Improvements in CVD diamond properties for radiotherapy dosimetry

The goal of this work was to compare the behaviour of a chemical vapour deposited (CVD) diamond sample, grown at the University of Florence using a local procedure, with that of a commercial CVD diamond. The comparison was performed exposing both systems to 25 MV photons and measuring the current response during irradiation. Properties of dosimetric interest such as stability of response, dose rate dependence and rise time were investigated. After a preliminary study, which evidenced better performances of the commercial device with respect to the local CVD diamond, the latter was irradiated with a high fluence of fast neutrons. As a result of the neutron treatment, the quality of the CVD home-made diamond has been improved to match with that of the commercial dosemeter.     

Thermoluminescence properties of CVD diamond for clinical dosimetry use

The application of diamond to dosimetry is desirable because of its tissue equivalence, chemical inertness and small size, but this has not been commercially viable owing to the non-reproducible response of natural diamond. The chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of diamond permits controlled, reproducible and large-scale production of this material at potentially low cost. An investigation of some clinically relevant features like the depth-dose distribution as well as the absorbed dose profile, obtained using thermoluminescence (TL), is reported for several CVD diamond films. The TL characterisation presented here shows that CVD diamond films should be excellent TL-mode detectors in instances of radiotherapy and in vivo radiation dosimetry.     

Growth,structural, optical,thermal and mechanical properties of morpholinium 3,5-Dinitrosalicylate single crystals for nonlinear optical applications

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - A novel third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) active organic adduct, morpholinium 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid M35DS was synthesized and single...     

Growth and characterization of diamond particles,diamond films,and CNT-diamond composite films deposited simultaneously by hot filament CVD

It is important to understand the growth of CNT-diamond composite films in order to improve the inter-link between two carbon allotropes, and, in turn, their physical properties for field emission and other applications. Isolated diamond particles, continuous diamond thin films, and thin films of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) having non-uniformly distributed diamond particles (CNT-diamond composite films) were simultaneously grown on unseeded, seeded, and catalyst pre-treated substrates, respectively, using a large-area multi-wafer-scale hot filament chemical vapor deposition. Films were deposited for four different growth durations at a given deposition condition. The changes in surface morphology and growth behavior of diamond particles with growth duration were investigated ex situ using field emission scanning electron microscopy and 2D confocal Raman depth spectral imaging, respectively. A surface morphological transition from faceted microcrystalline nature to nanocrystalline nature was observed as a function of growth duration in the case of isolated diamond particles grown on both unseeded and catalyst pre-treated substrates. However, such a morphological transition was not observed on the simultaneously grown continuous diamond thin films on seeded substrates. 2D confocal Raman depth spectral imaging of diamond particles showed that the local growth of CNTs did not affect the growth behavior of neighboring diamond particles on catalyst pre-treated substrates. These observations emphasize the importance of surface chemical reactions at the growth site in deciding sp² or sp³ carbon growth and the final grain size of the diamond films.     

CVD diamond layers for electrochemistry

Diamond electrodes of different morphologies and qualities were manufactured by hot filament chemical deposition (HF CVD) techniques by changing the parameters of diamond growth process. The estimation of diamond quality and identification of different carbon phases was performed by Raman spectroscopy measurements. The effect of diamond quality and amorphous carbon phase content on the electrochemical response of an obtained diamond electrode in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ as supporting electrolyte was investigated by cyclic voltammetry with [Fe(CN)₆]^4?/3? as a redox probe. The kinetic parameters such as catalytic reaction rate constant k₀ and electron transfer coefficient α were determined. The obtained results show that the analytical performance of undoped diamond electrodes can be implemented just by the change of diamond layers quality.     

共掺杂n型CVD金刚石薄膜的结构和性能

利用微波等离子体化学气相沉积(MPCVD)技术制备硫掺杂及硼/硫共掺杂n型金刚石薄膜,探讨n型CVD金刚石薄膜的特性和共掺杂机理.研究结果显示:随着单一硫(S)掺杂含量的增加,金刚石薄膜导电激活能降低,薄膜生长速率减小,薄膜中非金刚石结构相增多;硼/硫(B-S)共掺杂有利于增加硫在金刚石中的固溶度,提高硫在金刚石晶体中的掺杂率,降低金刚石薄膜的导电激活能(在0.26～0.33eV);与单一S掺杂相比较,B-S共掺杂金刚石薄膜生长速率低,薄膜质量和晶格完整性好;霍耳效应测试表明硫掺杂和硼/硫共掺杂金刚石薄膜具有n型导电特征,载流子浓度在1016-1018/cm3之间,载流子迁移率在7～80cm2V-1s-1之间.采用B-S共掺杂技术有利于提高CVD金刚石薄膜的晶格完整性,使得B-S共掺杂金刚石薄膜具有更高的载流子迁移率.     

金刚石薄膜生长速度研究

在电子辅助热丝CVD中,研究刀具预处理对金刚石薄膜生长速度的影响。在保持生长条件不变的前提下,经酸腐蚀处理的刀具的侧、背面镀铜能使金刚石薄膜的生长速度从没有镀铜时的4μm／h增加到镀铜后的10．6μm／h。镀铜处理提高了刀具的电导率,使得热丝发射的电子在偏压电场的作用下,在刀具表面附近聚集,加速氢气和丙酮的裂解,从而提高金刚石薄膜生长速度。SEM和Raman测试结果表明,高速生长的金刚石薄膜仍然具有很高质量。     

CVD金刚石紫外探测器

CVD金刚石紫外探测器有极强的辐射硬度及耐腐蚀性,在宽禁带半导体紫外探测器中占有重要地位.本文主要对金刚石紫外探测器的发展进展、探测机理、电极模式及应用领域做了简要回顾.     

晶粒尺寸对CVD金刚石膜电学特性的影响

通过改变生长参数,采用热丝化学气相沉积(HFCVD)法制备了从10μm到90nm四种晶粒尺寸的金刚石膜,并制作了三明治结构的光电导探测器.采用原子力显微镜和拉曼光谱仪研究了薄膜的结构和表面形貌:表面粗糙度从423nm变化到15nm;晶粒越大,金刚石膜的质量越好.I-V特性测试结果表明随着晶粒尺寸的减小,金刚石膜的电阻率从1011Ω·cm减小到106Ω·cm.在5.9 keV的55Fe X射线辐照下,随着晶粒尺寸的减小,探测器的信噪比(SNR)呈减小趋势.     

Nanoparticle processing for optical applications – A review

This article provides an overview of current research on nanoparticle processing for optical applications. We elaborate on four nanoparticle processing methods: (i) an aerosol spray method, (ii) nanoparticle dispersion, (iii) a nanoparticle coating method for making films, and (iv) an electrospinning method for making fibers from a nanoparticle dispersion. The use of aerosol spray methods for the preparation of nanoparticles and nanostructured particles for application in optical materials is reviewed. Nanoparticle dispersion techniques for the synthesis of unique composite organic/inorganic materials with unique optical properties are discussed. Preparation of self-assembled monolayer particle films, layer-by-layer films, and fibers consisting of nanoparticles was also introduced. We also highlight the range of unique optical properties associated with optical materials that result from nanoparticle processing, such as a controllable refractive index, transparency, photoluminescence, photonic crystal, and plasmon resonance.     

On the structure, stress and optical properties of CVD tungsten oxide films

Tungsten oxide thin films were prepared by low temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process from a metallorganic precursor at atmospheric pressure. The influence of the deposition temperature and oxygen flow-rate on the film structure, density and built-in stress were investigated in a comparative way employing different characterization techniques. The XRD structural analysis of the films showed co-existence of WO₃ and WO_2.9 phases. On the basis of the performed studies it was inferred that the film density decreases, the film stresses change and the film transmission increases at higher oxygen flow-rate values during the deposition. The growth window for preparation of tungsten oxide films with very low density, facilitating fast kinetics of the electrochromic effect, was established.     

Synthetic single-crystal, homoepitaxially grown, CVD diamond capacitor

Homoepitaxially grown diamond film capacitor has been fabricated and tested for capacitance characteristics. Type IIa diamond was chosen for carbon ion implantation and subsequently microwave plasma CVD diamond was grown. CVD diamond film was separated from the base type IIa diamond substrate by using electrochemical bias. The separated CVD diamond film was annealed at 450°C for 2 h and metallized the film using a d.c. magnetron sputtering technique. The observed capacitance of the fabricated device is of the order of picofarads, close to the expected value of the capacitance. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Optical bleaching, TSL and OSL features of CVD diamond

Luminescence and optical features of chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond have been studied in view of the potential application of this material in ionising radiation dosimetry field. For this purpose, thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques have been used. A large amount of work has emphasised the excellent dosimetric properties of CVD diamond. Nevertheless, TSL measurements showed that after irradiation, this material is extremely sensitive to ambient light and the stored dose information is drastically affected by optical bleaching. From OSL analysis, it follows that both types of processes (TSL and OSL) were characterised by the same excitation and emission spectra and that optical bleaching originated from a broad stimulation band lying from visible to near infrared with a continuous character.     

Growth behavior of CVD diamond films with enhanced electron field emission properties over a wide range of experimental parameters

In this study, diamond films were synthesized on silicon substrates by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD) over a wide range of experimental parameters. The effects of the microwave power, CH₄/H₂ ratio and gas pressure on the morphology, growth rate, composition, and quality of diamond films were investigated by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A rise of microwave power can lead to an increasing pyrolysis of hydrogen and methane, so that the microcrystalline diamond film could be synthesized at low CH₄/H₂ levels. Gas pressure has similar effect in changing the morphology of diamond films, and high gas pressure also results in dramatically increased grain size. However, diamond film is deteriorated at high CH₄/H₂ ratio due to the abundant graphite content including in the films. Under an extreme condition of high microwave power of 10 kW and high CH₄ concentration, a hybrid film composed of diamond/graphite was successfully formed in the absence of N₂ or Ar, which is different from other reports. This composite structure has an excellent measured sheet resistance of 10–100 Ω/Sqr. which allows it to be utilized as field electron emitter. The diamond/graphite hybrid nanostructure displays excellent electron field emission (EFE) properties with a low turn-on field of 2.17 V/μm and β = 3160, therefore it could be a promising alternative in field emission applications.     

Near-field optical properties of quantum dots, applications and perspectives

Recent years have witnessed tremendous research in quantum dots as excellent models of quantum physics at the nanoscale and as excellent candidates for various applications based on their optoelectronic properties. This review intends to present theoretical and experimental investigations of the near-field optical properties of these structures, and their multimodal applications such as biosensors, biological labels, optical fibers, switches and sensors, visual displays, photovoltaic devices and related patents.     

Growth parameter dependent structural and optical properties of ZnO nanostructures on Si substrate by a two-zone thermal CVD

We investigated the effect of growth parameters on the structural and optical properties of the ZnO nanostructures (NSs) grown on Au-coated Si substrate by a two-zone thermal chemical vapor deposition. The morphologies of ZnO NSs were controlled by various growth parameters, such as growth temperature, O2 flow rate, and working pressure, for different thicknesses of Au layer. The nanorod-like ZnO NSs were formed at 915 degrees C and the growth of two-dimensional structures, i.e., nanosheets, was enhanced with the increase of growth temperature up to 965 degrees C. It was found that the low working pressure contributed to improvement in vertical alignment and uniformity of ZnO NSs. The Zn/O atomic % ratio, which plays a key role in the growth mechanism of ZnO NSs, was changed by the growth parameters. The Zn/O atomic % ratio was increased with increasing the growth temperature, while it was decreased with increasing the working pressure. Under proper O2 flow rate, the ZnO nanorods with good crystallinity were fabricated with a Zn/O atomic % ratio of -0.9. For various growth parameters, the photoluminescence emission was slightly shifted with the ultraviolet emission related to the near band edge transition.     

Thermal conductivity of CVD diamond films

Diamond films 60 and 170 µm in thickness were grown by PACVD (plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition) under similar conditions. The thermal diffusivity of these freestanding films was measured between 100 and 300 K using AC calorimetry. Radiation heat loss from the surface was estimated by analyzing both the amplitude and the phase shift of a lock-in amplifier signal. Thermal conductivity was calculated using the specific heat data of natural diamond. At room temperature, the thermal conductivity of the 60 and 170 m films is 9 and 16 W-cm^–1. K^–1 respectively, which is 40–70% that of natural diamond, The temperature dependence of thermal conductivity of the CVD diamond films is similar to that of natural diamond, Phonon scattering processes are considered using the Debye model, The microsize of the grain boundary has a significant effect on the mean free path of phonons at low temperatures. The grain in CVD diamond film is grown as a columnar structure, Thus, the thicker film has the larger mean grain size and the higher thermal conductivity. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy were used to study the microstructure of the CVD diamond films. In this experiment, we evaluated the quality of CVD diamond film of the whole sample by measuring the thermal conductivity.Paper presented at the Twelfth Symposium on Thermophysical Properties, June 19–24, 1994, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.     

The toughness of free-standing CVD diamond

A four-point bend test was used to determine the fracture toughness of mechanical grade and di-electric (optical) grade chemical vapour deposited (CVD) diamond. The validity of the test was first confirmed by measuring the toughness of alumina and confirming the results with literature values. The toughnesses of both types of CVD were similar; 8.5 ± 1.0 and 8.3 ± 0.4 MPa respectively. This is higher than the value of 3 4 ± 0 5 MPa measured for good quality natural diamond by Field and Freeman, [1] using an indentation technique. It is suggested that this is primarily due to differences in surface roughness. There were enough samples to make a preliminary study of the effect of temperature and these data are reported.     

Growth and optical applications of centimeter-long ZnO nanocombs

Ultralong ZnO nanocombs have been synthesized on silicon substrates with a high growth rate of ∼7 μm/s using a simple “thermal evaporation and condensation” method promoted by Cu catalysts. The lengths of the ZnO nanocombs range from several millimeters to more than one centimeter and the diameters of the branches are about 300 nm. The growth mechanism of the ultralong nanocombs and the catalytic behavior of the copper are discussed. The nanocombs were readily separated and their applications as optical polarizer and grating were investigated. The results show that the ultralong ZnO nanocombs can act as effective optical components in miniaturized integrated optics systems. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com     

金刚石微米聚晶结构的生长及其场发射特性研究

在覆盖金属钛层的陶瓷上,利用微波等离子体化学气相沉积(MPCVD)法制备出类球状微米金刚石聚晶薄膜.利用扫描电子显微镜、拉曼光谱、X射线衍射,分析了薄膜的结构和表面形貌.测试了类球状微米金刚石聚晶膜的场致电子发射特性.开启电场仅为0.55V/μm,在2.18V/μm的电场下,其场发射电、流密度高达11mA/cm2.对类球状微米金刚石聚晶阵列形成机理和场发射机理进行了研究.