Electronic structure of tetragonal tungsten bronzes and electrochromic oxides

X-ray photoemission spectra of the band structures of WO₃, crystalline H _x WO₃ and the tetragonal and cubic bronzes M _x WO₃ (M=Li, Na) exhibit great similarity. In the bronzes tungsten 5d conduction band states are occupied. The tungsten 4f core level spectra of these materials have an unusual, but characteristic structure attributed to a combination of final state screening and hydrogen or alkali ion neighbor effects. The band structure of amorphous electrochromic WO₃ films differs in characteristic ways from that of the crystalline bronzes.     

Ferromagnetism modulation by phase change in Mn-doped GeTe chalcogenide magnetic materials

In this work, an effective method to modulate the ferromagnetic properties of Mn-doped GeTe chalcogenide-based phase change materials is presented. The microstructure of the phase change magnetic material Ge_1?x Mn _x Te thin films was studied. The X-ray diffraction results demonstrate that the as-deposited films are amorphous, and the crystalline films are formed after annealing at 350 °C for 10 min. Crystallographic structure investigation shows the existence of some secondary magnetic phases. The lattice parameters of Ge_1?x Mn _x Te (x = 0.04, 0.12 and 0.15) thin films are found to be slightly different with changes of Mn compositions. The structural analysis clearly indicates that all the films have a stable rhombohedral face-centered cubic polycrystalline structure. The magnetic properties of the amorphous and crystalline Ge_0.96Mn_0.04Te were investigated. The measurements of magnetization (M) as a function of the magnetic field (H) show that both amorphous and crystalline phases of Ge_0.96Mn_0.04Te thin film are ferromagnetic and there is drastic variation between amorphous and crystalline states. The temperature (T) dependence of magnetizations at zero field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) conditions of the crystalline Ge_0.96Mn_0.04Te thin film under different applied magnetic fields were performed. The measured data at 100 and 300 Oe applied magnetic fields show large bifurcations in the ZFC and FC curves while on the 5,000 Oe magnetic field there is no deviation.     

Enhanced multiple exciton generation in amorphous silicon nanowires and films

ABSTRACT

Multiple exciton generation (MEG) in nanometer-sized hydrogen-passivated silicon nanowires (NWs), and quasi two-dimensional nanofilms depends strongly on the degree of the core structural disorder as shown by the perturbative many-body quantum mechanics calculations based on the density functional theory simulations. Working to the second order in the electron–photon coupling and in the screened Coulomb interaction, we calculate quantum efficiency (QE), the average number of excitons created by a single absorbed photon, in the Si₂₉H₃₆ quantum dots (QDs) with crystalline and amorphous core structures, simple cubic three-dimensional arrays constructed from these QDs, crystalline and amorphous NWs, and quasi two-dimensional silicon nanofilms, also both crystalline and amorphous. Efficient MEG with QE ranging from 1.3 up to 1.8 at the photon energy of about 3E_g, where E_g is the electronic gap, is predicted in these nanoparticles except for the crystalline NW and crystalline film where QE ? 1. MEG in the amorphous nanoparticles is enhanced by the electron localisation due to structural disorder. Combined with the lower gaps, the nanometer-sized amorphous silicon NWs and films are predicted to have effective carrier multiplication within the solar spectrum range.     

Fabrication and annealing effects of SnO2/SiOx nanocables sheathed by the sputtering technique

We reported an approach, in which we have produced the nano-sized crystalline tin oxide (SnO₂) particles with rutile structure. SnO₂ nanowires were coated with a shell layer of SiO_x via a sputtering method. Transmission electron microscopy and elemental mapping investigations revealed that the nanostructures consisted of a crystalline SnO₂ core surrounded by an amorphous SiO_x sheath. The annealing effects on the core-shell nanowires were investigated, revealing that the outer surface became rougher by the thermal annealing. For core-shell nanowires, a room-temperature PL measurement with a Gaussian fitting showed yellow, blue, and violet light emission bands, with the relative intensity of the yellow band showing an increase after thermal annealing. Possible PL emission mechanisms are discussed. This study reveals that the sputtering is effective for preparing the shell layers of nanocables.     

Structural investigation of icosahedral Pd58.8U20.6Si20.6

The structure factors of the amorphous, icosahedral and crystalline Pd_58.8U_20.6Si_20.6 were measured with X-rays and neutrons. By comparing the radial distribution functions of the three phases, we find a similar short range order in the amorphous and icosahedral phase, but a different atomic arrangement in the crystalline phase. A magnetic long range order observed in the crystalline material is absent in the icosahedral phase.Dedicated to Professor Harry Thomas on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Structural and magnetic properties of electrospun FeCoNi magnetic nanofibers with nanogranular phases

Structural and magnetic properties of silicon/aluminum-added and -free FeCoNi magnetic alloy nanofibers with nanogranular phases prepared by electrospinning and subsequent annealing of the PVP-blended ternary metal precursors in hydrogen atmosphere were investigated. The FeCoNi magnetic alloy nanofibers with evenly distributed nanocrystalline phases were formed, which are identified as γ-Fe_1−x Ni _x binary phase with face-centered cubic structure and α-CoFe phase with body-centered cubic structure. At elevated temperature, the α → γ structural martensitic transformation in the FeCoNi ternary alloys occurred due to the inhomogeneities in composition of the matrix during annealing of the alloy with metastable α-phase. In the Si/Al-added FeCoNi nanofibers, more than two phases with complicated-boundaries of the grains in and/or outside the nanofibers were formed as crystalline phases and amorphous phase. The amorphous phase consisted of Si and/or Al acted as an inhibitor diminishing α → γ transformation as well as an interparticle insulation layer. At low annealing temperature of 450 °C, the Si/Al-added nanofiber mainly consisted of metastable α-phase with a low-crystallinity surface structure and very small diameter of 13 nm was formed and showed an unexpectedly high coercivity, which attributed to the surface effects and/or high surface/volume ratio.     

Preparation and characterization of manganese and cobalt based semiconducting ceramics

The spinel phases Mn_3-x Co _x O₄ are prepared directly and at low temperature (600-700°C) by means of thermal decomposition of mixed oxalate salt precursors in air or controlled atmosphere. The powders so obtained when sintered at 1200°C behave as semiconducting or insulating ceramics, depending on their cobalt content. The electrical properties of these ceramics have been found to be related to the distribution and valencies of the cations in the spinel structure. The study of their crystalline structure and stability, complemented by electrical measurements have permitted us to distinguish two types of compounds. The first type includes those given by Mn_3-x Co _x O₄ with 0 < x < 1. These are stable at high temperature, have a tetragonal structure and are insulators. The cation distributions for them can be deduced from that of hausmannite as given by Mn²⁺ [Mn³⁺ ₂]O₄, by substituting Mn²⁺ ions with Co²⁺ ions. The second type of compounds correspond to the cubic phases and occur for 1 < x < 3. These are unstable at high temperature and show a lower resistivity (e.g. 360 ° cm) which is of particular interest for their application in the design of negative temperature coefficient (N.T.C.) thermistor components.     

Stabilisation of Ce-Cu-Fe amorphous alloys by addition of Al

The present work describes the formation of amorphous alloys in the (Al_1?xCe_x)₆₂Cu₂₅Fe₁₃ quaternary system (0 ≤ x ≤ 1). When the amount of Ce falls in the range 0.67 ≤ x ≤ 0.83, the alloys obtained exhibit a completely amorphous structure confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction. Otherwise, at compositions x = 0.5, 0.58, 0.92 and 1, a primary crystalline phase forms together with an amorphous matrix. The crystallisation temperature (T_x) decreases with increasing Ce content, varying from 593 K for x = 0.5–383 K for x = 1. Composition x = 0.75 is considered as the best glass former, exhibiting a large supercooled liquid region of 40 K width that precedes crystallisation. In order to form bulk amorphous alloys, ribbons with this later composition were consolidated into few millimetre thick discs using pulsed electric current sintering at different temperatures, yet preserving the amorphous structure. Meanwhile, increasing temperature above 483 K triggers crystallisation of a primary phase isostructural to AlCe₃. Further increase in the temperature up to 573 K yields a higher fraction of the crystalline phase. Testing mechanical properties, using nanoindentation, revealed that both elastic modulus (E) and hardness (H) depend on the Al content, ranging from E = 85.6 ± 3.7 GPa and H = 6.2 ± 0.7 GPa for x = 0.5 down to E = 39.8 ± 1.0 GPa and H = 3.1 ± 0.2 GPa for x = 0.92.     

Short range order in sputtered Fe-B and Fe-Zr films

We report on the amorphous Fe_1−xB_x (0.12≤x≤0.60) and Fe_1−xZr_x (0.10≤x≤0.46) alloys obtained by rf-sputtering The P(H) distribution function changes versus atomic concentration are interpreted in terms of resultant atomic structure changes of the amorphous alloy and a tendency towards chemical short range order of the relevant crystalline phases.     

In situ Raman and photoluminescence study on pressure‐induced phase transition in C60 nanotubes

Single crystalline C₆₀ nanotubes having face‐centered‐cubic structure with diameters in the nanometer range were synthesized by a solution method. In situ Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy under high pressure were employed to study the structural stabilities and transitions of the pristine C₆₀ nanotubes. A phase transition, probably because of the orientational ordering of C₆₀ molecules, from face‐centered‐cubic structure to simple cubic structure occurred at the pressure between 1.46 and 2.26 GPa. At above 20.41 GPa, the Raman spectrum became very diffuse and lost its fine structure in all wavenumber regions, and only two broad and asymmetry peaks initially centered at 1469 and 1570 cm^–1 were observed, indicating an occurrence of amorphization. This amorphous phase remained to be reversible until 31.1 GPa, and it became irreversible to the ambient pressure after the pressure cycle of 34.3 GPa was applied. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic properties and structure of hydrogen-amorphized intermetallic compounds RFe2Hx (R=Y, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er)

The magnetic properties and structure of hydrogen-amorphized RFe₂H_x compounds (R=Y, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er) have been studied. It is shown that amorphization of the RFe₂H_x hydrides results in an increase of Fe-Fe, and a decrease of R-Fe exchange interaction energy compared to their crystalline hydride counterparts. The magnetic structure of amorphous RFe₂H_x compounds, with the exception of those with R=Y and Gd is apparently noncollinear ferrimagnetic, as in the crystalline hydrides. A model of the heterophase state of amorphous RFe₂H_x hydrides based on x-ray diffraction and magnetic data is proposed. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 908–912 (May 1997)     

穆斯堡尔谱学研究非晶TM80M20合金的微观结构

在室温下和4.2K下测定了非晶Fe₈₀B_20-xM_x合金(M=P,C)的穆斯堡尔吸收谱。利用分布参数拟合程序得到了超精细内场H_i和同质异能移IS同类金属成份的变化关系。利用这些结果考察了非晶合金的微观结构,比较了两类结构模型:Bernal-Polk模型和微晶模型。对比非晶合金和它们的相应晶相的行为得知,这类非晶合金中不存在微晶近程序,Bernal-Polk模型对描述TM-M类非晶合金的微观结构优于微晶模型。 关键词：     

Elastic properties of metastable crystalline and amorphous gasb-ge semiconductors synthesized under high pressure

We present the systematic study of the elastic shear G and bulk B moduli in amorphous and crystalline metastable ternary solid solutions (GaSb)_1?x Ge_2x . It is found that the moduli of crystalline phases initially decrease with Ge concentration, falling down to minimum values at 20-30% Ge. The minimal values of elastic moduli for amorphous samples are observed at 50-60% Ge. Elastic softness of crystalline solid solutions is assumed to be related to the increase of chemical disorder and, consequently, of static (non-thermal) geometrical disorder in positions of atoms. An additional topological disorder in amorphous solid solutions leads to additional elastic softening.     

Solid state reaction crystallization and amorphization on thin film Fe-Zr multilayers

We study in this paper the thin multilayered film of the system Fe _x Zr_1-x using conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) as well as Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS). The solid state reaction (SSR) at 500°C for thex=0.33 andx=0.67 concentrations produces crystalline and amorphous phases. For the concentrationx=0.50 only an amorphous phase is obtained. For reactions at 700°C, besides Fe-Zr phases, another one is observed in the CEMS spectrum. This phase may be associated with some FeSi compound since the RBS profile shows the presence of Si at the surface.This work was supported by CNPq, FINEP and FAPERGS.     

利用Keating模型计算Si（1-x）Gex及非晶硅的拉曼频移

利用Keating模型计算了Si_（1-x）Ge_x合金中Si—Si,Ge—Ge和Si—Ge三种振动模态的拉曼频移,计算分别获得Ge浓度为01,05和09时,Si—Ge的振动拉曼频移分别为40275,41339和38815 cm^-1,这些结果与文献的实验结果符合,证明了Keating模型建立的关于原子振动模型是有效的,并可以利用拉伸压缩和相邻原子键之间弹性系数变化获得处于应变状态的拉曼光谱频率.利用Kea 关键词： Keating模型 拉曼光谱 （1-x）Ge_x')" href="#">Si_（1-x）Ge_x 非晶硅     

Preparation and photoluminescence properties of silica-coated CuO nanowires

We have fabricated cupric oxide (CuO)-core/silica (SiO _x )-shell nanowires by using a two-step process: thermal oxidation and sputtering. The structure and photoluminescence (PL) properties of the core/shell nanowires has been investigated by using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and PL analysis techniques. The CuO cores and the SiO _x shells of the as-synthesized nanowires have crystalline monoclinic CuO and amorphous SiO _x structures, respectively. The PL emission intensity of the CuO-core/SiO _x -shell nanowires has been increased but the emission peak position has not been nearly shifted by annealing in a nitrogen atmosphere, whereas the emission peak position has been shifted a lot from 510 to around 650 nm as well as the emission intensity has been increased by annealing in an oxygen atmosphere. In addition, the origin of the PL enhancement in the CuO-core/SiO _x -shell nanowires by annealing and the growth mechanism of the CuO nanowires have been discussed.     

Structure, refractive-index dispersion and the optical absorption edge of chemically deposited ZnxCd(1-x)S thin films

Zinc cadmium sulfide, Zn_xCd_(1-x)S, thin films have been deposited by a simple and inexpensive chemical bath deposition method from an aqueous medium using thiourea as a sulfide-ion source. The structure of the deposited films has been characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. It was observed from X-ray diffraction that the as-deposited films were amorphous in nature. However Zn_xCd_(1-x)S films annealed at 423 K for 1.5 h show a crystalline structure with a small scattering volume. The obtained results were confirmed throughout the transmission electron microscopy and the corresponding electron-diffraction patterns. The optical constants of Zn_xCd_(1-x)S films annealed at 423 K for 1.5 h in the compositional range 0≤x≤1 were estimated using transmission and reflection spectra in the wavelength range 300–2500 nm. The band gap varies non-linearly with the value of x. The dependence of the refractive index on the wavelength obeys the single-oscillation model, from which the dispersion parameters and the high-frequency dielectric constant were determined. A graphical representation of the surface and volume energy-loss functions was also given. Received: 23 February 2001 / Accepted: 26 February 2001 / Published online: 27 June 2001     

Mössbauer effect and X-ray diffraction investigation of Si–Fe thin films

An X-ray diffraction and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy investigation of Si_{100– x} Fe _x (0?<?x?<?80) thin films prepared by combinatorial sputtering methods is reported. Resulting Mössbauer spectra were fit to Voigt-based distributions of quadrupole doublets for paramagnetic spectral components and Zeeman split sextets for ferromagnetic spectral components. In conjunction with the X-ray measurements, these results show that the Si-rich films are a mixture of dilute Fe in amorphous Si and an approximately equiatomic amorphous SiFe phase. Fe-rich films show the presence of a ferromagnetically ordered phase. For x?<?73, this ferromagnetic phase is amorphous or nanostructured and for x?≥?73, the phase is shown to be a crystalline bcc phase. Results are discussed in terms of short-range structural ordering in these alloys.     

Hyperfine interactions in cubic perovskites

ABO₃ perovskites display several physical properties determined by the characteristics of A and B cations. These compounds have cubic structure at high temperature. Lower symmetry cells that are distorted cubes are found at low temperature. Defects modify the properties of these compounds. Under standard conditions oxygen vacancies are produced. Cation substitution also alters the characteristics of perovskites. These materials have been studied by Perturbed Angular Correlation (PAC) spectroscopy and other hyperfine techniques. In this way abundant information is available to determine charge distributions close to probes. In the cubic phase perturbations were detected that are produced by the interaction of probes with defects. To show up these effects we analyze the quadrupole interaction at ¹⁸¹Ta in several compounds: ABO₃ with A=Ca, Sr and Ba, BaTi_1−x Hf _x O₃ and PbZr_1−x Ti _x O₃ for 0⩽x⩽1. Three different quadrupole interactions were found and are interpreted in terms of distinct probe-oxygen vacancy configurations. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

金属有机物化学气相沉积法生长Ga2（1-x）In2xO3薄膜的结构及光电性能研究

采用金属有机物化学气相沉积（MOCVD）法在蓝宝石（0001）衬底上制备出了Ga_2（1-x）In_2xO₃（x=01—09）薄膜,研究了薄膜的结构、电学和光学特性以及退火处理对薄膜性质的影响.测量结果表明：当In组分x=02时,样品为单斜β-Ga₂O₃结构;x=05的样品,薄膜呈现非晶结构,退火处理后薄膜结构得到明显的改善 关键词： 金属有机物化学气相沉积 2（1-x）In_2xO₃薄膜')" href="#">Ga_2（1-x）In_2xO₃薄膜 蓝宝石衬底 退火