Fabrication and characterization of hollow metal waveguides for optical interconnect applications

As data rates continue to increase in high-performance computer systems and networks, it is becoming more difficult for copper-based interconnects to keep pace. An alternative approach to meet these requirements is to move to optical-based interconnect technologies which offer a number of advantages over the legacy copper-based solutions. In order to meet the stringent requirements of high performance and low cost, manufacturable waveguide technologies must be developed. Past solutions have often employed polymer waveguide technologies, which can be expensive and limited by modal dispersion. In the present work, hollow metal waveguides (HMWGs) are investigated as a potential alternative. These waveguides demonstrate very low optical losses of <0.05 dB/cm and the capability to transmit at extremely high data rates. The fabrication, modeling, characterization of the HMWGs are discussed to enable photonic interconnect solutions for future generations of computer and server products.     

Fabrication of cosputtered Zn–In–Sn–O films and their applications to organic light-emitting diodes

Zn–In–Sn–O (ZITO) films have been grown by rf magnetron cosputtering system from ceramic oxide targets of ZnO and ITO onto glass substrate. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the microstructure is amorphous below the substrate temperature of 250 ^°C. The films exhibit sheet resistance as low as 16.7 Ω/□ and optical transparency comparable to grater than that of Sn-doped indium oxide (ITO) films. The work function ranged 5.05–5.19 eV, which is a higher work function compared to ITO (4.7 eV). The fabricated ZITO films are used in fabrication of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The ZITO anode with the zinc content of 12.5 at.% [Zn/(Zn+In+Sn)] fabricated at 250 ^°C-based OLED shows lower turn-on voltage and higher current density compared to that of ITO-based control device.     

Fabrication and characterization of Cu–CdSe–Cu nanowire heterojunctions

The Cu–CdSe–Cu nanowire heterojunctions were fabricated by sequential electrochemical deposition of layers of Cu metal and CdSe semiconductor within the nano-pores of anodic alumina membrane templates. X-ray diffraction reveals the cubic phase for Cu and hexagonal phase for CdSe in the electrodeposited Cu–CdSe–Cu nanowire heterojunctions. The composition of the nanowire heterojunction segments is characterized by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The morphological study of nanowire heterojunctions has been made using scanning electron microscope and high resolution transmission microscopy. The nanowire heterojunctions grown in 100 and 300 nm nano-pore size templates have been found to have optical band gaps of 1.92 and 1.75 eV, respectively. The absorption spectra of 100 nm nanowire heterojunctions show a blue shift of 0.18 eV. The collective nonlinear current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of the 300 and 100 nm nanowire heterojunctions show their rectifying and asymmetric behaviour, respectively.     

Preparation and characterization of iron–molybdate thin films

Mixed Fe–Mo oxides are used in industrial catalytic processes of selective oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. For better understanding of the structure-reactivity relationships of these catalysts we aim to prepare well-ordered iron–molybdate thin films as model catalysts. Here we have studied Mo deposition onto Fe₃O₄ (111) thin films produced on Pt(111) as a function of Mo coverage and annealing temperature using LEED, AES, STM and IRAS. At low temperatures, the iron oxide film is covered by Mo = O terminated molybdena nanoparticles. Upon oxidation at elevated temperatures (T > 900 K), Mo species migrate into the film and form new bonds with oxygen in the film. The resulting films maintain the crystal structure of Fe₃O₄, and the surface undergoes a (√3 × √3)R30° reconstruction. The structure is rationalized in terms of Fe substitution by Mo in the surface layers.     

Fabrication and characterization of bismuth oxide–holmia nanofibers and nanoceramics

In this article, a novel and simple method to produce both boron doped and undoped holmia stabilized bismuth oxide nanoceramic materials has been put forward. Boron doped and undoped poly (vinyl alcohol)/bismuth–holmia acetate nanofibers were produced using the electrospinning technique and were calcined at 850 °C afterward in order to obtain nanopowder. The characteristics of the nanofibers were investigated with FT-IR, XRD, and SEM. XRD analyses showed that boron undoped holmia stabilized bismuth oxide nanopowders have the face-centered cubic structure (δ-phase), and that the incorporation of boron atoms into the composite prevents the nucleus formation and turns the structure into a more amorphous glassy form. The SEM micrographs of the fibers showed that the addition of boron results in the formation of cross-linked bright-surfaced fibers. The average fiber diameters for electrospun boron doped and undoped PVA/Bi–Ho acetate nanofibers were calculated using the ImageJ software as 102 nm and 171 nm, respectively.     

Fabrication and characterization of pure and Sn/Sb-doped ZnO thin films deposited by sol–gel method

Undoped and doped ZnO thin films were prepared by sol–gel method and deposited on tin-doped indium oxides (ITO) substrate using spin coating technique. The effects of Sn and Sb dopants on structural and optical properties were investigated. The starting material was zinc acetate dihydrate, 2-methoxyethanol was used as solvent and monoethanolamine (MEA) as stabilizer. ZnO films were doped with 2% and 7% Sn and Sb concentrations. Optical measurements show an important effect of Sn and Sb dopants on optical band gap.     

Synthesis and characterization of highly textured Pt–Bi thin films

Pt–Bi films were synthesized on glass and thermally oxidized silicon substrates by e-beam evaporation and annealing. The structures were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy/selected area electron diffraction (TEM/SAED) techniques. Single-phase PtBi was obtained at an annealing temperature of 300°C, whereas a higher annealing temperature of 400°C was required to obtain the highly textured γ-PtBi₂ phase. TEM/SAED analysis showed that the films annealed at 400°C contain a dominant γ-PtBi₂ phase with a small amount of β-PtBi₂ and α-PtBi₂ phases. Both the PtBi and γ-PtBi₂ phases are highly textured in these two kinds of film: the c-axis of the hexagonal PtBi phase is mostly in the film plane, whereas the c-axis of the trigonal γ-PtBi₂ phase is perpendicular to the film plane. The electrical resistivity of the film with the γ-PtBi₂ phase was smaller by one order of magnitude than that of the film with the PtBi phase.     

Optical and structural properties of Au-Ag islands films for plasmonic applications

Bimetallic islands films consisting of composite Au-Ag nanoparticles are deposited on glass substrates by electron beam evaporation. Broad tuning of the surface-plasmon resonance (SPR) characteristics can be achieved by controlling film composition, deposition temperature and post-deposition thermal annealing. Optical and structural characterization of the samples enable one to establish the link between the SPR and the morphological and compositional characteristics of nanoparticles.     

Fabrication and performance of polymer–nanocomposite anti-reflective thin films deposited by RIR-MAPLE

Design of polymer anti-reflective (AR) optical coatings for plastic substrates is challenging because polymers exhibit a relatively narrow range of refractive indices. Here, we report synthesis of a four-layer AR stack using hybrid polymer:nanoparticle materials deposited by resonant infrared matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation. An Er:YAG laser ablated frozen solutions of a high-index composite containing TiO₂ nanoparticles and poly(methyl-methacrylate) (PMMA), alternating with a layer of PMMA. The optimized AR coatings, with thicknesses calculated using commercial software, yielded a coating for polycarbonate with transmission over 97 %, scattering <3 %, and a reflection coefficient below 0.5 % across the visible range, with a much smaller number of layers than would be predicted by a standard thin film calculation. The TiO₂ nanoparticles contribute more to the enhanced refractive index of the high-index layers than can be accounted for by an effective medium model of the nanocomposite.     

具有Washer型输入线圈的超导量子干涉放大器的制备与表征

超导量子干涉仪(SQUID)放大器具有低输入阻抗、低噪声、低功耗等优点, 目前被广泛用于微弱信号的检测领域. 与其他工艺相比, Nb/Al-AlO_x/Nb结构的约瑟夫森结具有相对较高的转变温度(T_c)、高的磁通电压调制系数以及良好的热循环能力、较宽的临界电流范围, 因此是制备SQUID放大器的很好选择. 设计并制作了欠阻尼、过阻尼约瑟夫森结以及具有Washer型输入线圈的单SQUID放大器, 通过在He³制冷机3 K温区下对器件电流-电压特性进行测量, 得到良好的结I-V特性曲线、SQUID调制特性, 初步实现利用SQUID进行放大作用, 并计算了SQUID的电流分辨率. 此项工作对于超导转变边沿传感器读出电路的实现具有重要的意义.     

用电泳技术制备YBCO高温超导厚膜

介绍了电泳技术制备YBCO高温超导厚膜的实验方法和YBCO高温超导厚膜的电学性质测量 ,讨论了在学生小型科研实验或设计实验中开展此实验的学时安排、注意事项和实验内容的扩展 .     

密封容器中后处理制备Tl2Ba2CaCu2Oy高温超导薄膜及其性能研究

以铝酸镧（001）单晶为基片，采用两步法制备Tl2Ba2CaCu2Oy（Tl 2212）高 温超导薄膜.首先，利用脉冲激光沉积（PLD）工艺沉积Ba2CaCu2Ox非晶前驱体薄膜；然后，前驱体薄膜在高温（720—850℃）下密封钢容器里铊化结晶形成Tl 2212薄膜.XRD结果表明Tl2212 薄膜是沿c轴方向生长的，其相组成为Tl 2212，摇摆曲线（0012）的半高宽为0.72° ，SEM图像显示其表面光滑平整，其零电阻温度为106.2K. 关键词： Tl 2212超导薄膜 脉冲激光沉积     

超导转变边沿单光子探测器原理与研究进展

量子信息技术近十多年来的快速发展对单光子探测器的性能提出了更高的要求,高性能单光子探测器也因此受到了更多的关注.与传统的单光子探测器相比,超导转变边沿(TES)单光子探测器在探测效率、能量分辨、光子数分辨和暗计数等方面具有突出优势.目前,超导TES单光子探测器已经被成功地应用在量子光学实验和量子密钥分配系统中,未来在量子信息技术等研究领域具有更广泛的应用.本文从超导TES单光子探测器的工作原理、制备流程、测试系统、主要性能指标以及研究现状和进展等方面对该探测器技术进行简要综述.     

Fabrication, characterization and some applications of graded chiral zigzag shaped nano-sculptured silver thin films

Graded chiral zig-zag shaped nano-sculptured silver thin films (GCZSSTF) were produced in two stages using oblique deposition technique together with rotation of substrate about its surface normal while a shadowing block was also fixed at the center of the substrate holder. Chrystallographic and morphological structure of these films were obtained using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Spectrophotometry was used to obtain their optical behavior while their application in both hydrophobicity and gas sensing was also investigated. XRD results showed a dominant (1 1 1) orientation growth on the zig arm of the structure while by addition of the second arm (zag) the crystallographical growth orientation changed to (2 2 0).The anisotropic nano-structure of these films was also distinguished through (1 − R) spectra. A common peak at about 350 nm related to the TM mode of plasmon resonances and a broad shoulder at about 420 nm for the s-polarized light and at 620 nm for the p-polarized light corresponding to the LM mode of plasmon resonances are observed. These peaks are directly related to the nano-columns topography. The film system used here proved to act as a physical method for producing layer-by-layer structure for obtaining enhanced hydrophobic surfaces rather than the usual chemical methods reported in the literature. In addition, the GCZSSTF also acted as good as reported results for nano-tubes when applied as cathode in the field ionization gas sensing setup.     

Observation of lateral long range order in superconducting FeTe thin films

<正>We find that the superconductivity in the thin films of the formerly believed non-superconducting parent compound FeTe is accompanied by an emergence of second order with a correlation length of 742 nm and 258 nm at 10 K and 300 K,respectively.The structural phase transition found in iron pnictide superconductors,in non-superconducting FeTe bulk samples,and in FeSe superconducting thin films is not observed in the superconducting FeTe thin films.The interplay between superconductivity and long range order may suggest the crucial role of competition between electronic localization and itinerancy which leads to strong quantum fluctuations in the FeTe system.     

Hard-core Hall tube in superconducting circuits

The Hall tube as a minimum model to simulate the integer quantum Hall effect is essential for exploring topological physics, while it has not been constructed in the recent developing successfully experiments on superconducting circuits. In this work, we propose a feasible experiment scheme using three legs superconducting circuits with transmon qubits to realize a Hall tube. Then we first investigate its topological properties. Since the time-reversal, particle-hole, and chiral symmetries are all broken for the system, the Hall tube belongs to the A class of the Altland-Zirnbauer classification. We obtain the corresponding topological phase transition both numerically and analytically. Since the chirality is a key character of the quantum Hall effect, we secondly investigate the chiral physics in the Hall tube. We find the topological protected chiral edge currents and discuss its robustness. Finally, we give the possible experimental observations of the topological state and topological protected chiral edge currents.     

Characterization of topological phase of superlattices in superconducting circuits

The recent experimental observation of topological magnon insulator states in a superconducting circuit chain marks a breakthrough for topological physics with qubits, in which a dimerized qubit chain has been realized. Here, we extend such a dimer lattice to superlattice with arbitrary number of qubits in each unit cell in superconducting circuits, which exhibits rich topological properties. Specifically, by considering a quadrimeric superlattice, we show that the topological invariant (winding number) can be effectively characterized by the dynamics of the single-excitation quantum state through time-dependent quantities. Moreover, we explore the appearance and detection of the topological protected edge states in such a multiband qubit system. Finally, we also demonstrate the stable Bloch-like-oscillation of multiple interface states induced by the interference of them. Our proposal can be readily realized in experiment and may pave the way towards the investigation of topological quantum phases and topologically protected quantum information processing.     

Fabrication and characterization of superconducting multiqubit device with niobium base layer

Superconducting transmon qubits are the leading platform in solid-state quantum computing and quantum simulation applications. In this work, we develop a fabrication process for the transmon multiqubit device with a niobium base layer,shadow-evaporated Josephson junctions, and airbridges across the qubit control lines to suppress crosstalk. Our results show that these multiqubit devices have well-characterized readout resonators, and that the energy relaxation and Ramsey(spin-echo) dephasing times are up to ～40 μs and 14(47) μs, respectively. We perform single-qubit gate operations that demonstrate a maximum gate fidelity of 99.97%. In addition, two-qubit vacuum Rabi oscillations are measured to evaluate the coupling strength between qubits, and the crosstalk among qubits is found to be less than 1% with the fabricated airbridges. Further improvements in qubit coherence performance using this fabrication process are also discussed.     

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.