Search results for "Thin film"

Superconducting size effect in thin films under electric field: Mean-field self-consistent model

2019

We consider effects of an externally applied electrostatic field on superconductivity, self-consistently within a BCS mean field model, for a clean 3D metal thin film. The electrostatic change in superconducting condensation energy scales as $\mu^{-1}$ close to subband edges as a function of the Fermi energy $\mu$, and follows 3D scaling $\mu^{-2}$ away from them. We discuss nonlinearities beyond gate effect, and contrast results to recent experiments.

Coloration mechanism of electrochromic Na x WO3 thin films

2019

International audience; The coloration mechanism of tungsten trioxide (WO3) upon insertion of alkali ions is still under debate after several decades of research. This Letter provides new insights into the reversible insertion and coloration mechanisms of Na+ ions in WO3 thin films sputter-deposited on ITO/glass substrates. A unique model based on a constrained spline approach was developed and applied to draw out ε1+iε2 from spectroscopic ellipsometry data from 0.6 to 4.8 eV whatever the state of the electrochromic active layer, i.e. as-deposited, colored or bleached. It is shown that electrochemically intercalated sodium-tungsten trioxide, NaxWO3 (x=0.1, 0.2, 0.35), exhibits an absorption…

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…

Phase segregation in Mg$_{x}$Zn$_{1-x}$O probed by optical absorption and photoluminescence at high pressure

2017

The appearance of segregated wurtzite Mg$_x$Zn$_{1-x}$O with low Mg content in thin films with $x>0.3$ affected by phase separation, cannot be reliably probed with crystallographic techniques owing to its embedded nanocrystalline configuration. Here we show a high-pressure approach which exploits the distinctive behaviors under pressure of wurtzite Mg$_x$Zn$_{1-x}$O thin films with different Mg contents to unveil phase segregation for $x>0.3$. By using ambient conditions photoluminescence (PL), and with optical absorption and PL under high pressure for $x=0.3$ we show that the appearance of a segregated wurtzite phase with a magnesium content of x $\sim$ 0.1 is inherent to the wurtzit…

Amorphous ultra-wide bandgap ZnOx thin films deposited at cryogenic temperatures

2020

Crystalline wurtzite zinc oxide (w-ZnO) can be used as a wide band gap semiconductor for light emitting devices and for transparent or high temperature electronics. The use of amorphous zinc oxide (a-ZnO) can be an advantage in these applications. In this paper we report on X-ray amorphous a-ZnOx thin films (~500 nm) deposited at cryogenic temperatures by reactive magnetron sputtering. The substrates were cooled by a nitrogen flow through the copper substrate holder during the deposition. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, infrared, UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopies, and ellipsometry. The a-ZnOx films on glass and Ti substrates were obtained at the substrate holder temp…

High quality epitaxial Mn 2 Au (001) thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

2020

The recently discovered phenomenon of Neel spin–orbit torque in antiferromagnetic Mn2Au [Bodnar et al., Nat. Commun. 9, 348 (2018); Meinert et al., Phys. Rev. Appl. 9, 064040 (2018); Bodnar et al., Phys. Rev. B 99, 140409(R) (2019)] has generated huge interest in this material for spintronics applications. In this paper, we report the preparation and characterization of high quality Mn2Au thin films by molecular beam epitaxy and compare them with magnetron sputtered samples. The films were characterized for their structural and morphological properties using reflective high-energy electron diffraction, x-ray diffraction, x-ray reflectometry, atomic force microscopy, and temperature dependen…

Silicon Surface Passivation by ALD-Ga2O3: Thermal vs. Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition

2020

Silicon surface passivation by gallium oxide (Ga2O3) thin films deposited by thermal- and plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (ALD) over a broad temperature range from 75 °C to 350 °C is investigated. In addition, the role of oxidant (O3 or O-plasma) pulse lengths insufficient for saturated ALD-growth is studied. The material properties are analyzed including the quantification of the incorporated hydrogen. We find that oxidant dose pulses insufficient for saturation provide for both ALD methods generally better surface passivation. Furthermore, different Si surface pretreatments are compared (HF-last, chemically grown oxide, and thermal tunnel oxide). In contrast to previous reports, t…

2018

CrN thin films with an N/Cr ratio of 95% were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering onto (0 0 0 1) sapphire substrates. X-ray diffraction and pole figure texture analysis show CrN (1 1 1) epitaxial growth in a twin domain fashion. By changing the nitrogen versus argon gas flow mixture and the deposition temperature, thin films with different surface morphologies ranging from grainy rough textures to flat and smooth films were prepared. These parameters can also affect the CrN x system, with the film compound changing between semiconducting CrN and metallic Cr2N through the regulation of the nitrogen content of the gas flow and the deposition temperature at a constant deposition pressur…

Tuning of interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and domain structures in magnetic thin film multilayers

2019

We investigate the magnetic domain structures and the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) arising in CoFeB films interfaced with selected heavy metal (HM) layers with large spin Hall angles in HM/CoFeB/MgO (HM = W, Pt, Pd, W x Ta1−x ) stacks as a function of CoFeB thickness and composition for both as-deposited and annealed materials stacks. The coercivity and the anisotropy fields of annealed material stacks are higher than for the as-deposited stacks due to crystallisation of the ferromagnetic layer. Generally a critical thickness of MgO > 1 nm provides adequate oxide formation at the top interface as a requirement for the generation of PMA. We demonstrate that in stacks with Pt as th…

Explosive crystallization in amorphous CuTi thin films: a molecular dynamics study

2019

Abstract Molecular dynamic simulation was used to study mechanism of self-propagating waves of explosive crystallization (devitrification) in the CuTi metallic glass. Processes in thin rectangular samples composed of one to two million atoms were simulated and compared with experimental data. It was shown that the nucleation of primary crystalline clusters occurs homogeneously due to spontaneous fluctuations of atomic structure; the clusters not