0000000000068858

AUTHOR

Rositza Yakimova

Micro-Raman characterization of graphene grown on SiC(000-1)

Graphene (Gr) was grown on the C face of 4H-SiC under optimized conditions (high annealing temperatures ranging from 1850 to 1950°C in Ar ambient at 900 mbar) in order to achieve few layers of Gr coverage. Several microscopy techniques, including optical microscopy (OM), ?Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) have been used to extensively characterize the lateral uniformity of the as-grown layers at different temperatures. ?Raman analysis provided information on the variation of the number of layers, of the stacking-type, doping and strain.

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Optical biosensors based on ZnO nanostructures: advantages and perspectives. A review

This review article highlights the application of beneficial physico-chemical properties of ZnO nanostructures for the detection of wide range of biological compounds. As the medical diagnostics require accurate, fast and inexpensive biosensors, the advantages inherent optical methods of detection are considered. The crucial points of the immobilization process, responsible for biosensor performance (biomolecule adsorption, surface properties, surface defects role, surface functionalization etc.) along with the interaction mechanism between biomolecules and ZnO are disclosed. The latest achievements in surface plasmon resonance (SPR), surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and photolumi…

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Application of Room Temperature Photoluminescence From ZnO Nanorods for Salmonella Detection

ZnO nanorods grown by gaseous-disperse synthesis are confirmed by XRD analysis to have the wurtzite crystal structure. The obtained crystallites, as found from SEM studies, are 57 +/- 9 nm in diameter and 470 +/- 30 nm long on the average. Two emission bands of photoluminescence from ZnO nanorods observed at room temperature are centered at 376 and 520 nm. A biosensitive layer is prepared by immobilization of anti-Salmonella antibodies from liquid solutions on the ZnO surface. Immobilization of the biosensitive layer onto ZnO nanorods is found to increase the intensity of PL. After further reaction with Salmonella antigens (Ags), the PL intensity is found to decrease proportional to Ag conc…

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Aluminum oxide nucleation in the early stages of atomic layer deposition on epitaxial graphene

In this work, the nucleation and growth mechanism of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) in the early stages of the direct atomic layer deposition (ALD) on monolayer epitaxial graphene (EG) on silicon carbide (4H-SiC) has been investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy. Contrary to what is typically observed for other types of graphene, a large and uniform density of nucleation sites was observed in the case of EG and ascribed to the presence of the buffer layer at EG/SiC interface. The deposition process was characterized by Al2O3 island growth in the very early stages, followed by the formation of a continuous Al2O3 film (2.4 nm thick) after only 40 ALD cycles due to the isla…

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Interfacial disorder of graphene grown at high temperatures on 4H-SiC(000-1)

This paper presents an investigation of the morphological and structural properties of graphene (Gr) grown on SiC(000-1) by thermal treatments at high temperatures (from 1850 to 1950 °C) in Ar at atmospheric pressure. Atomic force microscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy showed that the grown Gr films are laterally inhomogeneous in the number of layers, and that regions with different stacking-type (coupled or decoupled Gr films) can coexist in the same sample. Scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy shoed that a nm-thick C-Si-O amorphous layer is present at the interface between Gr and SiC. Basing on these structural results, the mechanisms of Gr grow…

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