Structural and dielectric properties of BaCexTi1-xO3 ceramics

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we prepare silver nanowires circuit graphics by UV-curing technology. The optimal condition of preparation of the silver nanowires circuit graphics are examined. Experiment results show that the UV-curing technology is a kind of individual, low-cost and environment-friendly method to prepare silver nanowires circuit graphics. The main influence factors on the lines' width are the UV beam power and scanning speed. And we also study the influence of the hot pressing temperature on the resistivity of the circuit graphics. In the experiments, the optimal condition is that the UV beam power is 190 mW and the scanning rate is 6 cm/s, then we get the minimum line width, which is 0.25 mm. The thickness of silver nanowires layer is 100 µm and the hot pressing temperature is 100°C, we will get the sample whose resistivity is 21× 10^?5 Ω·cm.     

Spin‐thermoelectric voltage in longitudinal SSE elements incorporating LPE YIG films and polycrystalline YIG slabs with an ultrathin Pt layer

A spin‐thermoelectric (STE) voltage is generated when a temperature gradient ?T is applied to an element having a thin Pt layer coated on a magnetic substance. In this study, yttrium iron garnet (YIG) ferrimagnetic films prepared by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) were tested as magnetic insulators. In addition, polycrystalline YIG slabs were tested to compare the STE voltages of film and slab samples. In a Pt coating and YIG film bilayer structure made by an ultrathin Pt layer of 1‐4 nm thickness and an LPE film of approximately 10 µm thickness, a large STE voltage of 600 µV was observed at a probe distance of 5 mm with a temperature difference ?T of 30 K. On the other hand, the STE voltage of a Pt layer and YIG slab bilayer structure was 340 µV, which is roughly half of that of the Pt/YIG‐film element. The cause of the large voltage observed experimentally for the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect element incorporating an LPE YIG film was discussed mainly from the viewpoint of the Pt layer resistivity and the effects of YIG specimen surface conditions on crystallinity and the magnetization process.     

Surface modification of stainless steel bipolar plates for PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) application

Stainless steel 316 and 304 plates were deposited with a metallic film (top layer) and a conductive oxide film (intermediate layer) by a sputtering method and an E-beam method, respectively. The conductive oxide film was formed on the stainless steel plates in the range of thickness of 200, 400, and 600 nm. The XRD patterns of the conductive oxide films showed a typical indium-tin oxide (ITO) crystalline phase. The metallic films of 100 nm thickness were subsequently formed on the surface region of the bare stainless steel plates and the stainless steel plates deposited with ITO thin film. Surface morphologies of the stainless steel bipolar plates deposited with conductive film and metallic film were observed by AFM and FE-SEM. The metallic films on the stainless steel plates represented the microstructural morphology of the fine columnar grains of 10 nm diameter and 60 nm length. The electrical resistivity and contact angle of the stainless steel bipolar plates modified were examined as a function of the thickness of the conductive oxide film.     

Dielectric and electrooptic properties of acetate derived PLZT X/65/35 thin films

Abstract

PLZT solutions were prepared from the as-received acetate precursors by means of a simple mixing procedure which produced a stock solution of approximately 10% oxide solids. Films were fabricated via dip coating and heat treating at 700°C for two minutes per layer. As many as 150 layers were deposited with an automatic dip coating system. All of the resulting films were optically transparent and well crystallized in the perovskite phase. The films were evaluated with respect to dielectric and electrooptic properties. Shutter contrast ratios as high as 1000 to 1 were measured.     

Structure and Properties of Preferential (110) Orientation BiFeO3 Thin Films by Sol-Gel Method

Abstract

Multiferroic materials, coexisting of ferroelectric, ferromagnetic and ferroelastic properties, possess potential applications in functional devices. BiFeO₃ (BFO) is a unique room temperature multiferroic material with high ferroelectric Curie temperature and Neel temperature. The BFO thin films were prepared on Si (111) substrate by sol-gel method in this paper. XRD analyses show that the thin films exhibit pure phase and preferred (100) orientation when annealing temperature is 500?°C. Field emission scanning electron microscopy shows that the crystallization degree of the films is getting better with the increase of annealing temperature. The thickness of the sample is about 400?nm. The hysteresis loop of BFO films annealing at 500?°C show 1.93?µC/cm² remnant polarizations. However, the hysteresis loop is not perfect, which may be caused by a large leakage current. The magnetic hysteresis loop of BFO films is tested as well, indicating that the BFO film is antiferromagnetic and the residual magnetization (Mr) and coercive field (Hc) of the BFO films were 0.054?emu/g and 1026.4?Oe, respectively.     

Fabrication and electrical properties of barium strontium titanate thick films by modified sol–gel method

A modified sol–gel method has been developed to prepare for the barium strontium titanate (Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃, BST) thick films. The films were deposited on either Pd–Ag electroded alumina substrates (Pd–Ag/Al₂O₃) or silver electroded alumina (Ag/Al₂O₃) substrates by spin coating technique or screen printing technique. The thickness of the film was in the range of 2–10 μm. The key point of the process is to disperse fine-grained BST ceramic powders prepared by high energy ball mill into BST sol solution to form a slurry for spin coating and screen printing. In order to enhance the stability of the slurry and to avoid crack formation of the thick film, organic macromolecular poly-vinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was added to the sol solution. The structure and surface morphology of the films were studied by X-ray diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) techniques. It is revealed that the thick films exhibit pure perovskite phase and are crack-free, dense and homogeneous. The dielectric constant and loss tangent of the thick films are about 1200 and 0.01, at 10 °C and 1 KHz, respectively.     

Epitaxially grown ferroelectric thin film capacitors for sensing applications

Abstract

Pyroelectric infrared detectors based on La-modified PbTiO₃ (PLT) thin films have been fabricated by RF magnetron sputtering and micromachining technology. The detectors form PB_1?xLa_xTi_1?x/4O₃ (x = 0.05) thin film ferroelectric capacitors epitaxially grown in-situ by RF magnetron sputtering on Pt/ MgO(100) substrate. The sputtered PLT thin film exhibits highly c-axis oriented crystal structure (90%) that poling treatment for sensing applications is not required. The c-axis orientation ratio a of deposited PLT thin film strongly depends on the morphology of Pt layer, which in turn varies with the thickness of Pt layer on MgO substrate. We have successfully grown highly c-axis oriented PLT film on Pt electrode with a conductive percolating network structure. Micromachining technology is used to lower the thermal mass of the detector by coating Polyimide on top of the sensing elements to support the fragile structure and by selectively etching the backside of the MgO substrate to reduce the heat loss. The sensing element exhibited a low noise equivalent power (NEP) of 1.7 × 10^?10 W and a very high detectivity D? value of 8.5 × 10⁸ cmVHz/W at room temperature. The high performance for pyroelectric infrared sensing is primarily due to the highly c-axis oriented PLT thin film and its minimized thermal mass.     

Room temperature and 77K dielectric properties of acetate-derived PZT,PLZT, PSZT and PBZT thin films

Abstract

Ferroelectric thin films in the PZT, PLZT, PBZT (lead barium zirconate titanate) and PSZT (lead stannate zirconate titanate) compositional systems were prepared from as-received acetate precursors. Multiple-layer thin films were fabricated via a spin coating technique and sintered at 650 – 700°C for two to three minutes per layer, yielding an overall thickness of 0.45um. The dielectric and ferroelectric hysteresis loop properties of these films were measured at room temperature and 77K. The results show that the thin films experience a substantial loss (-80% avg.) in dielectric permittivity at 77K and a significant increase in P_R, E_c and electrical breakdown strength. The phase transformation trends on cooling from room temperature to 77K were from SFE (slim-loop FE)-to-FE and AFE-to-FE. Compositions in these systems show promise for potential low temperature applications.     

Fine patterning of ceramic thick layer on aerosol deposition by lift-off process using photoresist

Ceramic fine patterning using aerosol deposition (AD) method and lift-off process was reported. Pre-baking conditions and thickness of photoresist layer were selected carefully to minimize the dimensions of the patterned structure. As a result, a pattern width less than 10 µm for 2 µm thick PZT and α-Al₂O₃ AD-deposited layers was obtained on Si substrate at room temperature.     

Electron‐beam‐pumped light sources using graphite nanoneedle field emitters and Si electron‐transparent films

Sputter‐induced carbon nanoneedle field emitters and Si electron‐transparent films have been developed for electron‐beam‐pumped light sources. The sputter‐induced carbon nanoneedle field emitters exhibited a stable electron emission of 0.1 mA at an average field of 13 V/µm. The 1.5‐µm thick Si electron‐transparent films achieved an electron transmittance of about 60% at an acceleration voltage of 27 kV. An electron‐beam‐pumped light source was demonstrated from the excitation of N₂ gas, and a N₂ gas spectrum was clearly observed. The increase of the beam current is important for increasing the light intensity. Copyright © 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan© 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Optimization of gallium-doped ZnO thin films grown using Grey–Taguchi technique

In this paper, optimization of the process parameters considering multiple performance characteristics to prepare the transparent conducting gallium-doped zinc oxide thin films with radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering was investigated. Experiments based on the Grey–Taguchi technique were conducted to examine the effect of deposition parameters including RF power, process pressure, substrates temperature and process time, aiming to obtain highly transparent and conductive films. Comparing with the optimal parameter set selected from orthogonal array by Taguchi method, the optimal grey theory prediction design (GTPD) can receive an improvement of 5.75?% in electrical resistivity and 1.47?% in optical transmittance. Further refinements respectively to RF power and process pressure with fixing other parameters level in GTPD were explored. The results show the alteration on RF power and process pressure in the GTPD can receive over 31?% and 51?% of improvement in electrical resistivity, respectively, with keeping the visible range optical transmittance over?85?%.     

多层导电结构厚度电涡流检测解析模型及实验验证

从准静磁场条件下的Maxwell方程组出发,采用矢量磁位法,推导了位于任意多层导电结构上方圆柱型电涡流探头的阻抗解析模型。在阻抗计算中引入符号运算法求解矢量磁位表达式系数,大大减小了程序计算量,提高了程序效率。将阻抗解析模型应用于单层和两层导电结构厚度检测,分别研究和分析了单层厚度、铝基体上铜涂镀层厚度及铜基体上铝涂镀层厚度变化对探头阻抗变化的影响规律。仿真及实验结果表明,所推导的理论模型正确,可应用于导电结构厚度和材料属性检测的反演以及电涡流检测系统的参数优化。     

Mode‐matching analysis of a spit‐circular cavity resonator for measurement of the dielectric constant for film on a substrate

In this paper, we apply the mode‐matching technique (eigenmode expansion) to formulate an analytical model for a split cylindrical cavity resonator with a thick ceramic film layer sandwiched between two‐layer alumina substrates. We then compute the resonant frequencies with the TE₀₁₁ mode with an eigenvalue problem approach using the model formula. The quality factor (Q ‐factor) of the resonator is also calculated by applying the perturbation method to the analytical model. The validity of the proposed analytical technique is confirmed by applying this method to the estimation of permittivity of thick films as an inverse problem. Ceramic films (2 µm thickness) were synthesized using a chemical solution method onto 200‐µm‐thick, 50‐mm‐diameter alumina substrates. The complex permittivity of the films was then determined using the TE₀₁₁ mode split cylindrical cavity resonator in the 10‐GHz band. The extent of the edge effect at a sample insertion space was evaluated by comparing the estimated results through TE wave analysis using the mode‐matching method when the transverse resonance technique and the perturbation method were applied to calculate the resonant frequency and the dielectric Q ‐factor. The results obtained indicate that a difference of 0.153% in the permittivity of the alumina substrate causes differences of 6.10 and 3.75% in the measured permittivity and loss tangent, respectively, of 2‐µm‐thick ceramic film with a permittivity of ∼50. Differences in permittivity and loss tangent were more pronounced with thinner films. It was also confirmed that the estimated results for permittivity and the loss tangent values of these ceramic films were affected by the estimated permittivity value of the alumina substrate. © 2017 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Characterization of the phases and morphology in synthesizing Cu2-xSe and CuSe films

ABSTRACT

Copper Selenides are important semiconductor materials with excellent performance. Cu_2-xSe and CuSe films were synthesized by spin-coating and chemical co-reduction method. The phases of product films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the morphology was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the compositions of products were analyzed by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The surface resistance of the product film was measured using a four-probe resistance instrument. When Copper chloride was chosen as copper source, the products contain Cu_2-xSe, CuSe and a small amount of NaCl. When the reacting temperature is below 180 °C, the XRD intensity of impurity phase NaCl is obviously increased, while it is easier to produce Cu₂Se film at 200 or 220 °C. The sample obtained at 160 °C for 20 h consists of about 0.3 ～ 0.5 µm particles, while the sample obtained at 220 °C shows about 2 ～ 4 µm flake crystals; When the copper nitrate is used as a raw material, the XRD peaks of the product obtained at 200 °C for 20 h are much high and sharp, the phases obtained are mainly CuSe. The sample obtained at 200 °C consists of hexagonal flaky crystals with about 2 ～ 3 µm diameters, while it consists of particles with about 0.3 ～ 0.5 µm diameters for the sample obtained at 220 °C. In addition, the longer reaction time is conducive to the copper selenide formation, for example the single phase CuSe film can be obtained at 220 °C. The average resistivity of Cu-Se films synthesized at 200 °C for 20 h is 2.12E-3 Ω·cm.     

Measurement of topcoat thickness of thermal barrier coating for gas turbines using terahertz waves

The topcoat thickness of thermal barrier coating (TBC) samples was measured using terahertz (THz) waves. The index of refraction of yttria‐stabilized zirconia (YSZ), which is the topcoat material, is necessary to obtain the topcoat thickness from time domain re?ectometry. Time domain THz spectroscopy was applied to YSZ samples, and the index of refraction was measured to be 4.8 in the frequency region 0.1 to 1.2 THz. The topcoat thickness of six di?erent TBC samples, which varied from 300 to 600 µm, was measured using THz waves. The results were in agreement with microscope observation results to within measurement error. In addition, the topcoat thickness pro?le of a turbine blade sample was measured with a resolution of 2.4 µm. The pro?le showed a standard deviation of 4 µm, which re?ects the actual variation in the topcoat thickness. The results showed that THz waves are e?ective for high‐resolution measurement of the topcoat thickness. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 183(4): 1–9, 2013; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.22385     

Electrodes for ferroelectric thin films

Abstract

Platinum and ruthenium oxide (RuO₂) deposited by ion beam sputter-deposition are evaluated for use as electrodes for PZT thin film capacitors. The effect of deposition temperature, film thickness, and the presence of oxygen on hillock formation in platinum is discussed. It is shown that the hillock density in Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si films can be significantly reduced by properly controlling the processing conditions and film thickness. Stress measurements correlate with the experimental observation that depositing thinner platinum films (<800 Å) is an effective means of reducing hillock formation. The use of an intermediate deposition temperature 200–250°C also helps minimize hillock formation. Diffusion of the Ti adhesion layer into and/or through the platinum was significantly reduced by replacing the Ti with a TiO_x adhesion layer. RuO₂ electrodes are compared to Pt in terms of resistivity, surface morphology, microstructure and film orientation.     

Filament-assisted pulsed laser deposition of epitaxial PbZrxTi1−xO3 films: Morphological and electrical characterization

Abstract

A modification of the conventional pulsed laser deposition technique was employed, whereby a low energy electron emitting filament was placed between the target and the substrate (-20 V filament/substrate bias) in order to produce reactive species (O_2- and O_?) during deposition. Using this modification, epitaxial thin films of PbZr_xTi_1?xO3 (PZT, 0 ≤ × ≤ 0.6) were prepared in situ on virgin (100) MgO and (100) Pt/(100) MgO substrates at a substrate temperature of 550°C and in an oxygen ambient (0.3 Torr). The topography of films prepared without a filament on virgin MgO were porous and composed of grains of about 1000 Å in diameter. As the emission current was increased from 0 to 400 μA, the grain size decreased to less than 100 Å with a concomitant decrease in the porosity. The nucleation of crystallites of other orientations was observed at emission currents greater than about 500 μA. Trilayer structures (Pt/PZT/Pt/<100>MgO) were fabricated for electrical measurements. Non-filament-assisted PZT cells usually failed because of a high probability of conductive paths through the PZT layer. Filament-assisted films were much less prone to this problem. Typical remanent polarizations and coercive fields were 15–20 μC/cm² and 30–50 kV/cm, respectively.     

Structural and ferroelectric properties of textured KNN thick films prepared by sol-gel methods

Based on the templates of sheet-like KNN powders synthesized by a hydrothermal method, lead-free textured KNN films with a thickness of 5 μm were prepared by sol-gel methods. The composition, microstructure, crystal structure, ferroelectric properties and grain growth mechanisms of the textured KNN thick films were studied. It was found that the KNN thick films possessed large grain sizes, dense morphology and increased ratio of Na⁺. After annealed at 650 °C, the perovskite structure was observed in the KNN thick films textured along the <00l> crystallography direction with an orientation factor of 0.393, reflecting a preferential growth characteristics. Furthermore, the residual polarization value of 12.3 µc/cm² was achieved under the same condition.     

基片温度对Ni81Fe19薄膜结构和各向异性磁电阻的影响

利用磁控溅射方法制备了一系列Ta(x)/Ni81Fe19(100nm)/Ta(3nm)磁性薄膜。着重研究基片温度、缓冲层厚度对薄膜结构和各向异性磁电阻的影响。利用X射线衍射仪分析了薄膜结构、晶粒取向;用四探针法测量了薄膜的电阻率和各向异性磁电阻。结果表明,基片温度对薄膜的各向异性磁电阻及饱和场有显著影响,随着基片温度的升高,薄膜各向异性磁电阻随之增大,饱和场则相反。基片温度在400℃时制备的Ni81Fe19薄膜具有较大的各向异性磁电阻比和较低的磁化饱和场,薄膜最大各向异性磁电阻比为4.23%,最低磁化饱和场为739.67A/m;随着缓冲层厚度的增加,坡莫合金薄膜的AMR值先变大后减小,在x=5nm时达到最大值。     

Characteristics of organic–inorganic hybrid coating films synthesized from colloidal silica-silane sol

Colloidal silica/silane sol solutions were prepared in variation with the amount of silane and reaction time. Such sol solutions were synthesized from colloidal silica/tetramethoxysilane(TMOS)/methyltrimethoxysilane(MTMS). Sol solutions were prepared by sol-gel method through two step reactions. In order to understand their physical and chemical properties, dip coating of sol solutions was performed on the glass substrates. The effects of amount of MTMS and reaction time on the formation of coating films were studied. Coating films became transparent as the reaction time increased. Contact angle of coating films increased with increasing the amount of MTMS. Contact angle of coating films decreased with increasing reaction time. Surface free energy of coating films decreased with increasing the amount of MTMS. Surface roughness of coating films decreased with increasing the amount of MTMS when the reaction time was 6 h. When the reaction time was 24, 48 and 72 h, surface roughness of coating films decreased with increasing the amount of MTMS in the beginning, and then increased when further amount of MTMS was added. Plastic hardness increased with increasing the amount of MTMS. Elastic portion inversely decreased with increasing the amount of MTMS. Coating films were stable until 550°C. Thermal degradation temperature of coating films decreased with increasing the amount of MTMS.