Search results for "electron microscopy"
showing 10 items of 706 documents
Photocurrent spectroscopy study of passive films on hafnium and hafnium–tungsten sputtered alloys
2003
Abstract Anodic and air-formed films on sputtered Hf and W–Hf alloys of different composition have been investigated by Rutherford back scattering, photocurrent spectroscopy (PCS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. In alkaline solutions the PCS data suggest the formation on Hf metal of a duplex layer with anodic hafnia covered by an external layer of composition close to HfO(OH) 2 . This last compound is also present on Hf air-formed films. In acidic solutions the initial oxy-hydroxide film disappears at high anodising potentials ( V f >10 V). In the case of W–Hf alloys films of different composition and semiconducting behaviour are formed by air exposure or by anodising…
Low-Temperature Atomic Layer Deposition of Crystalline and Photoactive Ultrathin Hematite Films for Solar Water Splitting
2015
We developed a low-temperature atomic layer deposition route to deposit phase pure and crystalline hematite (alpha-Fe2O3) films at 230 degrees C without the need for postannealing. Homogenous and conformal deposition with good aspect ratio coverage was demonstrated on a nanostructured substrate and analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. These as-deposited alpha-Fe2O3 films were investigated as photoanodes for photoelectrochemical water oxidation and found to be highly photoactive. Combined with a TiO2 underlayer and a low-cost Ni(OH)(2) catalyst, hematite films of less than 10 nm in thickness reached photocurrent densities of 0.3 mA cm(-2) at 1.23 V vs RHE and a photocurrent onset po…
Direct observation of temperature dependent magnetic domain structure of the multiferroic La0.66Sr0.34MnO3/BiFeO3 bilayer system by x-ray linear dich…
2014
Low-thickness La0.66Sr0.34MnO3 (LSMO)/BiFeO3 (BFO) thin film samples deposited on SrTiO3 were imaged by high resolution x-ray microscopy at different temperatures. The ultra-thin thickness of the top layer allows to image both the ferromagnetic domain structure of LSMO and the multiferroic domain structure of the buried BFO layer, opening a path to a direct observation of coupling at the interface on a microscopic level. By comparing the domain size and structure of the BFO and LSMO, we observed that, in contrast to LSMO single layers, LSMO/BFO multilayers show a strong temperature dependence of the ferromagnetic domain structure of the LSMO. Particularly, at 40 K, a similar domain size for…
Magnetic Domain Imaging of Thin Metallic Layers Using PEEM
2001
Photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) in combination with resonant excitation by circularly polarized soft X-rays has proven to be a powerful analytical tool for the study of magnetic microstructures and multilayers. In this type of electron microscope the lateral intensity distribution of the emitted low-energy secondary or photoelectrons is imaged by an electron-optical system. Owing to its fast parallel image acquisition, its wide zoom range allowing fields of view from almost 1 mm down to a few µm combined with a high base-resolution of the order of 20 nm, the method offers a unique access to many aspects in surface and thin film magnetism on the mesoscopic length scale. Magnetic con…
Microwave-assisted synthesis of anhydrous CdS nanoparticles in a water-oil microemulsion.
2006
Abstract Microwave irradiation at a frequency of 2.45 GHz and a power ranging between 22 and 30 W was used, in a water–oil microemulsion at 35 ± 2 ° C , to obtain stable, small, crystalline, anhydrous CdS nanoparticles exhibiting enhanced luminescence properties. The process of nanoparticles growth at different irradiation times was followed by UV–vis spectroscopy. It was observed that irradiated nanoparticles grew faster and their size reached a constant value. The final mean nanoparticle diameter was 2.7 nm, smaller than that observed in a non-irradiated sample, in which particle dimensions slowly increased even after 10 h. This finding was confirmed by high resolution transmission electr…
Silicon Nanocrystals Produced by Nanosecond Laser Ablation in an Organic Liquid
2011
Small (3−5 nm in diameter following HRTEM images) Si nanocrystals were produced in a two-stage process including (1) nanosecond laser ablation of a Si target in an organic liquid (chloroform) that results in formation of big composite polycrystalline particles (about 20−100 nm average diameter) and (2) ultrasonic post-treatment of Si nanoparticles in the presence of HF. The post-treatment is responsible for disintegration of the composite Si particles, release of small individual nanocrystals, and reduction of their size due to HF-induced etching of Si oxide. The downshift and broadening of the ∼520 cm−1 Raman phonon band of the small Si nanocrystals with respect to the bulk Si Raman band i…
Structural characterization of bulk and nanoparticle lead halide perovskite thin films by (S)TEM techniques.
2019
Lead halide (APbX3) perovskites, in polycrystalline thin films but also perovskite nanoparticles (NPs) has demonstrated excellent performance to implement a new generation of photovoltaic and photonic devices. The structural characterization of APbX3 thin films using (scanning) transmission electron microscopy ((S)TEM) techniques can provide valuable information that can be used to understand and model their optoelectronic performance and device properties. However, since APbX3 perovskites are soft materials, their characterization using (S)TEM is challenging. Here, we study and compare the structural properties of two different metal halide APbX3 perovskite thin films: bulk CH3NH3PbI3 prep…
Structural and optical properties of TiO2–Al2O3nanolaminates produced by atomic layer deposition
2015
Structural and optical properties of Al2O3/TiO2 nanolaminates fabricated by atomic layer deposition (ALD) were investigated. We performed Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-Ray reflectivity (XRR), UV-Vis spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy to characterize the Al2O3/TiO2 nanolaminates. The main structural and optical parameters of Al2O3/TiO2 nanolaminates were calculated. It was established that with decreasing of the layer thickness, the value of band gap energy increases due to the quantum size effect related to the reduction of the nanograins size. It was also shown that there is an interdiffusion layer at the Al2O3/TiO2 interface which plays a…
Structural and chemical characterization of CdSe-ZnS core-shell quantum dots
2018
Abstract The structural and compositional properties of CdSe-ZnS core-shell quantum dots (QDs) with a sub-nm shell thickness are analyzed at the atomic scale using electron microscopy. QDs with both wurtzite and zinc blende crystal structures, as well as intermixing of the two structures and stacking faults, are observed. High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy suggests the presence of a lower atomic number epitaxial shell of irregular thickness around a CdSe core. The presence of a shell is confirmed using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Despite the thickness irregularities, the optical properties of the particles, such as photoluminescence and quantum…
Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of hybrid 1D core–shell structured nanocomposites based on ZnO/polydopamine
2020
In the present work, we report on the modelling of processes at the zinc oxide and polydopamine (ZnO/ PDA) interface. The PDA layer was deposited onto ZnO nanorods (NRs) via chemical bath deposition. The defect concentrations in ZnO before and after PDA deposition were calculated and analysed. The ZnONRs/PDA core–shell nanostructures were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) measurements, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The TEM and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) measurements confirmed the conformal coating of PDA, while the PL emission from ZnO and ZnONRs/P…