Search results for "Surfaces and Interfaces"
showing 10 items of 939 documents
Comparative theoretical study of the Ag–MgO (100) and (110) interfaces
1999
We have calculated the atomic and electronic structures of Ag–MgO(100) and (110) interfaces using a periodic (slab) model and an ab initio Hartree–Fock approach with a posteriori electron correlation corrections. The electronic structure information includes interatomic bond populations, effective charges, and multipole moments of ions. This information is analyzed in conjunction with the interface binding energy and the equilibrium distances for both interfaces for various coverages. There are significant differences between partly covered surfaces and surfaces with several layers of metal, and these can be understood in terms of electrostatics and the electron density changes. For complet…
Evolution of the microstructure of sputter deposited TaAlON thin films with increasing oxygen partial pressure
2021
Abstract Recently, quaternary oxynitrides of transition metals and aluminum have attracted increasing interest due to their tunable properties. Within the present work, a series of TaAl(O)N films was sputter deposited using constant nitrogen and varying oxygen partial pressures. The films were grown from single element Ta and Al targets. The deposition parameters were adjusted to obtain a Ta/Al atomic ratio of ~50/50 for the oxygen-free film and were held constant for the following depositions, with the exception of the increasing oxygen partial pressure and compensatory decreasing argon partial pressure. Elastic recoil detection analysis revealed oxygen contents of up to ~26 at.%, while th…
Atomic Layer Deposition and Properties of Lanthanum Oxide and Lanthanum-Aluminum Oxide Films
2006
Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of lanthanum oxide on glass and silicon substrates was examined using lanthanum silylamide, La[N(SiMe 3 ) 2 ] 3 , and water as precursors in the substrate temperature range of 150-250 °C. The effect of pulse times and precursor evaporation temperature on the growth rate and refractive index was investigated. The films remained amorphous regardless of the deposition conditions. The resulting La 2 O 3 films contained noticeable amounts of hydrogen and silicon and were chemically unstable while stored in ambient air. Lanthanum aluminum oxide films were achieved with stoichiometry close to that of LaAlO 3 at 225°C from La[N(SiMe 3 ) 2 ] 3 , Al(CH 3 ) 3 , and H 2 O.…
The effects of thermal treatment on structural, morphological and optical properties of electrochemically deposited Bi2S3 thin films
2017
Abstract Thin films of bismuth sulfide (Bi 2 S 3 ) have been electrochemically deposited on indium–doped tin oxide substrates from aqueous solutions of Bi(NO 3 ) 3 , ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) and Na 2 S 2 O 3 . The structural properties of the films were characterized using X–ray diffraction and high–resolution transmission electron microscopy analyses. The film crystallizes in an orthorhombic structure of Bi 2 S 3 along with metallic bismuth. Thermal annealing of the prepared film in sulfur atmosphere improves its crystallinity and cohesion. The band gap values of the deposited film before and after annealing at 400 °C were found to be 1.28 and 1.33 eV, respectively.
Flash annealing influence on structural and electrical properties of TiO2/TiO/Ti periodic multilayers
2014
Abstract Multilayered structures with a 40 nm period composed of titanium and two different titanium oxides, TiO and TiO 2 , were accurately produced by DC magnetron sputtering using the reactive gas pulsing process. These multilayers were sputtered onto Al 2 O 3 sapphire to avoid substrate compound diffusion during flash annealing (ranging from 350 °C to 550 °C). Structure and composition of these periodic TiO 2 /TiO/Ti stacks were investigated by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and transmission electronic microscopy techniques. Two crystalline phases α-Ti and fcc-TiO were identified in the metallic-rich sub-layers whereas the oxygen-rich ones were composed of a mixture…
Structural and morphological characterization of the Cd-rich region in Cd1-xZnxO thin films grown by atmospheric pressure metal organic chemical vapo…
2019
Abstract We have analysed the growth, morphological and structural characterization of Cd1-xZnxO thin films grown on r-sapphire substrates by atmospheric pressure metal organic chemical vapour deposition, mainly focusing on the Cd-rich rock-salt phase for its promising optical and technological applications. The evolution of the surface morphology and crystalline properties as a function of Zn content has been studied by means of high resolution x-ray diffraction and electron microscopy techniques. Monocrystalline (002) single-phase cubic films were obtained with Zn contents up to 10.4%, and with a low density of dislocations as a consequence of the optimized crystal growth process. Particu…
MOCVD growth of CdO very thin films: Problems and ways of solution
2016
Abstract In this paper the growth of CdO by the MOCVD technique at atmospheric pressure has been studied in order to achieve very thin films of this material on r-sapphire substrates. The growth evolution of these films was discussed and the existence of a threshold thickness, below which island-shaped structures appear, was demonstrated. Some alternatives to reduce this threshold thickness have been proposed in the frame of the analysis of the crystal growth process. The morphology and structural properties of the films were analyzed by means of SEM and HRXRD. High-quality flat CdO samples were achieved with thicknesses up to 20 nm, which is five times thinner than the values previously re…
Half-Heusler superlattices as model systems for nanostructured thermoelectrics
2015
The efficiency of thermoelectric materials is directly related to the dimensionless figure of merit , therefore, one of the means to improve ZT is to reduce the thermal conductivity. Our research focuses on half-Heusler superlattices (SLs) and the relationship between the SL period and the thermal conductivity. The cross-plane thermal conductivity of DC-sputtered TiNiSn/HfNiSn SLs was measured by the 3 method at room temperature and a clear reduction of was achieved for all SL periods, in particular for periods smaller than 20 nm. Moreover, the thermal conductivities of TiNiSn and HfNiSn single films display reduced values compared to the literature data for bulk materials. Furthermore, we …
Hole localization in thermoelectric half-Heusler (Zr0.5Hf0.5)Co(Sb1−xSn ) thin films
2019
Abstract The (Ti, Zr, Hf)Co(Sb 1 − x Snx) material class has recently come into focus as an attractive p-type high-temperature thermoelectric material. This study experimentally demonstrates that homogeneous, highly textured (Zr0.5Hf0.5)Co(Sb 1 − x Snx) thin films can be grown on single crystalline MgO. By varying the sputter power, samples with both positive and negative Seebeck coefficient can be grown. The underlying reason for the sign change is the segregation of Sn nano-inclusions, which lower the effective doping of the half-Heusler matrix. Similarly the Hall constant also switches sign at low temperatures, which is modeled assuming semi-metal behavior and low temperature hole locali…
Half-Heusler materials as model systems for phase-separated thermoelectrics
2015
Semiconducting half-Heusler compounds based on NiSn and CoSb have attracted attention because of their good performance as thermoelectric materials. Nanostructuring of the materials was experimentally established through phase separation in (T1−x′Tx″)T(M1−yMy′) alloys when mixing different transition metals (T, T′, T″) or main group elements (M, M′). The electric transport properties of such alloys depend not only on their micro- or nanostructure but also on the atomic-scale electronic structure. In the present work, the influence of the band structure and density of states on the electronic transport and thermoelectric properties is investigated in detail for the constituents of phase-sepa…