Fabrication and characterization of sputtered titanium dioxide films

TiO₂ thin films were prepared under various conditions by using a reactive RF sputtering technique. The structural, optical and electrical characteristics of the films have been investigated. All as-deposited films were amorphous. After annealing at T > 673 K, the crystallinity of the observed tetragonal anatase phase appeared improved. The optical band gap, determined by using Tauc plot, has been found to amount to 3.38 ± 0.03 and 3.21 ± 0.03 eV for the direct and indirect transition, respectively. Also the complex optical constants for the wavelength range 300-2500 nm are reported. Using the two-point probe technique, the dark resistivity has been measured as a function of the film thickness, d. The resistivity, ρ, of the samples has been found to decrease markedly with increasing thickness, but only for d < 100 nm. The behaviour of ρd versus d was found to fit properly with the Fuchs and Sondheimer relation with parameters ρ_o = 4.95 × 10⁶ Ω cm and mean free path, l = 310 ± 2 nm. The log ρ versus 1/T curves show three distinct regions with values for the activation energy of 0.03 ± 0.01, 0.17 ± 0.01 and 0.50 ± 0.02 eV, respectively.     

0.18μm CMOS工艺栅极氧化膜可靠性的衬底和工艺依存性

用斜坡电压法(Voltage Ramp, V-ramp)评价了0.18μm双栅极 CMOS工艺栅极氧化膜击穿电量(Charge to Breakdown, Q_bd)和击穿电压(Voltage to Breakdown, V_bd). 研究结果表明，低压器件(1.8V)的栅极氧化膜(薄氧)p型衬底MOS电容和N型衬底电容的击穿电量值相差较小，而高压器件(3.3V)栅极氧化膜(厚氧)p衬底MOS电容和n衬底MOS电容的击穿电量值相差较大，击穿电压测试值也发现与击穿电量 关键词： 薄氧 可靠性 击穿电压 击穿电量     

The effect of ITO films thickness on the properties of flexible organic light emitting diode

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were deposited on cyclic olefin copolymer substrate at room temperature by an inverse target sputtering system. The crystal structure and the surface morphology of the deposited ITO films were examined by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, separately. The electrical properties of the conductive films were explored by four-point probing. Visible spectrometer was used to measure the optical properties of ITO-coated films. The performance of the flexible organic light emitting diode device with different thickness anode was investigated in this study.     

Photo-Absorption and photochemical decomposition of copper and alkaline-earth ß-diketonates as source gases of high-Tc superconducting films

For low-temperature deposition of oxide films relating to Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductors, photo-absorption and -decomposition properties were examined with respect to copper and alkaline-earth ß-diketonates. It was confirmed that all ß-diketonates examined were promising as source materials for photochemical vapour deposition (photo-CVD) using a low-pressure mercury lamp, in view of their large light absorption coefficients at wavelength 254 nm. The light irradiation was effective for the formation of highly crystalline oxide films at temperatures below 600 °C. By combining two sources, Ca₂CuO₃ and SrCuO₂ films were prepared. Photo-CVD of c-axis oriented Bi₂Sr₂CuO_x film was achieved by the irradiation of ternary sources of Bi(C₆H₅)₃ and strontium and copper ß-diketonates at 500 °C.     

Alloy formation in mechanically activated mixtures

The physical mixtures of hydroxocarbonates of Cu and Ni with aluminium were activated using a laboratory planetary mill. The chemical reactions and alloy formations as the effects of grinding were followed by the phase analysis of solid products based on the thermogravimetry and X-ray diffractometry. Experimental evidence indicates that the nature of reactions and products of mechanical activation was dependent on the amount of aluminium and time of grinding. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

用13CNMR研究聚甲基丙烯酸锡酯的立构序列分布

本文测定了自由基型溶液聚合的聚甲基丙烯酸三甲基锡酯(PTMTM),聚甲基丙烯酸三乙基锡酯(PTETM)和聚甲基丙烯酸三丁基锡酯(PTBTM)的¹³C-NMR谱,对其C-2谱扩展分峰,计算立构序列,从定量数据表明,聚合物样品的空间立构富于或稍富于间规立构,随取代基的体积增大而趋于无规分布,作者认为受空间位阻效应和分子内或分子间形成配位键的影响。     

Modeling of environmentally significant interfaces: Two case studies

When some parameters cannot be easily measured experimentally, mathematical models can often be used to deconvolute or interpret data collected on complex systems, such as those characteristic of many environmental problems. These models can help quantify the contributions of various physical or chemical phenomena that contribute to the overall behavior, thereby enabling the scientist to control and manipulate these phenomena, and thus to optimize the performance of the material or device. In the first case study presented here, a model is used to test the hypothesis that oxygen interactions with hydrogen on the catalyst particles of solid oxide fuel cell anodes can sometimes occur a finite distance away from the triple phase boundary (TPB), so that such reactions are not restricted to the TPB as normally assumed. The model may help explain a discrepancy between the observed structure of SOFCs and their performance. The second case study develops a simple physical model that allows engineers to design and control the sizes and shapes of mesopores in silica thin films. Such pore design can be useful for enhancing the selectivity and reactivity of environmental sensors and catalysts. This paper demonstrates the mutually beneficial interactions between experiment and modeling in the solution of a wide range of problems.     

A Mössbauer spectroscopic study of an industrial catalyst for dehydrogenation of etylbenzene to styrene

Iron oxide catalyst with spinel structure used for dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene is one kind of important catalyst in petrochemical industry. In this work several series of industrial catalyst were prepared with different components and different manufacturing processes. Mössbauer Spectroscopy has been used to determine the optimal components and the better manufacturing process for spinel structure formation. The results may prove useful for producing the industrial dehydrogenation catalyst with better catalytic property.     

Nanocrystalline ceramic films for efficient conversion of light into electricity

Transparent nanocrystalline films of oxide semiconductors such as TiO₂ and Fe₂O₃ have been prepared on a conducting glass support employing a sol-gel procedure. The films are composed of nanometer-sized particles sintered together to allow for percolative charge carrier transport. The internal surface of these films is very high, roughness factors of the order of 1000 being readily obtained. Electric polarization was applied for forward and reverse biasing of the films and the resulting optical changes have been analyzed to derive their flat band potential. Band gap excitation of such nanocrystalline semiconductors produces electron-hole pairs which migrate through the film to be collected as electric current. Steady state photolysis and time resolved laser techniques have been applied to scrutinize the mechanism of light induced charge separation within the nanostructure. When derivatized with a suitable chromophore, TiO₂ films give extraordinary efficiencies for the conversion of incident photons into electric current, exceeding 90% for certain transition metal complexes within the wavelength range of their absorption band. The underlying physical principles of these astonishing findings will be discussed. Exploiting this discovery, we have developed a new type of photovoltaic device whose overall light to electric energy conversion yield is 10% under simulated AM 1.5 solar radiation.