Search results for "Surface defect"
showing 10 items of 12 documents
Environment assisted photoconversion of luminescent surface defects in SiO 2 nanoparticles
2017
Abstract Time-resolved photoluminescence investigation on SiO 2 nanoparticles was carried out in controlled atmosphere, with the aim to discern the effects induced on the typical blue luminescence band by high power UV Nd:YAG laser photons (4.66 eV) and by some selected molecular species of the air (O 2 , N 2 , CO 2 , H 2 O). These factors ultimately determine both the brightness and photostability of the emitting defect, so as to limit the unique and attracting potentialities offered by this system in many applicative fields. Here it is highlighted that the effects due to photons and molecules, singularly considered, are not additive, the radiation being more dramatic in reducing the emiss…
Defects at the TiO2(100) surface probed by resonant photoelectron diffraction.
2006
We report photoelectron diffraction (PED) experiments of weakly sub-stoichiometric TiO 2 (100) rutile surfaces. Apart from standard core-level PED from the Ti-2p3/2 line, we have studied valence band PED from the defect induced Ti-3d states in the insulating band gap. For maximum yield, the latter were resonantly excited at the Ti-2p absorption edge. The PED patterns have been analyzed within the forward scattering approximation as well as by comparison with simulated PED patterns obtained in multiple scattering calculations. The analysis shows that the defect induced Ti-3d charge is mainly located on the second layer Ti atoms. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Characterization of microscopic ferromagnetic defects in thin films using magnetic microscope based on Nitrogen-Vacancy centres
2020
In this work we present results acquired by applying magnetic field imaging technique based on Nitrogen-Vacancy centres in diamond crystal for characterization of magnetic thin films defects. We used the constructed wide-field magnetic microscope for measurements of two kinds of magnetic defects in thin films. One family of defects under study was a result of non-optimal thin film growth conditions. The magnetic field maps of several regions of the thin films created under very similar conditions to previously published research revealed microscopic impurity islands of ferromagnetic defects, that potentially could disturb the magnetic properties of the surface. The second part of the measur…
Insight into the defect-molecule interaction through the molecular-like photoluminescence of SiO2 nanoparticles
2016
Luminescence properties due to surface defects in SiO2 are the main keystone with particles that have nanoscale dimensions, thus motivating their investigation for many emission related applications in the last few decades. A critical issue is the role played by the atmosphere that, by quenching mechanisms, weakens both the efficiency and stability of the defects. A deep knowledge of these factors is mandatory in order to properly limit any detrimental effects and, ultimately, to offer new advantageous possibilities for their exploitation. Up to now, quenching effects have been interpreted as general defect conversion processes due to the difficulty in disentangling the emission kinetics by…
Visible-ultraviolet vibronic emission of silica nanoparticles
2014
We report the study of the visible-ultraviolet emission properties and the structural features of silica nanoparticles prepared through a laboratory sol-gel technique. Atomic force microscopy, Raman and Infrared investigations highlighted the 10 nm size, purity and porosity of the obtained nanoparticles. By using time resolved photoluminescence techniques in air and in a vacuum we were able to single out two contributions in the visible emission: the first, stable in both atmospheres, is a typical fast blue band centered around 2.8 eV; the second, only observed in a vacuum around the 3.0-3.5 eV range, is a vibrational progression with two phonon modes at 1370 cm(-1) and 360 cm(-1). By fully…
Photoluminescence transient study of surface defects in ZnO nanorods grown by chemical bath deposition
2015
Two deep level defects (2.25 and 2.03 eV) associated with oxygen vacancies (Vo) were identified in ZnO nanorods (NRs) grown by low cost chemical bath deposition. A transient behaviour in the photoluminescence (PL) intensity of the two Vo states was found to be sensitive to the ambient environment and to NR post-growth treatment. The largest transient was found in samples dried on a hot plate with a PL intensity decay time, in air only, of 23 and 80 s for the 2.25 and 2.03 eV peaks, respectively. Resistance measurements under UV exposure exhibited a transient behaviour in full agreement with the PL transient, indicating a clear role of atmospheric O-2 on the surface defect states. A model fo…
Effects induced by UV laser radiation on the blue luminescence of silica nanoparticles
2013
The effects induced on the blue luminescence centered around 2.8 eV, characteristic of silica nanoparticles, were investigated by monitoring its intensity during and after exposure to the third and the fourth harmonic of a Nd:YAG pulsed laser. The luminescence trend is found to be dependent on the UV photon energy: 3.50 eV photons induce a partial bleaching followed by a recovery in the post-irradiation stage; 4.66 eV photons cause a total bleaching permanent after the irradiation. These results are interpreted as the conversion of luminescent defects towards stable and metastable configurations.
Field-induced tip–sample oxygen transfer in scanning tunneling microscopy on TiO2(110) (1 1).
2008
International audience; A study on the field-induced tip–surface oxygen transfer at room temperature and its influence on the tunneling conditions for stable STM imaging of the TiO2(110) (1 1) surface is reported. A simple model of field-induced transfer is applied to tungsten and platinum–iridium tips. The oxygen transition rates from the sample to the tip or from the tip to the sample depend on the oxygen desorption barriers formed at tunneling distance. For stable imaging the applied bias voltage has to balance the oxygen transfer probabilities in both directions. In the case of Pt/Ir tips, the tunneling conditions for images with clear evidence of bridging oxygen point defects have been…
Defect-related visible luminescence of silica nanoparticles
2013
The high photon emissivity in the visible spectral range is one of the most relevant phenomena emerging from the reduction of silica down to nanoscale; hence it is promising for the development of optical nanotechnologies (down converter, probes, display). It is well accepted that the origin of this luminescence is related to the high specific surface (~100 m2/g) that favors the formation of optically active defects at the nanosilica surface. With the aim to clarify the role of specific luminescent defects, here we report a detailed study of spectral and decay features by time-resolved photoluminescence spectra under a visible-UV tunable laser excitation. Our study is carried out on differe…