Local structure of NiTi naocrystals studied by EXAFS and XRD

A series of NiTi nanocrystals with different annealing temperatures,prepared by sputtering method,were investigated by extended x-ray absrption fine structure(EXAFS) and x-ray diffraction.It was found that the structure of nano-phase powder is different from bulk NiTi alloy with bcc structure as targent materials.When increasing the annealing temperature,a small fraction of the (Ni,Ti) type nanocrystal with the hexagonal structure was presented except target materials and Ni,and it is atomic occupation in random.Finally there were four Ti and two Ni atoms around central Ni atoms,and the bond length of Ni-Ti and Ni-Ni were 0.2462nm and 0.2585nm at 800℃ annealed.     

Structural evolution of a-Si:H/SiO2 multilayers upon step by step thermal annealing

a-Si:H/SiO_2 multilayers were prepared by alternatively changing plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition of a-Si:H layers and in situ plasma oxidation process. Subsequently, as-grown samples were annealed at temperatures from 350℃ to 1100℃ in N_2 ambient with an increment of 100℃. The evolution of bonding configurations and structures with annealing treatments was systematically investigated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The peak position of Si－O stretching vibration of SiO_2 layers shift to 1087cm^{-1} after annealing at 1100℃, which demonstrates that the SiO_2 films fabricated by plasma oxidation after high temperature annealing can have similar properties to the thermal grown ones. A Si－O vibration from interfacial SiO_x was identified: the value x was found to increase as increasing the annealing temperature, which is ascribed to the cooperation of hydrogen effusion and reordering of the oxygen bond in SiO_x networks. The H-related bonds were observed in the form of H－Si－O_3 and H－Si－Si_{3-n}O_n (n=1－2) configurations, which are supposed to be present in SiO_2 and interfacial SiO_x layers, respectively. The H atoms bonded in different bonding configurations effuse at different temperatures due to their different desorption energies.     

Effects of Ag on Electrical Properties of Ag/Ni/p-GaN Ohmic Contact

Properties of the Ag/Ni/p-GaN structure at different temperatures are studied by Auger electron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and high resolution x-ray diffraction. The effect of Ag in ohmic contact on the crystalline quality is investigated and the optimized value of annealing temperature is reported. The lowest specific contact resistance of 2.5 × 10^-4 Ωcm^2 is obtained at annealing temperature of 550^o C.     

Investigation of Oxygen Vacancy and Interstitial Oxygen Defects in ZnO Films by Photoluminescence and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

ZnO films prepared at different temperatures and annealed at 900^o C in oxygen are studied by photoluminescence （PL） and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）. It is observed that in the PL of the as-grown films the green luminescence （GL） and the yellow luminescence （YL） are related, and after annealing the GL is restrained and the YL is enhanced. The 0 ls XPS results also show the coexistence of oxygen vacancy （Vo） and interstitial oxygen （Oi） before annealing and the quenching of the Vo after annealing. By combining the two results it is deduced that the GL and YL are related to the Vo and Oi defects, respectively.     

Atomic Diffusion in Cu/Si （111） and Cu/SiO2/Si （111） Systems by Neutral Cluster Beam Deposition

The Cu films are deposited on two kinds of p-type Si （111） substrates by ionized duster beam （ICB） technique. The interface reaction and atomic diffusion of Cu/Si （111） and Cu/SiO2/Si （111） systems are studied at different annealing temperatures by x-ray diffraction （XRD） and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry （RBS）. Some significant results are obtained： For the Cu/Si （111） samples prepared by neutral dusters, the interdiffusion of Cu and Si atoms occurs when annealed at 230℃. The diffusion coefficients of the samples annealed at 230℃ and 500℃ are 8.5 ×10^-15 cm^2.s^-1 and 3.0 ×10^-14 cm^2.s^-1, respectively. The formation of the copper-silicide phase is observed by XRD, and its intensity becomes stronger with the increase of annealing temperature. For the Cu/SiO2//Si （111） samples prepared by neutral dusters, the interdiffusion of Cu and Si atoms occurs and copper silicides are formed when annealed at 450℃. The diffusion coefficients of Cu in Si are calculated to be 6.0 ×10^-16 cm^2.s^-1 at 450℃, due to the fact that the existence of the SiO2 layer suppresses the interdiffusion of Cu and Si.     

Microstructure and photoluminescence of Er-doped SiOx films synthesized by ion beam assisted deposition

Er-doped SiO_x films were synthesized at 500℃ by ion beam assisted deposition technique and annealed at 800 and 1100℃ for 2h in the air atmosphere. The analysis by using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy showed that the ratio of Si to O decreased from 3 in the as-deposited films to about 1 in the annealed films. The investigation by using transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction indicated that annealing induces a microstructure change from amorphous to crystalline. The grain sizes in the films were about 10 and 40nm when annealed at 800 and 1100℃, respectively. The films annealed at temperatures of 800 and 1100℃ exhibited a sharp photoluminescence (PL) at 1.533μm from the Er centres when pumped by 980nm laser. The influence of microstructure and grain size on the PL from Er-doped SiO_x films has been studied and discussed.     

Synthesis and Optical Properties of ZnO Nanostructures

ZnO nanostructures with different morphologies were fabricated by changing the partial oxygen pressure. The structures, morphologies and optical properties of ZnO nanostructures were investigated by x-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectra at room temperature. All the samples show preferred orientation along the c-axis. The oxygen partial pressure and the annealing atmosphere have important effect on the PL property of ZnO nanostructures. The high oxygen partial pressure during growth of samples and high-temperature annealing of the ZnO samples in oxygen can increase oxygen vacancies and can especially increase antisite oxygen (OZn) defects, which degraded the near band-edge emission. However, the annealing in 1-12 can significantly modify the NBE emission.     

PHOTOLUMINESCENCE OF NANOCRYSTALLINE SiC FILMS PREPARED BY RF MAGNETRON SPUTTERING

Amorphous SiC films are deposited on Si (111) substrates by rf magnetron sputtering and then annealed at 1200℃ for different times by a dc self-heating method in a vacuum annealing system. The crystallization of the amorphous SiC is determined by Raman scattering at room temperature and X-ray diffraction. The experimental result indicates that the SiC nanocrystals have formed in the films. The topography of the as-annealed films is characterized by atomic force microscopy. Measurements of photoluminescence of the as-annealed films show blue or violet light emission from the nanocrystalline SiC films and photoluminescence peak shifts to short wavelength side as the annealing time decreases.     

Effect of High Temperature Annealing on Conduction-Type ZnO Films Prepared by Direct-Current Magnetron Sputtering

We experimentally find that the ZnO thin films deposited by dc-magnetron sputtering have different conduction types after annealing at high temperature in different ambient. Hall measurements show that ZnO films annealed at 1100℃ in N2 and in 02 ambient become n-type and p-type, respectiveIy. This is due to the generation of different intrinsic defects by annealing in different ambient. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and photolumineseence measurements indicate that zinc interstitial becomes a main defects after annealing at 1100℃ in N2 ambient, and these defects play an important role for n-type conductivity of ZnO. While the ZnO films annealed at 1100℃ in O2 ambient, the oxygen antisite contributes ZnO films to p-type.     

Electrical Properties of Ag-Doped Ge2Sb2Te5 Films Used for Phase Change Random Access Memory

Ag-doped Ge2Sb2Te5 films were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering on SiO2/Si substrates. The content of Ag ranging from 4.5 to 11.3 at.% is determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The crystallization temperature of Ag-doped Ge2Sb2 Te5 increases with the increasing Ag content and the stability of phase change film is improved greatly. Structures were measured by x-ray diffraction and the face-centered-cubic structure was more stable after Ag doping. Four-point probe was used to measure the sheet resistance of Agdoped Ge2Sb2 Te5 films annealed at different temperatures and it is indicated that Ag atoms increase the sheet resistance of Ge2Sb2 Te5 thin film when the annealing temperature is higher than about 360℃, which is beneficial for reducing the reset current. Current-voltage curves were tested and it is demonstrated that 4.5 at. % Ag doping into the Ge2Sb2Te5 film can reduce the threshold current from 1.46mA to 0.25mA and can only increase the threshold voltage slightly, which is very useful for low energy consumption.