Deposition of gold nanoparticles upon bare and indium tin oxide film coated glass based on annealing process

We presented a simple and efficient strategy for deposition of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) upon transparent bare and indium tin oxide (ITO) film coated glass substrate using gold colloids as Au sources. The method involved two steps: embedding in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film and annealing at high temperature. The AuNPs deposited on solid substrate because of migration and coalescence of gold at high temperature. The optical and structural properties of the AuNPs were characterised by UV-vis absorption spectra and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicate that the surface of AuNPs upon substrate was clean as annealing at 600?°C for 0.5?h. The size of AuNPs deposited on ITO glass increased with annealing time and volume of PVA-AuNPs. Meanwhile, the localised surface plasmon resonance peak of AuNPs deposited on substrate was also gradual red-shift. In addition, the size of AuNPs deposited on ITO substrate was larger than that on bare glass. This work provides a simple, low-cost and large-scale method for fabrication of substrate-based AuNPs, which is benefit for exploiting biosensors, photonic devices and optoelectronic devices.     

Oxygen-ion-assisted deposition of thin gold films

Thin gold films have been deposited on glass and silicon substrates using ion-assisted deposition techniques. The adhesion of the films to the substrates is assessed by a scratch test. Deposition assisted by 100 eV-1 keV oxygen ions yields highly adhesive films that can only be removed by damaging the substrate. Argon and hydrogen ions produce films with relatively poor adhesion. The results show that the reflectance of oxygen-assisted films is reduced by trapping of the oxygen in the gold but no bulk chemical or structural changes are detected. It is proposed that a thin stable layer of gold oxide is formed during film growth and diffuses into the substrate, providing a strong bond for subsequent film deposition. Highly adhesive films with bulk optical properties are deposited on glass and silicon using oxygen-ion assistance only to the point of continuous film formation.     

磁控溅射法制备铁氧体薄膜的界面结合强度研究

利用磁控溅射法在单硅晶基底和玻璃基底上沉积铁氧体薄膜,采用AFM观察薄膜的微观形貌,采用划痕法测试薄膜的界面结合强度,测试结果表明:由于两种不同材质上沉积的薄膜粗糙度缘故,硅晶/铁氧体薄膜的临界载荷为19.7N,其划痕形貌为裂纹状扩展,玻璃/铁氧体薄膜的临界载荷为5.3N,其划痕形貌为剥落状。     

Anomalous photovoltaic effect in vacuum-deposited CdTe films

CdTe films of thicknesses varying from 125 to 1250 nm were vapour deposited onto glass substrates at oblique incidence in vacuum at substrate temperatures varying from room temperature to 250 °C. The samples are irradiated with an He-Ne laser from the direction of the deposited layer and through the substrate. It was found that the film thickness and substrate temperature play an important role in changing the magnitude and polarity of the photovoltages generated in CdTe films. A reversal in the polarity of the photovoltage is obtained in certain films depending on the deposition parameters. An attempt is made to interpret the results.     

Relation between the plasma characteristics and physical properties of functional zinc oxide thin film prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering process

The ZnO thin film was deposited on a glass substrate by a RF reactive magnetron sputtering method. Results showed that plasma density, electron temperature, deposition rate and estimated ion bombardment energy increase with increasing applied RF power. Three distinct power regimes were observed, which are strongly correlated with plasma properties. In the low-power regime, the largest grain size was observed due to slow deposition rate. In the medium-power regime, the smallest grain size was found, which is attributed to insufficient time for the adatoms to migrate on substrate surface. In the high-power regime, relatively larger grain size was found due to very large ion bombardment energy which enhances the thermal migration of adatoms. Regardless of pure ZnO thin film or ZnO on glass, high transmittance (> 80%) in the visible region can be generally observed. However, the film thickness plays a more important role for controlling optical properties, especially in the UV region, than the applied RF power. In general, with properly coated ZnO thin film, we can obtain a glass substrate which is highly transparent in the visible region, is of good anti-UV characteristics, and is highly hydrophobic, which is highly suitable for applications in the glass industry.     

Molecular orientation analysis of a single-monolayer Langmuir-Blodgett film on a thin glass plate by infrared multiple-angle incidence resolution spectrometry

Molecular orientation analysis in a single monolayer deposited on a glass substrate has been a difficult matter, since the glass substrate absorbs infrared rays so strongly that the measurements of infrared spectra are difficult to perform, and the single monolayer is not suitable for X-ray diffraction analysis because no periodical structure is available. When a thin glass is used as the substrate, in particular, the infrared analysis becomes more difficult, since optical fringes appear strongly on the absorption spectra due to the multiple reflections in the glass. In the present study, infrared multiple-angle incidence resolution spectrometry (MAIRS) has been employed to remove the fringes from the spectra of single- and five-monolayer Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of cadmium stearate deposited on a thin glass plate. The MAIRS in-plane spectra gave quantitatively reliable infrared transmission spectra for both films with little fringes, which made it possible for the first time to analyze the molecular orientation in the single-monolayer LB film on glass. As a result, it has been revealed that the molecule in the single-monolayer LB film on thin glass exhibits a significantly larger molecular tilt angle than those prepared on other substrates such as gold and germanium.     

Dual electrical properties of quench-condensed mercury films. Dependence on the substrate material

It is shown that the conductivity onset in cold deposited Hg films on glass substrates covered with a SiO layer corresponds to te film thickness of 4–5 Å in a contrast to films deposited on pure glass, where the conductivity onset can be observed only at 10–15 times higher thicknesses. Study of superconducting properties of films is also presented. We believe that chemical bonds between metallic atoms themselves and their chemical interaction with atoms of the substrate are very important for formation of the film structure and responsible for a completely different behavior of films deposited onto different substrates.     

高可见光透过、高紫外截止镀膜玻璃的制备

为了提高镀膜玻璃的可见光透过率, 本研究通过反胶束溶液刻蚀法制备出一种新型玻璃基板, 即表面多孔玻璃。玻璃表面形成了蜂窝状的多孔膜层, 减小了对可见光的反射率, 从而使可见光平均透过率提高了7%。通过一系列射频磁控溅射实验, 探索了可见光平均透过率高, 紫外阻隔率最高的最佳工艺条件。在此条件下, 分别在制备的表面多孔玻璃和普通玻璃上镀CeO₂/TiO₂防紫外线膜, 并采用紫外-可见分光光度计、SEM、XRD、XPS等测试手段对样品进行了分析表征。结果表明, 在相同的镀膜条件下, 当镀膜后表面多孔玻璃与镀膜普通玻璃的紫外光阻隔率均为99%时, 表面多孔玻璃镀膜后的可见光平均透过率为85%, 而普通玻璃镀膜后的可见光平均透过率仅为79%。此外, 玻璃表面上的孔结构还提高了薄膜与基板的接触面积, 使膜基结合力提高2倍左右。     

采用真空磁控反应溅射和热水氧化法制备AlN_xO_y增透膜

在3.2mm厚的低铁玻璃衬底上采用金属Al靶在溅射气体Ar和反应气体N2的混合气体中,真空磁控反应溅射沉积半透明的Al-AlN金属陶瓷薄膜。再将沉积该薄膜的玻璃试样浸入沸腾的去离子水中,经一定时间氧化后,制备成表面粗糙的AlN和Al2O3的陶瓷混合物增透膜AlNxOy。在3.2 mm厚的低铁玻璃上,溅射沉积厚度为120 nm的Al-AlN金属陶瓷薄膜,沸水氧化8 min,制备的单面增透膜AlNxOy试样的太阳透射比Te达93.5%,可见光透射比Tv达95.2%。制备的双面增透膜AlNxOy试样的Te,Tv进一步提高,Te高达95.6%,与未镀膜玻璃衬底的90.4%相比,增加了5.2%;Tv高达97.0%,与玻璃衬底的91.6%相比,增加了5.4%。     

TiO2薄膜与玻璃基板横断截面的TEM及TEM—EDX分析

对玻璃基板上ＴｉＯ２薄膜与基板横断截面进行了ＴＥＭ形貌及ＴＥＭ－ＥＤＸ成分分析．结果表明,薄膜与基板结合致密,Ｎａ＋从基板向ＴｉＯ２薄膜的扩散为负扩散     

The stability of thin tellurium and tellurium alloy films for optical data storage: II

The chemical and physical degradation and the effects of the substrate and a low surface energy subbing layer on the stability of thin tellurium and tellurium alloy films for optical data storage are reported. Chemically, thin tellurium films degrade mainly through the uniform oxidation of tellurium to TeO₂. In addition, localized degradation occurs at regions where initial defects on the substrate are present. Thin tellurium and tellurium alloy films can also degrade physically through crystal growth for an initially polycrystalline film and phase transformation for an initially amorphous film. While no significant difference in the uniform degradation rate is observed between films deposited onto poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and those deposited onto glass substrates, more localized degradation is detected for the films deposited onto PMMA substrates because of the higher initial defects of the substrate. The presence of a low surface energy subbing layer tends to degrade both the chemical and physical stability of these films. The degradation in the chemical stability is attributed to the change in the microstructure or thickness of the film due to the presence of the low surface energy subbing layer.     

Fabrication and characterization of vacuum deposited fluorescein thin films

Simple vacuum evaporation technique for deposition of dyes on various solid surfaces has been developed. The method is compatible with conventional solvent-free nanofabrication processing enabling fabrication of nanoscale optoelectronic devices. Thin films of fluorescein were deposited on glass, fluorine-tin-oxide (FTO) coated glass with and without atomically layer deposited (ALD) nanocrystalline 20 nm thick anatase TiO₂ coating. Surface topology, absorption and emission spectra of the films depend on their thickness and the material of supporting substrate. On a smooth glass surface the dye initially forms islands before merging into a uniform layer after 5 to 10 monolayers. On FTO covered glass the absorption spectra are similar to fluorescein solution in ethanol. Absorption spectra on ALD-TiO₂ is red shifted compared to the film deposited on bare FTO. The corresponding emission spectra at λ = 458 nm excitation show various thickness and substrate dependent features, while the emission of films deposited on TiO₂ is quenched due to the effective electron transfer to the semiconductor conduction band.     

X-ray,electron microscopy and photovoltaic studies on CdTe thin films deposited normally at different substrate temperatures

X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction studies were conducted on CdTe thin films deposited on glass substrates kept at different substrate temperatures. Variation of the different structural parameters, such as lattice constant, crystallite size, r.m.s. strain, dislocation density and stacking fault probability with substrate temperature, was investigated in the temperature range 300 to 498 K. An increase in the lattice constant and crystallite size values and a decrease in the other parameters with increase in temperature of the substrate was observed. A photovoltage was observed for CdTe film deposited normally on glass substrates kept at higher substrate temperatures. The development of photovoltage in the film is explained in the light of the formation of crystallites of variable structure.     

Preparation of TiSi nanowires by APCVD used for improving dielectric properties of PST thin film

Nanoelectrode of conductive TiSi nanowires with Ti₅Si₃ conductive bottom layer underneath is prepared on glass substrate by atmosphere pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) method. Pb_0.4Sr_0.6 (Ti_0.97 Mg_0.03) O_2.97 (PST) thin film is deposited on the nanoelectrode by rf-sputtering method. The morphology and phase structure of the nanoelectrode are measured by FE-SEM and XRD, respectively. The dielectric property of a PST thin film deposited on the nanoelectrode substrate is obtained by Agilent 4294A Impedance Analyzer. The results show that the conductive Ti₅Si₃ crystalline phase bottom layer is formed at deposition temperature above 710 °C, and the conductive TiSi single crystal nanowires are formed on the bottom layer perfectly in this case. By using the substrate on which the TiSi nanowire planted Ti₅Si₃ electrode is prepared, the PST thin film is deposited and it exhibits the high tunability of approximately 61% which is much higher than that deposited on the Ti₅Si₃ coated glass substrates without TiSi nanowires.     

Effect of buffer layer on solution deposited ZnO films

ZnO films were prepared by solution deposition method on various substrates: bare glass, TiO₂-buffer-coated glass, ITO glass and ZnO-buffer-coated glass. PEG addition was used to further investigate the effect of the patterned ZnO buffer on the morphology of the films. The structural morphology was investigated by using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis methods. The nature of the substrate was found to have effect on the morphology and crystal structure of the resultant films. All the films deposited on various substrates were c-oriented and the highest intensity of (002) diffraction peak appeared in the samples deposited on ZnO buffer. Addition of PEG to the buffer precursor affected the size distribution of ZnO grains on buffer layer, resulting in composite films with nano- and microcrystals which dispersed in each other. The homogeneous nucleation and heterogeneous nucleation on the two sides of the substrates were discussed based on the film morphology.     

ITO deposited by pyrosol for photovoltaic applications

The goal of this work is to investigate morphology, electrical and optical properties of indium-tin-oxide (ITO) deposited by pyrosol on glass and Si substrates at different temperatures and to implement such layers for the processing of Si-based solar cells. The influence of the methanol/H₂O ratio on general properties of ITO was investigated. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission spectra, ellipsometry and resistivity measurements were used for the analysis. It is shown that properties of ITO layers depend dramatically on the substrate used. It is shown that the resistivity of ITO layers deposited on a glass substrate is higher up to 2.5 times, compared to that of ITO layers deposited on a Si substrate at the same conditions, but in both cases decreases if the deposition temperature increases. Moreover, ITO layers deposited on a glass substrate are more flat and their refractive indexes are always lower for all deposition temperatures. An increase of the H₂O concentration in a film-forming solution leads to a decrease of the ITO film resistivity and to a slight increase of the roughness. An application of pyrosol deposited ITO films as the top transparent electrodes for the (p⁺nn⁺)Si and heterojunction ITO/n-Si solar cells is demonstrated.     

Room-temperature crystallization of amorphous films by RF plasma treatment

The crystallization of amorphous thin films was achieved by 13.56 MHz RF (radio frequency) plasma treatment. This crystallization process has a strong advantage that the sample temperature is lower than 120 °C during the plasma treatment even without compulsory cooling and various amorphous films are crystallized after 2 min or so. This treatment works on amorphous films of various materials, independently of the film preparation method and substrate materials. Crystallization has been confirmed on amorphous thin films of sputtered ITO (tin doped indium oxide) deposited on soda-lime glass and PET (polyethylene terephthalate), of sputtered TiO₂ on soda-lime glass, of sol-gel derived TiO₂ on silicon wafer and of sputtered hydrogen-doped silicon on soda-lime glass.The plasma gas pressure was found to be the key parameter in the plasma crystallization process. The appropriate gas pressure depends on the plasma gas species and not on film or substrate materials. A Cu electrode, attached to the backside of the substrate and is electrically floated from the electric ground, was found to enhance the plasma crystallization performance.     

Structural and electrical properties of RuO2 thin films prepared by rf-magnetron sputtering and annealing at different temperatures

Conductive ruthenium oxide (RuO₂) thin films have been deposited at different substrate temperatures on various substrates by radio-frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering and were later annealed at different temperatures. The thickness of the films ranges from 50 to 700 nm. Films deposited at higher temperatures show larger grain size (about 140 nm) with (200) preferred orientation. Films deposited at lower substrate temperature have smaller grains (about 55 nm) with (110) preferred orientation. The electrical resistivity decreases slightly with increasing film thickness but is more influenced by the deposition and annealing temperature. Maximum resistivity is 861 μΩ cm, observed for films deposited at room temperature on glass substrates. Minimum resistivity is 40 μΩ cm observed for a thin film (50 nm) deposited at 540°C on a quartz substrate. Micro-Raman investigations indicate that strain-free well-crystallized thin films are deposited on oxidized Si substrates.     

Effect of the initial structure on the electrical property of crystalline silicon films deposited on glass by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition

Crystalline silicon films on an inexpensive glass substrate are currently prepared by depositing an amorphous silicon film and then crystallizing it by excimer laser annealing, rapid thermal annealing, or metal-induced crystallization because crystalline silicon films cannot be directly deposited on glass at a low temperature. It was recently shown that by adding HCI gas in the hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) process, the crystalline silicon film can be directly deposited on a glass substrate without additional annealing. The electrical properties of silicon films prepared using a gas mixture of SiH4 and HCl in the HWCVD process could be further improved by controlling the initial structure, which was achieved by adjusting the delay time in deposition. The size of the silicon particles in the initial structure increased with increasing delay time, which increased the mobility and decreased the resistivity of the deposited films. The 0 and 5 min delay times produced the silicon particle sizes of approximately 10 and approximately 28 nm, respectively, in the initial microstructure, which produced the final films, after deposition for 300 sec, of resistivities of 0.32 and 0.13 Omega-cm, mobilities of 1.06 and 1.48 cm2 V(-1) S(-1), and relative densities of 0.87 and 0.92, respectively.     

Substrate temperature dependence of the properties of Ga-doped ZnO films deposited by DC reactive magnetron sputtering

Ga-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Ga) transparent conductive films were deposited on glass substrates by DC reactive magnetron sputtering. The influence of substrate temperature on the structural, electrical, and optical properties of ZnO:Ga films was investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies show that higher temperature helps to promote Ga substitution more easily. The film deposited at 350 °C has the optimal crystal quality. The morphology of the films is strongly related to the substrate temperature. The film deposited is dense and flat with a columnar structure in the cross-section morphology. The transmittance of the ZnO:Ga thin films is over 90%. The lowest resistivity of the ZnO:Ga film is 4.48×10⁻⁴ Ω cm, for a film which was deposited at the substrate temperature of 300 °C.