Angle-resolved photoemission study for double Ag nanofilm structures

We have carried out an angle-resolved photoemission study for Ag/Cu/Ag/Cu(1 1 1) system in order to investigate the electronic coupling between the two quantum-well (QW) states in the double Ag nanofilm structures. It is found that the outer nanofilm thickness dependence of QW state in double Ag nanofilm structures can be explained as the electronic coupling through the thin Cu barrier layer between the QW states in the inner and outer Ag nanofilms. It is also found that the coupling strength depends on the Cu barrier thickness. From these results, we discuss the electronic coupling between the two QW states in the double Ag nanofilm structures.     

Optical dynamics of energy-transfer from a CdZnO quantum well to a proximal Ag nanostructure

We studied photoluminescence (PL) and energy-transfer dynamics in a hybrid structure comprising a Cd(0.08)Zn(0.92)O quantum well (QW) and an Ag nanostructure. The observed PL quenching was dependent on the electronic states in the QW. Quenching occurred at low temperature where excited carriers recombined radiatively because of excitonic localization, which disappeared with increasing temperature due to delocalization of excitons. Furthermore, nanostructured Ag surfaces produced local surface plasmon (LSP) absorption that was resonant with the PL peak energy of the QW emission. These results indicate that the recombination energy of excitons transfers nonradiatively to induce LSP excitation, which was revealed using time-resolved PL measurements.     

Ag growth on Si(111) with an Sb surfactant investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy

We have investigated a room-temperature growth mode of ultrathin Ag films on a Si(111) surface with an Sb surfactant using STM in a UHV system. On the Sb-passivated Si surface, small sized islands were formed up to 1.1 ML. Flat Ag islands were dominant at 2.1 ML, coalescing into larger islands at 3.2 ML. Although the initial growth mode of Ag films on the Sb-terminated Si(111) surface was Volmer-Weber (island growth), the films were much more uniform than Ag growth on clean (Si(111) at the higher coverages. From the analysis of STM images of Ag films grown with and without an Sb surfactant, the uniform growth of Ag films using an Sb surfactant appears to be caused by the kinetic effects of Ag on the preadsorbed Sb layer. Our STM results indicated that Sb suppresses the surface diffusion of Ag atoms and increases the Ag-island density. The increased island density is believed to cause coalescence of Ag islands at higher coverages of Ag, resulting in the growth of atomically flat and uniform Ag islands on the Sb surfactant layer.     

Spin-dependent resonant tunneling through quantum-well states in magnetic metallic thin films

Quantum-well (QW) states in nonmagnetic metal films between magnetic layers are known to be important in spin-dependent transport, but QW states in magnetic films remains elusive. Here we identify the conditions for resonant tunneling through QW states in magnetic films and report first principles calculations of Fe/MgO/FeO/Fe/Cr and Co/MgO/Fe/Cr. We show that, at resonance, the current increases by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude. The tunneling magnetoresistance ratio is much larger than in simple spin tunnel junctions and is positive (negative) for majority- (minority-) spin resonances, with a large asymmetry between positive and negative biases. The results can serve as a basis for novel spintronic devices.     

Structure of Epitaxial Layers of KCl on Ag(100)

We investigated the epitaxial growth of thin KCl films on Ag(100) by spot-profile-analysis low energy electron diffraction (SPA-LEED) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). The structural relation of the (100)-oriented KCl film with respect to the Ag(100) surface is incommensurate, nevertheless the structural quality is very high and terraces with an average diameter of 250 Å are obtained. The unit cells of KCl and Ag(100) are aligned, and there is no rotational mosaicity as present in the case of NaCl on Ag(100). We attribute this to a small interaction between KCl and Ag(100) and growth starting at step edges of the metal substrate. In order to demonstrate the high structural quality of the KCl films, we deposited a monolayer of perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (PTCDA) on these films. We obtained the identical monolayer structure that was observed earlier on bulk KCl. We thus suggest that KCl/Ag(100) is ideal for surface experiments on thin dielectric films.     

Initial growth and microstructure feature of Ag films prepared by very-high-frequency magnetron sputtering

The initial growth and microstructure feature of Ag films formation were investigated, which were prepared by using the very-high-frequency(VHF)(60 MHz) magnetron sputtering. Because of the moderate energy and very low flux density of ions impinging on the substrate, the evolutions of initial growth for Ag films formation were well controlled by varying the sputtering power. It was found that the initial growth of Ag films followed the island(Volmer—Weber, VW) growth mode, but before the island nucleation, the adsorption of Ag nanoparticles and the formation of Ag clusters dominated the growth. Therefore, the whole initial stages of Ag films formation included the adsorption of nanoparticles, the formation of clusters, the nucleation by the nanoparticles and clusters simultaneously, the islands formation, and the coalescence of islands.     

银超微粒子在半导体氧化钡薄膜中的生长特性

本文在透射电子显微镜上观察了金属银超微粒子在半导体氧化钡薄膜中的生长。实验发现,当经过一定的热处理后,金属银在氧化钡中能形成很好的超微粒子。我们还比较了单层制备和多层制备得到的Ag+BaO薄膜的结构差别。同时,考查了含银量不同的Ag+BaO薄膜银超微粒子的生长特点,发现当银量较大时,在Ag+BaO薄膜中,Ag超微粒子并不彼此连接起来形成金属迷津通道,而仍形成孤立的大微粒,微粒之间隔有几个nm的BaO层。 关键词：     

Microstructure of Ag/BaTiO3 films grown on MgO(100) substrate under external electric field

By applying an electric field parallel to the substrate surface, highly ordered Ag nanoparticles were homogeneously embedded in BaTiO₃ (BTO) films grown on a MgO(100) substrate. Transmission electron microscopy studies show that the BTO film is [100]-oriented. The general crystallographic orientation relationships between the composite film and MgO substrate are [100]_BTO//[100]_Ag//[100]_MgO and (010)_BTO//(010)_Ag//(010)_MgO. However, in films grown without an external electric field, Ag particles grow with random orientations and the BTO matrix is polycrystalline. Thus, electric fields are thought to meliorate the quality of the films by changing the growth orientation. In addition, the BTO matrix and Ag particles were found to be multiply twinned from studies on cross-sectional specimens. The contribution is discussed of Ag particles with ordered growth orientation and the large amount of BTO microtwins with higher dielectric constant to the improved optical properties of the as-prepared composite films.     

Overpotential deposition of Ag monolayer and bilayer on Au(1 1 1) mediated by Pb adlayer underpotential deposition/stripping cycles

Ultra-thin Ag films on the Au(1 1 1) surface were prepared via overpotential deposition (OPD) in the presence of Pb²⁺ ions. By carrying out repetitive Pb adlayer underpotential deposition (UPD) and stripping cycles during Ag bulk deposition, the two-dimensional growth of Ag films was significantly enhanced in high OPD. The Ag monolayer sample was made by comparing the voltammetry curves, in which the signatures for Pb adlayer UPD on Au(1 1 1) changed to that on Ag(1 1 1). As demonstrated by the X-ray specular reflectivity measurements, nearly complete monolayer and bilayer films can be made with optimized deposition procedures. On subatomic scale, however, we found that these films have significant higher root-mean-square displacement amplitudes than those underpotentially deposited Ag monolayer and bilayer on either Au(1 1 1) or Pt(1 1 1).     

Temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra of GaN epitaxial layer grown on Si(111) substrate

In this paper, the temperature-dependent photoluminescence(PL) properties of Ga N grown on Si(111) substrate are studied. The main emission peaks of Ga N films grown on Si(111) are investigated and compared with those grown on sapphire substrates. The positions of free and bound exciton luminescence peaks, i.e., FX A and D0 X peaks, of Ga N films grown on Si(111) substrates undergo red shifts compared with those grown on sapphire. This is attributed to the fact that the Ga N films grown on sapphire are under the action of compressive stress, while those grown on Si(111) substrate are subjected to tensile stress. Furthermore, the positions of these peaks may be additionally shifted due to different stress conditions in the real sample growth. The emission peaks due to stacking faults are found in Ga N films grown on Si(111) and an S-shaped temperature dependence of PL spectra can be observed, owing to the influence of the quantum well(QW) emission by the localized states near the conduction band gap edge and the temperature-dependent distribution of the photo-generated carriers.     

Electron and lattice structure of ultra thin Ag films on Si(1 1 1) and Si(0 0 1)

We studied the low temperature (T ? 130 K) growth of Ag on Si(0 0 1) and Si(1 1 1) flat surfaces prepared by Si homo epitaxy with the aim to achieve thin metallic films. The band structure and morphology of the Ag overlayers have been investigated by means of XPS, UPS, LEED, STM and STS. Surprisingly a (√3 × √3)R30° LEED structure for Ag films has been observed after deposition of 2-6 ML Ag onto a Si(1 1 1)(√3 × √3)R30°Ag surface at low temperatures. XPS investigations showed that these films are solid, and UPS measurements indicate that they are metallic. However, after closer STM studies we found that these films consists of sharp Ag islands and (√3 × √3)R30°Ag flat terraces in between. On Si(0 0 1) the low-temperature deposition yields an epitaxial growth of Ag on clean Si(0 0 1)-2 × 1 with a twinned Ag(1 1 1) structure at coverage’s as low as 10 ML. Furthermore the conductivity of few monolayer Ag films on Si(1 0 0) surfaces has been studied as a function of temperature (40-300 K).     

A shortcut for determining growth mode

Thin and thick films of iron phthalocyanine （FePc） molecules are deposited on a Ag （110） surface. The nature of the FePc growth and the interaction with the substrate have been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）. All of the core level spectra exhibit rigid shifts towards lower binding energies following the deposition of the organic films, each by a different magnitude. A greater change and a larger shift in the Fe2p level as compared to Cls core level reveals that the adsorbate interacts with the substrate mainly via the Fe atom, located at the center of the molecule. An increase/decrease in the intensity of C1 s/Ag3d level is found to be exponentially linked to the overlayer molecular coverage. Finally, the so- called growth/decay curve indicates that FePc thin films initially develop following the FM growth mode and then transform to SK mode, resulting in 3D island aggregation.     

以表面等离子体为媒介的ZnO薄膜发光增强特性研究

采用两步法制备Si基Ag/ZnO双层结构薄膜,研究了Ag覆盖层的厚度和生长温度T对ZnO近带边发光强度的影响.对于厚度为100 nm的ZnO薄膜,发现Ag覆盖层的最佳厚度仅为8 nm,此时双层薄膜相对于单层ZnO薄膜的发光增强因子η达到最大值8.1;同时还发现,在最佳Ag层厚度下,生长温度T≥300 ℃时生长Ag所获Ag/ZnO双层薄膜的ZnO发光强度比生长温度T≤200 ℃时生长的双层薄膜样品大一倍以上,η ≈ 18.结合对双层薄膜表 关键词： 表面等离子体共振 复合薄膜     

High sensitivity Hall devices with AlSb/InAs quantum well structures

AlSb/InAs quantum well (QW) structures and InAs films on GaAs (001) substrates were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We investigated the dependence of electron mobility and two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) concentration on the thickness of an InAs channel. It is found that electron mobility as high as 19050 cm2·V-1·s-1 has been achieved for an InAs channel of 22.5 nm. The Hall devices with high sensitivity and good temperature stability were fabricated based on the AlSb/InAs QW structures. Their sensitivity is markedly superior to Hall devices of InAs films.     

One-dimensional surface reconstruction as an atomic-scale template for the growth of periodically striped Ag films

The role of the In/Si(111)-(4 x 1)-In surface as an atomic-scale geometrical template for the growth of Ag thin films is clarified by scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction. Low-temperature grown Ag films are found to have stripe structures with a transverse periodicity equal to that of indium chains of the In/Si(111)-(4 x 1)-In. The stripes exhibit a structural transformation at the thickness of 6 monolayers (ML); this relaxation allows the stripes to persist up to a thickness as large as 30 ML (approximately = 7 nm) while maintaining their mean periodicity. We attribute this stability to a coincidental matching of the periodicity and the corrugation amplitude between the Ag film and the substrate, which is realized by periodic insertion of stacking faults into a Ag fcc crystal.     

Growth of atomically flat ultra-thin Ag films on Si surfaces

A two-step growth with deposition at low temperature and subsequent slow annealing to room temperature (RT) has been widely used to obtain atomically flat metal thin films on semiconductor substrates. In the case of Ag films, almost atomically flat films were obtained at a thickness of six monolayers (ML) on Si and GaAs. The flatness then gradually degraded with an increase in thickness. The existence of the critical thickness has been well explained by the “electronic growth theory”, which considers thickness-dependent change of vertically quantized electrons and their spilling out at the interfaces. However, several questions remain unanswered. How does the electronically grown Ag flat film accommodate the large misfit energy between the film and substrate? Up to what deposition temperature is the two-step growth effective to obtain atomically flat films? In this article, we review previous studies on the electronic growth of Ag films on Si(1 1 1) substrates, paying special attention to these two points. In addition, we also discuss the possibility of engineering electronic growth for artificial control of the critical thickness.     

常压化学气相沉积法在Ag/Si(111)模板上生长ZnO薄膜及其性能研究

在Si衬底上利用磁控溅射的方法沉积1.5 nm厚度的Ag膜用以阻挡Si衬底被氧化。采用常压金属有机化学气相沉积法(MOVCD),在Ag/Si(111)衬底上成功地生长出马赛克结构的ZnO薄膜。用光学显微镜观察表面形貌,结果显示有带晶向特征的微裂纹,裂纹密度为100 cm-1。依据X射线晶体衍射的结果,薄膜结晶质量良好,呈C轴高度择优取向。用双晶X射线衍射得到(002)面的ω扫描半峰宽为1.37°。温度10 K时光致发光谱(PL)观察到自由激子、束缚激子发射及它们的声子伴线。结果表明,金属有机化学气相沉积法方法在Si(111)衬底上制备ZnO薄膜时,Ag是一种有效的缓冲层。     

银和铜膜中异常晶粒生长和织构变化的实验研究

用透射电子显微镜(TEM)和x射线衍射(XRD)方法对经300℃，2h退火的Ag和Cu自由膜和Si基体上的Ag和Cu附着膜的异常晶粒生长和织构变化进行了实验研究.XRD分析表明：Ag和Cu沉积膜均有(111)和(100)择优取向.但经退火处理后，Ag和Cu自由膜的(111)织构稍有加强.相反，Si基体上的Ag和Cu附着膜的(100)和(110)织构明显加强，同时用TEM在Cu附着膜中观察到了两个(110)和四个(211)取向的异常大晶粒.根据表面能和应变能的各向异性对实验结果进行了分析.     

Effect of C layer on the structures and magnetic properties of (0 0 1)-oriented [C/CoPt]n/Ag films

CoPt/Ag and [C/CoPt]n/Ag thin films have been prepared onto the glass substrates by magnetron sputtering. We investigated the evolution of texture and magnetic properties of CoPt/Ag and [C/CoPt]n/Ag films. The results show that C-doping plays an important role in improving (0 0 1) texture, improving the order parameter S, reducing the intergrain interactions, and making the magnetization reversal mechanism more close to Stoner-Wolfarth rotational mechanism. The growth mechanism of (0 0 1) texture also seems to be related strongly to the films thickness. Our results show that the highly (0 0 1)-oriented films with ordered fct phase have a significant potential for the perpendicular media of extremely high-density recording.     

A review of the growth and structures of silicene on Ag(111)

Ag(111) is currently the most often used substrate for growing silicene films. Silicene forms a variety of different phases on the Ag(111) substrate. However, the structures of these phases are still not fully understood so far. In this brief review we summarize the growth condition and resulting silicene phases on Ag(111), and discuss the most plausible structural model and electronic property of individual phases. The existing debates on silicene on Ag(111) system are clarified as mush as possible.