Growth of Silicon Nanowires by Heating Si substrate

Amorphous silicon nanowires were prepared by heating an Si substrate at high temperatures using an Ni (or Au) catalyst.The nanowires have a diameter of 10-40nm and a length of up to several tens of micrometres.Unlike the well-known vapour-liquid-solid mechanism,a solid-liquid-solid mechanism appeared to control the nanowire growth.The heating process had a strong influence on the growth of silicon nanowires.It was found that ambient gas was necessary to grow nanowires.This method can be used to prepare other kinds of nanowires.     

Formation of Co3O4 Nanotubes and the Magnetic Behaviour at Low Temperature

Tubular Co3O4 nanostructures were prepared from cobalt nanowires embedded in an anodic alumina template. The morphologies of nanowires/nanotubes were studied by transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction was used in the analysis of the nanostructures and phases. A possible formation mechanism of the process from nanowires to nanotubes is discussed. The vibrating sample magnetometer measurements show anomalous magnetic behaviour of the cobalt oxide nanotubes at low temperature.     

Synthesis and electrical characterization of tungsten oxide nanowires

Tungsten oxide nanowires of diameters ranging from 7 to 200~nm are prepared on a tungsten rod substrate by using the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method with vapour--solid (VS) mechanism. Tin powders are used to control oxygen concentration in the furnace, thereby assisting the growth of the tungsten oxide nanowires. The grown tungsten oxide nanowires are determined to be of crystalline W₁₈O₄₉. I--V curves are measured by an \textit{in situ} transmission electron microscope (TEM) to investigate the electrical properties of the nanowires. All of the I--V curves observed are symmetric, which reveals that the tungsten oxide nanowires are semiconducting. Quantitative analyses of the experimental I--V curves by using a metal--semiconductor--metal (MSM) model give some intrinsic parameters of the tungsten oxide nanowires, such as the carrier concentration, the carrier mobility and the conductivity.     

Deposition Behavior and Mechanism of Ni Nanoparticles on Surface of SiC Particles in Solution Systems

Ni-deposited SiC particles are prepared successfully by a facile chemical reaction approach. The structure and morphology analyses demonstrate the Ni nanoparticles have been deposited on the surface of SiC particles. The deposition behavior of Ni on the surface of SiC particles is investigated. Pd-Sn catalytic nuclei formed in the pretreatment process promote the redox reaction and lead to the reduction of Ni^2＋ to metal nickel. Moreover, the kinetic mechanism of the reaction process of Ni%2＋ and H2PO^-2 has also been discussed in detail. Kinetic models have been established.     

Influence of Mass Transport on Formation of Si—Nanostructures

Nanowire-like,condyloid-like and flakes of Si-nanostructures were synthesized by thermal evaporation under different mass transport conditions by changing the ambient pressure.The structural analysis shows that a higher mass transport rate is not favourite for the formation of fine single crytalline nanowires when the substrate placed closely to the thermal vapour source,The higher mass transport rate can induce a lower Si partial pressure near the source and hence results in a lower supersaturation near the substrate.Experimental results reveal that the formation of Si-nanowires is not controlled by mass transport but by surface process.The driving force on the surface in the key factor for the formation of well-crystallized nanowires.     

Growth and characterization of ZnO multipods on functional surfaces with different sizes and shapes of Ag particles

Three-dimensional ZnO multipods are successfully synthesized on functional substrates using the vapor transport method in a quartz tube. The functional surfaces, which include two different distributions of Ag nanoparticles and a layer of commercial Ag nanowires, are coated onto silicon substrates before the growth of ZnO nanostructures. The structures and morphologies of the ZnO/Ag heterostructures are investigated using X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The sizes and shapes of the Ag particles affect the growth rates and initial nucleations of the ZnO structures, resulting in different numbers and shapes of multipods. They also influence the orientation and growth quality of the rods. The optical properties are studied by photoluminescence, UV-vis, and Raman spectroscopy. The results indicate that the surface plasmon resonance strongly depends on the sizes and shapes of the Ag particles.     

Initial growth and microstructure feature of Ag films prepared by very-high-frequency magnetron sputtering

The initial growth and microstructure feature of Ag films formation were investigated, which were prepared by using the very-high-frequency(VHF)(60 MHz) magnetron sputtering. Because of the moderate energy and very low flux density of ions impinging on the substrate, the evolutions of initial growth for Ag films formation were well controlled by varying the sputtering power. It was found that the initial growth of Ag films followed the island(Volmer—Weber, VW) growth mode, but before the island nucleation, the adsorption of Ag nanoparticles and the formation of Ag clusters dominated the growth. Therefore, the whole initial stages of Ag films formation included the adsorption of nanoparticles, the formation of clusters, the nucleation by the nanoparticles and clusters simultaneously, the islands formation, and the coalescence of islands.     

Microstructure and Optical Properties of AgxO Prepared by Direct-Current Magnetron-Sputtering Method

Two series of AgxO films are prepared on glass substrates by dc magnetron-sputtering method at room temperature and 90℃ under different oxygen to argon gas ratio （OAR） conditions. The mierostrueture is investigated by XRD and SEM in order to obtain the information on the component evolution of AgO＋Ag2O to Ag2O. Its optical properties are investigated by reflectance and absorption spectroscopy to extract the information on metallic and dielectric behaviour evolution of Ag2O, AgO and silver particles and the interband transition. The results indicate that the AgxO film prepared at room temperature is mainly made up of AgO and Ag2 O clusters while Ag2O is the primary component of AgxO prepared at 90℃. The AgxO film mainly consisting of the primary component shows indirect interband transition structure occurring at 2.89eV. Combination of increasing OAR and substrate temperature is an effective method to lower the threshold of thermal decomposition temperature of AgxO and to deal with the bottleneck of short-wavelength optical and magneto-optieM storage.     

Growth of Pure Zinc Blende GaAs Nanowires: Effect of Size and Density of Au Nanoparticles

Pure zinc blende GaAs nanowires were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition on GaAs（111）B substrates via Au catalyzed vapor-liquid-solid mechanism. The diameter, size distribution, and density of Au particles can be changed by varying the Au film thickness. We find that the grown nanowires are of rod-like shapes and pure zinc blende structure; moreover, the growth rate depends on the density of Au particles and it is independent of its diameters. It can be concluded that the nanowire was grown with main contributions from the direct impingement of vapor species onto the Au-Ga droplets and contributions from adatom diffusion can be negligible. The results indicate that the droplet acts as a catalyst rather than an adatom collector.     

On the fluorescence enhancement mechanism of Er3+ in germanate glass containing silver particles

The spectral properties of trivalent erbium ions(Er3+) are systematically studied in a melt-quenched germanate glass(60 GeO2-20PbO-10BaO-10K2O-0.1Ag2O) containing silver(Ag) particles.Thermal treatment of the material leads to the precipitation of Ag particles as observed by transmission electron microscopy and confirmed by absorption spectrum for the obvious surface plasmon resonance peak of Ag particles.The fluorescence from Er3+ in the 10-min-annealed sample with Ag particles is found to be 4.2 times enhanced compared with the unannealed sample excited by 488-nm Ar+ laser.A comparison is made between a spectral study performed on the unannealed Er3+-doped sample and the one annealed for 20 min.The data of absorption cross section and Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters show the agreement between the two samples no matter whether there are Ag particles,indicating that the introduction of Ag particles by post-heat treatment has no effect on the crystal field environment of Er3+ ions.The fluorescence enhancement is attributed to the surface plasmon oscillations of Ag particles in germanate glass.     

Single atomic manipulation and writing with scanning tunnelling microscopy at low temperatures

In the work reported in this paper,we have used a low-temperature scanning tunnelling microscope (LT-STM) system to manipulate accurately single atoms.We show how we can use a LT-STM to image and modify a bulk Ag(111) surface and manipulate Ag atoms from substrate and evaporated adsorbates on Ag(111) substrates.We present a synergistic combination of SM-induced modification and ordered arrays of nanometre-scale structures.In particular,we demonstrate the ability to modify Ag atomic nanometre structures on the Ag(111) substrate,and some English letters and a Chinese character can be written by single Ag atoms coming from the substrate and evaporated adsorbates on Ag(111),In this way ,we supply an effective basis to explore the fundamental physical properties of a nanometre structure and to develop nanotechnology with a bottom-up approach,     

Effect of substrate temperature and pressure on properties of microcrystalline silicon films

In this paper intrinsic microcrystalline silicon films have been prepared by very high frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (VHF-PECVD) with different substrate temperature and pressure. The film properties were investigated by using Raman spectra, x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and optical transmittance measurements, as well as dark conductivity. Raman results indicate that increase of substrate temperature improves the microcrystallinity of the film. The crystallinity is improved when the pressure increases from 50Pa to 80Pa and the structure transits from microcrystalline to amorphous silicon for pressure higher than 80Pa. SEM reveals the effect of substrate temperature and pressure on surface morphology.     

Influence of Inert Gas Pressure on Growing Rate of Nanocrystalline Silicon Film Prepared by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Nanocrystalline silicon film (nc-Si) was prepared by pulsed laser deposition in different inert gas atmospheres such as He, Ne and Ar. The influence of inert gas pressure on growing rate of the film was investigated. The results show that with increasing gas pressure, growing rate first increases and reaches its maximum and then decreases; the gas pressure at the maximum of growing rate is proportional to the reciprocal of atomic mass of gas. The rate maximum is 0.315 A/pulse when He gas pressure is 8.3 Pa. The dynamic process is analysed theoretically by means of resputtering from the film surface and scattering of ablated particles. Ehrthermore, our results are compared with those in the case of Ag target.     

TiO_2/Ag composite nanowires for a recyclable surface enhanced Raman scattering substrate

Multifunctional TiO2/Ag composite nanowires are fabricated with a hydrothermal method by precipitating Ag nanoparticles （NPs） on the surfaces of TiO2 nanowires. This hierarchical one-dimensional （1D） nanostructure can be used as a surface enhanced Raman scattering （SERS） substrate with high sensitivity, for detecting the rhodamine 6G （R6G） in a wide range of low concentrations （from 1 × 10 6 M to 1 × 10-12 M）. In addition, the substrate can be self-cleaned under the irradiation of ultraviolet （UV） light due to the superior photocatalytic capacity of the TiO2/Ag composite nanostructure, making the recycled use of SERS substrates closer to reality. With both the evident SERS performance and high efficiency of photocatalytic capacity, such TiOz/Ag composite nanowires demonstrate considerable potential in the chemical sensing of organic pollutants.     

Simulation of surfactant effects on the growth of metal homoexpitaxial Sb-Ag/Ag(111)

A kinetic Monte Carlo simulation is performed in order to study the effect of Sb atoms as a surfactant on the growth of Ag on Ag(111).In our model the repulsive mechanism in which the surfactant Sb atoms repel diffusing Ag adatoms,and the exchange mechanism between Ag and Sb atoms,are considered.Our simulations show that the effects of Sb atoms for Ag/Ag(111) growth system are mainly to increase the chances for Ag atoms to overcome the Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier both in the interlayer growth and along the edge diffusion.The influence of the coverage of Sb atoms and substrate temperature on the growth of Ag/Sb/Ag(111) is discussed.     

Magnetic properties and magnetoresistance of Co_xC_(1-x) granular films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Amorphous CoxC1-x granular films were prepared on n-Si(100) substrate by dc magnetron sputtering.The effects of Co concentration,film thickness and annealing temperature on the magnetic properties and magnetoresistance(MR) were investigated.After annealing at 500°C for 0.5 hour,the Co(002) peak of the CoxC1-x(x>2.5 at.%) films was observed,but cracks appeared in the films.Saturation magnetization Ms increased steadily with the increase of Co concentration from 2.5 at.% to 50 at.% and also increased with ann...     

Simulation of surfactant effect on growth of metal homoexpitaxial Sb－Ag/Ag(111)

A kinetic Monte Carlo simulation is performed in order to study the effect of Sb atoms as a surfactant on the growth of Ag on Ag(111). In our model the repulsive mechanism in which the surfactant Sb atoms repel diffusing Ag adatoms, and the exchange mechanism between Ag and Sb atoms, are considered. Our simulations show that the effects of Sb atoms for Ag/Ag(111) growth system are mainly to increase the chances for Ag atoms to overcome the Ehrlich--Schwoebel barrier both in the interlayer growth and along the edge diffusion. The influence of the coverage of Sb atoms and substrate temperature on the growth of Ag/Sb/Ag(111) is discussed.     

Controlled Growth of Carbon Nanotubes and its Field Emission Properties

Uniform films of aligned carbon nanotubes were grown on a patterned Ni coated ceramic substrate by microwaveplasma chemical vapour deposition (MWPCVD). A laser writing technique was used to make some patterns onthe substrate. The controlled selective growth of nanotubes on the patterned substrate can be obtained directlyduring the reaction process in the MWPCVD chamber. The Raman spectrum shows a good graphitization of thecarbon nanotubes. In the field emission test, turn-on field of 1 V/μm and emission current density of 5 mA/cm^2 at 3.3 V/μm were achieved.     

Tunable surface-plasmon-resonance wavelength of silver island films

This paper experimentally and theoretically investigates the effect of the underlayer medium on tuning of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) wavelength of silver island films,and the effect of substrate temperature on the morphologies and optical properties of the films.From the absorption spectra of single Ag with various thickness and overcoated (Ag/TiO 2) films deposited on glass substrates at various substrate temperatures by RF magnetron sputtering,we demonstrate that the surface plasmon resonance wavelength can be made tunable by changing the underlayer medium,the thickness of metal layer and the substrate temperature.By varying substrate temperatures,the interparticle coupling effects on plasmon resonances of nanosilver particles enhance as the spacing between the particles reduces.When the substrate temperature is up to 500 C,the absorption peak decreases sharply and shifts to shorter wavelength side due to the severe coalescence between silver islands in the film.     

Dependence of Structure and Haemocompatibility of Amorphous Carbon Films on Substrate Bias Voltage

Tetrahedral amorphous hydrogenated carbon (ta-C:H) films on Si(lO0) substrates were prepared by using a magnetic-field-filter plasma stream deposition system. Samples with different ratios of sp^3-bond to sp^2-bond were obtained by changing the bias voltage applied to the substrates. The ellipsometric spectra of various carbon films in the photon energy range of 1.9-5.4eV were measured. The refractive index n and the relative sp^3 C ratio of these films were obtained by simulating their ellipsometric spectra using the Forouhi-Bloomer model and by using the Bruggeman effective medium approximation, respectively. The haemocompatibility of these ta-C:H films was analysed by observation of platelet adhesion and measurement of kinetic clotting time. The results show that the sp^3 C fraction is dependent on the substrate bias voltage, and the haemocompatibility is dependent on the ratio of sp^3-bond to sp^2-bond. A good haemocompatibility material of ta-C:H films with a suitable sp^3 C fraction can be prepared by changing the substrate bias voltage.