Morphology and electronic structure of thin 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride layers on Si(001)

The growth of 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride on Si(001) was examined in the light of varying flux of impinging molecules. Using atomic force microscopy and synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy Vollmer-Weber growth mode was observed on a wide range of growth rates. The island size initially decreases rapidly with growth rate, for the low growth rate reaches a minimum, and then gradually increases. Polarization dependent photoemission indicates that the orientation of the molecules within the islands remains flat on the substrate.     

Pulsed-laser deposition of textured cerium oxide thin films on glass substrates at room temperature

Cerium oxide thin films are deposited on glass by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature and characterized by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. The effects of ambient gas, rate of deposition and fluence on growth of films have been studied. The films grown in forming gas and with a high rate of deposition are polycrystalline and show preferential orientation along <011> direction with a roughness of ∼ 2 nm. Films prepared in oxygen have low crystallinity.     

Effects of a ZnTe buffer layer on structural quality and morphology of CdTe epilayer grown on (001)GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy

The structural properties, crystalline quality and surface morphology of CdTe thin films without and with a ZnTe buffer layer grown on (001)GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) have been studied. CdTe thin film directly prepared on GaAs substrate displays (111) orientation with an island growth mode, whereas the CdTe epilayers with a ZnTe buffer are (001)-oriented single-crystalline film with a two-dimensional (2D) growth mode. The morphology and surface root-mean-square (RMS) roughness of CdTe epilayers are also dramatically improved by using a ZnTe buffer. Furthermore, it is suggested that the high-temperature (HT) ZnTe buffer grown at 360 °C is more efficient for enhancing CdTe structural quality than the low-temperature (LT) one at 320 °C. The CdTe epilayer on the HT-ZnTe buffer shows a narrower full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of double-crystal X-ray rocking curve (DCXRC) for (004) reflection and a smaller RMS roughness.     

A study of size dependent structure, morphology and luminescence behavior of CdS films on Si substrate

Size tunable cadmium sulfide (CdS) films deposited by a dip coating technique on silicon (100) and indium tin oxide/glass substrates have been characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray reflectivity, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The structural characterization indicated growth of an oriented phase of cadmium sulfide. Transmission electron microscopy used to calculate the particle size indicated narrow size dispersion. The tendency of nanocrystalline CdS films to form ordered clusters of CdS quantum dots on silicon (100) substrate has been revealed by morphological studies using atomic force microscopy. The photoluminescence emission spectroscopy of the cadmium sulfide films has also been investigated. It is shown that the nanocrystalline CdS exhibit intense photoluminescence as compared to the large grained polycrystalline CdS films. The effect of quantum confinement also manifested as a blue shift of photoluminescence emission. It is shown that the observed photoluminescence behavior of CdS is substantially enhanced when the nanocrystallites are assembled on silicon (100) substrate.     

Effects of temperature on structural and morphological features of CoPc and CoPcF16 thin films

Herein investigation of the effects of substrate temperature on the structural and morphological features of both cobalt(II) phthalocyanine (CoPc) and cobalt(II) hexadecafluorophthalocyanine (CoPcF₁₆) thin films is presented. For these purposes thin films of CoPc and CoPcF₁₆ prepared by organic molecular beam deposition were investigated by means of optical absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Concerning the degree of crystallinity, the morphology, the phase composition and the preferential molecular orientation of both CoPc and CoPcF₁₆ thin films, we found out that the increase of substrate temperature during growth influences these properties of the above-mentioned thin film systems (CoPc vs. CoPcF₁₆) in a different way.     

Damage mode tensile testing of thin gold films on polyimide substrates by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy

In situ tensile testing has been performed on thin gold film, 320 nm thick, deposited on polyimide substrates. During the tensile testing, strain/stress measurements have been carried out by X-ray diffraction using the d-sin²ψ method. The X-ray stress analysis suggests crack formation in the films for stresses greater than 670 MPa. The surface of the deformed specimen observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) exhibits both cracks and two types of straight-sided buckling patterns lying perpendicular to the tensile axis. These buckling patterns can have a symmetrical or asymmetrical shape. The evolution of these two kinds of buckling structures under tensile stress has been observed in situ by AFM and compared to X-ray stress data. The results indicate that symmetrical straight-sided buckling patterns are induced by the compressive stress during unloading, whereas the asymmetrical result from the delamination of the film during the tensile deformation.     

Influence of Si(1 0 0) surface pretreatment on the morphology of TiO2 films grown by atomic layer deposition

The effect of water plasma treatment of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic Si(1 0 0) surfaces has been studied using infrared spectroscopy to monitor the various surface species present. Exposure to a water plasma results in a significant increase in the concentration of H-bonded hydroxyls and hydrides. Both atomic force microscopy (AFM) and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) of TiO₂ films deposited by atomic layer deposition at 300 °C, show that the morphology of the films is dependent on the nature of the initial surface. XTEM of the early stages of growth showed that coatings on hydrophilic substrates deposited as initially amorphous and continuous films, which crystallised with further growth. However, the hydrophobic substrate produced island growth of small, crystalline grains. AFM images of 23-nm thick films showed that films deposited on hydrophobic and hydrophilic Si consisted of 35–100 and 150–350 nm crystallites, respectively. A film on water plasma treated Si, closely resembled that on the hydrophilic surface, indicating that hydroxyl groups are responsible for directing the film growth.     

Microstructural study of SnO2 thin layers deposited on sapphire by sol-gel dip-coating

Tin oxide (SnO₂) films have been grown onto (006) sapphire substrates by sol-gel dip-coating using tin alkoxide solutions. It is shown, using grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, reciprocal space mapping and atomic force microscopy, that thermal annealing at 500 °C induces the crystallization of SnO₂ in the rutile-type phase. Further annealing treatments at temperatures lower than 1100 °C give rise to slow grain growth controlled by surface diffusion, whereas rapid grain growth (controlled by an evaporation-condensation mechanism) takes place at temperatures higher than 1100 °C. Concomitantly, the film splits into isolated islands and a fibre texture occurs at higher temperatures.     

Nitrogen-doped p-type ZnO thin films and ZnO/ZnSe p-n heterojunctions grown on ZnSe substrate by radical beam gettering epitaxy

We investigate the p-type doping in ZnO prepared by the method of radical beam gettering epitaxy using NO gas as the oxygen source and nitrogen dopant. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy measurements demonstrate that N is incorporated into ZnO film in concentration of about 8 × 10¹⁸ cm^− 3. The hole concentration of the N-doped p-type ZnO films was between 1.4 × 10¹⁷ and 7.2 × 10¹⁷ cm^− 3, and the hole mobility was 0.9-1.2 cm²/Vs as demonstrated by Hall effect measurements. The emission peak of 3.312 eV is observed in the photoluminescence spectra at 4.2  of N-doped p-type ZnO films, probably neutral acceptor bound. The activation energy of the nitrogen acceptor was obtained by temperature-dependent Hall-effect measurement and equals about 145 meV. The p-n heterojunctions ZnO/ZnSe were grown on n-type ZnSe substrate and have a turn-on voltage of about 3.5 V.     

Nanosecond pulsed laser deposition of TiO2: nanostructure and morphology of deposits and plasma diagnosis

Nanostructured TiO₂ films on Si (100) substrates have been grown by nanosecond pulsed laser deposition at the wavelengths of 266, 355 and 532 nm using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser and TiO₂ sintered rutile targets. The effect of laser irradiation wavelength, the temperature of the substrate and the presence of O₂ as background gas on the crystallinity and surface structure of deposits were determined, together with the composition, expansion dynamics and thermodynamic parameters of the ablation plume. Deposits were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, environmental scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, while in situ monitoring of the plume was carried out and characterized with spectral, temporal and spatial resolution by optical emission spectroscopy. Stoichiometric, crystalline deposits, with nanostructured morphology were obtained at substrate temperatures above 600 °C. Microscopic particulates were found overimposed on the nanostructured films but their size and density were significantly reduced by operating at short wavelength (266 nm) and upon addition of a low pressure of oxygen (0.05 Pa). The dominant crystalline phase is rutile at 355 and 532 nm. At the short irradiation wavelength, 266 nm, the preferred phase in the presence of oxygen is rutile, while anatase is preferably observed under vacuum. The narrowest size distribution and smallest nanoparticle diameters, of around 25 nm, were found by deposition at 266 nm under 0.05 Pa of oxygen.     

Multi-orientation patterned deposition of BaTiO3 thin films using an Au buffer layer

The control of crystallographic orientation for ferroelectric oxide thin films grown on single crystal substrates has been investigated. We find that perovskite BaTiO₃ has unusual orientation distributions when deposited on (100)- and (110)-oriented SrTiO₃ single crystal substrates that have predeposited patterned Au regions. BTO areas deposited on gold islands were found to have a (111) orientation, whereas those deposited directly on STO had the same orientation as the substrate. Based on this method, we can select, locate, and pattern an oxide film to have different orientation distributions, and thereby engineer films with the complete property anisotropy in-plane.     

Effect of sol concentration on the structural, morphological, optical and photoluminescence properties of zirconia thin films

ZrO₂ thin films were deposited on quartz substrates from 10 wt.%, 20 wt.% and 40 wt.% solutions of Zirconium-n-butoxide in isopropanol by sol-gel dip-coating technique. Higher concentrated sols of 20 wt.% and 40 wt.% exhibited faster gelation, where as 10 wt.% sol remained stable for two months and films synthesized from this sol remained transparent and continuous even for 12 coatings. Ellipsometric study revealed that refractive index of the films increased with increase in sol concentration which is ascribed to the decrease in porosity. X-ray diffraction study showed that a tailoring of grain size from 7.9 to 39.2 nm is possible with increase in sol concentration. Atomic force microscopy studies showed a change in growth mode from vertical to lateral mode with increase in sol concentration. The film surface revealed positive skewness and high kurtosis values which make them favorable for tribological applications. The average optical transmittance in the visible region is highest (greater than 90%) for the film deposited from 10 wt.% sol. The optical band gap decreased from 5.74 to 5.62 eV with increase in the sol concentration. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the films exhibit an increase in the emission intensity with increase in sol concentration which substantiates better crystalline quality of the film deposited from 40 wt.% sol and increase in oxygen vacancies. The “Red shift” of the PL spectra with increase in sol concentration originates from the increase in the grain size with sol concentration which makes it suitable for generation of solid state lighting in light emitting diode.     

Phase stabilization and microstructural studies of lead lanthanum titanate thin films

Thin ferroelectric films of PLTx (Pb_1−xLa_xTi_1−x/4O₃) have been prepared by a sol-gel spin coating process. As deposited films were thermally treated for crystallization and formation of perovskite structure. Characterization of these films by X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been carried out for various concentrations of La (x = 0.04, 0.08 and 0.12) on ITO coated corning glass substrates. For a better understanding of the crystallization mechanism, the investigations were carried out on films annealed at temperatures (350, 450, 550 and 650 °C). Characterization of these films by X-ray diffraction shows that the films annealed at 650 °C exhibit tetragonal phase with perovskite structure. Atomic force microscope (AFM) images are characterized by slight surface roughness with a uniform crack free, densely packed structure. Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) studies of PLTx thin films (x = 0.08) deposited on Si substrates have been carried out to get more information about the phase stabilization.     

Structural, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of multilayer lithium tantalate thin films prepared by sol-gel technique

Multilayer lithium tantalate thin films were deposited on Pt-Si [Si(111)/SiO₂/TiO₂/Pt(111)] substrates by sol-gel process. The films were annealed at different annealing temperatures (300, 450 and 650 °C) for 15 min. The films are polycrystalline at 650 °C and at other annealing conditions below 650 °C the films are in amorphous state. The films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy. The AFM of images show the formation of nanograins of uniform size (50 nm) at 650 °C. These polycrystalline films exhibit spontaneous polarization of 1.5 μC/cm² at an application of 100 kV/cm. The dielectric constant of multilayer film is very small (6.4 at 10 kHz) as compared to that of single crystal.     

Structural properties and morphology of Zn(1 − x)CdxO solid solution grown on ZnO and C-plane sapphire substrate

Zn_(1 − x)Cd_xO solid solutions with a composition ranging from pure ZnO up to x = 0.062 have been grown on ZnO and c-plane sapphire substrates by using metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The optical transmission spectra were used to estimate the cadmium mole fraction of the solid solutions. The lattice deformation and morphology of these films were examined in detail using high resolution X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy as Cd incorporation and used substrate. Our study reveals significant lattice deformation from x ≥ 0.7%. The atomic force microscopy images show facetted grains for films grown on ZnO substrate but rather round for c-plane sapphire substrate. The grain shape is controlled by the presence of the ionic charges on the polar surface of ZnO which is disturbed by cadmium incorporation and also the employed substrate material.     

Effect of particle size on iron nanoparticle oxidation state

Selecting catalyst particles is a very important part of carbon nanotube growth, although the properties of these nanoscale particles are unclear. In this article iron nanoparticles are analyzed through the use of atomic force microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in order to understand how the size affects the chemical composition of nanoparticles and thus their physical structure. Initially, atomic force microscopy was used to confirm the presence of iron particles, and to determine the average size of the particles. Next an analytical model was developed to estimate particle size as a function of deposition time using inputs from atomic force microscopy measurement. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis was then performed with a focus on the spectra relating to the 2p Fe electrons to study the chemical state of the particles as a function of time. It was shown that as the size of nanoparticles decreased, the oxidation state of the particles changed due to a high proportion of atoms on the surface.     

Titanium dioxide thin films, their structure and its effect on their photoactivity and photocatalytic properties

Atomic Layer Deposition has been used to deposit titanium dioxide thin films on soda-lime glass substrates. A series of films with thicknesses from 2.6 to 260 nm has been created and the film structure has been studied with X-ray diffraction. It has been observed that at a reaction temperature of 350 °C, titanium dioxide thin films initially grow as anatase but after a certain thickness, growth continues as rutile. The photoactivity and photocatalytic activity of the films have been found to reach their maximum at a film thickness of 15 nm. At this thickness, the film structure shows a small fraction of rutile crystallites in a largely anatase matrix indicating that both crystal phases are necessary for the maximum activity.     

Study of silicon-on-insulator substrates incorporated with buried MoSi2 layer

Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) substrates incorporated with buried MoSi₂ were fabricated using room temperature plasma bonding technology and smart cut technology. The molybdenum disilicide phase formation and morphology were studied by means of four-point probe measurements, X-ray diffraction analysis, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy examination. It is found that the transition of high-resistance phase Mo₃Si to low-resistance phase h-MoSi₂ occurs at approximately 750 °C. The t-MoSi₂ phase emerges at approximately 900 °C. SOI substrate incorporated with buried silicide layer of complete t-MoSi₂ phase can be achieved by 900 °C annealing for 20 min.     

Hysteresis,structural and composition characteristics of deposited thin films by reactively sputtered titanium target in Ar/CH4/N2 gas mixture

Abstract

Hysteresis, crystal structure and chemical composition of thin films deposited through reactive sputtering of titanium metal target in Ar/CH₄/N₂ gas mixture have been investigated. The transition from metallic to compound sputtering mode was clearly seen as the reactive gases (CH₄ and N₂) flowrate concentration first increased and subsequently decreased. Abrupt cathode current drop from 273 mA to reach a minimum value of 195 mA was observed upon addition of nitrogen gas from 0 to 10% flowrate concentration to the Ar/CH₄ gas mixture. This was also accompanied by an abrupt change in reactive gas partial pressure. Exploration of the deposition rate and film thickness showed that it decreased from 4·5 to 1·5 nm min^?1 and from 140 to 40 nm as the N₂ flowrate concentration increased from 1·5 to 7·5% at 5·5%CH₄ flowrate concentration respectively. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses of the deposited films confirmed the formation of titanium carbide and carbonitride phases as the methane and nitrogen gas concentrations in the sputtering gas were increased.     

Effect of thermal stress on magnetic domain patterns of multiferroic Bi1-xDyxFeO3 thin films

Effect of temperature on magnetic domain structure of Bi_0.7Dy_0.3FeO₃ (BDFO) multiferroic thin films is studied in situ using magnetic force microscopy (MFM). Initially, as the temperature increases the domains start aligning from irregular to more distinct stripe pattern. However, above 250 °C, the domain alignment is disturbed. The systematic change in the domain configuration with temperature, suggests a strong thermal history of the system. The randomness in domain alignment caused above 250 °C is correlated to internal stress developed during ferromagnetic to paramagnetic phase transition occurring in BDFO. Indirect experimental evidence is given to support the explanation based on stress.