Thickness optimized nanocrystalline ZnO-coated silicon nanowires for cold cathode application

Silicon nanowire is an important material for the potential use as a cold cathode, but there are some bottlenecks like oxidation of the surface during field emission thereby degradation of its performance. To compete with carbon based nanostructures in this field the performance of Si nanowires as field emitter should be improved. Here, we report a simple technique for the significant improvement of field emission properties of Si nanowires by ZnO nanoparticle coating. Boron-doped p-type Si wafers were chemically etched to synthesize vertically aligned silicon nanowires and they were coated with different thicknesses of ZnO layer by radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique. The nanostructured thin films were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for compositional and valence states information while their morphological information was obtained by a field emission scanning electron microscope and a high resolution transmission electron microscope. The field assisted electron emission performance of Si nanowires significantly improved for the thickness optimized ZnO coating. The photoluminescence spectra showed a peak at ~558 nm assigned to surface defect states of ZnO and the field emission from Si nanowires coated with ZnO for different times were correlated with the surface defect structures. The mechanism of such improvement is also discussed.     

Top-down processed silicon nanowires for thermoelectric applications

50 nm wide n-type silicon nanowires have been manufactured by using a top-down process in order to investigate the thermoelectric properties of silicon nanowire. Nanowire test structures with platinum heaters and temperature sensors were fabricated. The extracted temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of the temperature sensors was 786.6 PPM/K. Also, the extracted Seebeck coefficient and power factor of the 50 nm wide phosphorus doped n-type silicon nanowires were -118 miroV/K and 2.16 mW x K(-2) x m(-1).     

掺硼nc-Si:H薄膜中纳米硅晶粒的择优生长

利用等离子体增强化学气相沉积(PECVD)生长的系列掺硼氢化纳米硅(nc-Si:H)薄膜中纳米硅晶粒(nanocrystallinesilicon,简称nc-Si)有择优生长的趋势。用HRTEM、XRD、Raman等方法研究掺硼nc-Si:H薄膜的微观结构时发现:掺硼nc-Si:H薄膜的XRD只有一个峰,峰位在2θ≈47o,晶面指数为(220),属于金刚石结构。用自由能密度与序参量的关系结合实验参数分析掺硼nc-Si:H薄膜择优生长的原因是:适当的电场作用引起序参量改变,导致薄膜在适当的自由能范围内nc-Si的晶面择优生长。随着掺硼浓度的增加,nc-Si:H薄膜的晶态率降低并逐步非晶化。nc-Si随硅烷的稀释比增加而长大,但晶态率降低。nc-Si随衬底温度升高而长大,晶态率提高。nc-Si随射频功率密度的增大而长大,晶态率增大的趋势平缓。但未发现掺硼浓度、稀释比、衬底温度、射频功率密度的变化引起薄膜中nc-Si晶面的择优生长。     

Applicability of Raman scattering for the characterization of nanocrystalline silicon

It is shown that Raman scattering alone cannot provide unambiguous information regarding the crystallite size, its distribution and crystalline fraction in nc-/a-Si films unless additional data regarding the structure of the films are obtained by other techniques.     

Photoluminescence properties of nanocrystalline ZnS on nanoporous silicon

This paper embodies the report on the microwave solvothermal synthesizing of nanocrystalline ZnS particles for optoelectronic device. The effect of different parameters such as time, temperature, solvents, molar ratio of zinc and thiourea on the phase(s) formation of nanocrystalline Zinc Sulphide was investigated. The obtained nanosize ZnS materials were characterized by the X-ray diffraction, Optical absorption measurements, TEM and Photoluminescence studies. The crystallite size of the ZnS nanoparticles was estimated from the X-ray diffraction pattern by using Scherrer's formula. The as prepared material was obtained in the cubic phase, which showed a perfect match with the earlier reports. The Optical absorption edge of ZnS were blue shifted from the absorption edge of bulk ZnS. The estimated band gap value of ZnS was 4.01 eV. The ZnS nano materials were coated on nano porous silicon by screen-printing technique. Luminescence studies indicated room temperature emission in the wavelength ranges from 422.6 to 612 nm, which cover the blue emission to red emission. The emitted light that depending on the created pore size from porous silicon and the size of the ZnS nano particles.     

A reinterpretation of the effects of impurities on the thermoelectric power of thin gold films

Previously published data are re-examined in the light of a grain-boundary model for monocrystalline films. New interpretations are proposed which show that the thermoelectric power due to thickness-dependent scattering attains a constant value.     

Effect of the dynamic redistribution of impurities on the grain-boundary friction in nanocrystalline materials

A relaxation process involving the redistribution of impurity atoms along the grain boundaries in a nanocrystalline material under the action of a variable external load is considered. The frequency spectrum of internal friction in this system, which is found by solving the barodiffusion equation, has a peak shape. The intensity of this spectral peak is estimated.     

Novel thermoelectric materials based on boron-doped silicon microchannel plates

The thermoelectric properties of boron-doped silicon microchannel plates (MCPs) were investigated. The samples were prepared by photo-assisted electrochemical etching (PAECE). The Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity at room temperature (25 °C) were measured to determine the thermoelectric properties of the samples. In order to decrease the very high resistivity, boron doping was introduced and by modulating the doping time, a series of samples with different resistivity as well as Seebeck coefficient were obtained. Boron doping changed the electrical resistivity of the samples from 1.5 × 10⁵ Ω cm to 5.8 × 10⁻³ Ω cm, and the absolute Seebeck coefficient deteriorated relatively slightly from 674 μV/K to 159 μV/K. According to the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity, the power factor was calculated and a peak value of 4.7 × 10⁻¹ mW m⁻¹ K⁻² was obtained. The results indicate that silicon MCPs doped with boron are promising silicon-based thermoelectric materials.     

Matching boundary conditions for lattice dynamics

We design a class of accurate and efficient absorbing boundary conditions for molecular dynamics simulations of crystalline solids. In one space dimension, the proposed matching boundary conditions take the form of a linear constraint of displacement and velocity at atoms near the boundary, where the coefficients are determined by matching the dispersion relation with a minimal number of atoms involved. Bearing the nice features of compactness, locality, and high efficiency, the matching boundary conditions are then extended to treat the out‐of‐plane wave problems in the square lattice. We construct multidirectional absorbing boundary conditions via operator multiplications. Reflection coefficient analysis and numerical studies verify their effectiveness for spurious reflection suppression in all directions. Compact and local in both space and time, they are directly applicable to nonlinear lattices and multiscale simulations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Isotope effects on the lattice dynamics of crystals

It seems likely that isotope effects are most clearly manifested in crystal lattice dynamics, which is evidenced by works in this field that have been published for more than half a century. A great number of stable isotopes and well-developed methods of their separation has made it possible to date to grow crystals of C, LiH, ZnO, ZnSe, CuCl, GaN, GaAs, CdS, Cu₂O, Si, Ge and -Sn with a controllable isotopic composition. The accumulated voluminous theoretical and experimental data suggest that the isotopic composition of a crystal lattice exerts some influence on the thermal, elastic, and vibrational properties of crystals. These effects are quite large and can be readily measured by modern experimental techniques (ultrasound, Brillouin and Raman scattering, and neutron scattering). For example, the change in the lattice constant is Δa/a=10⁻³ to 10⁻⁴, while the change δc_ik in the elastic constants amounts to several percent. The maximum k_m (where k_m is the maximum of thermal conductivity) measured for the most highly enriched ⁷⁰Ge (99.99%) sample is 10.5 kW/mK, one order of magnitude higher than for the natural Ge (analogous for C and Si). In addition, crystals of different isotopic compositions possess different Debye temperatures. This difference between a LiH crystal and its deuteride exceeds hundred degrees. Of the same order of magnitude is the difference between Debye temperatures for diamond crystals. Very pronounced and general effects of isotopic substitution are observed in phonon spectra. The scattering lines in isotopically mixed crystals are not only shifted (the shift of LO lines exceeds 100 cm⁻¹) but are also broadened. This broadening is related to the isotopic disorder of a crystal lattice. It is shown in this review that the degree of change in the scattering potential is different for different isotopic mixed crystals. In the case of germanium and diamond crystals, phonon scattering is weak, which allows one to successfully apply the coherent potential approximation (CPA) for describing shift and broadening of scattering lines. In the case of lithium hydride, the change in the scattering potential is so strong that it results in phonon localization, which is directly observed in experiments. Capture the thermal neutrons by isotope nuclei followed by nuclei decay produces new elements in a very large number of possibilities for isotope selective doping of different materials. The review closes with a section describing future developments and applications of isotope technology and engineering.     

Atomistic design of thermoelectric properties of silicon nanowires

We present predictions of the thermoelectric figure of merit ( ZT) of Si nanowires with diameter up to 3 nm, based upon the Boltzman transport equation and ab initio electronic structure calculations. We find that ZT depends significantly on the wire growth direction and surface reconstruction, and we discuss how these properties can be tuned to select silicon based nanostructures with combined n-type and p-type optimal ZT. Our calculations show that only by reducing the ionic thermal conductivity by about 2 or 3 orders of magnitudes with respect to bulk values, one may attain ZT larger than 1, for 1 or 3 nm wires, respectively. We also find that ZT of p-doped wires is considerably smaller than that of their n-doped counterparts with the same size and geometry.     

Effects of doping concentration on the microstructural and optoelectrical properties of boron doped amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon films

Boron doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films were prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique at various flow rate of diborane (F_B). As-deposited samples were thermally annealed at the temperature of 800 °C to obtain the doped nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) films. The effect of boron concentration on the microstructural, optical and electrical properties of the films was investigated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements demonstrated the presence of the substitutional boron in the doped films. It was found that thermal annealing can efficiently activate the dopants in films accompanying with formation of nc-Si grains. Based on the temperature-dependent conductivity measurements, it was shown that the dark conductivity of doped amorphous samples increases monotonously with the increase of doping content. While the dark conductivity of doped nc-Si films is not only determined by the concentration of dopant but also the crystallinity of the films. As increasing the flow rate of diborane, the crystallinity of doped nc-Si films decreases, which causes the decrease of dark conductivity. Finally, the high dark conductivity of 178.68 S cm⁻¹ of the B-doped nc-Si thin films can be obtained.     

Amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon growth on carbon nanotube substrates

In this study, smooth and conformal hydrogenated silicon thin films are examined and analyzed on various multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) substrates. The films are deposited using radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition with He dilution and parameters that are heavily in the γ regime. It is proposed that high-energy plasmas with limited penetration depth can induce crystallization to occur on MWCNT substrates of varying active surface areas. The samples presented exhibit properties that are promising for energy applications, including photovoltaics and lithium-ion batteries and have been studied using scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, four-point probe measurements, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.     

Growing nanocrystalline silicon on sapphire by molecular beam epitaxy

It is established that an array of silicon nanoislands is formed on the surface of a sapphire substrate at the initial stages of molecular beam epitaxy. Silicon islands formed at low temperatures of the substrate (below 650°C) exhibit a pyramidal shape, while the islands grown at T > 650° possess a dome shape. The maximum density of islands was 2 × 10¹¹ cm^?2, their lateral dimensions were within 20 nm, and their heights did not exceed 3 nm.     

Improved thermoelectric performance of highly-oriented nanocrystalline bismuth antimony telluride thin films

Improved thermoelectric performance of highly-oriented nanocrystalline bismuth antimony telluride thin films is described. The thin films are deposited by a flash evaporation method, followed by annealing in hydrogen. By optimizing the annealing conditions, the resulting thin films exhibit almost perfect orientation with the c-axis normal to the substrate, and are composed of nano-sized grains with an average grain size of 150 nm. The in-plane electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient were measured at room temperature. The cross-plane thermal conductivity of the thin films was measured by a 3ω method, and the in-plane thermal conductivity was evaluated by using an anisotropic factor of thermal conductivity based on a single crystal bulk alloy with almost the same composition and carrier concentration. The measured cross-plane thermal conductivity is 0.56 W/(m K), and the in-plane thermal conductivity is evaluated to be 1.05 W/(m K). Finally, the in-plane power factor and figure-of-merit, ZT, of the thin films are 35.6 μW/(cm K²) and 1.0 at 300 K, respectively.     

Distribution of active impurities in single silicon nanowires

The distribution of electrically active B concentration in single SiNWs (nanowires) grown by a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process was studied by analyzing Fano resonance in Raman spectra. We found a gradient of active B concentration along the growth direction; the B concentration was the largest at the substrate side and the smallest at the catalyst side. The observed concentration gradient suggests the conformal growth of a high B concentration layer during a VLS process. To confirm this effect, we grew SiNWs with controlled impurity profiles, that is, p-type/intrinsic ( p-i) and intrinsic/ p-type ( i-p) SiNWs, by controlling the supply of B source during SiNWs growth. We found that p-i SiNWs can be grown by just stopping the supply of B source in the middle of the growth, while i-p SiNWs were not realized; that is, the whole region of nominal " i-p" SiNWs was B-doped even if we started the supply of B source in the middle of the growth. These results confirm the above doping model. We also found that the distribution of active B concentration was significantly modified by high temperature annealing. By annealing at 1100 degrees C for 1 min, B concentration became almost uniform along 10 mum long SiNWs irrespective of initial B profiles. This suggests very efficient diffusion of B atoms in a defective high B concentration surface layer of SiNWs.     

Surface layer impurities on silicon spheres used in determinationof the Avogadro constant

The Avogadro constant is required to be determined with an uncertainty of less than 1×10^-8 in order to allow an atomic definition of the kilogram. A single-crystal silicon sphere 93.6 mm diameter is used for this determination. A thin surface layer (typically 2 nm to 5 nm thick on flats and 10 nm or more on spheres) of contaminants such as oxide, water and hydrocarbons on the sphere can significantly affect the measurements due to corrections for density changes and to phase change on reflection in the diameter measurement by optical interferometry. The stability of this surface layer as a function of time is also of importance because of ongoing measurements. The nature of this contamination has been investigated using optical ellipsometry and ion beam analysis. It is concluded that the composition and structure of the surface layer are affected by a number of parameters and that the most appropriate method of achieving the desired accuracy is to remove the surface layer by etching and to form a hard stable coating of controlled thickness and composition. This coating may be either silicon dioxide or silicon nitride     

Experiment on the absolute measurement of a silicon lattice spacingat the NRLM

An experimental setup for the determination of the silicon lattice constant is described. The monolithic flexure hinge mechanisms for orientation adjustment, an optical interferometer for angle and displacement measurement, and a special tool for establishing the parallelism between the optical surface and the reciprocal lattice vector are introduced. The latest experiment gives a value for the ratio of the optical wavelength to the silicon lattice spacing which is consistent with more established values within a currently large uncertainty of one