Crystal growth and spectral properties of pure and Co-doped Mg3B2O6 crystal

Novel pure and cobalt-doped magnesium borate crystals (Mg₃B₂O₆) have been grown successfully by the Czochralski technique for the first time. Crystal growth, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis, absorption spectrum, fluorescence spectrum as well as fluorescence decay curve of Co²⁺:Mg₃B₂O₆ (MBO) were described. From the absorption peaks for the octahedral Co²⁺ ions, the crystal-field parameter Dq and the Racah parameter B were estimated to be 943.3 cm⁻¹ and 821.6 cm⁻¹, respectively. The fluorescence lifetime of the transition ⁴T₁(⁴P) → ⁴T₂ centered at 717 nm was measured to be 9.68 ms.     

缓蚀阻垢机理研究中的新技术

介绍了微分析化曲线法,椭圆偏振光谱法,表面增强拉曼光谱法以及自放标记的电子旋共振技术在研究吸附型缓蚀剂,阴垢剂和作用机理中的应用。     

HgCdTe heteroepitaxy on three-inch (112) CdZnTe/Si: Ellipsometric control of substrate temperature

The technique of spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) has been utilized to monitor in real-time and precisely control the surface temperature of Hg_1−xCd_xTe during molecular beam epitaxy. Due to the temperature dependence of the Hg sticking coefficient under Hg-deficient growth conditions, the near-surface composition of an epilayer is extremely sensitive to surface temperature. SE data were acquired in real time and modeled using a previously established library of dielectric functions of Hg_1−xCd_xTe as a function of composition. Utilizing SE-generated compositional profiles as a guide, substrate heating power was adjusted in such a way as to minimize composition transients. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the technique, we have used SE to control the temperature of HgCdTe epilayer surfaces during deposition on three-inch (211)CdZnTe/ZnTe/Si composite substrates mounted on indium free holders.     

Dielectric dispersion and ac conduction phenomena of Li2O−Sb2O3−PbO−GeO2:Cr2O3 glass system

Lithium antimony lead germanate glasses doped with different concentrations of Cr₂O₃ (ranging from 0 to 0.5 mol %) were synthesized. The optical absorption and ESR spectral studies have indicated that there is a gradual increase in presence of octahedral chromium ions with increase of Cr₂O₃ concentration in the glass network. These studies have also revealed that a fraction of chromium ions get oxidized into Cr⁵⁺ and Cr⁶⁺ states. IR and Raman spectroscopic studies have pointed out that there is an increasing degree of depolymerization of the titled glass network with increase of Cr₂O₃ content. The dielectric parameters (viz., dielectric constant, loss and electrical modulus coefficients measured over a wide range of frequency and temperature) and also ac conductivity were found to increase with increase of Cr₂O₃ content. The reasons for such increase were discussed quantitatively in terms of various polarization mechanisms coupled with structural variations of the glass network.     

A microelectrochemical scanning flow cell with downstream analytics

The combination of a capillary based microelectrochemical flow cell system and downstream UV–vis analytics allows obtaining synchronized electrochemical and spectroscopic data in a fully automated mode. This method combination can be generally applied to microelectrochemical studies in which an electrochemical species is released or consumed during the electrochemical reaction. For the example of pure zinc surfaces, the characterization of the integrated spectroscopic system is presented with a Zn²⁺ detection limit below 0.1 μmol l⁻¹ using Zincon as complexing agent. A parameter screening of the effect of pH in the range of 6.6–9.0 in borate buffer reveals a linear increase in zinc dissolution with proton concentration but a distinct step in the open circuit potential from the active state (around −700 mV SHE, pH 6.6–7.1) to the passive state (around −300 mV SHE, pH 7.4–9.0) indicating the formation of a closed passive layer. This mechanism is strongly influenced by sulfate anions which increase the dissolution rate of the passive film and promote the active state as monitored by the dissolution profile and OCP (open circuit potential) values. Within the scope of this parameter variation, the congruency between OCP transients, potentiodynamic sweeps and time resolved dissolution profiles is discussed.     

Ellipsometric spectroscopy study of cobalt oxide thin films deposited by sol–gel

Due to their unique optical properties, solar selective coatings enhance the thermal efficiency of solar photothermal converters. Hence it seems to be interesting to study the optical properties of promising materials as solar selective coatings. In an earlier work, it was demonstrated that sol–gel deposited cobalt oxide thin films possess suitable optical properties as selective coatings. In this work, cobalt oxide thin films were prepared by same technique and their optical properties were analyzed as a function of the dipping time of the substrate in the sol, using the spectroscopy ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. The optical constants (n and k) for these films, in the 200–800 nm range, are reported as a function of the dipping time. The fitting of ellipsometric data, I_s and I_c, for the glass substrate and the cobalt oxide thin film, as modeled with the Lorentz and Tauc–Lorentz dispersion relations, indicated that the film microstructure resembles a multilayer stack with voids. From these results, the Co₃O₄ and void percentages in the film were estimated. Both, thin film thickness and void/Co₃O₄ percentage ratio, were determined to be strongly dependent on the immersion time. Furthermore, the total thickness of a multilayered film was found to be the sum of thickness of each individual layer.     

Studies of optical anisotropy in opals by normal incidence ellipsometry

Anisotropy of thin opal films was studied by ellipsometric technique in a visible spectral range. At normal light incidence, the ellipsometric data were directly related to anisotropy parameters measured by polarization modulation technique. In the (111)-oriented thin films, the optical anisotropy was mainly caused by internal strain-induced birefringence with anisotropy axes oriented along [110] and [-112] directions. The deviation from 180°-symmetry, which has been observed for ellipsometric parameters in the in-plane sample rotation experiments at normal incidence, was enhanced at oblique incidence and assigned to particular properties of opal. Experimental data were discussed in the model of stacked anisotropic layers.     

Free-charge carrier profile of iso- and aniso-type Si homojunctions determined by terahertz and mid-infrared ellipsometry

We present an optical, non-destructive, non-contact method of determining the silicon homojunction epilayer free-charge carrier concentration profile and thickness by means of combined terahertz (0.2-1 THz) and mid-infrared (10-50 THz) spectroscopic ellipsometry investigation. A dual homojunction iso- and aniso-type silicon sample is investigated. Application of analytical models for iso-type and aniso-type homojunctions results in an excellent match between calculated and experimental data. Best-match model calculated parameters are found to be consistent with electrical spreading resistance epilayer thickness and resistivity values.     

Optimized calibration and measurement procedures in rotating analyzer and rotating polarizer ellipsometry

Accurate spectroellipsometric (SE) measurements in the rotating analyzer (RAE) or rotating polarizer (RPE) configurations require accurate values of the polarizer/analyzer(/retarder) azimuths. While the readings are usually fairly accurate, true values are influenced by possible offsets between the plane of incidence, physical axes of the elements, and the instrument scales. The offsets are often determined by specialized calibration procedures. We describe SE measurements designed to obtain the calibration parameters together with the target ellipsometric spectra. We use multiple settings of the polarizer (analyzer) azimuths in RAE (RPE), respectively, to optimize precision and accuracy of SE measurements, and to economize measurement time. The optimization concerns the choice of measurement parameters as well as the subsequent data analysis. We present in detail examples of visible-ultraviolet measurements.     

Optical properties of BaTiO3/ZnO heterostructures under the effect of an applied bias

We report electro-optical measurements of BaTiO₃/ZnO heterostructures grown by pulsed laser deposition. The optical properties of the heterostructures were examined with and without an applied bias. A change in the heterostructure optical properties is found and attributed to a linear electro-optical effect causing a change in the band gap. Moreover the formation of an electric polarization in the BaTiO₃ layer causes a remanent change in the dielectric function if the bias is removed. The change could be estimated to be around 5 meV.