Formation of Ti1–x Si x and Ti1–x Si x N films by magnetron co-sputtering

The paper reports on surface morphology, structure and microhardness of TiSi–N films formed by cosputtering from two target-facing unbalanced magnetrons, equipped with pure Ti and Si targets, on an unheated substrate rotating in front of both targets. The ratio Si/Ti in the TiSi–N film was achieved by modifying the magnitude of currents in the individual magnetrons and by the addition of nitrogen to the film. The rotation of the substrate has a strong effect on the film deposition rate and its morphology. The deposition rate is 3 times lower than that of the film deposited on a stationary substrate. The surface roughness of a polycrystalline Ti film deposited on the rotating substrate is considerably higher than that on a stationary substrate. On the contrary, the surface of an amorphous Si film is smooth and there is no difference between the roughness of Si films sputtered on stationary and on rotating substrates. The hardness of the film increases with increasing Si content and with the addition of nitrogen to the TiSi film. The Ti(26 at.%)Si(8.5 at.%)N(65 at.%)-film sputtered on an unheated rotating steel substrate, held at a floating potential, exhibited the best result with a hardness of 29 GPa.     

Magnetic Parameters of Hg1–x Mn x Se1–y S y and Hg1–x Mn x Te1–y S y Crystals

The magnetic susceptibility of Hg_1–x Mn _x Se_1–y S _y and Hg_1–x Mn _x Te_1–y S _y crystals is investigated by the Faraday method at H = 3 kOe in the temperature interval T = 77–300 K. It is established that the specific features of are due to Mn–S–Mn–S, Mn–Se–Mn–Se, and Mn–Te–Mn–Te clusters and mixed Mn–Se–Mn–S and Mn–Te–Mn–S clusters of different sizes in which the indirect exchange antiferromagnetic interaction between Mn atoms is realized through chalcogen atoms. Based on the dependences 1/_Mn = f(T), the magnetic parameters are determined and their dependences on the crystal composition (x and y) are established.     

Heat capacity of multiferroics Bi1–x Pr x FeO3

Physics of the Solid State - The heat capacity of multiferroics Bi1–x Pr x FeO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.20) has been studied in the temperature range 130–800 K. An insignificant...     

Characterisation of GaN–In x Ga1−x N quantum-well lasers

An efficient analytical model to calculate the optical gain of the quantum-well laser of the GaN–In _x Ga_1?x N material system is used in this paper. Based on the anisotropic effective mass theories, empirical formulas delineating the relations between optical gain, emission wavelength, well width and material compositions are obtained for such a quantum-well lasers.     

Heat capacity of nanostructured multiferroics BiFe1–x Zn x O3

Physics of the Solid State - The heat capacity of ceramic BiFe1–x Zn x O3 multiferroics has been studied in the temperature range 150–750 K. It is found that the antiferromagnetic...     

First-principles study of the structural and elastic properties of AuxV1–x and AuxNb1–x alloys

Ab initio total energy calculations, based on the Exact Muffin-Tin Orbitals (EMTO) method in combination with the coherent potential approximation (CPA), are used to calculate the total energy of Au_xV_1–x and Au_xNb_1–x random alloys along the Bain path that connects the body-centred cubic (bcc) and face-centred cubic (fcc) structures as a function of composition x (0 ≤ x ≤ 1). The equilibrium Wigner–Seitz radius and the elastic properties of both systems are determined as a function of composition. Our theoretical prediction in case of pure elements (x = 0 or x = 1) are in good agreement with the available experimental data. For the Au–V system, the equilibrium Wigner–Seitz radius increase as x increases, while for the Au–Nb system, the equilibrium Wigner–Seitz radius is almost constant. The bulk modulus B and C₄₄ for both alloys exhibit nearly parabolic trend. On the other hand, the tetragonal shear elastic constant C′ decreases as x increases and correlates reasonably well with the structural energy difference between fcc and bcc structures. Our results offer a consistent starting point for further theoretical and experimental studies of the elastic and micromechanical properties of Au–V and Au–Nb systems.     

Electro-optic effect in SrTiO3 and Sr1–x Ca x TiO3 (x = 0.014)

The results of the investigation of the quadratic electro-optic effect in Sr_1–x Ca _x TiO₃ with x = 0.014 (SCT) and in nominally pure SrTiO₃ (STO) at room temperature in applied direct-current (dc) and alternating-current (ac) electric fields have been presented. It has been shown that the quadratic (in polarization) electro-optic coefficients of STO and SCT crystals coincide within the accuracy of the determination (±5%). It has been found that, in nominally pure STO measured in a dc electric field, there is a relaxation of the electro-optic effect with a relaxation time τ ≈ 30 s due to the formation of a space charge in the sample. No similar effect in SCT has been observed. A possible mechanism for the formation of a space charge in STO and SCT has been discussed.     

Study of electrical and thermoelecrical properties of sulfides Tm x Mn1–x S

Variable-valence Tm _x Mn_1–x S (0 ? x ? 0.15) compounds have been synthesized and their structural, electrical, and thermoelectrical properties have been studied in the temperature range of 80–1100 K. The regions of existence of solid solutions of sulfides Tm _x Mn_1–x S with the NaCl-type fcc lattice have been determined. It has been found that, as thulium ions are substituted for manganese cations, the electrical resistivity increases, and the lattice parameter increases more sharply than that corresponding to the Vegard’s law. The study of the temperature dependences of the thermopower coefficient has revealed that the current carrier sign is retained to 500 K for all the substitution concentrations, and the charge carrier type changes from the hole type to the electron type with variations in the temperature. The experimental data have been explained in terms of the exciton model.     

Optical Absorption in (Pb0.78Sn0.22)1–x In x Te

The spectral dependences of the absorption coefficient are investigated in (Pb_0.78Sn_0.22)_1–x In _x Te at T = 300 K, with the content of indium in the mix x = 0.001–0.050. Two additional-absorption lines exhibiting sharp red margins are found in the () spectra from all the specimens examined. It is shown that they are associated with the optical ionization of the sites, whose energy levels E ₀ and E ₁are located in the forbidden band. It is established that the energy parameters of the E ₀ and E ₁ bands (position of the maxima of the state density function and the half width) do not depend on x. It is demonstrated that the E ₀ band is accounted for by indium located in the sublattice sites. It is found out that the indium concentration in the sites differs from its content in the mix. No changes testifying to the hopping conduction via the impurity states of indium are found in the energy spectrum from (Pb_0.78Sn_0.22)_1–x In _x Te.     

The dependence of photosensitivity on composition for thin films of Ge x As y Se1–x–y chalcogenide glasses

We have prepared twelve Ge–As–Se chalcogenide glass films with different chemical compositions and investigated their stability to exposure with near bandedge light. The evolution of two key parameters, the refractive index at 1550 nm and the bandgap with increasing fluence were fitted with stretched-exponential functions. While most of the films showed photo-bleaching (or photodarkening) behavior, we found that for films with a mean coordination number (MCN) around ≈2.45–2.50, neither the bandgap nor the refractive index changed upon irradiation, demonstrating that photostable glasses exist with a particular chemical composition corresponding to the strongest glass formers. Such photostable glasses are the best choice for applications in photonics.     

Iron content and temperature dependences of diffuse scattering in Ti–(50–x)Ni–xFe (6 ≤ x ≤ 10) alloys

Diffuse scatterings appearing in electron diffraction patterns of Ti–(50???x)Ni–xFe (x?=?6, 7, 8, 10, in at.%) alloys were investigated. In the alloys, martensitic (R-phase) transformation is suppressed down to 4.2 K, but the electrical resistivity exhibits a local minimum at T _min (210 K, 195 K, 180 K and 140 K for x?=?6, 7, 8, 10, respectively). The following results were obtained for all the alloys. Diffuse scattering appears below T _min and its intensity maximum is located at an incommensurate position of g?+??ζζ0?*, where g is a reciprocal lattice vector of the B2-phase. The value?ζ?at T _min is significantly smaller than 1/3 and increases with decreasing temperature; it decreases with increasing Fe content. The value of?ζ?at T _min agrees with the length of nesting vector obtained by a band calculation, suggesting that the diffuse scattering is caused by the nesting effect of the Fermi surface in the B2-type structure.     

Structure and dielectric properties of Bi6 − x Sr x Ti2 − x Nb2 + x O18 (x = 0–2) solid solutions

The structural and electrophysical characteristics of a series of solid solutions of layered perovs-kite-like oxides Bi_{6 ? x} Sr _x Ti_{2 ? x} Nb_{2 + x} O₁₈ (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0) have been studied. The temperature dependences of the relative permittivity ?/?₀(T) and dielectric loss tangent tanδ have been measured. The dependences of the maximum of the permittivity ?/?₀, Curie temperature T _C, lattice parameters, and the unit cell volume on x have been obtained. The structural parameter a, which corresponds to the polar direction, and the value of the orthorhombic distortion of the unit cell have been found to demonstrate noticeable negative deviations from the Vegard’s law. It has been established that the variations of the orthorhombic distortion correlate with the variations of the permittivity maximum; however, they do not markedly influence the Curie temperature that varies linearly over entire range of changes in x.     

Microstructure of annealed Ti48.5Ni(51.5– x )Cu x (x = 6.2–33.5) thin films

(Ni, Cu)-rich Ti–Ni–Cu amorphous films with a Cu content of 6.2–33.5 at. % formed by sputtering were annealed at 773, 873 and 973 K for 1 h and their microstructures investigated. Two types of precipitate were observed in the annealed films: a Ti(NiCu)₂ phase for the Ti_48.5Ni₄₀Cu_11.5, Ti_48.6Ni_35.9Cu_15.5, Ti_48.3Ni_28.4Cu_23.3 and Ti_48.3Ni_23.9Cu_27.8 films, plus a TiCu phase for the Ti_48.5Ni₁₈Cu_33.5 films. These precipitates were found to have coherency with the B2 matrix in the films annealed at 773 K and were densely distributed within the grains. However, in the films annealed at 873 K, their size increased 10-fold and their density decreased. Annealing at 973 K promoted grain-boundary precipitation and, accordingly, the density of the precipitates in the grain interiors decreased. On the other hand, the annealed Ti_48.9Ni_44.9Cu_6.2 films showed no precipitates in their grain interiors, but the number of grain-boundary precipitates increased with increasing annealing temperature. It was also found that grain size decreased with increasing Cu content and was significantly decreased for the Ti_48.5Ni₁₈Cu_33.5 films.     

Heat capacity and dielectric properties of multiferroics Bi1 − x Gd x FeO3 (x = 0–0.20)

The heat capacity and the permittivity of multiferroics Bi_{1 ? x} Gd _x FeO₃ (x = 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20) have been studied in the temperature range 130–800 K. It has been found that insignificant substitution of gadolinium for bismuth markedly shifts the temperature of antiferromagnetic phase transition and increases the heat capacity over a wide temperature range. It has been shown that the temperature dependence of the excess heat capacity is due to the manifestation of three-level states. Additional anomalies characteristic of the phase transitions have been revealed in the temperature dependences of the heat capacity for the compositions with x = 0.1 and 0.15 at T ≈ 680 K and T ≈ 430 K, respectively. The results of studies of the heat capacity have been discussed simultaneously with the data of structural studies.     

Segregation in In x Ga1− x As/GaAs Stranski–Krastanow layers grown by metal–organic chemical vapour deposition

Using quantitative high-resolution transmission electron microscopy we studied the chemical morphology of wetting layers in In _x Ga_{1? x} As/GaAs quantum dot structures which were optimized for applications to optical devices operating around 1.3?µm. The samples are grown by low-pressure metal–organic chemical vapour deposition on GaAs substrates. The In concentration profiles of the wetting layers are evaluated with the composition evaluation by lattice fringe analysis method. The profiles reveal a clear signature of segregation. A fit of the profiles with the Muraki et al. model for segregation reveals a segregation efficiency R?=?0.65?±?0.05 at the growth temperature of 550°C, which is significantly lower than segregation efficiencies observed in samples grown by molecular beam epitaxy at similar temperatures.     

Metal–insulator transition in NiS2−x Se x : chemical vs external pressure effects

The Se alloying (x)- and the pressure (P)-induced metal–insulator transitions on the strongly correlated NiS_2?x Se _x system have been investigated through Raman and infrared (IR) spectroscopies. Raman and IR responses of NiS₂ to lattice compression are correlated to a metallization transition, occurring at ～4 GPa. This result suggests a strong interaction between lattice and electronic degrees of freedom. In particular, IR measurements carried out by applying P on NiS₂ (i.e. lattice contraction) and on Se alloying (i.e. lattice expansion) reveal that in both cases a metallic state is obtained. Our optical spectroscopy results deviate from the idea of a simple scaling factor between P and x previously claimed by transport measurements, but, on the contrary, point out the substantially different microscopic origin of the two transitions.     

Electron–hole superlattices in GaAs/Al x Ga1− x As multiple quantum wells

A GaAs/Al _x Ga_{1? x} As semiconductor structure is proposed, which is predicted to superconduct at T _c?≈?2?K. Formation of an alternating sequence of electron- and hole-populated quantum wells (an electron–hole superlattice) in a modulation-doped GaAs/Al _x Ga_{1? x} As superlattice is considered. This superlattice may be analogous to the layered electronic structure of high-T _c superconductors. In the structures of interest, the mean spacing between nearest electron (or hole) wells is the same as the mean distance between the electrons (or holes) in any given well. This geometrical relationship mimics a prominent property of optimally doped high-T _c superconductors. Band bending by built-in electric fields from ionized donors and acceptors induces electron and heavy-hole bound states in alternate GaAs quantum wells. A proposed superlattice structure meeting this criterion for superconductivity is studied by self-consistent numerical simulation.