Conduction through 71° domain walls in BiFeO3 thin films

Local conduction at domains and domain walls is investigated in BiFeO(3) thin films containing mostly 71° domain walls. Measurements at room temperature reveal conduction through 71° domain walls. Conduction through domains could also be observed at high enough temperatures. It is found that, despite the lower conductivity of the domains, both are governed by the same mechanisms: in the low voltage regime, electrons trapped at defect states are temperature activated but the current is limited by the ferroelectric surface charges; in the large voltage regime, Schottky emission takes place and the role of oxygen vacancies is that of selectively increasing the Fermi energy at the walls and locally reducing the Schottky barrier. This understanding provides the key to engineering conduction paths in BiFeO(3).     

外延PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3薄膜负电容的应变调控

为了让摩尔定律能够延续下去,降低功耗是很多研究者关注的问题,铁电负电容效应的发现为其提供了一种解决方案.应变工程作为调控铁电薄膜物理性能的有效手段已经被广泛研究.但是应变对铁电负电容调控的相关机理并不清楚.本文通过Landau-Khalatnikov方程模拟了应变场和温度场对PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3铁电薄膜负电容的...     

Effect of processing on dielectric properties of (0.95)PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3–(0.05)BiFeO3

An effort has been made to synthesize solid solution of a composition with x=0.05 in the system (1?x)PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃–(x)BiFeO₃ by the sol–gel method. XRD patterns of the pure PZT and BFO modified PZT samples have shown single phase formation. The effects of substitution of BFO on dielectric properties of PZT have been studied in the frequency range 10 Hz to 100 kHz and temperature range from RT to 773 K. The density was optimized by sintering the BFO modified PZT samples at different temperatures in four batches, S1, S2, S3 and S4. P–E hysteresis loop measurements for all the samples have shown almost saturated polarization. It has been observed that sample S2, sintered at 950 °C, exhibits superior dielectric properties of the four samples. The occurrence of weak ferromagnetism, observed in the M–H hysteresis loop, indicates coupling between ferroelectricity and magnetism. Impedance analysis has revealed that all the samples, sintered at different temperatures, have a different grain resistance. A large change in ac conductivity around T _c has been observed in all the samples.     

Raman study of the 90° grain boundaries in YBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films

YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ (YBCO) films containing two different types of 90° grain boundaries were fabricated on the same substrates. Raman spectra from several parts of the basal-plane-faced tilt (TL) grain boundaries were measured and compared with those from the twist (TW) grain boundaries. The Raman results show that I(500)/I(340), the relative intensity of the A_1g mode near 500 cm⁻¹ with respect to that of the B_1g mode near 340 cm⁻¹, is suppressed in the TL boundaries, relative to the TW boundaries. The results can be interpreted to mean that the stress is stronger in the TL boundaries than in the TW boundaries. This may offer an alternative explanation for the weak-link behavior of the step-edge Josephson junctions.     

Surface nanostructure effects on optical properties of Pb(Zr x Ti1−x )O3 thin films

Optical scattering properties of nanostructured matter have crucial impact on performance efficiency of various photonic components, such as waveguides, display elements, and solar cells. In this paper, diffuse transmission properties of nanocrystalline Pb(Zr _x Ti_1?x )O₃ thin films with a high refractive index of ~2.5 and optical transmittance are presented. Thin films with a thicknesses ranging from 50 to 500 nm were studied using integrating sphere technique and results were compared to simulations performed by a scalar scattering theory. Thin films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature on MgO(100) substrates and post-annealed at a temperature of 800 °C. Structural phase evolution-induced surface effects, which introduced periodicity on the film surface, cause the definite diffuse elements in transmission spectra of the films. Low and evenly distributed scattering amplitudes in k-space were seen for highly tetragonal- or trigonal-oriented films with non-textured surfaces, which led to low diffuse transmission values (T _D ≈ 5 %), while confined and increased scattering amplitudes in k-space were seen for tetragonal–trigonal-oriented films, with phase co-existence, which led to microstructure-induced textured surfaces and increased diffuse transmission values (T _D ≈ 50 %). For highly textured surfaces, scattering amplitudes distributed in tilted ellipsoid shape in k-space was observed. Difference between modeled and measured values was 3.8 % in maximum.     

The movement of single 90° domain walls of BaTiO3 in an alternating electric field

Single crystals of BaTiO₃, containing one 90° domain wall, were used to study the origin and character of the movement of such a wall in an alternating electric field having a frequency of 50 c/s. The experimental results are discussed from the phenomenological point of view.

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90- BaTiO₃

iO₃, 90- , 50 Hz. .

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The authors would like to thank A. Glanc for preparing the crystals for measurement, V. Dvoák, J. Kaczér and V. Janovec for fruitful discussions.     

Effect of Ge doping on the electrical properties of amorphous Zn–Sn–O thin films

We report the effect of germanium doping on the active layer of amorphous Zinc–Tin-Oxide (a-ZTO) thin film transistor (TFT). Amorphous thin film samples were prepared by RF magnetron sputtering using single targets composed of Zn₂Ge_0.05Sn_0.95O₄ and Zn₂SnO₄ with variable oxygen contents in the sputtering gases. In comparison with undoped, Ge-doped a-ZTO films exhibited five order of magnitude lower carrier density with a significantly higher Hall-mobility, which might be due to suppressed oxygen vacancies in the a-ZTO lattice since the Ge substituent for the Sn site has relatively higher oxygen affinity. Thus, the bulk and interface trap densities of Ge-doped a-ZTO film were decreased one order of magnitude to 7.047 × 10¹⁸ eV⁻¹cm⁻³ and 3.52 × 10¹¹ eV⁻¹cm⁻², respectively. A bottom-gate TFT with the Ge-doped a-ZTO active layer showed considerably improved performance with a reduced SS, positively shifted V_th, and two orders of magnitude increased I_on/I_off ratio, attributable to the doped Ge ions.     

Effect of oxygen partial pressure on the structure and properties of Cu–Al–O thin films

We have studied the electrical and optical properties of Cu–Al–O films deposited on silicon and quartz substrates by using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method under varied oxygen partial pressure P_O. The results indicate that P_O plays a critical role in the final phase constitution and microstructure of the films, and thus affects the electrical resistivity and optical transmittance significantly. The electrical resistivity increases with the increase of P_O from 2.4 × 10^?4 mbar to 7.5 × 10^?4 mbar and afterwards it decreases with further increasing P_O up to 1.7 × 10^?3 mbar. The optical transmittance in visible region increases with the increase of P_O and obtains the maximum of 65% when P_O is 1.7 × 10^?3 mbar. The corresponding direct band gap is 3.45 eV.     

Anharmonic lattice statics analysis of 180 ° and 90° ferroelectric domain walls in PbTiO3

This paper presents an anharmonic lattice statics analysis of 180?°?and 90?°?domain walls in tetragonal ferroelectric perovskites. We present all the calculations and numerical examples for the technologically important ferroelectric material PbTiO₃. We use shell potentials that are fitted to quantum mechanics calculations. Our formulation places no restrictions on the range of the interactions. This formulation of lattice statics is inhomogeneous and accounts for the variation of the force constants near defects. The discrete governing equations for perfect domain walls are reduced using symmetry conditions. We solve the linearized discrete governing equations directly using a novel method in the setting of the theory of difference equations. We calculate the fully nonlinear solutions using modified Newton–Raphson iterations.     

Study on the delamination of tungsten thin films on Sb2Te3

To investigate the reliability of electrode materials for chalcogenide random access memory （C-RAM） applications, the geometry and time evolution of the worm-like delamination patterns on a tungsten/Sb2Te3 bilayer system surface are observed by field emission scanning electronic microscope （FESEM） and optical microscopy. The tungsten film stress and interface toughness are estimated using a straight-side model. After confirming the instability of this system being due to large compressive stress stored in the tungsten film and relative poor interface adhesion, a preliminary solution as the inset of a TiN adhesion layer is presented to improve the system performances.     

Pulsed laser deposition of Eu:Y2O3 thin films on (0001) α-Al2O3

This paper focuses on the preparation and characterization of crystalline thin films of rare-earth-doped sesquioxides (Y₂O₃, Lu₂O₃) grown by pulsed laser deposition on single-crystal (0001) sapphire substrates. X-ray diffraction measurements show that the films with thicknesses between 1 nm and 500 nm were highly textured along the 111 direction. Using Rutherford backscattering analysis, the correct stoichiometric composition of the films was established. The emission and excitation spectra of europium-doped films with a thickness 100 nm look similar to those of the corresponding crystalline bulk material, whereas films with a thickness 20 nm show a completely different emission behavior. PACS 68.55.Jk; 78.66.Nk; 81.15.F     

Effect of annealing temperature on the microstructure and optical–electrical properties of Cu–Al–O thin films

We have successfully prepared Cu–Al–O thin films on silicon (100) and quartz substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method. The as-deposited Cu–Al–O film is amorphous in nature and post-annealing treatment in argon ambience results in crystallization of the films and the formation of CuAlO₂. The annealing temperature plays an important role in the surface morphology, phase constitution and preferred growth orientation of CuAlO₂ phase, thus affecting the properties of the film. The film annealed at 900 °C is mainly composed of CuAlO₂ phase and shows smooth surface morphology with well-defined grain boundaries, thus exhibiting the optimum optical–electrical properties with electrical resistivity being 79.7 Ω·cm at room temperature and optical transmittance being 80% in visible region. The direct optical band gaps of the films are found in the range of 3.3–3.8 eV depending on the annealing temperature.     

Effect of Fe3+ doping on structural,optical and electrical properties δ-Bi2O3 thin films

Fe³⁺ doped δ-Bi₂O₃ thin films were prepared by sol–gel method on quartz glass substrate at room temperature and annealed at 800 °C. The thin films were then characterized for structural, surface morphological, optical and electrical properties by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical absorption measurements and d.c. two-probe, respectively. The XRD analyses revealed the formation δ-Bi₂O₃ followed by a mixture of Bi₂₅FeO₄₀ and Bi₂Fe₄O₉. SEM images showed reduction in grain sizes after doping and the optical studies showed a direct band gap which reduced from 2.39 eV for pure δ-Bi₂O₃ to 1.9 eV for 10% Fe³⁺ doped δ-Bi₂O₃ thin film. The electrical conductivity measurement showed the films are semiconductors.     

Effect of Mn doping defect on 180° domain wall in ferroelectric PbTiO3

The structures, energies, spontaneous polarized properties and charge densities of 180° domain walls with Mn doping at different lattice positions were investigated in ferroelectric PbTiO₃ (PT) using the first-principles calculations. The results show that Mn ion prefers to enter the bulk region rather than the domain wall in terms of energy minimization whether it substitutes for an A-site Pb ion or a B-site Ti ion of PT. In addition the domain wall energy has a minimum value of 124.52 mJ/m² when Mn ion substitutes for Pb ion in the bulk region. And the spontaneous polarization along z axis increasing and the charge density in the domain wall region reducing could be the essential reasons for improving PT's performance after Mn doping at A site.     

Effect of the film thickness on the impedance behavior of sol–gel Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 thin films

Perovskite Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ sol–gel thin films with different thicknesses are fabricated as MFM configuration to study the effect of the film thickness on the dielectric relaxation phenomenon and the ionic transport mechanism. The frequency dependent impedance, electric modulus, permittivity and AC conductivity have been investigated in this context. Z? plane for all the tested samples shows two regions, corresponding to the bulk mechanism and the distribution of the grain boundaries–electrodes process. Electric modulus versus frequency plots reveal non-Debye relaxation peaks. The observed decrease in both the impedance and permittivity with the increase in film thickness is attributed to the grain size effect. The frequency dependent conductivity plots show three regions of conduction processes, i.e. low-frequency region due to DC conduction, mid-frequency region due to translational hopping motion and high-frequency region due to localized hopping and/or reorientational motion.     

Microstructural evolution of [PbZr x Ti1– x O3/PbZr y Ti1– y O3] n epitaxial multilayers (x/y = 0.2/0.4, 0.4/0.6)–dependence on layer thickness

The microstructure of ferroelectric [PbZr _x Ti_{1? x} O₃/PbZr _y Ti_{1? y} O₃] _n epitaxial multilayers (x/y = 0.2/0.4, 0.4/0.6) deposited on SrRuO₃-coated SrTiO₃ substrates by pulsed-laser deposition with different layer periodicity and layer thickness was characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy. Electron diffraction and contrast analysis revealed a very clear and well-separated layer sequence. The microstructures of PbZr_0.2Ti_0.8O₃/PbZr_0.4Ti_0.6O₃ and PbZr_0.4Ti_0.6O₃/PbZr_0.6Ti_0.4O₃ multilayers show a similar tendency in the dependence on the individual layer thickness. Whereas with thick individual layers, tetragonal a-domains are confined to specific layers of the two types of multilayers, below a certain critical thickness of the individual layers, a-domains extend over the whole film. This indicates a transition into a uniform tetragonal lattice and strain state of the whole multilayer. Increasing the layer periodicity further, the interfaces in PbZr_0.4Ti_0.6O₃/PbZr_0.6Ti_0.4O₃ multilayers become rough, and complex a-domain configurations appear.     

Oxygen transport properties of dense and porous (La0.8Sr0.2)0.99Co0.8Ni0.2O3-δ

We have determined k_ex and D_chem for (La_0.8Sr_0.2)_0.99Co_0.8Ni_0.2O_3-δ by the use of electrical conductivity relaxation on a dense sample and by applying the ALS model to measured AC impedance spectrum on a porous electrode. Extracting k_ex and D_chem from the methods resulted in comparable values. k_ex and D_chem also agreed well with literature values on La_0.8Sr_0.2CoO_3-δ, indicating that nickel substitution does not change the oxygen transport properties. k_ex of the porous sample was further found to decrease with a five times higher rate than D_chem when measured by using an Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) over several days.     

Low temperature improvement method on characteristics of Ba(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3 thin films deposited on indium tin oxide/glass substrates

To improve the electrical properties of as-deposited BZ1T9 ferroelectric thin films, the supercritical carbon dioxide fluid (SCF) process were used by a low temperature treatment. In this study, the BZ1T9 ferroelectric thin films were post-treated by SCF process which mixed with propyl alcohol and pure H₂O. After SCF process treatment, the remnant polarization increased in hysteresis curves, and the passivation of oxygen vacancy and defect in leakage current density curves were found. Additionally, the improvement qualities of as-deposited BZ1T9 thin films after SCF process treatment were carried out XPS, C–V, and J–E measurements.     

Effects of Zr/Ti ratio on dielectric and ferroelectric properties of 0.8Pb(ZrxTi1−x)O3–0.2Pb(Co1/3Nb2/3)O3 ceramics

The influences of Zr/Ti ratio on electrical properties of the 0.8Pb(Zr_xTi_1−x)O₃–0.2Pb(Co_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃ ceramics prepared by a mixed-oxide method (with x = 0.46, 0.48, 0.50, 0.52, and 0.54) have been investigated in order to identify the morphotropic phase boundary composition in this system. With XRD analysis, the crystal structure of dense specimens appeared to change gradually from tetragonal to rhombohedral with increasing Zr content. The dielectric properties measurements showed a maximum dielectric constant at x = 0.50, while the transition temperature decreased with increasing Zr content in the system. Moreover, all ceramics showed diffused phase transition behaviors with a minimum diffusivity at x = 0.50. In addition, the Polarization–Electric field (P–E) hysteresis loops of the ceramic systems also changed significantly with the Zr content. Interestingly, the loop squareness parameter reached maximum around x = 0.50. Other ferroelectric hysteresis parameters showed noticeable change at x = 0.50. These results clearly showed the significance of Zr/Ti ratio in controlling the electrical properties of the PZT–PCN ceramic systems.