Atomic scale epitaxial growth of BaTiO3 thin films by laser molecular beam epitaxy

By using laser molecular beam epitaxy (L-MBE), atomic scale epitaxid growth of BaTiO₃(BTO) thin films on SrTiO₃ (STO) substrates is achieved. Measurements of reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy reveal that the BTO films arec-axis oriented single crystals with smooth surface. The multi-layer ferroelectric/superconducting heterostructures are also prepared and the ferroelectric properties of BTO films are studied. The results show that by using L-MBE technique, high quality BTO films and improved device performance can be obtained. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Department of Finance, and the National Center for R and D on Superconductivity of China.     

Synchrotron radiation photoemission spectrum study on K3C60 film

K₃C₆₀, single crystal film was prepared on the cleaved (111) surface of C₆₀, single crystal. Synchrotron radiation angle-resolved photoemission spectra were measured at normal emission with sample temperature at × 150K. Up to four subpeaks of LUMO-derived band were observed. These sub-peaks exhibit distinct energy dispersions which resemble in general the theoretical ones calculated for K₃C₆₀ at low temperature with the so-called one-dimensional disordered structure. But there is large deviation of experimental sub-band intervals from the theoretical values. This result is meaningful for the studies of the physical properties of alkali-doped C₆₀ solids, e.g. the mechanism for superconductivity.     

Epitaxial growth and electrical transport properties of La0.5Sr0.5Co03 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Epitaxial growth of the La_0.5Sr_{0.5 3}(LO) thin films has been realized on Lin3, SrTiC₃ and MgO substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The epitaxial growth behavior and the electrical transport properties of these films were studied systematically. The temperature dependencies of the resistivity of the film have been determined. Studies indicate that close dependencies exist between the crystal structures and the electrical transport properties of the epitaxial LSCO films, and that the epitaxial thin films are of low resistivity and metallic conductive features. The epitaxial films deposited on the LaA10₃ substrates at about 700 °C possess the optimal properties compared with the others. Discussions of the dependencies and the mechanisms of the epitaxial structures on the electrical transport properties of the LSCO films have been made. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 19574003 and No. 19674001).     

Growth morphology and structural characteristic of C70 single crystals

Large size C₇₀ single crystals with the dimension of more than 5 mm are grown from the vapor phase by controlling nucleation. X-ray diffraction and electron diffraction confirm that in the C₇₀ single crystal a phase of the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure coexists with a minor face-center-cubic (fcc) phase at room temperature. The morphologies and their formation mechanism of the C₇₀ single crystals are investigated by means of scanning electron micrascopy and optical microscopy. The influence of growth conditions on the morphologies of C₇₀ single crystals is discussed. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 59772026).     

High temperature superconducting thin films for microwave filters

YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ and Tl₂Ba₂CaCu₂O₈ thin films for microwave filters were synthesized by pulsed laser deposition and the two-step thalliation process. Substrate quality requirements and the relation of thin film morphology, microstructure with microwave surface resistance were discussed.     

Preparation, structure, magnetic properties and special magnetoresistance effect of Lao.67Sr0.33Mn03+δ/Pr0.7Cao.3 Mn03+δ/Lao.67Sro.33Mn03+δ trilayered thin films

The La_0,67Sr_0.33Mn0_{3 +δ}/Pr_0.7Ca_o.3Mn0_3+δ/La_0.67Sr_0.33Mn0_3+δ(LPL) trilayered films on (100)LaA-1O₃ substrates are prepared by using direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering method. The results obtained by means of X-ray powder diffractometer show that all films are the high quality epitaxial films. The results gained by SQUID magnetometer indicate that there is a magnetic coupling in the LPL trilayered films. The resistivities of LSMO, PC-MO and LPL films are measured using standard four-probe method and analyzed log_p-1/T curve. From the results it is concluded that the middle-layered PCMO which is ferromagnetic may play a role of intra-magnetic field, which weakens the paramagnetism of LSMO film, lowersp _max and enlargesT _p which is the transition temperature from metal to insulator, just as the applied magnetic field does. And the middle-layered PCMO may induce the change of the density of states in the LSMO’s gap. The two reasons above make the resistivity andT _p of the samples in zero field change with the thickness of PCMO layers. Project supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Foundation of State Science and Technology Commission of China.     

Coulomb expansion of a van der Waals C60 solid film

Scanning tunneling microscopy study revealed a van der Waals C₆₀, solid film with 13% room-temperature lattice expansion on the GaAs(00l) 2 x 4 surface. The mechanism involves fundamental Coulomb interaction due to charge transfer from the GaAs substrate. Theoretical calculation determines the charge transfer to be 1.76 electrons per C₆₀ molecule. Oriented at its (110) crystallographic axis this film also distinguishes itself from those formed on all other semiconductor and metal substrates where only the low-energy (111) hexagonal packing of C₆₀ molecules was developed. It is shown that this is due to the one-dimensional confinement effect of the anisotropic substrate, which may have the prospect of controlling crystal growth.     

Synthesis and characterization of C3N4 hard films

C₃N₄ films have been synthesized on both Si and Ft substrates by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) method. X-ray spectra were calculated for single phase α-C₃N₄ and β-C₃N₄ respectively. The experimental X-ray spectra of films deposited on both Si and Pt substrates showed all the strong peaks of α-C₃N₄ and β-C₃N₄ so the films are mixtures of α-C₃N₄ and β-C₃N₄. The N/C atomic ratio is in the range of 1.0–2.0. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated that the binding energy of Is and N ls are 286.2 eV and 399.5 eV respectively, corresponding to polarized C-N bond. Fourier transform infrared absorption (FT-IR) and Raman spectra support the existence of C-N covalent bond in the films. Nano-indentation hardness tests showed that the bulk modulus of a film deposited on Pt is up to 349 GPa     

Synthesis and characterization of C3N4 crystal (I)

A successful experimental synthesis of pure crystalline β- and α-C₃N₄ films on Si(100) substrate was carried out by bias-assisted hot filament chemical vapor deposition (bias-HFCVD). It is found that a mixed-phase C₃-_I-Si_xN_y buffer layer was formed between the Si substrate and the C-N film. A “lattice match selection” was proposed to study the growth mechanism of C₃N₄ clusters composed of many crystal columns with hexagonal facets. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.     

When Some Complement of a Submodule Is a Summand

A module M is said to satisfy the C ₁₁ condition if every submodule of M has a (i.e., at least one) complement which is a direct summand. It is known that the C ₁ condition implies the C ₁₁ condition and that the class of C ₁₁-modules is closed under direct sums but not under direct summands. We show that if M = M ₁ ⊕ M ₂, where M has C ₁₁ and M ₁ is a fully invariant submodule of M, then both M ₁ and M ₂ are C ₁₁-modules. Moreover, the C ₁₁ condition is shown to be closed under formation of the ring of column finite matrices of size Γ, the ring of m-by-m upper triangular matrices and right essential overrings. For a module M, we also show that all essential extensions of M satisfying C ₁₁ are essential extensions of C ₁₁-modules constructed from M and certain subsets of idempotent elements of the ring of endomorphisms of the injective hull of M. Finally, we prove that if M is a C ₁₁-module, then so is its rational hull. Examples are provided to illustrate and delimit the theory.     

Preparation of Y-Ba-Cu-O film on metal substrate with buffer layers deposited by ion beam assisted deposition

Ion beam assisted pulsed laser deposition of biaxially aligned yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) was used to produce a buffer layer for YBCO film on polycrystalline metallic substrate. The YSZ layers were biaxially aligned with (001) axis normal to the substrate. The minimum FWHM of (111) phi-scan of the YSZ was 19°, and the minimum FWHM of the rocking curve of YSZ was 4.5°. Highly c-axis oriented biaxially aligned YBCO thin films were epitaxially grown by laser ablation on these layers, with J_C(77K, 0T) = 2.1 × 10⁵ A/cm², . Project supported by the National Center for R&D on Superconductivity of China.     

Experimental study of scaling properties and roughing mechanisms in C60-Ag thin films

Surface morphologies and microstructures of C₆₀/Ag composite films were studied by atomic force microscope (AFM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The surface roughness depended on the substrate temperature, and the transition of surface morphology of rough→smooth→rough was observed when the substrate temperature increased from −50 to 120°C. Although the rms values are similar, the scaling properties of the thermal roughing and the kinetic roughing surfaces are quite different. The relations between the scaling properties, microstructures and roughing mechanisms are discussed based on the AFM and TEM results. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 59529204).     

Crank–Nicolson Scheme for Abstract Linear Systems

This paper studies the Crank–Nicolson discretization scheme for abstract differential equations on a general Banach space. We show that a time-varying discretization of a bounded analytic C₀-semigroup leads to a bounded discrete-time system. On Hilbert spaces, this result can be extended to all bounded C₀-semigroups for which the inverse generator generates a bounded C₀-semigroup. The presentation is based on C₀-semigroup theory and uses a functional analysis approach.     

Phase transition in layered perovskite-like manganate Ca3Mn2O7 under high pressure

In situ high pressure energy dispersive X-ray diffraction measurements on the layered perovskite-like manganate Ca₃Mn₂O₇ powder under pressures were performed by using the diamond anvil cell with synchrotron radiation. The results show that the structure of layered perovskite-like manganate Ca₃Mn₂O₇ is unstable under pressure due to the easy compression of NaCl-type blocks. The structure of Ca₃Mn₂O₇ underwent two phase transitions under pressures in the range of 0–35 GPa. One was at about 1.3 GPa with the crystal structure changing from tetragonal to orthorhombic. The other was at about 9.5 GPa with the crystal structure changing from orthorhombic back to another tetragonal.     

Breakup of finite fluid films

We study the dewetting process of thin fluid films that partially wet a solid surface. Using long wave (lubrication) approximation, we formulate a nonlinear partial differential equation governing the evolution of the film thickness, h. This equation includes the effects of capillarity, gravity, and additional conjoining/disjoining pressure term to account for intermolecular forces. We perform standard linear stability analysis of an infinite flat film, and identify the corresponding stable, unstable and metastable regions. Within this framework, we analyze the evolution of a semi-infinite film of length L in one direction. The numerical simulations show that for long and thin films, the dewetting fronts of the film generate a pearling process involving successive formation of ridges at the film ends and consecutive pinch-off behind these ridges. On the other hand, for shorter and thicker films, the evolution ends up by forming a single drop. The time evolution as well as the final drops pattern shows a competition between the dewetting mechanisms caused by nucleation and by free surface instability. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Gorenstein Injective and Projective Complexes with Respect to a Semidualizing Module

Let R be a commutative (possibly non-Noetherian) ring (in order to make things less technical) and C a semidualizing R-module. In this article, we introduce and investigate the notion of G _C -injective (G _C -projective) complexes. This extends Enochs and García Rozas's notion of Gorenstein injective (Gorenstein projective) complexes. We then show that a complex X is G _C -injective (G _C -projective) if and only if X ^m is a G _C -injective (G _C -projective) module for each m ∈ ?.     

Fundamental relation and automorphism group of very thin Hv-groups

The purpose of this paper is computing the fundamental relations and automorphism groups of very thin H_v-groups. In this regards, we first investigate some basic properties of H_v-groups and then we show that any given group is isomorphic to the fundamental group of a nontrivial H_v-group. The main properties of very thin H_v-groups are also investigated and it is proved that every finite very thin H_v-group is proper.     

Simulating resistance switching in amorphous carbon

The resistance switching in amorphous carbon (a-C) is mathematically simulated on the basis of quantum molecular dynamics. The electric conductivity in thin a-C films is related to a phase transition due to an electric field and corresponding Joule heating and cooling. Simulations show that the transition mechanism is related to the clusterization of existing conducting regions of graphite (sp ²) in a nonconducting diamond (sp ³) matrix. Simulations yield the conditions for the phase transition in a-C from one state to another. Excited molecular orbitals and the energy gap at different temperatures are also calculated.     

Influence of SiO2 in SiCp on the microstructure and impact strength of Al/SiCp composites fabricated by pressureless infiltration

The effect of SiO₂ in SiC_p and the following processing parameters on the microstructure and impact strength of Al/SiC_p composites fabricated by pressureless infiltration was investigated: Mg content in the aluminum alloy, SiC particle size, and holding time. Preforms of SiC_p in the form of rectangular bars (10 × 1 × 1 cm) were infiltrated at 1150°C in an argon→nitrogen atmosphere for 45 and 60 min by utilizing two aluminum alloys (Al-6 Mg-11 Si and Al-9 Mg-11 Si, wt.%). The results obtained show that the presence of SiO₂ in SiC affects the microstructure and impact strength of the composites significantly. When Al₄C₃ is formed, the impact strength decreases. However, a high proportion of SiC to SiO₂ limits the formation of the unwanted Al₄C₃ phase in the composites. Also, a higher content of Mg in the Al alloy lowers the residual porosity and, consequently, increases the composite strength. The impact strength grows with decrease in SiC particle size and increases considerably when the residual porosity is less than 1%. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 401–418, May–June, 2006.