Temperature dependence of Cu2O orientations in the oxidation of Cu（111）/ZnO（0001） by oxygen plasma

The role of temperature on the oxidation dynamics of Cu2O on ZnO (0001) was investigated during the oxidation of Cu (111)/ZnO (0001) by using oxygen plasma as the oxidant. A transition from single crystalline Cu2O (111) orientation to micro-zone phase separation with multiple orientations was revealed when the oxidation temperature increased above 300°C. The experimental results clearly show the effect of the oxidation temperature with the assistance of oxygen plasma on changing the morphology of Cu (111) film and enhancing the lateral nucleation and migration abilities of cuprous oxides. A vertical top-down oxidation mode and a lateral migration model were proposed to explain the different nucleation and growth dynamics of the temperature-dependent oxidation process in the oxidation of Cu (111)/ZnO (0001).     

Temperature dependence of Cu2O orientations in oxidation of Cu (111)/ZnO (0001) by oxygen plasma

The role of temperature on the oxidation dynamics of Cu₂O on ZnO (0001) was investigated during the oxidation of Cu (111)/ZnO (0001) by using the oxygen plasma as oxidant. A transition from single crystalline Cu₂O (111) orientation to micro-zone phase separation with multiple orientations was revealed when the oxidation temperature increased from 300 ℃ to higher. The experimental results clearly showed the effect of oxidation temperature with the assistance of oxygen plasma on changing the morphology of Cu (111) film and enhancing the lateral nucleation and migration abilities of cuprous oxides. A vertical top-down oxidation mode and a lateral migration model were proposed to explain the different nucleation and growth dynamics of the temperature-dependent oxidation process in the oxidation of Cu (111)/ZnO (0001).     

Growth and photoluminescence properties of inclined ZnO and ZnCoO thin films on SrTiO_3（110） substrates

ZnO thin film growth prefers different orientations on the etched and unetched SrTiO 3（STO）（110） substrates.Inclined ZnO and cobalt-doped ZnO（ZnCoO） thin films are grown on unetched STO（110） substrates using oxygen plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy,with the c-axis 42 inclined from the normal STO（110） surface.The growth geometries are ZnCoO[100]//STO[110] and ZnCoO[111]//STO[001].The low temperature photoluminescence spectra of the inclined ZnO and ZnCoO films are dominated by D 0 X emissions associated with A 0 X emissions,and the characteristic emissions for the 2 E（2G）→ 4A2（4F） transition of Co 2＋ dopants and the relevant phonon-participated emissions are observed in the ZnCoO film,indicating the incorporation of Co 2＋ ions at the lattice positions of the Zn 2＋ ions.The c-axis inclined ZnCoO film shows ferromagnetic properties at room temperature.     

Epitaxial Properties of Co-Doped ZnO Thin Films Grown by Plasma Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy

High quality Co-doped ZnO thin films are grown on single crystalline Al2O3（0001） and ZnO（0001） substrates by oxygen plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy at a relatively lower substrate temperature of 450℃. The epitaxial conditions are examined with in-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction （RHEED） and ex-situ high resolution x-ray diffraction （HRXRD）. The epitaxial thin films are single crystal at film thickness smaller than 500nm and nominal concentration of Co dopant up to 20%. It is indicated that the Co cation is incorporated into the ZnO matrix as Co^2＋ substituting Zn^2＋ ions. Atomic force microscopy shows smooth surfaces with rms roughness of 1.9 nm. Room-temperature magnetization measurements reveal that the Co-doped ZnO thin films are ferromagnetic with Curie temperatures Tc above room temperature.     

Structural Stabilities of Ordered Nb4 Clusters on the Cu（111） and Cu（100） Surfaces

Based on first-principles calculations, we show that very high-density periodic arrays of Nb4 clusters with both the tetrahedron and quadrangle configurations can be stably absorbed on the Cu（111） and Cu（100） surfaces, with the quadrangle configurations more stable than the tetrahedron ones. The strong covalent bonding between atoms within the Nb4 clusters contributes to the stability of Nb4 adsorptions on the Cu surfaces. The energy barriers for the tetrahedron to the quadrangle-Nb4 on Cu（111） and （100） are around 1.21 eV and 0.94 eV/cluster, respectively. The stable adsorption of high-density Nb4 on these surfaces should have important applications.     

Giant Temperature Coefficient of Resistance in ZnO/Si （111） Thin Films

Giant negative temperature coefficient of resistance （TCR） was observed in ZnO/Si （111） thin films. The films were grown using the pulsed laser deposition （PLD） technique, taking Si （111） wafer as substrates, with a substrate at the temperature below 450°C in the PLD. It is found that both TCR-temperature behavior and TCR value are strongly affected by deposition temperature. The maximal TCR value over -10.9%K-1 can be observed at the deposition temperature from 20°C to 350°C and reaches to -13%K-1 at deposition temperature 20°C where the film shows X-ray diffraction amorphous. The results suggest that the ZnO/Si films demonstrate great potentials when used in a low-cost, high-performance, non-cooling and highly sensitive bolometer.     

Scanning tunneling microscopy study of molecular growth structures of Gd@C82 on Cu（111）

The coverage and temperature-dependent nucleation behaviors of the Gd@C82 metallofullerenes on Cu(111) have been studied by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (LT-STM) in detail. Upon molecular deposition at low temperature, Gd@C82 molecules preferentially decorate the steps and nucleate into single layer islands with increasing coverage. Further annealing treatment leads some of the Gd@C82 molecules to assemble into bright and dim patches, which are correlated to the adsorption induced substrate reconstruction. Upon sufficient thermal activation, Gd@C82 molecules sink into the Cu(111) surface one-copper-layer-deep, forming hexagonal close-packed molecular islands with intra-molecular details observed as striped patterns. By considering the commensurability between the Gd@C82 nearest-neighbor distance and the lattice of the underlying Cu(111), we clearly identified two kinds of in-plane molecular arrangements as (19(1/2)×19(1/2))R23.4°and (19(1/2)×19(1/2))R36.6°with respect to Cu(111). Within the assembled Gd@C82 molecular, island molecules with dim-bright contrast are spatially distributed, which may be modulated by the preexisted species on Cu(111).     

Two-Step Oxidation of Pb（111） Surfaces

We report on a two-step method for oxidation of Pb（111） surfaces, which consists of low temperature （90K） adsorption of 02 and subsequent annealing to room temperature. In situ scanning tunnelling microscopy observation reveals that oxidation of Pb（111） can occur effectively by this method, while direct room temperature adsorption results in no oxidation. Temperature-dependent adsorption behaviour suggests the existence of a precursor state for 02 adsorption on Pb（111） surfaces and can explain the oxidation-resistance of clean Pb（111） surface at room temperature.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of an argon cluster filled inside carbon nanotubes

The effects of the diameters of single-walled carbon nanotubes （SWCNTs） （7.83A to 27.40A） and temperature （20 K-45 K） on the equilibrium structure of an argon cluster are systematically studied by molecular dynamics simulation with consideration of the SWCNTs to be fixed. Since the diameters of SWCNTs with different chiralities increase when temperature is fixed at 20 K, the equilibrium structures of the argon cluster transform from monoatomic chains to helical and then to multishell coaxial cylinders. Chirality has almost no noticeable influence on these cylindrosymmetric structures. The effects of temperature and a non-equilibrium sudden heating process on the structures of argon clusters in SWCNTs are also studied by molecular dynamics simulation.     

Growth and Characterization of Cu2O Films Made by Rapid Thermal Oxidation Technique

Cu2O thin films with （111） preferred orientation have been grown on glass and Cu substrates by rapid thermal oxidation of Cu at 500℃ for 45s. The optical band gap energy was determined by spectral data of transmittance and absorbance to be 2.04eV. The electrical conductivity of grown films was measured around （1：1 × 10^-5Ω^-1cm^-1） at 300K. Thermoelectric power measurements of the film were carried out. Furthermore, the properties of these films are compared with properties of Cu2O obtained by other methods.     

Coverage Dependence of Growth Mode in Heteroepitaxy of Ni on Cu（100） Surface

A realistic kinetic Monte Carlo （KMC） simulation model with physical parameters is developed, which well reproduces the heteroepitaxial growth of multilayered Ni thin film on Cu（100） surfaces at room temperature. The effects of mass transport between interlayers and edge diffusion of atoms along the islands are included in the simulation model, and the surface roughness and the layer distribution versus total coverage are calculated. Speeially, the simulation model reveals the transition of growth mode with coverage and the difference between the Ni heteroepitaxy on Cu（100） and the Ni homoepitaxy on Ni（100）. Through comparison of KMC simulation with the real scanning tunneling microscopy （STM） experiments, the Ehrlich-Schwoebel （ES） barrier Ees is estimated to be 0.18±0.02 eV for Ni/Cu（100） system while 0.28 eV for Ni/Ni（100）. The simulation also shows that the growth mode depends strongly on the thickness of thin film and the surface temperature, and the critical thickness of growth mode transition is dependent on the growth condition such as surface temperature and deposition flux as well.     

Two-Step Growth of MgO Films on Sapphire （0001） Substrates by Radio Frequency Plasma-Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy

We report on the growth of rock salt MgO films on sapphire (0001) substrates by rf plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy.A two-step method,i.e.high temperature epilayer growth after low-temperature buffer layer growth,was adopted to obtain the single crystal MgO film.The epitaxial orientation between the MgO epilayer and the sapphire (0001) substrate was studied by using in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction and ex situ x-ray diffraction,and it is found that the MgO film grows with [111] orientation.The role of the low temperature buffer layer in the improvement of crystal quality of the MgO epilayer is discussed based on the cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy.     

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.     

Growth and photoluminescence properties of inclined ZnO and ZnCoO thin films on SrTiO₃（110） substrates

ZnO thin film growth prefers different orientations on the etched and unetched SrTiO 3(STO)(110) substrates.Inclined ZnO and cobalt-doped ZnO(ZnCoO) thin films are grown on unetched STO(110) substrates using oxygen plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy,with the c-axis 42 inclined from the normal STO(110) surface.The growth geometries are ZnCoO[100]//STO[110] and ZnCoO[111]//STO[001].The low temperature photoluminescence spectra of the inclined ZnO and ZnCoO films are dominated by D 0 X emissions associated with A 0 X emissions,and the characteristic emissions for the 2 E(2G)→ 4A2(4F) transition of Co 2+ dopants and the relevant phonon-participated emissions are observed in the ZnCoO film,indicating the incorporation of Co 2+ ions at the lattice positions of the Zn 2+ ions.The c-axis inclined ZnCoO film shows ferromagnetic properties at room temperature     

Transformation behaviors,structural and magnetic characteristics of Ni-Mn-Ga films on MgO （001）

Ferromagnetic Ni-Mn-Ga films were fabricated by depositing on MgO （001） substrates at temperatures from 673 K to 923 K. Microstructure, crystal structure, martensitic transformation behavior, and magnetic properties of the films were studied. With increasing deposition temperature, the surface morphology of the films transforms from granular to continu- ous. The martensitic transformation temperature is not dependent on deposition temperature; while transformation behavior is affected substantially by deposition temperature. X-ray analysis reveals that the film deposited at 873 K has a 7M marten- site phase, and its magnetization curve provides a typical step-increase, indicating the occurrence of magnetically induced reorientation （MIR）. In situ magnetic domain structure observation on the film deposited at 873 K reflects that the marten- sitic transformation could be divided into two periods： nucleation and growth, in the form of stripe domains. The MIR occurs at the temperature at which martensitic transformation starts, and the switching field increases with the decrease of temperature due to damped thermal activation. The magnetically induced martensitic transformation is related to the difference of magnetization between martensite and austenite. A shift of martensite temperature of dT/dH = 0.43 K/T is observed, consistent with the theoretical value, 0.41 K/T.     

Barrier Enhancement Effect of Postannealing in Oxygen Ambient on Ni/AIGaN Schottky Contacts

Al0.2 Ga0.8N/GaN samples are grown by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition （MOCVD） method on （0001） sapphire substrates. A 10nm-thick Ni layer is deposited on AlGaN as the transparent Schottky contact. The effect of postannealing in oxygen ambient on the electrical properties of Ni/AlGaN is studied by current-voltage- temperature （I-V-T） measurement. The annealing at a relatively low temperature of 300℃ for 90 s results in a decrease of the ideality factor from 2.03 to 1.30 and an increase of the Schottky barrier height from 0.77eV to 0.954 e V. The I-V-T analysis confirms the improvement originated from the formation of NiO, a layer with higher resistance, which could passivate the surface states of AlGaN and suppress the tunnelling current. Furthermore, the annealing also leads to an increase of the transmittance of the contacts from 57.5% to 78.2%, which would be favourable for A1GaN-based photodetectors.     

Adsorption of L-Alanine on Cu（111） Studied by Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy

The adsorption of L-alanine on Cu（111） surface is studied by means of scanning tunnelling microscopy under ultra-high vacuum conditions. The results show that the adsorbates are chemisorbed on the surface, and can form a two-dimensional gas phase, chain phase and solid phase, depending on deposition rate and amount. The adsorbed molecules can be imaged as individual protrusions and parallel chains in gas and chain phases respectively. It is also found that alanine can form （2 × 2） superstructure on Cu（111） and copper step facet to （110） directions in solid phase. On the basis of our scanning tunnelling microscopic images, a model is proposed for the Cu（111）（2 ×2）-alanine superstructure. In the model, we point out the close link between （110）-direction hydrogen bond chains with the same direction copper step faceting.     

Effect of the stoichiometry on the electronic structure of the Ni（111）/α-Al2O3（0001） interface： a first-principles investigation

In this paper first-principles calculations of Ni（111）/α-Al2O3（0001） interfaces have been performed, and are compared with the preceding results of the Cu （111）/α-Al2O3（0001） interface [2004 Phil. Mag. Left. 84 425]. The AI- terminated and O-terminated interfaces have quite different adhesion mechanisms, which are similar to the Cu（111）/α Al2O3（0001） interface. For the O-terminated interface, the adhesion is caused by the strong O-2p/Ni-3d orbital hybridization and ionic interactions. On the other hand, the adhesion nature of the Al-terminated interface is the image-like electrostatic and Ni-Al hybridization interactions, the latter is substantial and cannot be neglected. Charge transfer occurs from Al2O3 to Ni, which is opposite to that in the O=terminated interface. The charge transfer direction for the Al-terminated and O-terminated Ni（111）/α-A1203（0001） interfaces is similar to that in the corresponding Cu（111）/α- Al2O3（0001） interface, but there exist the larger charge transfer quantity and consequent stronger adhesion nature, respectively.     

Ultrathin Pb film growth on Cu（111） studied by photoemission

The valence bands and the Pb 5d,Cu 3p core levels of Pb films evaporated on Cu(111) were measured by synchrotron radiation photoemission and characterized by low-energy electron diffraction(LEED) and Auger electron spectroscopy(AES).The variation of the surafce state at the center of the surface Brillouin zone (SBZ) of Cu(111) with Pb coverage shows that the submonolayer Pb grows on Cu(111) at room temperature(RT) as two-dimensional(2D) islands.With the Pb coverage increasing,the Pb 5d5/2 core level shifts to higher binding energy monotonically.While the Cu 3p3/2 core level is shifted toward higher binding energy by about 120 meV due to the deposition of 1.0ML Pb.At low Ph coverage,subsequent annealing at 200℃ gives rise to Pb-Cu surface alloy formation in the first layer of Cu(111).The Pb 5d core level is shifted toward Fermi level by 20-30 meV due to the surface alloying.An assumption about electron charge transfer from Cu to Pb was adopted to interpret the observed cored level shifts.2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.     

Effects of Annealing Temperature on Structural and Optical Properties of ZnO Thin Films

The effects of annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties of ZnO films grown on Si （100） substrates by sol-gel spin-coating are investigated. The structural and optical properties are characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectra. X-ray diffraction analysis shows the crystal quality of ZnO films becomes better after annealing at high temperature. The grain size increases with the temperature increasing. It is found that the tensile stress in the plane of ZnO films first increases and then decreases with the annealing temperature increasing, reaching the maximum value of 1.8 GPa at 700℃. PL spectra of ZnO films annealed at various temperatures consists of a near band edge emission around 380 nm and visible emissions due to the electronic defects, which are related to deep level emissions, such as oxide antisite （OZn）, interstitial oxygen （Oi）, interstitial zinc （Zni） and zinc vacancy （VZn^-）, which are generated during annealing process. The evolution of defects is analyzed by PL spectra based on the energy of the electronic transitions.