Nanoporous Ti-metal film deposition using radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique for photovoltaic application

Nanoporous Ti-metal film electrode was fabricated by radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering technique on nanoporous TiO2 layer prepared by sol-gel combustion method and investigated with respect to its photo-anode properties of TCO-less DSCs. The porous Ti layer (approximately 1 microm) with low sheet resistance (approximately 17 Omega/sq.) can collect electrons from the TiO2 layer and allows the ionic diffusion of I(-)/I(3-) through the hole. The porous Ti layer with highly ordered columnar structure prepared by 8 mTorr sputtering shows the good impedance characteristics. The efficiency of prepared TCO-less DSCs sample is about 4.83% (ff: 0.6, Voc: 0.65 V, Jsc: 11.2 mA/cm2).     

Ti和TiO2薄膜在血管支架表面附着状况的研究

采用非平衡磁控溅射法在316L不锈钢制成的血管支架表面制备Ti以及TiO2薄膜,初步研究了Ti薄膜厚度、TiO2薄膜沉积速率对薄膜在血管支架表面附着状况的影响.结果表明,支架表面较薄的Ti薄膜附着状况较厚的Ti薄膜好;低沉积速率制备的TiO2薄膜在支架表面附着状况好于高沉积速率制备的TiO2薄膜;对于Ti/TiO2复合薄膜,Ti层厚度过大不利于Ti/TiO2复合薄膜在支架表面附着.     

Site-specific and patterned growth of TiO(2) nanotube arrays from e-beam evaporated thin titanium film on Si wafer

Growth of TiO(2) nanotubes on thin Ti film deposited on Si wafers with site-specific and patterned growth using a photolithography technique is demonstrated for the first time. Ti films were deposited via e-beam evaporation to a thickness of 350-1000?nm. The use of a fluorinated organic electrolyte at room temperature produced the growth of nanotubes with varying applied voltages of 10-60?V (DC) which remained stable after annealing at 500?°C. It was found that variation of the thickness of the deposited Ti film could be used to control the length of the nanotubes regardless of longer anodization time/voltage. Growth of the nanotubes on a SiO(2) barrier layer over a Si wafer, along with site-specific and patterned growth, enables potential application of TiO(2) nanotubes in NEMS/MEMS-type devices.     

Fabrication of 3-dimensional PbZr(1-x)Ti(x)O3 nanoscale thin film capacitors for high density ferroelectric random access memory devices

PbZr(x)Ti(1-x)O3 (PZT) thin films were deposited on 3-dimensional (3D) nano-scale trench structures for use in giga-bit density ferroelectric random access memories. PZT thin films were deposited by liquid delivery metalorganic chemical vapor deposition using Pb(thd)2, Zr(MMP)4, and Ti(MMP)4 precursors dissolved in ethyl cyclohexane. Iridium thin films were deposited by atomic layer deposition, and they exhibited excellent properties for capacitor electrodes even at a thickness of 20 nm. The trench capacitor was composed of three layers, viz. Ir/PZT/lr (20/60/20 nm), and had a diameter of 250 nm and a height of 400 nm. Almost 100% step coverage was obtained at a deposition temperature of 530 degrees C. The PZT thin film capacitors with a thickness of 60 nm on a planar structure exhibited a remnant polarization (Pr) of 28 microC/cm2, but the Pr value of the 3D PZT capacitors decreased slightly with decreasing 3D trench pattern size. The transmission electron microscope analysis indicated that the PZT thin films had compositional uniformity in the 3D trench region. Both columnar and granular grains were formed on the sidewalls of the trench capacitors, and their relative proportion exhibited strong size dependence. The trench capacitors with more columnar PZT grains showed good switching behavior under an external bias of 2.1 V and had a remnant polarization of 19-24 microC/cm2.     

TiO2 coating of high surface area silica gel by chemical vapor deposition of TiCl4 in a fluidized-bed reactor

TiO2 was deposited on high surface area porous silica gel (400 m2g(-1)) in a fluidized bed reactor. Chemical vapor deposition was employed for the coating under vacuum conditions with TiCl4 as precursor. Nitrogen physisorption, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-vis spectroscopy were applied to characterize the obtained TiO2-SiO2 composites with different Ti loadings up to 5 wt%. Only a slight decrease in the specific surface area was detected at low Ti loadings. At a Ti loading of 2 wt%, TiO2 was found to be highly dispersed on the SiO2 surface likely in form of a thin film. At higher Ti loadings, two weak reflections corresponding to anatase TiO2 were observed in the diffraction patterns indicating the presence of crystalline bulk TiO2. High resolution XPS clearly distinguished two types of Ti species, i.e., Ti-O-Si at the interface and Ti-O-Ti in bulk TiO2. The presence of polymeric TiOx species at low Ti loadings was confirmed by a blue shift in the UV-vis spectra as compared to bulk TiO2. All these results point to a strong interaction between the TiO2 deposit and the porous SiO2 substrate especially at low Ti loadings.     

Bulk heterojunction formation between indium tin oxide nanorods and CuInS2 nanoparticles for inorganic thin film solar cell applications

In this study, we developed a novel inorganic thin film solar cell configuration in which bulk heterojunction was formed between indium tin oxide (ITO) nanorods and CuInS(2) (CIS). Specifically, ITO nanorods were first synthesized by the radio frequency magnetron sputtering deposition method followed by deposition of a dense TiO(2) layer and CdS buffer layer using atomic layer deposition and chemical bath deposition method, respectively. The spatial region between the nanorods was then filled with CIS nanoparticle ink, which was presynthesized using the colloidal synthetic method. We observed that complete gap filling was achieved to form bulk heterojunction between the inorganic phases. As a proof-of-concept, solar cell devices were fabricated by depositing an Au electrode on top of the CIS layer, which exhibited the best photovoltaic response with a V(oc), J(sc), FF, and efficiency of 0.287 V, 9.63 mA/cm(2), 0.364, and 1.01%, respectively.     

Growth and characterization of titanium silicate nanofilms for gate oxide applications

Atomic layer chemical vapor deposition (ALCVD) of titanium silicate nanofilms using a precursor combination of tetrakis-diethylamido-titanium (Ti(N(C2H5)2)4) and tetra-n-butyl-orthosilicate (Si(O(n)Bu)4) was studied for high dielectric gate oxides. ALCVD temperature window in our study was 170-210 degrees C with a growth rate of 0.8 A/cycle. We investigated the effects of deposition conditions, such as deposition temperature, pulse time of precursor and purge injection, on the titanium silicate nanofilm growth. The saturated composition of Ti/(Ti+ Si) ratio was 0.6 and impurity concentrations were less than 1 atomic %. Dielectric constant (k) of the as-deposited titanium silicate film was approximately 10.5. Hysteresis in capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements was less than 0.35 V before and after annealing. The leakage current density of the as-deposited and 400 degrees C annealed film was 1.4 x 10(-4) A/cm2, 4.2 x 10(-4) A/cm2, respectively, at a bias of -1 V.     

Photocatalytic TiO(2) deposition by chemical vapor deposition

Dip-coating, spray-coating or spin-coating methods for crystalline thin film deposition require post-annealing process at high temperature. Since chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process is capable of depositing high-quality thin films without post-annealing process for crystallization, CVD method was employed for the deposition of TiO(2) films on window glass substrates. Post-annealing at high temperature required for other deposition methods causes sodium ion diffusion into TiO(2) film from window glass, resulting in the degradation of photocatalytic efficiency. Anatase-structured TiO(2) thin films were deposited on window glass by CVD, and the photocatalytic dissociation rates of benzene with CVD-grown TiO(2) under UV exposure were characterized. As the TiO(2) film deposition temperature was increased, the (112)-preferred orientations were observed in the film. The (112)-preferred orientation of TiO(2) thin film resulted in a columnar structure with a larger surface area for benzene dissociation. Obviously, benzene dissociation rate was maximum when the degree of the (112) preferential orientation was maximum. It is clear that the thin film TiO(2) should be controlled to exhibit the preferred orientation for the optimum photocatalytic reaction rate. CVD method is an alternative for the deposition of photocatalytic TiO(2).     

Joining of Zirconia and Ti-6Al-4V Using a Ti-based Amorphous Filler

Polycrystalline ZrO2-3 mol.%Y2O3 was brazed to Ti-6Al-4V by using a Ti47Zr28Cu14Ni11(at.%) amorphous ribbon at 1123-1273 K in a high vacuum. The influences of brazing temperature on the microstructure and shear strength of the joints were investigated. The interfacial microstructures can be described as ZrO2/TiO+TiO2+Cu2Ti4O+Ni2Ti4O/α-Ti+(Ti,Zr)2(Cu,Ni) eutectic/acicular Widmanst¨aten structure/Ti-6Al-4V alloy. With the increase in the brazing temperature, the thickness of the TiO+TiO2+Cu2Ti4O+Ni2Ti4O layer reduced, the content of the α-Ti+(Ti,Zr)2(Cu,Ni) eutectic phase decreased, while that of the coarse α-Ti phase gradually increased. The shear strength of the joints did not show a close relationship with the thickness of the TiO+TiO2+Cu2Ti4O+Ni2Ti4O layer. However, when the coarse (Ti,Zr)2(Cu,Ni) phase was non-uniformly distributed in the α-Ti phase, or when α-Ti solely situated at the center of the joint, forming a coarse block or even connecting into a continuous strip, the shear strength greatly decreased.     

Co-Cr perpendicular magnetic recording tape by vacuum deposition

The relation between the incident angle and the crystallographic orientation of a vacuum deposited Co-Cr film is discussed. Also presented are the magnetic properties and the orientation of both a Ni-Fe underlayer and the Co-Cr film for the double layer medium, and the experimental results about the composition distribution in the co-cr film. The films were deposited on a transporting polymer substrate by continuous vacuum deposition. It is found that the orientation of the Co-Cr film is determined only by the incident angle at the initial point of the film formation, and that deposition efficiency more than 50% can be achieved easily. A double layer medium with Ti film under the Ni-Fe film (Co-Cr/Ni-Fe/Ti medium), which is suitable for perpendicular magnetic recording, is produced by vacuum deposition. Auger depth profile in radial direction of the column of the Co-Cr film shows directly that there is Cr segregation near the columnar grain boundaries.     

TiO2 nanotube membranes on transparent conducting glass for high efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells

Crack-free TiO(2) nanotube (NT) membranes were obtained by short time re-anodization of a sintered TiO(2) NT array on Ti foil, followed by dilute HF etching at room temperature. The resulting freestanding TiO(2) membranes were opaque with a slight yellow color having one end open and another end closed. The membranes were then fixed on transparent fluorine-tin-oxide glass using a thin layer of screen-printed TiO(2) nanoparticles (NPs) as a binding medium. It was found that low temperature treatment of the resulting NT/NP film under appropriate pressure before sintering at 450?°C was critical for successful fixation of the NT membrane on the NP layer. The resulting films with open-ends of NT membranes facing the NP layer (open-ends down, OED, configuration) exhibited better interfacial contact between NTs and NPs than those with closed-ends facing the NP layer (closed-ends down, CED, configuration). The cells with an OED configuration exhibit higher external quantum efficiency, greater charge transfer resistance from FTO/TiO(2) to electrolyte, and better dye loading compared to CED configurations. The solar cells with the OED configuration gave 6.1% energy conversion efficiency under AM1.5G condition when the commercial N719 was used as a dye and I(-)/I(3)(-) as a redox couple, showing the promise of this method for high efficiency solar cells.     

Improvement in performances of dye-sensitized solar cell with SiO2-coated TiO2 photoelectrode

The pure TiO2 and the nano-porous SiO2-coated TiO2 (STO) films were deposited on the FTO substrates by spray technique for the application of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). XRD pattern shows the pure TiO2 and STO films exhibits the same structure. We found that there is no much difference in dye absorption between the STO and the pure TiO2 films. The electrochemical impedance spectra reveal that insulating nature of the porous SiO2 increases surface resistance of the TiO2 film and supresses back transfer of the photogenerated electrons to the electrolyte. The field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) reveal that the surface morphology and the existence of SiO2 layer on the surface of the TiO2 films, respectively. The photoelectrochemical results show that the short-circuit photocurrent (J(SC)) increased from 16.73 mA cm(-2) to 18.31 mA cm(-2) and the open-circuit voltage (V(OC)) value changed from 0.71 V to 0.74 V for the STO films. The efficiency of cell has been greatly improved from 8.25 to 9.3%.     

Diode behavior of electrophoretically deposited polyaniline on TiO2 nanoparticulate thin film electrode

An inorganic/organic hetrostructure diode was constructed by the electrophoretic deposition of the p-type polyaniline (PANI) on an n-type titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticulate thin film. The bonding and internalization of PANI to TiO2 nanoparticulate thin film were confirmed by the morphological, structural and optical studies of electrophoretically deposited PANI/TIO2 nanoparticulate thin film. The increased size of TiO2 nanoparticles indicated the well penetration of PANI molecules into the pores of mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticulate thin film. The XPS studies of PANI/TiO2 heterostructure exhibited the surface bonding and interaction between PANI molecules and TiO2 nanoparticles. The current-voltage (I-V) characterization of PANI/TiO2 heterostructure was carried out in the forward and the reverse bias at the applied voltage ranges from -1 V to +1 V with a scan rate of 2 mV/s. The constructed Pt/PANI/TiO2 heterostructure device established diodic behavior with non-linear nature of I-V curves.     

Electrical and structural characterization of plasma polymerized polyaniline/TiO2 heterostructure diode: a comparative study of single and bilayer TiO2 thin film electrode

A heterostructure was fabricated using p-type plasma polymerized polyaniline (PANI) and n-type (single and bilayer) titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin film on FTO glass. The deposition of single and bilayer TiO2 thin film on FTO substrate was achieved through doctor blade followed by dip coating technique before subjected to plasma enhanced polymerization. To fabricate p-n heterostructure, a plasma polymerization of aniline was conducted using RF plasma at 13.5 MHz and at the power of 120 W on the single and bilayer TiO2 thin film electrodes. The morphological, optical and the structural characterizations revealed the formation of p-n heterostructures between PANI and TiO2 thin film. The PANI/bilayer TiO2 heterostructure showed the improved current-voltage (I-V) characteristics due to the substantial deposition of PANI molecules into the bilayer TiO2 thin film which provided good conducting pathway and reduced the degree of excitons recombination. The change of linear I-V behavior of PANI/TiO2 heterostructure to non linear behavior with top Pt contact layer confirmed the formation of Schottky contact at the interfaces of Pt layer and PANI/TiO2 thin film layers.     

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of the initial growth of transition metal nanoscale films on (100) Si substrates

The initial growth stages of materials non-active to a substrate has been extensively studied for decades, whereas there had been fewer studies on the initial growth of active metals on silicon substrate, despite its technological importance. In this paper the very early growth stages of transition metal (Ti, V and Nb) films deposited by rf sputtering on unheated (100) Si substrate were studied by in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The following sequence of the phase composition and the growth mechanism changes during deposition process was revealed. Initially in a submonolayer regime, small 3D TiO₂ islands are formed via reduction of a native silicon oxide layer on a substrate followed by formation of a TiO phase between TiO₂ islands and on their top. After deposition of ca. 2 monolayers a metallic Ti phase appears and later only the metal Ti film grows. The same growth behavior takes place at Nb and V deposition with a difference that in the case of Nb the above changes occur at earlier stages what can be explained by the highest niobium activity to the reduction of silicon oxide in the row V, Nb, Ti.     

Enhancement of photovoltaic performance in dye-sensitized solar cells with the spin-coated TiO2 blocking layer

The TiO2 thin film layers were introduced with the spin-coating method between FTO electrode and TiO2 photoanode in dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) to prevent electron back migration from the FTO electrode to electrolyte. The DSSC containg different thickness of TiO2 thin film (10-30, 40-60 and 120-150 nm) were prepared and photovoltaic performances were analysed with /-Vcurves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The maximum cell performance was observed in DSSC with 10-30 nm of TiO2 thin film thickness (11.92 mA/cm2, 0.74 V, 64%, and 5.62%) to compare with that of pristine DSSC (11.09 mA/cm2, 0.65 V, 62%, and 4.43%). The variation of photoelectric conversion efficiency of the DSSCs with different TiO2 thin film thickness was discussed with the analysis of crystallographic and microstructural properties of TiO2 thin films.     

Properties of dye-sensitized solar cells with TiO2 passivating layers prepared by electron-beam evaporation

The aim of this work is to prevent back transfer of electrons due to direct contact between the electrolyte and the FTO glass substrate using a TiO2 passivating layer. The TiO2 passivating layer was deposited on FTO glass by e-beam evaporation. The TiO2 film was prepared with different deposition rates. The specific surface area was reduced with increasing deposition rate. The nanoporous TiO2 upper layer was coated by screen-printing on the TiO2 passivating layer prepared by e-beam evaporation. The optical transmittance and absorbance of the TiO2 films depend on the morphology of the TiO2 passivating layer. The dye-sensitized solar cells influenced the surface morphology of the TiO2 passivating layer. The dye-sensitized solar cell using the TiO2 passivating layer recorded a maximum conversion efficiency of 4.93% due to effective prevention of the electron recombination to the electrolyte.     

CdS/CdSe-cosensitized TiO₂ photoanode for quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells by a microwave-assisted chemical bath deposition method

A CdS/CdSe quantum-dot (QD)-cosensitized TiO(2) film has been fabricated using a microwave-assisted chemical bath deposition technique and used as a photoanode for QD-sensitized solar cells. The technique allows a direct and rapid deposition of QDs and forms a good contact between QDs and TiO(2) films. The photovoltaic performance of the as-prepared cell is investigated. The results show that the performance of the CdS/CdSe-cosensitized cell achieves a short-circuit current density of 16.1 mA cm(-2) and a power conversion efficiency of 3.06% at one sun (AM 1.5 G, 100 mW cm(-2)), which is comparable to the one fabricated using conventional successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction technique.     

金刚石膜上电子束蒸镀Ti/Ni/Au多层膜

经过相图分析提出了CVD金刚石膜上蒸镀Ti/Ni/Au的体系。采用该体系、富氧预处理工艺和电子束真空镀膜方法 ,金刚石膜和多层金属膜之间获得了良好结合强度。研究发现 :富氧预处理对多金属膜和金刚石膜之间的结合强度影响显著。进一步利用俄歇电子能谱 (AES)证实 :C向Ti中扩散层有 15 0nm之多 ,并出现了厚度约为 90nm稳定含量层 ,说明有确定化学比的反应产物生成 ;富氧处理在金刚石膜与Ti金属层之间增加了氧的含量 ,为形成TiO和TiC提供了合适的条件。     

Formation of hydroxyapatite coating using novel chemo-biomimetic method

A novel chemo-biomimetic method was developed to deposit hydroxyapatite (HA), simulating the porous nano-scale structure and chemical composition of natural bone. Electrochemical activation in NaOH solution, a prerequisite process to heterogeneously nucleate hydroxyapatite in this investigation, creates nano-scale porous structure on the surface of Ti6Al4V alloy. XPS analysis confirmed that the surface of activated Ti6Al4V substrate converted to TiO(2) during activation, existing in the form of hydrated TiO(2). Benefiting from the biocompatible top-layer of hydrated TiO(2) and the favorable alkaline surface chemistry created through the electrochemical activation, the HA coating nucleates heterogeneously and grows continuously on the activated substrate resembling the nano-scale porous bone-like structure. The coating was characterized using XRD, SEM/FESEM/EDX, TEM and FTIR, and was confirmed as pure hydroxyapatite. A coating thickness of 50 mum was achieved, which is preferable and acceptable for medical implant application to promote bone ingrowth, thus enhancing fixation and biocompatibility of implant surface.