Crystallization behavior of Nd-doped SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Nd-doped SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ thin films are magnetron-sputtered on Pt/Ta/SiO₂/Si substrates. The effect of heating rate on crystallization behavior is investigated with conventional furnace annealing (CFA) and rapid thermal annealing (RTA). Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy reveal that the crystallization goes through three stages (phases): amorphous, fluorite and finally Aurivillius. Under RTA, the fluorite-to-Aurivillius transformation starts around 100 °C lower than that under CFA. The reasons behind the transformation temperature drop are also discussed.     

Nd-substituted SrBi2Ta2O9 ferroelectric thin films prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering

Nd-substituted SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SNBT) thin films are sputtered on Pt/Ta/SiO₂/Si substrates. X-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies indicate that Nd³⁺ is substituted into the bismuth layered perovskite structure, preferentially at the Sr²⁺ site. The annealed thin film is polycrystalline with plate/needle-like grain microstructure. Secondary ion mass spectrometry results show that elements in SNBT thin film homogeneously distribute along film depth and interfacial diffusion takes place during post annealing. The Nd substitution leads to enhanced remnant polarization (2P_r = 18 μC/cm²) and reduced coercivity (2E_c = 64 kV/cm) at 180 kV/cm measured at 25 °C. After 10¹⁰ switching cycles, around 9% remnant polarization is decreased.     

Rapid thermal annealing and conventional furnace effect on SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films crystallization

The effect of rapid thermal annealing and conventional furnace annealing on the crystallization of SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ is modeled using an Arrhenius-type equation. Based on previous experimental results several authors have suspected that different reaction mechanisms occur depending of the heating rate employed in these two treatment methods. Oppositely, the results here presented and the analysis of reported data suggest two concurrent reaction mechanisms 1) direct transformation of the reagents into the perovskite phase and 2) transformation of an intermediate into the perovskite phase. Another important conclusion here obtained confirms the validity of the Arrhenius equation to predict the behavior of the crystallization process by either of the two heating methods mentioned above.     

Enhanced ferroelectric properties of multilayer SrBi2Ta2O9/SrBi2Nb2O9 thin films for NVRAM applications

Ferroelectric SrBi₂Ta₂O₉/SrBi₂Nb₂O₉ (SBT/SBN) multilayer thin films with various stacking periodicity were deposited on Pt/TiO₂/SiO₂/Si substrate by pulsed laser deposition technique. The X-ray diffraction patterns indicated that the perovskite phase was fully formed with polycrystalline structure in all the films. The Raman spectra showed the frequency of the O–Ta–O stretching mode for multilayer and single layer SrBi₂(Ta_0.5Nb_0.5)₂O₉ (SBNT) samples was 827–829 cm⁻¹, which was in between the stretching mode frequency in SBT (813 cm⁻¹) and SBN (834 cm⁻¹) thin films. The dielectric constant was increased from 300 (SBT) to 373 at 100 kHz in the double layer SBT/SBN sample with thickness of each layer being 200 nm. The remanent polarization (2P_r) for this film was obtained 41.7 μC/cm², which is much higher, compared to pure SBT film (19.2 μC/cm²). The coercive field of this double layer film (67 kV/cm) was found to be lower than SBN film (98 kV/cm).     

Impact of substrate temperature on the microstructure, electrical and optical properties of sputtered nanoparticle V2O5 thin films

Applying reactive direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering method, nanoparticle vanadium pentoxide thin films were deposited onto glass slides and KBr substrates at different substrate temperatures. The films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscope. Infrared spectra were recorded with a Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer. It was found that, excepting the compositions, the film growth and vanadium oxygen bonds were strongly affected by the substrate temperature. Electrical measurements indicated that the square resistances of films showed an exponential decrease from 46 MΩ/□ to 33 kΩ/□ with substrate temperature increasing from 433 K to 593 K, and that the square resistance-temperature curves of films exhibited typical semiconducting behavior. Optical investigations were carried out in the near infrared and ultraviolet-visible range. Transmittance varied from about 95 to 55% in near-infrared range when the substrate temperature was elevated. In ultraviolet-visible range, optical band gaps and refractive indexes of films were deduced according to the transmission and reflection spectra.     

Ferroelectric properties of Bi3.4Dy0.6Ti3O12 thin films crystallized in N2

Bi_3.4Dy_0.6Ti₃O₁₂ (BDT) ferroelectric thin films were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by chemical solution deposition (CSD) and annealed in an N₂ environment after pre-annealing in air at 400 °C. The effect of crystallization temperature on the structural and electrical properties of the BDT films was studied. The BDT films annealed in N₂ in the temperature range of 600 °C to 750 °C were crystallized well and the average grain size increased with increasing crystallization temperature, while the remanent polarization of the films is not a monotonic function of the crystallization temperature. The BDT films crystallized at 650 °C have the largest remanent polarization value of 2P_r = 39.4 μC/cm², and a fatigue-free characteristic.     

Highly a-oriented SrBi2Ta2O9 thin film on (111) Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrate by eclipse pulsed laser deposition

A highly a-oriented SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ thin film with a polycrystalline structure was deposited on a preferentially oriented (111) Pt/TiO₂/SiO₂/Si substrate by eclipse pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. The SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ thin film exhibited flat and smooth surface with the surface roughness of about 0.5 nm resulting from reducing particulates generated by on-axis PLD. The SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ thin film showed a good ferroelectric property with the high remanent polarization of 12 μC/cm² and the low coercive electric field of 140 kV/cm. For the highly a-oriented SBT thin film, domain switching and reading were performed by Kelvin probe force microscope (KFM). The KFM data indicate a good ferroelectric property of the highly a-oriented SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ thin film with high KFM signals that reflect ferroelectric polarizations.     

Structure of post-annealed ferroelectric PbZrxTi1-xO3 and SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films

In order to fabricate good quality ferroelectric thin films, PbZr_xTi_(1-x)O₃ (PZT) and SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SBT) films were fabricated on SiO₂/Si(100) substrates and on Pt/Ti/ SiO₂/Si(100) substrates by pulsed laser excimer deposition (PLD). X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering analysis, and atomic force microscopy were used to characterize the structural properties of the samples, which were post-annealed at different temperatures. The results showed that the PZT and SBT films fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrates and annealed at 700 °C exhibited optimum properties.     

Grain dependence of ferroelectric domain switching on SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films observed by Kelvin probe force microscope

We have studied grain-shape dependence of Kelvin probe force microscopy of SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ thin films on epitaxial La_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃/LaAlO₃ substrates. By changing the growth condition in pulsed laser deposition, we have grown the SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ thin films with various grain shapes. The shape and the orientation of SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ the thin films with various growth conditions have been analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. The large number of the long rectangular grains was observed accompanied with relatively larger (220) peaks than other peaks. From the Kelvin probe force microscope study, it has been observed that the long rectangular grains showed characteristics of easy ferroelectric domain switching at a low writing bias and weaker influence of surface charges.     

Scanning tunneling microscopy of laser-deposited YBa2Cu3O7 thin films on Y-stabilized zirconia substrate

The surface morphology and growth mechanism ofc-oriented YBa₂Cu₃O₇ thin films deposited on Y-stabilized zirconia substrate by laser deposition has been investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy. Both screw dislocation and layered island growth processes took place. Surface features such as screw dislocation, steps, subgrain boundaries, holes, and troughs were present, suggesting that they may act as pinning sites for flux lines. A thin layer of nonsuperconducting material with a thickness of a few angstroms is seen on the surface of the film.     

Effect of substrate temperatures on the optical properties of evaporated Sc2O3 thin films

Scandium oxide (Sc₂O₃) films were deposited by electron beam evaporation with substrate temperatures varying from 50 to 350 °C. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, spectrometer, and optical profilograph were employed to investigate the structural and optical properties of the films. The refractive index and extinction coefficient were calculated from the transmittance and reflectance spectra, and then the energy band gaps were deduced and discussed. Laser induced damage threshold of the films were also characterized. Optical and structural properties of Sc₂O₃ films were found to be sensitive to substrate temperature.     

Preparation and properties of Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 thin films

Anex situ process has been developed to produce thin superconducting Tl₂Ba₂CaCu₂O₈ films. The properties of films grown on different substrates using different annealing regimes were studied. Critical temperatures of 103–107 K were measured on films prepared in a broad range of annealing temperatures on SrTiO₃, LaAlO₃, and Y-ZrO₂ substrates. A critical current density,J _c, of 2×10⁶ A/cm² at 77 K was measured on LaAlO₃. Film morphology was studied by SEM, AFM, and STM.     

Preparation and characterization of pulsed laser deposited CdTe thin films at higher FTO substrate temperature and in Ar + O2 atmosphere

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is one of the promising techniques for depositing cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin films. It has been reported that PLD CdTe thin films were almost deposited at the lower substrate temperatures (<300 °C) under vacuum conditions. However, the poor crystallinity of CdTe films prepared in this way renders them not conducive to the preparation of high-efficiency CdTe solar cells. To obtain high-efficiency solar cell devices, better crystallinity and more suitable grain size are needed, which requires the CdTe layer to be deposited by PLD at high substrate temperatures (>400 °C). In this paper, CdTe layers were deposited by PLD (KrF, λ = 248 nm, 10 Hz) at different higher substrate temperatures (T_s). Excellent performance of CdTe films was achieved at higher substrate temperatures (400 °C, 550 °C) under an atmosphere of Ar mixed with O₂ (1.2 Torr). X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the formation of CdTe cubic phase with a strong (1 0 0) preferential orientation at all substrates temperatures on 60 mJ laser energy. The optical properties of CdTe were investigated, and the band gaps of CdTe films were 1.51 eV and 1.49 eV at substrate temperatures of 400 °C and 550 °C, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed an average grain size of 0.3–0.6 μm. Thus, under these conditions of the atmosphere of Ar + O₂ (15 Torr) and at the relatively high T_s (500 °C), an thin-film (FTO/PLD-CdS (100 nm)/PLD-CdTe (~1.5 μm)/HgTe: Cu/Ag) solar cell with an efficiency of 6.68% was fabricated.     

Physical properties of flash evaporated In2O3 films prepared at different substrate temperatures

Indium oxide (In₂O₃) thin films were prepared by flash evaporated technique under various substrate temperatures in the range of 303-673 K and systematically studied the structural, electrical and optical properties of the deposited films. The films formed at substrate temperatures of < 373 K were amorphous while those deposited at higher substrate temperatures (≥ 373 K) were polycrystalline in nature. The optical band gap of the films decreased from 3.71 eV to 2.86 eV with the increase of substrate temperature from 303 K to 673 K. Figure of merit of the films increased from 2.8 × 10³ Ω^− 1 cm^− 1 to 4.2 × 10³ Ω^− 1 cm^− 1 with increasing substrate temperature from 303 K to 573 K, thereafter decreased to 2.2 × 10³ Ω^− 1 cm^− 1 at higher temperature of 673 K.     

Ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of tungsten substituted SrBi2Ta2O9 ferroelectric ceramics

Tungsten substituted samples of compositions SrBi₂(W_xTa_1−x)₂O₉ (x = 0.0, 0.025, 0.050, 0.075, 0.10 and 0.20) were synthesized by solid-state reaction method and studied for their microstructural, electrical conductivity, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties. The X-ray diffractograms confirm the formation of single phase layered perovskite structure in the samples with x up to 0.05. The temperature dependence of dc conductivity vis-à-vis tungsten content shows a decrease in conductivity, which is attributed to the suppression of oxygen vacancies. The ferroelectric and piezoelectric studies of the W-substituted SBT ceramics show that the remanent polarization and d₃₃ values increases with increasing concentration of tungsten up to x ≤ 0.05. Such compositions with low conductivity and high P_r values should be excellent materials for highly stable ferroelectric memory devices.     

Kinetic process of phase separation in Co-SiO2 thin films and preparation of mesoporous SiO2 thin films with mesopore channels aligned perpendicularly to substrate surfaces

A physical co-sputter deposition process under a relevant working gas pressure condition was used to produce a multi-component thin film with a longitudinally self-organized microstructure. In this paper, Co-Si-O thin films were prepared by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering, and their growth structures were studied by means of SEM, TEM, XRD and XPS. The microstructural changes in the Co-Si-O thin film and their dependence on Ar working gas pressure were investigated; the formation of Co-Si-O thin films, having a regular array of needle-like Co columns aligned perpendicularly to the substrate surfaces, was observed with appropriate Ar working gas pressure, and the diameter of the columns increased with increasing Ar pressure. Mesoporous silica thin films having perpendicular mesopore channels were obtained by chemical etching of the columnar Co parts in the Co-Si-O thin films. Through experimental observations, we propose that the phase separation and resultant microstructures in the thin films are determined by the surface mobility of the two components (Co and silica) on the film surface. A simple model, incorporating a diffusion process in the simultaneous deposition of two components, is presented. The model demonstrates the general trends of a kinetically self-organized microstructure in a two-component thin film.     

Templated grain growth of SrBi2Ta2O9 ceramics: Mechanism of texture development

Textured SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SBT) ceramics were fabricated via templated grain growth (TGG) technique using platelet-like SBT single crystal templates. The templates (5 wt%) were embedded in a fine-grain SBT powder matrix containing 3 wt% of Bi₂O₃ excess that were subjected to uniaxial pressing and sintering at 1000–1250 °C for up to 24 h. Microstructural characterization by SEM was performed to establish the effect of sintering parameters on the grain growth and texture development. It was found that the ceramics developed a bimodal microstructure with notable concentration of large (longer than 90 μm) aligned grains with c-axis oriented parallel to the pressing direction. The mechanism controlling the texture development and grain growth in SBT ceramics is discussed.     

SrBi2Nb2O9的PLD制备及其非线性光学特性

利用脉冲激光沉积(PLD)方法在MgO(100)基片上生长了SrBi2Nb2O9薄膜.XRD分析表明在MgO基片上生长的薄膜呈(115)单一取向,具有良好的结晶性;XPS数据分析得到薄膜中Sr、Bi和Nb的原子比约为122.05.利用Z扫描技术对薄膜的三阶非线性光学性质进行了测量,通过开孔(Open-aperture)和小孔(Close-aperture)的测量,计算出三阶非线性光学极化率的实部Rex(3)和虚部Imx(3)分别为4.139×10-7eSu,1.104×10-7eSu.     

Enhancement of ferroelectric and piezoelectric characteristics in europium substituted SrBi2Ta2O9 ferroelectric ceramics

Europium substituted samples of compositions Sr_1 − xEu_xBi₂Ta₂O₉ were synthesized by solid-state reaction method. The prepared samples were characterized for their structural and electrical properties. X-ray analysis confirms the formation of the single-phase layered perovskite structure. The microstructural studies reveal that the average grain size increases with increase in Eu content. An increase in remanent polarization and d₃₃ values with increasing concentration of europium has been observed. The maximum 2P_r ~ 14 μC/cm² is observed in the sample with x = 0.20. The observed results have been discussed in terms of contribution from the cation vacancies introduced into the lattice structure due to donor doping.     

纳米晶ZnFe2O4薄膜的制备及其丙酮气体敏感性能研究

以尖晶石结构ZnFe2O4材料为研究对象,以可溶性无机盐为原料,利用溶胶-凝胶技术在Al2O3基片上制备了ZnFe2O4薄膜,研究其对低浓度丙酮气体的敏感特性.通过DTA,TG,XRD及SEM分析手段对制膜过程及薄膜形态进行了表征.研究发现,采用柠檬酸作为络合剂的无机盐原料溶液-溶胶-凝胶(ISG)工艺,在700℃烧结温度下,可以得到覆盖良好、结构均匀、晶粒尺寸约在100nm的尖晶石结构ZnFe2O4薄膜.通过该薄膜对丙酮气敏特性测试表明,ZnFe2O4材料对丙酮具有较好的敏感性,在550℃的操作温度下,材料对丙酮气体敏灵敏度为8,响应与恢复时间小于5s.