Extraordinary self-lubrication properties of non-hydrogenated diamond-like carbon films under humid atmosphere

Tribological properties of non-hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were investigated under humid (RH=80%) and dry (RH=5%) air. These films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at different substrate temperatures. Tribological properties of DLC fabricated by PLD is not sensitive to the relative humidity of testing environment. Because of the unique growth mechanism of DLC prepared by PLD, DLC is of “soft-hard” double layers, having a very low friction coefficient and wear rate under humid atmosphere. The minimum coefficient and wear rate of film under humid circumstance are 0.045 and 5.94×10⁻¹⁰ mm³N⁻¹m⁻¹, respectively, just a little bit more than those under dry condition. The root means square roughness of film is less than 1 nm. The sp³ content of film grown at room temperature (RT) is 72%, and the sp³ content decreases with temperature. Raman spectrum shows that the micro-structure is amorphous network. The largest hardness and elastic modulus of film are 51 GPa and 350 GPa, respectively and they reduce with increase of deposition temperature too. Water contact angles on surface are more than 90° which indicates that films fabricated by PLD are hydrophobic with low surface energy.     

Influence of thickness on the properties of solution-derived LiMn<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> thin films

LiMn₂O₄ thin films of different thickness were derived from solution deposition and heat treated by rapid thermal annealing. The phase identification and surface morphology were studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The electrochemical properties of the films were examined by galvanostatic charge-discharge experiments and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. LiMn₂O₄ thin films of different thickness derived from solution deposition and rapid thermal annealing are homogeneous and crack free with the grain size between 20 nm and 50 nm. The specific capacity of these films is between 42 and 47 μAh·cm²·μm⁻¹. The capacity decreases with the increase of discharge current density. The capacity loss per cycle increases from 0.012% to 0.16% after being cycled 50 times as the film thickness increases from 0.18 μm to 1.04 μm. The lithium diffusion coefficients of these films are in the same order of 10⁻¹¹ cm²·s⁻¹.     

Simple method to rapidly fabricate chain-like carbon nanotube films and its field emission properties

A simple process to fabricate chain-like carbon nanotube (COT) films by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) was developed successfully. Prior to deposition, the Ti/Al2O3 substrates were ground with Fe-doped SiO2 powder. The nano-structure of the deposited films was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The field electron emission characteristics of the chain-like carbon nanotube films were measured under the vacuum of 10-5 Pa. The low turn-on field of 0.80 V/μm and the emission current density of 8.5 mA/cm2 at the electric field of 3.0 Vμ/m are obtained. Based on the above results, chain-like carbon nanotube films probably have important applications in cold cathode materials and electrode materials.     

Effect of interface layers on electron field emission properties of amorphous diamond films

Hydrogen-free high sp~3 content amorphous diamond (AD) films are deposited on three different substrates——Au-coated Si (Au/Si), Ti-coated Si (Ti/Si) and Si wafers. Electron field emission properties and fluorescent displays of the above AD films are studied by using a sample diode structure. The compositional profile of the interfaces of AD/Ti/Si and AD/Si is examined by using secondary ions mass spectroscopy (SIMS). Because of the reaction and interdiffusion between Ti and C, the formation of a thin TiC intermediate layer is possible between AD film and Ti/Si substrate. The field emission properties of AD/Ti/Si are sufficiently improved, especially its uniformity. A field emission density of 0.352 mA/cm~2 is obtained under an electric field of 19.7 V/μm. The value is much more than that of AD/Au/Si and AD/Si under the same electric field.     

Low temperature Raman study of PrCoO3 thin films on LaAlO3 （100） substrates grown by pulsed laser deposition

Thin films of PrCoO₃ were deposited on LaAlO₃ substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique. X-ray diffraction result indicates that films are single phase and c-axis textured. To investigate the spin state transition, Raman spectroscopy measurements were performed at different temperatures. The position of the Raman modes is found to increase while full width at half maximum (FWHM) of these modes is found to decrease with the decrease of temperature across spin state transition temperature (220 K) of PrCoO₃.     

Gold Nanoparticulate Thin Films Fabricated by the Electrostatic Self—Assembly Process

Gold colloids were prepared by citrate-induced reduction of hydrogen tetrachlorourate, and gold nanoparticles were electrostatically self-assembled with poly (diallyldimethylammonium chloride) into multilayer thin films on silicon and quartz substrates. The particulate thin films were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, surface enhanced Raman scattering, atomic force microscopy and resistivity measurements. Due to the interparticle coupling between individual gold particles, an obvious collective particle plasmon resonance was observed on UV-vis spectra, and the particulate thin films exhibited a strong SERS effect. For multilayer thin films with a high particle coverage on substrates, resistivity of the order of 10⁻⁴Ω·cm was yielded. Yu Hai-hu This research was financially supported by China Scholarship Council and the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (Project 2000J002)     

Effect of Annealing on Ferroelectric Properties of Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 Thin Films Prepared by the Sol-gel Method

Bi_3.25La_0.75Ti₃O₁₂(BLT) thin films were prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrate by the sol-gel method. The effect of annealing on their structures and ferroelectric properties was investigated. The XRD patterns indicate that the BLT films annealed at different temperatures are randomly orientated and the single perovskite phase is obtained at 550°C. The remnant polarization increases and the coercive field decreases with the annealing temperature increasing. The leakage current density of the BLT films annealed at 700°C is about 5.8×10⁻⁸ Al cm² at the electric field of 250 kV/cm. Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 90407023)     

电沉积法制备PbS薄膜的XRD分析

采用阴极恒电压法在ITO导电玻璃表面沉积了PbS薄膜,并用X-射线衍射仪(XRD)对薄膜的结构进行了表征,研究了沉积电压对薄膜的晶相组成的影响.结果表明:在U=3.0 V时,可制备出沿(111)晶面取向生长的立方相PbS薄膜;随沉积电压从3.0 V增加到4.5 V,薄膜的生长取向从(111)晶面变为(200)晶面,且PbS衍射峰的强度越来越强,到18 V时达到最强.     

MPECVD法在抛光石英玻璃上沉积金刚石薄膜

采用微波等离子体增强化学气相沉积方法(MPECVD),利用氢气和甲烷混合气体,在抛光石英基片上低温沉积出金刚石薄膜。用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、激光拉曼光谱仪(Raman)和傅立叶红外光谱仪(FTIR)对薄膜的表面形貌、颗粒尺寸、纯度和光学透过性能进行了表征。通过SEM发现,得到的金刚石薄膜的颗粒尺寸为0.2~0.3μm,形核密度超过109cm-2,从薄膜形貌可以发现,较高温度有利于提高薄膜的生长速率和颗粒尺寸的均匀性。通过拉曼光谱和红外透射光谱分析发现,较高温度下沉积的薄膜具有较高的金刚石相含量,薄膜的光学透过性能也相对较好。     

The hardness of amorphous Si-DLC films by molecular dynamics simulations

Silicon-doped diamond-like carbon (Si-DLC) films possess the potential to improve wear performance of DLC films in humid atmospheres and at higher temperatures. But many experimental results of Si-DLC films show that their structure and mechanical properties have changed greatly with the increasing silicon content. Therefore, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to generate hydrogen-free Si-DLC films and study their nano-indentation process under the interaction of a diamond indenter. The results show that sp ³/sp ²(C) (only carbon atoms) always decreases with the increasing silicon content. But sp ³/sp ²(C+Si) ratio increases firstly and reaches a maximum at the silicon content of 0.2, and then decreases with the further increase of the silicon content. Bulk modulus and hardness of the Si-DLC films both decrease with the increasing of the silicon content, which has the same trend with Papakonstantinou and Ikeyama’s results. It is concluded that the hardness of the Si-DLC films is dependent on sp ³/sp ²(C), not sp ³/sp ²(C+Si).     

Studies of key technologies for CdTe solar modules

In this paper, CdS thin films, which act as the window layer and n-type partner to the p-type CdTe layer, were prepared by chemical bath deposition (CBD). CdTe thin films were deposited by the close-spaced sublimation (CSS) method. To obtain high-quality back contacts, a Te-rich layer was created with chemical etching and back contact materials were applied after CdTe annealing. The results indicate that the ZnTe/ZnTe:Cu complex layers show superior performance over other back contacts. Finally, by using laser scribing and mechanical scribing, the CdTe mini-modules were fabricated, in which a glass/SnO₂:F/CdS/CdTe/ZnTe/ZnTe:Cu/Ni solar module with a PWQC-confirmed total-area efficiency of 7.03% (54 cm²) was achieved. Supported by the Hi-Tech Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2003AA513010), and the Science and Technology Program of Sichuan Province, China (Grant No. 05GG021-003-3)     

纳米针状金刚石膜的制备

利用高功率微波等离子体化学气相沉积方法在硅衬底上沉积了多晶金刚石薄膜,然后利用电子束蒸发方法在金刚石薄膜表面上沉积了5 nm厚的Pt薄膜.利用Pt的自组织化效应,再通过氢等离子体照射、氧等离子体刻蚀、王水处理等手段,使金刚石薄膜表面形成了纳米针.利用拉曼光谱和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)表征金刚石薄膜的结构,拉曼光谱显示在1 315 cm^-1处出现纳米金刚石特征峰,SEM显示纳米针均匀地直立在金刚石薄膜表面,每平方厘米大约含有10⁸个纳米针,纳米针的平均高度约为1 μm.     

Low temperature Raman study of PrCoO_3 thin films on LaAlO_3(100) substrates grown by pulsed laser deposition

Thin films of PrCoO3 were deposited on LaAlO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique.X-ray diffraction result indicates that films are single phase and c-axis textured.To investigate the spin state transition,Raman spectroscopy measurements were performed at different temperatures.The position of the Raman modes is found to increase while full width at half maximum(FWHM) of these modes is found to decrease with the decrease of temperature across spin state transition temperature(220 K) of PrCoO3.     

退火温度对Cu膜微结构与应力的影响

采用磁控溅射工艺在Si基片上沉积500 nm厚Cu膜,并在不同温度下进行快速退火处理。用X射线衍射仪、扫描电镜、光学相移方法研究薄膜的微结构与应力。结果表明：随着退火温度T增加,Cu（111）择优取向系数δCu（111）不断减小,薄膜的Cu（111）/Cu（200）取向组成比值减小;在T=773K条件下退火的薄膜形成了显著的空洞与裂纹;当T在小于673 K范围内增加时,薄膜应力由拉应力不断减小继而转变为压应力,而当T=773 K时,薄膜又呈现出较大的拉应力。     

沉积压力对磁控溅射Mg薄膜结构的影响

采用直流磁控溅射方法在氧化锆固体电解质表面制备了Mg金属薄膜,利用XRD和SEM研究了沉积压力（0.9～2.1 Pa）对薄膜形貌和结构的影响.结果表明：随着沉积压力的提高,薄膜结晶程度逐渐变差,晶粒尺寸减小,表面粗糙度增大;薄膜呈（002）择优生长的柱状晶结构,且随着沉积压力的提高薄膜厚度先增加后减小.     

PLD沉积DLC薄膜过程中碳等离子体的发射光谱特性

采用脉冲激光沉积方法,通过改变脉冲激光能量在单晶硅衬底上制备了类金刚石薄膜,利用椭圆偏振光谱和拉曼光谱对得到的薄膜进行测试,并对沉积过程中的碳等离子体发射光谱进行了研究。薄膜测试结果表明,随着脉冲激光能量的增大,薄膜sp^3成分增多。沉积过程中的碳等离子体发射光谱原位监测表明,随着脉冲激光能量的增大,C、C^＋、C^2＋粒子发射光谱强度增强,根据应力模型薄膜sp^3成分增多,与薄膜测试结果一致。并且发现C^＋粒子在形成sp^3键过程中起到了非常重要的作用。     

Characterization and Electrochemical Properties of LiMn2O4 Thin Films Prepared by Solution Deposition

1 IntroductionThin-filmlithium-ion batteries have attracted greatattention of researchfor possible use inimplantable medi-cal devices , CMOS-based integrated circuits ,radio fre-quency (RF) identification tags for inventory control andanti-theft protection[1],etc. Li Mn2O4thin films , aspromising cathode materials for thin-filmlithium-ion bat-teries, have been prepared by a few methods such aspulsedlaser deposition[2 ,3],electrospraying[4-9],RF mag-netron sputtering[10], laser ablation[11]…     

Structural evolution and optical characterization in argon diluted Si:H thin films obtained by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

The structural evolution and optical characterization of hydrogenated silicon (Si:H) thin films obtained by conventional radio frequency (RF) plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) through decomposition of silane diluted with argon were studied by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and ultraviolet and visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, respectively. The influence of argon dilution on the optical properties of the thin films was also studied. It is found that argon as dilution gas plays a significant role in the growth of nano-crystal grains and amorphous network in Si:H thin films. The structural evolution of the thin films with different argon dilution ratios is observed and it is suggested that argon plasma leads to the nanocrystallization in the thin films during the deposition process. The nanocrystallization initiating at a relatively low dilution ratio is also observed. With the increase of argon portion in the mixed precursor gases, nano-crystal grains in the thin films evolve regularly. The structural evolution is explained by a proposed model based on the energy exchange between the argon plasma constituted with Ar* and Ar⁺ radicals and the growth regions of the thin films. It is observed that both the absorption of UV-vis light and the optical gap decrease with the increase of dilution ratio.     

磁控溅射法制备的不同衬底上的TiO_2薄膜

利用射频磁控溅射方法,分别在改变氧气含量和沉积时间的条件下在ITO玻璃、Si和Al/ITO玻璃衬底上沉积了TiO2薄膜,并利用拉曼光谱表征了2种条件下的TiO2薄膜的结构.研究表明：衬底材料、氧气含量以及沉积时间明显地影响了TiO2薄膜的结构.随着氧气含量的降低,沉积在ITO玻璃衬底上的TiO2薄膜由锐钛矿和金红石的混合结构转变为单一的金红石结构,而沉积在Si衬底上的TiO2薄膜的结构没有改变,并保持单一的金红石结构;随着沉积时间的增加,Al/ITO玻璃衬底上的TiO2薄膜由金红石结构转变为锐钛矿结构.     

Laser tuned field emission of the carbon nanotube arrays grown on an optical fiber

Laser was coupled into an optical fiber,on which covered a layer of well-aligned carbon nanotubes(CNTs)serving as cathode,to tune the field emission of the cathode.CNT arrays as field emission cathode were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition(CVD)on a naked fiber core.When the laser was coupled into the fiber,the turn-on voltage(Vto at a current density of 1 mA cm?2)decreased from 1.0 to 0.9 kV and the emission current density increased from 0.83 mA cm?2(at a 1 kV bias voltage)to3.04 mA cm?2 on 40μm diameter fiber.A photon absorption mechanism is attributed to the field emission improvement.The estimated effective work function of CNT arrays on the optical fiber decrease from 4.89 to 4.29 eV.The results show the possibility of constructing a waveguide type laser modulated field emission cathode.