Effects of thermal annealing on elimination of deep defects in amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O thin-film transistors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tang, Haochun; Ide, Keisuke [Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); Hiramatsu, Hidenori [Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); Materials Research Center for Element Strategy, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Mailbox SE-6, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); Ueda, Shigenori [National Institute for Materials Science, 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047 (Japan); Ohashi, Naoki [Materials Research Center for Element Strategy, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Mailbox SE-6, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); National Institute for Materials Science, 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047 (Japan); Kumomi, Hideya [Materials Research Center for Element Strategy, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Mailbox SE-6, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); Hosono, Hideo [Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); Materials Research Center for Element Strategy, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Mailbox SE-6, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); Kamiya, Toshio, E-mail: tkamiya@msl.titech.ac.jp [Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); Materials Research Center for Element Strategy, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Mailbox SE-6, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan)

2016-09-01

We investigated the effects of thermal annealing for high-density subgap states in amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O (a-IGZO) films by focusing on low-quality defective films deposited without O{sub 2} supply (LQ films). It was found that most of the subgap states were thermally unstable and decreased dramatically by annealing at ≤ 400 °C in O{sub 2}. These defects (but with different shapes) were further reduced by 600 °C annealing, whose subgap states appeared similar to that of a-IGZO films deposited at an optimum condition (high quality, HQ films) and annealed at 300 °C. However, electron Hall mobilities and field-effect mobilities of their thin-film transistors (TFTs) were low for the LQ films/TFTs even annealed at 600 °C compared to those for the HQ films/TFTs. It implies that not only the subgap states but also heavier structural disorder deteriorated the electron transport in the LQ films. The present results also suggest that although a-IGZO deposition without O{sub 2} supply is sometimes employed in particular for DC sputtering, supplying some O{sub 2} gas would be better to produce good TFTs at lower temperatures. - Highlights: • Effects of thermal annealing on subgap states in a-In–Ga–Zn–O films were studied. • Hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy was employed. • Low-quality films require annealing at 600 °C to make an operating transistor. • This temperature is much higher than those for high-quality films (300–400 °C). • The high temperature is required because some subgap states are very stable.

Rapid magnetic hardening by rapid thermal annealing in NdFeB-based nanocomposites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chu, K.-T.; Jin, Z Q; Chakka, Vamsi M; Liu, J P [Department of Physics, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019 (United States)

2005-11-21

A systematic study of heat treatments and magnetic hardening of NdFeB-based melt-spun nanocomposite ribbons have been carried out. Comparison was made between samples treated by rapid thermal annealing and by conventional furnace annealing. Heating rates up to 200 K s{sup -1} were adopted in the rapid thermal processing. It was observed that magnetic hardening can be realized in an annealing time as short as 1 s. Coercivity of 10.2 kOe in the nanocomposites has been obtained by rapid thermal annealing for 1 s, and prolonged annealing did not give any increase in coercivity. Detailed results on the effects of annealing time, temperature and heating rate have been obtained. The dependence of magnetic properties on the annealing parameters has been investigated. Structural characterization revealed that there is a close correlation between magnetic hardening and nanostructured morphology. The coercivity mechanism was also studied by analysing the magnetization minor loops.

Rapid thermal annealing of phosphorus implanted silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Y.H.; Pogany, A.; Harrison, H.B.; Williams, J.S.

1985-01-01

Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) of phosphorus-implanted silicon has been investigated by four point probe, Van der Pauw methods and transmission electron microscopy. The results have been compared to furnace annealing. Experiments show that RTA, even at temperatures as low as 605 deg C, results in good electrical properties with little remnant damage and compares favourably with furnace annealing

Effects of thermal annealing and reirradiation on toughness of reactor pressure vessel steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nanstad, R.K.; Iskander, S.K.; Sokolov, M.A.

1996-01-01

One of the options to mitigate the effects of irradiation on reactor pressure vessels (RPV) is to thermally anneal them to restore the toughness properties that have been degraded by neutron irradiation. This paper summarizes recent experimental results from work performed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to study the annealing response, or open-quotes recovery,close quotes of several irradiated RPV steels; it also includes recent results from both ORNL and the Russian Research Center-Kurchatov Institute (RRC-KI) on a cooperative program of irradiation, annealing and reirradiation of both U.S. and Russian RPV steels. The cooperative program was conducted under the auspices of Working Group 3, U.S./Russia Joint Coordinating Committee for Civilian Nuclear Reactor Safety (JCCCNRS). The materials investigated are an RPV plate and various submerged-arc welds, with tensile, Charpy impact toughness, and fracture toughness results variously determined. Experimental results are compared with applicable prediction guidelines, while observed differences in annealing responses and reirradiation rates are discussed

Effects of thermal annealing and reirradiation on toughness of reactor pressure vessel steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nanstad, R.K.; Iskander, S.K.; Sokolov, M.A.

1997-01-01

One of the options to mitigate the effects of irradiation on reactor pressure vessels (RPV) is to thermally anneal them to restore the toughness properties that have been degraded by neutron irradiation. This paper summarizes recent experimental results from work performed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to study the annealing response, or open-quotes recovery,close quotes of several irradiated RPV steels; it also includes recent results from both ORNL and the Russian Research Center-Kurchatov Institute (RRC-KI) on a cooperative program of irradiation, annealing and reirradiation of both U.S. and Russian RPV steels. The cooperative program was conducted under the auspices of Working Group 3, U.S./Russia Joint Coordinating Committee for Civilian Nuclear Reactor Safety (JCCCNRS). The materials investigated are an RPV plate and various submerged-arc welds, with tensile, Charpy impact toughness, and fracture toughness results variously determined. Experimental results are compared with applicable prediction guidelines, while observed differences in annealing responses and reirradiation rates are discussed

Rapid Thermal annealing of silicon layers amorphized by ion implantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasenack, C.M.

1986-01-01

The recrystallization behavior and the supression mechanisms of the residual defects of silicon layers amorphized by ion implantation, were investigated. The samples were annealed with the aid of a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) system at temperature range from 850 to 1200 0 C, and annealing time up to 120 s. Random and aligned Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy were used to analyse the samples. Similarities in the recrystallization behavior for layers implanted with ions of the same chemical groups such as As or Sb; Ge, Sn or Pb, In or Ga, are observed. The results show that the effective supression of resisual defects of the recrystallired layers is vinculated to the redistribution of impurities via thermal diffusion. (author) [pt

Effect of thermal annealing on resistance switching characteristics of Pt/ZrO2/TiN stacks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jonggi; Lee, Kyumin; Kim, Yonjae; Na, Heedo; Ko, Dae-Hong; Sohn, Hyunchul; Lee, Sunghoon

2013-01-01

In this study, the effect of thermal annealing on both the physical properties and the resistive switching properties of ZrO 2 films deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) method were investigated for its potential application to non-volatile memory devices. The ZrO 2 films in the Pt/ZrO 2 /TiN structure exhibited unipolar and bipolar resistance switching behaviors depending on the nature of the bias applied to Pt top electrodes for the electro-forming process. For unipolar switching, the resistance of the high resistance state (HRS) was reduced with increasing annealing temperature, accompanied with the increase of metallic Zr in the annealed ZrO 2 films. In contrast, the HRS resistance in the bipolar switching was increased while the low resistance state (LRS) resistance was decreased with increasing annealing temperature, producing a greater change in resistance. SIMS and EDX showed that the thickness of interfacial TiO x N y layer between the ZrO 2 and the TiN bottom electrode was enlarged with annealing. The enlarged TiO x N y layer was expected to produce the reduction of LRS resistance with the increase of HRS resistance in the bipolar resistance switching. - Highlights: • Effect of thermal annealing on resistive switching of ZrO 2 was investigated. • Both unipolar and bipolar switching were shown in the Pt/ZrO 2 /TiN stack. • TiO x N y interface layer was enlarged with increasing annealing temperature. • TiO x N y interface plays an important role in resistive switching properties

Effect of rapid thermal annealing on InP1−xBix grown by molecular beam epitaxy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, X Y; Wang, K; Pan, W W; Wang, P; Li, Y Y; Song, Y X; Gu, Y; Yue, L; Xu, H; Zhang, Z P; Cui, J; Gong, Q; Wang, S M

2015-01-01

The effect of post-growth rapid thermal annealing on structural and optical properties of InP 1−x Bi x thin films was investigated. InPBi shows good thermal stability up to 500 °C and a modest improvement in photoluminescence (PL) intensity with an unchanged PL spectral feature. Bismuth outdiffusion from InPBi and strain relaxation are observed at about 600 °C. The InPBi sample annealed at 800 °C shows an unexpected PL spectrum with different energy transitions. (paper)

Annealing effect on thermal conductivity and microhardness of carbon nanotube containing Se80Te16Cu4 glassy composites

Science.gov (United States)

Upadhyay, A. N.; Tiwari, R. S.; Singh, Kedar

2018-02-01

This study deals with the effect of thermal annealing on structural/microstructural, thermal and mechanical behavior of pristine Se80Te16Cu4 and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) containing Se80Te16Cu4 glassy composites. Pristine Se80Te16Cu4, 3 and 5 wt%CNTs-Se80Te16Cu4 glassy composites are annealed in the vicinity of glass transition temperature to onset crystallization temperature (340-380 K). X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern revealed formation of polycrystalline phases of hexagonal CuSe and trigonal selenium. The indexed d-values in XRD patterns are in well conformity with the d-values obtained after the indexing of the ring pattern of selected area electron diffraction pattern of TEM images. The SEM investigation exhibited that the grain size of the CNTs containing Se80Te16Cu4 glassy composites increased with increasing annealing temperature and decreased at further higher annealing temperature. Thermal conductivity, microhardness exhibited a substantial increase with increasing annealing temperature of 340-360 K and slightly decreases for 380 K. The variation of thermal conductivity and microhardness can be explained by cross-linking formation and voids reduction.

Study of annealing effects in Al–Sb bilayer thin films

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

There are three methods to prepare compound semiconductor systems: bilayer annealing (Singh and Vijay 2004a), rapid thermal annealing (Singh and Vijay 2004b) and ion beam mixing (Dhar et al 2003). The annealing and ion beam mixing were found to show inferior mixing effects compared to rapid thermal annealing.

Thermal annealing studies in muscovite and in quartz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberts, J.H.; Gold, R.; Ruddy, F.H.

1979-06-01

In order to use Solid State Track Recorders (SSTR) in environments at elevated temperatures, it is necessary to know the thermal annealing characteristics of various types of SSTR. For applications in the nuclear energy program, the principal interest is focused upon the annealing of fission tracks in muscovite mica and in quartz. Data showing correlations between changes in track diameters and track densities as a function of annealing time and temperature will be presented for Amersil quartz glass. Similar data showing changes in track lengths and in track densities will be presented for mica. Time-temperature regions will be defined where muscovite mica can be accurately applied with negligible correction for thermal annealing

Thermal annealing of gamma irradiated ammonium chloride (Preprint no. RC-37)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalkar, C.D.; Lala, Neeta

1991-01-01

Ammonium chloride produces N 2 H 4 + and Cl 2 as the main radiolytic products on gamma irradiation. Thermal annealing has a marked effect on the stability of N 2 H 4 + and Cl 2 . During the thermal annealing the chemical yield of nitrite and iodine was studied by dissolving irradiated ammonium chloride in aqueous sodium nitrate and potassium iodide respectively. The yield of iodine in isochronal annealing showed an exponential behaviour with temperature while that of nitrite showed a decrease and then increases at higher temperatures. The results are explained on the basis of dissociation and recombination of N 2 H 4 + with temperature. (author). 3 refs., 2 figs

Optimized Laser Thermal Annealing on Germanium for High Dopant Activation and Low Leakage Current

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shayesteh, Maryam; O' Connell, Dan; Gity, Farzan

2014-01-01

In this paper, state-of-the-art laser thermal annealing is used to fabricate Ge diodes. We compared the effect of laser thermal annealing (LTA) and rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on dopant activation and electrical properties of phosphorus and Arsenic-doped n +/p junctions. Using LTA, high carrier...... implant conditions. On the other hand, RTA revealed very high I on/I off ratio ∼ 107 and n ∼ 1, at the cost of high dopant diffusion and lower carrier concentrations which would degrade scalability and access resistance....

Reduction of thermal quenching of biotite mineral due to annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalita, J.M.; Wary, G.

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Thermoluminescence of X-ray irradiate biotite was studied at various heating rates. • Thermal quenching was found to decrease with increase in annealing temperature. • Due to annealing one trap level was vanished and a new shallow trap level generated. • The new trap level contributes low thermally quenched thermoluminescence signal. - Abstract: Thermoluminescence (TL) of X-ray irradiated natural biotite annealed at 473, 573, 673 and 773 K were studied within 290–480 K at various linear heating rates (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 K/s). A Computerized Glow Curve Deconvolution technique was used to study various TL parameters. Thermal quenching was found to be very high for un-annealed sample, however it decreased significantly with increase in annealing temperature. For un-annealed sample thermal quenching activation energy (W) and pre-exponential frequency factor (C) were found to be W = (2.71 ± 0.05) eV and C = (2.38 ± 0.05) × 10 12 s −1 respectively. However for 773 K annealed sample, these parameters were found to be W = (0.63 ± 0.03) eV, C = (1.75 ± 0.27) × 10 14 s −1 . Due to annealing, the initially present trap level at depth 1.04 eV was vanished and a new shallow trap state was generated at depth of 0.78 eV which contributes very low thermally quenched TL signal

Effects of rapid thermal annealing on the optical properties of strain-free quantum ring solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Strain-free GaAs/Al0.33Ga0.67As quantum rings are fabricated by droplet epitaxy. Both photoresponse and photoluminescence spectra confirm optical transitions in quantum rings, suggesting that droplet epitaxial nanomaterials are applicable to intermediate band solar cells. The effects of post-growth annealing on the quantum ring solar cells are investigated, and the optical properties of the solar cells with and without thermal treatment are characterized by photoluminescence technique. Rapid thermal annealing treatment has resulted in the significant improvement of material quality, which can be served as a standard process for quantum structure solar cells grown by droplet epitaxy. PMID:23281811

Thermal annealing and ionic abrasion in ZnTe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bensahel, D.

1975-01-01

Thermal annealing of the ZnTe crystal is studied first in order to obtain information on the aspect of the penetration profile. Ionic abrasion is then investigated to find out whether it produces the same effects as ionic implantation, especially for luminescence [fr

Surface modification of cellulose acetate membrane using thermal annealing to enhance produced water treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kusworo, T. D., E-mail: tdkusworo@che.undip.ac.id; Aryanti, N., E-mail: nita.aryanti@gmail.com; Firdaus, M. M. H.; Sukmawati, H. [Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University Prof. Soedarto Street, Tembalang, Semarang, 50239, Phone/Fax : (024)7460058 (Indonesia)

2015-12-29

This study is performed primarily to investigate the effect of surface modification of cellulose acetate using thermal annealing on the enhancement of membrane performance for produced water treatment. In this study, Cellulose Acetate membranes were casted using dry/wet phase inversion technique. The effect of additive and post-treatment using thermal annealing on the membrane surface were examined for produced water treatment. Therma annealing was subjected to membrane surface at 60 and 70 °C for 5, 10 and 15 second, respectively. Membrane characterizations were done using membrane flux and rejection with produced water as a feed, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) analysis. Experimental results showed that asymmetric cellulose acetate membrane can be made by dry/wet phase inversion technique. The results from the Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) analysis was also confirmed that polyethylene glycol as additivie in dope solution and thermal annealing was affected the morphology and membrane performance for produced water treatment, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs showed that the selective layer and the substructure of membrane became denser and more compact after the thermal annealing processes. Therefore, membrane rejection was significantly increased while the flux was slighty decreased, respectively. The best membrane performance is obtained on the composition of 18 wt % cellulose acetate, poly ethylene glycol 5 wt% with thermal annealing at 70° C for 15 second.

Surface modification of cellulose acetate membrane using thermal annealing to enhance produced water treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kusworo, T. D.; Aryanti, N.; Firdaus, M. M. H.; Sukmawati, H.

2015-01-01

This study is performed primarily to investigate the effect of surface modification of cellulose acetate using thermal annealing on the enhancement of membrane performance for produced water treatment. In this study, Cellulose Acetate membranes were casted using dry/wet phase inversion technique. The effect of additive and post-treatment using thermal annealing on the membrane surface were examined for produced water treatment. Therma annealing was subjected to membrane surface at 60 and 70 °C for 5, 10 and 15 second, respectively. Membrane characterizations were done using membrane flux and rejection with produced water as a feed, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) analysis. Experimental results showed that asymmetric cellulose acetate membrane can be made by dry/wet phase inversion technique. The results from the Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) analysis was also confirmed that polyethylene glycol as additivie in dope solution and thermal annealing was affected the morphology and membrane performance for produced water treatment, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs showed that the selective layer and the substructure of membrane became denser and more compact after the thermal annealing processes. Therefore, membrane rejection was significantly increased while the flux was slighty decreased, respectively. The best membrane performance is obtained on the composition of 18 wt % cellulose acetate, poly ethylene glycol 5 wt% with thermal annealing at 70° C for 15 second

Processes in N-channel MOSFETs during postirradiation thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pejovic, M.; Jaksic, A.; Ristic, G.; Baljosevic, B.

1997-01-01

The processes during postirradiation thermal annealing of γ-ray irradiated n-channel MOSFETs with both wet and dry gate oxides are investigated. For both analysed technologies, a so-called ''latent'' interface trap buildup is observed, followed at very late annealing times by the decrease in the interface-trap density. A model is proposed that successfully accounts for the experimental results. Implications of observed effects for total dose hardness assurance test methods implementation are discussed. (author)

The Effect of Thermal Annealing on the Optical Properties of a-SiC:H Films Produced by DC Sputtering Methods: I

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lusitra Munisa

2003-04-01

Full Text Available Silicon Target Case. The effects of thermal annealing treatment on the optical properties of amorphous silicon carbon films deposited by silicon target in an argon, methane and hydrogen gas mixture have been studied using ultra violet-visible (uv-vis spectroscopy. Both n and α, and consequently the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant, show a considerable variation with subsequent annealing up to annealing temperature 500 °C, with the most rapid changes occurring for temperature 300 °C. The films tend denser as the annealing temperature increased up to 500°C. The optical gap improved slightly upon annealing, where as the disorder of the amorphous network reduced. The annealing treatment produces reorganization of the amorphous network since thermal annealing results in dissociation of hydrogenated bonds (Si-H and C-H.

Thermal annealing of tilted fiber Bragg gratings

Science.gov (United States)

González-Vila, Á.; Rodríguez-Cobo, L.; Mégret, P.; Caucheteur, C.; López-Higuera, J. M.

2016-05-01

We report a practical study of the thermal decay of cladding mode resonances in tilted fiber Bragg gratings, establishing an analogy with the "power law" evolution previously observed on uniform gratings. We examine how this process contributes to a great thermal stability, even improving it by means of a second cycle slightly increasing the annealing temperature. In addition, we show an improvement of the grating spectrum after annealing, with respect to the one just after inscription, which suggests the application of this method to be employed to improve saturation issues during the photo-inscription process.

Effect of thermal annealing on a novel polyamide–imide polymer membrane for aggressive acid gas separations

KAUST Repository

Vaughn, Justin T.; Koros, William J.; Johnson, J.R.; Karvan, Oguz

2012-01-01

A fluorinated, 6FDA based polyamide-imide is investigated for the purification of CH 4 from CO 2 and H 2S containing gas streams. Dense polymer films were thermally annealed and showed that increased annealing temperatures at constant annealing time caused transport behavior that does not resemble physical aging. Free volume increased after annealing at 200°C for 24h relative to annealing at 150°C for the same time. CO 2 and CH 4 permeabilities and diffusivities did not decrease as a result of the higher annealing temperature, and in fact, were shown to increase slightly. A change to the intrinsic microstructure that cannot be described by simple, densification based physical aging is hypothesized to be the reason for this trend. Furthermore, annealing increased CO 2 induced plasticization resistance and a temperature of 200°C was shown to have the greatest effect on plasticization suppression. Annealing at 200°C for 24h suppressed pure gas CO 2 plasticization up to 450psia. Fluorescence spectroscopy revealed increased intramolecular charge transfer, which is presumably due to increased electron conjugation over the N-phenyl bond. Additionally, intermolecular charge transfer increased with thermal annealing, as inferred from fluorescence intensity measurements and XRD patterns. 50/50 CO 2/CH 4 mixed gas permeation measurements reveal stable separation performance up to 1000psia. Ternary mixed gas feeds containing toluene/CO 2/CH 4 and H 2S/CO 2/CH 4 show antiplasticization, but more importantly, selectivity losses due to plasticization did not occur up to 900psia of total feed pressure. These results show that the polyamide-imide family represents a promising class of separation materials for aggressive acid gas purifications. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Effect of thermal annealing on a novel polyamide–imide polymer membrane for aggressive acid gas separations

KAUST Repository

Vaughn, Justin T.

2012-05-01

A fluorinated, 6FDA based polyamide-imide is investigated for the purification of CH 4 from CO 2 and H 2S containing gas streams. Dense polymer films were thermally annealed and showed that increased annealing temperatures at constant annealing time caused transport behavior that does not resemble physical aging. Free volume increased after annealing at 200°C for 24h relative to annealing at 150°C for the same time. CO 2 and CH 4 permeabilities and diffusivities did not decrease as a result of the higher annealing temperature, and in fact, were shown to increase slightly. A change to the intrinsic microstructure that cannot be described by simple, densification based physical aging is hypothesized to be the reason for this trend. Furthermore, annealing increased CO 2 induced plasticization resistance and a temperature of 200°C was shown to have the greatest effect on plasticization suppression. Annealing at 200°C for 24h suppressed pure gas CO 2 plasticization up to 450psia. Fluorescence spectroscopy revealed increased intramolecular charge transfer, which is presumably due to increased electron conjugation over the N-phenyl bond. Additionally, intermolecular charge transfer increased with thermal annealing, as inferred from fluorescence intensity measurements and XRD patterns. 50/50 CO 2/CH 4 mixed gas permeation measurements reveal stable separation performance up to 1000psia. Ternary mixed gas feeds containing toluene/CO 2/CH 4 and H 2S/CO 2/CH 4 show antiplasticization, but more importantly, selectivity losses due to plasticization did not occur up to 900psia of total feed pressure. These results show that the polyamide-imide family represents a promising class of separation materials for aggressive acid gas purifications. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Scalable effective-temperature reduction for quantum annealers via nested quantum annealing correction

Science.gov (United States)

Vinci, Walter; Lidar, Daniel A.

2018-02-01

Nested quantum annealing correction (NQAC) is an error-correcting scheme for quantum annealing that allows for the encoding of a logical qubit into an arbitrarily large number of physical qubits. The encoding replaces each logical qubit by a complete graph of degree C . The nesting level C represents the distance of the error-correcting code and controls the amount of protection against thermal and control errors. Theoretical mean-field analyses and empirical data obtained with a D-Wave Two quantum annealer (supporting up to 512 qubits) showed that NQAC has the potential to achieve a scalable effective-temperature reduction, Teff˜C-η , with 0 temperature of a quantum annealer. Such effective-temperature reduction is relevant for machine-learning applications. Since we demonstrate that NQAC achieves error correction via a reduction of the effective-temperature of the quantum annealing device, our results address the problem of the "temperature scaling law for quantum annealers," which requires the temperature of quantum annealers to be reduced as problems of larger sizes are attempted to be solved.

Effect of thermal annealing on the properties of transparent conductive In–Ga–Zn oxide thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Ling [Key Laboratory of Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049, China and School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China); Fan, Lina; Li, Yanhuai; Song, Zhongxiao; Ma, Fei, E-mail: mafei@mail.xjtu.edu.cn, E-mail: chlliu@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Liu, Chunliang, E-mail: mafei@mail.xjtu.edu.cn, E-mail: chlliu@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China)

2014-03-15

Amorphous In–Ga–Zn oxide (IGZO) thin films were prepared using radio frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature. Upon thermal annealing at temperatures even up to 500 °C, the amorphous characteristics were still maintained, but the electronic properties could be considerably enhanced. This could be ascribed to the increased optical band gap and the increased oxygen vacancies, as corroborated by the microstructure characterizations. In addition, the surface became smoother upon thermal annealing, guaranteeing good interface contact between electrode and a-IGZO. The optical transmittance at 400–800 nm exceeded 90% for all samples. All in all, thermal annealing at appropriate temperatures is expected to improve the performances of relevant a-IGZO thin film transistors.

Effect of an in-situ thermal annealing on the structural properties of self-assembled GaSb/GaAs quantum dots

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fernández-Delgado, N., E-mail: natalia.fernandezdelgado@alum.uca.es [Department of Material Science, Metallurgical Engineering and Inorganic Chemistry, IMEYMAT, University of Cádiz, 11510, Puerto Real, Cádiz (Spain); Herrera, M. [Department of Material Science, Metallurgical Engineering and Inorganic Chemistry, IMEYMAT, University of Cádiz, 11510, Puerto Real, Cádiz (Spain); Chisholm, M.F. [Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy Group, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN (United States); Kamarudin, M.A. [Department of Physics, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YB (United Kingdom); Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM Serdang, Selangor (Malaysia); Zhuang, Q.D.; Hayne, M. [Department of Physics, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YB (United Kingdom); Molina, S.I. [Department of Material Science, Metallurgical Engineering and Inorganic Chemistry, IMEYMAT, University of Cádiz, 11510, Puerto Real, Cádiz (Spain)

2017-02-15

Highlights: • GaSb QDs are more elongated and Sb is less concentrated after the thermal annealing. • The density of misfit dislocations in GaSb QDs is reduced after the annealing. • Threading dislocations in GaSb/GaAs QDs are Sb-rich after the thermal annealing. • The gliding of a threading dislocation favors Sb diffusion in GaSb/GaAs QDs. - Abstract: In this work, the effect of the application of a thermal annealing on the structural properties of GaSb/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) is analyzed by aberration corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) Our results show that the GaSb/GaAs QDs are more elongated after the annealing, and that the interfaces are less abrupt due to the Sb diffusion. We have also found a strong reduction in the misfit dislocation density with the annealing. The analysis by EELS of a threading dislocation has shown that the dislocation core is rich in Sb. In addition, the region of the GaAs substrate delimited by the threading dislocation is shown to be Sb-rich as well. An enhanced diffusion of Sb due to a mechanism assisted by the dislocation movement is discussed.

Recombination luminescence in irradiated silicon - Effects of thermal annealing and lithium impurity.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, E. S.; Compton, W. D.

1971-01-01

Use of luminescence in irradiated silicon to determine the thermal stability of the defects responsible for the recombination. It is found that the defect responsible for the zero-phonon line at 0.97 eV has an annealing behavior similar to that of the divacancy and that the zero-phonon line at 0.79 eV anneals in a manner similar to the G-15 or K-center. Annealing at temperatures up to 500 C generates other defects whose luminescence is distinct from that seen previously. Addition of lithium to the material produces defects with new characteristic luminescence. Of particular importance is a defect with a level at E sub g -1.045 eV.

Effect of thermal annealing of lead oxide film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, Oh Hyeon; Kim, Sang Su; Suh, Jong Hee; Cho, Shin Hang; Kim, Ki Hyun; Hong, Jin Ki; Kim, Sun Ung

2011-01-01

Oxygen partial pressure in a growth process of lead oxide determines chemical and physical properties as well as crystalline structure. In order to supply oxygen, two ring-shape suppliers have been installed in a growth chamber. Films have been deposited using vacuum thermal evaporation from a raw material of yellow lead oxide powder (5N). Growth rate is controlled to be about 400 A/s, and film thickness more than 50 μm has been achieved. After deposition, the film is annealed at various temperatures under an oxygen atmosphere. In this study, an optimum growth condition for a good X-ray detector has been achieved by fine control of oxygen flow-rate and by thermal treatment. An electrical resistivity of 4.5x10 12 Ω cm is measured, and is comparable with the best data of PbO.

The effect of thermal annealing on pentacene thin film transistor with micro contact printing.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Hong-Sik; Yun, Ho-Jin; Baek, Kyu-Ha; Ham, Yong-Hyun; Park, Kun-Sik; Kim, Dong-Pyo; Lee, Ga-Won; Lee, Hi-Deok; Lee, Kijun; Do, Lee-Mi

2012-07-01

We used micro contact printing (micro-CP) to fabricate inverted coplanar pentacene thin film transistors (TFTs) with 1-microm channels. The patterning of micro-scale source/drain electrodes without etch process was successfully achieved using Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer stamp. We used the Ag nano particle ink as an electrode material, and the sheet resistance and surface roughness of the Ag electrodes were effectively reduced with the 2-step thermal annealing on a hotplate, which improved the mobility, the on-off ratio, and the subthreshold slope (SS) of the pentacene TFTs. In addition, the device annealing on a hotplate in a N2 atmosphere for 30 sec can enhance the off-current and the mobility properties of OTFTs without damaging the pentacene thin films and increase the adhesion between pentacene and dielectric layer (SiO2), which was investigated with the pentacene films phase change of the XRD spectrum after device annealing.

Susceptor and proximity rapid thermal annealing of InP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katz, A.; Pearton, S.J.; Geva, M.

1990-01-01

This paper presents a comparison between the efficiency of InP rapid thermal annealing within two types of SiC-coated graphite susceptors and by using the more conventional proximity approach, in providing degradation-free substrate surface morphology. The superiority of annealing within a susceptor was clearly demonstrated through the evaluation of AuGe contact performance to carbon-implanted InP substrates, which were annealed to activate the implants prior to the metallization. The susceptor annealing provided better protection against edge degradation, slip formation and better surface morphology, due to the elimination of P outdiffusion and pit formation. The two SiC-coated susceptors that were evaluated differ from each other in their geometry. The first type must be charged with the group V species prior to any annealing cycle. Under the optimum charging conditions, effective surface protection was provided only to one anneal (750 degrees C, 10s) of InP before charging was necessary. The second contained reservoirs for provision of the group V element partial pressure, enabled high temperature annealing at the InP without the need for continual recharging of the susceptor. Thus, one has the ability to subsequentially anneal a lot of InP wafers at high temperatures without inducing any surface deterioration

Effect of thermal annealing on optical properties of implanted GaAs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kulik, M; Komarov, FF; Maczka, D

GaAs samples doped with indium atoms by ion implantation and thermal annealed were studied using a channelling method, Rutherford backscattering, and an ellipsometry. From these measurements it was observed that the layer implanted with 3 x 10(16) cm(-2) indium dose was totally damaged and its

Neutron, gamma ray and post-irradiation thermal annealing effects on power semiconductor switches

Science.gov (United States)

Schwarze, G. E.; Frasca, A. J.

1991-01-01

The effects of neutron and gamma rays on the electrical and switching characteristics of power semiconductor switches must be known and understood by the designer of the power conditioning, control, and transmission subsystem of space nuclear power systems. The SP-100 radiation requirements at 25 m from the nuclear source are a neutron fluence of 10(exp 13) n/sq cm and a gamma dose of 0.5 Mrads. Experimental data showing the effects of neutrons and gamma rays on the performance characteristics of power-type NPN Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs), Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETs), and Static Induction Transistors (SITs) are presented. These three types of devices were tested at radiation levels which met or exceeded the SP-100 requirements. For the SP-100 radiation requirements, the BJTs were found to be most sensitive to neutrons, the MOSFETs were most sensitive to gamma rays, and the SITs were only slightly sensitive to neutrons. Post-irradiation thermal anneals at 300 K and up to 425 K were done on these devices and the effectiveness of these anneals are also discussed.

Effect of thermal annealing on the redistribution of alkali metals in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells on glass substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Kamikawa, Yukiko; Nishinaga, Jiro; Ishizuka, Shogo; Tayagaki, Takeshi; Guthrey, Harvey; Shibata, Hajime; Matsubara, Koji; Niki, Shigeru

2018-03-01

The precise control of alkali-metal concentrations in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells via post deposition treatment (PDT) has recently attracted attention. When PDT is performed at an elevated temperature, an accompanying annealing effect is expected. Here, we investigate how thermal annealing affects the redistribution of alkali metals in CIGS solar cells on glass substrates and the properties of the solar cells. In addition, we investigate the origin of non-homogeneous alkali-metal depth profiles that are typical of CIGS grown using a three-stage process. In particular, we use secondary-ion mass spectrometry measurements of the ion concentration as a function of distance from the CIGS surface to investigate the impact of thermal annealing on the distribution of alkali metals (Na, Ka, and Rb) and constituent elements (Ga and In) in the CIGS absorbers. We find that the depth profiles of the alkali metals strongly reflect the density of sites that tend to accommodate alkali metals, i.e., vacancies. Annealing at elevated temperature caused a redistribution of the alkali metals. The thermal-diffusion kinetics of alkali metals depends strongly on the species involved. We introduced low flux potassium fluoride (KF) to study a side effect of KF-PDT, i.e., Na removal from CIGS, separately from its predominant effects such as surface modification. When sufficient amounts of Na are supplied from the soda lime glass via annealing at an elevated temperature, the negative effect was not apparent. Conversely, when the Na supply was not sufficient, it caused a deterioration of the photovoltaic properties.

Effect of Thermal Annealing on the Redistribution of Alkali Metals in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells on Glass Substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guthrey, Harvey L [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Kamikawa, Yukiko [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST); Nishinaga, Jiro [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST); Ishizuka, Shogo [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST); Tayagaki, Takeshi [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST); Shibata, Hajime [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST); Matsubara, Koji [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST); Niki, Shigeru [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

2018-03-02

The precise control of alkali-metal concentrations in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells via post deposition treatment (PDT) has recently attracted attention. When PDT is performed at an elevated temperature, an accompanying annealing effect is expected. Here, we investigate how thermal annealing affects the redistribution of alkali metals in CIGS solar cells on glass substrates and the properties of the solar cells. In addition, we investigate the origin of non-homogeneous alkali-metal depth profiles that are typical of CIGS grown using a three-stage process. In particular, we use secondary-ion mass spectrometry measurements of the ion concentration as a function of distance from the CIGS surface to investigate the impact of thermal annealing on the distribution of alkali metals (Na, Ka, and Rb) and constituent elements (Ga and In) in the CIGS absorbers. We find that the depth profiles of the alkali metals strongly reflect the density of sites that tend to accommodate alkali metals, i.e., vacancies. Annealing at elevated temperature caused a redistribution of the alkali metals. The thermal-diffusion kinetics of alkali metals depends strongly on the species involved. We introduced low flux potassium fluoride (KF) to study a side effect of KF-PDT, i.e., Na removal from CIGS, separately from its predominant effects such as surface modification. When sufficient amounts of Na are supplied from the soda lime glass via annealing at an elevated temperature, the negative effect was not apparent. Conversely, when the Na supply was not sufficient, it caused a deterioration of the photovoltaic properties.

Rapid thermal annealing of FePt and FePt/Cu thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brombacher, Christoph

2011-01-10

Chemically ordered FePt is one of the most promising materials to reach the ultimate limitations in storage density of future magnetic recording devices due to its high uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy and a corrosion resistance superior to rare-earth based magnets. In this study, FePt and FePt/Cu bilayers have been sputter deposited at room temperature onto thermally oxidized silicon wafers, glass substrates and self-assembled arrays of spherical SiO{sub 2} particles with diameters down to 10 nm. Millisecond flash lamp annealing, as well as conventional rapid thermal annealing was employed to induce the phase transformation from the chemically disordered A1 phase into the chemically ordered L1{sub 0} phase. The influence of the annealing temperature, annealing time and the film thickness on the ordering transformation and (001) texture evolution of FePt films with near equiatomic composition was studied. Whereas flash lamp annealed FePt films exhibit a polycrystalline morphology with high chemical L1{sub 0} order, rapid thermal annealing can lead to the formation of chemically ordered FePt films with (001) texture on amorphous SiO{sub 2}/Si substrates. The resultant high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and large coercivities up to 40 kOe are demonstrated. Simultaneously to the ordering transformation, rapid thermal annealing to temperatures exceeding 600 C leads to a break up of the continuous FePt film into separated islands. This dewetting behavior was utilized to create regular arrays of FePt nanostructures on SiO{sub 2} particle templates with periods down to 50 nm. The addition of Cu improves the (001) texture formation and chemical ordering for annealing temperatures T{sub a} {<=}600 C. In addition, the magnetic anisotropy and the coercivity of the ternary FePtCu alloy can be effectively tailored by adjusting the Cu content. The prospects of FePtCu based exchange spring media, as well as the magnetic properties of FePtCu nanostructures fabricated

Organic products from Ca14Co3 autoradiolysis: effects of thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albarran S, M.G.; Collins, K.E.; Collins, C.H.

1986-01-01

Autoradiolysis of Ca 14 Co 3 produces several different low molecular mass organic compounds which can be conveniently observed after ion exclusion-partition chromatographic separation of the dissolved sample, provided that the solid was prepared with high specific activity carbon-14 and has been stored for a sufficiently long period. Subsequent thermal annealing changes the distribution of these observed compounds, demonstrating that chemical reactions of the precursor species take place in the solid Ca 14 Co 3 matrix. Specifically, the following products were observed after an autoradiolytic dose of 5 MGy: methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid, oxalic acid, glyoxylic acid, glycolic acid and acetic acid, with-G-values ranging from 5x10 -6 to 2x10 -3 . Isochronal annealing to 500 0 C markedly changes the yields of carbon-14 labelled formic and acetic acids but has lesser effects on the other acidic products. This indicates that several different precursor species are present in the autoradiolyzed solid. (Author) [pt

Effects of thermal annealing on the performance of Al/ZnO nanorods/Pt structure ultraviolet photodetector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Hai; Fang Guojia; Liu Nishuang; Zhao Xingzhong

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Schottky barrier ultraviolet photodetectors were obtained by sputtering Pt electrode and evaporating Al electrode on the top of ZnO nanorod arrays with thermal treatment. When annealing temperature was up to 300 deg. C, the performance of the PDs was improved with the great decrease of response and recovery times. → For annealing temperature at 300 deg. C and above, the responsivity decreases with increasing annealing temperature. → The ratio of detectivity (D254* to D546*) was calculated as high as 103 for all PDs annealed at 300 deg. C and above. - Abstract: ZnO nanorod arrays were fabricated on ZnO coated glass substrate by hydrothermal method. Schottky barrier ultraviolet photodetectors (PDs) were obtained by sputtering Pt electrode and evaporating Al electrode on the top of ZnO nanorod arrays with thermal treatment. It is illustrated that Schottky contacts at the electrode/ZnO NRs interface were formed at the annealing temperature of 300 deg. C and above. When annealing temperature was up to 300 o C, the performance of the PDs was improved with the great decrease of response and recovery times. At the forward bias of 2 V, the Schottky contact PDs showed the biggest responsivity and the best detectivity at the annealing temperature of 300 deg. C. For annealing temperature at 300 deg. C and above, the responsivity decreases with increasing annealing temperature and the ratio of detectivity (D 254 * to D 546 *) was calculated as high as 10 3 for all PDs annealed at 300 deg. C and above.

Highly Efficient Organic UV Photodetectors Based on Polyfluorene and Naphthalenediimide Blends: Effect of Thermal Annealing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gorkem Memisoglu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A solution-processed organic ultraviolet photodetector (UV-PD is introduced. The active layer of the UV-PD consists of poly(9,9-dioctyl fluorenyl-2,7–yleneethynylene (PFE and N,N′-bis-n-butyl-1,4,5,8- naphthalenediimide (BNDI with a weight ratio of 3 : 1 in chloroform. The effect of thermal annealing on the device properties was investigated from room temperature to 80∘C. The full device structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/PFE:BNDI (3 : 1/Al gave responsivity of 410 mA/W at −4 V under 1 mW/cm2 UV light at 368 nm when 60∘C of annealing temperature was used during its preparation. The devices that were annealed over the crystallization temperature of PFE showed a charge transfer resistance increase and a mobility decrease.

Thermal annealing response following irradiation of a CMOS imager for the JUICE JANUS instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Lofthouse-Smith, D.-D.; Soman, M. R.; Allanwood, E. A. H.; Stefanov, K. D.; Holland, A. D.; Leese, M.; Turne, P.

2018-03-01

ESA's JUICE (JUpiter ICy moon Explorer) spacecraft is an L-class mission destined for the Jovian system in 2030. Its primary goals are to investigate the conditions for planetary formation and the emergence of life, and how does the solar system work. The JANUS camera, an instrument on JUICE, uses a 4T back illuminated CMOS image sensor, the CIS115 designed by Teledyne e2v. JANUS imager test campaigns are studying the CIS115 following exposure to gammas, protons, electrons and heavy ions, simulating the harsh radiation environment present in the Jovian system. The degradation of 4T CMOS device performance following proton fluences is being studied, as well as the effectiveness of thermal annealing to reverse radiation damage. One key parameter for the JANUS mission is the Dark current of the CIS115, which has been shown to degrade in previous radiation campaigns. A thermal anneal of the CIS115 has been used to accelerate any annealing following the irradiation as well as to study the evolution of any performance characteristics. CIS115s have been irradiated to double the expected End of Life (EOL) levels for displacement damage radiation (2×1010 protons, 10 MeV equivalent). Following this, devices have undergone a thermal anneal cycle at 100oC for 168 hours to reveal the extent to which CIS115 recovers pre-irradiation performance. Dark current activation energy analysis following proton fluence gives information on trap species present in the device and how effective anneal is at removing these trap species. Thermal anneal shows no quantifiable change in the activation energy of the dark current following irradiation.

Thermal annealing of natural, radiation-damaged pyrochlore

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zietlow, Peter; Beirau, Tobias; Mihailova, Boriana; Groat, Lee A.; Chudy, Thomas; Shelyug, Anna; Navrotsky, Alexandra; Ewing, Rodney C.; Schlüter, Jochen; Škoda, Radek; Bismayer, Ulrich

2017-01-01

Radiation damage in minerals is caused by the α-decay of incorporated radionuclides, such as U and Th and their decay products. The effect of thermal annealing (400–1000 K) on radiation-damaged pyrochlores has been investigated by Raman scattering, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and combined differential scanning calorimetry/thermogravimetry (DSC/TG). The analysis of three natural radiation-damaged pyrochlore samples from Miass/Russia [6.4 wt% Th, 23.1·10

Origin of reverse annealing effect in hydrogen-implanted silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di, Zengfeng [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Nastasi, Michael A [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Wang, Yongqiang [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2009-01-01

In contradiction to conventional damage annealing, thermally annealed H-implanted Si exhibits an increase in damage or reverse annealing behavior, whose mechanism has remained elusive. On the basis of quantitative high resolution transmission electron microscopy combined with channeling Rutherford backscattering analysis, we conclusively elucidate that the reverse annealing effect is due to the nucleation and growth of hydrogen-induce platelets. Platelets are responsible for an increase in the height and width the channeling damage peak following increased isochronal anneals.

In-place thermal annealing of nuclear reactor pressure vessels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Server, W.L.

1985-04-01

Radiation embrittlement of ferritic pressure vessel steels increases the ductile-brittle transition temperature and decreases the upper shelf level of toughness as measured by Charpy impact tests. A thermal anneal cycle well above the normal operating temperature of the vessel can restore most of the original Charpy V-notch energy properties. The Amry SM-1A test reactor vessel was wet annealed in 1967 at less than 343 0 C (650 0 F), and wet annealing of the Belgian BR-3 reactor vessel at 343 0 C (650 0 F) has recently taken place. An industry survey indicates that dry annealing a reactor vessel in-place at temperatures as high as 454 0 C (850 0 F) is feasible, but solvable engineering problems do exist. Economic considerations have not been totally evaluated in assessing the cost-effectiveness of in-place annealing of commercial nuclear vessels. An American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) task group is upgrading and revising guide ASTM E 509-74 with emphasis on the materials and surveillance aspects of annealing rather than system engineering problems. System safety issues are the province of organizations other than ASTM (e.g., the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code body)

Significant improvement in the thermal annealing process of optical resonators

Science.gov (United States)

Salzenstein, Patrice; Zarubin, Mikhail

2017-05-01

Thermal annealing performed during process improves the quality of the roughness of optical resonators reducing stresses at the periphery of their surface thus allowing higher Q-factors. After a preliminary realization, the design of the oven and the electronic method were significantly improved thanks to nichrome resistant alloy wires and chopped basalt fibers for thermal isolation during the annealing process. Q-factors can then be improved.

Structural evolution of tunneling oxide passivating contact upon thermal annealing.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Sungjin; Min, Kwan Hong; Jeong, Myeong Sang; Lee, Jeong In; Kang, Min Gu; Song, Hee-Eun; Kang, Yoonmook; Lee, Hae-Seok; Kim, Donghwan; Kim, Ka-Hyun

2017-10-16

We report on the structural evolution of tunneling oxide passivating contact (TOPCon) for high efficient solar cells upon thermal annealing. The evolution of doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) into polycrystalline-silicon (poly-Si) by thermal annealing was accompanied with significant structural changes. Annealing at 600 °C for one minute introduced an increase in the implied open circuit voltage (V oc ) due to the hydrogen motion, but the implied V oc decreased again at 600 °C for five minutes. At annealing temperature above 800 °C, a-Si:H crystallized and formed poly-Si and thickness of tunneling oxide slightly decreased. The thickness of the interface tunneling oxide gradually decreased and the pinholes are formed through the tunneling oxide at a higher annealing temperature up to 1000 °C, which introduced the deteriorated carrier selectivity of the TOPCon structure. Our results indicate a correlation between the structural evolution of the TOPCon passivating contact and its passivation property at different stages of structural transition from the a-Si:H to the poly-Si as well as changes in the thickness profile of the tunneling oxide upon thermal annealing. Our result suggests that there is an optimum thickness of the tunneling oxide for passivating electron contact, in a range between 1.2 to 1.5 nm.

Neutron, gamma ray and post-irradiation thermal annealing effects on power semiconductor switches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwarze, G.E.; Frasca, A.J.

1994-01-01

The effects of neutrons and gamma rays on the electrical and switching characteristics of power semiconductor switches must be known and understood by the designer of the power conditioning, control, and transmission subsystem of space nuclear power systems. The SP-100 radiation requirements at 25 m from the nuclear source are a neutron fluence of 10 13 n/cm 2 and a gamma dose of 0.5 Mrads. Experimental data showing the effects of neutrons and gamma rays on the performance characteristics of power-type NPN Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs), Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETs), and Static Induction Transistors (SITs) are given in this paper. These three types of devices were tested at radiation levels which met or exceeded the SP-100 requirements. For the SP-100 radiation requirements, the BJTs were found to be most sensitive to neutrons, the MOSFETs were most sensitive to gamma rays, and the SITs were only slightly sensitive to neutrons. Post-irradiation thermal anneals at 300 K and up to 425 K were done on these devices and the effectiveness of these anneals are also discussed

Oxidation phase growth diagram of vanadium oxides film fabricated by rapid thermal annealing

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Tamura KOZO; Zheng-cao LI; Yu-quan WANG; Jie NI; Yin HU; Zheng-jun ZHANG

2009-01-01

Thermal evaporation deposited vanadium oxide films were annealed in air by rapid thermal annealing (RTP). By adjusting the annealing temperature and time, a series of vanadium oxide films with various oxidation phases and surface morphologies were fabricated, and an oxidation phase growth diagram was established. It was observed that different oxidation phases appear at a limited and continuous annealing condition range, and the morphologic changes are related to the oxidation process.

Self-Healing Thermal Annealing: Surface Morphological Restructuring Control of GaN Nanorods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Conroy, Michele; Li, Haoning; Zubialevich, Vitaly Z.; Kusch, Gunnar; Schmidt, Michael; Collins, Timothy; Glynn, Colm; Martin, Robert W.; O’Dwyer, Colm; Morris, Michael D.; Holmes, Justin D.; Parbrook, Peter J.

2016-12-07

With advances in nanolithography and dry etching, top-down methods of nanostructuring have become a widely used tool for improving the efficiency of optoelectronics. These nano dimensions can offer various benefits to the device performance in terms of light extraction and efficiency, but often at the expense of emission color quality. Broadening of the target emission peak and unwanted yellow luminescence are characteristic defect-related effects due to the ion beam etching damage, particularly for III–N based materials. In this article we focus on GaN based nanorods, showing that through thermal annealing the surface roughness and deformities of the crystal structure can be “self-healed”. Correlative electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy show the change from spherical nanorods to faceted hexagonal structures, revealing the temperature-dependent surface morphology faceting evolution. The faceted nanorods were shown to be strain- and defect-free by cathodoluminescence hyperspectral imaging, micro-Raman, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In-situ TEM thermal annealing experiments allowed for real time observation of dislocation movements and surface restructuring observed in ex-situ annealing TEM sampling. This thermal annealing investigation gives new insight into the redistribution path of GaN material and dislocation movement post growth, allowing for improved understanding and in turn advances in optoelectronic device processing of compound semiconductors.

Thermal engineering of FAPbI3 perovskite material via radiative thermal annealing and in situ XRD

Science.gov (United States)

Pool, Vanessa L.; Dou, Benjia; Van Campen, Douglas G.; Klein-Stockert, Talysa R.; Barnes, Frank S.; Shaheen, Sean E.; Ahmad, Md I.; van Hest, Maikel F. A. M.; Toney, Michael F.

2017-01-01

Lead halide perovskites have emerged as successful optoelectronic materials with high photovoltaic power conversion efficiencies and low material cost. However, substantial challenges remain in the scalability, stability and fundamental understanding of the materials. Here we present the application of radiative thermal annealing, an easily scalable processing method for synthesizing formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI3) perovskite solar absorbers. Devices fabricated from films formed via radiative thermal annealing have equivalent efficiencies to those annealed using a conventional hotplate. By coupling results from in situ X-ray diffraction using a radiative thermal annealing system with device performances, we mapped the processing phase space of FAPbI3 and corresponding device efficiencies. Our map of processing-structure-performance space suggests the commonly used FAPbI3 annealing time, 10 min at 170 °C, can be significantly reduced to 40 s at 170 °C without affecting the photovoltaic performance. The Johnson-Mehl-Avrami model was used to determine the activation energy for decomposition of FAPbI3 into PbI2. PMID:28094249

Photo-response behavior of organic transistors based on thermally annealed semiconducting diketopyrrolopyrrole core

Science.gov (United States)

Tarsoly, Gergely; Pyo, Seungmoon

2018-06-01

We report the opto-electrical response of organic field-effect transistors based on a thin-film of a semiconducting diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) core, a popular building block for molecular semiconductors, and a polymeric gate dielectric. The thin-film of the DPP core was thermally annealed at different temperatures under N2 atmosphere to investigate the relationship between the annealing temperature and the electrical properties of the device. The results showed that the annealing process induces morphological changes in the thin film, and properly controlling the thermal annealing conditions can enhance the device performance. In addition, we also investigated in detail the photo-response behaviors by analyzing the responsivity (R) of the device with the optimally annealed DPP-core thin film under two light illumination conditions by considering the irradiance absorbed by the thin film instead of the total irradiance of the light source. We found that the proposed model could lead to a light-source-independent description of the photo-response behavior of the device, and which can be used for other applications.

Tunable metal-insulator transitions in bilayer graphene by thermal annealing

OpenAIRE

Kalon, Gopinadhan; Shin, Young Jun; Yang, Hyunsoo

2012-01-01

Tunable and highly reproducible metal-insulator transitions have been observed in bilayer graphene upon thermal annealing at 400 K under high vacuum conditions. Before annealing, the sample is metallic in the whole temperature regime of study. Upon annealing, the conductivity changes from metallic to that of an insulator and the transition temperature is a function of annealing time. The pristine metallic state can be reinstated by exposing to air thereby inducing changes in the electronic pr...

Pure thermal sensitisation and pre-dose effect of OSL in both unfired and annealed quartz samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oniya, Ebenezer O., E-mail: ebenezer.oniya@aaua.edu.ng [Physics and Electronics Department, Adekunle Ajasin University, 342111 Akungba Akoko (Nigeria); Polymeris, George S. [Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Ankara University, Beşevler 06100, Ankara (Turkey); Jibiri, Nnamdi N. [Department of Physics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan (Nigeria); Tsirliganis, Nestor C. [Department of Archaeometry and Physicochemical Measurements, R.C. ‘Athena’, P.O. Box 159, Kimmeria University Campus, 67100 Xanthi (Greece); Babalola, Israel A. [Department of Physics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan (Nigeria); Kitis, George [Nuclear Physics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki (Greece)

2017-06-01

The sensitisation of quartz has attracted much attention since its thorough understanding is important in luminescence studies and dating applications. The present investigation examines the influence of pure thermal activation and predose treatments on the sensitisation of different components of linearly modulated optically stimulated luminescence (LM-OSL) measured at room temperature (RT) thereby eliminating undesired thermal quenching effects. Annealed and unfired quartz samples from Nigeria were used. The OSL measurements were carried out using an automated RISØTL/OSL reader (model-TL/OSL–DA–15). A new approach was adopted to match each of the resolved components of the RT-LM-OSL to respective thermoluminescence (TL) peaks that share the same electron trap and recombination centers. Pure thermal activation and pre-dose treatments respectively affect the sensitisation of all the components of the RT-LM-OSL in a similar manner as the one reported for the 110 °C TL peak but without thermal quenching contributions. Component C4 in annealed samples that was identified to share the same electron trap and recombination centers with the 110 °C TL peak was also proved appropriate for RT-LM-OSL, instead of the initial part of the continuous wave (CW) OSL signal, thus the methods can serve as complementary dating methods.

Pure thermal sensitisation and pre-dose effect of OSL in both unfired and annealed quartz samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oniya, Ebenezer O.; Polymeris, George S.; Jibiri, Nnamdi N.; Tsirliganis, Nestor C.; Babalola, Israel A.; Kitis, George

2017-01-01

The sensitisation of quartz has attracted much attention since its thorough understanding is important in luminescence studies and dating applications. The present investigation examines the influence of pure thermal activation and predose treatments on the sensitisation of different components of linearly modulated optically stimulated luminescence (LM-OSL) measured at room temperature (RT) thereby eliminating undesired thermal quenching effects. Annealed and unfired quartz samples from Nigeria were used. The OSL measurements were carried out using an automated RISØTL/OSL reader (model-TL/OSL–DA–15). A new approach was adopted to match each of the resolved components of the RT-LM-OSL to respective thermoluminescence (TL) peaks that share the same electron trap and recombination centers. Pure thermal activation and pre-dose treatments respectively affect the sensitisation of all the components of the RT-LM-OSL in a similar manner as the one reported for the 110 °C TL peak but without thermal quenching contributions. Component C4 in annealed samples that was identified to share the same electron trap and recombination centers with the 110 °C TL peak was also proved appropriate for RT-LM-OSL, instead of the initial part of the continuous wave (CW) OSL signal, thus the methods can serve as complementary dating methods.

Thermal annealing of an embrittled reactor pressure vessel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mager, T.R.; Dragunov, Y.G.; Leitz, C.

1998-01-01

As a result of the popularity of the Agencies report 'Neutron Irradiation Embrittlement of Reactor Pressure Vessel Steels' of 1975, it was decided that another report on this broad subject would be of use. In this report, background and contemporary views on specially identified areas of the subject are considered as self-contained chapters, written by experts. Chapter 11 deals with thermal annealing of an embrittled reactor pressure vessel. Anneal procedures for vessels from both the US and the former USSR are mentioned schematically, wet anneals at lower temperature and dry anneals above RPV design temperatures are investigated. It is shown that heat treatment is a means of recovering mechanical properties which were degraded by neutron radiation exposure, thus assuring reactor pressure vessel compliance with regulatory requirements

The effect of pre-heating and pre-irradiation with gamma rays on thermal annealing in bis [n-benzoil-n-phenyl hydroxilaminate] copper (II)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakanishi, C.; Silva, C.P.G. da.

1988-10-01

The main purpose of this work was to make a contribution to the study of the chemical effects of the (n,γ) reaction on copper chelate. The influence of some factors such as pre-heating and pre-irradiation with gamma-rays on the retention and thermal annealing of bis-[N-benzoil-N-phenlhydroxilaminate] copper (II) was investigated. The complex was synthesized and later characterized by means of: determination of the melting-Point, elemental analysis, infra-red and vesible range absortion spectrophotometry. The compound was heated and also irradiated with gamma-rays in order to verify the effect of thermolysis and radiolysis on the retention. It seems that heat gamma-radiation can produce deffects which will lower the susceptibility of the compound to thermal annealing. On the model envolving electronic species some explanation of ours results were made and a mechanism was proposed for the retention and thermal annealing aasuming the capture of free electrons and also the existence of holes. (author) [pt

The effect of pre-heating and pre-irradiation with gamma-rays on thermal annealing in-bis-[n-benzoil-n-(o) tolylhydroxylaminate] cooper (II)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakanishi, C.; Silva, C.P.G. da.

1990-02-01

The main purpose of this work was to make a contribution on the study of the chemical effects of the (N,γ) reaction on copper chelate. The influence of some factors such as pre-heating and pre-irradiation with gama-rays on the retention and thermal annealing of bis [N-benzoyl-N-(o)tolylhydroxylaminate] copper (II) was investigated. The complex was synthesized and later characterized by means of: determination of the melting-point, elemental analysis, infra-red and visible range absortion spectrophotometry. The compound was heated and also irradiated with gamma-rays in order to verify the effect of thermolysis on the retention. It seems that heat and gamma-radiaition can produce deffects which will lower the susceptibility of the compound to thermal annealling. On the basis on the model envolving electronic species some explanation of ours results were made and a mechanism was proposed for the retention and thermal annealing assuming the capture of free electrons and also the existence of holes. (author) [pt

Wet thermal annealing effect on TaN/HfO2/Ge metal—oxide—semiconductor capacitors with and without a GeO2 passivation layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Guan-Zhou; Li Cheng; Lu Chang-Bao; Tang Rui-Fan; Tang Meng-Rao; Wu Zheng; Yang Xu; Huang Wei; Lai Hong-Kai; Chen Song-Yan

2012-01-01

Wet thermal annealing effects on the properties of TaN/HfO 2 /Ge metal—oxide—semiconductor (MOS) structures with and without a GeO 2 passivation layer are investigated. The physical and the electrical properties are characterized by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, capacitance—voltage (C—V) and current—voltage characteristics. It is demonstrated that wet thermal annealing at relatively higher temperature such as 550 °C can lead to Ge incorporation in HfO 2 and the partial crystallization of HfO 2 , which should be responsible for the serious degradation of the electrical characteristics of the TaN/HfO 2 /Ge MOS capacitors. However, wet thermal annealing at 400 °C can decrease the GeO x interlayer thickness at the HfO 2 /Ge interface, resulting in a significant reduction of the interface states and a smaller effective oxide thickness, along with the introduction of a positive charge in the dielectrics due to the hydrolyzable property of GeO x in the wet ambient. The pre-growth of a thin GeO 2 passivation layer can effectively suppress the interface states and improve the C—V characteristics for the as-prepared HfO 2 gated Ge MOS capacitors, but it also dissembles the benefits of wet thermal annealing to a certain extent

Investigating the Effect of Thermal Annealing Process on the Photovoltaic Performance of the Graphene-Silicon Solar Cell

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lifei Yang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Graphene-silicon (Gr-Si Schottky solar cell has attracted much attention recently as promising candidate for low-cost photovoltaic application. For the fabrication of Gr-Si solar cell, the Gr film is usually transferred onto the Si substrate by wet transfer process. However, the impurities induced by this process at the graphene/silicon (Gr/Si interface, such as H2O and O2, degrade the photovoltaic performance of the Gr-Si solar cell. We found that the thermal annealing process can effectively improve the photovoltaic performance of the Gr-Si solar cell by removing these impurities at the Gr/Si interface. More interestingly, the photovoltaic performance of the Gr-Si solar cell can be improved, furthermore, when exposed to air environment after the thermal annealing process. Through investigating the characteristics of the Gr-Si solar cell and the properties of the Gr film (carrier density and sheet resistance, we point out that this phenomenon is caused by the natural doping effect of the Gr film.

Rapid thermal and swift heavy ion induced annealing of Co ion implanted GaN films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baranwal, V.; Pandey, A. C.; Gerlach, J. W.; Rauschenbach, B.; Karl, H.; Kanjilal, D.; Avasthi, D. K.

2008-01-01

Thin epitaxial GaN films grown on 6H-SiC(0001) substrates were implanted with 180 keV Co ions at three different fluences. As-implanted samples were characterized with secondary ion mass spectrometry and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry to obtain the Co depth profiles and the maximum Co concentrations. As-implanted samples were annealed applying two different techniques: rapid thermal annealing and annealing by swift heavy ion irradiation. Rapid thermal annealing was done at two temperatures: 1150 deg. C for 20 s and 700 deg. C for 5 min. 200 MeV Ag ions at two fluences were used for annealing by irradiation. Crystalline structure of the pristine, as-implanted, and annealed samples was investigated using x-ray diffraction, and the results were compared. Improvement of the crystalline quality was observed for rapid thermal annealed samples at the higher annealing temperature as confirmed with rocking curve measurements. The results indicate the presence of Co clusters in these annealed samples. Swift heavy ion irradiation with the parameters chosen for this study did not lead to a significant annealing

Post-annealing effects on pulsed laser deposition-grown GaN thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Yu-Wen; Wu, Hao-Yu; Lin, Yu-Zhong; Lee, Cheng-Che; Lin, Ching-Fuh

2015-01-01

In this work, the post-annealing effects on gallium nitride (GaN) thin films grown from pulsed laser deposition (PLD) are investigated. The as-deposited GaN thin films grown from PLD are annealed at different temperatures in nitrogen ambient. Significant changes of the GaN crystal properties are observed. Raman spectroscopy is used to observe the crystallinity, the change of residual stress, and the thermal decomposition of the annealed GaN thin films. X-ray diffraction is also applied to identify the crystal phase of GaN thin films, and the surface morphology of GaN thin films annealed at different temperatures is observed by scanning electron microscopy. Through the above analyses, the GaN thin films grown by PLD undergo three stages: phase transition, stress alteration, and thermal decomposition. At a low annealing temperature, the rock salt GaN in GaN films is transformed into wurtzite. The rock salt GaN diminishes with increasing annealing temperature. At a medium annealing temperature, the residual stress of the film changes significantly from compressive strain to tensile strain. As the annealing temperature further increases, the GaN undergoes thermal decomposition and the surface becomes granular. By investigating the annealing temperature effects and controlling the optimized annealing temperature of the GaN thin films, we are able to obtain highly crystalline and strain-free GaN thin films by PLD. - Highlights: • The GaN thin film is grown on sapphire by pulsed laser deposition. • The GaN film undergoes three stages with increasing annealing temperature. • In the first stage, the film transfers from rock salt to wurtzite phase. • In the second stage, the stress in film changes from compressive to tensile. • In the final stage, the film thermally decomposes and becomes granular

Enhanced bulk heterojunction devices prepared by thermal and solvent vapor annealing processes

Science.gov (United States)

Forrest, Stephen R.; Thompson, Mark E.; Wei, Guodan; Wang, Siyi

2017-09-19

A method of preparing a bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic cell through combinations of thermal and solvent vapor annealing are described. Bulk heterojunction films may prepared by known methods such as spin coating, and then exposed to one or more vaporized solvents and thermally annealed in an effort to enhance the crystalline nature of the photoactive materials.

Effect of rapid thermal annealing observed by photoluminescence measurement in GaAs1-xN x layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bousbih, F.; Bouzid, S.B.; Hamdouni, A.; Chtourou, R.; Harmand, J.C.

2005-01-01

A set of GaAs 1-x N x samples with small nitrogen content were investigated by photoluminescence (PL) measurements as function of irradiance in order to investigate the effect of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on photoluminescence (PL) properties. The analysis of PL spectra as function of irradiance and nitrogen content shows that the PL spectra associated to the GaAs 1- x N x layers are the result of the nitrogen localized state recombination. The results are examined as a consequence of a rapid thermal annealing (RTA). The variation of the emission band peak energy (E p ), at 10 K as a function of irradiance, is fitted by a theoretical model taking into account two types of nitrogen localized states. The variation of the PL intensity versus irradiance in the range from 1.59 to 159 W/cm 2 for different GaAs 1-x N x samples confirm that the PL spectra result from the nitrogen localized state recombination

Effect of deposition temperature and thermal annealing on the dry etch rate of a-C: H films for the dry etch hard process of semiconductor devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Seung Moo; Won, Jaihyung; Yim, Soyoung; Park, Se Jun; Choi, Jongsik; Kim, Jeongtae; Lee, Hyeondeok; Byun, Dongjin

2012-01-01

The effect of deposition and thermal annealing temperatures on the dry etch rate of a-C:H films was investigated to increase our fundamental understanding of the relationship between thermal annealing and dry etch rate and to obtain a low dry etch rate hard mask. The hydrocarbon contents and hydrogen concentration were decreased with increasing deposition and annealing temperatures. The I(D)/I(G) intensity ratio and extinction coefficient of the a-C:H films were increased with increasing deposition and annealing temperatures because of the increase of sp 2 bonds in the a-C:H films. There was no relationship between the density of the unpaired electrons and the deposition temperature, or between the density of the unpaired electrons and the annealing temperature. However, the thermally annealed a-C:H films had fewer unpaired electrons compared with the as-deposited ones. Transmission electron microscopy analysis showed the absence of any crystallographic change after thermal annealing. The density of the as-deposited films was increased with increasing deposition temperature. The density of the 600 °C annealed a-C:H films deposited under 450 °C was decreased but at 550 °C was increased, and the density of all 800 °C annealed films was increased. The dry etch rate of the as-deposited a-C:H films was negatively correlated with the deposition temperature. The dry etch rate of the 600 °C annealed a-C:H films deposited at 350 °C and 450 °C was faster than that of the as-deposited film and that of the 800 °C annealed a-C:H films deposited at 350 °C and 450 °C was 17% faster than that of the as-deposited film. However, the dry etch rate of the 550 °C deposited a-C:H film was decreased after annealing at 600 °C and 800 °C. The dry etch rate of the as-deposited films was decreased with increasing density but that of the annealed a-C:H films was not. These results indicated that the dry etch rate of a-C:H films for dry etch hard masks can be further decreased by

Optical property of silicon quantum dots embedded in silicon nitride by thermal annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Baek Hyun, E-mail: bhkim@andrew.cmu.ed [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United Sates (United States); Davis, Robert F. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United Sates (United States); Park, Seong-Ju [Nanophotonic Semiconductors Laboratory, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, 500-712 (Korea, Republic of)

2010-01-01

We present the effects on the thermal annealing of silicon quantum dots (Si QDs) embedded in silicon nitride. The improved photoluminescence (PL) intensities and the red-shifted PL spectra were obtained with annealing treatment in the range of 700 to 1000 {sup o}C. The shifts of PL spectra were attributed to the increase in the size of Si QDs. The improvement of the PL intensities was also attributed to the reduction of point defects at Si QD/silicon nitride interface and in the silicon nitride due to hydrogen passivation effects.

Thermal annealing of recoil 56Mn in strontium permanganate under (n,γ) process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mishra, Shuddhodan P.; Vijaya

2002-01-01

Chemical stabilization of recoil 56 Mn in strontium permanganate (hydrous and anhydrous) has been investigated with a special reference to pre-and post-activation thermal annealing treatments. The retention of 56 Mn in neutron irradiated strontium permanganate showed significant variation on thermal annealing in both pre-and post-activation heated target. The recoil re-entry process obeys simple first order kinetics and the activation energy deduced for thermal annealing process is very low as computed by classical Arrhenius plots. The results observed are discussed in the light of existing ideas for understanding the recoil stabilization mechanism of parent reformation and the nature of precursors in permanganates. (author)

Rapid thermal pulse annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, M.G.; Koehn, B.W.; Chaplin, R.L.

1976-01-01

Characteristics of recovery processes have been investigated for cases of heating a sample to successively higher temperatures by means of isochronal annealing or by using a rapid pulse annealing. A recovery spectra shows the same features independent of which annealing procedure is used. In order to determine which technique provides the best resolution, a study was made of how two independent first-order processes are separated for different heating rates and time increments of the annealing pulses. It is shown that the pulse anneal method offers definite advantages over isochronal annealing when annealing for short time increments. Experimental data by means of the pulse anneal techniques are given for the various substages of stage I of aluminium. (author)

Low thermal budget annealing technique for high performance amorphous In-Ga-ZnO thin film transistors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joong-Won Shin

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we investigate a low thermal budget post-deposition-annealing (PDA process for amorphous In-Ga-ZnO (a-IGZO oxide semiconductor thin-film-transistors (TFTs. To evaluate the electrical characteristics and reliability of the TFTs after the PDA process, microwave annealing (MWA and rapid thermal annealing (RTA methods were applied, and the results were compared with those of the conventional annealing (CTA method. The a-IGZO TFTs fabricated with as-deposited films exhibited poor electrical characteristics; however, their characteristics were improved by the proposed PDA process. The CTA-treated TFTs had excellent electrical properties and stability, but the CTA method required high temperatures and long processing times. In contrast, the fabricated RTA-treated TFTs benefited from the lower thermal budget due to the short process time; however, they exhibited poor stability. The MWA method uses a low temperature (100 °C and short annealing time (2 min because microwaves transfer energy directly to the substrate, and this method effectively removed the defects in the a-IGZO TFTs. Consequently, they had a higher mobility, higher on-off current ratio, lower hysteresis voltage, lower subthreshold swing, and higher interface trap density than TFTs treated with CTA or RTA, and exhibited excellent stability. Based on these results, low thermal budget MWA is a promising technology for use on various substrates in next generation displays.

Low thermal budget annealing technique for high performance amorphous In-Ga-ZnO thin film transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Joong-Won; Cho, Won-Ju

2017-07-01

In this paper, we investigate a low thermal budget post-deposition-annealing (PDA) process for amorphous In-Ga-ZnO (a-IGZO) oxide semiconductor thin-film-transistors (TFTs). To evaluate the electrical characteristics and reliability of the TFTs after the PDA process, microwave annealing (MWA) and rapid thermal annealing (RTA) methods were applied, and the results were compared with those of the conventional annealing (CTA) method. The a-IGZO TFTs fabricated with as-deposited films exhibited poor electrical characteristics; however, their characteristics were improved by the proposed PDA process. The CTA-treated TFTs had excellent electrical properties and stability, but the CTA method required high temperatures and long processing times. In contrast, the fabricated RTA-treated TFTs benefited from the lower thermal budget due to the short process time; however, they exhibited poor stability. The MWA method uses a low temperature (100 °C) and short annealing time (2 min) because microwaves transfer energy directly to the substrate, and this method effectively removed the defects in the a-IGZO TFTs. Consequently, they had a higher mobility, higher on-off current ratio, lower hysteresis voltage, lower subthreshold swing, and higher interface trap density than TFTs treated with CTA or RTA, and exhibited excellent stability. Based on these results, low thermal budget MWA is a promising technology for use on various substrates in next generation displays.

Thermal annealing study on P3HT: PCBM based bulk heterojunction organic solar cells using impedance spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gollu, Sankara Rao, E-mail: sankar.gollu@gmail.com [Plastic Electronics and Energy Lab (PEEL), Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Material Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai-400076 (India); Sharma, Ramakant, E-mail: diptig@iitb.ac.in; G, Srinivas, E-mail: diptig@iitb.ac.in; Gupta, Dipti, E-mail: diptig@iitb.ac.in [Plastic Electronics and Energy Lab (PEEL) Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Material Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai-400076 (India)

2014-10-15

Recently, Thermal annealing is an important process for bulk heterojunction organic solar cells (BHJ OSCs) to improve the device efficiency and performance of the organic solar cells. Here in, we have examined the changes in the efficiency and morphology of P3HT: PCBM film according to the thermal annealing temperature to find the changes during the annealing process by measuring the optical absorption, atomic force microscope and X-ray diffraction. We also investigated the effect of different annealing process conditions (without, pre- and post-annealing) on the device performance of the inverted bulk heterojunction organic solar cells consist the structure of ITO/ ZnO / P3HT: PCBM / MoO{sub 3}/ Al by measuring AC impedance characteristics. Particularly, the power conversion efficiency (PCE), crystalline nature of the polymer, light absorption and the surface smoothness of P3HT: PCBM films are significantly improved after the annealing process. These results indicated the improvement in terms of PCE, interface smoothness between the P3HT: PCBM and MoO{sub 3} layers of the post annealed device originated from the decrease of series resistance between P3HT: PCBM layer and Al electrodes, which could be due to decrease in the effective life time of charge carriers.

Effect of thermal annealing on the microstructures and photocatalytic performance of silver orthophosphate: The synergistic mechanism of Ag vacancies and metallic Ag

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan, Tingjiang; Guan, Wenfei; Xiao, Ying; Tian, Jun; Qiao, Zheng; Zhai, Huishan; Li, Wenjuan; You, Jinmao

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Ag_3PO_4 was initially prepared via ion-exchange reaction and then annealed in air. • Thermal annealing also resulted in the formation of metallic Ag and Ag vacancies. • The annealed samples exhibited superior activity to the pristine sample. • Both Ag vacancies and metallic Ag contributed to the high activity. - Abstract: In this work, a simple thermal annealing route has been developed to improve the photocatalytic performance of silver orthophosphate (Ag_3PO_4) photocatalyst toward organic pollutants degradation under visible light irradiation. The experimental results indicated that thermal treatment of Ag_3PO_4 led to an obvious lattice shift towards right and significantly narrowed band gap energies due to the formation of Ag vacancies and metallic Ag during Ag_3PO_4 decomposition. These structural variations notably affected the photocatalytic performance of Ag_3PO_4 photocatalysts. The activity of the annealed samples was found to be significantly enhanced toward the degradation of MO dye. The highest activity was observed over the sample annealed at 400 °C, which exceeded that of pristine Ag_3PO_4 by a factor of about 21 times. By means of photoluminescence spectroscopy and photoelectrochemical measurements, we propose that the enormous enhancement in activity was mainly attributed to the efficient separation of photogenerated electrons and holes driven by the synergistic effect of Ag vacancies and metallic Ag. The strong interaction between annealed particles also inhibited the dissolution of Ag"+ from Ag_3PO_4 into aqueous solution, contributing to an improved photocatalytic stability. The strategy presented here provides an ideal platform for the design of other highly efficient and stable Ag-based photocatalysts for broad applications in the field of photocatalysis.

Thermal annealing of amorphous Ti-Si-O thin films

OpenAIRE

Hodroj , Abbas; Chaix-Pluchery , Odette; Audier , Marc; Gottlieb , Ulrich; Deschanvres , Jean-Luc

2008-01-01

International audience; Ti-Si-O thin films were deposited using an aerosol chemical vapor deposition process at atmospheric pressure. The film structure and microstructure were analysed using several techniques before and after thermal annealing. Diffraction results indicate that the films remain X-ray amorphous after annealing whereas Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy gives evidence of a phase segregation between amorphous SiO2 and well crystallized anatase TiO2. Crystallization of ana...

Characterization for Ceramic-coated magnets using E-beam and thermal annealing methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hyug Jong; Kim, Hee Gyu; Kang, In Gu; Kim, Min Wan; Yang, Ki Ho; Lee, Byung Cheol; Choi, Byung Ho

2009-01-01

Hard magnet was usually used by coating SiO 2 ceramic thick films followed by the thermal annealing process. In this work, the alternative annealing process for NdFeB magnets using e-beam sources(1∼2 MeV, 50∼400 kGy) was investigated. NdFeB magnets was coated with ceramic thick films using the spray method. The optimal annealing parameter for e-beam source reveals to be 1 MeV and 300 kGy. The sample prepared at 1 MeV and 300 kGy was characterized by the analysis of the surface morphology, film hardness, adhesion and chemical stability. The mechanical property of thick film, especially film hardness, is better than that of thermal annealed samples at 180 .deg. C. As a result, e-beam annealing process will be one of candidate and attractive heat treatment process. In future, manufacturing process will be carried out in cooperation with the magnet company

Effect of thermal annealing on the structural and optical properties of tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum(III) (Alq3 ) films.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuba, M; Muralidharan, G

2015-05-01

Tris-(8-hydroxyquionoline)aluminum (Alq3 ) was synthesized and coated on to a glass substrate using the dip coating method. The structural and optical properties of the Alq3 film after thermal annealing from 50°C to 300°C in 50° steps was studied. The films have been prepared with 2 to 16 layers (42-324 nm). The thickness and thermal annealing of Alq3 films were optimized for maximum luminescence yield. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum confirms the formation of quinoline with absorption in the region 700 - 500/cm. Partial sublimation and decomposition of quinoline ion was observed with the Alq3 films annealed at 300°C. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the Alq3 film annealed at 50°C to 150°C reveals the amorphous nature of the films. The Alq3 film annealed above 150°C were crystalline nature. Film annealed at 150°C exhibits a photoluminescence intensity maximum at 512 nm when excited at 390 nm. The Alq3 thin film deposited with 10 layers (220 nm) at 150°C exhibited maximum luminescence yield. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Recovery of the irradiated JFETs by thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Assaf, J.

2007-10-01

Study about the recovering of irradiated JFET transistors has been reported. The JFETs were damaged totally or partially by exposition to Gamma ray and neutrons. Electronics noise has used to evaluate the effect of radiation and the recovery. The study focused on the recovery by thermal annealing, where samples have been heated gradually until 140 centigrade degree (410 K). The recovery ratio given by this method was higher than that resulted from the relaxation method (time recovery) carried out in the room temperature (300 K), especially for Gamma irradiated samples.(author)

Defect annealing and thermal desorption of deuterium in low dose HFIR neutron-irradiated tungsten

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimada, Masashi; Hara, Masanori; Otsuka, Teppei; Oya, Yasuhisa; Hatano, Yuji

2015-01-01

Three tungsten samples irradiated at High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were exposed to deuterium plasma (ion fluence of 1 × 10 26 m −2 ) at three different temperatures (100, 200, and 500 °C) in Tritium Plasma Experiment at Idaho National Laboratory. Subsequently, thermal desorption spectroscopy was performed with a ramp rate of 10 °C min −1 up to 900 °C, and the samples were annealed at 900 °C for 0.5 h. These procedures were repeated three times to uncover defect-annealing effects on deuterium retention. The results show that deuterium retention decreases approximately 70% for at 500 °C after each annealing, and radiation damages were not annealed out completely even after the 3rd annealing. TMAP modeling revealed the trap concentration decreases approximately 80% after each annealing at 900 °C for 0.5 h

Defect annealing and thermal desorption of deuterium in low dose HFIR neutron-irradiated tungsten

Science.gov (United States)

Shimada, Masashi; Hara, Masanori; Otsuka, Teppei; Oya, Yasuhisa; Hatano, Yuji

2015-08-01

Three tungsten samples irradiated at High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were exposed to deuterium plasma (ion fluence of 1 × 1026 m-2) at three different temperatures (100, 200, and 500 °C) in Tritium Plasma Experiment at Idaho National Laboratory. Subsequently, thermal desorption spectroscopy was performed with a ramp rate of 10 °C min-1 up to 900 °C, and the samples were annealed at 900 °C for 0.5 h. These procedures were repeated three times to uncover defect-annealing effects on deuterium retention. The results show that deuterium retention decreases approximately 70% for at 500 °C after each annealing, and radiation damages were not annealed out completely even after the 3rd annealing. TMAP modeling revealed the trap concentration decreases approximately 80% after each annealing at 900 °C for 0.5 h.

Defect annealing and thermal desorption of deuterium in low dose HFIR neutron-irradiated tungsten

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shimada, Masashi, E-mail: Masashi.Shimada@inl.gov [Fusion Safety Program, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Hara, Masanori [Hydrogen Isotope Research Center, University of Toyama, Toyama (Japan); Otsuka, Teppei [Kyushu University, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Science, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka (Japan); Oya, Yasuhisa [Radioscience Research Laboratory, Faculty of Science, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka (Japan); Hatano, Yuji [Hydrogen Isotope Research Center, University of Toyama, Toyama (Japan)

2015-08-15

Three tungsten samples irradiated at High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were exposed to deuterium plasma (ion fluence of 1 × 10{sup 26} m{sup −2}) at three different temperatures (100, 200, and 500 °C) in Tritium Plasma Experiment at Idaho National Laboratory. Subsequently, thermal desorption spectroscopy was performed with a ramp rate of 10 °C min{sup −1} up to 900 °C, and the samples were annealed at 900 °C for 0.5 h. These procedures were repeated three times to uncover defect-annealing effects on deuterium retention. The results show that deuterium retention decreases approximately 70% for at 500 °C after each annealing, and radiation damages were not annealed out completely even after the 3rd annealing. TMAP modeling revealed the trap concentration decreases approximately 80% after each annealing at 900 °C for 0.5 h.

Residual stress change by thermal annealing in amorphous Sm-Fe-B thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Na, S.M.; Suh, S.J.; Kim, H.J.; Lim, S.H.

2002-01-01

The change in the residual stress and its effect on mechanical bending and magnetic properties of sputtered amorphous Sm-Fe-B thin films are investigated as a function of annealing temperature. Two stress components of intrinsic compressive stress and tensile stress due to the difference of the thermal expansion coefficients between the substrate and thin film are used to explain the stress state in as-deposited thin films, and the annealing temperature dependence of residual stress, mechanical bending and magnetic properties

Influence of thermal annealing on the memory effect in MIS structures containing crystalline Si nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meier, Sebastian; Brueggemann, R. [Institut fuer Physik, Carl von Ossietzky Universitaet Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg (Germany); Kirilov, Kiril [Department of Solid State Physics and Microelectronics, Sofia Univ. (Bulgaria); Levi, Zelma; Manolov, E. [Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tzarigradsko Chaussee Blvd., 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria); Nedev, N. [Instituto de Ingenieria Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Benito Juarez Blvd., s/n, C.P. 21280, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico (Mexico)

2007-07-01

Silicon nanocrystals embedded in a SiO{sub 2} matrix are fabricated by thermal annealing of Metal/SiO{sub 2}/SiO{sub x}/c-Si structures (x=1.15) at 1000 C in N{sub 2} atmosphere for 30 or 60 min. High frequency C-V measurements demonstrate that both types of sample can be charged negatively or positively by applying a positive or negative bias voltage to the gate. The clockwise hysteresis windows of 30 and 60 min annealed samples are about 7 and 5.5 V for the {+-}12 V scanning range (E{sub ox}={+-}2.4 MV/cm), respectively. Although the samples annealed for 60 min have a smaller hysteresis window, they have two important advantages compared to the 30 min annealed ones: a lower defect density at the c-Si wafer/SiO{sub 2} interface and a smaller value of the fixed oxide charge close to this interface.

Time-resolved photoluminescence of Ga(NAsP) multiple quantum wells grown on Si substrate: Effects of rapid thermal annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Woscholski, R., E-mail: ronja.woscholski@physik.uni-marburg.de; Shakfa, M.K.; Gies, S.; Wiemer, M.; Rahimi-Iman, A.; Zimprich, M.; Reinhard, S.; Jandieri, K.; Baranovskii, S.D.; Heimbrodt, W.; Volz, K.; Stolz, W.; Koch, M.

2016-08-31

Time-resolved photoluminescence (TR-PL) spectroscopy has been used to study the impact of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the optical properties and carrier dynamics in Ga(NAsP) multiple quantum well heterostructures (MQWHs) grown on silicon substrates. TR-PL measurements reveal an enhancement in the PL efficiency when the RTA temperature is increased up to 925 °C. Then, the PL intensity dramatically decreases with the annealing temperature. This behavior is explained by the variation of the disorder degree in the studied structures. The analysis of the low-temperature emission-energy-dependent PL decay time enables us to characterize the disorder in the Ga(NAsP) MQWHs. The theoretically extracted energy-scales of disorder confirm the experimental observations. - Highlights: • Ga(NAsP) multiple quantum well heterostructures (MQWHs) grown on silicon substrates • Impact of rapid thermal annealing on the optical properties and carrier dynamics • Time resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy was applied. • PL transients became continuously faster with increasing annealing temperature. • Enhancement in the PL efficiency with increasing annealing temperature up to 925 °C.

Time-resolved photoluminescence of Ga(NAsP) multiple quantum wells grown on Si substrate: Effects of rapid thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woscholski, R.; Shakfa, M.K.; Gies, S.; Wiemer, M.; Rahimi-Iman, A.; Zimprich, M.; Reinhard, S.; Jandieri, K.; Baranovskii, S.D.; Heimbrodt, W.; Volz, K.; Stolz, W.; Koch, M.

2016-01-01

Time-resolved photoluminescence (TR-PL) spectroscopy has been used to study the impact of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the optical properties and carrier dynamics in Ga(NAsP) multiple quantum well heterostructures (MQWHs) grown on silicon substrates. TR-PL measurements reveal an enhancement in the PL efficiency when the RTA temperature is increased up to 925 °C. Then, the PL intensity dramatically decreases with the annealing temperature. This behavior is explained by the variation of the disorder degree in the studied structures. The analysis of the low-temperature emission-energy-dependent PL decay time enables us to characterize the disorder in the Ga(NAsP) MQWHs. The theoretically extracted energy-scales of disorder confirm the experimental observations. - Highlights: • Ga(NAsP) multiple quantum well heterostructures (MQWHs) grown on silicon substrates • Impact of rapid thermal annealing on the optical properties and carrier dynamics • Time resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy was applied. • PL transients became continuously faster with increasing annealing temperature. • Enhancement in the PL efficiency with increasing annealing temperature up to 925 °C

Far-infrared spectroscopy of thermally annealed tungsten silicide films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amiotti, M.; Borghesi, A.; Guizzetti, G.; Nava, F.; Santoro, G.

1991-01-01

The far-infrared transmittance spectrum of tungsten silicide has been observed for the first time. WSi 2 polycrystalline films were prepared by coevaporation and chemical-vapour deposition on silicon wafers, and subsequently thermally annealed at different temperatures. The observed structures are interpreted, on the basis of the symmetry properties of the crystal, such as infrared-active vibrational modes. Moreover, the marked lineshape dependence on annealing temperature enables this technique to analyse the formation of the solid silicide phases

Time effects in the thermal annealing of Fe/V multilayers

CERN Document Server

Borges, J F M

2003-01-01

We report a study on the structural and magnetic properties of iron-vanadium thin films grown in multilayer form and mixed by thermal treatment. The multilayer samples were annealed at 610 deg. C for times ranging from 10 to 540 min. The samples were structurally characterized by means of x-ray diffraction (XRD) and by x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The magnetic characterization was carried out with a conventional alternating gradient magnetometer (AGM) and by conversion electron Moessbauer spectroscopy (CEMS). The XRD result for the as-deposited multilayer shows a high degree of crystallinity while the CEMS result suggests an abrupt interface, since no significant contribution from vanadium in iron is observed. After the thermal treatment, the results from XRD show a phase transformation of the disordered body-centred-cubic structure (alpha-phase) into a tetragonal structure (sigma-phase) and a subsequent return to the alpha-phase. This alpha-sigma-alpha oscillation is not reported in the literature av...

Proposed rule package on fracture toughness and thermal annealing requirements and guidance for light water reactor vessels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen Hiser, J.R.

1993-01-01

In the framework of updating and clarification of the fracture toughness and thermal annealing requirements and guidance for light water reactor pressure vessels, proposed revisions concerning the pressurized thermal shock rule, fracture toughness requirements and reactor vessel material surveillance program requirements, are described. A new rule concerning thermal annealing requirements and a draft regulatory guide on 'Format and Content of Application for Approval for Thermal Annealing of RPV' are also proposed

Proposed rule package on fracture toughness and thermal annealing requirements and guidance for light water reactor vessels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allen Hiser, J R [UKAEA Harwell Lab. (United Kingdom). Engineering Div.

1994-12-31

In the framework of updating and clarification of the fracture toughness and thermal annealing requirements and guidance for light water reactor pressure vessels, proposed revisions concerning the pressurized thermal shock rule, fracture toughness requirements and reactor vessel material surveillance program requirements, are described. A new rule concerning thermal annealing requirements and a draft regulatory guide on `Format and Content of Application for Approval for Thermal Annealing of RPV` are also proposed.

Effect of rapid thermal annealing temperature on the dispersion of Si nanocrystals in SiO2 matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saxena, Nupur; Kumar, Pragati; Gupta, Vinay

2015-01-01

Effect of rapid thermal annealing temperature on the dispersion of silicon nanocrystals (Si-NC’s) embedded in SiO 2 matrix grown by atom beam sputtering (ABS) method is reported. The dispersion of Si NCs in SiO 2 is an important issue to fabricate high efficiency devices based on Si-NC’s. The transmission electron microscopy studies reveal that the precipitation of excess silicon is almost uniform and the particles grow in almost uniform size upto 850 °C. The size distribution of the particles broadens and becomes bimodal as the temperature is increased to 950 °C. This suggests that by controlling the annealing temperature, the dispersion of Si-NC’s can be controlled. The results are supported by selected area diffraction (SAED) studies and micro photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The discussion of effect of particle size distribution on PL spectrum is presented based on tight binding approximation (TBA) method using Gaussian and log-normal distribution of particles. The study suggests that the dispersion and consequently emission energy varies as a function of particle size distribution and that can be controlled by annealing parameters

Effect of thermal annealing treatment with titanium chelate on buffer layer in inverted polymer solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Zhiyong [College of Science, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866 (China); Wang, Ning, E-mail: ning_wang@outlook.com [School of Electrical and Electronic and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University 639798 (Singapore); Fu, Yan, E-mail: 1060945062@qq.com [College of Science, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866 (China)

2016-12-15

Highlights: • The TIPD layer as electron extraction layer and instead of Ca or LiF. • Impact of the work function of TIPD layer by thermal annealing treatment. • Importance of TIPD layer as electron extraction layer for work function and potential barrier. - Abstract: The solution processable electron extraction layer (EEL) is crucial for polymer solar cells (PSCs). Here, we investigated titanium (diisopropoxide) bis(2,4-pentanedionate) (TIPD) as an EEL and fabricated inverted PSCs with a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and indene-C60 bisadduct (ICBA) acting as the photoactive layer, with a structure of ITO/TIPD/P3HT:ICBA/MoO{sub 3}/Ag. After thermal annealing treatment at 150 °C for 15 min, the PSC performances increased from 3.85% to 6.84% and they achieve stable power conversion efficiency (PCE), with a similar PCE compared with TiO{sub 2} as an EEL by the vacuum evaporated method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) confirmed that the TIPD decomposed and formed the Ti=O bond, and the energy level of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital and the highest occupied molecular orbital increased. The space charge limited current (SCLC) measurements further confirmed the improvement in electron collection and the transport ability using TIPD as the EEL and thermal annealing.

An assessment of the economic consequences of thermal annealing of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griesbach, T.J.; Server, W.L.

1991-01-01

The use of a thermal heat treatment to recover mechanical properties which were degraded by neutron radiation exposure is a potential method for assuring reactor pressure vessel licensing life and possible license renewal. 'Wet anneals' at temperatures less than 343degC have been conducted on test reactors in Alaska (SM-1A) and Belgium (BR3). The Soviets have also performed 'dry anneals' at higher temperatures near or above 450degC on several commercial reactor vessels. Technical and economic uncertainties have made utilities in the United States reluctant to seriously consider thermal annealing of large commercial reactor vessels except as a last resort option. However, as a utility begins to experience significant radiation embrittlement or considers extending the operating license life of the vessel, thermal annealing can be a viable option depending upon many considerations. These considerations include other possible remedial measures that can be taken (i.e., flux reduction), economic issues with regard to utility finances, and corporate philosophy. A decision analysis model has been developed to analyze the thermal anneal option in comparison to other alternatives for a number of possible combinations and timing. The results for a postulated vessel and embrittlement condition are presented to show that thermal annealing can be a viable management option which should be taken seriously. (author)

Recovery in dc and rf performance of off-state step-stressed AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors with thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Byung-Jae; Hwang, Ya-Hsi; Ahn, Shihyun; Zhu, Weidi; Dong, Chen; Lu, Liu; Ren, Fan; Holzworth, M. R.; Jones, Kevin S.; Pearton, Stephen J.; Smith, David J.; Kim, Jihyun; Zhang, Ming-Lan

2015-01-01

The recovery effects of thermal annealing on dc and rf performance of off-state step-stressed AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors were investigated. After stress, reverse gate leakage current and sub-threshold swing increased and drain current on-off ratio decreased. However, these degradations were completely recovered after thermal annealing at 450 °C for 10 mins for devices stressed either once or twice. The trap densities, which were estimated by temperature-dependent drain-current sub-threshold swing measurements, increased after off-state step-stress and were reduced after subsequent thermal annealing. In addition, the small signal rf characteristics of stressed devices were completely recovered after thermal annealing

Numerical analysis on effect of annealing mc-Si ingot grown by DS process for PV application

Science.gov (United States)

Aravindan, G.; Srinivasan, M.; Aravinth, K.; Ramasamy, P.

2017-10-01

Silicon solar cells play a crucial role in Photo voltaic (PV) application. We have numerically investigated thermal stress and normal stress components (Sigma 11, Sigma 22, Sigma 33 and sigma 12) by using finite volume method. The maximum thermal stress has low value at the centre region for 900 K and 700 K annealing temperatures comparing all the cases. The maximum thermal stress at peripheral region is low for 700 K annealing compared to 900 K annealing. The annealing effect of mc-Si ingot normal stress components is discussed. At 700 K annealing temperature the normal stress in 11 and 33 direction has lower maximum and at the 900 K annealing temperature the normal stress in 22 and 12 direction has lower maximum.

Effect of thermal annealing on carrier localization and efficiency of spin detection in GaAsSb epilayers grown on InP

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Bin; Chen, Cheng; Han, Junbo; Jin, Chuan; Chen, Jianxin; Wang, Xingjun

2018-04-01

The effect of the thermal annealing on the optical and spin properties in GaAs0.44Sb0.56 epilayers grown on InP was investigated via photoreflectance, power-dependent and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy as well as optical orientation measurement. The carrier's localization and the optical spin detection efficiency increase with an increase of annealing temperature up to 600 °C. The enhancement of the spin detection efficiency is attributed to both the shortening of the electron lifetime and the prolonging of the spin lifetime as a result of the enhanced carriers' localization induced by the annealing process. Our results provided an approach to enhance spin detection efficiency of GaAsSb with its PL emission in the 1.55 μm region.

Effect of rapid thermal annealing temperature on the dispersion of Si nanocrystals in SiO{sub 2} matrix

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saxena, Nupur, E-mail: n1saxena@gmail.com; Kumar, Pragati; Gupta, Vinay [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 (India)

2015-05-15

Effect of rapid thermal annealing temperature on the dispersion of silicon nanocrystals (Si-NC’s) embedded in SiO{sub 2} matrix grown by atom beam sputtering (ABS) method is reported. The dispersion of Si NCs in SiO{sub 2} is an important issue to fabricate high efficiency devices based on Si-NC’s. The transmission electron microscopy studies reveal that the precipitation of excess silicon is almost uniform and the particles grow in almost uniform size upto 850 °C. The size distribution of the particles broadens and becomes bimodal as the temperature is increased to 950 °C. This suggests that by controlling the annealing temperature, the dispersion of Si-NC’s can be controlled. The results are supported by selected area diffraction (SAED) studies and micro photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The discussion of effect of particle size distribution on PL spectrum is presented based on tight binding approximation (TBA) method using Gaussian and log-normal distribution of particles. The study suggests that the dispersion and consequently emission energy varies as a function of particle size distribution and that can be controlled by annealing parameters.

Thermal-annealing effects on the structural and magnetic properties of 10% Fe-doped SnO{sub 2} nanoparticles synthetized by a polymer precursor method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aragón, F.H., E-mail: fermin964@hotmail.com [Núcleo de Física Aplicada, Instituto de Física, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília DF 70910-900 (Brazil); Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Pós-graduação em Nanociência e Nanobiotecnologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasilia DF 70919-970 (Brazil); Coaquira, J.A.H. [Núcleo de Física Aplicada, Instituto de Física, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília DF 70910-900 (Brazil); Nagamine, L.C.C.M.; Cohen, R. [Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo SP 05508-090 (Brazil); Silva, S.W. da [Núcleo de Física Aplicada, Instituto de Física, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília DF 70910-900 (Brazil); Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Pós-graduação em Nanociência e Nanobiotecnologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasilia DF 70919-970 (Brazil); and others

2015-02-01

In this work, we present the experimental results of Sn{sub 0.9}Fe{sub 0.1}O{sub 2} nanoparticles synthesized by a polymer precursor method. Studies were performed in the as-prepared (AP) and thermally-annealed (TA) samples. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) data analysis carried out using the Rietveld refinement method shows the formation of only the rutile-type structure in the AP sample and this phase remains stable for the TA sample. Additionally, the mean crystallite size shows an increase from ∼4 nm to ∼17 nm after the annealing and a clear reduction of the residual strain has also been determined. Micro-Raman spectroscopy measurements show the formation of an iron oxide phase (likely α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}) after the thermal treatment. Magnetic measurements show a paramagnetic behavior for the AP sample and the coexistence of a weak ferromagnetism and paramagnetism for the TA sample. The magnetically-ordered contribution of the TA sample has been assigned to the formation of the hematite phase. DC and AC magnetic features of the TA sample are consistent with a cluster-glass behavior which seems to be related to the magnetic disorder of spins located at the particle surface. Those spins clusters seem to be formed due to the diffusion of iron ions from the core of the particle to the surface caused by the annealing process. - Highlights: • Thermal annealing effects in the 10% Fe-doped SnO{sub 2} nanoparticles have been studied. • XRD data analysis shows the formation of the rutile-type structure. • Raman measurements show the formation of small amount of α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} after the annealing. • Paramagnetic and magnetically ordered phases were determined after the annealing. • Spin clusters likely at the particle surface have been formed after the annealing.

Facile Synthesis of Calcium Borate Nanoparticles and the Annealing Effect on Their Structure and Size

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manizheh Navasery

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Calcium borate nanoparticles have been synthesized by a thermal treatment method via facile co-precipitation. Differences of annealing temperature and annealing time and their effects on crystal structure, particle size, size distribution and thermal stability of nanoparticles were investigated. The formation of calcium borate compound was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM, and Thermogravimetry (TGA. The XRD patterns revealed that the co-precipitated samples annealed at 700 °C for 3 h annealing time formed an amorphous structure and the transformation into a crystalline structure only occurred after 5 h annealing time. It was found that the samples annealed at 900 °C are mostly metaborate (CaB2O4 nanoparticles and tetraborate (CaB4O7 nanoparticles only observed at 970 °C, which was confirmed by FTIR. The TEM images indicated that with increasing the annealing time and temperature, the average particle size increases. TGA analysis confirmed the thermal stability of the annealed samples at higher temperatures.

Laser thermal annealing of Ge, optimized for highly activated dopants and diode ION/IOFF ratios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shayesteh, M.; O'Connell, D.; Gity, F.

2014-01-01

The authors compared the influence of laser thermal annealing (LTA) and rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on dopant activation and electrical performance of phosphorus and arsenic doped n+/p junction. High carrier concentration above 1020 cm-3 as well as an ION/IOFF ratio of approximately 105 and ide...

Microstructural modifications induced by rapid thermal annealing in plasma deposited SiOxNyHz films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prado, A. del; San Andres, E.; Martil, I.; Gonzalez-Diaz, G.; Bravo, D.; Lopez, F.J.; Fernandez, M.; Martinez, F.L.

2003-01-01

The effect of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) processes on the structural properties of SiO x N y H z films was investigated. The samples were deposited by the electron cyclotron resonance plasma method, using SiH 4 , O 2 and N 2 as precursor gases. For SiO x N y H z films with composition close to that of SiO 2 , which have a very low H content, RTA induces thermal relaxation of the lattice and improvement of the structural order. For films of intermediate composition and of compositions close to SiN y H z , the main effect of RTA is the release of H at high temperatures (T>700 deg. C). This H release is more significant in films containing both Si-H and N-H bonds, due to cooperative reactions between both kinds of bonds. In these films the degradation of structural order associated to H release prevails over thermal relaxation, while in those films with only N-H bonds, thermal relaxation predominates. For annealing temperatures in the 500-700 deg. C range, the passivation of dangling bonds by the nonbonded H in the films and the transition from the paramagnetic state to the diamagnetic state of the K center result in a decrease of the density of paramagnetic defects. The H release observed at high annealing temperatures is accompanied by an increase of density of paramagnetic defects

Synthesis of borides in molybdenum implanted by B+ ions under thermal and electron annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kazdaev, Kh.R.; Akchulakov, M.T.; Bayadilov, E.M.; Ehngel'ko, V.I.; Lazarenko, A.V.; Chebukov, E.S.

1989-01-01

The possibility of formation of borides in the near surface layers of monocrystalline molybdenum implanted by boron ions at 35 keV energy under thermal and pulsed electron annealing by an electon beam at 140 keV energy is investigated. It is found that implantation of boron ions into molybdenum with subsequent thermal annealing permits to produce both molybdenum monoboride (α-MoB) and boride (γ-Mo 2 B) with rather different formation mechanisms. Formation of the α-MoB phase occurs with the temperature elevation from the centers appeared during implantation, while the γ-Mo 2 B phase appears only on heating the implanted layers up to definite temperature as a result of the phase transformation of the solid solution into a chemical compound. Pulsed electron annealing instead of thermal annealing results mainly in formation of molybdenum boride (γ-Mo 2 B), the state of structure is determined by the degree of heating of implanted layers and their durable stay at temperatures exceeding the threshold values

Annealing effect of thermal spike in MgO thin film prepared by cathodic vacuum arc deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, Daoyun, E-mail: zhudy@gdut.edu.cn [Experiment Teaching Department, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006 (China); State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Physics and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China); Zhao, Shoubai [School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510400 (China); Zheng, Changxi; Chen, Dihu [State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Physics and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China); He, Zhenhui, E-mail: stshzh@mail.sysu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Physics and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China)

2013-12-16

MgO films were prepared by using pulsed cathodic vacuum arc deposition technique. The substrate bias voltage was in the range of −150 to −750 V. Film structure was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The annealing effect of thermal spike produced by the impacting of energetic ions was analyzed. The calculated results showed that the lifetime of a thermal spike generated by an energetic ion with the energy of 150 eV was less than one picosecond and it was sufficient to allow Mg{sup 2+} or O{sup 2-} to move one bond length to satisfy the intrinsic stress relief in the affected volume. The MgO(200) lattice spacings of the films deposited at different bias voltages were all larger than the ideal value of 2.1056 Å. As the bias amplitude increased the lattice spacing decreased, which indicated that the compressive stress in the film was partially relieved with increasing impacting ion energy. The stress relief also could be reflected from the film orientation with bias voltage. The biaxial elastic modulus for MgO(100), MgO(110) and MgO(111) planes were calculated and they were M{sub (100)} = 199 GPa, M{sub (110)} = 335 GPa and M{sub (111)} = 340 GPa, respectively. The M values indicated that the preferred orientation will be MgO(200) due to the minimum energy configuration when the lattice strain was large. It was confirmed by the XRD results in our experiments. - Highlights: • MgO thin films with preferred orientation were obtained by CVAD technique. • Annealing effect of a thermal spike in MgO film was discussed. • Lattice spacing of MgO film decreased with the increase of bias voltage. • Film preferred orientation changed from (200) to (220) as the bias voltage increased.

Evolution of structural and magnetic properties of sputtered nanocrystalline Co thin films with thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Dileep; Gupta, Ajay

2007-01-01

Ultrafine grain films of cobalt prepared using ion-beam sputtering have been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray reflectivity (XRR), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) measurements. As-prepared films have very smooth surface owing to the ultrafine nature of the grains. Evolution of the structure and morphology of the film with thermal annealing has been studied and the same is correlated with the magnetic properties. Above an annealing temperature of 300 deg. C, the film gradually transforms from HCP to FCC phase that remains stable at room temperature. A significant contribution of the surface energy, due to small grain size, results in stabilisation of the FCC phase at room temperature. It is found that other processes like stress relaxation, grain texturing and growth also exhibit an enhanced rate above 300 deg. C, and may be associated with an enhanced mobility of the atoms above this temperature. Films possess a uniaxial anisotropy, which exhibits a non-monotonous behaviour with thermal annealing. The observed variation in the anisotropy and coercivity with annealing can be understood in terms of variations in the internal stresses, surface roughness, and grain structure

Modeling the effects of ion dose and crystallographic symmetry on the morphological evolution of embedded precipitates under thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Kun-Dar

2014-01-01

Highlights: •We model the faceted precipitates formation by post-implantation annealing. •The anisotropic interfacial energy and diffusion kinetics play crucial roles. •The evolutions of faceted precipitates, including Ostwald ripening, are revealed. •The mechanism of the nucleation and growth is based on the atomic diffusion. •The effects of ion dose and crystallographic symmetry are also investigated. -- Abstract: Thermal annealing is one of the most common techniques to synthesize embedded precipitates by ion implantation process. In this study, an anisotropic phase field model is presented to investigate the effects of ion dose and crystallographic symmetry on the morphological formation and evolution of embedded precipitates during post-implantation thermal annealing process. This theoretical model provides an efficient numerical approach to understand the phenomenon of faceted precipitates formation by ion implantation. As a theoretical analysis, the interfacial energy and diffusion kinetics play prominent roles in the mechanism of atomic diffusion for the precipitates formation. With a low ion dose, faceted precipitates are developed by virtue of the anisotropic interfacial energy. As an increase of ion dose, connected precipitates with crystallographic characters on the edge are appeared. For a high ion dose, labyrinth-like nanostructures of precipitates are produced and the characteristic morphology of crystallographic symmetry becomes faint. These simulation results for the morphological evolutions of embedded precipitates by ion implantation are corresponded with many experimental observations in the literatures. The quantitative analyses of the simulations are also well described the consequence of precipitates formation under different conditions

Understanding the microwave annealing of silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chaochao Fu

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Though microwave annealing appears to be very appealing due to its unique features, lacking an in-depth understanding and accurate model hinder its application in semiconductor processing. In this paper, the physics-based model and accurate calculation for the microwave annealing of silicon are presented. Both thermal effects, including ohmic conduction loss and dielectric polarization loss, and non-thermal effects are thoroughly analyzed. We designed unique experiments to verify the mechanism and extract relevant parameters. We also explicitly illustrate the dynamic interaction processes of the microwave annealing of silicon. This work provides an in-depth understanding that can expedite the application of microwave annealing in semiconductor processing and open the door to implementing microwave annealing for future research and applications.

Dependence of TL-property changes of natural quartzes on aluminium contents accompanied by thermal annealing treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashimoto, T.; Sakaue, S.; Aoki, H.; Ichino, M.

1994-01-01

The TL properties were investigated using both an IPDA (Intensified Photo-Diode Array) spectrometric system and a TLCI (Thermoluminescence Colour Image) method after thermal annealing treatment at several temperatures. An apparent colour change from original blue- (BTL) to red-TL(RTL) has unexpectedly occurred in a Z-cut slice of Madagascar quartz, after an annealing treatment around 1000 o C. From the TL-colour change studies of the Z-cut slice, it was confirmed that original BTL intensities are inversely proportional to the Al contents; the TLCI-patterns of the original or annealed Z-cut slice gave stripe patterns corresponding to Al impurity contents along the crystal growth direction particularly yielding an intense appearance of RTL on higher Al contents after the annealing treatment. This changeability of TL-colour towards RTL after thermal annealing treatment was found to be intimately correlated with the square of Al concentrations, although BTL clearly changed as linearly proportional to Al impurity contents. Finally, the cleavage of Al-O-Al bonds or some sites in the vicinity of Al-O-Al bonds were plausibly considered to play an important role for the formation of RTL colour centres in natural quartzes as a result of the operation of high temperature effects. (Author)

Review of in-service thermal annealing of nuclear reactor pressure vessels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Server, W.L.

1984-01-01

Radiation embrittlement of ferritic pressure vessel steels increases the ductile-brittle transition temperature and decreases the upper-shelf level of toughness as measured by Charpy impact tests. A thermal anneal cycle well above the normal operating temperature of the vessel can restore most of the original Charpy V-notch energy properties. A test reactor pressure vessel has been wet annealed at less than 343 0 C (650 0 F), and annealing of the Belgian BR-3 reactor vessel has recently taken place. An industry survey indicates that dry annealing a reactor vessel in-place is feasible, but solvable engineering problems do exist. The materials with highest radiation sensitivity in the older reactor vessels are submerged-arc weld metals with high copper and nickel concentrations. The limited Charpy V-notch and fracture toughness data available for five such welds were reviewed. The review suggested that significant recovery results from annealing at 454 0 C (850 0 F) for one week. Two of the main concerns with a localized heat treatment at 454 0 C (850 0 F) are the degree of distortion that may occur after the annealing cycle and the extent of residual stresses. A thermal and structural analysis of a reactor vessel for distortions and residual stresses found no problems with the reactor vessel itself but did indicate a rotation at the nozzle region of the vessel that would plastically deform the attached primary piping. Further analytical studies are needed. An American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) task group is upgrading and revising the ASTM Recommended Guide for In-Service Annealing of WaterCooled Nuclear Reactor Vessels (E 509-74) with emphasis on the materials and surveillance aspects of annealing rather than system engineering problems. System safety issues are the province of organizations other than ASTM (for example, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code body)

Novel thermal annealing methodology for permanent tuning polymer optical fiber Bragg gratings to longer wavelengths.

Science.gov (United States)

Pospori, A; Marques, C A F; Sagias, G; Lamela-Rivera, H; Webb, D J

2018-01-22

The Bragg wavelength of a polymer optical fiber Bragg grating can be permanently shifted by utilizing the thermal annealing method. In all the reported fiber annealing cases, the authors were able to tune the Bragg wavelength only to shorter wavelengths, since the polymer fiber shrinks in length during the annealing process. This article demonstrates a novel thermal annealing methodology for permanently tuning polymer optical fiber Bragg gratings to any desirable spectral position, including longer wavelengths. Stretching the polymer optical fiber during the annealing process, the period of Bragg grating, which is directly related with the Bragg wavelength, can become permanently longer. The methodology presented in this article can be used to multiplex polymer optical fiber Bragg gratings at any desirable spectral position utilizing only one phase-mask for their photo-inscription, reducing thus their fabrication cost in an industrial setting.

Improved electrical conduction properties in unintentionally-doped ZnO thin films treated by rapid thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Youngmin; Lee, Choeun; Shim, Eunhee; Jung, Eiwhan; Lee, Jinyong; Kim, Deukyoung; Lee, Sejoon; Fu, Dejun; Yoon, Hyungdo

2011-01-01

The effects of thermal treatments on the electrical conduction properties for the unintentionally doped ZnO thin films were investigated. Despite the decreased carrier density in the annealed ZnO thin films, the conductivity was increased because the contribution of the effective carrier mobility to the conductivity of the unintentionally-doped ZnO thin films is greater than that of the carrier density. The resistivity exponentially decreased with increasing RTA temperature, and this result was confirmed to come from the enhanced effective carrier-mobility, which originated from the increased crystallite size in the annealed ZnO thin films.

Improved electrical conduction properties in unintentionally-doped ZnO thin films treated by rapid thermal annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Youngmin; Lee, Choeun; Shim, Eunhee; Jung, Eiwhan; Lee, Jinyong; Kim, Deukyoung; Lee, Sejoon [Dongguk University-Seoul, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Fu, Dejun [Wuhan University, Wuhan (China); Yoon, Hyungdo [Korea Electronics Technology Institute, Seongnam (Korea, Republic of)

2011-10-15

The effects of thermal treatments on the electrical conduction properties for the unintentionally doped ZnO thin films were investigated. Despite the decreased carrier density in the annealed ZnO thin films, the conductivity was increased because the contribution of the effective carrier mobility to the conductivity of the unintentionally-doped ZnO thin films is greater than that of the carrier density. The resistivity exponentially decreased with increasing RTA temperature, and this result was confirmed to come from the enhanced effective carrier-mobility, which originated from the increased crystallite size in the annealed ZnO thin films.

Effect of the post-annealing temperature on the thermal-decomposed NiOx hole contact layer for perovskite solar cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuxiao Guo

2018-02-01

Full Text Available A hysteresis-less inverted perovskite solar cell (PSC with power conversion efficiency (PCE of 13.57% was successfully achieved based on the thermal-decomposed NiOx hole contact layer, possessing better electron blocking and hole extraction properties for its suitable work function and high-conduction band edge position. Herein, the transparent and high-crystalline NiOx film is prepared by thermal-decomposing of the solution-derived Ni(OH2 film in our study, which is then employed as hole transport layer (HTL of the organic–inorganic hybrid PSCs. Reasonably, the post-annealing treatment, especially for the annealing temperature, could greatly affect the Ni(OH2 decomposition process and the quality of decomposed NiOx nanoparticles. The vital NiOx HTLs with discrepant morphology, crystallinity and transmission certainly lead to a wide range of device performance. As a result, an annealing process of 400∘C/2h significantly promotes the photovoltaic properties of the NiOx layer and the further device performance.

The formation of microvoids in MgO by helium ion implantation and thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veen, A. van; Schut, H.; Fedorov, A.V.; Labohm, F.; Neeft, E.A.C.; Konings, R.J.M.

1999-01-01

The formation of microvoids in metal oxides by helium implantation and thermal annealing is observed under similar conditions as has been shown earlier for silicon. Cleaved MgO (1 0 0) single crystals were implanted with 30 keV 3 He ions with doses varying from 10 15 to 10 16 cm -2 and subsequently thermally annealed from RT to 1500 K. Monitoring of the defect depth profile and the retained amount of helium was performed by positron beam analysis and neutron depth profiling, respectively. For a dose larger than 2x10 15 cm -2 annealing of the defects was observed in two stages: at 1000 K helium filled monovacancies dissociated, and other defects still retaining the helium were formed, and at 1300 K all helium left the sample while an increase of positron-valence-electron annihilations was observed, indicating an increase of the volume available in the defects. The voids of nm size were located at shallower depth than the implanted helium. At lower dose no voids were left after high temperature annealing. Voids can also be created, and even more effectively, by hydrogen or deuterium implantation. The voids are stable to temperatures of 1500 K. The use of the nanovoids as a precursor state for nanoprecipitates of metals or other species is discussed

The formation of microvoids in MgO by helium ion implantation and thermal annealing

Science.gov (United States)

van Veen, A.; Schut, H.; Fedorov, A. V.; Labohm, F.; Neeft, E. A. C.; Konings, R. J. M.

1999-01-01

The formation of microvoids in metal oxides by helium implantation and thermal annealing is observed under similar conditions as has been shown earlier for silicon. Cleaved MgO (1 0 0) single crystals were implanted with 30 keV 3He ions with doses varying from 10 15 to 10 16 cm -2 and subsequently thermally annealed from RT to 1500 K. Monitoring of the defect depth profile and the retained amount of helium was performed by positron beam analysis and neutron depth profiling, respectively. For a dose larger than 2 × 10 15 cm -2 annealing of the defects was observed in two stages: at 1000 K helium filled monovacancies dissociated, and other defects still retaining the helium were formed, and at 1300 K all helium left the sample while an increase of positron-valence-electron annihilations was observed, indicating an increase of the volume available in the defects. The voids of nm size were located at shallower depth than the implanted helium. At lower dose no voids were left after high temperature annealing. Voids can also be created, and even more effectively, by hydrogen or deuterium implantation. The voids are stable to temperatures of 1500 K. The use of the nanovoids as a precursor state for nanoprecipitates of metals or other species is discussed.

The formation of microvoids in MgO by helium ion implantation and thermal annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veen, A. van E-mail: avveen@iri.tudelft.nl; Schut, H.; Fedorov, A.V.; Labohm, F.; Neeft, E.A.C.; Konings, R.J.M

1999-01-02

The formation of microvoids in metal oxides by helium implantation and thermal annealing is observed under similar conditions as has been shown earlier for silicon. Cleaved MgO (1 0 0) single crystals were implanted with 30 keV {sup 3}He ions with doses varying from 10{sup 15} to 10{sup 16} cm{sup -2} and subsequently thermally annealed from RT to 1500 K. Monitoring of the defect depth profile and the retained amount of helium was performed by positron beam analysis and neutron depth profiling, respectively. For a dose larger than 2x10{sup 15} cm{sup -2} annealing of the defects was observed in two stages: at 1000 K helium filled monovacancies dissociated, and other defects still retaining the helium were formed, and at 1300 K all helium left the sample while an increase of positron-valence-electron annihilations was observed, indicating an increase of the volume available in the defects. The voids of nm size were located at shallower depth than the implanted helium. At lower dose no voids were left after high temperature annealing. Voids can also be created, and even more effectively, by hydrogen or deuterium implantation. The voids are stable to temperatures of 1500 K. The use of the nanovoids as a precursor state for nanoprecipitates of metals or other species is discussed.

Enhanced regeneration of degraded polymer solar cells by thermal annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, Pankaj, E-mail: pankaj@mail.nplindia.ernet.in [CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi 110012 (India); Centre for Organic Electronics, Physics, University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW-2308 (Australia); Bilen, Chhinder; Zhou, Xiaojing; Belcher, Warwick J.; Dastoor, Paul C., E-mail: Paul.Dastoor@newcastle.edu.au [Centre for Organic Electronics, Physics, University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW-2308 (Australia); Feron, Krishna [Centre for Organic Electronics, Physics, University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW-2308 (Australia); CSIRO Energy Technology, P. O. Box 330, Newcastle NSW 2300 (Australia)

2014-05-12

The degradation and thermal regeneration of poly(3-hexylethiophene) (P3HT):[6,6]-phenyl-C{sub 61}-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and P3HT:indene-C{sub 60} bisadduct (ICBA) polymer solar cells, with Ca/Al and Ca/Ag cathodes and indium tin oxide/poly(ethylene-dioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate anode have been investigated. Degradation occurs via a combination of three primary pathways: (1) cathodic oxidation, (2) active layer phase segregation, and (3) anodic diffusion. Fully degraded devices were subjected to thermal annealing under inert atmosphere. Degraded solar cells possessing Ca/Ag electrodes were observed to regenerate their performance, whereas solar cells having Ca/Al electrodes exhibited no significant regeneration of device characteristics after thermal annealing. Moreover, the solar cells with a P3HT:ICBA active layer exhibited enhanced regeneration compared to P3HT:PCBM active layer devices as a result of reduced changes to the active layer morphology. Devices combining a Ca/Ag cathode and P3HT:ICBA active layer demonstrated ∼50% performance restoration over several degradation/regeneration cycles.

Enhanced regeneration of degraded polymer solar cells by thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Pankaj; Bilen, Chhinder; Zhou, Xiaojing; Belcher, Warwick J.; Dastoor, Paul C.; Feron, Krishna

2014-01-01

The degradation and thermal regeneration of poly(3-hexylethiophene) (P3HT):[6,6]-phenyl-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and P3HT:indene-C 60 bisadduct (ICBA) polymer solar cells, with Ca/Al and Ca/Ag cathodes and indium tin oxide/poly(ethylene-dioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate anode have been investigated. Degradation occurs via a combination of three primary pathways: (1) cathodic oxidation, (2) active layer phase segregation, and (3) anodic diffusion. Fully degraded devices were subjected to thermal annealing under inert atmosphere. Degraded solar cells possessing Ca/Ag electrodes were observed to regenerate their performance, whereas solar cells having Ca/Al electrodes exhibited no significant regeneration of device characteristics after thermal annealing. Moreover, the solar cells with a P3HT:ICBA active layer exhibited enhanced regeneration compared to P3HT:PCBM active layer devices as a result of reduced changes to the active layer morphology. Devices combining a Ca/Ag cathode and P3HT:ICBA active layer demonstrated ∼50% performance restoration over several degradation/regeneration cycles

Effects of annealing on the physical properties of therapeutic proteins during freeze drying process.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Jun Yeul; Lim, Dae Gon; Kim, Ki Hyun; Park, Sang-Koo; Jeong, Seong Hoon

2018-02-01

Effects of annealing steps during the freeze drying process on etanercept, model protein, were evaluated using various analytical methods. The annealing was introduced in three different ways depending on time and temperature. Residual water contents of dried cakes varied from 2.91% to 6.39% and decreased when the annealing step was adopted, suggesting that they are directly affected by the freeze drying methods Moreover, the samples were more homogenous when annealing was adopted. Transition temperatures of the excipients (sucrose, mannitol, and glycine) were dependent on the freeze drying steps. Size exclusion chromatography showed that monomer contents were high when annealing was adopted and also they decreased less after thermal storage at 60°C. Dynamic light scattering results exhibited that annealing can be helpful in inhibiting aggregation and that thermal storage of freeze-dried samples preferably induced fragmentation over aggregation. Shift of circular dichroism spectrum and of the contents of etanercept secondary structure was observed with different freeze drying steps and thermal storage conditions. All analytical results suggest that the physicochemical properties of etanercept formulation can differ in response to different freeze drying steps and that annealing is beneficial for maintaining stability of protein and reducing the time of freeze drying process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of thermal annealing on scintillation properties of Ce:Gd{sub 2}Y{sub 1}Ga{sub 2.7}Al{sub 2.3}O{sub 12} under different atmosphere

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Chao; Ding, Dongzhou; Wu, Yuntao; Li, Huanying; Chen, Xiaofeng; Shi, Jian; Wang, Qingqing; Ye, Le; Ren, Guohao [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Shanghai (China)

2017-05-15

Cerium-doped 1% Ce:Gd{sub 2}Y{sub 1}Ga{sub 2.7}Al{sub 2.3}O{sub 12}(GYGAG) single crystal samples grown via Czochralski method were annealed under air, O{sub 2} and N{sub 2} atmospheres from 350 to 1400 C. The X-ray excited luminescence spectra, energy spectra and UV as well as thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) spectra were performed comparatively on ''as-grown'' and thermally annealed samples. It was found that the luminescence efficiency after annealing in air and O{sub 2} was significantly enhanced compared to the non-annealed samples and this phenomenon was suggested to be caused by the existence of some oxygen vacancies in the Ce:GYGAG crystals. And the oxygen vacancies in the as-grown GYGAG crystals can be effectively eliminated by means of annealing in O{sub 2} containing atmosphere without changing the luminescence mechanism. From the TSL curves before and after annealing, three traps within 77-650 K were found to be related to oxygen vacancies. (orig.)

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2016-01-01

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. (paper)

Photo annealing effect on p-doped inverted organic solar cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lafalce, Evan; Toglia, Patrick; Lewis, Jason E.; Jiang, Xiaomei, E-mail: xjiang@usf.edu [Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620 (United States)

2014-06-28

We report the transient positive photo annealing effect in which over 600% boost of power conversion efficiency was observed in inverted organic photovoltaic devices (OPV) made from P3HT/PCBM by spray method, after 2 hrs of constant solar AM 1.5 irradiation at low temperature. This is opposite to usual photodegradation of OPV, and cannot be explained by thermal activation alone since the mere temperature effect could only account for 30% of the enhancement. We have investigated the temperature dependence, cell geometry, oxygen influence, and conclude that, for p-doped active layer at room temperature, the predominant mechanism is photo-desorption of O{sub 2}, which eliminates electron traps and reduces space charge screening. As temperature decreases, thermal activation and deep trap-state filling start to show noticeable effect on the enhancement of photocurrent at intermediate low temperature (T = 125 K). At very low temperature, the dominant mechanism for photo annealing is trap-filling, which significantly reduces recombination between free and trapped carriers. At all temperature, photo annealing effect depends on illumination direction from cathode or anode. We also explained the large fluctuation of photocurrent by the capture/reemit of trapped electrons from shallow electron traps of O{sub 2}{sup -} generated by photo-doping. Our study has demonstrated the dynamic process of photo-doping and photo-desorption, and shown that photo annealing in vacuum can be an efficient method to improve OPV device efficiency.

Effects of vacuum rapid thermal annealing on the electrical characteristics of amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hyun-Woo; Cho, Won-Ju

2018-01-01

We investigated the effects of vacuum rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the electrical characteristics of amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin films. The a-IGZO films deposited by radiofrequency sputtering were subjected to vacuum annealing under various temperature and pressure conditions with the RTA system. The carrier concentration was evaluated by Hall measurement; the electron concentration of the a-IGZO film increased and the resistivity decreased as the RTA temperature increased under vacuum conditions. In a-IGZO thin-film transistors (TFTs) with a bottom-gate top-contact structure, the threshold voltage decreased and the leakage current increased as the vacuum RTA temperature increased. As the annealing pressure decreased, the threshold voltage decreased, and the leakage current increased. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated changes in the lattice oxygen and oxygen vacancies of the a-IGZO films after vacuum RTA. At higher annealing temperatures, the lattice oxygen decreased and oxygen vacancies increased, which suggests that oxygen was diffused out in a reduced pressure atmosphere. The formation of oxygen vacancies increased the electron concentration, which consequently increased the conductivity of the a-IGZO films and reduced the threshold voltage of the TFTs. The results showed that the oxygen vacancies and electron concentrations of the a-IGZO thin films changed with the vacuum RTA conditions and that high-temperature RTA treatment at low pressure converted the IGZO thin film to a conductor.

The effects of thermal annealing on iron bombarded InP/InGaAs multilayer structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Subramaniam, S.C.; Rezazadeh, A.A.

2006-01-01

The effects of Fe-ion bombardment at 77 K (cold) and room temperature (RT) into single layer InGaAs, InP and multilayer InP/InGaAs HBT structures have been investigated. Annealing characteristics and RF dissipation loss measurements of Fe-ion bombarded samples at 77 K indicated good electrical isolation in n-, p-type InGaAs materials and InP/InGaAs HBT structures. Thermally stable (up to 250 deg. C) high sheet resistance (R sh ) of ∼5 x 10 6 Ω/sq has been achieved on these samples while higher R sh of ∼10 7 Ω/sq was obtained for the n-InP materials bombarded with similar conditions. Dissipation losses of 1.7 dB/cm at 10 GHz and 2.8 dB/cm at 40 GHz have been measured for the cold Fe-ion bombarded InP-based HBT structures. This result is similar to those obtained for an un-bombarded S.I. InP substrate, indicating good electrical isolation. We have also determined electron trapping levels by thermal annealing for the cold and RT Fe-ion bombarded samples. It is shown that the high resistivity achieved in the cold implanted InGaAs layer is most likely due to the creation of mid-bandgap defect levels (E C - 0.33) eV, which are created only in the cold Fe-ion bombardment. The DC isolation and RF dissipation loss analysis have been used to identify a suitable bombardment scheme for the fabrication of planar InP/InGaAs HBTs

Effects of irradiation and isochronal anneal temperature on hole and electron trapping in MOS devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fleetwood, D.M.; Winokur, P.S.; Shaneyfelt, M.R.; Riewe, L.C.; Flament, O.; Paillet, P.; Leray, J.L.

1998-02-01

Capacitance-voltage and thermally-stimulated-current techniques are used to estimate trapped hole and electron densities in MOS oxides as functions of irradiation and isochronal anneal temperature. Trapped-charge annealing and compensation effects are discussed

Effect of annealing on the compositional modulation of InAlAsSb

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baladés, N., E-mail: nuria.balades@uca.es [INNANOMAT group, Departamento de Ciencia de los Materiales e I. M. y Q. I., Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Microscopía Electrónica y Materiales (IMEYMAT), CEIMAR, Universidad de Cádiz, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz (Spain); Sales, D.L.; Herrera, M.; Delgado, F.J. [INNANOMAT group, Departamento de Ciencia de los Materiales e I. M. y Q. I., Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Microscopía Electrónica y Materiales (IMEYMAT), CEIMAR, Universidad de Cádiz, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz (Spain); González, M. [U.S Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington D.C. 20375 (United States); Sotera Defense Solutions, 430 National Business Pkwy # 100, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701 (United States); Clark, K.; Pinsunkajana, P. [Intelligent Epitaxy Technology, Inc. Richardson, TX, 75801 (United States); Hoven, N.; Hubbard, S. [Rochester Institute of Technology, 85 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623 (United States); Tomasulo, S.; Walters, J.R. [U.S Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington D.C. 20375 (United States); Molina, S.I. [INNANOMAT group, Departamento de Ciencia de los Materiales e I. M. y Q. I., Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Microscopía Electrónica y Materiales (IMEYMAT), CEIMAR, Universidad de Cádiz, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz (Spain)

2017-02-15

Highlights: • A post-growth annealing under As overpressure over 500 °C for several minutes induces a blue-shift in the InAlAsSb emission. • TEM analysis evidences that the small compositional fluctuations of the as-grown samples disappear after being annealed. • Annealing stimulates atomic diffusion of the quaternary, homogenizing their constituents and enhancing structural quality. - Abstract: The effect of a post-growth thermal treatment in two different heterostructures with InAlAsSb as the top layer grown by molecular beam epitaxy lattice-matched to InP, have been studied by diffraction contrast transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This novel top cell layer material with application in ultra-high efficiency solar cells were grown on (001) InP substrate with or without an InGaAs buffer layer. Initial photoluminescence (PL) measurements revealed deviations from their predicted bandgap, suggesting non-random atomic distribution of the quaternary layer. Then, a thermal annealing was performed at different temperatures and times. The effect on the structure of the InAlAsSb active layer caused by the new arrangement of layers and the post-growth annealing treatments has been reported. Our results show that the small compositional fluctuations of the as-grown heterostructures disappear after being annealed, and the bandgap energy correspondingly increases towards the predicted value.

Characteristics of OMVPE grown GaAsBi QW lasers and impact of post-growth thermal annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Honghyuk; Guan, Yingxin; Babcock, Susan E.; Kuech, Thomas F.; Mawst, Luke J.

2018-03-01

Laser diodes employing a strain-compensated GaAs1-xBix/GaAs1-yPy single quantum well (SQW) active region were grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (OMVPE). High resolution x-ray diffraction, room temperature photoluminescence, and real-time optical reflectance measurements during the OMVPE growth were used to find the optimum process window for the growth of the active region material. Systematic post-growth in situ thermal anneals of various lengths were carried out in order to investigate the impacts of thermal annealing on the laser device performance characteristics. While the lowest threshold current density was achieved after the thermal annealing for 30 min at 630 °C, a gradual decrease in the external differential quantum efficiency was observed as the annealing time increases. It was observed that the temperature sensitivities of the threshold current density increase while those of lasing wavelength and slope efficiency remain nearly constant with increasing annealing time. Z-contrast scanning transmission electron microscopic) analysis revealed inhomogeneous Bi distribution within the QW active region.

Effect of rapid thermal annealing on the Mo back contact properties for Cu_2ZnSnSe_4 solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Placidi, Marcel; Espindola-Rodriguez, Moises; Lopez-Marino, Simon; Sanchez, Yudania; Giraldo, Sergio; Acebo, Laura; Neuschitzer, Markus; Alcobé, Xavier; Pérez-Rodríguez, Alejandro; Saucedo, Edgardo

2016-01-01

The effect of a rapid thermal process (RTP) on the molybdenum (Mo) back contact for Cu_2ZnSnSe_4 (CZTSe) solar cells is here investigated. It is shown that the annealing of the Mo layer during 5 min at 550 °C, not only improves the crystalline quality of the back contact (avoiding the absorber decomposition at this region because Mo becomes more resistant to the selenization), but also helps achieving higher crystalline quality of the absorber with bigger grains, reducing the current leakage through the heterojunction. We demonstrate that this is related to the relaxation of the compressive stress of the CZTSe absorber, when synthesized on the RTP annealed substrates. CZTSe solar cells prepared on annealed Mo films exhibited higher short circuit current densities and higher open circuit voltages, resulting in 10% and 33% higher fill factors and efficiencies. - Highlights: • An RTP annealing applied for the first time on Mo for CZTSe solar cells. • Clear improvement of the efficiency from 5.7 to 7.6% with RTP treatment. • Discussion of this improvement with adequate material/device characterizations. • Stress-induced defects responsible of the electrical leakage are revealed.

Effect of thermal annealing on electron spin relaxation of beryllium-doped In0.8Ga0.2As0.45P0.55 bulk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hao Wu

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The effect of thermal annealing on the electron spin relaxation of beryllium-doped In0.8Ga0.2As0.45P0.55 bulk was investigated by time-resolved spin-dependent pump and probe reflection measurement with a high time resolution of 200 fs. Three similar InGaAsP samples were examined one of which was annealed at 800 °C for 1 s, one was annealed at 700 °C for 1 s and the other was not annealed after crystal growth by molecular beam epitaxy. Although the carrier lifetimes of the 700 °C-annealed sample and the unannealed sample were similar, that of the 800 °C-annealed sample was extended to 11.6 (10.4 ns at 10 (300 K, which was more than two (four times those of the other samples. However, interestingly the spin relaxation time of the 800 °C-annealed sample was found to be similar to those of the other two samples. Particularly at room temperature, the spin relaxation times are 143 ps, 147 ps, and 111 ps for the 800 °C-annealed sample, 700 °C-annealed sample, and the unannealed sample, respectively.

The influence of thermal annealing on the characteristics of Au/Ni Schottky contacts on n-type 4 H-SiC

Science.gov (United States)

Omotoso, E.; Auret, F. D.; Igumbor, E.; Tunhuma, S. M.; Danga, H. T.; Ngoepe, P. N. M.; Taleatu, B. A.; Meyer, W. E.

2018-05-01

The effects of isochronal annealing on the electrical, morphological and structural characteristics of Au/Ni/4 H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) have been studied. Current-voltage ( I- V), capacitance-voltage ( C- V), deep-level transient spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction measurements were employed to study the thermal effect on the characteristics of the SBDs. Prior to thermal annealing of Schottky contacts, the I- V measurements results confirmed the good rectification behaviour with ideality factor of 1.06, Schottky barrier height of 1.20 eV and series resistance of 7 Ω. The rectification properties after annealing was maintained up to an annealing temperature of 500 °C, but deviated slightly above 500 °C. The uncompensated ionized donor concentration decreased with annealing temperature, which could be attributed to out-diffusion of the 4 H-SiC into the Au/Ni contacts and decrease in bonding due to formation of nickel silicides. We observed the presence of four deep-level defects with energies 0.09, 0.11, 0.16 and 0.65 eV below the conduction band before and after the isochronal annealing up to 600 °C. The conclusion drawn was that annealing did not affect the number of deep-level defects present in Au/Ni/4 H-SiC contacts. The variations in electrical properties of the devices were attributed to the phase transformations and interfacial reactions that occurred after isochronal annealing.

Thermal effect on structural and magnetic properties of Fe78B13Si9 annealed amorphous ribbons

Science.gov (United States)

Soltani, Mohamed Larbi; Touares, Abdelhay; Aboki, Tiburce A. M.; Gasser, Jean-Georges

2017-08-01

In the present work, we study the influence of thermal treatments on the magnetic properties of as-quenched and pre-crystallized Fe78Si9B13 after stress relaxation. The crystallization behavior of amorphous and treated Fe78Si9B13 ribbons was revisited. The measurements were carried out by means of Differential Scanning Calorimetry, by X-ray diffraction and by Vibrating Sample Magnetometer, Susceptometer and fluxmeter. Relaxed samples were heated in the resistivity device up to 700°C and annealed near the onset temperature about 420°C for respectively 1, 3, 5, 8 hours. In as-quenched samples, two transition points occur at about 505°C and 564°C but in relaxed sample, the transition points have been found about 552°C and 568°C. Kinetics of crystallization was deduced for all studied samples. Annealing of the as-purchased ribbon shows the occurrence of α-Fe and tetragonal Fe3B resulting from the crystallization of the remaining amorphous phase. The effects on magnetic properties were pointed out by relating the structural evolution of the samples. The magnetic measurements show that annealing change the saturation magnetization and the coercive magnetic field values, hence destroying the good magnetic properties of the material. The heat treatment shows that the crystallization has greatly altered the shape of the cycles and moved the magnetic saturation point of the samples. The effect of treatment on the magneto-crystalline anisotropy is also demonstrated.

Effects of buffer layer annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties of hydrothermal grown ZnO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, X.Q.; Kim, C.R.; Lee, J.Y.; Heo, J.H.; Shin, C.M. [Department of Nano Systems Engineering, Center for Nano Manufacturing, Inje University, Obang-dong, Gimhae, Gyeongnam 621-749 (Korea, Republic of); Ryu, H., E-mail: hhryu@inje.ac.kr [Department of Nano Systems Engineering, Center for Nano Manufacturing, Inje University, Obang-dong, Gimhae, Gyeongnam 621-749 (Korea, Republic of); Chang, J.H. [Major of Nano Semiconductor, Korea Maritime University, 1 Dongsam-dong, Yeongdo-Ku, Busan 606-791 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, H.C. [Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Korea Maritime University, 1 Dongsam-dong, Yeongdo-Ku, Busan 606-791 (Korea, Republic of); Son, C.S. [Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Silla University, Gwaebeop-dong, Sasang-gu, Busan 617-736 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, W.J. [Department of Nano Engineering, Dong-Eui University, 995 Eomgwangno, Busanjin-gu, Busan 614-714 (Korea, Republic of); Jung, W.G. [School of Advanced Materials Engineering, Kookmin University, 861-1 Jeongneung-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 136-702 (Korea, Republic of); Tan, S.T. [Institute of Microelectronics, 11 Science Park Road, Science Park II, Singapore 117685 (Singapore); Zhao, J.L. [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Sun, X.W. [Institute of Microelectronics, 11 Science Park Road, Science Park II, Singapore 117685 (Singapore); School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

2009-02-01

ZnO was deposited on bare Si(1 0 0), as-deposited, and annealed ZnO/Si(1 0 0) substrates by hydrothermal synthesis. The effects of a ZnO buffer layer and its thermal annealing on the properties of the ZnO deposited by hydrothermal synthesis were studied. The grain size and root mean square (RMS) roughness values of the ZnO buffer layer increased after thermal annealing of the buffer layer. The effect of buffer layer annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties was investigated by photoluminescence, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Hydrothermal grown ZnO deposited on ZnO/Si(1 0 0) annealed at 750 deg. C with the concentration of 0.3 M exhibits the best structural and optical properties.

Effects of thermal annealing on electrical characteristics of Cd/CdS/n-Si/Au-Sb sandwich structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saglam, M.; Ates, A.; Guezeldir, B.; Astam, A.; Yildirim, M.A.

2009-01-01

In general, at the metal-semiconductor contacts, interfacial layers have been fabricated by different methods such as molecular beam epitaxy, metal organic chemical vapor deposition, sputtering and vacuum evaporation. However, all of these techniques have encountered various difficulties in the deposited films. Instead of these methods, since Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) method is simple, fast, sensitive, and less costly to prepare interfacial layer, we have first employed this method in order to prepare Cd/CdS/n-Si/Au-Sb sandwich structure. For this reason, the CdS thin film has been directly formed on n-type Si substrate by means of SILAR method. The Cd/CdS/n-Si/Au-Sb sandwich structure has demonstrated clearly rectifying behaviour by the current-voltage (I-V) curves studied at room temperature. In order to observe the effect of the thermal annealing, this structure has been annealed at temperatures from 50 to 300 deg. C for 3 min in N 2 atmosphere. The characteristic parameters such as barrier height, ideality factor and series resistance of this structure have been calculated from the forward bias I-V characteristics as a function of annealing temperature with different methods. The values of n, Φ b and mean R s of the initial Cd/CdS/n-Si/Au-Sb sandwich structure were found to be 2.31, 0.790 eV and 1.86 kΩ respectively. After annealing at 300 deg. C, these values were changed to 1.89, 0.765 eV and 0.48 kΩ. It has been seen that the barrier height, ideality factor and series resistance have slightly changed with increasing annealing temperature up to 300 deg. C.

Comparison between thermal annealing and ion mixing of alloyed Ni-W films on Si. I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pai, C.S.; Lau, S.S.; Poker, D.B.; Hung, L.S.

1985-01-01

The reactions between Ni-W alloys and Si substrates induced by thermal annealing and ion mixing were investigated and compared. Samples were prepared by sputtering of Ni-W alloys, both Ni-rich and W-rich, onto the Si substrates, and followed by either furnace annealing (200--900 0 C) or ion mixing (2 x 10 15 -- 4 x 10 16 86 Kr + ions/cm 2 ). The reactions were analyzed by Rutherford backscattering and x-ray diffraction (Read camera). In general, thermal annealing and ion mixing lead to similar reactions. Phase separation between Ni and W with Ni silicides formed next to the Si substrate and W silicide formed on the surface was observed for both Ni-rich and W-rich samples under thermal annealing. Phase separation was also observed for Ni-rich samples under ion mixing; however, a Ni-W-Si ternary compound was possibly formed for ion-mixed W-rich samples. These reactions were rationalized in terms of the mobilities of various atoms and the energetics of the systems

Effect of Thermal Annealing and Second Harmonic Generation on Bulk Damage Performance of Rapid-Growth KDP Type I Doublers at 1064 nm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Runkel, M; Maricle, S; Torres, R; Auerbach, J; Floyd, R; Hawley-Fedder, R; Burnham, A K

2000-01-01

This paper discusses the results of thermal annealing and in-situ second harmonic generation (SHG) damage tests performed on six rapid growth KDP type 1 doubler crystals at 1064 nm (1 ω) on the Zeus automated damage test facility. Unconditioned (S/1) and conditioned (R/1) damage probability tests were performed before and after thermal annealing, then with and without SHG on six doubler crystals from the NIF-size, rapid growth KDP boule F6. The tests revealed that unannealed, last-grown material from the boule in either prismatic or pyramidal sectors exhibited the highest damage curves. After thermal annealing at 160 C for seven days, the prismatic sector samples increased in performance ranging from 1.6 to 2.4X, while material from the pyramidal sector increased only modestly, ranging from 1.0 to 1.4X. Second harmonic generation decreased the damage fluence by an average of 20 percent for the S/1 tests and 40 percent for R/1 tests. Conversion efficiencies under test conditions were measured to be 20 to 30 percent and compared quite well to predicted behavior, as modeled by LLNL frequency conversion computer codes. The damage probabilities at the 1 ω NIF redline fluence (scaled to 10 ns via t 0.5 ) for S/1 tests for the unannealed samples ranged from 20 percent in one sample to 90-100 percent for the other 5 samples. Thermal annealing reduced the damage probabilities to less than 35 percent for 3 of the poor-performing crystals, while two pyramidal samples remained in the 80 to 90 percent range. Second harmonic generation in the annealed crystal increased the S/1 damage probabilities on all the crystals and ranged from 40 to 100 percent. In contrast, R/1 testing of an unannealed crystal resulted in a damage probability at the NIF redline fluence of 16%. Annealing increased the damage performance to the extent that all test sites survived NIF redline fluences without damage. Second harmonic generation in the R/1 test yielded a damage probability of less than 2

Thermal Annealing Effect on Poly(3-hexylthiophene: Fullerene:Copper-Phthalocyanine Ternary Photoactive Layer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Derouiche

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We have fabricated poly(3-hexylthiophene (P3HT/copper phthalocyanine (CuPc/fullerene (C60 ternary blend films. This photoactive layer is sandwiched between an indium tin oxide (ITO/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene:poly(styrene sulfonate (PEDOT/PSS photoanode and a bathocuproine (BCP/aluminium photocathode. The thin films have been characterized by atomic force microscope (AFM and ultraviolet/visible spectroscopy in order to study the influence of P3HT doping on the morphological and optical properties of the photoactive layer. We have also compared the characteristics of three different organic solar cells: ITO/PEDOT:PSS/CuPc0.5:C600.5/BCP/Al and ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT0.3:CuPc0.3:C600.4/BCP/Al with and without annealing. Both structures show good photovoltaic behaviour. Indeed, the incorporation of P3HT into CuPc:C60 thin film improves all the photovoltaic characteristics. We have also seen that thermal annealing significantly improves the optical absorption ability and stabilizes the organic solar cells making it more robust to chemical degradation.

Effects of vacuum rapid thermal annealing on the electrical characteristics of amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide thin films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyun-Woo Lee

2018-01-01

Full Text Available We investigated the effects of vacuum rapid thermal annealing (RTA on the electrical characteristics of amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO thin films. The a-IGZO films deposited by radiofrequency sputtering were subjected to vacuum annealing under various temperature and pressure conditions with the RTA system. The carrier concentration was evaluated by Hall measurement; the electron concentration of the a-IGZO film increased and the resistivity decreased as the RTA temperature increased under vacuum conditions. In a-IGZO thin-film transistors (TFTs with a bottom-gate top-contact structure, the threshold voltage decreased and the leakage current increased as the vacuum RTA temperature increased. As the annealing pressure decreased, the threshold voltage decreased, and the leakage current increased. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated changes in the lattice oxygen and oxygen vacancies of the a-IGZO films after vacuum RTA. At higher annealing temperatures, the lattice oxygen decreased and oxygen vacancies increased, which suggests that oxygen was diffused out in a reduced pressure atmosphere. The formation of oxygen vacancies increased the electron concentration, which consequently increased the conductivity of the a-IGZO films and reduced the threshold voltage of the TFTs. The results showed that the oxygen vacancies and electron concentrations of the a-IGZO thin films changed with the vacuum RTA conditions and that high-temperature RTA treatment at low pressure converted the IGZO thin film to a conductor.

Development of a supplemental surveillance program for reactor pressure vessel thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Server, W.L.; Rosinski, S.T.

1997-01-01

The technical decision to thermally anneal a nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV) depends upon the level of embrittlement in the RPV steels, the amount of recovery of fracture toughness properties expected from the anneal, and the rate of re-embrittlement after the vessel is placed back into service. The recovery of Charpy impact toughness properties after annealing can be estimated initially by using a recovery model developed using experimental measurements of recovery (such as that developed by Eason et al. for U.S. vessel materials). However, actual validation measurements on plant-specific archived vessel materials (hopefully in the existing surveillance program) are needed; otherwise, irradiated surrogate materials, essentially the same as the RPV steels or bounding in expected behavior, must be utilized. The efficient use of any of these materials requires a supplemental surveillance program focused at both recovery and reirradiation embrittlement. Reconstituted Charpy specimens and new surveillance capsules will most likely be needed as part of this supplemental surveillance program. A new version of ASTM E 509 has recently been approved which provides guidance on thermal annealing in general and specifically for the development of an annealing supplemental surveillance program. The post-anneal re-embrittlement properties are crucial for continued plant operation, and the use of a re-embrittlement model, such as the lateral shift approach, may be overly conservative. This paper illustrates the new ASTM E 509 Standard Guide methodology for an annealing supplemental surveillance program. As an example, the proposed program for the Palisades RPV beltline steels is presented which covers the time from annealing to the end of operating license and beyond, if license renewal is pursued. The Palisades nuclear power plant RPV was planned to be annealed in 1998, but that plant is currently being re-evaluated. The proposed anneal was planned to be conducted at a

Study on the influence of annealing effects in GaN VPE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furtado, M.

1983-06-01

The effects of annealing that occur during VPE growth of GaN were investigated. GaN powder (and epilayers) samples were annealed in Ar, N 2 , H 2 , NH 3 , HC1 + N 2 and HC1 + H 2 (N 2 , H 2 and HC1 + N 2 ), respectively; under a range of experimental conditions of interest for preparing electroluminescent devices. Good surface appearence Zn doped epilayers were also used under N 2 in order to investigate surface morphology changes due to thermal decomposition. It was found that GaN reacts with H 2 , remains stable under NH 3 , and the effects of thermal decomposition are somewhat enhanced with HC1. The epilayers' behaviour under thermal decomposition and HC1 are interpreted by the greater stability of the (0001) crystal plane, which accounts for the improvement of the surface quality under special growth conditions. Significant observations are reported concerning GaN decomposition in different ambients [pt

A perspective on thermal annealing of reactor pressure vessel materials from the viewpoint of experimental results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iskander, S.K.; Sokolov, M.A.; Nanstad, R.K.

1996-01-01

It is believed that in the next decade or so, several nuclear reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) may exceed the reference temperature limits set by the pressurized thermal shock screening criteria. One of the options to mitigate the effects of irradiation on RPVs is to thermally anneal them to restore the toughness properties that have been degraded by neutron irradiation. This paper summarizes recent experimental results from work performed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to study the annealing response, or ''recovery'' of several irradiated RPV steels. The fracture toughness is one of the important properties used in the evaluation of the integrity of RPVs. Optimally, the fracture toughness is measured directly by fracture toughness specimens, such as compact tension or precracked Charpy specimens, but is often inferred from the results of Charpy V-notch impact specimens. The experimental results are compared to the predictions of models for embrittlement recovery which have been developed by Eason et al. Some of the issues in annealing that still need to be resolved are discussed

Influence of thermal annealing on the morphology and structural properties of a conjugated polymer in blends with an organic acceptor material

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Motaung, DE

2009-06-01

Full Text Available variation in morphology during annealing due to the crystallization of C60. The as-prepared P3HT:C60 films have a higher surface roughness and larger cluster size compared to the as-prepared P3HT films. The thermal annealing effects on the optical microscopy...

Effect of thermal annealing on the optical and structural properties of silicon implanted with a high hydrogen fluence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kling, A.; Soares, J.C.; Rodriguez, A.; Rodriguez, T.; Avella, M.; Jimenez, J.

2006-01-01

Silicon capped by thermal oxide has been implanted with 1 x 10 17 H/cm 2 and the implant profile peaking at the interface. Samples were subjected to thermal annealing and characterized by ERD, FTIR, RBS/channeling, UV/VIS reflectance and cathodoluminescence regarding H-content, crystalline quality and light emission. The results show that the luminescent properties are independent of the hydrogen content but are strongly related with the present damage

Study of thermal annealing effect on Bragg gratings photo-inscribed in step-index polymer optical fibers

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, X.; Kinet, D.; Mégret, P.; Caucheteur, C.

2016-04-01

In this paper, both non-annealed and annealed trans-4-stilbenemethanol-doped step-index polymer optical fibers were photo-inscribed using a 325 nm HeCd laser with two different beam power densities reaching the fiber core. In the high density regime where 637 mW/mm2 are used, the grating reflectivity is stable over time after the photo-writing process but the reflected spectrum is of limited quality, as the grating physical length is limited to 1.2 mm. To produce longer gratings exhibiting more interesting spectral features, the beam is enlarged to 6 mm, decreasing the power density to 127 mW/mm2. In this second regime, the grating reflectivity is not stable after the inscription process but tends to decay for both kinds of fibers. A fortunate property in this case results from the possibility to fully recover the initial reflectivity using a post-inscription thermal annealing, where the gratings are annealed at 80 °C during 2 days. The observed evolutions for both regimes are attributed to the behavior of the excited intermediate states between the excited singlet and the ground singlet state of trans- and cis-isomers as well as the temperature-dependent glassy polymer matrix.

Recent evaluation of 'wet' thermal annealing to resolve reactor pressure vessel embrittlement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Server, W.L.; Biemiller, E.C.

1993-01-01

Prior to the decision to close the Yankee Rowe plant in 1992, a great deal of effort was expended in trying to resolve the degree of neutron embrittlement that the reactor pressure vessel had experienced after 30 years of operation. One mitigative measure that was examined in detail was the possibility of performing a relatively low temperature thermal anneal (at approximately 650 deg. F) to partially restore the original design level of mechanical properties of the reactor pressure vessel beltline region which were lost due to the neutron radiation exposure. This low temperature anneal was to involve heating of the primary coolant water using pump heat in a similar manner as that used to anneal the Belgian BR-3 reactor pressure vessel in the early 1980s. This 'wet' anneal was successful in recovering mechanical properties for the BR-3 vessel, but the extent of the recovery, as well as the rate of re-embrittlement after the anneal, were issues that were difficult to quantify since the exact reactor pressure vessel steels were not available for experimental verification. For the case of Yankee Rowe, material was available from past surveillance programs for at least one of the materials in the vessel, as well as materials obtained from various sources which could act as bounding surrogates. An irradiation /annealing/reirradiation program was developed to better quantify the degree of recovery and re-embrittlement for these materials, but this program was halted before significant test results were obtained. Prior to the initiation of the testing program, a review of past annealing data was performed and the data were scrutinized for direct relevance to the annealing response of the Yankee Rowe vessel. This paper discusses the results derived from this review. The results from the critical review of the past annealing data indicated that a 'wet' anneal of the Yankee Rowe vessel may have been successful in reducing the degree of embrittlement to the point that the

Phase transformation from cubic ZnS to hexagonal ZnO by thermal annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Mahmood, K.; Asghar, M.; Amin, N.; Ali, Adnan

2015-03-01

We have investigated the mechanism of phase transformation from ZnS to hexagonal ZnO by high-temperature thermal annealing. The ZnS thin films were grown on Si (001) substrate by thermal evaporation system using ZnS powder as source material. The grown films were annealed at different temperatures and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), four-point probe, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDX). The results demonstrated that as-deposited ZnS film has mixed phases but high-temperature annealing leads to transition from ZnS to ZnO. The observed result can be explained as a two-step process: (1) high-energy O atoms replaced S atoms in lattice during annealing process, and (2) S atoms diffused into substrate and/or diffused out of the sample. The dissociation energy of ZnS calculated from the Arrhenius plot of 1000/T versus log (resistivity) was found to be 3.1 eV. PL spectra of as-grown sample exhibits a characteristic green emission at 2.4 eV of ZnS but annealed samples consist of band-to-band and defect emission of ZnO at 3.29 eV and 2.5 eV respectively. SEM and EDX measurements were additionally performed to strengthen the argument.

Passivation mechanism of thermal atomic layer-deposited Al2O3 films on silicon at different annealing temperatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yan; Zhou, Chunlan; Zhang, Xiang; Zhang, Peng; Dou, Yanan; Wang, Wenjing; Cao, Xingzhong; Wang, Baoyi; Tang, Yehua; Zhou, Su

2013-03-02

Thermal atomic layer-deposited (ALD) aluminum oxide (Al2O3) acquires high negative fixed charge density (Qf) and sufficiently low interface trap density after annealing, which enables excellent surface passivation for crystalline silicon. Qf can be controlled by varying the annealing temperatures. In this study, the effect of the annealing temperature of thermal ALD Al2O3 films on p-type Czochralski silicon wafers was investigated. Corona charging measurements revealed that the Qf obtained at 300°C did not significantly affect passivation. The interface-trapping density markedly increased at high annealing temperature (>600°C) and degraded the surface passivation even at a high Qf. Negatively charged or neutral vacancies were found in the samples annealed at 300°C, 500°C, and 750°C using positron annihilation techniques. The Al defect density in the bulk film and the vacancy density near the SiOx/Si interface region decreased with increased temperature. Measurement results of Qf proved that the Al vacancy of the bulk film may not be related to Qf. The defect density in the SiOx region affected the chemical passivation, but other factors may dominantly influence chemical passivation at 750°C.

Magnetic structure of Fe-based amorphous and thermal annealed microwires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olivera, J.; Provencio, M.; Prida, V.M.; Hernando, B.; Santos, J.D.; Perez, M.J.; Gorria, P.; Sanchez, M.L.; Belzunce, F.J.

2005-01-01

The magnetic structure of amorphous and thermal annealed glass coated microwires is studied by thermomagnetic, DSC, and Bitter domain pattern techniques. The long-range dipolar interaction between parallel aligned microwires and the appearance of large Barkhausen jumps steps in the axially magnetized loops are discussed in terms of reversal magnetization process

Effects of fluorine-based plasma treatment and thermal annealing on high-Al content AlGaN Schottky contact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Fang; Qin Zhixin

2016-01-01

Fluorine plasma treatment was used prior to the Schottky metal deposition on the undoped Al 0.45 Ga 0.55 N, which aimed at the solar-blind wavelength. After fluorine plasma treatment and before depositing the Ni/Au Schottky, the samples were thermal annealed in the N 2 gas at 400 °C. The reverse leakage current density of Al 0.45 Ga 0.55 N Schottky diode was reduced by 2 orders of magnitude at −10 V. The reverse leakage current density was reduced by 3 orders of magnitude after thermal annealing. Further capacitance–frequency analysis revealed that the fluorine-based plasma treatment reduces the surface states of AlGaN by one order of magnitude at different surface state energies. The capacitance–frequency analysis also proved that the concentration of carriers in AlGaN top is reduced through fluorine plasma treatment. (paper)

Effect of thermal annealing on the structural and optical properties of Cu2FeSnS4 thin films grown by vacuum evaporation method

Science.gov (United States)

Oueslati, H.; Rabeh, M. Ben; Kanzari, M.

2018-02-01

In this work, the effect of different types of thermal annealing on the properties of Cu2FeSnS4 (CFTS) thin films deposited by thermal evaporation at room temperature on glass substrate were investigated. CFTS powder was synthesized by direct melting of the constituent elements taken in stoichiometry compositions. The X-ray diffraction experimental data indicating that the Cu2FeSnS4 powder illustrating a stannite structure in space group I\\bar {4}2m. From the XRD analysis we have found that the polycrystalline CFTS thin film was only obtained by thermal annealed in sulfur atmosphere under a high vacuum of 400 °C temperature during 2 h. Optical study reveals that the thin films have relatively high absorption coefficients (≈ 105cm-1) and the values of optical band gap energy ranged between 1.38 and 1.48 eV. Other optical parameters were evaluated according to the models of Wemple Di-Domenico and Spitzer-Fan. Finally, hot probe measurements of CFTS thin films reveal p-type conductivity.

Thermal Annealing Effect on Optical Properties of Binary TiO2-SiO2 Sol-Gel Coatings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaodong Wang

2012-12-01

Full Text Available TiO2-SiO2 binary coatings were deposited by a sol-gel dip-coating method using tetrabutyl titanate and tetraethyl orthosilicate as precursors. The structure and chemical composition of the coatings annealed at different temperatures were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR spectroscopy. The refractive indices of the coatings were calculated from the measured transmittance and reflectance spectra. An increase in refractive index with the high temperature thermal annealing process was observed. The Raman and FTIR results indicate that the refractive index variation is due to changes in the removal of the organic component, phase separation and the crystal structure of the binary coatings.

Effect of rapid thermal annealing on the Mo back contact properties for Cu{sub 2}ZnSnSe{sub 4} solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Placidi, Marcel, E-mail: mplacidi@irec.cat [Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), Jardins de les Dones de Negre 1, pl.2, 08930 St Adrià del Besòs, Barcelona (Spain); Espindola-Rodriguez, Moises; Lopez-Marino, Simon; Sanchez, Yudania; Giraldo, Sergio; Acebo, Laura; Neuschitzer, Markus [Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), Jardins de les Dones de Negre 1, pl.2, 08930 St Adrià del Besòs, Barcelona (Spain); Alcobé, Xavier [Centres Científics i Tecnològics (CCiTUB), Lluis Solé i Sabarís 1, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Pérez-Rodríguez, Alejandro [Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), Jardins de les Dones de Negre 1, pl.2, 08930 St Adrià del Besòs, Barcelona (Spain); IN2UB, Departament d’Electrònica, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Saucedo, Edgardo [Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), Jardins de les Dones de Negre 1, pl.2, 08930 St Adrià del Besòs, Barcelona (Spain)

2016-08-05

The effect of a rapid thermal process (RTP) on the molybdenum (Mo) back contact for Cu{sub 2}ZnSnSe{sub 4} (CZTSe) solar cells is here investigated. It is shown that the annealing of the Mo layer during 5 min at 550 °C, not only improves the crystalline quality of the back contact (avoiding the absorber decomposition at this region because Mo becomes more resistant to the selenization), but also helps achieving higher crystalline quality of the absorber with bigger grains, reducing the current leakage through the heterojunction. We demonstrate that this is related to the relaxation of the compressive stress of the CZTSe absorber, when synthesized on the RTP annealed substrates. CZTSe solar cells prepared on annealed Mo films exhibited higher short circuit current densities and higher open circuit voltages, resulting in 10% and 33% higher fill factors and efficiencies. - Highlights: • An RTP annealing applied for the first time on Mo for CZTSe solar cells. • Clear improvement of the efficiency from 5.7 to 7.6% with RTP treatment. • Discussion of this improvement with adequate material/device characterizations. • Stress-induced defects responsible of the electrical leakage are revealed.

Characteristics of rapid-thermal-annealed LiCoO2 cathode film for an all-solid-state thin film microbattery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Han-Ki; Yoon, Young Soo

2004-01-01

We report on the fabrication of a LiCoO 2 film for an all-solid-state thin film microbattery by using a rapid-thermal-annealing (RTA) process. The LiCoO 2 films were grown by rf magnetron sputtering using a synthesized LiCoO 2 target in a [O 2 /(Ar+O 2 )] ratio of 10%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) analysis results showed that the surface layer on the as-deposited LiCoO 2 film was completely removed by rapid thermal annealing process in oxygen ambient for 20 min. In addition, the thin film microbattery fabricated with the annealed LiCoO 2 film shows fairly stable cyclability with a specific discharge capacity of 56.49 μAh/cm2 μm. These results show the possibility of the RTA LiCoO 2 film and rapid thermal annealing process being a promising cathode material and annealing process for thin film microbatteries, respectively

Raman Spectroscopy Study of Annealing-Induced Effects on Graphene Prepared by Micromechanical Exfoliation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Ji Eun; Ko, Taeg Yeoung; Ryu, Sun Min

2010-01-01

Raman spectroscopy was combined with AFM to investigate the effects of thermal annealing on the graphene samples prepared by the widely used micromechanical exfoliation method. Following annealing cycles, adhesive residues were shown to contaminate graphene sheets with thin molecular layers in their close vicinity causing several new intense Raman bands. Detailed investigation shows that the Raman scattering is very strong and may be enhanced by the interaction with graphene. Although the current study does not pinpoint detailed origins for the new Raman bands, the presented results stress that graphene prepared by the above method may require extra cautions when treated with heat or possibly solvents. Since its isolation from graphite, graphene has drawn a lot of experimental and theoretical research. These efforts have been mostly in pursuit of various applications such as electronics, sensors, stretchable transparent electrodes, and various composite materials. To accomplish such graphene-based applications, understanding chemical interactions of this new material with environments during various processing treatments will become more important. Since thermal annealing is widely used in various research of graphene for varying purposes such as cleaning, nanostructuring, reactions, etc., understanding annealing-induced effects is prerequisite to many fundamental studies of graphene. In this regard, it is to be noted that there has been a controversy on the cause of the annealing-induced hole doping in graphene

Compositional changes in the channel layer of an amorphous In–Ga–Zn-O thin film transistor after thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Jiyeon; Lee, Su Jeong; Myoung, Jae-Min; Kim, Chul-Hong; Chae, Gee Sung; Jun, Myungchul; Hwang, Yong Kee; Lee, Woong

2012-01-01

In order to investigate the possible reason for the improved device performances of amorphous In–Ga–Zn-O (a-IGZO) thin film transistors after thermal annealing, changes in the elemental concentrations in the a-IGZO channel regions and related device performances due to thermal annealing were observed. It was found that thermal annealing introduces a substantial level of oxygen deficiencies in the channel layer accompanying significantly enhanced device performances. The improved device performances are attributed to the oxygen deficiency which is believed to be averaged over the entire structure to function as shallow donors increasing the carrier concentrations. Such a deduction was supported by the changes in the absorption spectra of the a-IGZO films with various thermal histories. (paper)

Infrared thermal annealing device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gladys, M.J.; Clarke, I.; O'Connor, D.J.

2003-01-01

A device for annealing samples within an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) scanning tunneling microscopy system was designed, constructed, and tested. The device is based on illuminating the sample with infrared radiation from outside the UHV chamber with a tungsten projector bulb. The apparatus uses an elliptical mirror to focus the beam through a sapphire viewport for low absorption. Experiments were conducted on clean Pd(100) and annealing temperatures in excess of 1000 K were easily reached

An anti-bacterial approach to nanoscale roughening of biomimetic rice-like pattern PP by thermal annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Jafari Nodoushan, Emad; Ebrahimi, Nadereh Golshan; Ayazi, Masoumeh

2017-11-01

In this paper, we introduced thermal annealing treatment as an effective way of increasing the nanoscale roughness of a semi-crystalline polymer surface. Annealing treatment applied to a biomimetic microscale pattern of rice leaf to achieve a superhydrophobic surface with a hierarchical roughness. Resulted surfaces was characterized by XRD, AFM and FE-SEM instruments and showed an increase of roughness and cristallinity within both time and temperature of treatment. These two parameters also impact on measured static contact angle up to 158°. Bacterial attachment potency has an inverse relationship with the similarity of surface pattern dimensions and bacterial size and due to that, thermal annealing could be an effective way to create anti-bacterial surface beyond its effect on water repellency. Point in case, the anti-bacterial properties of produced water-repellence surfaces of PP were measured and counted colonies of both gram-negative (E. coli) and gram-positive (S. aureus) bacteria reduced with the nature of PP and hierarchical pattern on that. Anti-bacterial characterization of the resulted surface reveals a stunning reduction in adhesion of gram-positive bacteria to the surface. S. aureus reduction rates equaled to 95% and 66% when compared to control blank plate and smooth surface of PP. Moreover, it also could affect the other type of bacteria, gram-negative (E. coli). In the latter case, adhesion reduction rates calculated 66% and 53% when against to the same controls, respectively.

Ion-beam mixing and thermal annealing of Al--Nb and Al--Ta thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rai, A.K.; Bhattacharya, R.S.; Mendiratta, M.G.; Subramanian, P.R.; Dimiduk, D.M.

1988-01-01

Ion-beam mixing and thermal annealing of thin, alternating layers of Al and Nb, as well as Al and Ta, were investigated by selected area diffraction and Rutherford backscattering. The individual layer thicknesses were adjusted to obtain the overall compositions as Al 3 Nb and Al 3 Ta. The films were ion mixed with 1 MeV Au + ions at a dose of 1 x 10 16 ions cm/sup -2/ . Uniform mixing and amorphization were achieved for both Al--Nb and Al--Ta systems. Equilibrium crystalline Al 3 Nb and Al 3 Ta phases were formed after annealing of ion mixed amorphous films at 400 0 C for 6 h. Unmixed films, however, remained unreacted at 400 0 C for 1 h. Partial reaction was observed in the unmixed film of Al--Nb at 400 0 C for 6 h. After annealing at 500 0 C for 1 h, a complete reaction and formation of Al 3 Nb and Al 3 Ta phases in the respective films were observed. The influence of thermodynamics on the phase formation by ion mixing and thermal annealing is discussed

Structural, morphological and optical properties of thermal annealed TiO thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zribi, M.; Kanzari, M.; Rezig, B.

2008-01-01

Structural, morphological and optical properties of TiO thin films grown by single source thermal evaporation method were studied. The films were annealed from 300 to 520 deg. C in air after evaporation. Qualitative film analysis was performed with X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and optical transmittance and reflectance spectra. A correlation was established between the optical properties, surface roughness and growth morphology of the evaporated TiO thin films. The X-ray diffraction spectra indicated the presence of the TiO 2 phase for the annealing temperature above 400 deg. C

Thermal stress modification in regenerated fiber Bragg grating via manipulation of glass transition temperature based on CO₂-laser annealing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Man-Hong; Lim, Kok-Sing; Gunawardena, Dinusha S; Yang, Hang-Zhou; Chong, Wu-Yi; Ahmad, Harith

2015-03-01

In this work, we have demonstrated thermal stress relaxation in regenerated fiber Bragg gratings (RFBGs) by using direct CO₂-laser annealing technique. After the isothermal annealing and slow cooling process, the Bragg wavelength of the RFBG has been red-shifted. This modification is reversible by re-annealing and rapid cooling. It is repeatable with different cooling process in the subsequent annealing treatments. This phenomenon can be attributed to the thermal stress modification in the fiber core by means of manipulation of glass transition temperature with different cooling rates. This finding in this investigation is important for accurate temperature measurement of RFBG in dynamic environment.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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).

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingjin Wu

2016-08-01

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

Effects of rapid thermal annealing on the optical and electrical properties of InN epilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shu, G W; Wu, P F; Liu, Y W; Wang, J S; Shen, J L; Lin, T Y; Pong, P J; Chi, G C; Chang, H J; Chen, Y F; Lee, Y C

2006-01-01

We studied the optical and electrical properties of InN epilayers with rapid thermal annealing (RTA). The intensity of the photoluminescence (PL) and the carrier mobility were found to increase as the temperature of RTA was increased. We suggest that the formation of compensating acceptors (indium vacancies) after RTA is responsible for the improvement of the quality in InN. The dependence of the PL emission peak on carrier concentration provides a possible method for estimating the carrier concentration in degenerate InN. (letter to the editor)

Anisotropic visible photoluminescence from thermally annealed few-layer black phosphorus

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Chuan; Sekhar, M. Chandra; Lu, Wei; Zhang, Chenglong; Lai, Jiawei; Jia, Shuang; Sun, Dong

2018-06-01

Black phosphorus, a two-dimensional material, with high carrier mobility, tunable direct bandgap and anisotropic electronic properties has attracted enormous research interest towards potential application in electronic, optoelectronic and optomechanical devices. The bandgap of BP is thickness dependent, ranging from 0.3 eV for bulk to 1.3 eV for monolayer, while lacking in the visible region, a widely used optical regime for practical optoelectronic applications. In this work, photoluminescence (PL) centered at 605 nm is observed from the thermally annealed BP with thickness ≤20 nm. This higher energy PL is most likely the consequence of the formation of higher bandgap phosphorene oxides and suboxides on the surface BP layers as a result of the enhanced rate of oxidation. Moreover, the polarization-resolved PL measurements show that the emitted light is anisotropic when the excitation polarization is along the armchair direction. However, if excited along zigzag direction, the PL is nearly isotropic. Our findings suggest that the thermal annealing of BP can be used as a convenient route to fill the visible gap of the BP-based optoelectronic and optomechanical devices.

Origin of two maxima in specific heat in enthalpy relaxation under thermal history composed of cooling, annealing, and heating.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakatsuji, Waki; Konishi, Takashi; Miyamoto, Yoshihisa

2016-12-01

The origin of two maxima in specific heat observed at the higher and the lower temperatures in the glass-transition region in the heating process has been studied for polymethyl methacrylate and polyvinyl chloride using differential scanning calorimetry, and the calculation was done using the phenomenological model equation under a thermal history of the typical annealing experiment composed of cooling, annealing, and heating. The higher maximum is observed above the glass-transition temperature, and it remains almost unchanged independent of annealing time t_{a}, while the lower one is observed above an annealing temperature T_{a} and shifts toward the higher one, increasing its magnitude with t_{a}. The analysis by the phenomenological model equation proposed in order to interpret the memory effect in the glassy state clarifies that under a typical annealing history, two maxima in specific heat essentially appear. The shift of the lower maximum toward higher temperatures from above T_{a} is caused by an increase in the amount of relaxation during annealing with t_{a}. The annealing temperature and the amount of relaxation during annealing play a major role in the determination of the number of maxima in the specific heat.

Cluster-assembled cubic zirconia films with tunable and stable nanoscale morphology against thermal annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borghi, F.; Lenardi, C.; Podestà, A.; Milani, P., E-mail: pmilani@mi.infn.it [CIMAINA and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano (Italy); Sogne, E. [CIMAINA and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano (Italy); European School of Molecular Medicine (SEMM), IFOM-IEO, Milano (Italy); Merlini, M. [Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra “Ardito Desio”, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Mangiagalli 32, 20133 Milano (Italy); Ducati, C. [Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 0FS (United Kingdom)

2016-08-07

Nanostructured zirconium dioxide (zirconia) films are very promising for catalysis and biotechnological applications: a precise control of the interfacial properties of the material at different length scales and, in particular, at the nanoscale, is therefore necessary. Here, we present the characterization of cluster-assembled zirconia films produced by supersonic cluster beam deposition possessing cubic structure at room temperature and controlled nanoscale morphology. We characterized the effect of thermal annealing in reducing and oxidizing conditions on the crystalline structure, grain dimensions, and topography. We highlight the mechanisms of film growth and phase transitions, which determine the observed interfacial morphological properties and their resilience against thermal treatments.

Cluster-assembled cubic zirconia films with tunable and stable nanoscale morphology against thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borghi, F.; Lenardi, C.; Podestà, A.; Milani, P.; Sogne, E.; Merlini, M.; Ducati, C.

2016-01-01

Nanostructured zirconium dioxide (zirconia) films are very promising for catalysis and biotechnological applications: a precise control of the interfacial properties of the material at different length scales and, in particular, at the nanoscale, is therefore necessary. Here, we present the characterization of cluster-assembled zirconia films produced by supersonic cluster beam deposition possessing cubic structure at room temperature and controlled nanoscale morphology. We characterized the effect of thermal annealing in reducing and oxidizing conditions on the crystalline structure, grain dimensions, and topography. We highlight the mechanisms of film growth and phase transitions, which determine the observed interfacial morphological properties and their resilience against thermal treatments.

Cluster-assembled cubic zirconia films with tunable and stable nanoscale morphology against thermal annealing

KAUST Repository

Borghi, F.

2016-08-05

Nanostructured zirconium dioxide (zirconia) films are very promising for catalysis and biotechnological applications: a precise control of the interfacial properties of the material at different length scales and, in particular, at the nanoscale, is therefore necessary. Here, we present the characterization of cluster-assembled zirconia films produced by supersonic cluster beam deposition possessing cubic structure at room temperature and controlled nanoscale morphology. We characterized the effect of thermal annealing in reducing and oxidizing conditions on the crystalline structure, grain dimensions, and topography. We highlight the mechanisms of film growth and phase transitions, which determine the observed interfacial morphological properties and their resilience against thermal treatments. Published by AIP Publishing.

Cluster-assembled cubic zirconia films with tunable and stable nanoscale morphology against thermal annealing

KAUST Repository

Borghi, F.; Sogne, Elisa; Lenardi, C.; Podestà , A.; Merlini, M.; Ducati, C.; Milani, P.

2016-01-01

Nanostructured zirconium dioxide (zirconia) films are very promising for catalysis and biotechnological applications: a precise control of the interfacial properties of the material at different length scales and, in particular, at the nanoscale, is therefore necessary. Here, we present the characterization of cluster-assembled zirconia films produced by supersonic cluster beam deposition possessing cubic structure at room temperature and controlled nanoscale morphology. We characterized the effect of thermal annealing in reducing and oxidizing conditions on the crystalline structure, grain dimensions, and topography. We highlight the mechanisms of film growth and phase transitions, which determine the observed interfacial morphological properties and their resilience against thermal treatments. Published by AIP Publishing.

Enhancement of electron transfer from CdSe core/shell quantum dots to TiO2 films by thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shao, Cong; Meng, Xiangdong; Jing, Pengtao; Sun, Mingye; Zhao, Jialong; Li, Haibo

2013-01-01

We demonstrated the enhancement of electron transfer from CdSe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) to TiO 2 films via thermal annealing by means of steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The significant decrease in PL intensities and lifetimes of the QDs on TiO 2 films was clearly observed after thermal annealing at temperature ranging from 100 °C to 300 °C. The obtained rates of electron transfer from CdSe core/shell QDs with red, yellow, and green emissions to TiO 2 films were significantly enhanced from several times to an order of magnitude (from ∼10 7 s −1 to ∼10 8 s −1 ). The improvement in efficiencies of electron transfer in the TiO 2 /CdSe QD systems was also confirmed. The enhancement could be considered to result from the thermal annealing reduced distance between CdSe QDs and TiO 2 films. The experimental results revealed that thermal annealing would play an important role on improving performances of QD based optoelectronic devices. -- Highlights: • Annealing-induced enhancement of electron transfer from CdSe to TiO 2 is reported. • CdSe QDs on TiO 2 and SiO 2 films are annealed at various temperatures. • Steady-state and time-resolved PL spectroscopy of CdSe QDs is studied. • The enhancement is related to the reduced distance between CdSe QDs and TiO 2

Formation of Au nanoparticles in sapphire by using Ar ion implantation and thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, L.H.; Zhang, C.H.; Yang, Y.T.; Li, B.S.; Zhang, L.Q.; Fu, Y.C.; Zhang, H.H.

2009-01-01

In this paper, we present results of the synthesis of gold nanoclusters in sapphire, using Ar ion implantation and annealing in air. Unlike the conventional method of Au implantation followed by thermal annealing, Au was deposited on the surface of m- and a- cut sapphire single crystal samples including those pre-implanted with Ar ions. Au atoms were brought into the substrate by subsequent implantation of Ar ions to form Au nanoparticles. Samples were finally annealed stepwisely in air at temperatures ranging from 400 to 800 deg. C and then studied using UV-vis absorption spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy and Rutherford backscattered spectrometry. Evidence of the formation Au nanoparticles in the sapphire can be obtained from the characteristic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption band in the optical absorption spectra or directly from the transmission electron microscopy. The results of optical absorption spectra indicate that the specimen orientations and pre-implantation also influence the size and the volume fraction of Au nanoparticles formed. Theoretical calculations using Maxwell-Garnett effective medium theory supply a good interpretation of the optical absorption results.

Surface state of GaN after rapid-thermal-annealing using AlN cap-layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

El-Zammar, G., E-mail: georgio.elzammar@univ-tours.fr [Université François Rabelais, Tours, GREMAN, CNRS UMR 7347, 10 rue Thalès de Milet CS 97155, 37071 Tours Cedex 2 (France); Khalfaoui, W. [Université François Rabelais, Tours, GREMAN, CNRS UMR 7347, 10 rue Thalès de Milet CS 97155, 37071 Tours Cedex 2 (France); Oheix, T. [Université François Rabelais, Tours, GREMAN, CNRS UMR 7347, 10 rue Thalès de Milet CS 97155, 37071 Tours Cedex 2 (France); STMicroelectronics, 10 rue Thalès de Milet CS 97155, 37071 Tours Cedex 2 (France); Yvon, A.; Collard, E. [STMicroelectronics, 10 rue Thalès de Milet CS 97155, 37071 Tours Cedex 2 (France); Cayrel, F.; Alquier, D. [Université François Rabelais, Tours, GREMAN, CNRS UMR 7347, 10 rue Thalès de Milet CS 97155, 37071 Tours Cedex 2 (France)

2015-11-15

Graphical abstract: Surface state of a crack-free AlN cap-layer reactive sputtered on GaN and annealed at high temperature showing a smooth, pit-free surface. - Highlights: • We deposit a crystalline AlN layer by reactive magnetron sputtering on GaN. • We show the effect of deposition parameters of AlN by reactive magnetron sputtering on the quality of the grown layer. • We demonstrate the efficiency of double cap-layer for GaN protection during high temperature thermal treatments. • We show an efficient selective etch of AlN without damaging GaN surface. - Abstract: Critical issues need to be overcome to produce high performance Schottky diodes on gallium nitride (GaN). To activate dopant, high temperature thermal treatments are required but damage GaN surface where hexagonal pits appear and prevent any device processing. In this paper, we investigated the efficiency of cap-layers on GaN during thermal treatments to avoid degradation. Aluminum nitride (AlN) and silicon oxide (SiO{sub x}) were grown on GaN by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, respectively. AlN growth parameters were studied to understand their effect on the grown layers and their protection efficiency. Focused ion beam was used to measure AlN layer thickness. Crystalline quality and exact composition were verified using X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Two types of rapid thermal annealing at high temperatures were investigated. Surface roughness and pits density were evaluated using atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Cap-layers wet etching was processed in H{sub 3}PO{sub 4} at 120 °C for AlN and in HF (10%) for SiO{sub x}. This work reveals effective protection of GaN during thermal treatments at temperatures as high as 1150 °C. Low surface roughness was obtained. Furthermore, no hexagonal pit was observed on the surface.

Effects of thermal annealing on the radiation produced electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of bovine and equine tooth enamel: Fossil and modern

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weeks, Robert A.; Bogard, James S.; Elam, J. Michael; Weinand, Daniel C.; Kramer, Andrew

2003-01-01

The concentration of stable radiation-induced paramagnetic states in fossil teeth can be used as a measure of sample age. Temperature excursions >100 deg. C, however, can cause the paramagnetic state clock to differ from the actual postmortem time. We have heated irradiated enamel from both fossilized bovid and modern equine (MEQ) teeth for 30 min in 50 deg. C increments from 100 to 300 deg. C, measuring the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum after each anneal, to investigate such effects. Samples were irradiated again after the last anneal, with doses of 300-1200 Gy from 60 Co photons, and measured. Two unirradiated MEQ samples were also annealed for 30 min at 300 deg. C, one in an evacuated EPR tube and the other in a tube open to the atmosphere, and subsequently irradiated. The data showed that hyperfine components attributed to the alanine radical were not detected in the irradiated MEQ sample until after the anneals. The spectrum of the MEQ sample heated in air and then irradiated was similar to that of the heat treated fossil sample. We conclude that the hyperfine components are due to sample heating to temperatures/times >100 deg. C/30 min and that similarities between fossil and MEQ spectra after the 300 deg. C/30 min MEQ anneal are also due to sample heating. We conclude that the presence of the hyperfine components in spectra of fossil tooth enamel indicate that such thermal events occurred either at the time of death, or during the postmortem history

Effects of thermal annealing on the radiation produced electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of bovine and equine tooth enamel: Fossil and modern

Science.gov (United States)

Weeks, Robert A.; Bogard, James S.; Elam, J. Michael; Weinand, Daniel C.; Kramer, Andrew

2003-06-01

The concentration of stable radiation-induced paramagnetic states in fossil teeth can be used as a measure of sample age. Temperature excursions >100 °C, however, can cause the paramagnetic state clock to differ from the actual postmortem time. We have heated irradiated enamel from both fossilized bovid and modern equine (MEQ) teeth for 30 min in 50 °C increments from 100 to 300 °C, measuring the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum after each anneal, to investigate such effects. Samples were irradiated again after the last anneal, with doses of 300-1200 Gy from 60Co photons, and measured. Two unirradiated MEQ samples were also annealed for 30 min at 300 °C, one in an evacuated EPR tube and the other in a tube open to the atmosphere, and subsequently irradiated. The data showed that hyperfine components attributed to the alanine radical were not detected in the irradiated MEQ sample until after the anneals. The spectrum of the MEQ sample heated in air and then irradiated was similar to that of the heat treated fossil sample. We conclude that the hyperfine components are due to sample heating to temperatures/times >100 °C/30 min and that similarities between fossil and MEQ spectra after the 300 °C/30 min MEQ anneal are also due to sample heating. We conclude that the presence of the hyperfine components in spectra of fossil tooth enamel indicate that such thermal events occurred either at the time of death, or during the postmortem history.

Effect of thermal annealing on electron spin relaxation of beryllium-doped In{sub 0.8}Ga{sub 0.2}As{sub 0.45}P{sub 0.55} bulk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Hao; Harasawa, Ryo; Yasue, Yuya; Aritake, Takanori; Jiang, Canyu; Tackeuchi, Atsushi, E-mail: atacke@waseda.jp [Department of Applied Physics, Waseda University, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-8555 (Japan); Ji, Lian; Lu, Shulong [Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dushu Lake Higher Education Town, Ruoshui Road 398, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou (China)

2016-08-15

The effect of thermal annealing on the electron spin relaxation of beryllium-doped In{sub 0.8}Ga{sub 0.2}As{sub 0.45}P{sub 0.55} bulk was investigated by time-resolved spin-dependent pump and probe reflection measurement with a high time resolution of 200 fs. Three similar InGaAsP samples were examined one of which was annealed at 800 °C for 1 s, one was annealed at 700 °C for 1 s and the other was not annealed after crystal growth by molecular beam epitaxy. Although the carrier lifetimes of the 700 °C-annealed sample and the unannealed sample were similar, that of the 800 °C-annealed sample was extended to 11.6 (10.4) ns at 10 (300) K, which was more than two (four) times those of the other samples. However, interestingly the spin relaxation time of the 800 °C-annealed sample was found to be similar to those of the other two samples. Particularly at room temperature, the spin relaxation times are 143 ps, 147 ps, and 111 ps for the 800 °C-annealed sample, 700 °C-annealed sample, and the unannealed sample, respectively.

Effect of thermal annealing in vacuum on the photovoltaic properties of electrodeposited Cu2O-absorber solar cell

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimopoulos T.

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Heterojunction solar cells were fabricated by electrochemical deposition of p-type, cuprous oxide (Cu2O absorber on sputtered, n-type ZnO layer. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that the as-deposited absorber consists mainly of Cu2O, but appreciable amounts of metallic Cu and cupric oxide (CuO are also present. These undesired oxidation states are incorporated during the deposition process and have a detrimental effect on the photovoltaic properties of the cells. The open circuit voltage (VOC, short circuit current density (jSC, fill factor (FF and power conversion efficiency (η of the as-deposited cells are 0.37 V, 3.71 mA/cm2, 35.7% and 0.49%, respectively, under AM1.5G illumination. We show that by thermal annealing in vacuum, at temperatures up to 300 °C, compositional purity of the Cu2O absorber could be obtained. A general improvement of the heterojunction and bulk materials quality is observed, reflected upon the smallest influence of the shunt and series resistance on the transport properties of the cells in dark and under illumination. Independent of the annealing temperature, transport is dominated by the space-charge layer generation-recombination current. After annealing at 300 °C the solar cell parameters could be significantly improved to the values of: VOC = 0.505 V, jSC = 4.67 mA/cm2, FF = 47.1% and η = 1.12%.

Combined effect of non-equilibrium solidification and thermal annealing on microstructure evolution and hardness behavior of AZ91 magnesium alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Z.Z.; Yang, W., E-mail: weiyang@mail.nwpu.edu.cn; Chen, S.H.; Yu, H.; Xu, Z.F.

2014-06-15

Non-equilibrium solidification of commercial AZ91 magnesium alloy was performed by copper mold spray-casting technique and the thermal stability property of as-formed meta-stable microstructure was investigated by subsequent annealing at different temperatures and times. Remarkable grain refinement appears with increasing cooling rate during solidification process, which is accompanied by a visible cellular/dendrite transition for the grain morphology of primary phase. Moreover, the non-equilibrium solidified alloy exhibits obvious precipitation hardening effect upon annealing at 200 °C, and the precipitation mode of β-Mg{sub 17}Al{sub 12} phase changes from discontinuous to continuous with extending isothermal time from 4 h to 16 h, which generates an increase of resultant micro-hardness value. After solid solution treatment at the elevated temperature of 420 °C, the volume fraction of β-Mg{sub 17}Al{sub 12} phase decreases and a notable grain growth phenomenon occurs, which give rise to a reduction of hardness in comparison with that of as-quenched alloy.

Annealing effects on the microwave linewidth broadening of FeCuNbSiB ferromagnetic films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alves, M. J. P.; Gonzalez-Chavez, D. E.; Sommer, R. L. [Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas, Rua Dr. Xavier Sigaud 150, Urca, 22290-180 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Bohn, F. [Departamento de Física Teórica e Experimental, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, 59078-900 Natal, RN (Brazil)

2015-03-28

We systematically investigate the annealing effects on the microwave linewidth broadening of FeCuNbSiB ferromagnetic films with thickness of 100 nm. We correlate the non-uniform residual stress obtained from grazing incidence x-ray diffraction measurements with the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) linewidth due to effective field inhomogeneities measured from broadband ferromagnetic resonance absorption measurements. We also estimate the annealing temperature effect on the Gilbert and two-magnon scattering contributions to the total ferromagnetic resonance FMR linewidth. We show that the effective field inhomogeneities constitute the main contribution to the microwave linewidth, while this contribution is related to the non-uniform residual stress in the films which is reduced by thermal annealing.

Irradiation embrittlement and optimisation of annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

This conference is composed of 30 papers grouped in 6 sessions related to the following themes: neutron irradiation effects in pressure vessel steels and weldments used in PWR, WWER and BWR nuclear plants; results from surveillance programmes (irradiation induced damage and annealing processes); studies on the influence of variations in irradiation conditions and mechanisms, and modelling; mitigation of irradiation effects, especially through thermal annealing; mechanical test procedures and specimen size effects

Irradiation embrittlement and optimisation of annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-12-31

This conference is composed of 30 papers grouped in 6 sessions related to the following themes: neutron irradiation effects in pressure vessel steels and weldments used in PWR, WWER and BWR nuclear plants; results from surveillance programmes (irradiation induced damage and annealing processes); studies on the influence of variations in irradiation conditions and mechanisms, and modelling; mitigation of irradiation effects, especially through thermal annealing; mechanical test procedures and specimen size effects.

Feasibility of and methodology for thermal annealing an embrittled reactor vessel. Volume 2. Detailed technical description of the work. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mager, T.R.

1982-11-01

Program materials were three weldments fabricated from A533 Grade B class 1 plate material and Mn Mo Ni weld wire. Specimens fabricated from the three submerged arc weldments included Type A Charpy V-notch impact, small size tensile, and 1/2T compact tension specimens. After encapsulation, the specimens were irradiated at the UVAR to two fluence levels, 8 x 10 18 n/cm 2 and 1.5 x 10 19 n/cm 2 (E > 1 MeV). Specimens were subjected to sequences of irradiation and anneals and then tested. Metallurgial/mechanistic analyses were also performed. It was concluded that excellent recovery of all properties could be achieved by annealing at greater than or equal to 850 0 F (454 0 C) for 168 hours. Such an annealing resulted in ductile-brittle transition temperature shift recovery of 80 to 100%, and reirradiation after this annealing indicated that the ductile-brittle transition temperature shift appears to continue at the expected rate. Several drawbacks were identified for wet thermal annealing. A conceptual dry in-situ thermal annealing procedure was developed for thermal annealing embrittled reactor vessels

Positron annihilation studies on reactor irradiated and thermal annealed ferrocene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marques Netto, A.; Carvalho, R.S.; Magalhaes, W.F.; Sinisterra, R.D.

1996-01-01

Retention and thermal annealing following (n, γ) reaction in solid ferrocene, Fe(C 5 H 5 ) 2 , were studied by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PAL). Positronium (Ps) formation was observed in the non-irradiated compound with a probability or intensity (I 3 ) of 30%. Upon irradiation of the compound with thermal neutrons in a nuclear reactor, I 3 decreases with increasing irradiation time. Thermal treatment again increases I 3 values from 16% to 25%, revealing an important proportion of molecular reformation without variation of the ortho-positronium lifetime (τ 3 ). These results point out the major influence of the electronic structure as determining the Ps yields in the pure complex. In the irradiated and non irradiated complexes the results are satisfactorily explained on the basis of the spur model. (orig.)

Thermal annealing behavior of niobium-implanted {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} under reducing environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jianer, Zeng; Naramoto, Hiroshi; Aoki, Yasushi; Yamamoto, Shunya; Mingle, Gan; Takeshita, Hidefumi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Takasaki, Gunma (Japan). Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment

1997-03-01

Thermal annealing behavior is studied in {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} implanted with {sup 93}Nb{sup +} using RBS/channeling technique and optical absorption spectrometry. The samples with <0001> and <112-bar0> orientations are implanted with 300 keV and 400 keV {sup 93}Nb{sup +} ions. Thermal annealing under reducing environment (Ar+3%H{sub 2}) is employed in the temperature range from 600 to 1000degC to explore unusual materials phase. The annealing up to 1000degC for an hour does not show any essential change in RBS/channeling spectra in two kinds of samples but the significant decrease in the visible region is observed in optical absorption spectra. After annealing at 1000degC for 10 hours, the recovery of the lattice damage is detected by RBS/channeling analysis especially in (112-bar0) sample. In the optical absorption spectra, new absorption envelope appears in the ultraviolet region. The results are related to the formation of niobium metal fine particles, and the sharp distribution is realized especially in (0001) sample. (author)

Annealing and etching effects on strain and stress sensitivity of polymer optical fibre Bragg grating sensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pospori, A.; Marques, C. A.F.; Sáez-Rodríguez, D.

2017-01-01

Thermal annealing and chemical etching effects on the strain and stress sensitivity of polymer optical fibre based sensors are investigated. Bragg grating sensors have been photo-inscribed in PMMA optical fibre and their strain and stress sensitivity has been characterised before and after any...... annealing or etching process. The annealing and etching processes have been tried in different sequence in order to investigate their impact on the sensor's performance. Results show with high confidence that fibre annealing can improve both strain and stress sensitivities. The fibre etching can also...... provide stress sensitivity enhancement, however the strain sensitivity changes seems to be random....

Mechanism of magnetoresistance ratio enhancement in MgO/NiFe/MgO heterostructure by rapid thermal annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Chong-Jun; Liu, Yang; Zhang, Jing-Yan; Sun, Li; Ding, Lei; Zhang, Peng; Wang, Bao-Yi; Cao, Xing-Zhong; Yu, Guang-Hua

2012-08-01

To reveal thermal effects on the film quality/microstructure evolution and the resulted magnetoresistance (MR) ratio in MgO/NiFe/MgO heterostructures, positron annihilation spectroscopy studies have been performed. It is found that the ionic interstitials in the MgO layers recombine with the nearby vacancies at lower annealing temperatures (200-300 °C) and lead to a slow increase in sample MR. Meanwhile, vacancy defects agglomeration/removal and ordering acceleration in MgO will occur at higher annealing temperatures (450-550 °C) and the improved MgO and MgO/NiFe interfaces microstructure are responsible for the observed significant MR enhancement.

Thermal Annealing Effect on Structural, Morphological, and Sensor Performance of PANI-Ag-Fe Based Electrochemical E. coli Sensor for Environmental Monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norshafadzila Mohammad Naim

2015-01-01

Full Text Available PANI-Ag-Fe nanocomposite thin films based electrochemical E. coli sensor was developed with thermal annealing. PANI-Ag-Fe nanocomposite thin films were prepared by oxidative polymerization of aniline and the reduction process of Ag-Fe bimetallic compound with the presence of nitric acid and PVA. The films were deposited on glass substrate using spin-coating technique before they were annealed at 300°C. The films were characterized using XRD, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and FESEM to study the structural and morphological properties. The electrochemical sensor performance was conducted using I-V measurement electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS. The sensitivity upon the presence of E. coli was measured in clean water and E. coli solution. From XRD analysis, the crystallite sizes were found to become larger for the samples after annealing. UV-Vis absorption bands for samples before and after annealing show maximum absorbance peaks at around 422 nm–424 nm and 426 nm–464 nm, respectively. FESEM images show the diameter size for nanospherical Ag-Fe alloy particles increases after annealing. The sensor performance of PANI-Ag-Fe nanocomposite thin films upon E. coli cells in liquid medium indicates the sensitivity increases after annealing.

Formation of oxygen related donors in step-annealed CZ–silicon

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The effect of step-annealing necessitated by the difficulties being faced in the long duration annealing treatments to be given to CZ–silicon has been studied. One pre-anneal of 10 h followed by annealing of 10 h causes a decrease in the absorption coefficient for carbon (c). Oxygen and carbon both accelerate thermal ...

Fast thermal annealing of implantation defects in silicon. Solid phase epitaxy and residual imperfection recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adekoya, O.A.

1987-06-01

Basic processes ruling the crystal reconstitution in solid phase during fast thermal annealing are studied; the role of electronic and thermodynamic effects at the interface is precised, following the implantations of a donor element (p + ), an acceptor element (B + ) and an intrinsic element (Ge + ). Then, after recrystallization, the electric role of residual point defects is shown together with the possibility of total recovery and an important electric activation of the doping [fr

High-temperature annealing of graphite: A molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, Andrew; Gillette, Victor

2018-05-01

A modified AIREBO potential was developed to simulate the effects of thermal annealing on the structure and physical properties of damaged graphite. AIREBO parameter modifications were made to reproduce Density Functional Theory interstitial results. These changes to the potential resulted in high-temperature annealing of the model, as measured by stored-energy reduction. These results show some resemblance to experimental high-temperature annealing results, and show promise that annealing effects in graphite are accessible with molecular dynamics and reactive potentials.

Effect of annealing on photoluminescence properties of neon implanted GaN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Majid, Abdul [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 912, Beijing 100083 (China); Ali, Akbar [Advance Materials Physics Laboratory, Physics Department, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad (Pakistan); Zhu, J J [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 912, Beijing 100083 (China); Wang, Y T [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 912, Beijing 100083 (China); Liu, W [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 912, Beijing 100083 (China); Lu, G J [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 912, Beijing 100083 (China); Liu, W B [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 912, Beijing 100083 (China); Zhang, L Q [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 912, Beijing 100083 (China); Liu, Z S [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 912, Beijing 100083 (China); Zhao, D G [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 912, Beijing 100083 (China); Zhang, S M [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 912, Beijing 100083 (China); Jiang, D S; Yang, H [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 912, Beijing 100083 (China)

2008-01-21

The effect of thermal annealing on the luminescence properties of neon implanted GaN thin films was studied. Low temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements were carried out on the samples implanted with different doses ranging from 10{sup 14} to 9 x 10{sup 15} cm{sup -2} and annealed isochronally at 800 and 900 deg. C. We observed a new peak appearing at 3.44 eV in the low temperative PL spectra of all the implanted samples after annealing at 900 deg. C. This peak has not been observed in the PL spectra of implanted samples annealed at 800 deg. C except for the samples implanted with the highest dose. The intensity of the yellow luminescence (YL) band noticed in the PL spectra measured after annealing was observed to decrease with the increase in dose until it was completely suppressed at a dose of 5 x 10{sup 15} cm{sup -2}. The appearance of a new peak at 3.44 eV and dose dependent suppression of the YL band are attributed to the dissociation of V{sub Ga}O{sub N} complexes caused by high energy ion implantation.

Effect of annealing on photoluminescence properties of neon implanted GaN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majid, Abdul; Ali, Akbar; Zhu, J J; Wang, Y T; Liu, W; Lu, G J; Liu, W B; Zhang, L Q; Liu, Z S; Zhao, D G; Zhang, S M; Jiang, D S; Yang, H

2008-01-01

The effect of thermal annealing on the luminescence properties of neon implanted GaN thin films was studied. Low temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements were carried out on the samples implanted with different doses ranging from 10 14 to 9 x 10 15 cm -2 and annealed isochronally at 800 and 900 deg. C. We observed a new peak appearing at 3.44 eV in the low temperative PL spectra of all the implanted samples after annealing at 900 deg. C. This peak has not been observed in the PL spectra of implanted samples annealed at 800 deg. C except for the samples implanted with the highest dose. The intensity of the yellow luminescence (YL) band noticed in the PL spectra measured after annealing was observed to decrease with the increase in dose until it was completely suppressed at a dose of 5 x 10 15 cm -2 . The appearance of a new peak at 3.44 eV and dose dependent suppression of the YL band are attributed to the dissociation of V Ga O N complexes caused by high energy ion implantation

Effects of thermal treatment on the anodic growth of tungsten oxide films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chai, Y., E-mail: yqchai85@gmail.com; Tam, C.W.; Beh, K.P.; Yam, F.K.; Hassan, Z.

2015-08-03

This work reports the investigation of the effects of thermal treatment on anodic growth tungsten oxide (WO{sub 3}). The increase of the thermal treatment temperature above 400 °C significantly influences WO{sub 3} film where high porosity structure reduces to more compact film. As-grown film is amorphous, which transforms to monoclinic/orthorhombic phase upon annealing at 300–600 °C. With the reducing of porous structure, preferential growth of (002) plane shifts to (020) plane at 600 °C with more than twentyfold increase of peak's intensity compared to the film annealed at 500 °C. Films annealed at low thermal treatment show better ion intercalation and reversibility during electrochemical measurements; however, it has larger optical band gap. Photoelectrochemical measurement reveals that film annealed at 400 °C exhibits the best photocatalytic performance among the films annealed at 300–600 °C. - Highlights: • Porosity of the WO{sub 3} reduces as annealing temperature increases above 400 °C. • As-grown film is amorphous which transforms to monoclinic/orthorhombic upon annealing. • As-grown film shows better ion intercalation in electrochemical process. • Optical band gap of WO{sub 3} reduces as the annealing temperature increases. • Film annealed at 400 °C exhibits best photocatalytic performance.

Enhanced antiadhesive properties of chitosan/hyaluronic acid polyelectrolyte multilayers driven by thermal annealing: Low adherence for mammalian cells and selective decrease in adhesion for Gram-positive bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Muzzio, Nicolás E; Pasquale, Miguel A; Diamanti, Eleftheria; Gregurec, Danijela; Moro, Marta Martinez; Azzaroni, Omar; Moya, Sergio E

2017-11-01

The development of antifouling coatings with restricted cell and bacteria adherence is fundamental for many biomedical applications. A strategy for the fabrication of antifouling coatings based on the layer-by-layer assembly and thermal annealing is presented. Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) assembled from chitosan and hyaluronic acid were thermally annealed in an oven at 37°C for 72h. The effect of annealing on the PEM properties and topography was studied by atomic force microscopy, ζ-potential, circular dichroism and contact angle measurements. Cell adherence on PEMs before and after annealing was evaluated by measuring the cell spreading area and aspect ratio for the A549 epithelial, BHK kidney fibroblast, C2C12 myoblast and MC-3T3-E1 osteoblast cell lines. Chitosan/hyaluronic acid PEMs show a low cell adherence that decreases with the thermal annealing, as observed from the reduction in the average cell spreading area and more rounded cell morphology. The adhesion of S. aureus (Gram-positive) and E. coli (Gram-negative) bacteria strains was quantified by optical microscopy, counting the number of colony-forming units and measuring the light scattering of bacteria suspension after detachment from the PEM surface. A 20% decrease in bacteria adhesion was selectively observed in the S. aureus strain after annealing. The changes in mammalian cell and bacteria adhesion correlate with the changes in topography of the chitosan/hyaluronic PEMs from a rough fibrillar 3D structure to a smoother and planar surface after thermal annealing. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Annealing effects of Ga2O3-ZnO core-shell heteronanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hyoun Woo; Lee, Jong Woo; Kebede, Mesfin Abayneh; Kim, Hyo Sung; Lee, Chongmu

2009-01-01

We prepared ZnO-coated Ga 2 O 3 nanowires and investigated changes in the morphological, structural, and photoluminescence (PL) characteristics resulting from application of a thermal annealing process. With the thermal annealing at 800 deg. C, defect-associated PL peaks (2.2 and 2.6 eV) have been intensified with respect to the UV peak, and a new 2.8 eV-peak has been generated. Possible emission mechanisms are also discussed.

Annealing effect on the microstructure modification and tribological properties of amorphous carbon nitride films

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhou; Wang, Chengbing; Wang, Qi; Zhang, Junyan

2008-10-01

The influences of thermal annealing on the microstructural and tribological properties of amorphous carbon nitride films were investigated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer were utilized to characterize bond configuration and chemical state of the films. The results indicated that at low annealing temperatures (200 and 300 °C), the volatile species and surface contamination are easily dissociated without obvious bulk modification; while at high annealing temperatures (400 and 500 °C), the microstructure of carbon nitride films changed and favored a graphitization process, which indicated the growth of more graphitic film structures. The faint Raman signal of C≡N decreased with annealing temperature (TA) and completely disappeared at TA of 500 °C, indicating that nitrile bonds were thermal unstable under high temperature. Surprisingly, the tribological properties of the films showed a remarkably decreasing in friction coefficient as the TA increased; it is attributed to the graphitization of carbon nitride films during thermal annealing, which favored transfer film formation between the carbon nitride films and counterface materials. The transfer films benefit the decrease in coefficient of friction.

Effect of vacuum annealing on evaporated pentacene thin films for memory device applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gayathri, A.G.; Joseph, C.M.

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: Switching of ITO/pentacene/Al thin films for different annealing temperatures. - Highlights: • Memory device performance in pentacene improved considerably with annealing. • ON/OFF ratio of the pentacene device increases due to annealing. • Threshold voltage reduces from 2.55 V to 1.35 V due to annealing. • Structure of pentacene thin films is also dependent on annealing temperature. - Abstract: Thin films of pentacene were deposited thermally onto glass substrates and annealed at 323 K, 373 K, 423 K, 473 K and 523 K in high vacuum. Effect of annealing on the morphological and structural properties of these films was studied. X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed the crystalline nature of the films. Electrical studies for the use as write once read many (WORM) memory devices were done for the vacuum deposited pentacene thin films on indium tin oxide coated glass. Due to annealing, a sharp increase in the ON/OFF ratio of current and a decrease in threshold voltage were observed at around 373 K. This device showed a stable switching with an ON/OFF current ratio as high as 10 9 and a switching threshold voltage of 1.35 V. The performance of the device degraded above 423 K due to the changes in the crystallinity of the film.

Effect of transient annealing on patterned CoFeB-based magnetic tunnel junctions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Kuo-Ming; Huang, Chao-Hsien; Lin, Shiao-Chi; Wu, Jong-Ching [Department of Physics and Taiwan SPIN Research Center, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua 50007 (China); Kao, Ming-Jer; Tsai, Ming-Jinn [Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu 31040 (China); Horng, Lance

2007-12-15

In this study, the transient annealing effect on the switching behavior of microstructured Co{sub 60}Fe{sub 20}B{sub 20}-based magnetic tunnel junctions has been studied through magnetoresistance measurements (R-H loop). Elliptical shape of devices with long/short axis of 4/2 micrometers was patterned out of sheet film stack of: Ta(20)/PtMn(15)/CoFeB(3)/Al(0.7)-oxide/CoFeB(2)/Ru(8)/Ta(40) (thickness unit in nanometers) after a conventional long time field cooling annealing. The transient annealing was then executed by sample loading into a furnace with pre-set temperatures ranging from 100 to 400 C for only 5 minutes in the absence of any external magnetic field. The vortex-like reverse of free layer in as-etched MTJ evidently changes to single-domain-like reverser after 200{proportional_to}250 C transient annealing. The magnetoresistance was found to increase with increasing annealing temperatures up to 265 C and then slowly decrease at higher annealing temperatures. The transient thermal annealing creates obvious efforts to repair magnetic properties of MTJ cell befor 265 C annealing and results in less damage at temperature of 350 C and 400 C. (copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Effect of transient annealing on patterned CoFeB-based magnetic tunnel junctions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Kuo-Ming; Huang, Chao-Hsien; Lin, Shiao-Chi; Wu, Jong-Ching; Kao, Ming-Jer; Tsai, Ming-Jinn; Horng, Lance

2007-01-01

In this study, the transient annealing effect on the switching behavior of microstructured Co 60 Fe 20 B 20 -based magnetic tunnel junctions has been studied through magnetoresistance measurements (R-H loop). Elliptical shape of devices with long/short axis of 4/2 micrometers was patterned out of sheet film stack of: Ta(20)/PtMn(15)/CoFeB(3)/Al(0.7)-oxide/CoFeB(2)/Ru(8)/Ta(40) (thickness unit in nanometers) after a conventional long time field cooling annealing. The transient annealing was then executed by sample loading into a furnace with pre-set temperatures ranging from 100 to 400 C for only 5 minutes in the absence of any external magnetic field. The vortex-like reverse of free layer in as-etched MTJ evidently changes to single-domain-like reverser after 200∝250 C transient annealing. The magnetoresistance was found to increase with increasing annealing temperatures up to 265 C and then slowly decrease at higher annealing temperatures. The transient thermal annealing creates obvious efforts to repair magnetic properties of MTJ cell befor 265 C annealing and results in less damage at temperature of 350 C and 400 C. (copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Effect of vacuum annealing on evaporated pentacene thin films for memory device applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gayathri, A.G., E-mail: gaythri305@yahoo.com; Joseph, C.M., E-mail: cmjoseph@rediffmail.com

2016-09-15

Graphical abstract: Switching of ITO/pentacene/Al thin films for different annealing temperatures. - Highlights: • Memory device performance in pentacene improved considerably with annealing. • ON/OFF ratio of the pentacene device increases due to annealing. • Threshold voltage reduces from 2.55 V to 1.35 V due to annealing. • Structure of pentacene thin films is also dependent on annealing temperature. - Abstract: Thin films of pentacene were deposited thermally onto glass substrates and annealed at 323 K, 373 K, 423 K, 473 K and 523 K in high vacuum. Effect of annealing on the morphological and structural properties of these films was studied. X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed the crystalline nature of the films. Electrical studies for the use as write once read many (WORM) memory devices were done for the vacuum deposited pentacene thin films on indium tin oxide coated glass. Due to annealing, a sharp increase in the ON/OFF ratio of current and a decrease in threshold voltage were observed at around 373 K. This device showed a stable switching with an ON/OFF current ratio as high as 10{sup 9} and a switching threshold voltage of 1.35 V. The performance of the device degraded above 423 K due to the changes in the crystallinity of the film.

Effects of annealing temperature on shape transformation and optical properties of germanium quantum dots

Science.gov (United States)

Alireza, Samavati; Othaman, Z.; K. Ghoshal, S.; K. Mustafa, M.

2015-02-01

The influences of thermal annealing on the structural and optical features of radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtered self-assembled Ge quantum dots (QDs) on Si (100) are investigated. Preferentially oriented structures of Ge along the (220) and (111) directions together with peak shift and reduced strain (4.9% to 2.7%) due to post-annealing at 650 °C are discerned from x-ray differaction (XRD) measurement. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images for both pre-annealed and post-annealed (650 °C) samples reveal pyramidal-shaped QDs (density ˜ 0.26× 1011 cm-2) and dome-shape morphologies with relatively high density ˜ 0.92 × 1011 cm-2, respectively. This shape transformation is attributed to the mechanism of inter-diffusion of Si in Ge interfacial intermixing and strain non-uniformity. The annealing temperature assisted QDs structural evolution is explained using the theory of nucleation and growth kinetics where free energy minimization plays a pivotal role. The observed red-shift ˜ 0.05 eV in addition to the narrowing of the photoluminescence peaks results from thermal annealing, and is related to the effect of quantum confinement. Furthermore, the appearance of a blue-violet emission peak is ascribed to the recombination of the localized electrons in the Ge-QDs/SiO2 or GeOx and holes in the ground state of Ge dots. Raman spectra of both samples exhibit an intense Ge-Ge optical phonon mode which shifts towards higher frequency compared with those of the bulk counterpart. An experimental Raman profile is fitted to the models of phonon confinement and size distribution combined with phonon confinement to estimate the mean dot sizes. A correlation between thermal annealing and modifications of the structural and optical behavior of Ge QDs is established. Tunable growth of Ge QDs with superior properties suitable for optoelectronic applications is demonstrated. Project supported by Ibnu Sina Institute for Fundamental Science Study, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Effects of annealing temperature on shape transformation and optical properties of germanium quantum dots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samavati, Alireza; Othaman, Z.; Ghoshal, S. K.; Mustafa, M. K.

2015-01-01

The influences of thermal annealing on the structural and optical features of radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtered self-assembled Ge quantum dots (QDs) on Si (100) are investigated. Preferentially oriented structures of Ge along the (220) and (111) directions together with peak shift and reduced strain (4.9% to 2.7%) due to post-annealing at 650 °C are discerned from x-ray differaction (XRD) measurement. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images for both pre-annealed and post-annealed (650 °C) samples reveal pyramidal-shaped QDs (density ∼ 0.26× 10 11 cm −2 ) and dome-shape morphologies with relatively high density ∼ 0.92 × 10 11 cm −2 , respectively. This shape transformation is attributed to the mechanism of inter-diffusion of Si in Ge interfacial intermixing and strain non-uniformity. The annealing temperature assisted QDs structural evolution is explained using the theory of nucleation and growth kinetics where free energy minimization plays a pivotal role. The observed red-shift ∼ 0.05 eV in addition to the narrowing of the photoluminescence peaks results from thermal annealing, and is related to the effect of quantum confinement. Furthermore, the appearance of a blue-violet emission peak is ascribed to the recombination of the localized electrons in the Ge-QDs/SiO 2 or GeO x and holes in the ground state of Ge dots. Raman spectra of both samples exhibit an intense Ge–Ge optical phonon mode which shifts towards higher frequency compared with those of the bulk counterpart. An experimental Raman profile is fitted to the models of phonon confinement and size distribution combined with phonon confinement to estimate the mean dot sizes. A correlation between thermal annealing and modifications of the structural and optical behavior of Ge QDs is established. Tunable growth of Ge QDs with superior properties suitable for optoelectronic applications is demonstrated. (paper)

Thermal annealing of fission tracks in fluorapatite, chlorapatite, manganoanapatite, and Durango apatite: experimental results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravenhurst, C.E.; Roden-Tice, M.K.; Miller, D.S.

2003-01-01

It is well known that the optically measured lengths of fission tracks in apatite crystals are a function of etching conditions, crystallographic orientation of the track, composition of the crystal, and the state of thermal annealing. In this study we standardize etching conditions and optimize track length measurability by etching until etch pits formed at the surface of each apatite crystal reached widths of about 0.74 μm. Etching times using 5M HNO 3 at 21 o C were 31 s for Otter Lake, Quebec, fluorapatite; 47 s for Durango, Mexico, apatite; 33 s for Portland, Connecticut, manganoanapatite; and 11 s for Bamle, Norway, chlorapatite. An etching experiment using two etchant strengths (5M and 1.6M HNO 3 ) revealed that, despite significant differences in etch pit shape, fission-track length anisotropy with respect to crystallographic orientation of the tracks is not a chemical etching effect. A series of 227 constant-temperature annealing experiments were carried out on nuclear reactor induced tracks in oriented slices of the apatites. After etching, crystallographic orientations of tracks were measured along with their lengths. The 200-300 track lengths measured for each slice were ellipse-fitted to give the major (c crystallographic direction) and minor (a crystallographic direction) semi-axes used to calculate equivalent isotropic lengths. The equivalent isotropic length is more useful than mean length for thermal history analysis because the variation caused by anisotropy has been removed. Using normalized etching procedures and equivalent isotropic length data, we found that the fluorapatite anneals most readily, followed by Durango apatite, manganoanapatite, and lastly chlorapatite. (author)

Improved behavior of cooper-amine complexes during thermal annealing for conductive thin film synthesis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ayag, Kevin Ray; Panama, Gustavo; Paul, Shrabani; Kim, Hong Doo [Dept. of Advanced Materials Engineering for Information and Electronics, Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2017-02-15

Previous studies successfully produced conductive thin films from organo-metallic-compounds-based inks. Some inks like those made from copper salt and amines, however, tend to move during thermal annealing and, thus, affect the conductive pattern on the substrate. In this study, conductive inks were synthesized by forming complexes of copper with amines and/or blended amines. To build-up an organo-metallic framework and preserve the pattern throughout the annealing period, diamine was added to the complex in different proportions. The prepared inks were coated on glass substrate and were annealed on a hot plate at 170°C under the gaseous mixture of formic acid and alcohol for 5 min. The metallic film was observed to retain the original pattern of the ink during and after annealing. Adhesion on the substrate was also improved. Inks with blended amines produced films with lower resistivities. The lowest electrical resistivity recorded was 4.99 μΩ cm, three times that of bulk copper.

Improvement on the electrical characteristics of Pd/HfO2/6H-SiC MIS capacitors using post deposition annealing and post metallization annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Esakky, Papanasam; Kailath, Binsu J.

2017-08-01

HfO2 as a gate dielectric enables high electric field operation of SiC MIS structure and as gas sensor HfO2/SiC capacitors offer higher sensitivity than SiO2/SiC capacitors. The issue of higher density of oxygen vacancies and associated higher leakage current necessitates better passivation of HfO2/SiC interface. Effect of post deposition annealing in N2O plasma and post metallization annealing in forming gas on the structural and electrical characteristics of Pd/HfO2/SiC MIS capacitors are reported in this work. N2O plasma annealing suppresses crystallization during high temperature annealing thereby improving the thermal stability and plasma annealing followed by rapid thermal annealing in N2 result in formation of Hf silicate at the HfO2/SiC interface resulting in order of magnitude lower density of interface states and gate leakage current. Post metallization annealing in forming gas for 40 min reduces interface state density by two orders while gate leakage current density is reduced by thrice. Post deposition annealing in N2O plasma and post metallization annealing in forming gas are observed to be effective passivation techniques improving the electrical characteristics of HfO2/SiC capacitors.

The influence of annealing on manganese implanted GaAs films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buerger, Danilo; Zhou, Shengqiang; Grenzer, Joerg; Reuther, Helfried; Anwand, Wolfgang; Gottschalch, Volker; Helm, Manfred; Schmidt, Heidemarie

2009-01-01

Besides low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy, ion implantation provides an alternative route to incorporate Mn into GaAs above the equilibrium solubility limit. Recently, Mn implanted GaAs diluted magnetic semiconductor was obtained by pulsed laser annealing. However, post-implantation annealing can lead to the formation of secondary phases. In order to compare the post-annealing effect, we investigate GaMnAs by implanting up to 6 at% Mn followed by rapid thermal and flashlamp annealing. The structural properties were probed by high resolution X-ray diffraction. The magnetic properties were determined by SQUID measurements. Auger electron spectroscopy has been used to profile the depth distribution of Mn in GaAs after implantation and annealing. We elucidate after implantation a loss of As and that during rapid thermal annealing most of the Mn diffuses towards the surface. Flash lamp annealing prevents out-diffusion, but the recrystallisation efficiency is low. Only the flash lamp annealed samples reveal weak ferromagnetism.

Sintering Characteristics of Multilayered Thermal Barrier Coatings Under Thermal Gradient and Isothermal High Temperature Annealing Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Rai, Amarendra K.; Schmitt, Michael P.; Bhattacharya, Rabi; Zhu, Dongming; Wolfe, Douglas E.

2014-01-01

Pyrochlore oxides have most of the relevant attributes for use as next generation thermal barrier coatings such as phase stability, low sintering kinetics and low thermal conductivity. One of the issues with the pyrochlore oxides is their lower toughness and therefore higher erosion rate compared to the current state-of-the-art TBC material, yttria (6 to 8 wt%) stabilized zirconia (YSZ). In this work, sintering characteristics were investigated for novel multilayered coating consisted of alternating layers of pyrochlore oxide viz Gd2Zr2O7 and t' low k (rare earth oxide doped YSZ). Thermal gradient and isothermal high temperature (1316 C) annealing conditions were used to investigate sintering and cracking in these coatings. The results are then compared with that of relevant monolayered coatings and a baseline YSZ coating.

Synthesis of stoichiometric Ca{sub 2}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 5} nanoparticles by high-energy ball milling and thermal annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amorim, B.F.; Morales, M.A.; Bohn, F.; Carriço, A.S. [Departamento de Física Teórica e Experimental, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, 59078-900 Natal, RN (Brazil); Medeiros, S.N. de, E-mail: sndemedeiros@gmail.com [Departamento de Física Teórica e Experimental, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, 59078-900 Natal, RN (Brazil); Dantas, A.L. [Departamento de Física, Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte, 59610-210 Mossoró, RN (Brazil)

2016-05-01

We report the synthesis of Ca{sub 2}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 5} nanoparticles by high-energy ball milling and thermal annealing from α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} and CaCO{sub 3}. Magnetization measurements, Mössbauer and X-ray spectra reveal that annealing at high temperatures leads to better quality samples. Our results indicate nanoparticles produced by 10 h high-energy ball milling and thermal annealing for 2 h at 1100 °C achieve improved stoichiometry and the full weak ferromagnetic signal of Ca{sub 2}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 5}. Samples annealed at lower temperatures show departure from stoichiometry, with a higher occupancy of Fe{sup 3+} in octahedral sites, and a reduced magnetization. Thermal relaxation for temperatures in the 700–1100 °C range is well represented by a Néel model, assuming a random orientation of the weak ferromagnetic moment of the Ca{sub 2}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 5} nanoparticles.

Annealing effects on magnetic properties of silicone-coated iron-based soft magnetic composites

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Shen; Sun, Aizhi; Zhai, Fuqiang; Wang, Jin; Zhang, Qian; Xu, Wenhuan; Logan, Philip; Volinsky, Alex A.

2012-03-01

This paper focuses on novel iron-based soft magnetic composites synthesis utilizing high thermal stability silicone resin to coat iron powder. The effect of an annealing treatment on the magnetic properties of synthesized magnets was investigated. The coated silicone insulating layer was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Silicone uniformly coated the powder surface, resulting in a reduction of the imaginary part of the permeability, thereby increasing the electrical resistivity and the operating frequency of the synthesized magnets. The annealing treatment increased the initial permeability, the maximum permeability, and the magnetic induction, and decreased the coercivity. Annealing at 580 °C increased the maximum permeability by 72.5%. The result of annealing at 580 °C shows that the ferromagnetic resonance frequency increased from 2 kHz for conventional epoxy resin coated samples to 80 kHz for the silicone resin insulated composites.

Improved luminescence intensity and stability of thermal annealed ZnO incorporated Alq3 composite films.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuba, M; Muralidharan, G

2015-11-01

The 30 wt% of ZnO (weight percentage of ZnO has been optimised) incorporated tris- (8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum (Alq3) has been synthesised and coated on to glass substrates using dip coating method. The structural and optical properties of the Alq3/ZnO composite film after thermal annealing from 50 to 300 °C insteps 50° has been studied and reported. XRD pattern reveals the presence of crystalline ZnO in all the annealed films. The films annealed above 150 °C reveal the presence of crystalline Alq3 along with crystalline ZnO. The FTIR spectra confirm the presence of hydroxyquinoline and ZnO vibration in all the annealed composite films. The composite films annealed above 150 °C show a partial sublimation and degradation of hydroxyquinoline compounds. The ZnO incorporated composite films (Alq3/ZnO) exhibit two emission peaks, one corresponding to ZnO at 487 nm and another at 513 nm due to Alq3. The films annealed at 200 °C exhibit maximum photoluminescence (PL) intensity than pristine film at 513 nm when excited at 390 nm.

Rapid thermal annealing of InAs/GaAs quantum dots under a GaAs proximity cap

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babinski, Adam; Jasinski, J.; Bozek, R.; Szepielow, A.; Baranowski, J. M.

2001-01-01

The effect of postgrowth rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on GaAs proximity-capped structures with self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) is investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL). As can be seen from the TEM images, QDs increase their lateral sizes with increasing annealing temperature (up to 700 C). QDs cannot be distinguished after RTA at temperature 800 C or higher, and substantial thickening of the wetting layer can be seen instead. The main PL peak blueshifts as a result of RTA. We propose that in the as-grown sample as well, as in samples annealed at temperatures up to 700 C, the peak is due to the QDs. After RTA at 800 C and higher the PL peak is due to a modified wetting layer. Relatively fast dissolution of QDs is explained in terms of strain-induced lateral Ga/In interdiffusion. It is proposed that such a process may be of importance in proximity-capped RTA, when no group-III vacancy formation takes place at the sample/capping interface

Annealing effects on magnetic properties of silicone-coated iron-based soft magnetic composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Shen; Sun Aizhi; Zhai Fuqiang; Wang Jin; Zhang Qian; Xu Wenhuan; Logan, Philip; Volinsky, Alex A.

2012-01-01

This paper focuses on novel iron-based soft magnetic composites synthesis utilizing high thermal stability silicone resin to coat iron powder. The effect of an annealing treatment on the magnetic properties of synthesized magnets was investigated. The coated silicone insulating layer was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Silicone uniformly coated the powder surface, resulting in a reduction of the imaginary part of the permeability, thereby increasing the electrical resistivity and the operating frequency of the synthesized magnets. The annealing treatment increased the initial permeability, the maximum permeability, and the magnetic induction, and decreased the coercivity. Annealing at 580 °C increased the maximum permeability by 72.5%. The result of annealing at 580 °C shows that the ferromagnetic resonance frequency increased from 2 kHz for conventional epoxy resin coated samples to 80 kHz for the silicone resin insulated composites. - Highlights: ► Silicone uniformly coated the powder, increased the operating frequency of SMCs. ► The annealing treatment increased the DC properties of SMCs. ► Annealing at 580 °C increased the maximum permeability by 72.5%. ► Compared with epoxy coated, the SMCs had higher resistivity annealing at 580 °C.

The effect of residual thermal stresses on the fatigue crack growth of laser-surface-annealed AISI 304 stainless steel Part I: computer simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiue, R.K.; Chang, C.T.; Young, M.C.; Tsay, L.W.

2004-01-01

The effect of residual thermal stresses on the fatigue crack growth of the laser-surface-annealed AISI 304 stainless steel, especially the effect of stress redistribution ahead of the crack tip was extensively evaluated in the study. Based on the finite element simulation, the longitudinal residual tensile stress field has a width of roughly 20 mm on the laser-irradiated surface and was symmetric with respect to the centerline of the laser-annealed zone (LAZ). Meanwhile, residual compressive stresses distributed over a wide region away from the LAZ. After introducing a notch perpendicular to the LAZ, the distribution of longitudinal residual stresses became unsymmetrical about the centerline of LAZ. High residual compressive stresses exist within a narrow range ahead of notch tip. The improved crack growth resistance of the laser-annealed specimen might be attributed to those induced compressive stresses. As the notch tip passed through the centerline of the LAZ, the residual stress ahead of the notch tip was completely reverted into residual tensile stresses. The existence of unanimous residual tensile stresses ahead of the notch tip was maintained, even if the notch tip extended deeply into the LAZ. Additionally, the presence of the residual tensile stress ahead of the notch tip did not accelerate the fatigue crack growth rate in the compact tension specimen

Thermal design and analysis of the HTGR fuel element vertical carbonizing and annealing furnace

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Llewellyn, G.H.

1977-06-01

Computer analyses of the thermal design for the proposed HTGR fuel element vertical carbonizing and annealing furnace were performed to verify its capability and to determine the required power input and distribution. Although the furnace is designed for continuous operation, steady-state temperature distributions were obtained by assuming internal heat generation in the fuel elements to simulate their mass movement. The furnace thermal design, the analysis methods, and the results are discussed herein

Evolution of interface and surface structures of ZnO/Al2 O3 multilayers upon rapid thermal annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, H. H.; Chen, Q. Y.; Chang, C. F.; Hsieh, W. C.; Wadekar, P. V.; Huang, H. C.; Liao, H. H.; Seo, H. W.; Chu, W. K.

2015-03-01

ZnO ∖Al2O3 multilayers were deposited on sapphires by atomic layer deposition at 85°C. This low substrate temperature ensures good interface smoothness useful for study of interfacial reaction or interdiffusion. Our study aimed at the effects of rapid thermal annealing at different annealing temperatures, times and PAr:PO2. XRR and XRD techniques were used to investigate the kinetics from which various terms of the activation energies could be determined. HR-TEM and electron diffraction were carried out to correlate the microstructures and interfacial alignments as a result of the reactions. AFM were used to assist SEM profiling of the surface morphological evolution in association with the TEM observations.

Comparison between thermal annealing and ion mixing of multilayered Ni-W films on Si. II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pai, C.S.; Lau, S.S.; Poker, D.B.; Hung, L.S.

1985-01-01

The reactions between bilayered Ni/W films and Si substrates induced by thermal annealing and ion mixing were investigated and compared. Samples were prepared by electron-beam sequential deposition of Ni and W onto the Si substrates and following by either furnace annealing (approx. 200--900 0 C) or ion mixing (approx. 2 x 10 15 -- 4 x 10 16 86 Kr + ions/cm 2 ). The reactions were analyzed by Rutherford backscattering and x-ray diffraction (Read camera). Thermal annealing of both W/Ni/Si and Ni/W/Si samples led to the formation of Ni silicide next to the Si substrate and W silicide on the sample surface (layer reversal between Ni and W in the Ni/W/Si case). Ion mixing of W/Ni/Si samples led to the formation of Ni silicide with a thin layer of Ni-W-Si mixture located at the sample surface. For Ni/W/Si samples a ternary amorphous mixture of Ni-W-Si was obtained with ion mixing. These reactions were rationalized in terms of the mobilities of various atoms and the intermixings between layers

Influence of Thermal Annealing on the Microstructural Properties of Indium Tin Oxide Nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Sung Nam; Kim, Seung Bin [Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Hyun Chul [Chonnam National University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of)

2012-01-15

In this work, we studied the microstructural changes of ITO during the annealing process. ITO nanoparticles were prepared by the sol-gel method using indium tin hydroxide as the precursor. The prepared sample was investigated using TEM, powder XRD, XPS, DRIFT, and 2D correlation analysis. The O 1s XPS spectra suggested that the microstructural changes during the annealing process are closely correlated with the oxygen sites of the ITO nanoparticles. The temperature-dependent in situ DRIFT spectra suggested that In-OH in the terminal sites is firstly decomposed and, then, Sn-O-Sn is produced in the ITO nanoparticles during the thermal annealing process. Based on the 2D correlation analysis, we deduced the following sequence of events: 1483 (due to In-OH bending mode) → 2268, 2164 (due to In-OH stretching mode) → 1546 (due to overtones of Sn- O-Sn modes) → 1412 (due to overtones of Sn-O-Sn modes) cm{sup -1}.

Nonlocal laser annealing to improve thermal contacts between multi-layer graphene and metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ermakov, Victor A; Alaferdov, Andrei V; Vaz, Alfredo R; Moshkalev, Stanislav A; Baranov, Alexander V

2013-01-01

The accuracy of thermal conductivity measurements by the micro-Raman technique for suspended multi-layer graphene flakes has been shown to depend critically on the quality of the thermal contacts between the flakes and the metal electrodes used as the heat sink. The quality of the contacts can be improved by nonlocal laser annealing at increased power. The improvement of the thermal contacts to initially rough metal electrodes is attributed to local melting of the metal surface under laser heating, and increased area of real metal–graphene contact. Improvement of the thermal contacts between multi-layer graphene and a silicon oxide surface was also observed, with more efficient heat transfer from graphene as compared with the graphene–metal case. (paper)

The effect of annealing ambient on surface segregation in indium implanted sapphire

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sood, D.K.; Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne; Zhou, W.; Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne; Academia Sinica, Shanghai Institute of Metallurgy; Cao, D.X.; Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne; Academia Sinica, Shanghai, SH

1991-01-01

A systematic study of the effect of annealing ambient on both indium surface segregation and lattice damage recovery of single crystal Al 2 O 3 has been done by performing 1 hour anneals at 800 deg C for the samples identically implanted with indium ions at 100keV energy to a high dose of 5x10 16 ions/cm 2 . Following solid phase epitaxial re-crystallization of amorphous layer, the indium dopant shows rapid thermal migration. The indium redistribution consists of 2 parts: 1. appreciable broadening corresponding to diffusion within the amorphous layer, and 2. indium segregation to the free surface to form In 2 O 3 , or escape out of the surface to sublime into the surrounding ambient. Lattice damage recovery depends on indium concentration profile in amorphous layer of Al 2 O 3 which is directly influenced by the annealing ambient. It is confirmed that the presence of moisture or oxygen in annealing ambient results in In 2 O 3 formation on the surface. (author). 6 refs.; 3 figs.; 1 tab

Thermal annealing of natural, radiation-damaged pyrochlore

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zietlow, Peter; Mihailova, Boriana [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Earth Sciences; Beirau, Tobias [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Earth Sciences; Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Geological Sciences; and others

2017-03-01

Radiation damage in minerals is caused by the α-decay of incorporated radionuclides, such as U and Th and their decay products. The effect of thermal annealing (400-1000 K) on radiation-damaged pyrochlores has been investigated by Raman scattering, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and combined differential scanning calorimetry/thermogravimetry (DSC/TG). The analysis of three natural radiation-damaged pyrochlore samples from Miass/Russia [6.4 wt% Th, 23.1.10{sup 18} α-decay events per gram (dpg)], Panda Hill/Tanzania (1.6 wt% Th, 1.6.10{sup 18} dpg), and Blue River/Canada (10.5 wt% U, 115.4.10{sup 18} dpg), are compared with a crystalline reference pyrochlore from Schelingen (Germany). The type of structural recovery depends on the initial degree of radiation damage (Panda Hill 28%, Blue River 85% and Miass 100% according to XRD), as the recrystallization temperature increases with increasing degree of amorphization. Raman spectra indicate reordering on the local scale during annealing-induced recrystallization. As Raman modes around 800 cm{sup -1} are sensitive to radiation damage (M. T. Vandenborre, E. Husson, Comparison of the force field in various pyrochlore families. I. The A{sub 2}B{sub 2}O{sub 7} oxides. J. Solid State Chem. 1983, 50, 362, S. Moll, G. Sattonnay, L. Thome, J. Jagielski, C. Decorse, P. Simon, I. Monnet, W. J. Weber, Irradiation damage in Gd{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7} single crystals: Ballistic versus ionization processes. Phys. Rev. 2011, 84, 64115.), the degree of local order was deduced from the ratio of the integrated intensities of the sum of the Raman bands between 605 and 680 cm{sup -1} divided by the sum of the integrated intensities of the bands between 810 and 860 cm{sup -1}. The most radiation damaged pyrochlore (Miass) shows an abrupt recovery of both, its short- (Raman) and long-range order (X-ray) between 800 and 850 K, while the weakly damaged pyrochlore (Panda Hill) begins to recover at considerably lower temperatures (near 500 K

Effects of high-temperature thermal annealing on the electronic properties of In-Ga-Zn oxide thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Qin; Song, Zhong Xiao; Ma, Fei, E-mail: mafei@mail.xjtu.edu.cn, E-mail: liyhemail@gmail.com; Li, Yan Huai, E-mail: mafei@mail.xjtu.edu.cn, E-mail: liyhemail@gmail.com [State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi 710049 (China); Xu, Ke Wei [State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi 710049, China and Department of Physics and Opt-electronic Engineering, Xi' an University of Arts and Science, Xi' an, Shaanxi 710065 (China)

2015-03-15

Indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) thin films were deposited by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering at room-temperature. Then, thermal annealing was conducted to improve the structural ordering. X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that the as-deposited IGZO thin films were amorphous and crystallization occurred at 800 and 950 °C. As a result of crystallization at high temperature, the carrier concentration and the Hall mobility of IGZO thin films were sharply increased, which could be ascribed to the increased oxygen vacancies and improved structural ordering of the thin films.

Annealing effect on structural and optical properties of chemical bath deposited MnS thin film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ulutas, Cemal, E-mail: cemalulutas@hakkari.edu.tr [Faculty of Education, Hakkari Universty, 30000, Hakkari (Turkey); Gumus, Cebrail [Faculty of Science and Letters, Cukurova University, 01330, Adana (Turkey)

2016-03-25

MnS thin film was prepared by the chemical bath deposition (CBD) method on commercial microscope glass substrate deposited at 30 °C. The as-deposited film was given thermal annealing treatment in air atmosphere at various temperatures (150, 300 and 450 °C) for 1 h. The MnS thin film was characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectrophotometer and Hall effect measurement system. The effect of annealing temperature on the structural, electrical and optical properties such as optical constants of refractive index (n) and energy band gap (E{sub g}) of the film was determined. XRD measurements reveal that the film is crystallized in the wurtzite phase and changed to tetragonal Mn{sub 3}O{sub 4} phase after being annealed at 300 °C. The energy band gap of film decreased from 3.69 eV to 3.21 eV based on the annealing temperature.

Toward intrinsic graphene surfaces: a systematic study on thermal annealing and wet-chemical treatment of SiO2-supported graphene devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Zengguang; Zhou, Qiaoyu; Wang, Chenxuan; Li, Qiang; Wang, Chen; Fang, Ying

2011-02-09

By combining atomic force microscopy and trans-port measurements, we systematically investigated effects of thermal annealing on surface morphologies and electrical properties of single-layer graphene devices fabricated by electron beam lithography on silicon oxide (SiO(2)) substrates. Thermal treatment above 300 °C in vacuum was required to effectively remove resist residues on graphene surfaces. However, annealing at high temperature was found to concomitantly bring graphene in close contact with SiO(2) substrates and induce increased coupling between them, which leads to heavy hole doping and severe degradation of mobilities in graphene devices. To address this problem, a wet-chemical approach employing chloroform was developed in our study, which was shown to enable both intrinsic surfaces and enhanced electrical properties of graphene devices. Upon the recovery of intrinsic surfaces of graphene, the adsorption and assisted fibrillation of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ1-42) on graphene were electrically measured in real time.

Effects of Annealing Conditions on Mixed Lead Halide Perovskite Solar Cells and Their Thermal Stability Investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Haifeng; Zhang, Jincheng; Zhang, Chunfu; Chang, Jingjing; Lin, Zhenhua; Chen, Dazheng; Xi, He; Hao, Yue

2017-07-21

In this work, efficient mixed organic cation and mixed halide (MA 0.7 FA 0.3 Pb(I 0.9 Br 0.1 )₃) perovskite solar cells are demonstrated by optimizing annealing conditions. AFM, XRD and PL measurements show that there is a better perovskite film quality for the annealing condition at 100 °C for 30 min. The corresponding device exhibits an optimized PCE of 16.76% with V OC of 1.02 V, J SC of 21.55 mA/cm² and FF of 76.27%. More importantly, the mixed lead halide perovskite MA 0.7 FA 0.3 Pb(I 0.9 Br 0.1 )₃ can significantly increase the thermal stability of perovskite film. After being heated at 80 °C for 24 h, the PCE of the MA 0.7 FA 0.3 Pb(I 0.9 Br 0.1 )₃ device still remains at 70.00% of its initial value, which is much better than the control MAPbI₃ device, where only 46.50% of its initial value could be preserved. We also successfully fabricated high-performance flexible mixed lead halide perovskite solar cells based on PEN substrates.

Improved silicon surface passivation of APCVD Al2O3 by rapid thermal annealing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Black, L.E.; Allen, T.; McIntosh, K.R.; Cuévas, A.

2016-01-01

Short-duration post-deposition thermal treatments at temperatures above those normally used for annealing activation have the potential to further improve the already excellent passivation of crystalline silicon (c-Si) achieved by Al2O3, but have so far received little attention. In this work we

The effect of thermal annealing on the optical band gap of cadmium sulphide thin films, prepared by the chemical bath deposition technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ampong, F. K.; Boakye, F.; Asare Donkor, N. K.

2010-01-01

Cadmium sulphide thin films have been prepared by the chemical bath deposition technique (ph 11, 70 degree centigrade). Two different sets of films were prepared under varied conditions and concentrations of their ions sources (Cd 2+ from cadmium nitrate, S 2- from thiourea) and Na 2 EDTA as a complexing agent. A UV mini-Schimazu UV-VIS Spectrophotometer was used to determine the optical absorbance of the films as a function of wavelength at room temperature over the wavelength range 200 - 600 nm. The samples were then thermally annealed for thirty minutes, at temperatures of 100 degree centigrade, and 200 degree centigrade, after which the absorbance of the films were again recorded. The band gap values obtained for the sample with 0.5 M CdS as deposited, annealed at 100 degree centigrade and 200 degree centigrade were 2.1 eV, 2.2 eV and 2.3 eV respectively. Whilst the values obtained for the sample 0.15 CdS as deposited, annealed at 100 degree centigrade and annealed at 200 degree centigrade were 2.0 eV, 2.01 eV and 2.02 eV respectively. The increase in band gap with annealing temperature might be attributed to the improvement in crystallinity in the films. (au)

Rapid phase segregation of P3HT:PCBM composites by thermal annealing for high-performance bulk-heterojunction solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fan, X.; Fang, G.J.; Qin, P.L.; Cheng, F.; Zhao, X.Z. [Wuhan University, Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-Structures of Ministry of Education, Department of Electronic Science and Technology, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan (China)

2011-12-15

The performances of bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells are investigated for time-dependent thermal annealing with different morphology evolution scales, having special consideration for the diffusion and aggregation of fullerene derivative molecules based on blends of poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl-C{sub 61}-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM). Meaningfully, rapid formation of dot-like and needle-like crystalline PCBM structures of a few micrometers up to 60 {mu}m in size is obtained with thermal annealing treatment from 2 to 15 min, which dynamically reflects a fast process of PCBM molecule and cluster aggregation. Upon ultrasonic-assisted processing and annealing treatment, the scale of P3HT crystals is drastically increased in view of X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, leading to a high hole mobility. And, the P3HT domains can be gradually converted into larger P3HT crystals approved by the decreased full width at half-maximum in the XRD patterns. Corresponding current-voltage curves are measured in quantity and we propose a model to explain the effect of the crystalline degree of P3HT domains and aggregation of PCBM molecules and clusters on the phase segregation, expressing a viewpoint towards high performance of BHJ solar cells. (orig.)

Reversible p-type conductivity in H passivated nitrogen and phosphorous codoped ZnO thin films using rapid thermal annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mannam, Ramanjaneyulu, E-mail: ramu.nov9@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Nano Functional Materials Technology Centre and Materials Science Research Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036 (India); Kumar, E. Senthil [SRM Research Institute, Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, SRM University, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamil Nadu (India); DasGupta, Nandita [Microelectronics and MEMS Laboratory, Electrical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036 (India); Ramachandra Rao, M.S., E-mail: msrrao@iitm.ac.in [Department of Physics, Nano Functional Materials Technology Centre and Materials Science Research Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036 (India)

2017-04-01

Highlights: • Electrical transport measurements revel that the (P, N) codoped ZnO thin films exhibited change in conductivity from p-type to n-type over a span of 120 days. • Hydrogen and carbon are found to be the main unintentional impurities in n-type (P, N) codoped ZnO thin films. • Rapid thermal annealing has been used to remove both H and C from the films. • Carbon can be removed at an annealing temperature of 600 °C, whereas, the dissociation of N−H complex takes place only at 800 °C. • The n-type (P, N) codoped ZnO thin film exhibited change in conductivity to p-type at an annealing temperature of 800 °C. - Abstract: We demonstrate reversible p-type nature of pulsed laser deposited (P, N) codoped ZnO thin films using rapid thermal annealing process. As grown thin films exhibited change in conductivity from p to n-type over a span of 120 days. Non-annealed n-type thin films contain unintentional donor impurities such as hydrogen and carbon. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman measurements conclusively show that hydrogen passivates nitrogen acceptors by forming N−H complex. Carbon can be annealed out at 600 °C, whereas, the dissociation of N−H complex takes place at 800 °C. The films revert its p-type nature at an annealing temperature of 800 °C.

Hydration-annealing of chemical radiation damage in calcium nitrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nair, S.M.K.; James, C.

1984-01-01

The effect of hydration on the annealing of chemical radiation damage in anhydrous calcium nitrate has been investigated. Rehydration of the anhydrous irradiated nitrate induces direct recovery of the damage. The rehydrated salt is susceptible to thermal annealing but the extent of annealing is small compared to that in the anhydrous salt. The direct recovery of damage on rehydration is due to enhanced lattice mobility. The recovery process is unimolecular. (author)

Chemical and electrical characterisation of the segregation of Al from a CuAl alloy (90%:10% wt) with thermal anneal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Byrne, C., E-mail: conor.byrne2@mail.dcu.ie [School of Physical Sciences, Dublin City University, Dublin 9 (Ireland); Brady, A.; Walsh, L.; McCoy, A.P.; Bogan, J. [School of Physical Sciences, Dublin City University, Dublin 9 (Ireland); McGlynn, E. [School of Physical Sciences, National Centre for Plasma Science and Technology, Dublin City University, Dublin 9 (Ireland); Rajani, K.V. [School of Electronic Engineering, Dublin City University, Dublin 9 (Ireland); Hughes, G. [School of Physical Sciences, Dublin City University, Dublin 9 (Ireland); School of Physical Sciences, National Centre for Plasma Science and Technology, Dublin City University, Dublin 9 (Ireland)

2016-01-29

A copper–aluminium (CuAl) alloy (90%:10% wt) has been investigated in relation to segregation of the alloying element Al, from the alloy bulk during vacuum anneal treatments. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were used to track the surface enrichment of Al segregating from the alloy bulk during in situ ultra-high vacuum anneals. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) indicates a build-up of Al at the surface of the annealed alloy relative to the bulk composition. Metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) CuAl/SiO{sub 2}/Si structures show a shift in flatband voltage upon thermal anneal consistent with the segregation of the Al to the alloy/SiO{sub 2} interface. Electrical four point probe measurements indicate that the segregation of Al from the alloy bulk following thermal annealing results in a decrease in film resistivity. X-ray diffraction data shows evidence for significant changes in crystal structure upon annealing, providing further evidence for expulsion of Al from the alloy bulk. - Highlights: • CuAl alloy (90%:Al 10% wt) deposited and vacuum annealed • XPS and SIMS data show segregation of Al from the alloy bulk. • Chemical changes seen indicate the reduction of Cu oxide and growth of Al Oxide. • Electrical measurements indicate a chemical change at the metal/SiO{sub 2} interface. • All data consistent with Cu diffusion barrier layer formed.

Rutile TiO{sub 2} active-channel thin-film transistor using rapid thermal annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Sung-Jin; Heo, Kwan-Jun; Yoo, Su-Chang; Choi, Seong-Gon [Chungbuk National University, Cheongju (Korea, Republic of); Chang, Seung-Wook [Samsung Display, Co., Ltd., Suwon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

TiO{sub 2} active-channel thin-film transistors (TFTs), in which the bottom-gate top-contact architecture was prepared with atomic layer deposition grown TiO{sub 2} as the semiconducting layer, were fabricated and then investigated based on key process parameters, such as the rapid thermal annealing (RTA) temperature. Structural analyses suggested that TiO{sub 2} films annealed at temperatures above 500 .deg. C changed from an amorphous to a rutile phase. The TFT with a TiO{sub 2} semiconductor annealed at 600 .deg. C exhibited strongly-saturated output characteristics, a much higher on/off current ratio of 4.3 x 10{sup 5}, and an electron mobility of 0.014 cm{sup 2}/Vs. Moreover, the potential for manipulating TiO{sub 2}-based TFTs with RTA methodology was demonstrated through the realization of a simple resistive-load inverter.

Phosphorus-defect interactions during thermal annealing of ion implanted silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Keys, Patrick Henry

Ion implantation of dopant atoms into silicon generates nonequilibrium levels of crystal defects that can lead to the detrimental effects of transient enhanced diffusion (TED), incomplete dopant activation, and p-n junction leakage. In order to control these effects, it is vital to have a clear understanding of dopant-defect interactions and develop models that account for these interactions. This research focuses on experimentally investigating and modeling the clustering of phosphorus dopant atoms with silicon interstitials. Damage recovery of 40keV Si+ implants in phosphorus doped wells is experimentally analyzed. The effects of background phosphorus concentration, self implant dose, and anneal temperature are investigated. Phosphorus concentrations ranging from 2.0 x 1017 to 4.0 x 1019 cm-3 and Si+ doses ranging from 5.0 x 1013 cm-2 to 2.0 x 1014 cm-2 are studied during 650-800°C anneals. A dramatic reduction in the number of interstitials bound in {311} defects with increasing phosphorus background concentration is observed. It is suggested that the reduction of interstitials in {311} defects at high phosphorus concentrations is due to the formation of phosphorus-interstitial clusters (PICs). The critical concentration for clustering (approximately 1.0 x 1019 cm-3 at 750°C) is strongly temperature dependent and in close agreement with the kink concentration of phosphorus diffusion. Information gained from these "well experiments" is applied to the study of direct phosphorus implantation. An experimental study is conducted on 40keV phosphorus implanted to a dose of 1.0 x 1014 cm-2 during 650-800°C anneals. Electrically inactive PICs are shown to form at concentrations below the solid solubility limit due to high interstitial supersaturations. Data useful for developing a model to accurately predict phosphorus diffusion under nonequilibrium conditions are extracted from the experimental results. A cluster-mediated diffusion model is developed using the

Thermal Annealing Reduces Geminate Recombination in TQ1:N2200 All-Polymer Solar Cells

KAUST Repository

Karuthedath, Safakath

2018-03-27

A combination of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic measurements is used to investigate the photophysics of the all-polymer bulk heterojunction system TQ1:N2200. Upon thermal annealing a doubling of the external quantum efficiency and an improved fill factor (FF) is observed, resulting in an increase in the power conversion efficiency. Carrier extraction is similar for both blends, as demonstrated by time-resolved electric-field-induced second harmonic generation experiments in conjunction with transient photocurrent studies, spanning the ps-µs time range. Complementary transient absorption spectroscopy measurements reveal that the different quantum efficiencies originate from differences in charge carrier separation and recombination at the polymer-polymer interface: in as-spun samples ~35 % of the charges are bound in interfacial charge-transfer states and recombine geminately, while this pool is reduced to ~7 % in thermally-annealed sample, resulting in higher short-circuit currents. Time-delayed collection field experiments demonstrate a field-dependent charge generation process in as-spun samples, which reduces the FF. In contrast, field-dependence of charge generation is weak in annealed films. While both devices exhibit significant non-geminate recombination competing with charge extraction, causing low FFs, our results demonstrate that the donor/acceptor interface in all-polymer solar cells can be favourably altered to enhance charge separation, without compromising charge transport and extraction.

Rapid thermal annealing of Ti-rich TiNi thin films: A new approach to fabricate patterned shape memory thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Motemani, Y.; Tan, M.J.; White, T.J.; Huang, W.M.

2011-01-01

This paper reports the rapid thermal annealing (RTA) of Ti-rich TiNi thin films, synthesized by the co-sputtering of TiNi and Ti targets. Long-range order of aperiodic alloy could be achieved in a few seconds with the optimum temperature of 773 K. Longer annealing (773 K/240 s), transformed the film to a poorly ordered vitreous phase, suggesting a novel method for solid state amorphization. Reitveld refinement analyses showed significant differences in structural parameters of the films crystallized by rapid and conventional thermal annealing. Dependence of the elastic modulus on the valence electron density (VED) of the crystallized films was studied. It is suggested that RTA provides a new approach to fabricate patterned shape memory thin films.

Feasibility of and methodology for thermal annealing an embrittled reactor vessel. Volume 1. Program overview. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mager, T.R.

1983-01-01

An EPRI sponsored program was carried out by Westinghouse to determine the extent of fracture toughness recovery as a function of annealing time and temperature for neutron embrittlement sensitive reactor vessel material and to develop an optimal thermal anneal procedure for field applications. Program materials were three weldments fabricated by Combustion Engineering, Inc., from the same heat of A533 Grade B Class 1 plate material and the same heat of MnMoNi weld wire. The only variables were the target copper level and the welding flux which was Linde Grade 80 and Linde 0091. Weldments of 0.22, 0.36, and 0.41 wt % copper were produced. It was concluded from this study that excellent recovery of all properties could be achieved by annealing at 850 0 F (454 0 C) and above for 168 hours. Such an annealing resulted in ductile-brittle transition temperature shift recovery of 80 to 100%, and reirradiation after this annealing indicated that the ductile-brittle transition temperature shift appears to continue at the rate which would have been expected had no anneal been performed. System limitations were identified for both wet and dry annealing methods

Effects of Al substitution and thermal annealing on magnetoelectric Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2Fe12O22 investigated by the enhancement factor of 57Fe nuclear magnetic resonance.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Sangil; Kang, Byeongki; Kim, Changsoo; Jo, Euna; Lee, Soonchil; Chai, Yi Sheng; Chun, Sae Hwan; Kim, Kee Hoon

2014-04-09

The magnetoelectric properties of hexaferrite Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2Fe12O22 are significantly improved by Al substitution and thermal annealing. Measuring the enhancement factor of 57Fe NMR, we found direct microscopic evidence that the magnetic moments of the L and S blocks are rotated by a magnetic field in such a way as to increase the net magnetic moment of a magnetic unit, even after the field is removed. Al substitution makes magnetoelectric property arise easily by suppressing the easy-plane anisotropy. The effect of thermal annealing is to stabilize the multiferroic state by reducing the number of pinning sites and the electron spin fluctuation. The transverse conic structure gradually changes to the alternating longitudinal conic structure where spins fluctuate more severely.

Investigation of Annealing and Blend Concentration Effects of Organic Solar Cells Composed of Small Organic Dye and Fullerene Derivative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yasser A. M. Ismail

2011-01-01

Full Text Available We have fabricated bulk heterojunction organic solar cells using coumarin 6 (C6 as a small organic dye, for light harvesting and electron donation, with fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM, acting as an electron acceptor, by spin-coating technique. We have investigated thermal annealing and blend concentration effects on light harvesting, photocurrent, and performance parameters of the solar cells. In this work, we introduced an experimental method by which someone can easily detect the variation in the contact between active layer and cathode due to thermal annealing after cathode deposition. We have showed, in this work, unusual behavior of solar cell composed of small organic molecules under the influence of thermal annealing at different conditions. This behavior seemed uncommon for polymer solar cells. We try from this work to understand device physics and to locate a relationship between production parameters and performance parameters of the solar cell based on small organic molecules.

Effect of substrate properties and thermal annealing on the resistivity of molybdenum thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmid, U.; Seidel, H.

2005-01-01

In this study, the influence of substrate properties (e.g. roughness characteristics and chemical composition) on the electrical resistivity of evaporated molybdenum thin films is investigated as a function of varying parameters, such as film thickness (25-115 nm) and post-deposition annealing with temperatures up to T PDA = 900 deg. C. A thermally oxidized silicon wafer with very low surface roughness was used as one substrate type. In contrast, a low temperature co-fired ceramics substrate with a glass encapsulant printed in thick film technology is the representative for rough surface morphology. The electrical resistivity follows the prediction of the size effect up to T PDA = 600 deg. C independent of substrate nature. On the silicon-based substrate, the thickness-independent portion of the film resistivity ρ g in the 'as deposited' state is about 29 times higher than the corresponding bulk value for a mono-crystalline sample. Thin films of this refractory metal on the SiO 2 /Si substrate exhibit an average grain size of 4.9 nm and a negative temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR). On the glass/ceramic-based substrate, however, ρ g is half the value as compared to that obtained on the SiO 2 /Si substrate and the TCR is positive

Burst annealing of high temperature GaAs solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Brothers, P. R.; Horne, W. E.

1991-01-01

One of the major limitations of solar cells in space power systems is their vulnerability to radiation damage. One solution to this problem is to periodically heat the cells to anneal the radiation damage. Annealing was demonstrated with silicon cells. The obstacle to annealing of GaAs cells was their susceptibility to thermal damage at the temperatures required to completely anneal the radiation damage. GaAs cells with high temperature contacts and encapsulation were developed. The cells tested are designed for concentrator use at 30 suns AMO. The circular active area is 2.5 mm in diameter for an area of 0.05 sq cm. Typical one sun AMO efficiency of these cells is over 18 percent. The cells were demonstrated to be resistant to damage after thermal excursions in excess of 600 C. This high temperature tolerance should allow these cells to survive the annealing of radiation damage. A limited set of experiments were devised to investigate the feasibility of annealing these high temperature cells. The effect of repeated cycles of electron and proton irradiation was tested. The damage mechanisms were analyzed. Limitations in annealing recovery suggested improvements in cell design for more complete recovery. These preliminary experiments also indicate the need for further study to isolate damage mechanisms. The primary objective of the experiments was to demonstrate and quantify the annealing behavior of high temperature GaAs cells. Secondary objectives were to measure the radiation degradation and to determine the effect of repeated irradiation and anneal cycles.

Burst annealing of high temperature GaAs solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brothers, P.R.; Horne, W.E.

1991-01-01

One of the major limitations of solar cells in space power systems is their vulnerability to radiation damage. One solution to this problem is to periodically heat the cells to anneal the radiation damage. Annealing was demonstrated with silicon cells. The obstacle to annealing of GaAs cells was their susceptibility to thermal damage at the temperatures required to completely anneal the radiation damage. GaAs cells with high temperature contacts and encapsulation were developed. The cells tested are designed for concentrator use at 30 suns AMO. The circular active area is 2.5 mm in diameter for an area of 0.05 sq cm. Typical one sun AMO efficiency of these cells is over 18 percent. The cells were demonstrated to be resistant to damage after thermal excursions in excess of 600 degree C. This high temperature tolerance should allow these cells to survive the annealing of radiation damage. A limited set of experiments were devised to investigate the feasibility of annealing these high temperature cells. The effect of repeated cycles of electron and proton irradiation was tested. The damage mechanisms were analyzed. Limitations in annealing recovery suggested improvements in cell design for more complete recovery. These preliminary experiments also indicate the need for further study to isolate damage mechanisms. The primary objective of the experiments was to demonstrate and quantify the annealing behavior of high temperature GaAs cells. Secondary objectives were to measure the radiation degradation and to determine the effect of repeated irradiation and anneal cycles

Application of annealing for extension of WWER vessel lives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badanin, V.; Dragunow, Yu.G.; Fedorov, V.; Gorynin, I.; Nickolaev, V.

1992-01-01

The safe operation of nuclear power plants (NPP) is dependent upon the assurance that the reactor pressure vessel will not fail in a brittle manner when the effects of radiation embrittlement are taken into account. The recovery of the properties of the irradiated materials is an important way of extending the operating life of a reactor vessel. The intent of this paper is to demonstrate the efficiency of thermal annealing for the recovery of reactor vessel material properties and to present the implications for extended service life. In order to substantiate the application of annealing to the extensior of the service life of vessels, detailed investigations were conducted which involved thermal annealing temperature and time, fast neutron fluence, and metallurgical factors (i.e. impurity contents) on the recovery of properties after the annealing of irradiated materials. Similar studies were continued to determine predictive methods for radiation embrittlement after repeated annealings. In May 1987 the first pilot annealing of a commercial reactor vessel (Novo-Voronezhskaya, III, NPP) was performed. The development of the annealing equipment and investigations performed to test the annealing process proved successful, and an improved safe operation for the reactor vessel was thus atttained providing for an extended service life. (orig.)

Thermally Annealed Iron (Oxide) Thin Film on an Alumina Barrier Layer, by XPS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Madaan, Nitesh; Kanyal, Supriya S.; Jensen, David S.; Vail, Michael A.; Dadson, Andrew; Engelhard, Mark H.; Linford, Matthew R.

2013-09-06

Herein we show characterization of an Fe thin film on Al_2O_3 after thermal annealing under H_2 using Al Ka X-rays. The XPS survey spectrum, narrow Fe 2p scan, and valence band regions are presented. The survey spectrum shows aluminum signals due to exposure of the underlying Al_2O_3 film during Fe nanoparticle formation.

The preliminary results of the thermal annealing processes performed on the RPVs NPP V-1 in Jaslovske Bohunice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kupca, L; Brezina, M; Beno, P [Vyskumny Ustav Jadrovych Elektrarni, Trnava (Slovakia)

1994-12-31

Samples of weld and base metal above and below the weld were taken from RPV material in the V-230 type NPP V-1 in Bohunice; hardness measurements were carried out across the weld on the external surface of the RPV under the thermal shielding, before and after annealing. Results are presented and the annealing procedure efficiency is discussed. (authors). 13 refs., 5 figs.

Neutron flux and annealing effects on irradiation hardening of RPV materials

Science.gov (United States)

Chaouadi, R.; Gérard, R.

2011-11-01

This paper aims to examine an eventual effect of neutron flux, sometimes referred to as dose rate effect, on irradiation hardening of a typical A533B reactor pressure vessel steel. Tensile tests on both low flux (reactor surveillance data) and high flux (BR2 reactor) were performed in a large fluence range. The obtained results indicate two features. First, the surveillance data exhibit a constant (˜90 MPa) higher yield strength than the high flux data. However, this difference cannot be explained from a flux effect but most probably from differences in the initial tensile properties. The hardening kinetic of both low and high flux is the same. Annealing at low temperature, 345 °C/40 h, to eventually reveal unstable matrix damage did not affect both BR2 and surveillance specimens. This is confirmed by other annealing experimental data including both tensile and hardness measurements and tensile data on A508 forging and weld. It is suggested that the absence of flux effect on the tensile properties while different radiation-induced microstructures can be attributed to thermal ageing effects.

Thermal annealing behaviour of Pd Schottky contacts on melt-grown single crystal ZnO studied by IV and CV measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mtangi, W.; Auret, F.D.; Chawanda, A.; Janse van Rensburg, P.J.; Coelho, S.M.M.; Nel, J.M.; Diale, M.; Schalkwyk, L. van; Nyamhere, C.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Highly rectifying Pd/ZnO contacts have been fabricated. ► The rectification behaviour decrease with annealing temperature. ► The surface donor concentration increases with increase in annealing temperature. ► The depletion layer width at a specific reverse voltage decreases with increase in annealing temperature. - Abstract: Current–voltage (IV) and capacitance–voltage (CV) measurement techniques have successfully been employed to study the effects of annealing highly rectifying Pd/ZnO Schottky contacts. IV results reveal a decrease in the contact quality with increasing annealing temperature as confirmed by a decrease in the zero bias barrier height and an increase in the reverse current measured at −1.5 V. An average barrier height of (0.77 ± 0.02) eV has been calculated by assuming pure thermionic emission for the as-deposited material and as (0.56 ± 0.03) eV after annealing at 550 °C. The reverse current has been measured as (2.10 ± 0.01) × 10 −10 A for the as-deposited and increases by 5 orders of magnitude after annealing at 550 °C to (1.56 ± 0.01) × 10 −5 A. The depletion layer width measured at −2.0 V has shown a strong dependence on thermal annealing as it decreases from 1.09 μm after annealing at 200 °C to 0.24 μm after annealing at 500 °C, resulting in the modification of the dopant concentration within the depletion region and hence the current flowing through the interface from pure thermionic emission to thermionic field emission with the donor concentrations increasing from 6.90 × 10 15 cm −3 at 200 °C to 6.06 × 10 16 cm −3 after annealing at 550 °C. This increase in the volume concentration has been explained as an effect of a conductive channel that shifts closer to the surface after sample annealing. The series resistance has been observed to decrease with increase in annealing temperature. The Pd contacts have shown high stability up to an annealing temperature of 250 °C as revealed by the IV

Thermal annealing behaviour of Pd Schottky contacts on melt-grown single crystal ZnO studied by IV and CV measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mtangi, W., E-mail: wilbert.mtangi@up.ac.za [Department of Physics, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield 0028 (South Africa); Auret, F.D.; Chawanda, A.; Janse van Rensburg, P.J.; Coelho, S.M.M.; Nel, J.M.; Diale, M.; Schalkwyk, L. van [Department of Physics, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield 0028 (South Africa); Nyamhere, C. [Department of Physics, P.O. Box 77000, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth 6031 (South Africa)

2012-02-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Highly rectifying Pd/ZnO contacts have been fabricated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The rectification behaviour decrease with annealing temperature. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The surface donor concentration increases with increase in annealing temperature. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The depletion layer width at a specific reverse voltage decreases with increase in annealing temperature. - Abstract: Current-voltage (IV) and capacitance-voltage (CV) measurement techniques have successfully been employed to study the effects of annealing highly rectifying Pd/ZnO Schottky contacts. IV results reveal a decrease in the contact quality with increasing annealing temperature as confirmed by a decrease in the zero bias barrier height and an increase in the reverse current measured at -1.5 V. An average barrier height of (0.77 {+-} 0.02) eV has been calculated by assuming pure thermionic emission for the as-deposited material and as (0.56 {+-} 0.03) eV after annealing at 550 Degree-Sign C. The reverse current has been measured as (2.10 {+-} 0.01) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -10} A for the as-deposited and increases by 5 orders of magnitude after annealing at 550 Degree-Sign C to (1.56 {+-} 0.01) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -5} A. The depletion layer width measured at -2.0 V has shown a strong dependence on thermal annealing as it decreases from 1.09 {mu}m after annealing at 200 Degree-Sign C to 0.24 {mu}m after annealing at 500 Degree-Sign C, resulting in the modification of the dopant concentration within the depletion region and hence the current flowing through the interface from pure thermionic emission to thermionic field emission with the donor concentrations increasing from 6.90 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 15} cm{sup -3} at 200 Degree-Sign C to 6.06 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 16} cm{sup -3} after annealing at 550 Degree-Sign C. This increase in the volume concentration has been explained as an effect of a conductive channel

A novel method for biopolymer surface nanostructuring by platinum deposition and subsequent thermal annealing

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Slepička, P.; Juřík, P.; Kolská, Z.; Malinský, Petr; Macková, Anna; Michaljaničová, I.; Švorčík, V.

2012-01-01

Roč. 7, č. 671 (2012), s. 1-6 ISSN 1931-7573 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GBP108/12/G108 Institutional support: RVO:61389005 Keywords : nanopattering * surface morphology * biopolymer * platinum sputtering * thermal annealing Subject RIV: BG - Nuclear, Atomic and Molecular Physics, Colliders Impact factor: 2.524, year: 2012

Thermal annealing and recoil reactions of 128I atoms in thermal neutron activated iodate-nitrate mixed crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mishra, S.P.; Sharma, R.B.

1983-01-01

Recoil reaction of 128 I atoms in neutron irradiated mixed crystals (iodate-nitrate) have been studied by thermal annealing methods. The retention of 128 I (i.e. radioactivity of 128 I retained in the parent chemi cal form) decreases sharply in the beginning and then attains saturation value with the increase in concentration of nitrate. The annealing followed the usual characteristic pattern, viz., a steep rise in retention within the first few minutes and then a saturation value thereafter but these saturation values in case of mixed crystals are lower in comparison to those of pure iodate targets. The process obeys simple first order kinetics and the activation energy obtained are of lower order than those obtained in case of pure targets. The results are discussed in the light of present ideas and the role of nitrate ion and its radiolytic products have also been invoked. (author)

Forming of nanocrystal silicon films by implantation of high dose of H+ in layers of silicon on isolator and following fast thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyschenko, I.E.; Popov, V.P.; Talochkin, A.B.; Gutakovskij, A.K.; Zhuravlev, K.S.

2004-01-01

Formation of nanocrystalline silicon films during rapid thermal annealing of the high-dose H + ion implanted silicon-on-insulator structures was studied. It was found, that Si nanocrystals had formed alter annealings at 300-400 deg C, their formation being strongly limited by the hydrogen content in silicon and also by the annealing time. It was supposed that the nucleation of crystalline phase occurred inside the silicon islands between micropores. It is conditioned by ordering Si-Si bonds as hydrogen atoms are leaving their sites in silicon network. No coalescence of micropores takes place during the rapid thermal annealing at the temperatures up to ∼ 900 deg C. Green-orange photoluminescence was observed on synthesized films at room temperature [ru

Electrical properties and annealing kinetics study of laser-annealed ion-implanted silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, K.L.; Liu, Y.S.; Kirkpatrick, C.G.; Possin, G.E.

1979-01-01

This paper describes measurements of electrical properties and the regrowth behavior of ion-implanted silicon annealed with an 80-ns (FWHM) laser pulse at 1.06 μm. The experimental results include: (1) a determination of threshold energy density required for melting using a transient optical reflectivity technique, (2) measurements of dopant distribution using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, (3) characterization of electrical properties by measuring reverse leakage current densities of laser-annealed and thermal-annealed mesa diodes, (4) determination of annealed junction depth using an electron-beam-induced-current technique, and (5) a deep-level-transient spectroscopic study of residual defects. In particular, by measuring these properties of a diode annealed at a condition near the threshold energy density for liquid phase epitaxial regrowth, we have found certain correlations among these various annealing behaviors and electrical properties of laser-annealed ion-implanted silicon diodes

Influence of Rapid Thermal Annealing on the Characteristics of InGaN/GaN MQWs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tian Yuan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available N-type InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-wells (MQWs were grown on sapphire substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD. The crystal quality and optical properties of samples after rapid thermal annealing (RTA at different temperatures in a range from 400 to 800°C are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD and photoluminescence (PL spectrum. The experimental results show that the peaks of InGaN, InN and In can be observed in all samples. And the results are induced by the phase separation and In-clusters. The luminescence peak of the samples annealed showed a red shift. It is caused by strain stress relaxation during the RTA process. Furthermore, some defects can be eliminated and the best annealing temperature is from 500°C to 700°C.

Effects of post-growth annealing on InGaAs quantum posts embedded in Schottky diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schramm, A; Polojärvi, V; Hakkarainen, T V; Tukiainen, A; Guina, M

2011-01-01

We study effects of rapid thermal annealing on photoluminescence and electron confinement of InGaAs quantum posts by means of photoluminescence experiments and capacitance–voltage spectroscopy. The quantum posts are embedded in n-type Schottky diodes grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs(1 0 0). The observed photoluminescence spectra arise from the quantum posts as well as from a contribution of a wetting-layer superlattice. With increasing annealing temperatures, the quantum-post photoluminescence blueshifts toward the wetting-layer superlattice, and upon the highest annealing step, the wetting-layer superlattice luminescence dominates. In capacitance–voltage experiments, we clearly observe a charge accumulation in the quantum-post layer as well as from the wetting-layer superlattice. Capacitance–voltage spectra and carrier-density profiles only experience slight changes upon annealing treatments. We suggest that the main electron accumulation takes place in the wetting-layer superlattice

Optical properties of thermally annealed CdZnSe/ZnSe quantum dots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Margapoti, Emanuela

2010-01-01

To analyse the diffusion characteristics, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy has been carried out in extensive detail on single, as well as, ensembles of thermally annealed (TA) CdSe/ZnSe QDs. For a series of QD-ensembles, each annealed for t A = 30 s at temperatures from T A = 300-550 C, the change in the QD-composition has been calculated from the blue-shift of the exciton ground-state PL-emission, using a concentration function based on Fick's laws of diffusion. The diffusion length (L D ) and the activation energy (E A ) have been determined thereof. For the studied QDs, E A has been evaluated to be 2.2 eV. Additionally, TA results also in an enhancement of the PL-intensity and reduction of the full-width-at-half maximum (FWHM) of the spectra. This point towards an increased homogeneity of the QD-size and composition, and decrease in the concentration of defects around the QDs. For single CdSe/ZnSe QDs, TA has been varied from 100-240 C, in steps for 20 C, with t A kept fixed at 30 s. Finally, the evolution of the magneto-optic response with post-growth thermal annealing has been studied for both individual QDs and QD-ensembles. An external magnetic field, applied perpendicular to the plane of the QDs (Faraday configuration), results in Zeeman spin splitting of the ground exciton state. The emissions from the Zeeman-split states are left and right circularly polarized and from the degree of circular polarization (DCP), as well as, the spectral separation of the PL-peaks, the g-factor can be estimated. For CdSe/ZnSe QD-ensembles, the g-factor has been observed to change sign with TA. (orig.).

Optical properties of thermally annealed CdZnSe/ZnSe quantum dots

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Margapoti, Emanuela

2010-07-01

To analyse the diffusion characteristics, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy has been carried out in extensive detail on single, as well as, ensembles of thermally annealed (TA) CdSe/ZnSe QDs. For a series of QD-ensembles, each annealed for t{sub A} = 30 s at temperatures from T{sub A} = 300-550 C, the change in the QD-composition has been calculated from the blue-shift of the exciton ground-state PL-emission, using a concentration function based on Fick's laws of diffusion. The diffusion length (L{sub D}) and the activation energy (E{sub A}) have been determined thereof. For the studied QDs, E{sub A} has been evaluated to be 2.2 eV. Additionally, TA results also in an enhancement of the PL-intensity and reduction of the full-width-at-half maximum (FWHM) of the spectra. This point towards an increased homogeneity of the QD-size and composition, and decrease in the concentration of defects around the QDs. For single CdSe/ZnSe QDs, TA has been varied from 100-240 C, in steps for 20 C, with t{sub A} kept fixed at 30 s. Finally, the evolution of the magneto-optic response with post-growth thermal annealing has been studied for both individual QDs and QD-ensembles. An external magnetic field, applied perpendicular to the plane of the QDs (Faraday configuration), results in Zeeman spin splitting of the ground exciton state. The emissions from the Zeeman-split states are left and right circularly polarized and from the degree of circular polarization (DCP), as well as, the spectral separation of the PL-peaks, the g-factor can be estimated. For CdSe/ZnSe QD-ensembles, the g-factor has been observed to change sign with TA. (orig.).

Studies of thermal annealing and dope composition on the enhancement of separation performance cellulose acetate membrane for brackish water treatment from Jepara

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tutuk Djoko Kusworo

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Membrane is an alternative technology of water treatment with filtration principle that is being widely developed and used for water treatment. The main objective of this study was to make an asymmetric membrane using cellulose acetate polymer and study the effect of additive and annealing treatment on the morphology structure and performance of cellulose acetate membranes in brackish water treatment. Asymmetric membranes for brackish water treatment were casted using a casting machine process from dope solutions containing cellulose acetates and acetone as a solvent. Membranes was prepared by phase inversion method  with variation of polyethylene glycol (PEG concentration of 1 and 5 wt% and with thermal annealing at 60 oC in 10 seconds and without thermal annealing behavior. Membrane characterization consists of calculation of membrane flux and rejection with brackish water as a feed from Jepara. The research concluded that asymmetric cellulose acetate membrane can be made by dry/wet phase inversion method. The more added concentration of PEG will be resulted the larger pore of membrane. Meanwhile the higher temperature and the longer time of annealing treatment, the skin layer of membrane become denser. Membrane with the composition of 18 wt% cellulose acetate, 5 wt% PEG, 1 wt% distilled water, with heat treatment at temperature of 60 oC for 10 seconds is obtained optimal performance.

Effects of annealing temperature on the characteristics of ALD-deposited HfO2 in MIM capacitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, S.-W.; Lee, H.J.; Kim, K.S.; You, M.T.; Roh, Y.; Noguchi, T.; Xianyu, W.; Jung, J.

2006-01-01

We have investigated the annealing effects of HfO 2 films deposited by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) method on the electrical and physical properties in the Si/SiO 2 /Pt/ALD-HfO 2 /Pd metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors. If the annealing temperature for HfO 2 films was restricted below 500 deg. C, an annealing step using a rapid thermal processor (RTP) improves the electrical properties such as the dissipation factor and the dielectric constant. On the other hand, annealing at 700 deg. C degrades the electrical characteristics in general; the dissipation factor increases over the frequency range of 1∼4 MHz, and the leakage current increases up to 2 orders at the low electric field regions. We found that the degradation of electrical properties is due to the grain growth in the HfO 2 film (i.e., poly-crystallization of the film) by the high temperature annealing processing. We suggested that the annealing temperature must be restricted below 500 deg. C to obtain the high quality high-k film for the MIM capacitors

High-temperature stability of chemically vapor-deposited tungsten-silicon couples rapid thermal annealed in ammonia and argon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broadbent, E.K.; Morgan, A.E.; Flanner, J.M.; Coulman, B.; Sadana, D.K.; Burrow, B.J.; Ellwanger, R.C.

1988-01-01

A rapid thermal anneal (RTA) in an NH 3 ambient has been found to increase the thermal stability of W films chemically vapor deposited (CVD) on Si. W films deposited onto single-crystal Si by low-pressure CVD were rapid thermal annealed at temperatures between 500 and 1100 0 C in NH 3 and Ar ambients. The reactions were studied using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, x-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and four-point resistivity probe. High-temperature (≥1000 0 C) RTA in Ar completely converted W into the low resistivity (31 μΩ cm) tetragonal WSi 2 phase. In contrast, after a prior 900 0 C RTA in NH 3 , N inclusion within the W film and at the W/Si interface almost completely suppressed the W-Si reaction. Detailed examination, however, revealed some patches of WSi 2 formed at the interface accompanied by long tunnels extending into the substrate, and some crystalline precipitates in the substrate close to the interface. The associated interfacial contact resistance was only slightly altered by the 900 0 C NH 3 anneal. The NH 3 -treated W film acted as a diffusion barrier in an Al/W/Si contact metallurgy up to at least 550 0 C, at which point some increase in contact resistance was measured

Development of a rapid thermal annealing process for polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells on glass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rau, B. [Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy, Kekulestr. 5, D-12489 Berlin (Germany)], E-mail: bjoern.rau@helmholtz-berlin.de; Weber, T.; Gorka, B.; Dogan, P.; Fenske, F.; Lee, K.Y.; Gall, S.; Rech, B. [Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy, Kekulestr. 5, D-12489 Berlin (Germany)

2009-03-15

In this report, we discuss the influence of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the performance of polycrystalline Si (poly-Si) thin-film solar cells on glass where the poly-Si layers are differently prepared. The first part presents a comprehensive study of RTA treatments on poly-Si thin-films made by solid phase crystallization (SPC) (standard material of CSG Solar AG, Thalheim). By varying both plateau temperature (up to 1050 deg. C) and duration (up to 1000 s) of the annealing profile, we determined the parameters for a maximum open-circuit voltage (V{sub OC}). In addition, we applied our standard plasma hydrogenation treatment in order to passivate the remaining intra-grain defects and grain boundaries by atomic hydrogen resulting in a further increase of V{sub OC}. We found, that the preceding RTA treatment increases the effect of hydrogenation already at comparable low RTA temperatures. The effect on hydrogenation increases significantly with RTA temperature. In a second step we investigated the effect of the RTA and hydrogenation on large-grained poly-Si films based on the epitaxial thickening of poly-Si seed layers.

Effect of annealing over optoelectronic properties of graphene based transparent electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yadav, Shriniwas, E-mail: sniwas89@gmail.com; Kaur, Inderpreet, E-mail: inderpreety@yahoo.co.in [Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research- Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (AcSIR-CSIO), Sector-30C, Chandigarh (India); Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIR-CSIO), Sector-30C, Chandigarh (India)

2016-04-13

Graphene, an atom–thick two dimensional graphitic material have led various fundamental breakthroughs in the field of science and technology. Due to their exceptional optical, physical and electrical properties, graphene based transparent electrodes have shown several applications in organic light emitting diodes, solar cells and thin film transistors. Here, we are presenting effect of annealing over optoelectronic properties of graphene based transparent electrodes. Graphene based transparent electrodes have been prepared by wet chemical approach over glass substrates. After fabrication, these electrodes tested for optical transmittance in visible region. Sheet resistance was measured using four probe method. Effect of thermal annealing at 200 °C was studied over optical and electrical performance of these electrodes. Optoelectronic performance was judged from ratio of direct current conductivity to optical conductivity (σ{sub dc}/σ{sub opt}) as a figure of merit for transparent conductors. The fabricated electrodes display good optical and electrical properties. Such electrodes can be alternatives for doped metal oxide based transparent electrodes.

Effect of annealing over optoelectronic properties of graphene based transparent electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Yadav, Shriniwas; Kaur, Inderpreet

2016-04-01

Graphene, an atom-thick two dimensional graphitic material have led various fundamental breakthroughs in the field of science and technology. Due to their exceptional optical, physical and electrical properties, graphene based transparent electrodes have shown several applications in organic light emitting diodes, solar cells and thin film transistors. Here, we are presenting effect of annealing over optoelectronic properties of graphene based transparent electrodes. Graphene based transparent electrodes have been prepared by wet chemical approach over glass substrates. After fabrication, these electrodes tested for optical transmittance in visible region. Sheet resistance was measured using four probe method. Effect of thermal annealing at 200 °C was studied over optical and electrical performance of these electrodes. Optoelectronic performance was judged from ratio of direct current conductivity to optical conductivity (σdc/σopt) as a figure of merit for transparent conductors. The fabricated electrodes display good optical and electrical properties. Such electrodes can be alternatives for doped metal oxide based transparent electrodes.

Sensitization of erbium in silicon-rich silica : the effect of annealing temperature and hydrogen passivation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkinson, A.R.; Forcales, M.; Elliman, R.G.

2005-01-01

This paper reports on the effect of annealing temperature and hydrogen passivation on the excitation cross-section and photoluminescence of erbium in silicon-rich silica. Samples were prepared by co-implantation of Si and Er into SiO 2 followed by a single thermal anneal at temperatures ranging from 800 to 1100 degrees C, and with or without hydrogen passivation performed at 500 degrees C. Using time-resolved photoluminescence, the effective erbium excitation cross-section is shown to increase by a factor 3, while the number of optically active erbium ions decreases by a factor of 4 with increasing annealing temperature. Hydrogen passivation is shown to increase the luminescence intensity and to shorten the luminescence lifetime at 1.54 μm only in the presence of Si nanocrystals. The implications fo these results for realizing a silicon-based optical amplifier are also discussed. (author). 19 refs., 3 figs

Transport mechanisms in low-resistance ohmic contacts to p-InP formed by rapid thermal annealing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Thomas; Leistiko, Otto

1993-01-01

process is related to interdiffusion and compound formation between the metal elements and the InP. The onset of low specific contact resistance is characterized by a change in the dominant transport mechanism; from predominantly a combination of thermionic emission and field emission to purely thermionic......Thermionic emission across a very small effective Schottky barrier (0-0.2 eV) are reported as being the dominant transport process mechanism in very low-resistance ohmic contacts for conventional AuZn(Ni) metallization systems top-InP formed by rapid thermal annealing. The barrier modulation...

1-Dimensional simulation of thermal annealing in a commercial nuclear power plant reactor pressure vessel wall section

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakos, J.T.; Rosinski, S.T.; Acton, R.U.

1994-11-01

The objective of this work was to provide experimental heat transfer boundary condition and reactor pressure vessel (RPV) section thermal response data that can be used to benchmark computer codes that simulate thermal annealing of RPVS. This specific protect was designed to provide the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) with experimental data that could be used to support the development of a thermal annealing model. A secondary benefit is to provide additional experimental data (e.g., thermal response of concrete reactor cavity wall) that could be of use in an annealing demonstration project. The setup comprised a heater assembly, a 1.2 in x 1.2 m x 17.1 cm thick [4 ft x 4 ft x 6.75 in] section of an RPV (A533B ferritic steel with stainless steel cladding), a mockup of the open-quotes mirrorclose quotes insulation between the RPV and the concrete reactor cavity wall, and a 25.4 cm [10 in] thick concrete wall, 2.1 in x 2.1 in [10 ft x 10 ft] square. Experiments were performed at temperature heat-up/cooldown rates of 7, 14, and 28 degrees C/hr [12.5, 25, and 50 degrees F/hr] as measured on the heated face. A peak temperature of 454 degrees C [850 degrees F] was maintained on the heated face until the concrete wall temperature reached equilibrium. Results are most representative of those RPV locations where the heat transfer would be 1-dimensional. Temperature was measured at multiple locations on the heated and unheated faces of the RPV section and the concrete wall. Incident heat flux was measured on the heated face, and absorbed heat flux estimates were generated from temperature measurements and an inverse heat conduction code. Through-wall temperature differences, concrete wall temperature response, heat flux absorbed into the RPV surface and incident on the surface are presented. All of these data are useful to modelers developing codes to simulate RPV annealing

Annealing effect on thermodynamic and physical properties of mesoporous silicon: A simulation and nitrogen sorption study

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Pushpendra; Huber, Patrick

2016-04-01

Discovery of porous silicon formation in silicon substrate in 1956 while electro-polishing crystalline Si in hydrofluoric acid (HF), has triggered large scale investigations of porous silicon formation and their changes in physical and chemical properties with thermal and chemical treatment. A nitrogen sorption study is used to investigate the effect of thermal annealing on electrochemically etched mesoporous silicon (PS). The PS was thermally annealed from 200˚C to 800˚C for 1 hr in the presence of air. It was shown that the pore diameter and porosity of PS vary with annealing temperature. The experimentally obtained adsorption / desorption isotherms show hysteresis typical for capillary condensation in porous materials. A simulation study based on Saam and Cole model was performed and compared with experimentally observed sorption isotherms to study the physics behind of hysteresis formation. We discuss the shape of the hysteresis loops in the framework of the morphology of the layers. The different behavior of adsorption and desorption of nitrogen in PS with pore diameter was discussed in terms of concave menisci formation inside the pore space, which was shown to related with the induced pressure in varying the pore diameter from 7.2 nm to 3.4 nm.

Effect of rapid thermal annealing on the composition of Au/Ti/Al/Ti ohmic contacts for GaN-based microdevices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Redondo-Cubero, A.; Ynsa, M.D.; Romero, M.F.; Alves, L.C.; Muñoz, E.

2013-01-01

The homogeneity of Au/Ti/Al/Ti ohmic contacts for AlGaN/GaN devices was analyzed as a function of the thickness of the Ti barrier (30 nm 50 nm, although several compositional deficiencies were identified in the distribution maps obtained with the ion microprobe, including the formation of craters. A clear interplay between Ti and Au was found, suggesting the relevance of lateral flows during the rapid thermal annealing

Annealing effects on electrical and optical properties of ZnO thin-film samples deposited by radio frequency-magnetron sputtering on GaAs (001) substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, H. F.; Chua, S. J.; Hu, G. X.; Gong, H.; Xiang, N.

2007-01-01

The effects of thermal annealing on Hall-effect measurement and photoluminescence (PL) from undoped n-type ZnO/GaAs thin-film samples have been studied. The evolutions of carrier concentration, electrical resistivity, and PL spectrum at various annealing conditions reveal that the dominant mechanism that affects the electrical and PL properties is dependent on the amount of thermal energy and the ambient pressure applied during the annealing process. At low annealing temperatures, annihilation of native defects is dominant in reducing the carrier concentration and weakening the low-energy tail of the main PL peak, while the GaAs substrate plays only a minor role in carrier compensations. For the higher temperatures, diffusion of Ga atoms from the GaAs substrate into ZnO film leads to a more n-type conduction of the sample. As a result, the PL exhibits a high-energy tail due to the high-level doping

Effect of electric-spark alloying and subsequent annealing on the thermal stability of metallic structural materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vdovin, S.F.; Reshetnikov, S.M.

2000-01-01

The effect of annealing on resistive properties of electric-spark coatings on the carbon steels is studied. The steels 10 and 20 samples with electric spark coatings of various compositions and control ones without annealing and coating are chosen for the study. The steels cr27 and 12cr18ni10ti, the nichrome (cr20ni80) alloy, aluminium as well as compositions of these materials: aluminium + cr27 and aluminium + nichrome were used as coating materials. It is shown that aluminium coatings increase the steel 10 heat resistance more them by 4 times, the aluminium + nichrome coatings - more than by 6 times and aluminium + cr27 coatings - more than by 6 times. In contrast to the electric-spark coating of the carbon steel surface by chromium-nickel alloys, the composition aluminium-containing coatings with annealing in vacuum provide for reliability of long-term protection of these steels from air oxidation with the temperature above the aluminium melting [ru

The effect of annealing temperature on the optical properties of a ruthenium complex thin film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ocakoglu, Kasim, E-mail: kasim.ocakoglu@mersin.edu.tr [Advanced Technology Research & Application Center, Mersin University, TR-33343, Yenisehir, Mersin (Turkey); Department of Energy Systems Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Mersin University, TR-33480 Mersin (Turkey); Okur, Salih, E-mail: salih.okur@ikc.edu.tr [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Izmir (Turkey); Aydin, Hasan [Izmir Institute of Technology, Department of Material Science and Engineering, Gulbahce Campus, 35430, Urla, Izmir (Turkey); Emen, Fatih Mehmet [Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, TR-15030 Burdur (Turkey)

2016-08-01

The stability of the optical parameters of a ruthenium polypyridyl complex (Ru-PC K314) film under varying annealing temperatures between 278 K and 673 K was investigated. The ruthenium polypyridyl complex thin film was prepared on a quartz substrate by drop casting technique. The transmission of the film was recorded by using Ultraviolet/Visible/Near Infrared spectrophotometer and the optical band gap energy of the as-deposited film was determined around 2.20 eV. The optical parameters such as refractive index, extinction coefficient, and dielectric constant of the film were determined and the annealing effect on these parameters was investigated. The results show that Ru PC K314 film is quite stable up to 595 K, and the rate of the optical band gap energy change was found to be 5.23 × 10{sup −5} eV/K. Furthermore, the thermal analysis studies were carried out in the range 298–673 K. The Differential Thermal Analysis/Thermal Gravimmetry/Differantial Thermal Gravimmetry curves show that the decomposition is incomplete in the temperature range 298–673 K. Ru-PC K314 is thermally stable up to 387 K. The decomposition starts at 387 K with elimination of functional groups such as CO{sub 2}, CO molecules and SO{sub 3}H group was eliminated between 614 K and 666 K. - Highlights: • Optical parameters of a ruthenium polypyridyl complex film under varying annealing temperatures • The film is quite stable up to 573 K. • The rate of change of optical energy gap was obtained as 5.23 × 10{sup −5} eV/K.

Simulation of the diffusion of implanted impurities in silicon structures at the rapid thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komarov, F.F.; Komarov, A.F.; Mironov, A.M.; Makarevich, Yu.V.; Miskevich, S.A.; Zayats, G.M.

2011-01-01

Physical and mathematical models and numerical simulation of the diffusion of implanted impurities during rapid thermal treatment of silicon structures are discussed. The calculation results correspond to the experimental results with a sufficient accuracy. A simulation software system has been developed that is integrated into ATHENA simulation system developed by Silvaco Inc. This program can simulate processes of the low-energy implantation of B, BF 2 , P, As, Sb, C ions into the silicon structures and subsequent rapid thermal annealing. (authors)

Thermal Annealing induced relaxation of compressive strain in porous GaN structures

KAUST Repository

Ben Slimane, Ahmed; Najar, Adel; Ng, Tien Khee; Ooi, Boon S.

2012-01-01

The effect of annealing on strain relaxation in porous GaN fabricated using electroless chemical etching is presented. The Raman shift of 1 cm-1 in phonon frequency of annealed porous GaN with respect to as-grown GaN corresponds to a relaxation

Effect of In Situ Thermal Annealing on Structural, Optical, and Electrical Properties of CdS/CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells Fabricated by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alaa Ayad Al-mebir

2016-01-01

Full Text Available An in situ thermal annealing process (iTAP has been introduced before the common ex situ cadmium chloride (CdCl2 annealing to improve crystal quality and morphology of the CdTe thin films after pulsed laser deposition of CdS/CdTe heterostructures. A strong correlation between the two annealing processes was observed, leading to a profound effect on the performance of CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells. Atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy show that the iTAP in the optimal processing window produces considerable CdTe grain growth and improves the CdTe crystallinity, which results in significantly improved optoelectronic properties and quantum efficiency of the CdS/CdTe solar cells. A power conversion efficiency of up to 7.0% has been obtained on thin film CdS/CdTe solar cells of absorber thickness as small as 0.75 μm processed with the optimal iTAP at 450°C for 10–20 min. This result illustrates the importance of controlling microstructures of CdTe thin films and iTAP provides a viable approach to achieve such a control.

Effects of annealing schedule on orientation of Bi3.2Nd0.8Ti3O12 ferroelectric film prepared by chemical solution deposition process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, H.Y.; Huang, J.F.; Cao, L.Y.; Wang, L.S.

2006-01-01

Fatigue-free Bi 3.2 Nd 0.8 Ti 3 O 12 ferroelectric thin films were successfully prepared on p-Si(1 1 1) substrate using chemical solution deposition process. The orientation and formation of thin film under different annealing schedules were studied. XRD analysis indicated that (2 0 0)-oriented films with degree of orientation of I (200) /I (117) = 2.097 and 0.466 were obtained by preannealing for 10 min at 400 deg. C followed by rapid thermal annealing for 3, 10 and 20 min at 700 deg. C, respectively (0 0 8)-oriented films with degree of orientation of I (008) /I (117) = 1.706 were obtained by rapid thermal annealing for 3 min at 700 deg. C without preannealing, and (0 0 8)-oriented films with degree of orientation of I (008) /I (117) = 0.719 were obtained by preheating the film from room temperature at 20 deg. C/min followed by annealing for 10 min at 700 deg. C. The a-axis and c-axis orientation decreased as increase of annealing time due to effects of (1 1 1)-oriented substrate. AFM analysis further indicated that preannealing at 400 deg. C for 10 min followed by rapid thermal annealing for 3 min at 700 deg. C resulted in formation of platelike crystallite parallel to substrate surface, however rapid thermal annealing for 3 min at 700 deg. C without preannealing resulted in columnar crystallite perpendicular to substrate surface

Effect of thermal annealing on the emission properties of heterostructures containing a quantum-confined GaAsSb layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dikareva, N. V., E-mail: dnat@ro.ru; Vikhrova, O. V.; Zvonkov, B. N. [Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod, Physico-Technical Research Institute (Russian Federation); Malekhonova, N. V. [Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod (Russian Federation); Nekorkin, S. M. [Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod, Physico-Technical Research Institute (Russian Federation); Pirogov, A. V.; Pavlov, D. A. [Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod (Russian Federation)

2015-01-15

Heterostructures containing single GaAsSb/GaAs quantum wells and bilayer GaAsSb/InGaAs quantum wells are produced by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy at atmospheric pressure. The growth temperature of the quantum-confined layers is 500–570°C. The structural quality of the samples and the quality of heterointerfaces of the quantum wells are studied by the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy of cross sections. The emission properties of the heterostructures are studied by photoluminescence measurements. The structures are subjected to thermal annealing under conditions chosen in accordance with the temperature and time of growth of the upper cladding p-InGaP layer during the formation of GaAs/InGaP laser structures with an active region containing quantum-confined GaAsSb layers. It is found that such heat treatment can have a profound effect on the emission properties of the active region, only if a bilayer GaAsSb/InGaAs quantum well is formed.

Influence of post-deposition annealing on structural, morphological and optical properties of copper (II) acetylacetonate thin films.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdel-Khalek, H; El-Samahi, M I; El-Mahalawy, Ahmed M

2018-05-21

In this study, the effect of thermal annealing under vacuum conditions on structural, morphological and optical properties of thermally evaporated copper (II) acetylacetonate, cu(acac) 2 , thin films were investigated. The copper (II) acetylacetonate thin films were deposited using thermal evaporation technique at vacuum pressure ~1 × 10 -5  mbar. The deposited films were thermally annealed at 323, 373, 423, and 473 K for 2 h in vacuum. The thermogravimetric analysis of cu(acac) 2 powder indicated a thermal stability of cu(acac) 2 up to 423 K. The effects of thermal annealing on the structural properties of cu(acac) 2 were evaluated employing X-ray diffraction method and the analysis showed a polycrystalline nature of the as-deposited and annealed films with a preferred orientation in [1¯01] direction. Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) technique was used to negate the decomposition of copper (II) acetylacetonate during preparation or/and annealing up to 423 K. The surface morphology of the prepared films was characterized by means of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). A significant enhancement of the morphological properties of cu(acac) 2 thin films was obtained till the annealing temperature reaches 423 K. The variation of optical constants that estimated from spectrophotometric measurements of the prepared thin films was investigated as a function of annealing temperature. The annealing process presented significantly impacted the nonlinear optical properties such as third-order optical susceptibility χ (3) and nonlinear refractive index n 2 of cu(acac) 2 thin films. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of thermal annealing on the optical, spectroscopic, and structural properties of tris (8-hydroxyquinolinate) gallium films grown on quartz substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muhammad, Fahmi Fariq, E-mail: fahmi982@gmail.com [Low Dimensional Materials Research Center, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Koya, Koya, Kurdistan Region (Iraq); Sulaiman, Khaulah [Low Dimensional Materials Research Center, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

2011-10-03

Highlights: {yields} Achieving a broad absorption band for Gaq3 covering the whole UV and some parts of visible spectra. {yields} Increasing photoluminescence emission to five times stronger than that of pristine film. {yields} Conformational changes towards the formation of crystalline {alpha}-Gaq3 polymorph. {yields} Determination of glass transition temperature for Gaq3 (T{sub g} 182 deg. C) and Alq3 (T{sub g} = 173 deg. C). {yields} Improving and understanding the physical properties of Gaq3 film by means of thermal treatment. - Abstract: In this study we report the optical, spectroscopic, and structural properties of vacuum deposited tris (8-hydroxyquinolinate) gallium film upon thermal annealing in the temperature range from 85 deg. C to 255 deg. C under a flowing nitrogen gas for 10 min. The optical UV-vis-NIR and luminescence spectroscopy measurements were performed to estimate the absorption bands, optical energy gap (E{sub g}), and photoluminescence (PL) of the films. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were used to probe the spectroscopic and structural nature of the films. We show that, by annealing the films from 85 deg. C to 235 deg. C, it is possible to achieve an enhanced absorption and increased photoluminescence to five times stronger than that of the pristine film. The PL quenching at 255 deg. C was attributed to the presence of plainer chains allow easy going for excitons to a long distance due to the crystalline region formation of {alpha}-Gaq3 polymorph. The reduction in E{sub g} and infrared absorption bands upon annealing were referred to the enhancement in {pi}-{pi} interchain interaction and conformational changes by re-arrangement of the Gaq3 quinolinate ligands, respectively. Stokes shift for the films were observed and calculated. From the differential scanning calorimetry, DSC measurements, higher glass transition temperature was observed for Gaq3 (T{sub g} = 182 deg. C) compared to

Effects of annealing time on the recovery of Charpy V-notch properties of irradiated high-copper weld metal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iskander, S.K.; Sokolov, M.A.; Nanstad, R.K.

1994-01-01

One of the options to mitigate the effects of irradiation on reactor pressure vessels is to thermally anneal them to restore the toughness properties that have been degraded by neutron irradiation. An important issue to be resolved is the effect on the toughness properties of reirradiating a vessel that has been annealed. This paper describes the annealing response of irradiated high-copper submerged-arc weld HSSI 73W. For this study, the weld has been annealed at 454 C (850 F) for lengths of time varying between 1 and 14 days. The Charpy V-notch 41-J (30-ft-lb) transition temperature (TT 41J ) almost fully recovered for the longest period studied, but recovered to a lesser degree for the shorter periods. No significant recovery of the TT 41J was observed for a 7-day anneal at 343 C (650 F). At 454 C for the durations studied, the values of the upper-shelf impact energy of irradiated and annealed weld metal exceeded the values in the unirradiated condition. Similar behavior was observed after aging the unirradiated weld metal at 460 and 490 C for 1 week

High-temperature stability of chemically vapor-deposited tungsten-silicon couples rapid thermal annealed in ammonia and argon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Broadbent, E.K.; Morgan, A.E.; Flanner, J.M.; Coulman, B.; Sadana, D.K.; Burrow, B.J.; Ellwanger, R.C.

1988-12-15

A rapid thermal anneal (RTA) in an NH/sub 3/ ambient has been found to increase the thermal stability of W films chemically vapor deposited (CVD) on Si. W films deposited onto single-crystal Si by low-pressure CVD were rapid thermal annealed at temperatures between 500 and 1100 /sup 0/C in NH/sub 3/ and Ar ambients. The reactions were studied using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, x-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and four-point resistivity probe. High-temperature (greater than or equal to1000 /sup 0/C) RTA in Ar completely converted W into the low resistivity (31 ..mu cap omega.. cm) tetragonal WSi/sub 2/ phase. In contrast, after a prior 900 /sup 0/C RTA in NH/sub 3/, N inclusion within the W film and at the W/Si interface almost completely suppressed the W-Si reaction. Detailed examination, however, revealed some patches of WSi/sub 2/ formed at the interface accompanied by long tunnels extending into the substrate, and some crystalline precipitates in the substrate close to the interface. The associated interfacial contact resistance was only slightly altered by the 900 /sup 0/C NH/sub 3/ anneal. The NH/sub 3/-treated W film acted as a diffusion barrier in an Al/W/Si contact metallurgy up to at least 550 /sup 0/C, at which point some increase in contact resistance was measured.

Comparison of different experimental and analytical measures of the thermal annealing response of neutron-irradiated RPV steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iskander, S.K.; Sokolov, M.A.; Nanstad, R.K.

1997-01-01

The thermal annealing response of several materials as indicated by Charpy transition temperature (TT) and upper-shelf energy (USE), crack initiation toughness, K Jc , predictive models, and automated-ball indentation (ABI) testing are compared. The materials investigated are representative reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels (several welds and a plate) that were irradiated for other tasks of the Heavy-Section Steel Irradiation (HSSI) Program and are relatively well characterized in the unirradiated and irradiated conditions. They have been annealed at two temperatures, 343 and 454 C (650 and 850 F) for varying lengths of time. The correlation of the Charpy response and the fracture toughness, ABI, and the response predicted by the annealing model of Eason et al. for these conditions and materials appears to be reasonable. The USE after annealing at the temperature of 454 C appears to recover at a faster rate than the TT, and even over-recovers (i.e., the recovered USE exceeds that of the unirradiated material)

Improvement on the electrical characteristics of Pd/HfO{sub 2}/6H-SiC MIS capacitors using post deposition annealing and post metallization annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Esakky, Papanasam, E-mail: papanasamte@gmail.com; Kailath, Binsu J

2017-08-15

Highlights: • Post deposition annealing (PDA) and post metallization annealing (PMA) on the electrical characteristics of Pd/HfO{sub 2}/6H-SiC MIS capacitors. • Post deposition N{sub 2}O plasma annealing inhibits crystallization of HfO{sub 2} during high temperature annealing. • Plasma annealing followed by RTA in N{sub 2} results in formation of hafnium silicate at the HfO{sub 2}-SiC interface. • PDA reduces interface state density (D{sub it}) and gate leakage current density (J{sub g}) by order. • PMA in forming gas for 40 min results in better passivation and reduces D{sub it} by two orders and J{sub g} by thrice. - Abstract: HfO{sub 2} as a gate dielectric enables high electric field operation of SiC MIS structure and as gas sensor HfO{sub 2}/SiC capacitors offer higher sensitivity than SiO{sub 2}/SiC capacitors. The issue of higher density of oxygen vacancies and associated higher leakage current necessitates better passivation of HfO{sub 2}/SiC interface. Effect of post deposition annealing in N{sub 2}O plasma and post metallization annealing in forming gas on the structural and electrical characteristics of Pd/HfO{sub 2}/SiC MIS capacitors are reported in this work. N{sub 2}O plasma annealing suppresses crystallization during high temperature annealing thereby improving the thermal stability and plasma annealing followed by rapid thermal annealing in N{sub 2} result in formation of Hf silicate at the HfO{sub 2}/SiC interface resulting in order of magnitude lower density of interface states and gate leakage current. Post metallization annealing in forming gas for 40 min reduces interface state density by two orders while gate leakage current density is reduced by thrice. Post deposition annealing in N{sub 2}O plasma and post metallization annealing in forming gas are observed to be effective passivation techniques improving the electrical characteristics of HfO{sub 2}/SiC capacitors.

Annealing effects on the photoresponse properties of CdSe nanocrystal thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lou Shiyun; Zhou Changhua; Wang Hongzhe; Shen Huaibin; Cheng Gang; Du Zuliang; Zhou, Shaomin; Li Linsong

2011-01-01

Highlights: → The as-prepared CdSe nanocrystal films were treated at 500 deg. C for 3 h under continuous N 2 . → Annealing process removed the organic capping completely and eliminated oxide on the CdSe surface. → Thermal annealing resulted the increase of the crystallite sizes and necking the NCs. → The photoresponse speed of the CdSe nanocrystal films was improved. - Abstract: The photoresponse properties of the as-prepared and annealed close-packed CdSe nanocrystal (NC) films were investigated under laser illumination by Kelvin probe force microscopy. The annealing process improved the photoresponse speed of the CdSe NC films. The work function of the annealed CdSe NC films changed more rapidly than that of the non-annealed film in air at room temperature. Combined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements and thermogravimetric analysis, the observed phenomena can be interpreted that annealing process removed the organic capping agents completely and eliminated oxide on the CdSe surface, which formed the tunnel barrier between NCs in the CdSe NC films. Consequently, it improved the separation rate of photoelectric charges and thus provided high speed photoresponse.

Controlling Growth High Uniformity Indium Selenide (In2Se3) Nanowires via the Rapid Thermal Annealing Process at Low Temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Ya-Chu; Hung, Yu-Chen; Wang, Chiu-Yen

2017-09-15

High uniformity Au-catalyzed indium selenide (In 2 Se 3) nanowires are grown with the rapid thermal annealing (RTA) treatment via the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism. The diameters of Au-catalyzed In 2 Se 3 nanowires could be controlled with varied thicknesses of Au films, and the uniformity of nanowires is improved via a fast pre-annealing rate, 100 °C/s. Comparing with the slower heating rate, 0.1 °C/s, the average diameters and distributions (standard deviation, SD) of In 2 Se 3 nanowires with and without the RTA process are 97.14 ± 22.95 nm (23.63%) and 119.06 ± 48.75 nm (40.95%), respectively. The in situ annealing TEM is used to study the effect of heating rate on the formation of Au nanoparticles from the as-deposited Au film. The results demonstrate that the average diameters and distributions of Au nanoparticles with and without the RTA process are 19.84 ± 5.96 nm (30.00%) and about 22.06 ± 9.00 nm (40.80%), respectively. It proves that the diameter size, distribution, and uniformity of Au-catalyzed In 2 Se 3 nanowires are reduced and improved via the RTA pre-treated. The systemic study could help to control the size distribution of other nanomaterials through tuning the annealing rate, temperatures of precursor, and growth substrate to control the size distribution of other nanomaterials. Graphical Abstract Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process proved that it can uniform the size distribution of Au nanoparticles, and then it can be used to grow the high uniformity Au-catalyzed In 2 Se 3 nanowires via the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism. Comparing with the general growth condition, the heating rate is slow, 0.1 °C/s, and the growth temperature is a relatively high growth temperature, > 650 °C. RTA pre-treated growth substrate can form smaller and uniform Au nanoparticles to react with the In 2 Se 3 vapor and produce the high uniformity In 2 Se 3 nanowires. The in situ annealing TEM is used to realize the effect of heating

Pulsed electron-beam annealing of selenium-implanted gallium arsenide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inada, T.; Tokunaga, K.; Taka, S.

1979-01-01

Electrical properties of selenium-implanted gallium arsenide annealed by a single shot of high-power pulsed electron beams have been investigated by differential Hall-effect and sheet-resistivity measurements. It has been shown that higher electrical activation of implanted selenium can be obtained after electron-beam annealing at an incident energy density of 1.2 J/cm 2 , independent of heating of GaAs substrate during implantation. Measured carrier concentrations exhibit uniformly distributed profiles having carrier concentrations of 2--3 x 10 19 /cm 3 , which is difficult to realize by conventional thermal annealing

Electrode Materials, Thermal Annealing Sequences, and Lateral/Vertical Phase Separation of Polymer Solar Cells from Multiscale Molecular Simulations

KAUST Repository

Lee, Cheng-Kuang

2014-12-10

© 2014 American Chemical Society. The nanomorphologies of the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) layer of polymer solar cells are extremely sensitive to the electrode materials and thermal annealing conditions. In this work, the correlations of electrode materials, thermal annealing sequences, and resultant BHJ nanomorphological details of P3HT:PCBM BHJ polymer solar cell are studied by a series of large-scale, coarse-grained (CG) molecular simulations of system comprised of PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:PCBM/Al layers. Simulations are performed for various configurations of electrode materials as well as processing temperature. The complex CG molecular data are characterized using a novel extension of our graph-based framework to quantify morphology and establish a link between morphology and processing conditions. Our analysis indicates that vertical phase segregation of P3HT:PCBM blend strongly depends on the electrode material and thermal annealing schedule. A thin P3HT-rich film is formed on the top, regardless of bottom electrode material, when the BHJ layer is exposed to the free surface during thermal annealing. In addition, preferential segregation of P3HT chains and PCBM molecules toward PEDOT:PSS and Al electrodes, respectively, is observed. Detailed morphology analysis indicated that, surprisingly, vertical phase segregation does not affect the connectivity of donor/acceptor domains with respective electrodes. However, the formation of P3HT/PCBM depletion zones next to the P3HT/PCBM-rich zones can be a potential bottleneck for electron/hole transport due to increase in transport pathway length. Analysis in terms of fraction of intra- and interchain charge transports revealed that processing schedule affects the average vertical orientation of polymer chains, which may be crucial for enhanced charge transport, nongeminate recombination, and charge collection. The present study establishes a more detailed link between processing and morphology by combining multiscale molecular

Laser annealing heals radiation damage in avalanche photodiodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lim, Jin Gyu [University of Waterloo, Institute for Quantum Computing, Waterloo, ON (Canada); University of Waterloo, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Waterloo, ON (Canada); Anisimova, Elena; Higgins, Brendon L.; Bourgoin, Jean-Philippe [University of Waterloo, Institute for Quantum Computing, Waterloo, ON (Canada); University of Waterloo, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Waterloo, ON (Canada); Jennewein, Thomas [University of Waterloo, Institute for Quantum Computing, Waterloo, ON (Canada); University of Waterloo, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Waterloo, ON (Canada); Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Quantum Information Science Program, Toronto, ON (Canada); Makarov, Vadim [University of Waterloo, Institute for Quantum Computing, Waterloo, ON (Canada); University of Waterloo, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Waterloo, ON (Canada); University of Waterloo, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Waterloo, ON (Canada)

2017-12-15

Avalanche photodiodes (APDs) are a practical option for space-based quantum communications requiring single-photon detection. However, radiation damage to APDs significantly increases their dark count rates and thus reduces their useful lifetimes in orbit. We show that high-power laser annealing of irradiated APDs of three different models (Excelitas C30902SH, Excelitas SLiK, and Laser Components SAP500S2) heals the radiation damage and several APDs are restored to typical pre-radiation dark count rates. Of nine samples we test, six APDs were thermally annealed in a previous experiment as another solution to mitigate the radiation damage. Laser annealing reduces the dark count rates further in all samples with the maximum dark count rate reduction factor varying between 5.3 and 758 when operating at -80 C. This indicates that laser annealing is a more effective method than thermal annealing. The illumination power to reach these reduction factors ranges from 0.8 to 1.6 W. Other photon detection characteristics, such as photon detection efficiency, timing jitter, and afterpulsing probability, fluctuate but the overall performance of quantum communications should be largely unaffected by these variations. These results herald a promising method to extend the lifetime of a quantum satellite equipped with APDs. (orig.)

Mechanism for ion-induced mixing of GaAs-AlGaAs interfaces by rapid thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kahen, K.B.; Rajeswaran, G.; Lee, S.T.

1988-01-01

A mechanism for the transient-enhanced interdiffusion of GaAs-AlGaAs interfaces during rapid thermal annealing of ion-implanted heterostructures is proposed. The model is based on the solution of the coupled diffusion equations involving the excess vacancies and the post-implantation Al distribution following ion implantation. Both initial distributions are obtained from the solution of a three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulation of ion implantation into a heterostructure sample. In general, the model is valid for time frames within which impurity diffusion does not occur appreciably so that impurity-enhanced diffusion remains a weak effect

Effect of annealing on field emission properties of nanodiamond coating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhai, C.X.; Yun, J.N.; Zhao, L.L.; Zhang, Z.Y.; Wang, X.W.; Chen, Y.Y.

2011-01-01

Field electron emission of detonation nanodiamond (ND) coated on a titanium substrate by electrophoretic deposition is investigated. It is found that thermal annealing can significantly improve the field emission properties of the ND layer, which can be mainly attributed to the formation of the TiC phase between diamond and Ti. The first-principles calculated results show that the formation of transition layers can lower the interface barrier and enhance the field electron emission of ND coating. Besides, the transformation of diamond to graphite after annealing has been revealed by Raman spectra. This transformation also benefits the electron emission enhancement.

Effect of annealing on field emission properties of nanodiamond coating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhai, C.X., E-mail: zhaicatty@126.co [School of Information Science and Technology, Northwest University, Xi' an 710127, Shaanxi (China); Yun, J.N.; Zhao, L.L.; Zhang, Z.Y.; Wang, X.W.; Chen, Y.Y. [School of Information Science and Technology, Northwest University, Xi' an 710127, Shaanxi (China)

2011-03-01

Field electron emission of detonation nanodiamond (ND) coated on a titanium substrate by electrophoretic deposition is investigated. It is found that thermal annealing can significantly improve the field emission properties of the ND layer, which can be mainly attributed to the formation of the TiC phase between diamond and Ti. The first-principles calculated results show that the formation of transition layers can lower the interface barrier and enhance the field electron emission of ND coating. Besides, the transformation of diamond to graphite after annealing has been revealed by Raman spectra. This transformation also benefits the electron emission enhancement.

Post-deposition thermal annealing studies of hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon deposited at 40 deg. C

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bronsveld, P.C.P.; Wagt, H.J. van der; Rath, J.K.; Schropp, R.E.I.; Beyer, W.

2007-01-01

Post-deposition thermal annealing studies, including gas effusion measurements, measurements of infrared absorption versus annealing state, cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (X-TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), are used for structural characterization of hydrogenated amorphous and microcrystalline silicon films, prepared by very high frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (VHF-PECVD) at low substrate temperature (T S ). Such films are of interest for application in thin semiconductor devices deposited on cheap plastics. For T S ∼ 40 deg. C, H-evolution shows rather complicated spectra for (near-) microcrystalline material, with hydrogen effusion maxima seen at ∼ 200-250 deg. C, 380 deg. C and ∼ 450-500 deg. C, while for the amorphous material typical spectra for good-quality dense material are found. Effusion experiments of implanted He demonstrate for the microcrystalline material the presence of a rather open (void-rich) structure. A similar tendency can be concluded from Ne effusion experiments. Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of stepwise annealed samples show Si-H bond rupture already at annealing temperatures of 150 deg. C. Combined AFM/X-TEM studies reveal a columnar microstructure for all of these (near-) microcrystalline materials, of which the open structure is the most probable explanation of the shift of the H-effusion maximum in (near-) microcrystalline material to lower temperature

Thermal annealing of radiation damage in CMOS ICs in the temperature range -140 C to +375 C

Science.gov (United States)

Danchenko, V.; Fang, P. H.; Brashears, S. S.

1982-01-01

Annealing of radiation damage was investigated in the commercial, Z- and J-processes of the RCA CD4007A ICs in the temperature range from -140 C to +375 C. Tempering curves were analyzed for activation energies of thermal annealing, following irradiation at -140 C. It was found that at -140 C, the radiation-induced shifts in the threshold potentials were similar for all three processes. The radiation hardness of the Z- and J-process is primarily due to rapid annealing of radiation damage at room temperature. In the region -140 to 20 C, no dopant-dependent charge trapping is seen, similar to that observed at higher temperatures. In the unbiased Z-process n-channels, after 1 MeV electron irradiation, considerable negative charge remains in the gate oxide.

Study of the optical properties and the carbonaceous clusters in thermally-annealed CR-39 and Makrofol-E polymer-based solid-state nuclear track detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Ghazaly, M.

2012-01-01

The induced modifications in the optical properties of CR-39 and Makrofol-E polymer-based solid state nuclear track detectors were investigated after thermal annealing at a temperature of 200 .deg. C for different durations. The optical properties were studied using an UV-visible spectrophotometer. From the UV-visible spectra, the direct and the indirect optical band gaps, Urbach's energies, and the number of carbon atoms in a cluster were determined. The absorbance of CR-39 plastic detector was found to decrease with increasing annealing time while the absorbance of Makrofol-E decreased with increasing annealing time. The width of the tail of localized states in the band gap ΔE was evaluated with the Urbach method. The optical energy band gaps were obtained from the direct and the indirect allowed transitions in K-space. Both of the direct and the indirect band gaps of the annealed CR-39 detector decrease with increasing annealing time while in Makrofol-E, they decreased after an annealing time of 15 minute and then showed no remarkable changes for a prolonged annealing times. Urbach's energy decreased significantly for both CR-39 and Makrofol-E with increasing annealing time. The number of carbon atoms in a cluster increased in the CR-39 detector with increasing annealing time while it decreased with increasing annealing time for Makrofol-E. We may conclude that the CR-39 detector undergoes greater modifications than the Makrofol-E detector upon thermal annealing at 200 .deg. C. In conclusion, the induced modifications in the optical properties of CR-39 and Makrofol-E are correlated with the temperature and the duration of annealing.

DOE's annealing prototype demonstration projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warren, J.; Nakos, J.; Rochau, G.

1997-01-01

One of the challenges U.S. utilities face in addressing technical issues associated with the aging of nuclear power plants is the long-term effect of plant operation on reactor pressure vessels (RPVs). As a nuclear plant operates, its RPV is exposed to neutrons. For certain plants, this neutron exposure can cause embrittlement of some of the RPV welds which can shorten the useful life of the RPV. This RPV embrittlement issue has the potential to affect the continued operation of a number of operating U.S. pressurized water reactor (PWR) plants. However, RPV material properties affected by long-term irradiation are recoverable through a thermal annealing treatment of the RPV. Although a dozen Russian-designed RPVs and several U.S. military vessels have been successfully annealed, U.S. utilities have stated that a successful annealing demonstration of a U.S. RPV is a prerequisite for annealing a licensed U.S. nuclear power plant. In May 1995, the Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories awarded two cost-shared contracts to evaluate the feasibility of annealing U.S. licensed plants by conducting an anneal of an installed RPV using two different heating technologies. The contracts were awarded to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Center for Research and Technology Development (CRTD) and MPR Associates (MPR). The ASME team completed its annealing prototype demonstration in July 1996, using an indirect gas furnace at the uncompleted Public Service of Indiana's Marble Hill nuclear power plant. The MPR team's annealing prototype demonstration was scheduled to be completed in early 1997, using a direct heat electrical furnace at the uncompleted Consumers Power Company's nuclear power plant at Midland, Michigan. This paper describes the Department's annealing prototype demonstration goals and objectives; the tasks, deliverables, and results to date for each annealing prototype demonstration; and the remaining annealing technology challenges

In situ transmission electron microscopy analyses of thermally annealed self catalyzed GaAs nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ambrosini, S.; Wagner, Jakob Birkedal; Booth, Tim

2011-01-01

Self catalyzed GaAs nanowires grown on Si-treated GaAs substrates were studied with a transmission electron microscope before and after annealing at 600◦C. At room temperature the nanowires have a zincblende structure and are locally characterized by a high density of rotational twins and stacking...... faults. Selected area diffraction patterns and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images show that nanowires undergo structural modifications upon annealing, suggesting a decrease of defect density following the thermal treatment....

Crystallization degree change of expanded graphite by milling and annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Qunwei; Wu Jihuai; Sun Hui; Fang Shijun

2009-01-01

Expanded graphite was ball milled with a planetary mill in air atmosphere, and subsequently thermal annealed. The samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). It was found that in the milling initial stage (less than 12 h), the crystallization degree of the expanded graphite declined gradually, but after milling more than 16 h, a recrystallization of the expanded graphite toke place, and ordered nanoscale expanded graphite was formed gradually. In the annealing initial stage, the non-crystallization of the graphite occurred, but, beyond an annealing time, recrystallizations of the graphite arise. Higher annealing temperature supported the recrystallization. The milled and annealed expanded graphite still preserved the crystalline structure as raw material and hold high thermal stability.

Effect of annealing on structural and optical properties of Cu_2ZnSnS_4 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Surgina, G.D.; Nevolin, V.N.; Sipaylo, I.P.; Teterin, P.E.; Medvedeva, S.S.; Lebedinsky, Yu.Yu.; Zenkevich, A.V.

2015-01-01

In this work, we compare the effect of different types of thermal annealing on the morphological, structural and optical properties of Cu_2ZnSnS_4 (CZTS) thin films grown by reactive Pulsed Laser Deposition in H_2S flow. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and optical spectrophotometry data reveal dramatic increase of the band gap and the crystallite size without the formation of secondary phases upon annealing in N_2 at the optimized conditions. - Highlights: • Cu_2ZnSnS_4 (CZTS) thin films were grown at room temperature. • Reactive Pulsed Laser Deposition in H_2S flow was used as a growth method. • Effect of annealing conditions on CZTS structural and optical properties is revealed. • Both the grain size and the band gap of CZTS film increase following the annealing. • Annealing in N_2 effectively inhibits the formation of Sn_xS secondary phases.

Current-induced metal-insulator transition in VO x thin film prepared by rapid-thermal-annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Choong-Rae; Cho, SungIl; Vadim, Sidorkin; Jung, Ranju; Yoo, Inkyeong

2006-01-01

The phenomenon of metal-insulator transition (MIT) in polycrystalline VO x thin films and their preparations have been studied. The films were prepared by sputtering of vanadium thin films succeeded by Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) in oxygen ambient at 500 deg. C. Crystalline, compositional, and morphological characterizations reveal a continuous change of phase from vanadium metal to the highest oxide phase, V 2 O 5 , with the time of annealing. Electrical MIT switching has been observed in these films. Sweeping mode, electrode area, and temperature dependent MIT has been studied in Pt/VO x /Pt vertical structure. The important parameters for MIT in VO x have been found to be the current density and the electric field, which depend on carrier density in the films

X-Ray diffraction analysis of thermally evaporated copper tin selenide thin films at different annealing temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Amirul Syafiq Mohd Yunos; Zainal Abidin Talib; Wan Mahmood Mat Yunus; Josephine Liew Ying Chyi; Wilfred Sylvester Paulus

2010-01-01

Semiconductor thin films Copper Tin Selenide, Cu 2 SnSe 3 , a potential compound for semiconductor radiation detector or solar cell applications were prepared by thermal evaporation method onto well-cleaned glass substrates. The as-deposited films were annealed in flowing purified nitrogen, N 2 , for 2 hours in the temperature range from 100 to 500 degree Celsius. The structure of as-deposited and annealed films has been studied by X-ray diffraction technique. The semi-quantitative analysis indicated from the Reitveld refinement show that the samples composed of Cu 2 SnSe 3 and SnSe. These studies revealed that the films were structured in mixed phase between cubic space group F-43 m (no. 216) and orthorhombic space group P n m a (no. 62). The crystallite size and lattice strain were determined from Scherrer calculation method. The results show that increasing in annealing temperature resulted in direct increase in crystallite size and decrease in lattice strain. (author)

Study on thermal annealing of cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, G.; Bolotnikov, A.E.; Fochuk, P.M.; Camarda, G.S.; Cui, Y.; Hossain, A.; Kim, K.; Horace, J.; McCall, B.; Gul, R.; Xu, L.; Kopach, O.V.; James, R.B.

2010-01-01

Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) has attracted increasing interest with its promising potential as a room-temperature nuclear-radiation-detector material. However, different defects in CZT crystals, especially Te inclusions and dislocations, can degrade the performance of CZT detectors. Post-growth annealing is a good approach potentially to eliminate the deleterious influence of these defects. At Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), we built up different facilities for investigating post-growth annealing of CZT. Here, we report our latest experimental results. Cd-vapor annealing reduces the density of Te inclusions, while large temperature gradient promotes the migration of small-size Te inclusions. Simultaneously, the annealing lowers the density of dislocations. However, only-Cd-vapor annealing decreases the resistivity, possibly reflecting the introduction of extra Cd in the lattice. Subsequent Te-vapor annealing is needed to ensure the recovery of the resistivity after removing the Te inclusions.

Mechanical behavior of multipass welded joint during stress relief annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueda, Yukio; Fukuda, Keiji; Nakacho, Keiji; Takahashi, Eiji; Sakamoto, Koichi.

1978-01-01

An investigation into mechanical behavior of a multipass welded joint of a pressure vessel during stress relief annealing was conducted. The study was performed theoretically and experimentally on idealized research models. In the theoretical analysis, the thermal elastic-plastic creep theory developed by the authors was applied. The behavior of multipass welded joints during the entire thermal cycle, from welding to stress relief annealing, was consistently analyzed by this theory. The results of the analysis show a good, fundamentally coincidence with the experimental findings. The outline of the results and conclusions is as follows. (1) In the case of the material (2 1/4Cr-1Mo steel) furnished in this study, the creep strain rate during stress relief annealing below 575 0 C obeys the strain-hardening creep law using the transient creep and the one above 575 0 C obeys the power creep law using the stational creep. (2) In the transverse residual stress (σsub(x)) distribution after annealing, the location of the largest tensile stress on the top surface is about 15 mm away from the toe of weld, and the largest at the cross section is just below the finishing bead. These features are similar to those of welding residual stresses. But the stress distribution after annealing is smoother than one from welding. (3) The effectiveness of stress relief annealing depends greatly on the annealing temperature. For example, most of residual stresses are relieved at the heating stage with a heating rate of 30 0 C/hr. to 100 0 C/hr. if the annealing temperature is 650 0 C, but if the annealing temperature is 550 0 C, the annealing is not effective even with a longer holding time. (4) In the case of multipass welding residual stresses studied in this paper, the behaviors of high stresses during annealing are approximated by ones during anisothermal relaxation. (auth.)

Principal and secondary luminescence lifetime components in annealed natural quartz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chithambo, M.L.; Ogundare, F.O.; Feathers, J.

2008-01-01

Time-resolved luminescence spectra from quartz can be separated into components with distinct principal and secondary lifetimes depending on certain combinations of annealing and measurement temperature. The influence of annealing on properties of the lifetimes related to irradiation dose and temperature of measurement has been investigated in sedimentary quartz annealed at various temperatures up to 900 deg. C. Time-resolved luminescence for use in the analysis was pulse stimulated from samples at 470 nm between 20 and 200 deg. C. Luminescence lifetimes decrease with measurement temperature due to increasing thermal effect on the associated luminescence with an activation energy of thermal quenching equal to 0.68±0.01eV for the secondary lifetime but only qualitatively so for the principal lifetime component. Concerning the influence of annealing temperature, luminescence lifetimes measured at 20 deg. C are constant at about 33μs for annealing temperatures up to 600 0 C but decrease to about 29μs when the annealing temperature is increased to 900 deg. C. In addition, it was found that lifetime components in samples annealed at 800 deg. C are independent of radiation dose in the range 85-1340 Gy investigated. The dependence of lifetimes on both the annealing temperature and magnitude of radiation dose is described as being due to the increasing importance of a particular recombination centre in the luminescence emission process as a result of dynamic hole transfer between non-radiative and radiative luminescence centres

Post-annealing effects on shallow-junction characteristics caused by 20 keV BGe molecular ion implantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, J.H.; Sang, Y.J.; Wang, C.-H.; Wang, T.W.; Hsu, J.Y.; Niu, H.; Tseng, M.S.

2005-01-01

This study examines the post-annealing-dependent behaviors of the shallow junction produced by implanting 10 15 cm -2 20 keV BGe ions into n-type silicon specimens. Post-annealing treatments consisted of one- and two-step annealing including both furnace annealing (FA) and rapid thermal annealing (RTA). Comparison of the one-step FA at 550 deg. C and the one-step RTA at 1050 deg. C revealed that boron depth profiles were slightly diffused in the former but exhibited considerable transient-enhanced diffusion (TED) in the latter. However, both the one-step FA- and RTA-annealed germanium depth profiles barely diffused, while the latter diffusing slightly deeper than the former. The optimum value of junction depth (x j ) times sheet resistance (R s ) was obtained with one-step FA at 550 deg. C for 1 h. The two-step annealing (FA at 550 deg. C and RTA at 1050 deg. C) results showed that the RTA-induced TED in the boron depth profiles could be effectively retarded only when FA took place for more than 3 h. Again, germanium depth profiles are also barely diffused while the corresponding TEDs were larger than those in one-step FA but smaller than those in one-step RTA. Furthermore, the two-step annealing of FA at 550 deg. C for 3 h followed by RTA at 1050 deg. C for 30 s is suggested when attempting to obtain an optimum value of x j R s

Effects of thermal cycle annealing on reduction of defect density in lattice-mismatched InGaAs solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasaki, T.; Arafune, K.; Lee, H.S.; Ekins-Daukes, N.J.; Tanaka, S.; Ohshita, Y.; Yamaguchi, M.

2006-01-01

Lattice-mismatched In 0.16 Ga 0.84 As solar cells were grown on GaAs substrates using graded In x Ga 1- x As buffer layers and homogenous In 0.16 Ga 0.84 As buffer layers. The indium composition x in the graded buffer changed from 0% to 16% continuously. Thermal cycle annealing (TCA) was performed after the growth of the graded buffer layers. The effects of TCA on the solar cell open-circuit voltage and quantum efficiency have been investigated. The minority carrier lifetime is observed to increase in the p-type In 0.16 Ga 0.84 As layer after applying the TCA process. Electron-beam-induced current microscopy also shows a related reduction in dislocation density in the p-type In 0.16 Ga 0.84 As layer after TCA processing. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy performed on the graded buffer layer suggests that the strain present in the cell layers is reduced after the TCA process, implying that the TCA treatment promotes strain relaxation in the graded buffer layers

Selective molecular annealing: in situ small angle X-ray scattering study of microwave-assisted annealing of block copolymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Toolan, Daniel T W; Adlington, Kevin; Isakova, Anna; Kalamiotis, Alexis; Mokarian-Tabari, Parvaneh; Dimitrakis, Georgios; Dodds, Christopher; Arnold, Thomas; Terrill, Nick J; Bras, Wim; Hermida Merino, Daniel; Topham, Paul D; Irvine, Derek J; Howse, Jonathan R

2017-08-09

Microwave annealing has emerged as an alternative to traditional thermal annealing approaches for optimising block copolymer self-assembly. A novel sample environment enabling small angle X-ray scattering to be performed in situ during microwave annealing is demonstrated, which has enabled, for the first time, the direct study of the effects of microwave annealing upon the self-assembly behavior of a model, commercial triblock copolymer system [polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-co-butylene)-block-polystyrene]. Results show that the block copolymer is a poor microwave absorber, resulting in no change in the block copolymer morphology upon application of microwave energy. The block copolymer species may only indirectly interact with the microwave energy when a small molecule microwave-interactive species [diethylene glycol dibenzoate (DEGDB)] is incorporated directly into the polymer matrix. Then significant morphological development is observed at DEGDB loadings ≥6 wt%. Through spatial localisation of the microwave-interactive species, we demonstrate targeted annealing of specific regions of a multi-component system, opening routes for the development of "smart" manufacturing methodologies.

Effect of oxidation and annealing temperature on optical and ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Administrator

Tin oxide thin films were deposited on glass substrate with 100 nm thickness of Sn, which was coated by magnetron sputtering followed by thermal oxidation at different temperatures. ... Annealing of the samples at 500–650 °C caused the transmittance and optical ..... (αhν)1/2 and (αhν)1/3 to determine the Eg. (b) They used.

Effects of thermal annealing on the structural, mechanical, and tribological properties of hard fluorinated carbon films deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Maia da Costa, M. E. H.; Baumvol, I. J. R.; Radke, C.; Jacobsohn, L. G.; Zamora, R. R. M.; Freire, F. L.

2004-11-01

Hard amorphous fluorinated carbon films (a-C:F) deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition were annealed in vacuum for 30 min in the temperature range of 200-600 °C. The structural and compositional modifications were followed by several analytical techniques: Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy. Nanoidentation measurements and lateral force microscopy experiments were carried out in order to provide the film hardness and the friction coefficient, respectively. The internal stress and contact angle were also measured. RBS, ERDA, and XPS results indicate that both fluorine and hydrogen losses occur for annealing temperatures higher than 300 °C. Raman spectroscopy shows a progressive graphitization upon annealing, while the surface became slightly more hydrophobic as revealed by the increase of the contact angle. Following the surface wettability reduction, a decrease of the friction coefficient was observed. These results highlight the influence of the capillary condensation on the nanoscale friction. The film hardness and the internal stress are constant up to 300 °C and decrease for higher annealing temperatures, showing a direct correlation with the atomic density of the films. Since the thickness variation is negligible, the mass loss upon thermal treatment results in amorphous structures with a lower degree of cross-linking, explaining the deterioration of the mechanical properties of the a-C:F films.

Laser-annealed GaP OHMIC contacts for high-temperature devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eknoyan, O.; Van der Hoeven, W.; Richardson, T.; Porter, W.A.; Coquat, J.A.

1980-01-01

The results of successful Nd:YAG laser annealed ohmic contacts on n-type GaP are reported. Comparisons on identical laser and thermal annealed contacts on the same substrates are performed. Aging investigations are also studied. The results indicate that laser annealed contacts have far superior electrical characteristics, much better surface morphology and are substantially more stable with aging than the same but thermally alloyed ones

Research of acceptor impurity thermal activation in GaN: Mg epitaxial layers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandr V. Mazalov

2016-06-01

The effect of thermal annealing of GaN:Mg layers on acceptor impurity activation has been investigated. Hole concentration increased and mobility decreased with an increase in thermal annealing temperature. The sample annealed at 1000 °C demonstrated the lowest value of resistivity. Rapid thermal annealing (annealing with high heating speed considerably improved the efficiency of Mg activation in the GaN layers. The optimum time of annealing at 1000 °C has been determined. The hole concentration increased by up to 4 times compared to specimens after conventional annealing.

A comparative study of thermal annealing effects under various atmospheres on nano-structured CdS thin films prepared by CBD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kong, Lingjun; Li, Jianmin; Chen, Guilin; Zhu, Changfei, E-mail: cfzhu@ustc.edu.cn; Liu, Weifeng, E-mail: liuwf@ustc.edu.cn

2013-10-05

Highlights: •Smooth and uniform CdS thin films were deposited successfully by CBD method. •The influence of CdCl{sub 2}-assisted annealing under various atmospheres of CdS films has been investigated. •We gave a more detailed research on annealing temperature after identified the most optimal annealing method. •High quality CdS films were obtained with air–CdCl{sub 2}-assisted treatments at 400 °C for 0.5 h. •GIXRD was used as a new analysis method of CdS in this paper. -- Abstract: Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanofilms have been deposited on the glass substrate using the chemical bath technique. The effects of CdCl{sub 2}-assisted annealing under different atmosphere (vacuum, Ar and air) on the structural, morphological and optical properties of CdS nanofilms have been studied. After identifying the optimal annealing atmosphere, we also investigated the CdS thin film annealed at different annealing temperature (300, 400 and 500 °C). Films have been characterized by GI-XRD analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and UV–Vis–NIR spectrophotometer. The as-deposited CdS films have been found to be nanocrystalline in nature with a mixture of two crystallographic phases: a hexagonal phase and a cubic phase. After annealed in air with a CdCl{sub 2} coating layer at 400 °C, the films showed pure hexagonal phase, indicating the phase transition of CdS. It was found that the treatment in air with a CdCl{sub 2} coating layer increased the crystallinity and the mean grain size of CdS film, which are advantageous to the application in solar cells as a window layer material.

Shift in room-temperature photoluminescence of low-fluence Si+-implanted SiO2 films subjected to rapid thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu Mingyue; Tsai, J.-H.; Yang, C.-F.; Liao, C.-H.

2008-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate the effect of the rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in nitrogen flow on photoluminescence (PL) of SiO 2 films implanted by different doses of Si + ions. Room-temperature PL from 400-nm-thick SiO 2 films implanted to a dose of 3x10 16 cm -2 shifted from 2.1 to 1.7 eV upon increasing RTA temperature (950-1150 deg. C) and duration (5-20 s). The reported approach of implanting silicon into SiO 2 films followed by RTA may be effective for tuning Si-based photonic devices.

Thermal Annealing induced relaxation of compressive strain in porous GaN structures

KAUST Repository

Ben Slimane, Ahmed

2012-01-01

The effect of annealing on strain relaxation in porous GaN fabricated using electroless chemical etching is presented. The Raman shift of 1 cm-1 in phonon frequency of annealed porous GaN with respect to as-grown GaN corresponds to a relaxation of compressive strain by 0.41 ± 0.04 GPa. The strain relief promises a marked reduction in threading dislocation for subsequent epitaxial growth.

Thermal effects on the Raman phonon of few-layer phosphorene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ling, Zhi-Peng; Ang, Kah-Wee

2015-01-01

Two-dimensional phosphorene is a promising channel material for next generation transistor applications due to its superior carrier transport property. Here, we report the influence of thermal effects on the Raman phonon of few-layer phosphorene formed on hafnium-dioxide (HfO 2 ) high-k dielectric. When annealed at elevated temperatures (up to 200 °C), the phosphorene film was found to exhibit a blue shift in both the out-of-plane (A 1 g ) and in-plane (B 2g and A 2 g ) phonon modes as a result of compressive strain effect. This is attributed to the out-diffusion of hafnium (Hf) atoms from the underlying HfO 2 dielectric, which compresses the phosphorene in both the zigzag and armchair directions. With a further increase in thermal energy beyond 250 °C, strain relaxation within phosphorene eventually took place. When this happens, the phosphorene was unable to retain its intrinsic crystallinity prior to annealing, as evident from the broadening of full-width at half maximum of the Raman phonon. These results provide an important insight into the impact of thermal effects on the structural integrity of phosphorene when integrated with high-k gate dielectric

High pressure annealing of Europium implanted GaN

KAUST Repository

Lorenz, K.; Miranda, S. M. C.; Alves, E.; Roqan, Iman S.; O'Donnell, K. P.; Bokowski, M.

2012-01-01

GaN epilayers were implanted with Eu to fluences of 1×10^13 Eu/cm2 and 1×10^15 Eu/cm2. Post-implant thermal annealing was performed in ultra-high nitrogen pressures at temperatures up to 1450 ºC. For the lower fluence effective structural recovery of the crystal was observed for annealing at 1000 ºC while optical activation could be further improved at higher annealing temperatures. The higher fluence samples also reveal good optical activation; however, some residual implantation damage remains even for annealing at 1450 ºC which leads to a reduced incorporation of Eu on substitutional sites, a broadening of the Eu luminescence lines and to a strongly reduced fraction of optically active Eu ions. Possibilities for further optimization of implantation and annealing conditions are discussed.© (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

High pressure annealing of Europium implanted GaN

KAUST Repository

Lorenz, K.

2012-02-09

GaN epilayers were implanted with Eu to fluences of 1×10^13 Eu/cm2 and 1×10^15 Eu/cm2. Post-implant thermal annealing was performed in ultra-high nitrogen pressures at temperatures up to 1450 ºC. For the lower fluence effective structural recovery of the crystal was observed for annealing at 1000 ºC while optical activation could be further improved at higher annealing temperatures. The higher fluence samples also reveal good optical activation; however, some residual implantation damage remains even for annealing at 1450 ºC which leads to a reduced incorporation of Eu on substitutional sites, a broadening of the Eu luminescence lines and to a strongly reduced fraction of optically active Eu ions. Possibilities for further optimization of implantation and annealing conditions are discussed.© (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Annealing effects on room temperature thermoelectric performance of p-type thermally evaporated Bi-Sb-Te thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Sukhdeep; Singh, Janpreet; Tripathi, S. K.

2018-05-01

Bismuth antimony telluride (Bi-Sb-Te) compounds have been investigated for the past many decades for thermoelectric (TE) power generation and cooling purpose. We synthesized this compound with a stoichiometry Bi1.2Sb0.8Te3 through melt cool technique and thin films of as synthesized material were deposited by thermal evaporation. The prime focus of the present work is to study the influence of annealing temperature on the room temperature (RT) power factor of thin films. Electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient were studied and power factors were calculated which showed a peak value at 323 K. The compounds performance is comparable to some very efficient Bi-Sb-Te reported stoichiometries at RT scale. The values observed show that material has an enormous potential for energy production at ambient temperature scales.

Optical investigations of the effect of solvent and thermal annealing on the optoelectronic properties of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laskarakis, A., E-mail: alask@physics.auth.gr; Karagiannidis, P.G.; Georgiou, D.; Nikolaidou, D.M.; Logothetidis, S.

2013-08-31

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is one of the most promising conducting polymers that can be used as transparent electrode or as buffer layer for organic electronic devices. However, when used as an electrode, its conductivity has to be optimized either by the addition of solvents or by post-deposition processing. In this work, we investigate the effect of the addition of the polar solvent dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) to an aqueous PEDOT:PSS solution on its optical and electrical properties by the implementation of the Drude model for the analysis of the measured pseudo-dielectric function by Spectroscopic Ellipsometry from the near infrared to the visible–far ultraviolet spectral range. The results show that the addition of DMSO increases significantly the film conductivity, which reaches a maximum value at an optimum DMSO concentration as it has confirmed by experimentally measured conductivity values. The post-deposition thermal annealing has been found to have a smaller effect on the film conductivity. - Highlights: • Optical study of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) • The Drude model provides information for PEDOT:PSS conductivity. • The addition of dimethylsulfoxide increases the electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS. • The increase in conductivity is correlated to increase of PEDOT grain size. • The thermal treatment has a smaller effect on PEDOT:PSS properties.

Optical investigations of the effect of solvent and thermal annealing on the optoelectronic properties of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laskarakis, A.; Karagiannidis, P.G.; Georgiou, D.; Nikolaidou, D.M.; Logothetidis, S.

2013-01-01

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is one of the most promising conducting polymers that can be used as transparent electrode or as buffer layer for organic electronic devices. However, when used as an electrode, its conductivity has to be optimized either by the addition of solvents or by post-deposition processing. In this work, we investigate the effect of the addition of the polar solvent dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) to an aqueous PEDOT:PSS solution on its optical and electrical properties by the implementation of the Drude model for the analysis of the measured pseudo-dielectric function by Spectroscopic Ellipsometry from the near infrared to the visible–far ultraviolet spectral range. The results show that the addition of DMSO increases significantly the film conductivity, which reaches a maximum value at an optimum DMSO concentration as it has confirmed by experimentally measured conductivity values. The post-deposition thermal annealing has been found to have a smaller effect on the film conductivity. - Highlights: • Optical study of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) • The Drude model provides information for PEDOT:PSS conductivity. • The addition of dimethylsulfoxide increases the electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS. • The increase in conductivity is correlated to increase of PEDOT grain size. • The thermal treatment has a smaller effect on PEDOT:PSS properties

Defect production in simulated cascades: cascade quenching and short-term annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinisch, H.L.

1982-01-01

Defect production in high energy displacement cascades has been modeled using the computer code MARLOWE to generate the cascades and the stochastic computer code ALSOME to simulate the cascade quenching and short-term annealing of isolated cascades. The quenching is accomplished by using ALSOME with exaggerated values for defect mobilities and critical reaction distanes for recombination and clustering, which are in effect until the number of defect pairs is equal to the value determined from resistivity experiments at 4K. Then normal mobilities and reaction distances are used during short-term annealing to a point representative of Stage III recovery. Effects of cascade interactions at low fluences are also being investigated. The quenching parameter values were empirically determined for 30 keV cascades. The results agree well with experimental information throughout the range from 1 keV to 100 keV. Even after quenching and short-term annealing the high energy cascades behave as a collection of lower energy subcascades and lobes. Cascades generated in a crystal having thermal displacements were found to be in better agreement with experiments after quenching and annealing than those generated in a non-thermal crystal

Electrical characteristics and preparation of (Ba0.5Sr0.5)TiO3 films by spray pyrolysis and rapid thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koo, Horngshow; Ku, Hongkou; Kawai, Tomoji; Chen Mi

2007-01-01

Functional films of (Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 )TiO 3 on Pt (1000 A)/Ti (100 A)/SiO 2 (2000 A)/Si substrates are prepared by spray pyrolysis and subsequently rapid thermal annealing. Barium nitrate, strontium nitrate and titanium isopropoxide are used as starting materials with ethylene glycol as solvent. For (Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 )TiO 3 functional thin film, thermal characteristics of the precursor powder scratched from as-sprayed films show a remarkable peak around 300-400degC and 57.7% weight loss up to 1000degC. The as-sprayed precursor film with coffee-like color and amorphous-like phase is transformed into the resultant film with white, crystalline perovskite phase and characteristic peaks (110) and (100). The resultant films show correspondent increases of dielectric constant, leakage current and dissipation factor with increasing annealing temperatures. The dielectric constant is 264 and tangent loss is 0.21 in the resultant films annealed at 750degC for 5 min while leakage current density is 1.5x10 -6 A/cm 2 in the film annealed at 550degC for 5 min. (author)

Effects of annealing temperature on mechanical durability of indium-tin oxide film on polyethylene terephthalate substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machinaga, Hironobu; Ueda, Eri; Mizuike, Atsuko; Takeda, Yuuki; Shimokita, Keisuke; Miyazaki, Tsukasa

2014-01-01

Effects of the annealing temperature on mechanical durability of indium-tin oxide (ITO) thin films deposited on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates were investigated. The ITO films were annealed at the range from 150 °C to 195 °C after the DC sputtering deposition for the production of polycrystalline ITO layers on the substrates. The onset strains of cracking in the annealed ITO films were evaluated by the uniaxial stretching tests with electrical resistance measurements during film stretching. The results indicate that the onset strain of cracking in the ITO film is clearly increased by increasing the annealing temperature. The in-situ measurements of the inter-planer spacing of the (222) plane in the crystalline ITO films during film stretching by using synchrotron radiation strongly suggest that the large compressive stress in the ITO film increases the onset strain of cracking in the film. X-ray stress analyses of the annealed ITO films and thermal mechanical analyses of the PET substrates also clarifies that the residual compressive stress in the ITO film is enhanced with increasing the annealing temperature due to the considerably larger shrinkage of the PET substrate. - Highlights: • Indium-tin oxide (ITO) films were deposited on polyethylene terephthalate (PET). • Mechanical durability of the ITO is improved by high temperature post-annealing. • The shrinkage in the PET increases with rising the post-annealing temperature. • The shrinkage of the PET enhances the compressive stress in the ITO film. • Large compressive stress in the ITO film may improve its mechanical durability

Investigation of modified thin SnO2 layers treated by rapid thermal annealing by means of hollow cathode spectroscopy and AFM technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Djulgerova, R; Popova, L; Beshkov, G; Petrovic, Z Lju; Rakocevic, Z; Mihailov, V; Gencheva, V; Dohnalik, T

2006-01-01

By means of hollow cathode spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy the surface morphology and composition of SnO 2 thin film, modified with hexamethyldisilazane after rapid thermal annealing treatment (800-1200 deg. C), are investigated. Formation of crystalline structure is suggested at lower temperatures. Depolimerization, destruction and dehydration are developed at temperatures of 1200 deg. C. It is shown that the rapid thermal annealing treatment could modify both the surface morphology and the composition of the layer, thus changing the adsorption ability of the sensing layer. The results confirm the ability of hollow cathode emission spectroscopy for depth profiling of new materials especially combined with standard techniques

Effects of implantation temperature and thermal annealing on the Ga{sup +} ion beam induced optical contrast formation in a-SiC:H

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsvetkova, T., E-mail: tania_tsvetkova@yahoo.co.uk [Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tzarigradsko Chaussee, 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria); University of Exeter, College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, Harrison Building, North Park Rd, Exeter EX4 4QF (United Kingdom); Wright, C.D. [University of Exeter, College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, Harrison Building, North Park Rd, Exeter EX4 4QF (United Kingdom); Kitova, S. [Institute of Optical Materials and Technologies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 109 Acad. G. Bontchev St., 1113 Sofia (Bulgaria); Bischoff, L. [Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, P.O. Box 51 01 19, 01314 Dresden (Germany); Zuk, J. [Institute of Physics, Maria Curie-Sklodovska University, Pl. M.Curie-Sklodovskiej 1, 20-031 Lublin (Poland)

2013-07-15

The effects of implantation temperature and post-implantation thermal annealing on the Ga{sup +} ion beam induced optical contrast formation in hydrogenated silicon–carbon alloy films have been studied. As a result of the implantation a well-expressed “darkening” effect (i.e. absorption edge shift to the longer-wavelength/lower-photon-energy region) has been registered. It is accompanied by a remarkable increase of the absorption coefficient up to 2 orders of magnitude in the measured photon energy range (1.5–3.1 eV). The optical contrast thus obtained (between implanted and unimplanted regions of the film material) has been made use of in the form of optical pattern formation by computer-operated Ga{sup +}-focused ion beam. Possible applications of this effect in the area of submicron lithography and high-density optical data storage have been suggested with regard to the most widely spread focused micro-beam systems based on Ga{sup +} liquid metal ion sources. The fact that Ga has a very low melting point (T{sub m} = 29.8 °C) and an unusual feature of volume contraction on melting are factors which favour Ga incorporation upon ion-implantation as dispersed clusters, or small nanoparticles. It has been previously noted that Ga precipitation into nanoparticles can vary dramatically (in terms of particle size) with Ga concentration and small changes in surface implant temperature, thus affecting the optical properties of the target. The precise role of implantation temperature effects, i.e. the target temperature during Ga{sup +} ion irradiation, on the optical contrast obtainable, has been therefore a key part of this study. Appropriate post-implantation annealing treatments were also studied, since these are expected to offer further benefits in reducing the required ion dose and enhancing contrast, thus increasing the cost-effectiveness of the bit-writing method.

Annealing effects on structural and electrical properties of Ru/Au on n-GaN Schottky contacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reddy, V. Rajagopal; Rao, P. Koteswara; Ramesh, C.K.

2007-01-01

Thermal annealing effects on electrical and structural properties of Ru/Au Schottky contact to n-type GaN (n d = 4.07 x 10 17 cm -3 ) have been investigated using current-voltage (I-V), capacitance-voltage (C-V), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The Schottky barrier height of the as-deposited sample was found to be 0.75 eV (I-V) and 0.93 eV (C-V), respectively. It is noted that the barrier height increased when the contact was annealed at 300 deg. C and slightly decreased upon annealing at temperatures of 400 deg. C and 500 deg. C. The extracted Schottky barrier heights are 0.99 eV (I-V), 1.34 eV (C-V) for 300 deg. C, 0.88 eV (I-V), 1.20 eV (C-V) for 400 deg. C and 0.72 eV (I-V), 1.08 eV (C-V) for 500 deg. C annealed contacts, respectively. Further it is observed that annealing results in the improvement of electrical properties of Ru/Au Schottky contacts. Based on Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction studies, the formation of gallide phases at the Ru/Au/n-GaN interface could be the reason for the improvement of electrical characteristics upon annealing at elevated temperatures

Physical properties of electrically conductive Sb-doped SnO2 transparent electrodes by thermal annealing dependent structural changes for photovoltaic applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leem, J.W.; Yu, J.S.

2011-01-01

Highlights: · The physical properties of sputtered Sb-doped SnO 2 after annealing were studied. · The figure of merit was estimated from the integral PFD and sheet resistance. · The characteristics of Sb-doped SnO 2 films were optimized by the figure of merit. · An optimized Sb-doped SnO 2 layer is promising for high efficiency photovoltaic cells. - Abstract: We have investigated the optical and electrical characteristics of antimony (Sb)-doped tin oxide (SnO 2 ) films with modified structures by thermal annealing as a transparent conductive electrode. The structural properties were analyzed from the relative void % by spectroscopic ellipsometry as well as the scanning electron microscopy images and X-ray diffraction patterns. As the annealing temperature was raised, Sb-doped SnO 2 films exhibited a slightly enhanced crystallinity with the increase of the grain size from 17.1 nm at 500 deg. C to 34.3 nm at 700 deg. C. Furthermore, the refractive index and extinction coefficient gradually decreased due to the increase in the relative void % within the film during the annealing. The resistivity decreased to 8.2 x 10 -3 Ω cm at 500 deg. C, but it increased rapidly at 700 deg. C. After thermal annealing, the optical transmittance was significantly increased. For photovoltaic applications, the photonic flux density and the figure of merit over the entire solar spectrum were obtained, indicating the highest values of 5.4 x 10 14 cm -2 s -1 nm -1 at 1.85 eV after annealing at 700 deg. C and 340.1 μA cm -2 Ω -1 at 500 deg. C, respectively.

Effects of casting and post casting annealing on xylene isomer transport properties of Torlon® 4000T films

KAUST Repository

Chafin, Raymond; Lee, Jong Suk; Koros, William J.

2010-01-01

Procedures for Torlon® 4000T membrane formation were developed to provide attractive and repeatable xylene separation properties. Torlon® 4000T membrane films cast by our method were investigated in terms of thermally induced imidization, molecular weight enhancement, and solvent removal. After development of the Torlon® 4000T casting procedure, pervaporation of a xylene mixture (i.e. 30% para-xylene, 30% meta-xylene, 30% ortho-xylene, and 10% ethylbenzene) was performed in both Torlon® 4000T and post casting annealed Torlon® 4000T films. The xylene pervaporation in annealed Torlon® 4000T film at 200°C gave a permeability of 0.25 Barrer and a selectivity of 3.1 (para/ortho) and 2.1 (para/meta) respectively. A so-called " permeability collapse" reflecting an accelerated reduction in the free volume is consistent with significant temperature-induced changes in the films observed after thermal annealing at 300°C. This conditioning effect is induced by a combination of heat treatment and the presence of the interacting aromatic penetrants. Optical methods were used to verify that the density of annealed samples exposed to xylene for 5 days eventually increased, suggesting that the membrane is originally swollen upon initial xylene exposure, and then relaxes to a more densified, and more discriminating state. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Effects of casting and post casting annealing on xylene isomer transport properties of Torlon® 4000T films

KAUST Repository

Chafin, Raymond

2010-07-01

Procedures for Torlon® 4000T membrane formation were developed to provide attractive and repeatable xylene separation properties. Torlon® 4000T membrane films cast by our method were investigated in terms of thermally induced imidization, molecular weight enhancement, and solvent removal. After development of the Torlon® 4000T casting procedure, pervaporation of a xylene mixture (i.e. 30% para-xylene, 30% meta-xylene, 30% ortho-xylene, and 10% ethylbenzene) was performed in both Torlon® 4000T and post casting annealed Torlon® 4000T films. The xylene pervaporation in annealed Torlon® 4000T film at 200°C gave a permeability of 0.25 Barrer and a selectivity of 3.1 (para/ortho) and 2.1 (para/meta) respectively. A so-called " permeability collapse" reflecting an accelerated reduction in the free volume is consistent with significant temperature-induced changes in the films observed after thermal annealing at 300°C. This conditioning effect is induced by a combination of heat treatment and the presence of the interacting aromatic penetrants. Optical methods were used to verify that the density of annealed samples exposed to xylene for 5 days eventually increased, suggesting that the membrane is originally swollen upon initial xylene exposure, and then relaxes to a more densified, and more discriminating state. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Development of Bake Hardening Effect by Plastic Deformation and Annealing Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kvačkaj, T.

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the classification of steel sheets for automotives industry on the basis of strength and structural characteristics. Experimental works were aimed to obtain the best possible strengthening parameters as well as work hardening and solid solution ferrite hardening, which are the result of thermal activation of interstitial carbon atoms during paint-baking of auto body. Hardening process coming from interstitial atoms is realized as two-step process. The first step is BH (bake hardening effect achieved by interaction of interstitial atoms with dislocations. The Cottrels atmosphere is obtained. The second step of BH effect is to produced the hardening from precipitation of the carbon atoms in e-carbides, or formation of Fe32C4 carbides. WH (work hardening effect is obtained as dislocation hardening from plastic deformations during sheet deep drawing. Experimental works were aimed at as to achieve such plastic material properties after cold rolling, annealing and skin-pass rolling, which would be able to classify the material ZStE220BH into the drawing categories at the level of DQ – DDQ. As resulting from the experimental results, the optimal treatment conditions for the maximal sum (WH+BH = 86 MPa are as follows: total cold rolling deformation ecold = 65 %, annealing temperature Tanneal. = 700 °C.

Effect of annealing on structural and optical properties of Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Surgina, G.D., E-mail: silvereye@bk.ru [National Research Nuclear University “Moscow Engineering Physics Institute”, Moscow 115409 (Russian Federation); Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Moscow region 141700 (Russian Federation); Nevolin, V.N. [National Research Nuclear University “Moscow Engineering Physics Institute”, Moscow 115409 (Russian Federation); P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation); Sipaylo, I.P.; Teterin, P.E. [National Research Nuclear University “Moscow Engineering Physics Institute”, Moscow 115409 (Russian Federation); Medvedeva, S.S. [Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Kaliningrad 236041 (Russian Federation); Lebedinsky, Yu.Yu.; Zenkevich, A.V. [National Research Nuclear University “Moscow Engineering Physics Institute”, Moscow 115409 (Russian Federation); Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Moscow region 141700 (Russian Federation)

2015-11-02

In this work, we compare the effect of different types of thermal annealing on the morphological, structural and optical properties of Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} (CZTS) thin films grown by reactive Pulsed Laser Deposition in H{sub 2}S flow. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and optical spectrophotometry data reveal dramatic increase of the band gap and the crystallite size without the formation of secondary phases upon annealing in N{sub 2} at the optimized conditions. - Highlights: • Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} (CZTS) thin films were grown at room temperature. • Reactive Pulsed Laser Deposition in H{sub 2}S flow was used as a growth method. • Effect of annealing conditions on CZTS structural and optical properties is revealed. • Both the grain size and the band gap of CZTS film increase following the annealing. • Annealing in N{sub 2} effectively inhibits the formation of Sn{sub x}S secondary phases.

Defect studies in annealed ZnO by positron annihilation spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanyal, D; Roy, Tapatee Kundu; Chakrabarti, Mahuya; Dechoudhury, Siddhartha; Bhowmick, Debasis; Chakrabarti, Alok [Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, 1/AF, Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700064 (India)

2008-01-30

Coincidence Doppler broadening of the positron annihilation technique has been employed to identify the defects in thermally annealed 'as-received' ZnO and thermally annealed ball-milled nanocrystalline ZnO. Results indicate that a significant amount of oxygen vacancy has been created in ZnO due to annealing at about 500 deg. C and above. The results also indicate that the Zn vacancy created during the ball milling process can be easily removed by annealing the sample at about 500 deg. C and above. The defect characterization has also been correlated with the magnetic properties of ZnO.

Defect studies in annealed ZnO by positron annihilation spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanyal, D; Roy, Tapatee Kundu; Chakrabarti, Mahuya; Dechoudhury, Siddhartha; Bhowmick, Debasis; Chakrabarti, Alok

2008-01-01

Coincidence Doppler broadening of the positron annihilation technique has been employed to identify the defects in thermally annealed 'as-received' ZnO and thermally annealed ball-milled nanocrystalline ZnO. Results indicate that a significant amount of oxygen vacancy has been created in ZnO due to annealing at about 500 deg. C and above. The results also indicate that the Zn vacancy created during the ball milling process can be easily removed by annealing the sample at about 500 deg. C and above. The defect characterization has also been correlated with the magnetic properties of ZnO

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

Science.gov (United States)

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 (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.

Annealing Effects on the Magnetization of Co-Ni-B Amorphous Nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vargas, J.M.

2001-01-01

Chemically prepared (Co x Ni 1-x ) 1 00 -y B y (x=0.5, 0.75, 1; y∼30) amorphous fine particles were characterized by x-ray diffraction, DTA and TGA, and in-situ magnetic measurement as a function of annealing temperature in an inert atmosphere.Magnetic measurement performed in as prepared and ∼150C degree annealed samples show an increase of the saturation magnetization and magnetic moment after thermal tretment.Room temperature magnetization increases by factors of ∼3 in average.These measurements may indicate a local re-ordering of the amorphous phase at temperatures much lower than the full crystallization temperature

Annealing of ion implanted silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chivers, D.; Smith, B.J.; Stephen, J.; Fisher, M.

1980-09-01

The newer uses of ion implantation require a higher dose rate. This has led to the introduction of high beam current implanters; the wafers move in front of a stationary beam to give a scanning effect. This can lead to non-uniform heating of the wafer. Variations in the sheet resistance of the layers can be very non-uniform following thermal annealing. Non-uniformity in the effective doping both over a single wafer and from one wafer to another, can affect the usefulness of ion implantation in high dose rate applications. Experiments to determine the extent of non-uniformity in sheet resistance, and to see if it is correlated to the annealing scheme have been carried out. Details of the implantation parameters are given. It was found that best results were obtained when layers were annealed at the maximum possible temperature. For arsenic, phosphorus and antimony layers, improvements were observed up to 1200 0 C and boron up to 950 0 C. Usually, it is best to heat the layer directly to the maximum temperature to produce the most uniform layer; with phosphorus layers however it is better to pre-heat to 1050 0 C. (U.K.)

Unraveling Quantum Annealers using Classical Hardness

Science.gov (United States)

Martin-Mayor, Victor; Hen, Itay

2015-01-01

Recent advances in quantum technology have led to the development and manufacturing of experimental programmable quantum annealing optimizers that contain hundreds of quantum bits. These optimizers, commonly referred to as ‘D-Wave’ chips, promise to solve practical optimization problems potentially faster than conventional ‘classical’ computers. Attempts to quantify the quantum nature of these chips have been met with both excitement and skepticism but have also brought up numerous fundamental questions pertaining to the distinguishability of experimental quantum annealers from their classical thermal counterparts. Inspired by recent results in spin-glass theory that recognize ‘temperature chaos’ as the underlying mechanism responsible for the computational intractability of hard optimization problems, we devise a general method to quantify the performance of quantum annealers on optimization problems suffering from varying degrees of temperature chaos: A superior performance of quantum annealers over classical algorithms on these may allude to the role that quantum effects play in providing speedup. We utilize our method to experimentally study the D-Wave Two chip on different temperature-chaotic problems and find, surprisingly, that its performance scales unfavorably as compared to several analogous classical algorithms. We detect, quantify and discuss several purely classical effects that possibly mask the quantum behavior of the chip. PMID:26483257

Intense pulsed light annealing of copper zinc tin sulfide nanocrystal coatings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Williams, Bryce A.; Smeaton, Michelle A.; Holgate, Collin S.; Trejo, Nancy D.; Francis, Lorraine F., E-mail: francis@umn.edu; Aydil, Eray S., E-mail: aydil@umn.edu [Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 151 Amundson Hall, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 (United States)

2016-09-15

A promising method for forming the absorber layer in copper zinc tin sulfide [Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} (CZTS)] thin film solar cells is thermal annealing of coatings cast from dispersions of CZTS nanocrystals. Intense pulsed light (IPL) annealing utilizing xenon flash lamps is a potential high-throughput, low-cost, roll-to-roll manufacturing compatible alternative to thermal annealing in conventional furnaces. The authors studied the effects of flash energy density (3.9–11.6 J/cm{sup 2}) and number of flashes (1–400) during IPL annealing on the microstructure of CZTS nanocrystal coatings cast on molybdenum-coated soda lime glass substrates (Mo-coated SLG). The annealed coatings exhibited cracks with two distinct linear crack densities, 0.01 and 0.2 μm{sup −1}, depending on the flash intensity and total number of flashes. Low density cracking (0.01 μm{sup −1}, ∼1 crack per 100 μm) is caused by decomposition of CZTS at the Mo-coating interface. Vapor decomposition products at the interface cause blisters as they escape the coating. Residual decomposition products within the blisters were imaged using confocal Raman spectroscopy. In support of this hypothesis, replacing the Mo-coated SLG substrate with quartz eliminated blistering and low-density cracking. High density cracking is caused by rapid thermal expansion and contraction of the coating constricted on the substrate as it is heated and cooled during IPL annealing. Finite element modeling showed that CZTS coatings on low thermal diffusivity materials (i.e., SLG) underwent significant differential heating with respect to the substrate with rapid rises and falls of the coating temperature as the flash is turned on and off, possibly causing a build-up of tensile stress within the coating prompting cracking. Use of a high thermal diffusivity substrate, such as a molybdenum foil (Mo foil), reduces this differential heating and eliminates the high-density cracking. IPL annealing in presence of sulfur

Annealing effect on restoration of irradiation steel properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vishkarev, O.M.; Kolesova, T.N.; Myasnikova, K.P.; Pecherin, A.M.; Shamardin, V.K.

1986-01-01

The effect of temperature and annealing time on the restoration of properties of the 15Kh2NMFAA and 15Kh2MFA steels after irradiation at 285 deg with the fluence of 6x10 23 neutr/m 2 (E>0.5 MeV) is studied. Microhardness (H μ ) restoration in the irradiated 15Kh2NMFAA steel is shown to start from 350 deg C annealing temperature. The complete microhardness restoration is observed at the annealing temperature of 500 deg C for 10 hours

Effect of vacuum annealing and substrate temperature on structural and optical properties of ZnIn2Se4 thin films

Science.gov (United States)

El-Nahass, M. M.; Attia, A. A.; Salem, G. F.; Ali, H. A. M.; Ismail, M. I.

2013-09-01

Zinc indium selenide (ZnIn2Se4) thin films were prepared by the thermal evaporation technique with high deposition rate. The effect of thermal annealing in vacuum on the crystallinity of the as-deposited films was studied at different temperatures (523, 573 and 623 K). The effect of substrate temperature (623 K) for different thickness values (173, 250, 335 and 346 nm) on the optical parameters of ZnIn2Se4 was also studied. The structural studies showed nanocrystalline nature of the room temperature (300 K) deposited films with crystallite size of about a few nanometers. The crystallite size increased up to 31 nm with increasing the annealing temperature in vacuum. From the reflection and transmission data, the refractive index n and the extinction coefficient k were estimated for ZnIn2Se4 thin films and they were found to be independent of film thickness. Analysis of the absorption coefficient data of the as-deposited films revealed the existence of allowed direct and indirect transitions with optical energy gaps of 2.21 eV and 1.71 eV, respectively. These values decreased with increasing annealing temperature. At substrate temperature of 623 K, the direct band gap increased to 2.41 eV whereas the value of indirect band gap remained nearly unchanged. The dispersion analysis showed that the values of the oscillator energy Eo, dispersion energy Ed, dielectric constant at infinite frequency ε∞, and lattice dielectric constant εL were changed appreciably under the effect of annealing and substrate temperature. The covalent nature of structure was studied as a function of the annealing and substrate temperature using an empirical relation for the dispersion energy Ed. Generalized Miller's rule and linear refractive index were used to estimate the nonlinear susceptibility and nonlinear refractive index of the thin films.

Semiclassical approach to finite-temperature quantum annealing with trapped ions

Science.gov (United States)

Raventós, David; Graß, Tobias; Juliá-Díaz, Bruno; Lewenstein, Maciej

2018-05-01

Recently it has been demonstrated that an ensemble of trapped ions may serve as a quantum annealer for the number-partitioning problem [Nat. Commun. 7, 11524 (2016), 10.1038/ncomms11524]. This hard computational problem may be addressed by employing a tunable spin-glass architecture. Following the proposal of the trapped-ion annealer, we study here its robustness against thermal effects; that is, we investigate the role played by thermal phonons. For the efficient description of the system, we use a semiclassical approach, and benchmark it against the exact quantum evolution. The aim is to understand better and characterize how the quantum device approaches a solution of an otherwise difficult to solve NP-hard problem.

Thermal annealing in neutron-irradiated tribromobenzenes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siekierska, K.E.; Halpern, A.; Maddock, A. G.

1968-01-01

in the crystals was estimated by means of the 1,2-dibromoethylene exchange technique. The results suggest that, as a consequence of nuclear events, quite a number of different reactions occur whereas the principal annealing reaction is a recombination of atomic bromine with a dibromophenyl radical....

Effects of thermal annealing on the electrical characteristics of In-Ga-Zn-O thin-film transistors with Al2O3 gate dielectric

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Wen-Peng; Chen, Sun; Qian, Shi-Bing; Ding, Shi-Jin

2015-01-01

We studied how the performance of In–Ga–Zn–O (IGZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) with Al 2 O 3 gate insulator was affected by post-fabrication annealing temperature and annealing time. At a fixed annealing time of 2 min, the IGZO TFT exhibited the best transfer and output characteristics in the case of 300 °C in N 2 atmosphere, which is attributed to the achievement of appropriate carrier concentration and Hall mobility in the IGZO film. Further, it was found that both of the carrier concentration and Hall mobility in the IGZO film increased with the increment of annealing temperature. For the annealing temperature of 300 °C, the performance of the IGZO TFT was further improved by extending annealing time to 5 min, i.e., the field effect mobility, sub-threshold swing and on/off current ratio were 11.6 cm 2 /(V · s), 0.42 V dec −1 and 10 6 , respectively. The underlying mechanism was discussed. (paper)

The effect of thermal treatment on radiation-induced EPR signals in tooth enamel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vorona, I.P.; Ishchenko, S.S.; Baran, N.P.

2005-01-01

The effect of thermal treatment on the radiation-induced EPR spectrum of tooth enamel was studied. Annealing before sample irradiation was found to increase enamel radiation sensitivity by more than 40%. Depending on the annealing conditions the EPR signals of three supplementary radiation radicals were observed in addition to the main signal caused by CO 2 - radicals. It was found that the presence of these signals in the enamel EPR spectra provides evidence of sample annealing. The possibility of obtaining information about sample history by studying the additional EPR signals is discussed. It can be important to EPR dating and EPR dosimetry

Thermal effects on the Raman phonon of few-layer phosphorene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ling, Zhi-Peng; Ang, Kah-Wee, E-mail: eleakw@nus.edu.sg [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117583 (Singapore); Centre for Advanced 2D Materials and Graphene Research Centre, National University of Singapore, 6 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117546 (Singapore)

2015-12-01

Two-dimensional phosphorene is a promising channel material for next generation transistor applications due to its superior carrier transport property. Here, we report the influence of thermal effects on the Raman phonon of few-layer phosphorene formed on hafnium-dioxide (HfO{sub 2}) high-k dielectric. When annealed at elevated temperatures (up to 200 °C), the phosphorene film was found to exhibit a blue shift in both the out-of-plane (A{sup 1}{sub g}) and in-plane (B{sub 2g} and A{sup 2}{sub g}) phonon modes as a result of compressive strain effect. This is attributed to the out-diffusion of hafnium (Hf) atoms from the underlying HfO{sub 2} dielectric, which compresses the phosphorene in both the zigzag and armchair directions. With a further increase in thermal energy beyond 250 °C, strain relaxation within phosphorene eventually took place. When this happens, the phosphorene was unable to retain its intrinsic crystallinity prior to annealing, as evident from the broadening of full-width at half maximum of the Raman phonon. These results provide an important insight into the impact of thermal effects on the structural integrity of phosphorene when integrated with high-k gate dielectric.

Double-step annealing and ambient effects on phosphorus implanted emitters in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koji, T.; Tseng, W.F.; Mayer, J.W.; Suganuma, T.

1979-01-01

Emitters of npn silicon bipolar transistors have been made by a phosphorus implantation at 50 keV P + to a dose of 1 x 10 16 cm -2 . This was followed by high temperature processes to reduce lattice disorder, to drive-in the phosphorus atoms, and to form oxide layers. The first process step was carried out by using single- and double-step anneals in various ambients (dry N 2 , dry 0 2 and steam) while the drive-in and oxidation steps were common for all structures. Electrical measurements on emitter/base leakage current, low frequency (popcorn) noise and current gain showed that the annealing ambient had a major influence. The transistors with implanted emitters annealed in a dry N 2 ambient are comparable to commercial ones with thermally-diffused emitters. Transmission electron microscopy observations on samples annealed in steam ambients revealed dislocations extending into the sidewall of the emitter/base junction. This sidewell penetration of dislocations is the main origin of the degradation of the emitter/base junction characteristics. (author)

Implantation annealing in GaAs by incoherent light

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, D.E.; Ryan, T.G.; Soda, K.J.; Comer, J.J.

1983-01-01

Implanted GaAs has been successfully activated through concentrating the output of quartz halogen lamps to anneal in times of the order of 1 sec. The resulting layers are not restricted by the reduced mobilities and thermal instabilities of laser annealed GaAs. Better activation can be obtained than with furnace annealing but this generally requires maximum temperatures >= 1050degC. (author)

Si diffusion in compositional disordering of Si-implanted GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices induced by rapid thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uematsu, Masashi; Yanagawa, Fumihiko

1988-01-01

The Si diffusion in Si-implanted GaAs/Al 0.5 Ga 0.5 As superlattices intermixed in the disrodering process induced by rapid thermal annealing (RTA), is investigated by means of secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The SIMS profiles indicate that no fast Si diffusion occurs during the disordering, and the disordering occurs when the Si concentration exceeds 1 x 10 19 cm -3 , which is about three times larger than the threshold value for the disordering by furnace annealing (FA). The number of Si atoms which are allowed to pass through the heterointerface is considered to be essential for disordering. (author)

Annealing temperature effect on self-assembled Au droplets on Si (111).

Science.gov (United States)

Sui, Mao; Li, Ming-Yu; Kim, Eun-Soo; Lee, Jihoon

2013-12-13

We investigate the effect of annealing temperature on self-assembled Au droplets on Si (111). The annealing temperature is systematically varied while fixing other growth parameters such as deposition amount and annealing duration clearly to observe the annealing temperature effect. Self-assembled Au droplets are fabricated by annealing from 50°C to 850°C with 2-nm Au deposition for 30 s. With increased annealing temperatures, Au droplets show gradually increased height and diameter while the density of droplets progressively decreases. Self-assembled Au droplets with fine uniformity can be fabricated between 550°C and 800°C. While Au droplets become much larger with increased deposition amount, the extended annealing duration only mildly affects droplet size and density. The results are systematically analyzed with cross-sectional line profiles, Fourier filter transform power spectra, height histogram, surface area ratio, and size and density plots. This study can provide an aid point for the fabrication of nanowires on Si (111).

Fabrication of zinc indium oxide thin films and effect of post annealing on structural, chemical and electrical properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jain, Vipin Kumar, E-mail: vipinjain7678@gmail.com [Institute of Engineering and Technology, JK Lakshmipat University, Jaipur 302026 (India); Kumar, Praveen [Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakkur, Bangalore 560064 (India); Srivastava, Subodh; Vijay, Y.K. [Thin film and Membrane Science Laboratory, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur 302004 (India)

2012-07-25

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer ZIO films have been prepared by flash evaporation. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Thermal stability of ZIO films. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Structural, optical, electrical and other properties have been studied. - Abstract: In the present study, zinc indium oxide (ZIO) thin films were deposited on glass substrate with varying concentration (ZnO:In{sub 2}O{sub 3} - 100:0, 90:10, 70:30 and 50:50 wt.%) at room temperature by flash evaporation technique. These deposited ZIO films were annealed in vacuum to study the thermal stability and to see the effects on the structural, chemical and electrical properties. The XRD analysis indicates that crystallization of the ZIO films strongly depends on concentration of In{sub 2}O{sub 3} and post annealing where annealed films showed polycrystalline nature. The surface morphological study of the films using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the formation of nanostructured ZIO thin films. The surface composition and oxidation state were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. XPS spectra shows that as the concentration of In{sub 2}O{sub 3} increases from 10 to 50 wt%, the surface composition ratio In/Zn and O/Zn increases for as-prepared and annealed ZIO films while the XPS valance band spectra manifest the electronic transitions. The electrical resistivity was found to be decreased while carrier concentration and Hall mobility increased for both types of films with increasing concentration of In{sub 2}O{sub 3}.

Effect of graphene nanoplatelets on coefficient of thermal expansion of polyetherimide composite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Huang; Drzal, Lawrence T.

2014-01-01

Thermal expansion is one of the major concerns for polymer composites. In this research, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were added to polyetherimide (PEId) thermoplastic polymer in order to reduce the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the injection molded composite. First, the coefficient of linear thermal expansion (LTE) was measured in three directions in the anisotropic coupon: 0°, 90° and the out of plane Z direction. It is found that the GNP particles are very effective in terms of reducing the LTE in 0° direction due to high degree of alignment. After annealing above glass transition temperature, significant increase of 0° LTE and decrease of Z° LTE were observed. The bulk CTE was calculated by adding up the LTEs in all three directions and is found to be independent of annealing. Second, several models were applied to predict both CTE and LTE. It is found that Schapery's lower limit model fits the experimental CTE very well. Chow's model was applied for LTEs in three directions. The behavior of GNP-5/PEId composites is explained by the combination of Chow's model and morphology obtained by scanning electron microscope (SEM). - Highlights: • Coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of polymer composite is characterized. • Reduction of linear thermal expansion depends on filler orientation. • Filler orientation is characterized based on the location of the specimen. • Filler orientation is changed by annealing, causing subsequent change in CTE. • CTE and linear thermal expansion coefficient are modeled

Carrier capture efficiency in InGaN/GaN LEDs: Role of high temperature annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Vinattieri, A.; Batignani, F.; Bogani, F.; Meneghini, M.; Meneghesso, G.; Zanoni, E.; Zhu, D.; Humphreys, C. J.

2014-02-01

By means of time integrated (TI), time-resolved (TR) photoluminescence (PL) and PL excitation spectra, we investigate the role of an high temperature post-growth thermal annealing (TA) on a set of InGaN/GaN LED structures with different dislocation densities. We provide evidence of the nature of the radiative recombination from a wide distribution of non-interacting localised states and we show the beneficial effect of thermal annealing in reducing the contribution of non-radiative recombination in the well region.

Carrier capture efficiency in InGaN/GaN LEDs: Role of high temperature annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vinattieri, A.; Batignani, F. [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, LENS, CNISM, Università di Firenze (Italy); Bogani, F. [Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Università di Firenze (Italy); Meneghini, M.; Meneghesso, G.; Zanoni, E. [Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell' Informazione, Università di Padova (Italy); Zhu, D.; Humphreys, C. J. [Department Materials Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ (United Kingdom)

2014-02-21

By means of time integrated (TI), time-resolved (TR) photoluminescence (PL) and PL excitation spectra, we investigate the role of an high temperature post-growth thermal annealing (TA) on a set of InGaN/GaN LED structures with different dislocation densities. We provide evidence of the nature of the radiative recombination from a wide distribution of non-interacting localised states and we show the beneficial effect of thermal annealing in reducing the contribution of non-radiative recombination in the well region.

Implantation temperature and thermal annealing behavior in H{sub 2}{sup +}-implanted 6H-SiC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, B.S., E-mail: b.s.li@impcas.ac.cn; Wang, Z.G.; Jin, J.F.

2013-12-01

The effects of hydrogen implantation temperature and annealing temperature in 6H-SiC are studied by the combination of Rutherford backscattering in channeling geometry (RBS/C), high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). 6H-SiC wafers were implanted with 100 keV H{sub 2}{sup +} ions to a fluence of 2.5 × 10{sup 16} H{sub 2}{sup +} cm{sup −2} at room temperature (RT), 573 K and 773 K. Post-implantation, the samples were annealing under argon gas flow at different temperatures from 973 K to 1373 K for isochronal annealing (15 min). The relative Si disorder at the damage peak for the sample implanted at RT decreases gradually with increasing annealing temperature. However, the reverse annealing effect is found for the samples implanted at 573 K and 773 K. As-implantation, the intensity of in-plane compressive stress is the maximum as the sample was implanted at RT, and is the minimum as the sample was implanted at 573 K. The intensity of in-plane compressive stress for the sample implanted at RT decreases gradually with increasing annealing temperature, while the intensities of in-plane compressive stress for the sample implanted at 573 K and 773 K show oscillatory changes with increasing annealing temperature. After annealing at 1373 K, blisters and craters occur on the sample surface and their average sizes increase with increasing implantation temperature.

Effect of rapid thermal treatment on optical properties of porous silicon surface doped lithium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haddadi, Ikbel, E-mail: haded.ikbel@yahoo.fr; Slema, Sonia Ben; Amor, Sana Ben; Bousbih, Rabaa; Bardaoui, Afrah; Dimassi, Wissem; Ezzaouia, Hatem

2015-04-15

In this paper, we have studied the effect of rapid thermal annealing on the optical properties of porous silicon layers doped with lithium (Li/PS). Surface modification of As-deposited Li/PS samples through thermal annealing were investigated by varying the temperature from 100 °C to 800 °C in an infrared (IR) heated belt furnace. A decrease in the reflectivity to about 6% for Li/PS annealed at 200 °C was obtained. From Photoluminescence (PL) spectra, a blue-shift of the gap was observed when the temperature is increased to 800 °C; we correlate these results to the change in chemical composition of the layers in order to find the optimized conditions for a potential application in silicon solar cells. - Highlights: • We have varied the annealing temperature of PS doped with Li. • PL intensity shows significant variation as function of temperature. • We observe reduce of Si–O–Li bands with increasing temperature. • Concurrent with the loss of Li we observe a decrease of the PL.

The Effect of Thermal Annealing on the Optical Properties of a-SiC:H Films Produced by DC Sputtering Methods: I. Graphite Target Case.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lusitra Munisa

2003-04-01

Full Text Available A study of the annealing effect on optical properties and disorder of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbon (a-SiC:H films was undertaken. The films were prepared by sputtering technique using graphite target and silicon wafer in argon and hydrogen gas mixture, and then characterized by uv-vis (ultra violet-visible spectroscopy before and after annealing. Index of refraction n and absorption coefficient α of films have been determined from measurements of transmittance. The optical gap show small variation with annealing temperature, increasing with increasing annealing temperature up to 500 °C. An increase of annealing temperature leads to reduced film density and the amorphous network disorder. The experimental results are discussed in terms of deposition condition and compared to other experimental results.

Influence of Thermal Annealing Treatment on Bipolar Switching Properties of Vanadium Oxide Thin-Film Resistance Random-Access Memory Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Kai-Huang; Cheng, Chien-Min; Kao, Ming-Cheng; Chang, Kuan-Chang; Chang, Ting-Chang; Tsai, Tsung-Ming; Wu, Sean; Su, Feng-Yi

2017-04-01

The bipolar switching properties and electrical conduction mechanism of vanadium oxide thin-film resistive random-access memory (RRAM) devices obtained using a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process have been investigated in high-resistive status/low-resistive status (HRS/LRS) and are discussed herein. In addition, the resistance switching properties and quality improvement of the vanadium oxide thin-film RRAM devices were measured by x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, x-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and current-voltage ( I- V) measurements. The activation energy of the hopping conduction mechanism in the devices was investigated based on Arrhenius plots in HRS and LRS. The hopping conduction distance and activation energy barrier were obtained as 12 nm and 45 meV, respectively. The thermal annealing process is recognized as a candidate method for fabrication of thin-film RRAM devices, being compatible with integrated circuit technology for nonvolatile memory devices.

Toward understanding dynamic annealing processes in irradiated ceramics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Myers, Michael Thomas [Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)

2013-05-01

High energy particle irradiation inevitably generates defects in solids. The ballistic formation and thermalization of the defect creation process occur rapidly, and are believed to be reasonably well understood. However, knowledge of the evolution of defects after damage cascade thermalization, referred to as dynamic annealing, is quite limited. Unraveling the mechanisms associated with dynamic annealing is crucial since such processes play an important role in the formation of stable postirradiation disorder in ion-beam-processing of semiconductors, and determines the “radiation tolerance” of many nuclear materials. The purpose of this dissertation is to further our understanding of the processes involved in dynamic annealing. In order to achieve this, two main tasks are undertaken.

Luminescence lifetimes in natural quartz annealed beyond its second phase inversion temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chithambo, M.L.

2015-01-01

The influence of annealing, irradiation dose, preheating and measurement temperature on luminescence lifetimes has been studied in quartz annealed at 1000 °C. The measurements were supplemented by studies on quartz annealed at 900 and 800 °C. Lifetimes increase with dose as well as with temperature and duration of annealing between 800 and 1000 °C. Preheating produces the same effect. The changes are accounted for in terms of hole-transfer from the non-radiative luminescence centre to and between radiative centres. The influence of measurement temperature on lifetimes depends on whether the stimulation is carried out from ambient to 200 °C or otherwise. This result is unlike that in quartz annealed at or below 500 °C where lifetimes are independent of the direction of heating. In particular, lifetimes decrease monotonically when measurements are made from 20 to 200 °C but not when recorded from 200 to 20 °C. The latter produces a pattern resembling that in quartz annealed up to 500 °C. The results are concluded as evidence of thermal effects on separate luminescence centres. In support of this, different values of the activation energy for thermal quenching were found for each supposed luminescence centre. The change of the corresponding luminescence intensity with temperature is also qualitatively consistent with this notion. - Highlights: • Luminescence lifetimes in natural quartz annealed beyond its second phase inversion temperature is reported. • Lifetimes increase with dose, annealing between 800 and 1000 °C, and preheating. • Lifetimes under stimulation temperature are affected by direction of heating. • Changes are accounted for in terms of hole-transfer luminescence centres.

Effects of High-Temperature Annealing in Air on Hi-Nicalon Fiber-Reinforced Celsian Matrix Composites

Science.gov (United States)

Bansal, Narottam P.

2008-01-01

BN/SiC-coated Hi-Nicalon fiber-reinforced celsian matrix composites (CMC) were annealed for 100 h in air at various temperatures to 1200 C, followed by flexural strength measurements at room temperature. Values of yield stress and strain, ultimate strength, and composite modulus remain almost unchanged for samples annealed up to 1100 C. A thin porous layer formed on the surface of the 1100 C annealed sample and its density decreased from 3.09 to 2.90 g/cu cm. The specimen annealed at 1200 C gained 0.43 wt%, was severely deformed, and was covered with a porous layer of thick shiny glaze which could be easily peeled off. Some gas bubbles were also present on the surface. This surface layer consisted of elongated crystals of monoclinic celsian and some amorphous phase(s). The fibers in this surface ply of the CMC had broken into small pieces. The fiber-matrix interface strength was characterized through fiber push-in technique. Values of debond stress, alpha(sub d), and frictional sliding stress, tau(sub f), for the as-fabricated CMC were 0.31+/-0.14 GPa and 10.4+/-3.1 MPa, respectively. These values compared with 0.53+/-0.47 GPa and 8.33+/-1.72 MPa for the fibers in the interior of the 1200 C annealed sample, indicating hardly any change in fiber-matrix interface strength. The effects of thermal aging on microstructure were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Only the surface ply of the 1200 C annealed specimens had degraded from oxidation whereas the bulk interior part of the CMC was unaffected. A mechanism is proposed explaining the various steps involved during the degradation of the CMC on annealing in air at 1200 C.

Shift in room-temperature photoluminescence of low-fluence Si{sup +}-implanted SiO{sub 2} films subjected to rapid thermal annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mingyue, Fu [Department of Avionics Engineering, Air Force Academy, Kangshan, Kaohsiung 820, Taiwan (China); Tsai, J -H [Department of Mathematics and Physics, Air Force Academy, Kangshan, Kaohsiung 820, Taiwan (China); Yang, C -F [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Kaohsiung University, Nan-Tzu District, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan (China); Liao, C.-H. [Department of Physics, Chinese Military Academy, Fengshan, Kaohsiung 830, Taiwan (China)], E-mail: fumy@cc.cafa.edu.tw

2008-12-15

We experimentally demonstrate the effect of the rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in nitrogen flow on photoluminescence (PL) of SiO{sub 2} films implanted by different doses of Si{sup +} ions. Room-temperature PL from 400-nm-thick SiO{sub 2} films implanted to a dose of 3x10{sup 16} cm{sup -2} shifted from 2.1 to 1.7 eV upon increasing RTA temperature (950-1150 deg. C) and duration (5-20 s). The reported approach of implanting silicon into SiO{sub 2} films followed by RTA may be effective for tuning Si-based photonic devices.

Interpretation of microstructure evolution during self-annealing and thermal annealing of nanocrystalline electrodeposits—A comparative study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pantleon, Karen; Somers, Marcel A. J.

2010-01-01

and nickel electrodeposits was achieved by time-resolved X-ray diffraction line profile analysis and crystallographic texture analysis during room temperature storage and during isothermal annealing at elevated temperatures. These in-situ studies with unique time resolution allowed quantification of the self-annealing......Electrodeposition results in a non-equilibrium state of the as-deposited nanocrystalline microstructure, which evolves towards an energetically more favorable state as a function of time and/or temperature upon deposition. Real-time investigation of the evolving microstructure in copper, silver...... kinetics of copper and silver electrodeposits as well as the annealing kinetics of electrodeposited nickel. Similarities and characteristic differences of the kinetics and mechanisms of microstructure evolution in the various electrodeposits are discussed and the experimental results are attempted...

The effect of annealing on the time-dependent behavior of isotactic polypropylene at finite strains

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Drozdov, Aleksey D.; Christiansen, Jesper de Claville

2002-01-01

Four series of tensile relaxation tests are performed on isotactic polypropylene at elongations up to the necking point. In the first series of experiments, injection-molded samples are used without thermal pre-treatment. In the other series, the specimens are annealed for 24 h prior to testing a...... at annealing. In the post-critical region (large strains), an increase in the fraction of active amorphous domains is attributed to disintegration of primary (thick) lamellae....

Effect of thermal treatment on the characteristics of iridium Schottky barrier diodes on n-Ge (1 0 0)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chawanda, A.; Coelho, S.M.M.; Auret, F.D.; Mtangi, W.; Nyamhere, C.; Nel, J.M.; Diale, M.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Ir/n-Ge (1 0 0) Schottky diodes were characterized using I–V, C–V and SEM techniques under various annealing conditions. ► The variation of the electrical and structural properties can be due to effects phase transformation during annealing. ► Thermal stability of these diodes is maintained up to 500 °C anneal. ► SEM results depicts that the onset temperature for agglomeration in 20 nm Ir/n-Ge (1 0 0) system occurs between 600 and 700 °C. - Abstract: Iridium (Ir) Schottky barrier diodes were deposited on bulk grown (1 0 0) Sb-doped n-type germanium by using the electron beam deposition system. Electrical characterization of these contacts using current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements was performed under various annealing conditions. The variation of the electrical properties of these Schottky diodes can be attributed to combined effects of interfacial reaction and phase transformation during the annealing process. Thermal stability of the Ir/n-Ge (1 0 0) was observed up to annealing temperature of 500 °C. Furthermore, structural characterization of these samples was performed by using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at different annealing temperatures. Results have also revealed that the onset temperature for agglomeration in a 20 nm Ir/n-Ge (1 0 0) system occurs between 600 and 700 °C.

Irradiation, Annealing, and Reirradiation Effects on American and Russian Reactor Pressure Vessel Steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chernobaeva, A.A.; Korolev, Y.N.; Nanstad, R.K.; Nikolaev, Y.A.; Sokolov, M.A.

1998-01-01

One of the options to mitigate the effects of irradiation on reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) is to thermally anneal them to restore the toughness properties that have been degraded by neutron irradiation. Even though a postirradiation anneal may be deemed successful, a critical aspect of continued RPV operation is the rate of embrittlement upon reirradiation. There are insufficient data available to allow for verification of available models of reirradiation embrittlement or for the development of a reliable predictive methodology. This is especially true in the case of fracture toughness data. Under the U.S.-Russia Joint Coordinating Committee for Civilian Nuclear Reactor Safety (JCCCNRS), Working Group 3 on Radiation Embrittlement, Structural Integrity, and Life Extension of Reactor Vessels and Supports agreed to conduct a comparative study of annealing and reirradiation effects on RPV steels. The Working Group agreed that each side would irradiate, anneal, reirradiate (if feasible ), and test two materials of the other. Charpy V-notch (CVN) and tensile specimens were included. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) conducted such a program (irradiation and annealing, including static fracture toughness) with two weld metals representative of VVER-440 and VVER-1000 RPVs, while the Russian Research Center-Kurchatov Institute (RRC-KI) conducted a program (irradiation, annealing, reirradiation, and reannealing) with Heavy-Section Steel Technology (HSST) Program Plate 02 and Heavy-Section Steel Irradiation (HSSI) Program Weld 73W. The results for each material from each laboratory are compared with those from the other laboratory. The ORNL experiments with the VVER welds included irradiation to about 1 x 10 19 n/cm 2 (>1 MeV), while the RRC-KI experiments with the U.S. materials included irradiations from about 2 to 18 x 10 19 n/cm 2 (>l MeV). In both cases, irradiations were conducted at ∼290 C and annealing treatments were conducted at ∼454 C. The ORNL and RRC

Effect of Annealing Temperature on Broad Luminescence of Silver-Exchanged Zeolites Y and A

Science.gov (United States)

Gui, Sa Chu Rong; Lin, H.; Bao, W.; Wang, W.

2018-05-01

The annealing temperature dependence of luminescence properties of silver (Ag)-exchanged zeolites Y and A was studied. It was found that the absorbance and excitation/emission bands are strongly affected by the thermal treatments. With increase in annealing temperature, the absorbance of Ag in zeolite Y increases at first and then decreases. However, the position of the excitation/emission band in zeolite Y was found to be insensitive to the annealing temperature. In contrast, the excitation/emission bands in zeolite A are particularly sensitive to the annealing temperature. The difference of such temperature dependence in zeolites Y and A may be due to the different microporous structure of the two minerals. Moreover, the fact that this dependence is not observed in Ag-exchanged zeolite Y is likely to be due to the difficulty in dehydration of zeolite Y in air or due to the weak Ag+-Ag+ interaction in zeolite Y.

Annealing effect on the microstructure and magnetic properties of 14%Cr-ODS ferritic steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, H.L.; Gao, R.; Zhang, T.; Wang, X.P.; Fang, Q.F.; Liu, C.S.

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: TEM images of microstructure for 14%Cr-ODS ferritic steel annealed for 2 h at different temperatures: (a) 600 °C, (b) 800 °C, (c) 950 °C, and (d) 1150 °C, and the evolution trends of coercivity field (H_C) and Vickers microhardness for samples annealed at above temperatures for 2 h and 50 h. - Highlights: • The thermal stability of annealed 14%Cr-ODS ferritic steel was investigated. • The particle size keeps fairly constant with increasing annealing temperature. • The grain size is still 2–4 μm even after annealing for 50 h at 1150 °C. • The hardness and H_C are almost unchanged after annealing from 800 °C to 1150 °C. - Abstract: The microstructure and magnetic properties of the 14%Cr oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) ferritic steel fabricated by sol–gel and HIP method were investigated by annealing in vacuum for 2 h (at 300, 600, 800, 950 and 1150 °C) and 50 h (at 600, 800, 950 and 1150 °C). Microstructure analysis shows that as the annealing temperature increases, the size of oxide nanoparticles becomes smaller and their dispersion in matrix becomes more homogeneous. Grain size remains stable when the annealing temperature is below 800 °C, while above 800 °C, grain size grows with the increasing annealing temperature and time. The Vickers microhardness and coercivity (H_C) display almost similar evolution trend with annealing temperature for 2 h and 50 h. No obvious recrystallization appears after 1150 °C annealing, which indicates the high microstructural stability of 14%Cr-ODS ferritic steel. The possible mechanism for above behaviors is discussed in this paper.

Thickness dependent ferromagnetism in thermally decomposed NiO thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ravikumar, Patta; Kisan, Bhagaban; Perumal, Alagarsamy, E-mail: perumal@iitg.ernet.in

2016-11-15

We report the effects of film thickness, annealing temperature and annealing environments on thermal decomposition behavior and resulting magnetic properties of NiO (t=50–300 nm) thin films. All the NiO films were prepared directly on thermally oxidized Si at ambient temperature using magnetron sputtering technique and post annealed at different temperatures (T{sub A}) under vacuum and oxygen atmospheres. As-deposited films exhibit face centered cubic structure with large lattice constant due to strain induced during sputtering process. With increasing T{sub A}, the lattice constant decreases due to the release of strain and thickness dependent thermal decomposition reaction of NiO into Ni has been observed for the NiO films annealed at 500 °C under vacuum condition. As a result, the antiferromagnetic nature of the as-deposited NiO films transforms into ferromagnetic one with dominant thickness dependent ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. In addition, the existence of both Ni and NiO phases in the annealed NiO films shows noticeable exchange bias under field cooling condition. The behavior of thermal decomposition was not observed for the NiO films annealed under oxygen condition which results in no detectable change in the magnetic properties. The observed results are discussed on the basis of thickness dependent thermal decomposition in NiO films with increasing T{sub A} and changing annealing conditions. - Highlights: • Preparation of highly strained single layer NiO films with different thicknesses. • Study the effects of annealing under different environments on crystal structure. • Understanding the origin of thickness dependent thermal decomposition reaction. • Investigate the role of thermal decomposition reaction on the magnetic properties. • Study the interaction between NiO and Ni phases on the exchange bias mechanism.

Composition dependent thermal annealing behaviour of ion tracks in apatite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nadzri, A., E-mail: allina.nadzri@anu.edu.au [Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601 (Australia); Schauries, D.; Mota-Santiago, P.; Muradoglu, S. [Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601 (Australia); Trautmann, C. [GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, Planckstrasse 1, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany); Gleadow, A.J.W. [School of Earth Science, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010 (Australia); Hawley, A. [Australian Synchrotron, 800 Blackburn Road, Clayton, VIC 3168 (Australia); Kluth, P. [Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601 (Australia)

2016-07-15

Natural apatite samples with different F/Cl content from a variety of geological locations (Durango, Mexico; Mud Tank, Australia; and Snarum, Norway) were irradiated with swift heavy ions to simulate fission tracks. The annealing kinetics of the resulting ion tracks was investigated using synchrotron-based small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) combined with ex situ annealing. The activation energies for track recrystallization were extracted and consistent with previous studies using track-etching, tracks in the chlorine-rich Snarum apatite are more resistant to annealing than in the other compositions.

Effect of excimer laser annealing on a-InGaZnO thin-film transistors passivated by solution-processed hybrid passivation layers

Science.gov (United States)

Bermundo, Juan Paolo; Ishikawa, Yasuaki; Fujii, Mami N.; Nonaka, Toshiaki; Ishihara, Ryoichi; Ikenoue, Hiroshi; Uraoka, Yukiharu

2016-01-01

We demonstrate the use of excimer laser annealing (ELA) as a low temperature annealing alternative to anneal amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) passivated by a solution-processed hybrid passivation layer. Usually, a-IGZO is annealed using thermal annealing at high temperatures of up to 400 °C. As an alternative to high temperature thermal annealing, two types of ELA, XeCl (308 nm) and KrF (248 nm) ELA, are introduced. Both ELA types enhanced the electrical characteristics of a-IGZO TFTs leading to a mobility improvement of ~13 cm2 V-1 s-1 and small threshold voltage which varied from ~0-3 V. Furthermore, two-dimensional heat simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics was used to identify possible degradation sites, analyse laser heat localization, and confirm that the substrate temperature is below 50 °C. The two-dimensional heat simulation showed that the substrate temperature remained at very low temperatures, less than 30 °C, during ELA. This implies that any flexible material can be used as the substrate. These results demonstrate the large potential of ELA as a low temperature annealing alternative for already-passivated a-IGZO TFTs.

Irradiation, annealing, and reirradiation research in the ORNL heavy-section steel irradiation program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nanstad, R.K.; Iskander, S.K.; McCabe, D.E.; Sokolov, M.A.

1997-01-01

One of the options to mitigate the effects of irradiation on reactor pressure vessels (RPV) is to thermally anneal them to restore the toughness properties that have been degraded by neutron irradiation. This paper summarizes experimental results from work performed as part of the Heavy-Section Steel Irradiation (HSSI) Program managed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The HSSI Program focuses on annealing and re-embrittlement response of materials which are representative of those in commercial RPVs and which are considered to be radiation-sensitive. Experimental studies include (1) the annealing of materials in the existing inventory of previously irradiated materials, (2) reirradiation of previously irradiated/annealed materials in a collaborative program with the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), (3) irradiation/annealing/reirradiation of U.S. and Russian materials in a cooperative program with the Russian Research Center-Kurchatov Institute (RRC-KI), (4) the design and fabrication of an irradiation/anneal/reirradiation capsule and facility for operation at the University of Michigan Ford Reactor, (5) the investigation of potential for irradiation-and/or thermal-induced temper embrittlement in heat-affected zones (HAZs) of RPV steels due to phosphorous segregation at grain boundaries, and (6) investigation of the relationship between Charpy impact toughness and fracture toughness under all conditions of irradiation, annealing, and reirradiation

Thermoluminescence of annealed and shock-loaded feldspar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartmetz, C.P.

1988-01-01

Samples of oligoclase and bytownite were shock-loaded to a variety of pressures, and annealed for a variety of temperatures and times. The effect of Mrad doses of gamma-rays on oligoclase TL were also studied. After these treatments, thermoluminescence (TL) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements were made to: (1) determine the effects of shock on terrestrial feldspar and compare with variations in the TL emission of ordinary chondrites (OCs); (2) determine if disordering in feldspar was responsible for any related changes in TL properties of OCs; (3) determine if the combined effect of shock plus annealing causes the changes in TL properties; (4) see if radiation damage from cosmic ray exposure plays a role in the TL variations; (5) examine the implications of this work to the thermal and shock histories of OCs. The lightly shock-loaded and annealed oligoclase samples have a dominant peak temperature of 120-140 C, identical to type 3.3-3.5 OCs. The heavily shocked samples dominant peak is at 230C, similar to type > 3.5 OCs . While the heavily annealed/disordered oligoclase samples have a peak at 280C, this peak is rarely observed in OCs. Radiation damage from Mrad doses of gamma-rays produced no change in peak temperature, but facilitated the shift to higher peak temperatures. The TL sensitivity of the shocked samples decreased by a factor of 25. Samples annealed at low temperatures (438-533C) showed a factor of 2 decrease in TL, but at the highest temperatures, the TL was a factor of 8 higher

The effects of annealing temperature on the permittivity and electromagnetic attenuation performance of reduced graphene oxide

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Fan; Zeng, Qiao; Xia, Yilu; Sun, Mengxiao; Xie, Aming

2018-05-01

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) has been prepared through the thermal reduction method with different annealing temperatures to explore the effects of temperature on the permittivity and electromagnetic attenuation performance. The real and imaginary parts of permittivity increase along with the decrease in the oxygen functional group and the increase in the filler loading ratio. A composite only loaded with 1 wt. % of RGO can possess an effective electromagnetic absorption bandwidth of 7.60 GHz, when graphene oxide was reduced under 300 °C for 2 h. With the annealing temperature increased to 700 °C and the well reduced RGO loaded 7 wt. % in the composite, the electromagnetic interference shielding efficiency can get higher than 35 dB from 2 to 18 GHz. This study shows that controlling the oxygen functional groups on the RGO surface can also obtain an ideal electromagnetic attenuation performance without any other decorated nanomaterials.

Interpretation of microstructure evolution during self-annealing and thermal annealing of nanocrystalline electrodeposits-A comparative study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pantleon, Karen; Somers, Marcel A.J.

2010-01-01

Electrodeposition results in a non-equilibrium state of the as-deposited nanocrystalline microstructure, which evolves towards an energetically more favorable state as a function of time and/or temperature upon deposition. Real-time investigation of the evolving microstructure in copper, silver and nickel electrodeposits was achieved by time-resolved X-ray diffraction line profile analysis and crystallographic texture analysis during room temperature storage and during isothermal annealing at elevated temperatures. These in-situ studies with unique time resolution allowed quantification of the self-annealing kinetics of copper and silver electrodeposits as well as the annealing kinetics of electrodeposited nickel. Similarities and characteristic differences of the kinetics and mechanisms of microstructure evolution in the various electrodeposits are discussed and the experimental results are attempted to be interpreted in terms of recovery, recrystallization and grain growth.

High annealing temperature induced rapid grain coarsening for efficient perovskite solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Xiaobing; Zhi, Lili; Jia, Yi; Li, Yahui; Cui, Xian; Zhao, Ke; Ci, Lijie; Ding, Kongxian; Wei, Jinquan

2018-08-15

Thermal annealing plays multiple roles in fabricating high quality perovskite films. Generally, it might result in large perovskite grains by elevating annealing temperature, but might also lead to decomposition of perovskite. Here, we study the effects of annealing temperature on the coarsening of perovskite grains in a temperature range from 100 to 250 °C, and find that the coarsening rate of the perovskite grain increase significantly with the annealing temperature. Compared with the perovskite films annealed at 100 °C, high quality perovskite films with large columnar grains are obtained by annealing perovskite precursor films at 250 °C for only 10 s. As a result, the power conversion efficiency of best solar cell increased from 12.35% to 16.35% due to its low recombination rate and high efficient charge transportation in solar cells. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Effect of hydration on the annealing of chemical radiation damage in gamma-irradiated strontium bromate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nair, S.M.K.; Sahish, T.S.

1991-01-01

Rehydration of γ-irradiated anhydrous strontium bromate induces direct recovery of damage. The recovery process is unimolecular and the rehydrated salt is susceptible to thermal annealing. (author) 11 refs.; 2 figs

Enhancing electron transport in Si:P delta-doped devices by rapid thermal anneal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goh, K. E. J.; Augarten, Y.; Oberbeck, L.; Simmons, M. Y.

2008-01-01

We address the use of rapid thermal anneal (RTA) to enhance electron mobility and phase coherent transport in Si:P δ-doped devices encapsulated by low temperature Si molecular beam epitaxy while minimizing dopant diffusion. RTA temperatures of 500-700 deg. C were applied to δ-doped layers encapsulated at 250 deg. C. From 4.2 K magnetotransport measurements, we find that the improved crystal quality after RTA increases the mobility/mean free path by ∼40% and the phase coherence length by ∼25%. Our results suggest that the initial capping layer has near optimal crystal quality and transport improvement achieved by a RTA is limited

Investigation of Near-Surface Defects Induced by Spike Rapid Thermal Annealing in c-SILICON Solar Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Guodong; Ren, Pan; Zhang, Dayong; Wang, Weiping; Li, Jianfeng

2016-01-01

The defects induced by a spike rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process in crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells were investigated by the photoluminescence (PL) technique and the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. Dislocation defects were found to form in the near-surface junction region of the monocrystalline Si solar cell after a spike RTA process was performed at 1100∘C. Photo J-V characteristics were measured on the Si solar cell before and after the spike RTA treatments to reveal the effects of defects on the Si cell performances. In addition, the Silvaco device simulation program was used to study the effects of defects density on the cell performances by fitting the experimental data of RTA-treated cells. The results demonstrate that there was an obvious degradation in the Si solar cell performances when the defect density after the spike RTA treatment was above 1×1013cm-3.

High temperature annealing effects on deep-level defects in a high purity semi-insulating 4H-SiC substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iwamoto, Naoya, E-mail: naoya.iwamoto@smn.uio.no; Azarov, Alexander; Svensson, Bengt G. [Department of Physics, Center for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1048 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo (Norway); Ohshima, Takeshi [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 1233 Watanuki, Takasaki, 370-1292 Gunma (Japan); Moe, Anne Marie M. [Washington Mills AS, N-7300 Orkanger (Norway)

2015-07-28

Effects of high-temperature annealing on deep-level defects in a high-purity semi-insulating 4H silicon carbide substrate have been studied by employing current-voltage, capacitance-voltage, junction spectroscopy, and chemical impurity analysis measurements. Secondary ion mass spectrometry data reveal that the substrate contains boron with concentration in the mid 10{sup 15 }cm{sup −3} range, while other impurities including nitrogen, aluminum, titanium, vanadium and chromium are below their detection limits (typically ∼10{sup 14 }cm{sup −3}). Schottky barrier diodes fabricated on substrates annealed at 1400–1700 °C exhibit metal/p-type semiconductor behavior with a current rectification of up to 8 orders of magnitude at bias voltages of ±3 V. With increasing annealing temperature, the series resistance of the Schottky barrier diodes decreases, and the net acceptor concentration in the substrates increases approaching the chemical boron content. Admittance spectroscopy results unveil the presence of shallow boron acceptors and deep-level defects with levels in lower half of the bandgap. After the 1400 °C annealing, the boron acceptor still remains strongly compensated at room temperature by deep donor-like levels located close to mid-gap. However, the latter decrease in concentration with increasing annealing temperature and after 1700 °C, the boron acceptor is essentially uncompensated. Hence, the deep donors are decisive for the semi-insulating properties of the substrates, and their thermal evolution limits the thermal budget for device processing. The origin of the deep donors is not well-established, but substantial evidence supporting an assignment to carbon vacancies is presented.

Evolution of microstructure at hot band annealing of ferritic FeSi steels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schneider, Jürgen, E-mail: juergen.schneider@t-online.de [Institute of Metal Forming, Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Bernhard-von Cotta-Str. 4, D-09596 Freiberg (Germany); Stahlzentrum Freiberg e.V., Leipziger Straße 34, D-09599 Freiberg (Germany); Li, Guangqiang [State Key Lab. of Refractories and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, No. 947 Heping Avenue, Qingshan District, Wuhan 430081 (China); Franke, Armin [Stahlzentrum Freiberg e.V., Leipziger Straße 34, D-09599 Freiberg (Germany); Zhou, Bowen [State Key Lab. of Refractories and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, No. 947 Heping Avenue, Qingshan District, Wuhan 430081 (China)

2017-02-15

The magnetic properties of the finally fabricated nonoriented FeSi steels critically depend on the microstructure and on the occurring crystallographic texture. The fabrication route comprises hot rolling, coiling and cooling, hot band annealing before cold rolling (optional), cold rolling and the final thermal treatment. As well known there is an interplay between the microstructure and texture during the various processing steps. For that reason, it is of interest to know more on the evolution of the microstructure at hot band annealing of hot band prepared in different ways. In this paper we will summarize our recent results on the evolution of microstructure during thermal annealing of hot band: thermal treatment following immediately the last pass of hot rolling or a hot band annealing as a separate processing step before cold rolling.

Effect of annealing on microstructure evolution in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB heterostructures by positron annihilation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Chong-Jun; Lu, Xiang-An; Zhao, Zhi-Duo; Li, Ming-Hua; Zhang, Peng; Wang, Bao-Yi; Cao, Xing-Zhong; Zhang, Jing-Yan; Yu, Guang-Hua

2013-09-01

As one of the most powerful tools for investigation of defects of materials, positron annihilation spectroscopy was employed to explore the thermal effects on the film microstructure evolution in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB heterostructures. It is found that high annealing temperature can drive vacancy defects agglomeration and ordering acceleration in the MgO barrier. Meanwhile, another important type of defects, vacancy clusters, which are formed via the agglomeration of vacancy defects in the MgO barrier after annealing, still exists inside the MgO barrier. All these behaviors in the MgO barrier could potentially impact the overall performance in MgO based magnetic tunnel junctions.

Luminescence lifetimes in quartz: dependence on annealing temperature prior to beta irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galloway, R.B.

2002-01-01

It is well known that the thermal history of a quartz sample influences the optically stimulated luminescence sensitivity of the quartz. It is found that the optically stimulated luminescence lifetime, determined from time resolved spectra obtained with pulsed stimulation, also depends on past thermal treatment. For samples at 20 deg. C during stimulation, the lifetime depends on beta dose and on duration of preheating at 220 deg. C prior to stimulation for quartz annealed at 600 deg. C and above, but is independent of these factors for quartz annealed at 500 deg. C and below. For stimulation at higher temperatures, the lifetime becomes shorter if the sample is held at temperatures above 125 deg. C during stimulation, in a manner consistent with thermal quenching. A single exponential decay is all that is required to fit the time resolved spectra for un-annealed quartz regardless of the temperature during stimulation (20-175 deg. C), or to fit the time resolved spectra from all samples held at 20 deg. C during stimulation, regardless of annealing temperature (20-1000 deg. C). An additional shorter lifetime is found for some combinations of annealing temperature and temperature during stimulation. The results are discussed in terms of a model previously used to explain thermal sensitisation. The luminescence lifetime data are best explained by the presence of two principal luminescence centres, their relative importance depending on the annealing temperature, with a third centre involved for limited combinations of annealing temperature and temperature during stimulation

Study of photoluminescence from annealed bulk-ZnO single crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoneta, M.; Ohishi, M.; Saito, H. [Department of Applied Physics, Okayama University of Science, 1-1 Ridai-cho, Okayama 700-0005 (Japan); Yoshino, K. [Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Miyazaki University, 1-1 Gakuen Kibanadai-nishi, Miyazaki 889-2192 (Japan); Honda, M. [Faculty of Science, Naruto University of Education, 748 Nakajima, Takashima, Naruto-cho, Naruto-shi 772-8502 (Japan)

2006-03-15

We have investigated the influence of rapid thermal annealing on the photoluminescence of bulk-ZnO single crystal. As-grown ZnO wafer, illuminated by 325 nm ultraviolet light at 4.2 K, emitted the visible luminescence of pale green centered of 2.29 eV. The luminescence was observed by the anneal at the temperature range between 400 C and 1000 C, however, its intensity decreased with anneal temperature. The free-exciton and the 2.18 eV emission line were obtained by the anneal at 1200 C for 60 sec. From the X-ray diffraction and the surface morphology measurements, the improvement of the crystallinity of bulk-ZnO crystal were confirmed. We suggest that a rapid thermal annealing technique is convenience to improve the the quality of bul-ZnO single crystals. (copyright 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Irradiation embrittlement of reactor pressure vessel steels: Considerations for thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burke, M.G.; Freyer, P.D.; Mager, T.R.

1993-01-01

In this paper, an overview of the irradiation embrittlement phenomenon is presented from a structure-properties viewpoint. Effects of irradiation conditions on embrittlement are first reviewed: irradiation temperature, fluence, flux, and steel or alloy composition. Then, the techniques for identifying/characterizing the irradiation-induced microstructural features are described: TEM/STEM (electron microscopy), small angle neutron scattering, atom probe field-ion microscopy, positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy. Mechanisms of hardening and embrittlement generally consist of a ''precipitation-type'' and a ''damage-type'' component and the potential of annealing treatments for restoring the most of the original pressure vessel material toughness is examined; its conditions and mechanisms involved are discussed. Feasibility and economic evaluation of annealing costs is also carried out. 90 refs., 4 figs

Irradiation embrittlement of reactor pressure vessel steels: Considerations for thermal annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burke, M G; Freyer, P D; Mager, T R

1994-12-31

In this paper, an overview of the irradiation embrittlement phenomenon is presented from a structure-properties viewpoint. Effects of irradiation conditions on embrittlement are first reviewed: irradiation temperature, fluence, flux, and steel or alloy composition. Then, the techniques for identifying/characterizing the irradiation-induced microstructural features are described: TEM/STEM (electron microscopy), small angle neutron scattering, atom probe field-ion microscopy, positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy. Mechanisms of hardening and embrittlement generally consist of a ``precipitation-type`` and a ``damage-type`` component and the potential of annealing treatments for restoring the most of the original pressure vessel material toughness is examined; its conditions and mechanisms involved are discussed. Feasibility and economic evaluation of annealing costs is also carried out. 90 refs., 4 figs.

Transformation of photoluminescence and Raman scattering spectra of Si-rich Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films at thermal annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vergara Hernandez, E. [UPIITA-Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico DF 07320 (Mexico); Torchynska, T.V., E-mail: ttorch@esfm.ipn.mx [ESFM-Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico DF 07320 (Mexico); Jedrzejewski, J.; Balberg, I. [Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University, 91904 Jerusalem (Israel)

2014-11-15

The effect of thermal annealing on optical properties of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films with the different Si contents was investigated using the photoluminescence and Raman scattering methods. Si-rich Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films were prepared by RF magnetron co-sputtering of Si and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} targets on long quartz glass substrates. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of as grown Si-rich Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films are characterized by four PL bands with the peak positions at 2.90, 2.70, 2.30 and 1.45 eV. The small intensity Raman peaks related to the scattering in the amorphous Si phase has been detected in as grown films as well. Thermal annealing at 1150 °C for 90 min stimulates the formation of Si nanocrystals (NCs) in the film area with the Si content exceeded 50%. The Raman peak related to the scattering on optic phonons in Si NCs has been detected for this area. After thermal annealing the PL intensity of all mentioned PL bands decreases in the film area with smaller Si content (≤50%) and increases in the film area with higher Si content (≥50%). Simultaneously the new PL band with the peak position at 1.65 eV appears in the film area with higher Si content (≥50%). The new PL band (1.65 eV) is attributed to the exciton recombination inside of small size Si NCs (2.5–2.7 nm). In bigger size Si NCs (3.5–5.0 nm) the PL band at 1.65 eV has been not detected due to the impact, apparently, of elastic strain appeared at the Si/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} interface. Temperature dependences of PL spectra for the Si-rich Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films have been studied in the range of 10–300 K with the aim to reveal the mechanism of recombination transitions for the mentioned above PL bands 2.90, 2.70, 2.30 and 1.45 eV in as grown films. The thermal activation of PL intensity and permanent PL peak positions in the temperature range 10–300 K permit to assign these PL bands to defect related emission in Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} matrix.

Steel impurity element effects on postirradiation properties recovery by annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hawthorne, J.R.

1987-01-01

The influence of copper content and phosphorus content on notch ductility recovery by 399 0 C postirradiation heat treatment was explored for A 533-B and A 302-B pressure vessel steels. Charpy-V (C/sub V/) specimens for the investigation were obtained from ten plates produced from four (4-way split) laboratory melts. The plates were 15.2 mm thick but were heat treated to reproduce the microstructure of 150-mm and thicker A 302-B plates at the quarter-thickness location. The C/sub V/ specimens were irradiated in two assemblies at 288 0 C (550 0 F) to a fluence of --2.5 x 10/sup 19/ n/cm/sup 2/ in a light-water-cooled and moderated test reactor. Notch ductility properties in the asirradiated and 399 0 C, 168 h postirradiation-annealed conditions were determined. In addition, separate sets of specimens were thermally conditioned at 288 0 C and at 288 0 C followed by 399 0 C to benchmark the effects of temperature in the absence of irradiation. The results indicate that copper has a significant influence on the magnitude of residual embrittlement after annealing. In contrast, phosphorus contents in the range of 0.002 to 0.025% were found not to have an effect on residual embrittlement either in high or low copper steels. Essentially full recovery in 41-J transition temperature was observed for high phosphorus, low copper content steels. Effects of nickel alloying on recovery behavior were also investigated through data comparisons for A 302-B versus A 533-B plates

Effect of annealing temperature on the mechanical properties of Zircaloy-4 cladding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beauregard, R.J.; Clevinger, G.S.; Murty, K.L.

1977-01-01

The mechanical properties of Zircaloy cladding materials are sensitive to those fabrication variables which have an effect on the preferred crystallographic orientation or texture of the finished tube. The effect of one such variable, the final annealing temperature, on various mechanical properties is examined using tube reduced Zircaloy-4 fuel rod cladding annealed at temperatures from 905F to 1060F. This temperature range provides cladding with varying degrees of recrystallization including full recrystallization. The burst strength of the cladding at 650F decreased with the annealing temperature reaching a saturation value at approximately 1000F. The total circumferential elongation increased with the annealing temperature reaching a maximum at approximately 1000F and decreasing at higher temperatures. Hoop creep characteristics of Zircaloy cladding were studied as a function of the annealing temperature using closed-end internal pressurization tests at 750F and hoop stresses of 10, 15, 20 and 25 ksi. The effect of annealing temperature on the room temperature mechanical anisotropy parameters, R and P, was studied. The R-parameter was essentially independent of the annealing temperature while the P-parameter increased with annealing temperature. The mechanical anisotropy parameters were also studied as a function of the test temperature from ambient to approximately 800F using continuously monitored high precision extensometry. (Auth.)

Thermodynamic analysis of the effect of annealing on the thermal stability of a Cu–Al–Ni–Mn shape memory alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mazzer, E.M., E-mail: ericmazzer@gmail.com [Postgraduate Program in Materials Science and Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, SP (Brazil); Kiminami, C.S.; Bolfarini, C.; Cava, R.D.; Botta, W.J.; Gargarella, P. [Department of Materials Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, SP (Brazil)

2015-05-20

Highlights: • We evaluated the effect of annealing on a Cu-based shape memory alloy. • Stabilization was clarified in terms of the chemical and non-chemical energies. • Stabilization was related to the shift of transformations temperatures. • Insights into the role of stabilization of phases by thermodynamics approach. - Abstract: Shape memory alloys (SMA) usually exhibit shifts in the transformation temperatures with increasing the number of thermal cycles. These shifts result from an increased stability of the martensite during cycling and have an important role in the functionality of the material. The structural reasons for these changes are not fully understood and are investigated here by a thermodynamic approach. The variation in the transformation temperatures and in the chemical and non-chemical energy terms of the total energy involved in the transformation of a Cu–Al–Ni–Mn SMA was studied. Powder of this alloy was produced by gas atomization with size in the range of 32–45 μm and subsequently heat-treated at 180 °C, 250 °C and 300 °C during different times. The as-cast and heat-treated samples were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Only a single martensitic β′ phase was formed at room temperature. It was observed an increase in the austenitic start transformation temperature (A{sub s}) as well as in the austenitic finish transformation temperature (A{sub f}) with increasing the annealing time and temperature. The shift in the transformation temperatures to higher values is attributed to a decrease of the latent heat of transformation and non-chemical energy term, caused by changes in the structural order of the martensite. This study shows that the variation of the transformation temperatures is strongly linked to the total energy components, which can give important information about the stability of the alloy.

Annealing temperature dependence of the structures and properties of Co-implanted ZnO films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Bin; Tang, Kun; Gu, Shulin; Ye, Jiandong; Huang, Shimin; Gu, Ran; Zhang, Yang; Yao, Zhengrong; Zhu, Shunming; Zheng, Youdou

2014-01-01

Highlights: • To avoid the forming of Co clusters and explore the origin of the magnetism, detailed investigation on the properties of the Co-implanted ZnO films with a rather low dose of 8 × 10 15 cm −2 and high implantation energy of 1 MeV were carried out. • The crystalline structure of the damaged region caused by ion-implantation has been recovered via the thermal annealing treatment at the temperature of 900 °C and above. • The low temperature magnetic hysteresis loops have indicated paramagnetism for the annealed films with weak ferromagnetic characteristics. • The zero-field cooling (ZFC) magnetization curves of the Co-implanted ZnO samples have varied from concave shape to convex one as the annealing temperature increased from 750 °C to 1000 °C. - Abstract: The effects of thermal annealing treatment on the structural, electrical, optical and magnetic properties of Co-implanted ZnO (0 0 0 1) films have been investigated in detail. The crystalline structure of the damaged region caused by ion implantation has been recovered via the thermal annealing at the temperature of 900 °C and above, and no Co clusters or its related oxide phases have been observed. The electrical and optical properties of the annealed films have shown strong dependence on the annealing temperature. The zero field cooling magnetization curves of the annealed films have varied from concave shape to convex one as the annealing temperature increased from 750 °C to 1000 °C, which are possibly tuned by the changes of the ratio of the itinerant carriers over the localized spin density. The low temperature magnetic hysteresis loops have indicated paramagnetic behavior for the annealed films with weak ferromagnetic characteristics. The ferromagnetism is attributed to the substituted Co 2+ ions and vacancy defects, while the paramagnetism could be induced by ionized interstitial Zn defects