The impact of surface coverage on the kinetics of electron transfer through redox monolayers on a silicon electrode surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciampi, Simone; Choudhury, Moinul H.; Ahmad, Shahrul Ainliah Binti Alang; Darwish, Nadim; Brun, Anton Le; Gooding, J.Justin

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: The impact of surface coverage on the kinetics of electron transfer through redox monolayers on a silicon electrode surface. ABSTRACT: The impact of the coverage of ferrocene moieties, attached to a silicon electrode modified via hydrosilylation of a dialkyne, on the kinetics of electron transfer between the redox species and the electrode is explored. The coverage of ferrocene is controlled by varying the coupling time between azidomethylferrocene and the distal alkyne of the monolayer via the copper assisted azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction. All other variables in the surface preparation are maintained identical. What is observed is that the higher the surface coverage of the ferrocene moieties the faster the apparent rates of electron transfer. This surface coverage-dependent kinetic effect is attributed to electrons hopping between ferrocene moieties across the redox film toward hotspots for the electron transfer event. The origin of these hotspots is tentatively suggested to result from minor amounts of oxide on the underlying silicon surface that reduce the barrier for the electron transfer.

P-type silicon surface barrier detector used for x-ray dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Hisao; Hatakeyama, Satoru; Norimura, Toshiyuki; Tsuchiya, Takehiko

1983-01-01

Responses to X-rays of a P-type surface barrier detector fabricated in our laboratory were studied, taking into consideration the dependence on the temperature in order to examine its applicability to dosimetry of short-range radiation. The study was also made in the case of N-type surface barrier detector. At room temperature, the short-circuit current increased linearly with exposure dose rate (15 - 50 R/min) for N- and P-type detectors. The open-circuit voltage showed a nonlinear dependence. With increasing temperature, the short-circuit current for the N-type detector was approximately constant up to 30 0 C and then decreased, though the open-circuit voltage decreased linearly. For the P- type detector, both open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current decreased almost linearly with increasing temperature. While a P-type detector is still open to some improvements, these results indicate that it can be used as a dosimeter. (author)

Barrier layer arrangement for conductive layers on silicon substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hung, L.S.; Agostinelli, J.A.

1990-01-01

This patent describes a circuit element comprised of a silicon substrate and a conductive layer located on the substrate. It is characterized in that the conductive layer consists essentially of a rare earth alkaline earth copper oxide and a barrier layer triad is interposed between the silicon substrate and the conductive layer comprised of a first triad layer located adjacent the silicon substrate consisting essentially of silica, a third triad layer remote from the silicon substrate consisting essentially of a least one Group 4 heavy metal oxide, and a second triad layer interposed between the first and third triad layers consisting essentially of a mixture of silica and at lease one Group 4 heavy metal oxide

Use of a silicon surface-barrier detector for measurement of high-energy end loss electrons in a tandem mirror

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, T.; Kiwamoto, Y.; Honda, T.; Kasugai, A.; Kurihara, K.; Miyoshi, S.

1991-01-01

An apparatus for the measurement of high-energy electrons (10--500 keV) with a silicon surface-barrier detector is described. The apparatus has special features. In particular, a fast CAMAC transient digitizer is used to directly record the wave form of a pulse train from the detector and then pulse heights are analyzed with a computer instead of on a conventional pulse height analyzer. With this method the system is capable of detecting electrons with a count rate as high as ∼300--400 kilocounts/s without serious deterioration of performance. Moreover, piled up signals are reliably eliminated from analysis. The system has been applied to measure electron-cyclotron-resonance-heating-induced end loss electrons in the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror and has yielded information relating to electron heating and diffusion in velocity space

A photoemission study of the effectiveness of nickel, manganese, and cobalt based corrosion barriers for silicon photo-anodes during water oxidation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Connor, Robert; Bogan, Justin; McCoy, Anthony; Byrne, Conor; Hughes, Greg [School of Physical Sciences, Dublin City University, Dublin 9 (Ireland)

2016-05-21

Silicon is an attractive material for solar water splitting applications due to its abundance and its capacity to absorb a large fraction of incident solar radiation. However, it has not received as much attention as other materials due to its tendency to oxidize very quickly in aqueous environments, particularly when it is employed as the anode where it drives the oxygen evolution reaction. In recent years, several works have appeared in the literature examining the suitability of thin transition metal oxide films grown on top of the silicon to act as a corrosion barrier. The film should be transparent to solar radiation, allow hole transport from the silicon surface to the electrolyte, and stop the diffusion of oxygen from the electrolyte back to the silicon. In this work, we compare Mn-oxide, Co-oxide, and Ni-oxide thin films grown using physical vapor deposition in order to evaluate which material offers the best combination of photocurrent and corrosion protection. In addition to the electrochemical data, we also present a detailed before-and-after study of the surface chemistry of the films using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This approach allows for a comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms by which the corrosion barriers protect the underlying silicon, and how they degrade during the water oxidation reaction.

Atomic and electronic structures of novel silicon surface structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Terry, J.H. Jr.

1997-03-01

The modification of silicon surfaces is presently of great interest to the semiconductor device community. Three distinct areas are the subject of inquiry: first, modification of the silicon electronic structure; second, passivation of the silicon surface; and third, functionalization of the silicon surface. It is believed that surface modification of these types will lead to useful electronic devices by pairing these modified surfaces with traditional silicon device technology. Therefore, silicon wafers with modified electronic structure (light-emitting porous silicon), passivated surfaces (H-Si(111), Cl-Si(111), Alkyl-Si(111)), and functionalized surfaces (Alkyl-Si(111)) have been studied in order to determine the fundamental properties of surface geometry and electronic structure using synchrotron radiation-based techniques.

Silicon Alloying On Aluminium Based Alloy Surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suryanto

2002-01-01

Silicon alloying on surface of aluminium based alloy was carried out using electron beam. This is performed in order to enhance tribological properties of the alloy. Silicon is considered most important alloying element in aluminium alloy, particularly for tribological components. Prior to silicon alloying. aluminium substrate were painted with binder and silicon powder and dried in a furnace. Silicon alloying were carried out in a vacuum chamber. The Silicon alloyed materials were assessed using some techniques. The results show that silicon alloying formed a composite metal-non metal system in which silicon particles are dispersed in the alloyed layer. Silicon content in the alloyed layer is about 40% while in other place is only 10.5 %. The hardness of layer changes significantly. The wear properties of the alloying alloys increase. Silicon surface alloying also reduced the coefficient of friction for sliding against a hardened steel counter face, which could otherwise be higher because of the strong adhesion of aluminium to steel. The hardness of the silicon surface alloyed material dropped when it underwent a heating cycle similar to the ion coating process. Hence, silicon alloying is not a suitable choice for use as an intermediate layer for duplex treatment

Metallization of DNA on silicon surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puchkova, Anastasiya Olegovna; Sokolov, Petr; Petrov, Yuri Vladimirovich; Kasyanenko, Nina Anatolievna

2011-01-01

New simple way for silver deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-based nanowires preparation on silicon surface was developed. The electrochemical reduction of silver ions fixed on DNA molecule provides the forming of tightly matched zonate silver clusters. Highly homogeneous metallic clusters have a size about 30 nm. So the thickness of nanowires does not exceed 30–50 nm. The surface of n-type silicon monocrystal is the most convenient substrate for this procedure. The comparative analysis of DNA metallization on of n-type silicon with a similar way for nanowires fabrication on p-type silicon, freshly cleaved mica, and glass surface shows the advantage of n-type silicon, which is not only the substrate for DNA fixation but also the source of electrons for silver reduction. Images of bound DNA molecules and fabricated nanowires have been obtained using an atomic force microscope and a scanning ion helium microscope. DNA interaction with silver ions in a solution was examined by the methods of ultraviolet spectroscopy and circular dichroism.

Copper-assisted, anti-reflection etching of silicon surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Toor, Fatima; Branz, Howard

2014-08-26

A method (300) for etching a silicon surface (116) to reduce reflectivity. The method (300) includes electroless deposition of copper nanoparticles about 20 nanometers in size on the silicon surface (116), with a particle-to-particle spacing of 3 to 8 nanometers. The method (300) includes positioning (310) the substrate (112) with a silicon surface (116) into a vessel (122). The vessel (122) is filled (340) with a volume of an etching solution (124) so as to cover the silicon surface (116). The etching solution (124) includes an oxidant-etchant solution (146), e.g., an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The silicon surface (116) is etched (350) by agitating the etching solution (124) with, for example, ultrasonic agitation, and the etching may include heating (360) the etching solution (124) and directing light (365) onto the silicon surface (116). During the etching, copper nanoparticles enhance or drive the etching process.

Fusion bonding of silicon nitride surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reck, Kasper; Østergaard, Christian; Thomsen, Erik Vilain

2011-01-01

While silicon nitride surfaces are widely used in many micro electrical mechanical system devices, e.g. for chemical passivation, electrical isolation or environmental protection, studies on fusion bonding of two silicon nitride surfaces (Si3N4–Si3N4 bonding) are very few and highly application...

Superacid Passivation of Crystalline Silicon Surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Bullock, James; Kiriya, Daisuke; Grant, Nicholas; Azcatl, Angelica; Hettick, Mark; Kho, Teng; Phang, Pheng; Sio, Hang C; Yan, Di; Macdonald, Daniel; Quevedo-Lopez, Manuel A; Wallace, Robert M; Cuevas, Andres; Javey, Ali

2016-09-14

The reduction of parasitic recombination processes commonly occurring within the silicon crystal and at its surfaces is of primary importance in crystalline silicon devices, particularly in photovoltaics. Here we explore a simple, room temperature treatment, involving a nonaqueous solution of the superacid bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide, to temporarily deactivate recombination centers at the surface. We show that this treatment leads to a significant enhancement in optoelectronic properties of the silicon wafer, attaining a level of surface passivation in line with state-of-the-art dielectric passivation films. Finally, we demonstrate its advantage as a bulk lifetime and process cleanliness monitor, establishing its compatibility with large area photoluminescence imaging in the process.

Microtextured Silicon Surfaces for Detectors, Sensors & Photovoltaics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carey, JE; Mazur, E

2005-05-19

With support from this award we studied a novel silicon microtexturing process and its application in silicon-based infrared photodetectors. By irradiating the surface of a silicon wafer with intense femtosecond laser pulses in the presence of certain gases or liquids, the originally shiny, flat surface is transformed into a dark array of microstructures. The resulting microtextured surface has near-unity absorption from near-ultraviolet to infrared wavelengths well below the band gap. The high, broad absorption of microtextured silicon could enable the production of silicon-based photodiodes for use as inexpensive, room-temperature multi-spectral photodetectors. Such detectors would find use in numerous applications including environmental sensors, solar energy, and infrared imaging. The goals of this study were to learn about microtextured surfaces and then develop and test prototype silicon detectors for the visible and infrared. We were extremely successful in achieving our goals. During the first two years of this award, we learned a great deal about how microtextured surfaces form and what leads to their remarkable optical properties. We used this knowledge to build prototype detectors with high sensitivity in both the visible and in the near-infrared. We obtained room-temperature responsivities as high as 100 A/W at 1064 nm, two orders of magnitude higher than standard silicon photodiodes. For wavelengths below the band gap, we obtained responsivities as high as 50 mA/W at 1330 nm and 35 mA/W at 1550 nm, close to the responsivity of InGaAs photodiodes and five orders of magnitude higher than silicon devices in this wavelength region.

Metrology of nanosize biopowders using porous silicon surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhuravel', L.V.; Latukhina, N.V.; Pisareva, E.V.; Vlasov, M.Yu.; Volkov, A.V.; Volodkin, B.O.

2008-01-01

Powders of hydroxyapatite deposited on porous silicon surface were investigated by TEM and STM methods. Thickness of porous lay was 1-100 micrometers; porous diameter was 0.01-10 micrometers. Images of porous silicon surface with deposited particles give possibility to estimate particles size and induce that only proportionate porous diameter particles have good adhesion to porous silicon surface.

Radiation defect formation in two-barrier structures based on silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madatov, R.S.; Abbasov, F.P.; Mustafayev, Yu.M.

2013-01-01

It was developed a silicon-based photodetector with high integral sensitivity in low-wave spectrum. It was investigated the effect of gamma radiation on the mechanism of current transport in the structure of Schottky barrier type and in transitions. It is shown that the double-barrier structures can improve the photovoltaic parameters of conventional detectors. For the first time it was obtained and studied the characteristics of two-barrier structures created on the same plane. The advantages over conventional structures are shown. The annealing point is changing the structure of radiation defects and leads to their disappearance

Electric field strength in a silicon surface barrier detector with the presence of a dielectric plasma column

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanno, Ikuo

1994-01-01

The dynamic change of the electric field strength in a silicon surface barrier detector (SSBD) is studied. With the presence of a dielectric plasma column in the depletion layer of the SSBD, the electric field strength inside/outside the plasma column is suppressed/enhanced. As the length and the dielectric constant of the plasma column become shorter and smaller, the suppression and enhancement of the electric field strength become less. The electric field strength recovers the initial state, when the plasma column disappears. When the electrons and holes are inside/outside the dielectric plasma column, they have less/more electric potential than the one they have when there is no plasma column. During the movement of the electron/hole outside the plasma column to the positive/negative electrode, the enhanced electric field strength becomes smaller. Electron and hole pairs, which are the parts of the dielectric plasma column, arrive at positive and negative electrodes, having insufficient electric potential to induce the unit charge. This paper shows that the presence of a dielectric plasma column explains the main part of the residual defect in a SSBD. ((orig.))

Surface Effects in Segmented Silicon Sensors

OpenAIRE

Kopsalis, Ioannis

2017-01-01

Silicon detectors in Photon Science and Particle Physics require silicon sensors with very demanding specifications. New accelerators like the European X-ray Free Electron Laser (EuXFEL) and the High Luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC), pose new challenges for silicon sensors, especially with respect to radiation hardness. High radiation doses and fluences damage the silicon crystal and the SiO2 layers at the surface, thus changing the sensor properties and limiting their...

Silicon and Germanium (111) Surface Reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, You Gong

Silicon (111) surface (7 x 7) reconstruction has been a long standing puzzle. For the last twenty years, various models were put forward to explain this reconstruction, but so far the problem still remains unsolved. Recent ion scattering and channeling (ISC), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and transmission electron diffraction (TED) experiments reveal some new results about the surface which greatly help investigators to establish better models. This work proposes a silicon (111) surface reconstruction mechanism, the raising and lowering mechanism which leads to benzene -like ring and flower (raised atom) building units. Based on these building units a (7 x 7) model is proposed, which is capable of explaining the STM and ISC experiment and several others. Furthermore the building units of the model can be used naturally to account for the germanium (111) surface c(2 x 8) reconstruction and other observed structures including (2 x 2), (5 x 5) and (7 x 7) for germanium as well as the (/3 x /3)R30 and (/19 x /19)R23.5 impurity induced structures for silicon, and the higher temperature disordered (1 x 1) structure for silicon. The model is closely related to the silicon (111) surface (2 x 1) reconstruction pi-bonded chain model, which is the most successful model for the reconstruction now. This provides an explanation for the rather low conversion temperature (560K) of the (2 x 1) to the (7 x 7). The model seems to meet some problems in the explanation of the TED result, which is explained very well by the dimer, adatom and stacking fault (DAS) model proposed by Takayanagi. In order to explain the TED result, a variation of the atomic scattering factor is proposed. Comparing the benzene-like ring model with the DAS model, the former needs more work to explain the TED result and the later has to find a way to explain the silicon (111) surface (1 x 1) disorder experiment.

Surface thiolation of silicon for antifouling application.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaoning; Gao, Pei; Hollimon, Valerie; Brodus, DaShan; Johnson, Arion; Hu, Hongmei

2018-02-07

Thiol groups grafted silicon surface was prepared as previously described. 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecanethiol (PFDT) molecules were then immobilized on such a surface through disulfide bonds formation. To investigate the contribution of PFDT coating to antifouling, the adhesion behaviors of Botryococcus braunii (B. braunii) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) were studied through biofouling assays in the laboratory. The representative microscope images suggest reduced B. braunii and E. coli accumulation densities on PFDT integrated silicon substrate. However, the antifouling performance of PFDT integrated silicon substrate decreased over time. By incubating the aged substrate in 10 mM TCEP·HCl solution for 1 h, the fouled PFDT coating could be removed as the disulfide bonds were cleaved, resulting in reduced absorption of algal cells and exposure of non-fouled silicon substrate surface. Our results indicate that the thiol-terminated substrate can be potentially useful for restoring the fouled surface, as well as maximizing the effective usage of the substrate.

Surface Coating of Gypsum-Based Molds for Maxillofacial Prosthetic Silicone Elastomeric Material: The Surface Topography.

Science.gov (United States)

Khalaf, Salah; Ariffin, Zaihan; Husein, Adam; Reza, Fazal

2015-07-01

This study aimed to compare the surface roughness of maxillofacial silicone elastomers fabricated in noncoated and coated gypsum materials. This study was also conducted to characterize the silicone elastomer specimens after surfaces were modified. A gypsum mold was coated with clear acrylic spray. The coated mold was then used to produce modified silicone experimental specimens (n = 35). The surface roughness of the modified silicone elastomers was compared with that of the control specimens, which were prepared by conventional flasking methods (n = 35). An atomic force microscope (AFM) was used for surface roughness measurement of silicone elastomer (unmodified and modified), and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to evaluate the topographic conditions of coated and noncoated gypsum and silicone elastomer specimens (unmodified and modified) groups. After the gypsum molds were characterized, the fabricated silicone elastomers molded on noncoated and coated gypsum materials were evaluated further. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis of gypsum materials (noncoated and coated) and silicone elastomer specimens (unmodified and modified) was performed to evaluate the elemental changes after coating was conducted. Independent t test was used to analyze the differences in the surface roughness of unmodified and modified silicone at a significance level of p SEM analysis results showed evident differences in surface smoothness. EDX data further revealed the presence of the desired chemical components on the surface layer of unmodified and modified silicone elastomers. Silicone elastomers with lower surface roughness of maxillofacial prostheses can be obtained simply by coating a gypsum mold. © 2014 by the American College of Prosthodontists.

Study of Nickel Silicide as a Copper Diffusion Barrier in Monocrystalline Silicon Solar Cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kale, Abhijit; Beese, Emily; Saenz, Theresa; Warren, Emily; Nemeth, William; Young, David; Marshall, Alexander; Florent, Karine; Kurinec, Santosh K.; Agarwal, Sumit; Stradins, Pauls

2016-11-21

NiSi as a conductive diffusion barrier to silicon has been studied. We demonstrate that the NiSi films formed using the single step annealing process are as good as the two step process using XRD and Raman. Quality of NiSi films formed using e-beam Ni and electroless Ni process has been compared. Incomplete surface coverage and presence of constituents other than Ni are the main challenges with electroless Ni. We also demonstrate that Cu reduces the thermal stability of NiSi films. The detection of Cu has proven to be difficult due to temperature limitations.

Characteristics of surface mount low barrier silicon Schottky diodes with boron contamination in the substrate–epitaxial layer interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pal, Debdas; Hoag, David; Barter, Margaret

2012-01-01

Unusual negative resistance characteristics were observed in low barrier HMIC (Heterolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit) silicon Schottky diodes with HF (hydrofluoric acid)/IPA (isopropyl alcohol) vapor clean prior to epitaxial growth of silicon. SIMS (secondary ion mass spectroscopy) analysis and the results of the buried layer structure confirmed boron contamination in the substrate/epitaxial layer interface. Consequently the structure turned into a thyristor like p-n-p-n device. A dramatic reduction of boron contamination was found in the wafers with H 2 0/HCl/HF dry only clean prior to growth, which provided positive resistance characteristics. Consequently the mean differential resistance at 10 mA was reduced to about 8.1 Ω. The lower series resistance (5.6–5.9 Ω) and near 1 ideality factor (1.03–1.06) of the Schottky devices indicated the good quality of the epitaxial layer. (paper)

Diamond deposition on siliconized stainless steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez, F.; Reinoso, M.; Huck, H.; Rosenbusch, M.

2010-01-01

Silicon diffusion layers in AISI 304 and AISI 316 type stainless steels were investigated as an alternative to surface barrier coatings for diamond film growth. Uniform 2 μm thick silicon rich interlayers were obtained by coating the surface of the steels with silicon and performing diffusion treatments at 800 deg. C. Adherent diamond films with low sp 2 carbon content were deposited on the diffused silicon layers by a modified hot filament assisted chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) method. Characterization of as-siliconized layers and diamond coatings was performed by energy dispersive X-ray analysis, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy.

Porosity-dependent fractal nature of the porous silicon surface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rahmani, N.; Dariani, R. S., E-mail: dariani@alzahra.ac.ir [Department of Physics, Alzahra University, Tehran, 1993893973 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2015-07-15

Porous silicon films with porosity ranging from 42% to 77% were fabricated by electrochemical anodization under different current density. We used atomic force microscopy and dynamic scaling theory for deriving the surface roughness profile and processing the topography of the porous silicon layers, respectively. We first compared the topography of bare silicon surface with porous silicon and then studied the effect of the porosity of porous silicon films on their scaling behavior by using their self-affinity nature. Our work demonstrated that silicon compared to the porous silicon films has the highest Hurst parameter, indicating that the formation of porous layer due to the anodization etching of silicon surface leads to an increase of its roughness. Fractal analysis revealed that the evolution of the nanocrystallites’ fractal dimension along with porosity. Also, we found that both interface width and Hurst parameter are affected by the increase of porosity.

Surface chemistry of a hydrogenated mesoporous p-type silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Media, El-Mahdi, E-mail: belhadidz@tahoo.fr; Outemzabet, Ratiba, E-mail: oratiba@hotmail.com

2017-02-15

Highlights: • Due to its large specific surface porous silicon is used as substrate for drug therapy and biosensors. • We highlight the evidency of the contribution of the hydrides (SiHx) in the formation of the porous silicon. • The responsible species in the porous silicon formation are identified and quantified at different conditions. • By some chemical treatments we show that silicon surface can be turn from hydrophobic to hydrophilic. - Abstract: The finality of this work is devoted to the grafting of organic molecules on hydrogen passivated mesoporous silicon surfaces. The study would aid in the development for the formation of organic monolayers on silicon surface to be exploited for different applications such as the realisation of biosensors and medical devices. The basic material is silicon which has been first investigated by FTIR at atomistic plane during the anodic forward and backward polarization (i.e. “go” and “return”). For this study, we applied a numerical program based on least squares method to infrared absorbance spectra obtained by an in situ attenuated total reflection on p-type silicon in diluted HF electrolyte. Our numerical treatment is based on the fitting of the different bands of IR absorbance into Gaussians corresponding to the different modes of vibration of molecular groups such as siloxanes and hydrides. An adjustment of these absorbance bands is done systematically. The areas under the fitted bands permit one to follow the intensity of the different modes of vibration that exist during the anodic forward and backward polarization in order to compare the reversibility of the phenomenon of the anodic dissolution of silicon. It permits also to follow the evolution between the hydrogen silicon termination at forward and backward scanning applied potential. Finally a comparison between the states of the initial and final surface was carried out. We confirm the presence of clearly four and three distinct vibration modes

The Barrier Properties of PET Coated DLC Film Deposited by Microwave Surface-Wave PECVD

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Lianhua; Chen, Qiang

2017-12-01

In this paper we report the investigation of diamond-like carbon (DLC) deposited by microwave surface-wave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) web for the purpose of the barrier property improvement. In order to characterize the properties of DLC coatings, we used several substrates, silicon wafer, glass, and PET web and KBr tablet. The deposition rate was obtained by surface profiler based on the DLC deposited on glass substrates; Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FTIR) was carried out on KBr tablets to investigate chemical composition and bonding structure; the morphology of the DLC coating was analyzed by atomic force microscope (AFM) on Si substrates. For the barrier properties of PET webs, we measured the oxygen transmission rate (OTR) and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) after coated with DLC films. We addressed the film barrier property related to process parameters, such as microwave power and pulse parameter in this work. The results show that the DLC coatings can greatly improve the barrier properties of PET webs.

Femtosecond laser irradiation-induced infrared absorption on silicon surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qinghua Zhu

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The near-infrared (NIR absorption below band gap energy of crystalline silicon is significantly increased after the silicon is irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses at a simple experimental condition. The absorption increase in the NIR range primarily depends on the femtosecond laser pulse energy, pulse number, and pulse duration. The Raman spectroscopy analysis shows that after the laser irradiation, the silicon surface consists of silicon nanostructure and amorphous silicon. The femtosecond laser irradiation leads to the formation of a composite of nanocrystalline, amorphous, and the crystal silicon substrate surface with microstructures. The composite has an optical absorption enhancement at visible wavelengths as well as at NIR wavelength. The composite may be useful for an NIR detector, for example, for gas sensing because of its large surface area.

Effect of hydrogen on the diode properties of reactively sputtered amorphous silicon Schottky barrier structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morel, D.L.; Moustakas, T.D.

1981-01-01

The diode properties of reactively sputtered hydrogenated amorphous silicon Schottky barrier structures (a-SiH/sub x/ /Pt) have been investigated. We find a systematic relation between the changes in the open circuit voltage, the barrier height, and the diode quality factor. These results are accounted for by assuming that hydrogen incorporation into the amorphous silicon network removes states from the top of the valence band and sharpens the valence-band tail. Interfacial oxide layers play a significant role in the low hydrogen content, and low band-gap regime

Capabilities of silicon Shottki barriers and planar detectors in low-energy proton spectometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verbitskaya, E M; Eremin, V K; Malyarenko, A M; Sakharov, V I; Serenkov, I T; Strokan, N B; Sukhanov, V L

1987-05-12

Dependence of the resolution of surface barrier and planar diffusion silicon detectors on proton energy is investigated. The experiment was conducted at the device, representing the double mass spectrometer with the maximal energy of single-charged ions up to 200 keV. Two advantages of using planar diffusion detectors for light low-energy ion spectrometry is established: high energy resolution and independence of signal amplitude of bias voltage. Background noise represents the main factor dictaiting resolution, but fluctuations of losses in input window are sufficient as well. It was concluded that planar detector application for spectrometry of protons with energy of less than 200 keV would improve the resolution up to 2.2 keV without detector cooling.

Surface effects in segmented silicon sensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kopsalis, Ioannis

2017-05-15

Silicon detectors in Photon Science and Particle Physics require silicon sensors with very demanding specifications. New accelerators like the European X-ray Free Electron Laser (EuXFEL) and the High Luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC), pose new challenges for silicon sensors, especially with respect to radiation hardness. High radiation doses and fluences damage the silicon crystal and the SiO{sub 2} layers at the surface, thus changing the sensor properties and limiting their life time. Non-Ionizing Energy Loss (NIEL) of incident particles causes silicon crystal damage. Ionizing Energy Loss (IEL) of incident particles increases the densities of oxide charge and interface traps in the SiO{sub 2} and at the Si-SiO{sub 2} interface. In this thesis the surface radiation damage of the Si-SiO{sub 2} system on high-ohmic Si has been investigated using circular MOSFETs biased in accumulation and inversion at an electric field in the SiO{sub 2} of about 500 kV/cm. The MOSFETs have been irradiated by X-rays from an X-ray tube to a dose of about 17 kGy(SiO{sub 2}) in different irradiation steps. Before and after each irradiation step, the gate voltage has been cycled from inversion to accumulation conditions and back. From the dependence of the drain-source current on gate voltage the threshold voltage of the MOSFET and the hole and electron mobility at the Si-SiO{sub 2} interface were determined. In addition, from the measured drain-source current the change of the oxide charge density during irradiation has been determined. The interface trap density and the oxide charge has been determined separately using the subthreshold current technique based on the Brews charge sheet model which has been applied for first time on MOSFETs built on high-ohmic Si. The results show a significant field-direction dependence of the surface radiation parameters. The extracted parameters and the acquired knowledge can be used to improve simulations of the surface

Surface effects in segmented silicon sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kopsalis, Ioannis

2017-05-01

Silicon detectors in Photon Science and Particle Physics require silicon sensors with very demanding specifications. New accelerators like the European X-ray Free Electron Laser (EuXFEL) and the High Luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC), pose new challenges for silicon sensors, especially with respect to radiation hardness. High radiation doses and fluences damage the silicon crystal and the SiO 2 layers at the surface, thus changing the sensor properties and limiting their life time. Non-Ionizing Energy Loss (NIEL) of incident particles causes silicon crystal damage. Ionizing Energy Loss (IEL) of incident particles increases the densities of oxide charge and interface traps in the SiO 2 and at the Si-SiO 2 interface. In this thesis the surface radiation damage of the Si-SiO 2 system on high-ohmic Si has been investigated using circular MOSFETs biased in accumulation and inversion at an electric field in the SiO 2 of about 500 kV/cm. The MOSFETs have been irradiated by X-rays from an X-ray tube to a dose of about 17 kGy(SiO 2 ) in different irradiation steps. Before and after each irradiation step, the gate voltage has been cycled from inversion to accumulation conditions and back. From the dependence of the drain-source current on gate voltage the threshold voltage of the MOSFET and the hole and electron mobility at the Si-SiO 2 interface were determined. In addition, from the measured drain-source current the change of the oxide charge density during irradiation has been determined. The interface trap density and the oxide charge has been determined separately using the subthreshold current technique based on the Brews charge sheet model which has been applied for first time on MOSFETs built on high-ohmic Si. The results show a significant field-direction dependence of the surface radiation parameters. The extracted parameters and the acquired knowledge can be used to improve simulations of the surface radiation damage of silicon sensors.

Article Including Environmental Barrier Coating System

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kang N. (Inventor)

2015-01-01

An enhanced environmental barrier coating for a silicon containing substrate. The enhanced barrier coating may include a bond coat doped with at least one of an alkali metal oxide and an alkali earth metal oxide. The enhanced barrier coating may include a composite mullite bond coat including BSAS and another distinct second phase oxide applied over said surface.

Surface topography and morphology characterization of PIII irradiated silicon surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Satinder K.; Barthwal, Sumit

2008-01-01

The effect of plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) treatment on silicon surfaces was investigated by micro-Raman and atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique. The surface damage was given by the implantation of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and argon ions using an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source at low pressure. AFM studies show that surface topography of the PIII treated silicon wafers depend on the physical and chemical nature of the implanted species. Micro-Raman spectra indicate that the significant reduction of intensity of Raman peak after PIII treatment. Plasma immersion ion implantation is a non-line-of-sight ion implantation method, which allows 3D treatment of materials. Therefore, PIII based surface modification and plasma immersion ion deposition (PIID) coatings are applied in a wide range of situations.

Silica-sol-based spin-coating barrier layer against phosphorous diffusion for crystalline silicon solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Uzum, Abdullah; Fukatsu, Ken; Kanda, Hiroyuki; Kimura, Yutaka; Tanimoto, Kenji; Yoshinaga, Seiya; Jiang, Yunjian; Ishikawa, Yasuaki; Uraoka, Yukiharu; Ito, Seigo

2014-01-01

The phosphorus barrier layers at the doping procedure of silicon wafers were fabricated using a spin-coating method with a mixture of silica-sol and tetramethylammonium hydroxide, which can be formed at the rear surface prior to the front phosphorus spin-on-demand (SOD) diffusion and directly annealed simultaneously with the front phosphorus layer. The optimization of coating thickness was obtained by changing the applied spin-coating speed; from 2,000 to 8,000 rpm. The CZ-Si p-type silicon solar cells were fabricated with/without using the rear silica-sol layer after taking the sheet resistance measurements, SIMS analysis, and SEM measurements of the silica-sol material evaluations into consideration. For the fabrication of solar cells, a spin-coating phosphorus source was used to form the n(+) emitter and was then diffused at 930°C for 35 min. The out-gas diffusion of phosphorus could be completely prevented by spin-coated silica-sol film placed on the rear side of the wafers coated prior to the diffusion process. A roughly 2% improvement in the conversion efficiency was observed when silica-sol was utilized during the phosphorus diffusion step. These results can suggest that the silica-sol material can be an attractive candidate for low-cost and easily applicable spin-coating barrier for any masking purpose involving phosphorus diffusion.

Comparative analysis of germanium-silicon quantum dots formation on Si(100), Si(111) and Sn/Si(100) surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Lozovoy, Kirill; Kokhanenko, Andrey; Voitsekhovskii, Alexander

2018-02-01

In this paper theoretical modeling of formation and growth of germanium-silicon quantum dots in the method of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on different surfaces is carried out. Silicon substrates with crystallographic orientations (100) and (111) are considered. Special attention is paid to the question of growth of quantum dots on the silicon surface covered by tin, since germanium-silicon-tin system is extremely important for contemporary nano- and optoelectronics: for creation of photodetectors, solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and fast-speed transistors. A theoretical approach for modeling growth processes of such semiconductor compounds during the MBE is presented. Both layer-by-layer and island nucleation stages in the Stranski-Krastanow growth mode are described. A change in free energy during transition of atoms from the wetting layer to an island, activation barrier of the nucleation, critical thickness of 2D to 3D transition, as well as surface density and size distribution function of quantum dots in these systems are calculated with the help of the established model. All the theoretical speculations are carried out keeping in mind possible device applications of these materials. In particular, it is theoretically shown that using of the Si(100) surface covered by tin as a substrate for Ge deposition may be very promising for increasing size homogeneity of quantum dot array for possible applications in low-noise selective quantum dot infrared photodetectors.

Low surface damage dry etched black silicon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Plakhotnyuk, Maksym M.; Gaudig, Maria; Davidsen, Rasmus Schmidt

2017-01-01

Black silicon (bSi) is promising for integration into silicon solar cell fabrication flow due to its excellent light trapping and low reflectance, and a continuously improving passivation. However, intensive ion bombardment during the reactive ion etching used to fabricate bSi induces surface dam...

Blocking germanium diffusion inside silicon dioxide using a co-implanted silicon barrier

Science.gov (United States)

Barba, D.; Wang, C.; Nélis, A.; Terwagne, G.; Rosei, F.

2018-04-01

We investigate the effect of co-implanting a silicon sublayer on the thermal diffusion of germanium ions implanted into SiO2 and the growth of Ge nanocrystals (Ge-ncs). High-resolution imaging obtained by transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy measurements supported by Monte-Carlo calculations shows that the Si-enriched region acts as a diffusion barrier for Ge atoms. This barrier prevents Ge outgassing during thermal annealing at 1100 °C. Both the localization and the reduced size of Ge-ncs formed within the sample region co-implanted with Si are observed, as well as the nucleation of mixed Ge/Si nanocrystals containing structural point defects and stacking faults. Although it was found that the Si co-implantation affects the crystallinity of the formed Ge-ncs, this technique can be implemented to produce size-selective and depth-ordered nanostructured systems by controlling the spatial distribution of diffusing Ge. We illustrate this feature for Ge-ncs embedded within a single SiO2 monolayer, whose diameters were gradually increased from 1 nm to 5 nm over a depth of 100 nm.

Optimization of the Surface Structure on Black Silicon for Surface Passivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Xiaojie; Zhou, Chunlan; Wang, Wenjing

2017-12-01

Black silicon shows excellent anti-reflection and thus is extremely useful for photovoltaic applications. However, its high surface recombination velocity limits the efficiency of solar cells. In this paper, the effective minority carrier lifetime of black silicon is improved by optimizing metal-catalyzed chemical etching (MCCE) method, using an Al 2 O 3 thin film deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) as a passivation layer. Using the spray method to eliminate the impact on the rear side, single-side black silicon was obtained on n-type solar grade silicon wafers. Post-etch treatment with NH 4 OH/H 2 O 2 /H 2 O mixed solution not only smoothes the surface but also increases the effective minority lifetime from 161 μs of as-prepared wafer to 333 μs after cleaning. Moreover, adding illumination during the etching process results in an improvement in both the numerical value and the uniformity of the effective minority carrier lifetime.

Natural Contamination and Surface Flashover on Silicone Rubber Surface under Haze–Fog Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ang Ren

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Anti-pollution flashover of insulator is important for power systems. In recent years, haze-fog weather occurs frequently, which makes discharge occurs easily on the insulator surface and accelerates insulation aging of insulator. In order to study the influence of haze-fog on the surface discharge of room temperature vulcanized silicone rubber, an artificial haze-fog lab was established. Based on four consecutive years of insulator contamination accumulation and atmospheric sampling in haze-fog environment, the contamination configuration appropriate for RTV-coated surface discharge test under simulation environment of haze-fog was put forward. ANSYS Maxwell was used to analyze the influence of room temperature vulcanized silicone rubber surface attachments on electric field distribution. The changes of droplet on the polluted room temperature vulcanized silicone rubber surface and the corresponding surface flashover voltage under alternating current (AC, direct current (DC positive polar (+, and DC negative polar (− power source were recorded by a high speed camera. The results are as follows: The main ion components from haze-fog atmospheric particles are NO3−, SO42−, NH4+, and Ca2+. In haze-fog environment, both the equivalent salt deposit density (ESDD and non-soluble deposit density (NSDD of insulators are higher than that under general environment. The amount of large particles on the AC transmission line is greater than that of the DC transmission line. The influence of DC polarity power source on the distribution of contamination particle size is not significant. After the deposition of haze-fog, the local conductivity of the room temperature vulcanized silicone rubber surface increased, which caused the flashover voltage reduce. Discharge is liable to occur at the triple junction point of droplet, air, and room temperature vulcanized silicone rubber surface. After the deformation or movement of droplets, a new triple junction

Instrumental studies on silicone oil adsorption to the surface of intraocular lenses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Chun Ho [Lab. of Tissue Engineering, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul 139-706 (Korea, Republic of); Joo, Choun-Ki [Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Medical College of Catholic University, Seoul 137-701 (Korea, Republic of); Chun, Heung Jae, E-mail: chunhj@catholic.ac.kr [Institute of Cell and Tissue Engineering, Medical College of Catholic University, Seoul 137-701 (Korea, Republic of); Yoo, Bok Ryul [Organosilicone Chemistry Laboratory, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 130-650 (Korea, Republic of); Noh, Dong Il; Shim, Young Bock [Research Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Korea Bone Bank Co. Ltd., Seoul 153-782 (Korea, Republic of)

2012-12-01

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer It was found that PHEMA and Acrysof IOLs possess silicone oil repellant ability. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The residual silicone oil was detected on the surfaces of PMMA and silicone IOLs. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer XPS studies showed that silicone oil coverage of PMMA lenses was 12%. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Silicone oil covered the entire surface of the silicone IOLs. - Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the degree of adherence of silicone oil to various intraocular lenses (IOLs) through comparison of the physico-chemical properties of the oil and IOLs. Four kinds of IOLs comprising various biomaterials were examined: PMMA (720A Trade-Mark-Sign ), PHEMA (IOGEL 1103 Trade-Mark-Sign ), Acrysof (MA60BM Trade-Mark-Sign ), and silicone (SI30NB Trade-Mark-Sign ). Each lens was immersed in silicone oil or carboxylated silicone (CS-PDMS) oil for 72 h. For determination of the changes in chemical and elemental compositions on the surfaces of IOLs caused by the contact with silicone oil, IOLs were washed and rinsed with n-pentane to remove as much of the adsorbed silicone oil as possible, then subjected to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analyses. The results of FTIR studies strongly indicate that washing with n-pentane completely removed the adhered silicone oil on the surfaces of PHEMA and Acrysof IOLs, whereas the residual silicone oil was detected on the surfaces of PMMA and silicone IOLs. XPS studies showed that silicone oil coverage of PMMA lenses was 12%, even after washing with n-pentane. In the case of silicone IOLs, the relative O1s peak area of carboxyl group in the residual CS-PDMS oil was found to be {approx}2.7%. Considering that 2.8% carboxyl group-substituted silicone oil was used in the present study, CS-PDMS oil covered the entire surface of the silicone IOLs.

CHANNELING OF B-IONS IN SILICON

NARCIS (Netherlands)

VOS, M; MITCHELL, [No Value; SMULDERS, PJM

We present new results on the channeling of B ions in Si crystals. Standard surface barrier detectors have been used to record energy spectra for B ions backscattered from the near surface (approximately 1500 angstrom) of a silicon crystal, under perfect, and near axial and planar channeling

Permanent isolation surface barrier development plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wing, N.R.

1994-01-01

The exhumation and treatment of wastes may not always be the preferred alternative in the remediation of a waste site. In-place disposal alternatives, under certain circumstances, may be the most desirable alternatives to use in the protection of human health and the environment. The implementation of an in-place disposal alternative will likely require some type of protective covering that will provide long-term isolation of the wastes from the accessible environment. Even if the wastes are exhumed and treated, a long-term barrier may still be needed to adequately dispose of the treated wastes or any remaining waste residuals. Currently, no open-quotes provenclose quotes long-term barrier is available. The Hanford Site Permanent Isolation Surface Barrier Development Program (BDP) was organized to develop the technology needed to provide a long-term surface barrier capability for the Hanford Site. The permanent isolation barrier technology also could be used at other sites. Permanent isolation barriers use engineered layers of natural materials to create an integrated structure with redundant protective features. Drawings of conceptual permanent isolation surface barriers are shown. The natural construction materials (e.g., fine soil, sand, gravel, riprap, asphalt) have been selected to optimize barrier performance and longevity. The objective of current designs is to use natural materials to develop a maintenance-free permanent isolation surface barrier that isolates wastes for a minimum of 1,000 years by limiting water drainage to near-zero amounts; reducing the likelihood of plant, animal, and human intrusion; controlling the exhalation of noxious gases; and minimizing erosion-related problems

Permanent isolation surface barrier development plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wing, N.R.

1994-01-01

The exhumation and treatment of wastes may not always be the preferred alternative in the remediation of a waste site. In-place disposal alternatives, under certain circumstances, may be the most desirable alternatives to use in the protection of human health and the environment. The implementation of an in-place disposal alternative will likely require some type of protective covering that will provide long-term isolation of the wastes from the accessible environment. Even if the wastes are exhumed and treated, a long-term barrier may still be needed to adequately dispose of the treated wastes or any remaining waste residuals. Currently, no {open_quotes}proven{close_quotes} long-term barrier is available. The Hanford Site Permanent Isolation Surface Barrier Development Program (BDP) was organized to develop the technology needed to provide a long-term surface barrier capability for the Hanford Site. The permanent isolation barrier technology also could be used at other sites. Permanent isolation barriers use engineered layers of natural materials to create an integrated structure with redundant protective features. Drawings of conceptual permanent isolation surface barriers are shown. The natural construction materials (e.g., fine soil, sand, gravel, riprap, asphalt) have been selected to optimize barrier performance and longevity. The objective of current designs is to use natural materials to develop a maintenance-free permanent isolation surface barrier that isolates wastes for a minimum of 1,000 years by limiting water drainage to near-zero amounts; reducing the likelihood of plant, animal, and human intrusion; controlling the exhalation of noxious gases; and minimizing erosion-related problems.

Very low Schottky barrier height at carbon nanotube and silicon carbide interface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inaba, Masafumi, E-mail: inaba-ma@ruri.waseda.jp; Suzuki, Kazuma; Shibuya, Megumi; Lee, Chih-Yu [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-8555 (Japan); Masuda, Yoshiho; Tomatsu, Naoya; Norimatsu, Wataru; Kusunoki, Michiko [EcoTopia Science Institute, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603 (Japan); Hiraiwa, Atsushi [Institute for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Waseda University, 513 Waseda-tsurumaki, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-0041 (Japan); Kawarada, Hiroshi [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-8555 (Japan); Institute for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Waseda University, 513 Waseda-tsurumaki, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-0041 (Japan); The Kagami Memorial Laboratory for Materials Science and Technology, Waseda University, 2-8-26 Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-0051 (Japan)

2015-03-23

Electrical contacts to silicon carbide with low contact resistivity and high current durability are crucial for future SiC power devices, especially miniaturized vertical-type devices. A carbon nanotube (CNT) forest formed by silicon carbide (SiC) decomposition is a densely packed forest, and is ideal for use as a heat-dissipative ohmic contact in SiC power transistors. The contact resistivity and Schottky barrier height in a Ti/CNT/SiC system with various SiC dopant concentrations were evaluated in this study. Contact resistivity was evaluated in relation to contact area. The Schottky barrier height was calculated from the contact resistivity. As a result, the Ti/CNT/SiC contact resistivity at a dopant concentration of 3 × 10{sup 18 }cm{sup −3} was estimated to be ∼1.3 × 10{sup −4} Ω cm{sup 2} and the Schottky barrier height of the CNT/SiC contact was in the range of 0.40–0.45 eV. The resistivity is relatively low for SiC contacts, showing that CNTs have the potential to be a good ohmic contact material for SiC power electronic devices.

Polycrystalline Silicon Gettered by Porous Silicon and Heavy Phosphorous Diffusion

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LIU Zuming(刘祖明); Souleymane K Traore; ZHANG Zhongwen(张忠文); LUO Yi(罗毅)

2004-01-01

The biggest barrier for photovoltaic (PV) utilization is its high cost, so the key for scale PV utilization is to further decrease the cost of solar cells. One way to improve the efficiency, and therefore lower the cost, is to increase the minority carrier lifetime by controlling the material defects. The main defects in grain boundaries of polycrystalline silicon gettered by porous silicon and heavy phosphorous diffusion have been studied. The porous silicon was formed on the two surfaces of wafers by chemical etching. Phosphorous was then diffused into the wafers at high temperature (900℃). After the porous silicon and diffusion layers were removed, the minority carrier lifetime was measured by photo-conductor decay. The results show that the lifetime's minority carriers are increased greatly after such treatment.

Porous silicon structures with high surface area/specific pore size

Science.gov (United States)

Northrup, M.A.; Yu, C.M.; Raley, N.F.

1999-03-16

Fabrication and use of porous silicon structures to increase surface area of heated reaction chambers, electrophoresis devices, and thermopneumatic sensor-actuators, chemical preconcentrates, and filtering or control flow devices. In particular, such high surface area or specific pore size porous silicon structures will be useful in significantly augmenting the adsorption, vaporization, desorption, condensation and flow of liquids and gases in applications that use such processes on a miniature scale. Examples that will benefit from a high surface area, porous silicon structure include sample preconcentrators that are designed to adsorb and subsequently desorb specific chemical species from a sample background; chemical reaction chambers with enhanced surface reaction rates; and sensor-actuator chamber devices with increased pressure for thermopneumatic actuation of integrated membranes. Examples that benefit from specific pore sized porous silicon are chemical/biological filters and thermally-activated flow devices with active or adjacent surfaces such as electrodes or heaters. 9 figs.

Correlation between surface microstructure and optical properties of porous silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saeideh Rhramezani Sani

2007-12-01

Full Text Available   We have studied the effect of increasing porosity and its microstructure surface variation on the optical and dielectric properties of porous silicon. It seems that porosity, as the surface roughness within the range of a few microns, shows quantum effect in the absorption and reflection process of porous silicon. Optical constants of porous silicon at normal incidence of light with wavelength in the range of 250-3000 nm have been calculated by Kramers-Kroning method. Our experimental analysis shows that electronic structure and dielectric properties of porous silicon are totally different from silicon. Also, it shows that porous silicon has optical response in the visible region. This difference was also verified by effective media approximation (EMA.

Design and construction of a system for determination of Radon-222 by a surface-barrier detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonifacio M, J.; Iturbe, J.L.

1993-01-01

In the present work the design and construction of a system for the determination of 222 Rn is described, which utilizes silicon surface-barrier detectors. The 222 Rn gas was obtained a source of 226 Ra electrodeposited on stainless-steel discs. The well separated energies with this system makes possible the measurement and identification of alpha particles of 222 Rn, and its daughters 210 Po, 218 Po and 214 Po. (Author) 3 figs, 19 refs

Investigations of the interactions of silicon dioxide with copper-aluminum alloy used as an adhesion promoter and diffusion barrier for copper metallization on silicon dioxide

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Pei-I.

This study explores the concept of alloying copper with Al in order to impart properties that will make Cu useful for interconnect applications in ICs. The advantages of using Al as the alloying element lies in the thermodynamically favored interaction of Al with the underlying dielectric and with the O 2 at the surface of pure Cu thus achieving both the adhesion and passivation. This approach has been shown to generate an ultra thin interfacial layer, which acts as an adhesion promoter and diffusion barrier against Cu migration in the dielectric, without significantly affecting the resistivity of Cu. An emphasis has been placed to examine (a) the interaction of Al (from the Cu-Al alloy) with SiO2 at the alloy-SiO2 interface, (b) the Al migration to surface of the alloy or pure Cu if used, and (c) the impact of such migration on the bulk Cu film and passivation on the surface. In this work, sputtered Cu-Al (1--5 at%), with a resistivity in the range of 5--6 muO-cm, were studied as diffusion barriers/adhesion promoters between SiO2 and pure Cu. The films were examined in as-deposited state and after anneal at different temperatures for varying times and in different ambients by the use of surface and interface characterization techniques, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), and resistance measurements together with metal-oxide-silicon (MOS) capacitor studies. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were also used to elucidate the structure. The results elucidate the mechanisms of Al movement and interaction with the interface SiO2 and O2 on surface and indicate that films of Cu doped with Al do act as a suitable diffusion barrier and adhesion promoter between SiO2 and Cu.

Surface etching technologies for monocrystalline silicon wafer solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Muzhi

With more than 200 GW of accumulated installations in 2015, photovoltaics (PV) has become an important green energy harvesting method. The PV market is dominated by solar cells made from crystalline silicon wafers. The engineering of the wafer surfaces is critical to the solar cell cost reduction and performance enhancement. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the development of surface etching technologies for monocrystalline silicon wafer solar cells. It aims to develop a more efficient alkaline texturing method and more effective surface cleaning processes. Firstly, a rapid, isopropanol alcohol free texturing method is successfully demonstrated to shorten the process time and reduce the consumption of chemicals. This method utilizes the special chemical properties of triethylamine, which can form Si-N bonds with wafer surface atoms. Secondly, a room-temperature anisotropic emitter etch-back process is developed to improve the n+ emitter passivation. Using this method, 19.0% efficient screen-printed aluminium back surface field solar cells are developed that show an efficiency gain of 0.15% (absolute) compared with conventionally made solar cells. Finally, state-of-the-art silicon surface passivation results are achieved using hydrogen plasma etching as a dry alternative to the classical hydrofluoric acid wet-chemical process. The effective native oxide removal and the hydrogenation of the silicon surface are shown to be the reasons for the excellent level of surface passivation achieved with this novel method.

High Surface Area of Porous Silicon Drives Desorption of Intact Molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Northen, Trent R.; Woo, Hin-Koon; Northen, Michael T.; Nordström, Anders; Uritboonthail, Winnie; Turner, Kimberly L.; Siuzdak, Gary

2007-01-01

The surface structure of porous silicon used in desorption/ionization on porous silicon (DIOS) mass analysis is known to play a primary role in the desorption/ionization (D/I) process. In this study, mass spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are used to examine the correlation between intact ion generation with surface ablation, and surface morphology. The DIOS process is found to be highly laser energy dependent and correlates directly with the appearance of surface ions (Sin+ and OSiH+). A threshold laser energy for DIOS is observed (10 mJ/cm2), which supports that DIOS is driven by surface restructuring and is not a strictly thermal process. In addition, three DIOS regimes are observed which correspond to surface restructuring and melting. These results suggest that higher surface area silicon substrates may enhance DIOS performance. A recent example which fits into this mechanism is silicon nanowires surface which have a high surface energy and concomitantly requires lower laser energy for analyte desorpton. PMID:17881245

Epitaxial silicon semiconductor detectors, past developments, future prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gruhn, C.R.

1976-01-01

A review of the main physical characteristics of epitaxial silicon as it relates to detector development is presented. As examples of applications results are presented on (1) epitaxial silicon avalanche diodes (ESAD); signal-to-noise, non-linear aspects of the avalanche gain mechanism, gain-bandwidth product, (2) ultrathin epitaxial silicon surface barrier (ESSB) detectors, response to heavy ions, (3) an all-epitaxial silicon diode (ESD), response to heavy ions, charge transport and charge defect. Future prospects of epitaxial silicon as it relates to new detector designs are summarized

Covalent biofunctionalization of silicon nitride surfaces

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arafat, A.; Giesbers, M.; Rosso, M.; Sudhölter, E.J.R.; Schroën, C.G.P.H.; White, R.G.; Li Yang,; Linford, M.R.; Zuilhof, H.

2007-01-01

Covalently attached organic monolayers on etched silicon nitride (SixN4; x 3) surfaces were prepared by reaction of SixN4-coated wafers with neat or solutions of 1-alkenes and 1-alkynes in refluxing mesitylene. The surface modification was monitored by measurement of the static water contact angle,

Dominant rate process of silicon surface etching by hydrogen chloride gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Habuka, Hitoshi; Suzuki, Takahiro; Yamamoto, Sunao; Nakamura, Akio; Takeuchi, Takashi; Aihara, Masahiko

2005-01-01

Silicon surface etching and its dominant rate process are studied using hydrogen chloride gas in a wide concentration range of 1-100% in ambient hydrogen at atmospheric pressure in a temperature range of 1023-1423 K, linked with the numerical calculation accounting for the transport phenomena and the surface chemical reaction in the entire reactor. The etch rate, the gaseous products and the surface morphology are experimentally evaluated. The dominant rate equation accounting for the first-order successive reactions at silicon surface by hydrogen chloride gas is shown to be valid. The activation energy of the dominant surface process is evaluated to be 1.5 x 10 5 J mol - 1 . The silicon deposition by the gaseous by-product, trichlorosilane, is shown to have a negligible influence on the silicon etch rate

Grafting of functionalized polymer on porous silicon surface using Grignard reagent

Science.gov (United States)

Tighilt, F.-Z.; Belhousse, S.; Sam, S.; Hamdani, K.; Lasmi, K.; Chazalviel, J. N.; Gabouze, N.

2017-11-01

Recently, considerable attention has been paid to the manipulation and the control of the physicochemical properties of porous silicon surfaces because of their crucial importance to the modern microelectronics industry. Hybrid structures consisting of deposited polymer on porous silicon surfaces are important to applications in microelectronics, photovoltaics and sensors (Ensafi et al., 2016; Kashyout et al., 2015; Osorio et al.; 2015; Hejjo et al., 2002) [1-4]. In many cases, the polymer can provide excellent mechanical and chemical protection of the substrate, changes the electrochemical interface characteristics of the substrate, and provides new ways to the functionalization of porous silicon surfaces for molecular recognition and sensing. In this work, porous silicon surface was modified by anodic treatment in ethynylmagnesium bromide electrolyte leading to the formation of a polymeric layer bearing some bromine substituents. Subsequently, the formed polymer is functionalized with amine molecules containing functional groups (carboxylic acid or pyridine) by a substitution reaction between bromine sites and amine groups (Hofmann reaction). The chemical composition of the modified porous silicon surfaces was investigated and the grafting of polymeric chains and functional groups on the porous silicon surface was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) which displayed the principal characteristic peaks attributed to the different functional groups. Furthermore, the surface of the material was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Study of araldite in edge protection of n-type and p-type surface barrier detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alencar, M.A.V.; Jesus, E.F.O.; Lopes, R.T.

1995-01-01

The aim of this work is the realization of a comparative study between the surface barrier detectors performance n and type using the epoxy resin Araldite as edge protection material with the purpose of determining which type of detector (n or p) the use of Araldite is more indicated. The surface barrier detectors were constructed using n and p type silicon wafer with resistivity of 3350Ω.cm and 5850 Ω.cm respectively. In the n type detectors, the metals used as ohmic and rectifier contacts were the Al and Au respectively, while in the p type detectors, the ohmic and rectifier contacts were Au and Al. All metallic contacts were done by evaporation in high vacuum (∼10 -4 Torr) and with deposit of 40 μm/cm 2 . The obtained results for the detectors (reverse current of -350nA and resolution from 21 to 26 keV for p type detectors and reserve current of 1μA and resolution from 44 to 49 keV for n type detectors) tend to demonstrate that use of epoxy resin Araldite in the edge protection is more indicated to p type surface barrier detectors. (author). 3 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

Extrinsic passivation of silicon surfaces for solar cells

OpenAIRE

Bonilla, R.S.; Reichel, C.; Hermle, M.; Martins, G.; Wilshaw, P.R.

2015-01-01

In the present work we study the extent to which extrinsic chemical and field effect passivation can improve the overall electrical passivation quality of silicon dioxide on silicon. Here we demonstrate that, when optimally applied, extrinsic passivation can produce surface recombination velocities below 1.2 cm/s in planar 1 Omega cm n-type Si. This is largely due to the additional field effect passivation component which reduces the recombination velocity below 2.13 cm/s. On textured surface...

Hydrogen Incorporation during Aluminium Anodisation on Silicon Wafer Surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Pei Hsuan Doris; Strutzberg, Hartmuth; Wenham, Stuart; Lennon, Alison

2014-01-01

Hydrogen can act to reduce recombination at silicon surfaces for solar cell devices and consequently the ability of dielectric layers to provide a source of hydrogen for this purpose is of interest. However, due to the ubiquitous nature of hydrogen and its mobility, direct measurements of hydrogen incorporation in dielectric layers are challenging. In this paper, we report the use of secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements to show that deuterium from an electrolyte can be incorporated in an anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) layer and be introduced into an underlying amorphous silicon layer during anodisation of aluminium on silicon wafers. After annealing at 400 °C, the concentration of deuterium in the AAO was reduced by a factor of two, as the deuterium was re-distributed to the interface between the amorphous silicon and AAO and to the amorphous silicon. The assumption that hydrogen, from an aqueous electrolyte, could be similarly incorporated in AAO, is supported by the observation that the hydrogen content in the underlying amorphous silicon was increased by a factor of ∼ 3 after anodisation. Evidence for hydrogen being introduced into crystalline silicon after aluminium anodisation was provided by electrochemical capacitance voltage measurements indicating boron electrical deactivation in the underlying crystalline silicon. If introduced hydrogen can electrically deactivate dopant atoms at the surface, then it is reasonable to assume that it could also deactivate recombination-active states at the crystalline silicon interface therefore enabling higher minority carrier lifetimes in the silicon wafer

Improvement of silicon direct bonding using surfaces activated by hydrogen plasma treatment

CERN Document Server

Choi, W B; Lee Jae Sik; Sung, M Y

2000-01-01

The plasma surface treatment, using hydrogen gas, of silicon wafers was studied as a pretreatment for silicon direct bonding. Chemical reactions of the hydrogen plasma with the surfaces were used for both surface activation and removal of surface contaminants. Exposure of the silicon wafers to the plasma formed an active oxide layer on the surface. This layer was hydrophilic. The surface roughness and morphology were examined as functions of the plasma exposure time and power. The surface became smoother with shorter plasma exposure time and lower power. In addition, the plasma surface treatment was very efficient in removing the carbon contaminants on the silicon surface. The value of the initial surface energy, as estimated by using the crack propagation method, was 506 mJ/M sup 2 , which was up to about three times higher than the value for the conventional direct bonding method using wet chemical treatments.

Surface Area, and Oxidation Effects on Nitridation Kinetics of Silicon Powder Compacts

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatt, R. T.; Palczer, A. R.

1998-01-01

Commercially available silicon powders were wet-attrition-milled from 2 to 48 hr to achieve surface areas (SA's) ranging from 1.3 to 70 sq m/g. The surface area effects on the nitridation kinetics of silicon powder compacts were determined at 1250 or 1350 C for 4 hr. In addition, the influence of nitridation environment, and preoxidation on nitridation kinetics of a silicon powder of high surface area (approximately equals 63 sq m/g) was investigated. As the surface area increased, so did the percentage nitridation after 4 hr in N2 at 1250 or 1350 C. Silicon powders of high surface area (greater than 40 sq m/g) can be nitrided to greater than 70% at 1250 C in 4 hr. The nitridation kinetics of the high-surface-area powder compacts were significantly delayed by preoxidation treatment. Conversely, the nitridation environment had no significant influence on the nitridation kinetics of the same powder. Impurities present in the starting powder, and those accumulated during attrition milling, appeared to react with the silica layer on the surface of silicon particles to form a molten silicate layer, which provided a path for rapid diffusion of nitrogen and enhanced the nitridation kinetics of high surface area silicon powder.

Layout designs of surface barrier coatings for boosting the capability of oxygen/vapor obstruction utilized in flexible electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chang-Chun; Huang, Pei-Chen; He, Jing-Yan

2018-04-01

Organic light-emitting diode-based flexible and rollable displays have become a promising candidate for next-generation flexible electronics. For this reason, the design of surface multi-layered barriers should be optimized to enhance the long-term mechanical reliability of a flexible encapsulation that prevents the penetration of oxygen and vapor. In this study, finite element-based stress simulation was proposed to estimate the mechanical reliability of gas/vapor barrier design with low-k/silicon nitride (low-k/SiNx) stacking architecture. Consequently, stress-induced failure of critical thin films within the flexible display under various bending conditions must be considered. The feasibility of one pair SiO2/SiNx barrier design, which overcomes the complex lamination process, and the critical bending radius, which is decreased to 1.22 mm, were also examined. In addition, the influence of distance between neutral axes to the concerned layer surface dominated the induced-stress magnitude rather than the stress compliant mechanism provided from stacked low-k films.

Quantum mechanical theory of epitaxial transformation of silicon to silicon carbide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kukushkin, S A; Osipov, A V

2017-01-01

The paper focuses on the study of transformation of silicon crystal into silicon carbide crystal via substitution reaction with carbon monoxide gas. As an example, the Si(1 0 0) surface is considered. The cross section of the potential energy surface of the first stage of transformation along the reaction pathway is calculated by the method of nudged elastic bands. It is found that in addition to intermediate states associated with adsorption of CO and SiO molecules on the surface, there is also an intermediate state in which all the atoms are strongly bonded to each other. This intermediate state significantly reduces the activation barrier of transformation down to 2.6 eV. The single imaginary frequencies corresponding to the two transition states of this transformation are calculated, one of which is reactant-like, whereas the other is product-like. By methods of quantum chemistry of solids, the second stage of this transformation is described, namely, the transformation of precarbide silicon into silicon carbide. Energy reduction per one cell is calculated for this ‘collapse’ process, and bond breaking energy is also found. Hence, it is concluded that the smallest size of the collapsing islet is 30 nm. It is shown that the chemical bonds of the initial silicon crystal are coordinately replaced by the bonds between Si and C in silicon carbide, which leads to a high quality of epitaxy and a low concentration of misfit dislocations. (paper)

Study of double porous silicon surfaces for enhancement of silicon solar cell performance

Science.gov (United States)

Razali, N. S. M.; Rahim, A. F. A.; Radzali, R.; Mahmood, A.

2017-09-01

In this work, design and simulation of double porous silicon surfaces for enhancement of silicon solar cell is carried out. Both single and double porous structures are constructed by using TCAD ATHENA and TCAD DEVEDIT tools of the SILVACO software respectively. After the structures were created, I-V characteristics and spectral response of the solar cell were extracted using ATLAS device simulator. Finally, the performance of the simulated double porous solar cell is compared with the performance of both single porous and bulk-Si solar cell. The results showed that double porous silicon solar cell exhibited 1.8% efficiency compared to 1.3% and 1.2% for single porous silicon and bulk-Si solar cell.

Controlling the Nanoscale Patterning of AuNPs on Silicon Surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris J. Allender

2013-03-01

Full Text Available This study evaluates the effectiveness of vapour-phase deposition for creating sub-monolayer coverage of aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES on silicon in order to exert control over subsequent gold nanoparticle deposition. Surface coverage was evaluated indirectly by observing the extent to which gold nanoparticles (AuNPs deposited onto the modified silicon surface. By varying the distance of the silicon wafer from the APTES source and concentration of APTES in the evaporating media, control over subsequent gold nanoparticle deposition was achievable to an extent. Fine control over AuNP deposition (AuNPs/μm2 however, was best achieved by adjusting the ionic concentration of the AuNP-depositing solution. Furthermore it was demonstrated that although APTES was fully removed from the silicon surface following four hours incubation in water, the gold nanoparticle-amino surface complex was stable under the same conditions. Atomic force microscopy (AFM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS were used to study these affects.

Nanolayer surface passivation schemes for silicon solar cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dingemans, G.

2011-01-01

This thesis is concerned with nanolayer surface passivation schemes and corresponding deposition processes, for envisaged applications in crystalline silicon solar cells. Surface passivation, i.e. the reduction of electronic recombination processes at semiconductor surfaces, is essential for

Demultiplexing Surface Waves With Silicon Nanoantennas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sinev, I.; Bogdanov, A.; Komissarenko, F.

2017-01-01

We demonstrate directional launching of surface plasmon polaritons on thin gold film with a single silicon nanosphere. The directivity pattern of the excited surface waves exhibits rapid switching from forward to backward excitation within extremely narrow spectral hand (! 50 nm), which is driven...... by the mutual interference of magnetic and electric dipole moments supported by the dielectric nanoantenna....

New techniques used to realize silicon photocells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siffert, P.

1978-01-01

The techniques used to realize the terrestrial silicon solar cells being considered the possible improvements of these methods are discussed. The various approaches under development to prepare silicon sheets in a continuous way are considered for both self-supporting or substrate deposited layers. Finally, the various methods used or under investigation to obtain the surface potential barrier are considered; MIS, heterojunction and ion implantation [fr

Surface wave photonic device based on porous silicon multilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guillermain, E.; Lysenko, V.; Benyattou, T.

2006-01-01

Porous silicon is widely studied in the field of photonics due to its interesting optical properties. In this work, we present theoretical and first experimental studies of a new kind of porous silicon photonic device based on optical surface wave. A theoretical analysis of the device is presented using plane-wave approximation. The porous silicon multilayered structures are realized using electrochemical etching of p + -type silicon. Morphological and optical characterizations of the realized structures are reported

Silicon quantum dots: surface matters

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Dohnalová, K.; Gregorkiewicz, T.; Kůsová, Kateřina

2014-01-01

Roč. 26, č. 17 (2014), 1-28 ISSN 0953-8984 R&D Projects: GA ČR GPP204/12/P235 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : silicon quantum dots * quantum dot * surface chemistry * quantum confinement Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 2.346, year: 2014

Broadband antireflective silicon carbide surface produced by cost-effective method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Argyraki, Aikaterini; Ou, Yiyu; Ou, Haiyan

2013-01-01

A cost-effective method for fabricating antireflective subwavelength structures on silicon carbide is demonstrated. The nanopatterning is performed in a 2-step process: aluminum deposition and reactive ion etching. The effect, of the deposited aluminum film thickness and the reactive ion etching...... conditions, on the average surface reflectance and nanostructure landscape have been investigated systematically. The average reflectance of silicon carbide surface is significantly suppressed from 25.4% to 0.05%, under the optimal experimental conditions, in the wavelength range of 390-784 nm. The presence...... of stochastic nanostructures also changes the wetting properties of silicon carbide surface from hydrophilic (47°) to hydrophobic (108°)....

Biofunctionalization on alkylated silicon substrate surfaces via "click" chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Guoting; Santos, Catherine; Zhang, Wen; Li, Yan; Kumar, Amit; Erasquin, Uriel J; Liu, Kai; Muradov, Pavel; Trautner, Barbara Wells; Cai, Chengzhi

2010-11-24

Biofunctionalization of silicon substrates is important to the development of silicon-based biosensors and devices. Compared to conventional organosiloxane films on silicon oxide intermediate layers, organic monolayers directly bound to the nonoxidized silicon substrates via Si-C bonds enhance the sensitivity of detection and the stability against hydrolytic cleavage. Such monolayers presenting a high density of terminal alkynyl groups for bioconjugation via copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (CuAAC, a "click" reaction) were reported. However, yields of the CuAAC reactions on these monolayer platforms were low. Also, the nonspecific adsorption of proteins on the resultant surfaces remained a major obstacle for many potential biological applications. Herein, we report a new type of "clickable" monolayers grown by selective, photoactivated surface hydrosilylation of α,ω-alkenynes, where the alkynyl terminal is protected with a trimethylgermanyl (TMG) group, on hydrogen-terminated silicon substrates. The TMG groups on the film are readily removed in aqueous solutions in the presence of Cu(I). Significantly, the degermanylation and the subsequent CuAAC reaction with various azides could be combined into a single step in good yields. Thus, oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) with an azido tag was attached to the TMG-alkyne surfaces, leading to OEG-terminated surfaces that reduced the nonspecific adsorption of protein (fibrinogen) by >98%. The CuAAC reaction could be performed in microarray format to generate arrays of mannose and biotin with varied densities on the protein-resistant OEG background. We also demonstrated that the monolayer platform could be functionalized with mannose for highly specific capturing of living targets (Escherichia coli expressing fimbriae) onto the silicon substrates.

Influence of acetylcholinesterase immobilization on the photoluminescence properties of mesoporous silicon surface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saleem, Muhammad [Department of Chemistry, Kongju National University, Gongju, Chungnam 314-701 (Korea, Republic of); Rafiq, Muhammad; Seo, Sung-Yum [Department of Biology, Kongju National University, Gongju, Chungnam 314-701 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Ki Hwan, E-mail: khlee@kongju.ac.kr [Department of Chemistry, Kongju National University, Gongju, Chungnam 314-701 (Korea, Republic of)

2014-07-01

Acetylcholinesterase immobilized p-type porous silicon surface was prepared by covalent attachment. The immobilization procedure was based on support surface chemical oxidation, silanization, surface activation with cyanuric chloride and finally covalent attachment of free enzyme on the cyanuric chloride activated porous silicon surface. Different pore diameter of porous silicon samples were prepared by electrochemical etching in HF based electrolyte solution and appropriate sample was selected suitable for enzyme immobilization with maximum trapping ability. The surface modification was studied through field emission scanning electron microscope, EDS, FT-IR analysis, and photoluminescence measurement by utilizing the fluctuation in the photoluminescence of virgin and enzyme immobilized porous silicon surface. Porous silicon showed strong photoluminescence with maximum emission at 643 nm and immobilization of acetylcholinesterase on porous silicon surface cause considerable increment on the photoluminescence of porous silicon material while acetylcholinesterase free counterpart did not exhibit any fluorescence in the range of 635–670 nm. The activities of the free and immobilized enzymes were evaluated by spectrophotometric method by using neostigmine methylsulfate as standard enzyme inhibitor. The immobilized enzyme exhibited considerable response toward neostigmine methylsulfate in a dose dependent manner comparable with that of its free counterpart alongside enhanced stability, easy separation from the reaction media and significant saving of enzyme. It was believed that immobilized enzyme can be exploited in organic and biomolecule synthesis possessing technical and economical prestige over free enzyme and prominence of easy separation from the reaction mixture.

Influence of acetylcholinesterase immobilization on the photoluminescence properties of mesoporous silicon surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saleem, Muhammad; Rafiq, Muhammad; Seo, Sung-Yum; Lee, Ki Hwan

2014-01-01

Acetylcholinesterase immobilized p-type porous silicon surface was prepared by covalent attachment. The immobilization procedure was based on support surface chemical oxidation, silanization, surface activation with cyanuric chloride and finally covalent attachment of free enzyme on the cyanuric chloride activated porous silicon surface. Different pore diameter of porous silicon samples were prepared by electrochemical etching in HF based electrolyte solution and appropriate sample was selected suitable for enzyme immobilization with maximum trapping ability. The surface modification was studied through field emission scanning electron microscope, EDS, FT-IR analysis, and photoluminescence measurement by utilizing the fluctuation in the photoluminescence of virgin and enzyme immobilized porous silicon surface. Porous silicon showed strong photoluminescence with maximum emission at 643 nm and immobilization of acetylcholinesterase on porous silicon surface cause considerable increment on the photoluminescence of porous silicon material while acetylcholinesterase free counterpart did not exhibit any fluorescence in the range of 635–670 nm. The activities of the free and immobilized enzymes were evaluated by spectrophotometric method by using neostigmine methylsulfate as standard enzyme inhibitor. The immobilized enzyme exhibited considerable response toward neostigmine methylsulfate in a dose dependent manner comparable with that of its free counterpart alongside enhanced stability, easy separation from the reaction media and significant saving of enzyme. It was believed that immobilized enzyme can be exploited in organic and biomolecule synthesis possessing technical and economical prestige over free enzyme and prominence of easy separation from the reaction mixture.

Optimization of Silicon parameters as a betavoltaic battery: Comparison of Si p-n and Ni/Si Schottky barrier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahmani, Faezeh; Khosravinia, Hossein

2016-01-01

Theoretical studies on the optimization of Silicon (Si) parameters as the base of betavoltaic battery have been presented using Monte Carlo simulations and the state equations in semiconductor to obtain maximum power. Si with active area of 1 cm 2 has been considered in p-n junction and Schottky barrier structure to collect the radiation induced-charge from 10 mCi cm −2 of Nickle-63 ( 63 Ni) Source. The results show that the betavoltaic conversion efficiency in the Si p-n structure is about 2.7 times higher than that in the Ni/Si Schottky barrier structure. - Highlights: • Silicon parameters were studied in betavoltaic batteries. • Studied betavoltaic batteries include p-n and Schottky barrier structures. • The p-n structure has higher conversion efficiency.

A silicon-based electrical source for surface plasmon polaritons

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Walters, Robert J.; van Loon, Rob V.A.; Brunets, I.; Schmitz, Jurriaan; Polman, Albert

2009-01-01

This work demonstrates the fabrication of a silicon-based electrical source for surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at low temperatures using silicon nanocrystal doped alumina within a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide geometry. The fabrication method uses established microtechnology processes

Low surface damage dry etched black silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Plakhotnyuk, Maksym M.; Gaudig, Maria; Davidsen, Rasmus Schmidt; Lindhard, Jonas Michael; Hirsch, Jens; Lausch, Dominik; Schmidt, Michael Stenbæk; Stamate, Eugen; Hansen, Ole

2017-10-01

Black silicon (bSi) is promising for integration into silicon solar cell fabrication flow due to its excellent light trapping and low reflectance, and a continuously improving passivation. However, intensive ion bombardment during the reactive ion etching used to fabricate bSi induces surface damage that causes significant recombination. Here, we present a process optimization strategy for bSi, where surface damage is reduced and surface passivation is improved while excellent light trapping and low reflectance are maintained. We demonstrate that reduction of the capacitively coupled plasma power, during reactive ion etching at non-cryogenic temperature (-20 °C), preserves the reflectivity below 1% and improves the effective minority carrier lifetime due to reduced ion energy. We investigate the effect of the etching process on the surface morphology, light trapping, reflectance, transmittance, and effective lifetime of bSi. Additional surface passivation using atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 significantly improves the effective lifetime. For n-type wafers, the lifetime reaches 12 ms for polished and 7.5 ms for bSi surfaces. For p-type wafers, the lifetime reaches 800 μs for both polished and bSi surfaces.

Prototype Hanford Surface Barrier: Design basis document

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myers, D.R.; Duranceau, D.A.

1994-11-01

The Hanford Site Surface Barrier Development Program (BDP) was organized in 1985 to develop the technology needed to provide a long-term surface barrier capability for the Hanford Site and other arid sites. This document provides the basis of the prototype barrier. Engineers and scientists have momentarily frozen evolving barrier designs and incorporated the latest findings from BDP tasks. The design and construction of the prototype barrier has required that all of the various components of the barrier be brought together into an integrated system. This integration is particularly important because some of the components of the protective barreir have been developed independently of other barreir components. This document serves as the baseline by which future modifications or other barrier designs can be compared. Also, this document contains the minutes of meeting convened during the definitive design process in which critical decisions affecting the prototype barrier's design were made and the construction drawings

Deposition, characterization, and in vivo performance of parylene coating on general-purpose silicone for examining potential biocompatible surface modifications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chou, Chia-Man [Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, 160, Sec. 3, Taichung Port Rd., Taichung 40705, Taiwan, ROC (China); Department of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, 155, Sec. 2, Linong Street, Taipei 11221, Taiwan, ROC (China); Shiao, Chiao-Ju [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Feng Chia University, 100, Wen-Hwa Rd., Taichung 40724, Taiwan, ROC (China); Chung, Chi-Jen, E-mail: cjchung@seed.net.tw [Department of Dental Technology and Materials Science, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 666 Buzih Rd., Beitun District, Taichung 40601, Taiwan, ROC (China); He, Ju-Liang [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Feng Chia University, 100, Wen-Hwa Rd., Taichung 40724, Taiwan, ROC (China)

2013-12-31

In this study, a thorough investigation of parylene coatings was conducted, as follows: microstructure (i.e., X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and cold field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM)), mechanical property (i.e., pencil hardness and cross-cut adhesion test), surface property (i.e., water contact angle measurement, IR, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)), and biocompatibility tests (i.e., fibroblast cell culture, platelet adhesion, and animal studies). The results revealed that parylene, a crystalline and brittle coating, exhibited satisfactory film adhesion and relative hydrophobicity, thereby contributing to its effective barrier properties. Fibroblast cell culturing on the parylene-deposited specimen demonstrated improved cell proliferation and equivalent to or superior blood compatibility than that of the medical-grade silicone (currently used clinically). In the animal study, parylene coatings exhibited similar subcutaneous inflammatory reactions compared with the medical-grade silicone. Both in vitro and in vivo tests demonstrated the satisfactory biocompatibility of parylene coatings. - Highlights: • A complete investigation to identify the characteristics of parylene coatings on general-purpose silicones. • Microstructures, surface properties and mechanical properties of parylene coatings were examined. • In vitro (Cell culture, platelet adhesion) tests and animal studies revealed satisfactory biocompatibility. • An alternative of medical-grade silicones is expected to be obtained.

Deposition, characterization, and in vivo performance of parylene coating on general-purpose silicone for examining potential biocompatible surface modifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chou, Chia-Man; Shiao, Chiao-Ju; Chung, Chi-Jen; He, Ju-Liang

2013-01-01

In this study, a thorough investigation of parylene coatings was conducted, as follows: microstructure (i.e., X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and cold field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM)), mechanical property (i.e., pencil hardness and cross-cut adhesion test), surface property (i.e., water contact angle measurement, IR, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)), and biocompatibility tests (i.e., fibroblast cell culture, platelet adhesion, and animal studies). The results revealed that parylene, a crystalline and brittle coating, exhibited satisfactory film adhesion and relative hydrophobicity, thereby contributing to its effective barrier properties. Fibroblast cell culturing on the parylene-deposited specimen demonstrated improved cell proliferation and equivalent to or superior blood compatibility than that of the medical-grade silicone (currently used clinically). In the animal study, parylene coatings exhibited similar subcutaneous inflammatory reactions compared with the medical-grade silicone. Both in vitro and in vivo tests demonstrated the satisfactory biocompatibility of parylene coatings. - Highlights: • A complete investigation to identify the characteristics of parylene coatings on general-purpose silicones. • Microstructures, surface properties and mechanical properties of parylene coatings were examined. • In vitro (Cell culture, platelet adhesion) tests and animal studies revealed satisfactory biocompatibility. • An alternative of medical-grade silicones is expected to be obtained

Photoluminescent silicon nanocrystals with chlorosilane surfaces - synthesis and reactivity

Science.gov (United States)

Höhlein, Ignaz M. D.; Kehrle, Julian; Purkait, Tapas K.; Veinot, Jonathan G. C.; Rieger, Bernhard

2014-12-01

We present a new efficient two-step method to covalently functionalize hydride terminated silicon nanocrystals with nucleophiles. First a reactive chlorosilane layer was formed via diazonium salt initiated hydrosilylation of chlorodimethyl(vinyl)silane which was then reacted with alcohols, silanols and organolithium reagents. With organolithium compounds a side reaction is observed in which a direct functionalization of the silicon surface takes place.We present a new efficient two-step method to covalently functionalize hydride terminated silicon nanocrystals with nucleophiles. First a reactive chlorosilane layer was formed via diazonium salt initiated hydrosilylation of chlorodimethyl(vinyl)silane which was then reacted with alcohols, silanols and organolithium reagents. With organolithium compounds a side reaction is observed in which a direct functionalization of the silicon surface takes place. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Detailed experimental procedures and additional NMR, PL, EDX, DLS and TEM data. See DOI: 10.1039/C4NR05888G

Surface engineered porous silicon for stable, high performance electrochemical supercapacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Oakes, Landon; Westover, Andrew; Mares, Jeremy W.; Chatterjee, Shahana; Erwin, William R.; Bardhan, Rizia; Weiss, Sharon M.; Pint, Cary L.

2013-10-01

Silicon materials remain unused for supercapacitors due to extreme reactivity of silicon with electrolytes. However, doped silicon materials boast a low mass density, excellent conductivity, a controllably etched nanoporous structure, and combined earth abundance and technological presence appealing to diverse energy storage frameworks. Here, we demonstrate a universal route to transform porous silicon (P-Si) into stable electrodes for electrochemical devices through growth of an ultra-thin, conformal graphene coating on the P-Si surface. This graphene coating simultaneously passivates surface charge traps and provides an ideal electrode-electrolyte electrochemical interface. This leads to 10-40X improvement in energy density, and a 2X wider electrochemical window compared to identically-structured unpassivated P-Si. This work demonstrates a technique generalizable to mesoporous and nanoporous materials that decouples the engineering of electrode structure and electrochemical surface stability to engineer performance in electrochemical environments. Specifically, we demonstrate P-Si as a promising new platform for grid-scale and integrated electrochemical energy storage.

Surface engineered porous silicon for stable, high performance electrochemical supercapacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Oakes, Landon; Westover, Andrew; Mares, Jeremy W.; Chatterjee, Shahana; Erwin, William R.; Bardhan, Rizia; Weiss, Sharon M.; Pint, Cary L.

2013-01-01

Silicon materials remain unused for supercapacitors due to extreme reactivity of silicon with electrolytes. However, doped silicon materials boast a low mass density, excellent conductivity, a controllably etched nanoporous structure, and combined earth abundance and technological presence appealing to diverse energy storage frameworks. Here, we demonstrate a universal route to transform porous silicon (P-Si) into stable electrodes for electrochemical devices through growth of an ultra-thin, conformal graphene coating on the P-Si surface. This graphene coating simultaneously passivates surface charge traps and provides an ideal electrode-electrolyte electrochemical interface. This leads to 10–40X improvement in energy density, and a 2X wider electrochemical window compared to identically-structured unpassivated P-Si. This work demonstrates a technique generalizable to mesoporous and nanoporous materials that decouples the engineering of electrode structure and electrochemical surface stability to engineer performance in electrochemical environments. Specifically, we demonstrate P-Si as a promising new platform for grid-scale and integrated electrochemical energy storage. PMID:24145684

Morphology of IR and UV Laser-induced Structural Changes on Silicon Surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jimenez-Jarquin, J.; Haro-Poniatowski, E.; Fernandez-Guasti, M.; Hernandez-Pozos, J.L.

2005-01-01

Using scanning electronic microscopy, we analyze the structural changes induced in silicon (100) wafers by focused IR (1064 nm) and UV (355 nm) nanosecond laser pulses. The experiments were performed in the laser ablation regime. When a silicon surface is irradiated by laser pulses in an O2 atmosphere conical microstructures are obtained. The changes in silicon surface morphology depend both on the incident radiation wavelength and the environmental atmosphere. We have patterned Si surfaces with a single focused laser spot and, in doing the experiments with IR or UV this reveals significant differences in the initial surface cracking and pattern formation, however the final result consist of an array of microcones when the experiment is carried out in oxygen. We employ a random scanning technique to irradiate silicon surfaces over large areas. In this form we have obtained large patterned areas

Permeable reactive barrier of surface hydrophobic granular activated carbon coupled with elemental iron for the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol in water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang Ji, E-mail: yangji@ecust.edu.cn [School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237 (China); Cao Limei; Guo Rui; Jia Jinping [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)

2010-12-15

Granular activated carbon was modified with dimethyl dichlorosilane to improve its surface hydrophobicity, and therefore to improve the performance of permeable reactive barrier constructed with the modified granular activated carbon and elemental iron. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that the surface silicon concentration of the modified granular activated carbon is higher than that of the original one, leading to the increased surface hydrophobicity. Although the specific surface area decreased from 895 to 835 m{sup 2} g{sup -1}, the modified granular activated carbon could adsorb 20% more 2,4-dichlorophenol than the original one did in water. It is also proven that the permeable reactive barrier with the modified granular activated carbon is more efficient at 2,4-dichlorophenol dechlorination, in which process 2,4-dichlorophenol is transformed to 2-chlorophenol or 4-chlorophenol then to phenol, or to phenol directly.

Permeable reactive barrier of surface hydrophobic granular activated carbon coupled with elemental iron for the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol in water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Ji; Cao Limei; Guo Rui; Jia Jinping

2010-01-01

Granular activated carbon was modified with dimethyl dichlorosilane to improve its surface hydrophobicity, and therefore to improve the performance of permeable reactive barrier constructed with the modified granular activated carbon and elemental iron. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that the surface silicon concentration of the modified granular activated carbon is higher than that of the original one, leading to the increased surface hydrophobicity. Although the specific surface area decreased from 895 to 835 m 2 g -1 , the modified granular activated carbon could adsorb 20% more 2,4-dichlorophenol than the original one did in water. It is also proven that the permeable reactive barrier with the modified granular activated carbon is more efficient at 2,4-dichlorophenol dechlorination, in which process 2,4-dichlorophenol is transformed to 2-chlorophenol or 4-chlorophenol then to phenol, or to phenol directly.

Silicon surface biofunctionalization with dopaminergic tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lucena-Serrano, A.; Lucena-Serrano, C.; Contreras-Cáceres, R.; Díaz, A.; Valpuesta, M. [Dep. Química Orgánica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, 29071 Málaga (Spain); Cai, C. [Dep. Chemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-5003 (United States); López-Romero, J.M., E-mail: jmromero@uma.es [Dep. Química Orgánica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, 29071 Málaga (Spain)

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Two dopaminergic tetrahydroisoquinolines (THI) were synthesized. • Vinyl-terminated THI incorporated onto the H−Si(1 1 1) substrates via a hydrosilylation. • The highest yield in coverage was obtained in DMSO, at 4 h of irradiation and 0.1 mbar of vacuum. • Alkynyl-terminated Si surface was produced for incorporation of azide-THI by click reaction. • Best yields on grafted molecule were obtained by click reaction in absence of ascorbic acid. - Abstract: In this work we grafted vinyl- and azido-terminated tetrahydroisoquinolines (compounds 1 and 2, respectively) onto H−Si(1 1 1) silicon wafers obtaining highly stable modified surfaces. A double bond was incorporated into the tetrahydroisoquinoline structure of 1 to be immobilized by a light induced hydrosilylation reaction on hydrogen-terminated Si(1 1 1). The best results were obtained employing a polar solvent (DMSO), rather than a non-polar solvent (toluene). The azide derivative 2 was grafted onto alkenyl-terminated silicon substrates with copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). Atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle goniometry (CA) and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) were used to demonstrate the incorporation of 1 and 2 into the surfaces, study the morphology of the modified surfaces and to calculate the yield of grafting and surface coverage. CA measurements showed the increase in the surface hydrophobicity when 1 or 2 were incorporated into the surface. Moreover, compounds 1 and 2 were prepared starting from 1-(p-nitrophenyl)tetrahydroisoquinoline 3 under smooth conditions and in good yields. The structures of 1 and 2 were designed with a reduced A-ring, two substituents at positions C-6 and C-7, an N-methyl group and a phenyl moiety at C-1 in order to provide a high affinity against dopaminergic receptors. Moreover, O-demethylation of 1 was carried out once it was adsorbed onto the surface by treatment with BBr{sub 3}. The method

Development of a alpha spectrometer system with the surface barrier detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alencar, Marcus Alexandre Vallini de

1994-04-01

The aim of this work is the development of an α spectrometer of low cost and home made technology. The spectrometer is mounted in a double NIM module and includes a surface barrier detector and dedicate electronic system. Six barrier surface detectors were made, three of which with η type silicon wafer 3350 Ω.cm, 270mm 2 and three other with ρ type silicon wafer 5850 Ω.cm and 220mm 2 . The rectifier and the ohmic contacts were prepared at high vacuum (10 -2 to 10 -3 Pa) evaporation with 40μg/cm 2 of Au and Al respectively for the η type detectors, and with Al and Au respectively for the ρ type detectors. The electronic system is composed by a low noise charge sensitive preamplifier with the operational amplifier LF-356 mounted with 1OOMΩ feedback resistor and a 0.5 pF capacitor. The linear amplifier is also based in the LF-356 and the LM-310 operational amplifier. The bipolar output is formatted through a (CR) 2- (RC) 4 shaping network and the unipolar output is obtained through a CR-(RC) 4 shaping system which is sufficient to realize a almost true Gaussian shaping pulse with a time constant of 3.0μs. This format was chosen because we can expect a low counting rate and the gaussian pulse can improve the signal/noise ratio. The first CR differentiation has also a active pole-zero cancellation network.The resolution of detectors for 241 Am α particles at room temperature (24 degree) vary 21 to 44 keV FWHM. The electronic noise of the noise of the system is 7.5 keV FWHM at OpF input capacitance. The overall resolution of the spectrometer was found to be 62 keV FWHM at room temperature. The simplicity of the electronic system, the low cost of the construction and the overall resolution show that this alpha spectrometer can be readily used in measurements where high resolution is not a premium. (author)

Effect of the barrier properties on the surface part of the barrier discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sokolova, M.V.; Zhukov, S.V.

1998-01-01

The effect of barrier characteristics on the discharge processes in a barrier discharge was investigated, main attention being paid to the amount and distribution of the charge left on the barrier surface by the volume discharge in the main air gap. The measurements show that the main part of the gap charge is due to the volume part of the discharge. The measured values of the surface charge significantly increase with the voltage applied and with the length of the gas gap, while the dimensions of the charge spot and the distribution of charge density are determined by the barrier properties. (J.U.)

Surface elastic properties in silicon nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Melis, Claudio; Giordano, Stefano; Colombo, Luciano

2017-09-01

The elastic behavior of the external surface of a solid body plays a key role in nanomechanical phenomena. While bulk elasticity enjoys the benefits of a robust theoretical understanding, many surface elasticity features remain unexplored: some of them are here addressed by blending together continuum elasticity and atomistic simulations. A suitable readdressing of the surface elasticity theory allows to write the balance equations in arbitrary curvilinear coordinates and to investigate the dependence of the surface elastic parameters on the mean and Gaussian curvatures of the surface. In particular, we predict the radial strain induced by surface effects in spherical and cylindrical silicon nanoparticles and provide evidence that the surface parameters are nearly independent of curvatures and, therefore, of the surface conformation.

Removal of dangling bonds and surface states on silicon (001) with a monolayer of selenium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tao Meng; Udeshi, Darshak; Basit, Nasir; Maldonado, Eduardo; Kirk, Wiley P.

2003-01-01

Dangling bonds and surface states are inherent to semiconductor surfaces. By passivating dangling bonds on the silicon (001) surface with a monolayer of selenium, surface states are removed from the band gap. Magnesium contacts on selenium-passivated silicon (001) behave ohmically, as expected from the work function of magnesium and the electron affinity of silicon. After rapid thermal annealing and hot-plate annealing, magnesium contacts on selenium-passivated silicon (001) show better thermal stability than on hydrogen-passivated silicon (001), which is attributed to the suppression of silicide formation by selenium passivation

Covalent Surface Modification of Silicon Oxides with Alcohols in Polar Aprotic Solvents.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Austin W H; Gates, Byron D

2017-09-05

Alcohol-based monolayers were successfully formed on the surfaces of silicon oxides through reactions performed in polar aprotic solvents. Monolayers prepared from alcohol-based reagents have been previously introduced as an alternative approach to covalently modify the surfaces of silicon oxides. These reagents are readily available, widely distributed, and are minimally susceptible to side reactions with ambient moisture. A limitation of using alcohol-based compounds is that previous reactions required relatively high temperatures in neat solutions, which can degrade some alcohol compounds or could lead to other unwanted side reactions during the formation of the monolayers. To overcome these challenges, we investigate the condensation reaction of alcohols on silicon oxides carried out in polar aprotic solvents. In particular, propylene carbonate has been identified as a polar aprotic solvent that is relatively nontoxic, readily accessible, and can facilitate the formation of alcohol-based monolayers. We have successfully demonstrated this approach for tuning the surface chemistry of silicon oxide surfaces with a variety of alcohol containing compounds. The strategy introduced in this research can be utilized to create silicon oxide surfaces with hydrophobic, oleophobic, or charged functionalities.

Conciliating surface superhydrophobicities and mechanical strength of porous silicon films

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fuguo; Zhao, Kun; Cheng, Jinchun; Zhang, Junyan

2011-01-01

Hydrophobic surfaces on Mechanical stable macroporous silicon films were prepared by electrochemical etching with subsequent octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) modification. The surface morphologies were controlled by current densities and the mechanical properties were adjusted by their corresponding porosities. Contrast with the smooth macroporous silicon films with lower porosities (34.1%) and microporous silicon with higher porosities (97%), the macroporous film with a rough three-dimension (3D) surface and a moderate pore to cross-section area ratio (37.8%, PSi2‧) exhibited both good mechanical strength (Yong' modulus, shear modulus and collapse strength are 64.2, 24.1 and 0.32 GPa, respectively) and surface superhydrophobicity (water contact angle is 158.4 ± 2° and sliding angle is 2.7 ± 1°). This result revealed that the surface hydrophobicities (or the surface roughness) and mechanical strength of porous films could be conciliated by pore to cross-section area ratios control and 3D structures construction. Thus, the superhydrophobic surfaces on mechanical stable porous films could be obtained by 3D structures fabrication on porous film with proper pore to cross-section area ratios.

Surface stability test plan for protective barriers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ligotke, M.W.

1989-01-01

Natural-material protective barriers for long-term isolation of buried waste have been identified as integral components of a plan to isolate a number of Hanford defense waste sites. Standards currently being developed for internal and external barrier performance will mandate a barrier surface layer that is resistant to the eolian erosion processes of wind erosion (deflation) and windborne particle deposition (formation of sand dunes). Thus, experiments are needed to measure rates of eolian erosion processes impacting those surfaces under different surface and climatological conditions. Data from these studies will provide information for use in the evaluation of selected surface layers as a means of providing stable cover over waste sites throughout the design life span of protective barriers. The multi-year test plan described in this plan is directed at understanding processes of wind erosion and windborne particle deposition, providing measurements of erosion rates for models, and suggesting construction materials and methods for reducing the effect of long-term eolian erosion on the barrier. Specifically, this plan describes possible methods to measure rates of eolian erosion, including field and laboratory procedure. Advantages and disadvantages of laboratory (wind tunnel) tests are discussed, and continued wind tunnel tests are recommended for wind erosion studies. A comparison between field and wind tunnel erosive forces is discussed. Plans for testing surfaces are described. Guidance is also presented for studying the processes controlling sand dune and blowout formation. 24 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs

DEPTH MEASUREMENT OF DISRUPTED LAYER ON SILICON WAFER SURFACE USING AUGER SPECTROSCOPY METHOD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. A. Solodukha

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper proposes a method for depth measurement of a disrupted layer on silicon wafer surface which is based on application of Auger spectroscopy with the precision sputtering of surface silicon layers and registration of the Auger electron yield intensity. In order to measure the disrupted layer with the help of Auger spectroscopy it is necessary to determine dependence of the released Auger electron amount on sputtering time (profile and then the dependence is analyzed. Silicon amount in the disrupted layer is less than in the volume. While going deeper the disruptive layer is decreasing that corresponds to an increase of atom density in a single layer. The essence of the method lies in the fact the disruptive layer is removed by ion beam sputtering and detection of interface region is carried out with the help of registration of the Auger electron yield intensity from the sputtered surface up to the moment when it reaches the value which is equal to the Auger electron yield intensity for single-crystal silicon. While removing surface silicon layers the registration of the Auger electron yield intensity from silicon surface makes it possible to control efficiently a presence of the disrupted layer on the silicon wafer surface. In this case depth control locality is about 1.0 nm due to some peculiarities of Auger spectroscopy method. The Auger electron yield intensity is determined automatically while using Auger spectrometer and while removing the disrupted layer the intensity is gradually increasing. Depth of the disrupted layer is determined by measuring height of the step which has been formed as a result of removal of the disrupted layer from the silicon wafer surface. Auger spectroscopy methods ensures an efficient depth control surface disruptions at the manufacturing stages of silicon wafers and integrated circuits. The depth measurement range of disruptions constitutes 0.001–1.000 um.

Self-assembling peptide hydrogels immobilized on silicon surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franchi, Stefano; Battocchio, Chiara; Galluzzi, Martina; Navisse, Emanuele; Zamuner, Annj; Dettin, Monica; Iucci, Giovanna

2016-01-01

The hydrogels of self-assembling ionic complementary peptides have collected in the scientific community increasing consensus as mimetics of the extracellular matrix that can offer 3D supports for cell growth or be vehicles for the delivery of stem cells or drugs. Such scaffolds have also been proposed as bone substitutes for small defects as they promote beneficial effects on human osteoblasts. In this context, our research deals with the introduction of a layer of self-assembling peptides on a silicon surface by covalent anchoring and subsequent physisorption. In this work, we present a spectroscopic investigation of the proposed bioactive scaffolds, carried out by surface-sensitive spectroscopic techniques such as XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and RAIRS (Reflection Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy) and by state-of-the-art synchrotron radiation methodologies such as angle dependent NEXAFS (Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure). XPS studies confirmed the change in the surface composition in agreement with the proposed enrichments, and led to assess the self-assembling peptide chemical stability. NEXAFS spectra, collected in angular dependent mode at the N K-edge, allowed to investigate the self-assembling behavior of the macromolecules, as well as to determine their molecular orientation on the substrate. Furthermore, Infrared Spectroscopy measurements demonstrated that the peptide maintains its secondary structure (β-sheet anti-parallel) after deposition on the silicon surface. The complementary information acquired by means of XPS, NEXAFS and RAIRS lead to hypothesize a “layer-by-layer” arrangement of the immobilized peptides, giving rise to an ordered 3D nanostructure. - Highlights: • A self-assembling peptide (SAP) was covalently immobilized of on a flat silicon surface. • A physisorbed SAP layer was grown on top of the covalently immobilized peptide layer. • Molecular order and orientation of the peptide overlayer on the flat silicon

Self-assembling peptide hydrogels immobilized on silicon surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Franchi, Stefano; Battocchio, Chiara; Galluzzi, Martina; Navisse, Emanuele [Department of Sciences, University “Roma Tre”, Via della Vasca Navale 79, Roma, 00146 (Italy); Zamuner, Annj; Dettin, Monica [Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padua, Via Marzolo, 9, Padua, 35131 (Italy); Iucci, Giovanna, E-mail: giovanna.iucci@uniroma3.it [Department of Sciences, University “Roma Tre”, Via della Vasca Navale 79, Roma, 00146 (Italy)

2016-12-01

The hydrogels of self-assembling ionic complementary peptides have collected in the scientific community increasing consensus as mimetics of the extracellular matrix that can offer 3D supports for cell growth or be vehicles for the delivery of stem cells or drugs. Such scaffolds have also been proposed as bone substitutes for small defects as they promote beneficial effects on human osteoblasts. In this context, our research deals with the introduction of a layer of self-assembling peptides on a silicon surface by covalent anchoring and subsequent physisorption. In this work, we present a spectroscopic investigation of the proposed bioactive scaffolds, carried out by surface-sensitive spectroscopic techniques such as XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and RAIRS (Reflection Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy) and by state-of-the-art synchrotron radiation methodologies such as angle dependent NEXAFS (Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure). XPS studies confirmed the change in the surface composition in agreement with the proposed enrichments, and led to assess the self-assembling peptide chemical stability. NEXAFS spectra, collected in angular dependent mode at the N K-edge, allowed to investigate the self-assembling behavior of the macromolecules, as well as to determine their molecular orientation on the substrate. Furthermore, Infrared Spectroscopy measurements demonstrated that the peptide maintains its secondary structure (β-sheet anti-parallel) after deposition on the silicon surface. The complementary information acquired by means of XPS, NEXAFS and RAIRS lead to hypothesize a “layer-by-layer” arrangement of the immobilized peptides, giving rise to an ordered 3D nanostructure. - Highlights: • A self-assembling peptide (SAP) was covalently immobilized of on a flat silicon surface. • A physisorbed SAP layer was grown on top of the covalently immobilized peptide layer. • Molecular order and orientation of the peptide overlayer on the flat silicon

Suppression of surface barriers in superconductors by columnar defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koshelev, A. E.; Vinokur, V. M.

2001-01-01

We investigate the influence of columnar defects in layered superconductors on the thermally activated penetration of pancake vortices through the surface barrier. Columnar defects, located near the surface, facilitate penetration of vortices through the surface barrier, by creating ''weak spots,'' through which pancakes can penetrate into the superconductor. Penetration of a pancake mediated by an isolated column, located near the surface, is a two-stage process involving hopping from the surface to the column and the detachment from the column into the bulk; each stage is controlled by its own activation barrier. The resulting effective energy is equal to the maximum of those two barriers. For a given external field there exists an optimum location of the column for which the barriers for the both processes are equal and the reduction of the effective penetration barrier is maximal. At high fields the effective penetration field is approximately 2 times smaller than in unirradiated samples. We also estimate the suppression of the effective penetration field by column clusters. This mechanism provides further reduction of the penetration field at low temperatures

Collective Phenomena In Volume And Surface Barrier Discharges

Science.gov (United States)

Kogelschatz, U.

2010-07-01

Barrier discharges are increasingly used as a cost-effective means to produce non-equilibrium plasmas at atmospheric pressure. This way, copious amounts of electrons, ions, free radicals and excited species can be generated without appreciable gas heating. In most applications the barrier is made of dielectric material. In laboratory experiments also the use of resistive, ferroelectric and semiconducting materials has been investigated, also porous ceramic layers and dielectric barriers with controlled surface conductivity. Major applications utilizing mainly dielectric barriers include ozone generation, surface cleaning and modification, polymer and textile treatment, sterilization, pollution control, CO2 lasers, excimer lamps, plasma display panels (flat TV screens). More recent research efforts are also devoted to biomedical applications and to plasma actuators for flow control. Sinu- soidal feeding voltages at various frequencies as well as pulsed excitation schemes are used. Volume as well as surface barrier discharges can exist in the form of filamentary, regularly patterned or laterally homogeneous discharges. Reviews of the subject and the older literature on barrier discharges were published by Kogelschatz (2002, 2003), by Wagner et al. (2003) and by Fridman et al. (2005). A detailed discussion of various properties of barrier discharges can also be found in the recent book "Non-Equilibrium Air Plasmas at Atmospheric Pressure" by Becker et al. (2005). The physical effects leading to collective phenomena in volume and surface barrier discharges will be discussed in detail. Special attention will be given to self-organization of current filaments. Main similarities and differences of the two types of barrier discharges will be elaborated.

Amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon heterojunctions for nuclear radiation detector applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walton, J.T.; Hong, W.S.; Luke, P.N.; Wang, N.W.; Ziemba, F.P.

1996-01-01

Results on the characterization of the electrical properties of amorphous silicon films for the three different growth methods, RF sputtering, PECVD, and LPCVD are reported. The performance of these a-Si films as heterojunctions on high resistivity p-type and n-type crystalline silicon is examined by measuring the noise, leakage current and the alpha particle response of 5 mm diameter detector structures. It is demonstrated that heterojunction detectors formed by RF sputtered films and PECVD films are comparable in performance with conventional surface barrier detectors. The results indicate that the a-Si/c-Si heterojunctions have the potential to greatly simplify detector fabrication. Directions for future avenues of nuclear particle detector development are indicated

Simulation and Optimization of Silicon Solar Cell Back Surface Field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Souad TOBBECHE

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, TCAD Silvaco (Technology Computer Aided Design software has been used to study the Back Surface Field (BSF effect of a p+ silicon layer for a n+pp+ silicon solar cell. To study this effect, the J-V characteristics and the external quantum efficiency (EQE are simulated under AM 1.5 illumination for two types of cells. The first solar cell is without BSF (n+p structure while the second one is with BSF (n+pp+ structure. The creation of the BSF on the rear face of the cell results in efficiency h of up to 16.06% with a short-circuit current density Jsc = 30.54 mA/cm2, an open-circuit voltage Voc = 0.631 V, a fill factor FF = 0.832 and a clear improvement of the spectral response obtained in the long wavelengths range. An electric field and a barrier of potential are created by the BSF and located at the junction p+/p with a maximum of 5800 V/cm and 0.15 V, respectively. The optimization of the BSF layer shows that the cell performance improves with the p+ thickness between 0.35 – 0.39 µm, the p+ doping dose is about 2 × 1014 cm-2, the maximum efficiency up to 16.19 %. The cell efficiency is more sensitive to the value of the back surface recombination velocity above a value of 103 cm/s in n+p than n+pp+ solar cell.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.21.4.9565

Electroless deposition of Ni-P on a silicon surface

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

hassan El Grini

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The present article concerns the metallization of silicon substrates by deposition of the nickel-phosphorus alloy produced by an autocatalytic chemical process. The deposition electrolyte is composed of a metal salt, a reducing agent (sodium hypophosphite, a complexing agent (sodium citrate and a buffer (ammonium acetate. The deposition could only be carried out after activation of the silicon by fixing catalytic species on its surface. The immersion of the silicon samples in palladium chloride made it possible to produce relatively thick and regular Ni-P coatings. The immersion time was optimized. The activation of Si was characterized by XPS and the Ni-P coating by XPS and M.E.B. The electrochemical study did not show any real mechanism changes compared to the Ni-P deposition on a conductive surface. 

Chemical modification of silicon surfaces for the application in soft lithography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gilles, S.

2007-05-15

The objective of this work was to chemically modify silicon surfaces by anchoring functional molecules. A major part was devoted to the investigation and improvement of the self-assembly process of organosilanes on oxidized silicon surfaces. The formation of a release agent layer with perfluorinated alkylsilanes was performed by vapor phase deposition. An advanced vapor phase deposition device, called CASINO device, was built to enhance the qualities of the thin films. It is possible to carry out cleaning and silanization in a closed chamber without exposing the samples to air in between. Thereby surface contamination is avoided. Experiments with the new device were performed following examples given in literature. To optimize the silanization process in the CASINO device, it was also planned to apply heat treatment of the sample during or after the deposition process. Surface layers of thiolterminated and of aminoterminated molecules were investigated as adhesive layer for the linkage of metal structures to silicon surfaces, e.g. Shuttle-Transfer Printing with gold crossbar electrodes. First, thiol- and aminoterminated organosilane SAMs were tested as adhesive layers for gold. The surface modified with thiolterminated silane molecules was further examined. Adhesion was promoted only after heat treatment of a thiolmodified silicon substrate with a gold layer on top. (orig.)

Preservation of atomically clean silicon surfaces in air by contact bonding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grey, Francois; Ljungberg, Karin

1997-01-01

When two hydrogen-passivated silicon surfaces are placed in contact under cleanroom conditions, a weak bond is formed. Cleaving this bond under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions, and observing the surfaces with low energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy, we find that the or...... reconstruction from oxidation in air, Contact bonding opens the way to novel applications of reconstructed semiconductor surfaces, by preserving their atomic structure intact outside of a UHV chamber. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.......When two hydrogen-passivated silicon surfaces are placed in contact under cleanroom conditions, a weak bond is formed. Cleaving this bond under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions, and observing the surfaces with low energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy, we find...... that the ordered atomic structure of the surfaces is protected from oxidation, even after the bonded samples have been in air for weeks. Further, we show that silicon surfaces that have been cleaned and hydrogen-passivated in UHV can be contacted in UHV in a similarly hermetic fashion, protecting the surface...

Permeable reactive barrier of surface hydrophobic granular activated carbon coupled with elemental iron for the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol in water.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Ji; Cao, Limei; Guo, Rui; Jia, Jinping

2010-12-15

Granular activated carbon was modified with dimethyl dichlorosilane to improve its surface hydrophobicity, and therefore to improve the performance of permeable reactive barrier constructed with the modified granular activated carbon and elemental iron. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that the surface silicon concentration of the modified granular activated carbon is higher than that of the original one, leading to the increased surface hydrophobicity. Although the specific surface area decreased from 895 to 835 m(2)g(-1), the modified granular activated carbon could adsorb 20% more 2,4-dichlorophenol than the original one did in water. It is also proven that the permeable reactive barrier with the modified granular activated carbon is more efficient at 2,4-dichlorophenol dechlorination, in which process 2,4-dichlorophenol is transformed to 2-chlorophenol or 4-chlorophenol then to phenol, or to phenol directly. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Direct measurement of free-energy barrier to nucleation of crystallites in amorphous silicon thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Frank G.

1994-01-01

A method is introduced to measure the free-energy barrier W(sup *), the activation energy, and activation entropy to nucleation of crystallites in amorphous solids, independent of the energy barrier to growth. The method allows one to determine the temperature dependence of W(sup *), and the effect of the preparation conditions of the initial amorphous phase, the dopants, and the crystallization methds on W(sup *). The method is applied to determine the free-energy barrier to nucleation of crystallites in amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin films. For thermally induced nucleation in a-Si thin films with annealing temperatures in the range of from 824 to 983 K, the free-energy barrier W(sup *) to nucleation of silicon crystals is about 2.0 - 2.1 eV regardless of the preparation conditions of the films. The observation supports the idea that a-Si transforms into an intermediate amorphous state through the structural relaxation prior to the onset of nucleation of crystallites in a-Si. The observation also indicates that the activation entropy may be an insignificant part of the free-energy barrier for the nucleation of crystallites in a-Si. Compared with the free-energy barrier to nucleation of crystallites in undoped a-Si films, a significant reduction is observed in the free-energy barrier to nucleation in Cu-doped a-Si films. For a-Si under irradiation of Xe(2+) at 10(exp 5) eV, the free-energy barrier to ion-induced nucleation of crystallites is shown to be about half of the value associated with thermal-induced nucleation of crystallites in a-Si under the otherwise same conditions, which is much more significant than previously expected. The present method has a general kinetic basis; it thus should be equally applicable to nucleation of crystallites in any amorphous elemental semiconductors and semiconductor alloys, metallic and polymeric glasses, and to nucleation of crystallites in melts and solutions.

Radiation- stimulated adsorption of n-hexane on the surface of silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hajiyeva, N.N.

2014-01-01

Full text : This paper presents the results of studies of radiation-stimulated adsorption of n-hexane on a silicon surface, obtained by infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy method. It has been used a monocrystal silicon plate with high reflectance coefficient of the surface. Irradiation of the samples was carried out on gamma-quantum source of 60Co

Beam Simulation Studies of Plasma-Surface Interactions in Fluorocarbon Etching of Silicon and Silicon Dioxide

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, David C.

1992-01-01

A molecular beam apparatus has been constructed which allows the synthesis of dominant species fluxes to a wafer surface during fluorocarbon plasma etching. These species include atomic F as the primary etchant, CF _2 as a potential polymer forming precursor, and Ar^{+} or CF _{rm x}^{+} type ions. Ionic and neutral fluxes employed are within an order of magnitude of those typical of fluorocarbon plasmas and are well characterized through the use of in -situ probes. Etching yields and product distributions have been measured through the use of in-situ laser interferometry and line-of-sight mass spectrometry. XPS studies of etched surfaces were performed to assess surface chemical bonding states and average surface stoichiometry. A useful design guide was developed which allows optimal design of straight -tube molecular beam dosers in the collisionally-opaque regime. Ion-enhanced surface reaction kinetics have been studied as a function of the independently variable fluxes of free radicals and ions, as well as ion energy and substrate temperature. We have investigated the role of Ar ^{+} ions in enhancing the chemistries of F and CF_2 separately, and in combination on undoped silicon and silicon dioxide surfaces. We have employed both reactive and inert ions in the energy range most relevant to plasma etching processes, 20-500 eV, through the use of Kaufman and ECR type ion sources. The effect of increasing ion energy on the etching of fluorine saturated silicon and silicon dioxide surfaces was quantified through extensions of available low energy physical sputtering theory. Simple "site"-occupation models were developed for the quantification of the ion-enhanced fluorine etching kinetics in these systems. These models are suitable for use in topography evolution simulators (e.g. SAMPLE) for the predictive modeling of profile evolution in non-depositing fluorine-based plasmas such as NF_3 and SF_6. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14

A dielectric matrix calculation of the surface-plasmon energy for the silicon (100) surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forsyth, A.J.; Smith, A.E.; Josefsson, T.W.

1996-01-01

Full text: As an extension of previous work, we present preliminary calculations for the dielectric properties of the silicon (100) surface. In particular, the |q|→0 and |q|=2π/a(1,0,0) surface loss function, and corresponding surface plasmon energies have been calculated within a simple model for the silicon surface. The results have been obtained from the Adler and Wiser dielectric matrix (DM). The bandstructure used for the calculation was based on the highly successful empirical pseudopotential method of Cohen and Chelikovsky. We have used a 59 plane wave basis for the bandstructure, and have chosen a DM size of 59 x 59. Results are compared and contrasted with volume plasmon calculations, free electron calculations and experiment

Collective phenomena in volume and surface barrier discharges

Science.gov (United States)

Kogelschatz, U.

2010-11-01

Barrier discharges are increasingly used as a cost-effective configuration to produce non-equilibrium plasmas at atmospheric pressure. This way, copious amounts of electrons, ions, free radicals and excited species can be generated without significant heating of the background gas. In most applications the barrier is made of dielectric material. Major applications utilizing mainly dielectric barriers include ozone generation, surface cleaning and modification, polymer and textile treatment, sterilization, pollution control, CO2 lasers, excimer lamps, plasma display panels (flat TV screens). More recent research efforts are devoted to biomedical applications and to plasma actuators for flow control. Sinusoidal feeding voltages at various frequencies as well as pulsed excitation schemes are used. Volume as well as surface barrier discharges can exist in the form of filamentary, regularly patterned or diffuse, laterally homogeneous discharges. The physical effects leading to collective phenomena in volume and surface barrier discharges are discussed in detail. Special attention is paid to self-organization of current filaments and pattern formation. Major similarities of the two types of barrier discharges are elaborated.

Near-Surface Engineered Environmental Barrier Integrity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piet, S.J.; Breckenridge, R.P.

2002-01-01

The INEEL Environmental Systems Research and Analysis (ESRA) program has launched a new R and D project on Near-Surface Engineered Environmental Barrier Integrity to increase knowledge and capabilities for using engineering and ecological components to improve the integrity of near-surface barriers used to confine contaminants from the public and the environment. The knowledge gained and the capabilities built will help verify the adequacy of past remedial decisions and enable improved solutions for future cleanup decisions. The research is planned to (a) improve the knowledge of degradation mechanisms (weathering, biological, geological, chemical, radiological, and catastrophic) in times shorter than service life, (b) improve modeling of barrier degradation dynamics, (c) develop sensor systems to identify degradation prior to failure, and (d) provide a better basis for developing and testing of new barrier systems to increase reliability and reduce the risk of failure. Our project combine s selected exploratory studies (benchtop and field scale), coupled effects accelerated aging testing and the meso-scale, testing of new monitoring concepts, and modeling of dynamic systems. The performance of evapo-transpiration, capillary, and grout-based barriers will be examined

Clusterin Seals the Ocular Surface Barrier in Mouse Dry Eye.

Science.gov (United States)

Bauskar, Aditi; Mack, Wendy J; Mauris, Jerome; Argüeso, Pablo; Heur, Martin; Nagel, Barbara A; Kolar, Grant R; Gleave, Martin E; Nakamura, Takahiro; Kinoshita, Shigeru; Moradian-Oldak, Janet; Panjwani, Noorjahan; Pflugfelder, Stephen C; Wilson, Mark R; Fini, M Elizabeth; Jeong, Shinwu

2015-01-01

Dry eye is a common disorder caused by inadequate hydration of the ocular surface that results in disruption of barrier function. The homeostatic protein clusterin (CLU) is prominent at fluid-tissue interfaces throughout the body. CLU levels are reduced at the ocular surface in human inflammatory disorders that manifest as severe dry eye, as well as in a preclinical mouse model for desiccating stress that mimics dry eye. Using this mouse model, we show here that CLU prevents and ameliorates ocular surface barrier disruption by a remarkable sealing mechanism dependent on attainment of a critical all-or-none concentration. When the CLU level drops below the critical all-or-none threshold, the barrier becomes vulnerable to desiccating stress. CLU binds selectively to the ocular surface subjected to desiccating stress in vivo, and in vitro to the galectin LGALS3, a key barrier component. Positioned in this way, CLU not only physically seals the ocular surface barrier, but it also protects the barrier cells and prevents further damage to barrier structure. These findings define a fundamentally new mechanism for ocular surface protection and suggest CLU as a biotherapeutic for dry eye.

Clusterin Seals the Ocular Surface Barrier in Mouse Dry Eye.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aditi Bauskar

Full Text Available Dry eye is a common disorder caused by inadequate hydration of the ocular surface that results in disruption of barrier function. The homeostatic protein clusterin (CLU is prominent at fluid-tissue interfaces throughout the body. CLU levels are reduced at the ocular surface in human inflammatory disorders that manifest as severe dry eye, as well as in a preclinical mouse model for desiccating stress that mimics dry eye. Using this mouse model, we show here that CLU prevents and ameliorates ocular surface barrier disruption by a remarkable sealing mechanism dependent on attainment of a critical all-or-none concentration. When the CLU level drops below the critical all-or-none threshold, the barrier becomes vulnerable to desiccating stress. CLU binds selectively to the ocular surface subjected to desiccating stress in vivo, and in vitro to the galectin LGALS3, a key barrier component. Positioned in this way, CLU not only physically seals the ocular surface barrier, but it also protects the barrier cells and prevents further damage to barrier structure. These findings define a fundamentally new mechanism for ocular surface protection and suggest CLU as a biotherapeutic for dry eye.

Thermal Stress of Surface of Mold Cavities and Parting Line of Silicone Molds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bajčičák Martin

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The paper is focused on the study of thermal stress of surface of mold cavities and parting line of silicone molds after pouring. The silicone mold White SD - THT was thermally stressed by pouring of ZnAl4Cu3 zinc alloy with pouring cycle 20, 30 and 40 seconds. The most thermally stressed part of surface at each pouring cycle is gating system and mold cavities. It could be further concluded that linear increase of the pouring cycle time leads to the exponential increasing of the maximum temperature of mold surface after its cooling. The elongated pouring cycle increases the temperature accumulated on the surface of cavities and the ability of silicone mold to conduct the heat on its surface decreases, because the low thermal conductivity of silicone molds enables the conduction of larger amount of heat into ambient environment.

High surface area silicon materials: fundamentals and new technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Buriak, Jillian M

2006-01-15

Crystalline silicon forms the basis of just about all computing technologies on the planet, in the form of microelectronics. An enormous amount of research infrastructure and knowledge has been developed over the past half-century to construct complex functional microelectronic structures in silicon. As a result, it is highly probable that silicon will remain central to computing and related technologies as a platform for integration of, for instance, molecular electronics, sensing elements and micro- and nanoelectromechanical systems. Porous nanocrystalline silicon is a fascinating variant of the same single crystal silicon wafers used to make computer chips. Its synthesis, a straightforward electrochemical, chemical or photochemical etch, is compatible with existing silicon-based fabrication techniques. Porous silicon literally adds an entirely new dimension to the realm of silicon-based technologies as it has a complex, three-dimensional architecture made up of silicon nanoparticles, nanowires, and channel structures. The intrinsic material is photoluminescent at room temperature in the visible region due to quantum confinement effects, and thus provides an optical element to electronic applications. Our group has been developing new organic surface reactions on porous and nanocrystalline silicon to tailor it for a myriad of applications, including molecular electronics and sensing. Integration of organic and biological molecules with porous silicon is critical to harness the properties of this material. The construction and use of complex, hierarchical molecular synthetic strategies on porous silicon will be described.

Excellent Silicon Surface Passivation Achieved by Industrial Inductively Coupled Plasma Deposited Hydrogenated Intrinsic Amorphous Silicon Suboxide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jia Ge

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We present an alternative method of depositing a high-quality passivation film for heterojunction silicon wafer solar cells, in this paper. The deposition of hydrogenated intrinsic amorphous silicon suboxide is accomplished by decomposing hydrogen, silane, and carbon dioxide in an industrial remote inductively coupled plasma platform. Through the investigation on CO2 partial pressure and process temperature, excellent surface passivation quality and optical properties are achieved. It is found that the hydrogen content in the film is much higher than what is commonly reported in intrinsic amorphous silicon due to oxygen incorporation. The observed slow depletion of hydrogen with increasing temperature greatly enhances its process window as well. The effective lifetime of symmetrically passivated samples under the optimal condition exceeds 4.7 ms on planar n-type Czochralski silicon wafers with a resistivity of 1 Ωcm, which is equivalent to an effective surface recombination velocity of less than 1.7 cms−1 and an implied open-circuit voltage (Voc of 741 mV. A comparison with several high quality passivation schemes for solar cells reveals that the developed inductively coupled plasma deposited films show excellent passivation quality. The excellent optical property and resistance to degradation make it an excellent substitute for industrial heterojunction silicon solar cell production.

Formation of silicon carbide by laser ablation in graphene oxide-N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone suspension on silicon surface

Science.gov (United States)

Jaleh, Babak; Ghasemi, Samaneh; Torkamany, Mohammad Javad; Salehzadeh, Sadegh; Maleki, Farahnaz

2018-01-01

Laser ablation of a silicon wafer in graphene oxide-N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (GO-NMP) suspension was carried out with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser (pulse duration = 250 ns, wavelength = 1064 nm). The surface of silicon wafer before and after laser ablation was studied using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The results showed that the ablation of silicon surface in liquid by pulsed laser was done by the process of melt expulsion under the influence of the confined plasma-induced pressure or shock wave trapped between the silicon wafer and the liquid. The X-ray diffraction‌ (XRD) pattern of Si wafer after laser ablation showed that 4H-SiC layer is formed on its surface. The formation of the above layer was also confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy‌ (XPS), as well as EDX was utilized. The reflectance of samples decreased with increasing pulse energy. Therefore, the morphological alteration and the formation of SiC layer at high energy increase absorption intensity in the UV‌-vis regions. Theoretical calculations confirm that the formation of silicon carbide from graphene oxide and silicon wafer is considerably endothermic. Development of new methods for increasing the reflectance without causing harmful effects is still an important issue for crystalline Si solar cells. By using the method described in this paper, the optical properties of solar cells can be improved.

Some aspects of the behavior of barium, bismuth and strontium on silicon surfaces studied by TXRF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kilian, G.; Kolbesen, B.O.; Pamler, W.; Unger, E.; Hoepfner, A.

2000-01-01

Current dielectric film materials (SiO 2 , SiO 2 /Si 3 N 4 ) are one of the limiting factors for the scaling of microelectronic devices in the sub-quartermicron regime, in particular regarding the storage capacitor of dynamic random access memories (DRAMs). Alternative materials comprise films with high ε such as BaSrTiO 3 (BST) or films with ferroelectric behavior such as PbZrTiO 3 (PZT) or SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9 (SBT). In order to integrate ferroelectric and high ε films into standard CMOS technology it is necessary to investigate possible detrimental effects on performance and reliability. In case of SBT, very little is known about the effect of Ba, Bi and Sr contamination on silicon device technology. Therefore, some aspects of their adsorption, desorption and diffusion behavior at room and higher temperature in inert (N 2 ) and oxidising (O 2 ) ambient have been studied by monitoring the Ba, Bi and Sr concentrations on silicon surfaces by total reflection x-ray fluorescence analysis (TXRF). Ba and Sr are incorporated in the existing or growing oxide during RTA. If O 2 is present the growing oxide on the silicon surface forms a barrier which forces the Bi to diffuse into the bulk. Hence, cross contamination due to gas phase transport may occur in the case of Bi under N 2 atmosphere but is of no concern in the case of Ba and Sr. (author)

Potassium ions in SiO2: electrets for silicon surface passivation

Science.gov (United States)

Bonilla, Ruy S.; Wilshaw, Peter R.

2018-01-01

This manuscript reports an experimental and theoretical study of the transport of potassium ions in thin silicon dioxide films. While alkali contamination was largely researched in the context of MOSFET instability, recent reports indicate that potassium ions can be embedded into oxide films to produce dielectric materials with permanent electric charge, also known as electrets. These electrets are integral to a number of applications, including the passivation of silicon surfaces for optoelectronic devices. In this work, electric field assisted migration of ions is used to rapidly drive K+ into SiO2 and produce effective passivation of silicon surfaces. Charge concentrations of up to ~5  ×  1012 e cm-2 have been achieved. This charge was seen to be stable for over 1500 d, with decay time constants as high as 17 000 d, producing an effectively passivated oxide-silicon interface with SRV  industrial manufacture of silicon optoelectronic devices.

Silicon radiation detectors: materials and applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walton, J.T.; Haller, E.E.

1982-10-01

Silicon nuclear radiation detectors are available today in a large variety of sizes and types. This profusion has been made possible by the ever increasing quality and diameter silicon single crystals, new processing technologies and techniques, and innovative detector design. The salient characteristics of the four basic detector groups, diffused junction, ion implanted, surface barrier, and lithium drift are reviewed along with the silicon crystal requirements. Results of crystal imperfections detected by lithium ion compensation are presented. Processing technologies and techniques are described. Two recent novel position-sensitive detector designs are discussed - one in high-energy particle track reconstruction and the other in x-ray angiography. The unique experimental results obtained with these devices are presented

Permanent isolation surface barrier: Functional performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wing, N.R.

1993-10-01

This document presents the functional performance parameters for permanent isolation surface barriers. Permanent isolation surface barriers have been proposed for use at the Hanford Site (and elsewhere) to isolate and dispose of certain types of waste in place. Much of the waste that would be disposed of using in-place isolation techniques is located in subsurface structures, such as solid waste burial grounds, tanks, vaults, and cribs. Unless protected in some way, the wastes could be transported to the accessible environment via transport pathways, such as water infiltration, biointrusion, wind and water erosion, human interference, and/or gaseous release

Surface functionalization of HF-treated silicon nanowires

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Administrator

place when silicon nanowires reacted with 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl acrylate, and reductive deposition reaction occurred in the ... detection of fM level of protein. 14 and DNA. 15 ... surfaces can be easily modified to act as both elec- tron-transfer ...

Covalent Attachment of Bent-Core Mesogens to Silicon Surfaces

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scheres, L.; Achten, R.; Giesbers, M.; Smet, de L.; Arafat, A.; Sudhölter, E.J.R.; Marcelis, A.T.M.; Zuilhof, H.

2009-01-01

Two vinyl-terminated bent core-shaped liquid crystalline molecules that exhibit thermotropic antiferroelectric SmCPA phases have been covalently attached onto a hydrogen-terminated silicon(111) surface. The surface attachment was achieved via a mild procedure from a mesitylene solution, using

Surface barrier research at the Hanford Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gee, G.W.; Ward, A.L.; Fayer, M.J.

1997-01-01

At the DOE Hanford Site, a field-scale prototype surface barrier was constructed in 1994 over an existing waste site as a part of a CERCLA treatability test. The above-grade barrier consists of a fine-soil layer overlying coarse layers of sands, gravels, basalt rock (riprap), and a low permeability asphalt layer. Two sideslope configurations, clean-fill gravel on a 10:1 slope and basalt riprap on a 2:1 slope, were built and are being tested. Design considerations included: constructability; drainage and water balance monitoring, wind and water erosion control and monitoring; surface revegetation and biotic intrusion; subsidence and sideslope stability, and durability of the asphalt layer. The barrier is currently in the final year of a three-year test designed to answer specific questions related to stability and long-term performance. One half of the barrier is irrigated such that the total water applied, including precipitation, is 480 mm/yr (three times the long-term annual average). Each year for the past two years, an extreme precipitation event (71 mm in 8 hr) representing a 1,000-yr return storm was applied in late March, when soil water storage was at a maximum. While the protective sideslopes have drained significant amounts of water, the soil cover (2-m of silt-loam soil overlying coarse sand and rock) has never drained. During the past year there was no measurable surface runoff or wind erosion. This is attributed to extensive revegetation of the surface. In addition, the barrier elevation has shown a small increase of 2 to 3 cm that is attributed to a combination of root proliferation and freeze/thaw activity. Testing will continue through September 1997. Performance data from the prototype barrier will be used by DOE in site-closure decisions at Hanford

Oxide layers for silicon detector protection against enviroment effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bel'tsazh, E.; Brylovska, I.; Valerian, M.

1986-01-01

It is shown that for protection of silicon detectors of nuclear radiations oxide layers could be used. The layers are produced by electrochemical oxidation of silicon surface with the following low-temperature annealing. These layers have characteristics similar to those for oxide layers produced by treatment of silicon samples at elevated temperature in oxygen flow. To determine properties of oxide layers produced by electrochemical oxidation the α-particle back-scattering method and the method of volt-farad characteristics were used. Protection properties of such layers were checked on the surface-barrier detectors. It was shown that protection properties of such detectors were conserved during long storage at room temperature and during their storage under wet-bulb temperature. Detectors without protection layer have worsened their characteristics

Improving Hydrophobicity of Glass Surface Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge Treatment in Atmospheric Air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang Zhi; Qiu Yuchang; Wang Hui; Kuffel, E

2007-01-01

Non-thermal plasmas under atmospheric pressure are of great interest in industrial applications, especially in material surface treatment. In this paper, the treatment of a glass surface for improving hydrophobicity using the non-thermal plasma generated by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure in ambient air is conducted, and the surface properties of the glass before and after the DBD treatment are studied by using contact angle measurement, surface resistance measurement and wet flashover voltage tests. The effects of the applied voltage and time duration of DBD on the surface modification are studied, and the optimal conditions for the treatment are obtained. It is found that a layer of hydrophobic coating is formed on the glass surface after spraying a thin layer of silicone oil and undergoing the DBD treatment, and the improvement of hydrophobicity depends on DBD voltage and treating time. It seems that there exists an optimum treating time for a certain applied voltage of DBD during the surface treatment. The test results of thermal aging and chemical aging show that the hydrophobic layer has quite stable characteristics. The interaction mechanism between the DBD plasma and the glass surface is discussed. It is concluded that CH 3 and large molecule radicals can react with the radicals in the glass surface to replace OH, and the hydrophobicity of the glass surface is improved accordingly

Analysis of the surface technology of silicon detectors for imaging of low-energy beta tracers in biological material

CERN Document Server

Tykva, R

2000-01-01

Using silicon surface barrier detectors, the counting sensitivity of low-energy beta tracers is considerably influenced by surface technology applied in detector manufacturing. Original diagnostic procedure, using a mixture of uranium fission products, is described to trace the behaviors of different admixtures as in the etching bath as in the water used during development of the detector surface. In combination with some other described analyses, the detectors produced with the developed surface control are used in a PC - controlled scanning equipment reaching at room temperature an FWHM of 3.4 keV for sup 2 sup 4 sup 1 Am. Such detectors make it possible to image distribution, of e.g., sup 3 H, sup 1 sup 2 sup 5 I, sup 3 H+ sup 1 sup 4 C and other beta tracer combinations applied in life and environmental sciences.

Photoelectric effect in surface-barrier structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kononenko, V.K.; Tupenevich, P.A.

1985-08-01

Deviations from the Fowler law were observed when investigating photoelectric emission in p-type ZnTe surface-barrier structures. The revealed peculiarities of the structure photosensitivity spectrum are explained by the electron transitions involving surface states at the metal-semiconductor interface. (author)

Fabrication of multi-functional silicon surface by direct laser writing

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Ashwani Kumar; Soni, R. K.

2018-05-01

We present a simple, quick and one-step methodology based on nano-second laser direct writing for the fabrication of micro-nanostructures on silicon surface. The fabricated surfaces suppress the optical reflection by multiple reflection due to light trapping effect to a much lower value than polished silicon surface. These textured surfaces offer high enhancement ability after gold nanoparticle deposition and then explored for Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) for specific molecular detection. The effect of laser scanning line interval on optical reflection and SERS signal enhancement ability was also investigated. Our results indicate that low optical reflection substrates exhibit uniform SERS enhancement with enhancement factor of the order of 106. Furthermore, this methodology provide an alternative approach for cost-effective large area fabrication with good control over feature size.

Formation of a silicon terminated (100) diamond surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schenk, Alex; Sear, Michael; Pakes, Chris; Tadich, Anton; O'Donnell, Kane M.; Ley, Lothar; Stacey, Alastair

2015-01-01

We report the preparation of an ordered silicon terminated diamond (100) surface with a two domain 3 × 1 reconstruction as determined by low energy electron diffraction. Based on the dimensions of the surface unit cell and on chemical information provided by core level photoemission spectra, a model for the structure is proposed. The termination should provide a homogeneous, nuclear, and electron spin-free surface for the development of future near-surface diamond quantum device architectures

Dry Etch Black Silicon with Low Surface Damage: Effect of Low Capacitively Coupled Plasma Power

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iandolo, Beniamino; Plakhotnyuk, Maksym; Gaudig, Maria

2017-01-01

Black silicon fabricated by reactive ion etch (RIE) is promising for integration into silicon solar cells thanks to its excellent light trapping ability. However, intensive ion bombardment during the RIE induces surface damage, which results in enhanced surface recombination velocity. Here, we pr...... carrier lifetime thanks to reduced ion energy. Surface passivation using atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 improves the effective lifetime to 7.5 ms and 0.8 ms for black silicon n- and p-type wafers, respectively.......Black silicon fabricated by reactive ion etch (RIE) is promising for integration into silicon solar cells thanks to its excellent light trapping ability. However, intensive ion bombardment during the RIE induces surface damage, which results in enhanced surface recombination velocity. Here, we...... present a RIE optimization leading to reduced surface damage while retaining excellent light trapping and low reflectivity. In particular, we demonstrate that the reduction of the capacitively coupled power during reactive ion etching preserves a reflectance below 1% and improves the effective minority...

Apparatus and method of manufacture for depositing a composite anti-reflection layer on a silicon surface

Science.gov (United States)

Pain, Bedabrata (Inventor)

2012-01-01

An apparatus and associated method are provided. A first silicon layer having at least one of an associated passivation layer and barrier is included. Also included is a composite anti-reflection layer including a stack of layers each with a different thickness and refractive index. Such composite anti-reflection layer is disposed adjacent to the first silicon layer.

Fabrication of a novel silicon single electron transistor for Si:P quantum computer devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Angus, S.J.; Smith, C.E.A.; Gauja, E.; Dzurak, A.S.; Clark, R.G.; Snider, G.L.

2004-01-01

Full text: Quantum computation relies on the successful measurement of quantum states. Single electron transistors (SETs) are known to be able to perform fast and sensitive charge measurements of solid state qubits. However, due to their sensitivity, SETs are also very susceptible to random charge fluctuations in a solid-state materials environment. In previous dc transport measurements, silicon-based SETs have demonstrated greater charge stability than A1/A1 2 O 3 SETs. We have designed and fabricated a novel silicon SET architecture for a comparison of the noise characteristics of silicon and aluminium based devices. The silicon SET described here is designed for controllable and reproducible low temperature operation. It is fabricated using a novel dual gate structure on a silicon-on-insulator substrate. A silicon quantum wire is formed in a 100nm thick high-resistivity superficial silicon layer using reactive ion etching. Carriers are induced in the silicon wire by a back gate in the silicon substrate. The tunnel barriers are created electrostatically, using lithographically defined metallic electrodes (∼40nm width). These tunnel barriers surround the surface of the quantum wire, thus producing excellent electrostatic confinement. This architecture provides independent control of tunnel barrier height and island occupancy, thus promising better control of Coulomb blockade oscillations than in previously investigated silicon SETs. The use of a near intrinsic silicon substrate offers compatibility with Si:P qubits in the longer term

Photoconductivity relaxation and electron transport in macroporous silicon structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L.A. Karachevtseva

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Kinetics and temperature dependence of photoconductivity were measured in macroporous silicon at 80…300 K after light illumination with the wavelength 0.9 μm. The influence of mechanisms of the charge carrier transport through the macropore surface barrier on the kinetics of photoconductivity at various temperatures was investigated. The kinetics of photoconductivity distribution in macroporous silicon and Si substrate has been calculated using the finite-difference time-domain method. The maximum of photoconductivity has been found both in the layer of macroporous silicon and in the monocrystalline substrate. The kinetics of photoconductivity distribution in macroporous silicon showed rapid relaxation of the photoconductivity maximum in the layer of macroporous silicon and slow relaxation of it in the monocrystalline substrate.

Formation of multiple levels of porous silicon for buried insulators and conductors in silicon device technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Blewer, Robert S.; Gullinger, Terry R.; Kelly, Michael J.; Tsao, Sylvia S.

1991-01-01

A method of forming a multiple level porous silicon substrate for semiconductor integrated circuits including anodizing non-porous silicon layers of a multi-layer silicon substrate to form multiple levels of porous silicon. At least one porous silicon layer is then oxidized to form an insulating layer and at least one other layer of porous silicon beneath the insulating layer is metallized to form a buried conductive layer. Preferably the insulating layer and conductive layer are separated by an anodization barrier formed of non-porous silicon. By etching through the anodization barrier and subsequently forming a metallized conductive layer, a fully or partially insulated buried conductor may be fabricated under single crystal silicon.

Direct modification of silicon surface by nanosecond laser interference lithography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Dapeng [JR3CN and CNM (Changchun University of Science and Technology), Changchun 130022 (China); JR3CN and IRAC (University of Bedfordshire), Luton LU1 3JU (United Kingdom); Wang, Zuobin, E-mail: wangz@cust.edu.cn [JR3CN and CNM (Changchun University of Science and Technology), Changchun 130022 (China); JR3CN and IRAC (University of Bedfordshire), Luton LU1 3JU (United Kingdom); Zhang, Ziang [JR3CN and CNM (Changchun University of Science and Technology), Changchun 130022 (China); Yue, Yong [JR3CN and CNM (Changchun University of Science and Technology), Changchun 130022 (China); JR3CN and IRAC (University of Bedfordshire), Luton LU1 3JU (United Kingdom); Li, Dayou [JR3CN and IRAC (University of Bedfordshire), Luton LU1 3JU (United Kingdom); Maple, Carsten [JR3CN and CNM (Changchun University of Science and Technology), Changchun 130022 (China); JR3CN and IRAC (University of Bedfordshire), Luton LU1 3JU (United Kingdom)

2013-10-01

Periodic and quasi-periodic structures on silicon surface have numerous significant applications in photoelectronics and surface engineering. A number of technologies have been developed to fabricate the structures in various research fields. In this work, we take the strategy of direct nanosecond laser interference lithography technology, and focus on the silicon material to create different well-defined surface structures based on theoretical analysis of the formation of laser interference patterns. Two, three and four-beam laser interference systems were set up to fabricate the grating, regular triangle and square structures on silicon surfaces, respectively. From the AFM micrographs, the critical features of structures have a dependence on laser fluences. For a relative low laser fluence, grating and dot structures formed with bumps due to the Marangoni Effect. With the increase of laser fluences, melt and evaporation behaviors can be responsible for the laser modification. By properly selecting the process parameters, well-defined grating and dot structures can been achieved. It can be demonstrated that direct laser interference lithography is a facile and efficient technology with the advantage of a single process procedure over macroscale areas for the fabrication of micro and nano structures.

Ab initio transport across bismuth selenide surface barriers

KAUST Repository

Narayan, Awadhesh

2014-11-24

© 2014 American Physical Society. We investigate the effect of potential barriers in the form of step edges on the scattering properties of Bi2Se3(111) topological surface states by means of large-scale ab initio transport simulations. Our results demonstrate the suppression of perfect backscattering, while all other scattering processes, which do not entail a complete spin and momentum reversal, are allowed. Furthermore, we find that the spin of the surface state develops an out-of-plane component as it traverses the barrier. Our calculations reveal the existence of quasibound states in the vicinity of the surface barriers, which appear in the form of an enhanced density of states in the energy window corresponding to the topological state. For double barriers we demonstrate the formation of quantum well states. To complement our first-principles results we construct a two-dimensional low-energy effective model and illustrate its shortcomings. Our findings are discussed in the context of a number of recent experimental works.

Biointrusion test plan for the Permanent Isolation Surface Barrier Prototype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Link, S.O.; Cadwell, L.L.; Brandt, C.A.; Downs, J.L.; Rossi, R.E.; Gee, G.W.

1994-04-01

This document provides a testing and monitoring plan for the biological component of the prototype barrier slated for construction at the Hanford Site. The prototype barrier is an aboveground structure engineered to demonstrate the basic features of an earthen cover system. It is designed to permanently isolate waste from the biosphere. The features of the barrier include multiple layers of soil and rock materials and a low-permeability asphalt sublayer. The surface of the barrier consists of silt loam soil, covered with plants. The barrier sides are reinforced with rock or coarse earthen-fill to protect against wind and water erosion. The sublayers inhibit plant and animal intrusion and percolation of water. A series of tests will be conducted on the prototype barrier over the next several years to evaluate barrier performance under extreme climatic conditions. Plants and animals will play a significant role in the hydrologic and water and wind erosion characteristics of the prototype barrier. Studies on the biological component of the prototype barrier will include work on the initial revegetation of the surface, continued monitoring of the developing plant community, rooting depth and dispersion in the context of biointrusion potential, the role of plants in the hydrology of the surface and toe regions of the barrier, the role of plants in stabilizing the surface against water and wind erosion, and the role of burrowing animals in the hydrology and water and wind erosion of the barrier

Anchoring of alkyl chain molecules on oxide surface using silicon alkoxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Narita, Ayumi, E-mail: narita.ayumi@jaea.go.jp [Quantum Beam Science Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki-ken 319-1195 (Japan); Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ibaraki University, Bunnkyo, Mito-shi, Ibaraki-ken 310-8512 (Japan); Baba, Yuji; Sekiguchi, Tetsuhiro; Shimoyama, Iwao; Hirao, Norie [Quantum Beam Science Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki-ken 319-1195 (Japan); Yaita, Tsuyoshi [Quantum Beam Science Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki-ken 319-1195 (Japan); Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ibaraki University, Bunnkyo, Mito-shi, Ibaraki-ken 310-8512 (Japan)

2012-01-01

Chemical states of the interfaces between octadecyl-triethoxy-silane (ODTS) molecules and sapphire surface were measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) using synchrotron soft X-rays. The nearly self-assembled monolayer of ODTS was formed on the sapphire surface. For XPS and NEXAFS measurements, it was elucidated that the chemical bond between silicon alkoxide in ODTS and the surface was formed, and the alkane chain of ODTS locates upper side on the surface. As a result, it was elucidated that the silicon alkoxide is a good anchor for the immobilization of organic molecules on oxides.

A surface code quantum computer in silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Charles D.; Peretz, Eldad; Hile, Samuel J.; House, Matthew G.; Fuechsle, Martin; Rogge, Sven; Simmons, Michelle Y.; Hollenberg, Lloyd C. L.

2015-01-01

The exceptionally long quantum coherence times of phosphorus donor nuclear spin qubits in silicon, coupled with the proven scalability of silicon-based nano-electronics, make them attractive candidates for large-scale quantum computing. However, the high threshold of topological quantum error correction can only be captured in a two-dimensional array of qubits operating synchronously and in parallel—posing formidable fabrication and control challenges. We present an architecture that addresses these problems through a novel shared-control paradigm that is particularly suited to the natural uniformity of the phosphorus donor nuclear spin qubit states and electronic confinement. The architecture comprises a two-dimensional lattice of donor qubits sandwiched between two vertically separated control layers forming a mutually perpendicular crisscross gate array. Shared-control lines facilitate loading/unloading of single electrons to specific donors, thereby activating multiple qubits in parallel across the array on which the required operations for surface code quantum error correction are carried out by global spin control. The complexities of independent qubit control, wave function engineering, and ad hoc quantum interconnects are explicitly avoided. With many of the basic elements of fabrication and control based on demonstrated techniques and with simulated quantum operation below the surface code error threshold, the architecture represents a new pathway for large-scale quantum information processing in silicon and potentially in other qubit systems where uniformity can be exploited. PMID:26601310

A surface code quantum computer in silicon.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Charles D; Peretz, Eldad; Hile, Samuel J; House, Matthew G; Fuechsle, Martin; Rogge, Sven; Simmons, Michelle Y; Hollenberg, Lloyd C L

2015-10-01

The exceptionally long quantum coherence times of phosphorus donor nuclear spin qubits in silicon, coupled with the proven scalability of silicon-based nano-electronics, make them attractive candidates for large-scale quantum computing. However, the high threshold of topological quantum error correction can only be captured in a two-dimensional array of qubits operating synchronously and in parallel-posing formidable fabrication and control challenges. We present an architecture that addresses these problems through a novel shared-control paradigm that is particularly suited to the natural uniformity of the phosphorus donor nuclear spin qubit states and electronic confinement. The architecture comprises a two-dimensional lattice of donor qubits sandwiched between two vertically separated control layers forming a mutually perpendicular crisscross gate array. Shared-control lines facilitate loading/unloading of single electrons to specific donors, thereby activating multiple qubits in parallel across the array on which the required operations for surface code quantum error correction are carried out by global spin control. The complexities of independent qubit control, wave function engineering, and ad hoc quantum interconnects are explicitly avoided. With many of the basic elements of fabrication and control based on demonstrated techniques and with simulated quantum operation below the surface code error threshold, the architecture represents a new pathway for large-scale quantum information processing in silicon and potentially in other qubit systems where uniformity can be exploited.

Influence of the Surface Layer on the Electrochemical Deposition of Metals and Semiconductors into Mesoporous Silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chubenko, E. B., E-mail: eugene.chubenko@gmail.com; Redko, S. V.; Sherstnyov, A. I.; Petrovich, V. A.; Kotov, D. A.; Bondarenko, V. P. [Belarusian State University of Information and RadioElectronics (Belarus)

2016-03-15

The influence of the surface layer on the process of the electrochemical deposition of metals and semiconductors into porous silicon is studied. It is shown that the surface layer differs in structure and electrical characteristics from the host porous silicon bulk. It is established that a decrease in the conductivity of silicon crystallites that form the surface layer of porous silicon has a positive effect on the process of the filling of porous silicon with metals and semiconductors. This is demonstrated by the example of nickel and zinc oxide. The effect can be used for the formation of nanocomposite materials on the basis of porous silicon and nanostructures with a high aspect ratio.

Influence of the Surface Layer on the Electrochemical Deposition of Metals and Semiconductors into Mesoporous Silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chubenko, E. B.; Redko, S. V.; Sherstnyov, A. I.; Petrovich, V. A.; Kotov, D. A.; Bondarenko, V. P.

2016-01-01

The influence of the surface layer on the process of the electrochemical deposition of metals and semiconductors into porous silicon is studied. It is shown that the surface layer differs in structure and electrical characteristics from the host porous silicon bulk. It is established that a decrease in the conductivity of silicon crystallites that form the surface layer of porous silicon has a positive effect on the process of the filling of porous silicon with metals and semiconductors. This is demonstrated by the example of nickel and zinc oxide. The effect can be used for the formation of nanocomposite materials on the basis of porous silicon and nanostructures with a high aspect ratio.

Monitoring the Vadose Zone Moisture Regime Below a Surface Barrier

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Z. F.; Strickland, C. E.; Field, J. G.

2009-12-01

A 6000 m2 interim surface barrier has been constructed over a portion of the T Tank Farm in the Depart of Energy’s Hanford site. The purpose of using a surface barrier was to reduce or eliminate the infiltration of meteoric precipitation into the contaminated soil zone due to past leaks from Tank T-106 and hence to reduce the rate of movement of the plume. As part of the demonstration effort, vadose zone moisture is being monitored to assess the effectiveness of the barrier on the reduction of soil moisture flow. A vadose zone monitoring system was installed to measure soil water conditions at four horizontal locations (i.e., instrument Nests A, B, C, and D) outside, near the edge of, and beneath the barrier. Each instrument nest consists of a capacitance probe with multiple sensors, multiple heat-dissipation units, and a neutron probe access tube used to measure soil-water content and soil-water pressure. Nest A serves as a control by providing subsurface conditions outside the influence of the surface barrier. Nest B provides subsurface measurements to assess barrier edge effects. Nests C and D are used to assess the impact of the surface barrier on soil-moisture conditions beneath it. Monitoring began in September 2006 and continues to the present. To date, the monitoring system has provided high-quality data. Results show that the soil beneath the barrier has been draining from the shallower depth. The lack of climate-caused seasonal variation of soil water condition beneath the barrier indicates that the surface barrier has minimized water exchange between the soil and the atmosphere.

Characterization of the silicon nanopillar-surface filled and grafted with nanomaterials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, Yuan; Che, Xiangchen; Que, Long

2014-01-01

This paper reports the characterization of the silicon nanopillar-surface filled and grafted with nanomaterials. Usually a silicon nanopillar-surface contains nanopillars and air among them. The air is not a good medium to absorb and trap the incoming photons. In order to improve this capability, the air should be replaced with other material. To this end, copper sulfide–gold (CuS–Au) core–shell nanostructures and silver nanoplates are used as two representative substitutes for air among the nanopillars. Experiments find that the reflectance of the nanomaterial-coated nanopillar-surface can be reduced at least 50% compared to that of the bare nanopillar-surface. Different nanomaterial-coated nanopillar-surface can tune the optical reflectance and absorption profile, thereby trapping photons in different wavelength ranges. (paper)

Oil Contact Angles in a Water-Decane-Silicon Dioxide System: Effects of Surface Charge.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Shijing; Wang, Jingyao; Wu, Jiazhong; Liu, Qingjie; Sun, Chengzhen; Bai, Bofeng

2018-04-19

Oil wettability in the water-oil-rock systems is very sensitive to the evolution of surface charges on the rock surfaces induced by the adsorption of ions and other chemical agents in water flooding. Through a set of large-scale molecular dynamics simulations, we reveal the effects of surface charge on the oil contact angles in an ideal water-decane-silicon dioxide system. The results show that the contact angles of oil nano-droplets have a great dependence on the surface charges. As the surface charge density exceeds a critical value of 0.992 e/nm 2 , the contact angle reaches up to 78.8° and the water-wet state is very apparent. The variation of contact angles can be confirmed from the number density distributions of oil molecules. With increasing the surface charge density, the adsorption of oil molecules weakens and the contact areas between nano-droplets and silicon dioxide surface are reduced. In addition, the number density distributions, RDF distributions, and molecular orientations indicate that the oil molecules are adsorbed on the silicon dioxide surface layer-by-layer with an orientation parallel to the surface. However, the layered structure of oil molecules near the silicon dioxide surface becomes more and more obscure at higher surface charge densities.

Characterization of a surface dielectric barrier discharge

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pemen, A.J.M.; Beckers, F.J.C.M.; Heesch, van E.J.M.

2009-01-01

A surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) reactor provides a homogeneous plasma over a large surface area. This allows surface treatments of foils, textiles or fibers. Here we present results of a study to characterize the AC and pulsed performance of SDBD with regard to ozone production,

Doping profile measurement on textured silicon surface

Science.gov (United States)

Essa, Zahi; Taleb, Nadjib; Sermage, Bernard; Broussillou, Cédric; Bazer-Bachi, Barbara; Quillec, Maurice

2018-04-01

In crystalline silicon solar cells, the front surface is textured in order to lower the reflection of the incident light and increase the efficiency of the cell. This texturing whose dimensions are a few micrometers wide and high, often makes it difficult to determine the doping profile measurement. We have measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and electrochemical capacitance voltage profiling the doping profile of implanted phosphorus in alkaline textured and in polished monocrystalline silicon wafers. The paper shows that SIMS gives accurate results provided the primary ion impact angle is small enough. Moreover, the comparison between these two techniques gives an estimation of the concentration of electrically inactive phosphorus atoms.

Evaluation of hydrogen and oxygen impurity levels on silicon surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kenny, M.J.; Wielunski, L.S.; Netterfield, R.P.; Martin, P.J.; Leistner, A. [Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Lindfield, NSW (Australia). Div. of Applied Physics

1996-12-31

This paper reports on surface analytical techniques used to quantify surface concentrations of impurities such as oxygen and hydrogen. The following analytical techniques were used: Rutherford and Backscattering, elastic recoil detection, time-of-flight SIMS, spectroscopic ellipsometry, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results have shown a spread in thickness of oxide layer, ranging from unmeasurable to 1.6 nm. The data must be considered as preliminary at this stage, but give some insight into the suitability of the techniques and a general idea of the significance of impurities at the monolayer level. These measurements have been carried out on a small number of silicon surfaces both semiconductor grade <111> crystalline material and silicon which has been used in sphere fabrication. 5 refs., 1 fig.

Evaluation of hydrogen and oxygen impurity levels on silicon surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kenny, M J; Wielunski, L S; Netterfield, R P; Martin, P J; Leistner, A [Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Lindfield, NSW (Australia). Div. of Applied Physics

1997-12-31

This paper reports on surface analytical techniques used to quantify surface concentrations of impurities such as oxygen and hydrogen. The following analytical techniques were used: Rutherford and Backscattering, elastic recoil detection, time-of-flight SIMS, spectroscopic ellipsometry, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results have shown a spread in thickness of oxide layer, ranging from unmeasurable to 1.6 nm. The data must be considered as preliminary at this stage, but give some insight into the suitability of the techniques and a general idea of the significance of impurities at the monolayer level. These measurements have been carried out on a small number of silicon surfaces both semiconductor grade <111> crystalline material and silicon which has been used in sphere fabrication. 5 refs., 1 fig.

Laser direct writing of oxide structures on hydrogen-passivated silicon surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Müllenborn, Matthias; Birkelund, Karen; Grey, Francois

1996-01-01

on amorphous and crystalline silicon surfaces in order to determine the depassivation mechanism. The minimum linewidth achieved is about 450 nm using writing speeds of up to 100 mm/s. The process is fully compatible with local oxidation of silicon by scanning probe lithography. Wafer-scale patterns can...

Analysis of water microdroplet condensation on silicon surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Honda, Takuya; Fujimoto, Kenya; Yoshimoto, Yuta; Mogi, Katsuo; Kinefuchi, Ikuya; Sugii, Yasuhiko; Takagi, Shu; Univ. of Tokyo Team; Tokyo Inst. of Tech. Team

2016-11-01

We observed the condensation process of water microdroplets on flat silicon (100) surfaces by means of the sequential visualization of the droplets using an environmental scanning electron microscope. As previously reported for nanostructured surfaces, the condensation process of water microdroplets on the flat silicon surfaces also exhibits two modes: the constant base (CB) area mode and the constant contact angle (CCA) mode. In the CB mode, the contact angle increases with time while the base diameter is constant. Subsequently, in the CCA mode, the base diameter increases with time while the contact angle remains constant. The dropwise condensation model regulated by subcooling temperature does not reproduce the experimental results. Because the subcooling temperature is not constant in the case of a slow condensation rate, this model is not applicable to the condensation of the long time scale ( several tens of minutes). The contact angle of water microdroplets ( several μm) tended to be smaller than the macro contact angle. Two hypotheses are proposed as the cause of small contact angles: electrowetting and the coalescence of sub- μm water droplets.

Role of oxygen in surface segregation of metal impurities in silicon poly- and bicrystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amarray, E.; Deville, J.P.

1987-07-01

Metal impurities at surfaces of polycrystalline silicon ribbons have been characterized by surface sensitive methods. Oxygen and heat treatments were found to be a driving force for surface segregation of these impurities. To better analyse their influence and their possible incidence in gettering, model studies were undertaken on Czochralski grown silicon bicrystals. Two main factors of surface segregation have been studied: the role of an ultra-thin oxide layer and the effect of heat treatments. The best surface purification was obtained after an annealing process at 750/sup 0/C of a previously oxidized surface at 450/sup 0/C. This was related to the formation of SiO clusters, followed by a coalescence of SiO/sub 4/ units leading to the subsequent injection of silicon self-interstitials in the lattice.

Bio-inspired silicon nanospikes fabricated by metal-assisted chemical etching for antibacterial surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Huan; Siu, Vince S.; Gifford, Stacey M.; Kim, Sungcheol; Lu, Minhua; Meyer, Pablo; Stolovitzky, Gustavo A.

2017-12-01

The recently discovered bactericidal properties of nanostructures on wings of insects such as cicadas and dragonflies have inspired the development of similar nanostructured surfaces for antibacterial applications. Since most antibacterial applications require nanostructures covering a considerable amount of area, a practical fabrication method needs to be cost-effective and scalable. However, most reported nanofabrication methods require either expensive equipment or a high temperature process, limiting cost efficiency and scalability. Here, we report a simple, fast, low-cost, and scalable antibacterial surface nanofabrication methodology. Our method is based on metal-assisted chemical etching that only requires etching a single crystal silicon substrate in a mixture of silver nitrate and hydrofluoric acid for several minutes. We experimentally studied the effects of etching time on the morphology of the silicon nanospikes and the bactericidal properties of the resulting surface. We discovered that 6 minutes of etching results in a surface containing silicon nanospikes with optimal geometry. The bactericidal properties of the silicon nanospikes were supported by bacterial plating results, fluorescence images, and scanning electron microscopy images.

Progress in the realization of a silicon-CNT photodetector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aramo, C., E-mail: aramo@na.infn.it [INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Via Cintia 2, 80126 Napoli (Italy); Ambrosio, A. [CNR-SPIN U.O.S. di Napoli (Italy); Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Cintia 2, 80126 Napoli (Italy); Ambrosio, M. [INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Via Cintia 2, 80126 Napoli (Italy); Castrucci, P. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata,Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma (Italy); Cilmo, M. [INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Via Cintia 2, 80126 Napoli (Italy); De Crescenzi, M. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata,Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma (Italy); Fiandrini, E. [INFN, Sezione di Perugia e Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita degli Studi di Perugia, PiazzaUniversita 1, 06100 Perugia (Italy); Guarino, F. [INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Via Cintia 2, 80126 Napoli (Italy); Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Cintia 2, 80126 Napoli (Italy); Grossi, V. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita degli Studi dell' Aquila, Via Vetoio 10, 67100 Coppito, L' Aquila (Italy); Nappi, E. [INFN, Sezione di Bari, e Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita degli Studi di Bari, Via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari (Italy); Passacantando, M. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita degli Studi dell' Aquila, Via Vetoio 10, 67100 Coppito, L' Aquila (Italy); Pignatel, G. [INFN, Sezione di Perugia e Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita degli Studi di Perugia, PiazzaUniversita 1, 06100 Perugia (Italy); and others

2012-12-11

The realization of a Silicon Carbon Nanotube heterojuntion opens the door to a new generation of photodetectors (Si-CNT detector) based on the coupling between this two materials. In particular the growth of Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes on the surface of a n-doped silicon substrate results on a Schottky diode junction with precise rectifying characteristics. The obtained device presents a low dark current, high efficiency in the photoresponsivity, high linearity and a wide stability range. The junction barrier is about 3.5 V in reverse polarity with a breakdown limit at more than 100 V. The spectral behavior reflects the silicon spectral range with a maximum at about 880 nm.

Elementary structural building blocks encountered in silicon surface reconstructions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Battaglia, Corsin; Monney, Claude; Didiot, Clement; Schwier, Eike Fabian; Garnier, Michael Gunnar; Aebi, Philipp; Gaal-Nagy, Katalin; Onida, Giovanni

2009-01-01

Driven by the reduction of dangling bonds and the minimization of surface stress, reconstruction of silicon surfaces leads to a striking diversity of outcomes. Despite this variety even very elaborate structures are generally comprised of a small number of structural building blocks. We here identify important elementary building blocks and discuss their integration into the structural models as well as their impact on the electronic structure of the surface. (topical review)

Improvement of crystalline silicon surface passivation by hydrogen plasma treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, I.; Vetter, M.; Orpella, A.; Voz, C.; Puigdollers, J.; Alcubilla, R.; Kharchenko, A.V.; Roca i Cabarrocas, P.

2004-01-01

A completely dry low-temperature process has been developed to passivate 3.3 Ω cm p-type crystalline silicon surface with excellent results. Particularly, we have investigated the use of a hydrogen plasma treatment, just before hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC x :H) deposition, without breaking the vacuum. We measured effective lifetime, τ eff , through a quasi-steady-state photoconductance technique. Experimental results show that hydrogen plasma treatment improves surface passivation compared to classical HF dip. S eff values lower than 19 cm s -1 were achieved using a hydrogen plasma treatment and an a-SiC x :H film deposited at 300 deg. C

Attachment chemistry of aromatic compounds on a Silicon(100) surface

Science.gov (United States)

Henriksson, Anders; Nishiori, Daiki; Maeda, Hiroaki; Miyachi, Mariko; Yamanoi, Yoshinori; Nishihara, Hiroshi

2018-03-01

A mild method was developed for the chemical attachment of aromatic compounds directly onto a hydrogen-terminated Si(100) (H-Si(100)) surface. In the presence of palladium catalyst and base, 4-iodophenylferrocene and a π-conjugated iron complex were attached to H-Si(100) electrodes and hydrogen-terminated silicon nanowires (H-SiNWs), both of which have predominant dihydride species on their surfaces. The reactions were conducted in 1,4-dioxane at 100 °C and the immobilization of both 4-ferrocenylphenyl group and π-conjugated molecular wires were confirmed and quantified by XPS and electrochemical measurements. We reported densely packed monolayer whose surface coverage (Γ), estimated from the electrochemical measurements are in analogue to similar monolayers prepared via thermal or light induced hydrosilylation reactions with alkenes or alkynes. The increase in electrochemical response observed on nanostructured silicon surfaces corresponds well to the increase in surface area, those strongly indicating that this method may be applied for the functionalization of electrodes with a variety of surface topographies.

SOUND FIELD DIFFUSIVITY AT THE TOP SURFACE OF SCHROEDER DIFFUSER BARRIERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. R. Monazzam

2006-10-01

Full Text Available Reactive barriers are one of the most promising and novel environmental noise barriers. In this case using Schroeder diffusers (e.g. quadratic residue diffusers on the top surface of the T-shape barrier was shown to significantly improve the performance of absorbent T-shape barriers. The reasons behind the high performance of diffuser barriers are considered in this investigation. A question about the diffusivity behavior of Schroeder diffusers when they are utilized on the top of barrier was raised. Diffusion coefficients of a diffuser in different conditions at some receiver locations were predicted by using a 2D boundary element method. It was found that the diffusion coefficient of diffuser at the top of barrier is so small that the diffusivity of the structure is almost the same as rigid T-shape barrier. To find the barrier’s cap behavior, the total field above the top surface of profile barriers was also predicted. It was found that the lowest total energy is at the receiver side of the cap very close to the top surface,which could demonstrate the effect of top surface on absorbing the energy as wave transfers from source edge toward the receiver side of the cap. In this case the amount of minimum total energy depends on the frequency and the configuration of the top surface. A comparison between the reductions of total field at the source side of the cap with the improvements of barrier’s performance was also done. It was shown that the amount of decrease in total field compared to that of an absorbent barrier “Ref” is directly associated to the amount of improvement in the insertion loss made by the diffuser barrier compared to the “Ref” barrier in the wide area on the ground at the shadow zone. Finally it was concluded that the diffuser on the top of barrier does not act as a diffuser and a kind of similarity between the contribution of diffuser and absorbent material on the top of T-profile barrier is seen.

Anisotropic Lithium Insertion Behavior in Silicon Nanowires: Binding Energy, Diffusion Barrier, and Strain Effect

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Qianfan; Cui, Yi; Wang, Enge

2011-01-01

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) have recently been shown to be promising as high capacity lithium battery anodes. SiNWs can be grown with their long axis along several different crystallographic directions. Due to distinct atomic configuration and electronic structure of SiNWs with different axial orientations, their lithium insertion behavior could be different. This paper focuses on the characteristics of single Li defects, including binding energy, diffusion barriers, and dependence on uniaxial strain in [110], [100], [111], and [112] SiNWs. Our systematic ab initio study suggests that the Si-Li interaction is weaker when the Si-Li bond direction is aligned close to the SiNW long axis. This results in the [110] and [111] SiNWs having the highest and lowest Li binding energy, respectively, and it makes the diffusion barrier along the SiNW axis lower than other pathways. Under external strain, it was found that [110] and [001] SiNWs are the most and least sensitive, respectively. For diffusion along the axial direction, the barrier increases (decreases) under tension (compression). This feature results in a considerable difference in the magnitude of the energy barrier along different diffusion pathways. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

Anisotropic Lithium Insertion Behavior in Silicon Nanowires: Binding Energy, Diffusion Barrier, and Strain Effect

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Qianfan

2011-05-19

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) have recently been shown to be promising as high capacity lithium battery anodes. SiNWs can be grown with their long axis along several different crystallographic directions. Due to distinct atomic configuration and electronic structure of SiNWs with different axial orientations, their lithium insertion behavior could be different. This paper focuses on the characteristics of single Li defects, including binding energy, diffusion barriers, and dependence on uniaxial strain in [110], [100], [111], and [112] SiNWs. Our systematic ab initio study suggests that the Si-Li interaction is weaker when the Si-Li bond direction is aligned close to the SiNW long axis. This results in the [110] and [111] SiNWs having the highest and lowest Li binding energy, respectively, and it makes the diffusion barrier along the SiNW axis lower than other pathways. Under external strain, it was found that [110] and [001] SiNWs are the most and least sensitive, respectively. For diffusion along the axial direction, the barrier increases (decreases) under tension (compression). This feature results in a considerable difference in the magnitude of the energy barrier along different diffusion pathways. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

All-(111) surface silicon nanowire field effect transistor devices: Effects of surface preparations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Masood, M.N.; Carlen, Edwin; van den Berg, Albert

2014-01-01

Etching/hydrogen termination of All-(111) surface silicon nanowire field effect (SiNW-FET) devices developed by conventional photolithography and plane dependent wet etchings is studied with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and

Optical near-field lithography on hydrogen-passivated silicon surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Steen; Müllenborn, Matthias; Birkelund, Karen

1996-01-01

by the optical near field, were observed after etching in potassium hydroxide. The uncoated fibers can also induce oxidation without light exposure, in a manner similar to an atomic force microscope, and linewidths of 50 nm have been achieved this way. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.......We report on a novel lithography technique for patterning of hydrogen-passivated amorphous silicon surfaces. A reflection mode scanning near-field optical microscope with uncoated fiber probes has been used to locally oxidize a thin amorphous silicon layer. Lines of 110 nm in width, induced...

Synthesis and characterization of carboxylic acid functionalized silicon nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Shaner, Ted V.

Silicon nanoparticles are of great interest in a great number of fields. Silicon nanoparticles show great promise particularly in the field of bioimaging. Carboxylic acid functionalized silicon nanoparticles have the ability to covalently bond to biomolecules through the conjugation of the carboxylic acid to an amine functionalized biomolecule. This thesis explores the synthesis of silicon nanoparticles functionalized by both carboxylic acids and alkenes and their carboxylic acid functionality. Also discussed is the characterization of the silicon nanoparticles by the use of x-ray spectroscopy. Finally, the nature of the Si-H bond that is observed on the surface of the silicon nanoparticles will be investigated using photoassisted exciton mediated hydrosilation reactions. The silicon nanoparticles are synthesized from both carboxylic acids and alkenes. However, the lack of solubility of diacids is a significant barrier to carboxylic acid functionalization by a mixture of monoacids and diacids. A synthesis route to overcome this obstacle is to synthesize silicon nanoparticles with terminal vinyl group. This terminal vinyl group is distal to the surface of the silicon nanoparticle. The conversion of the vinyl group to a carboxylic acid is accomplished by oxidative cleavage using ozonolysis. The carboxylic acid functionalized silicon nanoparticles were then successfully conjugated to amine functionalized DNA strand through an n-hydroxy succinimide ester activation step, which promotes the formation of the amide bond. Conjugation was characterized by TEM and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). The PAGE results show that the silicon nanoparticle conjugates move slower through the polyacrylamide gel, resulting in a significant separation from the nonconjugated DNA. The silicon nanoparticles were then characterized by the use of x-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (Xanes) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to investigate the bonding and chemical

Ion-step method for surface potential sensing of silicon nanowires

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, S.; van Nieuwkasteele, Jan William; van den Berg, Albert; Eijkel, Jan C.T.

2016-01-01

This paper presents a novel stimulus-response method for surface potential sensing of silicon nanowire (Si NW) field-effect transistors. When an "ion-step" from low to high ionic strength is given as a stimulus to the gate oxide surface, an increase of double layer capacitance is therefore expected.

Low temperature surface passivation of crystalline silicon and its application to interdigitated back contact silicon heterojunction (ibc-shj) solar cell

Science.gov (United States)

Shu, Zhan

With the absence of shading loss together with improved quality of surface passivation introduced by low temperature processed amorphous silicon crystalline silicon (a-Si:H/c-Si) heterojunction, the interdigitated back contact silicon heterojunction (IBC-SHJ) solar cell exhibits a potential for higher conversion efficiency and lower cost than a traditional front contact diffused junction solar cell. In such solar cells, the front surface passivation is of great importance to achieve both high open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current (Jsc). Therefore, the motivation of this work is to develop a low temperature processed structure for the front surface passivation of IBC-SHJ solar cells, which must have an excellent and stable passivation quality as well as a good anti-reflection property. Four different thin film materials/structures were studied and evaluated for this purpose, namely: amorphous silicon nitride (a-SiNx:H), thick amorphous silicon film (a-Si:H), amorphous silicon/silicon nitride/silicon carbide (a-Si:H/a-SiN x:H/a-SiC:H) stack structure with an ultra-thin a-Si:H layer, and zinc sulfide (ZnS). It was demonstrated that the a-Si:H/a-SiNx:H/a-SiC:H stack surpasses other candidates due to both of its excellent surface passivation quality (SRVSi surface is found to be resulted from (i) field effect passivation due to the positive fixed charge (Q fix~1x1011 cm-2 with 5 nm a-Si:H layer) in a-SiNx:H as measured from capacitance-voltage technique, and (ii) reduced defect state density (mid-gap Dit~4x1010 cm-2eV-1) at a-Si:H/c-Si interface provided by a 5 nm thick a-Si:H layer, as characterized by conductance-frequency measurements. Paralleled with the experimental studies, a computer program was developed in this work based on the extended Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) model of surface recombination. With the help of this program, the experimental injection level dependent SRV curves of the stack passivated c-Si samples were successfully reproduced and

Amphotericin B channels in phospholipid membrane-coated nanoporous silicon surfaces: implications for photovoltaic driving of ions across membranes.

Science.gov (United States)

Yilma, Solomon; Liu, Nangou; Samoylov, Alexander; Lo, Ting; Brinker, C Jeffrey; Vodyanoy, Vitaly

2007-03-15

The antimycotic agent amphotericin B (AmB) functions by forming complexes with sterols to form ion channels that cause membrane leakage. When AmB and cholesterol mixed at 2:1 ratio were incorporated into phospholipid bilayer membranes formed on the tip of patch pipettes, ion channel current fluctuations with characteristic open and closed states were observed. These channels were also functional in phospholipid membranes formed on nanoporous silicon surfaces. Electrophysiological studies of AmB-cholesterol mixtures that were incorporated into phospholipid membranes formed on the surface of nanoporous (6.5 nm pore diameter) silicon plates revealed large conductance ion channels ( approximately 300 pS) with distinct open and closed states. Currents through the AmB-cholesterol channels on nanoporous silicon surfaces can be driven by voltage applied via conventional electrical circuits or by photovoltaic electrical potential entirely generated when the nanoporous silicon surface is illuminated with a narrow laser beam. Electrical recordings made during laser illumination of AmB-cholesterol containing membrane-coated nanoporous silicon surfaces revealed very large conductance ion channels with distinct open and closed states. Our findings indicate that nanoporous silicon surfaces can serve as mediums for ion-channel-based biosensors. The photovoltaic properties of nanoporous silicon surfaces show great promise for making such biosensors addressable via optical technologies.

Three-dimensional immobilization of beta-galactosidase on a silicon surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Betancor, Lorena; Luckarift, Heather R; Seo, Jae H; Brand, Oliver; Spain, Jim C

2008-02-01

Many alternative strategies to immobilize and stabilize enzymes have been investigated in recent years for applications in biosensors. The entrapment of enzymes within silica-based nanospheres formed through silicification reactions provides high loading capacities for enzyme immobilization, resulting in high volumetric activity and enhanced mechanical stability. Here we report a strategy for chemically associating silica nanospheres containing entrapped enzyme to a silicon support. beta-galactosidase from E. coli was used as a model enzyme due to its versatility as a biosensor for lactose. The immobilization strategy resulted in a three-dimensional network of silica attached directly at the silicon surface, providing a significant increase in surface area and a corresponding 3.5-fold increase in enzyme loading compared to enzyme attached directly at the surface. The maximum activity recovered for a silicon square sample of 0.5 x 0.5 cm was 0.045 IU using the direct attachment of the enzyme through glutaraldehyde and 0.16 IU when using silica nanospheres. The immobilized beta-galactosidase prepared by silica deposition was stable and retained more than 80% of its initial activity after 10 days at 24 degrees C. The ability to generate three-dimensional structures with enhanced loading capacity for biosensing molecules offers the potential to substantially amplify biosensor sensitivity. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Porous silicon surfaces for metabonomics: Detection and identification of nucleotides without matrix interference

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gomez, D.; Azcarate, Sabino [Dpto. de Micro y Nanotecnologias, Fundacion Tekniker, Av. Otaola 20, 20600 Eibar (Spain); Fernandez, Jose A.; Astigarraga, Egoitz [Dpto. de Quimica Fisica, Universidad del Pais Vasco, Campus de Lejona, Lejona (Spain); Marcaide, Arrate [Dpto. de Procesos de Fabricacion, Fundacion Tekniker, Av. Otaola 20, 20600 Eibar (Spain)

2007-07-01

In present work, porous silicon surfaces (PSS) have been developed for time of flight mass spectrometric experiments (TOF-MS) in the monitoring of nucleotides, commonly found as metabolites in the cell. The mass range of the studied molecules ({proportional_to} 400 amu) is common to several important messengers and other metabolites. Different porosified surfaces have been developed by means of electrochemical etching and different degree of porosity and pore size achieved as function of silicon dopant concentration, silicon resistivity, current density and the presence or absence of illumination along the process. As main conclusion, it can be said that an interesting commercial nucleotide (Cyclic adenosine monophosphate, c-AMP) has been detected on low concentrations ({proportional_to}hundreds of femtomols) for some of the fabricated porous surfaces. Taking into account that these concentrations are similar to the ones found in real samples, this result opens the possibility to the fabrication of DIOS (Desorption Ionization On Silicon) chips for the detection of nucleotides in biological fluids. (copyright 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Thermoelectric characteristics of Pt-silicide/silicon multi-layer structured p-type silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Wonchul; Jun, Dongseok; Kim, Soojung; Shin, Mincheol; Jang, Moongyu

2015-01-01

Electric and thermoelectric properties of silicide/silicon multi-layer structured devices were investigated with the variation of silicide/silicon heterojunction numbers from 3 to 12 layers. For the fabrication of silicide/silicon multi-layered structure, platinum and silicon layers are repeatedly sputtered on the (100) silicon bulk substrate and rapid thermal annealing is carried out for the silicidation. The manufactured devices show ohmic current–voltage (I–V) characteristics. The Seebeck coefficient of bulk Si is evaluated as 195.8 ± 15.3 μV/K at 300 K, whereas the 12 layered silicide/silicon multi-layer structured device is evaluated as 201.8 ± 9.1 μV/K. As the temperature increases to 400 K, the Seebeck coefficient increases to 237.2 ± 4.7 μV/K and 277.0 ± 1.1 μV/K for bulk and 12 layered devices, respectively. The increase of Seebeck coefficient in multi-layered structure is mainly attributed to the electron filtering effect due to the Schottky barrier at Pt-silicide/silicon interface. At 400 K, the thermal conductivity is reduced by about half of magnitude compared to bulk in multi-layered device which shows the efficient suppression of phonon propagation by using Pt-silicide/silicon hetero-junctions. - Highlights: • Silicide/silicon multi-layer structured is proposed for thermoelectric devices. • Electric and thermoelectric properties with the number of layer are investigated. • An increase of Seebeck coefficient is mainly attributed the Schottky barrier. • Phonon propagation is suppressed with the existence of Schottky barrier. • Thermal conductivity is reduced due to the suppression of phonon propagation

Directional radiative properties of anisotropic rough silicon and gold surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, H.J.; Chen, Y.B.; Zhang, Z.M. [George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332 (United States)

2006-11-15

Recent studies have shown that the topography of some chemically etched microrough silicon surfaces is non-Gaussian and may be strongly anisotropic. However, the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of anisotropic surfaces has not been fully understood. The present study uses the Monte Carlo method to investigate the out-of-plane BRDF, multiple scattering, and the change of the polarization state upon reflection. Two ray-tracing algorithms are developed that incorporate the surface topography or slope distribution of the samples obtained by the use of an atomic force microscope. The predicted BRDFs for silicon surfaces with or without a gold coating are in reasonable agreement with the results measured using a laser scatterometer at a wavelength of 635nm. The employment of surface topographic data is indispensable to the BRDF modeling of anisotropic surfaces. While first-order scattering makes the dominant contribution to reflections from the studied surfaces, it is critical to consider the polarization state change in order to correctly predict the out-of-plane BRDF. The versatile Monte Carlo modeling tools developed through the present study help gain a better understanding of the directional radiative properties of microrough surfaces and, furthermore, will have an impact on thermal metrology in the semiconductor industry. (author)

Comparative study on the deposition of silicon oxide permeation barrier coatings for polymers using hexamethyldisilazane (HMDSN) and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO)

Science.gov (United States)

Mitschker, F.; Schücke, L.; Hoppe, Ch; Jaritz, M.; Dahlmann, R.; de los Arcos, T.; Hopmann, Ch; Grundmeier, G.; Awakowicz, P.

2018-06-01

The effect of the selection of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) and hexamethyldisilazane (HMDSN) as a precursor in a microwave driven low pressure plasma on the deposition of silicon oxide barrier coatings and silicon based organic interlayers on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) substrates is investigated. Mass spectrometry is used to quantify the absolute gas density and the degree of depletion of neutral precursor molecules under variation of oxygen admixture. On average, HMDSN shows a smaller density, a higher depletion and the production of smaller fragments. Subsequently, this is correlated with barrier performance and chemical structure as a function of barrier layer thickness and oxygen admixture on PET. For this purpose, the oxygen transmission rate (OTR) is measured and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as well as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is performed. HMDSN based coatings exhibit significantly higher barrier performances for high admixtures of oxygen (200 sccm). In comparison to HMDSO based processes, however, a higher supply of oxygen is necessary to achieve a sufficient degree of oxidation, cross-linking and, therefore, barrier performance. FTIR and XPS reveal a distinct carbon content for low oxygen admixtures (10 and 20 sccm) in case of HMDSN based coatings. The variation of interlayer thickness also reveals significantly higher OTR for HMDSO based coatings on PET and PP. Barrier performance of HMDSO based coatings improves with increasing interlayer thickness up to 10 nm for PET and PP. HMDSN based coatings exhibit a minimum of OTR without interlayer on PP and for 2 nm interlayer thickness on PET. Furthermore, HMDSN based coatings show distinctly higher bond strengths to the PP substrate.

Surface texture of single-crystal silicon oxidized under a thin V{sub 2}O{sub 5} layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nikitin, S. E., E-mail: nikitin@mail.ioffe.ru; Verbitskiy, V. N.; Nashchekin, A. V.; Trapeznikova, I. N.; Bobyl, A. V.; Terukova, E. E. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Ioffe Physical–Technical Institute (Russian Federation)

2017-01-15

The process of surface texturing of single-crystal silicon oxidized under a V{sub 2}O{sub 5} layer is studied. Intense silicon oxidation at the Si–V{sub 2}O{sub 5} interface begins at a temperature of 903 K which is 200 K below than upon silicon thermal oxidation in an oxygen atmosphere. A silicon dioxide layer 30–50 nm thick with SiO{sub 2} inclusions in silicon depth up to 400 nm is formed at the V{sub 2}O{sub 5}–Si interface. The diffusion coefficient of atomic oxygen through the silicon-dioxide layer at 903 K is determined (D ≥ 2 × 10{sup –15} cm{sup 2} s{sup –1}). A model of low-temperature silicon oxidation, based on atomic oxygen diffusion from V{sub 2}O{sub 5} through the SiO{sub 2} layer to silicon, and SiO{sub x} precipitate formation in silicon is proposed. After removing the V{sub 2}O{sub 5} and silicon-dioxide layers, texture is formed on the silicon surface, which intensely scatters light in the wavelength range of 300–550 nm and is important in the texturing of the front and rear surfaces of solar cells.

Strain of laser annealed silicon surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Nemanich, R. J.; Haneman, D.

1982-05-01

High resolution Raman scattering measurements have been carried out on pulse and continuous-wave laser annealed silicon samples with various surface preparations. These included polished and ion-bombarded wafers, and saw-cut crystals. The pulse annealing treatments were carried out in ultrahigh vacuum and in air. The residual strain was inferred from the frequency shift of the first-order Raman active mode of Si, and was detectable in the range 10-2-10-3 in all except the polished samples.

Gold Nanostructures for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, Prepared by Electrodeposition in Porous Silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yukio H. Ogata

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Electrodeposition of gold into porous silicon was investigated. In the present study, porous silicon with ~100 nm in pore diameter, so-called medium-sized pores, was used as template electrode for gold electrodeposition. The growth behavior of gold deposits was studied by scanning electron microscope observation of the gold deposited porous silicon. Gold nanorod arrays with different rod lengths were prepared, and their surface-enhanced Raman scattering properties were investigated. We found that the absorption peak due to the surface plasmon resonance can be tuned by changing the length of the nanorods. The optimum length of the gold nanorods was ~600 nm for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using a He-Ne laser. The reason why the optimum length of the gold nanorods was 600 nm was discussed by considering the relationship between the absorption peak of surface plasmon resonance and the wavelength of the incident laser for Raman scattering.

Dwell Time and Surface Parameter Effects on Removal of Silicone Oil From D6ac Steel Using TCA

Science.gov (United States)

Boothe, R. E.

2003-01-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of dwell time, surface roughness, and the surface activation state on 1,1,1-trichloroethane's (TCA's) effectiveness for removing silicone oil from D6ac steel. Silicone-contaminated test articles were washed with TCA solvent, and then the surfaces were analyzed for residue, using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The predominant factor affecting the ability to remove the silicone oil was surface roughness.

Fast surface modification by microwave assisted click reactions on silicon substrates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haensch, C.; Erdmenger, T.; Fijten, M.W.M.; Höppener, S.; Schubert, U.S.

2009-01-01

Microwave irradiation has been used for the chemical modification of functional monolayers on silicon surfaces. The thermal and chemical stability of these layers was tested under microwave irradiation to investigate the possibility to use this alternative heating process for the surface

Influence of nanoscale topology on bactericidal efficiency of black silicon surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Linklater, Denver P.; Khuong Duy Nguyen, Huu; Bhadra, Chris M.; Juodkazis, Saulius; Ivanova, Elena P.

2017-06-01

The nanostructuring of materials to create bactericidal and antibiofouling surfaces presents an exciting alternative to common methods of preventing bacterial adhesion. The fabrication of synthetic bactericidal surfaces has been inspired by the anti-wetting and anti-biofouling properties of insect wings, and other topologies found in nature. Black silicon is one such synthetic surfaces which has established bactericidal properties. In this study we show that time-dependent plasma etching of silicon wafers using 15, 30, and 45 min etching intervals, is able to produce different surface geometries with linearly increasing heights of approximately 280, 430, and 610 nm, respectively. After incubation on these surfaces with Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterial cells it was established that smaller, more densely packed pillars exhibited the greatest bactericidal activity with 85% and 89% inactivation of bacterial cells, respectively. The decrease in the pillar heights, pillar cap diameter and inter-pillar spacing corresponded to a subsequent decrease in the number of attached cells for both bacterial species.

Biomolecule detection using a silicon nanoribbon: accumulation mode versus inversion mode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elfstroem, Niklas; Linnros, Jan

2008-01-01

Silicon nanoribbons were fabricated using standard optical lithography from silicon on insulator material with top silicon layer thicknesses of 100, 60 and 45 nm. Electrically these work as Schottky-barrier field-effect transistors and, depending on the substrate voltage, electron or hole injection is possible. The current through the nanoribbon is extremely sensitive to charge changes at the oxidized top surface and can be used for biomolecule detection in a liquid. We show that for detection of streptavidin molecules the response is larger in the accumulation mode than in the inversion mode, although not leading to higher detection sensitivity due to increased noise. The effect is attributed to the location in depth of the conducting channel, which for holes is closer to the screened surface charges of the biomolecules. Furthermore, the response increases for decreasing silicon thickness in both the accumulation mode and the inversion mode. The results are verified qualitatively and quantitatively through a two-dimensional simulation model on a cross section along the nanoribbon device

Absolute spectral characterization of silicon barrier diode: Application to soft X-ray fusion diagnostics at Tore Supra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vezinet, D.; Mazon, D.; Malard, P.

2013-01-01

This paper presents an experimental protocol for absolute calibration of photo-detectors. Spectral characterization is achieved by a methodology that unlike the usual line emissions-based method, hinges on the Bremsstrahlung radiation of a Soft X-Ray (SXR) tube only. Although the proposed methodology can be applied virtually to any detector, the application presented in this paper is based on Tore Supra's SXR diagnostics, which uses Silicon Surface Barrier Diodes. The spectral response of these n-p junctions had previously been estimated on a purely empirical basis. This time, a series of second-order effects, like the spatial distribution of the source radiated power or multi-channel analyser non linearity, are taken into account to achieve accurate measurements. Consequently, a parameterised physical model is fitted to experimental results and the existence of an unexpected dead layer (at least 5 μm thick) is evidenced. This contribution also echoes a more general on-going effort in favour of long-term quality of passive radiation measurements on Tokamaks

A high volume cost efficient production macrostructuring process. [for silicon solar cell surface treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Chitre, S. R.

1978-01-01

The paper presents an experimentally developed surface macro-structuring process suitable for high volume production of silicon solar cells. The process lends itself easily to automation for high throughput to meet low-cost solar array goals. The tetrahedron structure observed is 0.5 - 12 micron high. The surface has minimal pitting with virtually no or very few undeveloped areas across the surface. This process has been developed for (100) oriented as cut silicon. Chemi-etched, hydrophobic and lapped surfaces were successfully texturized. A cost analysis as per Samics is presented.

Covalent and stable CuAAC modification of silicon surfaces for control of cell adhesion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vutti, Surendra; Buch-Månson, Nina; Schoffelen, Sanne

2015-01-01

in the vapor or liquid phase. In this work, we compared these two methods for oxidized silicon surfaces and thoroughly characterized the functionalization steps by tagging and fluorescence imaging. We demonstrate that the vapor-phase functionalization only provided transient surface modification that was lost...... on extensive washing. For stable surface modification, a liquid-phase method was developed. In this method, silicon wafers were decorated with azides, either by silanization with (3-azidopropyl)triethoxysilane or by conversion of the amine groups of an aminopropylated surface by means of the azido...

Formation of quasi-periodic nano- and microstructures on silicon surface under IR and UV femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ionin, Andrei A; Golosov, E V; Kolobov, Yu R; Kudryashov, Sergei I; Ligachev, A E; Makarov, Sergei V; Novoselov, Yurii N; Seleznev, L V; Sinitsyn, D V

2011-01-01

Quasi-periodic nano- and microstructures have been formed on silicon surface using IR ( λ ≈ 744 nm) and UV ( λ ≈ 248 nm) femtosecond laser pulses. The influence of the incident energy density and the number of pulses on the structured surface topology has been investigated. The silicon nanostructurisation thresholds have been determined for the above-mentioned wavelengths. Modulation of the surface relief at the doubled spatial frequency is revealed and explained qualitatively. The periods of the nanostructures formed on the silicon surface under IR and UV femtosecond laser pulses are comparatively analysed and discussed.

Surface/subsurface observation and removal mechanisms of ground reaction bonded silicon carbide

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Wang; Zhang, Yu-Min; Han, Jie-cai; Zhang, Yun-long; Zhang, Jian-han; Zhou, Yu-feng; Han, Yuan-yuan

2006-01-01

Reaction Bonded Silicon Carbide (RBSiC) has long been recognized as a promising material for optical applications because of its unique combination of favorable properties and low-cost fabrication. Grinding of silicon carbide is difficult because of its high hardness and brittleness. Grinding often induces surface and subsurface damage, residual stress and other types of damage, which have great influence on the ceramic components for optical application. In this paper, surface integrity, subsurface damage and material removal mechanisms of RBSiC ground using diamond grinding wheel on creep-feed surface grinding machine are investigated. The surface and subsurface are studied with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy. The effects of grinding conditions on surface and subsurface damage are discussed. This research links the surface roughness, surface and subsurface cracks to grinding parameters and provides valuable insights into the material removal mechanism and the dependence of grind induced damage on grinding conditions.

UV laser ablation of silicon carbide ring surfaces for mechanical seal applications

Science.gov (United States)

Daurelio, Giuseppe; Bellosi, Alida; Sciti, Diletta; Chita, Giuseppe; Allegretti, Didio; Guerrini, Fausto

2000-02-01

Silicon carbide ceramic seal rings are treated by KrF excimer laser irradiation. Surface characteristics, induced by laser treatment, depend upon laser fluence, the number of laser pulses, their energy and frequency, the rotation rate of the ring and the processing atmosphere. It was ascertained that silicon carbide has to be processed under an inert atmosphere to avoid surface oxidation. Microstructural analyses of surface and cross section of the laser processed samples showed that the SiC surface is covered by a scale due to the melting/resolidification processes. At high fluence there are no continuous scales on the surfaces; materials is removed by decomposition/vaporization and the ablation depth is linearly dependent on the number of pulses. Different surface morphologies are observed. The evolution of surface morphology and roughness is discussed with reference to compositions, microstructure and physical and optical properties of the ceramic material and to laser processing parameters. Preliminary results on tribological behavior of the treated seals are reported.

A size selective porous silicon grating-coupled Bloch surface and sub-surface wave biosensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Gilberto A; Ryckman, Judson D; Jiao, Yang; Weiss, Sharon M

2014-03-15

A porous silicon (PSi) grating-coupled Bloch surface and sub-surface wave (BSW/BSSW) biosensor is demonstrated to size selectively detect the presence of both large and small molecules. The BSW is used to sense large immobilized analytes at the surface of the structure while the BSSW that is confined inside but near the top of the structure is used to sensitively detect small molecules. Functionality of the BSW and BSSW modes is theoretically described by dispersion relations, field confinements, and simulated refractive index shifts within the structure. The theoretical results are experimentally verified by detecting two different small chemical molecules and one large 40 base DNA oligonucleotide. The PSi-BSW/BSSW structure is benchmarked against current porous silicon technology and is shown to have a 6-fold higher sensitivity in detecting large molecules and a 33% improvement in detecting small molecules. This is the first report of a grating-coupled BSW biosensor and the first report of a BSSW propagating mode. © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Colloidal characterization of ultrafine silicon carbide and silicon nitride powders

Science.gov (United States)

Whitman, Pamela K.; Feke, Donald L.

1986-01-01

The effects of various powder treatment strategies on the colloid chemistry of aqueous dispersions of silicon carbide and silicon nitride are examined using a surface titration methodology. Pretreatments are used to differentiate between the true surface chemistry of the powders and artifacts resulting from exposure history. Silicon nitride powders require more extensive pretreatment to reveal consistent surface chemistry than do silicon carbide powders. As measured by titration, the degree of proton adsorption from the suspending fluid by pretreated silicon nitride and silicon carbide powders can both be made similar to that of silica.

Chromium Trioxide Hole-Selective Heterocontacts for Silicon Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Wenjie; Wu, Weiliang; Liu, Zongtao; Qiu, Kaifu; Cai, Lun; Yao, Zhirong; Ai, Bin; Liang, Zongcun; Shen, Hui

2018-04-25

A high recombination rate and high thermal budget for aluminum (Al) back surface field are found in the industrial p-type silicon solar cells. Direct metallization on lightly doped p-type silicon, however, exhibits a large Schottky barrier for the holes on the silicon surface because of Fermi-level pinning effect. As a result, low-temperature-deposited, dopant-free chromium trioxide (CrO x , x solar cell as a hole-selective contact at the rear surface. By using 4 nm CrO x between the p-type silicon and Ag, we achieve a reduction of the contact resistivity for the contact of Ag directly on p-type silicon. For further improvement, we utilize a CrO x (2 nm)/Ag (30 nm)/CrO x (2 nm) multilayer film on the contact between Ag and p-type crystalline silicon (c-Si) to achieve a lower contact resistance (40 mΩ·cm 2 ). The low-resistivity Ohmic contact is attributed to the high work function of the uniform CrO x film and the depinning of the Fermi level of the SiO x layer at the silicon interface. Implementing the advanced hole-selective contacts with CrO x /Ag/CrO x on the p-type silicon solar cell results in a power conversion efficiency of 20.3%, which is 0.1% higher than that of the cell utilizing 4 nm CrO x . Compared with the commercialized p-type solar cell, the novel CrO x -based hole-selective transport material opens up a new possibility for c-Si solar cells using high-efficiency, low-temperature, and dopant-free deposition techniques.

Gamma detection: an unusual application for surface barrier detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fichtenbaum de Iacub, S; Matatagui, E

1983-02-01

The silicon surface barrier detectors (SBD), may be ideal devices to be used in dose indicators for the monitoring of gamma radiations; the SBD working as a cavity sensor. The measurement consists in counting the number of pulses that exceeds a certain level of discrimination, this number being proportional to the absorbed dose. The spectral distribution of the pulses gives an idea of the existing photon field's energy. Characteristic spectra obtained with different gamma and X-ray sources are described and analyzed, and tests are carried out by using different sensitive volumes of the detector in order to determine significant parameters for a gamma-monitor system. The results from the measurements indicate: a) high sensitivity of the system with SBD (high density of material); b) low background: enviromental backgrounds are reliably registered (approx. 10 R/h); c) minimum detectable energies of the order of 60 keV; d) possibility to determine high exposure rates (approx. 100 R/h); e) for emitters of low Z, the result is approximately independent from the gamma energy. These results suggest the possibility of constructing fixed and portable systems, appropriate for gamma monitoring, which utilize SBD as sensors; these devices are adequate for working at enviroment temperatures, being compact, reliable, with low polarization voltages, and of relatively low cost.

Porous silicon photoluminescence modification by colloidal gold nanoparticles: Plasmonic, surface and porosity roles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mora, M.B. de la; Bornacelli, J.; Nava, R.; Zanella, R.; Reyes-Esqueda, J.A.

2014-01-01

Metal nanoparticles on semiconductors are of interest because of the tunable effect of the surface plasmon resonance on the physical properties of the semiconductor. In this work, colloidal gold nanoparticles obtained by two different methods, with an average size of 6.1±2.0 nm and 5.0±2.0 nm, were added to luminescent porous silicon by drop casting. The gold nanoparticles interact with porous silicon by modifying its optical properties such as photoluminescence. That being said, plasmon effects are not the only to be taken into account; as shown in this work, surface chemical modification and porosity also play a key role in the final performance of photoluminescence of a porous silicon–gold nanoparticle hybrid system. -- Highlights: • A hybrid material consisting of porous silicon and gold nanoparticles was fabricated. • Porous silicon/gold nanoparticle hybrid material was made by drop casting. • Influence of plasmonics, surface chemical modification and porosity on the optical behavior of our material was analyzed. • Porosity is proposed as a parameter control to obtain the best effects on luminescence of the hybrid plasmonic material

Porous silicon photoluminescence modification by colloidal gold nanoparticles: Plasmonic, surface and porosity roles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mora, M.B. de la; Bornacelli, J. [Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F. 04510 (Mexico); Nava, R. [Centro de Investigación en Energía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Temixco, Morelos 62580 (Mexico); Zanella, R. [Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F. 04510 (Mexico); Reyes-Esqueda, J.A., E-mail: betarina@gmail.com [Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F. 04510 (Mexico)

2014-02-15

Metal nanoparticles on semiconductors are of interest because of the tunable effect of the surface plasmon resonance on the physical properties of the semiconductor. In this work, colloidal gold nanoparticles obtained by two different methods, with an average size of 6.1±2.0 nm and 5.0±2.0 nm, were added to luminescent porous silicon by drop casting. The gold nanoparticles interact with porous silicon by modifying its optical properties such as photoluminescence. That being said, plasmon effects are not the only to be taken into account; as shown in this work, surface chemical modification and porosity also play a key role in the final performance of photoluminescence of a porous silicon–gold nanoparticle hybrid system. -- Highlights: • A hybrid material consisting of porous silicon and gold nanoparticles was fabricated. • Porous silicon/gold nanoparticle hybrid material was made by drop casting. • Influence of plasmonics, surface chemical modification and porosity on the optical behavior of our material was analyzed. • Porosity is proposed as a parameter control to obtain the best effects on luminescence of the hybrid plasmonic material.

Influence of silicon on hot-dip aluminizing process and subsequent oxidation for preparing hydrogen/tritium permeation barrier

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, Shilei; Li, Hualing; Wang, Shumao; Jiang, Lijun; Liu, Xiaopeng [Energy Materials and Technology Research Institute, General Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals, Beijing 100088 (China)

2010-04-15

The development of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) requires the production of a material capable of acting as a hydrogen/tritium permeation barrier on low activation steel. It is well known that thin alumina layer can reduce the hydrogen permeation rate by several orders of magnitude. A technology is introduced here to form a ductile Fe/Al intermetallic layer on the steel with an alumina over-layer. This technology, consisting of two main steps, hot-dip aluminizing (HDA) and subsequent oxidation behavior, seems to be a promising coating method to fulfill the required goals. According to the experiments that have been done in pure Al, the coatings were inhomogeneous and too thick. Additionally, a large number of cracks and porous band could be observed. In order to solve these problems, the element silicon was added to the aluminum melt with a nominal composition. The influence of silicon on the aluminizing and following oxidation process was investigated. With the addition of silicon into the aluminum melt, the coating became thinner and more homogeneous. The effort of the silicon on the oxidation behavior was observed as well concerning the suppression of porous band and cracks. (author)

Investigations of surface characterization of silicone rubber due to ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Unknown

†Department of Polymer Technology, Crescent Engineering College, Chennai 600 048, India. Abstract. In the present work, tracking ... Silicone rubber; surface degradation; tracking; WAXD; TG–DTA. 1. Introduction. Power transmission at ... mena in polymer insulators under d.c. voltages. Hence the tracking phenomena ...

Microscopic alterations in silicone tubes surface after application of ophthalmological lubricants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacqueline Sousa

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: To identify microscopic morphological alterations in the surface of silicone tubes used for intubation of the lachrymal system after exposure to ophthalmological lubricants. Methods: Experimental, descriptive and longitudinal study consisted of the application of ophthalmological lubricants in silicone tubes. The tubes were divided in: Group 1 (Cylocort®, 2 (Epitezan®, 3 (Labcaína®, 4 (Liposic®, 5 (Maxinom® and 6 (Vista Gel®. One tube was not exposed to any lubricant, used as control. The tubes were observed and photographed after 2 hours, 30 days, 45 days before and after cleaning the surface and lumen. The following aspects were observed: surface (regularity, transparency, quantity, size and shape of the substances and lumen (obstruction. Results: Control: irregular surface with pores after 2 hours: Group 1 – irregular surface with presence of film; Groups 2, 3 and 5 – abundant and irregular quantity of ointment at the surface; Group 4 – discrete modification at the surface; Group 6 – growth of pigmented (brownish structures with filaments in the lumen, with discrete film in the surface. 30 Days: Groups 1, 4 and 5 – increase of the irregular superficial film; Group 2 – crust with notorious horizontal lines; Group 3 – diminution of the superficial film; Group 4 – crust less evident. Group 6 – increase of the structure seen with 2 hours of exposition, arboriform aspect. Forty-five days pre cleaning: Group 4 – diminution of the surface crust; Group 6 – expansion of the arboriform structure; unaltered findings in other groups. 45 days after cleaning: Groups 1 and 5 – light diminution of the surface crust; Groups 2, 3 and 4 – kept the modifications; Group 6 – the structure inside the lumen was not identified, clear surface, without evidence of film. Conclusions: Microscopic morphological alterations in the surface and lumen of silicone tubes can occur when those remain in contact with determined

The development of surface barriers at the Hanford Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wing, N.R.; Gee, G.W.

1994-03-01

Engineered barriers are being developed to isolate wastes disposed of near the earth's surface at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site near Richland, Washington. Much of the waste that would be disposed of by in-place stabilization currently is located in relatively shallow subsurface structures such as solid waste burial grounds, tanks, vaults, and cribs. Unless protected in some way, the wastes could be transported to the accessible environment via the following pathways: plant, animal, and human intrusion; water infiltration; erosion; and the exhalation of noxious gases. Permanent isolation surface barriers have been proposed to protect wastes disposed of ''in place'' from the transport pathways identified previously (Figure 1). The protective barrier consists of a variety of different materials (e.g., fine soil, sand, gravel, riprap, asphalt, etc.) placed in layers to form an above-grade mound directly over the waste zone. Surface markers are being considered for placement around the periphery of the waste sites to inform future generations of the nature and hazards of the buried wastes. In addition, throughout the protective barrier, subsurface markers could be placed to warn any inadvertent human intruders of the dangers of the buried wastes (Figure 2)

Selective Growth and SERS Property of Gold Nanoparticles on Amorphized Silicon Surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuoka, T; Nishi, M; Sakakura, M; Shimotsuma, Y; Miura, K; Hirao, K

2011-01-01

We have fabricated gold patterns on a silicon substrate by a simple three-step method using a focused ion beam (FIB). The obtained gold patterns consisted of a large number of gold nanoparticles which grew selectively on the preprocessed silicon surface from an Au ion-containing solution dropped on the substrate. The solution was prepared by reacting HAuCl 4 aqueous solution with (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPTMS). It was found that the size and shape of the precipitating gold nanoparticles is controllable by changing the mixing ratio between HAuCl 4 aqueous solution and MPTMS. Additionally, we confirmed that the fabricated gold structures were surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active; the enhanced Raman peaks of rhodamin 6G (R6G) were detected on the fabricated gold structures, whereas no peak was detected on the alternative silicon surface. We also demonstrated the gold patterning using a femtosecond laser instead of an FIB. We believe that our method is a favorable candidate for fabricating SERS-active substrates, since the substrates can be prepared very simply and flexibly.

Silicon surface passivation using thin HfO2 films by atomic layer deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gope, Jhuma; Vandana; Batra, Neha; Panigrahi, Jagannath; Singh, Rajbir; Maurya, K.K.; Srivastava, Ritu; Singh, P.K.

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • HfO 2 films using thermal ALD are studied for silicon surface passivation. • As-deposited thin film (∼8 nm) shows better passivation with surface recombination velocity (SRV) <100 cm/s. • Annealing improves passivation quality with SRV ∼20 cm/s for ∼8 nm film. - Abstract: Hafnium oxide (HfO 2 ) is a potential material for equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) scaling in microelectronics; however, its surface passivation properties particularly on silicon are not well explored. This paper reports investigation on passivation properties of thermally deposited thin HfO 2 films by atomic layer deposition system (ALD) on silicon surface. As-deposited pristine film (∼8 nm) shows better passivation with <100 cm/s surface recombination velocity (SRV) vis-à-vis thicker films. Further improvement in passivation quality is achieved with annealing at 400 °C for 10 min where the SRV reduces to ∼20 cm/s. Conductance measurements show that the interface defect density (D it ) increases with film thickness whereas its value decreases after annealing. XRR data corroborate with the observations made by FTIR and SRV data.

Surface plasmons based terahertz modulator consisting of silicon-air-metal-dielectric-metal layers

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wei; Yang, Dongxiao; Qian, Zhenhai

2018-05-01

An optically controlled modulator of the terahertz wave, which is composed of a metal-dielectric-metal structure etched with circular loop arrays on both the metal layers and a photoexcited silicon wafer separated by an air layer, is proposed. Simulation results based on experimentally measured complex permittivities predict that modification of complex permittivity of the silicon wafer through excitation laser leads to a significant tuning of transmission characteristics of the modulator, forming the modulation depths of 59.62% and 96.64% based on localized surface plasmon peak and propagating surface plasmon peak, respectively. The influences of the complex permittivity of the silicon wafer and the thicknesses of both the air layer and the silicon wafer are numerically studied for better understanding the modulation mechanism. This study proposes a feasible methodology to design an optically controlled terahertz modulator with large modulation depth, high speed and suitable insertion loss, which is useful for terahertz applications in the future.

Influence of Surface Chemistry on the Release of an Antibacterial Drug from Nanostructured Porous Silicon.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Mengjia; Hartman, Philip S; Loni, Armando; Canham, Leigh T; Bodiford, Nelli; Coffer, Jeffery L

2015-06-09

Nanostructured mesoporous silicon possesses important properties advantageous to drug loading and delivery. For controlled release of the antibacterial drug triclosan, and its associated activity versus Staphylococcus aureus, previous studies investigated the influence of porosity of the silicon matrix. In this work, we focus on the complementary issue of the influence of surface chemistry on such properties, with particular regard to drug loading and release kinetics that can be ideally adjusted by surface modification. Comparison between drug release from as-anodized, hydride-terminated hydrophobic porous silicon and the oxidized hydrophilic counterpart is complicated due to the rapid bioresorption of the former; hence, a hydrophobic interface with long-term biostability is desired, such as can be provided by a relatively long chain octyl moiety. To minimize possible thermal degradation of the surfaces or drug activity during loading of molten drug species, a solution loading method has been investigated. Such studies demonstrate that the ability of porous silicon to act as an effective carrier for sustained delivery of antibacterial agents can be sensitively altered by surface functionalization.

Electric Characteristic Enhancement of an AZO/Si Schottky Barrier Diode with Hydrogen Plasma Surface Treatment and AlxOx Guard Ring Structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chien-Yu Li

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, the design and fabrication of AZO/n-Si Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs with hydrogen plasma treatment on silicon surface and AlxOx guard ring were presented. The Si surface exhibited less interface defects after the cleaning process following with 30 w of H2 plasma treatment that improved the switching properties of the following formed SBDs. The rapid thermal annealing experiment also held at 400 °C to enhance the breakdown voltage of SBDs. The edge effect of the SBDs was also suppressed with the AlxOx guard ring structure deposited by the atomic layer deposition (ALD at the side of the SBDs. Experimental results show that the reverse leakage current was reduced and the breakdown voltage increased with an addition of the AlxOx guard ring. The diode and fabrication technology developed in the study were applicable to the realization of SBDs with a high breakdown voltage (>200 V, a low reverse leakage current density (≤72 μA/mm2@100 V, and a Schottky barrier height of 1.074 eV.

Electric Characteristic Enhancement of an AZO/Si Schottky Barrier Diode with Hydrogen Plasma Surface Treatment and AlxOx Guard Ring Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chien-Yu; Cheng, Min-Yu; Houng, Mau-Phon; Yang, Cheng-Fu; Liu, Jing

2018-01-01

In this study, the design and fabrication of AZO/n-Si Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) with hydrogen plasma treatment on silicon surface and AlxOx guard ring were presented. The Si surface exhibited less interface defects after the cleaning process following with 30 w of H2 plasma treatment that improved the switching properties of the following formed SBDs. The rapid thermal annealing experiment also held at 400 °C to enhance the breakdown voltage of SBDs. The edge effect of the SBDs was also suppressed with the AlxOx guard ring structure deposited by the atomic layer deposition (ALD) at the side of the SBDs. Experimental results show that the reverse leakage current was reduced and the breakdown voltage increased with an addition of the AlxOx guard ring. The diode and fabrication technology developed in the study were applicable to the realization of SBDs with a high breakdown voltage (>200 V), a low reverse leakage current density (≤72 μA/mm2@100 V), and a Schottky barrier height of 1.074 eV. PMID:29316726

Characterization of Al2O3 surface passivation of silicon solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albadri, Abdulrahman M.

2014-01-01

A study of the passivation of silicon surface by aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) is reported. A correlation of fixed oxide charge density (Q f ) and interface trap density (D it ) on passivation efficiency is presented. Low surface recombination velocity (SRV) was obtained even by as-deposited Al 2 O 3 films and this was found to be associated to the passivation of interface states. Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy spectra show the existence of an interfacial silicon oxide thin layer in both as-deposited and annealed Al 2 O 3 films. Q f is found positive in as-deposited films and changing to negative upon subsequent annealing, providing thus an enhancement of the passivation in p-type silicon wafers, associated to field effects. Secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis confirms the correlation between D it and hydrogen concentration at the Al 2 O 3 /Si interface. A lowest SRV of 15 cm/s was obtained after an anneal at 400 °C in nitrogen atmosphere. - Highlights: • Al 2 O 3 provides superior passivation for silicon surfaces. • Atomic layer deposition-Al 2 O 3 was deposited at a low temperature of 200 °C. • A lowest surface passivation velocity of 15 cm/s was obtained after an anneal at 400 °C in nitrogen. • As-deposited Al 2 O 3 films form very thin SiO 2 layer responsible of low interface trap densities. • High negative fixed charge density of (− 2 × 10 12 cm −2 ) was achieved upon annealing at 400 °C

Lewis basicity, adhesion thermodynamic work and coordinating ability on aminated silicon surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sánchez, M. Alejandra; Paniagua, Sergio A.; Borge, Ignacio; Viales, Christian; Montero, Mavis L.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Silicon(1 0 0) surfaces with diamines followed by anchoring of copper complexes over the diamine layer, an approach that could be used for advanced functionalization of semiconducting surfaces. • Lewis basicity (using Fowkes–van Oss–Chaudhury–Good surface tension model) and adhesion thermodynamic work (using chemical force microscopy) were determined. • Higher basicity and thermodynamic work correlate with selective copper acetate monolayer grow. The cyclic voltammetry studies confirm the confined copper redox activity. - Abstract: Silicon(1 0 0) surfaces have been modified with three different amines (aniline, benzylamine and dodecylamine) and diamines (4-aminopyridine, 4-aminomethylpyridine, 1,12-dodecyldiamine). The surface energy was measured by contact angle technique. For Si-diamine surfaces, Lewis basicity (using Fowkes–van Oss–Chaudhury–Good surface tension model) and adhesion thermodynamic work (using chemical force microscopy) were determined. We related these data, the amine/diamine nature and their geometry on the surface (via DFT calculations) with the consequent ability to coordinate copper(II) acetate. Finally, copper(II) acetate monolayers behavior was studied by cyclic voltammetry

Characterisation and stabilisation of the surface region of a highly polished silicon crystal sphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kenny, M.J.; Wielunski, L.S.

1999-01-01

Full text: Typically a single crystal silicon wafer has a native oxide layer a few nm thick which changes slowly with time. A number of parameters such as hydrocarbons, water vapour, storage environment can affect this layer. The thickness of the layer is also orientation dependent. In the case of a silicon sphere the situation becomes more complex, because all orientations are present and the process of polishing involves a higher pressure and also high local temperatures. A highly polished single crystal sphere 93.6 mm in diameter is being used to determine the Avogadro constant with an uncertainty of ≤ 1 x 10 -8 . This will then be used to obtain an atomic definition of the kilogram. The composition and structure of the surface oxide layer play an important role in this measurement. Firstly the density of the oxide layer is different from that of silicon. Secondly since the diameter is measured by optical interferometry, corrections must be applied for the phase change in the reflected light beam due to the surface layer. Thirdly the orientation dependence of the layer complicated the corrections to be applied. Fourthly if measurements are made over a period of time, any changes in the surface layer must be taken into account. Given the accuracy required in the determination, the surface layer is a determining factor in the final result. A number of techniques such as spectroscopic ellipsometry and ion beam analysis are being used to study the composition and structure of the surface of a silicon sphere. Cleaning techniques such as HF and low temperature ultraviolet (ozone) are being developed to produce a clean surface. The next step involves deposition of a stable and uniform surface oxide layer a few nm thick. Techniques being investigated for this include ultra violet ozone deposition at 450 deg C and plasma deposition. The paper describes work at the NML in achieving an appropriate stable surface on the silicon sphere

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride photonic crystals for improved-performance surface electromagnetic wave biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinibaldi, Alberto; Descrovi, Emiliano; Giorgis, Fabrizio; Dominici, Lorenzo; Ballarini, Mirko; Mandracci, Pietro; Danz, Norbert; Michelotti, Francesco

2012-10-01

We exploit the properties of surface electromagnetic waves propagating at the surface of finite one dimensional photonic crystals to improve the performance of optical biosensors with respect to the standard surface plasmon resonance approach. We demonstrate that the hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride technology is a versatile platform for fabricating one dimensional photonic crystals with any desirable design and operating in a wide wavelength range, from the visible to the near infrared. We prepared sensors based on photonic crystals sustaining either guided modes or surface electromagnetic waves, also known as Bloch surface waves. We carried out for the first time a direct experimental comparison of their sensitivity and figure of merit with surface plasmon polaritons on metal layers, by making use of a commercial surface plasmon resonance instrument that was slightly adapted for the experiments. Our measurements demonstrate that the Bloch surface waves on silicon nitride photonic crystals outperform surface plasmon polaritons by a factor 1.3 in terms of figure of merit.

The influence of noble-gas ion bombardment on the electrical and optical properties of clean silicon surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martens, J.W.D.

1980-01-01

A study of the effect of argon and helium ion bombardment on the electrical and optical properties of the clean silicon (211) surface is described. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of noble gas ions on the density of surface states at the clean silicon surface. (Auth.)

In situ metalation of free base phthalocyanine covalently bonded to silicon surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Lupo

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Free 4-undecenoxyphthalocyanine molecules were covalently bonded to Si(100 and porous silicon through thermic hydrosilylation of the terminal double bonds of the undecenyl chains. The success of the anchoring strategy on both surfaces was demonstrated by the combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with control experiments performed adopting the commercially available 2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24-octakis(octyloxy-29H,31H-phthalocyanine, which is not suited for silicon anchoring. Moreover, the study of the shape of the XPS N 1s band gave relevant information on the interactions occurring between the anchored molecules and the substrates. The spectra suggest that the phthalocyanine ring interacts significantly with the flat Si surface, whilst ring–surface interactions are less relevant on porous Si. The surface-bonded molecules were then metalated in situ with Co by using wet chemistry. The efficiency of the metalation process was evaluated by XPS measurements and, in particular, on porous silicon, the complexation of cobalt was confirmed by the disappearance in the FTIR spectra of the band at 3290 cm−1 due to –NH stretches. Finally, XPS results revealed that the different surface–phthalocyanine interactions observed for flat and porous substrates affect the efficiency of the in situ metalation process.

Hydrogen desorption from hydrogen fluoride and remote hydrogen plasma cleaned silicon carbide (0001) surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

King, Sean W., E-mail: sean.king@intel.com; Tanaka, Satoru; Davis, Robert F. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States); Nemanich, Robert J. [Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States)

2015-09-15

Due to the extreme chemical inertness of silicon carbide (SiC), in-situ thermal desorption is commonly utilized as a means to remove surface contamination prior to initiating critical semiconductor processing steps such as epitaxy, gate dielectric formation, and contact metallization. In-situ thermal desorption and silicon sublimation has also recently become a popular method for epitaxial growth of mono and few layer graphene. Accordingly, numerous thermal desorption experiments of various processed silicon carbide surfaces have been performed, but have ignored the presence of hydrogen, which is ubiquitous throughout semiconductor processing. In this regard, the authors have performed a combined temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) investigation of the desorption of molecular hydrogen (H{sub 2}) and various other oxygen, carbon, and fluorine related species from ex-situ aqueous hydrogen fluoride (HF) and in-situ remote hydrogen plasma cleaned 6H-SiC (0001) surfaces. Using XPS, the authors observed that temperatures on the order of 700–1000 °C are needed to fully desorb C-H, C-O and Si-O species from these surfaces. However, using TPD, the authors observed H{sub 2} desorption at both lower temperatures (200–550 °C) as well as higher temperatures (>700 °C). The low temperature H{sub 2} desorption was deconvoluted into multiple desorption states that, based on similarities to H{sub 2} desorption from Si (111), were attributed to silicon mono, di, and trihydride surface species as well as hydrogen trapped by subsurface defects, steps, or dopants. The higher temperature H{sub 2} desorption was similarly attributed to H{sub 2} evolved from surface O-H groups at ∼750 °C as well as the liberation of H{sub 2} during Si-O desorption at temperatures >800 °C. These results indicate that while ex-situ aqueous HF processed 6H-SiC (0001) surfaces annealed at <700 °C remain terminated by some surface C–O and

Impact of microcrystalline silicon carbide growth using hot-wire chemical vapor deposition on crystalline silicon surface passivation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pomaska, M.; Beyer, W.; Neumann, E.; Finger, F.; Ding, K.

2015-01-01

Highly crystalline microcrystalline silicon carbide (μc-SiC:H) with excellent optoelectronic material properties is a promising candidate as highly transparent doped layer in silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. These high quality materials are usually produced using hot wire chemical vapor deposition under aggressive growth conditions giving rise to the removal of the underlying passivation layer and thus the deterioration of the crystalline silicon (c-Si) surface passivation. In this work, we introduced the n-type μc-SiC:H/n-type μc-SiO x :H/intrinsic a-SiO x :H stack as a front layer configuration for p-type SHJ solar cells with the μc-SiO x :H layer acting as an etch-resistant layer against the reactive deposition conditions during the μc-SiC:H growth. We observed that the unfavorable expansion of micro-voids at the c-Si interface due to the in-diffusion of hydrogen atoms through the layer stack might be responsible for the deterioration of surface passivation. Excellent lifetime values were achieved under deposition conditions which are needed to grow high quality μc-SiC:H layers for SHJ solar cells. - Highlights: • High surface passivation quality was preserved after μc-SiC:H deposition. • μc-SiC:H/μc-SiO x :H/a-SiO x :H stack a promising front layer configuration • Void expansion at a-SiO x :H/c-Si interface for deteriorated surface passivation • μc-SiC:H provides a high transparency and electrical conductivity.