Electrical conductivity of nitride carbon films with different nitrogen content

The electrical conductivity of nitride carbon (DLC: N) films has been studied. It is found that the electrical conductivity of the deposited films increases slowly with increasing nitrogen content, however, it decreases after the nitrogen content in the film reaches a certain value of 12.8 at%. Thermal treatment results show that the electrical conductivity of the lowly nitrogen doped DLC film increases rapidly, while that of the heavily doped film decreases after annealing at 300 °C for 30 min. Raman and XPS spectra results show that when the nitrogen content in the films reaches a certain value, there appears nonconductive phases. Therefore the electrical conductivity of the heavily doped films decreases. FTIR spectra analysis results show that the nitrogen atom as an impurity center undergoes an ‘activation’ process during the thermal treatment, which leads to the increase of the electrical conductivity. Therefore, the nitrogen in these two kinds of films has different effects on the electrical conductivity.     

Correlation between substrate bias, growth process and structural properties of phosphorus incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon films

We investigate the growth process and structural properties of phosphorus incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C:P) films which are deposited at different substrate biases by filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique with PH₃ as the dopant source. The films are characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, residual stress measurement, UV/VIS/NIR absorption spectroscopy and temperature-dependent conductivity measurement. The atomic fraction of phosphorus in the films as a function of substrate bias is obtained by XPS analysis. The optimum bias for phosphorus incorporation is about −80 V. Raman spectra show that the amorphous structures of all samples with atomic-scaled smooth surface are not remarkably changed when PH₃ is implanted, but some small graphitic crystallites are formed. Moreover, phosphorus impurities and higher-energetic impinging ions are favorable for the clustering of sp² sites dispersed in sp³ skeleton and increase the level of structural ordering for ta-C:P films, which further releases the compressive stress and enhances the conductivity of the films. Our analysis establishes an interrelationship between microstructure, stress state, electrical properties, and substrate bias, which helps to understand the deposition mechanism of ta-C:P films.     

Functional multi-walled carbon nanotube/polyaniline composite films as supports of platinum for formic acid electrooxidation

Embedding of carbon nanotubes in conducting polymeric matrices for various nanocomposites material is now a popular area. In this article, a concise chemical method has been described for the preparation of homogeneous nanocomposite of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT)/polyaniline (PANI) by electrochemical codeposition. For this we functionalized the MWNTs via the diazotization reaction. This helped to disperse the nanotubes in aniline. The composite films were dispersed Pt by electrodeposition technique. The presence of MWNTs and platinum in the composite films was confirmed by XRD analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Four-point probe investigations revealed that the MWNT/PANI composite films exhibited a good conductivity. Cyclic voltammograms (CV) showed that Pt-modified MWNT/PANI composite films perform higher electrocatalytic activity and better long-term stability than Pt-modified pure PANI film toward formic acid oxidation. The results imply that the MWNT/PANI composite films as a promising support material improves the electrocatalytic activity for formic acid oxidation greatly.     

Optical properties of nonstoichiometric ZrO<Subscript> <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis> </Subscript> according to spectroellipsometry data

Amorphous nonstoichiometric ZrO_x films of different composition have been synthesized by the method of ion-beam sputtering deposition of metallic zirconium in the presence of oxygen at different partial oxygen pressures in the growth zone, and their optical properties have been studied in the spectral range of 1.12–4.96 eV. It is found that light-absorbing films with metallic conductivity are formed at the partial oxygen pressure below 1.04 × 10^–3 Pa and transparent films with dielectric conductivity are formed at the pressure above 1.50 × 10^–3 Pa. It is shown that the spectral dependences of optical constants of ZrO_x films are described well by the corresponding dispersion models: the Cauchy polynomial model for films with dielectric conductivity and the Lorentz–Drude oscillator model for films with metallic conductivity.     

Electrical conduction in nanostructured carbon and carbon-metal films grown by supersonic cluster beam deposition

We have studied the electrical conduction in nanostructured carbon (ns-C) films produced by deposition of a supersonic beam of neutral carbon clusters. The d.c. conduction properties of these films have been measured in situ during the deposition process and ex situ as a function of the temperature in vacuum and in ambient of different gases (H₂, N₂, CH₄, He). The ns-C films exhibit an ohmic behavior with a room temperature resistivity in the range of 10⁷-10⁹ W{\rm\Omega} cm depending on the growth and storage conditions. Conductivity vs. temperature measured in vacuum in the range 290-400 K is characterized by activation energies in the range of 0.3-1.7 eV, the current response does not differ significantly in gas atmosphere. Nanocomposite carbon-metal films have been obtained by adding small amounts of metallorganic precursors containing molybdenum and cobalt during the formation of carbon clusters prior to deposition. The films are characterized by porous carbon networks containing small metal and metal carbide clusters. Electrical transport properties of these films have been studied as a function of temperature, gas pressure and relative humidity. In particular, the electrical conductivity of the sample produced with molybdenum showed to be much sensitive to changes in gas pressure and relative humidity, being characterised by fast and reversible responses.     

Silicon enhanced carbon nanotube growth on nickel films by chemical vapor deposition

Silicon enhances carbon nanotube growth on nickel films by chemical vapor deposition using methane and hydrogen. Nanotube growth characteristic is significantly improved on nickel films patterned by argon plasma etching on silicon oxide layers. Auger electron spectroscopy shows that a reduced silicon phase forms in the surface silicon oxide layer by Ar ion bombardment used for patterning. The enhanced growth of carbon nanotubes could be ascribed to an oxygen removal effect by silicon in the process of synthesis.     

Electrical properties of multiwalled carbon nanotube film

The multiwalled carbon nanotube films examined in this study are produced by two methods: current annealing of carbon paper and dc magnetron sputtering. The conductivity and the temperature dependence of resistance of the samples are measured. The thermal conductivity of the film-substrate system is evaluated.     

A simple technique for the pyrosol process and deposition of tin oxide films

A very simple and low-cost device for the deposition of thin films by the pyrosol process has been designed Doped and undoped transparent conducting SnO₂ films have been prepared on glass substrates The films obtained were nonstoichiometric but homogeneous and polycrystalline in nature It is found that an activation energy of about 0 2 eV is associated with the film growth process The logarithm of the film thickness varies approximately linearly with the deposition time, and the sheet resistance shows a size effect below a thickness of about 0 3 micro m Doping increases the conductivity but at the cost of transparency The best compromise between transparency and conductivity was obtained at a substrate temperature of about 380°C and with 1 6 mole percent of Sb or 13 mole percent of F as dopants in the as-deposited condition The figure of ment of these films is compared to those of films obtained earlier by the spray pyrolysis method F doping produces better results than Sb doping.     

Fabrication of ZnO nanoparticles-embedded hydrogenated diamond-like carbon films by electrochemical deposition technique

ZnO nanoparticles-embedded hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (ZnO-DLC) films have been prepared by electrochemical deposition in ambient conditions. The morphology, composition, and microstructure of the films have been investigated. The results show that the resultant films are hydrogenated diamond-like carbon films embedded with ZnO nanoparticles in wurtzite structure, and the content and size of the ZnO nanoparticles increase with increasing deposition voltage, which are confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman, and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Furthermore, a possible mechanism used to describe the growth process of ZnO-DLC films by electrochemical deposition is also discussed.     

Composites of multiwall carbon nanotubes and conducting polyaniline: Bulk samples and films produced from a solution in chloroform

Multiwall carbon nanotubes and conducting polyaniline, doped with dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid, are blended by employing the solubility of both materials in chloroform. Pellets are made by pressing the dried powder of the obtained composite, and films by sedimentary deposition onto a plastic substrate. In these composites, the advantageous properties of carbon nanotubes can be utilized in fully conducting bulk and planar structures while the strong decrease of the conductivity of doped polyaniline at low temperatures is simultaneously suppressed. The nanotube content in pellets can be as high as 40% by weight, and this wide range leads to a control over the shape and magnitude of the conductivity versus temperature curves. As the nanotube content grows, the temperature dependence of the conductivity becomes less steep, which is similar to the effect of annealing temperature on the conductivity of certain polycrystalline graphene films. In our case, this change is most likely caused by the increase of the density of highly conducting channels and not by homogeneous delocalization effects.     

Particle size effect on thermal conductivity of AlN films with embedded diamond particles

Fabricating composite thin films is an effective and economic solution to improve the thermal performance of the films. The diamond particles of different sizes were successfully embedded in AlN thin films by a chemical solution approach, which was confirmed by scanning electron microscope, x-ray diffraction analysis and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The thermal properties of the films embedded with different diamond particles were studied by using a 3-omega method, which was observed to be strongly dependent on the particle size. A 19 % enhancement in thermal conductivity can be achieved by embedding diamond particles of 1-μm radius in AlN thin films. However, the thermal conductivity decreases after embedding with 10-nm radius diamond particles. The results are discussed with high volume model, which confirms that the interface thermal resistance between the embedded materials and the films plays an important role in determining the thermal conductivity of the as-grown carbon material embedded AlN films.     

Cobalt-assisted large-area epitaxial graphene growth in thermal cracker enhanced gas source molecular beam epitaxy

Large-area epitaxial graphene films were grown on cobalt by thermal cracker enhanced gas source molecular beam epitaxy. Growth conditions including growth temperature and growth time play important roles in the resulting morphology of as-grown films. High-quality graphene films can be achieved in a small growth window. Fast cooling rate was not required in this process due to direct growth mechanism under atomic carbon growth condition. Large-area graphene films with high single-layer and bi-layer coverage of 93% were confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy.     

通过交替生长气氛调控N掺杂ZnO薄膜电学特性

使用分子束外延方法在c面蓝宝石衬底上生长了系列氮掺杂ZnO薄膜样品。在连续的富锌气氛环境中生长的样品,由于存在大量的施主缺陷,呈现n型电导。为了抑制施主缺陷带来的补偿效应,在生长过程中,通过周期性补充氧气,形成周期性的富氧气氛,缓解了氮掺杂浓度和施主缺陷浓度之间的矛盾。光致发光测量表明,通过交替生长气氛,氧空位和锌间隙等缺陷在薄膜中得到了显著抑制。通过交替生长气氛生长的外延薄膜的结晶质量也有所提高。样品显示出重复性较高的p型电导,载流子浓度可达到10¹⁶ cm^-3。周期性补氧调节生长气氛的生长方式是一种有效实现p型掺杂ZnO的方法。     

磷离子注入纳米金刚石薄膜的n型导电性能与微结构研究

系统研究了磷离子注入并在不同温度退火后的纳米金刚石薄膜的微结构和电学性能.研究表明,当退火温度达到800 ℃以上时,薄膜呈良好的n型电导.Raman光谱和电子顺磁共振谱的结果表明,薄膜中金刚石相含量越高和完整性越好,薄膜电阻率越低. 这说明纳米金刚石晶粒为薄膜提供了电导.1000 ℃退火后,薄膜晶界中的非晶石墨相有序度提高,碳悬键数量降低,薄膜电阻率升高.薄膜导电机理为磷离子注入的纳米金刚石晶粒提供了n型电导,非晶碳晶界为其电导提供了传输路径. 关键词： 纳米金刚石薄膜 n型 磷离子注入     

The pore opening process of etching polymer films irradiated by single and multiple heavy ions. The etching process in the range of the track core radius (10 nm)

The technique of electrochemical etching of irradiated polymer films is an useful method to investigate structures of the track cores. In the case of the investigation of multiple track foils, the mean effective radius corresponds to the average of all synchron etching pores. On the other hand, the etching cones of all tracks do not break through to conducting micro channels coincidentally. The statistical character of this pore opening (break through) process is still unexplained, although several effects concerning this topic have been observed in the past. Another computer program simulates by way of the Monte Carlo Method the etching process of an ensemble of tracks within a thin polymer film. The conductivity of the multiple track etching foil can be described by the convolution between the conductivity of a single pore and the time dependent breakthrough rate. By way of the Laplace Transforms the measurements of the multiple and single track etching polymer films can be deconvoluted and yield the statistical nature of the pore opening process.     

The conductivity of single walled nanotube films in Terahertz region

The conductivity of single-walled nanotube films is investigated with a combination of Maxwell–Garnett (MG) and Drude–Lorentzian (DL) model in terahertz region. A theoretical investigation for the recent experiment is given and a decrease of the real conductivity with increasing frequency is predicted. Meanwhile, the real part of dielectric function of single-walled carbon nanotube films is displayed.     

Preparation and Thermal Characterization of Diamond-Like Carbon Films

Diamond-like carbon （DLC） films are prepared on silicon substrates by microwave electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Raman spectroscopy indicates that the films have an amorphous structure and typical characteristics. The topographies of the films are presented by AFM images. Effective thermal conductivities of the films are measured using a nanosecond pulsed photothermal reflectance method. The results show that thermal conductivity is dominated by the microstructure of the films.     

Comparative analysis of the thickness and electrical conductivity of thin chalcogenide semiconductor films

The structure and thickness of zinc and cadmium chalcogenide semiconductor films are studied by X-ray radiography. The film thickness is shown to be comparable with the half-value layer depth. The electrical conductivity of the films increases upon heating in the hydrogen atmosphere and decreases upon heating in carbon oxide. The opposite trend is observed in the ratio between the electrical conductivity and band gap of the initial and oxidized film surfaces.

     

Optical conductivity of single walled nanotube films in the Terahertz region

A theoretical investigation for the conductivity of single walled nanotube films is carried out with an effective medium model in the Terahertz region. The results are compared with the recent experiment and a decrease of the real conductivity with increasing frequency is predicted. Meanwhile, the off-diagonal components of the dielectric function of single-walled carbon nanotube films based on the magnetooptical effects are also shown.     

Analysis of mechanism of carbon removal from GaAs(1 0 0) surface by atomic hydrogen

Etching of carbon contaminations from the GaAs(1 0 0) surface by irradiating with atomic hydrogen, which is one of the key reactions to promote high-quality thin films growth by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), has been investigated by mass spectrometry (MS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It is shown that during the cleaning process at room temperature a total reduction of the Auger carbon signal, accompanied by desorption of methane as major reaction product, can be observed. The reaction pathways as well as the processes responsible for the observed carbon removal are discussed in detail to give a support for etching and growth quality enhancement not only in thin films epitaxy but in all atomic hydrogen promoted gas-phase III-V semiconductor processes.