Study of the effect of the oxygen partial pressure on the properties of rf reactive magnetron sputtered tin-doped indium oxide films

The influence of the oxygen partial pressure on the properties of indium tin oxide films deposited by rf reactive magnetron sputtering has been studied. The oxygen partial pressure was varied from 3.2 × 10⁻⁴ to 1.0 × 10⁻³ mbar. It has been found that the 4 × 10⁻⁴ mbar of oxygen partial pressure is a critical point. When the oxygen partial pressure is lower than 4 × 10⁻⁴ mbar, the deposition rate of the films is high; the films have low transmittance and electrical resistivity; the X-ray diffraction shows that the films have a random orientation and the images of the scanning electron microscopy show that the films surface are smooth without structure. When the pressure is higher than 4 × 10⁻⁴ mbar, the deposition rate is low and does not change as the oxygen partial pressure is further increased; the transmittance and the electrical resistivity are both high; the films show the preferred orientation along the (440) direction; the films surface show a clear structure and as the pressure is increased further, the films become porous. Considering both the factor of transmittance and resistivity, the optimum oxygen partial pressure will be 3.6 × 10⁻⁴ mbar. The films prepared at this pressure have 80% transmittance and 9 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm resistivity.     

Electron stimulated desorption of CO from Pd1/W(110)

The electron impact behavior of CO adsorbed on Pd₁/W(110) was investigated. The desorption products observed were neutral CO, CO⁺, and O⁺. After massive electron impact residual carbon, C/W = 0.15, but not oxygen was also found, suggesting that energetic neutral O, not detected in a mass analyzer must also have been formed. Formation of β-CO, i.e., dissociated CO with C and O on the surface was not seen. The total disappearance cross section varies only slightly with coverage, ranging from 9 × 10 ⁻¹⁸ cm² at low to 5 × 10⁻¹⁸ cm² at saturation (CO/W = 0.75). The cross section for CO⁺ formation varies from 4 × 10⁻²² cm² at satura to 2 × 10⁻²¹ cm² at low coverage. That for O⁺ formation is 1.4 × 10⁻²² cm² at saturation and 2 × 10⁻²¹ cm² Threshold energies are similar to those found previously [J.C. Lin and R. Gomer, Surf. Sci. 218 (1989) 406] for CO/W(110) and CO/Cu₁/W(110) which suggests similar mechanisms for product formation, with the exception of β-CO on clean W(110). It is argued that the absence or presence of β-CO in ESD hinges on its formation or absence in thermal desorption, since electron impact is likely to present the surface with vibrationally and rotationally activated CO in all cases; β-CO formation only occurs on surfaces which can dissociate such CO. It was also found that ESD of CO led to a work function increase of the remaining Pd₁/W(110) surface of 500 meV, which could be annealed out only at 900 K. This is attributed to surface roughness, caused by recoil momentum of energetic desorbing entities.     

Co dissociation and recombination reactions on Ni(100)

The kinetics of atomic carbon and oxygen buildup on a Ni(100) surface exposed to carbon monoxide at high temperatures have been investigated by Auger electron spectroscopy. The experimental data, taken at different sample temperatures (453 , T 573 K) and at different CO partial pressures (3 ×10⁻⁷ , P_co , 3 ×10⁻¹ mbar) allowed the identification of the CO dissociation mechanism. By fitting the experimental data with a set of rate equations describing CO dissociation, CO reduction of surface oxygen, and C and O recombination, we have been able to determine the pre-exponential factors and the activation energies of these processes.     

Absolute desorption yields of metastable atoms from the surface of solid rare gases induced by exciton creation

Absolute yields of the metastable excited atoms desorbed from the surfaces of solid Ne and Ar by the creation of surface and bulk excitons have been measured using monochromated synchrotron radiation as a selective excitation source. We have obtained the absolute yields of (2.3 ± 0.7) × 10⁻³, (1.4 ± 0.4) × 10⁻³, and (7.8 ± 2.3) × 10⁻⁴ atoms/photon at the excitation of S1, B1 and S′ exciton for Ne, respectively, and 1 × 10⁻⁵ atoms/photon at S1 excitation for Ar. The probability for metastable atom desorption is found to be about 2 to 10% at the excitation of S1 exciton on the surface of solid Ne.     

Methane mobility in carbon nanotubes

Quasi-elastic neutron scattering has been used to characterize the diffusivity of CH₄ molecules condensed in single-wall carbon nanotubes. It is shown that the two sites of adsorption, previously observed by adsorption volumetry and calorimetry measurements, correspond to a solid-like phase for the more strongly bound site at T<120 K and to a liquid-like component for the more weakly bound site at 70<T<120 K. The diffusion coefficients of the mobile molecules range between 3×10⁻⁷ to 15×10⁻⁷ cm² s⁻¹. The fraction of this viscous liquid diminishes as the temperature is decreased; the adsorbate is fully solidified at 50 K and below.     

A new measurement of the weak magnetism term in the betaspectra of B and N

The betaspectra of ¹²B and ¹²N have been measured with a NaI crystal as spectrometer. Assuming a shape correction factor 1 + aW + bW² and b₋ = 1.106 × 10⁻⁴ MeV⁻², b₊ = −1.397 × 10⁻⁴ MeV⁻², the spectra yield a₋ = (+0.91 ± 0.11) × 10⁻² MeV⁻¹ and a₊ = (−0.07 ± 0.09) × 10⁻² MeV⁻. the a₋ − a₊ = (+0.98 ± 0.09) × 10⁻² MeV⁻¹ is in agreement with the weak magnetism prediction.     

LEED studies of the adsorption of CO2 on thin epitaxial NaCl(100) films

The adsorption of CO₂ on the NaCl(100) surface was studied with a high-resolution LEED-system. Measurements without charging up at low electron energies and without damage by the e-beam could be performed by using ultrathin epitaxial films on a conducting Ge(100) substrate. The adsorption behavior was recorded as a function of time and pressure at constant substrate temperatures of 78 and 83 K and CO₂ partial pressures from 4 × 10⁻⁸−2 × 10⁻³ Pa. The adsorption system shows a first-order two-dimensional phase transition to a (2 × 1) superstructure including glide planes (herringbone-like structure) at p = 7.2 × 10⁻⁸Pa (T = 78 K). The condensation of the CO₂ solid is starting at p = 1.5 × 10⁻⁴ Pa (T = 78 K). The LEED-pattern shows in this c(2 × 2) superstructure, which corresponds to the pyrite-like structure of the CO₂ solid. Both observed superstructures are commensurable with the NaCl(100) surface. Observation of island growth shows that the domains of the (2 × 1) superstructures have already at coverage of 5% of a monolayer an average lateral size of at least 200 A.     

Electron-stimulated nitridation of Si(100) in pure ammonia

We present the results of an AES study of the Si(100) electron-stimulated nitridation at RT by ammonia gas. The influence of the gas pressure and electron beam density on the nitridation rate have been determined within the ranges 10⁻⁶–10⁻⁹ Torr and 5 × 10⁻³–5 × 10⁻² A/cm², respectively. The silicon nitride growth rate has been found to be proportional to the electron flux and is enhanced with increased ammonia pressure in the range 10⁻⁹–10⁻⁷ Torr. Beyond 10⁻⁷ Torr the Si nitride growth rate is constant and independent of ammonia pressure. A phenomenological model of electron-stimulated nitridation process is suggested, which is in good agreement with the experimental data. The rate of electron-stimulated nitridation has been deduced.     

Annealing effects on zirconium nitride films

ZrN films were deposited by dc reactive magnetron sputtering on silicon substrates under optimized nitrogen partial pressure of 6×10⁻⁵ mbar. Structural, electrical and optical properties were systematically investigated. Films deposited at room temperature exhibited Schottky structure without any silicide interfacial layer. These films have electrical resistivity of 4.23×10⁻³ Ω cm, which were crystalline in nature, with cubic (1 1 1) orientation. Refractive index and extinction coefficient were found to be 1.95 and 0.43, respectively at a wavelength of 350 nm.

Samples were annealed for 1 h in air at two temperatures, 350 and 550 °C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX) showed alloy penetration pits. Extent of penetration was greater in the films, which were annealed at higher temperature (550 °C). Variation in refractive index was observed in the range of 1.95–1.80 at 350 nm, for the annealed films, with increase in grain size from 7.25 to 11.10 nm. Poly-crystalline nature has been observed with (1 1 1) and (2 0 1) orientations. Resistivity is found to increase from 4.23×10⁻³ to 6.21×10⁻³ Ω cm.     

Domain wall pinning in polycrystalline perovskite La0.7Sr0.3MnO3

Reversible and irreversible domain wall (DW) motions have been investigated in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ ceramic samples using frequency-response complex permeability with various amplitudes of AC field. We also examine the effects of temperature in the range from 293 to 368 K and transverse DC magnetic field with a maximum of 4.40×10⁵ A/m on the real part of permeability (μ′). Two relaxations corresponding to reversible wall motions and domain rotations occur in low and high frequency regions, respectively. The irreversible DW displacements can be activated as the amplitude larger than the pinning field of 3 A/m, leading to an increase in μ′. The μ′ obeys a Rayleigh law at the temperature below 343 K or under DC field of less than 4.22×10⁴ A/m. The Rayleigh constant η increases from 5.45×10⁻² to 1.54×10⁻¹ (A/m)⁻¹ as the temperature rises from 293 to 343 K, and η decreases from 5.58×10⁻² to 3.67×10⁻² (A/m)⁻¹ with increasing DC field from 1.99×10³ to 4.22×10⁴ A/m.     

Surface defects created by low energy (20 < E < 240 eV) ion bombardment of Ge(001)

Surface defects created on Ge(001) exposed to low energy Xe ions are characterized by in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The temperature of the sample during ion bombardment is 165 C and ion energies range from 20 to 240 eV. The ion collisions create defects (vacancies and adatoms) which nucleate and form vacancy and adatom islands. For fixed total vacancy creation, the vacancy island number density increases with increasing ion energy: the vacancy island number density is 1.6 × 10⁻²⁰ cm⁻² for 40 eV ion bombardment and increases to 4.4 × 10⁻²⁰ cm⁻² for 240 eV ion bombardment. The increased nucleation rate for vacancies is attributed to clustering of defects. The sputtering yield of Ge(001) is also measured by STM. The sputtering yield for 20 eV ions is approximately 10⁻³ per ion but the net yield for surface defects (sum of adatoms and vacancies) is an order of magnitude higher, 10⁻², due to adatom-vacancy pair creation.     

Diffusion of W on A W(211) plane

The diffusion of W on a (211) plane of a W field emitter has been re-examined by means of the fluctuation autocorrelation method. Diffusion along channels yielded E = 16.8 ± 0.5 kcal, D₀ = (3 ± 1) × 10⁻⁵ cm² s⁻¹. For diffusion across channels E =6.6 kcal, D₀ = 4 × 10⁻⁹cm² s⁻¹ at T < 752 K, and E = 24 kcal, D₀ = 5 × 10⁻⁴ cm² s⁻¹ at T > 752 K. The results for diffusion along channels yield E and D₀ values intermediate between recent results by Wang and Ehrlich [Surf. Sci. 206 (1988) 451] using field ion microscopy (E = 19 kcal, D₀ = 7.7 × 10⁻³ cm² s⁻¹) and Tringides and Gomer [J. Chem. Phys. 84 (1986) 4049], using the same method as the present work but a larger slit (E = 13.3 kcal, D₀ = 7 × 10⁻⁷ cm² s⁻¹). The results for cross channel diffus good agreement with those of Tringides and Gomer below 752 K, where these authors stopped. The new high temperature results suggest that the channel wall exchange mechanism postulated by Tringides and Gomer for cross channel diffusion at low T gives way to diffusion by climbing over the channel walls with higher E but also higher D₀ above 752 K. Possible reasons for the discrepancies between these three sets of results and the absence of cross channel diffusion in the work of Wang and Ehrlich are briefly discussed.     

Study of effects of Mn in CdS nanocrystals

Mn²⁺-doped CdS nanocrystals have been synthesized by adopting an aqueous solution precipitation method. These nanocrystals have been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), optical absorbance, photoluminescence (PL), DC electrical conductivity measurements and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). The system has been found to be in the hexagonal phase. PL spectra have been studied on most prominent exciton peaks within the wavelength range (586–731 nm). The emission intensity is found to increase on increasing Mn²⁺ ion concentration (0–5%). Electrical conductivity lies within 0.819×10⁻⁶ to 1.69×10⁻⁶ Ω⁻¹ m⁻¹ and the system shows power law dependence for n=3–3.77. The Cd vacancies concentration has been found to decrease on increasing Mn%.     

Optical nonlinearities and photo-excited carrier lifetime in CdS at 532 nm

Bound-electronic and free-carrier optical nonlinearities, and relaxation of photo-excited free carriers in CdS have been investigated by the use of a single-beam Z-scan technique at 532 nm. Under pulsed radiation of 35-ps duration with the input irradiances up to 4.8 GW/cm², the two-photon absorption coefficient, the bound-electron nonlinear refractive index, the free-carrier absorption cross-section, and the change in the refractive index per unit carrier density are determined to be 5.4±0.8 cm/GW, −(5.3±0.8)×10⁻¹³ cm²/W, (3.0±0.5)×10⁻¹⁷ cm² and −(0.8±0.1)×10⁻²¹ cm³, respectively. By using these values in the open-aperture Z-scans conducted with 7-ns laser pulses, the carrier recombination time is extracted to be 3.6±0.7 ns. The measured parameters are compared to theoretical calculations.     

Conductivity anisotropy in directionally solidified CaZrO3---CaSZ and MgO-MgSZ eutectics

The results of the impedance spectroscopy measurements on eutectic samples based on zirconium oxide are presented here. Samples of CaZrO₃---ZrO₂(cubic) and MgO---ZrO₂(cubic) have been grown by a directional solidification procedure such that the different phases appear nearly oriented along the growth direction (lamellae in the system of CaZrO₃-ZrO₂(cubic) and fibers of MgO in a ZrO₂ matrix in the other system). The DC electrical conductivity has been measured by impedance spectroscopy along and across the growth axis. For CaZrO₃---ZrO₂ the coductivity is clearly anisotropic. The following values for σT have been obtained: the conductivity at 600 °C equals 2.0 × 10⁻⁶ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹ perpendicular to the fiber axis and 1.4 × 10⁻⁵ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹ parallel to it and with an activation energy of 1.3 eV for σT. For MgO---ZrO₂(cubic) the isotropic value of the conductivity at 600 °C is 10⁻⁴ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹ with activation energy for σT of 1.5 eV. The anisotropic conductivity in the CaZrO₃---ZrO₂ (cubic) system has been explained by a model of an ordered stacking of oxygen conducting (cubic ZrO₂) and non-conducting (CaZrO₃ or MgO) phases.     

Metastable (2S) helium atom scattering from NiO(100) and Cu(100) surfaces

The scattering of metastable 2³S He atoms (He*) from cleaved NiO(100) as well as from clean and CO-covered Cu(100) surfaces has been studied. For these varied surfaces, which were characterized in situ by ground state He atom scattering, only broad He* angular distributions without any diffraction peaks were observed. For metastable He atoms scattered from the clean Cu(100) surface a total survival probability of 1×10⁻⁶ was determined. For NiO(100) and the CO-covered Cu(100) surface values of about 1×10⁻⁵ were obtained. Time-of-flight spectra of the surviving He* atoms revealed a substantial energetic broadening which increases with the substrate temperature. This behaviour indicates a large well depth for the He*–surface interaction potential and is discussed in terms of an enhanced multiphonon excitation and/or trapping probability upon the scattering.     

Applications of a silicon photodiode detector for radon progeny measurements

An application of our developed silicon photodiode detector for radon progeny measurements is presented in this paper. It was determined the deposition velocity for free (3.6 ± 0.7) × 10⁻³ m s⁻¹ and attached (1.0 ± 0.5) × 10⁻⁵ m s⁻¹ fraction of short living radon progeny.     

Interaction of oxygen, carbon monoxide and nitrogen with (001) and (110) faces of molybdenum

A combination of low-energy electron diffraction and retarding potential measurements was employed to study gaseous adsorption on atomically clean (001) and (110) Mo single crystal surfaces. Adsorption of oxygen on the (001) surface at room temperature occurred with a sticking coefficient close to unity and produced a large increase in work function and appreciable changes in the intensity distributions of the integral order diffraction beams, without the appearance of any new diffraction beams. These results indicate that a surface monolayer of oxygen was formed with a unit mesh having the same dimensions as that of the underlying molybdenum surface. Exposures above 6 × 10⁻³ Torr-sec produced a uniform decrease in intensities, thus indicating a second monolayer with amorphous structure. On heating, two additional surface structures were observed, characterized by one-half and one-third order beams, respectively. A clean surface was obtained by heating above 1100 °C. An exposure of 1 to 7 × 10⁻⁷ Torr-sec of oxygen for the (110) face resulted in two types of patterns characteristic of lattices with one-quarter and one-half the surface density of the (110) Mo face, with an increased work function accompanying the latter pattern. Exposure of the clean surface at 400 to 800 °C produced similar patterns of enhanced intensities with no increase in work function. Possible models are discussed. It is concluded that place exchange models account for these results, as well as the one-half and one-third order structures on the (001) face, in a more satisfactory manner than adsorption above the surface. An exposure to 10⁻⁵ Torr-sec produced a monolayer coverage with a unit mesh similar to that of the molybdenum substrate. Additional exposure resulted in further amorphous adsorption. Adsorption of CO produced changes in the intensity distributions, with the appearance of no new maxima, for both (001) and (110) Mo surfaces. Nitrogen, at an exposure of 3 × 10⁻³ Torr-min did not adsorb on either the (001) or (110) Mo surface, but when dissociated by electron impact it adsorbed on both Mo surfaces with the same dimensions of unit mesh as those of the Mo substrates and with an increase in work function of 1.05 eV for the (001) and 0.05 eV for the (110) surface.     

Enhanced performances of ZnO-TFT by improving surface properties of channel layer

Top-contact thin film transistors with ZnO as the channel layer and thermally grown SiO₂ as the gate dielectric were fabricated by using rf sputtering. The performances of ZnO-TFTs with different thicknesses of the active layer were investigated and the optimized condition was obtained. With the active layer thickness from 25 to 70 nm, the leakage current of devices increased from 10⁻¹⁰ to 10⁻⁸ A, and the on/off ratio decreased from 1.2×10⁷ to 2×10⁴. Atomic force microscope research indicated that with the thickness increased, the surface morphology of the active layer improved noticeably at first and then deteriorated. The 25-nm-thick ZnO TFT had the best surface morphology, and showed the best performance with a field effect mobility of 5.1 cm²/V S, on/off ratio of 1.2×10⁷ and threshold voltage of 20 V. This indicates that the surface properties of the channel layer have crucial affects on the performances of ZnO-TFTs.     

Proton conductive amorphous thin films of tungsten oxide clusters with acidic ligands

Three kinds of peroxo-polytungstic acid (PPTA, C-PPTA and N-PPTA) were obtained by reacting hydrogen peroxide with metallic tungsten, tungsten carbide or tungsten nitride, respectively. Polytungstates, C-PPTA and N-PPTA, were found to contain oxalate and nitrate ligands. Their proton conductivities were compared using thin film specimens spin-coated from their water solution. Conductivity of each as-coated film was in the range from 10⁻³ to 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ under the relative humidity of 40% (25 °C). A sharp decrease in conductivity (to less than 10⁻⁷ S cm⁻¹ at 25 °C) was observed for PPTA without acidic ligands after thermal treatment at 80 °C. However, the effect of thermal treatment on C-PPTA or N-PPTA was much milder. A 80 °C-treated C-PPTA film showed the conductivity of 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ S cm⁻¹ (25 °C) with a very weak dependency on ambient humidity.