Er- and Nd-doped yttrium aluminosilicate glasses: Preparation and characterization

The undoped, and Nd-, Er-doped low silica high alumina yttrium aluminosilicate (YAS) glasses were prepared by flame synthesis in the form of transparent glass microbeads with diameters ranging from a few to several tens of micrometers. The silica content ranged between 5 and 20 mol.%. The prepared glass microbeads were characterized by optical microscopy, SEM XRD, FT-IR and UV–VIS–NIR spectroscopy. The glass forming ability of glasses, expressed in terms of the difference between the glass transition temperature, T_g, and the onset of crystallization, T_x, improved with increasing silica content. Doping of YAS15 glass with neodymium or erbium at the level of 1–5 mol.% leads to decrease of both the T_g and T_x. However, the glass forming ability was not affected. The UV–VIS–NIR reflectance spectra in the spectral range from 300 to 1800 nm shows characteristic absorptions, due to the optically active Nd³⁺ and Er³⁺ ions in the host glass.     

Pulsed laser deposited ZnO:In as transparent conducting oxide

Zinc oxide (ZnO) and indium doped ZnO (IZO) thin films with different indium compositions were grown by pulsed laser deposition technique on corning glass substrate. The effect of indium concentration on the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of the film was studied. The films were oriented along c-direction with wurtzite structure and highly transparent with an average transmittance of more than 80% in the visible wavelength region. The energy band gap was found to decrease with increasing indium concentration. High transparency makes the films useful as optical windows while the high band gap values support the idea that the film could be a good candidate for optoelectronic devices. The value of resistivity observed to decrease initially with doping concentration and subsequently increases. IZO with 1% of indium showed the lowest resistivity of 2.41 × 10⁻² Ω cm and large transmittance in the visible wavelength region. Especially 1% IZO thin film was observed to be a suitable transparent conducting oxide material to potentially replace indium tin oxide.     

Investigation of charge trapping and breakdown characteristics of sputtered-Y2O3 on n-GaAs substrates

Metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors fabricated by depositing yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃) using radio frequency sputtering system on top of n-GaAs substrates have been investigated. To study the interface properties, charge trapping behavior and breakdown characteristics of Y₂O₃ gate dielectric, the MOS capacitors were subjected to constant current stress, high pulse voltage stress and high constant voltage stress. The average value of the cross section of generated traps during electrical stress has been determined from our experimental data. Further the trap charge density, its distribution and location have been investigated by measurements on application and subsequent withdrawal of high pulse voltage stress. Additionally, stress induced leakage current density and time dependent dielectric breakdown characteristics have been obtained and time-to-breakdown exceeding 840 s is observed for Y₂O₃ gate dielectrics directly deposited on n-GaAs. Our experimental results have been analyzed with simple analytical formulae available in the literature.     

Influence of assistant ion beam on the opto-electrical properties of molybdenum doped zinc oxide films deposited on polyethersulfone via dual ion beam sputtering

An alternative transparent conductive oxide, molybdenum doped zinc oxide (MZO) was deposited onto a flexible polyethersulfone (PES) substrate by using a dual ion beam sputtering system. One argon ion beam was used to sputter a MZO target and another assistant argon ion beam was for bombarding deposits simultaneously. The assistant ion source discharge voltage and current were changed respectively for investigating their influences on the conductivity of deposited MZO films. Changing the discharge voltage shows that, the film crystallinity, carrier concentration and mobility in films all increase with the discharge voltage and subsequently decrease when the applied voltage is over 100 V. Changing the discharge current also shows a similar trend. The film crystallinity and carrier concentration initially increase with the discharge current, and thereafter a minimum for 1.4 A, and a subsequent increase in resistivity is observed. According to the results, properly raising the discharge voltage and current of assistant ion source can improve both electrical conductivity and optical transparency of deposited MZO films, but the excess discharge voltage and current will cause the grain refinement which may retard the carrier mobility and result in the lower conductivity of MZO films.     

Increase of achievable film thickness by UV-lamp irradiation in a fluorine-free metal-organic deposition process of YBa2Cu3O7

We have studied the effects of UV-lamp irradiation in a fluorine-free metal-organic deposition (FF-MOD) process for epitaxial YBa₂Cu₃O₇ (YBCO) films. We found that the irradiation dramatically improves the elemental homogeneity in a precursor film, and increases the thickness of epitaxial growth by twofold with respect to the same process without irradiation. We obtained a 1.05-μm-thick epitaxial YBCO film, which is thickest for FF-MOD processes. A possible reason for the improved element uniformity is simultaneous decompositions of three metal-organic ingredients by photons, which strongly reduce grain growths in a precursor film that have been known as an unavoidable feature in the conventional all-pyrolytic MOD.     

The role of transparent conducting oxides in metal organic chemical vapour deposition of CdTe/CdS Photovoltaic solar cells

A systematic study is made between the relationship of Cd_0.9Zn_0.1S/CdTe photovoltaic (PV) device properties for three different commercial transparent conducting oxide (TCO) materials and some experimental CdO to determine the role of the TCO in device performance. The resistance contribution from the TCO was measured after depositing the gold contact architectures directly onto the TCOs. These were compared with the Cd_0.9Zn_0.1S/CdTe device properties using the same contact arrangements. Series resistance for the commercial TCOs correlated with their sheet resistance and gave good agreement with the PV device series resistance for the indium tin oxide (ITO) and fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) 15 Ω/Sq. superstrates. The devices on the thicker FTO 7 Ω/sq superstrates were dominated by a low shunt resistance, which was attributed to the rough surface morphology causing micro-shorts. The device layers on the CdO substrate delaminated but devices were successfully made for ultra-thin CdTe (0.8 μm thick) and compared favourably with the comparable device on ITO. From the measurements on these TCOs it was possible to deduce the back contact resistance and gave an average value of 2 Ω.cm². The correlation of fill factor with series resistance has been compared with the predictions of a 1-D device model and shows excellent agreement. For high efficiency devices the combined series resistance from the TCO and back contact need to be less than 1 Ω.cm².     

Initial evidence of a triboluminescent wavelength shift for ZnS:Mn caused by ballistic impacts

The triboluminescent properties of zinc sulfide doped with manganese (ZnS:Mn) were studied using ballistic impacts of specially prepared rounds manufactured in two different calibers. The triboluminescent emission spectrum was then rerecorded as the rounds impacted the target. Results show a ~ 1 nm shift in the emission spectrum with increased impact energy.     

Room Temperature Ferromagnetism in Dual Doped (Mn 2+ , Ni 2+ ) ZnO Codoped with Li 1+ Prepared Using EDTASintered at Low Temperature

Nanopowders of Znl_x_y_zMnxNiyLizO [（x = 0.04, y = 0, z = 0）, （x = 0.04, y = 0.03, z = 0） and （x = 0.04, y = 0.03, z = 0.03）] have been synthesized by sol-gel precursor route using ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid （EDTA） as a metal chelating agent. X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the formation of wurtzite hexagonal structure for all the three compositions. Mn2＋ doped ZnO exhibits room temperature ferromagnetism （RTFM）, and it is found that further Ni2＋ doping has decreased Ms because of limit of solid solubility of transition metal in ZnO. But codoping of monovalent Li1＋, further increases the ferromagnetism （FM） value, due to introduction of free carriers compared to the dual doped samples. Photoluminescence （PL） spectra of the system, exhibit near band edge （NBE） emission peak at --464 nm due to the electron transition from interstitials to the valence band. Recombination of conduction electron with hole trapped at oxygen vacancy, leads to prominent defect emission peaks at --482 nm and 532 nm. The evidence of the formation of metaI-EDTA complexes are found from the Fourier transform infrared spectra at 2800-3800 cm-1 with shifting, splitting of the peak and also drastic variations in the intensity.     

二氧化钛纳米管气体传感器检测SF_6的气体分解组分SO_2F_2的气敏特性

由于设备绝缘缺陷,在GIS内部存在不同程度的局部放电现象,会导致SF6气体分解,出现事故隐患。为了防止事故的发生,提出了一种用Ti O2纳米管阵列检测SO2F2这种SF6局部放电分解产物的重要特征组分的方法,来实现设备的在线监测。通过阳极氧化法制备了定向生长、高度有序的本征Ti O2纳米管阵列,另采用电化学脉冲沉积法在本征Ti O2纳米管阵列表面掺杂Pt纳米颗粒制作了Pt掺杂Ti O2纳米管阵列。分别用这两种阵列的传感器对体积分数为30×10-6~100×10-6 SO2F2气体进行了气敏响应试验。试验结果表明,两种传感器对SO2F2气体有不同的响应,且在掺杂Pt纳米粒子之后不仅灵敏度提高,而且工作温度下降。