Structural and electrical properties of brush plated ZnTe films

Zinc telluride thin films were deposited by the brush plating technique at a potential of −0.90 V (SCE) on conducting glass and titanium substrates at different temperatures in the range 30–90 °C. The films were polycrystalline in nature with peaks corresponding to the cubic phase. Direct band gap of 2.30 eV was observed. XPS studiers indicated the formation of ZnTe. Depth profiling studies indicated a uniform distribution of Zn and Te throughout the entire thickness. EDAX measurements were made on the films and it was found that there was a slight excess of Te. The carrier concentration was found to vary from 10¹⁴–10¹⁵ cm⁻³ with increase of substrate temperature. The mobility was found to vary from 5 to 60 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹.     

Influence of the deposition atmosphere on the characteristics of Pd–Mg thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Bilayered palladium (30 nm thick)–magnesium (350 nm thick) thin films were prepared using the pulsed laser deposition technique in the presence of various background gases (Ar, He and a mixture He + H₂) under different partial pressures (47 and 27 Pa). According to the deposition atmosphere, the Pd/Mg interface shows either a sharp or an extended transition. The electrochemical hydriding properties and the mechanical stability upon cycling of the Pd/Mg film are greatly improved when an extended «intermixing» zone between the Pd and Mg layers is present. The Pd–Mg films prepared under pure helium fulfill these conditions.     

Thin film deposition on a corrugated surface: A molecular dynamics approach

This paper presents the use of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation in the investigation of the surface topography of early-stage film growth on a GMR (giant-magnetoresistance) corrugated structure. The size of the simulated system is limited in order to reduce the computational workload. The numerical model adopts the Morse potential and the Verlet-leapfrog time evolution scheme [R.W. Hockney, 1970; D. Potter, 1972 (Chapter 5). [1]] to describe the atomic interactions which take place between the atoms. The impact energy transferred from the incident atoms to the substrate is modeled by rescaling the atoms within the upper substrate layers. It is found that the important properties of the film-substrate system may be obtained after the deposition of just several atomic layers. The influence of the impact velocity upon the coating parameters is investigated by varying the incident energy of the deposited atoms. The current results indicate that the surface coverage is poor, when atoms are deposited at low incident energies upon a low temperature substrate. At a higher incident energy, the deposited film tends to exhibit a quasi-layer-by-layer growth mechanism, which results in an improved surface coverage. Finally, it is demonstrated that a distinct quasi-fluid behavior is evident on the substrate when the atoms are deposited at high incident energies.     

Effect of 8 MeV electron irradiation on electrical properties of CuInSe2 thin films

Radiation damages due to 8 MeV electron irradiation in electrical properties of CuInSe₂ thin films have been investigated. The n-type CuInSe₂ films in which the carrier concentration was about 3×10¹⁶ cm⁻³, were epitaxially grown on a GaAs(0 0 1) substrate by RF diode sputtering. No significant change in the electrical properties was observed under the electron fluence <3×10¹⁶ e cm⁻². As the electron fluence exceeded 10¹⁷ e cm⁻², both the carrier concentration and Hall mobility slightly decreased. The carrier removal rate was estimated to be about 0.8 cm⁻¹, which is slightly lower than that of III–V compound materials.     

Formation reactions of chalcopyrite compounds and the role of sodium doping

The selenisation of the thin film precursors indium, Cu-In and Cu-In-Ga has been studied by in-situ X-ray diffraction. The influence of sodium doping on the kinetics of the solid-state reactions observed agrees with the predictions derived from a phenomenological model presented earlier. In this model a layer of sodium polyselenide is assumed to form at the surface of the precursor, or around each crystal grain. This layer might be responsible for impeded ion exchange in certain solid-state reactions.     

Fabrication and characterization of Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis technique

We have investigated synthesis conditions and some properties of sprayed Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) thin films in order to determine the best preparation conditions for the realization of CZTS based photovoltaic solar cells. The thin films are made by means of spraying of aqueous solutions containing copper chloride, zinc chloride, tin chloride and thiourea on heated glass substrates at various temperatures. In order to optimize the synthesis conditions of the CZTS films, two series of experiments are performed. In the first series the sprayed duration was fixed at 30 min and in the second it is fixed at 60 min. In each series, the substrate temperature was changed from 553°K to 633°K. The X-ray diffraction shows, on one hand, that the best crystallinity was obtained for 613°K as substrate temperature and 60 min as sprayed duration. On the other hand, these CZTS films exhibit the kesterite structure with preferential orientation along the [112] direction. Atomical Force Microscopy was used to determine the grain sizes and the roughness of these CZTS thin film. After the annealing treatment, we estimated the optical band-gap energy of the CZTS thin film exhibiting the best crystallinity as 1.5 eV which is quite close to the optimum value for a solar cell.     

Facile synthesis of ordered nanocrystalline alumina thin films with tunable mesopore structures

Mesoporous alumina layers have attracted attention for their potential use in ultrafiltration of salts, as a heterogeneous catalyst support, an adsorbent in environmental cleanup, and in petroleum refinement. The ability to control the fast hydrolysis rate of the inorganic precursors using simple and inexpensive routes is important for that potential to be realized. Herein, we introduce a novel and facile route to synthesize mesoporous alumina thin films from the combination of inexpensive and commercially available copolymer with aluminum chloride or nitrate (salts) in an EtOH–surfactant–NH₃ · H₂O–salts (EsNs) system through the evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method. Mesoporous alumina layers obtained utilizing the EsNs system have ordered and tunable pore structures. The ability to easily control the mesophases of the alumina layers within a short time provides distinct advantages over previously reported synthesis procedures. Most importantly, we demonstrate that the binding of surfactant and NH₃ · H₂O for the formation of hydrogen bond between them in the EsNs system controls the fast hydrolysis rate of the inorganic species. This allows for the synthesis of nanocrystalline alumina layers via the aluminum oxo-clusters’ assembly with the surfactant. Such simple route may be applied in the synthesis of other non-silica mesostructured oxides.