Tc depression and superconductor-insulator transition in molybdenum nitride thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Ichikawa, F.; Makise, K.; Tsuneoka, T.; Maeda, S.; Shinozaki, B.

2018-03-01

We have studied that the Tc depression and the superconductor-insulator transition (SIT) in molybdenum nitride (MoN) thin films. Thin films were fabricated by reactive DC magnetron sputtering method onto (100) MgO substrates in the mixture of Ar and N2 gases. Several dozen MoN thin films were prepared in the range of 3 nm < thickness d < 60 nm. The resistance was measured by a DC four-probe technique. It is found that Tc decreases from 6.6 K for thick films with increase of the normal state sheet resistance {R}{{sq}}{{N}} and experimental data were fitted to the Finkel’stein formula using the bulk superconducting transition temperature Tc 0 = 6.45 K and the elastic scattering time of electron τ = 1.6 × 10‑16 s. From this analysis the critical sheet resistance Rc is found about 2 kΩ, which is smaller than the quantum sheet resistance R Q. This value of Rc is almost the same as those for 2D NbN films. The value of τ for MoN films is also the similar value for NbN films 1.0 × 10‑16 s, while Tc 0 is different from that for NbN films 14.85 K. It is indicated that the mechanism of SIT for MoN films is similar to that of NbN films, while the mean free path ℓ for MoN films is larger than that for NbN films.

Giant spin Hall angle from topological insulator BixSe(1 - x) thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Dc, Mahendra; Jamali, Mahdi; Chen, Junyang; Hickey, Danielle; Zhang, Delin; Zhao, Zhengyang; Li, Hongshi; Quarterman, Patrick; Lv, Yang; Mkhyon, Andre; Wang, Jian-Ping

Investigation on the spin-orbit torque (SOT) from large spin-orbit coupling materials has been attracting interest because of its low power switching of the magnetization and ultra-fast driving of the domain wall motion that can be used in future spin based memory and logic devices. We investigated SOT from topological insulator BixSe(1 - x) thin film in BixSe(1 - x) /CoFeB heterostructure by using the dc planar Hall method, where BixSe(1 - x) thin films were prepared by a unique industry-compatible deposition process. The angle dependent Hall resistance was measured in the presence of a rotating external in-plane magnetic field at bipolar currents. The spin Hall angle (SHA) from this BixSe(1 - x) thin film was found to be as large as 22.41, which is the largest ever reported at room temperature (RT). The giant SHA and large spin Hall conductivity (SHC) make this BixSe(1 - x) thin film a very strong candidate as an SOT generator in SOT based memory and logic devices.

Effects of reductive annealing on insulating polycrystalline thin films of Nb-doped anatase TiO2: recovery of high conductivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakao, Shoichiro; Hirose, Yasushi; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

2016-01-01

We studied the effects of reductive annealing on insulating polycrystalline thin films of anatase Nb-doped TiO 2 (TNO). The insulating TNO films were intentionally fabricated by annealing conductive TNO films in oxygen ambient at 400 °C. Reduced free carrier absorption in the insulating TNO films indicated carrier compensation due to excess oxygen. With H 2 -annealing, both carrier density and Hall mobility recovered to the level of conducting TNO, demonstrating that the excess oxygen can be efficiently removed by the annealing process without introducing additional scattering centers. (paper)

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2006-01-01

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

Stability of low-carrier-density topological-insulator Bi2Se3 thin films and effect of capping layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salehi, Maryam; Brahlek, Matthew; Koirala, Nikesh; Moon, Jisoo; Oh, Seongshik; Wu, Liang; Armitage, N. P.

2015-01-01

Although over the past number of years there have been many advances in the materials aspects of topological insulators (TIs), one of the ongoing challenges with these materials is the protection of them against aging. In particular, the recent development of low-carrier-density bulk-insulating Bi 2 Se 3 thin films and their sensitivity to air demands reliable capping layers to stabilize their electronic properties. Here, we study the stability of the low-carrier-density Bi 2 Se 3 thin films in air with and without various capping layers using DC and THz probes. Without any capping layers, the carrier density increases by ∼150% over a week and by ∼280% over 9 months. In situ-deposited Se and ex situ-deposited poly(methyl methacrylate) suppress the aging effect to ∼27% and ∼88%, respectively, over 9 months. The combination of effective capping layers and low-carrier-density TI films will open up new opportunities in topological insulators

Metal-insulator transition in SrTi1−xVxO3 thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2013-01-01

Epitaxial SrTi 1−x V x O 3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) thin films were grown on (001)-oriented (LaAlO 3 ) 0.3 (Sr 2 AlTaO 6 ) 0.7 (LSAT) substrates using the pulsed electron-beam deposition technique. The transport study revealed a temperature driven metal-insulator transition (MIT) at 95 K for x = 0.67. The films with higher vanadium concentration (x > 0.67) were metallic corresponding to a Fermi liquid system. In the insulating phase (x < 0.67), the resistivity behavior was governed by Mott's variable range hopping mechanism. The possible mechanisms for the induced MIT are discussed, including the effects of electron correlation, lattice distortion, and Anderson localization

MIS field effect transistor with barium titanate thin film as a gate insulator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Firek, P., E-mail: pfirek@elka.pw.edu.p [Institute of Microelectronics and Optoelectronics, Warsaw University of Technology, Koszykowa 75, 00-662 Warsaw (Poland); Werbowy, A.; Szmidt, J. [Institute of Microelectronics and Optoelectronics, Warsaw University of Technology, Koszykowa 75, 00-662 Warsaw (Poland)

2009-11-25

The properties of barium titanate (BaTiO{sub 3}, BT) like, e.g. high dielectric constant and resistivity, allow it to find numerous applications in field of microelectronics. In this work silicon metal insulator semiconductor field effect transistor (MISFET) structures with BaTiO{sub 3} (containing La{sub 2}O{sub 3} admixture) thin films in a role of gate insulator were investigated. The films were produced by means of radio frequency plasma sputtering (RF PS) of sintered BaTiO{sub 3} + La{sub 2}O{sub 3} (2 wt.%) target. In the paper transfer and output current-voltage (I-V), transconductance and output conductance characteristics of obtained transistors are presented and discussed. Basic parameters of these devices like, e.g. threshold voltage (V{sub TH}), are determined and discussed.

Thin-Film Power Transformers

Science.gov (United States)

Katti, Romney R.

1995-01-01

Transformer core made of thin layers of insulating material interspersed with thin layers of ferromagnetic material. Flux-linking conductors made of thinner nonferromagnetic-conductor/insulator multilayers wrapped around core. Transformers have geometric features finer than those of transformers made in customary way by machining and mechanical pressing. In addition, some thin-film materials exhibit magnetic-flux-carrying capabilities superior to those of customary bulk transformer materials. Suitable for low-cost, high-yield mass production.

Thickness oscillations of the transport properties in n-type Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} topological insulator thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rogacheva, E.I., E-mail: rogacheva@kpi.kharkov.ua [National Technical University “Kharkov Polytechnic Institute”, 21 Frunze Street, Kharkov 61002 (Ukraine); Budnik, A.V.; Sipatov, A.Yu.; Nashchekina, O.N. [National Technical University “Kharkov Polytechnic Institute”, 21 Frunze Street, Kharkov 61002 (Ukraine); Fedorov, A.G. [Institute for Single Crystals of NAS of Ukraine, 60 Lenin Prospect, Kharkov 61001 (Ukraine); Dresselhaus, M.S.; Tang, S. [Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

2015-11-02

The dependences of the electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and Hall coefficient on the thickness (d = 20–155 nm) of the n-type thin films grown on the glass substrates by the thermal evaporation in vacuum of the n-type Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} topological insulator crystals have been measured. It has been established that these dependences have an oscillatory character with a substantial amplitude. The obtained results are interpreted in terms of quantum size effects, taking into account the peculiar properties of the surface layers of the Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} films connected with the topological insulator nature of the bismuth telluride. - Highlights: • The thickness dependences of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin films kinetic coefficients were obtained. • The dependences have oscillatory character with a substantial undamped amplitude. • The oscillation period increases with decreasing film thickness. • The oscillations are attributed to electron confinement in the film growth direction. • It is suggested that topological surface layer affects quantum processes in films.

Density functional study of BiSbTeSe{sub 2} topological insulator thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohammadpourrad, Zahra; Abolhassani, Mohammadreza [Department of Physics, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2017-08-15

In this work, using density functional theory calculations, we have investigated the band topology of bulk BiSbTeSe{sub 2} and its thin film electronic properties in several thicknesses. It is one member of the quaternary compounds Bi{sub 2-x}Sb{sub x}Te{sub 3-y}Se{sub y} (BSTS) with the best intrinsic bulk insulating behavior. Based on our calculations we have found that a band inversion at Γ-point is induced when spin-orbit coupling is turned on, with an energy gap of about 0.318 eV. The film thickness has an effect on the surface states such that a gap opens at Dirac point in 6 quintuple-layers film and with decrease in thickness, the magnitude of the gap increases. The atomic contributions have been mapped out for the first few layers of thin films to demonstrate the surface states. The relative charge density has been calculated layer-wise and the penetration depth of the surface states into the bulk region is found to be about 2.5-3.5 quintuple layers, depending on the termination species of thin films. (copyright 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Low-Temperature Fabrication of Robust, Transparent, and Flexible Thin-Film Transistors with a Nanolaminated Insulator.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Jeong Hyun; Park, Junhong; Lee, Myung Keun; Park, Jeong Woo; Jeon, Yongmin; Shin, Jeong Bin; Nam, Minwoo; Kim, Choong-Ki; Choi, Yang-Kyu; Choi, Kyung Cheol

2018-05-09

The lack of reliable, transparent, and flexible electrodes and insulators for applications in thin-film transistors (TFTs) makes it difficult to commercialize transparent, flexible TFTs (TF-TFTs). More specifically, conventional high process temperatures and the brittleness of these elements have been hurdles in developing flexible substrates vulnerable to heat. Here, we propose electrode and insulator fabrication techniques considering process temperature, transmittance, flexibility, and environmental stability. A transparent and flexible indium tin oxide (ITO)/Ag/ITO (IAI) electrode and an Al 2 O 3 /MgO (AM)-laminated insulator were optimized at the low temperature of 70 °C for the fabrication of TF-TFTs on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The optimized IAI electrode with a sheet resistance of 7 Ω/sq exhibited the luminous transmittance of 85.17% and maintained its electrical conductivity after exposure to damp heat conditions because of an environmentally stable ITO capping layer. In addition, the electrical conductivity of IAI was maintained after 10 000 bending cycles with a tensile strain of 3% because of the ductile Ag film. In the metal/insulator/metal structure, the insulating and mechanical properties of the optimized AM-laminated film deposited at 70 °C were significantly improved because of the highly dense nanolaminate system, compared to those of the Al 2 O 3 film deposited at 70 °C. In addition, the amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) was used as the active channel for TF-TFTs because of its excellent chemical stability. In the environmental stability test, the ITO, a-IGZO, and AM-laminated films showed the excellent environmental stability. Therefore, our IGZO-based TFT with IAI electrodes and the 70 °C AM-laminated insulator was fabricated to evaluate robustness, transparency, flexibility, and process temperature, resulting in transfer characteristics comparable to those of an IGZO-based TFT with a 150 °C Al 2 O 3

Electron-lattice energy relaxation in laser-excited thin-film Au-insulator heterostructures studied by ultrafast MeV electron diffraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Sokolowski-Tinten, K; Shen, X; Zheng, Q; Chase, T; Coffee, R; Jerman, M; Li, R K; Ligges, M; Makasyuk, I; Mo, M; Reid, A H; Rethfeld, B; Vecchione, T; Weathersby, S P; Dürr, H A; Wang, X J

2017-09-01

We apply time-resolved MeV electron diffraction to study the electron-lattice energy relaxation in thin film Au-insulator heterostructures. Through precise measurements of the transient Debye-Waller-factor, the mean-square atomic displacement is directly determined, which allows to quantitatively follow the temporal evolution of the lattice temperature after short pulse laser excitation. Data obtained over an extended range of laser fluences reveal an increased relaxation rate when the film thickness is reduced or the Au-film is capped with an additional insulator top-layer. This behavior is attributed to a cross-interfacial coupling of excited electrons in the Au film to phonons in the adjacent insulator layer(s). Analysis of the data using the two-temperature-model taking explicitly into account the additional energy loss at the interface(s) allows to deduce the relative strength of the two relaxation channels.

Thermal conductivity of thin insulating films determined by tunnel magneto-Seebeck effect measurements and finite-element modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Huebner, Torsten; Martens, Ulrike; Walowski, Jakob; Münzenberg, Markus; Thomas, Andy; Reiss, Günter; Kuschel, Timo

2018-06-01

In general, it is difficult to access the thermal conductivity of thin insulating films experimentally by electrical means. Here, we present a new approach utilizing the tunnel magneto-Seebeck effect (TMS) in combination with finite-element modeling (FEM). We detect the laser-induced TMS and the absolute thermovoltage of laser-heated magnetic tunnel junctions with 2.6 nm thin barriers of MgAl2O4 (MAO) and MgO, respectively. A second measurement of the absolute thermovoltage after a dielectric breakdown of the barrier grants insight into the remaining thermovoltage of the stack. Thus, the pure TMS without any parasitic Nernst contributions from the leads can be identified. In combination with FEM via COMSOL, we are able to extract values for the thermal conductivity of MAO (0.7 W (K · m)‑1) and MgO (5.8 W (K · m)‑1), which are in very good agreement with theoretical predictions. Our method provides a new promising way to extract the experimentally challenging parameter of the thermal conductivity of thin insulating films.

Electric-field induced spin accumulation in the Landau level states of topological insulator thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Siu, Zhuo Bin; Chowdhury, Debashree; Basu, Banasri; Jalil, Mansoor B. A.

2017-08-01

A topological insulator (TI) thin film differs from the more typically studied thick TI system in that the former has both a top and a bottom surface where the states localized at both surfaces can couple to one other across the finite thickness. An out-of-plane magnetic field leads to the formation of discrete Landau level states in the system, whereas an in-plane magnetization breaks the angular momentum symmetry of the system. In this work, we study the spin accumulation induced by the application of an in-plane electric field to the TI thin film system where the Landau level states and inter-surface coupling are simultaneously present. We show, via Kubo formula calculations, that the in-plane spin accumulation perpendicular to the magnetization due to the electric field vanishes for a TI thin film with symmetric top and bottom surfaces. A finite in-plane spin accumulation perpendicular to both the electric field and magnetization emerges upon applying either a differential magnetization coupling or a potential difference between the two film surfaces. This spin accumulation results from the breaking of the antisymmetry of the spin accumulation around the k-space equal-energy contours.

Metal-oxide assisted surface treatment of polyimide gate insulators for high-performance organic thin-film transistors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sohee; Ha, Taewook; Yoo, Sungmi; Ka, Jae-Won; Kim, Jinsoo; Won, Jong Chan; Choi, Dong Hoon; Jang, Kwang-Suk; Kim, Yun Ho

2017-06-14

We developed a facile method for treating polyimide-based organic gate insulator (OGI) surfaces with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) by introducing metal-oxide interlayers, called the metal-oxide assisted SAM treatment (MAST). To create sites for surface modification with SAM materials on polyimide-based OGI (KPI) surfaces, the metal-oxide interlayer, here amorphous alumina (α-Al 2 O 3 ), was deposited on the KPI gate insulator using spin-coating via a rapid sol-gel reaction, providing an excellent template for the formation of a high-quality SAM with phosphonic acid anchor groups. The SAM of octadecylphosphonic acid (ODPA) was successfully treated by spin-coating onto the α-Al 2 O 3 -deposited KPI film. After the surface treatment by ODPA/α-Al 2 O 3 , the surface energy of the KPI thin film was remarkably decreased and the molecular compatibility of the film with an organic semiconductor (OSC), 2-decyl-7-phenyl-[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (Ph-BTBT-C 10 ), was increased. Ph-BTBT-C 10 molecules were uniformly deposited on the treated gate insulator surface and grown with high crystallinity, as confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The mobility of Ph-BTBT-C 10 thin-film transistors (TFTs) was approximately doubled, from 0.56 ± 0.05 cm 2 V -1 s -1 to 1.26 ± 0.06 cm 2 V -1 s -1 , after the surface treatment. The surface treatment of α-Al 2 O 3 and ODPA significantly decreased the threshold voltage from -21.2 V to -8.3 V by reducing the trap sites in the OGI and improving the interfacial properties with the OSC. We suggest that the MAST method for OGIs can be applied to various OGI materials lacking reactive sites using SAMs. It may provide a new platform for the surface treatment of OGIs, similar to that of conventional SiO 2 gate insulators.

Study of Ho-doped Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} topological insulator thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harrison, S. E. [Department of Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom); Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States); Collins-McIntyre, L. J.; Zhang, S. L.; Chen, Y. L.; Hesjedal, T., E-mail: Thorsten.Hesjedal@physics.ox.ac.uk [Department of Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom); Baker, A. A. [Department of Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom); Magnetic Spectroscopy Group, Diamond Light Source, Didcot OX11 0DE (United Kingdom); Figueroa, A. I.; Laan, G. van der [Magnetic Spectroscopy Group, Diamond Light Source, Didcot OX11 0DE (United Kingdom); Kellock, A. J.; Pushp, A.; Parkin, S. S. P. [IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Road, San Jose, California 95120 (United States); Harris, J. S. [Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States)

2015-11-02

Breaking time-reversal symmetry through magnetic doping of topological insulators has been identified as a key strategy for unlocking exotic physical states. Here, we report the growth of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin films doped with the highest magnetic moment element Ho. Diffraction studies demonstrate high quality films for up to 21% Ho incorporation. Superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry reveals paramagnetism down to 2 K with an effective magnetic moment of ∼5 μ{sub B}/Ho. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy shows that the topological surface state remains intact with Ho doping, consistent with the material's paramagnetic state. The large saturation moment achieved makes these films useful for incorporation into heterostructures, whereby magnetic order can be introduced via interfacial coupling.

Quantum coherent transport in SnTe topological crystalline insulator thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Assaf, B. A.; Heiman, D. [Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 (United States); Katmis, F.; Moodera, J. S. [Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Department of Physics, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Wei, P. [Department of Physics, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Satpati, B. [Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700064 (India); Zhang, Z. [Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States); Bennett, S. P.; Harris, V. G. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 (United States)

2014-09-08

Topological crystalline insulators (TCI) are unique systems where a band inversion that is protected by crystalline mirror symmetry leads to a multiplicity of topological surface states. Binary SnTe is an attractive lead-free TCI compound; the present work on high-quality thin films provides a route for increasing the mobility and reducing the carrier density of SnTe without chemical doping. Results of quantum coherent magnetotransport measurements reveal a multiplicity of Dirac surface states that are unique to TCI. Modeling of the weak antilocalization shows variations in the extracted number of carrier valleys that reflect the role of coherent intervalley scattering in coupling different Dirac states on the degenerate TCI surface.

Thin-film composite materials as a dielectric layer for flexible metal-insulator-metal capacitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwari, Jitendra N; Meena, Jagan Singh; Wu, Chung-Shu; Tiwari, Rajanish N; Chu, Min-Ching; Chang, Feng-Chih; Ko, Fu-Hsiang

2010-09-24

A new organic-organic nanoscale composite thin-film (NCTF) dielectric has been synthesized by solution deposition of 1-bromoadamantane and triblock copolymer (Pluronic P123, BASF, EO20-PO70-EO20), in which the precursor solution has been achieved with organic additives. We have used a sol-gel process to make a metal-insulator-metal capacitor (MIM) comprising a nanoscale (10 nm-thick) thin-film on a flexible polyimide (PI) substrate at room temperature. Scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope revealed that the deposited NCTFs were crack-free, uniform, highly resistant to moisture absorption, and well adhered on the Au-Cr/PI. The electrical properties of 1-bromoadamantane-P123 NCTF were characterized by dielectric constant, capacitance, and leakage current measurements. The 1-bromoadamantane-P123 NCTF on the PI substrate showed a low leakage current density of 5.5 x 10(-11) A cm(-2) and good capacitance of 2.4 fF at 1 MHz. In addition, the calculated dielectric constant of 1-bromoadamantane-P123 NCTF was 1.9, making them suitable candidates for use in future flexible electronic devices as a stable intermetal dielectric. The electrical insulating properties of 1-bromoadamantane-P123 NCTF have been improved due to the optimized dipole moments of the van der Waals interactions.

Electric-field driven insulator-metal transition and tunable magnetoresistance in ZnO thin film

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Le; Chen, Shanshan; Chen, Xiangyang; Ye, Zhizhen; Zhu, Liping

2018-04-01

Electrical control of the multistate phase in semiconductors offers the promise of nonvolatile functionality in the future semiconductor spintronics. Here, by applying an external electric field, we have observed a gate-induced insulator-metal transition (MIT) with the temperature dependence of resistivity in ZnO thin films. Due to a high-density carrier accumulation, we have shown the ability to inverse change magnetoresistance in ZnO by ionic liquid gating from 10% to -2.5%. The evolution of photoluminescence under gate voltage was also consistent with the MIT, which is due to the reduction of dislocation. Our in-situ gate-controlled photoluminescence, insulator-metal transition, and the conversion of magnetoresistance open up opportunities in searching for quantum materials and ZnO based photoelectric devices.

Process for forming thin film, heat treatment process of thin film sheet, and heat treatment apparatus therefor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, S.

1984-01-01

The invention provides a process for forming a magnetic thin film on a base film, a heat treatment process of a thin film sheet consisting of the base film and the magnetic thin film, and an apparatus for performing heat treatment of the thin film sheet. Tension applied to the thin film sheet is substantially equal to that applied to the base film when the magnetic thin film is formed thereon. Then, the thin film sheet is treated with heat. The thin film sheet is heated with a given temperature gradient to a reactive temperature at which heat shrinkage occurs, while the tension is being applied thereto. Thereafter, the thin film sheet to which the tension is still applied is cooled with substantially the same temperature gradient as applied in heating. The heat treatment apparatus has a film driving unit including a supply reel, a take-up reel, a drive source and guide rollers; a heating unit including heating plates, heater blocks and a temperature controller for heating the sheet to the reactive temperature; and a heat insulating unit including a thermostat and another temperature controller for maintaining the sheet at the nonreactive temperature which is slightly lower than the reactive temperature

Topological crystalline insulator PbxSn1-xTe thin films on SrTiO3 (001 with tunable Fermi levels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hua Guo

2014-05-01

Full Text Available In this letter, we report a systematic study of topological crystalline insulator PbxSn1-xTe (0 < x < 1 thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy on SrTiO3(001. Two domains of PbxSn1-xTe thin films with intersecting angle of α ≈ 45° were confirmed by reflection high energy diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES. ARPES study of PbxSn1-xTe thin films demonstrated that the Fermi level of PbTe could be tuned by altering the temperature of substrate whereas SnTe cannot. An M-shaped valance band structure was observed only in SnTe but PbTe is in a topological trivial state with a large gap. In addition, co-evaporation of SnTe and PbTe results in an equivalent variation of Pb concentration as well as the Fermi level of PbxSn1-xTe thin films.

Pentacene based thin film transistors with high-k dielectric Nd2O3 as a gate insulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarma, R.; Saikia, D.

2010-01-01

We have investigated the pentacene based Organic Thin Film Transistors (OTFTs) with high-k dielectric Nd 2 O 3 . Use of high dielectric constant (high-k) gate insulator Nd 2 O 3 reduces the threshold voltage and sub threshold swing of the OTFTs. The calculated threshold voltage -2.2V and sub-threshold swing 1V/decade, current ON-OFF ratio is 1.7 X 10 4 and mobility is 0.13cm 2 /V.s. Pentacene film is deposited on Nd 2 O 3 surface using two step deposition method. Deposited pentacene film is found poly crystalline in nature. (author)

Field-tuned superconductor-insulator transitions and Hall resistance in thin polycrystalline MoN films

Science.gov (United States)

Makise, Kazumasa; Ichikawa, Fusao; Asano, Takayuki; Shinozaki, Bunju

2018-02-01

We report on the superconductor-insulator transitions (SITs) of disordered molybdenum nitride (MoN) thin films on (1 0 0) MgO substrates as a function of the film thickness and magnetic fields. The T c of the superconducting MoN films, which exhibit a sharp superconducting transition, monotonically decreases as the normal state R sq increases with a decreasing film thickness. For several films with different thicknesses, we estimate the critical field H c and the product zν  ≃  0.6 of the dynamical exponent z and the correlation length exponent ν using a finite scaling analysis. The value of this product can be explained by the (2  +  1) XY model. We found that the Hall resistance ΔR xy (H) is maximized when the magnetic field satisfies H HP(T) \\propto |1  -  T/T C0| in the superconducting state and also in the normal states owning to the superconducting fluctuation corresponding to the ghost critical magnetic field. We measured the Hall conductivity δσ xy (H)  =  σ xy (H)  -  σ xyn and fit the Gaussian approximation theory for δσ xy (H) to the experimental data. Agreement between the data and the theory beyond H c suggests the survival of the Cooper pair in the insulating region of the SIT.

Ultra-thin films of polysilsesquioxanes possessing 3-methacryloxypropyl groups as gate insulator for organic field-effect transistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakahara, Yoshio; Kawa, Haruna; Yoshiki, Jun; Kumei, Maki; Yamamoto, Hiroyuki; Oi, Fumio; Yamakado, Hideo; Fukuda, Hisashi; Kimura, Keiichi

2012-01-01

Polysilsesquioxanes (PSQs) possessing 3-methacryloxypropyl groups as an organic moiety of the side chain were synthesized by sol–gel condensation copolymerization of the corresponding trialkoxysilanes. The ultra-thin PSQ film with a radical initiator and a cross-linking agent was prepared by a spin-coating method, and the film was cured integrally at low temperatures of less than 120 °C through two different kinds of polymeric reactions, which were radical polymerization of vinyl groups and sol–gel condensation polymerization of terminated silanol and alkoxy groups. The obtained PSQ film showed the almost perfect solubilization resistance to acetone, which is a good solvent of PSQ before polymerization. It became clear by atomic force microscopy observation that the surface of the PSQ film was very smooth at a nano-meter level. Furthermore, pentacene-based organic field-effect transistor (OFET) with the PSQ film as a gate insulator showed typical p-channel enhancement mode operation characteristics and therefore the ultra-thin PSQ film has the potential to be applicable for solution-processed OFET systems. - Highlights: ► Polysilsesquioxanes (PSQs) possessing 3-methacryloxypropyl groups were synthesized. ► The ultra-thin PSQ film could be cured at low temperatures of less than 120 °C. ► The PSQ film showed the almost perfect solubilization resistance to organic solvent. ► The surface of the PSQ film was very smooth at a nano-meter level. ► Pentacene-based organic field-effect transistor with the PSQ film was fabricated.

Influence of oxygen flow rate on metal-insulator transition of vanadium oxide thin films grown by RF magnetron sputtering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, Xu; Liu, Xinkun; Li, Haizhu; Huang, Mingju [Henan University, Key Lab of Informational Opto-Electronical Materials and Apparatus, School of Physics and Electronics, Kaifeng (China); Zhang, Angran [South China Normal University, Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, Guangzhou (China)

2017-03-15

High-quality vanadium oxide (VO{sub 2}) films have been fabricated on Si (111) substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering deposition method. The sheet resistance of VO{sub 2} has a significant change (close to 5 orders of magnitude) in the process of the metal-insulator phase transition (MIT). The field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) results show the grain size of VO{sub 2} thin films is larger with the increase of oxygen flow. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicate the thin films fabricated at different oxygen flow rates grow along the (011) crystalline orientation. As the oxygen flow rate increases from 3 sccm to 6 sccm, the phase transition temperature of the films reduces from 341 to 320 K, the width of the thermal hysteresis loop decreases from 32 to 9 K. The thin films fabricated in the condition of 5 sccm have a high temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) -3.455%/K with a small resistivity of 2.795 ρ/Ω cm. (orig.)

Nonvolatile memory thin-film transistors using biodegradable chicken albumen gate insulator and oxide semiconductor channel on eco-friendly paper substrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, So-Jung; Jeon, Da-Bin; Park, Jung-Ho; Ryu, Min-Ki; Yang, Jong-Heon; Hwang, Chi-Sun; Kim, Gi-Heon; Yoon, Sung-Min

2015-03-04

Nonvolatile memory thin-film transistors (TFTs) fabricated on paper substrates were proposed as one of the eco-friendly electronic devices. The gate stack was composed of chicken albumen gate insulator and In-Ga-Zn-O semiconducting channel layers. All the fabrication processes were performed below 120 °C. To improve the process compatibility of the synthethic paper substrate, an Al2O3 thin film was introduced as adhesion and barrier layers by atomic layer deposition. The dielectric properties of biomaterial albumen gate insulator were also enhanced by the preparation of Al2O3 capping layer. The nonvolatile bistabilities were realized by the switching phenomena of residual polarization within the albumen thin film. The fabricated device exhibited a counterclockwise hysteresis with a memory window of 11.8 V, high on/off ratio of approximately 1.1 × 10(6), and high saturation mobility (μsat) of 11.5 cm(2)/(V s). Furthermore, these device characteristics were not markedly degraded even after the delamination and under the bending situration. When the curvature radius was set as 5.3 cm, the ION/IOFF ratio and μsat were obtained to be 5.9 × 10(6) and 7.9 cm(2)/(V s), respectively.

Ultra-thin films of polysilsesquioxanes possessing 3-methacryloxypropyl groups as gate insulator for organic field-effect transistors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakahara, Yoshio; Kawa, Haruna [Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Systems Engineering, Wakayama University, 930 Sakae-dani, Wakayama 640-8510 (Japan); Yoshiki, Jun [Division of Information and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Muroran Institute of Technology, 27-1 Mizumoto-cho, Muroran 050-8585 (Japan); Kumei, Maki; Yamamoto, Hiroyuki; Oi, Fumio [Konishi Chemical IND. Co., LTD., 3-4-77 Kozaika, Wakayama 641-0007 (Japan); Yamakado, Hideo [Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Systems Engineering, Wakayama University, 930 Sakae-dani, Wakayama 640-8510 (Japan); Fukuda, Hisashi [Division of Engineering for Composite Functions, Faculty of Engineering, Muroran Institute of Technology, 27-1 Mizumoto-cho, Muroran 050-8585 (Japan); Kimura, Keiichi, E-mail: kkimura@center.wakayama-u.ac.jp [Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Systems Engineering, Wakayama University, 930 Sakae-dani, Wakayama 640-8510 (Japan)

2012-10-01

Polysilsesquioxanes (PSQs) possessing 3-methacryloxypropyl groups as an organic moiety of the side chain were synthesized by sol-gel condensation copolymerization of the corresponding trialkoxysilanes. The ultra-thin PSQ film with a radical initiator and a cross-linking agent was prepared by a spin-coating method, and the film was cured integrally at low temperatures of less than 120 Degree-Sign C through two different kinds of polymeric reactions, which were radical polymerization of vinyl groups and sol-gel condensation polymerization of terminated silanol and alkoxy groups. The obtained PSQ film showed the almost perfect solubilization resistance to acetone, which is a good solvent of PSQ before polymerization. It became clear by atomic force microscopy observation that the surface of the PSQ film was very smooth at a nano-meter level. Furthermore, pentacene-based organic field-effect transistor (OFET) with the PSQ film as a gate insulator showed typical p-channel enhancement mode operation characteristics and therefore the ultra-thin PSQ film has the potential to be applicable for solution-processed OFET systems. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Polysilsesquioxanes (PSQs) possessing 3-methacryloxypropyl groups were synthesized. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The ultra-thin PSQ film could be cured at low temperatures of less than 120 Degree-Sign C. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The PSQ film showed the almost perfect solubilization resistance to organic solvent. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The surface of the PSQ film was very smooth at a nano-meter level. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Pentacene-based organic field-effect transistor with the PSQ film was fabricated.

Metal-insulator transition in SrTi{sub 1−x}V{sub x}O{sub 3} thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gu, Man [Department of Physics, University of Virginia, 382 McCormick Rd., Charlottesville, Virginia 22904 (United States); Wolf, Stuart A. [Department of Physics, University of Virginia, 382 McCormick Rd., Charlottesville, Virginia 22904 (United States); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia, 395 McCormick Rd., Charlottesville, Virginia 22904 (United States); Lu, Jiwei [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia, 395 McCormick Rd., Charlottesville, Virginia 22904 (United States)

2013-11-25

Epitaxial SrTi{sub 1−x}V{sub x}O{sub 3} (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) thin films were grown on (001)-oriented (LaAlO{sub 3}){sub 0.3}(Sr{sub 2}AlTaO{sub 6}){sub 0.7} (LSAT) substrates using the pulsed electron-beam deposition technique. The transport study revealed a temperature driven metal-insulator transition (MIT) at 95 K for x = 0.67. The films with higher vanadium concentration (x > 0.67) were metallic corresponding to a Fermi liquid system. In the insulating phase (x < 0.67), the resistivity behavior was governed by Mott's variable range hopping mechanism. The possible mechanisms for the induced MIT are discussed, including the effects of electron correlation, lattice distortion, and Anderson localization.

Effect of Sr doping on LaTiO3 thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vilquin, B.; Kanki, T.; Yanagida, T.; Tanaka, H.; Kawai, T.

2005-01-01

We report on the electric properties of La 1-x Sr x TiO 3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) thin films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition method. Crystallographic measurement of the thin films showed the epitaxial c-axis perovskite structure. The electric property of LaTiO 3 thin film, which is a typical Mott insulative material in bulk, showed insulative behaviour, while the Sr-doped films showed metallic conduction suffering electron-electron scattering. Below x = 0.1, the major carrier type was identified to be hole, and switched to electron with further increasing Sr-doping above x = 0.15. In fact, the switching from p-type to n-type for La 1-x Sr x TiO 3 thin films is first demonstrated in this study. The transition suggests that effective Coulomb gap vanishes due to over-additional Sr doping

Infrared-transmittance tunable metal-insulator conversion device with thin-film-transistor-type structure on a glass substrate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takayoshi Katase

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Infrared (IR transmittance tunable metal-insulator conversion was demonstrated on a glass substrate by using thermochromic vanadium dioxide (VO2 as the active layer in a three-terminal thin-film-transistor-type device with water-infiltrated glass as the gate insulator. Alternative positive/negative gate-voltage applications induce the reversible protonation/deprotonation of a VO2 channel, and two-orders of magnitude modulation of sheet-resistance and 49% modulation of IR-transmittance were simultaneously demonstrated at room temperature by the metal-insulator phase conversion of VO2 in a non-volatile manner. The present device is operable by the room-temperature protonation in an all-solid-state structure, and thus it will provide a new gateway to future energy-saving technology as an advanced smart window.

A 350 mK, 9 T scanning tunneling microscope for the study of superconducting thin films on insulating substrates and single crystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamlapure, Anand; Saraswat, Garima; Ganguli, Somesh Chandra; Bagwe, Vivas; Raychaudhuri, Pratap; Pai, Subash P

2013-12-01

We report the construction and performance of a low temperature, high field scanning tunneling microscope (STM) operating down to 350 mK and in magnetic fields up to 9 T, with thin film deposition and in situ single crystal cleaving capabilities. The main focus lies on the simple design of STM head and a sample holder design that allows us to get spectroscopic data on superconducting thin films grown in situ on insulating substrates. Other design details on sample transport, sample preparation chamber, and vibration isolation schemes are also described. We demonstrate the capability of our instrument through the atomic resolution imaging and spectroscopy on NbSe2 single crystal and spectroscopic maps obtained on homogeneously disordered NbN thin film.

In-Ga-Zn-oxide thin-film transistors with Sb2TeOx gate insulators fabricated by reactive sputtering using a metallic Sb2Te target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheong, Woo-Seok

2011-01-01

Using reactive sputtering, we made transparent amorphous Sb 2 TeO x thin films from a metallic Sb 2 Te target in an oxidizing atmosphere. In-Ga-Zn-oxide thin-film transistors (IGZO TFTs) with Sb 2 TeO x gate insulators deposited at room temperature showed a large hysteresis with a counter clockwise direction, which was caused by mobile charges in the gate insulators. The problems of the mobile charges was solved by using Sb 2 TeO x films formed at 250 .deg. C. After the IGZO TFT had been annealed at 200 .deg. C for 1 hour in an O 2 ambient, the mobility of the IGZO TFT was 22.41 cm 2 /Vs, and the drain current on-off ratio was ∼10 8 .

Absorption of surface acoustic waves by topological insulator thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, L. L.; Xu, W.

2014-01-01

We present a theoretical study on the absorption of the surface acoustic waves (SAWs) by Dirac electrons in topological insulator (TI) thin films (TITFs). We find that due to momentum and energy conservation laws, the absorption of the SAWs in TITFs can only be achieved via intra-band electronic transitions. The strong absorption can be observed up to sub-terahertz frequencies. With increasing temperature, the absorption intensity increases significantly and the cut-off frequency is blue-shifted. More interestingly, we find that the absorption of the SAWs by the TITFs can be markedly enhanced by the tunable subgap in the Dirac energy spectrum of the TI surface states. Such a subgap is absent in conventional two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) and in the gapless Dirac 2DEG such as graphene. This study is pertinent to the exploration of the acoustic properties of TIs and to potential application of TIs as tunable SAW devices working at hypersonic frequencies

Operating method of amorphous thin film semiconductor element

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mori, Koshiro; Ono, Masaharu; Hanabusa, Akira; Osawa, Michio; Arita, Takashi

1988-05-31

The existing technologies concerning amorphous thin film semiconductor elements are the technologies concerning the formation of either a thin film transistor or an amorphous Si solar cell on a substrate. In order to drive a thin film transistor for electronic equipment control by the output power of an amorphous Si solar cell, it has been obliged to drive the transistor weth an amorphous solar cell which was formed on a substrate different from that for the transistor. Accordingly, the space for the amorphous solar cell, which was formed on the different substrate, was additionally needed on the substrate for the thin film transistor. In order to solve the above problem, this invention proposes an operating method of an amorphous thin film semiconductor element that after forming an amorphous Si solar cell through lamination on the insulation coating film which covers the thin film transistor formed on the substrate, the thin film transistor is driven by the output power of this solar cell. The invention eliminates the above superfluous space and reduces the size of the amorphous thin film semiconductor element including the electric source. (3 figs)

Broadband and wide angle near-unity absorption in graphene-insulator-metal thin film stacks

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, H. J.; Zheng, G. G.; Chen, Y. Y.; Xu, L. H.

2018-05-01

Broadband unity absorption in graphene-insulator-metal (GIM) structures is demonstrated in the visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) spectra. The spectral characteristics possess broadband absorption peaks, by simply choosing a stack of GIM, while no nanofabrication steps and patterning are required, and thus can be easily fabricated to cover a large area. The electromagnetic (EM) waves can be entirely trapped and the absorption can be greatly enhanced are verified with the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) methods. The position and the number of the absorption peak can be totally controlled by adjusting the thickness of the insulator layer. The proposed absorber maintains high absorption (above 90%) for both transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarizations, and for angles of incidence up to 80°. This work opens up a promising approach to realize perfect absorption (PA) with ultra-thin film, which could implicate many potential applications in optical detection and optoelectronic devices.

Bulk contribution to magnetotransport properties of low-defect-density Bi2Te3 topological insulator thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Ngabonziza, P.; Wang, Y.; Brinkman, A.

2018-04-01

An important challenge in the field of topological materials is to carefully disentangle the electronic transport contribution of the topological surface states from that of the bulk. For Bi2Te3 topological insulator samples, bulk single crystals and thin films exposed to air during fabrication processes are known to be bulk conducting, with the chemical potential in the bulk conduction band. For Bi2Te3 thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy, we combine structural characterization (transmission electron microscopy), chemical surface analysis as function of time (x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and magnetotransport analysis to understand the low defect density and record high bulk electron mobility once charge is doped into the bulk by surface degradation. Carrier densities and electronic mobilities extracted from the Hall effect and the quantum oscillations are consistent and reveal a large bulk carrier mobility. Because of the cylindrical shape of the bulk Fermi surface, the angle dependence of the bulk magnetoresistance oscillations is two dimensional in nature.

Optical conductivity of topological insulator thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, L. L.; Xu, W.; Peeters, F. M.

2015-01-01

We present a detailed theoretical study on the optoelectronic properties of topological insulator thin film (TITFs). The k·p approach is employed to calculate the energy spectra and wave functions for both the bulk and surface states in the TITF. With these obtained results, the optical conductivities induced by different electronic transitions among the bulk and surface states are evaluated using the energy-balance equation derived from the Boltzmann equation. We find that for Bi 2 Se 3 -based TITFs, three characteristic regimes for the optical absorption can be observed. (i) In the low radiation frequency regime (photon energy ℏω<200 meV), the free-carrier absorption takes place due to intraband electronic transitions. An optical absorption window can be observed. (ii) In the intermediate radiation frequency regime (200<ℏω<300 meV), the optical absorption is induced mainly by interband electronic transitions from surface states in the valance band to surface states in the conduction band and an universal value σ 0 =e 2 /(8ℏ) for the optical conductivity can be obtained. (iii) In the high radiation frequency regime (ℏω>300 meV), the optical absorption can be achieved via interband electronic transitions from bulk and surface states in the valance band to bulk and surface states in the conduction band. A strong absorption peak can be observed. These interesting findings indicate that optical measurements can be applied to identify the energy regimes of bulk and surface states in the TITF

Spin Seebeck effect in insulating epitaxial γ−Fe2O3 thin films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Jiménez-Cavero

2017-02-01

Full Text Available We report the fabrication of high crystal quality epitaxial thin films of maghemite (γ−Fe2O3, a classic ferrimagnetic insulating iron oxide. Spin Seebeck effect (SSE measurements in γ−Fe2O3/Pt bilayers as a function of sample preparation conditions and temperature yield a SSE coefficient of 0.5(1 μV/K at room temperature. Dependence on temperature allows us to estimate the magnon diffusion length in maghemite to be in the range of tens of nanometers, in good agreement with that of conducting iron oxide magnetite (Fe3O4, establishing the relevance of spin currents of magnonic origin in magnetic iron oxides.

Thin films and nanomaterials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jayakumar, S.; Kannan, M.D.; Prasanna, S.

2012-01-01

The objective of this book is to disseminate the most recent research in Thin Films, Nanomaterials, Corrosion and Metallurgy presented at the International Conference on Advanced Materials (ICAM 2011) held in PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, India during 12-16 December 2011. The book is a compilation of 113 chapters written by active researchers providing information and critical insights into the recent advancements that have taken place. Important new applications are possible today in the fields of microelectronics, opto-electronics, metallurgy and energy by the application of thin films on solid surfaces. Recent progress in high vacuum technology and new materials has a remarkable effect in thin film quality and cost. This has led to the development of new single or multi-layered thin film devices with diverse applications in a multitude of production areas, such as optics, thermal barrier coatings and wear protections, enhancing service life of tools and to protect materials against thermal and atmospheric influence. On the other hand, thin film process techniques and research are strongly related to the basic research activities in nano technology, an increasingly important field with countless opportunities for applications due to the emergence of new properties at the nanoscale level. Materials and structures that are designed and fabricated at the nano scale level, offer the potential to produce new devices and processes that may enhance efficiencies and reduce costs in many areas, as photovoltaic systems, hydrogen storage, fuel cells and solar thermal systems. In the book, the contributed papers are classified under two sections i) thin films and ii) nanomaterials. The thin film section includes single or multi layer conducting, insulating or semiconducting films synthesized by a wide variety of physical or chemical techniques and characterized or analyzed for different applications. The nanomaterials section deals with novel or exciting materials

Thermal conductivity model for nanoporous thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Congliang; Zhao, Xinpeng; Regner, Keith; Yang, Ronggui

2018-03-01

Nanoporous thin films have attracted great interest because of their extremely low thermal conductivity and potential applications in thin thermal insulators and thermoelectrics. Although there are some numerical and experimental studies about the thermal conductivity of nanoporous thin films, a simplified model is still needed to provide a straightforward prediction. In this paper, by including the phonon scattering lifetimes due to film thickness boundary scattering, nanopore scattering and the frequency-dependent intrinsic phonon-phonon scattering, a fitting-parameter-free model based on the kinetic theory of phonon transport is developed to predict both the in-plane and the cross-plane thermal conductivities of nanoporous thin films. With input parameters such as the lattice constants, thermal conductivity, and the group velocity of acoustic phonons of bulk silicon, our model shows a good agreement with available experimental and numerical results of nanoporous silicon thin films. It illustrates that the size effect of film thickness boundary scattering not only depends on the film thickness but also on the size of nanopores, and a larger nanopore leads to a stronger size effect of the film thickness. Our model also reveals that there are different optimal structures for getting the lowest in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivities.

TI--CR--AL--O thin film resistors

Science.gov (United States)

Jankowski, Alan F.; Schmid, Anthony P.

2000-01-01

Thin films of Ti--Cr--Al--O are used as a resistor material. The films are rf sputter deposited from ceramic targets using a reactive working gas mixture of Ar and O.sub.2. Resistivity values from 10.sup.4 to 10.sup.10 Ohm-cm have been measured for Ti--Cr--Al--O film Ti--Cr--Al--O as a thin film resistor has been found to be thermodynamically stable, unlike other metal-oxide films. The Ti--Cr--Al--O film can be used as a vertical or lateral resistor, for example, as a layer beneath a field emission cathode in a flat panel display; or used to control surface emissivity, for example, as a coating on an insulating material such as vertical wall supports in flat panel displays.

Poly(4-vinylphenol-co-methyl methacrylate) / titanium dioxide nanocomposite gate insulators for 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-pentacene thin-film transistors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Xue; Park, Jiho; Baang, Sungkeun; Park, Jaehoon [Hallym University, Chuncheon (Korea, Republic of); Piao, Shanghao; Kim, Sohee; Choi, Hyoungjin [Inha University, Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-12-15

Poly(4-vinylphenol-co-methyl methacrylate) / titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) nanocomposite insulators were fabricated for application in 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-Pn) thin-film transistors (TFTs). The capacitance of the fabricated capacitors with this nanocomposite insulator increased with increasing content of the high-dielectric-constant TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles. Nonetheless, particle aggregates, which were invariably produced in the insulator at higher TiO{sub 2} contents, augmented gate-leakage currents during device operation while the rough surface of the insulator obstructed charge transport in the conducting channel of the TIPS-Pn TFTs. These results suggest a significant effect of the morphological characteristics of nanocomposite insulators on TFT performance, as well as on their dielectric properties. Herein, the optimal particle composition was determined to be approximately 1.5 wt%, which contributed to characteristic improvements in the drain current, field-effect mobility, and threshold voltage of TIPS-Pn TFTs.

Photovoltaics: tests of thin-film technologies. 6 thin-film technologies in 3 different BIPV modes compared in a real outdoor performance test; PV-ThinFilmTest. 6 thin-film technologies in 3 different BIPV modes compared in a real outdoor performance test

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frei, R.; Meier, Ch.

2005-07-01

This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) presents the results of a comparison made between six types of thin-film, building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) technologies used in three different modes of building-integration. More than 450 thin-film modules including amorphous silicon and CIS technologies were monitored. Each type of module was installed in three different modes: inclined (20{sup o}), flat with free back air flow, and flat with thermal back insulation. The performance of these commercially available thin-film BIPV systems was monitored using an extensive monitoring program. Additionally, three mono-crystalline PV arrays allowed direct comparison of the technologies. The results of the monitoring work are presented and further work to be done is discussed, including the monitoring of possible long-term degradation.

Thin-film VO2 submillimeter-wave modulators and polarizers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan, J.C.C.; Fetterman, H.R.; Bachner, F.J.; Zavracky, P.M.; Parker, C.D.

1977-01-01

Submillimeter-wave modulators and switchable polarizers have been fabricated from VO 2 thin films deposited on sapphire substrates. By passing electric current pulses through elements made from these films, the films can be thermally cycled through the insulator-to-metal transition that occurs in VO 2 at about 65 degreeC. In the insulating state, the films are found to have negligible effect on the transmission at submillimeter wavelengths, while above the phase transition the transmission is strongly reduced by the free-electron effects characteristic of a metal. Other possible applications of such switchable VO 2 elements include variable bandpass filters and diffraction grating beam-steering devices

Solid surfaces, interfaces and thin films

CERN Document Server

Lüth, Hans

2015-01-01

This book emphasises both experimental and theoretical aspects of surface, interface and thin-film physics. As in previous editions the preparation of surfaces and thin films, their atomic and morphological structure, their vibronic and electronic properties as well as fundamentals of adsorption are treated. Because of their importance in modern information technology and nanostructure research, particular emphasis is paid to electronic surface and interface states, semiconductor space charge layers and heterostructures. A special chapter of the book is devoted to collective phenomena at interfaces and in thin films such as superconductivity and magnetism. The latter topic includes the meanwhile important issues giant magnetoresistance and spin-transfer torque mechanism, both effects being of high interest in information technology. In this new edition, for the first time, the effect of spin-orbit coupling on surface states is treated. In this context the class of the recently detected topological insulators,...

Poly(4-vinylphenol) gate insulator with cross-linking using a rapid low-power microwave induction heating scheme for organic thin-film-transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Ching-Lin; Shang, Ming-Chi; Hsia, Mao-Yuan; Wang, Shea-Jue; Huang, Bohr-Ran; Lee, Win-Der

2016-03-01

A Microwave-Induction Heating (MIH) scheme is proposed for the poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVP) gate insulator cross-linking process to replace the traditional oven heating cross-linking process. The cross-linking time is significantly decreased from 1 h to 5 min by heating the metal below the PVP layer using microwave irradiation. The necessary microwave power was substantially reduced to about 50 W by decreasing the chamber pressure. The MIH scheme is a good candidate to replace traditional thermal heating for cross-linking of PVP as the gate insulator for organic thin-film-transistors.

Two-phase behavior in strained thin films of hole-doped manganites

OpenAIRE

Biswas, Amlan; Rajeswari, M.; Srivastava, R. C.; Li, Y. H.; Venkatesan, T.; Greene, R. L.; Millis, A. J.

1999-01-01

We present a study of the effect of biaxial strain on the electrical and magnetic properties of thin films of manganites. We observe that manganite films grown under biaxial compressive strain exhibit island growth morphology which leads to a non-uniform distribution of the strain. Transport and magnetic properties of these films suggest the coexistence of two different phases, a metallic ferromagnet and an insulating antiferromagnet. We suggest that the high strain regions are insulating whi...

Emergent Topological Phenomena in Thin Films of Pyrochlore Iridates

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Bohm-Jung; Nagaosa, Naoto

2014-06-01

Because of the recent development of thin film and artificial superstructure growth techniques, it is possible to control the dimensionality of the system, smoothly between two and three dimensions. In this Letter we unveil the dimensional crossover of emergent topological phenomena in correlated topological materials. In particular, by focusing on the thin film of pyrochlore iridate antiferromagnets grown along the [111] direction, we demonstrate that the thin film can have a giant anomalous Hall conductance, proportional to the thickness of the film, even though there is no Hall effect in 3D bulk material. Moreover, in the case of ultrathin films, a quantized anomalous Hall conductance can be observed, despite the fact that the system is an antiferromagnet. In addition, we uncover the emergence of a new topological phase, the nontrivial topological properties of which are hidden in the bulk insulator and manifest only in thin films. This shows that the thin film of correlated topological materials is a new platform to search for unexplored novel topological phenomena.

Growth and characterization of MnGa thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy on BiSb topological insulator

Science.gov (United States)

Duy Khang, Nguyen Huynh; Ueda, Yugo; Yao, Kenichiro; Hai, Pham Nam

2017-10-01

We report on the crystal growth as well as the structural and magnetic properties of Bi0.8Sb0.2 topological insulator (TI)/MnxGa1-x bi-layers grown on GaAs(111)A substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. By optimizing the growth conditions and Mn composition, we were able to grow MnxGa1-x thin films on Bi0.8Sb0.2 with the crystallographic orientation of Bi0.8Sb0.2(001)[1 1 ¯ 0]//MnGa (001)[100]. Using magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy, we detected both the L10 phase ( x 0.6 ) of MnxGa1-x. For 0.50 ≤ x ≤ 0.55 , we obtained ferromagnetic L10-MnGa thin films with clear perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, which were confirmed by MCD hysteresis, anomalous Hall effect as well as superconducting quantum interference device measurements. Our results show that the BiSb/MnxGa1-x bi-layer system is promising for perpendicular magnetization switching using the giant spin Hall effect in TIs.

Thin film plasma coatings from dielectric free-flowing materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Timofeeva, L.A.; Katrich, S.A.; Solntsev, L.A.

1994-01-01

Fabrication of thin film plasma coatings from insulating free-flowing materials is considered. Molybdenum-tart ammonium coating of 3...5 μ thickness deposited on glassy carbon, aluminium, silicon, nickel, cast iron and steel substrates in 'Bulat-ZT' machine using insulating free-flowing materials cathod was found to form due to adsorption, absorption and dissuasion processes. The use of insulating free-flowing materials coatings allow to exclude pure metals cathods in plasma-plating process

Helium ion beam induced electron emission from insulating silicon nitride films under charging conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Petrov, Yu. V.; Anikeva, A. E.; Vyvenko, O. F.

2018-06-01

Secondary electron emission from thin silicon nitride films of different thicknesses on silicon excited by helium ions with energies from 15 to 35 keV was investigated in the helium ion microscope. Secondary electron yield measured with Everhart-Thornley detector decreased with the irradiation time because of the charging of insulating films tending to zero or reaching a non-zero value for relatively thick or thin films, respectively. The finiteness of secondary electron yield value, which was found to be proportional to electronic energy losses of the helium ion in silicon substrate, can be explained by the electron emission excited from the substrate by the helium ions. The method of measurement of secondary electron energy distribution from insulators was suggested, and secondary electron energy distribution from silicon nitride was obtained.

Improvement in interfacial characteristics of low-voltage carbon nanotube thin-film transistors with solution-processed boron nitride thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeon, Jun-Young; Ha, Tae-Jun, E-mail: taejunha0604@gmail.com

2017-08-15

Highlights: • We demonstrate the potential of solution-processed boron nitride (BN) thin films for nanoelectronics. • Improved interfacial characteristics reduced the leakage current by three orders of magnitude. • The BN encapsulation improves all the device key metrics of low-voltage SWCNT-TFTs. • Such improvements were achieved by reduced interaction of interfacial localized states. - Abstract: In this article, we demonstrate the potential of solution-processed boron nitride (BN) thin films for high performance single-walled carbon nanotube thin-film transistors (SWCNT-TFTs) with low-voltage operation. The use of BN thin films between solution-processed high-k dielectric layers improved the interfacial characteristics of metal-insulator-metal devices, thereby reducing the current density by three orders of magnitude. We also investigated the origin of improved device performance in SWCNT-TFTs by employing solution-processed BN thin films as an encapsulation layer. The BN encapsulation layer improves the electrical characteristics of SWCNT-TFTs, which includes the device key metrics of linear field-effect mobility, sub-threshold swing, and threshold voltage as well as the long-term stability against the aging effect in air. Such improvements can be achieved by reduced interaction of interfacial localized states with charge carriers. We believe that this work can open up a promising route to demonstrate the potential of solution-processed BN thin films on nanoelectronics.

Fabrication of amorphous InGaZnO thin-film transistor with solution processed SrZrO3 gate insulator

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Takanori; Oikawa, Kento; Hoga, Takeshi; Uraoka, Yukiharu; Uchiyama, Kiyoshi

2017-10-01

In this paper, we describe a method of fabrication of thin film transistors (TFTs) with high dielectric constant (high-k) gate insulator by a solution deposition. We chose a solution processed SrZrO3 as a gate insulator material, which possesses a high dielectric constant of 21 with smooth surface. The IGZO-TFT with solution processed SrZrO3 showed good switching property and enough saturation features, i.e. field effect mobility of 1.7cm2/Vs, threshold voltage of 4.8V, sub-threshold swing of 147mV/decade, and on/off ratio of 2.3×107. Comparing to the TFTs with conventional SiO2 gate insulator, the sub-threshold swing was improved by smooth surface and high field effect due to the high dielectric constant of SrZrO3. These results clearly showed that use of solution processed high-k SrZrO3 gate insulator could improve sub-threshold swing. In addition, the residual carbon originated from organic precursors makes TFT performances degraded.

Thin-film encapsulation of organic electronic devices based on vacuum evaporated lithium fluoride as protective buffer layer

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Yingquan; Ding, Sihan; Wen, Zhanwei; Xu, Sunan; Lv, Wenli; Xu, Ziqiang; Yang, Yuhuan; Wang, Ying; Wei, Yi; Tang, Ying

2017-03-01

Encapsulation is indispensable for organic thin-film electronic devices to ensure reliable operation and long-term stability. For thin-film encapsulating organic electronic devices, insulating polymers and inorganic metal oxides thin films are widely used. However, spin-coating of insulating polymers directly on organic electronic devices may destroy or introduce unwanted impurities in the underlying organic active layers. And also, sputtering of inorganic metal oxides may damage the underlying organic semiconductors. Here, we demonstrated that by utilizing vacuum evaporated lithium fluoride (LiF) as protective buffer layer, spin-coated insulating polymer polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and sputtered inorganic material Er2O3, can be successfully applied for thin film encapsulation of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc)-based organic diodes. By encapsulating with LiF/PVA/LiF trilayer and LiF/Er2O3 bilayer films, the device lifetime improvements of 10 and 15 times can be achieved. These methods should be applicable for thin-film encapsulation of all kinds of organic electronic devices. Moisture-induced hole trapping, and Al top electrode oxidation are suggest to be the origins of current decay for the LiF/PVA/LiF trilayer and LiF/Er2O3 bilayer films encapsulated devices, respectively.

Improving the performance of organic thin film transistors formed on a vacuum flash-evaporated acrylate insulator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ding, Z., E-mail: ziqian.ding@materials.ox.ac.uk; Abbas, G. A.; Assender, H. E. [Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PH (United Kingdom); Morrison, J. J.; Sanchez-Romaguera, V.; Yeates, S. G. [School of Chemistry, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Taylor, D. M. [School of Electronic Engineering, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 1UT (United Kingdom)

2013-12-02

A systematic investigation has been undertaken, in which thin polymer buffer layers with different ester content have been spin-coated onto a flash-evaporated, cross-linked diacrylate gate-insulator to form bottom-gate, top-contact organic thin-film transistors. The highest device mobilities, ∼0.65 cm{sup 2}/V s and ∼1.00 cm{sup 2}/V s for pentacene and dinaphtho[2,3-b:2′,3′-f]-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DNTT), respectively, were only observed for a combination of large-grain (∼1–2 μm) semiconductor morphology coupled with a non-polar dielectric surface. No correlation was found between semiconductor grain size and dielectric surface chemistry. The threshold voltage of pentacene devices shifted from −10 V to −25 V with decreasing surface ester content, but remained close to 0 V for DNTT.

Poly(4-vinylphenol gate insulator with cross-linking using a rapid low-power microwave induction heating scheme for organic thin-film-transistors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ching-Lin Fan

2016-03-01

Full Text Available A Microwave-Induction Heating (MIH scheme is proposed for the poly(4-vinylphenol (PVP gate insulator cross-linking process to replace the traditional oven heating cross-linking process. The cross-linking time is significantly decreased from 1 h to 5 min by heating the metal below the PVP layer using microwave irradiation. The necessary microwave power was substantially reduced to about 50 W by decreasing the chamber pressure. The MIH scheme is a good candidate to replace traditional thermal heating for cross-linking of PVP as the gate insulator for organic thin-film-transistors.

Ferroelectric domain inversion and its stability in lithium niobate thin film on insulator with different thicknesses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shao, Guang-hao; Bai, Yu-hang; Cui, Guo-xin; Li, Chen; Qiu, Xiang-biao; Wu, Di; Lu, Yan-qing, E-mail: yqlu@nju.edu.cn [National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Geng, De-qiang [Jinan Jingzheng Electronics Co., Ltd., Jinan 250100 (China)

2016-07-15

Ferroelectric domain inversion and its effect on the stability of lithium niobate thin films on insulator (LNOI) are experimentally characterized. Two sets of specimens with different thicknesses varying from submicron to microns are selected. For micron thick samples (∼28 μm), domain structures are achieved by pulsed electric field poling with electrodes patterned via photolithography. No domain structure deterioration has been observed for a month as inspected using polarizing optical microscopy and etching. As for submicron (540 nm) films, large-area domain inversion is realized by scanning a biased conductive tip in a piezoelectric force microscope. A graphic processing method is taken to evaluate the domain retention. A domain life time of 25.0 h is obtained and possible mechanisms are discussed. Our study gives a direct reference for domain structure-related applications of LNOI, including guiding wave nonlinear frequency conversion, nonlinear wavefront tailoring, electro-optic modulation, and piezoelectric devices.

Tunneling probe of fluctuating superconductivity in disordered thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Dentelski, David; Frydman, Aviad; Shimshoni, Efrat; Dalla Torre, Emanuele G.

2018-03-01

Disordered thin films close to the superconductor-insulator phase transition (SIT) hold the key to understanding quantum phase transition in strongly correlated materials. The SIT is governed by superconducting quantum fluctuations, which can be revealed, for example, by tunneling measurements. These experiments detect a spectral gap, accompanied by suppressed coherence peaks, on both sides of the transition. Here we describe the insulating side in terms of a fluctuating superconducting field with finite-range correlations. We perform a controlled diagrammatic resummation and derive analytic expressions for the tunneling differential conductance. We find that short-range superconducting fluctuations suppress the coherence peaks even in the presence of long-range correlations. Our approach offers a quantitative description of existing measurements on disordered thin films and accounts for tunneling spectra with suppressed coherence peaks.

Thin NbN film structures on SOI for SNSPD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Il' in, Konstantin; Kurz, Stephan; Henrich, Dagmar; Hofherr, Matthias; Siegel, Michael [IMS, KIT, Karlsruhe (Germany); Semenov, Alexei; Huebers, Heinz-Wilhelm [DLR, Berlin (Germany)

2012-07-01

Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors (SNSPD) made from ultra-thin NbN films on sapphire demonstrate almost 100% intrinsic detection efficiency (DE). However the system DE values is less than 10% mostly limited by a very low absorptance of NbN films thinner than 5 nm. Integration of SNSPD in Si photonic circuit is a promising way to overcome this problem. We present results on optimization of technology of thin NbN film nanostructures on SOI (Silicon on Insulator) substrate used in Si photonics technology. Superconducting and normal state properties of these structures important for SNSPD development are presented and discussed.

Improvements in the reliability of a-InGaZnO thin-film transistors with triple stacked gate insulator in flexible electronics applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Hua-Mao [Department of Photonics & Institute of Electro-Optical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Chang, Ting-Chang, E-mail: tcchang3708@gmail.com [Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Department of Photonics, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Advanced Optoelectronics Technology Center, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan (China); Tai, Ya-Hsiang [Department of Photonics & Institute of Electro-Optical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Chen, Kuan-Fu [Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Chiang, Hsiao-Cheng [Department of Photonics, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Liu, Kuan-Hsien [Department of Electrophysics, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Lee, Chao-Kuei [Department of Photonics, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Lin, Wei-Ting; Cheng, Chun-Cheng; Tu, Chun-Hao; Liu, Chu-Yu [Advanced Technology Research Center, AU Optronics Corp, Hsinchu, Taiwan (China)

2015-11-30

This study examined the impact of the low-temperature stacking gate insulator on the gate bias instability of a-InGaZnO thin film transistors in flexible electronics applications. Although the quality of SiN{sub x} at low process/deposition temperature is better than that of SiO{sub x} at similarly low process/deposition temperature, there is still a very large positive threshold voltage (V{sub th}) shift of 9.4 V for devices with a single low-temperature SiN{sub x} gate insulator under positive gate bias stress. However, a suitable oxide–nitride–oxide-stacked gate insulator exhibits a V{sub th} shift of only 0.23 V. This improvement results from the larger band offset and suitable gate insulator thickness that can effectively suppress carrier trapping behavior. - Highlights: • The cause of the bias instability for a low-temperature gate insulator is verified. • A triple-stacked gate insulator was fabricated. • A suitable triple stacked gate insulator shows only 0.23 V threshold voltage shift.

Direct observation of the lattice precursor of the metal-to-insulator transition in V2O3 thin films by surface acoustic waves

Science.gov (United States)

Kündel, J.; Pontiller, P.; Müller, C.; Obermeier, G.; Liu, Z.; Nateprov, A. A.; Hörner, A.; Wixforth, A.; Horn, S.; Tidecks, R.

2013-03-01

A surface acoustic wave (SAW) delay line is used to study the metal-to-insulator (MI) transition of V2O3 thin films deposited on a piezoelectric LiNbO3 substrate. Effects contributing to the sound velocity shift of the SAW which are caused by elastic properties of the lattice of the V2O3 films when changing the temperature are separated from those originating from the electrical conductivity. For this purpose the electric field accompanying the elastic wave of the SAW has been shielded by growing the V2O3 film on a thin metallic Cr interlayer (coated with Cr2O3), covering the piezoelectric substrate. Thus, the recently discovered lattice precursor of the MI transition can be directly observed in the experiments, and its fine structure can be investigated.

Studies of electronic and magnetic properties of LaVO3 thin film

Science.gov (United States)

Jana, Anupam; Karwal, Sharad; Choudhary, R. J.; Phase, D. M.

2018-04-01

We have investigated the electronic and magnetic properties of pulsed laser deposited Mott insulator LaVO3 (LVO) thin film. Structural characterization revels the single phase [00l] oriented LVO thin film. Enhancement of out of plane lattice parameter indicates the compressively strained LVO film. Electron spectroscopic studies demonstrate that vanadium is present in V3+ state. An energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopic study ensures the stoichiometric growth of the film. Very smooth surface is observed in scanning electron micrograph. Colour mapping for elemental distribution reflect the homogeneity of LVO film. The bifurcation between zero-field-cooled and Field-cooled curves clearly points towards the weak ferromagnetic phase presence in compressively strained LVO thin film. A finite value of coercivity at 300 K reflects the possibility of room temperature ferromagnetism of LVO thin film.

Remote plasma deposition of textured zinc oxide with focus on thin film solar cell applications : material properties, plasma processes and film growth

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groenen, R.

2005-01-01

Simultaneously possessing transparency in the visible region, close to that of insulators, and electrical conductivity, close to that of metals, transparent conducting oxide (TCO) thin films form a highly attractive class of materials for a wide variety of applications like thin film solar cells,

Stability Study of Flexible 6,13-Bis(triisopropylsilylethynylpentacene Thin-Film Transistors with a Cross-Linked Poly(4-vinylphenol/Yttrium Oxide Nanocomposite Gate Insulator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin-Hyuk Kwon

2016-03-01

Full Text Available We investigated the electrical and mechanical stability of flexible 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylehtynylpentacene (TIPS-pentacene thin-film transistors (TFTs that were fabricated on polyimide (PI substrates using cross-linked poly(4-vinylphenol (c-PVP and c-PVP/yttrium oxide (Y2O3 nanocomposite films as gate insulators. Compared with the electrical characteristics of TIPS-pentacene TFTs with c-PVP insulators, the TFTs with c-PVP/Y2O3 nanocomposite insulators exhibited enhancements in the drain current and the threshold voltage due to an increase in the dielectric capacitance. In electrical stability experiments, a gradual decrease in the drain current and a negative shift in the threshold voltage occurred during prolonged bias stress tests, but these characteristic variations were comparable for both types of TFT. On the other hand, the results of mechanical bending tests showed that the characteristic degradation of the TIPS-pentacene TFTs with c-PVP/Y2O3 nanocomposite insulators was more critical than that of the TFTs with c-PVP insulators. In this study, the detrimental effect of the nanocomposite insulator on the mechanical stability of flexible TIPS-pentacene TFTs was found to be caused by physical adhesion of TIPS-pentacene molecules onto the rough surfaces of the c-PVP/Y2O3 nanocomposite insulator. These results indicate that the dielectric and morphological properties of polymeric nanocomposite insulators are significant when considering practical applications of flexible electronics operated at low voltages.

Surface, interface and thin film characterization of nano-materials using synchrotron radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, Shigeru; Kobayashi, Keisuke

2005-01-01

From the results of studies in the nanotechnology support project of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, several investigations on the surface, interface and thin film characterization of nano-materials are described; (1) the MgB 2 thin film by X-ray diffraction, (2) the magnetism of the Pt thin film on a Co film by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurement, (3) the structure and physical properties of oxygen molecules absorbed in a micro hole of the cheleted polymer crystal by the direct observation in X-ray powder diffraction, and (4) the thin film gate insulator with a large dielectric constant, thermally treated HfO 2 /SiO 2 /Si, by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. (M.H.)

Surface modification of polyimide gate insulators for solution-processed 2,7-didecyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (C10-BTBT) thin-film transistors.

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, Kwang-Suk; Kim, Won Soo; Won, Jong-Myung; Kim, Yun-Ho; Myung, Sung; Ka, Jae-Won; Kim, Jinsoo; Ahn, Taek; Yi, Mi Hye

2013-01-21

The surface property of a polyimide gate insulator was successfully modified with an n-octadecyl side-chain. Alkyl chain-grafted poly(amic acid), the polyimide precursor, was synthesized using the diamine comonomer with an alkyl side-chain. By adding a base catalyst to the poly(amic acid) coating solution, the imidization temperature of the spin-coated film could be reduced to 200 °C. The 350 nm-thick polyimide film had a dielectric constant of 3.3 at 10 kHz and a leakage current density of less than 8.7 × 10(-10) A cm(-2), while biased from 0 to 100 V. To investigate the potential of the alkyl chain-grafted polyimide film as a gate insulator for solution-processed organic thin-film transistors (TFTs), we fabricated C(10)-BTBT TFTs. C(10)-BTBT was deposited on the alkyl chain-grafted polyimide gate insulator by spin-coating, forming a well-ordered crystal structure. The field-effect mobility and the on/off current ratio of the TFT device were measured to be 0.20-0.56 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and >10(5), respectively.

Electromagnetic waves in a topological insulator thin film stack: helicon-like wave mode and photonic band structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Inoue, Jun-ichi

2013-09-09

We theoretically explore the electromagnetic modes specific to a topological insulator superlattice in which topological and conventional insulator thin films are stacked periodically. In particular, we obtain analytic formulas for low energy mode that corresponds to a helicon wave, as well as those for photonic bands. We illustrate that the system can be modeled as a stack of quantum Hall layers whose conductivity tensors alternately change signs, and then we analyze the photonic band structures. This subject is a natural extension of a previous study by Tselis et al., which took into consideration a stack of identical quantum Hall layers but their discussion was limited into a low energy mode. Thus we provide analytic formulas for photonic bands and compare their features between the two systems. Our central findings in the topological insulator superlattice are that a low energy mode corresponding to a helicon wave has linear dispersion instead of the conventional quadratic form, and that a robust gapless photonic band appears although the system considered has spacial periodicity. In addition, we demonstrate that the photonic bands agree with the numerically calculated transmission spectra.

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

KAUST Repository

Pergolesi, Daniele

2015-02-01

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

Resistance switching in epitaxial SrCoOx thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Tambunan, Octolia T.; Parwanta, Kadek J.; Acharya, Susant K.; Lee, Bo Wha; Jung, Chang Uk; Kim, Yeon Soo; Park, Bae Ho; Jeong, Huiseong; Park, Ji-Yong; Cho, Myung Rae; Park, Yun Daniel; Choi, Woo Seok; Kim, Dong-Wook; Jin, Hyunwoo; Lee, Suyoun; Song, Seul Ji; Kang, Sung-Jin; Kim, Miyoung; Hwang, Cheol Seong

2014-08-01

We observed bipolar switching behavior from an epitaxial strontium cobaltite film grown on a SrTiO3 (001) substrate. The crystal structure of strontium cobaltite has been known to undergo topotactic phase transformation between two distinct phases: insulating brownmillerite (SrCoO2.5) and conducting perovskite (SrCoO3-δ) depending on the oxygen content. The current-voltage characteristics of the strontium cobaltite film showed that it could have a reversible insulator-to-metal transition triggered by electrical bias voltage. We propose that the resistance switching in the SrCoOx thin film could be related to the topotactic phase transformation and the peculiar structure of SrCoO2.5.

Resistance switching in epitaxial SrCoOx thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tambunan, Octolia T.; Parwanta, Kadek J.; Acharya, Susant K.; Lee, Bo Wha; Jung, Chang Uk; Kim, Yeon Soo; Park, Bae Ho; Jeong, Huiseong; Park, Ji-Yong; Cho, Myung Rae; Park, Yun Daniel; Choi, Woo Seok; Kim, Dong-Wook; Jin, Hyunwoo; Lee, Suyoun; Song, Seul Ji; Kang, Sung-Jin; Kim, Miyoung; Hwang, Cheol Seong

2014-01-01

We observed bipolar switching behavior from an epitaxial strontium cobaltite film grown on a SrTiO 3 (001) substrate. The crystal structure of strontium cobaltite has been known to undergo topotactic phase transformation between two distinct phases: insulating brownmillerite (SrCoO 2.5 ) and conducting perovskite (SrCoO 3−δ ) depending on the oxygen content. The current–voltage characteristics of the strontium cobaltite film showed that it could have a reversible insulator-to-metal transition triggered by electrical bias voltage. We propose that the resistance switching in the SrCoO x thin film could be related to the topotactic phase transformation and the peculiar structure of SrCoO 2.5

Intrinsic conduction through topological surface states of insulating Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} epitaxial thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoefer, Katharina; Becker, Christoph; Rata, Diana; Thalmeier, Peter; Tjeng, Liu Hao [Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Dresden (Germany); Swanson, Jesse [Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Dresden (Germany); University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada)

2015-07-01

Topological insulators represent a new state of matter that open up new opportunities to create unique quantum particles. Many exciting experiments have been proposed by theory, yet, the main obstacle for their execution is material quality and cleanliness of the experimental conditions. The presence of tiny amounts of defects in the bulk or contaminants at the surface already mask these phenomena. We present the preparation, structural and spectroscopic characterisation of MBE-grown Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin films that are insulating in the bulk. Moreover, temperature dependent four-point-probe resistivity measurements of the Dirac states on surfaces that are intrinsically clean were conducted. The total amount of surface charge carries is in the order of 10{sup 12} cm{sup -2} and mobilities up to 4600 cm{sup 2}/Vs are observed. Importantly, these results are achieved by carrying out the preparation and characterisation all in-situ under ultra-high-vacuum conditions.

Quantum transport in new two-dimensional heterostructures: Thin films of topological insulators, phosphorene

Science.gov (United States)

Majidi, Leyla; Zare, Moslem; Asgari, Reza

2018-06-01

The unusual features of the charge and spin transport characteristics are investigated in new two-dimensional heterostructures. Intraband specular Andreev reflection is realized in a topological insulator thin film normal/superconducting junction in the presence of a gate electric field. Perfect specular electron-hole conversion is shown for different excitation energy values in a wide experimentally available range of the electric field and also for all angles of incidence when the excitation energy has a particular value. It is further demonstrated that the transmission probabilities of the incoming electrons from different spin subbands to the monolayer phosphorene ferromagnetic/normal/ferromagnetic (F/N/F) hybrid structure have different behavior with the angle of incidence and perfect transmission occurs at defined angles of incidence to the proposed structure with different length of the N region, and different alignments of magnetization vectors. Moreover, the sign change of the spin-current density is demonstrated by tuning the chemical potential and exchange field of the F region.

Unusual metal-insulator transition in disordered ferromagnetic films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muttalib, K.A.; Wölfle, P.; Misra, R.; Hebard, A.F.

2012-01-01

We present a theoretical interpretation of recent data on the conductance near and farther away from the metal-insulator transition in thin ferromagnetic Gd films of thickness b≈2-10 nm. For increasing sheet resistances a dimensional crossover takes place from d=2 to d=3 dimensions, since the large phase relaxation rate caused by scattering of quasiparticles off spin wave excitations renders the dephasing length L φ ≲b at strong disorder. The conductivity data in the various regimes obey fractional power-law or logarithmic temperature dependence. One observes weak localization and interaction induced corrections at weaker disorder. At strong disorder, near the metal-insulator transition, the data show scaling and collapse onto two scaling curves for the metallic and insulating regimes. We interpret this unusual behavior as proof of two distinctly different correlation length exponents on both sides of the transition.

Fabrication of AlN thin films on different substrates at ambient temperature

CERN Document Server

Cai, W X; Wu, P H; Yang, S Z; Ji, Z M

2002-01-01

Aluminium nitride (AlN) is very useful as a barrier in superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) device or as an insulating layer in many other applications. At ambient temperature, we deposit AlN thin films onto different substrates (such as MgO, LaAlO sub 3 and Si) by using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering and pure Al target. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and PHI-scan patterns show that the films grown on MgO substrates are excellent epitaxial films with (101) orientation of a hexagonal lattice. A possible structure of the interface between the film and the substrate is suggested and discussed.

Long-ranged interactions in thin TiN films at the superconductor-insulator transition?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kronfeldner, Klaus; Strunk, Christoph [Institute for Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg (Germany); Baturina, Tatyana [A.V. Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics SB RAS, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation)

2015-07-01

We measured IV-characteristics and magnetoresistance of square TiN-films in the vicinity of the disorder-tuned superconductor-insulator transition (SIT) for different sizes (5 μm to 240 μm). While the films are superconducting at zero magnetic field, at finite fields a SIT occurs. The resistance shows thermally activated behaviour on both sides of the SIT. Deep in the superconducting regime the activation energy grows linear with the sample size as expected for a size-independent critical current density. Closer to the SIT the activation energy becomes clearly size independent. On the insulating side the magnetoresistance maximum and the activation energy both grow logarithmically with sample size which is consistent with a size-limited charge BKT (Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless) scenario. In order to test for the presence of long-ranged interactions in our films, we investigate the influence of a topgate. It is expected to screen the possible long-ranged interactions as the distance of the film to the gate is much shorter than the electrostatic screening length deduced from the size-dependent activation energy.

Controllable film densification and interface flatness for high-performance amorphous indium oxide based thin film transistors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ou-Yang, Wei, E-mail: OUYANG.Wei@nims.go.jp, E-mail: TSUKAGOSHI.Kazuhito@nims.go.jp; Mitoma, Nobuhiko; Kizu, Takio; Gao, Xu; Lin, Meng-Fang; Tsukagoshi, Kazuhito, E-mail: OUYANG.Wei@nims.go.jp, E-mail: TSUKAGOSHI.Kazuhito@nims.go.jp [International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectronics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044 (Japan); Nabatame, Toshihide [MANA Foundry and MANA Advanced Device Materials Group, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044 (Japan)

2014-10-20

To avoid the problem of air sensitive and wet-etched Zn and/or Ga contained amorphous oxide transistors, we propose an alternative amorphous semiconductor of indium silicon tungsten oxide as the channel material for thin film transistors. In this study, we employ the material to reveal the relation between the active thin film and the transistor performance with aid of x-ray reflectivity study. By adjusting the pre-annealing temperature, we find that the film densification and interface flatness between the film and gate insulator are crucial for achieving controllable high-performance transistors. The material and findings in the study are believed helpful for realizing controllable high-performance stable transistors.

High performance top-gated indium–zinc–oxide thin film transistors with in-situ formed HfO{sub 2} gate insulator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Yang, E-mail: yang_song@brown.edu [Department of Physics, Brown University, 182 Hope Street, Providence, RI 02912 (United States); Zaslavsky, A. [Department of Physics, Brown University, 182 Hope Street, Providence, RI 02912 (United States); School of Engineering, Brown University, 184 Hope Street, Providence, RI 02912 (United States); Paine, D.C. [School of Engineering, Brown University, 184 Hope Street, Providence, RI 02912 (United States)

2016-09-01

We report on top-gated indium–zinc–oxide (IZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) with an in-situ formed HfO{sub 2} gate dielectric insulator. Building on our previous demonstration of high-performance IZO TFTs with Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/HfO{sub 2} gate dielectric, we now report on a one-step process, in which Hf is evaporated onto the 20 nm thick IZO channel, forming a partially oxidized HfO{sub x} layer, without any additional insulator in-between. After annealing in air at 300 °C, the in-situ reaction between partially oxidized Hf and IZO forms a high quality HfO{sub 2} gate insulator with a low interface trapped charge density N{sub TC} ~ 2.3 × 10{sup 11} cm{sup −2} and acceptably low gate leakage < 3 × 10{sup −7} A/cm{sup 2} at gate voltage V{sub G} = 1 V. The annealed TFTs with gate length L{sub G} = 50 μm have high mobility ~ 95 cm{sup 2}/V ∙ s (determined via the Y-function technique), high on/off ratio ~ 10{sup 7}, near-zero threshold voltage V{sub T} = − 0.02 V, and a subthreshold swing of 0.062 V/decade, near the theoretical limit. The on-current of our proof-of-concept TFTs is relatively low, but can be improved by reducing L{sub G}, indicating that high-performance top-gated HfO{sub 2}-isolated IZO TFTs can be fabricated using a single-step in-situ dielectric formation approach. - Highlights: • High-performance indium–zinc–oxide (IZO) thin film transistors (TFTs). • Single-step in-situ dielectric formation approach simplifies fabrication process. • During anneal, reaction between HfO{sub x} and IZO channel forms a high quality HfO{sub 2} layer. • Gate insulator HfO{sub 2} shows low interface trapped charge and small gate leakage. • TFTs have high mobility, near-zero threshold voltage, and a low subthreshold swing.

Measurement of full-field deformation induced by a dc electrical field in organic insulator films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boudou L.

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Digital image correlation method (DIC using the correlation coefficient curve-fitting for full-field surface deformation measurements of organic insulator films is investigated in this work. First the validation of the technique was undertaken. The computer-generated speckle images and the measurement of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE of aluminium are used to evaluate the measurement accuracy of the technique. In a second part the technique is applied to measure the mechanical deformation induced by electrical field application to organic insulators. For that Poly(ethylene naphthalene 2,6-dicarboxylate (PEN thin films were subjected to DC voltage stress and DIC provides the full-field induced deformations of the test films. The obtained results show that the DIC is a practical and robust tool for better comprehension of mechanical behaviour of the organic insulator films under electrical stress.

Spin accumulation in disordered topological insulator ultrathin films

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-08-01

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

Resistivity behavior of optimized PbTiO3 thin films prepared by spin coating method

Science.gov (United States)

Nurbaya, Z.; Wahid, M. H.; Rozana, M. D.; Alrokayan, S. A. H.; Khan, H. A.; Rusop, M.

2018-05-01

Th is study presents the resistivity behavior of PbTiO3 thin films which were prepared towards metal-insulator-metal capacitor device fabrication. The PbTiO3 thin films were prepared through sol-gel spin coating method that involved various deposition parameters that is (1) different molar concentration of PbTiO3 solutions, (2) various additional PbAc-content in PbTiO3 solutions, and (3) various annealing temperature on PbTiO3 thin films. Hence, an electrical measurement of current versus voltage was done to determine the resistivity behavior of PbTiO3 thin films.

In-Plane Impedance Spectroscopy measurements in Vanadium Dioxide thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Ramirez, Juan; Patino, Edgar; Schmidt, Rainer; Sharoni, Amos; Gomez, Maria; Schuller, Ivan

2012-02-01

In plane Impedance Spectroscopy measurements have been done in Vanadium Dioxide thin films in the range of 100 Hz to 1 MHz. Our measurements allows distinguishing between the resistive and capacitive response of the Vanadium Dioxide films across the metal-insulator transition. A non ideal RC behavior was found in our thin films from room temperature up to 334 K. Around the MIT, an increase of the total capacitance is observed. A capacitor-network model is able to reproduce the capacitance changes across the MIT. Above the MIT, the system behaves like a metal as expected, and a modified equivalent circuit is necessary to describe the impedance data adequately.

Thin Film Approaches to the SRF Cavity Problem Fabrication and Characterization of Superconducting Thin Films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beringer, Douglas [College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA (United States)

2017-08-01

Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) cavities are responsible for the acceleration of charged particles to relativistic velocities in most modern linear accelerators, such as those employed at high-energy research facilities like Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory’s CEBAF and the LHC at CERN. Recognizing SRF as primarily a surface phenomenon enables the possibility of applying thin films to the interior surface of SRF cavities, opening a formidable tool chest of opportunities by combining and designing materials that offer greater performance benefit. Thus, while improvements in radio frequency cavity design and refinements in cavity processing techniques have improved accelerator performance and efficiency – 1.5 GHz bulk niobium SRF cavities have achieved accelerating gradients in excess of 35 MV/m – there exist fundamental material bounds in bulk superconductors limiting the maximally sustained accelerating field gradient (≈ 45 MV/m for Nb) where inevitable thermodynamic breakdown occurs. With state of the art Nb based cavity design fast approaching these theoretical limits, novel material innovations must be sought in order to realize next generation SRF cavities. One proposed method to improve SRF performance is to utilize thin film superconducting-insulating-superconducting (SIS) multilayer structures to effectively magnetically screen a bulk superconducting layer such that it can operate at higher field gradients before suffering critically detrimental SRF losses. This dissertation focuses on the production and characterization of thin film superconductors for such SIS layers for radio frequency applications. Correlated studies on structure, surface morphology and superconducting properties of epitaxial Nb and MgB2 thin films are presented.

Deposition of metal chalcogenide thin films by successive ionic layer

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

) method, has emerged as one of the solution methods to deposit a variety of compound materials in thin film form. The SILAR method is inexpensive, simple and convenient for large area deposition. A variety of substrates such as insulators, ...

Thin film heat flux sensor for Space Shuttle Main Engine turbine environment

Science.gov (United States)

Will, Herbert

1991-01-01

The Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) turbine environment stresses engine components to their design limits and beyond. The extremely high temperatures and rapid temperature cycling can easily cause parts to fail if they are not properly designed. Thin film heat flux sensors can provide heat loading information with almost no disturbance of gas flows or of the blade. These sensors can provide steady state and transient heat flux information. A thin film heat flux sensor is described which makes it easier to measure small temperature differences across very thin insulating layers.

Evaluation of unencapsulated ceramic monolithic and MOS thin-film capacitors (25 to 3000C)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nance, W.R.

1982-01-01

Several commercial monolithic ceramic and thin-film MOS chip capacitors were evaluated for use in high temperature (300 0 C) geothermal instrumentation. Characteristics of the commonly used dielectric materials (NPO, X7R, BX) and temperature dependence of the insulation resistance are briefly discussed. Some ceramic capacitors with NPO dielectric materials had insulation resistances above 10 megohms at 300 0 C and less than 2% change in capacitance from 25 0 C to 300 0 C, while the X7R and BX dielectric materials exhibited insulation resistances below 10 megohm and changes in capacitance greater then 50%. The thin-film capacitors showed good stability at 300 0 C. However, during aging, bonds and bond pads presented a problem causing intermittently open circuits for some of the devices

Formation and dielectric properties of polyelectrolyte multilayers studied by a silicon-on-insulator based thin film resistor.

Science.gov (United States)

Neff, Petra A; Wunderlich, Bernhard K; Klitzing, Regine V; Bausch, Andreas R

2007-03-27

The formation of polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) is investigated using a silicon-on-insulator based thin film resistor which is sensitive to variations of the surface potential. The buildup of the PEMs at the silicon oxide surface of the device can be observed in real time as defined potential shifts. The influence of polymer charge density is studied using the strong polyanion poly(styrene sulfonate), PSS, combined with the statistical copolymer poly(diallyl-dimethyl-ammoniumchloride-stat-N-methyl-N-vinylacetamide), P(DADMAC-stat-NMVA), at various degrees of charge (DC). The multilayer formation stops after a few deposition steps for a DC below 75%. We show that the threshold of surface charge compensation corresponds to the threshold of multilayer formation. However, no reversion of the preceding surface charge was observed. Screening of polyelectrolyte charges by mobile ions within the polymer film leads to a decrease of the potential shifts with the number of layers deposited. This decrease is much slower for PEMs consisting of P(DADMAC-stat-NMVA) and PSS as compared to PEMs consisting of poly(allylamine-hydrochloride), PAH, and PSS. From this, significant differences in the dielectric constants of the polyelectrolyte films and in the concentration of mobile ions within the films can be derived.

Electrical resistivity of ferrimagnetic magnetite thin film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varshney, Dinesh; Yogi, A.; Kaurav, N.; Gupta, R.P.; Phase, D.M.

2006-01-01

We have grown Fe 3 O 4 (III) epitaxial film on Al 2 O 3 (0001) substrate by pulsed laser deposition, with thickness of 130 nm. X-ray diffraction studies of magnetite show the spinel cubic structure of film with preferential (III) orientation. The electrical resistivity measurement demonstrates that the properties of thin film of magnetite are basically similar to those of bulk magnetite and clearly shows semiconductor-insulator transition at Verwey transition temperature (≅140 K). We have found higher Verwey transition temperature when compared with earlier reports on similar type of system. Possible causes for increase in transition temperature are discussed. (author)

Thermoelectric Transport by Surface States in Bi2Se3-Based Topological Insulator Thin Films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Long-Long; Xu Wen

2015-01-01

We develop a tractable theoretical model to investigate the thermoelectric (TE) transport properties of surface states in topological insulator thin films (TITFs) of Bi 2 Se 3 at room temperature. The hybridization between top and bottom surface states in the TITF plays a significant role. With the increasing hybridization-induced surface gap, the electrical conductivity and electron thermal conductivity decrease while the Seebeck coefficient increases. This is due to the metal-semiconductor transition induced by the surface-state hybridization. Based on these TE transport coefficients, the TE figure-of-merit ZT is evaluated. It is shown that ZT can be greatly improved by the surface-state hybridization. Our theoretical results are pertinent to the exploration of the TE transport properties of surface states in TITFs and to the potential application of Bi 2 Se 3 -based TITFs as high-performance TE materials and devices. (paper)

Quenching of superconductivity in disordered thin films by phase fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hebard, A.F.; Palaanen, M.A.

1992-01-01

The amplitude Ψ 0 and phase Φ of the superconducting order parameter in thin-film systems are affected differently by disorder and dimensionality. With increasing disorder superconducting long range order is quenched in sufficiently thin films by physical processes driven by phase fluctuations. This occurs at both the zero-field vortex-antivortex unbinding transition and at the zero-temperature magnetic-field-tuned superconducting-insulating transition. At both of these transitions Ψ 0 is finite and constant, vanishing only when temperature, disorder, and/or magnetic field are increased further. Experimental results on amorphous-composite InO x films are presented to illustrate these points and appropriate comparisons are made to other experimental systems. (orig.)

Deposition of SiC x H y O z thin film on epoxy resin by nanosecond pulsed APPJ for improving the surface insulating performance

Science.gov (United States)

Qing, XIE; Haofan, LIN; Shuai, ZHANG; Ruixue, WANG; Fei, KONG; Tao, SHAO

2018-02-01

Non-thermal plasma surface modification for epoxy resin (EP) to improve the insulation properties has wide application prospects in gas insulated switchgear and gas insulated transmission line. In this paper, a pulsed Ar dual dielectrics atmospheric-pressure plasma jet (APPJ) was used for SiC x H y O z thin film deposition on EP samples. The film deposition was optimized by varying the treatment time while other parameters were kept at constants (treatment distance: 10 mm, precursor flow rate: 0.6 l min-1, maximum instantaneous power: 3.08 kW and single pulse energy: 0.18 mJ). It was found that the maximum value of flashover voltages for negative and positive voltage were improved by 18% and 13% when the deposition time was 3 min, respectively. The flashover voltage reduced as treatment time increased. Moreover, all the surface conductivity, surface charge dissipation rate and surface trap level distribution reached an optimal value when thin film deposition time was 3 min. Other measurements, such as atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscope for EP surface morphology, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for EP surface compositions, optical emission spectra for APPJ deposition process were carried out to better understand the deposition processes and mechanisms. The results indicated that the original organic groups (C-H, C-C, C=O, C=C) were gradually replaced by the Si containing inorganic groups (Si-O-Si and Si-OH). The reduction of C=O in ester group and C=C in p-substituted benzene of the EP samples might be responsible for shallowing the trap level and then enhancing the flashover voltage. However, when the plasma treatment time was longer than 3 min, the significant increase of the surface roughness might increase the trap level depth and then deteriorate the flashover performance.

Electrical properties of thermally evaporated nickel-dimethylglyoxime thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Dakhel, A. A.; Ali-Mohamed Ahmed, Y.

2005-06-01

Thin Bis-(dimethylglyoximato)nickel(II) [Ni(DMG)2] films of amorphous and crystalline structures were prepared by vacuum deposition on Si (P) substrates. The films were characterised by X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction. The constructed Al/Ni(DMG)2/Si(P) metal-insulator-semiconductor devices were characterised by the measurement of the gate-voltage dependence of their capacitance and ac conductance, from which the surface states density Dit of insulator/semiconductor interface and the density of the fixed charges in the oxide were determined. The ac electrical conduction and dielectric properties of the Ni(DMG)2-Silicon structure were studied at room temperature. The data of the ac measurements of the annealed films follow the correlated barrier-hopping CBH mode, from which the fundamental absorption bandgap, the minimum hopping distance, and other parameters of the model were determined.

Preparation and structural characterization of FeCo epitaxial thin films on insulating single-crystal substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishiyama, Tsutomu; Ohtake, Mitsuru; Futamoto, Masaaki; Kirino, Fumiyoshi

2010-01-01

FeCo epitaxial films were prepared on MgO(111), SrTiO 3 (111), and Al 2 O 3 (0001) single-crystal substrates by ultrahigh vacuum molecular beam epitaxy. The effects of insulating substrate material on the film growth process and the structures were investigated. FeCo(110) bcc films grow on MgO substrates with two type domains, Nishiyama-Wassermann (NW) and Kurdjumov-Sachs (KS) relationships. On the contrary, FeCo films grown on SrTiO 3 and Al 2 O 3 substrates include FeCo(111) bcc crystal in addition to the FeCo(110) bcc crystals with NW and KS relationships. The FeCo(111) bcc crystal consists of two type domains whose orientations are rotated around the film normal by 180 deg. each other. The out-of-plane and the in-plane lattice spacings of FeCo(110) bcc and FeCo(111) bcc crystals formed on the insulating substrates are in agreement with those of the bulk Fe 50 Co 50 (at. %) crystal with small errors ranging between +0.2% and +0.4%, showing that the strains in the epitaxial films are very small.

Thin Film Approaches to the SRF Cavity Problem: Fabrication and Characterization of Superconducting Thin Films

Science.gov (United States)

Beringer, Douglas B.

Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) cavities are responsible for the acceleration of charged particles to relativistic velocities in most modern linear accelerators, such as those employed at high-energy research facilities like Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory's CEBAF and the LHC at CERN. Recognizing SRF as primarily a surface phenomenon enables the possibility of applying thin films to the interior surface of SRF cavities, opening a formidable tool chest of opportunities by combining and designing materials that offer greater benefit. Thus, while improvements in radio frequency cavity design and refinements in cavity processing techniques have improved accelerator performance and efficiency - 1.5 GHz bulk niobium SRF cavities have achieved accelerating gradients in excess of 35 MV/m - there exist fundamental material bounds in bulk superconductors limiting the maximally sustained accelerating field gradient (approximately 45 MV/m for Niobium) where inevitable thermodynamic breakdown occurs. With state of the art niobium based cavity design fast approaching these theoretical limits, novel material innovations must be sought in order to realize next generation SRF cavities. One proposed method to improve SRF performance is to utilize thin film superconducting-insulating-superconducting (SIS) multilayer structures to effectively magnetically screen a bulk superconducting layer such that it can operate at higher field gradients before suffering critically detrimental SRF losses. This dissertation focuses on the production and characterization of thin film superconductors for such SIS layers for radio-frequency applications.

Growth of conductive HfO{sub 2-x} thin films by reactive molecular beam epitaxy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hildebrandt, Erwin; Kurian, Jose; Alff, Lambert [Institut fuer Materialwissenschaft, TU Darmstadt (Germany); Kleebe, Hans-Joachim [Institut fuer Angewandte Geowissenschaften, TU Darmstadt (Germany)

2009-07-01

Thin films of oxygen deficient hafnium oxide were grown on single crystal c-cut and r-cut sapphire substrates by reactive molecular beam epitaxy. The oxidation conditions during growth were varied within a wide range using RF-activated oxygen. Hafnium oxide thin films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, resistivity measurements ({rho}-T) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show a dramatic increase in conductivity of the deposited oxygen deficient hafnium oxide thin films with decreasing oxidation conditions during growth. The electrical properties of deficient hafnium oxide thin films varied from insulating over semiconducting to conducting. X-ray diffraction data as well as TEM data rule out the possibility of conductivity due to metallic hafnium.

RHEED transmission mode and pole figures thin film and nanostructure texture analysis

CERN Document Server

Wang, Gwo-Ching

2014-01-01

This unique book covers the fundamental principle of electron diffraction, basic instrumentation of RHEED, definitions of textures in thin films and nanostructures, mechanisms and control of texture formation, and examples of RHEED transmission mode measurements of texture and texture evolution of thin films and nanostructures. Also presented is a new application of RHEED in the transmission mode called RHEED pole figure technique that can be used to monitor the texture evolution in thin film growth and nanostructures and is not limited to single crystal epitaxial film growth. Details of the construction of RHEED pole figures and the interpretation of observed pole figures are presented.  Materials covered include metals, semiconductors, and thin insulators. This book also: Presents a new application of RHEED in the transmission mode Introduces a variety of textures from metals, semiconductors, compound semiconductors, and their characteristics in RHEED pole figures Provides examples of RHEED measurements o...

Resistance switching in epitaxial SrCoO{sub x} thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tambunan, Octolia T.; Parwanta, Kadek J.; Acharya, Susant K.; Lee, Bo Wha; Jung, Chang Uk, E-mail: cu-jung@hufs.ac.kr [Department of Physics, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Yongin 449-791 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Yeon Soo; Park, Bae Ho [Division of Quantum Phases and Devices, Department of Physics, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-791 (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, Huiseong; Park, Ji-Yong [Department of Physics and Division of Energy System Research, Ajou University, Suwon 443-749 (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Myung Rae; Park, Yun Daniel [Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Subwavelength Optics, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747 (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Woo Seok [Department of Physics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Dong-Wook [Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 120-750 (Korea, Republic of); Jin, Hyunwoo; Lee, Suyoun [Electronic Materials Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 136-791 (Korea, Republic of); Song, Seul Ji; Kang, Sung-Jin; Kim, Miyoung; Hwang, Cheol Seong [Department of Material Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747 (Korea, Republic of)

2014-08-11

We observed bipolar switching behavior from an epitaxial strontium cobaltite film grown on a SrTiO{sub 3} (001) substrate. The crystal structure of strontium cobaltite has been known to undergo topotactic phase transformation between two distinct phases: insulating brownmillerite (SrCoO{sub 2.5}) and conducting perovskite (SrCoO{sub 3−δ}) depending on the oxygen content. The current–voltage characteristics of the strontium cobaltite film showed that it could have a reversible insulator-to-metal transition triggered by electrical bias voltage. We propose that the resistance switching in the SrCoO{sub x} thin film could be related to the topotactic phase transformation and the peculiar structure of SrCoO{sub 2.5}.

Photo-induced insulator-metal transition in Pr0.6Ca0.4MnO3 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition: Effect of thickness dependent structural and transport properties

Science.gov (United States)

Elovaara, Tomi; Huhtinen, Hannu; Majumdar, Sayani; Paturi, Petriina

2016-09-01

We report photo-induced colossal magnetoresistive insulator-metal transition (IMT) in Pr0.6Ca0.4MnO3 thin films under much reduced applied magnetic field. The colossal effect was studied as a function of film thickness and thus with variable structural properties. Thorough structural, magnetic and magnetotransport characterization under light shows that the highest effect on the transition field can be obtained in the thinnest film (38 nm). However, due to the substrate induced strain of this film the required magnetic field for IMT is quite high. The best crystalline properties of the 110 nm film lead to the lowest IMT field under light and 109% change in resistance at 10 K. With increasing thickness, the film properties start to move more toward the bulk material and, hence, IMT is no more observed under the applied field of 9 T. Our results indicate that for obtaining large photo-induced CMR, the best epitaxial quality of thin films is essential.

Hidden landscapes in thin film topological insulators: between order and disorder, 2D and 3D, normal and topological phases

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Seongshik

Topological insulator (TI) is one of the rare systems in the history of condensed matter physics that is initiated by theories and followed by experiments. Although this theory-driven advance helped move the field quite fast despite its short history, apparently there exist significant gaps between theories and experiments. Many of these discrepancies originate from the very fact that the worlds readily accessible to theories are often far from the real worlds that are available in experiments. For example, the very paradigm of topological protection of the surface states on Z2 TIs such as Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3, Sb2Te3, etc, is in fact valid only if the sample size is infinite and the crystal momentum is well-defined in all three dimensions. On the other hand, many widely studied forms of TIs such as thin films and nano-wires have significant confinement in one or more of the dimensions with varying level of disorders. In other words, many of the real world topological systems have some important parameters that are not readily captured by theories, and thus it is often questionable how far the topological theories are valid to real systems. Interestingly, it turns out that this very uncertainty of the theories provides additional control knobs that allow us to explore hidden topological territories. In this talk, I will discuss how these additional knobs in thin film topological insulators reveal surprising, at times beautiful, landscapes at the boundaries between order and disorder, 2D and 3D, normal and topological phases. This work is supported by Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation's EPiQS Initiative (GBMF4418).

Investigation of Rapid Low-Power Microwave-Induction Heating Scheme on the Cross-Linking Process of the Poly(4-vinylphenol) for the Gate Insulator of Pentacene-Based Thin-Film Transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Ching-Lin; Shang, Ming-Chi; Wang, Shea-Jue; Hsia, Mao-Yuan; Lee, Win-Der; Huang, Bohr-Ran

2017-01-01

In this study, a proposed Microwave-Induction Heating (MIH) scheme has been systematically studied to acquire suitable MIH parameters including chamber pressure, microwave power and heating time. The proposed MIH means that the thin indium tin oxide (ITO) metal below the Poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVP) film is heated rapidly by microwave irradiation and the heated ITO metal gate can heat the PVP gate insulator, resulting in PVP cross-linking. It is found that the attenuation of the microwave energy decreases with the decreasing chamber pressure. The optimal conditions are a power of 50 W, a heating time of 5 min, and a chamber pressure of 20 mTorr. When suitable MIH parameters were used, the effect of PVP cross-linking and the device performance were similar to those obtained using traditional oven heating, even though the cross-linking time was significantly decreased from 1 h to 5 min. Besides the gate leakage current, the interface trap state density (Nit) was also calculated to describe the interface status between the gate insulator and the active layer. The lowest interface trap state density can be found in the device with the PVP gate insulator cross-linked by using the optimal MIH condition. Therefore, it is believed that the MIH scheme is a good candidate to cross-link the PVP gate insulator for organic thin-film transistor applications as a result of its features of rapid heating (5 min) and low-power microwave-irradiation (50 W). PMID:28773101

Investigation of Rapid Low-Power Microwave-Induction Heating Scheme on the Cross-Linking Process of the Poly(4-vinylphenol for the Gate Insulator of Pentacene-Based Thin-Film Transistors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ching-Lin Fan

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In this study, a proposed Microwave-Induction Heating (MIH scheme has been systematically studied to acquire suitable MIH parameters including chamber pressure, microwave power and heating time. The proposed MIH means that the thin indium tin oxide (ITO metal below the Poly(4-vinylphenol (PVP film is heated rapidly by microwave irradiation and the heated ITO metal gate can heat the PVP gate insulator, resulting in PVP cross-linking. It is found that the attenuation of the microwave energy decreases with the decreasing chamber pressure. The optimal conditions are a power of 50 W, a heating time of 5 min, and a chamber pressure of 20 mTorr. When suitable MIH parameters were used, the effect of PVP cross-linking and the device performance were similar to those obtained using traditional oven heating, even though the cross-linking time was significantly decreased from 1 h to 5 min. Besides the gate leakage current, the interface trap state density (Nit was also calculated to describe the interface status between the gate insulator and the active layer. The lowest interface trap state density can be found in the device with the PVP gate insulator cross-linked by using the optimal MIH condition. Therefore, it is believed that the MIH scheme is a good candidate to cross-link the PVP gate insulator for organic thin-film transistor applications as a result of its features of rapid heating (5 min and low-power microwave-irradiation (50 W.

Topotactic synthesis of strontium cobalt oxyhydride thin film with perovskite structure

Science.gov (United States)

Katayama, Tsukasa; Chikamatsu, Akira; Kamisaka, Hideyuki; Yokoyama, Yuichi; Hirata, Yasuyuki; Wadati, Hiroki; Fukumura, Tomoteru; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

2015-10-01

The substitution of hydride anions (H-) into transition metal oxides has recently become possible through topotactic reactions or high-pressure synthesis methods. However, the fabrication of oxyhydrides is still difficult because of their inherently less-stable frameworks. In this study, we successfully fabricated perovskite SrCoOxHy thin films via the topotactic hydride doping of brownmillerite SrCoO2.5 epitaxial thin films with CaH2. The perovskite-type cation framework was maintained during the topotactic treatment owing to epitaxial stabilization. Structural and chemical analyses accompanied by X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements revealed that the doped hydride ions form a two-dimensional network of Co-H--Co bonds, in contrast to other reported perovskite oxyhydrides, SrMO3-xHx (M = Cr, Ti, V). The SrCoOxHy thin film exhibited insulating behavior and had a direct band gap of 2.1 eV. Thus, topotactic hydride doping of transition-metal-oxide thin films on suitable substrates is a promising method for the synthesis of new transition metal oxyhydrides.

Topotactic synthesis of strontium cobalt oxyhydride thin film with perovskite structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tsukasa Katayama

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The substitution of hydride anions (H− into transition metal oxides has recently become possible through topotactic reactions or high-pressure synthesis methods. However, the fabrication of oxyhydrides is still difficult because of their inherently less-stable frameworks. In this study, we successfully fabricated perovskite SrCoOxHy thin films via the topotactic hydride doping of brownmillerite SrCoO2.5 epitaxial thin films with CaH2. The perovskite-type cation framework was maintained during the topotactic treatment owing to epitaxial stabilization. Structural and chemical analyses accompanied by X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements revealed that the doped hydride ions form a two-dimensional network of Co-H−-Co bonds, in contrast to other reported perovskite oxyhydrides, SrMO3−xHx (M = Cr, Ti, V. The SrCoOxHy thin film exhibited insulating behavior and had a direct band gap of 2.1 eV. Thus, topotactic hydride doping of transition-metal-oxide thin films on suitable substrates is a promising method for the synthesis of new transition metal oxyhydrides.

Orientation-dependent physical properties of layered perovskite La{sub 1.3}Sr{sub 1.7}Mn{sub 2}O{sub 7} epitaxial thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niu, Li-Wei; Guo, Bing; Chen, Chang-Le, E-mail: chenchl@nwpu.edu.cn; Luo, Bing-Cheng; Dong, Xiang-Lei; Jin, Ke-Xin

2017-04-01

In this paper, the resistivity and magnetization of orientation-engineered layered perovskite La{sub 1.3}Sr{sub 1.7}Mn{sub 2}O{sub 7} epitaxial thin films have been investigated. Epitaxial thin films were deposited on single-crystalline LaAlO{sub 3} (LAO) (001), (110) and (111) substrates by pulse laser deposition (PLD) technique. It is found that only the (100)-oriented thin film performs insulator behavior, whereas the (110) and (111)-oriented thin films exhibit obvious metal-insulator transition at 70 K and between 85 and 120 K, respectively. Moreover, the same spin freezing temperature and different spin-glass-like transition temperatures have been observed in various oriented films. The observed experimental results were discussed according to the electron-transport mechanism and spin dynamics.

Thin-film morphology of inkjet-printed single-droplet organic transistors using polarized Raman spectroscopy: effect of blending TIPS-pentacene with insulating polymer.

Science.gov (United States)

James, David T; Kjellander, B K Charlotte; Smaal, Wiljan T T; Gelinck, Gerwin H; Combe, Craig; McCulloch, Iain; Wilson, Richard; Burroughes, Jeremy H; Bradley, Donal D C; Kim, Ji-Seon

2011-12-27

We report thin-film morphology studies of inkjet-printed single-droplet organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) using angle-dependent polarized Raman spectroscopy. We show this to be an effective technique to determine the degree of molecular order as well as to spatially resolve the orientation of the conjugated backbones of the 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS-Pentacene) molecules. The addition of an insulating polymer, polystyrene (PS), does not disrupt the π-π stacking of the TIPS-Pentacene molecules. Blending in fact improves the uniformity of the molecular morphology and the active layer coverage within the device and reduces the variation in molecular orientation between polycrystalline domains. For OTFT performance, blending enhances the saturation mobility from 0.22 ± 0.05 cm(2)/(V·s) (TIPS-Pentacene) to 0.72 ± 0.17 cm(2)/(V·s) (TIPS-Pentacene:PS) in addition to improving the quality of the interface between TIPS-Pentacene and the gate dielectric in the channel, resulting in threshold voltages of ∼0 V and steep subthreshold slopes.

High Performance Infrared Plasmonic Metamaterial Absorbers and Their Applications to Thin-film Sensing

KAUST Repository

Yue, Weisheng

2016-04-07

Plasmonic metamaterial absorbers (PMAs) have attracted considerable attention for developing various sensing devices. In this work, we design, fabricate and characterize PMAs of different geometrical shapes operating in mid-infrared frequencies, and explore the applications of the PMAs as sensor for thin films. The PMAs, consisting of metal-insulator-metal stacks with patterned gold nanostructured surfaces (resonators), demonstrated high absorption efficiency (87 to 98 %) of electromagnetic waves in the infrared regime. The position and efficiency of resonance absorption are dependent on the shape of the resonators. Furthermore, the resonance wavelength of PMAs was sensitive to the thin film coated on the surface of the PMAs, which was tested using aluminum oxide (Al2O3) as the film. With increase of the Al2O3 thickness, the position of resonance absorption shifted to longer wavelengths. The dependence of the resonant wavelength on thin film thickness makes PMAs a suitable candidate as a sensor for thin films. Using this sensing strategy, PMAs have potential as a new method for thin film detection and in situ monitoring of surface reactions. © 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York

High Performance Infrared Plasmonic Metamaterial Absorbers and Their Applications to Thin-film Sensing

KAUST Repository

Yue, Weisheng; Wang, Zhihong; Yang, Yang; Han, Jiaguang; Li, Jingqi; Guo, Zaibing; Tan, Hua; Zhang, Xixiang

2016-01-01

Plasmonic metamaterial absorbers (PMAs) have attracted considerable attention for developing various sensing devices. In this work, we design, fabricate and characterize PMAs of different geometrical shapes operating in mid-infrared frequencies, and explore the applications of the PMAs as sensor for thin films. The PMAs, consisting of metal-insulator-metal stacks with patterned gold nanostructured surfaces (resonators), demonstrated high absorption efficiency (87 to 98 %) of electromagnetic waves in the infrared regime. The position and efficiency of resonance absorption are dependent on the shape of the resonators. Furthermore, the resonance wavelength of PMAs was sensitive to the thin film coated on the surface of the PMAs, which was tested using aluminum oxide (Al2O3) as the film. With increase of the Al2O3 thickness, the position of resonance absorption shifted to longer wavelengths. The dependence of the resonant wavelength on thin film thickness makes PMAs a suitable candidate as a sensor for thin films. Using this sensing strategy, PMAs have potential as a new method for thin film detection and in situ monitoring of surface reactions. © 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York

Characterization of thin films with synchrotron radiation in SPring-8

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komiya, Satoshi

2005-01-01

Many studies about thin films by using synchrotron radiation in SPring-8 were reviewed. Structural analyses and assessment of thin films used for electronics, and also assessment of insulating films for the gate used in LSI were carried out. Film thickness, unevenness, and density of SiO 2 films in order of nanomer thickness were determined by interference fringes of x-ray reflection curves. The interface structure of (SiO 2 /Si) films was studied by x-ray crystal truncation rod scattering, and the correlation between leakage character depending on nitrogen concentration and interface structure was clarified on SiON film. The oxygen concentration in HfO films in nanometer thickness was determined by x-ray fluorescence analysis, and the interface reaction for HfO 2 /SiO 2 was clearly observed by electron spectroscopy. The structure of amorphous thin films with large dielectric constant was analyzed by x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectrum. Devices fabricated from multi-layer films showing giant magnetic resistance were developed for hard disk with a large memory. The character of giant magnetic resistance was governed by multi-layer thin film structure piled up by magnetic and nonmagnetic polycrystalline thin metals. For the multi-layer structure, the concentration distribution of constituent elements was determined to the direction of film thickness by x-ray reflection analysis and grazing incident x-ray fluorescence analysis. In the semiconductor laser source, Ga 1-x In x N, used for DVD, the local structure around In ions was studied by XAFS since constituent instability, especially overpopulation of In element, caused the deterioration of lifetime and light emission of the laser. The lattice constant of the light emission layer in InGaAs was measured by x-ray micro-beams. (author)

Light-induced ultrafast phase transitions in VO2 thin film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lysenko, S.; Rua, A.J.; Vikhnin, V.; Jimenez, J.; Fernandez, F.; Liu, H.

2006-01-01

Vanadium dioxide shows a passive and reversible change from a monoclinic insulator phase to a metallic tetragonal rutile structure when the sample temperature is close to and over 68 deg. C. As a kind of functional material, VO 2 thin films deposited on fused quartz substrates were successfully prepared by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. With laser illumination at 400 nm on the obtained films, the phase transition (PT) occurred. The observed light-induced PT was as fast as the laser pulse duration of 100 fs. Using a femtosecond laser system, the relaxation processes in VO 2 were studied by optical pump-probe spectroscopy. Upon a laser excitation an instantaneous response in the transient reflectivity and transmission was observed followed by a relatively longer relaxation process. The alteration is dependent on pump power. The change in reflectance reached a maximum value at a pump pulse energy between 7 and 14 mJ/cm 2 . The observed PT is associated with the optical interband transition in VO 2 thin film. It suggests that with a pump laser illuminating on the film, excitation from the d θ,ε - state of valence band to the unoccupied excited mixed d θ,ε -π* - state of the conduction band in the insulator phase occurs, followed by a resonant transition to an unoccupied excited mixed d θ,ε -π* - state of the metallic phase band

Effects of Structural and Electronic Disorder in Topological Insulator Sb2Te3 Thin Films

Science.gov (United States)

Korzhovska, Inna

Topological quantum matter is a unique and potentially transformative protectorate against disorder-induced backscattering. The ultimate disorder limits to the topological state, however, are still not known - understanding these limits is critical to potential applications in the fields of spintronics and information processing. In topological insulators spin-orbit interaction and time-reversal-symmetry invariance guarantees - at least up to a certain disorder strength - that charge transport through 2D gapless Dirac surface states is robust against backscattering by non-magnetic disorder. Strong disorder may destroy topological protection and gap out Dirac surface states, although recent theories predict that under severe electronic disorder a quantized topological conductance might yet reemerge. Very strong electronic disorder, however, is not trivial to install and quantify, and topological matter under such conditions thus far has not been experimentally tested. This thesis addresses the behavior of three-dimensional (3D) topological insulator (TI) films in a wide range of structural and electronic disorder. We establish strong positional disorder in thin (20-50 nm) Sb2Te 3 films, free of extrinsic magnetic dopants. Sb 2Te3 is a known 2nd generation topological insulator in the low-disorder crystalline state. It is also a known phase-change material that undergoes insulator-to-metal transition with the concurrent orders of magnitude resistive drop, where a huge range of disorder could be controllably explored. In this work we show that even in the absence of magnetic dopants, disorder may induce spin correlations detrimental to the topological state. Chapter 1 contains a brief introduction to the topological matter and describes the role played by disorder. This is followed by theory considerations and a survey of prior experimental work. Next we describe the motivation for our experiments and explain the choice of the material. Chapter 2 describes deposition

Label-free electrical determination of trypsin activity by a silicon-on-insulator based thin film resistor.

Science.gov (United States)

Neff, Petra A; Serr, Andreas; Wunderlich, Bernhard K; Bausch, Andreas R

2007-10-08

A silicon-on-insulator (SOI) based thin film resistor is employed for the label-free determination of enzymatic activity. We demonstrate that enzymes, which cleave biological polyelectrolyte substrates, can be detected by the sensor. As an application, we consider the serine endopeptidase trypsin, which cleaves poly-L-lysine (PLL). We show that PLL adsorbs quasi-irreversibly to the sensor and is digested by trypsin directly at the sensor surface. The created PLL fragments are released into the bulk solution due to kinetic reasons. This results in a measurable change of the surface potential allowing for the determination of trypsin concentrations down to 50 ng mL(-1). Chymotrypsin is a similar endopeptidase with a different specificity, which cleaves PLL with a lower efficiency as compared to trypsin. The activity of trypsin is analyzed quantitatively employing a kinetic model for enzyme-catalyzed surface reactions. Moreover, we have demonstrated the specific inactivation of trypsin by a serine protease inhibitor, which covalently binds to the active site of the enzyme.

Solid thin film materials for use in thin film charge-coupled devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lynch, S.J.

1983-01-01

Solid thin films deposited by vacuum deposition were evaluated to ascertain their effectiveness for use in the manufacturing of charge-coupled devices (CCDs). Optical and electrical characteristics of tellurium and Bi 2 Te 3 solid thin films were obtained in order to design and to simulate successfully the operation of thin film (TF) CCDs. In this article some of the material differences between single-crystal material and the island-structured thin film used in TFCCDs are discussed. The electrical parameters were obtained and tabulated, e.g. the mobility, conductivity, dielectric constants, permittivity, lifetime of holes and electrons in the thin films and drift diffusion constants. The optical parameters were also measured and analyzed. After the design was complete, experimental TFCCDs were manufactured and were successfully operated utilizing the aforementioned solid thin films. (Auth.)

Periodic domain inversion in x-cut single-crystal lithium niobate thin film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mackwitz, P., E-mail: peterm@mail.upb.de; Rüsing, M.; Berth, G.; Zrenner, A. [Department Physik, Universität Paderborn, 33095 Paderborn (Germany); Center for Optoelectronics and Photonics Paderborn, 33095 Paderborn (Germany); Widhalm, A.; Müller, K. [Department Physik, Universität Paderborn, 33095 Paderborn (Germany)

2016-04-11

We report the fabrication of periodically poled domain patterns in x-cut lithium niobate thin-film. Here, thin films on insulator have drawn particular attention due to their intrinsic waveguiding properties offering high mode confinement and smaller devices compared to in-diffused waveguides in bulk material. In contrast to z-cut thin film lithium niobate, the x-cut geometry does not require back electrodes for poling. Further, the x-cut geometry grants direct access to the largest nonlinear and electro-optical tensor element, which overall promises smaller devices. The domain inversion was realized via electric field poling utilizing deposited aluminum top electrodes on a stack of LN thin film/SiO{sub 2} layer/Bulk LN, which were patterned by optical lithography. The periodic domain inversion was verified by non-invasive confocal second harmonic microscopy. Our results show domain patterns in accordance to the electrode mask layout. The second harmonic signatures can be interpreted in terms of spatially, overlapping domain filaments which start their growth on the +z side.

Thin-film photovoltaic technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhattacharya, R.N. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO (United States)

2010-07-01

The high material and processing costs associated with single-crystal and polycrystalline silicon wafers that are commonly used in photovoltaic cells render these modules expensive. This presentation described thin-film solar cell technology as a promising alternative to silicon solar cell technology. Cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin films along with copper, indium, gallium, and selenium (CIGS) thin films have become the leaders in this field. Their large optical absorption coefficient can be attributed to a direct energy gap that allows the use of thin layers (1-2 {mu}m) of active material. The efficiency of thin-film solar cell devices based on CIGS is 20 per cent, compared to 16.7 per cent for thin-film solar cell devices based on CdTe. IBM recently reported an efficiency of 9.7 per cent for a new type of inorganic thin-film solar cell based on a Cu{sub 2}ZnSn(S, Se){sub 4} compound. The efficiency of an organic thin-film solar cell is 7.9 per cent. This presentation included a graph of PV device efficiencies and discussed technological advances in non-vacuum deposited, CIGS-based thin-film solar cells. 1 fig.

Topotactic synthesis of strontium cobalt oxyhydride thin film with perovskite structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Katayama, Tsukasa [Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Chikamatsu, Akira, E-mail: chikamatsu@chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Kamisaka, Hideyuki [Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Yokoyama, Yuichi; Hirata, Yasuyuki; Wadati, Hiroki [Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8581 (Japan); Fukumura, Tomoteru [CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Department of Chemistry, Tohoku University, Miyagi 980-8578 (Japan); Hasegawa, Tetsuya [Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan)

2015-10-15

The substitution of hydride anions (H{sup −}) into transition metal oxides has recently become possible through topotactic reactions or high-pressure synthesis methods. However, the fabrication of oxyhydrides is still difficult because of their inherently less-stable frameworks. In this study, we successfully fabricated perovskite SrCoO{sub x}H{sub y} thin films via the topotactic hydride doping of brownmillerite SrCoO{sub 2.5} epitaxial thin films with CaH{sub 2}. The perovskite-type cation framework was maintained during the topotactic treatment owing to epitaxial stabilization. Structural and chemical analyses accompanied by X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements revealed that the doped hydride ions form a two-dimensional network of Co-H{sup −}-Co bonds, in contrast to other reported perovskite oxyhydrides, SrMO{sub 3−x}H{sub x} (M = Cr, Ti, V). The SrCoO{sub x}H{sub y} thin film exhibited insulating behavior and had a direct band gap of 2.1 eV. Thus, topotactic hydride doping of transition-metal-oxide thin films on suitable substrates is a promising method for the synthesis of new transition metal oxyhydrides.

Flexoelectricity induced increase of critical thickness in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Hao; Hong Jiawang; Zhang Yihui; Li Faxin; Pei Yongmao; Fang Daining

2012-01-01

Flexoelectricity describes the coupling between polarization and strain/stress gradients in insulating crystals. In this paper, using the Landau-Ginsburg-Devonshire phenomenological approach, we found that flexoelectricity could increase the theoretical critical thickness in epitaxial BaTiO 3 thin films, below which the switchable spontaneous polarization vanishes. This increase is remarkable in tensile films while trivial in compressive films due to the electrostriction caused decrease of potential barrier, which can be easily destroyed by the flexoelectricity, between the ferroelectric state and the paraelectric state in tensile films. In addition, the films are still in a uni-polar state even below the critical thickness due to the flexoelectric effect.

Flexoelectricity induced increase of critical thickness in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou Hao [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Hong Jiawang; Zhang Yihui [Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Li Faxin [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Pei Yongmao, E-mail: peiym@pku.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Fang Daining, E-mail: fangdn@pku.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2012-09-01

Flexoelectricity describes the coupling between polarization and strain/stress gradients in insulating crystals. In this paper, using the Landau-Ginsburg-Devonshire phenomenological approach, we found that flexoelectricity could increase the theoretical critical thickness in epitaxial BaTiO{sub 3} thin films, below which the switchable spontaneous polarization vanishes. This increase is remarkable in tensile films while trivial in compressive films due to the electrostriction caused decrease of potential barrier, which can be easily destroyed by the flexoelectricity, between the ferroelectric state and the paraelectric state in tensile films. In addition, the films are still in a uni-polar state even below the critical thickness due to the flexoelectric effect.

Thin film processes II

CERN Document Server

Kern, Werner

1991-01-01

This sequel to the 1978 classic, Thin Film Processes, gives a clear, practical exposition of important thin film deposition and etching processes that have not yet been adequately reviewed. It discusses selected processes in tutorial overviews with implementation guide lines and an introduction to the literature. Though edited to stand alone, when taken together, Thin Film Processes II and its predecessor present a thorough grounding in modern thin film techniques.Key Features* Provides an all-new sequel to the 1978 classic, Thin Film Processes* Introduces new topics, and sever

Magnetoresistance Versus Oxygen Deficiency in Epi-stabilized SrRu1 - x Fe x O3 - δ Thin Films

Science.gov (United States)

Dash, Umasankar; Acharya, Susant Kumar; Lee, Bo Wha; Jung, Chang Uk

2017-03-01

Oxygen vacancies have a profound effect on the magnetic, electronic, and transport properties of transition metal oxide materials. Here, we studied the influence of oxygen vacancies on the magnetoresistance (MR) properties of SrRu1 - x Fe x O3 - δ epitaxial thin films ( x = 0.10, 0.20, and 0.30). For this purpose, we synthesized highly strained epitaxial SrRu1 - x Fe x O3 - δ thin films with atomically flat surfaces containing different amounts of oxygen vacancies using pulsed laser deposition. Without an applied magnetic field, the films with x = 0.10 and 0.20 showed a metal-insulator transition, while the x = 0.30 thin film showed insulating behavior over the entire temperature range of 2-300 K. Both Fe doping and the concentration of oxygen vacancies had large effects on the negative MR contributions. For the low Fe doping case of x = 0.10, in which both films exhibited metallic behavior, MR was more prominent in the film with fewer oxygen vacancies or equivalently a more metallic film. For semiconducting films, higher MR was observed for more semiconducting films having more oxygen vacancies. A relatively large negative MR ( 36.4%) was observed for the x = 0.30 thin film with a high concentration of oxygen vacancies ( δ = 0.12). The obtained results were compared with MR studies for a polycrystal of (Sr1 - x La x )(Ru1 - x Fe x )O3. These results highlight the crucial role of oxygen stoichiometry in determining the magneto-transport properties in SrRu1 - x Fe x O3 - δ thin films.

Design of Faraday cup ion detectors built by thin film deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Szalkowski, G.A., E-mail: gszalkowski3@gatech.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 770 State St., Atlanta, GA 30332 (United States); Darrow, D.S., E-mail: ddarrow@pppl.gov [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, P. O. Box 451, Princeton, NJ 08543 (United States); Cecil, F.E., E-mail: fcecil@mines.edu [Department of Physics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401 (United States)

2017-03-11

Thin film Faraday cup detectors can provide measurements of fast ion loss from magnetically confined fusion plasmas. These multilayer detectors can resolve the energy distribution of the lost ions in addition to giving the total loss rate. Prior detectors were assembled from discrete foils and insulating sheets. Outlined here is a design methodology for creating detectors using thin film deposition that are suited to particular scientific goals. The intention is to use detectors created by this method on the Joint European Torus (JET) and the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U). The detectors will consist of alternating layers of aluminum and silicon dioxide, with layer thicknesses chosen to isolate energies of interest. Thin film deposition offers the advantage of relatively simple and more mechanically robust construction compared to other methods, as well as allowing precise control of film thickness. Furthermore, this depositional fabrication technique places the layers in intimate thermal contact, providing for three-dimensional conduction and dissipation of the ion-produced heating in the layers, rather than the essentially two-dimensional heat conduction in the discrete foil stack implementation.

Mechanical characterization of zeolite low dielectric constant thin films by nanoindentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, Mark; Li Zijian; Wang Junlan; Ya, Yushan

2007-01-01

With semiconductor technologies continuously pushing the miniaturization limits, there is a growing interest in developing novel low dielectric constant materials to replace the traditional dense SiO 2 insulators. In order to survive the multi-level integration process and provide reliable material and structure for the desired integrated circuits (IC) functions, the new low-k materials have to be mechanically strong and stable. Therefore the material selection and mechanical characterization are vital for the successful development of next generation low-k dielectrics. A new class of low-k materials, nanoporous pure-silica zeolite, is prepared in thin films using IC compatible spin coating process and characterized using depth sensing nanoindentation technique. The elastic modulus of the zeolite thin films is found to be significantly higher than that of other low-k materials with similar porosity and dielectric constants. Correlations between the mechanical, microstructural and electrical properties of the thin films are discussed in detail

Metal-insulator transition in tin doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films: Quantum correction to the electrical conductivity

OpenAIRE

Deepak Kumar Kaushik; K. Uday Kumar; A. Subrahmanyam

2017-01-01

Tin doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films are being used extensively as transparent conductors in several applications. In the present communication, we report the electrical transport in DC magnetron sputtered ITO thin films (prepared at 300 K and subsequently annealed at 673 K in vacuum for 60 minutes) in low temperatures (25-300 K). The low temperature Hall effect and resistivity measurements reveal that the ITO thin films are moderately dis-ordered (kFl∼1; kF is the Fermi wave vector and l ...

Controlling phase separation in vanadium dioxide thin films via substrate engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert Corder, Stephanie N.; Jiang, Jianjuan; Chen, Xinzhong; Kittiwatanakul, Salinporn; Tung, I.-Cheng; Zhu, Yi; Zhang, Jiawei; Bechtel, Hans A.; Martin, Michael C.; Carr, G. Lawrence; Lu, Jiwei; Wolf, Stuart A.; Wen, Haidan; Tao, Tiger H.; Liu, Mengkun

2017-10-01

The strong electron-lattice interactions in correlated electron systems provide unique opportunities for altering the material properties with relative ease and flexibility. In this Rapid Communication, we use localized strain control via a focused-ion-beam patterning of Ti O2 substrates to demonstrate that one can selectively engineer the insulator-to-metal transition temperature, the fractional component of the insulating and metallic phases, and the degree of optical anisotropy down to the length scales of the intrinsic phase separation in V O2 thin films without altering the quality of the films. The effects of localized strain control on the strongly correlated electron system are directly visualized by state-of-the-art IR near-field imaging and spectroscopy techniques and x-ray microdiffraction measurements.

Spin-Hall conductivity and electric polarization in metallic thin films

KAUST Repository

Wang, Xuhui

2013-02-21

We predict theoretically that when a normal metallic thin film (without bulk spin-orbit coupling, such as Cu or Al) is sandwiched by two insulators, two prominent effects arise due to the interfacial spin-orbit coupling: a giant spin-Hall conductivity due to the surface scattering and a transverse electric polarization due to the spin-dependent phase shift in the spinor wave functions.

Spin-Hall conductivity and electric polarization in metallic thin films

KAUST Repository

Wang, Xuhui; Xiao, Jiang; Manchon, Aurelien; Maekawa, Sadamichi

2013-01-01

We predict theoretically that when a normal metallic thin film (without bulk spin-orbit coupling, such as Cu or Al) is sandwiched by two insulators, two prominent effects arise due to the interfacial spin-orbit coupling: a giant spin-Hall conductivity due to the surface scattering and a transverse electric polarization due to the spin-dependent phase shift in the spinor wave functions.

Thickness dependent properties of CMR Manganite thin films on lattice mismatched substrates: Distinguishing Strain and Interface Effects

Science.gov (United States)

Davidson, Anthony, III; Kolagani, Rajeswari; Bacharova, Ellisaveta; Yong, Grace; Smolyaninova, Vera; Schaefer, David; Mundle, Rajeh

2007-03-01

Epitaxial thin films of CMR manganite materials have been known to show thickness dependent electrical and magnetic properties on lattice mismatched substrates. Below a critical thickness, insulator-metal transition is suppressed. These effects have been largely attributed to the role of bi-axial lattice mismatch strain. Our recent results of epitaxial thin films of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 (LCMO) on two substrates with varying degrees of compressive lattice mismatch indicate that, in addition to the effect of lattice mismatch strain, the thickness dependence of the properties are influenced by other factors possibly related to the nature of the film substrate interface and defects such as twin boundaries. We have compared the properties of LCMO films on (100) oriented LaAlO3 and (001) oriented NdCaAlO4 both of which induce compressive bi-axial strain. Interestingly, the suppression of the insulator-metal transition is less in films on NCAO which has a larger lattice mismatch. We will present results correlating the electrical and magneto transport properties with the structure and morphology of the films.

Thickness dependent quantum oscillations of transport properties in topological insulator Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rogacheva, E. I.; Budnik, A. V.; Sipatov, A. Yu.; Nashchekina, O. N. [National Technical University “Kharkov Polytechnic Institute,” 21 Frunze St., Kharkov 61002 (Ukraine); Dresselhaus, M. S. [Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

2015-02-02

The dependences of the electrical conductivity, the Hall coefficient, and the Seebeck coefficient on the layer thickness d (d = 18−600 nm) of p-type topological insulator Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin films grown by thermal evaporation in vacuum on glass substrates were obtained at room temperature. In the thickness range of d = 18–100 nm, sustained oscillations with a substantial amplitude were revealed. The observed oscillations are well approximated by a harmonic function with a period Δd = (9.5 ± 0.5) nm. At d > 100 nm, the transport coefficients practically do not change as d is increased. The oscillations of the kinetic properties are attributed to the quantum size effects due to the hole confinement in the Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} quantum wells. The results of the theoretical calculations of Δd within the framework of a model of an infinitely deep potential well are in good agreement with the experimental results. It is suggested that the substantial amplitude of the oscillations and their sustained character as a function of d are connected with the topologically protected gapless surface states of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and are inherent to topological insulators.

Pyrolyzed thin film carbon

Science.gov (United States)

Tai, Yu-Chong (Inventor); Liger, Matthieu (Inventor); Harder, Theodore (Inventor); Konishi, Satoshi (Inventor); Miserendino, Scott (Inventor)

2010-01-01

A method of making carbon thin films comprises depositing a catalyst on a substrate, depositing a hydrocarbon in contact with the catalyst and pyrolyzing the hydrocarbon. A method of controlling a carbon thin film density comprises etching a cavity into a substrate, depositing a hydrocarbon into the cavity, and pyrolyzing the hydrocarbon while in the cavity to form a carbon thin film. Controlling a carbon thin film density is achieved by changing the volume of the cavity. Methods of making carbon containing patterned structures are also provided. Carbon thin films and carbon containing patterned structures can be used in NEMS, MEMS, liquid chromatography, and sensor devices.

Structural and electrical properties of sputter deposited ZnO thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Muhammed Shameem P., V.; Mekala, Laxman; Kumar, M. Senthil

2018-05-01

The growth of zinc oxide thin films having different oxygen content was achieved at ambient temperature by reactive dc magnetron sputtering technique and their structural and electrical properties are studied. The structural studies show that the films are polycrystalline with a preferential orientation of the grains along the c-axis [002], which increases with increase in oxygen partial pressure. The grain size and the surface roughness of the zinc oxide films are found to decrease with increasing oxygen partial pressure. It is observed that the resistivity of the zinc oxide films can be tuned from semiconducting to insulating regime by varying the oxygen content.

The Electrical Properties of Plasma-Deposited Thin Films Derived from Pelargonium graveolens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Al-Jumaili

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Inherently volatile at atmospheric pressure and room temperature, plant-derived precursors present an interesting human-health-friendly precursor for the chemical vapour deposition of thin films. The electrical properties of films derived from Pelargonium graveolens (geranium were investigated in metal–insulator–metal (MIM structures. Thin polymer-like films were deposited using plasma-enhanced synthesis under various plasma input power. The J–V characteristics of thus-fabricated MIM were then studied in order to determine the direct current (DC conduction mechanism of the plasma polymer layers. It was found that the capacitance of the plasma-deposited films decreases at low frequencies (C ≈ 10−11 and remains at a relatively constant value (C ≈ 10−10 at high frequencies. These films also have a low dielectric constant across a wide range of frequencies that decreases as the input RF power increases. The conductivity was determined to be around 10−16–10−17 Ω−1 m−1, which is typical for insulating materials. The Richardson–Schottky mechanism might dominate charge transport in the higher field region for geranium thin films.

Synthesis and Characterization of a Novel Ammonia Gas Sensor Based on PANI-PVA Blend Thin Films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. B. DUPARE

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The polyaniline - polyvinyl alcohol blend films were synthesized by oxidative polymerization using chemical synthesis route. The polyaniline films were synthesized using optimized concentration of monomer aniline, hydrochloric acid as a dopant using ammonium peroxy-disulphate as a oxidant and insulating addative matrix polyvinyl alcohol on glass substrate for development of ammonia sensor. The formation of PANI- PVA blend films show good uniform surface morphology at 10ºc temperature, maintained at constant temperature bath. The synthesized PANI-PVA blend thin films were characterized by analyzing UV-Visible and FTIR spectra. The SEM study ensures that the thin films are uniform and porous in nature. The I-V characterization shows ohmic behaviour and also determines conductivity of the films. The response time of PANI-PVA blend thin films show that excellent behavior for 50-800 ppm and higher range of ammonia gas. This study reveals that PANI-PVA blend thin films provide a polymer matrix with very good mechanical strength, environmental stability, uniformity in surface, porous morphology and high conductivity, which are suitable for ammonia gas sensing.

thin films

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

microscopy (SEM) studies, respectively. The Fourier transform ... Thin films; chemical synthesis; hydrous tin oxide; FTIR; electrical properties. 1. Introduction ... dehydrogenation of organic compounds (Hattori et al 1987). .... SEM images of (a) bare stainless steel and (b) SnO2:H2O thin film on stainless steel substrate at a ...

Augmentation of thermoelectric performance of VO2 thin films irradiated by 200 MeV Ag9+-ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, G.R.; Kandasami, A.; Bhat, B.A.

2016-01-01

Swift Heavy Ion (SHI) irradiation with 200 MeV Ag 9+ -ion beam at ion fluences of 1E11, 5E11, 1E12, and 5E12 for tuning of electrical transport properties of VO 2 thin films fabricated by so–gel technique on alumina substrates has been demonstrated in the present paper. The point defects created by SHI irradiation modulate metal to insulator phase transition temperature, carrier concentration, carrier mobility, electrical conductivity, and Seebeck coefficient of VO 2 thin films. The structural properties of the films were characterized by XRD and Raman spectroscopy and crystallite size was found to decrease upon irradiation. The atomic force microscopy revealed that the surface roughness of specimens first decreased and then increased with increasing fluence. Both resistance as well as Seebeck coefficient measurements demonstrated that all the samples exhibit metal–insulator phase transition and the transition temperatures decreases with increasing fluence. Hall effect measurements exhibited that carrier concentration increased continuously with increasing fluence which resulted in an increase of electrical conductivity by several orders of magnitude in the insulating phase. Seebeck coefficient in insulating phase remained almost constant in spite of an increase in the electrical conductivity by several orders of magnitude making SHI irradiation an alternative stratagem for augmentation of thermoelectric performance of the materials. The carrier mobility at room temperature decreased up to the beam fluence of 5E11 and then started increasing whereas Seebeck coefficient in metallic state first increased with increasing ion beam fluence up to 5E11 and thereafter decreased. Variation of these electrical transport parameters has been explained in detail. - Highlights: • Thermoelectric properties of VO 2 thin films enhance upon SHI irradiation. • Structural properties show that crystallite size decrease upon SHI irradiation. • Metal–insulator phase

Roughness analysis applied to niobium thin films grown on MgO(001) surfaces for superconducting radio frequency cavity applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beringer, D. B. [College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Physics; Roach, W. M. [College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Applied Science; Clavero, C. [College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Applied Science; Reece, C. E. [Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), Newport News, VA (United States); Lukaszew, R. A. [College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Physics; College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Applied Science

2013-02-05

This paper describes surface studies to address roughness issues inherent to thin film coatings deposited onto superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities. This is particularly relevant for multilayered thin film coatings that are being considered as a possible scheme to overcome technical issues and to surpass the fundamental limit of ~500 MV/m accelerating gradient achievable with bulk niobium. In 2006, a model by Gurevich [ Appl. Phys. Lett. 88 012511 (2006)] was proposed to overcome this limit that involves coating superconducting layers separated by insulating ones onto the inner walls of the cavities. Thus, we have undertaken a systematic effort to understand the dynamic evolution of the Nb surface under specific deposition thin film conditions onto an insulating surface in order to explore the feasibility of the proposed model. We examine and compare the morphology from two distinct Nb/MgO series, each with its own epitaxial registry, at very low growth rates and closely examine the dynamical scaling of the surface features during growth. Further, we apply analysis techniques such as power spectral density to the specific problem of thin film growth and roughness evolution to qualify the set of deposition conditions that lead to successful SRF coatings.

Humidity effects on the electrical properties of hexagonal boron nitride thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soltani, A. [Institut d' Electronique, de Microelectronique et de Nanotechnologie/CNRS UMR 8520, Cite Scientifique, Avenue Poincare, 59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq (France)]. E-mail: ali.soltani@iemn.univ-lille1.fr; Thevenin, P. [Laboratoire Materiaux Optiques Photonique et Systemes/CNRS FRE 2304, Universite de Metz and Supelec, 2 rue Edouard Belin, 57070 Metz (France); Bakhtiar, H. [Faculty of Science, Physics Department, Technology University of Malaysia, Karung Berkunci 791, 80990, Johor Bahru, Johor (Malaysia); Bath, A. [Laboratoire Materiaux Optiques Photonique et Systemes/CNRS FRE 2304, Universite de Metz and Supelec, 2 rue Edouard Belin, 57070 Metz (France)]. E-mail: bath@metz.supelec.fr

2005-01-03

Thin films of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) were grown by a plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) technique. The quality of the films was assessed by infrared spectroscopy, microRaman spectroscopy as a function of annealing temperature and by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The films proved to be thermally stable up to 1370 K. Current-voltage measurements were performed, as a function of humidity, using metal-insulator-semiconductor and metal-insulator-metal structures. Typical resistivities were found in the range 10{sup 13}-10{sup 14} {omega} cm in dry air and exhibit high sensitivity against humidity. The influence of the mean orientation of the c-axis of the BN films was considered. Sawtooth voltage pulse trains were also applied. Threshold switching phenomena were observed, but only in atmosphere containing humidity. The values of the switching voltages depend strongly on the relative humidity (RH), on the characteristics of the applied sawtooth voltage pulse trains, as well as on the nature of the metallic electrode.

Oxygen stoichiometry of LaTiO{sub 3} thin films studied by in-situ photoemission

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scheiderer, Philipp; Goessmann, Alex; Sing, Michael; Claessen, Ralph [Universitaet Wuerzburg, Physikalisches Institut and Roentgen Center for Complex Material Systems (RCCM), 97074 Wuerzburg (Germany)

2015-07-01

As in the famous oxide heterostructure LaAlO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} (LAO/STO) a two dimensional electron system is found at the interface between the strongly correlated Mott insulator LaTi{sup 3+}O{sub 3} and the band insulator STO. The stabilization of LaTi{sup 3+}O{sub 3} requires strong reducing growth conditions since the thermodynamically stable bulk phase is the oxygen rich La{sub 2}Ti{sup 4+}{sub 2}O{sub 7}. Therefore, we have systematically studied the impact of the oxygen background atmosphere on LaTi{sup 3+}O{sub 3} thin film growth by PLD. Reflection high-energy diffraction intensity oscillations of the specular spot indicate a layer by layer growth mode for thin films, which merges into the formation of islands for thicker films. In-situ photoemission measurements enables us to determine the oxidation state of Ti indicating excess or lack of oxygen present in the prepared samples. Our experiments show that even for films grown in vacuum, strong oxygen excess is present probably due to oxygen out-diffusion from the STO substrate. We find that an LAO buffer layer serves as an effective barrier for this process. The spectral weight of the lower Hubbard band, being a characteristic feature for the Mott insulating phase, is found to scale inversely with the amount of excess oxygen.

Surface analysis of the selective excimer laser patterning of a thin PEDOT:PSS film on flexible polymer films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schaubroeck, David, E-mail: David.Schaubroeck@elis.ugent.be [Center for Microsystems Technology (CMST), imec and Ghent University, Technologiepark 15, B-9052 Ghent (Belgium); De Smet, Jelle; Willems, Wouter [Center for Microsystems Technology (CMST), imec and Ghent University, Technologiepark 15, B-9052 Ghent (Belgium); Cools, Pieter; De Geyter, Nathalie; Morent, Rino [Research Unit Plasma Technology (RUPT), Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Engineering, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41, B-9000 Ghent (Belgium); De Smet, Herbert; Van Steenbeerge, Geert [Center for Microsystems Technology (CMST), imec and Ghent University, Technologiepark 15, B-9052 Ghent (Belgium)

2016-07-15

Highlights: • Laser patterning of thin film PEDOT:PSS on polymer foils is characterized in great detail. • PEDOT:PSS does not need to be fully removed to create electrically insulating patterns. • The underlying polymer foil influences the ablation behavior. - Abstract: Fast patterning of highly conductive polymers like PEDOT:PSS (poly (3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene): polystyrene sulfonate) with lasers can contribute to the development of industrial production of liquid crystal displays on polymer foils. In this article, the selective UV laser patterning of a PEDOT:PSS film on flexible polymer films is investigated. Based on their optical properties, three polymer films are investigated: polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and cellulose triacetate (TAC). Ablation parameters for a 110 nm PEDOT:PSS film on these polymer films are optimized. A detailed study of the crater depth, topography and surface composition are provided using optical profilometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The electrical insulation of the lines is measured and correlated to the crater analyses for different laser settings. Finally, potential ablation parameters for each of the polymer films are derived.

High performance inkjet-printed metal oxide thin film transistors via addition of insulating polymer with proper molecular weight

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Dawei; Chen, Cihai; Zhang, Jun; Wu, Xiaomin; Chen, Huipeng; Guo, Tailiang

2018-01-01

Fabrication of metal oxide thin film transistor (MOTFT) arrays using the inkjet printing process has caused tremendous interest for low-cost and large-area flexible electronic devices. However, the inkjet-printed MOTFT arrays usually exhibited a non-uniform geometry due to the coffee ring effect, which restricted their commercial application. Therefore, in this work, a strategy is reported to control the geometry and enhance device performance of inkjet-printed MOTFT arrays by the addition of an insulating polymer to the precursor solution prior to film deposition. Moreover, the impact of the polymer molecular weight (MW) on the geometry, chemical constitution, crystallization, and MOTFT properties of inkjet-printed metal oxide depositions was investigated. The results demonstrated that with an increase of MW of polystyrene (PS) from 2000 to 200 000, the coffee ring was gradually faded and the coffee ring effect was completely eliminated when MW reached 200 000, which is associated with the enhanced viscosity with the insulating polymer, providing a high resistance to the outward capillary flow, which facilitated the depinning of the contact line, leading to the elimination of the coffee ring. More importantly, the carrier mobility increased significantly from 4.2 cm2 V-1 s-1 up to 13.7 cm2 V-1 s-1 as PS MW increased from 2000 to 200 000, which was about 3 times that of the pristine In2O3 TFTs. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results indicated that PS doping of In2O3 films not only frustrated crystallization but also altered chemical constitution by enhancing the formation of the M-O structure, both of which facilitated the carrier transport. These results demonstrated that the simple polymer additive process provides a promising method that can efficiently control the geometry of MO arrays during inkjet printing and maximize the device performance of MOTFT arrays, which showed great potential for the application in next

Optimization of synthesis protocols to control the nanostructure and the morphology of metal oxide thin films for memristive applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baldi, G., E-mail: giacomo.baldi@cnr.it; Bosi, M.; Attolini, G.; Berzina, T.; Mosca, R.; Ponraj, J. S.; Iannotta, S. [IMEM-CNR Institute, Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A, I-43124 Parma (Italy); Giusti, G.; Nozar, P.; Toccoli, T.; Verucchi, R. [IMEM-CNR Institute, Via alla Cascata 56/C, Povo – I-38123 Trento (Italy); Collini, C.; Lorenzelli, L. [FBK Bruno Kessler Foundation, Via Sommarive 18, I-38123 Trento (Italy)

2015-03-10

We propose a multi-technique approach based on in-vacuum synthesis of metal oxides to optimize the memristive properties of devices that use a metal oxide thin film as insulating layer. Pulsed Microplasma Cluster Source (PMCS) is based on supersonic beams seeded by clusters of the metal oxide. Nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} thin films can be grown at room temperature, controlling the oxide stoichiometry from titanium metal up to a significant oxygen excess. Pulsed Electron beam Deposition (PED) is suitable to grow crystalline thin films on large areas, a step towards producing device arrays with controlled morphology and stoichiometry. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is a powerful technique to grow materials layer-by-layer, finely controlling the chemical and structural properties of the film up to thickness of 50-80 nm. We will present a few examples of metal-insulator-metal structures showing a pinched hysteresis loop in their current-voltage characteristic. The structure, stoichiometry and morphology of the metal oxide layer, either aluminum oxide or titanium dioxide, is investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and by Raman scattering.

Thin Film Microbatteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dudney, Nancy J.

2008-01-01

Thin film batteries are built layer by layer by vapor deposition. The resulting battery is formed of parallel plates, much as an ordinary battery construction, just much thinner. The figure (Fig. 1) shows an example of a thin film battery layout where films are deposited symmetrically onto both sides of a supporting substrate. The full stack of films is only 10 to 15 (micro)m thick, but including the support at least doubles the overall battery thickness. When the support is thin, the entire battery can be flexible. At least six companies have commercialized or are very close to commercializing such all-solid-state thin film batteries and market research predicts a growing market and a variety of applications including sensors, RFID tags, and smarter cards. In principle with a large deposition system, a thin film battery might cover a square meter, but in practice, most development is targeting individual cells with active areas less than 25 cm 2 . For very small battery areas, 2 , microfabrication processes have been developed. Typically the assembled batteries have capacities from 0.1 to 5 mAh. The operation of a thin film battery is depicted in the schematic diagram (Fig. 2). Very simply, when the battery is allowed to discharge, a Li + ion migrates from the anode to the cathode film by diffusing through the solid electrolyte. When the anode and cathode reactions are reversible, as for an intercalation compound or alloy, the battery can be recharged by reversing the current. The difference in the electrochemical potential of the lithium determines the cell voltage. Most of the thin films used in current commercial variations of this thin film battery are deposited in vacuum chambers by RF and DC magnetron sputtering and by thermal evaporation onto unheated substrates. In addition, many publications report exploring a variety of other physical and chemical vapor deposition processes, such as pulsed laser deposition, electron cyclotron resonance sputtering, and

Topotactic Metal-Insulator Transition in Epitaxial SrFeOx Thin Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Khare, Amit; Shin, Dongwon; Yoo, Tae Sup; Kim, Minu; Kang, Tae Dong; Lee, Jaekwang; Roh, Seulki; Jung, In-Ho; Hwang, Jungseek; Kim, Sung Wng; Noh, Tae Won; Ohta, Hiromichi; Choi, Woo Seok

2017-10-01

Topotactic phase transformation enables structural transition without losing the crystalline symmetry of the parental phase and provides an effective platform for elucidating the redox reaction and oxygen diffusion within transition metal oxides. In addition, it enables tuning of the emergent physical properties of complex oxides, through strong interaction between the lattice and electronic degrees of freedom. In this communication, the electronic structure evolution of SrFeO x epitaxial thin films is identified in real-time, during the progress of reversible topotactic phase transformation. Using real-time optical spectroscopy, the phase transition between the two structurally distinct phases (i.e., brownmillerite and perovskite) is quantitatively monitored, and a pressure-temperature phase diagram of the topotactic transformation is constructed for the first time. The transformation at relatively low temperatures is attributed to a markedly small difference in Gibbs free energy compared to the known similar class of materials to date. This study highlights the phase stability and reversibility of SrFeO x thin films, which is highly relevant for energy and environmental applications exploiting the redox reactions. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Colossal magnetoresistance and phase separation in manganite thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, M. K.; Agarwal, V.; Kaur, A.; Singh, H. K.

2017-05-01

In the present work, polycrystalline Sm0.55Sr0.45MnO3 thin films were prepared on LSAT (001) single crystal substrates by ultrasonic nebulized spray pyrolysis technique. The X-ray diffraction θ-2θ scan reveals that these films (i) have very good crystallinity, (ii) are oriented along out-of-plane c-direction, and (iii) are under small tensile strain. The impact of oxygen vacancy results into (i) higher value of paramagnetic insulator (PMI) to ferromagnetic metal (FMM) transition temperature, i.e., TC/TIM, (ii) sharper PMI-FMM transition, (iii) higher value of magnetization and magnetic saturation moment, and (iv) higher value of magnetoresistance (˜99%). We suggest here that oxygen vacancy favors FMM phase while oxygen vacancy annihilation leads to antiferromagnetic-charge ordered insulator (AFM-COI) phase. The observed results have been explained in context of phase separation (PS) caused by different fractions of the competing FMM and AFM-COI phases.

Influence of the vacuum interface on the charge distribution in V2O3 thin films

KAUST Repository

Schwingenschlögl, Udo

2009-09-22

The electronic structure of V2O3 thin films is studied by means of the augmented spherical wave method as based on density functional theory and the local density approximation. We establish that the effects of charge redistribution, induced by the vacuum interface, in such films are restricted to a very narrow surface layer of ≈15 Å thickness. As a consequence, charge redistribution can be ruled out as a source of the extraordinary thickness dependence of the metal–insulator transition observed in V2O3 thin films of ~100–1000 Å thickness.

Experimental Investigation of Zinc Antimonide Thin Film Thermoelectric Element over Wide Range of Operating Conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mirhosseini, Mojtaba; Rezania, Alireza; Blichfeld, Anders B.

2017-01-01

flows in plane with the thin film. At first, the effect of applying different temperatures at the hot side of the specimen is investigated to reach steady state in an open circuit analysis. Then, the study focuses on performance and stability analysis of the thermoelectric element operating under......Zinc antimonide compounds are among the most efficient thermoelectric (TE) materials with exceptional low thermal conductivity at moderate temperatures up to 350 °C. This study aims to evaluate the performance of a zinc antimonide thin film TE deposited on an insulating substrate, while the heat...

Transport and magnetic properties of Ce-doped LaMnO3 thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanagida, Takeshi; Kanki, Teruo; Vilquin, Bertrand; Tanaka, Hidekazu; Kawai, Tomoji

2005-01-01

Ce-doped LaMnO 3 epitaxial thin films were fabricated by a pulsed laser deposition method in consideration of thermodynamics. Oxygen- or argon-atmosphere post-annealed films showed a metal-insulator transition and ferromagnetic property, and the transition temperature T c was found to be significantly influenced by the post-annealing conditions at the T c ranging from 200 to 300 K. Moreover, the majority carriers within Ce-doped LaMnO 3 films were identified to be holes from Hall effect measurements

Vanadium oxide thin films and fibers obtained by acetylacetonate sol–gel method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berezina, O.; Kirienko, D. [Department of Physical Engineering, Petrozavodsk State University, 185910 Petrozavodsk (Russian Federation); Pergament, A., E-mail: aperg@psu.karelia.ru [Department of Physical Engineering, Petrozavodsk State University, 185910 Petrozavodsk (Russian Federation); Stefanovich, G.; Velichko, A. [Department of Physical Engineering, Petrozavodsk State University, 185910 Petrozavodsk (Russian Federation); Zlomanov, V. [Department of Chemistry, Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation)

2015-01-01

Vanadium oxide films and fibers have been fabricated by the acetylacetonate sol–gel method followed by annealing in wet nitrogen. The samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction and electrical conductivity measurements. The effects of a sol aging, the precursor decomposition and the gas atmosphere composition on the annealing process, structure and properties of the films are discussed. The two-stage temperature regime of annealing of amorphous films in wet nitrogen for formation of the well crystallized VO{sub 2} phase is chosen: 1) 25–550 °C and 2) 550–600 °C. The obtained films demonstrate the metal–insulator transition and electrical switching. Also, the effect of the polyvinylpyrrolidone additive concentration and electrospinning parameters on qualitative (absence of defects and gel drops) and quantitative (length and diameter) characteristics of vanadium oxide fibers is studied. - Highlights: • Vanadium oxide thin films and fibers are synthesized by sol–gel method. • The effect of annealing, atmosphere, time and electrospinning parameters is studied. • Produced VO{sub 2} structures exhibit metal–insulator transition and electrical switching.

Acoustic phonon dynamics in thin-films of the topological insulator Bi2Se3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glinka, Yuri D.; Babakiray, Sercan; Johnson, Trent A.; Holcomb, Mikel B.; Lederman, David

2015-01-01

Transient reflectivity traces measured for nanometer-sized films (6–40 nm) of the topological insulator Bi 2 Se 3 revealed GHz-range oscillations driven within the relaxation of hot carriers photoexcited with ultrashort (∼100 fs) laser pulses of 1.51 eV photon energy. These oscillations have been suggested to result from acoustic phonon dynamics, including coherent longitudinal acoustic phonons in the form of standing acoustic waves. An increase of oscillation frequency from ∼35 to ∼70 GHz with decreasing film thickness from 40 to 15 nm was attributed to the interplay between two different regimes employing traveling-acoustic-waves for films thicker than 40 nm and the film bulk acoustic wave resonator (FBAWR) modes for films thinner than 40 nm. The amplitude of oscillations decays rapidly for films below 15 nm thick when the indirect intersurface coupling in Bi 2 Se 3 films switches the FBAWR regime to that of the Lamb wave excitation. The frequency range of coherent longitudinal acoustic phonons is in good agreement with elastic properties of Bi 2 Se 3

Metal-insulator phase transition in a VO2 thin film observed with terahertz spectroscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jepsen, Peter Uhd; Fischer, Bernd M.; Thoman, Andreas

2006-01-01

We investigate the dielectric properties of a thin VO2 film in the terahertz frequency range in the vicinity of the semiconductor-metal phase transition. Phase-sensitive broadband spectroscopy in the frequency region below the phonon bands of VO2 gives insight into the conductive properties...... of the film during the phase transition. We compare our experimental data with models proposed for the evolution of the phase transition. The experimental data show that the phase transition occurs via the gradual growth of metallic domains in the film, and that the dielectric properties of the film...

Transparent, high mobility InGaZnO thin films deposited by PLD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suresh, Arun; Gollakota, Praveen; Wellenius, Patrick; Dhawan, Anuj; Muth, John F.

2008-01-01

Transparent oxide semiconductor, InGaZnO, thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature. The carrier concentration was found to vary by several orders of magnitude from insulating to 10 19 carriers/cm 3 depending on the oxygen partial pressure during deposition. Hall mobilities as high as 16 cm 2 /V s were observed. This is approximately an order of magnitude higher than the mobility of amorphous silicon and indicates that InGaO 3 (ZnO) x with x ≤ 5 may be suitable for transparent, thin film transistor applications. Post-deposition annealing was found to strongly influence the carrier concentration while annealing effects on the electron mobility was less influential

Towards in-situ tem analysis of PLD Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin film membranes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sardan Sukas, Ö.; Berenschot, Johan W.; de Boer, Meint J.; Nguyen, Duc Minh; van Zalk, M.; Abelmann, Leon

2011-01-01

In this paper, a novel technique for fabricating Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) chips for investigating structural and piezoelectric properties of Pulse Laser Deposited (PLD) Lead Zirconium Titanate (PZT) thin films is presented. The method involves silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer

The model of metal-insulator phase transition in vanadium oxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vikhnin, V.S.; Lysenko, S.; Rua, A.; Fernandez, F.; Liu, H.

2005-01-01

Thermally induced metal-insulator phase transitions (PT) in VO 2 thin films are studied theoretically and experimentally. The hysteresis phenomena in the region of the transition for different type thin films were investigated. The phenomenological model of the PT is suggested. The charge transfer-lattice instability in VO 2 metallic phase is considered as basis of the first order metal-insulator PT in VO 2 . The charge transfer is treated as an order parameter

Epitaxial stabilization of ultra thin films of electron doped manganites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Middey, S., E-mail: smiddey@uark.edu; Kareev, M.; Meyers, D.; Liu, X.; Cao, Y.; Tripathi, S.; Chakhalian, J. [Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701 (United States); Yazici, D.; Maple, M. B. [Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 (United States); Ryan, P. J.; Freeland, J. W. [Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)

2014-05-19

Ultra-thin films of the electron doped manganite La{sub 0.8}Ce{sub 0.2}MnO{sub 3} were grown in a layer-by-layer growth mode on SrTiO{sub 3} (001) substrates by pulsed laser interval deposition. High structural quality and surface morphology were confirmed by a combination of synchrotron based x-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. Resonant X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements confirm the presence of Ce{sup 4+} and Mn{sup 2+} ions. In addition, the electron doping signature was corroborated by Hall effect measurements. All grown films show a ferromagnetic ground state as revealed by both dc magnetization and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements and remain insulating contrary to earlier reports of a metal-insulator transition. Our results hint at the possibility of electron-hole asymmetry in the colossal magnetoresistive manganite phase diagram akin to the high-T{sub c} cuprates.

Application of electron accelerator for thin film in Indonesia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Danu, Sugiarto; Darsono, Dadang

2004-01-01

Electron accelerator is widely used for the crosslinking of wire and cable insulation, the treatment of heat shrinkable products, precuring of tire components, and the sterilization of medical products. Research and development the use of electron accelerator for thin film in Indonesia covered radiation curing of surface coating, crosslinking of poly (butylenes succinate), crosslinking of wire, cable and heat shrinkable, sterilization of wound dressing, and prevulcanization of tire. In general, comparing with conventional method, electron beam processing have some advantages, such as, less energy consumption, much higher production rate, processing ability at ambient temperature and environmental friendly. Indonesia has a great potential to develop the application of electron accelerator, due to the remarkable growth industrial sector, the abundant of natural resources and the increasing demand of the high quality products. This paper describes the activities concerning with R and D, and application of electron accelerator for processing of thin film. (author)

Effect of Al2O3 insulator thickness on the structural integrity of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide based thin film transistors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hak-Jun; Hwang, In-Ju; Kim, Youn-Jea

2014-12-01

The current transparent oxide semiconductors (TOSs) technology provides flexibility and high performance. In this study, multi-stack nano-layers of TOSs were designed for three-dimensional analysis of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) based thin film transistors (TFTs). In particular, the effects of torsional and compressive stresses on the nano-sized active layers such as the a-IGZO layer were investigated. Numerical simulations were carried out to investigate the structural integrity of a-IGZO based TFTs with three different thicknesses of the aluminum oxide (Al2O3) insulator (δ = 10, 20, and 30 nm), respectively, using a commercial code, COMSOL Multiphysics. The results are graphically depicted for operating conditions.

Ceramic Composite Thin Films

Science.gov (United States)

Ruoff, Rodney S. (Inventor); Stankovich, Sasha (Inventor); Dikin, Dmitriy A. (Inventor); Nguyen, SonBinh T. (Inventor)

2013-01-01

A ceramic composite thin film or layer includes individual graphene oxide and/or electrically conductive graphene sheets dispersed in a ceramic (e.g. silica) matrix. The thin film or layer can be electrically conductive film or layer depending the amount of graphene sheets present. The composite films or layers are transparent, chemically inert and compatible with both glass and hydrophilic SiOx/silicon substrates. The composite film or layer can be produced by making a suspension of graphene oxide sheet fragments, introducing a silica-precursor or silica to the suspension to form a sol, depositing the sol on a substrate as thin film or layer, at least partially reducing the graphene oxide sheets to conductive graphene sheets, and thermally consolidating the thin film or layer to form a silica matrix in which the graphene oxide and/or graphene sheets are dispersed.

PZT Thin-Film Micro Probe Device with Dual Top Electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Chuan

should be less than 3 mm in order to guarantee the first resonant frequency above 60 kHz. Finally, a package for the PZT thin-film micro probe device is developed to ensure its proper function in an aqueous environment, such as inside of cochlea. The package is an insulation layer of parylene coating on the probe. A finite element analysis indicates that a coating thickness of less than 1 mum will reduce the PZT diaphragm displacement by less than 10%. A special fixture is designed to hold a large number of probes for parylene deposition of a thickness of 250 nm. A packaged probe is then submerged in deionized water and functions properly for at least 55 hours. Displacement and impedance of the probe are measured via a laser Doppler vibrometer and an impedance analyzer, respectively. Experimental results show that displacement of the PZT diaphragm increases about 30% in two hours, after the probe is submerged in the deionized water. The impedance measurement shows consistent trends. A hypothesis to explain this unusual phenomenon is diffusion of water molecules into the PZT thin film. High-resolution SEM images of the probe indicate presence of numerous nano-pores in the surface of the PZT thin film, indirectly confirming the hypothesis. Keywords: PZT, Thin-Film, Dual Electrodes, Parylene Coating, Aqueous Environment, Cochlear Implant

Spin-Orbit Torque-Assisted Switching in Magnetic Insulator Thin Films with Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Mingzhong

As an in-plane charge current flows in a heavy metal film with spin-orbit coupling, it produces a torque that can induce magnetization switching in a neighboring ferromagnetic metal film. Such spin-orbit torque (SOT)-induced switching has been studied extensively in recent years and has shown higher efficiency than switching using conventional spin-transfer torque. This presentation reports the SOT-assisted switching in heavy metal/magnetic insulator systems.1 The experiments made use of Pt/BaFe12O19 bi-layered structures. Thanks to its strong spin-orbit coupling, Pt has been widely used to produce pure spin currents in previous studies. BaFe12O19 is an M-type barium hexagonal ferrite and is often referred as BaM. It is one of the few magnetic insulators with strong magneto-crystalline anisotropy and shows an effective uniaxial anisotropy field of about 17 kOe. It's found that the switching response in the BaM film strongly depends on the charge current applied to the Pt film. When a constant magnetic field is applied in the film plane, the charge current in the Pt film can switch the normal component of the magnetization (M⊥) in the BaM film between the up and down states. The current also dictates the up and down states of the remnant magnetization when the in-plane field is reduced to zero. When M⊥ is measured by sweeping an in-plane field, the response manifests itself as a hysteresis loop, which evolves in a completely opposite manner if the sign of the charge current is flipped. When the coercivity is measured by sweeping an out-of-plane field, its value can be reduced or increased by as much as about 500 Oe if an appropriate charge current is applied. 1. P. Li, T. Liu, H. Chang, A. Kalitsov, W. Zhang, G. Csaba, W. Li, D. Richardson, A. Demann, G. Rimal, H. Dey, J. S. Jiang, W. Porod, S. Field, J. Tang, M. C. Marconi, A. Hoffmann, O. Mryasov, and M. Wu, Nature Commun. 7:12688 doi: 10.1038/ncomms12688 (2016).

Host thin films incorporating nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Qureshi, Uzma

The focus of this research project was the investigation of the functional properties of thin films that incorporate a secondary nanoparticulate phase. In particular to assess if the secondary nanoparticulate material enhanced a functional property of the coating on glass. In order to achieve this, new thin film deposition methods were developed, namely use of nanopowder precursors, an aerosol assisted transport technique and an aerosol into atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition system. Aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) was used to deposit 8 series of thin films on glass. Five different nanoparticles silver, gold, ceria, tungsten oxide and zinc oxide were tested and shown to successfully deposit thin films incorporating nanoparticles within a host matrix. Silver nanoparticles were synthesised and doped within a titania film by AACVD. This improved solar control properties. A unique aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) into atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition (APCVD) system was used to deposit films of Au nanoparticles and thin films of gold nanoparticles incorporated within a host titania matrix. Incorporation of high refractive index contrast metal oxide particles within a host film altered the film colour. The key goal was to test the potential of nanopowder forms and transfer the suspended nanopowder via an aerosol to a substrate in order to deposit a thin film. Discrete tungsten oxide nanoparticles or ceria nanoparticles within a titanium dioxide thin film enhanced the self-cleaning and photo-induced super-hydrophilicity. The nanopowder precursor study was extended by deposition of zinc oxide thin films incorporating Au nanoparticles and also ZnO films deposited from a ZnO nanopowder precursor. Incorporation of Au nanoparticles within a VO: host matrix improved the thermochromic response, optical and colour properties. Composite VC/TiC and Au nanoparticle/V02/Ti02 thin films displayed three useful

Roughness analysis applied to niobium thin films grown on MgO(001) surfaces for superconducting radio frequency cavity applications

Science.gov (United States)

Beringer, D. B.; Roach, W. M.; Clavero, C.; Reece, C. E.; Lukaszew, R. A.

2013-02-01

This paper describes surface studies to address roughness issues inherent to thin film coatings deposited onto superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities. This is particularly relevant for multilayered thin film coatings that are being considered as a possible scheme to overcome technical issues and to surpass the fundamental limit of ˜50MV/m accelerating gradient achievable with bulk niobium. In 2006, a model by Gurevich [Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 012511 (2006)APPLAB0003-695110.1063/1.2162264] was proposed to overcome this limit that involves coating superconducting layers separated by insulating ones onto the inner walls of the cavities. Thus, we have undertaken a systematic effort to understand the dynamic evolution of the Nb surface under specific deposition thin film conditions onto an insulating surface in order to explore the feasibility of the proposed model. We examine and compare the morphology from two distinct Nb/MgO series, each with its own epitaxial registry, at very low growth rates and closely examine the dynamical scaling of the surface features during growth. Further, we apply analysis techniques such as power spectral density to the specific problem of thin film growth and roughness evolution to qualify the set of deposition conditions that lead to successful SRF coatings.

Roughness analysis applied to niobium thin films grown on MgO(001 surfaces for superconducting radio frequency cavity applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. B. Beringer

2013-02-01

Full Text Available This paper describes surface studies to address roughness issues inherent to thin film coatings deposited onto superconducting radio frequency (SRF cavities. This is particularly relevant for multilayered thin film coatings that are being considered as a possible scheme to overcome technical issues and to surpass the fundamental limit of ∼50  MV/m accelerating gradient achievable with bulk niobium. In 2006, a model by Gurevich [Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 012511 (2006APPLAB0003-695110.1063/1.2162264] was proposed to overcome this limit that involves coating superconducting layers separated by insulating ones onto the inner walls of the cavities. Thus, we have undertaken a systematic effort to understand the dynamic evolution of the Nb surface under specific deposition thin film conditions onto an insulating surface in order to explore the feasibility of the proposed model. We examine and compare the morphology from two distinct Nb/MgO series, each with its own epitaxial registry, at very low growth rates and closely examine the dynamical scaling of the surface features during growth. Further, we apply analysis techniques such as power spectral density to the specific problem of thin film growth and roughness evolution to qualify the set of deposition conditions that lead to successful SRF coatings.

Influence of lattice distortion on phase transition properties of polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Tiegui [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Wang, Langping, E-mail: aplpwang@hit.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Wang, Xiaofeng; Zhang, Yufen [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Yu, Yonghao, E-mail: yhyu@hit.edu.cn [Academy of Fundamental and Interdisciplinary Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)

2016-08-30

Highlights: • Polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin films were fabricated by high power impulse magnetron sputtering. • The reported lowest phase transition temperature for undoped polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin film was reduced to 32 °C by this research. • XRD patterns at varied temperatures revealed that the main structual change was a gradual shift in interplanar spacing with temperature. - Abstract: In this work, high power impulse magnetron sputtering was used to control the lattice distortion in polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin film. SEM images revealed that all the VO{sub 2} thin films had crystallite sizes of below 20 nm, and similar configurations. UV–vis-near IR transmittance spectra measured at different temperatures showed that most of the as-deposited films had a typical metal–insulator transition. Four-point probe resistivity results showed that the transition temperature of the films varied from 54.5 to 32 °C. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the as-deposited films revealed that most were polycrystalline monoclinic VO{sub 2}. The XRD results also confirmed that the lattice distortions in the as-deposited films were different, and the transition temperature decreased with the difference between the interplanar spacing of the as-deposited thin film and standard rutile VO{sub 2}. Furthermore, a room temperature rutile VO{sub 2} thin film was successfully synthesized when this difference was small enough. Additionally, XRD patterns measured at varied temperatures revealed that the phase transition process of the polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin film was a coordinative deformation between grains with different orientations. The main structural change during the phase transition was a gradual shift in interplanar spacing with temperature.

Electrical properties of resistive switches based on Ba1-χSrχTiO3 thin films prepared by RF co-sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marquez H, A.; Hernandez R, E.; Zapata T, M.; Guillen R, J.; Cruz, M. P.; Calzadilla A, O.; Melendez L, M.

2010-01-01

In this work, was proposed the use of Ba 1-χ Sr χ TiO 3 (0≤x≤1) thin films for the construction of metal-insulator-metal heterostructures; and their great potential for the development of non-volatile resistance memories (ReRAM) is shown. The deposition of Ba 1-χ Sr χ TiO 3 thin films was done by the RF co-sputtering technique using two magnetron sputtering cathodes with BaTiO 3 and SrTiO 3 targets. The chemical composition (x parameter) in the deposited Ba 1-χ Sr χ TiO 3 thin films was varied through the RF powder applied to the targets. The constructed metal-insulator-metal heterostructures were Al/Ba 1-χ Sr χ TiO 3 /nichrome. The I-V measurements of the heterostructures showed that their hysteretic characteristics change depending on the Ba/Sr ratio of the Ba 1-χ Sr χ TiO 3 thin films; the Ba/Sr ratio was determined by employing the energy dispersive spectroscopy; Sem micrographs showed that Ba 1-χ Sr χ TiO 3 thin films were uniform without cracks or pinholes. Additionally, the analysis of the X-ray diffraction results indicated the substitutional incorporation of Sr into the BaTiO 3 lattice and the obtainment of crystalline films for the entire range of the x values. (Author)

UV light induced insulator-metal transition in ultra-thin ZnO/TiO{sub x} stacked layer grown by atomic layer deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saha, D., E-mail: sahaphys@gmail.com, E-mail: pmisra@rrcat.gov.in; Misra, P., E-mail: sahaphys@gmail.com, E-mail: pmisra@rrcat.gov.in; Joshi, M. P.; Kukreja, L. M. [Laser Materials Processing Division, Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore 452 013 (India)

2016-08-28

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

LPCVD homoepitaxy of Si doped β-Ga2O3 thin films on (010) and (001) substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Rafique, Subrina; Karim, Md Rezaul; Johnson, Jared M.; Hwang, Jinwoo; Zhao, Hongping

2018-01-01

This paper presents the homoepitaxy of Si-doped β-Ga2O3 thin films on semi-insulating (010) and (001) Ga2O3 substrates via low pressure chemical vapor deposition with a growth rate of ≥1 μm/h. Both high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements demonstrated high crystalline quality homoepitaxial growth of these thin films. Atomic resolution STEM images of the as-grown β-Ga2O3 thin films on (010) and (001) substrates show high quality material without extended defects or dislocations. The charge carrier transport properties of the as-grown Si-doped β-Ga2O3 thin films were characterized by the temperature dependent Hall measurement using van der Pauw patterns. The room temperature carrier concentrations achieved for the (010) and (001) homoepitaxial thin films were ˜1.2 × 1018 cm-3 and ˜9.5 × 1017 cm-3 with mobilities of ˜72 cm2/V s and ˜42 cm2/V s, respectively.

NMR characterization of thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Gerald II, Rex E.; Klingler, Robert J.; Rathke, Jerome W.; Diaz, Rocio; Vukovic, Lela

2010-06-15

A method, apparatus, and system for characterizing thin film materials. The method, apparatus, and system includes a container for receiving a starting material, applying a gravitational force, a magnetic force, and an electric force or combinations thereof to at least the starting material, forming a thin film material, sensing an NMR signal from the thin film material and analyzing the NMR signal to characterize the thin film of material.

NMR characterization of thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Gerald, II, Rex E.; Klingler, Robert J.; Rathke, Jerome W.; Diaz, Rocio; Vukovic, Lela

2008-11-25

A method, apparatus, and system for characterizing thin film materials. The method, apparatus, and system includes a container for receiving a starting material, applying a gravitational force, a magnetic force, and an electric force or combinations thereof to at least the starting material, forming a thin film material, sensing an NMR signal from the thin film material and analyzing the NMR signal to characterize the thin film of material.

Specific heat measurement set-up for quench condensed thin superconducting films.

Science.gov (United States)

Poran, Shachaf; Molina-Ruiz, Manel; Gérardin, Anne; Frydman, Aviad; Bourgeois, Olivier

2014-05-01

We present a set-up designed for the measurement of specific heat of very thin or ultra-thin quench condensed superconducting films. In an ultra-high vacuum chamber, materials of interest can be thermally evaporated directly on a silicon membrane regulated in temperature from 1.4 K to 10 K. On this membrane, a heater and a thermometer are lithographically fabricated, allowing the measurement of heat capacity of the quench condensed layers. This apparatus permits the simultaneous thermal and electrical characterization of successively deposited layers in situ without exposing the deposited materials to room temperature or atmospheric conditions, both being irreversibly harmful to the samples. This system can be used to study specific heat signatures of phase transitions through the superconductor to insulator transition of quench condensed films.

Handbook of thin film technology

CERN Document Server

Frey, Hartmut

2015-01-01

“Handbook of Thin Film Technology” covers all aspects of coatings preparation, characterization and applications. Different deposition techniques based on vacuum and plasma processes are presented. Methods of surface and thin film analysis including coating thickness, structural, optical, electrical, mechanical and magnetic properties of films are detailed described. The several applications of thin coatings and a special chapter focusing on nanoparticle-based films can be found in this handbook. A complete reference for students and professionals interested in the science and technology of thin films.

Rare Earth Oxide Thin Films

CERN Document Server

Fanciulli, Marco

2007-01-01

Thin rare earth (RE) oxide films are emerging materials for microelectronic, nanoelectronic, and spintronic applications. The state-of-the-art of thin film deposition techniques as well as the structural, physical, chemical, and electrical properties of thin RE oxide films and of their interface with semiconducting substrates are discussed. The aim is to identify proper methodologies for the development of RE oxides thin films and to evaluate their effectiveness as innovative materials in different applications.

Thin-film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aberle, Armin G.

2009-01-01

The rapid progress that is being made with inorganic thin-film photovoltaic (PV) technologies, both in the laboratory and in industry, is reviewed. While amorphous silicon based PV modules have been around for more than 20 years, recent industrial developments include the first polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells on glass and the first tandem solar cells based on stacks of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon films ('micromorph cells'). Significant thin-film PV production levels are also being set up for cadmium telluride and copper indium diselenide.

Intrinsic and extrinsic permeability of ferromagnetic thin films and multilayers for frequency dependence: comparison between theory and experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berthault, A.; Durbin, F.; Russat, J.

1992-01-01

Soft ferromagnetic thin films are attractive materials for read/write head applications because they exhibit a high magnetic permeability in the hundred MHz range. By contrast, due to their low electrical resistivity, their processability at higher frequency is somewhat limited. Using Maxwell equations and the geometry of the processed material, we have developed a theoretical model of the frequency-dependent magnetic permeability useful for multilayers design. We have distinguished different cases: - extrinsic (measured) vs intrinsic permeability in magnetic thin films and magnetic-insulator multilayers, - intrinsic vs extrinsic permeability in magnetic thin films, computes by the Newton iterative method. Using the well-know Landau-Lifshitz model for high frequency permeability, we have compared experimental and theoretical results. (orig.)

Effects of strain on the magnetic and transport properties of the epitaxial La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Zarifi, M.; Kameli, P.; Ehsani, M. H.; Ahmadvand, H.; Salamati, H.

2016-12-01

The epitaxial strain can considerably modify the physical properties of thin films compared to the bulk. This paper reports the effects of substrate-induced strain on La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 (LCMO) thin films, grown on (100) SrTiO3 (STO) and LaAlO3 (LAO) substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique. Transport and magnetic properties were found to be strongly dependent on strain type. It is also shown that compressive (tensile) strain leads to the increase (decrease) in the magnetization of the films. Moreover, it was observed that all LCMO films deposited on both LAO and STO substrates behave as an insulator, but LCMO/LAO thin films with compressive strain have lower resistivity than LCMO/STO thin films with tensile strain. Applying magnetic field to LCMO/STO thin films with thickness of 25 and 50 nm leads to very small change in the resistivity, while the effects of magnetic field on the sample with thickness of 125 nm leads to an insulator-metal transition. For LCMO/LAO thin films, the magnetic field has a strong impact on the resistivity of samples. The results show that the magnetoresistance (MR) is enhanced by increasing film thickness for LCMO/LAO samples, due to the relatively stronger phase separation. For LCMO/STO thin films MR is drastically decreased by reduction of film thickness, which is attributed to the enhancement of the charge-orbital order (CO-O) accompanying the complex spin order (the so-called CE type). The changes of the antiferromagnetic structure from the CE to C type and the enhancement of the CE type could be attributed to the in-plane compressive and tensile strain, respectively.

Ion beam-based characterization of multicomponent oxide thin films and thin film layered structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krauss, A.R.; Rangaswamy, M.; Lin, Yuping; Gruen, D.M.; Schultz, J.A.; Schmidt, H.K.; Chang, R.P.H.

1992-01-01

Fabrication of thin film layered structures of multi-component materials such as high temperature superconductors, ferroelectric and electro-optic materials, and alloy semiconductors, and the development of hybrid materials requires understanding of film growth and interface properties. For High Temperature Superconductors, the superconducting coherence length is extremely short (5--15 Angstrom), and fabrication of reliable devices will require control of film properties at extremely sharp interfaces; it will be necessary to verify the integrity of thin layers and layered structure devices over thicknesses comparable to the atomic layer spacing. Analytical techniques which probe the first 1--2 atomic layers are therefore necessary for in-situ characterization of relevant thin film growth processes. However, most surface-analytical techniques are sensitive to a region within 10--40 Angstrom of the surface and are physically incompatible with thin film deposition and are typically restricted to ultra high vacuum conditions. A review of ion beam-based analytical methods for the characterization of thin film and multi-layered thin film structures incorporating layers of multicomponent oxides is presented. Particular attention will be paid to the use of time-of-flight techniques based on the use of 1- 15 key ion beams which show potential for use as nondestructive, real-time, in-situ surface diagnostics for the growth of multicomponent metal and metal oxide thin films

Nb3Al thin film deposition for low-noise terahertz electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dochev, D; Pavolotsky, A B; Belitsky, V; Olofsson, H

2008-01-01

Higher energy gap superconducting materials were always interesting for low-noise mixer applications such as superconductor-insulator-superconductor tunnel junctions (SIS) and hot-electron bolometer (HEB) used in sub-millimeter and terahertz parts of electro-magnetic spectrum. Here, we report a novel approach for producing Nb 3 Al thin film by co-sputtering from two confocally arranged Nb and Al dc-magnetrons onto substrate heated up to 830 deg. C. Characterization of the deposited films revealed presence of the A15 phase and measured critical temperature was up to 15.7 K with the transition width 0.2-0.3 K for a 300 nm thick film. We measured the film critical magnetic field and studied influence of annealing on the film properties. We have investigated compositional depth profile of the deposited films by spectroscopy of reflected electrons

Hafnium carbide formation in oxygen deficient hafnium oxide thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodenbücher, C. [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI-7), JARA-FIT, 52425 Jülich (Germany); Hildebrandt, E.; Sharath, S. U.; Kurian, J.; Komissinskiy, P.; Alff, L. [Technische Universität Darmstadt, Institute of Materials Science, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany); Szot, K. [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI-7), JARA-FIT, 52425 Jülich (Germany); University of Silesia, A. Chełkowski Institute of Physics, 40-007 Katowice (Poland); Breuer, U. [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Central Institute for Engineering, Electronics and Analytics (ZEA-3), 52425 Jülich (Germany); Waser, R. [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI-7), JARA-FIT, 52425 Jülich (Germany); RWTH Aachen, Institute of Electronic Materials (IWE 2), 52056 Aachen (Germany)

2016-06-20

On highly oxygen deficient thin films of hafnium oxide (hafnia, HfO{sub 2−x}) contaminated with adsorbates of carbon oxides, the formation of hafnium carbide (HfC{sub x}) at the surface during vacuum annealing at temperatures as low as 600 °C is reported. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy the evolution of the HfC{sub x} surface layer related to a transformation from insulating into metallic state is monitored in situ. In contrast, for fully stoichiometric HfO{sub 2} thin films prepared and measured under identical conditions, the formation of HfC{sub x} was not detectable suggesting that the enhanced adsorption of carbon oxides on oxygen deficient films provides a carbon source for the carbide formation. This shows that a high concentration of oxygen vacancies in carbon contaminated hafnia lowers considerably the formation energy of hafnium carbide. Thus, the presence of a sufficient amount of residual carbon in resistive random access memory devices might lead to a similar carbide formation within the conducting filaments due to Joule heating.

Niobium Nitride Thin Films and Multilayers for Superconducting Radio Frequency Cavities

Science.gov (United States)

Roach, William; Beringer, Douglas; Li, Zhaozhu; Clavero, Cesar; Lukaszew, Rosa

2013-03-01

Niobium nitride in thin film form has been considered for a number of applications including multi-layered coatings onto superconducting radio frequency cavities which have been proposed to overcome the fundamental accelerating gradient limit of ~50 MV/m in niobium based accelerators. In order to fulfill the latter application, the selected superconductor's thermodynamic critical field, HC, must be larger than that of niobium and separated from the Nb surface by an insulating layer in order to shield the Nb cavity from field penetration and thus allow higher field gradients. Thus, for the successful implementation of such multilayered stack it is important to consider not just the materials inherent properties but also how these properties may be affected in thin film geometry and also by the specific deposition techniques used. Here, we show the results of our correlated study of structure and superconducting properties in niobium nitride thin films and discuss the shielding exhibited in NbN/MgO/Nb multilayer samples beyond the lower critical field of Nb for the first time. This work was funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (HDTRA-10-1-0072).

Magnetotransport in nanocrystalline SmB6 thin films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jie Yong

2015-07-01

Full Text Available SmB6 has been predicted to be a prototype of topological Kondo insulator (TKI but its direct experimental evidence as a TKI is still lacking to date. Here we report on our search for the signature of a topological surface state and investigation of the effect of disorder on transport properties in nanocrystalline SmB6 thin films through longitudinal magnetoresistance and Hall coefficient measurements. The magnetoresistance (MR at 2 K is positive and linear (LPMR at low field and become negative and quadratic at higher field. While the negative part is understood from the reduction of the hybridization gap due to Zeeman splitting, the positive dependence is similar to what is observed in other topological insulators (TI. We conclude that the LPMR is a characteristic of TI and is related to the linear dispersion near the Dirac cone. The Hall resistance shows a sign change around 50K. It peaks and becomes nonlinear around 10 K then decreases below 10 K. This indicates that carriers with opposite signs emerge below 50 K. These properties indicate that the surface states are robust and probably topological in our nanocrystalline films.

Properties of non-stoichiometric nitrogen doped LPCVD silicon thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mansour, F.; Mahamdi, R. [Departement d' Electronique, Universite Mentouri, Constantine (Algeria); Beghoul, M.R. [Departement d' Electronique, Universite de Jijel (Algeria); Temple-Boyer, P. [CNRS, LAAS, Toulouse (France); Universite de Toulouse, UPS, INSA, INP, ISAE, LAAS, Toulouse (France); Bouridah, H.

2010-02-15

The influence of nitrogen on the internal structure and so on the electrical properties of silicon thin films obtained by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) was studied using several investigation methods. We found by using Raman spectroscopy and SEM observations that a strong relationship exists between the structural order of the silicon matrix and the nitrogen ratio in film before and after thermal treatment. As a result of the high disorder caused by nitrogen on silicon network during the deposit phase of films, the crystallization phenomena in term of nucleation and crystalline growth were found to depend upon the nitrogen content. Resistivity measurements results show that electrical properties of NIDOS films depend significantly on structural properties. It was appeared that for high nitrogen content, the films tend to acquire an insulator behavior. (copyright 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Light scattering by epitaxial VO{sub 2} films near the metal-insulator transition point

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lysenko, Sergiy, E-mail: sergiy.lysenko@upr.edu; Fernández, Felix; Rúa, Armando; Figueroa, Jose; Vargas, Kevin; Cordero, Joseph [Department of Physics, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico 00681 (United States); Aparicio, Joaquin [Department of Physics, University of Puerto Rico-Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico 00732 (United States); Sepúlveda, Nelson [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824 (United States)

2015-05-14

Experimental observation of metal-insulator transition in epitaxial films of vanadium dioxide is reported. Hemispherical angle-resolved light scattering technique is applied for statistical analysis of the phase transition processes on mesoscale. It is shown that the thermal hysteresis strongly depends on spatial frequency of surface irregularities. The transformation of scattering indicatrix depends on sample morphology and is principally different for the thin films with higher internal elastic strain and for the thicker films where this strain is suppressed by introduction of misfit dislocations. The evolution of scattering indicatrix, fractal dimension, surface power spectral density, and surface autocorrelation function demonstrates distinctive behavior which elucidates the influence of structural defects and strain on thermal hysteresis, twinning of microcrystallites, and domain formation during the phase transition.

DC magnetron sputtering prepared Ag-C thin film anode for thin film lithium ion microbatteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Y.; Tu, J.P.; Shi, D.Q.; Huang, X.H.; Wu, H.M.; Yuan, Y.F.; Zhao, X.B.

2007-01-01

An Ag-C thin film was prepared by DC magnetron co-sputtering, using pure silver and graphite as the targets. The microstructure and morphology of the deposited thin film were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrochemical performances of the Ag-C thin film anode were investigated by means of discharge/charge and cyclic voltammogram (CV) tests in model cells. The electrochemical impedance spectrum (EIS) characteristics and the chemical diffusion coefficient, D Li of the Ag-C thin film electrode at different discharging states were discussed. It was believed that the excellent cycling performance of the Ag-C electrode was ascribed to the good conductivity of silver and the volume stability of the thin film

Aquatic biofouling prevention by electrically charged nanocomposite polymer thin film membranes.

Science.gov (United States)

de Lannoy, Charles-François; Jassby, David; Gloe, Katie; Gordon, Alexander D; Wiesner, Mark R

2013-03-19

Electrically conductive polymer-nanocomposite (ECPNC) tight nanofiltration (NF) thin film membranes were demonstrated to have biofilm-preventing capabilities under extreme bacteria and organic material loadings. A simple route to the creation and application of these polyamide-carbon nanotube thin films is also reported. These thin films were characterized with SEM and TEM as well as FTIR to demonstrate that the carbon nanotubes are embedded within the polyamide and form ester bonds with trimesoyl chloride, one of the monomers of polyamide. These polymer nanocomposite thin film materials boast high electrical conductivity (∼400 S/m), good NaCl rejection (>95%), and high water permeability. To demonstrate these membranes' biofouling capabilities, we designed a cross-flow water filtration vessel with insulated electrical leads connecting the ECPNC membranes to an arbitrary waveform generator. In all experiments, conducted in highly bacterially contaminated LB media, flux tests were run until fluxes decreased by 45 ± 3% over initial flux. Biofilm-induced, nonreversible flux decline was observed in all control experiments and a cross-flow rinse with the feed solution failed to induce flux recovery. In contrast, flux decrease for the ECPNC membranes with an electric potential applied to their surface was only caused by deposition of bacteria rather than bacterial attachment, and flux was fully recoverable following a short rinse with the feed solution and no added cleaning agents. The prevention of biofilm formation on the ECPNC membranes was a long-term effect, did not decrease with use, and was highly reproducible.

Superconducting thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hebard, A.F.; Vandenberg, J.M.

1982-01-01

This invention relates to granular metal and metal oxide superconducting films formed by ion beam sputter deposition. Illustratively, the films comprise irregularly shaped, randomly oriented, small lead grains interspersed in an insulating lead oxide matrix. The films are hillock-resistant when subjected to thermal cycling and exhibit unusual josephson-type switching characteristics. Depending on the oxygen content, a film may behave in a manner similar to that of a plurality of series connected josephson junctions, or the film may have a voltage difference in a direction parallel to a major surface of the film that is capable of being switched from zero voltage difference to a finite voltage difference in response to a current larger than the critical current

Thin film metal-oxides

CERN Document Server

Ramanathan, Shriram

2009-01-01

Presents an account of the fundamental structure-property relations in oxide thin films. This title discusses the functional properties of thin film oxides in the context of applications in the electronics and renewable energy technologies.

Nonlinear optical observation of coherent acoustic Dirac plasmons in thin-film topological insulators

Science.gov (United States)

Glinka, Yuri D.; Babakiray, Sercan; Johnson, Trent A.; Holcomb, Mikel B.; Lederman, David

2016-09-01

Low-energy collective electronic excitations exhibiting sound-like linear dispersion have been intensively studied both experimentally and theoretically for a long time. However, coherent acoustic plasmon modes appearing in time-domain measurements are rarely observed due to Landau damping by the single-particle continua. Here we report on the observation of coherent acoustic Dirac plasmon (CADP) modes excited in indirectly (electrostatically) opposite-surface coupled films of the topological insulator Bi2Se3. Using transient second-harmonic generation, a technique capable of independently monitoring the in-plane and out-of-plane electron dynamics in the films, the GHz-range oscillations were observed without corresponding oscillations in the transient reflectivity. These oscillations were assigned to the transverse magnetic and transverse electric guided CADP modes induced by the evanescent guided Lamb acoustic waves and remained Landau undamped due to fermion tunnelling between the opposite-surface Dirac states.

Magnetoresistance Versus Oxygen Deficiency in Epi-stabilized SrRu1 - x Fe x O3 - δ Thin Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Dash, Umasankar; Acharya, Susant Kumar; Lee, Bo Wha; Jung, Chang Uk

2017-12-01

Oxygen vacancies have a profound effect on the magnetic, electronic, and transport properties of transition metal oxide materials. Here, we studied the influence of oxygen vacancies on the magnetoresistance (MR) properties of SrRu 1 - x Fe x O 3 - δ epitaxial thin films (x = 0.10, 0.20, and 0.30). For this purpose, we synthesized highly strained epitaxial SrRu 1 - x Fe x O 3 - δ thin films with atomically flat surfaces containing different amounts of oxygen vacancies using pulsed laser deposition. Without an applied magnetic field, the films with x = 0.10 and 0.20 showed a metal-insulator transition, while the x = 0.30 thin film showed insulating behavior over the entire temperature range of 2-300 K. Both Fe doping and the concentration of oxygen vacancies had large effects on the negative MR contributions. For the low Fe doping case of x = 0.10, in which both films exhibited metallic behavior, MR was more prominent in the film with fewer oxygen vacancies or equivalently a more metallic film. For semiconducting films, higher MR was observed for more semiconducting films having more oxygen vacancies. A relatively large negative MR (~36.4%) was observed for the x = 0.30 thin film with a high concentration of oxygen vacancies (δ = 0.12). The obtained results were compared with MR studies for a polycrystal of (Sr 1 - x La x )(Ru 1 - x Fe x )O 3 . These results highlight the crucial role of oxygen stoichiometry in determining the magneto-transport properties in SrRu 1 - x Fe x O 3 - δ thin films.

Fabrication of Al2O3 Nano-Structure Functional Film on a Cellulose Insulation Polymer Surface and Its Space Charge Suppression Effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Hao

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Cellulose insulation polymer (paper/pressboard has been widely used in high voltage direct current (HVDC transformers. One of the most challenging issues in the insulation material used for HVDC equipment is the space charge accumulation. Effective ways to suppress the space charge injection/accumulation in insulation material is currently a popular research topic. In this study, an aluminium oxide functional film was deposited on a cellulose insulation pressboard surface using reactive radio frequency (RF magnetron sputtering. The sputtered thin film was characterized by the scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM/EDS, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, and X-ray diffraction (XRD. The influence of the deposited functional film on the dielectric properties and the space charge injection/accumulation behaviour was investigated. A preliminary exploration of the space charge suppression effect is discussed. SEM/EDS, XPS, and XRD results show that the nano-structured Al2O3 film with amorphous phase was successfully fabricated onto the fibre surface. The cellulose insulation pressboard surface sputtered by Al2O3 film has lower permittivity, conductivity, and dissipation factor values in the lower frequency (<103 Hz region. The oil-impregnated sputtered pressboard presents an apparent space-charge suppression effect. Compared with the pressboard sputtered with Al2O3 film for 90 min, the pressboard sputtered with Al2O3 film for 60 min had a better space charge suppression effect. Ultra-small Al2O3 particles (<10 nm grew on the surface of the larger nanoparticles. The nano-structured Al2O3 film sputtered on the fibre surface could act as a functional barrier layer for suppression of the charge injection and accumulation. This study offers a new perspective in favour of the application of insulation pressboard with a nano-structured function surface against space charge injection/accumulation in HVDC equipment.

Nanocomposite oxide thin films grown by pulsed energy beam deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nistor, M.; Petitmangin, A.; Hebert, C.; Seiler, W.

2011-01-01

Highly non-stoichiometric indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were grown by pulsed energy beam deposition (pulsed laser deposition-PLD and pulsed electron beam deposition-PED) under low oxygen pressure. The analysis of the structure and electrical transport properties showed that ITO films with a large oxygen deficiency (more than 20%) are nanocomposite films with metallic (In, Sn) clusters embedded in a stoichiometric and crystalline oxide matrix. The presence of the metallic clusters induces specific transport properties, i.e. a metallic conductivity via percolation with a superconducting transition at low temperature (about 6 K) and the melting and freezing of the In-Sn clusters in the room temperature to 450 K range evidenced by large changes in resistivity and a hysteresis cycle. By controlling the oxygen deficiency and temperature during the growth, the transport and optical properties of the nanocomposite oxide films could be tuned from metallic-like to insulating and from transparent to absorbing films.

Nb{sub 3}Al thin film deposition for low-noise terahertz electronics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dochev, D; Pavolotsky, A B; Belitsky, V; Olofsson, H [Group for Advanced Receiver Development and Onsala Space Observatory, Department of Radio- and Space Science, Chalmers University of Technology, SE 412 96 Gothenburg (Sweden)], E-mail: dimitar.dochev@chalmers.se

2008-02-01

Higher energy gap superconducting materials were always interesting for low-noise mixer applications such as superconductor-insulator-superconductor tunnel junctions (SIS) and hot-electron bolometer (HEB) used in sub-millimeter and terahertz parts of electro-magnetic spectrum. Here, we report a novel approach for producing Nb{sub 3}Al thin film by co-sputtering from two confocally arranged Nb and Al dc-magnetrons onto substrate heated up to 830 deg. C. Characterization of the deposited films revealed presence of the A15 phase and measured critical temperature was up to 15.7 K with the transition width 0.2-0.3 K for a 300 nm thick film. We measured the film critical magnetic field and studied influence of annealing on the film properties. We have investigated compositional depth profile of the deposited films by spectroscopy of reflected electrons.

Improvement in the performance of an InGaZnO thin-film transistor by controlling interface trap densities between the insulator and active layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trinh, Thanh Thuy; Nguyen, Van Duy; Ryu, Kyungyul; Jang, Kyungsoo; Lee, Wonbeak; Baek, Seungshin; Raja, Jayapal; Yi, Junsin

2011-01-01

An amorphous InGaZnO film fabricated by radio frequency magnetron sputtering in only an Ar-reactive gas shows high conductivity, and a thin-film transistors (TFTs)-based IGZO active layer expresses a poor on/off current ratio with a high off current and high subthreshold swing (SS). This paper presents the post-annealing effects on IGZO thin films to compensate the oxygen deficiencies in films as well as on TFT devices to reduce the densities of the interface trap between the active layer and insulator. The ratio of oxygen vacancies over total of oxygen (O 2 /O tot ) in IGZO estimated by the XPS measurement shows that they significantly diminish from 24.75 to 17.68% when increasing the temperature treatment to 350 °C, which is related to the enhancement in resistivity of IGZO. The TFT characteristics of IGZO treated in air at 350 °C show a high I ON /I OFF ratio of ∼1.1 × 10 7 , a high field-effect mobility of 7.48 cm 2 V −1 s −1 , and a low SS of 0.41 V dec −1 . The objective of this paper is to achieve a successful reduction in the interface trap density, ΔD it , which has been reduced about 3.1 × 10 12 cm −2 eV −1 and 2.0 × 10 12 cm −2 eV −1 for the 350 and 200 °C treatment samples compared with the as-deposited one. The resistivity of the IGZO films can be adjusted to the appropriate value that can be used for TFT applications by controlling the treatment temperature

Piezoelectric actuated micro-resonators based on the growth of diamond on aluminum nitride thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hees, J; Heidrich, N; Pletschen, W; Sah, R E; Wolfer, M; Lebedev, V; Nebel, C E; Ambacher, O; Williams, O A

2013-01-01

Unimorph heterostructures based on piezoelectric aluminum nitride (AlN) and diamond thin films are highly desirable for applications in micro- and nanoelectromechanical systems. In this paper, we present a new approach to combine thin conductive boron-doped as well as insulating nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) with sputtered AlN films without the need for any buffer layers between AlN and NCD or polishing steps. The zeta potentials of differently treated nanodiamond (ND) particles in aqueous colloids are adjusted to the zeta potential of AlN in water. Thereby, the nucleation density for the initial growth of diamond on AlN can be varied from very low (10 8 cm −2 ), in the case of hydrogen-treated ND seeding particles, to very high values of 10 11 cm −2 for oxidized ND particles. Our approach yielding high nucleation densities allows the growth of very thin NCD films on AlN with thicknesses as low as 40 nm for applications such as microelectromechanical beam resonators. Fabricated piezo-actuated micro-resonators exhibit enhanced mechanical properties due to the incorporation of boron-doped NCD films. Highly boron-doped NCD thin films which replace the metal top electrode offer Young’s moduli of more than 1000 GPa. (paper)

Harnessing the metal-insulator transition for tunable metamaterials

Science.gov (United States)

Charipar, Nicholas A.; Charipar, Kristin M.; Kim, Heungsoo; Bingham, Nicholas S.; Suess, Ryan J.; Mathews, Scott A.; Auyeung, Raymond C. Y.; Piqué, Alberto

2017-08-01

The control of light-matter interaction through the use of subwavelength structures known as metamaterials has facilitated the ability to control electromagnetic radiation in ways not previously achievable. A plethora of passive metamaterials as well as examples of active or tunable metamaterials have been realized in recent years. However, the development of tunable metamaterials is still met with challenges due to lack of materials choices. To this end, materials that exhibit a metal-insulator transition are being explored as the active element for future metamaterials because of their characteristic abrupt change in electrical conductivity across their phase transition. The fast switching times (▵t < 100 fs) and a change in resistivity of four orders or more make vanadium dioxide (VO2) an ideal candidate for active metamaterials. It is known that the properties associated with thin film metal-insulator transition materials are strongly dependent on the growth conditions. For this work, we have studied how growth conditions (such as gas partial pressure) influence the metalinsulator transition in VO2 thin films made by pulsed laser deposition. In addition, strain engineering during the growth process has been investigated as a method to tune the metal-insulator transition temperature. Examples of both the optical and electrical transient dynamics facilitating the metal-insulator transition will be presented together with specific examples of thin film metamaterial devices.

Thin film device applications

CERN Document Server

Kaur, Inderjeet

1983-01-01

Two-dimensional materials created ab initio by the process of condensation of atoms, molecules, or ions, called thin films, have unique properties significantly different from the corresponding bulk materials as a result of their physical dimensions, geometry, nonequilibrium microstructure, and metallurgy. Further, these characteristic features of thin films can be drasti­ cally modified and tailored to obtain the desired and required physical characteristics. These features form the basis of development of a host of extraordinary active and passive thin film device applications in the last two decades. On the one extreme, these applications are in the submicron dimensions in such areas as very large scale integration (VLSI), Josephson junction quantum interference devices, magnetic bubbles, and integrated optics. On the other extreme, large-area thin films are being used as selective coatings for solar thermal conversion, solar cells for photovoltaic conver­ sion, and protection and passivating layers. Ind...

Growth and Etch Rate Study of Low Temperature Anodic Silicon Dioxide Thin Films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akarapu Ashok

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Silicon dioxide (SiO2 thin films are most commonly used insulating films in the fabrication of silicon-based integrated circuits (ICs and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS. Several techniques with different processing environments have been investigated to deposit silicon dioxide films at temperatures down to room temperature. Anodic oxidation of silicon is one of the low temperature processes to grow oxide films even below room temperature. In the present work, uniform silicon dioxide thin films are grown at room temperature by using anodic oxidation technique. Oxide films are synthesized in potentiostatic and potentiodynamic regimes at large applied voltages in order to investigate the effect of voltage, mechanical stirring of electrolyte, current density and the water percentage on growth rate, and the different properties of as-grown oxide films. Ellipsometry, FTIR, and SEM are employed to investigate various properties of the oxide films. A 5.25 Å/V growth rate is achieved in potentiostatic mode. In the case of potentiodynamic mode, 160 nm thickness is attained at 300 V. The oxide films developed in both modes are slightly silicon rich, uniform, and less porous. The present study is intended to inspect various properties which are considered for applications in MEMS and Microelectronics.

Influence of magnetic disorders on quantum anomalous Hall effect in magnetic topological insulator films beyond the two-dimensional limit

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Yanxia; Xu, Fuming; Cheung, King Tai; Sun, Qing-feng; Wang, Jian; Yao, Yugui

2018-04-01

Quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) has been experimentally realized in magnetic topological insulator (MTI) thin films fabricated on magnetically doped {({{Bi}},{{Sb}})}2{{{Te}}}3. In an MTI thin film with the magnetic easy axis along the normal direction (z-direction), orientations of magnetic dopants are randomly distributed around the magnetic easy axis, acting as magnetic disorders. With the aid of the non-equilibrium Green's function and Landauer–Büttiker formalism, we numerically study the influence of magnetic disorders on QAHE in an MTI thin film modeled by a three-dimensional tight-binding Hamiltonian. It is found that, due to the existence of gapless side surface states, QAHE is protected even in the presence of magnetic disorders as long as the z-component of magnetic moment of all magnetic dopants are positive. More importantly, such magnetic disorders also suppress the dissipation of the chiral edge states and enhance the quality of QAHE in MTI films. In addition, the effect of magnetic disorders depends very much on the film thickness, and the optimal influence is achieved at certain thickness. These findings are new features for QAHE in three-dimensional systems, not present in two-dimensional systems.

Test for the presence of long-ranged Coulomb interactions in thin TiN films near the superconductor-insulator transition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kronfeldner, Klaus; Strunk, Christoph [Institute for Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg (Germany); Baturina, Tatyana [A.V. Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics, SB RAS (Russian Federation)

2016-07-01

We have measured the conductance of square shaped TiN films on the superconducting and the insulating side of the superconductor/insulator transition. The conductance shows thermally activated behaviour with an activation energy k{sub B}T{sub 0}(L) ∝ lnL, with L being the lateral size of the squares. Such behavior is consistent with 2D long-ranged Coulomb interactions with a large electrostatic screening length Λ ≅ 200 μm. To independently test whether long ranged Coulomb interactions can be responsible for the observed size dependence we compare R(T,B) of a large TiN film in the critical region with and without a screening Pd layer in a distance t ∼ 60 nm to the TiN film. The screening Pd-layer is expected to reduce the activation energy from ∝ ln [min(L,Λ)] to ∝ ln(t) and the thermally activated resistance in films with L >or similar Λ by the large number Λ/t ≅ 3000. In contrast, our experiment showed no significant reduction of R(T) and T{sub 0}. This suggests that the measured size dependent conductance of our TiN film is not related to long-ranged Coulomb interactions.

Biomimetic thin film synthesis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Graff, G.L.; Campbell, A.A.; Gordon, N.R.

1995-05-01

The purpose of this program is to develop a new process for forming thin film coatings and to demonstrate that the biomimetic thin film technology developed at PNL is useful for industrial applications. In the biomimetic process, mineral deposition from aqueous solution is controlled by organic functional groups attached to the underlying substrate surface. The coatings process is simple, benign, inexpensive, energy efficient, and particularly suited for temperature sensitive substrate materials (such as polymers). In addition, biomimetic thin films can be deposited uniformly on complex shaped and porous substrates providing a unique capability over more traditional line-of-sight methods.

Thin Film Photovoltaic Partnership Project | Photovoltaic Research | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Thin Film Photovoltaic Partnership Project Thin Film Photovoltaic Partnership Project NREL's Thin Film Photovoltaic (PV) Partnership Project led R&D on emerging thin-film solar technologies in the United States from 1994 to 2009. The project made many advances in thin-film PV technologies that allowed

Thin Film & Deposition Systems (Windows)

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — Coating Lab: Contains chambers for growing thin film window coatings. Plasma Applications Coating Lab: Contains chambers for growing thin film window coatings. Solar...

Photoinduced conductivity in tin dioxide thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muraoka, Y.; Takubo, N.; Hiroi, Z.

2009-01-01

The effects of ultraviolet light irradiation on the conducting properties of SnO 2-x thin films grown epitaxially on TiO 2 or Al 2 O 3 single-crystal substrates are studied at room temperature. A large increase in conductivity by two to four orders of magnitude is observed with light irradiation in an inert atmosphere and remains after the light is removed. The high-conducting state reverts to the original low-conducting state by exposing it to oxygen gas. These reversible phenomena are ascribed to the desorption and adsorption of negatively charged oxygen species at the grain boundaries, which critically change the mobility of electron carriers already present inside grains by changing the potential barrier height at the grain boundary. The UV light irradiation provides us with an easy and useful route to achieve a high-conducting state even at low carrier density in transparent conducting oxides and also to draw an invisible conducting wire or a specific pattern on an insulating film.

On the carrier transport in metal-insulator-metal structures for CdTe thin film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, K.W.; Choi, C.K.

1982-01-01

According to the energy band model for the Al-CdTe-Ag sandwich structure, we have investigate to the mechanism of the current limited transport(CLT). As the bias voltage applied to the Alsup(+) and Agsup(+) electrode, the potential barrier difference for this structure was found 0.2eV. From what this results, we conclude that the mechanism of the current limited transport due to the potential barrier of the contact limited current. Not only this phenomena but also the annealing effect of thin film was shown that the distingushable for virgin film. (Author)

Characterization of organic thin films

CERN Document Server

Ulman, Abraham; Evans, Charles A

2009-01-01

Thin films based upon organic materials are at the heart of much of the revolution in modern technology, from advanced electronics, to optics to sensors to biomedical engineering. This volume in the Materials Characterization series introduces the major common types of analysis used in characterizing of thin films and the various appropriate characterization technologies for each. Materials such as Langmuir-Blodgett films and self-assembled monolayers are first introduced, followed by analysis of surface properties and the various characterization technologies used for such. Readers will find detailed information on: -Various spectroscopic approaches to characterization of organic thin films, including infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy -X-Ray diffraction techniques, High Resolution EELS studies, and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy -Concise Summaries of major characterization technologies for organic thin films, including Auger Electron Spectroscopy, Dynamic Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry, and Tra...

Enhanced electrical properties of oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors with high conductivity thin layer insertion for the channel region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nguyen, Cam Phu Thi; Raja, Jayapal; Kim, Sunbo; Jang, Kyungsoo; Le, Anh Huy Tuan; Lee, Youn-Jung; Yi, Junsin, E-mail: junsin@skku.edu

2017-02-28

Highlights: • The characteristics of thin film transistors using double active layers are examined. • Electrical characteristics have been improved for the double active layers devices. • The total trap density can be decreased by insert-ion of ultrathin ITO film. - Abstract: This study examined the performance and the stability of indium tin zinc oxide (ITZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) by inserting an ultra-thin indium tin oxide (ITO) layer at the active/insulator interface. The electrical properties of the double channel device (ITO thickness of 5 nm) were improved in comparison with the single channel ITZO or ITO devices. The TFT characteristics of the device with an ITO thickness of less than 5 nm were degraded due to the formation of an island-like morphology and the carriers scattering at the active/insulator interface. The 5 nm-thick ITO inserted ITZO TFTs (optimal condition) exhibited a superior field effect mobility (∼95 cm{sup 2}/V·s) compared with the ITZO-only TFTs (∼34 cm{sup 2}/V·s). The best characteristics of the TFT devices with double channel layer are due to the lowest surface roughness (0.14 nm) and contact angle (50.1°) that result in the highest hydrophicility, and the most effective adhesion at the surface. Furthermore, the threshold voltage shifts for the ITO/ITZO double layer device decreased to 0.80 and −2.39 V compared with 6.10 and −6.79 V (for the ITZO only device) under positive and negative bias stress, respectively. The falling rates of E{sub A} were 0.38 eV/V and 0.54 eV/V for the ITZO and ITO/ITZO bi-layer devices, respectively. The faster falling rate of the double channel devices suggests that the trap density, including interface trap and semiconductor bulk trap, can be decreased by the ion insertion of a very thin ITO film into the ITZO/SiO{sub 2} reference device. These results demonstrate that the double active layer TFT can potentially be applied to the flat panel display.

Improvement in negative bias illumination stress stability of In-Ga-Zn-O thin film transistors using HfO2 gate insulators by controlling atomic-layer-deposition conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Na, So-Yeong; Kim, Yeo-Myeong; Yoon, Da-Jeong; Yoon, Sung-Min

2017-12-01

The effects of atomic layer deposition (ALD) conditions for the HfO2 gate insulators (GI) on the device characteristics of the InGaZnO (IGZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) were investigated when the ALD temperature and Hf precursor purge time were varied to 200, 225, and 250 °C, and 15 and 30 s, respectively. The HfO2 thin films showed low leakage current density of 10-8 A cm-2, high dielectric constant of over 20, and smooth surface roughness at all ALD conditions. The IGZO TFTs using the HfO2 GIs showed good device characteristics such as a saturation mobility as high as 11 cm2 V-1 s-1, a subthreshold swing as low as 0.10 V/dec, and all the devices could be operated at a gate voltage as low as  ±3 V. While there were no marked differences in transfer characteristics and PBS stabilities among the fabricated devices, the NBIS instabilities could be improved by increasing the ALD temperature for the formation of HfO2 GIs by reducing the oxygen vacancies within the IGZO channel.

Epitaxial growth and electronic structure of oxyhydride SrVO2H thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Katayama, Tsukasa; Chikamatsu, Akira; Yamada, Keisuke; Shigematsu, Kei; Onozuka, Tomoya; Minohara, Makoto; Kumigashira, Hiroshi; Ikenaga, Eiji; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

2016-08-01

Oxyhydride SrVO2H epitaxial thin films were fabricated on SrTiO3 substrates via topotactic hydridation of oxide SrVO3 films using CaH2. Structural and composition analyses suggested that the SrVO2H film possessed one-dimensionally ordered V-H--V bonds along the out-of-plane direction. The synthesis temperature could be lowered by reducing the film thickness, and the SrVO2H film was reversible to SrVO3 by oxidation through annealing in air. Photoemission and X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements revealed the V3+ valence state in the SrVO2H film, indicating that the hydrogen existed as hydride. Furthermore, the electronic density of states was highly suppressed at the Fermi energy, consistent with the prediction that tetragonal distortion induces metal to insulation transition.

Ion beam modification and analysis of thin YBa2Cu3O7 films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, O.

1989-04-01

The application of ion beams for the analysis and modification of high Tc superconductors is reviewed. Ion backscattering and channeling spectroscopy is used to optimize the film composition and the epitaxial growth performance on various single crystalline substrates. The influence of radiation damage on the transport properties and on the structure of polycrystalline as well as of single crystalline thin films is presented. The irradiation induced metal to insulator phase transition is discussed in detail. Some applications including the use of ion implantation for structuring are summarized. (orig.) [de

Ultrafast terahertz spectroscopy study of a Kondo insulating thin-film Sm B6 : Evidence for an emergent surface state

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jingdi; Yong, Jie; Takeuchi, Ichiro; Greene, Richard L.; Averitt, Richard D.

2018-04-01

We utilize terahertz time domain spectroscopy to investigate thin films of the heavy fermion compound Sm B6 , a prototype Kondo insulator. Temperature-dependent terahertz (THz) conductivity measurements reveal a rapid decrease in the Drude weight and carrier scattering rate at ˜T*=20 K , well below the hybridization gap onset temperature (100 K). Moreover, a low-temperature conductivity plateau (below 20 K) suggests the emergence of a surface state with an effective electron mass of 0.1 me . The conductivity dynamics following optical excitation is also measured and interpreted using Rothwarf-Taylor (R-T) phenomenology, yielding a hybridization gap energy of 17 meV. However, R-T modeling of the conductivity dynamics reveals a deviation from the expected thermally excited quasiparticle density at temperatures below 20 K, indicative of another channel opening up in the low-energy electrodynamics. Taken together, these results are consistent with the onset of a surface state well below the crossover temperature (100 K) after long-range coherence of the f -electron Kondo lattice is established.

Quantum capacitance of an ultrathin topological insulator film in a magnetic field

KAUST Repository

Tahir, M.; Sabeeh, K.; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo

2013-01-01

We present a theoretical study of the quantum magnetocapacitance of an ultrathin topological insulator film in an external magnetic field. The study is undertaken to investigate the interplay of the Zeeman interaction with the hybridization between the upper and lower surfaces of the thin film. Determining the density of states, we find that the electron-hole symmetry is broken when the Zeeman and hybridization energies are varied relative to each other. This leads to a change in the character of the magnetocapacitance at the charge neutrality point. We further show that in the presence of both Zeeman interaction and hybridization the magnetocapacitance exhibits beating at low and splitting of the Shubnikov de Haas oscillations at high perpendicular magnetic field. In addition, we address the crossover from perpendicular to parallel magnetic field and find consistency with recent experimental data.

Quantum capacitance of an ultrathin topological insulator film in a magnetic field

KAUST Repository

Tahir, M.

2013-02-12

We present a theoretical study of the quantum magnetocapacitance of an ultrathin topological insulator film in an external magnetic field. The study is undertaken to investigate the interplay of the Zeeman interaction with the hybridization between the upper and lower surfaces of the thin film. Determining the density of states, we find that the electron-hole symmetry is broken when the Zeeman and hybridization energies are varied relative to each other. This leads to a change in the character of the magnetocapacitance at the charge neutrality point. We further show that in the presence of both Zeeman interaction and hybridization the magnetocapacitance exhibits beating at low and splitting of the Shubnikov de Haas oscillations at high perpendicular magnetic field. In addition, we address the crossover from perpendicular to parallel magnetic field and find consistency with recent experimental data.

Tuning of Transport and Magnetic Properties in Epitaxial LaMnO3+δ Thin Films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Chen

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The effect of compressive strain on the transport and magnetic properties of epitaxial LaMnO3+δ thin films has been investigated. It is found that the transport and magnetic properties of the LaMnO3+δ thin films grown on the LaAlO3 substrates can be tuned by the compressive strain through varying film thickness. And the insulator-metal transition, charge/orbital ordering transition, and paramagnetic-ferromagnetic transition are suppressed by the compressive strain. Consequently, the related electronic and magnetic transition temperatures decrease with an increase in the compressive strain. The present results can be explained by the strain-controlled lattice deformation and the consequent orbital occupation. It indicates that the lattice degree of freedom is crucial for understanding the transport and magnetic properties of the strongly correlated LaMnO3+δ.

Effect of Coercive Voltage and Charge Injection on Performance of a Ferroelectric-Gate Thin-Film Transistor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. T. Tue

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We adopted a lanthanum oxide capping layer between semiconducting channel and insulator layers for fabrication of a ferroelectric-gate thin-film transistor memory (FGT which uses solution-processed indium-tin-oxide (ITO and lead-zirconium-titanate (PZT film as a channel layer and a gate insulator, respectively. Good transistor characteristics such as a high “on/off” current ratio, high channel mobility, and a large memory window of 108, 15.0 cm2 V−1 s−1, and 3.5 V were obtained, respectively. Further, a correlation between effective coercive voltage, charge injection effect, and FGT’s memory window was investigated. It is found that the charge injection from the channel to the insulator layer, which occurs at a high electric field, dramatically influences the memory window. The memory window’s enhancement can be explained by a dual effect of the capping layer: (1 a reduction of the charge injection and (2 an increase of effective coercive voltage dropped on the insulator.

Self-Limited Growth in Pentacene Thin Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Pachmajer, Stefan; Jones, Andrew O F; Truger, Magdalena; Röthel, Christian; Salzmann, Ingo; Werzer, Oliver; Resel, Roland

2017-04-05

Pentacene is one of the most studied organic semiconducting materials. While many aspects of the film formation have already been identified in very thin films, this study provides new insight into the transition from the metastable thin-film phase to bulk phase polymorphs. This study focuses on the growth behavior of pentacene within thin films as a function of film thickness ranging from 20 to 300 nm. By employing various X-ray diffraction methods, combined with supporting atomic force microscopy investigations, one crystalline orientation for the thin-film phase is observed, while three differently tilted bulk phase orientations are found. First, bulk phase crystallites grow with their 00L planes parallel to the substrate surface; second, however, crystallites tilted by 0.75° with respect to the substrate are found, which clearly dominate the former in ratio; third, a different bulk phase polymorph with crystallites tilted by 21° is found. The transition from the thin-film phase to the bulk phase is rationalized by the nucleation of the latter at crystal facets of the thin-film-phase crystallites. This leads to a self-limiting growth of the thin-film phase and explains the thickness-dependent phase behavior observed in pentacene thin films, showing that a large amount of material is present in the bulk phase much earlier during the film growth than previously thought.

Effects of radiation damage in ion-implanted thin films of metal-oxide superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, G.J.; Marwick, A.D.; Koch, R.H.; Laibowitz, R.B.

1987-01-01

The effects of ion implantation into thin films of the superconductor YBa 2 Cu 3 O/sub x/ have been studied. Using oxygen and arsenic ions, the superconducting transition temperature T/sub c/, the change in room-temperature electrical properties from conducting to insulating, and the crystalline to amorphous structural transition in the films were studied as a function of ion dose. The deposited energy required to change T/sub c/ was found to be 0.2 eV/atom, while 1--2 eV/atom was required to affect the room-temperature conductivity, and 4 eV/atom to render the film amorphous. This hierarchy of effects is discussed in terms of the damage mechanisms involved

Hanle Magnetoresistance in Thin Metal Films with Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling.

Science.gov (United States)

Vélez, Saül; Golovach, Vitaly N; Bedoya-Pinto, Amilcar; Isasa, Miren; Sagasta, Edurne; Abadia, Mikel; Rogero, Celia; Hueso, Luis E; Bergeret, F Sebastian; Casanova, Fèlix

2016-01-08

We report measurements of a new type of magnetoresistance in Pt and Ta thin films. The spin accumulation created at the surfaces of the film by the spin Hall effect decreases in a magnetic field because of the Hanle effect, resulting in an increase of the electrical resistance as predicted by Dyakonov [Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 126601 (2007)]. The angular dependence of this magnetoresistance resembles the recently discovered spin Hall magnetoresistance in Pt/Y(3)Fe(5)O(12) bilayers, although the presence of a ferromagnetic insulator is not required. We show that this Hanle magnetoresistance is an alternative simple way to quantitatively study the coupling between charge and spin currents in metals with strong spin-orbit coupling.

Comparative DMFT study of the eg-orbital Hubbard model in thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Rüegg, Andreas; Hung, Hsiang-Hsuan; Gull, Emanuel; Fiete, Gregory A.

2014-02-01

Heterostructures of transition-metal oxides have emerged as a new route to engineer electronic systems with desired functionalities. Motivated by these developments, we study a two-orbital Hubbard model in a thin-film geometry confined along the cubic [001] direction using the dynamical mean-field theory. We contrast the results of two approximate impurity solvers (exact diagonalization and one-crossing approximation) to the results of the numerically exact continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo solver. Consistent with earlier studies, we find that the one-crossing approximation performs well in the insulating regime, while the advantage of the exact-diagonalization-based solver is more pronounced in the metallic regime. We then investigate various aspects of strongly correlated eg-orbital systems in thin-film geometries. In particular, we show how the interfacial orbital polarization dies off quickly a few layers from the interface and how the film thickness affects the location of the interaction-driven Mott transition. In addition, we explore the changes in the electronic structure with varying carrier concentration and identify large variations of the orbital polarization in the strongly correlated regime.

Surface structure determinations of crystalline ionic thin films grown on transition metal single crystal surfaces by low energy electron diffraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roberts, Joel Glenn [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

2000-05-01

The surface structures of NaCl(100), LiF(100) and alpha-MgCl2(0001) adsorbed on various metal single crystals have been determined by low energy electron diffraction (LEED). Thin films of these salts were grown on metal substrates by exposing the heated metal surface to a molecular flux of salt emitted from a Knudsen cell. This method of investigating thin films of insulators (ionic salts) on a conducting substrate (metal) circumvents surface charging problems that plagued bulk studies, thereby allowing the use of electron-based techniques to characterize the surface.

Thin films for precision optics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo, J.F.; Maurici, N.; Castro, J.C. de

1983-01-01

The technology of producing dielectric and/or metallic thin films for high precision optical components is discussed. Computer programs were developed in order to calculate and register, graphically, reflectance and transmittance spectra of multi-layer films. The technology of vacuum evaporation of several materials was implemented in our thin-films laboratory; various films for optics were then developed. The possibility of first calculate film characteristics and then produce the film is of great advantage since it reduces the time required to produce a new type of film and also reduces the cost of the project. (C.L.B.) [pt

Analysis of Hard Thin Film Coating

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Dashen

1998-01-01

MSFC is interested in developing hard thin film coating for bearings. The wearing of the bearing is an important problem for space flight engine. Hard thin film coating can drastically improve the surface of the bearing and improve the wear-endurance of the bearing. However, many fundamental problems in surface physics, plasma deposition, etc, need further research. The approach is using electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECRCVD) to deposit hard thin film an stainless steel bearing. The thin films in consideration include SiC, SiN and other materials. An ECRCVD deposition system is being assembled at MSFC.

Thin-film solar cell

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Metselaar, J.W.; Kuznetsov, V.I.

1998-01-01

The invention relates to a thin-film solar cell provided with at least one p-i-n junction comprising at least one p-i junction which is at an angle alpha with that surface of the thin-film solar cell which collects light during operation and at least one i-n junction which is at an angle beta with

Surface structural reconstruction of SrVO3 thin films on SrTiO3 (001)

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Gaomin; Saghayezhian, Mohammad; Chen, Lina; Guo, Hangwen; Zhang, Jiandi

Paramagnetic metallic oxide SrVO3>(SVO) is an itinerant system known to undergo thickness-induced metal-insulator-transition (MIT) in ultrathin film form, which makes it a prototype system for the study of the mechanism behind metal-insulator-transition like structure distortion, electron correlations and disorder-induced localization. We have grown SrVO3 thin film with atomically flat surface through the layer-by-layer deposition by laser Molecular Beam Epitaxy (laser-MBE) on SrTiO3 (001) surface. Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) measurements reveal that there is a (√2X √2) R45°surface reconstruction independent of film thickness. By using LEED-I(V) structure refinement, we determine the surface structure. In combination with X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM), we discuss the implication on the MIT in ultrathin films below 2-3 unit cell thickness. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under the NSF EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement No. EPS-1003897 with additional support from the Louisiana Board of Regents.

Miniaturized and reconfigurable notch antenna based on a BST ferroelectric thin film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nguyen, Hung Viet [Institut d' Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR), IUT Saint-Brieuc, Université de Rennes 1, 22004 Saint-Brieuc (France); CEA-LETI, Minatec, 17 avenue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Benzerga, Ratiba, E-mail: ratiba.benzerga@univ-rennes1.fr [Institut d' Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR), IUT Saint-Brieuc, Université de Rennes 1, 22004 Saint-Brieuc (France); Borderon, Caroline [IETR, Université de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssinière, 44322 Nantes (France); Delaveaud, Christophe [CEA-LETI, Minatec, 17 avenue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Sharaiha, Ala [Institut d' Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR), IUT Saint-Brieuc, Université de Rennes 1, 22004 Saint-Brieuc (France); Renoud, Raphael [IETR, Université de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssinière, 44322 Nantes (France); Paven, Claire Le [Institut d' Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR), IUT Saint-Brieuc, Université de Rennes 1, 22004 Saint-Brieuc (France); Pavy, Sabrina; Nadaud, Kevin; Gundel, Hartmut W. [IETR, Université de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssinière, 44322 Nantes (France)

2015-07-15

Highlights: • A miniature and agile antenna based on a BST MIM capacitor is simulated and made. • Mn{sup 2+} doped BST thin films are synthesized by chemical deposition and spin coating. • Permittivity and losses of the BST thin film are respectively 225 and 0.02 at 1 GHz. • A miniaturization rate of 70% is obtained with a MIM capacitance of 3.7 pF. • A frequency tunability of 14.5% and a tunability performance of 0.04 are measured. - Abstract: This work deals with the design, realization and characterization of a miniature and frequency agile antenna based on a ferroelectric Ba{sub 0,80}Sr{sub 0,20}TiO{sub 3} thin film. The notch antenna is loaded with a variable metal/insulator/metal (MIM) capacitor and is achieved by a monolithic method. The MIM capacitance is 3.7 pF, which results in a resonant frequency of 670 MHz compared to 2.25 GHz for the unloaded simulated antenna; the resulting miniaturization rate is 70%. The characterization of the antenna prototype shows a frequency tunable rate of 14.5% under an electric field of 375 kV/cm, with a tunability performance η = 0.04.

Thin-Film Material Science and Processing | Materials Science | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Thin-Film Material Science and Processing Thin-Film Material Science and Processing Photo of a , a prime example of this research is thin-film photovoltaics (PV). Thin films are important because cadmium telluride thin film, showing from top to bottom: glass, transparent conducting oxide (thin layer

Quantum magnetotransport properties of ultrathin topological insulator films

KAUST Repository

Tahir, M.

2013-01-30

We study the quantum magnetotransport in ultrathin topological insulator films in an external magnetic field considering hybridization between the upper and lower surfaces of the film. We investigate the two possible mechanisms for splitting of Landau levels, Zeeman and hybridization effects, and show that their interplay leads to minima in the collisional and Hall conductivities with a metal-to-insulator phase transition at the charge neutrality point. Hall plateaus arise at unusual multiples of e2/h . Evidence of a quantum phase transition for the zeroth and splitting of the higher Landau levels is found from the temperature and magnetic field dependences of the transport.

Quantum magnetotransport properties of ultrathin topological insulator films

KAUST Repository

Tahir, M.; Sabeeh, K.; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo

2013-01-01

We study the quantum magnetotransport in ultrathin topological insulator films in an external magnetic field considering hybridization between the upper and lower surfaces of the film. We investigate the two possible mechanisms for splitting of Landau levels, Zeeman and hybridization effects, and show that their interplay leads to minima in the collisional and Hall conductivities with a metal-to-insulator phase transition at the charge neutrality point. Hall plateaus arise at unusual multiples of e2/h . Evidence of a quantum phase transition for the zeroth and splitting of the higher Landau levels is found from the temperature and magnetic field dependences of the transport.

Nanocrystal thin film fabrication methods and apparatus

Science.gov (United States)

Kagan, Cherie R.; Kim, David K.; Choi, Ji-Hyuk; Lai, Yuming

2018-01-09

Nanocrystal thin film devices and methods for fabricating nanocrystal thin film devices are disclosed. The nanocrystal thin films are diffused with a dopant such as Indium, Potassium, Tin, etc. to reduce surface states. The thin film devices may be exposed to air during a portion of the fabrication. This enables fabrication of nanocrystal-based devices using a wider range of techniques such as photolithography and photolithographic patterning in an air environment.

Thermally tunable VO2-SiO2 nanocomposite thin-film capacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yifei; Narayanachari, K. V. L. V.; Wan, Chenghao; Sun, Xing; Wang, Haiyan; Cooley, Kayla A.; Mohney, Suzanne E.; White, Doug; Duwel, Amy; Kats, Mikhail A.; Ramanathan, Shriram

2018-03-01

We present a study of co-sputtered VO2-SiO2 nanocomposite dielectric thin-film media possessing continuous temperature tunability of the dielectric constant. The smooth thermal tunability is a result of the insulator-metal transition in the VO2 inclusions dispersed within an insulating matrix. We present a detailed comparison of the dielectric characteristics of this nanocomposite with those of a VO2 control layer and of VO2/SiO2 laminate multilayers of comparable overall thickness. We demonstrated a nanocomposite capacitor that has a thermal capacitance tunability of ˜60% between 25 °C and 100 °C at 1 MHz, with low leakage current. Such thermally tunable capacitors could find potential use in applications such as sensing, thermal cloaks, and phase-change energy storage devices.

Lead-free (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 thin films by pulsed laser deposition driving MEMS-based piezoelectric cantilevers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nguyen, Duc Minh; Dekkers, Jan M.; Houwman, Evert Pieter; Vu, H.T.; Vu, Hung N.; Rijnders, Augustinus J.H.M.

2016-01-01

Thin film capacitors of the lead-free (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 (KNN) with (100) orientation were grown on Pt/Ti/SiO2/SOI (silicon-on-insulator) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The films are pure phases and do not show other crystal orientations. The remnant polarization Pr, saturation polarization

Voltage-Controlled Spray Deposition of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes on Semiconducting and Insulating Substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Maulik, Subhodip; Sarkar, Anirban; Basu, Srismrita; Daniels-Race, Theda

2018-05-01

A facile, cost-effective, voltage-controlled, "single-step" method for spray deposition of surfactant-assisted dispersed carbon nanotube (CNT) thin films on semiconducting and insulating substrates has been developed. The fabrication strategy enables direct deposition and adhesion of CNT films on target samples, eliminating the need for substrate surface functionalization with organosilane binder agents or metal layer coatings. Spray coating experiments on four types of sample [bare silicon (Si), microscopy-grade glass samples, silicon dioxide (SiO2), and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)] under optimized control parameters produced films with thickness ranging from 40 nm to 6 μm with substantial surface coverage and packing density. These unique deposition results on both semiconducting and insulator target samples suggest potential applications of this technique in CNT thin-film transistors with different gate dielectrics, bendable electronics, and novel CNT-based sensing devices, and bodes well for further investigation into thin-film coatings of various inorganic, organic, and hybrid nanomaterials on different types of substrate.

As-free pnictide LaNi{sub 1-x}Sb{sub 2} thin films grown by reactive molecular beam epitaxy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Retzlaff, Reiner; Buckow, Alexander; Kurian, Jose; Alff, Lambert [Institute of Materials Science, Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, Petersenstr. 23, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany)

2012-07-01

We use reactive molecular beam epitaxy (RMBE) as synthesis technique for the search of arsenic free pnictide superconductors. Epitaxial thin films of LaNi{sub 1-x}Sb{sub 2} were grown on (100)MgO substrates from elemental sources by simultaneous evaporation of high purity La, Ni and Sb metals by e-gun. The LaNi{sub 1-x}Sb{sub 2} thin films grow epitaxially and are (00l) oriented with high crystalline quality, as evident from RHEED and X-Ray diffraction studies. The Ni deficient LaNi{sub 1-x}Sb{sub 2} thin films show metallic behavior with a room temperature resistivity of 110 {mu}{Omega} cm, while the stoichiometric compound is a semiconductor/insulator. The isostructural compound with Bi as pnictide shows a superconducting transition with a T{sub C}(0) of 3.1 K.

High rate deposition of thin film cadmium sulphide by pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lisco, F., E-mail: F.Lisco@lboro.ac.uk [Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST), School of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering, Loughborough University, Leicestershire LE11 3TU (United Kingdom); Kaminski, P.M.; Abbas, A.; Bowers, J.W.; Claudio, G. [Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST), School of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering, Loughborough University, Leicestershire LE11 3TU (United Kingdom); Losurdo, M. [Institute of Inorganic Methodologies and of Plasmas, IMIP-CNR, via Orabona 4, 70126 Bari (Italy); Walls, J.M. [Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST), School of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering, Loughborough University, Leicestershire LE11 3TU (United Kingdom)

2015-01-01

Cadmium Sulphide (CdS) is an important n-type semiconductor widely used as a window layer in thin film photovoltaics Copper Indium Selenide, Copper Indium Gallium (di)Selenide, Copper Zinc Tin Sulphide and Cadmium Telluride (CdTe). Cadmium Sulphide has been deposited using a number of techniques but these techniques can be slow (chemical bath deposition and Radio Frequency sputtering) or the uniformity and the control of thickness can be relatively difficult (close space sublimation). In this paper we report on the development of a process using pulsed Direct Current magnetron sputtering which allows nanometre control of thin film thickness using time only. The CdS thin films deposited in this process are highly uniform and smooth. They exhibit the preferred hexagonal structure at room temperature deposition and they have excellent optical properties. Importantly, the process is highly stable despite the use of a semi-insulating magnetron target. Moreover, the process is very fast. The deposition rate using 1.5 kW of power to a 6-inch circular magnetron was measured to be greater than 8 nm/s. This makes the process suitable for industrial deployment. - Highlights: • Pulsed DC magnetron sputtering of CdS • High deposition rate deposition • Uniform, pinhole free films.

High rate deposition of thin film cadmium sulphide by pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lisco, F.; Kaminski, P.M.; Abbas, A.; Bowers, J.W.; Claudio, G.; Losurdo, M.; Walls, J.M.

2015-01-01

Cadmium Sulphide (CdS) is an important n-type semiconductor widely used as a window layer in thin film photovoltaics Copper Indium Selenide, Copper Indium Gallium (di)Selenide, Copper Zinc Tin Sulphide and Cadmium Telluride (CdTe). Cadmium Sulphide has been deposited using a number of techniques but these techniques can be slow (chemical bath deposition and Radio Frequency sputtering) or the uniformity and the control of thickness can be relatively difficult (close space sublimation). In this paper we report on the development of a process using pulsed Direct Current magnetron sputtering which allows nanometre control of thin film thickness using time only. The CdS thin films deposited in this process are highly uniform and smooth. They exhibit the preferred hexagonal structure at room temperature deposition and they have excellent optical properties. Importantly, the process is highly stable despite the use of a semi-insulating magnetron target. Moreover, the process is very fast. The deposition rate using 1.5 kW of power to a 6-inch circular magnetron was measured to be greater than 8 nm/s. This makes the process suitable for industrial deployment. - Highlights: • Pulsed DC magnetron sputtering of CdS • High deposition rate deposition • Uniform, pinhole free films

Properties of laser-crystallized polycrystalline SiGe thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weizman, Moshe

2008-06-06

In this thesis, structural, electrical, and optical properties of laser-crystallized polycrystalline Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x} thin films with 0thin films with 0.3film, which is directly coupled to a periodic compositional variation. - Amorphous SiGe samples that are exposed to a single laser pulse exhibit a ripple structure that evolves into a hillock structure when the samples are irradiated with additional laser pulses. - It is maintained that the main mechanism behind the structure formation is an instability of the propagating solid-liquid interface during solidification. - The study of defects with electron spin resonance showed that laser-crystallized poly-Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x} thin films with 0films was lower and amounted to N{sub s}=7 x 10{sup 17} cm{sup -3}. - Germanium-rich laser-crystallized poly-SiGe thin films exhibited mostly a broad atypical electric dipole spin resonance (EDSR) signal that was accompanied by a nearly temperature-independent electrical conductivity in the range 20-100 K. - Most likely, the origin of the grain boundary conductance is due to dangling-bond defects and not impurities. Metallic-like conductance occurs when the dangling-bond defect density is above a critical value of about N{sub C} {approx} 10{sup 18} cm{sup -3}. - Laser crystallized poly-Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x} thin films with x{>=}0.5 exhibit optical absorption behavior that is characteristic for disordered SiGe, implying that the absorption occurs primarily at the grain boundaries. A sub-band-gap absorption peak was found for

Characterizations of photoconductivity of graphene oxide thin films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shiang-Kuo Chang-Jian

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Characterizations of photoresponse of a graphene oxide (GO thin film to a near infrared laser light were studied. Results showed the photocurrent in the GO thin film was cathodic, always flowing in an opposite direction to the initial current generated by the preset bias voltage that shows a fundamental discrepancy from the photocurrent in the reduced graphene oxide thin film. Light illumination on the GO thin film thus results in more free electrons that offset the initial current. By examining GO thin films reduced at different temperatures, the critical temperature for reversing the photocurrent from cathodic to anodic was found around 187°C. The dynamic photoresponse for the GO thin film was further characterized through the response time constants within the laser on and off durations, denoted as τon and τoff, respectively. τon for the GO thin film was comparable to the other carbon-based thin films such as carbon nanotubes and graphenes. τoff was, however, much larger than that of the other's. This discrepancy was attributable to the retardation of exciton recombination rate thanks to the existing oxygen functional groups and defects in the GO thin films.

Study on characteristics of a double-conductible channel organic thin-film transistor with an ultra-thin hole-blocking layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guang-Cai, Yuan; Zheng, Xu; Su-Ling, Zhao; Fu-Jun, Zhang; Xue-Yan, Tian; Xu-Rong, Xu; Na, Xu

2009-01-01

The properties of top-contact organic thin-film transistors (TC-OTFTs) using ultra-thin 2, 9-dimethyl-4, 7-diphenyl-1, 10-phenanthroline (BCP) as a hole-blocking interlayer have been improved significantly and a BCP interlayer was inserted into the middle of the pentacene active layer. This paper obtains a fire-new transport mode of an OTFT device with double-conductible channels. The accumulation and transfer of the hole carriers are limited by the BCP interlayer in the vertical region of the channel. A huge amount of carriers is located not only at the interface between pentacene and the gate insulator, but also at the two interfaces of pentacene/BCP interlayer and pentacene/gate insulator, respectively. The results suggest that the BCP interlayer may be useful to adjust the hole accumulation and transfer, and can increase the hole mobility and output current of OTFTs. The TC-OTFTs with a BCP interlayer at V DS = −20 V showed excellent hole mobility μFE and threshold voltage V TH of 0.58 cm 2 /(V·s) and −4.6 V, respectively

Solid phase epitaxial growth of high mobility La:BaSnO_3 thin films co-doped with interstitial hydrogen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niedermeier, Christian A.; Rhode, Sneha; Fearn, Sarah; Moram, Michelle A.; Ide, Keisuke; Hiramatsu, Hidenori; Hosono, Hideo; Kamiya, Toshio

2016-01-01

This work presents the solid phase epitaxial growth of high mobility La:BaSnO_3 thin films on SrTiO_3 single crystal substrates by crystallization through thermal annealing of nanocrystalline thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature. The La:BaSnO_3 thin films show high epitaxial quality and Hall mobilities up to 26 ± 1 cm"2/Vs. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy is used to determine the La concentration profile in the La:BaSnO_3 thin films, and a 9%–16% La doping activation efficiency is obtained. An investigation of H doping to BaSnO_3 thin films is presented employing H plasma treatment at room temperature. Carrier concentrations in previously insulating BaSnO_3 thin films were increased to 3 × 10"1"9" cm"−"3 and in La:BaSnO_3 thin films from 6 × 10"1"9" cm"−"3 to 1.5 × 10"2"0" cm"−"3, supporting a theoretical prediction that interstitial H serves as an excellent n-type dopant. An analysis of the free electron absorption by infrared spectroscopy yields a small (H,La):BaSnO_3 electron effective mass of 0.27 ± 0.05 m_0 and an optical mobility of 26 ± 7 cm"2/Vs. As compared to La:BaSnO_3 single crystals, the smaller electron mobility in epitaxial thin films grown on SrTiO_3 substrates is ascribed to threading dislocations as observed in high resolution transmission electron micrographs.

Ultra-thin smart acoustic metasurface for low-frequency sound insulation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hao; Xiao, Yong; Wen, Jihong; Yu, Dianlong; Wen, Xisen

2016-04-01

Insulating low-frequency sound is a conventional challenge due to the high areal mass required by mass law. In this letter, we propose a smart acoustic metasurface consisting of an ultra-thin aluminum foil bonded with piezoelectric resonators. Numerical and experimental results show that the metasurface can break the conventional mass law of sound insulation by 30 dB in the low frequency regime (sound insulation performance is attributed to the infinite effective dynamic mass density produced by the smart resonators. It is also demonstrated that the excellent sound insulation property can be conveniently tuned by simply adjusting the external circuits instead of modifying the structure of the metasurface.

Development of neutron diffuse scattering analysis code by thin film and multilayer film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soyama, Kazuhiko

2004-01-01

To research surface structure of thin film and multilayer film by neutron, a neutron diffuse scattering analysis code using DWBA (Distorted-Wave Bron Approximation) principle was developed. Subjects using this code contain the surface and interface properties of solid/solid, solid/liquid, liquid/liquid and gas/liquid, and metal, magnetism and polymer thin film and biomembran. The roughness of surface and interface of substance shows fractal self-similarity and its analytical model is based on DWBA theory by Sinha. The surface and interface properties by diffuse scattering are investigated on the basis of the theoretical model. The calculation values are proved to be agreed with the experimental values. On neutron diffuse scattering by thin film, roughness of surface of thin film, correlation function, neutron propagation by thin film, diffuse scattering by DWBA theory, measurement model, SDIFFF (neutron diffuse scattering analysis program by thin film) and simulation results are explained. On neutron diffuse scattering by multilayer film, roughness of multilayer film, principle of diffuse scattering, measurement method and simulation examples by MDIFF (neutron diffuse scattering analysis program by multilayer film) are explained. (S.Y.)To research surface structure of thin film and multilayer film by neutron, a neutron diffuse scattering analysis code using DWBA (Distorted-Wave Bron Approximation) principle was developed. Subjects using this code contain the surface and interface properties of solid/solid, solid/liquid, liquid/liquid and gas/liquid, and metal, magnetism and polymer thin film and biomembran. The roughness of surface and interface of substance shows fractal self-similarity and its analytical model is based on DWBA theory by Sinha. The surface and interface properties by diffuse scattering are investigated on the basis of the theoretical model. The calculation values are proved to be agreed with the experimental values. On neutron diffuse scattering

Thin film tritium dosimetry

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Paul R.

1976-01-01

The present invention provides a method for tritium dosimetry. A dosimeter comprising a thin film of a material having relatively sensitive RITAC-RITAP dosimetry properties is exposed to radiation from tritium, and after the dosimeter has been removed from the source of the radiation, the low energy electron dose deposited in the thin film is determined by radiation-induced, thermally-activated polarization dosimetry techniques.

Thin films for emerging applications v.16

CERN Document Server

Francombe, Maurice H

1992-01-01

Following in the long-standing tradition of excellence established by this serial, this volume provides a focused look at contemporary applications. High Tc superconducting thin films are discussed in terms of ion beam and sputtering deposition, vacuum evaporation, laser ablation, MOCVD, and other deposition processes in addition to their ultimate applications. Detailed treatment is also given to permanent magnet thin films, lateral diffusion and electromigration in metallic thin films, and fracture and cracking phenomena in thin films adhering to high-elongation substrates.

Interfaces and thin films physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Equer, B.

1988-01-01

The 1988 progress report of the Interfaces and Thin Film Physics laboratory (Polytechnic School France) is presented. The research program is focused on the thin films and on the interfaces of the amorphous semiconductor materials: silicon and silicon germanium, silicon-carbon and silicon-nitrogen alloys. In particular, the following topics are discussed: the basic processes and the kinetics of the reactive gas deposition, the amorphous materials manufacturing, the physico-chemical characterization of thin films and interfaces and the electron transport in amorphous semiconductors. The construction and optimization of experimental devices, as well as the activities concerning instrumentation, are also described [fr

Understanding mobility degeneration mechanism in organic thin-film transistors (OTFT)

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wei; Wang, Long; Xu, Guangwei; Gao, Nan; Wang, Lingfei; Ji, Zhuoyu; Lu, Congyan; Lu, Nianduan; Li, Ling; Liu, Miwng

2017-08-01

Mobility degradation at high gate bias is often observed in organic thin film transistors. We propose a mechanism for this confusing phenomenon, based on the percolation theory with the presence of disordered energy landscape with an exponential density of states. Within a simple model we show how the surface states at insulator/organic interface trap a portion of channel carriers, and result in decrease of mobility as well as source/drain current with gate voltage. Depending on the competition between the carrier accumulation and surface trapping effect, two different carrier density dependences of mobility are obtained, in excellent agreement with experiment data.

Buckling of Thin Films in Nano-Scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li L.A.

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Investigation of thin film buckling is important for life prediction of MEMS device which are damaged mainly by the delamination and buckling of thin films. In this paper the mechanical and thermal properties of compressed thin film titanium films with 150 nm thickness deposited on an organic glass substrate under mechanical and thermal loads were measured and characterized. In order to simulate the thin films which subjected to compound loads and the buckle modes the external uniaxial compression and thermal loading were subjected to the specimen by the symmetric loading device and the electrical film in this experiment. The temperature of the thin film deposited on substrate was measured using thermoelectric couple. The range of temperature accords with the temperature range of the MEMS. It is found that the size and number of the delamination and buckling of the film are depended upon the pre-fixed mechanical loading and thermal temperature. The thermal transient conduction and thermal stability of the film and substrate was studied with finite element method.

High-Performance Ink-Synthesized Cu-Gate Thin-Film Transistor with Diffusion Barrier Formation

Science.gov (United States)

Woo, Whang Je; Nam, Taewook; Oh, Il-Kwon; Maeng, Wanjoo; Kim, Hyungjun

2018-05-01

The improved electrical properties of Cu-gate thin-film transistors (TFTs) using an ink-synthesizing process were studied; this technology enables a low-cost and large area process for the display industry. We investigated the film properties and the effects of the ink-synthesized Cu layer in detail with respect to device characteristics. The mobility and reliability of the devices were significantly improved by applying a diffusion barrier at the interface between the Cu gate and the gate insulator. By using a TaN diffusion barrier layer, considerably improved and stabilized ink-Cu gated TFTs could be realized, comparable to sputtered-Cu gated TFTs under positive bias temperature stress measurements.

High-Performance Ink-Synthesized Cu-Gate Thin-Film Transistor with Diffusion Barrier Formation

Science.gov (United States)

Woo, Whang Je; Nam, Taewook; Oh, Il-Kwon; Maeng, Wanjoo; Kim, Hyungjun

2018-02-01

The improved electrical properties of Cu-gate thin-film transistors (TFTs) using an ink-synthesizing process were studied; this technology enables a low-cost and large area process for the display industry. We investigated the film properties and the effects of the ink-synthesized Cu layer in detail with respect to device characteristics. The mobility and reliability of the devices were significantly improved by applying a diffusion barrier at the interface between the Cu gate and the gate insulator. By using a TaN diffusion barrier layer, considerably improved and stabilized ink-Cu gated TFTs could be realized, comparable to sputtered-Cu gated TFTs under positive bias temperature stress measurements.

Single-crystal-like GdNdOx thin films on silicon substrates by magnetron sputtering and high-temperature annealing for crystal seed layer application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ziwei Wang

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Single-crystal-like rare earth oxide thin films on silicon (Si substrates were fabricated by magnetron sputtering and high-temperature annealing processes. A 30-nm-thick high-quality GdNdOx (GNO film was deposited using a high-temperature sputtering process at 500°C. A Gd2O3 and Nd2O3 mixture was used as the sputtering target, in which the proportions of Gd2O3 and Nd2O3 were controlled to make the GNO’s lattice parameter match that of the Si substrate. To further improve the quality of the GNO film, a post-deposition annealing process was performed at a temperature of 1000°C. The GNO films exhibited a strong preferred orientation on the Si substrate. In addition, an Al/GNO/Si capacitor was fabricated to evaluate the dielectric constant and leakage current of the GNO films. It was determined that the single-crystal-like GNO films on the Si substrates have potential for use as an insulator layer for semiconductor-on-insulator and semiconductor/insulator multilayer applications.

Temperature dependence of LRE-HRE-TM thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zuoyi; Cheng, Xiaomin; Lin, Gengqi; Li, Zhen; Huang, Zhixin; Jin, Fang; Wang, Xianran; Yang, Xiaofei

2003-04-01

Temperature dependence of the properties of RE-TM thin films is very important for MO recording. In this paper, we studied the temperature dependence of the magnetic and magneto-optical properties of the amorphous LRE-HRE-TM single layer thin films and LRE-HRE-TM/HRE-TM couple-bilayered thin films. For LRE-HRE-TM single layer thin films, the temperature dependence of the magnetization was investigated by using the mean field theory. The experimental and theoretical results matched very well. With the LRE substitution in HRE-TM thin film, the compensation temperature Tcomp decreased and the curie temperature Tc remained unchanged. Kerr rotation angle became larger and the saturation magnetization Ms at room temperature increased. For LRE-HRE-TM/HRE-TM couple-bilayered thin films, comparisons of the temperature dependences of the coercivities and Kerr rotation angles were made between isolated sublayers and couple-bilayered thin film.

Surface Modification of Solution-Processed ZrO2 Films through Double Coating for Pentacene Thin-Film Transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Jin-Hyuk; Bae, Jin-Hyuk; Lee, Hyeonju; Park, Jaehoon

2018-03-01

We report the modification of surface properties of solution-processed zirconium oxide (ZrO2) dielectric films achieved by using double-coating process. It is proven that the surface properties of the ZrO2 film are modified through the double-coating process; the surface roughness decreases and the surface energy increases. The present surface modification of the ZrO2 film contributes to an increase in grain size of the pentacene film, thereby increasing the field-effect mobility and decreasing the threshold voltage of the pentacene thin-film transistors (TFTs) having the ZrO2 gate dielectric. Herein, the molecular orientation of pentacene film is also studied based on the results of contact angle and X-ray diffraction measurements. Pentacene molecules on the double-coated ZrO2 film are found to be more tilted than those on the single-coated ZrO2 film, which is attributed to the surface modification of the ZrO2 film. However, no significant differences are observed in insulating properties between the single-and the double-coated ZrO2 dielectric films. Consequently, the characteristic improvements of the pentacene TFTs with the double-coated ZrO2 gate dielectric film can be understood through the increase in pentacene grain size and the reduction in grain boundary density.

Investigation of structural, morphological and electrical properties of APCVD vanadium oxide thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Papadimitropoulos, Georgios; Trantalidis, Stelios; Tsiatouras, Athanasios; Vasilopoulou, Maria; Davazoglou, Dimitrios; Kostis, Ioannis

2015-01-01

Vanadium oxide films were chemically vapor deposited (CVD) on oxidized Si substrates covered with CVD tungsten (W) thin films and on glass substrates covered with indium tin oxide (ITO) films, using vanadium(V) oxy-tri-isopropoxide (C 9 H 21 O 4 V) vapors. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements showed that the deposited films were composed of a mixture of vanadium oxides; the composition was determined mainly by the deposition temperature and less by the precursor temperature. At temperatures up to 450 C the films were mostly composed by monoclinic VO 2 . Other peaks corresponding to various vanadium oxides were also observed. X-ray microanalysis confirmed the composition of the films. The surface morphology was studied with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These measurements revealed that the morphology strongly depends on the used substrate and the deposition conditions. The well-known metal-insulator transition was observed near 75 C for films mostly composed by monoclinic VO 2 . Films deposited at 450 C exhibited two transitions one near 50 C and the other near 60 C possibly related to the presence of other vanadium phases or of important stresses in them. Finally, the vanadium oxide thin films exhibited significant sensory capabilities decreasing their resistance in the presence of hydrogen gas with response times in the order of a few seconds and working temperature at 40 C. (copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Application-related properties of giant magnetostrictive thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2002-01-01

In an effort to facilitate the utilization of giant magnetostrictive thin films in microdevices, application-related properties of these thin films, which include induced anisotropy, residual stress and corrosion properties, are investigated. A large induced anisotropy with an energy of 6x10 4 J/m 3 is formed in field-sputtered amorphous Sm-Fe-B thin films, resulting in a large magnetostriction anisotropy. Two components of residual stress, intrinsic compressive stress and tensile stress due to the difference of the thermal expansion coefficients between the substrate and thin film, are identified. The variation of residual stress with fabrication parameter and annealing temperature, and its influence on mechanical bending and magnetic properties are examined. Better corrosion properties are observed in Sm-Fe thin films than in Tb-Fe. Corrosion properties of Tb-Fe thin films, however, are much improved with the introduction of nitrogen to the thin films without deteriorating magnetostrictive properties

Epitaxial growth and electronic structure of oxyhydride SrVO{sub 2}H thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Katayama, Tsukasa; Chikamatsu, Akira, E-mail: chikamatsu@chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Yamada, Keisuke; Onozuka, Tomoya [Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Shigematsu, Kei [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 213-0012 (Japan); Minohara, Makoto; Kumigashira, Hiroshi [Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801 (Japan); Ikenaga, Eiji [Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI)/SPring-8, Mikazuki-cho, Hyogo 679-5198 (Japan); Hasegawa, Tetsuya [Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 213-0012 (Japan)

2016-08-28

Oxyhydride SrVO{sub 2}H epitaxial thin films were fabricated on SrTiO{sub 3} substrates via topotactic hydridation of oxide SrVO{sub 3} films using CaH{sub 2}. Structural and composition analyses suggested that the SrVO{sub 2}H film possessed one-dimensionally ordered V-H{sup −}-V bonds along the out-of-plane direction. The synthesis temperature could be lowered by reducing the film thickness, and the SrVO{sub 2}H film was reversible to SrVO{sub 3} by oxidation through annealing in air. Photoemission and X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements revealed the V{sup 3+} valence state in the SrVO{sub 2}H film, indicating that the hydrogen existed as hydride. Furthermore, the electronic density of states was highly suppressed at the Fermi energy, consistent with the prediction that tetragonal distortion induces metal to insulation transition.

From epitaxial growth of ferrite thin films to spin-polarized tunnelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moussy, Jean-Baptiste

2013-01-01

This paper presents a review of the research which is focused on ferrite thin films for spintronics. First, I will describe the potential of ferrite layers for the generation of spin-polarized currents. In the second step, the structural and chemical properties of epitaxial thin films and ferrite-based tunnel junctions will be presented. Particular attention will be given to ferrite systems grown by oxygen-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The analysis of the structure and chemistry close to the interfaces, a key-point for understanding the spin-polarized tunnelling measurements, will be detailed. In the third part, the magnetic and magneto-transport properties of magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) thin films as a function of structural defects such as the antiphase boundaries will be explained. The spin-polarization measurements (spin-resolved photoemission, tunnel magnetoresistance) on this oxide predicted to be half-metallic will be discussed. Fourth, the potential of magnetic tunnel barriers, such as CoFe 2 O 4 , NiFe 2 O 4 or MnFe 2 O 4 , whose insulating behaviour and the high Curie temperatures make it exciting candidates for spin filtering at room temperature will be described. Spin-polarized tunnelling experiments, involving either Meservey–Tedrow or tunnel magnetoresistance measurements, will reveal significant spin-polarizations of the tunnelling current at low temperatures but also at room temperatures. Finally, I will mention a few perspectives with ferrite-based heterostructures. (topical review)

Preparation of LiMn2O4 cathode thin films for thin film lithium secondary batteries by a mist CVD process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tadanaga, Kiyoharu; Yamaguchi, Akihiro; Sakuda, Atsushi; Hayashi, Akitoshi; Tatsumisago, Masahiro; Duran, Alicia; Aparacio, Mario

2014-01-01

Highlights: • LiMn 2 O 4 thin films were prepared by using the mist CVD process. • An aqueous solution of lithium and manganese acetates is used for the precursor solution. • The cell with the LiMn 2 O 4 thin films exhibited a capacity of about 80 mAh/g. • The cell showed good cycling performance during 10 cycles. - Abstract: LiMn 2 O 4 cathode thin films for thin film lithium secondary batteries were prepared by using so-called the “mist CVD process”, employing an aqueous solution of lithium acetate and manganese acetate, as the source of Li and Mn, respectively. The aqueous solution of starting materials was ultrasonically atomized to form mist particles, and mists were transferred by nitrogen gas to silica glass substrate to form thin films. FE-SEM observation revealed that thin films obtained by this process were dense and smooth, and thin films with a thickness of about 750 nm were obtained. The electrochemical cell with the thin films obtained by sintering at 700 °C exhibited a capacity of about 80 mAh/g, and the cell showed good cycling performance during 10 cycles

P-type CuxS thin films: Integration in a thin film transistor structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nunes de Carvalho, C.; Parreira, P.; Lavareda, G.; Brogueira, P.; Amaral, A.

2013-01-01

Cu x S thin films, 80 nm thick, are deposited by vacuum thermal evaporation of sulfur-rich powder mixture, Cu 2 S:S (50:50 wt.%) with no intentional heating of the substrate. The process of deposition occurs at very low deposition rates (0.1–0.3 nm/s) to avoid the formation of Cu or S-rich films. The evolution of Cu x S films surface properties (morphology/roughness) under post deposition mild annealing in air at 270 °C and their integration in a thin film transistor (TFT) are the main objectives of this study. Accordingly, Scanning Electron Microscopy studies show Cu x S films with different surface morphologies, depending on the post deposition annealing conditions. For the shortest annealing time, the Cu x S films look to be constructed of grains with large dimension at the surface (approximately 100 nm) and consequently, irregular shape. For the longest annealing time, films with a fine-grained surface are found, with some randomly distributed large particles bound to this fine-grained surface. Atomic Force Microscopy results indicate an increase of the root-mean-square roughness of Cu x S surface with annealing time, from 13.6 up to 37.4 nm, for 255 and 345 s, respectively. The preliminary integration of Cu x S films in a TFT bottom-gate type structure allowed the study of the feasibility and compatibility of this material with the remaining stages of a TFT fabrication as well as the determination of the p-type characteristic of the Cu x S material. - Highlights: • Surface properties of annealed Cu x S films. • Variation of conductivity with annealing temperatures of Cu x S films. • Application of evaporated Cu x S films in a thin film transistor (TFT) structure. • Determination of Cu x S p-type characteristic from TFT behaviour

Thin-film morphology of inkjet-printed single-droplet organic transistors using polarized Raman spectroscopy: effect of blending TIPS-pentacene with insulating polymer

NARCIS (Netherlands)

James, D.T.; Kjellander, B.K.C.; Smaal, W.T.T.; Gelinck, G.H.; Combe, C.; McCulloch, I.; Wilson, R.; Burroughes, J.H.; Bradley, D.D.C.; Kim, J.S.

2011-01-01

We report thin-film morphology studies of inkjet-printed single-droplet organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) using angle-dependent polarized Raman spectroscopy. We show this to be an effective technique to determine the degree of molecular order as well as to spatially resolve the orientation of

Semiconductor-nanocrystal/conjugated polymer thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Alivisatos, A. Paul; Dittmer, Janke J.; Huynh, Wendy U.; Milliron, Delia

2014-06-17

The invention described herein provides for thin films and methods of making comprising inorganic semiconductor-nanocrystals dispersed in semiconducting-polymers in high loading amounts. The invention also describes photovoltaic devices incorporating the thin films.

Thin liquid films dewetting and polymer flow

CERN Document Server

Blossey, Ralf

2012-01-01

This book is a treatise on the thermodynamic and dynamic properties of thin liquid films at solid surfaces and, in particular, their rupture instabilities. For the quantitative study of these phenomena, polymer thin films haven proven to be an invaluable experimental model system.   What is it that makes thin film instabilities special and interesting, warranting a whole book? There are several answers to this. Firstly, thin polymeric films have an important range of applications, and with the increase in the number of technologies available to produce and to study them, this range is likely to expand. An understanding of their instabilities is therefore of practical relevance for the design of such films.   Secondly, thin liquid films are an interdisciplinary research topic. Interdisciplinary research is surely not an end to itself, but in this case it leads to a fairly heterogeneous community of theoretical and experimental physicists, engineers, physical chemists, mathematicians and others working on the...

Self-assembly of dodecaphenyl POSS thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Handke, Bartosz; Klita, Łukasz; Niemiec, Wiktor

2017-12-01

The self-assembly abilities of Dodecaphenyl Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane thin films on Si(1 0 0) surfaces were studied. Due to their thermal properties - relatively low sublimation temperature and preservation of molecular structure - cage type silsesquioxanes are ideal material for the preparation of a thin films by Physical Vapor Deposition. The Ultra-High Vacuum environment and the deposition precision of the PVD method enable the study of early stages of thin film growth and its molecular organization. X-ray Reflectivity and Atomic Force Microscopy measurements allow to pursuit size-effects in the structure of thin films with thickness ranges from less than a single molecular layer up to several tens of layers. Thermal treatment of the thin films triggered phase change: from a poorly ordered polycrystalline film into a well-ordered multilayer structure. Self-assembly of the layers is the effect of the π-stacking of phenyl rings, which force molecules to arrange in a superlattice, forming stacks of alternating organic-inorganic layers.

Organic thin films and surfaces directions for the nineties

CERN Document Server

Ulman, Abraham

1995-01-01

Physics of Thin Films has been one of the longest running continuing series in thin film science consisting of 20 volumes since 1963. The series contains some of the highest quality studies of the properties ofvarious thin films materials and systems.In order to be able to reflect the development of todays science and to cover all modern aspects of thin films, the series, beginning with Volume 20, will move beyond the basic physics of thin films. It will address the most important aspects of both inorganic and organic thin films, in both their theoretical as well as technological aspects. Ther

Synthesis and characterisation of La1-xNaxMnO3+δ thin films manganites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alessandri, I.; Malavasi, L.; Bontempi, E.; Mozzati, M.C.; Azzoni, C.B.; Flor, G.; Depero, L.E.

2004-01-01

Optimally sodium doped lanthanum manganite (LNMO) thin films have been grown onto differently oriented NdGaO 3 single crystals substrates by means of radio-frequency (RF)-magnetron sputtering technique, in order to investigate the role of the strain imposed by lattice mismatch on the magnetotransport properties. Films deposited onto NdGaO 3 (1 1 0) experiment a slight in-plane compressive strain that can be tuned by the thickness and allows to achieve colossal magnetoresistive effects. On the contrary, the change of the substrate orientation induces an in-plane tensile strain, making the film insulating. Above observations are explained by considering the effect of distortions of the Mn-O coordination polyhedra

Electrical properties of resistive switches based on Ba{sub 1-{chi}S}r{sub {chi}T}iO{sub 3} thin films prepared by RF co-sputtering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marquez H, A.; Hernandez R, E.; Zapata T, M. [IPN, Centro de Investigacion en Ciencia Aplicada y Tecnologia Avanzada, Calzada Legaria No. 694, Col. Irrigacion, 11500 Mexico D. F. (Mexico); Guillen R, J. [Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus Tampico, Puerto Industrial, Altamira 89600, Tamaulipas (Mexico); Cruz, M. P. [UNAM, Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnologia, Km. 107 Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada, Baja California (Mexico); Calzadilla A, O. [Universidad de la Habana, Facultad de Fisica-IMRE, San Lazaro y L. Municipio Plaza de la Revolucion, La Habana, Cuba (Cuba); Melendez L, M., E-mail: amarquez@ipn.m [IPN, Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados, Departamento de Fisica, A. P. 14-740, 07000 Mexico D. F. (Mexico)

2010-07-01

In this work, was proposed the use of Ba{sub 1-{chi}S}r{sub {chi}T}iO{sub 3}(0{<=}x{<=}1) thin films for the construction of metal-insulator-metal heterostructures; and their great potential for the development of non-volatile resistance memories (ReRAM) is shown. The deposition of Ba{sub 1-{chi}S}r{sub {chi}T}iO{sub 3} thin films was done by the RF co-sputtering technique using two magnetron sputtering cathodes with BaTiO{sub 3} and SrTiO{sub 3} targets. The chemical composition (x parameter) in the deposited Ba{sub 1-{chi}S}r{sub {chi}T}iO{sub 3} thin films was varied through the RF powder applied to the targets. The constructed metal-insulator-metal heterostructures were Al/Ba{sub 1-{chi}S}r{sub {chi}T}iO{sub 3}/nichrome. The I-V measurements of the heterostructures showed that their hysteretic characteristics change depending on the Ba/Sr ratio of the Ba{sub 1-{chi}S}r{sub {chi}T}iO{sub 3} thin films; the Ba/Sr ratio was determined by employing the energy dispersive spectroscopy; Sem micrographs showed that Ba{sub 1-{chi}S}r{sub {chi}T}iO{sub 3} thin films were uniform without cracks or pinholes. Additionally, the analysis of the X-ray diffraction results indicated the substitutional incorporation of Sr into the BaTiO{sub 3} lattice and the obtainment of crystalline films for the entire range of the x values. (Author)

Fabrication and characterization of Aerogel-Polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) Insulation Film

Science.gov (United States)

Noh, Yeoung ah; Song, Sinae; Taik Kim, Hee

2018-03-01

The building has a large impact on the space heating demand and the indoor environment is affected by climate or daylight. Hence, silica aerogel has generally used as a film to reduce the coefficient of the window in the building. Silica aerogel is a suitable material to apply for insulation material with lower thermal conductivity than that of air to save interior energy. However expensive precursor and drying process were the main issue of the silica aerogel synthesis and practical usage. We attempt to fabricate aerogel insulation film for energy saving through the economic process under ambient pressure. Silica aerogel was synthesized from rice husk ash, which was an agricultural waste to be able to recycle. Taguchi design was used to optimize the parameters (amount of rice husk ash, pH, aging time) controlling the surface area of silica aerogel. The silica aerogel is prepared by sol-gel processing through acidic treatment and aging. The silica aerogel was obtained by modification of silica hydrogel surface and dry at ambient pressure. Finally, aerogel film was respectively fabricated by the different content of aerogel in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Silica aerogel obtained 21 – 24nm average particle size was analyzed by SEM and silica aerogel with high surface area (832.26 m2/g), pore size ( 3.30nm ) was characterized by BET. Then silica Aerogel – PDMS insulation film with thermal conductivity (0.002 W/mK) was analyzed by thermal wave system. The study demonstrates an eco-friendly and low-cost route toward silica – PDMS insulation film with low thermal conductivity (0.002 W/mK).

Novel chemical analysis for thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Usui, Toshio; Kamei, Masayuki; Aoki, Yuji; Morishita, Tadataka; Tanaka, Shoji

1991-01-01

Scanning electron microscopy and total-reflection-angle X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-TRAXS) was applied for fluorescence X-ray analysis of 50A- and 125A-thick Au thin films on Si(100). The intensity of the AuM line (2.15 keV) emitted from the Au thin films varied as a function of the take-off angle (θ t ) with respect to the film surface; the intensity of AuM line from the 125A-thick Au thin film was 1.5 times as large as that of SiK α line (1.74 keV) emitted from the Si substrate when θ t = 0deg-3deg, in the vicinity of a critical angle for total external reflection of the AuM line at Si (0.81deg). In addition, the intensity of the AuM line emitted from the 50A-thick Au thin film was also sufficiently strong for chemical analysis. (author)

Nanostructured thin film coatings with different strengthening effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Panfilov Yury

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A number of articles on strengthening thin film coatings were analyzed and a lot of unusual strengthening effects, such as super high hardness and plasticity simultaneously, ultra low friction coefficient, high wear-resistance, curve rigidity increasing of drills with small diameter, associated with process formation of nanostructured coatings by the different thin film deposition methods were detected. Vacuum coater with RF magnetron sputtering system and ion-beam source and arc evaporator for nanostructured thin film coating manufacture are represented. Diamond Like Carbon and MoS2 thin film coatings, Ti, Al, Nb, Cr, nitride, carbide, and carbo-nitride thin film materials are described as strengthening coatings.

Dynamics of solid thin-film dewetting in the silicon-on-insulator system

Science.gov (United States)

Bussmann, E.; Cheynis, F.; Leroy, F.; Müller, P.; Pierre-Louis, O.

2011-04-01

Using low-energy electron microscopy movies, we have measured the dewetting dynamics of single-crystal Si(001) thin films on SiO2 substrates. During annealing (T>700 °C), voids open in the Si, exposing the oxide. The voids grow, evolving Si fingers that subsequently break apart into self-organized three-dimensional (3D) Si nanocrystals. A kinetic Monte Carlo model incorporating surface and interfacial free energies reproduces all the salient features of the morphological evolution. The dewetting dynamics is described using an analytic surface-diffusion-based model. We demonstrate quantitatively that Si dewetting from SiO2 is mediated by surface-diffusion driven by surface free-energy minimization.

Dynamics of solid thin-film dewetting in the silicon-on-insulator system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bussmann, E; Cheynis, F; Leroy, F; Mueller, P; Pierre-Louis, O

2011-01-01

Using low-energy electron microscopy movies, we have measured the dewetting dynamics of single-crystal Si(001) thin films on SiO 2 substrates. During annealing (T>700 deg. C), voids open in the Si, exposing the oxide. The voids grow, evolving Si fingers that subsequently break apart into self-organized three-dimensional (3D) Si nanocrystals. A kinetic Monte Carlo model incorporating surface and interfacial free energies reproduces all the salient features of the morphological evolution. The dewetting dynamics is described using an analytic surface-diffusion-based model. We demonstrate quantitatively that Si dewetting from SiO 2 is mediated by surface-diffusion driven by surface free-energy minimization.

Metal-Insulator Phase Transition in thin VO2 films: A Look from the Far Infrared Side

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jepsen, Peter Uhd; Fischer, B. M.; Thoman, A.

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) displays a well-known metal-insulator (MI) transition at atemperature of 68oC. The MI transition in VO2 has been studied extensively by a widerange of optical, electrical, structural, and magnetic measurements. In spite of this there isstill some controversy about the nature...... temperature hysteresis of the far-infrared transmission through thethin film with temperature. Interestingly the temperature-dependent transmissionamplitude shows a markedly different switching temperature than the transmission phase.This effect has not been observed before, and is very important...

Red electroluminescent process excited by hot holes in SrGa2S4:Ce, Mn thin film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Katsu; Okamoto, Shinji

2009-01-01

This paper reports the first observation of red electroluminescence (EL) in SrGa 2 S 4 :Ce, Mn thin film. The EL spectrum consists of single broad emission band having a peak wavelength of 665 nm. The dominant EL decay time was 31 μs. The relationship between the applied voltage and the EL waveform was measured in single insulating thin film electroluminescent (TFEL) devices. An asymmetric EL waveform was observed in SrGa 2 S 4 :Ce, Mn TFEL devices under a rectangular applied voltage. The polarity of the EL waveform in these devices was different from the waveform in manganese-activated zinc sulfide ZnS:Mn devices. This indicates that hot holes excite the Mn 2+ ions to cause the red EL.

Thin Film Photovoltaics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zweibel, K.

1998-11-19

The motivation to develop thin film technologies dates back to the inception of photovoltaics. It is an idea based on achieving truly low-cost photovoltaics appropriate for mass production and energy significant markets. The key to the idea is the use of pennies worth of active materials. Since sunlight carries relatively little energy in comparison with combustion-based energy sources, photovoltaic (PV) modules must be cheap to produce energy that can be competitive. Thin films are presumed to be the answer to that low-cost requirement. But how cheap do they have to be? The following is an oversimplified analysis that allows some insight into this question.

Thin films: Past, present, future

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zweibel, K

1995-04-01

This report describes the characteristics of the thin film photovoltaic modules necessary for an acceptable rate of return for rural areas and underdeveloped countries. The topics of the paper include a development of goals of cost and performance for an acceptable PV system, a review of current technologies for meeting these goals, issues and opportunities in thin film technologies.

Non-linear optics of nano-scale pentacene thin film

Science.gov (United States)

Yahia, I. S.; Alfaify, S.; Jilani, Asim; Abdel-wahab, M. Sh.; Al-Ghamdi, Attieh A.; Abutalib, M. M.; Al-Bassam, A.; El-Naggar, A. M.

2016-07-01

We have found the new ways to investigate the linear/non-linear optical properties of nanostructure pentacene thin film deposited by thermal evaporation technique. Pentacene is the key material in organic semiconductor technology. The existence of nano-structured thin film was confirmed by atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The wavelength-dependent transmittance and reflectance were calculated to observe the optical behavior of the pentacene thin film. It has been observed the anomalous dispersion at wavelength λ 800. The non-linear refractive index of the deposited films was investigated. The linear optical susceptibility of pentacene thin film was calculated, and we observed the non-linear optical susceptibility of pentacene thin film at about 6 × 10-13 esu. The advantage of this work is to use of spectroscopic method to calculate the liner and non-liner optical response of pentacene thin films rather than expensive Z-scan. The calculated optical behavior of the pentacene thin films could be used in the organic thin films base advanced optoelectronic devices such as telecommunications devices.

Oxidation of ruthenium thin films using atomic oxygen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McCoy, A.P.; Bogan, J.; Brady, A.; Hughes, G.

2015-12-31

In this study, the use of atomic oxygen to oxidise ruthenium thin films is assessed. Atomic layer deposited (ALD) ruthenium thin films (~ 3 nm) were exposed to varying amounts of atomic oxygen and the results were compared to the impact of exposures to molecular oxygen. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies reveal substantial oxidation of metallic ruthenium films to RuO{sub 2} at exposures as low as ~ 10{sup 2} L at 575 K when atomic oxygen was used. Higher exposures of molecular oxygen resulted in no metal oxidation highlighting the benefits of using atomic oxygen to form RuO{sub 2}. Additionally, the partial oxidation of these ruthenium films occurred at temperatures as low as 293 K (room temperature) in an atomic oxygen environment. - Highlights: • X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of the oxidation of Ru thin films • Oxidation of Ru thin films using atomic oxygen • Comparison between atomic oxygen and molecular oxygen treatments on Ru thin films • Fully oxidised RuO{sub 2} thin films formed with low exposures to atomic oxygen.

Indium local geometry in In-Sb-Te thin films using XANES and DFT calculations

Science.gov (United States)

Bilovol, V.; Gil Rebaza, A. V.; Mudarra Navarro, A. M.; Errico, L.; Fontana, M.; Arcondo, B.

2017-12-01

In-Sb-Te when is a thin film presents a huge difference in its electrical resistivity when transform from the amorphous (insulating) to the crystalline (conducting) phase. This property made this system one of the main phase-change materials used in the data storage industry. The change in the electrical conductivity is probably associated to a change in the bonding geometry of some of its constituents. To explore this point, we present in this work an study of the bonding geometry of In atoms in In-Sb-Te films by means of In K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation in both as deposited (amorphous) and crystalline thin films obtained as a result of resistance (R) vs temperature (T) measurements. Comparison of the XANES spectra obtained for ternary amorphous films and binary crystalline reference films suggests that in amorphous films the bonding geometry of In atoms is tetrahedral-like. After the thermal annealing has been carried out the differences in the XANES spectra of the as deposited and the annealed films indicate that the bonding geometry of In atoms changes. Based on X-ray diffraction results and ab initio calculations in the framework of the Density Functional Theory (DFT) we show that the new coordination geometry is associated with a tendency of In atoms towards octahedral-like.

High-throughput characterization of stresses in thin film materials libraries using Si cantilever array wafers and digital holographic microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lai, Y. W.; Ludwig, A.; Hamann, S.; Ehmann, M.

2011-01-01

We report the development of an advanced high-throughput stress characterization method for thin film materials libraries sputter-deposited on micro-machined cantilever arrays consisting of around 1500 cantilevers on 4-inch silicon-on-insulator wafers. A low-cost custom-designed digital holographic microscope (DHM) is employed to simultaneously monitor the thin film thickness, the surface topography and the curvature of each of the cantilevers before and after deposition. The variation in stress state across the thin film materials library is then calculated by Stoney's equation based on the obtained radii of curvature of the cantilevers and film thicknesses. DHM with nanometer-scale out-of-plane resolution allows stress measurements in a wide range, at least from several MPa to several GPa. By using an automatic x-y translation stage, the local stresses within a 4-inch materials library are mapped with high accuracy within 10 min. The speed of measurement is greatly improved compared with the prior laser scanning approach that needs more than an hour of measuring time. A high-throughput stress measurement of an as-deposited Fe-Pd-W materials library was evaluated for demonstration. The fast characterization method is expected to accelerate the development of (functional) thin films, e.g., (magnetic) shape memory materials, whose functionality is greatly stress dependent.

Thin Films in the Photovoltaic Industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaeger-Waldau, A.

2008-03-01

In the past years, the yearly world market growth rate for Photovoltaics was an average of more than 40%, which makes it one of the fastest growing industries at present. Business analysts predict the market volume to increase to 40 billion euros in 2010 and expect rising profit margins and lower prices for consumers at the same time. Today PV is still dominated by wafer based Crystalline Silicon Technology as the 'working horse' in the global market, but thin films are gaining market shares. For 2007 around 12% are expected. The current silicon shortage and high demand has kept prices higher than anticipated from the learning curve experience and has widened the windows of opportunities for thin film solar modules. Current production capacity estimates for thin films vary between 3 and 6 GW in 2010, representing a 20% market share for these technologies. Despite the higher growth rates for thin film technologies compared with the industry average, Thin Film Photovoltaic Technologies are still facing a number of challenges to maintain this growth and increase market shares. The four main topics which were discussed during the workshop were: Potential for cost reduction; Standardization; Recycling; Performance over the lifetime.

Nanostructured thin films and coatings functional properties

CERN Document Server

Zhang, Sam

2010-01-01

The second volume in ""The Handbook of Nanostructured Thin Films and Coatings"" set, this book focuses on functional properties, including optical, electronic, and electrical properties, as well as related devices and applications. It explores the large-scale fabrication of functional thin films with nanoarchitecture via chemical routes, the fabrication and characterization of SiC nanostructured/nanocomposite films, and low-dimensional nanocomposite fabrication and applications. The book also presents the properties of sol-gel-derived nanostructured thin films as well as silicon nanocrystals e

Electrically insulating films deposited on V-4%Cr-4%Ti by reactive CVD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, J.H.

1998-04-01

In the design of liquid-metal blankets for magnetic fusion reactors, corrosion resistance of structural materials and the magnetohydrodynamic forces and their influence on thermal hydraulics and corrosion are major concerns. Electrically insulating CaO films deposited on V-4%Cr-4%Ti exhibit high-ohmic insulator behavior even though a small amount of vanadium from the alloy become incorporated into the film. However, when vanadium concentration in the film is > 15 wt.%, the film becomes conductive. When the vanadium concentration is high in localized areas, a calcium vanadate phase that exhibits semiconductor behavior can form. The objective of this study is to evaluate electrically insulating films that were deposited on V-4%Cr-4%Ti by a reactive chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. To this end, CaO and Ca-V-O coatings were produced on vanadium alloys by CVD and by a metallic-vapor process to investigate the electrical resistance of the coatings. The authors found that the Ca-V-O films exhibited insulator behavior when the ratio of calcium concentration to vanadium concentration R in the film > 0.9, and semiconductor or conductor behavior when R 0.98 were exposed in liquid lithium. Based on these studies, they conclude that semiconductor behavior occurs if a conductive calcium vanadate phase is present in localized regions in the CaO coating

APCVD hexagonal boron nitride thin films for passive near-junction thermal management of electronics

Science.gov (United States)

KC, Pratik; Rai, Amit; Ashton, Taylor S.; Moore, Arden L.

2017-12-01

The ability of graphene to serve as an ultrathin heat spreader has been previously demonstrated with impressive results. However, graphene is electrically conductive, making its use in contact with electronic devices problematic from a reliability and integration perspective. As an alternative, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a similarly structured material with large in-plane thermal conductivity but which possesses a wide band gap, thereby giving it potential to be utilized for directing contact, near-junction thermal management of electronics without shorting or the need for an insulating intermediate layer. In this work, the viability of using large area, continuous h-BN thin films as direct contact, near-junction heat spreaders for electronic devices is experimentally evaluated. Thin films of h-BN several square millimeters in size were synthesized via an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) method that is both simple and scalable. These were subsequently transferred onto a microfabricated test device that simulated a multigate transistor while also allowing for measurements of the device temperature at various locations via precision resistance thermometry. Results showed that these large-area h-BN films with thicknesses of 77-125 nm are indeed capable of significantly lowering microdevice temperatures, with the best sample showing the presence of the h-BN thin film reduced the effective thermal resistance by 15.9% ± 4.6% compared to a bare microdevice at the same power density. Finally, finite element simulations of these experiments were utilized to estimate the thermal conductivity of the h-BN thin films and identify means by which further heat spreading performance gains could be attained.

Improvements in the bias illumination stability of amorphous InGaZnO thin-film transistors by using thermal treatments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Woo-Byung; Ryu, Sang Ouk; Lee, Dong-Keun

2014-01-01

The a-IGZO deposited by using the rf sputtering method features a conductive or an insulator characteristic based on amount of oxygen. We demonstrated that a post-treatment affects the resistance patterns of particular-sized InGaZnO(IGZO) thin films in a-IGZO thin-film transistors (TFTs). Post-annealing shifted the driving voltage of a-IGZO TFT to positive or negative values, depending on the annealing temperatures. Post-annealing may introduce oxygen vacancies or desorbed oxygen in the IGZO thin film. The changed driving voltage of IGZO TFTs coincides with the shift of the resistance pattern of IGZO. The fabricated a-IGZO TFTs exhibited a field effect mobility of 6.2 cm 2 /Vs, an excellent subthreshold gate swing of 0.32 V/decade, and a high I on/off ratio of > 10 9 . Under positive bias illumination stress (PBIS) and negative bias illumination stress (NBIS), after 3,600 seconds, the device threshold voltage shifted about 0.2 V and 0.3 V, respectively.

Characterization of carrier states in CuWO₄ thin-films at elevated temperatures using conductometric analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gonzalez, Carlos M., E-mail: carlosmiguelgg@yahoo.com [Energy Mining and Environment Portfolio, National Research Council of Canada, 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1A 0R6 (Canada); Dunford, Jeffrey L.; Du, Xiaomei; Post, Michael L. [Energy Mining and Environment Portfolio, National Research Council of Canada, 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1A 0R6 (Canada)

2013-05-01

CuWO₄ thin-films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition onto an insulating substrate. The temperature dependence of the electronic conductivity of CuWO₄ thin-films was determined over 100–500 °C temperature range in a synthetic air atmosphere. Additionally, variations of conductivity at 300 °C and 500 °C have been measured for oxygen partial pressures (0.1 atmthin-films reveals the operation of two temperature-dependent oxygen states. The effect of varying oxygen concentration on the electronic properties is discussed in detail. The electrochemical nature of the operating oxygen states for 100–500 °C temperature range is deduced using a physicochemical model that relates electronic conductivity with oxygen partial pressure and temperature. - Graphical abstract: Formation of oxygen states in n-type semiconducting metal-oxides and its effect on the surface electrochemical potential and electron transport. Highlights: • The study of surface species in CuWO₄ thin-films was carried using conductometry. • The determination of the apparent activation energy of conduction with temperature is outlined. • Temperature and O₂ concentration effects on the oxygen states was established. • For the ranges of temperature studied, the identified operating oxygen states were O₂⁻ and O⁻.

Intrinsically conductive polymer thin film piezoresistors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lillemose, Michael; Spieser, Martin; Christiansen, N.O.

2008-01-01

We report on the piezoresistive effect in the intrinsically conductive polymer, polyaniline. A process recipe for indirect patterning of thin film polyaniline has been developed. Using a specially designed chip, the polyaniline thin films have been characterised with respect to resistivity...

Modification and structuring of conducting polymer films on insulating substrates by ion beam treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asmus, T.; Wolf, Gerhard K.

2000-01-01

Besides the commonly used procedures of UV-, X-ray and electron beam lithography, surface structuring by ion beam processes represents an alternative route to receive patterns in the nanometre-micrometre scale. In this work we focused on changes of surface properties of the polymer materials induced by ion irradiation and on reproducing hexagonal and square patterns in the micrometre scale. To achieve a better understanding of modification and structuring of insulating and conducting polymers by ion beam treatment we investigated effects of 14 keV Ar + bombardment on thin films of doped conducting polyethoxithiophene (PEOT) and polyethylenedioxithiophene (PEDT) on polyethersulfone (PES) as insulating substrate within the fluence range from 10 14 to 10 17 ions/cm 2 . Changes of surface properties like wettability, solubility, topology and electrochemical behaviour have been studied by contact angle technique, AFM/LFM, cyclovoltammetry and electrochemical microelectrode. By irradiation through copper masks structured patterns were achieved. These patterns can be converted by galvanic or electroless copper deposition in structured metal layers

Effect of anionic dopants on thickness, morphology and electrical properties of polypyrrole ultra-thin films prepared by in situ chemical polymerization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahmoodian, Mehrnoosh [Dep. of Polymer Engineering, Nanostructured Materials Research Center, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz 51335-1996 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Pourabbas, Behzad, E-mail: pourabas@sut.ac.ir [Dep. of Polymer Engineering, Nanostructured Materials Research Center, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz 51335-1996 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Mohajerzadeh, Shams [Nano-Electronics and Thin Film Lab, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 14395/515, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2015-05-29

The effect of different dopant anions on deposition and characteristics of polypyrrole (PPy) thin film has been studied in this work. Ultra-thin films of conducting PPy were deposited on insulating surfaces of glass and oxidized silicon wafer by in situ chemical polymerization in the presence of different anionic dopants including sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, sodium dodecyl sulfate, α-naphthalene sulfonic acid, anthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid sodium salt monohydrate/5-sulfosalicylic acid dehydrate, and camphor sulfonic acid. Hydrophilic/hydrophobic properties and morphology of the self-assembled monolayer of N-(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl)pyrrole, the surface modifying agent in this work, and PPy thin films were characterized before and after deposition by contact angle measurements, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Chemical structure, thickness, and conductivity of the thin films were also studied by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, ellipsometry, and four-point probe measurements. The results showed deposition of thin films of conducting PPy with comparable thickness in the range of 6-31 nm and different morphologies, uniformity, and smoothness with average roughness in the range of 0.3-6 nm and relatively high range of conductivity on the modified surfaces. - Highlights: • Conducting thin films of polypyrrole were deposited on glass and SiO{sub 2} substrates. • Surface modification using pyrrole-silane was employed prior to polymerization. • Films as thin as ≈ 7 nm were deposited using different surfactant/counter ions. • Chemistry of the counter ion affects thickness, conductivity and morphology. • Lower thickness/higher conductivity were obtained by structurally flexible dopants.

Photoinduced hydrophobic surface of graphene oxide thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Xiaoyan; Song Peng; Cui Xiaoli

2012-01-01

Graphene oxide (GO) thin films were deposited on transparent conducting oxide substrates and glass slides by spin coating method at room temperature. The wettability of GO thin films before and after ultraviolet (UV) irradiation was characterized with water contact angles, which increased from 27.3° to 57.6° after 3 h of irradiation, indicating a photo-induced hydrophobic surface. The UV–vis absorption spectra, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and conductivity measurements of GO films before and after UV irradiation were taken to study the mechanism of photoinduced hydrophobic surface of GO thin films. It is demonstrated that the photoinduced hydrophobic surface is ascribed to the elimination of oxygen-containing functional groups on GO molecules. This work provides a simple strategy to control the wettability properties of GO thin films by UV irradiation. - Highlights: ► Photoinduced hydrophobic surface of graphene oxide thin films has been demonstrated. ► Elimination of oxygen-containing functional groups in graphene oxide achieved by UV irradiation. ► We provide novel strategy to control surface wettability of GO thin films by UV irradiation.

Optical thin film deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macleod, H.A.

1979-01-01

The potential usefulness in the production of optical thin-film coatings of some of the processes for thin film deposition which can be classified under the heading of ion-assisted techniques is examined. Thermal evaporation is the process which is virtually universally used for this purpose and which has been developed to a stage where performance is in almost all respects high. Areas where further improvements would be of value, and the possibility that ion-assisted deposition might lead to such improvements, are discussed. (author)

Optical thin films and coatings from materials to applications

CERN Document Server

Flory, Francois

2013-01-01

Optical coatings, including mirrors, anti-reflection coatings, beam splitters, and filters, are an integral part of most modern optical systems. This book provides an overview of thin film materials, the properties, design and manufacture of optical coatings and their use across a variety of application areas.$bOptical coatings, including mirrors, anti-reflection coatings, beam splitters, and filters, are an integral part of most modern optical systems. Optical thin films and coatings provides an overview of thin film materials, the properties, design and manufacture of optical coatings and their use across a variety of application areas. Part one explores the design and manufacture of optical coatings. Part two highlights unconventional features of optical thin films including scattering properties of random structures in thin films, optical properties of thin film materials at short wavelengths, thermal properties and colour effects. Part three focusses on novel materials for optical thin films and coatings...

Nanoscale electron transport at the surface of a topological insulator

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, Sebastian; Bobisch, Christian A.

2016-04-01

The use of three-dimensional topological insulators for disruptive technologies critically depends on the dissipationless transport of electrons at the surface, because of the suppression of backscattering at defects. However, in real devices, defects are unavoidable and scattering at angles other than 180° is allowed for such materials. Until now, this has been studied indirectly by bulk measurements and by the analysis of the local density of states in close vicinity to defect sites. Here, we directly measure the nanoscale voltage drop caused by the scattering at step edges, which occurs if a lateral current flows along a three-dimensional topological insulator. The experiments were performed using scanning tunnelling potentiometry for thin Bi2Se3 films. So far, the observed voltage drops are small because of large contributions of the bulk to the electronic transport. However, for the use of ideal topological insulating thin films in devices, these contributions would play a significant role.

Superior light trapping in thin film silicon solar cells through nano imprint lithography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soppe, W.J.; Dorenkamper, M.S.; Schropp, R.E.I.; Pex, P.P.A.C.

2013-10-15

ECN and partners have developed a fabrication process based on nanoimprint lithography (NIL) of textures for light trapping in thin film solar cells such as thin-film silicon, OPV, CIGS and CdTe. The process can be applied in roll-to-roll mode when using a foil substrate or in roll-to-plate mode when using a glass substrate. The lacquer also serves as an electrically insulating layer for cells if steel foil is used as substrate, to enable monolithic series interconnection. In this paper we will show the superior light trapping in thin film silicon solar cells made on steel foil with nanotextured back contacts. We have made single junction a-Si and {mu}c-Si and a-Si/{mu}c-Si tandem cells, where we applied several types of nano-imprints with random and periodic structures. We will show that the nano-imprinted back contact enables more than 30% increase of current in comparison with non-textured back contacts and that optimized periodic textures outperform state-of-the-art random textures. For a-Si cells we obtained Jsc of 18 mA/cm{sup 2} and for {mu}c-Si cells more than 24 mA/cm{sup 2}. Tandem cells with a total Si absorber layer thickness of only 1350 nm have an initial efficiency of 11%.

Thin-film chemical sensors based on electron tunneling

Science.gov (United States)

Khanna, S. K.; Lambe, J.; Leduc, H. G.; Thakoor, A. P.

1985-01-01

The physical mechanisms underlying a novel chemical sensor based on electron tunneling in metal-insulator-metal (MIM) tunnel junctions were studied. Chemical sensors based on electron tunneling were shown to be sensitive to a variety of substances that include iodine, mercury, bismuth, ethylenedibromide, and ethylenedichloride. A sensitivity of 13 parts per billion of iodine dissolved in hexane was demonstrated. The physical mechanisms involved in the chemical sensitivity of these devices were determined to be the chemical alteration of the surface electronic structure of the top metal electrode in the MIM structure. In addition, electroreflectance spectroscopy (ERS) was studied as a complementary surface-sensitive technique. ERS was shown to be sensitive to both iodine and mercury. Electrolyte electroreflectance and solid-state MIM electroreflectance revealed qualitatively the same chemical response. A modified thin-film structure was also studied in which a chemically active layer was introduced at the top Metal-Insulator interface of the MIM devices. Cobalt phthalocyanine was used for the chemically active layer in this study. Devices modified in this way were shown to be sensitive to iodine and nitrogen dioxide. The chemical sensitivity of the modified structure was due to conductance changes in the active layer.

Sputtering materials for VLSI and thin film devices

CERN Document Server

Sarkar, Jaydeep

2010-01-01

An important resource for students, engineers and researchers working in the area of thin film deposition using physical vapor deposition (e.g. sputtering) for semiconductor, liquid crystal displays, high density recording media and photovoltaic device (e.g. thin film solar cell) manufacturing. This book also reviews microelectronics industry topics such as history of inventions and technology trends, recent developments in sputtering technologies, manufacturing steps that require sputtering of thin films, the properties of thin films and the role of sputtering target performance on overall p

Dynamics of solid thin-film dewetting in the silicon-on-insulator system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bussmann, E; Cheynis, F; Leroy, F; Mueller, P [Centre Interdisciplinaire de Nanoscience de Marseille (CINaM) CNRS UPR 3118, Aix-Marseille Universite, 13288 Marseille (France); Pierre-Louis, O, E-mail: muller@cinam.univ-mrs.fr [LPMCN, Universite Lyon 1, 43 Bd du 11 novembre, 69622 Villeurbane (France)

2011-04-15

Using low-energy electron microscopy movies, we have measured the dewetting dynamics of single-crystal Si(001) thin films on SiO{sub 2} substrates. During annealing (T>700 deg. C), voids open in the Si, exposing the oxide. The voids grow, evolving Si fingers that subsequently break apart into self-organized three-dimensional (3D) Si nanocrystals. A kinetic Monte Carlo model incorporating surface and interfacial free energies reproduces all the salient features of the morphological evolution. The dewetting dynamics is described using an analytic surface-diffusion-based model. We demonstrate quantitatively that Si dewetting from SiO{sub 2} is mediated by surface-diffusion driven by surface free-energy minimization.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

1993-06-01

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

Piezoelectric MEMS: Ferroelectric thin films for MEMS applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kanno, Isaku

2018-04-01

In recent years, piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have attracted attention as next-generation functional microdevices. Typical applications of piezoelectric MEMS are micropumps for inkjet heads or micro-gyrosensors, which are composed of piezoelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) thin films and have already been commercialized. In addition, piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters (PVEHs), which are regarded as one of the key devices for Internet of Things (IoT)-related technologies, are promising future applications of piezoelectric MEMS. Significant features of piezoelectric MEMS are their simple structure and high energy conversion efficiency between mechanical and electrical domains even on the microscale. The device performance strongly depends on the function of the piezoelectric thin films, especially on their transverse piezoelectric properties, indicating that the deposition of high-quality piezoelectric thin films is a crucial technology for piezoelectric MEMS. On the other hand, although the difficulty in measuring the precise piezoelectric coefficients of thin films is a serious obstacle in the research and development of piezoelectric thin films, a simple unimorph cantilever measurement method has been proposed to obtain precise values of the direct or converse transverse piezoelectric coefficient of thin films, and recently this method has become to be the standardized testing method. In this article, I will introduce fundamental technologies of piezoelectric thin films and related microdevices, especially focusing on the deposition of PZT thin films and evaluation methods for their transverse piezoelectric properties.

Economic Analysis of Installing Fixed and Removable Insulation for Pipe Wall Thinning Management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hwang, Kyeongmo; Yun, Hun [KEPCO E and C, Gimcheon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-12-15

To perform ultrasonic testing (UT) thickness measurement of the secondary side piping installed in nuclear power plants, the insulation for preventing heat loss should be removed. The type of insulation can be divided into fixed and removable insulation. Fixed and removable insulation have their own strengths and weaknesses. Removable insulation has been installed in the components susceptible to wall thinning caused by FAC and erosion from Shin-Kori unit 1, which commenced its commercial operation in 2011. In this paper, the number of repeated inspections of components and the number of replacements of fixed insulation were estimated and a more economical way was identified based on the manufacturing and installation costs for fixed and removable insulation.

Nanometric thin film membranes manufactured on square meter scale: ultra-thin films for CO 2 capture

KAUST Repository

Yave, Wilfredo

2010-09-01

Miniaturization and manipulation of materials at nanometer scale are key challenges in nanoscience and nanotechnology. In membrane science and technology, the fabrication of ultra-thin polymer films (defect-free) on square meter scale with uniform thickness (<100 nm) is crucial. By using a tailor-made polymer and by controlling the nanofabrication conditions, we developed and manufactured defect-free ultra-thin film membranes with unmatched carbon dioxide permeances, i.e. >5 m3 (STP) m-2 h -1 bar-1. The permeances are extremely high, because the membranes are made from a CO2 philic polymer material and they are only a few tens of nanometers thin. Thus, these thin film membranes have potential application in the treatment of large gas streams under low pressure like, e.g., carbon dioxide separation from flue gas. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Internal stress and opto-electronic properties of ZnO thin films deposited by reactive sputtering in various oxygen partial pressures

Science.gov (United States)

Tuyaerts, Romain; Poncelet, Olivier; Raskin, Jean-Pierre; Proost, Joris

2017-10-01

In this article, we propose ZnO thin films as a suitable material for piezoresistors in transparent and flexible electronics. ZnO thin films have been deposited by DC reactive magnetron sputtering at room temperature at various oxygen partial pressures. All the films have a wurtzite structure with a strong (0002) texture measured by XRD and are almost stoichiometric as measured by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. The effect of oxygen concentration on grain growth has been studied by in-situ multi-beam optical stress sensor, showing internal stress going from 350 MPa to -1.1 GPa. The transition between tensile and compressive stress corresponds to the transition between metallic and oxidized mode of reactive sputtering. This transition also induces a large variation in optical properties—from absorbent to transparent, and in the resistivity—from 4 × 10 - 2 Ω .cm to insulating. Finally, the piezoresistance of the thin film has been studied and showed a gauge factor (ΔR/R)/ɛ comprised between -5.8 and -8.5.

Thin film bismuth iron oxides useful for piezoelectric devices

Science.gov (United States)

Zeches, Robert J.; Martin, Lane W.; Ramesh, Ramamoorthy

2016-05-31

The present invention provides for a composition comprising a thin film of BiFeO.sub.3 having a thickness ranging from 20 nm to 300 nm, a first electrode in contact with the BiFeO.sub.3 thin film, and a second electrode in contact with the BiFeO.sub.3 thin film; wherein the first and second electrodes are in electrical communication. The composition is free or essentially free of lead (Pb). The BFO thin film is has the piezoelectric property of changing its volume and/or shape when an electric field is applied to the BFO thin film.

Tools to synthesize the learning of thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rojas, Roberto; Fuster, Gonzalo; Sluesarenko, Viktor

2011-01-01

After a review of textbooks written for undergraduate courses in physics, we have found that discussions on thin films are mostly incomplete. They consider the reflected and not the transmitted light for two instead of the four types of thin films. In this work, we complement the discussion in elementary textbooks, by analysing the phase differences required to match the conditions for constructive and destructive interference, in the reflected and transmitted light in four types of thin films. We consider thin films with varied sequences in the refractive index, which we identify as barriers, wells and stairs (up and down). Also, we use the conservation of energy in order to understand the complementary colour fringes observed in the reflected and transmitted light through thin films. We analyse systematically the phase changes by introducing a phase table and we synthesize the results in a circular diagram matching 16 physical situations of interference and their corresponding conditions on the film thickness. The phase table and the circular diagram are a pair of tools easily assimilated by students, and useful to organize, analyse and activate the knowledge about thin films.

Molecular simulation of freestanding amorphous nickel thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dong, T.Q. [Université Paris-Est, Laboratoire Modélisation et Simulation Multi Echelle, UMR 8208 CNRS, 5 Boulevard Descartes, 77454 Marne-la-Vallée, Cedex 2 (France); Hoang, V.V., E-mail: vvhoang2002@yahoo.com [Department of Physics, Institute of Technology, National University of Ho Chi Minh City, 268 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City (Viet Nam); Lauriat, G. [Université Paris-Est, Laboratoire Modélisation et Simulation Multi Echelle, UMR 8208 CNRS, 5 Boulevard Descartes, 77454 Marne-la-Vallée, Cedex 2 (France)

2013-10-31

Size effects on glass formation in freestanding Ni thin films have been studied via molecular dynamics simulation with the n-body Gupta interatomic potential. Atomic mechanism of glass formation in the films is determined via analysis of the spatio-temporal arrangements of solid-like atoms occurred upon cooling from the melt. Solid-like atoms are detected via the Lindemann ratio. We find that solid-like atoms initiate and grow mainly in the interior of the film and grow outward. Their number increases with decreasing temperature and at a glass transition temperature they dominate in the system to form a relatively rigid glassy state of a thin film shape. We find the existence of a mobile surface layer in both liquid and glassy states which can play an important role in various surface properties of amorphous Ni thin films. We find that glass formation is size independent for models containing 4000 to 108,000 atoms. Moreover, structure of amorphous Ni thin films has been studied in details via coordination number, Honeycutt–Andersen analysis, and density profile which reveal that amorphous thin films exhibit two different parts: interior and surface layer. The former exhibits almost the same structure like that found for the bulk while the latter behaves a more porous structure containing a large amount of undercoordinated sites which are the origin of various surface behaviors of the amorphous Ni or Ni-based thin films found in practice. - Highlights: • Glass formation is analyzed via spatio-temporal arrangements of solid-like atoms. • Amorphous Ni thin film exhibits two different parts: surface and interior. • Mobile surface layer enhances various surface properties of the amorphous Ni thin films. • Undercoordinated sites play an important role in various surface activities.

High efficiency copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin film solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Rajanikant, Ray Jayminkumar

pressure of 10-5 mbar. The thickness of the film was kept 1 mum for the solar cell device preparation. Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) is carried out of CIGS thin film at 500 °C for 2 minutes in the argon atmosphere. Annealing process mainly improves the grain growth of the CIGS and, hence the surface roughness, which is essential for a multilayered semiconductor structure. Thin layer of n-type highly resistive cadmium sulphide (CdS), generally known as a "buffer" layer, is deposited on CIGS layer by thermal and flash evaporation method at the substrate temperature of 100 °C. The CdS thin film plays a crucial role in the formation of the p-n junction and thus the solar cell device performance. The effect of CdS film substrate temperature ranging from 50 °C to 200 °C is observed. At the 100 °C substrate temperature, CdS thin film shows the near to 85 % of transmission in the visible region and resistivity of the order of greater then 20 x 109 Ocm, which are the essential characteristics of buffer layer. The bi-layer structure of ZnO, containing 70 nm i-ZnO and 500 nm aluminum (Al) doped ZnO, act as a transparent front-contact for CIGS thin film solar cell. These layers were deposited using RF magnetron sputtering. i-ZnO thin film acts as an insulating layer, which prevents the recombination of the photo-generated carries and also minimizes the lattice miss match defects between CdS and Al-ZnO. The resistivity of iZnO and Al-ZnO is of the order of 1012 Ocm and 10-4 Ocm, respectively. Al-ZnO thin films act as transparent conducting top electrode having transparency of about 85 % in the visible region. On Al-ZnO layer the finger-type grid pattern of silver (Ag), 200 nm thick, is deposited for the collection of photo-generated carriers. The thin film based multilayered structure Mo / CIGS / CdS / i-ZnO / Al-ZnO / Ag grid of CIGS solar cell is grown one by one on a single glass substrate. As-prepared CIGS solar cell device shows a minute photovoltaic effect. For the further

Resistivity of thiol-modified gold thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Correa-Puerta, Jonathan; Del Campo, Valeria; Henríquez, Ricardo; Häberle, Patricio

2014-01-01

In this work, we study the effect of thiol self assembled monolayers on the electrical resistivity of metallic thin films. The analysis is based on the Fuchs–Sondheimer–Lucas theory and on electrical transport measurements. We determined resistivity change due to dodecanethiol adsorption on gold thin films. For this purpose, we controlled the deposition and annealing temperatures of the films to change the surface topography and to diminish the effect of electron grain boundary scattering. Results show that the electrical response to the absorption of thiols strongly depends on the initial topography of the surface. - Highlights: • We study the effect of self assembled monolayers on the resistivity of thin films. • Fuchs–Sondheimer theory reproduces the resistivity increase due to thiol deposition. • We determined resistivity change due to dodecanethiol deposition on gold thin films. • The electrical response strongly depends on the substrate surface topography

Resistivity of thiol-modified gold thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Correa-Puerta, Jonathan [Instituto de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Av. Universidad 330, Curauma, Valparaíso (Chile); Del Campo, Valeria [Departamento de Física, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Av. España 1680, Valparaiso 2390123 (Chile); Henríquez, Ricardo, E-mail: ricardo.henriquez@usm.cl [Departamento de Física, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Av. España 1680, Valparaiso 2390123 (Chile); Häberle, Patricio [Departamento de Física, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Av. España 1680, Valparaiso 2390123 (Chile)

2014-11-03

In this work, we study the effect of thiol self assembled monolayers on the electrical resistivity of metallic thin films. The analysis is based on the Fuchs–Sondheimer–Lucas theory and on electrical transport measurements. We determined resistivity change due to dodecanethiol adsorption on gold thin films. For this purpose, we controlled the deposition and annealing temperatures of the films to change the surface topography and to diminish the effect of electron grain boundary scattering. Results show that the electrical response to the absorption of thiols strongly depends on the initial topography of the surface. - Highlights: • We study the effect of self assembled monolayers on the resistivity of thin films. • Fuchs–Sondheimer theory reproduces the resistivity increase due to thiol deposition. • We determined resistivity change due to dodecanethiol deposition on gold thin films. • The electrical response strongly depends on the substrate surface topography.

Silicon on insulator self-aligned transistors

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, Anthony M.

2003-11-18

A method for fabricating thin-film single-crystal silicon-on-insulator (SOI) self-aligned transistors. Standard processing of silicon substrates is used to fabricate the transistors. Physical spaces, between the source and gate, and the drain and gate, introduced by etching the polysilicon gate material, are used to provide connecting implants (bridges) which allow the transistor to perform normally. After completion of the silicon substrate processing, the silicon wafer is bonded to an insulator (glass) substrate, and the silicon substrate is removed leaving the transistors on the insulator (glass) substrate. Transistors fabricated by this method may be utilized, for example, in flat panel displays, etc.

Spin-orbit torque in a thin film of the topological insulator Bi2Se3: Crossover from the ballistic to diffusive regime

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Y. J.; Deng, W. Y.; Geng, H.; Shen, R.; Shao, L. B.; Sheng, L.; Xing, D. Y.

2017-12-01

The spin-orbit torque provides an efficient method for switching the direction of a magnetization by using an electric field. Owing to the spin-orbit coupling, when an electric field is applied, a nonequilibrium spin density is generated, which exerts a torque on the local magnetization. Here, we investigate the spin-orbit torque in a thin film of topological insulator \\text{Bi}2\\text{Se}3 based upon a Boltzmann equation, with proper boundary conditions, which is applicable from the ballistic regime to the diffusive regime. It is shown that due to the spin-momentum interlocking of the electron surface states, the magnitude of the field-like torque is simply in linear proportion to the longitudinal electrical current. For a fixed electric field, the spin-orbit torque is proportional to the sample length in the ballistic limit, and saturates to a constant in the diffusive limit. The dependence of the torque on the magnetization direction and exchange coupling strength is also studied. Our theory may offer useful guidance for experimental investigations of the spin-orbit torque in finite-size systems.

Stabilization of stoichiometric LaTiO{sub 3} thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmitt, Matthias; Scheiderer, Philipp; Goessmann, Alex; Sing, Michael; Claessen, Ralph [Universitaet Wuerzburg, Physikalisches Institut and Roentgen Center for Complex Material Systems (RCCM), 97074 Wuerzburg (Germany)

2016-07-01

Like in the famous oxide heterostructure LaAlO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} (LAO/STO) a two dimensional electron system is found at the interface between the strongly correlated Mott insulator LaTi{sup 3+}O{sub 3} and the band insulator STO. In contrast to LAO, the stabilization of LaTi{sup 3+}O{sub 3} requires strong reducing growth conditions since the thermodynamically stable bulk phase is the oxygen-rich La{sub 2}Ti{sup 4+}{sub 2}O{sub 7}. Therefore, we have systematically studied the impact of oxidizing and reducing background atmospheres and the influence of the substrate on LaTi{sup 3+}O{sub 3} thin film growth by pulsed laser deposition. In situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the films prepared on STO exhibit overoxidation probably due to oxygen out-diffusion from the STO substrate, which is reduced for growth on DyScO{sub 3} due to the lower oxygen mobility. In addition, we found that a LAO capping layer of a few unit cells thickness acting like a diffusion barrier for oxygen prevents the LTO film from overoxidation during storage in air.

Electroluminescence of zinc oxide thin-films prepared via polymeric precursor and via sol-gel methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, S.A.M.; Cremona, M.; Davolos, M.R.; Legnani, C.; Quirino, W.G.

2007-01-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is an electroluminescent (EL) material that can emit light in different regions of electromagnetic spectrum when electrically excited. Since ZnO is chemically stable, inexpensive and environmentally friendly material, its EL property can be useful to construct solid-state lamps for illumination or as UV emitter. We present here two wet chemical methods to prepare ZnO thin-films: the Pechini method and the sol-gel method, with both methods resulting in crystalline and transparent films with transmittance >85% at 550 nm. These films were used to make thin-film electroluminescent devices (TFELD) using two different insulator layers: lithium fluoride (LiF) or silica (SiO 2 ). All the devices exhibit at least two wide emission bands in the visible range centered at 420 nm and at 380 nm attributed to the electronic defects in the ZnO optical band gap. Besides these two bands, the device using SiO 2 and ZnO film obtained via sol-gel exhibits an additional band in the UV range centered at 350 nm which can be attributed to excitonic emission. These emission bands of ZnO can transfer their energy when a proper dopant is present. For the devices produced the voltage-current characteristics were measured in a specific range of applied voltage

Thin Aerogel as a Spacer in Multilayer Insulation

Science.gov (United States)

Moroz, Nancy

2015-01-01

Cryogenic fluid management is a critical technical area that is needed for future space exploration. A key challenge is the storability of liquid hydrogen (LH2), liquid methane (LCH4), and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants for long-duration missions. The storage tanks must be well-insulated to prevent over-pressurization and venting, which can lead to unacceptable propellant losses for long-duration missions to Mars and beyond. Aspen Aerogels had validated the key process step to enable the fabrication of thin, low-density aerogel materials. The multilayer aerogel insulation (MLAI) system prototypes were prepared using sheets of aerogel materials with superior thermal performance exceeding current state-of-the-art insulation for space applications. The exceptional properties of this system include a new breakthrough in high-vacuum cryogenic thermal insulation, providing a durable material with excellent thermal performance at a reduced cost when compared to longstanding state-of-the-art multilayer insulation systems. During the Phase II project, further refinement and qualification/system-level testing of the MLAI system will be performed for use in cryogenic storage applications. Aspen has been in discussions with United Launch Alliance, LLC; NASA's Kennedy Space Center; and Yetispace, Inc., to test the MLAI system on rea-lworld tanks such as Vibro-Acoustic Test Article (VATA) or the Cryogenic Orbital Testbed (CRYOTE).

Spin-transport-phenomena in metals, semiconductors, and insulators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Althammer, Matthias Klaus

2012-07-19

Assuming that one could deterministically inject, transport, manipulate, store and detect spin information in solid state devices, the well-established concepts of charge-based electronics could be transferred to the spin realm. This thesis explores the injection, transport, manipulation and storage of spin information in metallic conductors, semiconductors, as well as electrical insulators. On the one hand, we explore the spin-dependent properties of semiconducting zinc oxide thin films deposited via laser-molecular beam epitaxy (laser-MBE). After demonstrating that the zinc oxide films fabricated during this thesis have excellent structural, electrical, and optical properties, we investigate the spin-related properties by optical pump/probe, electrical injection/optical detection, and all electrical spin valve-based experiments. The two key results from these experiments are: (i) Long-lived spin states with spin dephasing times of 10 ns at 10 K related to donor bound excitons can be optically addressed. (ii) The spin dephasing times relevant for electrical transport-based experiments are {<=} 2 ns at 10 K and are correlated with structural quality. On the other hand we focus on two topics of current scientific interest: the comparison of the magnetoresistance to the magnetothermopower of conducting ferromagnets, and the investigation of pure spin currents generated in ferromagnetic insulator/normal metal hybrid structures. We investigate the magnetoresistance and magnetothermopower of gallium manganese arsenide and Heusler thin films as a function of external magnetic field orientation. Using a series expansion of the resistivity and Seebeck tensors and the inherent symmetry of the sample's crystal structure, we show that a full quantitative extraction of the transport tensors from such experiments is possible. Regarding the spin currents in ferromagnetic insulator/normal metal hybrid structures we studied the spin mixing conductance in yttrium iron garnet

Theory of bulk-surface coupling in topological insulator films

Science.gov (United States)

Saha, Kush; Garate, Ion

2014-12-01

We present a quantitative microscopic theory of the disorder- and phonon-induced coupling between surface and bulk states in doped topological insulator films. We find a simple mathematical structure for the surface-to-bulk scattering matrix elements and confirm the importance of bulk-surface coupling in transport and photoemission experiments, assessing its dependence on temperature, carrier density, film thickness, and particle-hole asymmetry.

High-throughput characterization of stresses in thin film materials libraries using Si cantilever array wafers and digital holographic microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Y W; Hamann, S; Ehmann, M; Ludwig, A

2011-06-01

We report the development of an advanced high-throughput stress characterization method for thin film materials libraries sputter-deposited on micro-machined cantilever arrays consisting of around 1500 cantilevers on 4-inch silicon-on-insulator wafers. A low-cost custom-designed digital holographic microscope (DHM) is employed to simultaneously monitor the thin film thickness, the surface topography and the curvature of each of the cantilevers before and after deposition. The variation in stress state across the thin film materials library is then calculated by Stoney's equation based on the obtained radii of curvature of the cantilevers and film thicknesses. DHM with nanometer-scale out-of-plane resolution allows stress measurements in a wide range, at least from several MPa to several GPa. By using an automatic x-y translation stage, the local stresses within a 4-inch materials library are mapped with high accuracy within 10 min. The speed of measurement is greatly improved compared with the prior laser scanning approach that needs more than an hour of measuring time. A high-throughput stress measurement of an as-deposited Fe-Pd-W materials library was evaluated for demonstration. The fast characterization method is expected to accelerate the development of (functional) thin films, e.g., (magnetic) shape memory materials, whose functionality is greatly stress dependent. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

A study on crystallization, optical and electrical properties of the advanced ZITO thin films using co-sputtering system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, K.J.; Hung, F.Y.; Chang, S.J.; Chang, S.P.; Mai, Y.C.; Hu, Z.S.

2011-01-01

Research highlights: Conductor and semiconductor ZITO transparent oxide thin films have been obtained by co-sputtering system. Therefore, we could fabricate a fully transparent ZITO optoelectronic device (thin film transistors or photodetector) in the future. The conducting ZITO was used as the electrode. The active layer of TFTs and photodetector employed the semiconducting ZITO. In addition, the investigation of luminescence characteristics on Zn-In-Sn-O (ZITO) film has never been reported. So, the multi-compound ZITO (ZnO combined ITO) films would be measured by photoluminescence (PL) to analyze the effects of ITO doping and oxygen gas content on emission characteristics of film. - Abstract: Multi-functions (conductor, semiconductor and insulator) ZnInSnO (ZITO) transparent oxide thin films have been obtained by a co-sputtering system using ITO target and ZnO target with oxygen gas contents (0-8%). The ZITO film containing a small ITO content had the lowest resistivity (good electron mobility) and higher optical transmittance. In addition, the influences of thermal treatments (post-annealing and substrate temperature) on electrical properties and optical transmittance of ZITO films were studied. Photoluminescence (PL) of the ZITO film confirmed the contribution of ITO content and oxygen gas content on the photo-emission. The ZITO film with zinc atomic concentration of 58 at.% was a good candidate for TCO material (3.08 x 10 -4 Ω cm). Under the substrate temperature of 100 deg. C or post-annealing temperature of 200 o C, the properties of ZITO film could be improved.

Strain induced room temperature ferromagnetism in epitaxial magnesium oxide thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin, Zhenghe; Kim, Ki Wook [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States); Nori, Sudhakar; Lee, Yi-Fang; Narayan, Jagdish [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States); Kumar, D. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, North Carolina A & T State University, Greensboro, North Carolina 27411 (United States); Wu, Fan [Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM), Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 (United States); Prater, J. T. [Materials Science Division, Army Research Office, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709 (United States)

2015-10-28

We report on the epitaxial growth and room-temperature ferromagnetic properties of MgO thin films deposited on hexagonal c-sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The epitaxial nature of the films has been confirmed by both θ-2θ and φ-scans of X-ray diffraction pattern. Even though bulk MgO is a nonmagnetic insulator, we have found that the MgO films exhibit ferromagnetism and hysteresis loops yielding a maximum saturation magnetization up to 17 emu/cc and large coercivity, H{sub c} = 1200 Oe. We have also found that the saturation magnetization gets enhanced and that the crystallization degraded with decreased growth temperature, suggesting that the origin of our magnetic coupling could be point defects manifested by the strain in the films. X-ray (θ-2θ) diffraction peak shift and strain analysis clearly support the presence of strain in films resulting from the presence of point defects. Based on careful investigations using secondary ion mass spectrometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies, we have ruled out the possibility of the presence of any external magnetic impurities. We discuss the critical role of microstructural characteristics and associated strain on the physical properties of the MgO films and establish a correlation between defects and magnetic properties.

Electronic reconstruction at the interface between the Mott insulator LaVO{sub 3} and the band insulator SrTiO{sub 3}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stuebinger, Martin; Gabel, Judith; Gagel, Philipp; Sing, Michael; Claessen, Ralph [Universitaet Wuerzburg, Physikalisches Institut and Roentgen Center for Complex Material Systems (RCCM), 97074 Wuerzburg (Germany)

2016-07-01

Akin to the well known oxide heterostructure LaAlO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} (LAO/STO) the formation of a conducting interface is found between the strongly correlated, polar Mott insulator LaV{sup 3+}O{sub 3} (LVO) and the non-polar band insulator STO. Since LaV{sup 3+}O{sub 3} tends to overoxidize to the thermodynamically more favourable LaV{sup 5+}O{sub 4} phase when exposed to air, a suitable passivation is required. Therefore, we have employed pulsed laser deposition thin film growth of LVO films with a crystalline LAO capping layer. In situ photoemission measurements of samples before and after being exposed to air show that the V oxidation state can indeed be stabilized by the LAO capping layer. By transport measurements, we identify an insulator-to-metal transition at a combined LAO/LVO overlayer thickness of 4 to 5 unit cells. With LVO being a Mott insulator, passivation by the LAO capping opens the opportunity to study a band-filling controlled Mott insulator to metal transition induced by a purely electrostatic mechanism without interfering overoxidation of the LVO film.

Characterization of nanocrystalline cadmium telluride thin films ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Unknown

tion method, successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR), are described. For deposition of CdTe thin films ... By conducting several trials optimization of the adsorption, reaction and rinsing time duration for CdTe thin film .... The electrical resistivity of CdTe films was studied in air. Figure 3 shows the variation of log ...

Photoluminescence properties of perovskite multilayer thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Macario, Leilane Roberta; Longo, Elson, E-mail: leilanemacario@gmail.com [Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos (UFSCar), SP (Brazil); Mazzo, Tatiana Martelli [Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), SP (Brazil); Bouquet, Valerie; Deputier, Stephanie; Ollivier, Sophie; Guilloux-Viry, Maryline [Universite de Rennes (France)

2016-07-01

Full text: The knowledge of the optical properties of thin films is important in many scientific, technological and industrial applications of thin films such as photoconductivity, solar energy, photography, and numerous other applications [1]. In this study, perovskite type oxides were grown by pulsed laser deposition [2] in order to obtain thin films with applicable optical properties. The LaNiO{sub 3} (LN), BaTiO{sub 3} (BT) and KNbO{sub 3} (KNb) targets were prepared by solid-state reaction. The X-ray Diffraction revealed the presence of the desired phases, containing the elements of interest in the targets and in the thin films that were produced. The LN, BT and KNb thin films were polycrystalline and the corresponding diffraction peaks were indexed in the with JCPDS cards n. 00-033-0711, n. 00-005-0626, and n. 00-009-0156, respectively. The multilayers films were polycrystalline. The majority of the micrographs obtained by scanning electron microscopy presented films with a thickness from 100 to 400 nm. The photoluminescent (PL) emission spectra of thin films show different broad bands that occupies large region of the visible spectrum, ranging from about 300-350 to 600-650 nm of the electromagnetic spectrum. The PL emission is associated with the order-disorder structural, even small structural changes can modify the interactions between electronic states. The structural disorder results in formation of new energy levels in the forbidden region. The proximity or distance of these new energy levels formed in relation to valence band and to the conduction band results in PL spectra located at higher or lower energies. These interactions change the electronic states which can be influenced by defects, particularly the interface defects between the layers of the thin films. The presence of defects results in changes in the broad band matrix intensity and in displacement of the PL emission maximum. (author)

Optical characteristics of the thin-film scintillator detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muga, L.; Burnsed, D.

1976-01-01

A study of the thin-film detector (TFD) was made in which various light guide and scintillator film support configurations were tested for efficiency of light coupling. Masking of selected portions of the photomultiplier (PM) tube face revealed the extent to which emitted light was received at the exposed PM surfaces. By blocking off selected areas of the scintillator film surface from direct view of the PM tube faces, a measure of the light-guiding efficiency of the film and its support could be estimated. The picture that emerges is that, as the light which is initially trapped in the thin film spreads radially outward from the ion entrance/exit point, it is scattered out of the film by minute imperfections. Optimum signals were obtained by a configuration in which the thin scintillator film was supported on a thin rectangular Celluloid frame inserted within a highly polished metal cylindrical sleeve

Preparation of LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} cathode thin films for thin film lithium secondary batteries by a mist CVD process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tadanaga, Kiyoharu, E-mail: tadanaga@chem.osakafu-u.ac.jp [Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531 (Japan); Yamaguchi, Akihiro; Sakuda, Atsushi; Hayashi, Akitoshi; Tatsumisago, Masahiro [Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531 (Japan); Duran, Alicia; Aparacio, Mario [Instituto de Cerámica y Vidrio, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Kelsen 5 (Campus de Cantoblanco), Madrid, 28049 (Spain)

2014-05-01

Highlights: • LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} thin films were prepared by using the mist CVD process. • An aqueous solution of lithium and manganese acetates is used for the precursor solution. • The cell with the LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} thin films exhibited a capacity of about 80 mAh/g. • The cell showed good cycling performance during 10 cycles. - Abstract: LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} cathode thin films for thin film lithium secondary batteries were prepared by using so-called the “mist CVD process”, employing an aqueous solution of lithium acetate and manganese acetate, as the source of Li and Mn, respectively. The aqueous solution of starting materials was ultrasonically atomized to form mist particles, and mists were transferred by nitrogen gas to silica glass substrate to form thin films. FE-SEM observation revealed that thin films obtained by this process were dense and smooth, and thin films with a thickness of about 750 nm were obtained. The electrochemical cell with the thin films obtained by sintering at 700 °C exhibited a capacity of about 80 mAh/g, and the cell showed good cycling performance during 10 cycles.

Fractal and multifractal analysis of LiF thin film surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yadav, R.P.; Dwivedi, S.; Mittal, A.K.; Kumar, M.; Pandey, A.C.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Fractal and multifractal analysis of surface morphologies of the LiF thin films. ► Complexity and roughness of the LiF thin films increases as thickness increases. ► LiF thin films are multifractal in nature. ► Strength of the multifractality increases with thickness of the film. - Abstract: Fractal and multifractal analysis is performed on the atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of the surface morphologies of the LiF thin films of thickness 10 nm, 20 nm, and 40 nm, respectively. Autocorrelation function, height–height correlation function, and two-dimensional multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MFDFA) are used for characterizing the surface. It is found that the interface width, average roughness, lateral correlation length, and fractal dimension of the LiF thin film increase with the thickness of the film, whereas the roughness exponent decreases with thickness. Thus, the complexity and roughness of the LiF thin films increases as thickness increases. It is also demonstrated that the LiF thin films are multifractal in nature. Strength of the multifractality increases with thickness of the film.

Composition-induced structural, electrical, and magnetic phase transitions in AX-type mixed-valence cobalt oxynitride epitaxial thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takahashi, Jumpei; Oka, Daichi [Department of Chemistry, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu, Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan); Hirose, Yasushi, E-mail: hirose@chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Yang, Chang; Fukumura, Tomoteru; Hasegawa, Tetsuya [Department of Chemistry, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu, Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan); CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Nakao, Shoichiro [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu, Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan); CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Harayama, Isao; Sekiba, Daiichiro [University of Tsukuba Tandem Accelerator Complex (UTTAC), 1-1-1 Tennoudai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577 (Japan)

2015-12-07

Synthesis of mid- to late-transition metal oxynitrides is generally difficult by conventional thermal ammonolysis because of thermal instability. In this letter, we synthesized epitaxial thin films of AX-type phase-pure cobalt oxynitrides (CoO{sub x}N{sub y}) by using nitrogen-plasma-assisted pulsed laser deposition and investigated their structural, electrical, and magnetic properties. The CoO{sub x}N{sub y} thin films with 0 ≤ y/(x + y) ≤ 0.63 grown on MgO (100) substrates showed a structural phase transition from rock salt (RS) to zinc blend at the nitrogen content y/(x + y) ∼ 0.5. As the nitrogen content increased, the room-temperature electrical resistivity of the CoO{sub x}N{sub y} thin films monotonically decreased from the order of 10{sup 5} Ω cm to 10{sup −4} Ω cm. Furthermore, we observed an insulator-to-metal transition at y/(x + y) ∼ 0.34 in the RS-CoO{sub x}N{sub y} phase, which has not yet been reported in Co{sup 2+}/Co{sup 3+} mixed-valence cobalt oxides with octahedral coordination. The low resistivity in the RS-CoO{sub x}N{sub y} phase, on the 10{sup −3} Ω cm order, may have originated from the intermediate spin state of Co{sup 3+} stabilized by the lowered crystal field symmetry of the CoO{sub 6−n}N{sub n} octahedra (n = 1, 2,…5). Magnetization measurements suggested that a magnetic phase transition occurred in the RS-CoO{sub x}N{sub y} films during the insulator-to-metal transition. These results demonstrate that low-temperature epitaxial growth is a promising approach for exploring novel electronic functionalities in oxynitrides.

Composition-induced structural, electrical, and magnetic phase transitions in AX-type mixed-valence cobalt oxynitride epitaxial thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Jumpei; Oka, Daichi; Hirose, Yasushi; Yang, Chang; Fukumura, Tomoteru; Hasegawa, Tetsuya; Nakao, Shoichiro; Harayama, Isao; Sekiba, Daiichiro

2015-01-01

Synthesis of mid- to late-transition metal oxynitrides is generally difficult by conventional thermal ammonolysis because of thermal instability. In this letter, we synthesized epitaxial thin films of AX-type phase-pure cobalt oxynitrides (CoO x N y ) by using nitrogen-plasma-assisted pulsed laser deposition and investigated their structural, electrical, and magnetic properties. The CoO x N y thin films with 0 ≤ y/(x + y) ≤ 0.63 grown on MgO (100) substrates showed a structural phase transition from rock salt (RS) to zinc blend at the nitrogen content y/(x + y) ∼ 0.5. As the nitrogen content increased, the room-temperature electrical resistivity of the CoO x N y thin films monotonically decreased from the order of 10 5  Ω cm to 10 −4  Ω cm. Furthermore, we observed an insulator-to-metal transition at y/(x + y) ∼ 0.34 in the RS-CoO x N y phase, which has not yet been reported in Co 2+ /Co 3+ mixed-valence cobalt oxides with octahedral coordination. The low resistivity in the RS-CoO x N y phase, on the 10 −3  Ω cm order, may have originated from the intermediate spin state of Co 3+ stabilized by the lowered crystal field symmetry of the CoO 6−n N n octahedra (n = 1, 2,…5). Magnetization measurements suggested that a magnetic phase transition occurred in the RS-CoO x N y films during the insulator-to-metal transition. These results demonstrate that low-temperature epitaxial growth is a promising approach for exploring novel electronic functionalities in oxynitrides

Preparation and characterization of vanadium oxide thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Monfort, O.; Plesch, G. [Comenius University of Bratislava, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, 84215 Bratislava (Slovakia); Roch, T. [Comenius University of Bratislava, Faculty of Mathematics Physics and Informatics, Department of Experimental Physics, 84248 Bratislava (Slovakia)

2013-04-16

The thermotropic VO{sub 2} films have many applications, since they exhibit semiconductor-conductor switching properties at temperature around 70 grad C. Vanadium oxide thin films were prepared via sol-gel method. Spin coater was used to depose these films on Si/SiO{sub 2} and lime glass substrates. Thin films of V{sub 2}O{sub 5} can be reduced to metastable VO{sub 2} thin films at the temperature of 450 grad C under the pressure of 10{sup -2} Pa. These films are then converted to thermotropic VO{sub 2} at 700 grad C in argon under normal pressure. (authors)

Laser nanostructuring of ZnO thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nedyalkov, N., E-mail: nned@ie.bas.bg [Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 223-8522 (Japan); Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzarigradsko shousse 72, Sofia 1784 (Bulgaria); Koleva, M.; Nikov, R.; Atanasov, P. [Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzarigradsko shousse 72, Sofia 1784 (Bulgaria); Nakajima, Y.; Takami, A.; Shibata, A.; Terakawa, M. [Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 223-8522 (Japan)

2016-06-30

Highlights: • Nanosecond laser pulse nanostructuring of ZnO thin films on metal substrate is demonstrated. • Two regimes of the thin film modification are observed depending on the applied laser fluence. • At high fluence regime the ZnO film is homogeneously decomposed into nanosized particles. • The characteristic size of the formed nanostructures corresponds to the domain size of the thin film. - Abstract: In this work, results on laser processing of thin zinc oxide films deposited on metal substrate are presented. ZnO films are obtained by classical nanosecond pulsed laser deposition method in oxygen atmosphere on tantalum substrate. The produced films are then processed by nanosecond laser pulses at wavelength of 355 nm. The laser processing parameters and the film thickness are varied and their influence on the fabricated structures is estimated. The film morphology after the laser treatment is found to depend strongly on the laser fluence as two regimes are defined. It is shown that at certain conditions (high fluence regime) the laser treatment of the film leads to formation of a discrete nanostructure, composed of spherical like nanoparticles with narrow size distribution. The dynamics of the melt film on the substrate and fast cooling are found to be the main mechanisms for fabrication of the observed structures. The demonstrated method is an alternative way for direct fabrication of ZnO nanostructures on metal which can be easy implemented in applications as resistive sensor devices, electroluminescent elements, solar cell technology.

High performance organic field-effect transistors with ultra-thin HfO2 gate insulator deposited directly onto the organic semiconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ono, S.; Häusermann, R.; Chiba, D.; Shimamura, K.; Ono, T.; Batlogg, B.

2014-01-01

We have produced stable organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) with an ultra-thin HfO 2 gate insulator deposited directly on top of rubrene single crystals by atomic layer deposition (ALD). We find that ALD is a gentle deposition process to grow thin films without damaging rubrene single crystals, as results these devices have a negligibly small threshold voltage and are very stable against gate-bias-stress, and the mobility exceeds 1 cm 2 /V s. Moreover, the devices show very little degradation even when kept in air for more than 2 months. These results demonstrate thin HfO 2 layers deposited by ALD to be well suited as high capacitance gate dielectrics in OFETs operating at small gate voltage. In addition, the dielectric layer acts as an effective passivation layer to protect the organic semiconductor

Single-crystal-like GdNdO{sub x} thin films on silicon substrates by magnetron sputtering and high-temperature annealing for crystal seed layer application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Ziwei; Xiao, Lei; Liang, Renrong, E-mail: wang-j@tsinghua.edu.cn, E-mail: liangrr@tsinghua.edu.cn; Shen, Shanshan; Xu, Jun; Wang, Jing, E-mail: wang-j@tsinghua.edu.cn, E-mail: liangrr@tsinghua.edu.cn [Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology, Institute of Microelectronics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2016-06-15

Single-crystal-like rare earth oxide thin films on silicon (Si) substrates were fabricated by magnetron sputtering and high-temperature annealing processes. A 30-nm-thick high-quality GdNdO{sub x} (GNO) film was deposited using a high-temperature sputtering process at 500°C. A Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} and Nd{sub 2}O{sub 3} mixture was used as the sputtering target, in which the proportions of Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} and Nd{sub 2}O{sub 3} were controlled to make the GNO’s lattice parameter match that of the Si substrate. To further improve the quality of the GNO film, a post-deposition annealing process was performed at a temperature of 1000°C. The GNO films exhibited a strong preferred orientation on the Si substrate. In addition, an Al/GNO/Si capacitor was fabricated to evaluate the dielectric constant and leakage current of the GNO films. It was determined that the single-crystal-like GNO films on the Si substrates have potential for use as an insulator layer for semiconductor-on-insulator and semiconductor/insulator multilayer applications.

Restructuring in block copolymer thin films

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Posselt, Dorthe; Zhang, Jianqi; Smilgies, Detlef-M.

2017-01-01

Block copolymer (BCP) thin films have been proposed for a number of nanotechnology applications, such as nanolithography and as nanotemplates, nanoporous membranes and sensors. Solvent vapor annealing (SVA) has emerged as a powerful technique for manipulating and controlling the structure of BCP...... thin films, e.g., by healing defects, by altering the orientation of the microdomains and by changing the morphology. Due to high time resolution and compatibility with SVA environments, grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) is an indispensable technique for studying the SVA process......, providing information of the BCP thin film structure both laterally and along the film normal. Especially, state-of-the-art combined GISAXS/SVA setups at synchrotron sources have facilitated in situ and real-time studies of the SVA process with a time resolution of a few seconds, giving important insight...

Nanocoatings and ultra-thin films technologies and applications

CERN Document Server

Tiginyanu, Ion

2011-01-01

Gives a comprehensive account of the developments of nanocoatings and ultra-thin films. This book covers the fundamentals, processes of deposition and characterisation of nanocoatings, as well as the applications. It is suitable for the glass and glazing, automotive, electronics, aerospace, construction and biomedical industries in particular.$bCoatings are used for a wide range of applications, from anti-fogging coatings for glass through to corrosion control in the aerospace and automotive industries. Nanocoatings and ultra-thin films provides an up-to-date review of the fundamentals, processes of deposition, characterisation and applications of nanocoatings. Part one covers technologies used in the creation and analysis of thin films, including chapters on current and advanced coating technologies in industry, nanostructured thin films from amphiphilic molecules, chemical and physical vapour deposition methods and methods for analysing nanocoatings and ultra-thin films. Part two focuses on the applications...

Effects of Ba doping on physical properties of La-Ca-Mn-O thin films

CERN Document Server

Hong, N H; Sakai, J; Iwasaki, H

2003-01-01

Transport and magnetic properties of La-Ba-Ca-Mn-O thin films fabricated by the pulsed laser deposition technique had been investigated systematically to see the effects of substitution of the small atom Ca by Ba which is much bigger. The induced insulator-to-metal (IM) transition was obtained not only in compositions near 0.5 and 0.18 which are boundaries between metallic and insulating phases but also in the heavily doped region. In the region of x > 0.5, the Ba doping causes an anomalous response of the system to the magnetic field and a positive magnetoresistance was observed. Besides, our results concerning the vicinity of 0.5 imply the existence of phase separation. As for x < 0.5, the doping enhances remarkably the paramagnetism-ferromagnetism transition and the IM transition temperatures.

Purely hopping conduction in c-axis oriented LiNbO3 thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Shandilya, Swati; Tomar, Monika; Sreenivas, K.; Gupta, Vinay

2009-05-01

Dielectric constant and ac conductivity of highly c-axis oriented LiNbO3 thin film grown by pulsed laser deposition were studied in a metal-insulator-metal configuration over a wide temperature (200 to 450 K) and frequency (100 Hz to 1 MHz) range. The preferred oriented Al (1%) doped ZnO film with electrical conductivity 1.1×103 Ω-1 cm-1 was deposited for dual purpose: (1) to serve as nucleating center for LiNbO3 crystallites along preferred c-axis growth direction, and (2) to act as a suitable bottom electrode for electrical studies. The room temperature dc conductivity (σdc) of LiNbO3 film was about 5.34×10-10 Ω-1 cm-1 with activation energy ˜0.3 eV, indicating extrinsic conduction. The ac conductivity σac was found to be much higher in comparison to σdc in the low temperature region (300 K), σac shows a weak frequency dependence, whereas dielectric constant exhibits a strong frequency dispersion. The dielectric dispersion data has been discussed in the light of theoretical models based on Debye type mixed conduction and purely hopping conduction. The dominant conduction in c-axis oriented LiNbO3 thin film is attributed to the purely hopping where both σdc and σac arise due to same mechanism.

Nanosphere lithography applied to magnetic thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Gleason, Russell

Magnetic nanostructures have widespread applications in many areas of physics and engineering, and nanosphere lithography has recently emerged as promising tool for the fabrication of such nanostructures. The goal of this research is to explore the magnetic properties of a thin film of ferromagnetic material deposited onto a hexagonally close-packed monolayer array of polystyrene nanospheres, and how they differ from the magnetic properties of a typical flat thin film. The first portion of this research focuses on determining the optimum conditions for depositing a monolayer of nanospheres onto chemically pretreated silicon substrates (via drop-coating) and the subsequent characterization of the deposited nanosphere layer with scanning electron microscopy. Single layers of permalloy (Ni80Fe20) are then deposited on top of the nanosphere array via DC magnetron sputtering, resulting in a thin film array of magnetic nanocaps. The coercivities of the thin films are measured using a home-built magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) system in longitudinal arrangement. MOKE measurements show that for a single layer of permalloy (Py), the coercivity of a thin film deposited onto an array of nanospheres increases compared to that of a flat thin film. In addition, the coercivity increases as the nanosphere size decreases for the same deposited layer. It is postulated that magnetic exchange decoupling between neighboring nanocaps suppresses the propagation of magnetic domain walls, and this pinning of the domain walls is thought to be the primary source of the increase in coercivity.

Ultrafast photo-induced hidden phases in strained manganite thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jingdi; McLeod, A. S.; Zhang, Gu-Feng; Stoica, Vladimir; Jin, Feng; Gu, Mingqiang; Gopalan, Venkatraman; Freeland, John W.; Wu, Wenbin; Rondinelli, James; Wen, Haidan; Basov, D. N.; Averitt, R. D.

Correlated transition metal oxides (TMOs) are particularly sensitive to external control because of energy degeneracy in a complex energy landscape that promote a plethora of metastable states. However, it remains a grand challenge to actively control and fully explore the rich landscape of TMOs. Dynamic control with pulsed photons can overcome energetic barriers, enabling access to transient or metastable states that are not thermally accessible. In the past, we have demonstrated that mode-selective single-laser-pulse excitation of a strained manganite thin film La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 initiates a persistent phase transition from an emergent antiferromagnetic insulating ground state to a ferromagnetic metallic metastable state. Beyond the photo-induced insulator to metal transition, we recently discovered a new peculiar photo-induced hidden phase, identified by an experimental approach that combines ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy, THz spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, cryogenic near-field spectroscopy and SHG probe. This work is funded by the DOE, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Science under Award Numbers DE-SC0012375 and DE-SC0012592.

Bandtail characteristics in InN thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, W.Z.; Jiang, L.F.; Yang, H.F.; Meng, F.Y.; Ogawa, H.; Guo, Q.X.

2002-01-01

The Urbach bandtail characteristics in InN thin films grown by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering on sapphire (0001) substrates have been investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The bandtail parameter in InN thin films has been obtained by temperature-dependent transmission spectra, with the aid of a detailed calculation of the transmission profile. A bandtail model based on the calculation of density of occupied states and the carrier-phonon interaction has been employed to analyze the temperature-dependent bandtail characteristics. The bandtail parameter is in the range of 90-120 meV in the InN thin film. It is found that the carrier-phonon interaction in InN is weak and the structural disorder contribution (∼90 meV) dominates over the interactive terms. The high structural disorder in InN thin films may relate to the high nonradiative recombination centers

Thin films of mixed metal compounds

Science.gov (United States)

Mickelsen, Reid A.; Chen, Wen S.

1985-01-01

A compositionally uniform thin film of a mixed metal compound is formed by simultaneously evaporating a first metal compound and a second metal compound from independent sources. The mean free path between the vapor particles is reduced by a gas and the mixed vapors are deposited uniformly. The invention finds particular utility in forming thin film heterojunction solar cells.

Improvements in the bias illumination stability of amorphous InGaZnO thin-film transistors by using thermal treatments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Woo-Byung; Ryu, Sang Ouk [Dankook University, Cheonan (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Dong-Keun [Korea Advanced Nano Fab Center, Suwon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-07-15

The a-IGZO deposited by using the rf sputtering method features a conductive or an insulator characteristic based on amount of oxygen. We demonstrated that a post-treatment affects the resistance patterns of particular-sized InGaZnO(IGZO) thin films in a-IGZO thin-film transistors (TFTs). Post-annealing shifted the driving voltage of a-IGZO TFT to positive or negative values, depending on the annealing temperatures. Post-annealing may introduce oxygen vacancies or desorbed oxygen in the IGZO thin film. The changed driving voltage of IGZO TFTs coincides with the shift of the resistance pattern of IGZO. The fabricated a-IGZO TFTs exhibited a field effect mobility of 6.2 cm{sup 2}/Vs, an excellent subthreshold gate swing of 0.32 V/decade, and a high I{sub on/off} ratio of > 10{sup 9}. Under positive bias illumination stress (PBIS) and negative bias illumination stress (NBIS), after 3,600 seconds, the device threshold voltage shifted about 0.2 V and 0.3 V, respectively.

Preparation and properties of antimony thin film anode materials

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SU Shufa; CAO Gaoshao; ZHAO Xinbing

2004-01-01

Metallic antimony thin films were deposited by magnetron sputtering and electrodeposition. Electrochemical properties of the thin film as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries were investigated and compared with those of antimony powder. It was found that both magnetron sputtering and electrodeposition are easily controllable processes to deposit antimony films with fiat charge/discharge potential plateaus. The electrochemical performances of antimony thin films, especially those prepared with magnetron sputtering, are better than those of antimony powder. The reversible capacities of the magnetron sputtered antimony thin film are above 400 mA h g-1 in the first 15 cycles.

Magnetic damping phenomena in ferromagnetic thin-films and multilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Azzawi, S.; Hindmarch, A. T.; Atkinson, D.

2017-11-01

Damped ferromagnetic precession is an important mechanism underpinning the magnetisation processes in ferromagnetic materials. In thin-film ferromagnets and ferromagnetic/non-magnetic multilayers, the role of precession and damping can be critical for spintronic device functionality and as a consequence there has been significant research activity. This paper presents a review of damping in ferromagnetic thin-films and multilayers and collates the results of many experimental studies to present a coherent synthesis of the field. The terms that are used to define damping are discussed with the aim of providing consistent definitions for damping phenomena. A description of the theoretical basis of damping is presented from early developments to the latest discussions of damping in ferromagnetic thin-films and multilayers. An overview of the time and frequency domain methods used to study precessional magnetisation behaviour and damping in thin-films and multilayers is also presented. Finally, a review of the experimental observations of magnetic damping in ferromagnetic thin-films and multilayers is presented with the most recent explanations. This brings together the results from many studies and includes the effects of ferromagnetic film thickness, the effects of composition on damping in thin-film ferromagnetic alloys, the influence of non-magnetic dopants in ferromagnetic films and the effects of combining thin-film ferromagnets with various non-magnetic layers in multilayered configurations.

Development of diamond thin film-based alpha particle detectors for online assay of plutonium content in corrosive liquid medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuwad, J.; Jain, Dheeraj; Manoj, N.; Sudarsan, V.; Panja, S.; Dhami, P.S.

2014-01-01

In the present work, diamond thin films were prepared using microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) method and characterized using XRD, OES, SEM, Raman spectroscopy and I-V techniques. These films were subjected to annealing and chemical cleaning for further improving the film quality. Surface metallization was obtained by gold deposition using PVD. These films were configured in semiconductor-insulator-metal heterostructure and mounted in SS shells. Gold coated growth surface (detector's active area) was sealed by chemical resistant sealing. Suitable bias was applied between the front and back electrical contacts to enable charge collection generated upon alpha particle interaction with diamond. The photograph of developed detector in the lab is shown

Effect of ZnO channel thickness on the device behaviour of nonvolatile memory thin film transistors with double-layered gate insulators of Al2O3 and ferroelectric polymer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Sung-Min; Yang, Shin-Hyuk; Ko Park, Sang-Hee; Jung, Soon-Won; Cho, Doo-Hee; Byun, Chun-Won; Kang, Seung-Youl; Hwang, Chi-Sun; Yu, Byoung-Gon

2009-01-01

Poly(vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene) and ZnO were employed for nonvolatile memory thin film transistors as ferroelectric gate insulator and oxide semiconducting channel layers, respectively. It was proposed that the thickness of the ZnO layer be carefully controlled for realizing the lower programming voltage, because the serially connected capacitor by the formation of a fully depleted ZnO channel had a critical effect on the off programming voltage. The fabricated memory transistor with Al/P(VDF-TrFE) (80 nm)/Al 2 O 3 (4 nm)/ZnO (5 nm) exhibits encouraging behaviour such as a memory window of 3.8 V at the gate voltage of -10 to 12 V, and 10 7 on/off ratio, and a gate leakage current of 10 -11 A.

Fabrication and characterization of NiO based metal-insulator-metal diode using Langmuir-Blodgett method for high frequency rectification

Science.gov (United States)

Azad, Ibrahim; Ram, Manoj K.; Goswami, D. Yogi; Stefanakos, Elias

2018-04-01

Thin film metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diodes have attracted significant attention for use in infrared energy harvesting and detection applications. As demonstrated over the past decades, MIM or metal-insulator-insulator-metal (MIIM) diodes can operate at the THz frequencies range by quantum tunneling of electrons. The aim of this work is to synthesize required ultra-thin insulating layers and fabricate MIM diodes using the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. The nickel stearate (NiSt) LB precursor film was deposited on glass, silicon (Si), ITO glass and gold coated silicon substrates. The photodesorption (UV exposure) and the thermodesorption (annealing at 100 °C and 350 °C) methods were used to remove organic components from the NiSt LB film and to achieve a uniform homogenous nickel oxide (NiO) film. These ultrathin NiO films were characterized by EDS, AFM, FTIR and cyclic voltammetry methods, respectively. The MIM diode was fabricated by depositing nickel (Ni) on the NiO film, all on a gold (Au) plated silicon (Si) substrate. The current (I)-voltage (V) characteristics of the fabricated diode were studied to understand the conduction mechanism assumed to be tunneling of electron through the ultra-thin insulating layer. The sensitivity of the diode was measured to be as high as 35 V-1. The diode resistance was ˜100 ohms (at a bias voltage of 0.60 V), and the rectification ratio was about 22 (for a signal voltage of ±200 mV). At the bias point, the diode response demonstrated significant non-linearity and high asymmetry, which are very desirable characteristics for applications in infrared detection and harvesting.

Thin film fabrication and transport properties of the heavy Fermion oxide LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niemann, Ulrike [Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart (Germany); Hirai, Daigorou [University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan); Takagi, Hidenori [Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart (Germany); University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan); Institute for Functional Matter and Quantum Technologies, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart (Germany)

2016-07-01

The spinel compound LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} is well-known for its heavy fermion behaviour, although it contains no f-electron bands. This unexpected behaviour has been a subject of several studies, but the origin of it is still not fully understood. In this study, we successfully fabricated single crystalline epitaxial thin film of LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} on SrTiO{sub 3}, LSAT and MgO substrates, using a pulsed laser deposition technique. By changing film thickness and substrate materials, dimensionality and epitaxial strain was controlled. The formation of an epitaxially grown LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} phase has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction measurements. LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} films on MgO were found to be strained, due to the small lattice mismatch, in contrast to fully relaxed films on SrTiO{sub 3}.The heavy fermion behaviour of bulk LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} at low temperatures is well reproduced in thick enough (∼ 7 nm) films on SrTiO{sub 3} substrates. In contrast, an insulating phase was found in strained LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} thin films on MgO substrates, revealing the key role of the lattice in stabilising the metallic ground state. In this presentation, we discuss the thin film fabrication and the effect of epitaxial strain on heavy fermion behaviour in LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4}.

New Fast Response Thin Film-Based Superconducting Quench Detectors

CERN Document Server

Dudarev, A; van de Camp, W; Ravaioli, E; Teixeira, A; ten Kate, H H J

2014-01-01

Quench detection on superconducting bus bars and other devices with a low normal zone propagation velocity and low voltage build-up is quite difficult with conventional quench detection techniques. Currently, on ATLAS superconducting bus bar sections, superconducting quench detectors (SQD) are mounted to detect quench events. A first version of the SQD essentially consists of an insulated superconducting wire glued to a superconducting bus line or windings, which in the case of a quench rapidly builds up a relatively high resistance that can be easily and quietly detected. We now introduce a new generation of drastically improved SQDs. The new version makes the detection of quenches simpler, more reliable, and much faster. Instead of a superconducting wire, now a superconducting thin film is used. The layout of the sensor shows a meander like pattern that is etched out of a copper coated 25 mu m thick film of Nb-Ti glued in between layers of Kapton. Since the sensor is now much smaller and thinner, it is easi...

Chemical vapour deposition of thin-film dielectrics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasilev, Vladislav Yu; Repinsky, Sergei M

2005-01-01

Data on the chemical vapour deposition of thin-film dielectrics based on silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride and silicon dioxide and on phosphorus- and boron-containing silicate glasses are generalised. The equipment and layer deposition procedures are described. Attention is focussed on the analysis and discussion of the deposition kinetics and on the kinetic models for film growth. The film growth processes are characterised and data on the key physicochemical properties of thin-film covalent dielectric materials are given.

Residual stress in spin-cast polyurethane thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Hong; Zhang, Li, E-mail: lizhang@mae.cuhk.edu.hk [Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong (China); Chow Yuk Ho Technology Centre for Innovative Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong (China)

2015-01-19

Residual stress is inevitable during spin-casting. Herein, we report a straightforward method to evaluate the residual stress in as-cast polyurethane thin films using area shrinkage measurement of films in floating state, which shows that the residual stress is independent of radial location on the substrate and decreased with decreasing film thickness below a critical value. We demonstrate that the residual stress is developed due to the solvent evaporation after vitrification during spin-casting and the polymer chains in thin films may undergo vitrification at an increased concentration. The buildup of residual stress in spin-cast polymer films provides an insight into the size effects on the nature of polymer thin films.

All-Aluminum Thin Film Transistor Fabrication at Room Temperature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rihui Yao

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Bottom-gate all-aluminum thin film transistors with multi conductor/insulator nanometer heterojunction were investigated in this article. Alumina (Al2O3 insulating layer was deposited on the surface of aluminum doping zinc oxide (AZO conductive layer, as one AZO/Al2O3 heterojunction unit. The measurements of transmittance electronic microscopy (TEM and X-ray reflectivity (XRR revealed the smooth interfaces between ~2.2-nm-thick Al2O3 layers and ~2.7-nm-thick AZO layers. The devices were entirely composited by aluminiferous materials, that is, their gate and source/drain electrodes were respectively fabricated by aluminum neodymium alloy (Al:Nd and pure Al, with Al2O3/AZO multilayered channel and AlOx:Nd gate dielectric layer. As a result, the all-aluminum TFT with two Al2O3/AZO heterojunction units exhibited a mobility of 2.47 cm2/V·s and an Ion/Ioff ratio of 106. All processes were carried out at room temperature, which created new possibilities for green displays industry by allowing for the devices fabricated on plastic-like substrates or papers, mainly using no toxic/rare materials.

Simulated Thin-Film Growth and Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Schillaci, Michael

2001-06-01

Thin-films have become the cornerstone of the electronics, telecommunications, and broadband markets. A list of potential products includes: computer boards and chips, satellites, cell phones, fuel cells, superconductors, flat panel displays, optical waveguides, building and automotive windows, food and beverage plastic containers, metal foils, pipe plating, vision ware, manufacturing equipment and turbine engines. For all of these reasons a basic understanding of the physical processes involved in both growing and imaging thin-films can provide a wonderful research project for advanced undergraduate and first-year graduate students. After producing rudimentary two- and three-dimensional thin-film models incorporating ballsitic deposition and nearest neighbor Coulomb-type interactions, the QM tunneling equations are used to produce simulated scanning tunneling microscope (SSTM) images of the films. A discussion of computational platforms, languages, and software packages that may be used to accomplish similar results is also given.

Nanostructured thin films as functional coatings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lazar, Manoj A; Tadvani, Jalil K; Tung, Wing Sze; Lopez, Lorena; Daoud, Walid A, E-mail: Walid.Daoud@sci.monash.edu.au [School of Applied Sciences and Engineering, Monash University, Churchill, VIC 3842 (Australia)

2010-06-15

Nanostructured thin films is one of the highly exploiting research areas particularly in applications such as photovoltaics, photocatalysis and sensor technologies. Highly tuned thin films, in terms of thickness, crystallinity, porosity and optical properties, can be fabricated on different substrates using the sol-gel method, chemical solution deposition (CSD), electrochemical etching, along with other conventional methods such as chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and physical vapour deposition (PVD). The above mentioned properties of these films are usually characterised using surface analysis techniques such as XRD, SEM, TEM, AFM, ellipsometry, electrochemistry, SAXS, reflectance spectroscopy, STM, XPS, SIMS, ESCA, X-ray topography and DOSY-NMR. This article presents a short review of the preparation and characterisation of thin films of nanocrystalline titanium dioxide and modified silicon as well as their application in solar cells, water treatment, water splitting, self cleaning fabrics, sensors, optoelectronic devices and lab on chip systems.

Thin film characterization by resonantly excited internal standing waves

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di Fonzio, S [SINCROTRONE TRIESTE, Trieste (Italy)

1996-09-01

This contribution describes how a standing wave excited in a thin film can be used for the characterization of the properties of the film. By means of grazing incidence X-ray reflectometry one can deduce the total film thickness. On the other hand in making use of a strong resonance effect in the electric field intensity distribution inside a thin film on a bulk substrate one can learn more about the internal structure of the film. The profile of the internal standing wave is proven by diffraction experiments. The most appropriate non-destructive technique for the subsequent thin film characterization is angularly dependent X-ray fluorescence analysis. The existence of the resonance makes it a powerful tool for the detection of impurities and of ultra-thin maker layers, for which the position can be determined with very high precision (about 1% of the total film thickness). This latter aspect will be discussed here on samples which had a thin Ti marker layer at different positions in a carbon film. Due to the resonance enhancement it was still possible to perform these experiments with a standard laboratory x-ray tube and with standard laboratory tool for marker or impurity detection in thin films.

Evidence for surface-generated photocurrent in (Bi,Sb)2Se3and(Bi,Sb)2Te3 thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Yu; Richardella, Anthony; Yao, Bing; Lee, Joon Sue; Flanagan, Thomas; Kandala, Abhinav; Samarth, Nitin; Yeats, Andrew; Mintun, Peter; Awschalom, David

2015-03-01

Illumination with circularly polarized light is known produce a helicity-dependent photocurrent in topological insulators such as Bi2Se3 [e.g. Nature Nanotech. 7, 96 (2012)]. However, the exact origin of this effect is still unclear since it is observed with photons well above the bulk band gap. We report measurements of the polarization-dependent photocurrent in a series of (Bi,Sb)2Se3 thin films with different carrier concentrations and find that the photocurrent is enhanced as we increase the population of the surface states. This finding is supported by a study of helicity-dependent photocurrents in back-gated (Bi,Sb)2Te3 thin films, where the chemical potential is varied electrostatically. By illuminating our samples at different wavelengths, we show that the helicity-dependent photocurrent is enhanced when the photon energy approaches the energy difference between the lowest and first excited (unoccupied) topological surface states. This leads us to attribute the helicity-dependent photocurrent in topological insulators to optical excitations between these two spin-textured surface states. We will also discuss experiments imaging the spatial variation of these helicity-dependent photocurrents. This work is supported by ONR.

Thin film ceramic thermocouples

Science.gov (United States)

Gregory, Otto (Inventor); Fralick, Gustave (Inventor); Wrbanek, John (Inventor); You, Tao (Inventor)

2011-01-01

A thin film ceramic thermocouple (10) having two ceramic thermocouple (12, 14) that are in contact with each other in at least on point to form a junction, and wherein each element was prepared in a different oxygen/nitrogen/argon plasma. Since each element is prepared under different plasma conditions, they have different electrical conductivity and different charge carrier concentration. The thin film thermocouple (10) can be transparent. A versatile ceramic sensor system having an RTD heat flux sensor can be combined with a thermocouple and a strain sensor to yield a multifunctional ceramic sensor array. The transparent ceramic temperature sensor that could ultimately be used for calibration of optical sensors.

Photoluminescence of electron beam evaporated CaS:Bi thin films

CERN Document Server

Smet, P F; Poelman, D R; Meirhaeghe, R L V

2003-01-01

For the first time, the photoluminescence (PL) of electron beam evaporated CaS:Bi thin films is reported. Luminescent CaS:Bi powder prepared out of aqueous solutions was used as source material. The influence of substrate temperature on the PL and the morphology of thin films is discussed, and an optimum is determined. Substrate temperatures between 200 deg. C and 300 deg. C lead to good quality thin films with sufficient PL intensity. As-deposited thin films show two emission bands, peaking at 450 and 530 nm. Upon annealing the emission intensity increases, and annealing at 800 deg. C is sufficient to obtain a homogeneously blue emitting thin film (CIE colour coordinates (0.17; 0.12)), thanks to a single remaining emission band at 450 nm. The influence of ambient temperature on the PL of CaS:Bi powder and thin films was also investigated and it was found that CaS:Bi thin films show a favourable thermal quenching behaviour near room temperature.

Excimer Laser Deposition of PLZT Thin Films

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Petersen, GAry

1991-01-01

.... In order to integrate these devices into optical systems, the production of high quality thin films with high transparency and perovskite crystal structure is desired. This requires development of deposition technologies to overcome the challenges of depositing and processing PLZT thin films.

The scanning probe microscopy study of thin polymer films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harron, H.R.

1995-08-01

Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy were used systematically to investigate the morphology, uniformity, coverage and structure of the thin films of several commercially important insulating polymers. Despite the poorly conducting nature of the polymer sample, detailed and convincing images of this class of materials were achieved by STM without the need to coat the samples with a conductive layer. The polymer regions of the sample were further investigated by the use of surface profiling with 'line scans'. The fluctuations of the amplitude therein enabled important film characteristics to be assessed. An environmental stage was designed for the STM to enable the effect of various vapour-sample interactions to be observed during the imaging process. Using the data from the environmental stage in addition to the surface profiling with line scans, an insight into the conduction mechanism and image interpretation was gained. Results suggest that the water content of the sample and its immediate surroundings is an important factor in achieving reliable STM images in air. The initial study culminated with the observation by STM alone of the plasticizer induced crystallization of uncoated PC thin films. The 'amorphous' PC films were observed before crystallization and small ordered regions in roughly the same proportion as that predicted by diffraction studies [Prietschk, 1959 and Schnell, 1964] were imaged. This has never been observed by a microscopy technique. Furthermore, images of the crystalline film contained elongated units that were attributed to the lamellae formations that form the basic building blocks of polymer spherulites. The study continued with the AFM imaging of the growth of crystalline entities in a PC film, without the need for harsh sample treatment or metal coating. A method of casting and crystallizing the films was developed such that the growth was predominantly in two dimensions and consequently ideal for observation by

Control of the magnetic properties of LaMnO3 epitaxial thin films grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Benjamin; Roqueta, Jaume; Pomar, Alberto; Balcells, Lluis; Frontera, Carlos; Konstantinovic, Zorica; Sandiumenge, Felip; Santiso, Jose; Advanced materials characterization Team; Thin films growth Team

2015-03-01

LaMnO3 (LMO), the parent compound of colossal magnetoresistance based manganites has gained renewed attention as a building block in heterostructures with unexpected properties. In its bulk phase, stoichiometric LMO is an A-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) insulator (TN = 140K) with orthorhombic structure that easily accommodate an oxygen excess by generating cationic (La or Mn) vacancies. As a result, a fraction of Mn 3+ changes to Mn 4+ leading to a double-exchange mediated ferromagnetic (FM) behavior. In thin films the AFM phase has been elusive up to now and thin films with FM ordering are usually reported. In this work, we have systematically studied the growth process of LaMnO3 thin films by pulsed laser deposition on SrTiO3 (001) substrates under different oxygen partial pressures (PO2) . A close correlation between the structure (explored by XRD) and the magnetic properties (SQUID measurements) of the films with PO2 has been identified. At high PO2 FM behavior is observed. In contrast, at very low PO2, the results obtained for unit cell volume (close to stoichiometric bulk values) and magnetic moment (0.2 μB/Mn) strongly indicate antiferromagnetic ordering. We acknowledge financial support from the Spanish MINECO (MAT2012-33207).

Physics of thin films advances in research and development

CERN Document Server

Hass, Georg; Vossen, John L

2013-01-01

Physics of Thin Films: Advances in Research and Development, Volume 12 reviews advances that have been made in research and development concerning the physics of thin films. This volume covers a wide range of preparative approaches, physics phenomena, and applications related to thin films. This book is comprised of four chapters and begins with a discussion on metal coatings and protective layers for front surface mirrors used at various angles of incidence from the ultraviolet to the far infrared. Thin-film materials and deposition conditions suitable for minimizing reflectance changes with

Unexpected metal-insulator transition in thick Ca1-xSrxVO3 film on SrTiO3 (100) single crystal

Science.gov (United States)

Takayanagi, Makoto; Tsuchiya, Takashi; Namiki, Wataru; Ueda, Shigenori; Minohara, Makoto; Horiba, Koji; Kumigashira, Hiroshi; Terabe, Kazuya; Higuchi, Tohru

2018-03-01

Epitaxial Ca1-xSrxVO3 (0 ≦ x ≦ 1) thin films were grown on (100)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates by using the pulsed laser deposition technique. In contrast to the previous report that metal-insulator transition (MIT) in Ca1-xSrxVO3 (CSVO) was achieved only for extremely thin films (several nm thick), MIT was observed at 39, 72, and 113 K for films with a thickness of 50 nm. The electronic structure was investigated by hard and soft X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (HX-PES and SX-PES). The difference between these PES results was significant due to the variation in an escape depth of photoelectrons of PES. While HX-PES showed that the V 2p3/2 spectra consisted of four peaks (V5+, V4+, V3+, and V2+/1+), SX-PES showed only three peaks (V5+, V4+, and V3+). This difference can be caused by a strain from the substrate, which leads to the chemical disorder (V5+, V4+, V3+, and V2+/1+). The thin film near the substrate is affected by the strain. The positive magnetoresistance is attributed to the effect of electron-electron interactions in the disorder system. Therefore, the emergence of MIT can be explained by the electron-electron interactions from the chemical disorder due to the strain.

Characterization of ultrasonic spray pyrolysed ruthenium oxide thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patil, P.S.; Ennaoui, E.A.; Lokhande, C.D.; Mueller, M.; Giersig, M.; Diesner, K.; Tributsch, H. [Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin GmbH (Germany). Bereich Physikalische Chemie

1997-11-21

The ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) technique was employed to deposit ruthenium oxide thin films. The films were prepared at 190 C substrate temperature and further annealed at 350 C for 30 min in air. The films were 0.22 {mu} thick and black grey in color. The structural, compositional and optical properties of ruthenium oxide thin films are reported. Contactless transient photoconductivity measurement was carried out to calculate the decay time of excess charge carriers in ruthenium oxide thin films. (orig.) 28 refs.

Field ion microscope studies on thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cavaleru, A.; Scortaru, A.

1976-01-01

A review of the progress made in the last years in FIM application to thin film structure studies and adatom properties important in the nucleation stage of thin film growth: substrate binding and mobility of individual adatoms, behaviour of adatoms clusters is presented. (author)

AC over-current characteristics of YBCO coated conductor with copper stabilizer layer considering insulation layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du, H.-I.; Kim, M.-J.; Kim, Y.-J.; Lee, D.-H.; Han, B.-S.; Song, S.-S.

2010-01-01

Compared with the first-generation BSCCO wire, the YBCO thin-film wire boasts low material costs and high J c and superior magnetic-field properties, among other strengths. Meanwhile, the previous BSCCO wire material for superconducting cables has been researched on considerably with regard to its post-wire quenching characteristics during the application of an alternating over-current. In this regard, the promising YBCO thin-film wire has yet to be further researched on. Moreover, still lacking is research on the YBCO thin-film wire with insulating layers, which is essential in the manufacture of superconducting cables, along with the testing of the application of an alternating over-current to the wire. In this study, YBCO thin-film wires with copper-stabilizing layers were used in testing alternating over-current application according to the presence or absence of insulating layers and to the thickness of such layers, to examine the post-quenching wire resistance increase and quenching trends. The YBCO thin-film wire with copper-stabilizing layers has a critical temperature of 90 K and a critical current of 85 A rms . Moreover, its current application cycle is 5.5 cycles, and its applied currents are 354, 517, 712, and 915 A peak . These figures enabled the YBCO thin-film wires with copper-stabilizing layers to reach 90, 180, 250, and 300 K, respectively, in this study. These temperatures serve as a relative reference to examine the post-quenching wire properties following the application of an alternating over-current.

The Structure and Stability of Molybdenum Ditelluride Thin Films

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Zhouling Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Molybdenum-tellurium alloy thin films were fabricated by electron beam evaporation and the films were annealed in different conditions in N2 ambient. The hexagonal molybdenum ditelluride thin films with well crystallization annealed at 470°C or higher were obtained by solid state reactions. Thermal stability measurements indicate the formation of MoTe2 took place at about 350°C, and a subtle weight-loss was in the range between 30°C and 500°C. The evolution of the chemistry for Mo-Te thin films was performed to investigate the growth of the MoTe2 thin films free of any secondary phase. And the effect of other postdeposition treatments on the film characteristics was also investigated.

Magnetic surfaces, thin films, and multilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parkin, S.S.P.; Renard, J.P.; Shinjo, T.; Zinn, W.

1992-01-01

This paper details recent developments in the magnetism of surfaces, thin films and multilayers. More than 20 invited contributions and more than 60 contributed papers attest to the great interest and vitality of this subject. In recent years the study of magnetic surfaces, thin films and multilayers has undergone a renaissance, partly motivated by the development of new growth and characterization techniques, but perhaps more so by the discovery of many exciting new properties, some quite unanticipated. These include, most recently, the discovery of enormous values of magnetoresistance in magnetic multilayers far exceeding those found in magnetic single layer films and the discovery of oscillatory interlayer coupling in transition metal multilayers. These experimental studies have motivated much theoretical work. However these developments are to a large extent powered by materials engineering and our ability to control and understand the growth of thin layers just a few atoms thick. The preparation of single crystal thin film layers and multilayers remains important for many studies, in particular, for properties dependent. These studies obviously require engineering not just a layer thicknesses but of lateral dimensions as well. The properties of such structures are already proving to be a great interest

Thin films prepared from tungstate glass matrix

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Montanari, B.; Ribeiro, S.J.L.; Messaddeq, Y. [Departamento de Quimica Geral e Inorganica, Instituto de Quimica, Sao Paulo State University-UNESP, CP 355, CEP 14800-900, Araraquara, SP (Brazil); Li, M.S. [Instituto de Fisica, USP, CP 369, CEP 13560-970, Sao Carlos, SP (Brazil); Poirier, G. [Departamento de Ciencias Exatas, UNIFAL-MG, CEP 37130-000, Alfenas-MG (Brazil)], E-mail: gael@unifal-mg.edu.br

2008-01-30

Vitreous samples containing high concentrations of WO{sub 3} (above 40% M) have been used as a target to prepare thin films. Such films were deposited using the electron beam evaporation method onto soda-lime glass substrates. These films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), perfilometry, X-ray energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS), M-Lines and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. In this work, experimental parameters were established to obtain stable thin films showing a chemical composition close to the glass precursor composition and with a high concentration of WO{sub 3}. These amorphous thin films of about 4 {mu}m in thickness exhibit a deep blue coloration but they can be bleached by thermal treatment near the glass transition temperature. Such bleached films show several guided modes in the visible region and have a high refractive index. Controlled crystallization was realized and thus it was possible to obtain WO{sub 3} microcrystals in the amorphous phase.

Characterization of Sucrose Thin Films for Biomedical Applications

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S. L. Iconaru

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Sucrose is a natural osmolyte accumulated in the cells of organisms as they adapt to environmental stress. In vitro sucrose increases protein stability and forces partially unfolded structures to refold. Thin films of sucrose (C12H22O11 were deposited on thin cut glass substrates by the thermal evaporation technique (P∼10−5 torr. Characteristics of thin films were put into evidence by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, and differential thermal analysis and thermal gravimetric analysis (TG/DTA. The experimental results confirm a uniform deposition of an adherent layer. In this paper we present a part of the characteristics of sucrose thin films deposited on glass in medium vacuum conditions, as a part of a culture medium for osteoblast cells. Osteoblast cells were used to determine proliferation, viability, and cytotoxicity interactions with sucrose powder and sucrose thin films. The osteoblast cells have been provided from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC Centre. The outcome of this study demonstrated the effectiveness of sucrose thin films as a possible nontoxic agent for biomedical applications.