Self-organization of porphyrin structures on Si

The system produced by deposition of aqueous solution (10^− 3–10^− 6 M) of mesotetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphine (TPPS₄) on Si was studied. The morphology of self-organized structures of TPPS₄ was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The rod- and fiber-like structures of 250–1000 nm width and 30–200 nm height have been found on glass substrates and crystalline Si (c-Si). The aggregation state of TPPS₄ was determined by analysis of optical absorption of aqueous solutions in a visible spectral range and spectroscopic ellipsometry of TPPS/Si samples in the region 1–5 eV. The deposition of aqueous solution of metal-free TPPS₄ and Fe-TPPS₄ was examined. The difference in the adsorption of TPPS₄ on c-Si, porous Si and glass substrates was discussed. The self-ordered ring effect caused inhomogeneous distribution of Fe-TPPS₄ on the c-Si surface. From optical studies, it was found that in TPPS/Si samples formed from aqueous solution of TPPS₄ of high acidity the optical response of J-aggregates was dominant. In contrast, the fine structure in the optical spectra of the samples Fe- TPPS₄/Si corresponded to the excitation of monomers in aqueous solution independently on the pH-value of deposited aqueous solutions. The dependence of spectra for TPPS/Si samples on substrate type, orientation of c-Si, and acidity of aqueous solution was discussed in order to clarify the mechanism of porphyrin adsorption on Si.     

Growth of Ge islands on Si substrates

We present a study of Ge islands formation on Si(100) substrates using grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Samples were prepared by magnetron sputtering of a 5 nm thick Ge layer in a very high vacuum on Si(100) substrate held at different temperatures. The vertical cut (perpendicular to the surface) of the experimental 2D GISAXS pattern has been fitted using a Guinier approximation. The optimum temperature for the islands formation was 650 °C. At this temperature, islands grow in conical shape with very similar dimensions; however, inter-island distances varied significantly.     

Opaline films on patterned substrates by a simple self-assembly method

A simple method for the preparation of opaline films on flat and patterned glass substrates was investigated. Opaline films and opal micro-channels were obtained by a solvent-evaporation-induced self-assembly process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical transmission spectroscopy have been used to investigate the structural quality of the films and optical band gap.     

Structural aspects of self-assembly of thienoviologen molecular conductors on gold substrates

The adsorption of various monomethylated π-extended viologen compounds onto self-assembled layers of octadecylmercaptan (ODM) on gold was investigated with secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). SIMS results indicated that the monomethylated viologen 5-(4-pyridyl)-5′-[4-(N-methyl)pyridinio]-2,2′-bithiophene iodide (PT2) adsorbed much more strongly onto the ODM self-assembled layers at 50 μM adsorption concentration in ethanol, while very similar compounds were much less effective in their adsorption even at much higher adsorption concentrations. The formation of multilayers of PT2 could be observed by AFM. Some structural features of the viologens, (dipole moment and polarizability), were calculated with semi-empirical quantum chemical calculations (MOPAC/AM1). One compound, PF2, having a slightly larger molecular length, dipole moment and polarizability than PT2, did not assemble noticeably onto the surface due to its larger solubility. The large difference in efficiency of adsorption can be related to a combination of length and absence of hydrophilic groups at the free pyridine side of the monomethylated viologens.     

Emission properties of DLC films on Si substrates

DLC films were deposited on polished both n-type and p-type silicon substrates. The silicon resistivity was ～0.02 Θ cm. Some of the DLC films 20 nm thick were deposited on the n-type Si surface with the submicron cones. SEM and Raman spectroscopy were used for structural investigations. Field electron emission occurs after dielectric breakdown, except for the samples with Si cones for which the emission seems to originate from SiC formed during the first stage of electron emission. It seems that too much sp² graphite phase may give rise to the observed increase in the turn-on field from 50 V/μm up to 150 V/μm.     

Synthesis of mercaptothiadiazole-functionalized gold nanoparticles and their self-assembly on Au substrates

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) stabilized with mercaptothiadiazole ligands, 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole (DMT), 5-amino-2-mercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole (AMT) and 5-methyl-2-mercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole (MMT), were prepared by the reaction of the respective ligands with HAuCl(4) and NaBH(4) in an aqueous medium. TEM images show that the average size of AuNPs was 6.5 ± 0.5?nm, irrespective of the capping ligands. The colloidal solution of both DMT-capped AuNPs (DMT-AuNPs) and AMT-capped AuNPs (AMT-AuNPs) were highly stable for several months. However, several changes were noticed for MMT-capped AuNPs (MMT-AuNPs) after 2?h from its formation. The SPR band intensity at 518?nm decreases and the narrow SPR absorption band slowly changes into a flat absorption pattern with a broad peak from 518 to 1000?nm which was accompanied by a colour change of the solution from red to purple and then blue and thereafter unchanged. The TEM image of MMT-AuNPs after 96?h shows that most of the spherical shape of the AuNPs assembled to form a nanowire-like structure. The observed changes may be due to the absence of a strong stabilizing force on the surface of the MMT-AuNPs. The amino and thiolate groups on the surface of the AMT-AuNPs and DMT-AuNPs, respectively, were directly self-assembled on Au electrodes. They exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of AA by enhancing its oxidation current twice in addition to more than 200?mV negative shift in the oxidation potential in contrast to bare Au electrode.     

Growth of CNTs on Fe-Si catalyst prepared on Si and Al coated Si substrates

In this paper we report the effect of Al interlayers on the growth characteristics of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using as-deposited and plasma etched Fe-Si catalyst films as the catalysts. Al interlayers having various thicknesses ranging from 2 to 42?nm were deposited on Si substrates prior to the deposition of Fe-Si catalysts. It was found that the Al interlayer diffuses into the Fe-Si catalyst during the plasma etching prior to the CNT growth, leading to the swelling and amorphization of the catalyst. This allows enhanced carbon diffusion in the catalyst and therefore a faster growth rate of the resulting CNTs. It was also found that use of an Al interlayer having a thickness of ～3 ± 1?nm is most effective. Due to the effectiveness of this, the normally required catalyst etching is no longer needed for the growth of CNTs.     

Residual carrier density in GaSb grown on Si substrates

The relationships between the densities of residual carriers and those of dislocation in GaSb films grown on Si substrates were investigated. Dislocation density was evaluated by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The TEM images indicated that the dislocation density after a 5-μm-thick GaSb film was grown was below 1 × 10⁸/cm² although the density near the interface between the Si substrate and the GaSb film was about 3 × 10⁹/cm². Forming a dislocation loop by growing a thick GaSb layer may decrease the dislocation density. The density and mobility of the residual carrier were investigated by Hall measurement using the van der Pauw method. The residual carriers in GaSb grown on Si substrates were holes, and their densities decreased significantly from 4.2 × 10¹⁸ to 1.4 × 10¹⁷/cm³ as GaSb thickness was increased from 500 to 5500 nm.     

Electrical properties of thin PbTe films on Si substrates

An attempt was made to reduce the carrier concentration in thin PbTe films on Si substrates by optimizing deposition conditions. A modified hot-wall method was used for reproducible growth ofp-type films with 5 × 10¹⁵ < p(77 K) < 5 × 10¹⁷ cm^-3 andn-type films with 3 × 10¹⁵ < n(77 K) < 5 × 10¹⁶ cm^-3. The IR irradiation was found to have a significant effect on the temperature variation of film resistance. The activation energy of the IR-sensitivity centers was determined to be 0.11 ± 0.005 eV at room temperature and 0.18 ± 0.005 eV between 150 and 180 K.     

Real-time studies of Ge growth on nanostructured Si substrates

Nanostructured substrates are an interesting path towards the production of quantum dots devoted to microelectronic applications. In this work we report results on the effects of different nanopatterning methods to obtain lateral ordering of Ge islands grown on Si. By using Scanning Tunneling Microscopy we have studied in real-time the wetting layer growth and islands formation on nanopatterned Si substrates at 500 °C. We compare results obtained on Si substrates nanopatterned by using two different techniques: STM lithography and natural patterning induced by surface instabilities such as step bunching. Different issues on both cases have been addressed: substrate preparation, Ge dots placement and growth mode. We have observed that, on Si(001), the Ge islands nucleate near the holes and on Si(111) step bunching can guide the growth of aligned rows of islands.     

Plasma oxidation of Al thin films on Si substrates

In this study, Al thin films deposited on silicon wafers by direct current magnetron sputtering were oxidized under radio frequency 13.56 MHz O₂ plasma at temperatures up to 550 °C. During oxidation, plasma powers as well as oxidation temperature and time were varied to investigate the oxidation behavior of the Al films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy results show that the apparent alumina could be observed after O₂ plasma treatment with powers above 200 W as well as at temperatures above 250 °C. However, no alumina increment could be discerned after individual either heat treatment at 550 °C or plasma treatment at room temperature. The thickness of alumina layers increased remarkably with plasma power and could reach about 60 nm when undergone 400 W O₂ plasma treatment at 550 °C for 2 h. Moreover, the thickness of alumina increased parabolically with time during plasma oxidation aided by thermal treatment. The deduced activation energy of such plasma oxidation was 19.1 ± 0.5 kJ/mol.     

Site-controlled fabrication of dimension-tunable Si nanowire arrays on patterned (001)Si substrates

In this study, we fabricated well-ordered arrays of site-controlled, vertically-aligned Si nanowires on the desired areas of pre-patterned (001)Si substrates by employing the nanosphere lithographic technique in combination with the Au-assisted selective etching process. The results of transmission electron microscopy and selected-area electron diffraction analysis show that the Si nanowires that fabricated on the patterned (001)Si substrates have a single-crystalline nature and form along the [001] direction. The length of the Si nanowires was found to increase linearly with the Au-assisted etching time. Scanning electron microscopy images clearly revealed that by adjusting the sizes of the nanosphere template and the etching temperature and time, the diameter and length of the patterned Si nanowires could be effectively tuned and accurately controlled. Furthermore, the diameters of the Si nanowires produced at various temperatures and time were found to be relatively uniform over the entire length. The combined approach presented here provides the capability to fabricate a variety of size-, length-tunable 1D Si-based nanostructures on various patterned Si-based substrates.     

Optical and structural properties of Si/SiGe wires grown on patterned Si substrates

The optical and structural properties of sub-micrometer scale Si/SiGe wires grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy on Si (001) substrates are presented. The structures were grown selectively using SiO₂ and Si₃N₄/SiO₂ masks, and have been studied by photoluminescence and high-resolution X-ray diffraction. All samples exhibited a photoluminescence signal from SiGe, but the most intense and narrowest photoluminescence peak (comparable to the Si substrate) was observed from Si/SiGe wires grown in deep-etched Si trenches.     

Tensile strain engineering of Si thin films using porous Si substrates

Highly tensile strained (up to 2.2%) thin monocrystalline silicon (mc-Si) films were fabricated by a simple and low-cost method based on the in-plane expansion of meso-porous silicon (PS) substrates upon low temperature oxidation. To control the film thickness below 100 nm, an original “two wafer” technique was employed during the porosification process. This method enables the fabrication of a 60 nm thick mc-Si films on 250 μm thick meso-porous silicon substrates over areas as large as 2 in. with a surface roughness and cleanliness comparable to that of standard Si wafers. Crack-free 60 nm thick Si films can be strained up to 1.2% by controlled low temperature oxidation of the PS substrate. Structural and strain analysis of the PS/mc-Si structures performed by transmission electron microscopy and micro-Raman scattering spectroscopy are reported.     

Three-dimensional multiple-order twinning of self-catalyzed GaAs nanowires on Si substrates

In this paper we introduce a new paradigm for nanowire growth that explains the unwanted appearance of parasitic nonvertical nanowires. With a crystal structure polarization analysis of the initial stages of GaAs nanowire growth on Si substrates, we demonstrate that secondary seeds form due to a three-dimensional twinning phenomenon. We derive the geometrical rules that underlie the multiple growth directions observed experimentally. These rules help optimizing nanowire array devices such as solar or water splitting cells or of more complex hierarchical branched nanowire devices.     

AlN/Si衬底上ZnO薄膜的择优取向生长

当ZnO薄膜直接沉积在Si衬底上时,由于ZnO与Si的晶格失配度大,不易于获得高质量的ZnO薄膜.因此,选择合适的衬底材料沉积ZnO薄膜,对提高其质量非常重要.本文采用射频磁控溅射法,通过在Si(100)衬底上预沉积AlN作为ZnO薄膜生长的缓冲层,获得了择优取向的ZnO薄膜.我们还讨论了ZnO薄膜在AlN/Si衬底上的取向生长机理.     

Low-rate sputter-deposited Fe3Si thin films on Si substrates: structural and ferromagnetic properties

Fe3Si thin films were sputter-deposited on Si(001) substrates. Structural investigations show that Fe3Si was deposited poly-crystalline with a Si-containing layer at the Fe3Si/Si interface. The formation of the layer was attributed to the influence of low deposition rates used in this study on the grain nucleation in Fe3Si. This layer helps to stabilize the ferromagnetic properties of the subsequent annealed films at 350 degrees C with 5 Oe obtained for coercive field H(c), approximately 920 emu/cm3 for saturation magnetization M(s) and approximately 0.9M(s) for remnant magnetization M(r).