Study on the c-axis preferred orientation of ZnO film on various metal electrodes

ZnO thin film was deposited on various metal electrodes by reactive sputtering, and c-axis preferred orientation of the film has been studied. ZnO, which has high piezoelectricity, is promising for oscillators or filter devices such as surface acoustic wave (SAW) device, gas sensor, and film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR). But, for the application of ZnO film for these devices, the film should be grown with c-axis normal to the electrode. In this study, Pt, Al, and Au were deposited on Si wafer, and the surface roughness and crystal structure of the ZnO film on the electrode were investigated using AFM, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Columnar structures of ZnO films were grown with c-axis normal to all electrodes, and among them Pt electrode showed the highest preferred orientation of ZnO film.     

Sintering studies of nano-crystalline zinc oxide

Sintering and grain growth of nano-crystalline undoped ZnO has been studied in detail over a wide range of temperature and holding time. Below 800 °C, sintering of over 70% theoretical density is not observed, irrespective of particle size. At 900 °C for 6 h, the nano-crystalline sample sinters to 99% of theoretical density whereas the density for as received sample is 93% of theoretical density. However, at 1300 °C or higher, the densification is found to be much faster and after a few hours becomes independent of holding time. Grain growth studies reveal a similar feature of attaining saturation over holding time. The average saturated grain size is found to be ∼1.5 and ∼2.2 μm at 800 and 900 °C, respectively, while at 1300 °C or higher, it is in between 12 and 13 μm.     

ZnO陶瓷材料的负阻特性

介绍了ＺｎＯ陶瓷的负阻特性，主要研究了ＭｎＯ２掺杂和Ｎｉ２Ｏ３掺杂对ＺｎＯ陶瓷负阻特性的影响。     

Extraction of Anthocyanin Pigments from Purple Sunflower Hulls

The anthocyanin pigments in hulls of purple sunflower seeds were extracted using three solvent systems, 50:1:49 ethanol-acetic acid-water (EAW), 0.01M acetic acid (AAc), or water containing SO₂. Solvent, extraction time, size of ground hulls, pH of extracting solvent, hulls/solvent ratio, and concentration of SO₂ in water, were investigated. All were significant factors affecting yield of extracted anthocyanins. EAW and SO₂ were more effective extractants than AAc. Optimum conditions from response surface optimization for the extraction with sulphurous water were: SO₂ at 200 mg/L, hull size 20 mesh, extraction time 5 min at 22°C, and solvent/hulls ratio = 20.     

ZnO压敏陶瓷最佳掺杂含量的理论计算

从对电子薄膜材料研究中得到的最佳掺杂含量定量理论推广到ZnO陶瓷材料。该理论建立了电子薄膜材料的某一物理性能与晶体结构、制备方法和掺杂剂含量之间的联系，给出了一个能够拟合实验曲线的具有确定物理意义的抛物线方程。该方程的极值点确定了最佳掺杂含量与晶体结构和制备方法之间的定量关系，进而得到了一个掺杂最佳含量的表达式。系统地分析了ZnO压敏陶瓷的掺杂改性的实验结果，应用此表达式定量计算了ZnO压敏陶瓷的最佳掺杂含量，定量计算的结果与实验数据相符合。该理论也适用于其他薄膜材料最佳掺杂含量的理论计算。     

Formation of mushroom-like ZnO microcrystals through a solution calcination process

Mushroom-like ZnO microcrystals have been prepared via a solution calcination route, using Zn(NO₃)₂ as Zn source in the absence of any surfactants, templates or catalysts. This is the first example to prepare mushroom-like crystals as semiconductors, which are expected to show particular physical properties. The ZnO products were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectrum measurements. A suitable concentration of Zn(NO₃)₂ solution was important for the growth of the mushroom-like products. The reported synthetic procedure is straightforward and inexpensive, and thus can be readily adopted to produce large quantities of mushroom-like ZnO microcrystals.     

Polarity control of GaN epilayers grown on ZnO templates

We report the successful growth of Ga-polar GaN epilayers on O-polar ZnO templates pre-deposited on c-sapphire. Prior to GaN growth, NH₃ is exposed onto the ZnO template. The polarity of the GaN layers is confirmed by etching of the surface and by conversion beam electron diffraction (CBED), while the O-polar ZnO is confirmed by CBED. It is suggested that the NH₃ pre-exposure helps form a Zn₃N₂ layer, which possesses inversion symmetry and inverts the crystal from anion polar to cation polar.     

Surface structural change of ZnO-coated LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 spinel as 5 V cathode materials at elevated temperatures

LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ powder was synthesized via sol-gel method and coated with ZnO in order to test the electrochemical cyclability of the material as a cathode for the secondary Li battery in the 5 V range at 55 °C. The ZnO-coated LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ powder nearly maintained its initial capacity of 137 mA h g⁻¹ after 50 cycles whereas the uncoated powder was able to retain no more than 10% of the initial capacity after 30 cycles. TEM analysis of the cycled cathodes suggests that the formation of the graphitic surface phase, hindering the Li migration, may be responsible for the rapid capacity loss of the uncoated material while no such phase was observed on the surface of the ZnO coated LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ powder.     

Electron transport in InGaO3(ZnO)m (m=integer) studied using single-crystalline thin films and transparent MISFETs

We have investigated the characteristics of transparent metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MISFETs) fabricated using InGaO₃(ZnO)_m (m=integer) single-crystalline thin films as n-channel layers and amorphous alumina as gate insulator films. The MISFETs exhibit good characteristics such as insensitivity to visible light illumination, off-current as low as ∼1 nA with a positive threshold voltage of ∼3 V and on/off current ratio of 10⁵. The field-effect mobility increased from ∼1 to ∼10 cm² (V s)⁻¹ as the m-value increased. Room temperature Hall mobility also increased. However, unexpectedly these values were lower than the field-effect mobility. It is explained by existence of shallow localized state in the homologous compounds.     

β-glucosidase Activity in Juice-Processing Enzymes Based on Anthocyanin Analysis

A screening procedure utilizing boysenberry juice as a substrate, which combined HPLC and spectrophotometric analyses, was used to measure β-glucosidase activity of enzyme preparations used for juice processing. Enzyme preparations (n = 26) were evaluated at two dosage rates. At the mean recommended dosage, one preparation produced a decrease in total monomeric anthocyanin and cyanidin-3-glucoside, relative to a control, indicating β-glucosidase activity. At 0.1% dosage, 4 enzymes produced a significant decrease in cyanidin-3-sophoroside and 2 enzymes caused an increase in cyanidin-3-rutinoside, indicating β-1,2-glucosidase activity. Such activity in juice processing enzymes was much lower and less prevalent than found previously for β-galactosidase. Botrytis cinerea also degraded anthocyanins in boysenberry juice.