The effect of annealing on structural, electrical and optical properties of nanostructured ITO films prepared by e-beam evaporation

Tin doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films with composition of 9.42 wt% SnO₂ and 89.75 wt% In₂O_3, and impurities balanced on glass substrates at room temperature have been prepared by electron beam evaporation technique and then were annealed in air at different temperatures from 350 to 550 °C for 1 h. XRD pattern showed that increasing annealing temperature increased the crystallinity of thin films and at 550 °C high quality crystalline thin films with grain size of about 37 nm were obtained. Conductivity of ITO thin films was increased by increasing annealing temperature and conductivity obtained results in 350-550 °C temperature range were also excellently fitted in both Arrhenius-type and Davis-Mott variable-range hopping conductivity models. The UV-vis transmittance spectra were also confirmed that the annealing temperature has significant effect on the transparency of thin films. The highest transparency over the visible wavelength region of spectrum (93%) obtained at 550 °C on annealing temperature. It should be noted that this thin film was deposited on substrate at room temperature. This result obtained is equivalent with those values that have already been reported but with high-level (20 wt%) tin doped indium oxide thin films and also at 350 °C substrate temperature. The allowed direct band gap at the temperature range 350-550 °C was estimated to be in the range 3.85-3.97 eV. Band gap widening with an increase in annealing temperature was observed and is explained on the basis of Burstein-Moss shift. A comparison between the electron beam evaporation and other deposition techniques showed that the better figure of merit value can be obtained by the former technique. At the end we have compared our results with other techniques.     

Effect of post-deposition annealing on phase formation and properties of RF magnetron sputtered PLZT thin films

In this work, we report the preparation of lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) thin films by RF magnetron sputtering on platinized silicon (Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si) substrate. Sputtering was done in pure argon at 100 W RF power without external substrate heating. X-ray diffraction studies were performed on the films to study the effect of post-deposition furnace annealing temperature and time on the perovskite phase formation of PLZT. Annealing at 650 °C for 2 h was found to be optimum for the preparation of PLZT films in pure perovskite phase. The effect of different annealing conditions on surface morphology of the films was examined using AFM. The dielectric, ferroelectric and electrical properties of these films were also investigated in detail as a function of different annealing conditions. The pure perovskite film exhibits better properties than the other films which have some fraction of unwanted pyrochlore phase. The remanent polarization for pure perovskite film was found to be ∼29 μC/cm² which is almost double compared to the films having mixed phases. The dc resistivity of the pure perovskite film was found to be 7.7 × 10¹⁰ Ω cm at the electric field of ∼80 kV/cm.     

Preparation, microstructure and properties of reaction-bonded AlN ceramics

AlN ceramics were prepared via a reaction-bonding technique, using Al and AlN powders as the starting materials. The effects of processing parameters and CaO as an additive were investigated. An AlN ceramic sintered at 1800°C with 0.5 wt.% CaO is highly densified and its dielectric constant and dielectric loss tgδ are 9.4 and 0.002 at 1 MHz, respectively. Its electrical resistivity and Vickers hardness are 2.88×10¹² Ω cm, 1210 kg/mm², respectively.     

Preparation and characterization of LiNiVO4 powder and non-stoichiometric LiNixVyOz films

Inverse spinel type structured oxide, LiNiVO₄, was synthesized by using solid-state method and the crystalline powder was characterized by Rietveld refinement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Non-stoichiometric lithium nickel vanadate thin films were prepared by physical vapour deposition technique. The amorphous films were characterized by Rutherford back-scattering spectroscopy (RBS), nuclear reaction analysis (NRA), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analytical methods. Films crystal growth at various temperatures was also studied by XRD and SEM. The HRTEM analysis of sputtered film shows nanocrystalline domains of NiO and LiNiVO₄ phases with characteristic lattice parameters of the host compound and the results correlate well with the XRD data. Electrochemical properties of the films were discussed.     

La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 thin films on Si (1 0 0) by DC magnetron sputtering technique using nanosized powder compacted target

La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ (LCMO) thin films were successfully fabricated by a DC magnetron sputtering technique on Si (1 0 0) substrates from chemically synthesized compacted powders. Powders of proper stochiometry composites were synthesized by a novel chemical technique [D.R. Sahu, B.K. Roul, P. Pramanik, J.L. Huang, Physica B 369 (2005) 209] and were found to be nanosized (≈40-50 nm). The sinterability of the powders were improved significantly due to their large surface area with a reduction of sintering temperature (up to 500 °C) as compared to the powders prepared by other solid-state reaction route. Bulk LCMO targets were prepared and preliminary structural and magnetic properties of target were investigated for colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) properties. Films deposition parameters like DC power, gas flow rate, deposition time, etc., were critically optimized to achieve desired thickness of film using above LCMO target by DC magnetron sputtering. LCMO films fabricated on Si (1 0 0) substrates showed enhanced magnetoresistance (MR) at low temperature. Maximum MR of about 1000% was observed at 100 K. Paramagnetic to ferromagnetic transitions were observed in films below room temperature and were found at approximately 240 K. However, as compared to bulk target prepared by a chemical route, it was found that Curie temperature (T_c) and MR response of bulk target were higher than the thin films. Preliminary point chemical analysis revealed the deficiency of Ca²⁺ ions in CMR films.     

On the structure, stress and optical properties of CVD tungsten oxide films

Tungsten oxide thin films were prepared by low temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process from a metallorganic precursor at atmospheric pressure. The influence of the deposition temperature and oxygen flow-rate on the film structure, density and built-in stress were investigated in a comparative way employing different characterization techniques. The XRD structural analysis of the films showed co-existence of WO₃ and WO_2.9 phases. On the basis of the performed studies it was inferred that the film density decreases, the film stresses change and the film transmission increases at higher oxygen flow-rate values during the deposition. The growth window for preparation of tungsten oxide films with very low density, facilitating fast kinetics of the electrochromic effect, was established.     

Characterization of Mo-Al-N nanocrystalline films synthesized by reactive magnetron sputtering

Mo-Al-N films were deposited by a dc reactive magnetron sputtering technique. The effects of N₂ partial pressure, substrate temperature, and aluminum content on the phase composition, microstructure, hardness and oxidation resistance of the films were studied. The MoAlN films as prepared are fcc Mo₂N structure where partial Mo sites were substituted by Al, and the grain size of the crystallites increased from 8 to 30 nm when the Al concentration was increased from 6% to 33%. In the Mo_0.94Al_0.06N film, the hardness can reach 29 GPa, which is much higher than that in binary Mo-N systems. The oxidation resistance temperature of Mo-Al-N film with an Al content of 6% was higher than that of Mo-N films, and with further addition of Al content, the oxidation resistance temperature increased slightly.     

Resistive switching phenomena of tungsten nitride thin films with excellent CMOS compatibility

We report the resistive switching (RS) characteristics of tungsten nitride (WN_x) thin films with excellent complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility. A Ti/WN_x/Pt memory cell clearly shows bipolar RS behaviors at a low voltage of approximately ±2.2 V. The dominant conduction mechanisms at low and high resistance states were verified by Ohmic behavior and trap-controlled space-charge-limited conduction, respectively. A conducting filament model by a redox reaction explains the RS behavior in WN_x films. We also demonstrate the memory characteristics during pulse operation, including a high endurance over >10⁵ cycles and a long retention time of >10⁵ s.     

RF reactive magnetron sputtering for Fe-doped titania films deposited from ceramic targets

Fe-doped titania films are prepared by RF magnetron sputtering on Si wafers with specifically designed TiO₂ targets containing different amounts of Fe₂O₃ powder as a dopant source. The physical properties of the films are investigated in terms of the preparation conditions, such as Fe₂O₃ content in the target, RF power, substrate temperature and working pressure. The films show the typical crystallographic orientation. The growth rate increases with increasing RF power, but decreases with working pressure. Films with 40 nm and the transmittance over 90% at the visible region are prepared by using Fe-doped titania target.     

Fluorographene/polyimide composite films: Mechanical,electrical, hydrophobic,thermal and low dielectric properties

Nowadays, dielectric materials with excellent mechanical and hydrophobic properties are desired for use in the integrated circuits (ICs). For this reason, low dielectric constant fluorographene/polyimide (FG/PI) composite films were prepared by a facile solution blending method, suggesting that the mechanical, electrical, hydrophobic and thermal properties were significantly enhanced in the presence of FG. With addition of 1 wt% FG, the tensile strength, Young’s modulus and elongation at break were dramatically increased by 139%, 33% and 18% respectively when compared with pure PI film. Furthermore, composite films exhibit superior hydrophobic and thermal stability performance. Especially, the FG/PI film with 0.5 wt% of FG possessing a low dielectric constant of 2.48 and a good electrical insulativity that is lower than 10⁻¹⁴ S m⁻¹. Therefore, by their excellent performance, FG/PI hybrid films represent suitable candidate solutions with applications in the microelectronics and aerospace industries.     

Chemical bonding and optoelectrical properties of ruthenium doped yttrium oxide thin films

Highly infrared transparent conductive ruthenium doped yttrium oxide (RYO) films were deposited on zinc sulfide and glass substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of the films as a function of growth temperature were studied. It is shown that the sputtered RYO thin films are amorphous and smooth surface is obtained. The infrared transmittance of the films increases with increasing the growth temperature. RYO films maintain greater than ∼65% transmittance over a wide wavelength range from 2.5 μm to 12 μm and the highest transmittance value reaches 73.3% at ∼10 μm. With increasing growth temperature, the resistivity changed in a wide range and lowest resistivity of about 3.36 × 10⁻³ Ω cm is obtained at room temperature. The RYO thin films with high conductivity and transparency in IR spectral range would be suitable for infrared optical and electromagnetic shielding devices.     

Optical properties of pyrene doped polymer thin films

Thin films of pyrene in polystyrene matrix have been prepared by spin coating technique. The concentration of polystyrene is kept constant to 1 wt.% while that of pyrene dopant varied in the range 2.30×10⁻⁴-2.30×10⁻¹ wt.%. Thickness of the films was found to depend upon concentration of pyrene and varies from 90 to 782 nm. The results of X-ray diffraction analysis reveal the crystalline nature of the films. The optical properties were studied by absorption, excitation and fluorescence spectroscopy. The band gap energy of pyrene in polymer films was calculated from absorption results. A transition from monomer to excimer is observed with thickness variation of the films. The structured part of the spectrum is assigned to the monomer emission while the broad emission band is attributed to well known pyrene excimer-like emission.     

Structural and optical characterizations of chemically deposited cadmium selenide thin films

Synthesis of cadmium selenide thin films by CBD method has been presented. The deposited film samples were subjected to XRD, SEM, UV-vis-NIR and TEP characterization. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that CdSe film sample crystallized in zinc blende or cubic phase structure. SEM studies reveal that the grains are spherical in shape and uniformly distributed all over the surface of the substrates. The optical band gap energy of as deposited film sample was found to be in the order of 1.8 eV. The electrical conductivity of the film sample was found to be 10⁻⁶ (Ω cm)⁻¹ with n-type of conduction mechanism.     

The demonstration of epitaxial and electronic-magnetic properties for La0.67Sr0.33MnO3−δ films with (1 1 1) orientation

La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO_3−δ films, fabricated on (1 1 1) LaAlO₃ single-crystal substrates using a direct current magnetron sputtering technique, are demonstrated by X-ray diffraction patterns and pole figures to be high quality epitaxial films and there is a perfect matching relationship between the films and the substrates. We observed an obvious difference of the electronic-magnetic transportation properties among films sputtered on (1 1 1), (1 0 0) and (1 1 0) LaAlO₃ substrates, respectively. A mechanism for the difference is discussed briefly.     

Some studies on successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) grown indium sulphide thin films

Indium sulphide (In₂S₃) thin films were grown on amorphous glass substrate by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. X-ray diffraction, optical absorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Rutherford back scattering (RBS) were applied to study the structural, optical, surface morphological and compositional properties of the indium sulphide thin films. Utilization of triethanolamine and hydrazine hydrate complexed indium sulphate and sodium sulphide as precursors resulted in nanocrystalline In₂S₃ thin film. The optical band gap was found to be 2.7 eV. The film appeared to be smooth and homogeneous from SEM study.     

Comparative study of ITO and FTO thin films grown by spray pyrolysis

Tin doped indium oxide (ITO) and fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) thin films have been prepared by one step spray pyrolysis. Both film types grown at 400 °C present a single phase, ITO has cubic structure and preferred orientation (4 0 0) while FTO exhibits a tetragonal structure. Scanning electron micrographs showed homogeneous surfaces with average grain size around 257 and 190 nm for ITO and FTO respectively.The optical properties have been studied in several ITO and FTO samples by transmittance and reflectance measurements. The transmittance in the visible zone is higher in ITO than in FTO layers with a comparable thickness, while the reflectance in the infrared zone is higher in FTO in comparison with ITO. The best electrical resistivity values, deduced from optical measurements, were 8 × 10⁻⁴ and 6 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm for ITO (6% of Sn) and FTO (2.5% of F) respectively. The figure of merit reached a maximum value of 2.15 × 10⁻³ Ω⁻¹ for ITO higher than 0.55 × 10⁻³ Ω⁻¹ for FTO.     

Evolutions of structure, composition and optical absorption behavior of pyrite films formed by sulfurating iron

The crystal structure, crystallite morphology, film composition and absorption properties were investigated for the pyrite films sulfurated from iron films. The pyrite particles nucleate mainly from the transitional phases of iron sulfides formed in the films during 673 K sulfurating while the pyrite particles nucleate directly from the iron bisulfides formed in the films during 773 K sulfurating. There are higher sulfur contents and more obvious grain propagation in the film sulfurated at 773 K than in that sulfurated at 673 K. By prolonging sulfuration time at 673 K, the optical absorption edge tends to increase and approaches the ideal value as sulfurated over 20 h. Low absorption edges exist in the films sulfurated at 773 K.     

Resistive hysteresis in BiFeO3 thin films

Capacitor-like Au/BiFeO₃/SrRuO₃ thin film with (1 1 1) orientation was grown on the SrTiO₃ (1 1 1) substrate by radio frequency magnetic sputtering. It shows a resistive switching behavior, where a stable hysteresis in current–voltage curve was well developed by applying an optimum voltage at room temperature, and it reached the saturation at a bias voltage of 8 V. The Child's law in V_max → 0 direction and the interface-limited Fowler–Nordheim tunneling in 0 → V_max direction, together with the polarization reversal in the BiFeO₃ barrier, are shown to involve in the observed resistive hysteresis.     

Growth, thermal and mechanical properties of new nonlinear optical barium bis-paranitrophenolate paranitrophenol tetrahydrate single crystal

Barium bis paranitrophenolate paranitrophenol tetrahydrate, a new semiorganic nonlinear optical single crystal has been grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique at room temperature of 30 °C. Crystal of dimensions of 29 mm × 11 mm × 5 mm was obtained in a period of 30 days. X-ray diffraction analysis reveal the newness of the crystal structure belonging to the orthorhombic class with lattice parameters a = 19.899(5) Å, b = 28.019(8) Å, c = 10.745(4) Å and α = β = γ = 90°. The grown crystal is examined for its nonlinear optical nature with Kurtz powder technique after being sieved for particle sizes between 5 and 100 μm and analyzed for its thermal and mechanical properties. The effective nonlinear optical coefficient being 16 times greater than that of KDP crystal, good thermal stability up to 120 °C with the Meyer's constant n < 2 helps fashion the crystal towards device geometry.     

A study on the structural and mechanical properties of nanocrystalline CuS thin films grown by chemical bath deposition technique

We report a chemical route for the deposition of nanocrystalline thin films of CuS, using aqueous solutions of Cu(CH₃COO)₂, SC(NH₂)₂ and N(CH₂CH₂OH)₃ [triethanolamine, i.e. TEA] in proper concentrations and ratios. The films were structurally characterized using X-ray diffraction technique (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and optical analysis [both photo luminescence (PL) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis)]. Optical studies showed a large blue shift in the band gap energy of the films due to quantum confinement effect exerted by the nanocrystals. From both XRD and FESEM analyses, formation of CuS nanocrystals with sizes within 10-15 nm was evident. A study on the mechanical properties was carried out using nanoindentation and nanoscratch techniques, which showed good mechanical stability and high adherence of the films with the bottom substrate. Such study on the mechanical properties of the CuS thin films is being reported here for the first time. Current-voltage (I-V) measurements were also carried out for the films, which showed p-type conductivity.