal dewetting behavior where Lambda increases monotonically as h2. These predictions agree well with experimental observations for Co and Fe films on SiO2.

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

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.

Development of an ultra-thin film comprised of a graphene membrane and carbon nanotube vein support.

PubMed

Lin, Xiaoyang; Liu, Peng; Wei, Yang; Li, Qunqing; Wang, Jiaping; Wu, Yang; Feng, Chen; Zhang, Lina; Fan, Shoushan; Jiang, Kaili

2013-01-01

Graphene, exhibiting superior mechanical, thermal, optical and electronic properties, has attracted great interest. Considering it being one-atom-thick, and the reduced mechanical strength at grain boundaries, the fabrication of large-area suspended chemical vapour deposition graphene remains a challenge. Here we report the fabrication of an ultra-thin free-standing carbon nanotube/graphene hybrid film, inspired by the vein-membrane structure found in nature. Such a square-centimetre-sized hybrid film can realize the overlaying of large-area single-layer chemical vapour deposition graphene on to a porous vein-like carbon nanotube network. The vein-membrane-like hybrid film, with graphene suspended on the carbon nanotube meshes, possesses excellent mechanical performance, optical transparency and good electrical conductivity. The ultra-thin hybrid film features an electron transparency close to 90%, which makes it an ideal gate electrode in vacuum electronics and a high-performance sample support in transmission electron microscopy.

Photoluminescence of Ta2O5 films formed by the molecular layer deposition method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baraban, A. P.; Dmitriev, V. A.; Prokof'ev, V. A.; Drozd, V. E.; Filatova, E. O.

2016-04-01

Ta2O5 films of different thicknesses (20-100 nm) synthesized by the molecular layer deposition method on p-type silicon substrates and thermally oxidized silicon substrates have been studied by the methods of high-frequency capacitance-voltage characteristics and photoluminescence. A hole-conduction channel is found to form in the Si-Ta2O5-field electrode system. A model of the electronic structure of Ta2O5 films is proposed based on an analysis of the measured PL spectra and performed electrical investigations.

Spin accumulation in disordered topological insulator ultrathin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siu, Zhuo Bin; Ho, Cong Son; Tan, Seng Ghee; Jalil, Mansoor B. A.

2017-08-01

Topological insulator (TI) ultrathin films differ from the more commonly studied semi-infinite bulk TIs in that the former possess both top and bottom surfaces where the surface states localized at different surfaces can couple to one another across the finite thickness of the film. In the presence of an in-plane magnetization, the TI thin films display two distinct phases depending on which of the inter-surface coupling or the magnetization is stronger. In this work, we consider a Bi2Se3 TI thin film system with an in-plane magnetization and numerically calculate the resulting spin accumulation on both surfaces of the film due to an in-plane electric field to linear order. We describe a numerical scheme for performing the Kubo formula calculation in which we include impurity scattering and vertex corrections. We find that the sums of the spin accumulation over the two surfaces in the in-plane direction perpendicular to the magnetization and in the out of plane direction are antisymmetric in Fermi energy around the charge neutrality point and are non-vanishing only when the symmetry between the top and bottom TI surfaces is broken. The impurity scattering, in general, diminishes the magnitude of the spin accumulation.

Substrate bias effects on composition and coercivity of CoCrTa/Cr thin films on canasite and glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Y.; Lambeth, D. N.; Sui, X.; Lee, L.-L.; Laughlin, D. E.

1993-05-01

CoCrTa/Cr thin films were prepared by rf diode sputtering onto canasite and glass substrates at various bias voltages from two targets of different compositions (Co82.8Cr14.6Ta2.6 and Co86Cr12Ta2). While Auger depth profile analysis indicates that there is some broadening at the CoCrTa-Cr interface, x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy reveals that changes in alloy composition due to the resputtering processes are even more prominent. For both targets, as the substrate bias increases the Co content in the films declines, and the magnetization decreases. The maximum film coercivity appears to correlate to the final film composition. By investigating the results from both targets, it is concluded that the coercivity reaches a maximum when the film composition is in the neighborhood of Co84Cr13Ta3. Thus, to optimize the coercivity different bias voltages are required for each target. Excessive substrate bias, however, leads to films with low magnetization and coercivity.

Conformal surface plasmons propagating on ultrathin and flexible films

PubMed Central

Shen, Xiaopeng; Cui, Tie Jun; Martin-Cano, Diego; Garcia-Vidal, Francisco J.

2013-01-01

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are localized surface electromagnetic waves that propagate along the interface between a metal and a dielectric. Owing to their inherent subwavelength confinement, SPPs have a strong potential to become building blocks of a type of photonic circuitry built up on 2D metal surfaces; however, SPPs are difficult to control on curved surfaces conformably and flexibly to produce advanced functional devices. Here we propose the concept of conformal surface plasmons (CSPs), surface plasmon waves that can propagate on ultrathin and flexible films to long distances in a wide broadband range from microwave to mid-infrared frequencies. We present the experimental realization of these CSPs in the microwave regime on paper-like dielectric films with a thickness 600-fold smaller than the operating wavelength. The flexible paper-like films can be bent, folded, and even twisted to mold the flow of CSPs. PMID:23248311

Fabrication of ultrathin film capacitors by chemical solution deposition

DOE PAGES

Brennecka, Geoff L.; Tuttle, Bruce A.

2007-10-01

We present that a facile solution-based processing route using standard spin-coating deposition techniques has been developed for the production of reliable capacitors based on lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) with active areas of ≥1 mm 2 and dielectric layer thicknesses down to 50 nm. With careful control of the dielectric phase development through improved processing, ultrathin capacitors exhibited slim ferroelectric hysteresis loops and dielectric constants of >1000, similar to those of much thicker films. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that chemical solution deposition is a viable route to the production of capacitor films which are as thin as 50 nmmore » but are still macroscopically addressable with specific capacitance values >160 nF/mm 2.« less

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

Dependence of Interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction on Layer Thicknesses in Ta /Co -Fe -B /TaOx Heterostructures from Brillouin Light Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaurasiya, Avinash Kumar; Choudhury, Samiran; Sinha, Jaivardhan; Barman, Anjan

2018-01-01

The interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (IDMI) has recently drawn extensive research interest due to its fundamental role in stabilizing chiral spin textures in ultrathin ferromagnets, which are suitable candidates for future magnetic-memory devices. Here, we explore the ferromagnetic and heavy-metal layer-thickness dependence of IDMI in technologically important Ta /Co20Fe60B20/TaOx heterostructures by measuring nonreciprocity in spin-wave frequency using the Brillouin light-scattering technique. The observed value of the IDMI constant agrees with that obtained from a separate measurement of in-plane angular dependence of frequency nonreciprocity, which is also in good agreement with the theory predicted by Cortes-Ortuno and Landeros. Linear scaling behavior of IDMI with the inverse of Co-Fe-B thicknesses suggests that IDMI originates primarily from the interface in these heterostructures, whereas we observe a weak dependence of Ta thickness on the strength of IDMI. Importantly, the observed value of the IDMI constant is reasonably large by a factor of 3 compared to annealed Ta /Co -Fe -B /MgO heterostructures. We propose that the observation of large IDMI is likely due to the absence of boron diffusion towards the Ta /Co -Fe -B interface as the heterostructures are as deposited. Our detailed investigation opens up a route to designing thin-film heterostructures with the tailored IDMI constant for controlling Skyrmion-based magnetic-memory devices.

Effect of nanoconfinement on the sputter yield in ultrathin polymeric films: Experiments and model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cristaudo, Vanina; Poleunis, Claude; Delcorte, Arnaud

2018-06-01

This fundamental contribution on secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) polymer depth-profiling by large argon clusters investigates the dependence of the sputter yield volume (Y) on the thickness (d) of ultrathin films as a function of the substrate nature, i.e. hard vs soft. For this purpose, thin films of polystyrene (PS) oligomers (∼4,000 amu) are spin-coated, respectively, onto silicon and poly (methyl methacrylate) supports and, then, bombarded by 10 keV Ar3000+ ions. The investigated thickness ranges from 15 to 230 nm. Additionally, the influence of the polymer molecular weight on Y(d) for PS thin films on Si is explored. The sputtering efficiency is found to be strongly dependent on the overlayer thickness, only in the case of the silicon substrate. A simple phenomenological model is proposed for the description of the thickness influence on the sputtering yield. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations conducted on amorphous films of polyethylene-like oligomers of increasing thickness (from 2 to 20 nm), under comparable cluster bombardment conditions, predict a significant increase of the sputtering yield for ultrathin layers on hard substrates, induced by energy confinement in the polymer, and support our phenomenological model.

Polarity compensation in ultra-thin films of complex oxides: The case of a perovskite nickelate

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

Middey, S.; Rivero, P.; Meyers, D.

2014-10-29

In this study, we address the fundamental issue of growth of perovskite ultra-thin films under the condition of a strong polar mismatch at the heterointerface exemplified by the growth of a correlated metal LaNiO 3 on the band insulator SrTiO 3 along the pseudo cubic [111] direction. While in general the metallic LaNiO 3 film can effectively screen this polarity mismatch, we establish that in the ultra-thin limit, films are insulating in nature and require additional chemical and structural reconstruction to compensate for such mismatch. A combination of in-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction recorded during the growth, X-ray diffraction, andmore » synchrotron based resonant X-ray spectroscopy reveal the formation of a chemical phase La 2Ni 2O 5 (Ni 2+) for a few unit-cell thick films. First-principles layer-resolved calculations of the potential energy across the nominal LaNiO 3/SrTiO 3 interface confirm that the oxygen vacancies can efficiently reduce the electric field at the interface.« less

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.

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.

Electronic-Reconstruction-Enhanced Tunneling Conductance at Terrace Edges of Ultrathin Oxide Films.

PubMed

Wang, Lingfei; Kim, Rokyeon; Kim, Yoonkoo; Kim, Choong H; Hwang, Sangwoon; Cho, Myung Rae; Shin, Yeong Jae; Das, Saikat; Kim, Jeong Rae; Kalinin, Sergei V; Kim, Miyoung; Yang, Sang Mo; Noh, Tae Won

2017-11-01

Quantum mechanical tunneling of electrons across ultrathin insulating oxide barriers has been studied extensively for decades due to its great potential in electronic-device applications. In the few-nanometers-thick epitaxial oxide films, atomic-scale structural imperfections, such as the ubiquitously existed one-unit-cell-high terrace edges, can dramatically affect the tunneling probability and device performance. However, the underlying physics has not been investigated adequately. Here, taking ultrathin BaTiO 3 films as a model system, an intrinsic tunneling-conductance enhancement is reported near the terrace edges. Scanning-probe-microscopy results demonstrate the existence of highly conductive regions (tens of nanometers wide) near the terrace edges. First-principles calculations suggest that the terrace-edge geometry can trigger an electronic reconstruction, which reduces the effective tunneling barrier width locally. Furthermore, such tunneling-conductance enhancement can be discovered in other transition metal oxides and controlled by surface-termination engineering. The controllable electronic reconstruction can facilitate the implementation of oxide electronic devices and discovery of exotic low-dimensional quantum phases. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Surface Acoustic Wave Monitor for Deposition and Analysis of Ultra-Thin Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hines, Jacqueline H. (Inventor)

2015-01-01

A surface acoustic wave (SAW) based thin film deposition monitor device and system for monitoring the deposition of ultra-thin films and nanomaterials and the analysis thereof is characterized by acoustic wave device embodiments that include differential delay line device designs, and which can optionally have integral reference devices fabricated on the same substrate as the sensing device, or on a separate device in thermal contact with the film monitoring/analysis device, in order to provide inherently temperature compensated measurements. These deposition monitor and analysis devices can include inherent temperature compensation, higher sensitivity to surface interactions than quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) devices, and the ability to operate at extreme temperatures.

Correlation between the transport mechanisms in conductive filaments inside Ta2O5-based resistive switching devices and in substoichiometric TaOx thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosário, Carlos M. M.; Thöner, Bo; Schönhals, Alexander; Menzel, Stephan; Wuttig, Matthias; Waser, Rainer; Sobolev, Nikolai A.; Wouters, Dirk J.

2018-05-01

Conductive filaments play a key role in redox-based resistive random access memory (ReRAM) devices based on the valence change mechanism, where the change of the resistance is ascribed to the modulation of the oxygen content in a local region of these conductive filaments. However, a deep understanding of the filaments' composition and structure is still a matter of debate. We approached the problem by comparing the electronic transport, at temperatures from 300 K down to 2 K, in the filaments and in TaOx films exhibiting a substoichiometric oxygen content. The filaments were created in Ta (15 nm)/Ta2O5 (5 nm)/Pt crossbar ReRAM structures. In the TaOx thin films with various oxygen contents, the in-plane transport was studied. There is a close similarity between the electrical properties of the conductive filaments in the ReRAM devices and of the TaOx films with x ˜ 1, evidencing also no dimensionality difference for the electrical transport. More specifically, for both systems there are two different conduction processes: one in the higher temperature range (from 50 K up to ˜300 K), where the conductivity follows a √{ T } dependence, and one at lower temperatures (<50 K), where the conductivity follows the exp(-1 / √{ T } ) dependence. This suggests a strong similarity between the material composition and structure of the filaments and those of the substoichiometric TaOx films. We also discuss the temperature dependence of the conductivity in the framework of possible transport mechanisms, mainly of those normally observed for granular metals.

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.

Trace Impurity Analysis in Ta Films Using Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry: Concentration Change of Impurities by Applying Negative Substrate Bias Voltage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Jae-Won; Mimura, Kouji; Isshiki, Minoru

2004-12-01

Glow discharge mass spectrometry (GDMS) was used to analyze a Ta target and Ta films for trace impurities. The Ta films were deposited on Si (100) substrate at substrate bias voltages of 0 V and -125 V using a non-mass separated ion beam deposition system. Although both Ta films were contaminated by impurities during the deposition, the Ta film deposited at a substrate bias voltage of -125 V showed lower impurity content than the Ta film deposited without the substrate bias voltage, which means that applying a negative bias voltage to the substrate decreased the total concentration of impurities. Furthermore, the concentration change of individual impurities in the Ta film is related to their ionization ratio in the argon discharge plasma. Considering the effect of the ionization potential of an individual impurity on the ionization ratio, purification by applying a negative bias voltage to the substrate results from Penning ionization and an ionization mechanism proposed in this study, as well as from the difference between the kinetic energies of Ta neutral atoms and Ta+ ions accelerated toward the substrate with/without a negative substrate bias voltage.

Theoretical requirements for broadband perfect absorption of acoustic waves by ultra-thin elastic meta-films

PubMed Central

Duan, Yuetao; Luo, Jie; Wang, Guanghao; Hang, Zhi Hong; Hou, Bo; Li, Jensen; Sheng, Ping; Lai, Yun

2015-01-01

We derive and numerically demonstrate that perfect absorption of elastic waves can be achieved in two types of ultra-thin elastic meta-films: one requires a large value of almost pure imaginary effective mass density and a free space boundary, while the other requires a small value of almost pure imaginary effective modulus and a hard wall boundary. When the pure imaginary density or modulus exhibits certain frequency dispersions, the perfect absorption effect becomes broadband, even in the low frequency regime. Through a model analysis, we find that such almost pure imaginary effective mass density with required dispersion for perfect absorption can be achieved by elastic metamaterials with large damping. Our work provides a feasible approach to realize broadband perfect absorption of elastic waves in ultra-thin films. PMID:26184117

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.

Temporally and Spatially Resolved Plasma Spectroscopy in Pulsed Laser Deposition of Ultra-Thin Boron Nitride Films (Postprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-24

AFRL-RX-WP-JA-2016-0196 TEMPORALLY AND SPATIALLY RESOLVED PLASMA SPECTROSCOPY IN PULSED LASER DEPOSITION OF ULTRA-THIN BORON NITRIDE...AND SPATIALLY RESOLVED PLASMA SPECTROSCOPY IN PULSED LASER DEPOSITION OF ULTRA-THIN BORON NITRIDE FILMS (POSTPRINT) 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA8650...distributions within a PVD plasma plume ablated from a boron nitride (BN) target by a KrF laser at different pressures of nitrogen gas were investigated

Measurement and modeling of short and medium range order in amorphous Ta 2O 5 thin films

DOE PAGES

Shyam, Badri; Stone, Kevin H.; Bassiri, Riccardo; ...

2016-08-26

Here, amorphous films and coatings are rapidly growing in importance. Yet, there is a dearth of high-quality structural data on sub-micron films. Not understanding how these materials assemble at atomic scale limits fundamental insights needed to improve their performance. Here, we use grazing-incidence x-ray total scattering measurements to examine the atomic structure of the top 50–100 nm of Ta 2O 5 films; mirror coatings that show high promise to significantly improve the sensitivity of the next generation of gravitational-wave detectors. Our measurements show noticeable changes well into medium range, not only between crystalline and amorphous, but also between as-deposited, annealedmore » and doped amorphous films. It is a further challenge to quickly translate the structural information into insights into mechanisms of packing and disorder. Here, we illustrate a modeling approach that allows translation of observed structural features to a physically intuitive packing of a primary structural unit based on a kinked Ta-O-Ta backbone. Our modeling illustrates how Ta-O-Ta units link to form longer 1D chains and even 2D ribbons, and how doping and annealing influences formation of 2D order. We also find that all the amorphousTa 2O 5 films studied in here are not just poorly crystalline but appear to lack true 3D order.« less

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.

Growth of highly strained CeO 2 ultrathin films

DOE PAGES

Shi, Yezhou; Lee, Sang Chul; Monti, Matteo; ...

2016-11-07

Large biaxial strain is a promising route to tune the functionalities of oxide thin films. However, large strain is often not fully realized due to the formation of misfit dislocations at the film/substrate interface. In this work, we examine the growth of strained ceria (CeO 2) thin films on (001)-oriented single crystal yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) via pulsed-laser deposition. By varying the film thickness systematically between 1 and 430 nm, we demonstrate that ultrathin ceria films are coherently strained to the YSZ substrate for thicknesses up to 2.7 nm, despite the large lattice mismatch (~5%). The coherency is confirmed by bothmore » X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. This thickness is several times greater than the predicted equilibrium critical thickness. Partial strain relaxation is achieved by forming semirelaxed surface islands rather than by directly nucleating dislocations. In situ reflective high-energy electron diffraction during growth confirms the transition from 2-D (layer-by-layer) to 3-D (island) at a film thickness of ~1 nm, which is further supported by atomic force microscopy. We propose that dislocations likely nucleate near the surface islands and glide to the film/substrate interface, as evidenced by the presence of 60° dislocations. Finally, an improved understanding of growing oxide thin films with a large misfit lays the foundation to systematically explore the impact of strain and dislocations on properties such as ionic transport and redox chemistry.« less

Ultrathin free-standing close-packed gold nanoparticle films: Conductivity and Raman scattering enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Qing; Huang, Hongwen; Peng, Xinsheng; Ye, Zhizhen

2011-09-01

A simple filtration technique was developed to prepare large scale free-standing close-packed gold nanoparticle ultrathin films using metal hydroxide nanostrands as both barrier layer and sacrificial layer. As thin as 70 nm, centimeter scale robust free-standing gold nanoparticle thin film was obtained. The thickness of the films could be easily tuned by the filtration volumes. The electronic conductivities of these films varied with the size of the gold nanoparticles, post-treatment temperature, and thickness, respectively. The conductivity of the film prepared from 20 nm gold nanoparticles is higher than that of the film prepared from 40 nm gold nanoparticle by filtering the same filtration volume of their solution, respectively. Their conductivities are comparable to that of the 220 nm thick ITO film. Furthermore, these films demonstrated an average surface Raman scattering enhancement up to 6.59 × 105 for Rhodamine 6 G molecules on the film prepared from 40 nm gold nanoparticles. Due to a lot of nano interspaces generated from the close-packed structures, two abnormal enhancements and relative stronger intensities of the asymmetrical vibrations at 1534 and 1594 cm-1 of R6G were observed, respectively. These robust free-standing gold nanoparticle films could be easily transferred onto various solid substrates and hold the potential application for electrodes and surface enhanced Raman detectors. This method is applicable for preparation of other nanoparticle free-standing thin films.A simple filtration technique was developed to prepare large scale free-standing close-packed gold nanoparticle ultrathin films using metal hydroxide nanostrands as both barrier layer and sacrificial layer. As thin as 70 nm, centimeter scale robust free-standing gold nanoparticle thin film was obtained. The thickness of the films could be easily tuned by the filtration volumes. The electronic conductivities of these films varied with the size of the gold nanoparticles, post

Flexible Mixed-Potential-Type (MPT) NO₂ Sensor Based on An Ultra-Thin Ceramic Film.

PubMed

You, Rui; Jing, Gaoshan; Yu, Hongyan; Cui, Tianhong

2017-07-29

A novel flexible mixed-potential-type (MPT) sensor was designed and fabricated for NO₂ detection from 0 to 500 ppm at 200 °C. An ultra-thin Y₂O₃-doped ZrO₂ (YSZ) ceramic film 20 µm thick was sandwiched between a heating electrode and reference/sensing electrodes. The heating electrode was fabricated by a conventional lift-off process, while the porous reference and the sensing electrodes were fabricated by a two-step patterning method using shadow masks. The sensor's sensitivity is achieved as 58.4 mV/decade at the working temperature of 200 °C, as well as a detection limit of 26.7 ppm and small response time of less than 10 s at 200 ppm. Additionally, the flexible MPT sensor demonstrates superior mechanical stability after bending over 50 times due to the mechanical stability of the YSZ ceramic film. This simply structured, but highly reliable flexible MPT NO₂ sensor may lead to wide application in the automobile industry for vehicle emission systems to reduce NO₂ emissions and improve fuel efficiency.

Love-type surface acoustic wave on Y-X LiTaO3 with amorphous Ta2O5 thin film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kakio, Shoji; Fukasawa, Haruka; Hosaka, Keiko

2015-07-01

In this study, to obtain a substrate structure with a lower phase velocity, the propagation properties of a Love-type surface acoustic wave (Love SAW) on Y-X LiTaO3 (LT) with an amorphous tantalum pentoxide (a-Ta2O5) thin film were investigated using a simple delay line and a resonator with a wavelength λ of 8 µm. The insertion loss of a simple delay line was decreased markedly by loading with an a-Ta2O5 film owing to a transformation from a leaky SAW (LSAW) to a non-leaky Love SAW. A phase velocity of 3,340 m/s, a coupling factor of 5.8%, and a propagation loss of 0.03 dB/λ were obtained for a normalized thickness h/λ of 0.120. Moreover, the resonance properties of the Love SAW were almost equal or superior to those for an LSAW on Al/36° Y-X LT, except for the fractional bandwidth.

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

Thickness-dependent spontaneous dewetting morphology of ultrathin Ag films.

PubMed

Krishna, H; Sachan, R; Strader, J; Favazza, C; Khenner, M; Kalyanaraman, R

2010-04-16

We show here that the morphological pathway of spontaneous dewetting of ultrathin Ag films on SiO2 under nanosecond laser melting is dependent on film thickness. For films with thickness h of 2 nm < or = h < or = 9.5 nm, the morphology during the intermediate stages of dewetting consisted of bicontinuous structures. For films with 11.5 nm < or = h < or = 20 nm, the intermediate stages consisted of regularly sized holes. Measurement of the characteristic length scales for different stages of dewetting as a function of film thickness showed a systematic increase, which is consistent with the spinodal dewetting instability over the entire thickness range investigated. This change in morphology with thickness is consistent with observations made previously for polymer films (Sharma and Khanna 1998 Phys. Rev. Lett. 81 3463-6; Seemann et al 2001 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 13 4925-38). Based on the behavior of free energy curvature that incorporates intermolecular forces, we have estimated the morphological transition thickness for the intermolecular forces for Ag on SiO2. The theory predictions agree well with observations for Ag. These results show that it is possible to form a variety of complex Ag nanomorphologies in a consistent manner, which could be useful in optical applications of Ag surfaces, such as in surface enhanced Raman sensing.

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.

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

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.

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.

Bottom Extreme-Ultraviolet-Sensitive Coating for Evaluation of the Absorption Coefficient of Ultrathin Film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hijikata, Hayato; Kozawa, Takahiro; Tagawa, Seiichi; Takei, Satoshi

2009-06-01

A bottom extreme-ultraviolet-sensitive coating (BESC) for evaluation of the absorption coefficients of ultrathin films such as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) resists was developed. This coating consists of a polymer, crosslinker, acid generator, and acid-responsive chromic dye and is formed by a conventional spin-coating method. By heating the film after spin-coating, a crosslinking reaction is induced and the coating becomes insoluble. A typical resist solution can be spin-coated on a substrate covered with the coating film. The evaluation of the linear absorption coefficients of polymer films was demonstrated by measuring the EUV absorption of BESC substrates on which various polymers were spin-coated.

Mixed-Penetrant Sorption in Ultrathin Films of Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity PIM-1.

PubMed

Ogieglo, Wojciech; Furchner, Andreas; Ghanem, Bader; Ma, Xiaohua; Pinnau, Ingo; Wessling, Matthias

2017-11-02

Mixed-penetrant sorption into ultrathin films of a superglassy polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1) was studied for the first time by using interference-enhanced in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry. PIM-1 swelling and the concurrent changes in its refractive index were determined in ultrathin (12-14 nm) films exposed to pure and mixed penetrants. The penetrants included water, n-hexane, and ethanol and were chosen on the basis of their significantly different penetrant-penetrant and penetrant-polymer affinities. This allowed studying microporous polymer responses at diverse ternary compositions and revealed effects such as competition for the sorption sites (for water/n-hexane or ethanol/n-hexane) or enhancement in sorption of typically weakly sorbing water in the presence of more highly sorbing ethanol. The results reveal details of the mutual sorption effects which often complicate comprehension of glassy polymers' behavior in applications such as high-performance membranes, adsorbents, or catalysts. Mixed-penetrant effects are typically very challenging to study directly, and their understanding is necessary owing to a broadly recognized inadequacy of simple extrapolations from measurements in a pure component environment.

Investigation of microstructural and electrical properties of composition dependent co-sputtered Hf1-x Ta x O2 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, K. C.; Tripathy, N.; Ghosh, S. P.; Mohanta, S. K.; Nakamura, A.; Kar, J. P.

2017-11-01

Tantalum doped HfO2 gate dielectric thin films were deposited on silicon substrates using RF reactive co-sputtering by varying RF power of Ta target from 15 W to 90 W. The morphological, compositional and electrical properties of Hf1-x Ta x O2 films were systematically investigated. The Ta content was found to be increased up to 21% for a Ta target power of 90 W. The evolution of monoclinic phase of Hf1-x Ta x O2 was seen from XRD study upto RF power of 60 W and afterwards, the amorphous like behaviour is appeared. The featureless smooth surface with the decrease in granular morphology has been observed from FESEM micrographs of the doped films at higher RF powers of Ta. The flatband voltage is found to be shifted towards negative voltage in the capacitance-voltage plot, which was attributed to the enhancement in positive oxide charge density with rise in RF power. The interface charge density has a minimum value of 7.85  ×  1011 eV-1 cm-2 for the film deposited at Ta RF power of 75 W. The Hf1-x Ta x O2 films deposited at Ta target RF power of 90 W has shown lower leakage current. The high on/off ratio of the current during the set process in Hf1-x Ta x O2 based memristors is found suitable for bipolar resistive switching memory device 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

Trends in the thermodynamic stability of ultrathin supported oxide films

DOE PAGES

Plessow, Philipp N.; Bajdich, Michal; Greene, Joshua; ...

2016-05-05

The formation of thin oxide films on metal supports is an important phenomenon, especially in the context of strong metal support interaction (SMSI). Computational predictions of the stability of these films are hampered by their structural complexity and a varying lattice mismatch with different supports. In this study, we report a large combination of supports and ultrathin oxide films studied with density functional theory (DFT). Trends in stability are investigated through a descriptor-based analysis. Since the studied films are bound to the support exclusively through metal–metal interaction, the adsorption energy of the oxide-constituting metal atom can be expected to bemore » a reasonable descriptor for the stability of the overlayers. If the same supercell is used for all supports, the overlayers experience different amounts of stress. Using supercells with small lattice mismatch for each system leads to significantly improved scaling relations for the stability of the overlayers. Finally, this approach works well for the studied systems and therefore allows the descriptor-based exploration of the thermodynamic stability of supported thin oxide layers.« less

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.

Nanoscale interfacial heat transport of ultrathin epitaxial hetero films: Few monolayer Pb(111) on Si(111)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Witte, T.; Frigge, T.; Hafke, B.; Krenzer, B.; Horn-von Hoegen, M.

2017-06-01

We studied the phononic heat transport from ultrathin epitaxial Pb(111) films across the heterointerface into a Si(111) substrate by means of ultrafast electron diffraction. The thickness of the Pb films was varied from 15 to 4 monolayers. It was found that the thermal boundary conductance σTBC of the heterointerface is independent of the film thickness. We have no evidence for finite size effects: the continuum description of heat transport is still valid, even for the thinnest films of only 4 monolayer thickness.

Improved metal-insulator-transition characteristics of ultrathin VO2 epitaxial films by optimized surface preparation of rutile TiO2 substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martens, Koen; Aetukuri, Nagaphani; Jeong, Jaewoo; Samant, Mahesh G.; Parkin, Stuart S. P.

2014-02-01

Key to the growth of epitaxial, atomically thin films is the preparation of the substrates on which they are deposited. Here, we report the growth of atomically smooth, ultrathin films of VO2 (001), only ˜2 nm thick, which exhibit pronounced metal-insulator transitions, with a change in resistivity of ˜500 times, at a temperature that is close to that of films five times thicker. These films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition on single crystalline TiO2(001) substrates that were treated by dipping in acetone, HCl and HF in successive order, followed by an anneal at 700-750 °C in flowing oxygen. This pretreatment removes surface contaminants, TiO2 defects, and provides a terraced, atomically smooth surface.

How Do Organic Vapors Swell Ultrathin Films of Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity PIM-1?

PubMed

Ogieglo, Wojciech; Rahimi, Khosorov; Rauer, Sebastian Bernhard; Ghanem, Bader; Ma, Xiaohua; Pinnau, Ingo; Wessling, Matthias

2017-07-27

Dynamic sorption of ethanol and toluene vapor into ultrathin supported films of polymer of intrinsic microporosity PIM-1 down to a thickness of 6 nm are studied with a combination of in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry and in situ X-ray reflectivity. Both ethanol and toluene significantly swell the PIM-1 matrix and, at the same time, induce persistent structural relaxations of the frozen-in glassy PIM-1 morphology. For ethanol below 20 nm, three effects were identified. First, the swelling magnitude at high vapor pressures is reduced by about 30% as compared to that of thicker films. Second, at low penetrant activities (below 0.3p/p 0 ), films below 20 nm are able to absorb slightly more penetrant as compared with thicker films despite a similar swelling magnitude. Third, for the ultrathin films, the onset of the dynamic penetrant-induced glass transition P g has been found to shift to higher values, indicating higher resistance to plasticization. All of these effects are consistent with a view where immobilization of the superglassy PIM-1 at the substrate surface leads to an arrested, even more rigid, and plasticization-resistant, yet still very open, microporous structure. PIM-1 in contact with the larger and more condensable toluene shows very complex, heterogeneous swelling dynamics, and two distinct penetrant-induced relaxation phenomena, probably associated with the film outer surface and the bulk, are detected. Following the direction of the penetrant's diffusion, the surface seems to plasticize earlier than the bulk, and the two relaxations remain well separated down to 6 nm film thickness, where they remarkably merge to form just a single relaxation.

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

Influences of the residual argon gas and thermal annealing on Ta2O5 and SiO2 thin film filters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wen-Jen; Chen, Chih-Min; Lai, Yin-Chieh

2005-04-01

Ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) technique had widely used for improving stacking density and atomic mobility of thin films in many applications, especially adopted in optical film industries. Tantalum pentaoxide (Ta2O5) and silicon oxides (SiO2) optical thin films were deposited on the quartz glass substrate by using argon ion beam assisted deposition, and the influences of the residual argon gas and thermal annealing processes on the optical property, stress, compositional and microstructure evolution of the thin films were investigated in this study. Ta2O5 thin films were analyzed by XPS indicated that the ratio value of oxygen to tantalum was insufficient, at the same time, the residual argon gas in the thin films might result in film and device instabilities. Adopting oxygen-thermal annealing treatment at the temperature of 425°C, the thin films not only decreased the residual argon gas and the surface roughness, but also provided the sufficient stoichiometric ratio. Simultaneously, microstructure examination indicated few nano-crystallized structures and voids existed in Ta2O5 thin films, and possessed reasonable refractive index and lower extinction coefficient. By the way, we also suggested the IBAD system using the film compositional gas ion beam to replace the argon ion beam for assisting deposited optical films. The designed (HL)6H6LH(LH)6 multi-layers indicated higher insertion loss than the designed (HL)68H(LH)6 multi-layers. Therefore, using the high refractive index as spacer material represented lower insertion loss.

Oxidation Resitant HfC-TaC Rocket Thruster for High Performance Propellants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patterson, Mark

1999-01-01

The purpose of this reasearch effort was to develop high temperature, oxidation resistant thrusters which would lessen the thruster cooling requirements, resulting in increased performance and longer life for onboard propulsion systems for spacecraft. This research effort focussed on developing ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) for this application, and specifically investigated the use of HfC stabilized with TaC. This material composition can potentially operate in a stoichiometric oxygen to hydrogen ratio at a temperature of 5000 deg F (2760 deg C) in a radiatively cooled mode. Various compositions of Hafnium Carbide (HfC) and Tantalum Carbide (TaC) were deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and tested, in an attempt to identify the composition which offered the best oxidation resistance. Although it was identified that small amounts of TaC appeared to offer improved oxidation resistance over HfC alone, an optimal composition was not identified. A 251bf thruster was fabricated from a novel CMC sandwich construction with a HfC-TaC matrix, and survived two test firings, each of 5 seconds before a failure in the injector caused the run to be aborted. It was not possible to control the relative stoichiometry of the HfC and TaC composition throughout the reactor due to the large difference in the thermodynamics of the HfC and TaC formation from their respective chlorides. This also resulted in an inability to infiltrate TaC into the preform under the experimental conditions investigated. Other material compositions were fabricated and tested and two material systems; HfC-SiC functionally graded to C(sub f)/C and Re functionally graded to C(sub f)/C were selected for further testing. These functionally graded composites have use in a number of propulsion applications presently of interest to NASA and the defense industry. Their ability to withstand extremely hostile thermal environments and the light-weight and high-strength exhibited from the C(sub f)/C

Ultrathin Au film on polymer surface for surface plasmon polariton waveguide application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Tong; Ji, Lanting; He, Guobing; Sun, Xiaoqiang; Wang, Fei; Zhang, Daming

2017-11-01

Formation of laterally continuous ultrathin gold films on polymer substrates is a technological challenge. In this work, the vacuum thermal evaporation method is adopted to form continuous Au films in the thickness range of 7-17 nm on polymers of Poly(methyl-methacrylate-glycidly-methacrylate) and SU-8 film surface without using the adhesion or metallic seeding layers. Absorption spectrum, scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope images are used to characterize the Au film thickness, roughness and optical loss. The result shows that molecular-scale structure, surface energy and electronegativity have impacts on the Au film morphology on polymers. Wet chemical etching is used to fabricate 7-nm thick Au stripes embedded in polymer claddings. These long-range surface plasmon polariton waveguides demonstrate the favorable morphological configurations and cross-sectional states. Through the end-fire excitation method, propagation losses of 6-μm wide Au stripes are compared to theoretical values and analyzed from practical film status. The smooth, patternable gold films on polymer provide potential applications to plasmonic waveguides, biosensing, metamaterials and optical antennas.

TaC-coated graphite prepared via a wet ceramic process: Application to CVD susceptors for epitaxial growth of wide-bandgap semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamura, Daisuke; Kimura, Taishi; Narita, Tetsuo; Suzumura, Akitoshi; Kimoto, Tsunenobu; Nakashima, Kenji

2017-11-01

A novel sintered tantalum carbide coating (SinTaC) prepared via a wet ceramic process is proposed as an approach to reducing the production cost and improving the crystal quality of bulk-grown crystals and epitaxially grown films of wide-bandgap semiconductors. Here, we verify the applicability of the SinTaC components as susceptors for chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-SiC and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)-GaN epitaxial growth in terms of impurity incorporation from the SinTaC layers and also clarify the surface-roughness controllability of SinTaC layers and its advantage in CVD applications. The residual impurity elements in the SinTaC layers were confirmed to not severely incorporate into the CVD-SiC and MOCVD-GaN epilayers grown using the SinTaC susceptors. The quality of the epilayers was also confirmed to be equivalent to that of epilayers grown using conventional susceptors. Furthermore, the surface roughness of the SinTaC components was controllable over a wide range of average roughness (0.4 ≤ Ra ≤ 5 μm) and maximum height roughness (3 ≤ Rz ≤ 36 μm) through simple additional surface treatment procedures, and the surface-roughened SinTaC susceptor fabricated using these procedures was predicted to effectively reduce thermal stress on epi-wafers. These results confirm that SinTaC susceptors are applicable to epitaxial growth processes and are advantageous over conventional susceptor materials for reducing the epi-cost and improving the quality of epi-wafers.

Negative differential resistance in electron tunneling in ultrathin films near the two-dimensional limit

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

Batabyal, R.; Abdul Wasey, A. H. M.; Mahato, J. C.

We report on our observation of negative differential resistance (NDR) in electron tunneling conductance in atomic-scale ultrathin Ag films on Si(111) substrates. NDR was observed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements. The tunneling conductance depends on the electronic local density of states (LDOS) of the sample. We show that the sample bias voltage, at which negative differential resistance and peak negative conductance occur, depends on the film thickness. This can be understood from the variation in the LDOS of the Ag films as a function of film thickness down to the two-dimensional limit of one atomic layer. First principles density functionalmore » theory calculations have been used to explain the results.« less

Ion-beam mixed ultra-thin cobalt suicide (CoSi2) films by cobalt sputtering and rapid thermal annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kal, S.; Kasko, I.; Ryssel, H.

1995-10-01

The influence of ion-beam mixing on ultra-thin cobalt silicide (CoSi2) formation was investigated by characterizing the ion-beam mixed and unmixed CoSi2 films. A Ge+ ion-implantation through the Co film prior to silicidation causes an interface mixing of the cobalt film with the silicon substrate and results in improved silicide-to-silicon interface roughness. Rapid thermal annealing was used to form Ge+ ion mixed and unmixed thin CoSi2 layer from 10 nm sputter deposited Co film. The silicide films were characterized by secondary neutral mass spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, tunneling electron microscopy (TEM), Rutherford backscattering, and sheet resistance measurements. The experi-mental results indicate that the final rapid thermal annealing temperature should not exceed 800°C for thin (<50 nm) CoSi2 preparation. A comparison of the plan-view and cross-section TEM micrographs of the ion-beam mixed and unmixed CoSi2 films reveals that Ge+ ion mixing (45 keV, 1 × 1015 cm-2) produces homogeneous silicide with smooth silicide-to-silicon interface.

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

Effects of copolymer composition, film thickness, and solvent vapor annealing time on dewetting of ultrathin block copolymer films.

PubMed

Huang, Changchun; Wen, Gangyao; Li, Jingdan; Wu, Tao; Wang, Lina; Xue, Feifei; Li, Hongfei; Shi, Tongfei

2016-09-15

Effects of copolymer composition, film thickness, and solvent vapor annealing time on dewetting of spin-coated polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) films (<20nm thick) were mainly investigated by atomic force microscopy. Surface chemical analysis of the ultrathin films annealed for different times were performed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle measurement. With the annealing of acetone vapor, dewetting of the films with different thicknesses occur via the spinodal dewetting and the nucleation and growth mechanisms, respectively. The PS-b-PMMA films rupture into droplets which first coalesce into large ones to reduce the surface free energy. Then the large droplets rupture into small ones to increase the contact area between PMMA blocks and acetone molecules resulting from ultimate migration of PMMA blocks to droplet surface, which is a novel dewetting process observed in spin-coated films for the first time. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Flexible Mixed-Potential-Type (MPT) NO2 Sensor Based on An Ultra-Thin Ceramic Film

PubMed Central

You, Rui; Jing, Gaoshan; Yu, Hongyan; Cui, Tianhong

2017-01-01

A novel flexible mixed-potential-type (MPT) sensor was designed and fabricated for NO2 detection from 0 to 500 ppm at 200 °C. An ultra-thin Y2O3-doped ZrO2 (YSZ) ceramic film 20 µm thick was sandwiched between a heating electrode and reference/sensing electrodes. The heating electrode was fabricated by a conventional lift-off process, while the porous reference and the sensing electrodes were fabricated by a two-step patterning method using shadow masks. The sensor’s sensitivity is achieved as 58.4 mV/decade at the working temperature of 200 °C, as well as a detection limit of 26.7 ppm and small response time of less than 10 s at 200 ppm. Additionally, the flexible MPT sensor demonstrates superior mechanical stability after bending over 50 times due to the mechanical stability of the YSZ ceramic film. This simply structured, but highly reliable flexible MPT NO2 sensor may lead to wide application in the automobile industry for vehicle emission systems to reduce NO2 emissions and improve fuel efficiency. PMID:28758933

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.

'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.

In-plane current-driven spin-orbit torque switching in perpendicularly magnetized films with enhanced thermal tolerance

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

Wu, Di; Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures; Yu, Guoqiang, E-mail: guoqiangyu@ucla.edu

2016-05-23

We study spin-orbit-torque (SOT)-driven magnetization switching in perpendicularly magnetized Ta/Mo/Co{sub 40}Fe{sub 40}B{sub 20} (CoFeB)/MgO films. The thermal tolerance of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) is enhanced, and the films sustain the PMA at annealing temperatures of up to 430 °C, due to the ultra-thin Mo layer inserted between the Ta and CoFeB layers. More importantly, the Mo insertion layer also allows for the transmission of the spin current generated in the Ta layer due to spin Hall effect, which generates a damping-like SOT and is able to switch the perpendicular magnetization. When the Ta layer is replaced by a Pt layer,more » i.e., in a Pt/Mo/CoFeB/MgO multilayer, the direction of the SOT-induced damping-like effective field becomes opposite because of the opposite sign of spin Hall angle in Pt, which indicates that the SOT-driven switching is dominated by the spin current generated in the Ta or Pt layer rather than the Mo layer. Quantitative characterization through harmonic measurements reveals that the large SOT effective field is preserved for high annealing temperatures. This work provides a route to applying SOT in devices requiring high temperature processing steps during the back-end-of-line processes.« less

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.

Magnetotransport Properties in High-Quality Ultrathin Two-Dimensional Superconducting Mo2C Crystals.

PubMed

Wang, Libin; Xu, Chuan; Liu, Zhibo; Chen, Long; Ma, Xiuliang; Cheng, Hui-Ming; Ren, Wencai; Kang, Ning

2016-04-26

Ultrathin transition metal carbides are a class of developing two-dimensional (2D) materials with superconductivity and show great potentials for electrical energy storage and other applications. Here, we report low-temperature magnetotransport measurements on high-quality ultrathin 2D superconducting α-Mo2C crystals synthesized by a chemical vapor deposition method. The magnetoresistance curves exhibit reproducible oscillations at low magnetic fields for temperature far below the superconducting transition temperature of the crystals. We interpret the oscillatory magnetoresistance as a consequence of screening currents circling around the boundary of triangle-shaped terraces found on the surface of ultrathin Mo2C crystals. As the sample thickness decreases, the Mo2C crystals exhibit negative magnetoresistance deep in the superconducting transition regime, which reveals strong phase fluctuations of the superconducting order parameters associated with the superconductor-insulator transition. Our results demonstrate that the ultrathin superconducting Mo2C crystals provide an interesting system for studying rich transport phenomena in a 2D crystalline superconductor with enhanced quantum fluctuations.

Stability of Polymer Ultrathin Films (<7 nm) Made by a Top-Down Approach.

PubMed

Bal, Jayanta Kumar; Beuvier, Thomas; Unni, Aparna Beena; Chavez Panduro, Elvia Anabela; Vignaud, Guillaume; Delorme, Nicolas; Chebil, Mohamed Souheib; Grohens, Yves; Gibaud, Alain

2015-08-25

In polymer physics, the dewetting of spin-coated polystyrene ultrathin films on silicon remains mysterious. By adopting a simple top-down method based on good solvent rinsing, we are able to prepare flat polystyrene films with a controlled thickness ranging from 1.3 to 7.0 nm. Their stability was scrutinized after a classical annealing procedure above the glass transition temperature. Films were found to be stable on oxide-free silicon irrespective of film thickness, while they were unstable (<2.9 nm) and metastable (>2.9 nm) on 2 nm oxide-covered silicon substrates. The Lifshitz-van der Waals intermolecular theory that predicts the domains of stability as a function of the film thickness and of the substrate nature is now fully reconciled with our experimental observations. We surmise that this reconciliation is due to the good solvent rinsing procedure that removes the residual stress and/or the density variation of the polystyrene films inhibiting thermodynamically the dewetting on oxide-free silicon.

Study of anisotropy, magnetization reversal and damping in ultrathin Co films on MgO (0 0 1) substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallik, Srijani; Bedanta, Subhankar

2018-01-01

Ultrathin Co films of 3 nm thickness have been prepared on MgO (0 0 1) substrate in presence or absence of substrate pre-annealing. Uniaxial anisotropy is induced in the samples due to the deposition under oblique angle of incidence. Along with the oblique deposition induced anisotropy, another uniaxial anisotropy contribution has been observed due to pre-annealing. However, no cubic anisotropy has been observed here as compared to the thicker films. Angle dependent ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurement confirms the presence of two anisotropies in the pre-annealed sample with ∼18° misalignment with each other. The two anisotropy constants were calculated from both superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry and FMR spectroscopy. The magnetization reversal is governed by nucleation dominated aftereffect followed by domain wall motion for the pre-annealed sample. Branched domains are observed for the sample prepared without pre-annealing which indicates grain disorientation of Co. However, in the thicker (25 nm) Co films ripple domains were observed in contrary to ultrathin (3 nm) films.

CH3Br adsorption on MgO/Mo ultrathin films: A DFT study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cipriano, Luis A.; Tosoni, Sergio; Pacchioni, Gianfranco

2018-06-01

The adsorption of methyl bromide on MgO ultrathin films supported on Mo(100) was studied by means of density functional theory calculations, in comparison to the MgO(100) and Mo(100) surfaces. The adsorption energy and geometry were shown to depend on the thickness of the supported oxide film. MgO films as thick as 2ML (or more) display adsorptive properties similar to MgO(100), i.e. the adsorption of CH3Br is mostly due to dispersion and the molecule lies in a tilted geometry almost parallel to the surface. The CH3Br HOMO-LUMO gap is almost unaltered with respect to the gas phase. On metallic Mo(100) surfaces the bonding is completely different with the CH3Br molecule strongly bound and the C-Br bond axis almost vertical with respect to the metal surface. The MgO monolayer supported on Mo exhibits somehow intermediate properties: the tilt angle is larger and the bonding is stronger than on MgO(100), due to the effect of the supporting metal. In this case, a small reduction of the HOMO-LUMO gap of the adsorbed molecule is reported. The results help to rationalize the observed behavior in photodissociation of CH3Br supported on different substrates.

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.

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.

Diffusion of phonons through (along and across) the ultrathin crystalline films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šetrajčić, J. P.; Jaćimovski, S. K.; Vučenović, S. M.

2017-11-01

Instead of usual approach, applying displacement-displacement Green's functions, the momentum-momentum Green's functions will be used to calculate the diffusion tensor. With this type of Green's function we have calculated and analyzed dispersion law in film-structures. A small number of phonon energy levels along the direction of boundary surfaces joint of the film are discrete-ones and in this case standing waves could occur. This is consequence of quantum size effects. These Green's functions enter into Kubo's formula defining diffusion properties of the system and possible heat transfer direction through observed structures. Calculation of the diffusion tensor for phonons in film-structure requires solving of the system of difference equations. Boundary conditions are included into mentioned system through the Hamiltonian of the film-structure. It has been shown that the diagonal elements of the diffusion tensor express discrete behavior of the dispersion law of elementary excitations. More important result is-that they are temperature independent and that their values are much higher comparing with bulk structures. This result favors better heat conduction of the film, but in direction which is perpendicular to boundary film surface. In the same time this significantly favors appearance 2D superconducting surfaces inside the ultra-thin crystal structure, which are parallel to the boundary surface.

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

Impurity incorporation, deposition kinetics, and microstructural evolution in sputtered Ta films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitacre, Jay Fredric

There is an increasing need to control the microstructure in thin sputtered Ta films for application as high-temperature coatings or diffusion barriers in microelectronic interconnect structures. To this end, the relationship between impurity incorporation, deposition kinetics, and microstructural evolution was examined for room-temperature low growth rate DC magnetron sputtered Ta films. Impurity levels present during deposition were controlled by pumping the chamber to various base pressures before growth. Ar pressures ranging from 2 to 20 mTorr were used to create contrasting kinetic environments in the sputter gas. This affected both the distribution of adatom kinetic energies at the substrate as well as the rate of impurity desorption from the chamber walls: at higher Ar pressures adatoms has lower kinetic energies, and there was an increase in impurity concentration. X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HREM), transmission electron diffraction (TED), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and x-ray photoelectron. spectroscopy (XPS) were used to examine film crystallography, microstructure, and composition. A novel laboratory-based in-situ x-ray diffractometer was constructed. This new set-up allowed for the direct observation of microstructural evolution during growth. Films deposited at increasingly higher Ar pressures displayed a systematic decrease in grain size and degree of texturing, while surface morphology was found to vary from a nearly flat surface to a rough surface with several length scales of organization. In-situ x-ray results showed that the rate of texture evolution was found to be much higher in films grown using lower Ar pressures. These effects were studied in films less than 200 A thick using high resolution x-ray diffraction in conjunction with a synchrotron light source (SSRL B.L. 7-2). Films grown using higher Ar pressures (above 10 mTorr) with a pre-growth base

Scaling of structure and electrical properties in ultrathin epitaxial ferroelectric heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagarajan, V.; Junquera, J.; He, J. Q.; Jia, C. L.; Waser, R.; Lee, K.; Kim, Y. K.; Baik, S.; Zhao, T.; Ramesh, R.; Ghosez, Ph.; Rabe, K. M.

2006-09-01

Scaling of the structural order parameter, polarization, and electrical properties was investigated in model ultrathin epitaxial SrRuO3/PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3/SrRuO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images revealed the interfaces to be sharp and fully coherent. Synchrotron x-ray studies show that a high tetragonality (c /a˜1.058) is maintained down to 50Å thick films, suggesting indirectly that ferroelectricity is fully preserved at such small thicknesses. However, measurement of the switchable polarization (ΔP) using a pulsed probe setup and the out-of-plane piezoelectric response (d33) revealed a systematic drop from ˜140μC/cm2 and 60pm/V for a 150Å thick film to 11μC/cm2 and 7pm/V for a 50Å thick film. This apparent contradiction between the structural measurements and the measured switchable polarization is explained by an increasing presence of a strong depolarization field, which creates a pinned 180° polydomain state for the thinnest films. Existence of a polydomain state is demonstrated by piezoresponse force microscopy images of the ultrathin films. These results suggest that the limit for a ferroelectric memory device may be much larger than the fundamental limit for ferroelectricity.

Structure of periodic crystals and quasicrystals in ultrathin films of Ba-Ti-O

DOE PAGES

Cockayne, Eric; Mihalkovič, Marek; Henley, Christopher L.

2016-01-07

Here, we model the remarkable thin-film Ba-Ti-O structures formed by heat treatment of an initial perovskite BaTiO 3 thin film on a Pt(111) surface. All structures contain a rumpled Ti-O network with all Ti threefold coordinated with O, and with Ba occupying the larger. mainly Ti 7O 7, pores. The quasicrystal structue is a simple decoration of three types of tiles: square, triangle and 30° rhombus, with edge lengths 6.85 Å, joined edge-to-edge in a quasicrystalline pattern; observed periodic crystals in ultrathin film Ba-Ti-O are built from these and other tiles. Simulated STM images reproduce the patterns seen experimentally, andmore » identify the bright protrusions as Ba atoms. The models are consistent with all experimental observations.« less

Oxidation of the Ru(0001) surface covered by weakly bound, ultrathin silicate films

DOE PAGES

Emmez, Emre; Anibal Boscoboinik, J.; Tenney, Samuel; ...

2015-06-30

Bilayer silicate films grown on metal substrates are weakly bound to the metal surfaces, which allows ambient gas molecules to intercalate the oxide/metal interface. In this work, we studied the interaction of oxygen with Ru(0001) supported ultrathin silicate and aluminosilicate films at elevated O 2 pressures (10 -5–10 mbar) and temperatures (450–923 K). The results show that the silicate films stay essentially intact under these conditions, and oxygen in the film does not exchange with oxygen in the ambient. O 2 molecules readily penetrate the film and dissociate on the underlying Ru surface underneath. Also, the silicate layer does howevermore » strongly passivate the Ru surface towards RuO 2(110) oxide formation that readily occurs on bare Ru(0001) under the same conditions. Lastly, the results indicate considerable spatial effects for oxidation reactions on metal surfaces in the confined space at the interface. Moreover, the aluminosilicate films completely suppress the Ru oxidation, providing some rationale for using crystalline aluminosilicates in anti-corrosion coatings.« less

Local variation of fragility and glass transition temperature of ultra-thin supported polymer films.

PubMed

Hanakata, Paul Z; Douglas, Jack F; Starr, Francis W

2012-12-28

Despite extensive efforts, a definitive picture of the glass transition of ultra-thin polymer films has yet to emerge. The effect of film thickness h on the glass transition temperature T(g) has been widely examined, but this characterization does not account for the fragility of glass-formation, which quantifies how rapidly relaxation times vary with temperature T. Accordingly, we simulate supported polymer films of a bead-spring model and determine both T(g) and fragility, both as a function of h and film depth. We contrast changes in the relaxation dynamics with density ρ and demonstrate the limitations of the commonly invoked free-volume layer model. As opposed to bulk polymer materials, we find that the fragility and T(g) do not generally vary proportionately. Consequently, the determination of the fragility profile--both locally and for the film as a whole--is essential for the characterization of changes in film dynamics with confinement.

Method for laser welding ultra-thin metal foils

DOEpatents

Pernicka, J.C.; Benson, D.K.; Tracy, C.E.

1996-03-26

A method for simultaneously cutting and welding ultra-thin foils having a thickness of less than 0.002 inches wherein two ultra-thin films are stacked and clamped together. A pulsed laser such as of the Neodymium: YAG type is provided and the beam of the laser is directed onto the stacked films to cut a channel through the films. The laser is moved relative to the stacked foils to cut the stacked foils at successive locations and to form a plurality of connected weld beads to form a continuous weld. 5 figs.

Method for laser welding ultra-thin metal foils

DOEpatents

Pernicka, John C.; Benson, David K.; Tracy, C. Edwin

1996-01-01

A method for simultaneously cutting and welding ultra-thin foils having a thickness of less than 0.002 inches wherein two ultra-thin films are stacked and clamped together. A pulsed laser such as of the Neodymium: YAG type is provided and the beam of the laser is directed onto the stacked films to cut a channel through the films. The laser is moved relative to the stacked foils to cut the stacked foils at successive locations and to form a plurality of connected weld beads to form a continuous weld.

Gigantic Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in the MnBi ultrathin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Jie-Xiang; Zang, Jiadong; Zang's Team

The magnetic skyrmion, a swirling-like spin texture with nontrivial topology, is driven by strong Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction originated from the spin-orbit coupling in inversion symmetry breaking systems. Here, based on first-principles calculations, we predict a new material, MnBi ultrathin film, with gigantic DM interactions. The ratio of the DM interaction to the Heisenberg exchange is about 0.3, exceeding any values reported so far. Its high Curie temperature, high coercivity, and large perpendicular magnetoanisotropy make MnBi a good candidate for future spintronics studies. Topologically nontrivial spin textures are emergent in this system. We expect further experimental efforts will be devoted into this systems.

Spin dynamics and frequency dependence of magnetic damping study in soft ferromagnetic FeTaC film with a stripe domain structure

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

Samantaray, B., E-mail: iitg.biswanath@gmail.com; Ranganathan, R.; Mandal, P.

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and low magnetic damping are the key factors for the free layer magnetization switching by spin transfer torque technique in magnetic tunnel junction devices. The magnetization precessional dynamics in soft ferromagnetic FeTaC thin film with a stripe domain structure was explored in broad band frequency range by employing micro-strip ferromagnetic resonance technique. The polar angle variation of resonance field and linewidth at different frequencies have been analyzed numerically using Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation by taking into account the total free energy density of the film. The numerically estimated parameters Landé g-factor, PMA constant, and effective magnetization are foundmore » to be 2.1, 2 × 10{sup 5} erg/cm{sup 3} and 7145 Oe, respectively. The frequency dependence of Gilbert damping parameter (α) is evaluated by considering both intrinsic and extrinsic effects into the total linewidth analysis. The value of α is found to be 0.006 at 10 GHz and it increases monotonically with decreasing precessional frequency.« less

Integration of amorphous tantalum silicon nitride (TaSiN) films as diffusion barriers in a Cu/SiLK(TM) metallization scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Padiyar, Sumant Devdas

2003-09-01

Current and future performance requirements for high- speed integrated circuit (IC) devices have placed great emphasis on the introduction of novel materials, deposition techniques and improved metrology techniques. The introduction of copper interconnects and more currently low-k dielectric materials in IC fabrication are two such examples. This introduction necessitates research on the compatibility of these materials and process techniques with adjacent diffusion barrier materials. One candidate, which has attracted significant attention is tantalum-silicon-nitride (TaSiN) on account of its superior diffusion barrier performance and high recrystallization temperature1. The subject of this dissertation is an investigation of the integration compatibility and performance of TaSiN barrier layers with a low-k dielectric polymer (SiLK ®2). A plasma- enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) approach is taken for growth of TaSiN films in this work due to potential advantages in conformal film coverage compared to more conventional physical vapor deposition methods. A Design of Experiment (DOE) methodology was introduced for PECVD of TaSiN on SiLK to optimize film properties such as film composition, resistivity, growth rate and film roughness with respect to the predictors viz. substrate temperature, precursor gas flow and plasma power. The first pass study determined the response window for optimized TaSiN film composition, growth rate and low halide contamination and the compatibility of the process with an organic polymer substrate, i.e. SiLK. Second-pass studies were carried out to deposit ultra- thin (10nm) films on: (a)blanket SiLK to investigate the performance of TaSiN films against copper diffusion, and (b)patterned SiLK to evaluate step coverage and conformality. All TaSiN depositions were carried out on SiO2 substrates for baseline comparisons. A second purpose of the diffusion barrier in IC processing is to improve interfacial adhesion between the

A room temperature method for the formation of ultrathin silicon oxide films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muisener, Richard John

Growing interest surrounds the use of thin films to impart unique surface properties without adversely affecting those of the bulk. One such example is the formation of a stable high-energy silicon oxide surface on polymers. Thin silicon oxide films have been used to tailor the surface properties of many materials. Conventional methods for SiOx film fabrication such as chemical vapor deposition require either high temperature or expensive vacuum chambers. This research focuses on the intrinsically inexpensive process of UV-ozone to form ultrathin SiOx films from polysiloxane precursors at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Chemical evidence suggests a complete conversion from organic polymer to inorganic ceramic. Through XPS, the UV-ozone treatment oxidizes over 95% of the silicone's organic side groups with a resulting stoichiometry Of Si 1O2.2C0.08. The silicon oxidation state changes from 2+ in poly(dimethylsiloxane) to 93% 4+ corresponding to SiO2. IR studies show a total loss of methyl bands and the growth of a new Si-O band centered at 1225 cm-1. Gas phase reaction products suggest a radical driven process. The physical properties also suggest a complete conversion to SiO x. Excellent control of film thickness, as low as 2 nm, has been demonstrated by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. The ellipsometrically determined thickness loss of 55% during treatment corresponds to an SiOx film density of 1.9 g/cm3. The continuity of the film is demonstrated by electrical properties and a very low water contact angle consistent with SiOx. The later property ensures that the SiOx films are anti-fogging in nature. Unique hydrophilic-hydrophobic structures were formed through photo-patterning. The reaction has been successfully modeled as self-limiting based on the diffusion of ozone. The chief reactant, atomic oxygen, is generated by the photochemical dissociation of ozone and quickly generates radical species within the polymer film. The reaction proceeds

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).

Combined three-axis surface magneto-optical Kerr effects in the study of surface and ultrathin-film magnetism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Z. J.; Scheinfein, M. R.

1993-12-01

Surface and ultrathin-film magnetocrystalline anisotropy in epitaxial fcc Fe thin films grown on room-temperature Cu(100) single crystals has been investigated, in situ, by the combined surface magneto-optical Kerr effects (SMOKE). In polar, longitudinal, and transverse Kerr effects, the direction of the applied magnetic field must be distinguished from the direction of magnetization during the switching process. For arbitrary orientations of the magnetization and field axis relative to the optical scattering plane, any of the three Kerr effects may contribute to the detected signal. A general expression for the normalized light intensity sensed by a photodiode detector, involving all three combined Kerr effects, is obtained both in the ultrathin-film limit and for bulk, at general oblique incidence angles and with different orientations of the polarizer, modulator, and analyzer. This expression is used to interpret the results of fcc Fe/Cu(100) SMOKE measurements. For films grown at room temperature, polar and longitudinal Kerr-effect magnetization loops show that the easy axis of magnetization rotates from the (canted) out-of-plane direction to the in-plane direction at a thickness of about 4.7 monolayers. Transverse Kerr-effect measurements indicate that the in-plane easy axes are biaxial.

High-rate deposition of LiNb 1- xTa xO 3 films by thermal plasma spray CVD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majima, T.; Yamamoto, H.; Kulinich, S. A.; Terashima, K.

2000-12-01

LiNb 1- xTa xO 3 films were prepared by a thermal plasma spray CVD method using liquid source materials. Preferentially (0 0 1)-oriented LiNb 1- xTa xO 3 films with satisfactory in-plane and out-of-plane alignment were fabricated on sapphire (0 0 1) substrates. The full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the (0 0 6) rocking curve could achieve 0.12°, which was comparable with those of LiNbO 3 and LiTaO 3 films prepared by other conventional vapor-phase deposition methods. The deposition rate was up to 0.07 μm/min, which was 5-40 times faster than those for most other conventional vapor-phase deposition methods. From inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy analysis, x values of these films were estimated to be 0.36-0.49.

Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khorshidi, Zahra; Bahari, Ali; Gholipur, Reza

2014-11-01

Effect of annealing temperature on the characteristics of sol-gel-driven Ta ax La(1- a) x O y thin film spin-coated on Si substrate as a high- k gate dielectric was studied. Ta ax La(1- a) x O y thin films with different amounts of a were prepared (as-prepared samples). X-ray diffraction measurements of the as-prepared samples indicated that Ta0.3 x La0.7 x Oy film had an amorphous structure. Therefore, Ta0.3 x La0.7 x O y film was chosen to continue the present studies. The morphology of Ta0.3 x La0.7 x O y films was studied using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy techniques. The obtained results showed that the size of grain boundaries on Ta0.3 x La0.7 x O y film surfaces was increased with increasing annealing temperature. Electrical and optical characterizations of the as-prepared and annealed films were investigated as a function of annealing temperature using capacitance-voltage ( C- V) and current density-voltage ( J- V) measurements and the Tauc method. The obtained results demonstrated that Ta0.3 x La0.7 x O y films had high dielectric constant (≈27), wide band gap (≈4.5 eV), and low leakage current density (≈10-6 A/cm2 at 1 V).

Highly conductive ultrathin Co films by high-power impulse magnetron sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jablonka, L.; Riekehr, L.; Zhang, Z.; Zhang, S.-L.; Kubart, T.

2018-01-01

Ultrathin Co films deposited on SiO2 with conductivities exceeding that of Cu are demonstrated. Ionized deposition implemented by high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) is shown to result in smooth films with large grains and low resistivities, namely, 14 µΩ cm at a thickness of 40 nm, which is close to the bulk value of Co. Even at a thickness of only 6 nm, a resistivity of 35 µΩ cm is obtained. The improved film quality is attributed to a higher nucleation density in the Co-ion dominated plasma in HiPIMS. In particular, the pulsed nature of the Co flux as well as shallow ion implantation of Co into SiO2 can increase the nucleation density. Adatom diffusion is further enhanced in the ionized process, resulting in a dense microstructure. These results are in contrast to Co deposited by conventional direct current magnetron sputtering where the conductivity is reduced due to smaller grains, voids, rougher interfaces, and Ar incorporation. The resistivity of the HiPIMS films is shown to be in accordance with models by Mayadas-Shatzkes and Sondheimer which consider grain-boundary and surface-scattering.

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.

Conducting transition metal nitride thin films with tailored cell sizes: The case of {delta}-Ti{sub x}Ta{sub 1-x}N

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

Koutsokeras, L. E.; Laboratoire PHYMAT, Universite de Poitiers-CNRS, UMR 6630, SP2MI, Teleport 2, Bd Marie et Pierre Curie, 86962 Chasseneuil-Futuroscope; Abadias, G.

2008-07-07

We present results on the stability and tailoring of the cell size of conducting {delta}-Ti{sub x}Ta{sub 1-x}N obtained by film growth and ab initio calculations. Despite the limited solubility of Ta in Ti, we show that TiN and TaN are soluble due to the hybrization of the d and sp electrons of the metal and N, respectively, that stabilizes the ternary system to the rocksalt structure. The stress-free cell sizes follow the Vegard's rule; nevertheless, process-dependent stresses expand the cell size of the as-grown films. The electronic properties of {delta}-Ti{sub x}Ta{sub 1-x}N films ({rho}=180 {omega} cm) are similar to thosemore » of TiN and TaN.« less

Stabilization of ultrathin (hydroxy)oxide films on transition metal substrates for electrochemical energy conversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Zhenhua; Chang, Kee-Chul; Kubal, Joseph; Markovic, Nenad M.; Greeley, Jeffrey

2017-06-01

Design of cost-effective electrocatalysts with enhanced stability and activity is of paramount importance for the next generation of energy conversion systems, including fuel cells and electrolysers. However, electrocatalytic materials generally improve one of these properties at the expense of the other. Here, using density functional theory calculations and electrochemical surface science measurements, we explore atomic-level features of ultrathin (hydroxy)oxide films on transition metal substrates and demonstrate that these films exhibit both excellent stability and activity for electrocatalytic applications. The films adopt structures with stabilities that significantly exceed bulk Pourbaix limits, including stoichiometries not found in bulk and properties that are tunable by controlling voltage, film composition, and substrate identity. Using nickel (hydroxy)oxide/Pt(111) as an example, we further show how the films enhance activity for hydrogen evolution through a bifunctional effect. The results suggest design principles for this class of electrocatalysts with simultaneously enhanced stability and activity for energy conversion.

Stabilization of ultrathin (hydroxy)oxide films on transition metal substrates for electrochemical energy conversion

DOE PAGES

Zeng, Zhenhua; Chang, Kee-Chul; Kubal, Joseph; ...

2017-05-08

Design of cost-effective electrocatalysts with enhanced stability and activity is of paramount importance for the next generation of energy conversion systems, including fuel cells and electrolyzers. However, electrocatalytic materials generally improve one of these properties at the expense of the other. Here, using Density Functional Theory calculations and electrochemical surface science measurements, we explore atomic-level features of ultrathin (hydroxy)oxide films on transition metal substrates and demonstrate that these films exhibit both excellent stability and activity for electrocatalytic applications. The films adopt structures with stabilities that significantly exceed bulk Pourbaix limits, including stoichiometries not found in bulk and properties that aremore » tunable by controlling voltage, film composition, and substrate identity. Using nickel (hydroxy)oxide/Pt(111) as an example, we further show how the films enhance activity for hydrogen evolution through a bifunctional effect. Finally, the results suggest design principles for a new class of electrocatalysts with simultaneously enhanced stability and activity for energy conversion.« less

Effects of addition of Ta and Y ions to InZnO thin film transistors by sol-gel process.

PubMed

Son, Dae-Ho; Kim, Dae-Hwan; Kim, Jung-Hye; Park, Si-Nae; Sung, Shi-Joon; Kang, Jin-Kyu

2013-06-01

We have investigated the effects of the addition of tantalum (Ta) and yttrium (Y) ions to InZnO thin film transistors (TFTs) using the sol-gel process. TaInZnO and YInZnO TFTs had significantly lower off current and higher on-to-off current ratio than InZnO TFTs. Ta and Y ions have strong affinity to oxygen and so suppress the formation of free electron carriers in thin films; they play an important role in enhancing the electrical characteristic due to their high oxygen bonding ability. The optimized TaInZnO and YInZnO TFTs showed high on/off ratio and low subthreshold swing.

Atomic layer deposition of (K,Na)(Nb,Ta)O{sub 3} thin films

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

Sønsteby, Henrik Hovde, E-mail: henrik.sonsteby@kjemi.iuio.no; Nilsen, Ola; Fjellvåg, Helmer

2016-07-15

Thin films of complex alkali oxides are frequently investigated due to the large range of electric effects that are found in this class of materials. Their piezo- and ferroelectric properties also place them as sustainable lead free alternatives in optoelectronic devices. Fully gas-based routes for deposition of such compounds are required for integration into microelectronic devices that need conformal thin films with high control of thickness- and composition. The authors here present a route for deposition of materials in the (K,Na)(Nb,Ta)O{sub 3}-system, including the four end members NaNbO{sub 3}, KNbO{sub 3}, NaTaO{sub 3}, and KTaO{sub 3}, using atomic layer depositionmore » with emphasis on control of stoichiometry in such mixed quaternary and quinary compunds.« less

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.

Engineering epitaxial γ-Al2O3 gate dielectric films on 4H-SiC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanner, Carey M.; Toney, Michael F.; Lu, Jun; Blom, Hans-Olof; Sawkar-Mathur, Monica; Tafesse, Melat A.; Chang, Jane P.

2007-11-01

The formation of epitaxial γ-Al2O3 thin films on 4H-SiC was found to be strongly dependent on the film thickness. An abrupt interface was observed in films up to 200 Å thick with an epitaxial relationship of γ-Al2O3(111)‖4H-SiC(0001) and γ-Al2O3(44¯0)‖4H-SiC(112¯0). The in-plane alignment between the film and the substrate is nearly complete for γ-Al2O3 films up to 115 Å thick, but quickly diminishes in thicker films. The films are found to be slightly strained laterally in tension; the strain increases with thickness and then decreases in films thicker than 200 Å, indicating strain relaxation which is accompanied by increased misorientation. By controlling the structure of ultrathin Al2O3 films, metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors with Al2O3 gate dielectrics on 4H-SiC were found to have a very low leakage current density, suggesting suitability of Al2O3 for SiC device integration.

Simultaneous determination of the residual stress, elastic modulus, density and thickness of ultrathin film utilizing vibrating doubly clamped micro-/nanobeams

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

Stachiv, Ivo, E-mail: stachiv@fzu.cz; Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague; Kuo, Chih-Yun

2016-04-15

Measurement of ultrathin film thickness and its basic properties can be highly challenging and time consuming due to necessity of using several very sophisticated devices. Here, we report an easy accessible resonant based method capable to simultaneously determinate the residual stress, elastic modulus, density and thickness of ultrathin film coated on doubly clamped micro-/nanobeam. We show that a general dependency of the resonant frequencies on the axial load is also valid for in-plane vibrations, and the one depends only on the considered vibrational mode. As a result, we found that the film elastic modulus, density and thickness can be evaluatedmore » from two measured in-plane and out-plane fundamental resonant frequencies of micro-/nanobeam with and without film under different prestress forces. Whereas, the residual stress can be determined from two out-plane (in-plane) measured consecutive resonant frequencies of beam with film under different prestress forces without necessity of knowing film and substrate properties and dimensions. Moreover, we also reveal that the common uncertainties in force (and thickness) determination have a negligible (and minor) impact on the determined film properties. The application potential of the present method is illustrated on the beam made of silicon and SiO{sub 2} with deposited 20 nm thick AlN and 40 nm thick Au thin films, respectively.« less

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.

Mechanism of the reset process in bipolar-resistance-switching Ta/TaOx/Pt capacitors based on observation of the capacitance and resistance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Na, Sang-Chul; Kim, Jae-Jun; Chul Chun, Min; Hee Jin, Da; Ahn, Seung-Eon; Soo Kang, Bo

2014-03-01

The capacitance (C) and the resistance (R) were measured at various states as the reset process progressed in bipolar-resistance-switching Ta/TaOx/Pt thin film capacitors. The reset process was found to undergo three sequential stages where C and R showed different behavior: increasing C and constant R before an abrupt reset transition, the rapid increase of both C and R upon transition, and saturated C thereafter. These behaviors can be explained in terms of the annihilation of the oxygen vacancies followed by rupture of the conducting channels.

Structural and electrical properties of atomic layer deposited Al-doped ZrO2 films and of the interface with TaN electrode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spiga, S.; Rao, R.; Lamagna, L.; Wiemer, C.; Congedo, G.; Lamperti, A.; Molle, A.; Fanciulli, M.; Palma, F.; Irrera, F.

2012-07-01

Al-doped ZrO2 (Al-ZrO2) films deposited by atomic layer deposition onto silicon substrates and the interface with the TaN metal gate are investigated. In particular, structural properties of as-grown and annealed films in the 6-26 nm thickness range, as well as leakage and capacitive behavior of metal-oxide-semiconductor stacks are characterized. As-deposited Al-ZrO2 films in the mentioned thickness range are amorphous and crystallize in the ZrO2 cubic phase after thermal treatment at 900 °C. Correspondingly, the dielectric constant (k) value increases from 20 ± 1 to 27 ± 2. The Al-ZrO2 layers exhibit uniform composition through the film thickness and are thermally stable on Si, whereas chemical reactions take place at the TaN/Al-ZrO2 interface. A transient capacitance technique is adopted for monitoring charge trapping and flat band instability at short and long time scales. The role of traps nearby the TaN/Al-ZrO2 interface is discussed and compared with other metal/high-k oxide films. Further, analytical modeling of the flat band voltage shift with a power-law dependence on time allows extracting features of bulk traps close to the silicon/oxide interface, which exhibit energy levels in the 1.4-1.9 eV range above the valence band of the Al-ZrO2.

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.

Transport properties of ultrathin BaFe1.84Co0.16As2 superconducting nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Pusheng; Xu, Zhongtang; Li, Chen; Quan, Baogang; Li, Junjie; Gu, Changzhi; Ma, Yanwei

2018-07-01

Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have an absolute advantage over other types of single-photon detectors, except for the low operating temperature. Therefore, much effort has been devoted to finding high-temperature superconducting materials that are suitable for preparing SNSPDs. Copper-based and MgB2 ultrathin superconducting nanowires have already been reported. However, the transport properties of iron-based ultrathin superconducting nanowires have not been studied. In this work, a 10 nm thick × 200 nm wide × 30 μm long high-quality superconducting nanowire was fabricated from ultrathin BaFe1.84Co0.16As2 films by a lift-off process. The precursor BaFe1.84Co0.16As2 film with a thickness of 10 nm and root-mean-square roughness of 1 nm was grown on CaF2 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The nanowire shows a high superconducting critical temperature {T}{{c}}{{zero}} = 20 K with a narrow transition width of ΔT = 2.5 K and exhibits a high critical current density J c of 1.8 × 107 A cm-2 at 10 K. These results of ultrathin BaFe1.84Co0.16As2 nanowire will attract interest in electronic applications, including SNSPDs.

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

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.

Observations on Si-based micro-clusters embedded in TaN thin film deposited by co-sputtering with oxygen contamination

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

Lee, Young Mi; Jung, Min-Sang; Choi, Duck-Kyun, E-mail: duck@hanyang.ac.kr, E-mail: mcjung@oist.jp

2015-08-15

Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with the synchrotron radiation we investigated Si-based micro-clusters embedded in TaSiN thin films having oxygen contamination. TaSiN thin films were deposited by co-sputtering on fixed or rotated substrates and with various power conditions of TaN and Si targets. Three types of embedded micro-clusters with the chemical states of pure Si, SiO{sub x}-capped Si, and SiO{sub 2}-capped Si were observed and analyzed using SEM and Si 2p and Ta 4f core-level spectra were derived. Their different resistivities are presumably due to the different chemical states and densities of Si-based micro-clusters.

Effect of heat treatment on interface driven magnetic properties of CoFe films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Akhilesh Kr.; Hsu, Jen-Hwa

2017-06-01

We report systematic studies on non-magnetic Ta underlayer and cap layer driven microstructural and magnetic properties at a wide temperature range for CoFe films. All the films were grown at room temperature and post annealed at different annealing temperatures (TA = 200 °C, 250 °C, 300 °C, 350 °C, 400 °C and 450 °C). The in-plane magnetic hysteresis (M-H) loops of 10 nm thick CoFe single layer films, grown directly on thermally oxidized Si substrate, exhibit anisotropic nature for TA above 250 °C. However, the CoFe (10 nm) films grown on the 5 nm thick Ta underlayer show reduced anisotropy. Moreover, with underlayer and cap layers (2 nm) the anisotropy is disappeared. The in-plane coercivity (HC) shows a strong variation with TA, underlayer and cap layers. HC increases significantly with Ta underlayer and cap layers. The out of plane M-H loops exhibit increase in the remanence magnetization and squareness with both Ta underlayer and cap layers due to transition of in-plane magnetization component to the out of plane direction. The atomic force microscopic observations revealed that grain/particle size and shape depend strongly on TA and Ta layers. Moreover, a large reduction in the surface roughness is observed with the Ta cap layer. The magnetic domain patterns depend on the TA, and Ta layers. However, for Ta/CoFe/Ta films no clear domains were observed for all the TA. Hence, the Ta cap layers not only protect the CoFe magnetic layer against the heat treatment, but also show a smooth surface at a wide temperature range. These results could be discussed on the basis of random anisotropy model, TA, underlayer and cap layers driven microstructure and magnetization orientation of the CoFe films.

Anomalously deep polarization in SrTiO3 (001) interfaced with an epitaxial ultrathin manganite film

DOE PAGES

Wang, Zhen; Tao, Jing; Yu, Liping; ...

2016-10-17

Using atomically-resolved imaging and spectroscopy, we reveal a remarkably deep polarization in non-ferroelectric SrTiO 3 near its interface with an ultrathin nonmetallic film of La 2/3Sr 1/3MnO 3. Electron holography shows an electric field near the interface in SrTiO 3, yielding a surprising spontaneous polarization density of ~ 21 μC/cm 2. Combining the experimental results with first principles calculations, we propose that the observed deep polarization is induced by the electric field originating from oxygen vacancies that extend beyond a dozen unit-cells from the interface, thus providing important evidence of the role of defects in the emergent interface properties ofmore » transition metal oxides.« less

Ultra-thin passivating film induced by vinylene carbonate on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite negative electrode in lithium-ion cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsuoka, O.; Hiwara, A.; Omi, T.; Toriida, M.; Hayashi, T.; Tanaka, C.; Saito, Y.; Ishida, T.; Tan, H.; Ono, S. S.; Yamamoto, S.

We investigated the influence of vinylene carbonate, as an additive molecule, on the decomposition phenomena of electrolyte solution [ethylene carbonate (EC)—ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC) (1:2 by volume) containing 1 M LiPF 6] on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) negative electrode by using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Vinylene carbonate deactivated reactive sites (e.g. radicals and oxides at the defects and the edge of carbon layer) on the cleaved surface of the HOPG negative electrode, and prevented further decomposition of the other solvents there. Further, vinylene carbonate induced an ultra-thin film (less than 1.0 nm in thickness) on the terrace of the basal plane of the HOPG negative electrode, and this film suppressed the decomposition of electrolyte solution on the terraces of the basal plane. We consider that this ultra-thin passivating film is composed of a reduction product of vinylene carbonate (VC), and might have a polymer structure. These induced effects might explain how VC improves the life performance of lithium-ion cells.

Processing and characterization of zeta-Ta4C 3-x: A high toughness tantalum carbide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sygnatowicz, Michael M.

Tantalum carbides are commonly processed by hot-pressing, canned hot-isostatic-pressing, or spark-plasma sintering because of their high melting temperatures and low diffusivities. This study reports processing of dense ζ-Ta4C 3-x by reaction sintering of a Ta and TaC powder mixture (C/Ta atomic ratio = 0.66). ζ-Ta4C3-x is of interest due to its rhombohedral (trigonal) crystal structure that may be characterized as a polytype with both face-centered-cubic (fcc) and hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) Ta stacking sequences interrupted by stacking faults and missing carbon layers. This structure leads to easy cleaving on the basal planes and high fracture toughness. A key step in processing is the hydrogenation of the Ta powder to produce beta-TaH x, a hard and brittle phase that enables efficient comminution during milling and production of small, equiaxed Ta particles that can be packed to high green density with the TaC powder. Studies of phase evolution by quantitative X-ray diffraction during sintering revealed several intermediate reactions: (a) decomposition of beta-TaHx to Ta, (b) diffusion of C from gamma-TaC to Ta leading to the formation of α-Ta2Cy' with the kinetics described by the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK) equation with an exponent, n = 0.5, and an activation energy of 221 kJ/mole, (c) equilibration of α-Ta2Cy' and gamma-TaC 0.78 phases, and (d) formation of ζ-Ta4C2.56 from the equilibrated α-Ta2C and gamma-TaC0.78 phases with the kinetics characterized by a higher JMAK exponent ( n ≈ 3) and higher activation energy (1089 kJ/mole). The microstructure showed evidence of nucleation and growth of the ζ-Ta4C 2.56 phase in both the α-Ta2C and gamma-TaC0.78 parent phases with distinct difference in the morphology due to the different number of variants of the habit plane. A hot-pressed and hot-isostatic-pressed (HIPed) material (C/Ta atomic ratio = 0.66), having formed 95 w% ζ-phase, attained a fracture toughness of 15.6 +/- 0.5 MPa√m and a

Ultrathin dendrimer-graphene oxide composite film for stable cycling lithium-sulfur batteries.

PubMed

Liu, Wen; Jiang, Jianbing; Yang, Ke R; Mi, Yingying; Kumaravadivel, Piranavan; Zhong, Yiren; Fan, Qi; Weng, Zhe; Wu, Zishan; Cha, Judy J; Zhou, Henghui; Batista, Victor S; Brudvig, Gary W; Wang, Hailiang

2017-04-04

Lithium-sulfur batteries (Li-S batteries) have attracted intense interest because of their high specific capacity and low cost, although they are still hindered by severe capacity loss upon cycling caused by the soluble lithium polysulfide intermediates. Although many structure innovations at the material and device levels have been explored for the ultimate goal of realizing long cycle life of Li-S batteries, it remains a major challenge to achieve stable cycling while avoiding energy and power density compromises caused by the introduction of significant dead weight/volume and increased electrochemical resistance. Here we introduce an ultrathin composite film consisting of naphthalimide-functionalized poly(amidoamine) dendrimers and graphene oxide nanosheets as a cycling stabilizer. Combining the dendrimer structure that can confine polysulfide intermediates chemically and physically together with the graphene oxide that renders the film robust and thin (<1% of the thickness of the active sulfur layer), the composite film is designed to enable stable cycling of sulfur cathodes without compromising the energy and power densities. Our sulfur electrodes coated with the composite film exhibit very good cycling stability, together with high sulfur content, large areal capacity, and improved power rate.

Modeling of UV laser-induced patterning of ultrathin Co films on bulk SiO2: verification of short- and long-range ordering mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trice, Justin; Favazza, Christopher; Kalyanaraman, Ramki; Sureshkumar, R.

2006-03-01

Irradiating ultrathin Co films (1 to 10 nm) by a short-pulsed UV laser leads to pattern formation with both short- and long-range order (SRO, LRO). Single beam irradiation produces SRO, while two-beam interference irradiation produces a quasi-2D arrangement of nanoparticles with LRO and SRO. The pattern formation primarily occurs in the molten phase. An estimate of the thermal behavior of the film/substrate composite following a laser pulse is presented. The thermal behavior includes the lifetime of the liquid phase and the thermal gradient during interference heating. Based on this evidence, the SRO is attributed to spinodal dewetting of the film while surface tension gradients induced by the laser interference pattern appear to influence LRO [1]. [1] C.Favazza, J.Trice, H.Krishna, R.Sureshkumar, and R.Kalyanaraman, unpublished.

(Na{sub x}k{sub 1−x}){sub 2}Ta{sub 4}O{sub 11}(x≈0.93) piezoelectric phase from the transformation of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} thin films of monoclinic structure

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

Le Gallic, M., E-mail: Marie.Le-Gallic@grenoble-inp.fr; Roussel, H.

2013-04-15

A phase of trigonal structure has been reported in previous articles to be piezoelectric with a very high longitudinal d{sub 33} coefficient of several thousand pm/V (J. Solid State Chem. 184 (2011) 2023, 2033). It was observed in Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} thin films and assumed to be the result of a reversible monoclinic–trigonal phase transition. However, new investigations are reported because the cell parameters of this phase are actually very close to those of the natrotantite mineral Na{sub 2}Ta{sub 4}O{sub 11}. From analyses by X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS), the chemical composition of this trigonal phase corresponds to (Na{sub x}K{submore » 1−x}){sub 2}Ta{sub 4}O{sub 11} with x≈0.93. The origin of sodium, potassium, iron and oxygen atoms is found to be due to a pollution coming from alumina crucibles used for thermal treatments. Knowing both atomic structures Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} and Na{sub 2}Ta{sub 4}O{sub 11} and their structural relationships, observed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), the mechanism of the reaction of transformation is re-examined and discussed. This mechanism implies that Ta{sup 5+} vacancies likely exist in monoclinic structures of tantalum oxide and that electrical neutrality could be due to incorporated proton H{sup +} instead of O{sup 2−} vacancies or Ta{sup 5+} interstitials. - Graphical abstract: (a, b) TEM images of interfaces between Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} monoclinic and (Na{sub 0.93}K{sub 0.07}){sub 2}Ta{sub 4}O{sub 11} trigonal phases where it appears that the ratio of periods for the transformation monoclinic-to-trigonal is 3/2 (c, d) corresponding schema of the reaction of transformation, (a, c) viewed along the zone axes [010]{sub o}∥[1{sup ¯}21{sup ¯}]{sub R} and (b, d) along the zone axes [100]{sub o}∥[101{sup ¯}]{sub R}. Highlights: ► The formation of a piezoelectric phase in Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} thin films, reported in previous articles, is re-examined. ► Its composition is

In situ monitoring of thermal crystallization of ultrathin tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum films using surface-enhanced Raman scattering.

PubMed

Muraki, Naoki

2014-01-01

Thermal crystallization of 3, 10, and 60 nm-thick tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum (Alq3) films is studied using surface-enhanced Raman scattering with a constant heating rate. An abrupt higher frequency shift of the quinoline-stretching mode is found to be an indication of a phase transition of Alq3 molecules from amorphous to crystalline. While the 60 nm-thick film shows the same crystallization temperature as a bulk sample, the thinner films were found to have a lower crystallization temperature and slower rate of crystallization. Non-isothermal kinetics analysis is performed to quantify kinetic properties such as the Avrami exponent constants and crystallization rates of ultrathin Alq3 films.

Ultrathin free-standing close-packed gold nanoparticle films: conductivity and Raman scattering enhancement.

PubMed

Yu, Qing; Huang, Hongwen; Peng, Xinsheng; Ye, Zhizhen

2011-09-01

A simple filtration technique was developed to prepare large scale free-standing close-packed gold nanoparticle ultrathin films using metal hydroxide nanostrands as both barrier layer and sacrificial layer. As thin as 70 nm, centimeter scale robust free-standing gold nanoparticle thin film was obtained. The thickness of the films could be easily tuned by the filtration volumes. The electronic conductivities of these films varied with the size of the gold nanoparticles, post-treatment temperature, and thickness, respectively. The conductivity of the film prepared from 20 nm gold nanoparticles is higher than that of the film prepared from 40 nm gold nanoparticle by filtering the same filtration volume of their solution, respectively. Their conductivities are comparable to that of the 220 nm thick ITO film. Furthermore, these films demonstrated an average surface Raman scattering enhancement up to 6.59 × 10(5) for Rhodamine 6 G molecules on the film prepared from 40 nm gold nanoparticles. Due to a lot of nano interspaces generated from the close-packed structures, two abnormal enhancements and relative stronger intensities of the asymmetrical vibrations at 1534 and 1594 cm(-1) of R6G were observed, respectively. These robust free-standing gold nanoparticle films could be easily transferred onto various solid substrates and hold the potential application for electrodes and surface enhanced Raman detectors. This method is applicable for preparation of other nanoparticle free-standing thin films.

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

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)

High resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy of spin waves in ultra-thin film - The return of the adiabatic approximation?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibach, Harald

2014-12-01

The paper reports on recent considerable improvements in electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) of spin waves in ultra-thin films. Spin wave spectra with 4 meV resolution are shown. The high energy resolution enables the observation of standing modes in ultra-thin films in the wave vector range of 0.15 Å- 1 < q|| < 0.3 Å- 1. In this range, Landau damping is comparatively small and standing spin wave modes are well-defined Lorentzians for which the adiabatic approximation is well suited, an approximation which was rightly dismissed by Mills and collaborators for spin waves near the Brillouin zone boundary. With the help of published exchange coupling constants, the Heisenberg model, and a simple model for the spectral response function, experimental spectra for Co-films on Cu(100) as well as for Co films capped with further copper layers are successfully simulated. It is shown that, depending on the wave vector and film thickness, the most prominent contribution to the spin wave spectrum may come from the first standing mode, not from the so-called surface mode. In general, the peak position of a low-resolution spin wave spectrum does not correspond to a single mode. A discussion of spin waves based on the "dispersion" of the peak positions in low resolution spectra is therefore subject to errors.

Numerical experiments on evaporation and explosive boiling of ultra-thin liquid argon film on aluminum nanostructure substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Weidong; Zhang, Haiyan; Tian, Conghui; Meng, Xiaojie

2015-04-01

Evaporation and explosive boiling of ultra-thin liquid film are of great significant fundamental importance for both science and engineering applications. The evaporation and explosive boiling of ultra-thin liquid film absorbed on an aluminum nanostructure solid wall are investigated by means of molecular dynamics simulations. The simulated system consists of three regions: liquid argon, vapor argon, and an aluminum substrate decorated with nanostructures of different heights. Those simulations begin with an initial configuration for the complex liquid-vapor-solid system, followed by an equilibrating system at 90 K, and conclude with two different jump temperatures, including 150 and 310 K which are far beyond the critical temperature. The space and time dependences of temperature, pressure, density number, and net evaporation rate are monitored to investigate the phase transition process on a flat surface with and without nanostructures. The simulation results reveal that the nanostructures are of great help to raise the heat transfer efficiency and that evaporation rate increases with the nanostructures' height in a certain range.

Numerical experiments on evaporation and explosive boiling of ultra-thin liquid argon film on aluminum nanostructure substrate.

PubMed

Wang, Weidong; Zhang, Haiyan; Tian, Conghui; Meng, Xiaojie

2015-01-01

Evaporation and explosive boiling of ultra-thin liquid film are of great significant fundamental importance for both science and engineering applications. The evaporation and explosive boiling of ultra-thin liquid film absorbed on an aluminum nanostructure solid wall are investigated by means of molecular dynamics simulations. The simulated system consists of three regions: liquid argon, vapor argon, and an aluminum substrate decorated with nanostructures of different heights. Those simulations begin with an initial configuration for the complex liquid-vapor-solid system, followed by an equilibrating system at 90 K, and conclude with two different jump temperatures, including 150 and 310 K which are far beyond the critical temperature. The space and time dependences of temperature, pressure, density number, and net evaporation rate are monitored to investigate the phase transition process on a flat surface with and without nanostructures. The simulation results reveal that the nanostructures are of great help to raise the heat transfer efficiency and that evaporation rate increases with the nanostructures' height in a certain range.

High-temperature wear and oxidation behaviors of TiNi/Ti2Ni matrix composite coatings with TaC addition prepared on Ti6Al4V by laser cladding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Y. H.; Li, J.; Tao, Y. F.; Hu, L. F.

2017-04-01

TiNi/Ti2Ni matrix composite coatings were produced on Ti6Al4V surfaces by laser cladding the mixed powders of Ni-based alloy and different contents of TaC (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 wt.%). Microstructures of the coatings were investigated. High-temperature wear tests of the substrate and the coatings were carried out at 600 °C in air for 30 min. High-temperature oxidation tests of the substrate and the coatings were performed at 1000 °C in air for 50 h. Wear and oxidation mechanisms were revealed in detail. The results showed that TiNi/Ti2Ni as the matrix and TiC/TiB2/TiB as the reinforcements are the main phases of the coatings. The friction coefficients of the substrate and the coatings with different contents of TaC were 0.431 (the substrate), 0.554 (0 wt.%), 0.486 (5 wt.%), 0.457 (10 wt.%), 0.458 (15 wt.%), 0.507 (20 wt.%), 0.462 (30 wt.%) and 0.488 (40 wt.%). The wear rates of the coatings were decreased by almost 83%-98% than that of the substrate and presented a decreasing tendency with increasing TaC content. The wear mechanism of the substrate was a combination of serious oxidation, micro-cutting and brittle debonding. For the coatings, oxidation and slight scratching were predominant during wear, accompanied by slight brittle debonding in partial zones. With the increase in content of TaC, the oxidation film better shielded the coatings from destruction due to the effective friction-reducing role of Ta2O5. The oxidation rates of the substrate and the coatings with different contents of TaC at 1000 °C were 12.170 (the substrate), 5.886 (0 wt.%), 4.937 (5 wt.%), 4.517 (10 wt.%), 4.394 (15 wt.%), 3.951 (20 wt.%), 4.239 (30 wt.%) and 3.530 (40 wt.%) mg2 cm-4 h-1, respectively. The oxidation film formed outside the coating without adding TaC was composed of TiO2, NiO, Cr2O3, Al2O3 and SiO2. When TaC was added, Ta2O5 and TaC were also detected, which effectively improved the oxidation resistance of the coatings. The addition of TaC contributed to the

Platelet adhesion on phosphorus-incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Aiping; Zhu, Jiaqi; Liu, Meng; Dai, Zhifei; Han, Xiao; Han, Jiecai

2008-11-01

The haemocompatibility of phosphorus-incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C:P) films, synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique with PH 3 as the dopant source, was assessed by in vitro platelet adhesion tests. Results based on scanning electron microscopy and contact angle measurements reveal that phosphorus incorporation improves the wettability and blood compatibility of ta-C film. Our studies may provide a novel approach for the design and synthesis of doped ta-C films to repel platelet adhesion and reduce thrombosis risk.

Effect of dopants on the soft magnetic properties and high frequency characteristics of FeCoBM (M = Ti, Nb, Hf, and Ta) thin films.

PubMed

Hsieh, C C; Lin, T H; Chang, H W; Chang, C W; Chang, W C; Yang, C C

2011-03-01

Effect of dopants on the soft magnetic properties and high frequency characteristics of FeCoBM thin films (M = Ti, Nb, Hf, and Ta) have been studied. For (Fe0.55Co0.45)(100-x)B(x) (x = 5-15) thin films, with the increase of B content, the resistivity was increased because B could decrease the crystallinity of the films. The (Fe0.55Co0.45)90B10 thin film showed the optimum properties, where 4piM(s) = 16.1 kG, H(ce) = 64.2 Oe, H(ch) = 13.5 Oe, H(k) = 310 Oe and p = 338 microomega-cm. To reduce the coercivity of the film, the elements M, including Ti, Nb, Hf, and Ta, were selected to substitute for B in the FeCoB films. It was found that (Fe0.55Co0.45)90B6Ti2Nb2 thin film after annealing at a temperature of 200 degrees C for 30 min showed the optimal properties, where 4piM(s) = 15.8 kG, H(ce) = 4.8 Oe, H(ch) = 3.6 Oe, H(k) = 224 Oe and p = 290 microomega-cm. The theoretically calculated ferromagnetic resonance frequency of the developed films can be higher than 5 GHz.

Structural and mechanical properties of lanthanide doped La1/3Nb0.8Ta0.2O3 thin films prepared by sol-gel method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunckova, Helena; Medvecky, Lubomir; Kovalcikova, Alexandra; Fides, Martin; Mudra, Erika; Durisin, Juraj; Skvarla, Jiri; Kanuchova, Maria

2017-04-01

Transparent Eu and Nd doped lanthanum niobate tantalate La1/3Nb0.8Ta0.2O3 (LNT) thin films (˜150 nm) were prepared by sol-gel/spin-coating process on Pt/SiO2/Si substrates and annealing at 1100 °C. The x-ray diffraction analysis of films confirmed formation of the perovskite La1/3NbO3 and La1/3TaO3 phases with traces of pyrochlore LaNbO4. Eu and Nd doped LNT films were smoother with roughness 17.1 and 25.4 nm in comparison with LNT (43.3 nm). In all films was observed heterogeneous microstructure with the perovskite spherical and pyrochlore needle-like particles. The mechanical properties of films were characterized for the first time by conventional and continuous stiffness (CSM) nanoindentation. The Eu and Nd doped LNT film modulus (E) and hardness (H) were higher than LNT (˜99.8 and 4.4 GPa) determined by conventional nanoindentation. It was measured the significant effect of substrate on properties of Eu or Nd films (H ˜ 5.9 or 4.9 GPa and E ˜ 107.3 or 104.1 GPa) by CSM nanoindentation.

Structural and electrical characterization of annealed Si1-xCx/SiC thin film prepared by magnetron sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Shi-Hua; Liu, Jian

2014-05-01

Si-rich Si1—xCx /SiC multilayer thin films are prepared using magnetron sputtering, subsequently followed by thermal annealing in the range of 800-1200 °C. The influences of annealing temperature (Ta) on the formation of Si and/or SiC nanocrystals (NCs) and on the electrical characteristics of the multilayer film are investigated by using a variety of analytical techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), current—voltage (I—V) technique, and capacitance-voltage (C—V) technique. XRD and Raman analyses indicate that Si NCs begin to form in samples for Ta >= 800 °C. At annealing temperatures of 1000 °C or higher, the formation of Si NCs is accompanied by the formation of SiC NCs. With the increase in the annealing temperature, the shift of FT-IR Si—C bond absorption spectra toward a higher wave number along with the change of band shape can be explained by a Si—C transitional phase between the loss of substitutional carbon and the formation of SiC precipitates and a precursor for the growth of SiC crystalline. The C—V and I—V results indicate that the interface quality of Si1—xCx/SiC multilayer film is improved significantly and the leakage current is reduced rapidly for Ta >= 1000 °C, which can be ascribed to the formation of Si and SiC NCs.

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

Static and dynamic properties of Co2FeAl thin films: Effect of MgO and Ta as capping layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Husain, Sajid; Barwal, Vineet; Kumar, Ankit; Behera, Nilamani; Akansel, Serkan; Goyat, Ekta; Svedlindh, Peter; Chaudhary, Sujeet

2017-05-01

The influence of MgO and Ta capping layers on the static and dynamic magnetic properties of Co2FeAl (CFA) Heusler alloy thin films has been investigated. It is observed that the CFA film deposited with MgO capping layer is preeminent compared to the uncapped or Ta capped CFA film. In particular, the magnetic inhomogeneity contribution to the ferromagnetic resonance line broadening and damping constant are found to be minimal for the MgO capped CFA thin film i.e., 0.12±0.01 Oe and 0.0074±0.00014, respectively. The saturation magnetization was found to be 960±25emu/cc.

Tribological properties of amorphous hydrogenated (a-C:H) and hydrogen-free tetrahedral (ta-C) diamond-like carbon coatings under jatropha biodegradable lubricating oil at different temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mobarak, H. M.; Masjuki, H. H.; Mohamad, E. Niza; Kalam, M. A.; Rashedul, H. K.; Rashed, M. M.; Habibullah, M.

2014-10-01

The application of diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings on automotive components is emerging as a favorable strategy to address the recent challenges in the industry. DLC coatings can effectively lower the coefficient of friction (CoF) and wear rate of engine components, thereby improving their fuel efficiency and durability. The lubrication of ferrous materials can be enhanced by a large amount of unsaturated and polar components of oils. Therefore, the interaction between nonferrous coatings (e.g., DLC) and vegetable oil should be investigated. A ball-on-plate tribotester was used to run the experiments. Stainless steel plates coated with amorphous hydrogenated (a-C:H) DLC and hydrogen-free tetrahedral (ta-C) DLC that slide against 440C stainless steel ball were used to create a ball-on-plate tribotester. The wear track was investigated through scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies were used to analyze the tribofilm inside the wear track. Raman analysis was performed to investigate the structural changes in the coatings. At high temperatures, the CoF in both coatings decreased. The wear rate, however, increased in the a-C:H but decreased in the ta-C DLC-coated plates. The CoF and the wear rate (coated layer and counter surface) were primarily influenced by the graphitization of the coating. Tribochemical films, such as polyphosphate glass, were formed in ta-C and acted as protective layers. Therefore, the wear rate of the ta-C DLC was lower than that of the-C:H DLC.

Probing the thermal decomposition behaviors of ultrathin HfO2 films by an in situ high temperature scanning tunneling microscope.

PubMed

Xue, Kun; Wang, Lei; An, Jin; Xu, Jianbin

2011-05-13

The thermal decomposition of ultrathin HfO(2) films (∼0.6-1.2 nm) on Si by ultrahigh vacuum annealing (25-800 °C) is investigated in situ in real time by scanning tunneling microscopy. Two distinct thickness-dependent decomposition behaviors are observed. When the HfO(2) thickness is ∼ 0.6 nm, no discernible morphological changes are found below ∼ 700 °C. Then an abrupt reaction occurs at 750 °C with crystalline hafnium silicide nanostructures formed instantaneously. However, when the thickness is about 1.2 nm, the decomposition proceeds gradually with the creation and growth of two-dimensional voids at 800 °C. The observed thickness-dependent behavior is closely related to the SiO desorption, which is believed to be the rate-limiting step of the decomposition process.

Selective, ultrathin membrane skins prepared by deposition of novel polymer films on porous alumina supports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balachandra, Anagi Manjula

Membrane-based separations are attractive in industrial processes because of their low energy costs and simple operation. However, low permeabilities often make membrane processes uneconomical. Since flux is inversely proportional to membrane thickness, composite membranes consisting of ultrathin, selective skins on highly permeable supports are required to simultaneously achieve high throughput and high selectivity. However, the synthesis of defect-free skins with thicknesses less than 50 nm is difficult, and thus flux is often limited. Layer-by-layer deposition of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes on porous supports is an attractive method to synthesize ultrathin ion-separation membranes with high flux and high selectivity. The ion-transport selectivity of multilayer polyelectrolyte membranes (MPMs) is primarily due to Donnan exclusion; therefore increase in fixed charge density should yield high selectivity. However, control over charge density in MPMs is difficult because charges on polycations are electrostatically compensated by charges on polyanions, and the net charge in the bulk of these films is small. To overcome this problem, we introduced a templating method to create ion-exchange sites in the bulk of the membrane. This strategy involves alternating deposition of a Cu2+-poly(acrylic acid) complex and poly(allylamine hydrochloride) on a porous alumina support followed by removal of Cu2+ and deprotonation to yield free -COO- ion-exchange sites. Diffusion dialysis studies showed that the Cl-/SO42-. Selectivity of Cu2+-templated membranes is 4-fold higher than that of membranes prepared in the absence of Cu2+. Post-deposition cross-linking of these membranes by heat-induced amide bond formation further increased Cl-/SO42- selectivity to values as high as 600. Room-temperature, surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) provides another convenient method for formation of ultrathin polymer skins. This process involves attachment of

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Ming; Cerjan, Charlie; Kools, Jacques

2002-05-01

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

Solution-processed ultrathin chemically derived graphene films as soft top contacts for solid-state molecular electronic junctions.

PubMed

Li, Tao; Hauptmann, Jonas Rahlf; Wei, Zhongming; Petersen, Søren; Bovet, Nicolas; Vosch, Tom; Nygård, Jesper; Hu, Wenping; Liu, Yunqi; Bjørnholm, Thomas; Nørgaard, Kasper; Laursen, Bo W

2012-03-08

A novel method using solution-processed ultrathin chemically derived graphene films as soft top contacts for the non-destructive fabrication of molecular junctions is demonstrated. We believe this protocol will greatly enrich the solid-state test beds for molecular electronics due to its low-cost, easy-processing and flexible nature. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Phase formation and morphological stability of ultrathin Ni-Co-Pt silicide films formed on Si(100)

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

Xu, Peng; Wu, Dongping, E-mail: dongpingwu@fudan.edu.cn; Kubart, Tomas

Ultrathin Ni, Co, and Pt films, each no more than 4 nm in thickness, as well as their various combinations are employed to investigate the competing growth of epitaxial Co{sub 1-y}Ni{sub y}Si{sub 2} films against polycrystalline Pt{sub 1-z}Ni{sub z}Si. The phase formation critically affects the morphological stability of the resulting silicide films, with the epitaxial films being superior to the polycrystalline ones. Any combination of those metals improves the morphological stability with reference to their parent individual metal silicide films. When Ni, Co, and Pt are all included, the precise initial location of Pt does little to affect the final phasemore » formation in the silicide films and the epitaxial growth of Co{sub 1-x}Ni{sub x}Si{sub 2} films is always perturbed, in accordance to thermodynamics that shows a preferential formation of Pt{sub 1-z}Ni{sub z}Si over that of Co{sub 1-y}Ni{sub y}Si{sub 2}.« less

SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY: TaN wet etch for application in dual-metal-gate integration technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yongliang, Li; Qiuxia, Xu

2009-12-01

Wet-etch etchants and the TaN film method for dual-metal-gate integration are investigated. Both HF/HN O3/H2O and NH4OH/H2O2 solutions can etch TaN effectively, but poor selectivity to the gate dielectric for the HF/HNO3/H2O solution due to HF being included in HF/HNO3/H2O, and the fact that TaN is difficult to etch in the NH4OH/H2O2 solution at the first stage due to the thin TaOxNy layer on the TaN surface, mean that they are difficult to individually apply to dual-metal-gate integration. A two-step wet etching strategy using the HF/HNO3/H2O solution first and the NH4OH/H2O2 solution later can fully remove thin TaN film with a photo-resist mask and has high selectivity to the HfSiON dielectric film underneath. High-k dielectric film surfaces are smooth after wet etching of the TaN metal gate and MOSCAPs show well-behaved C-V and Jg-Vg characteristics, which all prove that the wet etching of TaN has little impact on electrical performance and can be applied to dual-metal-gate integration technology for removing the first TaN metal gate in the PMOS region.

Giant Ferroelectric Polarization in Ultrathin Ferroelectrics via Boundary-Condition Engineering.

PubMed

Xie, Lin; Li, Linze; Heikes, Colin A; Zhang, Yi; Hong, Zijian; Gao, Peng; Nelson, Christopher T; Xue, Fei; Kioupakis, Emmanouil; Chen, Longqing; Schlom, Darrel G; Wang, Peng; Pan, Xiaoqing

2017-08-01

Tailoring and enhancing the functional properties of materials at reduced dimension is critical for continuous advancement of modern electronic devices. Here, the discovery of local surface induced giant spontaneous polarization in ultrathin BiFeO 3 ferroelectric films is reported. Using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, it is found that the spontaneous polarization in a 2 nm-thick ultrathin BiFeO 3 film is abnormally increased up to ≈90-100 µC cm -2 in the out-of-plane direction and a peculiar rumpled nanodomain structure with very large variation in c/a ratios, which is analogous to morphotropic phase boundaries (MPBs), is formed. By a combination of density functional theory and phase-field calculations, it is shown that it is the unique single atomic Bi 2 O 3 - x layer at the surface that leads to the enhanced polarization and appearance of the MPB-like nanodomain structure. This finding clearly demonstrates a novel route to the enhanced functional properties in the material system with reduced dimension via engineering the surface boundary conditions. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Surface structure of coherently strained ceria ultrathin films

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

Shi, Yezhou; Stone, Kevin H.; Guan, Zixuan

2016-11-14

Cerium oxide, or ceria, is an important material for solid oxide fuel cells and water splitting devices. Although the ceria surface is active in catalytic and electrochemical reactions, how its catalytic properties are affected by the surface structure under operating conditions is far from understood. We investigate the structure of the coherently strained CeO 2 ultrathin films on yttria-stabilized zirconia (001) single crystals by specular synchrotron x-ray diffraction (XRD) under oxidizing conditions as a first step to study the surface structure in situ. An excellent agreement between the experiment data and the model is achieved by using a “stacks andmore » islands” model that has a two-component roughness. One component is due to the tiny clusters of nanometer scale in lateral dimensions on each terrace, while the other component is due to slightly different CeO 2 thickness that span over hundreds of nanometers on neighboring terraces. We attribute the nonuniform thickness to step depairing during the thin film deposition that is supported by the surface morphology results on the microscopic level. Importantly, our model also shows that the polarity of the ceria surface is removed by a half monolayer surface coverage of oxygen. In conclusion, the successful resolution of the ceria surface structure using in situ specular synchrotron XRD paves the way to study the structural evolution of ceria as a fuel cell electrode under catalytically relevant temperatures and gas pressures.« less

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.

Verwey transition in a magnetite ultrathin film by resonant x-ray scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grenier, S.; Bailly, A.; Ramos, A. Y.; De Santis, M.; Joly, Y.; Lorenzo, J. E.; Garaudée, S.; Frericks, M.; Arnaud, S.; Blanc, N.; Boudet, N.

2018-03-01

We report a detailed study of the Verwey transition in a magnetite ultrathin film (UTF) grown on Ag(001) using resonant x-ray scattering (RXS). RXS was measured at the Fe K-edge on the crystal truncation rod of the substrate, increasing the sensitivity to the film thanks to the cross-interference, thereby obtaining an x-ray phase-shift reference and a polarization analyzer. The spectra were interpreted with ad hoc calculations based on density functional theory within a surface-scattering formalism. We observed that the UTF has a relatively sharp transition temperature TV=120 K and is remarkably close to the bulk temperature for such thickness. We determined the specific Fe stacking at the interface with the substrate below TV, and detected a spectroscopic signal evolving with temperature from TV up to at least TV+80 K, hinting that the RT crystallographic structure does not set at TV in the UTF.

Electrical properties of epitaxial yttrium iron garnet ultrathin films at high temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiery, N.; Naletov, V. V.; Vila, L.; Marty, A.; Brenac, A.; Jacquot, J.-F.; de Loubens, G.; Viret, M.; Anane, A.; Cros, V.; Ben Youssef, J.; Beaulieu, N.; Demidov, V. E.; Divinskiy, B.; Demokritov, S. O.; Klein, O.

2018-02-01

We report a study on the electrical properties of 19-nm-thick yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films grown by liquid phase epitaxy on gadolinium gallium garnet single crystal. The electrical conductivity and Hall coefficient are measured in the high-temperature range [300,400] K using a Van der Pauw four-point probe technique. We find that the electrical resistivity decreases exponentially with increasing temperature following an activated behavior corresponding to a band gap of Eg≈2 eV. It drops to values about 5 ×103Ω cm at T =400 K, thus indicating that epitaxial YIG ultrathin films behave as large gap semiconductors. We also infer the Hall mobility, which is found to be positive (p type) at 5 cm2V-1sec-1 and almost independent of temperature. We discuss the consequence for nonlocal spin transport experiments performed on YIG at room temperature and demonstrate the existence of electrical offset voltages to be disentangled from pure spin effects.

Rutherford forward scattering and elastic recoil detection (RFSERD) as a method for characterizing ultra-thin films

DOE PAGES

Lohn, Andrew J.; Doyle, Barney L.; Stein, Gregory J.; ...

2014-04-03

We present a novel ion beam analysis technique combining Rutherford forward scattering and elastic recoil detection (RFSERD) and demonstrate its ability to increase efficiency in determining stoichiometry in ultrathin (5-50 nm) films as compared to Rutherford backscattering. In the conventional forward geometries, scattering from the substrate overwhelms the signal from light atoms but in RFSERD, scattered ions from the substrate are ranged out while forward scattered ions and recoiled atoms from the thin film are simultaneously detected in a single detector. Lastly, the technique is applied to tantalum oxide memristors but can be extended to a wide range of materialsmore » systems.« less

Oxidation of TaSi2-Containing ZrB2-SiC Ultra-High Temperature Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Opila, Elizabeth J.; Smith, Jim; Levine, Stanley R.; Lorincz, Jonathan; Reigel, Marissa

2010-01-01

Hot pressed coupons of composition ZrB2-20 v% SiC-5 v% TaSi2 and ZrB2-20 v% SiC-20 v% TaSi2 were oxidized in stagnant air at temperatures of 1627 and 1927C for one, five and ten 10-minute cycles. The oxidation reactions were characterized by weight change kinetics, x-ray diffraction, and SEM/EDS. Detailed WDS/microprobe quantitative analyses of the oxidation products were conducted for the ZrB2-20 v% SiC-20 v% TaSi2 sample oxidized for five 10-minute cycles at 1927C. Oxidation kinetics and product formation were compared to ZrB2-20 v% SiC with no TaSi2 additions. It was found that the 20 v% TaSi2 composition exhibited improved oxidation resistance relative to the material with no TaSi2 additions at 1627C. However, for exposures at 1927C less oxidation resistance and extensive liquid phase formation were observed compared to the material with no TaSi2 additions. Attempts to limit the liquid phase formation by reducing the TaSi2 content to 5 v% were unsuccessful. In addition, the enhanced oxidation resistance at 1627C due to 20 v% TaSi2 additions was not achieved at the 5 v% addition level. The observed oxidation product evolution is discussed in terms of thermodynamics and phase equilibria for the TaSi2-containing ZrB2-SiC material system. TaSi2-additions to ZrB2-SiC at any level are not recommended for ultra-high temperature (>1900C) applications due to excessive liquid phase formation.

Connecting quantum dots and bionanoparticles in hybrid nanoscale ultra-thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tangirala, Ravisubhash; Hu, Yunxia; Zhang, Qingling; He, Jinbo; Russell, Thomas; Emrick, Todd

2008-03-01

Aldehyde-functionalized CdSe quantum dots and nanorods, and horse spleen ferritin bionanoparticles, were co-assembled at an oil-water interface. Reaction of the aldehydes with the surface-available amines on the ferritin particles enabled cross-linking at the interface, converting the assembled nanoparticles into robust ultra-thin films. The cross-linked capsules and sheets thus made by aldehyde-amine conjugation could be disrupted by addition of acid. Reductive amination chemistry could be performed to convert these degradable capsules and sheets into structures with irreversible cross-linking. Fluorescence confocal microscopy, scanning force microscopy and pendant drop tensiometry were used to characterize these hybrid nanoparticle-based materials, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the presence of both the synthetic and naturally derived nanoparticles.

Structure of a zinc oxide ultra-thin film on Rh(100)

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

Yuhara, J.; Kato, D.; Matsui, T.

The structural parameters of ultra-thin zinc oxide films on Rh(100) are investigated using low-energy electron diffraction intensity (LEED I–V) curves, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations. From the analysis of LEED I–V curves and DFT calculations, two optimized models A and B are determined. Their structures are basically similar to the planer h-BN ZnO(0001) structure, although some oxygen atoms protrude from the surface, associated with an in-plane shift of Zn atoms. From a comparison of experimental STM images and simulated STM images, majority and minority structures observed in the STM images represent the two optimizedmore » models A and B, respectively.« less

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.

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

Kelvin–Helmholtz instability in an ultrathin air film causes drop splashing on smooth surfaces

PubMed Central

Liu, Yuan; Tan, Peng; Xu, Lei

2015-01-01

When a fast-moving drop impacts onto a smooth substrate, splashing will be produced at the edge of the expanding liquid sheet. This ubiquitous phenomenon lacks a fundamental understanding. Combining experiment with model, we illustrate that the ultrathin air film trapped under the expanding liquid front triggers splashing. Because this film is thinner than the mean free path of air molecules, the interior airflow transfers momentum with an unusually high velocity comparable to the speed of sound and generates a stress 10 times stronger than the airflow in common situations. Such a large stress initiates Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities at small length scales and effectively produces splashing. Our model agrees quantitatively with experimental verifications and brings a fundamental understanding to the ubiquitous phenomenon of drop splashing on smooth surfaces. PMID:25713350

Critical current enhancement driven by suppression of superconducting fluctuation in ion-gated ultrathin FeSe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harada, T.; Shiogai, J.; Miyakawa, T.; Nojima, T.; Tsukazaki, A.

2018-05-01

The framework of phase transition, such as superconducting transition, occasionally depends on the dimensionality of materials. Superconductivity is often weakened in the experimental conditions of two-dimensional thin films due to the fragile superconducting state against defects and interfacial effects. In contrast to this general trend, superconductivity in the thin limit of FeSe exhibits an opposite trend, such as an increase in critical temperature (T c) and the superconducting gap exceeding the bulk values; however, the dominant mechanism is still under debate. Here, we measured thickness-dependent electrical transport properties of the ion-gated FeSe thin films to evaluate the superconducting critical current (I c) in the ultrathin FeSe. Upon systematically decreasing the FeSe thickness by the electrochemical etching technique in the Hall bar-shaped electric double-layer transistors, we observed a dramatic enhancement of I c reaching about 10 mA and corresponding to about 107 A cm‑2 in the thinnest condition. By analyzing the transition behavior, we clarify that the suppressed superconducting fluctuation is one of the origins of the large I c in the ion-gated ultrathin FeSe films. These results indicate the existence of a robust superconducting state possibly with dense Cooper pairs at the thin limit of FeSe.

Molecular dynamics simulations of disjoining pressure effects in ultra-thin water films on a metal surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Han; Sun, Ying

2013-11-01

Disjoining pressure, the excess pressure in an ultra-thin liquid film as a result of van der Waals interactions, is important in lubrication, wetting, flow boiling, and thin film evaporation. The classic theory of disjoining pressure is developed for simple monoatomic liquids. However, real world applications often utilize water, a polar liquid, for which fundamental understanding of disjoining pressure is lacking. In the present study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are used to gain insights into the effect of disjoining pressure in a water thin film. Our MD models were firstly validated against Derjaguin's experiments on gold-gold interactions across a water film and then verified against disjoining pressure in an argon thin film using the Lennard-Jones potential. Next, a water thin film adsorbed on a gold surface was simulated to examine the change of vapor pressure with film thickness. The results agree well with the classic theory of disjoining pressure, which implies that the polar nature of water molecules does not play an important role. Finally, the effects of disjoining pressure on thin film evaporation in nanoporous membrane and on bubble nucleation are discussed.

Electrical characteristics of thin Ta2O5 films deposited by reactive pulsed direct-current magnetron sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, J.-Y.; Nielsen, M. C.; Rymaszewski, E. J.; Lu, T.-M.

2000-02-01

Room temperature deposition of tantalum oxide films on metallized silicon substrates was investigated by reactive pulsed magnetron sputtering of Ta in an Ar/O2 ambient. The dielectric constant of the tantalum oxide ranged from 19 to 31 depending on the oxygen percentage [P(%)=PO2/(PO2+PAr)] used during sputtering. The leakage current density was less than 10 nA/cm2 at 0.5 MV/cm electric field and the dielectric breakdown field was greater than 3.8 MV/cm for P=60%. A charge storage as high as 3.3 μF/cm2 was achieved for 70-Å-thick film. Pulse frequency variation (from 20 to 200 kHz) did not give a significant effect in the electrical properties (dielectric constant or leakage current density) of the Ta2O5 films.

Dependence of electrical and optical properties of amorphous SiC:H thin films grown by rf plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition on annealing temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, M. G.; Choi, W. S.; Hong, B.; Kim, Y. T.; Yoon, D. H.

2002-05-01

In this article, we investigated the dependence of optical and electrical properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) films on annealing temperature (Ta) and radio frequency (rf) power. The substrate temperature (Ts) was 250 °C, the rf power was varied from 30 to 400 W, and the range of Ta was from 400 to 600 °C. The a-SiC:H films were deposited by using the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system on Corning 7059 glasses and p-type Si (100) wafers with a SiH4+CH4 gas mixture. The experimental results have shown that the optical bandgap energy (Eg) of the a-SiC:H thin films changed little on the annealing temperature while Eg increased with the rf power. The Raman spectrum of the thin films annealed at high temperatures showed that graphitization of carbon clusters and microcrystalline silicon occurs. The current-voltage characteristics have shown good electrical properties in relation to the annealed films.

Symmetry of Epitaxial BiFeO3 Films in the Ultrathin Regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yongsoo; Schlep&üTz, Christian; Adamo, Carolina; Schlom, Darrell; Clarke, Roy

2013-03-01

BiFeO3 (BFO) films grown on SrTiO3 (STO) with a SrRuO3 buffer layer exhibit a monoclinic structure at thicknesses greater than 40 nm, but higher structural symmetry can be observed for thinner films [Phys. Rev. B 81, 144115 (2010)]. We report a structural phase transition from monoclinic to tetragonal in ultra-thin BFO films grown directly on (100)-oriented STO. X-ray diffraction measurements of 3-dimensional reciprocal space maps reveal half-integer order peaks due to oxygen octahedral tilting. When the film thickness is decreased below 20 unit cells, the integer-order Bragg peak splitting associated with the presence of multiple domains of the monoclinic phase disappears. Instead, a single peak that is commensurate with the STO substrate lattice appears. The diffraction pattern has four-fold symmetry, ruling out the presence of a single monoclinic domain in favor of a tetragonal film structure. The evolution of the oxygen octahedra tilt pattern inferred from the intensities of half-order peaks suggests that this transition originates from the corner-connectivity of oxygen atoms at the interface between BFO and STO, and also strongly supports this monoclinic to tetragonal transition. Supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy (DE-FG02-06ER46273). Measurements performed at Sectors 13-BMC, 33-IDD, 33-BMC of the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, USA (DOE contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357).

Flexible, Low-Power Thin-Film Transistors Made of Vapor-Phase Synthesized High-k, Ultrathin Polymer Gate Dielectrics.

PubMed

Choi, Junhwan; Joo, Munkyu; Seong, Hyejeong; Pak, Kwanyong; Park, Hongkeun; Park, Chan Woo; Im, Sung Gap

2017-06-21

A series of high-k, ultrathin copolymer gate dielectrics were synthesized from 2-cyanoethyl acrylate (CEA) and di(ethylene glycol) divinyl ether (DEGDVE) monomers by a free radical polymerization via a one-step, vapor-phase, initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) method. The chemical composition of the copolymers was systematically optimized by tuning the input ratio of the vaporized CEA and DEGDVE monomers to achieve a high dielectric constant (k) as well as excellent dielectric strength. Interestingly, DEGDVE was nonhomopolymerizable but it was able to form a copolymer with other kinds of monomers. Utilizing this interesting property of the DEGDVE cross-linker, the dielectric constant of the copolymer film could be maximized with minimum incorporation of the cross-linker moiety. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the synthesis of a cyanide-containing polymer in the vapor phase, where a high-purity polymer film with a maximized dielectric constant was achieved. The dielectric film with the optimized composition showed a dielectric constant greater than 6 and extremely low leakage current densities (<3 × 10 -8 A/cm 2 in the range of ±2 MV/cm), with a thickness of only 20 nm, which is an outstanding thickness for down-scalable cyanide polymer dielectrics. With this high-k dielectric layer, organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) and oxide TFTs were fabricated, which showed hysteresis-free transfer characteristics with an operating voltage of less than 3 V. Furthermore, the flexible OTFTs retained their low gate leakage current and ideal TFT characteristics even under 2% applied tensile strain, which makes them some of the most flexible OTFTs reported to date. We believe that these ultrathin, high-k organic dielectric films with excellent mechanical flexibility will play a crucial role in future soft electronics.

Three-configurational surface magneto-optical Kerr effect measurement system for an ultrahigh vacuum in situ study of ultrathin magnetic films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J.-W.; Jeong, J.-R.; Kim, D.-H.; Ahn, J. S.; Kim, J.; Shin, S.-C.

2000-10-01

We have constructed a three-configurational surface magneto-optical Kerr effect system, which provides the simultaneous measurements of the "polar," "longitudinal," and "transverse" Kerr hysteresis loops at the position where deposition is carried out in an ultrahigh vacuum growth chamber. The present system enables in situ three-dimensional vectorial studies of ultrathin film magnetism with a submonolayer sensitivity. We present three-configurational hysteresis loops measured during the growth of Co films on Pd(111), glass, and Pd/glass substrates.

Single crystalline silicene consist of various superstructures using a flexible ultrathin Ag(111) template on Si(111)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Hung-Chang; Lu, Yi-Hung; Su, Tai-Lung; Lin, Wen-Chin; Fu, Tsu-Yi

2018-07-01

Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we studied the formation of silicene on an ultrathin Ag(111) film with a thickness of 6–12 monolayers, which was prepared on a Si(111) substrate. A low-energy electron diffraction pattern with an oval spot indicated that the ultrathin Ag(111) film is more disordered than the single-crystal Ag(111). After Si epitaxy growth, we still measured the classical 4 × 4, √13 × √13, and 2√3 × 2√3 silicene superstructures, which are the same as the silicene superstructure on single-crystal Ag(111). Growing silicene on a single-crystal Ag(111) bulk usually results in the formation of a defect boundary due to the inconsistent orientation of various superstructures. By comparing the angles and boundary conditions between various silicene superstructures on the ultrathin film and single-crystal Ag(111), we discovered that a consistent orientation of various superstructures without obvious boundary defects formed on the ultrathin Ag(111) film. The results indicated single crystalline silicene formation, which was attributed to the domain rotation and lateral shift of the disordered ultrathin Ag(111) film.

Influence of Ta doping in resistive switching behavior of TiO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barman, Arabinda; Saini, Chetan P.; Deshmukh, Sujit; Dhar, Sankar; Kanjilal, Aloke

An approach has been made to understand the resistive switching behavior in Ta-doped TiO2 films on Pt substrates. Prior to thin film deposition, Ta-doped TiO2 powder has been synthesized chemically using Ta and Ti precursor solutions. However, the Ta doping has seriously been affected by increasing Ta concentration above 1 at% due to the segregation of Ta2O5 phase. The Ta-doped TiO2 targets have been prepared for pulsed laser deposition of the films on Pt substrates using an excitation wavelength of 248 nm. The structural and chemical properties of the Ta-doped TiO2 films have been investigated in details with the help of XRD, SIMS, XAS and XPS. The stoichiometry of the Ta-doped TiO2 films with increasing depth has been verified initially by SIMS. The electrical study of the corresponding device structures further suggests that the optimized resistive switching effect can be accomplished up to a threshold Ta-doping of 1 at%. Nevertheless, a highly conducting behavior has been shown when the TiO2 films are doped with 2 at% Ta. These results will be discussed in details in the light of defect induced resistive switching phenomenon.

Electrochemical Corrosion Behavior of Ta2N Nanoceramic Coating in Simulated Body Fluid

PubMed Central

Cheng, Jian; Xu, Jiang; Liu, Lin Lin; Jiang, Shuyun

2016-01-01

In order to improve the corrosion and wear resistance of biomedical Ti-6Al-4V implants, a Ta2N nanoceramic coating was synthesized on a Ti-6Al-4V substrate by the double glow discharge plasma process. The Ta2N coating, composed of fine nanocrystals, with an average grain size of 12.8 nm, improved the surface hardness of Ti-6Al-4V and showed good contact damage tolerance and good adhesion strength to the substrate. The corrosion resistance of the Ta2N coating in Ringer’s physiological solution at 37 °C was evaluated by different electrochemical techniques: potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiostatic polarization and capacitance measurements (Mott-Schottky approach). The evolution of the surface composition of the passive films at different applied potentials was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that the Ta2N coating showed higher corrosion resistance than both commercially pure Ta and uncoated Ti-6Al-4V in this solution, because of the formed oxide film on the Ta2N coating having a smaller carrier density (Nd) and diffusivity (Do) of point defects. The composition of the surface passive film formed on the Ta2N coating changed with the applied potential. At low applied potentials, the oxidation of the Ta2N coating led to the formation of tantalum oxynitride (TaOxNy) but, subsequently, the tantalum oxynitride (TaOxNy) could be chemically converted to Ta2O5 at higher applied potentials. PMID:28773893

Role of the Heat Sink Layer Ta for Ultrafast Spin Dynamic Process in Amorphous TbFeCo Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Y.; Zhang, Z. Z.; Min, T.; Jin, Q. Y.

The ultrafast demagnetization processes (UDP) in Ta (t nm)/TbFeCo (20 nm) films have been studied using the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect (TRMOKE). With a fixed pump fluence of 2 mJ/cm2, for the sample without a Ta underlayer (t=0nm), we observed the UDP showing a two-step decay behavior, with a relatively longer decay time (τ2) around 3.0 ps in the second step due to the equilibrium of spin-lattice relaxation following the 4f occupation. As a 10nm Ta layer is deposited, the two-step demagnetization still exists while τ2 decreases to ˜1.9ps. Nevertheless, the second-step decay (τ2=0ps) disappears as the Ta layer thickness is increased up to 20 nm, only the first-step UDP occurs within 500 fs, followed by a fast recovery process. The rapid magnetization recovery rate strongly depends on the pump fluence. We infer that the Ta layer provides conduction electrons involving the thermal equilibrium of spin-lattice interaction and serves as heat bath taking away energy from spins of TbFeCo alloy film in UDP.

Research in LPE of Doped LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 Thin Films.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-06-01

garnet films grown on single crystal garnet substrates by the LPE technique for magnetic bubble applica- tions. The choice of substrate and film are...AD-Al07 686 ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL THOUSAND OAKS CA ELECTRONICS -EUTC F/G 2RESEARCH IN LPE OF DOPED LINBO3 AND LITA03 THIN FILMS .(U JUN Al R R NEUR...Research in LPE of Doped LiNbO3 and LiTa03 Final Report Thin Films 04/01/77 through 03/31/81 6. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUM9ER ERC41004.11FR 7. AUTNOR

Investigating the highest melting temperature materials: A laser melting study of the TaC-HfC system.

PubMed

Cedillos-Barraza, Omar; Manara, Dario; Boboridis, K; Watkins, Tyson; Grasso, Salvatore; Jayaseelan, Daniel D; Konings, Rudy J M; Reece, Michael J; Lee, William E

2016-12-01

TaC, HfC and their solid solutions are promising candidate materials for thermal protection structures in hypersonic vehicles because of their very high melting temperatures (>4000 K) among other properties. The melting temperatures of slightly hypostoichiometric TaC, HfC and three solid solution compositions (Ta 1-x Hf x C, with x = 0.8, 0.5 and 0.2) have long been identified as the highest known. In the current research, they were reassessed, for the first time in the last fifty years, using a laser heating technique. They were found to melt in the range of 4041-4232 K, with HfC having the highest and TaC the lowest. Spectral radiance of the hot samples was measured in situ, showing that the optical emissivity of these compounds plays a fundamental role in their heat balance. Independently, the results show that the melting point for HfC 0.98 , (4232 ± 84) K, is the highest recorded for any compound studied until now.

Investigating the highest melting temperature materials: A laser melting study of the TaC-HfC system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cedillos-Barraza, Omar; Manara, Dario; Boboridis, K.; Watkins, Tyson; Grasso, Salvatore; Jayaseelan, Daniel D.; Konings, Rudy J. M.; Reece, Michael J.; Lee, William E.

2016-12-01

TaC, HfC and their solid solutions are promising candidate materials for thermal protection structures in hypersonic vehicles because of their very high melting temperatures (>4000 K) among other properties. The melting temperatures of slightly hypostoichiometric TaC, HfC and three solid solution compositions (Ta1-xHfxC, with x = 0.8, 0.5 and 0.2) have long been identified as the highest known. In the current research, they were reassessed, for the first time in the last fifty years, using a laser heating technique. They were found to melt in the range of 4041-4232 K, with HfC having the highest and TaC the lowest. Spectral radiance of the hot samples was measured in situ, showing that the optical emissivity of these compounds plays a fundamental role in their heat balance. Independently, the results show that the melting point for HfC0.98, (4232 ± 84) K, is the highest recorded for any compound studied until now.

Investigating the highest melting temperature materials: A laser melting study of the TaC-HfC system

PubMed Central

Cedillos-Barraza, Omar; Manara, Dario; Boboridis, K.; Watkins, Tyson; Grasso, Salvatore; Jayaseelan, Daniel D.; Konings, Rudy J. M.; Reece, Michael J.; Lee, William E.

2016-01-01

TaC, HfC and their solid solutions are promising candidate materials for thermal protection structures in hypersonic vehicles because of their very high melting temperatures (>4000 K) among other properties. The melting temperatures of slightly hypostoichiometric TaC, HfC and three solid solution compositions (Ta1−xHfxC, with x = 0.8, 0.5 and 0.2) have long been identified as the highest known. In the current research, they were reassessed, for the first time in the last fifty years, using a laser heating technique. They were found to melt in the range of 4041–4232 K, with HfC having the highest and TaC the lowest. Spectral radiance of the hot samples was measured in situ, showing that the optical emissivity of these compounds plays a fundamental role in their heat balance. Independently, the results show that the melting point for HfC0.98, (4232 ± 84) K, is the highest recorded for any compound studied until now. PMID:27905481

Patterned FePt nanostructures using ultrathin self-organized templates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Chen Hua; Zhang, Min; Wang, Fang; Xu, Xiao Hong

2018-02-01

Patterned magnetic thin films are both scientifically interesting and technologically useful. Ultrathin self-organized anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template can be used to fabricate large area nanodot and antidot arrays. The magnetic properties of these nanostructures may be tuned by the morphology of the AAO template, which in turn can be controlled by synthetic parameters. In this work, ultrathin AAO templates were used as etching masks for the fabrication of both FePt nanodot and antidot arrays with high areal density. The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of L10 FePt thin films are preserved in the nanostructures.

First-principles studies of hydrogen interaction with ultrathin Mg and Mg-based alloy films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Mina; Weitering, Hanno H.; Zhang, Zhenyu

2011-01-01

The search for technologically and economically viable storage solutions for hydrogen fuel would benefit greatly from research strategies that involve systematic property tuning of potential storage materials via atomic-level modification. Here, we use first-principles density-functional theory to investigate theoretically the structural and electronic properties of ultrathin Mg films and Mg-based alloy films and their interaction with atomic hydrogen. Additional delocalized charges are distributed over the Mg films upon alloying them with 11.1% of Al or Na atoms. These extra charges contribute to enhance the hydrogen binding strength to the films. We calculated the chemical potential of hydrogen in Mg films for different dopant species and film thickness, and we included the vibrational degrees of freedom. By comparing the chemical potential with that of free hydrogen gas at finite temperature (T) and pressure (P), we construct a hydrogenation phase diagram and identify the conditions for hydrogen absorption or desorption. The formation enthalpies of metal hydrides are greatly increased in thin films, and in stark contrast to its bulk phase, the hydride state can only be stabilized at high P and T (where the chemical potential of free H2 is very high). Metal doping increases the thermodynamic stabilities of the hydride films and thus significantly helps to reduce the required pressure condition for hydrogen absorption from H2 gas. In particular, with Na alloying, hydrogen can be absorbed and/or desorbed at experimentally accessible T and P conditions.

An ultrathin wide-band planar metamaterial absorber based on a fractal frequency selective surface and resistive film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Yue-Nong; Cheng, Yong-Zhi; Nie, Yan; Wang, Xian; Gong, Rong-Zhou

2013-06-01

We propose an ultrathin wide-band metamaterial absorber (MA) based on a Minkowski (MIK) fractal frequency selective surface and resistive film. This absorber consists of a periodic arrangement of dielectric substrates sandwiched with an MIK fractal loop structure electric resonator and a resistive film. The finite element method is used to simulate and analyze the absorption of the MA. Compared with the MA-backed copper film, the designed MA-backed resistive film exhibits an absorption of 90% at a frequency region of 2 GHz-20 GHz. The power loss density distribution of the MA is further illustrated to explain the mechanism of the proposed MA. Simulated absorptions at different incidence cases indicate that this absorber is polarization-insensitive and wide-angled. Finally, further simulated results indicate that the surface resistance of the resistive film and the dielectric constant of the substrate can affect the absorbing property of the MA. This absorber may be used in many military fields.

Optical Thin Film Coating Having High Damage Resistance in Near-Stoichiometric MgO-Doped LiTaO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tateno, Ryo; Kashiwagi, Kunihiro

2008-08-01

Currently, High power and compact red, green, and blue (RGB) lasers are being considered for use in large screen laser televisions and reception-lobby projectors. Among these three laser sources, green semiconductor lasers are expensive and exhibit inferior performance in terms of the semiconductor material used, making it difficult to achieve a high output. In this study, we examined the use of our coating on MgO-doped LiTaO3, using a mirror coated with a multilayer film. Over a substrate, a Ta2O5 film was used to coat a high-refractive-index film layer, and a SiO2 film was used to coat a low-refractive-index film layer. To improve reflectivity, we designed the peak of the electric field intensity to be in the film layer with the low refractive index. As a result, the film endurance of 100 J/cm2 was obtained by one-on-one testing. With the nonlinear crystal material, the mirror without our coating exhibited a damage threshold of 33 J/cm2; however, after coating, this mirror demonstrated a higher damage threshold of 47 J/cm2. Thus, the film we fabricated using this technique is useful for improving the strength and durability of laser mirrors.

Brillouin light scattering studies of the mechanical properties of ultrathin low-k dielectric films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Link, A.; Sooryakumar, R.; Bandhu, R. S.; Antonelli, G. A.

2006-07-01

In an effort to reduce RC time delays that accompany decreasing feature sizes, low-k dielectric films are rapidly emerging as potential replacements for silicon dioxide (SiO2) at the interconnect level in integrated circuits. The main challenge in low-k materials is their substantially weaker mechanical properties that accompany the increasing pore volume content needed to reduce k. We show that Brillouin light scattering is an excellent nondestructive technique to monitor and characterize the mechanical properties of these porous films at thicknesses well below 200nm that are pertinent to present applications. Observation of longitudinal and transverse standing wave acoustic resonances and the dispersion that accompany their transformation into traveling waves with finite in-plane wave vectors provides for a direct measure of the principal elastic constants that completely characterize the mechanical properties of these ultrathin films. The mode amplitudes of the standing waves, their variation within the film, and the calculated Brillouin intensities account for most aspects of the spectra. We further show that the values obtained by this method agree well with other experimental techniques such as nanoindentation and picosecond laser ultrasonics.

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.

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.

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.

Probing nanoscale ion dynamics in ultrathin films of polymerized ionic liquids by broadband dielectric spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sangoro, Joshua; Heres, Maximilian; Cosby, Tyler

Continuous progress in energy storage and conversion technologies necessitates novel experimental approaches that can provide fundamental insights regarding the impact of reduced dimensions on the functional properties of materials. In this talk, a nondestructive experimental approach to probe nanoscale ion dynamics in ultrathin films of polymerized ionic liquids over a broad frequency range spanning over six orders of magnitude by broadband dielectric spectroscopy will be presented. The approach involves using an electrode configuration with lithographically patterned silica nanostructures, which allow for an air gap between the confined ion conductor and one of the electrodes. It is observed that the characteristic ion dynamics rates significantly slow down with decreasing film thicknesses above the calorimetric glass transition of the bulk polymer. However, the mean rates remain bulk-like at lower temperatures. These results highlight the increasing influence of the polymer/substrate interactions with decreasing film thickness on ion dynamics. The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Science Foundation for financial support through the Polymers Program award DMR-1508394.

Transparent 'solution' of ultrathin magnesium hydroxide nanocrystals for flexible and transparent nanocomposite films.

PubMed

Wang, Jie-Xin; Sun, Qian; Chen, Bo; Wu, Xi; Zeng, Xiao-Fei; Zhang, Cong; Zou, Hai-Kui; Chen, Jian-Feng

2015-05-15

Transparent solutions of nanocrystals exhibit many unique properties, and are thus attractive materials for numerous applications. However, the synthesis of transparent nanocrystal solutions of magnesium hydroxide (MH) with wide applications is yet to be realized. Here, we report a facile two-step process, which includes a direct reactive precipitation in alcohol phase instead of aqueous phase combined with a successive surface modification, to prepare transparent alcohol solutions containing lamellar MH nanocrystals with an average size of 52 nm and an ultrathin thickness of 1-2 nm, which is the thinnest MH nanoplatelet reported in the literatures. Further, highly flexible and transparent nanocomposite films are fabricated with a solution mixing method by adding the transparent MH nanocrystal solutions into PVB solution. Considering the simplicity of the fabrication process, high transparency and good flexibility, this MH/polymer nanocomposite film is promising for flame-resistant applications in plastic electronics and optical devices with high transparency, such as flexible displays, optical filters, and flexible solar cells.

Nb and Ta Co-Doped TiO2 Transparent Conductive Thin Films by Magnetron Sputtering: Fabrication, Structure, and Characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yang; Peng, Qian; Qiao, Yadong; Yang, Guang

2018-06-01

Nb and Ta co-doped anatase titanium dioxide (NTTO) nanocrystalline thin films were deposited on quartz and Si (100) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering. The influence of RF power on the growth, structure, morphology, and properties of the samples are discussed in detail. X-ray diffraction measurements show that the films are polycrystalline with anatase tetragonal structure, which is further confirmed by Raman spectroscopy analysis. Meanwhile, Raman spectroscopy results indicate that the peak width of E g(1) mode, which is directly correlated to the carrier density, changes obviously with RF power. It is found that the substitution of Nb5+ and Ta5+ at Ti site is significantly improved with the increase of RF power from 150 W to 210 W. For the sample deposited at 210 W, the optical transmittance is above 82% in the visible range and the electrical resistivity is as low as 1.3 × 10-3 Ω cm with carrier density of 1.1 × 1021 cm-3 and Hall mobility of 4.5 cm2 V-1 s-1. The optical and electrical properties of NTTO thin films can be compared to those of Nb or Ta doped anatase TiO2. However, co-doping with Nb and Ta gives a possible platform to complement the limitations of each individual dopant.

Oxygen-enabled control of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction in ultra-thin magnetic films.

PubMed

Belabbes, Abderrezak; Bihlmayer, Gustav; Blügel, Stefan; Manchon, Aurélien

2016-04-22

The search for chiral magnetic textures in systems lacking spatial inversion symmetry has attracted a massive amount of interest in the recent years with the real space observation of novel exotic magnetic phases such as skyrmions lattices, but also domain walls and spin spirals with a defined chirality. The electrical control of these textures offers thrilling perspectives in terms of fast and robust ultrahigh density data manipulation. A powerful ingredient commonly used to stabilize chiral magnetic states is the so-called Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) arising from spin-orbit coupling in inversion asymmetric magnets. Such a large antisymmetric exchange has been obtained at interfaces between heavy metals and transition metal ferromagnets, resulting in spin spirals and nanoskyrmion lattices. Here, using relativistic first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that the magnitude and sign of DMI can be entirely controlled by tuning the oxygen coverage of the magnetic film, therefore enabling the smart design of chiral magnetism in ultra-thin films. We anticipate that these results extend to other electronegative ions and suggest the possibility of electrical tuning of exotic magnetic phases.

Oxygen-enabled control of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction in ultra-thin magnetic films

PubMed Central

Belabbes, Abderrezak; Bihlmayer, Gustav; Blügel, Stefan; Manchon, Aurélien

2016-01-01

The search for chiral magnetic textures in systems lacking spatial inversion symmetry has attracted a massive amount of interest in the recent years with the real space observation of novel exotic magnetic phases such as skyrmions lattices, but also domain walls and spin spirals with a defined chirality. The electrical control of these textures offers thrilling perspectives in terms of fast and robust ultrahigh density data manipulation. A powerful ingredient commonly used to stabilize chiral magnetic states is the so-called Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) arising from spin-orbit coupling in inversion asymmetric magnets. Such a large antisymmetric exchange has been obtained at interfaces between heavy metals and transition metal ferromagnets, resulting in spin spirals and nanoskyrmion lattices. Here, using relativistic first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that the magnitude and sign of DMI can be entirely controlled by tuning the oxygen coverage of the magnetic film, therefore enabling the smart design of chiral magnetism in ultra-thin films. We anticipate that these results extend to other electronegative ions and suggest the possibility of electrical tuning of exotic magnetic phases. PMID:27103448

Dynamics of metal-induced crystallization of ultrathin Ge films by rapid thermal annealing

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

Liao, Yuanxun; Huang, Shujuan; Shrestha, Santosh

2015-12-07

Though Ge crystallization has been widely studied, few works investigate metal-induced crystallization of ultrathin Ge films. For 2 nm Ge films in oxide matrix, crystallization becomes challenging due to easy oxidation and low mobility of Ge atoms. Introducing metal atoms may alleviate these problems, but the functions and the behaviours of metal atoms need to be clarified. This paper investigates the crystallization dynamics of a multilayer structure 1.9 nm Ge/0.5 nm Al/1.5 nm Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} under rapid thermal annealing (RTA). The functions of metal atoms, like effective anti-oxidation, downshifting Raman peaks, and incapability to decrease crystallization temperature, are found and explained. The metalmore » behaviours, such as inter-diffusion and defect generation, are supported with direct evidences, Al-Ge nanobicrystals, and Al cluster in Ge atoms. With these understandings, a two-step RTA process achieves high-quality 2 nm nanocrystal Ge films with Raman peak at 298 cm{sup −1} of FWHM 10.3 cm{sup −1} and atomic smooth interfaces.« less

Ultrathin Shape Change Smart Materials.

PubMed

Xu, Weinan; Kwok, Kam Sang; Gracias, David H

2018-02-20

With the discovery of graphene, significant research has focused on the synthesis, characterization, and applications of ultrathin materials. Graphene has also brought into focus other ultrathin materials composed of organics, polymers, inorganics, and their hybrids. Together, these ultrathin materials have unique properties of broad significance. For example, ultrathin materials have a large surface area and high flexibility which can enhance conformal contact in wearables and sensors leading to improved sensitivity. When porous, the short transverse diffusion length in these materials allows rapid mass transport. Alternatively, when impermeable, these materials behave as an ultrathin barrier. Such controlled permeability is critical in the design of encapsulation and drug delivery systems. Finally, ultrathin materials often feature defect-free and single-crystal-like two-dimensional atomic structures resulting in superior mechanical, optical, and electrical properties. A unique property of ultrathin materials is their low bending rigidity, which suggests that they could easily be bent, curved, or folded into 3D shapes. In this Account, we review the emerging field of 2D to 3D shape transformations of ultrathin materials. We broadly define ultrathin to include materials with a thickness below 100 nm and composed of a range of organic, inorganic, and hybrid compositions. This topic is important for both fundamental and applied reasons. Fundamentally, bending and curving of ultrathin films can cause atomistic and molecular strain which can alter their physical and chemical properties and lead to new 3D forms of matter which behave very differently from their planar precursors. Shape change can also lead to new 3D architectures with significantly smaller form factors. For example, 3D ultrathin materials would occupy a smaller space in on-chip devices or could permeate through tortuous media which is important for miniaturized robots and smart dust applications. Our

Oxidation of ZrB2 SiC TaSi2 Materials at Ultra High Temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Opila, E.; Smith, J.; Levine, S.; Lorincz, J.; Reigel, M.

2008-01-01

ZrB2 - 20v% SiC - 20v% TaSi2 was oxidized in stagnant air for ten minute cycles for times up to 100 minutes at 1627 C and 1927 C. The sample oxidized at 1627 C showed oxidation resistance better than that of the standard ZrB2 - 20v% SiC. The sample oxidized at 1927 C, however, showed evidence of liquid phase formation and complex oxidation products. The sample exposed at 1927 C was analyzed in detail by scanning electron microprobe and wavelength dispersive spectroscopy to understand the complex oxidation and melting reactions occurring during exposure. The as hot-pressed material shows the formation of a Zr(Ta)B2 phase in addition to the three phases in the nominal composition already noted. After oxidation, the TaSi2 in the matrix was completely reacted to form Ta(Zr)C. The layered oxidation products included SiO2, ZrO2, Ta2O5, and a complex oxide containing both Zr and Ta. Likely reactions are proposed based on thermodynamic phase stability and phase morphology.

A novel interferometric method for the study of the viscoelastic properties of ultra-thin polymer films determined from nanobubble inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapuis, P.; Montgomery, P. C.; Anstotz, F.; Leong-Hoï, A.; Gauthier, C.; Baschnagel, J.; Reiter, G.; McKenna, G. B.; Rubin, A.

2017-09-01

Glass formation and glassy behavior remain as the important areas of investigation in soft matter physics with many aspects which are still not completely understood, especially at the nanometer size-scale. In the present work, we show an extension of the "nanobubble inflation" method developed by O'Connell and McKenna [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 78, 013901 (2007)] which uses an interferometric method to measure the topography of a large array of 5 μ m sized nanometer thick films subjected to constant inflation pressures during which the bubbles grow or creep with time. The interferometric method offers the possibility of making measurements on multiple bubbles at once as well as having the advantage over the AFM methods of O'Connell and McKenna of being a true non-contact method. Here we demonstrate the method using ultra-thin films of both poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and polystyrene (PS) and discuss the capabilities of the method relative to the AFM method, its advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore we show that the results from experiments on PVAc are consistent with the prior work on PVAc, while high stress results with PS show signs of a new non-linear response regime that may be related to the plasticity of the ultra-thin film.

Dynamic response of ultrathin highly dense ZIF-8 nanofilms.

PubMed

Cookney, Joanna; Ogieglo, Wojciech; Hrabanek, Pavel; Vankelecom, Ivo; Fila, Vlastimil; Benes, Nieck E

2014-10-11

Ultrathin ZIF-8 nanofilms are prepared by facile step-by-step dip coating. A critical withdrawal speed allows for films with a very uniform minimum thickness. The high refractive index of the films denotes the absence of mesopores. The dynamic response of the films to CO2 exposure resembles behaviour observed for non-equilibrium organic polymers.

Ta-Pt Alloys as Gate Materials for Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Chih-Feng; Tsui, Bing-Yue

2009-03-01

In this work we explore the thermal stability of sputter-deposited Ta-rich Ta-Pt alloys. The effects of group III and V impurities on their work function are also investigated. The Ta content ranges from 65 to 82 at. %. The main phase is σ Ta-Pt. The binding energies of core-level electrons of Ta and Pt are changed due to the intermixing of Ta and Pt, which is evidence that the work function of alloys is changed in metallic alloy systems. Binding energies are thermally stable up to 800 °C. Moreover, the incorporation of Pt in Ta film induces poor crystallization and a compound phase of Ta-Pt alloys. Transmission electron microscopy analysis confirmed the absence of a clear grain boundary in Ta-Pt alloys. The Ta and Pt depth profile shows uniformity in depth after 800 °C annealing for 30 min. The diffusion and distribution of impurities in the alloys were studied by secondary ion mass spectroscopy. Arsenic cannot diffuse in the alloys following annealing at 800 °C for 30 s. In contrast, boron can easily diffuse at 800 °C. The incorporation of impurities with a dosage of 5 ×1015 cm-2 in 60 nm Ta-Pt alloy by implantation did not significantly change the flat-band voltage following annealing at 800 °C.

Formation of silicon nanodots via ion beam sputtering of ultrathin gold thin film coatings on Si

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Ion beam sputtering of ultrathin film Au coatings used as a physical catalyst for self-organization of Si nanostructures has been achieved by tuning the incident particle energy. This approach holds promise as a scalable nanomanufacturing parallel processing alternative to candidate nanolithography techniques. Structures of 11- to 14-nm Si nanodots are formed with normal incidence low-energy Ar ions of 200 eV and fluences above 2 × 1017 cm-2. In situ surface characterization during ion irradiation elucidates early stage ion mixing migration mechanism for nanodot self-organization. In particular, the evolution from gold film islands to the formation of ion-induced metastable gold silicide followed by pure Si nanodots formed with no need for impurity seeding. PMID:21711934

Growth of an Ultrathin Zirconia Film on Pt3Zr Examined by High-Resolution X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Temperature-Programmed Desorption, Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, and Density Functional Theory.

PubMed

Li, Hao; Choi, Joong-Il Jake; Mayr-Schmölzer, Wernfried; Weilach, Christian; Rameshan, Christoph; Mittendorfer, Florian; Redinger, Josef; Schmid, Michael; Rupprechter, Günther

2015-02-05

Ultrathin (∼3 Å) zirconium oxide films were grown on a single-crystalline Pt 3 Zr(0001) substrate by oxidation in 1 × 10 -7 mbar of O 2 at 673 K, followed by annealing at temperatures up to 1023 K. The ZrO 2 films are intended to serve as model supports for reforming catalysts and fuel cell anodes. The atomic and electronic structure and composition of the ZrO 2 films were determined by synchrotron-based high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HR-XPS) (including depth profiling), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Oxidation mainly leads to ultrathin trilayer (O-Zr-O) films on the alloy; only a small area fraction (10-15%) is covered by ZrO 2 clusters (thickness ∼0.5-10 nm). The amount of clusters decreases with increasing annealing temperature. Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) of CO was utilized to confirm complete coverage of the Pt 3 Zr substrate by ZrO 2 , that is, formation of a closed oxide overlayer. Experiments and DFT calculations show that the core level shifts of Zr in the trilayer ZrO 2 films are between those of metallic Zr and thick (bulklike) ZrO 2 . Therefore, the assignment of such XPS core level shifts to substoichiometric ZrO x is not necessarily correct, because these XPS signals may equally well arise from ultrathin ZrO 2 films or metal/ZrO 2 interfaces. Furthermore, our results indicate that the common approach of calculating core level shifts by DFT including final-state effects should be taken with care for thicker insulating films, clusters, and bulk insulators.

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.

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.

Fabrication of superconducting nanowires from ultrathin MgB2 films via focused ion beam milling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chen; Wang, Da; Liu, Zheng-Hao; Zhang, Yan; Ma, Ping; Feng, Qing-Rong; Wang, Yue; Gan, Zi-Zhao

2015-02-01

High quality superconducting nanowires were fabricated from ultrathin MgB2 films by a focused ion beam milling technique. The precursor MgB2 films in 10 nm thick were grown on MgO substrates by using a hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition method. The nanowires, in widths of about 300-600 nm and lengths of 1 or 10 μm, showed high superconducting critical temperatures (Tc's) above 34 K and narrow superconducting transition widths (ΔTc's) of 1-3 K. The superconducting critical current density Jc of the nanowires was above 5 × 107 A/cm2 at 20 K. The high Tc, narrow ΔTc, and high Jc of the nanowires offered the possibility of making MgB2-based nano-devices such as hot-electron bolometers and superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors with high operating temperatures at 15-20 K.

Photochemistry on ultrathin metal films: Strongly enhanced cross sections for NO2 on Ag /Si(100)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wesenberg, Claudia; Autzen, Olaf; Hasselbrink, Eckart

2006-12-01

The surface photochemistry of NO2 on ultrathin Ag(111) films (5-60nm ) on Si(100) substrates has been studied. NO2, forming N2O4 on the surface, dissociates to release NO and NO2 into the gas phase with translational energies exceeding the equivalent of the sample temperature. An increase of the photodesorption cross section is observed for 266nm light when the film thickness is decreased below 30nm despite the fact that the optical absorptivity decreases. For 4.4nm film thickness this increase is about threefold. The data are consistent with a similar effect for 355nm light. The reduced film thickness has no significant influence on the average translation energy of the desorbing molecules or the branching into the different channels. The increased photodesorption cross section is interpreted to result from photon absorption in the Si substrate producing electrons with no or little momenta parallel to the surface at energies where this is not allowed in Ag. It is suggested that these electrons penetrate through the Ag film despite the gap in the surface projected band structure.

Hollow waveguides with low intrinsic photoluminescence fabricated with Ta2O5 and SiO2 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Y.; Jenkins, M.; Measor, P.; Leake, K.; Liu, S.; Schmidt, H.; Hawkins, A. R.

2011-02-01

A type of integrated hollow core waveguide with low intrinsic photoluminescence fabricated with Ta2O5 and SiO2 films is demonstrated. Hollow core waveguides made with a combination of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition SiO2 and sputtered Ta2O5 provide a nearly optimal structure for optofluidic biofluorescence measurements with low optical loss, high fabrication yield, and low background photoluminescence. Compared to earlier structures made using Si3N4, the photoluminescence background of Ta2O5 based hollow core waveguides is decreased by a factor of 10 and the signal-to-noise ratio for fluorescent nanobead detection is improved by a factor of 12.

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.

A very promising piezoelectric property of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} thin films. II: Birefringence and piezoelectricity

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

Audier, M., E-mail: Marc.Audier@grenoble-inp.fr; Chenevier, B.; Roussel, H.

2011-08-15

Birefringent and piezoelectric properties of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} ceramic thin films of monoclinic and trigonal structures were analyzed. The birefringence, observed by reflected polarized light microscopy, yields information on thin film microstructures, crystal shapes and sizes and on crystallographic orientations of grains of trigonal structure. Such an information was considered for investigating piezoelectric properties by laser Doppler vibrometry and by piezoresponse force microscopy. The vibration velocity was measured by applying an oscillating electric field between electrodes on both sides of a Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} film deposited on a Si substrate which was pasted on an isolating mica sheet. In thismore » case, it is shown that the vibration velocity results were not only from a converse piezoelectric effect, proportional to the voltage, but also from the Coulomb force, proportional to the square of the voltage. A huge piezoelectric strain effect, up to 7.6%, is found in the case of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} of trigonal structure. From an estimation of the electrical field through the Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} thin film, this strain likely corresponds to a very high longitudinal coefficient d{sub 33} of several thousand picometers. Results obtained by piezoresponse force microscopy show that trigonal grains exhibit a polarization at zero field, which is probably due to stress caused expansion in the transition monoclinic-trigonal, presented in a previous article (part I). - Graphical abstract: Image of cross-polarized optical microscopy showing grains of trigonal structure embedded in the monoclinic phase (on the left); (a) mounting of the sample for Laser Doppler Vibrometry, sample constituted of several layers and its equivalent electrical circuit; (b) longitudinal displacements due to converse piezoelectric and Coulomb effects and corresponding piezoelectric strain-U{sub app.}. hystereses. Highlights: > A new Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} trigonal phase is shown to be birefringent

Feasibility demonstration for electroplating ultra-thin polyimide film. [fabricating film for space erectable structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneier, R.; Braswell, T. V.; Vaughn, R. W.

1978-01-01

The effect of electrodeposition variables on film thickness was investigated using a dilute polyimide solution as a bath into which aluminum (as foil or as a vapor deposited coating) was immersed. The electrodeposited film was dried for 2 hours at 93 C (primarily to remove solvent) and cured for 18 hours at 186 C. Infrared studies indicate that imide formation (curing) occurs at 149 C under vacuum. From a conceptual viewpoint, satisfactory film metallized on one side can be obtained by this method. The cured ultra thin polyimide film exhibits properties equivalent to those of commercial film, and the surface appearance of the strippable polyimide film compares favorably with that of a sample of commercial film of thicker gauge. The feasibility of manufacturing approximately one million sq m of ultra thin film capable of being joined to fabricate an 800 m by 9 800 m square from starting material 0.5 to 1 m wide for space erectable structures was demonstrated.

On the persistence of polar domains in ultrathin ferroelectric capacitors.

PubMed

Zubko, Pavlo; Lu, Haidong; Bark, Chung-Wung; Martí, Xavi; Santiso, José; Eom, Chang-Beom; Catalan, Gustau; Gruverman, Alexei

2017-07-19

The instability of ferroelectric ordering in ultra-thin films is one of the most important fundamental issues pertaining realization of a number of electronic devices with enhanced functionality, such as ferroelectric and multiferroic tunnel junctions or ferroelectric field effect transistors. In this paper, we investigate the polarization state of archetypal ultrathin (several nanometres) ferroelectric heterostructures: epitaxial single-crystalline BaTiO 3 films sandwiched between the most habitual perovskite electrodes, SrRuO 3 , on top of the most used perovskite substrate, SrTiO 3 . We use a combination of piezoresponse force microscopy, dielectric measurements and structural characterization to provide conclusive evidence for the ferroelectric nature of the relaxed polarization state in ultrathin BaTiO 3 capacitors. We show that even the high screening efficiency of SrRuO 3 electrodes is still insufficient to stabilize polarization in SrRuO 3 /BaTiO 3 /SrRuO 3 heterostructures at room temperature. We identify the key role of domain wall motion in determining the macroscopic electrical properties of ultrathin capacitors and discuss their dielectric response in the light of the recent interest in negative capacitance behaviour.

Facile fabrication of network film electrodes with ultrathin Au nanowires for nonenzymatic glucose sensing and glucose/O2 fuel cell.

PubMed

Yang, Lu; Zhang, Yijia; Chu, Mi; Deng, Wenfang; Tan, Yueming; Ma, Ming; Su, Xiaoli; Xie, Qingji; Yao, Shuozhuo

2014-02-15

We report here on the facile fabrication of network film electrodes with ultrathin Au nanowires (AuNWs) and their electrochemical applications for high-performance nonenzymatic glucose sensing and glucose/O2 fuel cell under physiological conditions (pH 7.4, containing 0.15M Cl(-)). AuNWs with an average diameter of ~7 or 2 nm were prepared and can self-assemble into robust network films on common electrodes. The network film electrode fabricated with 2-nm AuNWs exhibits high sensitivity (56.0 μA cm(-2)mM(-1)), low detection limit (20 μM), short response time (within 10s), excellent selectivity, and good storage stability for nonenzymatic glucose sensing. Glucose/O2 fuel cells were constructed using network film electrodes as the anode and commercial Pt/C catalyst modified glassy carbon electrode as cathode. The glucose/O2 fuel cell using 2-nm AuNWs as anode catalyst output a maximum power density of is 126 μW cm(-2), an open-circuit cell voltage of 0.425 V, and a short-circuit current density of 1.34 mA cm(-2), respectively. Due to the higher specific electroactive surface area of 2-nm AuNWs, the network film electrode fabricated with 2-nm AuNWs exhibited higher electrocatalytic activity toward glucose oxidation than the network film electrode fabricated with 7-nm AuNWs. The network film electrode exhibits high electrocatalytic activity toward glucose oxidation under physiological conditions, which is helpful for constructing implantable electronic devices. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluating nanoscale ultra-thin metal films by means of lateral photovoltaic effect in metal-semiconductor structure.

PubMed

Zheng, Diyuan; Yu, Chongqi; Zhang, Qian; Wang, Hui

2017-12-15

Nanoscale metal-semiconductor (MS) structure materials occupy an important position in semiconductor and microelectronic field due to their abundant physical phenomena and effects. The thickness of metal films is a critical factor in determining characteristics of MS devices. How to detect or evaluate the metal thickness is always a key issue for realizing high performance MS devices. In this work, we propose a direct surface detection by use of the lateral photovoltaic effect (LPE) in MS structure, which can not only measure nanoscale thickness, but also detect the fluctuation of metal films. This method is based on the fact that the output of lateral photovoltaic voltage (LPV) is closely linked with the metal thickness at the laser spot. We believe this laser-based contact-free detection is a useful supplement to the traditional methods, such as AFM, SEM, TEM or step profiler. This is because these traditional methods are always incapable of directly detecting ultra-thin metal films in MS structure materials.

Evaluating nanoscale ultra-thin metal films by means of lateral photovoltaic effect in metal-semiconductor structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Diyuan; Yu, Chongqi; Zhang, Qian; Wang, Hui

2017-12-01

Nanoscale metal-semiconductor (MS) structure materials occupy an important position in semiconductor and microelectronic field due to their abundant physical phenomena and effects. The thickness of metal films is a critical factor in determining characteristics of MS devices. How to detect or evaluate the metal thickness is always a key issue for realizing high performance MS devices. In this work, we propose a direct surface detection by use of the lateral photovoltaic effect (LPE) in MS structure, which can not only measure nanoscale thickness, but also detect the fluctuation of metal films. This method is based on the fact that the output of lateral photovoltaic voltage (LPV) is closely linked with the metal thickness at the laser spot. We believe this laser-based contact-free detection is a useful supplement to the traditional methods, such as AFM, SEM, TEM or step profiler. This is because these traditional methods are always incapable of directly detecting ultra-thin metal films in MS structure materials.

Structure and morphology of magnetron sputter deposited ultrathin ZnO films on confined polymeric template

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Ajaib; Schipmann, Susanne; Mathur, Aakash; Pal, Dipayan; Sengupta, Amartya; Klemradt, Uwe; Chattopadhyay, Sudeshna

2017-08-01

The structure and morphology of ultra-thin zinc oxide (ZnO) films with different film thicknesses on confined polymer template were studied through X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). Using magnetron sputter deposition technique ZnO thin films with different film thicknesses (<10 nm) were grown on confined polystyrene with ∼2Rg film thickness, where Rg ∼ 20 nm (Rg is the unperturbed radius of gyration of polystyrene, defined by Rg = 0.272 √M0, and M0 is the molecular weight of polystyrene). The detailed internal structure, along the surface/interfaces and the growth direction of the system were explored in this study, which provides insight into the growth procedure of ZnO on confined polymer and reveals that a thin layer of ZnO, with very low surface and interface roughness, can be grown by DC magnetron sputtering technique, with approximately full coverage (with bulk like electron density) even in nm order of thickness, in 2-7 nm range on confined polymer template, without disturbing the structure of the underneath template. The resulting ZnO-polystyrene hybrid systems show strong ZnO near band edge (NBE) and deep-level (DLE) emissions in their room temperature photoluminescence spectra, where the contribution of DLE gets relatively stronger with decreasing ZnO film thickness, indicating a significant enhancement of surface defects because of the greater surface to volume ratio in thinner films.

Highly Active GaN-Stabilized Ta3 N5 Thin-Film Photoanode for Solar Water Oxidation.

PubMed

Zhong, Miao; Hisatomi, Takashi; Sasaki, Yutaka; Suzuki, Sayaka; Teshima, Katsuya; Nakabayashi, Mamiko; Shibata, Naoya; Nishiyama, Hiroshi; Katayama, Masao; Yamada, Taro; Domen, Kazunari

2017-04-18

Ta 3 N 5 is a very promising photocatalyst for solar water splitting because of its wide spectrum solar energy utilization up to 600 nm and suitable energy band position straddling the water splitting redox reactions. However, its development has long been impeded by poor compatibility with electrolytes. Herein, we demonstrate a simple sputtering-nitridation process to fabricate high-performance Ta 3 N 5 film photoanodes owing to successful synthesis of the vital TaO δ precursors. An effective GaN coating strategy is developed to remarkably stabilize Ta 3 N 5 by forming a crystalline nitride-on-nitride structure with an improved nitride/electrolyte interface. A stable, high photocurrent density of 8 mA cm -2 was obtained with a CoPi/GaN/Ta 3 N 5 photoanode at 1.2 V RHE under simulated sunlight, with O 2 and H 2 generated at a Faraday efficiency of unity over 12 h. Our vapor-phase deposition method can be used to fabricate high-performance (oxy)nitrides for practical photoelectrochemical applications. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Acoustic Phonons and Mechanical Properties of Ultra-Thin Porous Low-k Films: A Surface Brillouin Scattering Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zizka, J.; King, S.; Every, A.; Sooryakumar, R.

2018-04-01

To reduce the RC (resistance-capacitance) time delay of interconnects, a key development of the past 20 years has been the introduction of porous low-k dielectrics to replace the traditional use of SiO2. Moreover, in keeping pace with concomitant reduction in technology nodes, these low-k materials have reached thicknesses below 100 nm wherein the porosity becomes a significant fraction of the film volume. The large degree of porosity not only reduces mechanical strength of the dielectric layer but also renders a need for non-destructive approaches to measure the mechanical properties of such ultra-thin films within device configurations. In this study, surface Brillouin scattering (SBS) is utilized to determine the elastic constants, Poisson's ratio, and Young's modulus of these porous low-k SiOC:H films (˜ 25-250 nm thick) grown on Si substrates by probing surface acoustic phonons and their dispersions.

Acoustic Phonons and Mechanical Properties of Ultra-Thin Porous Low- k Films: A Surface Brillouin Scattering Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zizka, J.; King, S.; Every, A.; Sooryakumar, R.

2018-07-01

To reduce the RC (resistance-capacitance) time delay of interconnects, a key development of the past 20 years has been the introduction of porous low- k dielectrics to replace the traditional use of SiO2. Moreover, in keeping pace with concomitant reduction in technology nodes, these low- k materials have reached thicknesses below 100 nm wherein the porosity becomes a significant fraction of the film volume. The large degree of porosity not only reduces mechanical strength of the dielectric layer but also renders a need for non-destructive approaches to measure the mechanical properties of such ultra-thin films within device configurations. In this study, surface Brillouin scattering (SBS) is utilized to determine the elastic constants, Poisson's ratio, and Young's modulus of these porous low- k SiOC:H films (˜ 25-250 nm thick) grown on Si substrates by probing surface acoustic phonons and their dispersions.

Quantum-Fluctuation Effects in the Transport Properties of Ultrathin Films of Disordered Superconductors above the Paramagnetic Limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khodas, M.; Levchenko, A.; Catelani, G.

2012-06-01

We study the transport in ultrathin disordered film near the quantum critical point induced by the Zeeman field. We calculate corrections to the normal state conductivity due to quantum pairing fluctuations. The fluctuation-induced transport is mediated by virtual rather than real quasiparticle excitations. We find that at zero temperature, where the corrections come from purely quantum fluctuations, the Aslamazov-Larkin paraconductivity term, the Maki-Thompson interference contribution, and the density of states effects are all of the same order. The total correction leads to the negative magnetoresistance. This result is in qualitative agreement with the recent transport observations in the parallel magnetic field of the homogeneously disordered amorphous films and superconducting two-dimensional electron gas realized at the oxide interfaces.

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.

90° switching of polarization in La3+-doped SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, J. S.; Zhang, S. R.; Zeng, H. Z.; Fei, W. D.; Du, S. Y.

2006-05-01

The crystal structure and polarization switching behavior of SrBi1.4La0.6Ta2O9 (SBLT) thin films have been studied by x-ray diffraction and piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM), respectively. Compared with SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT), SBLT thin films show a reduced orthorhombic distortion. The polarization rotation of SBLT thin film, which is driven by negative and positive direct current (dc) biases, has been investigated by a combination of vertical and lateral PFM (VPFM and LPFM, respectively). After dc bias applications, the VPFM image is hardly changed, whereas the LPFM image experiences an obvious variation. It is believed that such difference is caused by 90° polarization switching. However, this kind of switching can be only realized by the exchange of a axis and b axis. By virtue of the reduced orthorhombic distortion, the a-b exchange in SBLT is easier than that in SBT. Unfortunately, stress is created due to the 90° polarization switching in SBLT thin films. The internal stress is found to increase with the repeated switching cycles, and so the polarization reorientation in SBLT is constrained. Thus, the fatigue resistance of SBLT thin films is not thought to be as good as that of SBT.

Measurement of conformability and adhesion energy of polymeric ultrathin film to skin model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugano, Junki; Fujie, Toshinori; Iwata, Hiroyasu; Iwase, Eiji

2018-06-01

We measured the conformability and adhesion energy of a polymeric ultrathin film “nanosheet” with hundreds of nanometer thickness to a skin model with epidermal depressions. To compare the confirmability of the nanosheets with different thicknesses and/or under different attaching conditions, we proposed a measurement method using skin models with the same surface profile and defined the surface strain εS as the quantified value of the conformability. Then, we measured the adhesion energy of the nanosheet at each conformability through a vertical tensile test. Experimental results indicate that the adhesion energy does not depend on the liquid used in wetting the nanosheet before attaching to the skin model and increases monotonously as the surface strain εS increases.

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.

Recrystallization behavior and thermal shock resistance of the W-1.0 wt% TaC alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Z. M.; Miao, S.; Zhang, T.; Liu, R.; Wang, X. P.; Fang, Q. F.; Hao, T.; Zhuang, Z.; Liu, C. S.; Lian, Y. Y.; Liu, X.; Cai, L. H.

2018-04-01

The high-temperature stability and good mechanical strength of tungsten (W) alloys are highly desirable for a wide range of fusion applications, which can be achieved by dispersion strengthening. In this paper, TaC dispersion effects on the thermal stabilities, tensile properties and thermal shock resistances have been investigated. A hot-rolled W-1.0 wt% TaC plate has been fabricated which contains the high tensile strength and elongation. Nanosized particles in the W matrix improve the recrystallization temperature to about 1400 °C and the ultimate tensile strength to 571 MPa at 500 °C through hindering grain boundary migration, pinning dislocations and refining grains. The effects of edge-localized mode like transient heat events on the rolled and recrystallized W-1.0 wt% TaC alloys were investigated systematically. The cracking threshold (100 shots) at room temperature is in the range of 0.33-0.44 GW/m2 for the rolled W-1.0 wt% TaC. Recrystallization degrades mechanical strength and makes the material more prone to thermal shock damages. Coarse Ta2O5 and Ta-Cx-Oy particles are easy to fracture and introduce a preferential crack initiation in W matrix during cyclic heat loads.

A cost-effective nanoporous ultrathin film electrode based on nanoporous gold/IrO2 composite for proton exchange membrane water electrolysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Yachao; Guo, Xiaoqian; Shao, Zhigang; Yu, Hongmei; Song, Wei; Wang, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Hongjie; Yi, Baolian

2017-02-01

A cost-effective nanoporous ultrathin film (NPUF) electrode based on nanoporous gold (NPG)/IrO2 composite has been constructed for proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis. The electrode was fabricated by integrating IrO2 nanoparticles into NPG through a facile dealloying and thermal decomposition method. The NPUF electrode is featured in its 3D interconnected nanoporosity and ultrathin thickness. The nanoporous ultrathin architecture is binder-free and beneficial for improving electrochemical active surface area, enhancing mass transport and facilitating releasing of oxygen produced during water electrolysis. Serving as anode, a single cell performance of 1.728 V (@ 2 A cm-2) has been achieved by NPUF electrode with a loading of IrO2 and Au at 86.43 and 100.0 μg cm-2 respectively, the electrolysis voltage is 58 mV lower than that of conventional electrode with an Ir loading an order of magnitude higher. The electrolysis voltage kept relatively constant up to 300 h (@250 mA cm-2) during the course of durability test, manifesting that NPUF electrode is promising for gas evolution.

Coordination-Enabled One-Step Assembly of Ultrathin, Hybrid Microcapsules with Weak pH-Response.

PubMed

Yang, Chen; Wu, Hong; Yang, Xiao; Shi, Jiafu; Wang, Xiaoli; Zhang, Shaohua; Jiang, Zhongyi

2015-05-06

In this study, an ultrathin, hybrid microcapsule is prepared though coordination-enabled one-step assembly of tannic acid (TA) and titanium(IV) bis(ammonium lactate) dihydroxide (Ti-BALDH) upon a hard-templating method. Briefly, the PSS-doped CaCO3 microspheres with a diameter of 5-8 μm were synthesized and utilized as the sacrificial templates. Then, TA-Ti(IV) coatings were formed on the surface of the PSS-doped CaCO3 templates through soaking in TA and Ti-BALDH aqueous solutions under mild conditions. After removing the template by EDTA treatment, the TA-Ti(IV) microcapsules with a capsule wall thickness of 15 ± 3 nm were obtained. The strong coordination bond between polyphenol and Ti(IV) conferred the TA-Ti(IV) microcapsules high structural stability in the range of pH values 3.0-11.0. Accordingly, the enzyme-immobilized TA-Ti(IV) microcapsules exhibited superior pH and thermal stabilities. This study discloses the formation of TA-Ti(IV) microcapsules that are suitable for use as supports in catalysis due to their extensive pH and thermal stabilities.

Transport properties of ultra-thin VO2 films on (001) TiO2 grown by reactive molecular-beam epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paik, Hanjong; Moyer, Jarrett A.; Spila, Timothy; Tashman, Joshua W.; Mundy, Julia A.; Freeman, Eugene; Shukla, Nikhil; Lapano, Jason M.; Engel-Herbert, Roman; Zander, Willi; Schubert, Jürgen; Muller, David A.; Datta, Suman; Schiffer, Peter; Schlom, Darrell G.

2015-10-01

We report the growth of (001)-oriented VO2 films as thin as 1.5 nm with abrupt and reproducible metal-insulator transitions (MIT) without a capping layer. Limitations to the growth of thinner films with sharp MITs are discussed, including the Volmer-Weber type growth mode due to the high energy of the (001) VO2 surface. Another key limitation is interdiffusion with the (001) TiO2 substrate, which we quantify using low angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy in conjunction with electron energy loss spectroscopy. We find that controlling island coalescence on the (001) surface and minimization of cation interdiffusion by using a low growth temperature followed by a brief anneal at higher temperature are crucial for realizing ultrathin VO2 films with abrupt MIT behavior.

Water Vapor Uptake of Ultrathin Films of Biologically Derived Nanocrystals: Quantitative Assessment with Quartz Crystal Microbalance and Spectroscopic Ellipsometry.

PubMed

Niinivaara, Elina; Faustini, Marco; Tammelin, Tekla; Kontturi, Eero

2015-11-10

Despite the relevance of water interactions, explicit analysis of vapor adsorption on biologically derived surfaces is often difficult. Here, a system was introduced to study the vapor uptake on a native polysaccharide surface; namely, cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) ultrathin films were examined with a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). A significant mass uptake of water vapor by the CNC films was detected using the QCM-D upon increasing relative humidity. In addition, thickness changes proportional to changes in relative humidity were detected using SE. Quantitative analysis of the results attained indicated that in preference to being soaked by water at the point of hydration each individual CNC in the film became enveloped by a 1 nm thick layer of adsorbed water vapor, resulting in the detected thickness response.

Mesoporous polyaniline film on ultra-thin graphene sheets for high performance supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qian; Yan, Jun; Fan, Zhuangjun; Wei, Tong; Zhang, Milin; Jing, Xiaoyan

2014-02-01

A facile approach has been developed to fabricate mesoporous PANI film on ultra-thin graphene nanosheet (G-mPANI) hybrid by in situ polymerization using graphene-mesoporous silica composite as template. Due to its mesoporous structure, over-all conductive network, G-mPANI electrode displays a specific capacitance of 749 F g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 with excellent rate capability (remains 73% even at 5.0 A g-1), much higher than that of pristine PANI electrode (315 F g-1 at 0.5 A g-1, 39% retention at 5.0 A g-1) in 1 mol L-1 H2SO4 aqueous solution. More interestingly, the G-mPANI hybrid can maintain 88% of its initial capacitance compared to 45% for pristine PANI after 1000 cycles, suggesting a superior electrochemical cyclic stability.

Phase Composition of Samarium Niobate and Tantalate Thin Films Prepared by Sol-Gel Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruncková, H.; Medvecký, Ľ.; Múdra, E.; Kovalčiková, A.; Ďurišin, J.; Šebek, M.; Girman, V.

2017-12-01

Samarium niobate SmNbO4 (SNO) and tantalate SmTaO4 (STO) thin films ( 100 nm) were prepared by sol-gel/spin-coating process on alumina substrates with PZT interlayer and annealing at 1000°C. The precursors of films were synthesized using Nb or Ta tartrate complexes. The improvement of the crystallinity of monoclinic M'-SmTaO4 phase via heating was observed through the coexistence of small amounts of tetragonal T-SmTa7O19 phase in STO precursor at 1000°C. The XRD results of SNO and STO films confirmed monoclinic M-SmNbO4 and M'-SmTaO4 phases, respectively, with traces of orthorhombic O-SmNbO4 (in SNO). In STO film, the single monoclinic M'-SmTaO4 phase was revealed. The surface morphology and topography of thin films were investigated by SEM and AFM analysis. STO film was smoother with roughness 3.2 nm in comparison with SNO (6.3 nm). In the microstructure of SNO film, small spherical ( 50 nm) and larger cuboidal particles ( 100 nm) of the SmNbO4 phase were observed. In STO, compact clusters composed of fine spherical SmTaO4 particles ( 20-50 nm) were found. Effect of samarium can contribute to the formation different polymorphs of these films for the application to environmental electrolytic thin film devices.

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

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.

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

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.

Image potential states at transition metal oxide surfaces: A time-resolved two-photon photoemission study on ultrathin NiO films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillmeister, K.; Kiel, M.; Widdra, W.

2018-02-01

For well-ordered ultrathin films of NiO(001) on Ag(001), a series of unoccupied states below the vacuum level has been found. The states show a nearly free electron dispersion and binding energies which are typical for image potential states. By time-resolved two-photon photoemission (2PPE), the lifetimes of the first three states and their dependence on oxide film thickness are determined. For NiO film thicknesses between 2 and 4 monolayers (ML), the lifetime of the first state is in the range of 28-42 fs and shows an oscillatory behavior with increasing thickness. The values for the second state decrease monotonically from 88 fs for 2 ML to 33 fs for 4 ML. These differences are discussed in terms of coupling of the unoccupied states to the layer-dependent electronic structure of the growing NiO film.

Near infrared and extreme ultraviolet light pulses induced modifications of ultrathin Co films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kisielewski, Jan; Sveklo, Iosif; Kurant, Zbigniew; Bartnik, Andrzej; Jakubowski, Marcin; Dynowska, ElŻbieta; Klinger, Dorota; Sobierajski, Ryszard; Wawro, Andrzej; Maziewski, Andrzej

2017-05-01

We report on comparative study of magnetic properties of Pt/Co/Pt trilayers after irradiation with different light sources. Ultrathin Pt/Co/Pt films were deposited by molecular beam epitaxy technique on sapphire (0001) substrates. Pt buffers were grown at room temperature (RT) and at 750°C (high temperature, HT). The samples were irradiated with a broad range of light energy densities (up to film ablation) using two different single pulse irradiation sources: (i) 40 fs laser with 800 nm wavelength and (ii) 3 ns laser-plasma source of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) with the most intense emission centered at 11 nm. The light pulse-driven irreversible structural and as a consequence, magnetic modifications were investigated using polar magneto-optical Kerr effect-based microscopy and atomic and magnetic force microscopies. The light pulse-induced transitions from the out-of-plane to in-plane magnetization state, and from in-plane to out-of-plane, were observed for both types of samples and irradiation methods. Diagrams of the magnetic states as a function of the Co layer thickness and energy density of the absorbed femtosecond pulses were constructed for the samples with both the RT and HT buffers. The energy density range responsible for the creation of the out-of-plane magnetization was wider for the HT than for RT buffer. This is correlated with the higher (for HT) crystalline quality and much smoother Pt/Co surface deduced from the X-ray diffraction studies. Submicrometer magnetic domains were observed in the irradiated region while approaching the out-of-plane magnetization state. Changes of Pt/Co/Pt structures are discussed for both types of light pulses.

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

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

Ferroelectric ultrathin perovskite films

DOEpatents

Rappe, Andrew M; Kolpak, Alexie Michelle

2013-12-10

Disclosed herein are perovskite ferroelectric thin-film. Also disclosed are methods of controlling the properties of ferroelectric thin films. These films can be used in a variety materials and devices, such as catalysts and storage media, respectively.

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.

Intense photoluminescence from amorphous tantalum oxide films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Minmin; Zhang, Zhengjun; Miao, Wei

2006-07-01

Tantalum oxide films were deposited on silicon substrates at a temperature of ˜450°C by heating a pure tantalum foil in a rough vacuum. The films were amorphous in structure and consisted of fully oxidized Ta2O5 and (TaOx, x <2.5) suboxides. This feature resulted in strong visible light emission from the films further oxidized in the air at temperatures of 200-300°C. The mechanism for this photoluminescence behavior of the amorphous tantalum oxide films was also investigated and discussed. This study suggests that wide-band-gap materials could act as effective visible light emitters and provides a simple route to synthesize such materials.

Identification of O-rich structures on platinum(111)-supported ultrathin iron oxide films

DOE PAGES

Merte, Lindsay R.; Bai, Yunhai; Zeuthen, Helene; ...

2016-01-06

Using high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) we have studied the oxidation of ultrathin FeO films grown on Pt(111). At the initial stage of the FeO film oxidation by atomic oxygen exposure, we identified three distinct types of line defects, all of which form boundaries between FeO domains of opposite orientation. Two types of line defects appearing bright ( type-i) and dark ( type-ii) in the STM images at typical scanning parameters are “metallic”, whereas the third line defect exhibits nonmetallic behavior ( type-iii). Atomic-scale structure models of these line defects are proposed, with type-i defects exhibiting 4-fold coordinated Fe atoms,more » type-ii exhibiting 2-fold coordinated O atoms, and type-iii exhibiting tetrahedrally-coordinated Fe atoms. In addition, FeO 2 trilayer islands are formed upon oxidation, which appear at FCC-type domains of the moiré structure. At high scanning bias, distinct protrusions on the trilayer islands are observed over surface O ions, which are assigned to H adatoms. The experimental data are supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, in which bare and hydroxylated FeO 2 trilayer islands are compared. Finally, we compare the formation of O-rich features on continuous FeO films using atomic oxygen with the oxidation of Pt(111)-supported FeO islands accomplished by O 2 exposure.« less

Anomalous bias-stress-induced unstable phenomena of InZnO thin-film transistors using Ta2O5 gate dielectric

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Wangying; Dai, Mingzhi; Liang, Lingyan; Liu, Zhimin; Sun, Xilian; Wan, Qing; Cao, Hongtao

2012-05-01

InZnO thin-film transistors using high-κ Ta2O5 gate dielectric are presented and analysed. The large capacitance coupling effect of amorphous Ta2O5 results in fabricated devices with good electrical properties. However, an anomalous negative threshold voltage (Vth) shift under positive bias stress is observed. It is suggested that electron detrapping from the high-κ Ta2O5 dielectric to the gate electrode is responsible for this Vth shift, which is supported both by the logarithmical dependence of the Vth change on the duration of the bias stress and device simulation extracted trapped charges involved.

Effects of a Ta interlayer on the phase transition of TiSi2 on Si(111)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeon, Hyeongtag; Jung, Bokhee; Kim, Young Do; Yang, Woochul; Nemanich, R. J.

2000-09-01

This study examines the effects of a thin Ta interlayer on the formation of TiSi2 on Si(111) substrate. The Ta interlayer was introduced by depositing Ta and Ti films sequentially on an atomically clean Si(111) substrate in an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) system. Samples of 100 Å Ti with 5 and 10 Å Ta interlayers were compared to similar structures without an interlayer. After deposition, the substrates were annealed for 10 min, in situ, at temperatures between 500 and 750 °C in 50 °C increments. The TiSi2 formation with and without the Ta interlayer was analyzed with an X-ray diffractometer, Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and a four-point probe. The AES analysis data showed a 1:2 ratio of Ti:Si in the Ti-silicide layer and indicated that the Ta layer remained at the interface between TiSi2 and the Si(111) substrate. The C 49-C 54 TiSi2 phase transition temperature was lowered by ˜200 °C. The C 49-C 54 TiSi2 phase transition temperature was 550 °C for the samples with a Ta interlayer and was 750 °C for the samples with no Ta interlayer. The sheet resistance of the Ta interlayered Ti silicide showed lower values of resistivity at low temperatures which indicated the change in phase transition temperature. The C 54 TiSi2 displayed different crystal orientation when the Ta interlayer was employed. The SEM and TEM micrographs showed that the TiSi2 with a Ta interlayer significantly suppressed the tendency to islanding and surface agglomeration.

Interfacial Control of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction in Heavy Metal/Ferromagnetic Metal Thin Film Heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Xin; Yu, Guoqiang; Li, Xiang; Wang, Tao; Wu, Di; Olsson, Kevin; Chu, Zhaodong; An, Kyongmo; Xiao, John; Wang, Kang; Li, Xiaoqin

The interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction (DMI) in ultrathin magnetic thin film heterostructures provides a new approach for controlling spin textures on mesoscopic length scales. Here we investigate the dependence of the interfacial DMI constant D on a Pt wedge insertion layer in Ta/CoFeB/Pt(wedge)/MgO thin films by observing the asymmetric spin wave dispersion using Brillouin light scattering. Continuous tuning of D by more than a factor of three is realized by inserting less than one monolayer of Pt. The observations provide new insights for designing magnetic thin film heterostructures with tailored D for controlling skyrmions and magnetic domain wall chirality and dynamics. The work at UT-Austin and UCLA are supported by SHINES, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. DoE, Office of Science, Basic Energy Science (BES) under award # DE-SC0012670.

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.

Nanoporous Ni(OH)2 thin film on 3D Ultrathin-graphite foam for asymmetric supercapacitor.

PubMed

Ji, Junyi; Zhang, Li Li; Ji, Hengxing; Li, Yang; Zhao, Xin; Bai, Xin; Fan, Xiaobin; Zhang, Fengbao; Ruoff, Rodney S

2013-07-23

Nanoporous nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)2) thin film was grown on the surface of ultrathin-graphite foam (UGF) via a hydrothermal reaction. The resulting free-standing Ni(OH)2/UGF composite was used as the electrode in a supercapacitor without the need for addition of either binder or metal-based current collector. The highly conductive 3D UGF network facilitates electron transport and the porous Ni(OH)2 thin film structure shortens ion diffusion paths and facilitates the rapid migration of electrolyte ions. An asymmetric supercapacitor was also made and studied with Ni(OH)2/UGF as the positive electrode and activated microwave exfoliated graphite oxide ('a-MEGO') as the negative electrode. The highest power density of the fully packaged asymmetric cell (44.0 kW/kg) was much higher (2-27 times higher), while the energy density was comparable to or higher, than high-end commercially available supercapacitors. This asymmetric supercapacitor had a capacitance retention of 63.2% after 10,000 cycles.

Mechanical behavior of Ti-Ta-based surface alloy fabricated on TiNi SMA by pulsed electron-beam melting of film/substrate system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meisner, S. N.; Yakovlev, E. V.; Semin, V. O.; Meisner, L. L.; Rotshtein, V. P.; Neiman, A. A.; D'yachenko, F.

2018-04-01

The physical-mechanical properties of the Ti-Ta based surface alloy with thickness up to ∼2 μm fabricated through the multiple (up to 20 cycles) alternation of magnetron deposition of Ti70Ta30 (at.%) thin (50 nm) films and their liquid-phase mixing with the NiTi substrate by microsecond low-energy, high current pulsed electron beam (LEHCPEB: ≤15 keV, ∼2 J/cm2) are presented. Two types of NiTi substrates (differing in the methods of melting alloys) were pretreated with LEHCPEB to improve the adhesion of thin-film coating and to protect it from local delimitation because of the surface cratering under pulsed melting. The methods used in the research include nanoindentation, transmission electron microscopy, and depth profile analysis of nanohardness, Vickers hardness, elastic modulus, depth recovery ratio, and plasticity characteristic as a function of indentation depth. For comparison, similar measurements were carried out with NiTi substrates in the initial state and after LEHCPEB pretreatment, as well as on "Ti70Ta30(1 μm) coating/NiTi substrate" system. It was shown that the upper surface layer in both NiTi substrates is the same in properties after LEHCPEB pretreatment. Our data suggest that the type of multilayer surface structure correlates with its physical-mechanical properties. For NiTi with the Ti-Ta based surface alloy ∼1 μm thick, the highest elasticity falls on the upper submicrocrystalline layer measuring ∼0.2 μm and consisting of two Ti-Ta based phases: α‧‧ martensite (a = 0.475 nm, b = 0.323 nm, c = 0.464 nm) and β austenite (a = 0.327 nm). Beneath the upper layer there is an amorphous sublayer followed by underlayers with coarse (>20 nm) and fine (<20 nm) average grain sizes which provide a gradual transition of the mechanical parameters to the values of the NiTi substrate.

Effect of ultra-thin liner materials on copper nucleation/wetting and copper grain growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mueller, Justin E.

One of the key challenges facing future integrated circuit copper (Cu) interconnect manufacturing is to achieve uniform coverage of PVD Cu seed layer at minimum thickness on a liner and barrier. We have therefore characterized the nucleation and wetting of PVD Cu on various liner surfaces by monitoring in-situ the film's electrical conductance during the initial stages of deposition (0 to 25 nm). Our results showed that the Cu wetting is sensitive to the Cu/liner interfacial properties, while the nucleation depends on the liner microstructure. It was found that a ruthenium (Ru) liner has a good Cu wetting characteristic and allows at the onset nearly layer by layer Cu growth. Because of good wetting, Cu growth is not significantly affected by Ru liner grain size. Tantalum (Ta), however, exhibits poor Cu wetting, which results in an initial stage of three dimensional island growth of Cu. In this case, Cu island coalescing occurs sooner, at a smaller Cu film thickness, when the nucleation site density is increased with a smaller grain size Ta liner. To optimize the seed layer's conductance and step coverage, a liner with combined properties of Ta (for adhesion and barrier formation) and Ru (for wetting and grain growth) may be desired. A hybrid magnetron target has been developed for depositing TaRu liner films at various compositions. The microstructure of the compound liners and their effects on the overgrown Cu seed layer over a wide range of TaRu composition is presented. It was found that below 80% Ru concentration, TaRu films are amorphous. An amorphous liner results in poor Cu nucleation as compared with a crystalline Ta or Ru liner. A comparison of the microstructure of thin Cu films deposited on bcc alpha-Ta and tetragonal beta-Ta surfaces has been carried out. Cu resistivity is lower by 10-15%, accompanied by larger Cu grain size, in as-deposited Cu films of various thickness' (30-120 nm) on beta-Ta as compared to those deposited on alpha-Ta. This is due to

Diffusion barrier properties of single- and multilayered quasi-amorphous tantalum nitride thin films against copper penetration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, G. S.; Chen, S. T.

2000-06-01

Tantalum-related thin films containing different amounts of nitrogen are sputter deposited at different argon-to-nitrogen flow rate ratios on (100) silicon substrates. Using x-ray diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy, composition and resistivity analyses, and bending-beam stress measurement technique, this work examines the impact of varying the nitrogen flow rate, particularly on the crystal structure, composition, resistivity, and residual intrinsic stress of the deposited Ta2N thin films. With an adequate amount of controlled, reactive nitrogen in the sputtering gas, thin films of the tantalum nitride of nominal formula Ta2N are predominantly amorphous and can exist over a range of nitrogen concentrations slightly deviated from stoichiometry. The single-layered quasi-amorphous Ta2N (a-Ta2N) thin films yield intrinsic compressive stresses in the range 3-5 GPa. In addition, the use of the 40-nm-thick a-Ta2N thin films with different nitrogen atomic concentrations (33% and 36%) and layering designs as diffusion barriers between silicon and copper are also evaluated. When subjected to high-temperature annealing, the single-layered a-Ta2N barrier layers degrade primarily by an amorphous-to-crystalline transition of the barrier layers. Crystallization of the single-layered stoichiometric a-Ta2N (Ta67N33) diffusion barriers occurs at temperatures as low as 450 °C. Doing so allows copper to preferentially penetrate through the grain boundaries or thermal-induced microcracks of the crystallized barriers and react with silicon, sequentially forming {111}-facetted pyramidal Cu3Si precipitates and TaSi2 Overdoping nitrogen into the amorphous matrix can dramatically increase the crystallization temperature to 600 °C. This temperature increase slows down the inward diffusion of copper and delays the formation of both silicides. The nitrogen overdoped Ta2N (Ta64N36) diffusion barriers can thus be significantly enhanced so as to yield a failure temperature 100 °C

Chemical surface deposition of ultra-thin semiconductors

DOEpatents

McCandless, Brian E.; Shafarman, William N.

2003-03-25

A chemical surface deposition process for forming an ultra-thin semiconducting film of Group IIB-VIA compounds onto a substrate. This process eliminates particulates formed by homogeneous reactions in bath, dramatically increases the utilization of Group IIB species, and results in the formation of a dense, adherent film for thin film solar cells. The process involves applying a pre-mixed liquid coating composition containing Group IIB and Group VIA ionic species onto a preheated substrate. Heat from the substrate causes a heterogeneous reaction between the Group IIB and VIA ionic species of the liquid coating composition, thus forming a solid reaction product film on the substrate surface.

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

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

Comparison of molecular orientation and phase transition behaviors in the two kinds of ordered ultrathin films of reversed duckweed polymer ES-3 studied by infrared grazing reflection-absorption spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qiang; Xu, Weiqing; Zhao, Bing

2003-03-01

A multilayer LB film and a casting film of reversed duckweed polymer ES-3 on Au-evaporated glass slides were investigated by Fourier Transform infrared grazing reflection-absorption spectroscopy. It is found that the two kinds of ordered ultrathin films have different orientation of alkyl chains, nearly perpendicular to the substrate surface for the LB film while rather tilted for the casting film. The studies on their thermal transition behaviors indicate that both of the films have three phase transition processes, respectively, occurring near 65, 105 and 140 °C for the former while near 80, 105 and 140 °C for the latter, but show different transition behavior in the each corresponding transition process. It is referred that at room temperature there are island-like domain structures formed in the LB film, but no ones in the casting film; however, the latter can form the domain structures between the first two transition points due to the desorption of solvents. The formation of domain structure seems to play two important roles, one of which is to make alkyl chains more perpendicular to the substrate surface, and the other to make alkyl chains more packed closely. Thermal cyclic experiments reveal that neither of the films could return to its original state after thermal cyclic treatment up to the temperature, which is above the third transition point, although its alkyl chain becomes highly ordered again.

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.

Switching characteristics for ferroelectric random access memory based on RC model in poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) ultrathin films

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

Liu, ChangLi; Complex and Intelligent System Research Center, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237; Wang, XueJun

2016-05-15

The switching characteristic of the poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethlene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) films have been studied at different ranges of applied electric field. It is suggest that the increase of the switching speed upon nucleation protocol and the deceleration of switching could be related to the presence of a non-ferroelectric layer. Remarkably, a capacitor and resistor (RC) links model plays significant roles in the polarization switching dynamics of the thin films. For P(VDF-TrFE) ultrathin films with electroactive interlayer, it is found that the switching dynamic characteristics are strongly affected by the contributions of resistor and non-ferroelectric (non-FE) interface factors. A corresponding experiment is designedmore » using poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic) (PEDOT-PSSH) as interlayer with different proton concentrations, and the testing results show that the robust switching is determined by the proton concentration in interlayer and lower leakage current in circuit to reliable applications of such polymer films. These findings provide a new feasible method to enhance the polarization switching for the ferroelectric random access memory.« less

Effect of Mg interlayer on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of CoFeB films in MgO/Mg/CoFeB/Ta structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Q. L.; Iihama, S.; Kubota, T.; Zhang, X. M.; Mizukami, S.; Ando, Y.; Miyazaki, T.

2012-09-01

The effects of Mg metallic interlayer on the magnetic properties of thin CoFeB films in MgO/Mg (tMg)/CoFeB (1.2 nm)/Ta structures were studied in this letter. Our experimental result shows that the CoFeB film exhibits perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) when the CoFeB and MgO layers are separated by a metallic Mg layer with a maximum thickness of 0.8 nm. The origin of PMA was discussed by considering the preferential transmission of the Δ1 symmetry preserved by the Mg interlayer in crystallized MgO/Mg/CoFeB/Ta. In addition, the thin Mg interlayer also contributes to enhancing the thermal stability and reducing the effective damping constant and coercivity of the CoFeB film.

Atomic Scale Control of Competing Electronic Phases in Ultrathin Correlated Oxides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Kyle

2015-03-01

Ultrathin epitaxial thin films offer a number of unique advantages for engineering the electronic properties of correlated transition metal oxides. For example, atomically thin films can be synthesized to artificially confine electrons in two dimensions. Furthermore, using a substrate with a mismatched lattice constant can impose large biaxial strains of larger than 3% (Δa / a), much larger than can achieved in bulk single crystals. Since these dimensionally confined or strained systems may necessarily be less than a few unit cells thick, investigating their properties and electronic structure can be particularly challenging. We employ a combination of reactive oxide molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to investigate how dimensional confinement and epitaxial strain can be used to manipulate electronic properties and structure in correlated transition metal oxide thin films. We describe some of our recent work manipulating and studying the electronic structure of ultrathin LaNiO3 through a thickness-driven metal-insulator transition between three and two unit cells (Nature Nanotechnology 9, 443, 2014), where coherent Fermi liquid-like quasiparticles are suppressed at the metal-insulator transition observed in transport. We also will describe some recent unpublished work using epitaxial strain to drive a Lifshitz transition in atomically thin films of the spin-triplet ruthenate superconductor Sr2RuO4, where we also can dramatically alter the quasiparticle scattering rates and drive the system towards non-Fermi liquid behavior near the critical point (B. Burganov, C. Adamo, in preparation). Funding provided by the Office of Naval Research and Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Dielectric relaxation study of amorphous TiTaO thin films in a large operating temperature range

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

Rouahi, A.; Kahouli, A.; Laboratoire Materiaux, Organisation et Proprietes

2012-11-01

Two relaxation processes have been identified in amorphous TiTaO thin films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. The parallel angle resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy analyses have shown that this material is composed of an agglomerates mixture of TiO{sub 2}, Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}, and Ti-Ta bonds. The first relaxation process appears at low temperature with activation energy of about 0.26 eV and is related to the first ionisation of oxygen vacancies and/or the reduction of Ti{sup 4+} to Ti{sup 3+}. The second relaxation process occurs at high temperature with activation energy of 0.95 eV. This lastmore » peak is associated to the diffusion of the doubly ionized oxygen vacancies V{sub O}e. The dispersion phenomena observed at high temperature can be attributed to the development of complex defect such as (V{sub O}e - 2Ti{sup 3+}).« less

Structure and strain relaxation mechanisms of ultrathin epitaxial Pr2O3 films on Si(111)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schroeder, T.; Lee, T.-L.; Libralesso, L.; Joumard, I.; Zegenhagen, J.; Zaumseil, P.; Wenger, C.; Lupina, G.; Lippert, G.; Dabrowski, J.; Müssig, H.-J.

2005-04-01

The structure of ultrathin epitaxial Pr2O3 films on Si(111) was studied by synchrotron radiation-grazing incidence x-ray diffraction. The oxide film grows as hexagonal Pr2O3 phase with its (0001) plane attached to the Si(111) substrate. The hexagonal (0001) Pr2O3 plane matches the in-plane symmetry of the hexagonal Si(111) surface unit cell by aligning the ⟨101¯0⟩Pr2O3 along the ⟨112¯⟩ Si directions. The small lattice mismatch of 0.5% results in the growth of pseudomorphic oxide films of high crystalline quality with an average domain size of about 50 nm. The critical thickness tc for pseudomorphic growth amounts to 3.0±0.5nm. The relaxation of the oxide film from pseudomorphism to bulk behavior beyond tc causes the introduction of misfit dislocations, the formation of an in-plane small angle mosaicity structure, and the occurence of a phase transition towards a (111) oriented cubic Pr2O3 film structure. The observed phase transition highlights the influence of the epitaxial interface energy on the stability of Pr2O3 phases on Si(111). A mechanism is proposed which transforms the hexagonal (0001) into the cubic (111) Pr2O3 epilayer structure by rearranging the oxygen network but leaving the Pr sublattice almost unmodified.

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.

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.

Out-of-plane chiral domain wall spin-structures in ultrathin in-plane magnets

DOE PAGES

Chen, Gong; Kang, Sang Pyo; Ophus, Colin; ...

2017-05-19

Chiral spin textures in ultrathin films, such as skyrmions or chiral domain walls, are believed to offer large performance advantages in the development of novel spintronics technologies. While in-plane magnetized films have been studied extensively as media for current- and field-driven domain wall dynamics with applications in memory or logic devices, the stabilization of chiral spin textures in in-plane magnetized films has remained rare. Here we report a phase of spin structures in an in-plane magnetized ultrathin film system where out-of-plane spin orientations within domain walls are stable. Moreover, while domain walls in in-plane films are generally expected to bemore » non-chiral, we show that right-handed spin rotations are strongly favoured in this system, due to the presence of the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. These results constitute a platform to explore unconventional spin dynamics and topological phenomena that may enable high-performance in-plane spin-orbitronics devices.« less

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 multilayer capacitors.

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

Renk, Timothy Jerome; Monson, Todd C.

2009-06-01

The fabrication of ultra-thin lanthanum-doped lead zirconium titanate (PLZT) multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) using a high-power pulsed ion beam was studied. The deposition experiments were conducted on the RHEPP-1 facility at Sandia National Laboratories. The goal of this work was to increase the energy density of ceramic capacitors through the formation of a multilayer device with excellent materials properties, dielectric constant, and standoff voltage. For successful device construction, there are a number of challenging requirements including achieving correct stoichiometric and crystallographic composition of the deposited PLZT, as well as the creation of a defect free homogenous film. This report detailsmore » some success in satisfying these requirements, although 900 C temperatures were necessary for PLZT perovskite phase formation. These temperatures were applied to a previously deposited multi-layer film which was then post-annealed to this temperature. The film exhibited mechanical distress attributable to differences in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the various layers. This caused significant defects in the deposited films that led to shorts across devices. A follow-on single layer deposition without post-anneal produced smooth layers with good interface behavior, but without the perovskite phase formation. These issues will need to be addressed in order for ion beam deposited MLCCs to become a viable technology. It is possible that future in-situ heating during deposition may address both the CTE issue, and result in lowered processing temperatures, which in turn could raise the probability of successful MLCC formation.« less

Observation of interacting polaronic gas behavior in Ta-doped TiO2 thin films via terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chia, Elbert; Cheng, Liang; Lourembam, James; Wu, S. G.; Motapothula, Mallikarjuna R.; Sarkar, Tarapada; Venkatesan, Venky

Using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS), we obtained the complex optical conductivity [ σ (ω) ] of Ta-doped TiO2 thin films - a transparent conducting oxide (TCO), in the frequency range 0.3-2.7 THz, temperature range 10-300 K and various Ta dopings. Our results reveal the existence of an interacting polaronic gas in these TCOs, and suggest that their large conductivity is caused by the combined effects of large carrier density and small electron-phonon coupling constant due to Ta doping. NUSNNI-NanoCore, NRF-CRP (NRF2008NRF-CRP002-024), NUS cross-faculty Grant and FRC (ARF Grant No. R-144-000-278-112), MOE Tier 1 (RG123/14), SinBeRISE CREATE.

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.

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.

Native oxide transport and removal during the atomic layer deposition of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} on InAs(100) surfaces

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

Henegar, Alex J.; Gougousi, Theodosia, E-mail: gougousi@umbc.edu

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) was used to deposit Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} on etched and native oxide-covered InAs(100) using pentakis dimethyl amino tantalum and H{sub 2}O at 200–300 °C. The transport and removal of the native oxides during the ALD process was investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Depositions above 200 °C on etched surfaces protected the interface from reoxidation. On native oxide-covered surfaces, depositions resulted in enhanced native oxide removal at higher temperatures. The arsenic oxides were completely removed above 250 °C after 3 nm of film growth, but some of the As{sub 2}O{sub 3} remained in the film at lower temperatures. Angle-resolved andmore » sputter depth profiling XPS confirmed indium and arsenic oxide migration into the Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} film at deposition temperatures as low as 200 °C. Continuous removal of both arsenic and indium oxides was confirmed even after the deposition of several monolayers of a coalesced Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} film, and it was demonstrated that native oxide transport is a prevalent component of the interface “clean-up” mechanism.« less

TA 55 Reinvestment Project II Phase C Update Project Status May 23, 2017

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

Giordano, Anthony P.

The TA-55 Reinvestment Project (TRP) II Phase C is a critical infrastructure project focused on improving safety and reliability of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) TA-55 Complex. The Project recapitalizes and revitalizes aging and obsolete facility and safety systems providing a sustainable nuclear facility for National Security Missions.

Impact of laser power density on tribological properties of Pulsed Laser Deposited DLC films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gayathri, S.; Kumar, N.; Krishnan, R.; AmirthaPandian, S.; Ravindran, T. R.; Dash, S.; Tyagi, A. K.; Sridharan, M.

2013-12-01

Fabrication of wear resistant and low friction carbon films on the engineered substrates is considered as a challenging task for expanding the applications of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films. In this paper, pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique is used to deposit DLC films on two different types of technologically important class of substrates such as silicon and AISI 304 stainless steel. Laser power density is one of the important parameter used to tailor the fraction of sp2 bonded amorphous carbon (a-C) and tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) made by sp3 domain in the DLC film. The I(D)/I(G) ratio decreases with the increasing laser power density which is associated with decrease in fraction of a-C/ta-C ratio. The fraction of these chemical components is quantitatively analyzed by EELS which is well supported to the data obtained from the Raman spectroscopy. Tribological properties of the DLC are associated with chemical structure of the film. However, the super low value of friction coefficient 0.003 is obtained when the film is predominantly constituted by a-C and sp2 fraction which is embedded within the clusters of ta-C. Such a particular film with super low friction coefficient is measured while it was deposited on steel at low laser power density of 2 GW/cm2. The super low friction mechanism is explained by low sliding resistance of a-C/sp2 and ta-C clusters. Combination of excellent physical and mechanical properties of wear resistance and super low friction coefficient of DLC films is desirable for engineering applications. Moreover, the high friction coefficient of DLC films deposited at 9GW/cm2 is related to widening of the intergrain distance caused by transformation from sp2 to sp3 hybridized structure.

Chemical vapor deposition of anisotropic ultrathin gold films on optical fibers: real-time sensing by tilted fiber Bragg gratings and use of a dielectric pre-coating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mandia, David J.; Zhou, Wenjun; Ward, Matthew J.; Joress, Howie; Giorgi, Javier B.; Gordon, Peter; Albert, Jacques; Barry, Seán. T.

2014-09-01

Tilted fiber Bragg gratings (TFBGs) are refractometry-based sensor platforms that have been employed herein as devices for the real-time monitoring of chemical vapour deposition (CVD) in the near-infrared range (NIR). The coreguided light launched within the TFBG core is back-reflected off a gold mirror sputtered onto the fiber-end and is scattered out into the cladding where it can interact with a nucleating thin film. Evanescent fields of the growing gold nanostructures behave differently depending on the polarization state of the core-guided light interrogating the growing film, therefore the resulting spectral profile is typically decomposed into two separate peak families for the orthogonal S- and P-polarizations. Wavelength shifts and attenuation profiles generated from gold films in the thickness regime of 5-100 nm are typically degenerate for deposition directly onto the TFBG. However, a polarization-dependence can be imposed by adding a thin dielectric pre-coating onto the TFBG prior to using the device for CVD monitoring of the ultrathin gold films. It is found that addition of the pre-coating enhances the sensitivity of the P-polarized peak family to the deposition of ultrathin gold films and renders the films optically anisotropic. It is shown herein that addition of the metal oxide coating can increase the peak-to-peak wavelength separation between orthogonal polarization modes as well as allow for easy resonance tracking during deposition. This is also the first reporting of anisotropic gold films generated from this particular gold precursor and CVD process. Using an ensemble of x-ray techniques, the local fine structure of the gold films deposited directly on the TFBG is compared to gold films of similar thicknesses deposited on the Al2O3 pre-coated TFBG and witness slides.

Bayesian inference of metal oxide ultrathin film structure based on crystal truncation rod measurements

PubMed Central

Anada, Masato; Nakanishi-Ohno, Yoshinori; Okada, Masato; Kimura, Tsuyoshi; Wakabayashi, Yusuke

2017-01-01

Monte Carlo (MC)-based refinement software to analyze the atomic arrangements of perovskite oxide ultrathin films from the crystal truncation rod intensity is developed on the basis of Bayesian inference. The advantages of the MC approach are (i) it is applicable to multi-domain structures, (ii) it provides the posterior probability of structures through Bayes’ theorem, which allows one to evaluate the uncertainty of estimated structural parameters, and (iii) one can involve any information provided by other experiments and theories. The simulated annealing procedure efficiently searches for the optimum model owing to its stochastic updates, regardless of the initial values, without being trapped by local optima. The performance of the software is examined with a five-unit-cell-thick LaAlO3 film fabricated on top of SrTiO3. The software successfully found the global optima from an initial model prepared by a small grid search calculation. The standard deviations of the atomic positions derived from a dataset taken at a second-generation synchrotron are ±0.02 Å for metal sites and ±0.03 Å for oxygen sites. PMID:29217989

Peripheral Ferroelectric Domain Switching and Polarization Fatigue in Nonvolatile Memory Elements of Continuous Pt/SrBi2Ta2O9/Pt Thin-Film Capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Min-Chuan; Jiang, An-Quan

2011-07-01

We verify the domain sideway motion around the peripheral regions of the crossed capacitors of top and bottom electrode bars without electrode coverage. To avoid the crosstalk problem between adjacent memory cells, the safe distance between adjacent elements of Pt/SrBi2Ta2O9/Pt thin-film capacitors is estimated to be 0.156 μm. Moreover, the fatigue of Pt/SrBi2Ta2O9/Pt thin-film capacitors is independent of the individual memory size due to the absence of etching damage.

Broadband strip-line ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy of soft magnetic CoFeTaZr patterned thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, S.; Kumar, D.; Jin, T. L.; Nongjai, R.; Asokan, K.; Ghosh, A.; Aparnadevi, M.; Suri, P.; Piramanayagam, S. N.

2018-05-01

In this paper, magnetic and magnetization dynamic properties of compositionally patterned Co46Fe40Ta9Zr5 thin films are investigated. A combination of self-assembly and ion-implantation was employed to locally alter the composition of Co46Fe40Ta9Zr5 thin film in a periodic manner. 20 keV O+ and 60 keV N+ ions were implanted at different doses in order to modify the magnetization dynamic properties of the samples in a controlled fashion. Magnetic hysteresis loop measurements revealed significant changes in the coercivity for higher influences of 5 × 1016 ions per cm2. In particular, N+ implantation was observed to induce two phase formation with high and low coercivities. Broadband strip-line ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy over wide range of frequency (8 - 20 GHz) was used to study the magnetization dynamics as a function of ion-beam dosage. With higher fluences, damping constant showed a continuous increase from 0.0103 to 0.0430. Such control of magnetic properties at nano-scale using this method is believed to be useful for spintronics and microwave device applications.

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

PubMed

Owerre, S A

2016-06-15

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

Fabrication of (K0.5Na0.5)(Nb0.7Ta0.3)O3 thick films by electrophoretic deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vineetha, P.; Saravanan, K. Venkata

2018-05-01

(K0.5Na0.5)(Nb0.7Ta0.3)O3 (KNNT) thick films were prepared by electrophoretic deposition method on copper plates (substrates). Prior to the deposition, stable suspensions of KNNT powder were prepared in isopropyl alcohol medium with and without adding triethanolamine (TEA) as dispersant. The optical transmittance spectra with time for both the suspensions were recorded and compared. Suspensions with dispersant has shown low transmittance, which indicate that the particles were dispersed very well in isopropyl alcohol. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to analyze the adsorption of TEA on KNNT particles. Suspension with dispersant was used for electrophoretic deposition. The depositions were carried out at various d.c voltages, keeping the deposition duration and inter electrode distance constant. X-Ray diffraction was used for the phase analysis of the films.

Tuning the effective parameters in (Ta/Cu/[Ni/Co]x/Ta) multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayareh, Zohreh; Moradi, Mehrdad; Mahmoodi, Saman

2018-06-01

In this paper, we report perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in a (Ta/Cu/[Ni/Co]x/Ta) multilayers structure. These typical structures usually include a multilayer of ferromagnetic and transition metal thin films. Usually, magnetic anisotropy is characterized by magnetization loops determined by magnetometer or magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE). The interface between ferromagnetic and metallic layers plays an important role in magnetic anisotropy evolution from out-of-plane to in-plane in (Ta/Cu/[Ni/Co]/Ta) structure. Obtained results from MOKE and magnetometry of these samples show that they have different easy axes due to change in thickness of Cu as spacer layer and difference in number of repetition of [Ni/Co] stacks.

Tunable magnetic and transport properties of Mn3Ga thin films on Ta/Ru seed layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Fang; Xu, Guizhou; You, Yurong; Zhang, Zhi; Xu, Zhan; Gong, Yuanyuan; Liu, Er; Zhang, Hongguo; Liu, Enke; Wang, Wenhong; Xu, Feng

2018-03-01

Hexagonal D019-type Mn3Z alloys that possess large anomalous and topological-like Hall effects have attracted much attention due to their great potential in antiferromagnetic spintronic devices. Herein, we report the preparation of Mn3Ga films in both tetragonal and hexagonal phases with a tuned Ta/Ru seed layer on a thermally oxidized Si substrate. Large coercivity together with large anomalous Hall resistivity is found in the Ta-only sample with a mixed tetragonal phase. By increasing the thickness of the Ru layer, the tetragonal phase gradually disappears and a relatively pure hexagonal phase is obtained in the Ta(5)/Ru(30) buffered sample. Further magnetic and transport measurements revealed that the anomalous Hall conductivity nearly vanishes in the pure hexagonal sample, while an abnormal asymmetric hump structure emerges in the low field region. The extracted additional Hall term is robust in a large temperature range and presents a sign reversal above 200 K. The abnormal Hall properties are proposed to be closely related to the frustrated spin structure of D019 Mn3Ga.

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.

The adsorption and dissociation of O2 on Pd and Pt modified TaC (1 0 0) surface: A first principles study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Yanan; Zhang, Xilin; Mao, Jianjun; Xu, Xiaopei; Yang, Zongxian

2018-05-01

The adsorption and dissociation of O2 on the palladium and platinum modified TaC (1 0 0) surfaces were investigated based on the density functional theory calculations. It is found that the adsorption sites of O2 are the Ta-Ta bridge sites on both the partially covered TaC (1 0 0) surfaces by Pd and Pt, M4/TaC (1 0 0) (M = Pd and Pt), while the 4-fold metal hollow sites and the metal-metal bridge sites are preferred on the fully covered TaC (1 0 0) surfaces by Pd and Pt monolayer, MML/TaC (1 0 0), respectively. The deposition of Pd or Pt can enhance the oxidation resistance of TaC (1 0 0). Meanwhile, the TaC (1 0 0) decorated by monolayer Pd still exhibited outstanding catalytic activity for O2 dissociation. Our study might be useful to designing efficient catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction.

Nano suboxide layer generated in Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} by Ar{sup +} ion irradiation

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

Song, W. D., E-mail: song-wendong@dsi.a-star.edu.sg, E-mail: ying-ji-feng@dsi.a-star.edu.sg; Ying, J. F., E-mail: song-wendong@dsi.a-star.edu.sg, E-mail: ying-ji-feng@dsi.a-star.edu.sg; He, W.

2015-01-19

Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}/TaO{sub x} heterostructure has become a leading oxide layer in memory cells and/or a bidirectional selector for resistive random access memory (RRAM). Although atomic layer deposition (ALD) was found to be uniquely suitable for depositing uniform and conformal films on complex topographies, it is hard to use ALD to grow suboxide TaO{sub x} layer. In this study, tantalum oxide films with a composition of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} were grown by ALD. Using Ar{sup +} ion irradiation, the suboxide was formed in the top layer of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} films by observing the Ta core level shift toward lowermore » binding energy with angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. By controlling the energy and irradiation time of an Ar{sup +} ion beam, Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}/TaO{sub x} heterostructure can be reliably produced on ALD films, which provides a way to fabricate the critical switching layers of RRAM.« less

EDMOS in ultrathin FDSOI: Impact of the drift region properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Litty, Antoine; Ortolland, Sylvie; Golanski, Dominique; Dutto, Christian; Cristoloveanu, Sorin

2016-11-01

The development of high-voltage MOSFET (HVMOS) is necessary for including power management or radiofrequency functionalities in CMOS technology. In this paper, we investigate the fabrication and optimization of an Extended Drain MOSFET (EDMOS) directly integrated in the ultra-thin SOI film (7 nm) of the 28 nm FDSOI CMOS technology node. Thanks to TCAD simulations, we analyse in detail the device behaviour as a function of the doping level and length of the drift region. The influence of the back-plane doping type and of the back-biasing schemes is discussed. DC measurements of fabricated EDMOS samples reveal promising performances in particular in terms of specific on-resistance versus breakdown voltage trade-off. The experimental results indicate that, even in an ultrathin film, the engineering of the drift region could be a lever to obtain integrated HVMOS (3.3-5 V).

Comparison of reproduce signal and noise of conventional and keepered CoCrTa/Cr thin film media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sin, Kyusik; Ding, Juren; Glijer, Pawel; Sivertsen, John M.; Judy, Jack H.; Zhu, Jian-Gang

1994-05-01

We studied keepered high coercivity CoCrTa/Cr thin film media with a Cr isolation layer between the CoCrTa storage and an overcoating of an isotropic NiFe soft magnetic layer. The influence of the thickness of the NiFe and Cr layers, and the effects of head bias current on the signal output and noise, were studied using a thin film head. The reproduced signal increased by 7.3 dB, but the signal-to-noise ratio decreased by 4 dB at a linear density of 2100 fr/mm (53.3 kfr/in.) with a 1000 Å thick NiFe keeper layer. The medium noise increased with increasing NiFe thickness and the signal output decreased with decreasing Cr thickness. A low output signal obtained with very thin Cr may be due to magnetic interactions between the keeper layer and magnetic media layer. It is observed that signal distortion and timing asymmetry of the output signals depend on the thickness of the keeper layer and the head bias current. The signal distortion increased and the timing asymmetry decreased as the head bias current was increased. These results may be associated with different permeability of the keeper under the poles of the thin film head due to the superposition of head bias and bit fields.

Transport properties of ultra-thin VO{sub 2} films on (001) TiO{sub 2} grown by reactive molecular-beam epitaxy

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

Paik, Hanjong; Tashman, Joshua W.; Moyer, Jarrett A.

2015-10-19

We report the growth of (001)-oriented VO{sub 2} films as thin as 1.5 nm with abrupt and reproducible metal-insulator transitions (MIT) without a capping layer. Limitations to the growth of thinner films with sharp MITs are discussed, including the Volmer-Weber type growth mode due to the high energy of the (001) VO{sub 2} surface. Another key limitation is interdiffusion with the (001) TiO{sub 2} substrate, which we quantify using low angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy in conjunction with electron energy loss spectroscopy. We find that controlling island coalescence on the (001) surface and minimization of cation interdiffusion bymore » using a low growth temperature followed by a brief anneal at higher temperature are crucial for realizing ultrathin VO{sub 2} films with abrupt MIT behavior.« less

The effect of Substrate temperature on physical and electrical properties of DC magnetron sputtered (Ta2O5)0.85(TiO2)0.15 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sekhar, M. Chandra; Uthanna, S.; Martins, R.; Jagadeesh Chandra, S. V.; Elangovan, E.

2012-04-01

Thin films of (Ta2O5)0.85(TiO2)0.15 were deposited on quartz and p-Si substrates by DC reactive magnetron sputtering at different substrate temperatures (Ts) in the range 303 - 873 K. The films deposited at 303 0K were in the amorphous and it transformed to crystalline at substrate temperatures >= 573 0K. The crystallite size was increased from 50 nm to 72 nm with the increase of substrate temperature. The surface morphology was significantly influenced with the substrate temperature. After deposition of the (Ta2O5)0.85(TiO2)0.15 films on Si, aluminium (Al) electrode was deposited to fabricate metal/oxide/semiconductor (MOS) capacitors with a configuration of Al/(Ta2O5)0.85(TiO2)0.15/Si. A low leakage current of 7.7 × 10-5 A/cm2 was obtained from the films deposited at 303 K. The leakage current was decreased to 9.3 × 10-8 A/cm2 with the increase of substrate temperature owing to structural changes. The conduction mechanism of the Al/(Ta2O5)0.85(TiO2)0.15/Si capacitors was analyzed and compared with mechanisms of Poole-Frenkel and Schottky emissions. The optical band gap (Eg) was decreased from 4.45 eV to 4.38 eV with the increase in substrate temperature.

Promising Ta-Ti-Zr-Si metallic glass coating without cytotoxic elements for bio-implant applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lai, J. J.; Lin, Y. S.; Chang, C. H.; Wei, T. Y.; Huang, J. C.; Liao, Z. X.; Lin, C. H.; Chen, C. H.

2018-01-01

Tantalum (Ta) is considered as one of the most promising metal due to its high corrosion resistance, excellent biocompatibility and cell adhesion/in-growth capabilities. Although there are some researches exploring the biomedical aspects of Ta and Ta based alloys, systematic characterizations of newly developed Ta-based metallic glasses in bio-implant applications is still lacking. This study employs sputtering approach to produced thin-film Ti-based metallic glasses due to the high melting temperature of Ta (3020 °C). Two fully amorphous Ta-based metallic glasses composed of Ta57Ti17Zr15Si11 and Ta75Ti10Zr8Si7 are produced and experimentally characterized in terms of their mechanical properties, bio-corrosion properties, surface hydrophilic characteristics, and in-vitro cell viability and cells attachment tests. Compare to conventional pure Ti and Ta metals, the developed Ta-based metallic glasses exhibit higher hardness and lower modulus which are better match to the mechanical properties of bone. MTS assay results show that Ta-based metallic glasses show comparable cell viability and cell attachment rate compared to that of pure Ti and Ta surface in a 72 h in-vitro test.

Strain relaxation in nm-thick Cu and Cu-alloy films bonded to a rigid substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrmann, Ashley Ann Elizabeth

In the wide scope of modern technology, nm-thick metallic films are increasingly used as lubrication layers, optical coatings, plating seeds, diffusion barriers, adhesion layers, metal contacts, reaction catalyzers, etc. A prominent example is the use of nm-thick Cu films as electroplating seed layers in the manufacturing of integrated circuits (ICs). These high density circuits are linked by on-chip copper interconnects, which are manufactured by filling Cu into narrow trenches by electroplating. The Cu fill by electroplating requires a thin Cu seed deposited onto high-aspect-ratio trenches. In modern ICs, these trenches are approaching 10 nm or less in width, and the seed layers less than 1 nm in thickness. Since nm-thick Cu seed layers are prone to agglomeration or delamination, achieving uniform, stable and highly-conductive ultra-thin seeds has become a major manufacturing challenge. A fundamental understanding of the strain behavior and thermal stability of nm-thick metal films adhered to a rigid substrate is thus critically needed. In this study, we focus on understanding the deformation modes of nm-thick Cu and Cu-alloy films bonded to a rigid Si substrate and under compressive stress. The strengthening of Cu films through alloying is also studied. In-situ transport measurements are used to monitor the deformation of such films as they are heated from room temperature to 400 °C. Ex-situ AFM is then used to help characterize the mode of strain relaxation. The relaxation modes are known to be sensitive to the wetting and adhesive properties of the film-substrate interface. We use four different liners (Ta, Ru, Mo and Co), interposed between the film and substrate to provide a wide range of interfacial properties to study their effect on the film's thermal stability. Our measurements indicate that when the film/liner interfacial energy is low, grain growth is the dominant relaxation mechanism. As the interface energy increases, grain growth is suppressed, and

Dynamics and morphology of chiral magnetic bubbles in perpendicularly magnetized ultra-thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarma, Bhaskarjyoti; Garcia-Sanchez, Felipe; Nasseri, S. Ali; Casiraghi, Arianna; Durin, Gianfranco

2018-06-01

We study bubble domain wall dynamics using micromagnetic simulations in perpendicularly magnetized ultra-thin films with disorder and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. Disorder is incorporated into the material as grains with randomly distributed sizes and varying exchange constant at the edges. As expected, magnetic bubbles expand asymmetrically along the axis of the in-plane field under the simultaneous application of out-of-plane and in-plane fields. Remarkably, the shape of the bubble has a ripple-like part which causes a kink-like (steep decrease) feature in the velocity versus in-plane field curve. We show that these ripples originate due to the nucleation and interaction of vertical Bloch lines. Furthermore, we show that the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction field is not constant but rather depends on the in-plane field. We also extend the collective coordinate model for domain wall motion to a magnetic bubble and compare it with the results of micromagnetic simulations.

Nanowire decorated, ultra-thin, single crystalline silicon for photovoltaic devices.

PubMed

Aurang, Pantea; Turan, Rasit; Unalan, Husnu Emrah

2017-10-06