Development of transparent single-crystalline KNbO3 thin film by LPE technique

Single-crystalline KNbO₃ thin film has been successfully formed on SrTiO₃ substrate from high-temperature K₂CO₃–Nb₂O₅ solution by the liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) technique. The growth morphology was strongly influenced by the melt composition and film growth temperature. The starting material for the film preparation was a powder mixture of K₂CO₃ and Nb₂O₅. The oxides were mixed in non-stoichiometric proportion with excess K₂CO₃ as flux. Under the optimized film growth conditions using melt compositions including K₂CO₃/Nb₂O₅=52.5/47.5, 60.0/40.0 and 65.0/35.0, transparent single-crystalline KNbO₃ thin films could be obtained. The synthesized KNbO₃ thin film was subjected to precession X-ray photography in order to evaluate the crystallographic relationship with SrTiO₃ substrate, and the result was compared with a simulated diffraction pattern. The precession X-ray photography clearly indicated that the [010]_KNbO3 is not placed on the same diffraction line as [010]_SrTiO3 but is slightly shifted with a difference in angle of approximately 3°, while the [100] and [001] agree in direction for KNbO₃ and SrTiO₃. The observed lattice parameter c of KNbO₃ film was calculated to be 4.043 Å which was slightly (1.7%) larger than 3.974 Å reported for KNbO₃ bulk crystal. In-plane rotation and elongation toward substrate normal for KNbO₃ lattice on SrTiO₃ substrate were discussed from the viewpoint of release of elastic energy accumulated by lattice mismatch on the substrate.     

Ti doped hematite thin film photoanode with enhanced photoelectrochemical properties

Ti-doped Fe₂O₃ thin films were prepared on fluorine-doped SnO₂ substrate as visible light active photoelectrochemical anodes. The fabricated films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). XRD data showed all films exhibited rhombohedral hematite phase, and the cell parameters showed that Titanium atoms substituted Fe atoms in the hematite lattice. AFM demonstrated that Ti doping could decrease the particle size on the surface compared with pure hematite. XPS results presented that Ti atom concentration was about 2.23 % in the doped film surface. The incident photon to electron conversion efficiency of Ti doped α-Fe₂O₃ film reached 23 % at 400 nm under 0.30 V bias versus AgCl in 1 M NaOH, which was nearly four times than that of undoped film. Titanium atoms in α-Fe₂O₃ lattice could increase the conductivity of hematite film. And excited electrons and holes in the bulk film could be separated more efficiently, rather than recombining with each other rapidly as that in pure hematite, which ultimately prolonged the life of electrons and holes and obtained the high efficiency Fe₂O₃ photo anode.     

基于Si-NPA的WO3薄膜电容湿敏性能

采用匀胶旋涂技术将WO3溶胶沉积在硅纳米孔柱阵列(si-NPA)衬底上,经500℃退火制得WO3/Si-NPA复合薄膜.场发射扫描电镜和x射线衍射的表面形貌和结构分析表明,WO3在Si-NPA表面形成连续薄膜,且复合薄膜保持了Si-NPA规则阵列结构的特点.湿敏测试结果显示:在11%到95%的相对湿度范围内,WO3/Si-NPA湿敏元件输出电容强,且随测试频率的增加而单调降低;随着WO3薄膜厚度的增加,湿敏元件灵敏度明显增大,但元件相应的响应/恢复时间却延长.     

Preparation and conducting performance of LaNiO3 thin film on Si substrate

LaNiO₃ thin film with perovskite structure was successfully prepared on Si (111) substrate via an amorphous heteronuclear complex as precursor. The annealing temperature had a significant effect on the crystallization of LaNiO₃ film. The crystallization temperature of the film was higher than that of the powder samples due to the interface reaction between the layer and the substrate. The thickness of LaNiO₃ thin film increased with the precursor concentration and the texture of the film could be improved significantly by adding some polyethylene glycol (PEG) as additive. A remarkable decline of the electrical resistivity was observed when the calcination temperature was raised to 800 °C. The conductivity of LaNiO₃ film increased gradually when the temperature decreased and the film showed a metallic behavior.     

基片上薄膜生长过程的计算机模拟

根据薄膜的成核统计理论,考虑吸附粒子的碰撞、迁移、蒸发等因素,针对薄膜单层和多层核生长类型的生长,用计算机进行仿真模拟.同时研究了几种因素对粒子沉积成膜的影响.根据计算机模拟情况,得出了粒子百分变化与成团粒子百分变化关系、生长过程对粒子沉积成膜的影响.论证了按成核理论下的随机统计规律生成的多层粒子膜,其厚度方面的不均匀性与实际是一致的.并给出了计算机模拟研究薄膜微观生长过程的立体图象.     

Anomalous elastic properties of RF-sputtered amorphous TeO2+x thin film for temperature-stable SAW device applications.

The anomalous elastic properties of TeO2+x thin films deposited by rf diode sputtering on substrates at room temperature have been studied. The deposited films are amorphous, and IR spectroscopy reveals the formation of Te-O bond. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms the variation in the stoichiometry of TeO2+x film from x=0 to 1 with an increase in the oxygen percentage in processing gas composition. The elastic parameters of the films in comparison to the reported values for TeO2+x single crystal are found to be low. However, the temperature coefficients of elastic parameters of all deposited films exhibit anomalous behavior showing positive values for TC(C11) in the range (32.0 to 600.0)x10(-4) degrees C(-1) and TC(C44)=(35.0 to 645.5)x10(-4) degrees C(-1) against the negative values TC(C11)=-2.7x10(-4) degrees C(-1) and TC(C44)=-0.73x10(-4) degrees C(-1) reported for TeO2+x single crystal. The variation in the elastic parameters and their temperature coefficients is correlated with the change in the three-dimensional network of Te-O bonding. The anomalous elastic properties of the TeO2+x films grown in 100% O2 are useful for potential application in the design of temperature stable surface acoustic wave devices.     

Adhesion and vacuum forming properties of tin-zinc thin films deposited on polyester film substrate

Sn-Zn alloy thin films were deposited on a polyester (PET) film substrate by co-evaporation and evaluated their surface, tensile and adhesion properties with a vacuum forming test and pull test.Relationship between the surface roughness and elemental composition of these thin films was evaluated. The surface roughness decreased with increase of the Sn content.The tensile property was estimated by observations of micro-cracks of the thin films due to a vacuum forming test. Sn-Zn alloy thin film, whose elemental composition is 85:15 (wt%), had high vacuum forming durability.The adhesion strength between the Sn-Zn alloy thin films and PET substrate was measured with a pull test apparatus. The pull strength decreased with increase of the Sn content.     

Preparation and properties of antiperovskite Mn3NiN thin film

The magnetic and electronic transport properties of the antiperovskite Mn₃NiN thin film deposited on quartz substrate using magnetron sputtering were investigated. The film shows a (100) preferred orientation. It is worthwhile noting that a positive magnetoresistance (MR) effect was found in the whole measured temperature region and the maximum MR value by 31% was obtained at about 300 K under 2 T. On the other hand, when cooling from room temperature, a spin-glass behavior was also observed in the Mn₃NiN film and the Tb shifted to lower temperature with increasing external magnetic field. In contrast to the bulk counterpart, the temperature dependent resistivity of the film shows a semiconductor-like behavior.     

BaTiO3 thin film prepared by coating-pyrolysis process on Nb-doped SrTiO3 substrate

Epitaxial BaTiO3 thin film was prepared on Nb-doped SrTiO3 substrate by coating-pyrolysis process using a mixed solution of barium and titanium naphthenates. The amorphous film pyrolyzed at 470 °C was crystallized with high orientation after heat-treatment at 850 °C under low oxygen partial pressure. X-ray diffraction /2 and scans indicated that the BaTiO3 film was epitaxial relationship with Nb-doped SrTiO3 substrate. The dielectric constant was approximately 230 at 103 Hz and was monotonically decreased with increasing of frequency at room temperature.     

Fabrication of high frequency ZnO thin film SAW devices on silicon substrate with a diamond-like carbon buffer layer using RF magnetron sputtering

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) film is a promising candidate for surface acoustic wave (SAW) device applications because of its higher acoustic velocity. A zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film has been deposited on DLC film/Si substrate by RF magnetron sputtering; the optimized parameters for the ZnO sputtering are RF power density of 0.55 W/cm², substrate temperature of 380 °C, gas flow ratio (Ar/O₂) of 5/1 and total sputter pressure of 1.33 Pa. The results showed that when the thickness of the ZnO thin films was decreased, the phase velocity of the SAW devices increased significantly.     

Anomalous elastic properties of RF-sputtered amorphous TeO2+x thin film for temperature-stable SAW device applications

The anomalous elastic properties of TeO_2+x thin films deposited by rf diode sputtering on substrates at room temperature have been studied. The deposited films are amorphous, and IR spectroscopy reveals the formation of Te-O bond. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms the variation in the stoichiometry of TeO_2+x film from x = 0 to 1 with an increase in the oxygen percentage in processing gas composition. The elastic parameters of the films in comparison to the reported values for TeO_2+x single crystal are found to be low. However, the temperature coefficients of elastic parameters of all deposited films exhibit anomalous behavior showing positive values for TC(C₁₁) in the range (32.0 to 600.0) x 10^-40 C^-1 and TC(C¹¹) = (35.0 to 645.5) x 10^-4degC^-1 against the negative values TC(Cn) = -2.7 x 10^-4degC^-1 and TC(C₁₁) = -0.73 x 10^-4degC^-1 reported for TeO₂ single crystal. The variation in the elastic parameters and their temperature coefficients is correlated with the change in the three-dimensional network of Te-O bonding. The anomalous elastic properties of the TeO_2+x films grown in 100% O₂ are useful for potential application in the design of temperature stable surface acoustic wave devices.     

Phase-matching properties of KNbO3 in the mid-infrared

KNbO(3) has been found to be phase matchable for type 1 second-harmonic generation up to 2.4 mum at 22 degrees C. The improved Sellmeier equations that correctly reproduce the nonlinear experiments thus far reported in the literature and our new experimental results for harmonic generation of CO(2) laser harmonics between 3.5303 and 5.2955 mum are presented.     

Influence of metal substrate properties on the kinetics of zeolite film formation

The primary stages of zeolite Y and silicalite-1 film formation on both untreated and plastically deformed copper substrates are considered from the viewpoint of the film growth kinetics and morphology. Experimental results indicate a satisfactory agreement between the kinetic and profilometric data.     

Metal properties and thin film oxidation

The dependence of thin film oxidation rates on the metal properties is discussed in terms of a surface state charge at the metal-oxide interface and a space charge layer in the growing oxide. The properties considered are the magnetic change at the Curie temperature, allotropic transformation and crystal orientation of the metal substrate. Experimental data on the direct logarithmic oxidation of iron, nickel, cobalt and copper forming p-type semiconducting oxides are analysed.     

Small and low-loss IF SAW filters using zinc oxide film on quartz substrate

It was previously reported that a Rayleigh wave propagating on a zinc oxide film (ZnO)/ST-cut 35 degrees X propagation quartz substrate structure has the characteristics of an excellent temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) and a large electromechanical coupling factor k(s). This substrate was applied to various intermediate-frequency (IF) stage filters. During the filter development, it was clarified that a spurious response due to the Love wave was generated. In this study, a new quartz substrate has been developed with a specific cut and propagation angle, that has the same values of the TCF and the coupling factor as the above-mentioned ones. In addition, it does not have the spurious response due to the Love wave. The combination of this specific-cut-angle quartz and ZnO film has been applied to IF filters for wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) and narrow-band CDMA (N-CDMA) systems. The insertion losses of their IF filters were 3-5 dB better and their TCF was superior (deltaf/f = 0.37 ppm/degrees C: one-third) compared with the conventional surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters.     

Influence of target to substrate distance on the sputtered CuCl film properties

CuCl is a potential candidate for UV optoelectronic devices due to its superior optical properties and lattice matching with Si. Stoichiometric CuCl thin films of polycrystalline nature were grown by RF magnetron sputtering technique. The effect of varying the target to substrate distance on the compositional, structural and optoelectronic properties of the sputtered films was analysed. A critical target to substrate distance (d_ts) was observed and the film properties were clearly different above and below this distance. Based on the film properties, the optimum spacing of d_ts = 6 cm was found to yield stoichiometric and high optical quality films. The existence of more than one chemical bonding state was identified in nonstoichiometric, chlorine rich, films by analysing the Cu 2p_3/2 core level XPS spectra. Chlorine rich samples were found to show a noticeable emission from deep levels at ∼ 515 nm in cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy. An exciton mediated sharp UV luminescence (385 nm) emission was realized at room temperature in the stoichiometric CuCl thin films.     

Influence of the substrate nature on the properties of ZnO thin films

Zinc metallic films, deposited onto different substrates, were submitted to a thermal oxidation process, in air, in order to obtain ZnO thin films. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that as-obtained ZnO thin films were polycrystalline and have a wurtzite (hexagonal) structure. The temperature dependences of the electrical conductivity during some heating/cooling cycles were studied and the conduction mechanism was interpreted in terms of Seto model. The sensitivity of ZnO thin films, at five gases, was investigated and it was established that ethanol is the test gas that produces the most significant changes in the electrical resistance of all the studied films. Some correlations between the oxidation temperature and the substrate nature and the parameters which characterize the structural and electrical properties of ZnO thin films have been established.     

Preparation and properties of KNbO3 via the sol-gel method

Sol-gel processing of a solution of niobium and potassium ethoxides in methanol was used to prepare polycrystalline potassium niobate ceramic discs. Gel powders completely crystallized after only 2 h at 600 ° C. Crystallized powders were hot-pressed at pressures less than half of that required in conventional methods. Densities of up to 99% were achieved without encountering the common problem associated with the evaporation of the potassium oxide and subsequent formation of a stable second phase. The variation of dielectric constant with temperature was measured up to several degrees above the Curie temperature (ã420b ° C). Dielectric constants of dense samples were found to be more than one and one-half times greater than that of their single crystal counterparts.