Silicon carbonitride by remote microwave plasma CVD from organosilicon precursor: Physical and mechanical properties of deposited Si:C:N films

Silicon carbonitride (Si:C:N) films produced by the remote microwave hydrogen plasma chemical vapor deposition (RP-CVD) using bis(dimethylamino)methylsilane as single-source precursor and hydrogen as an upstream gas for plasma generation, were examined in terms of their physical (density) and mechanical (hardness, elastic modulus, friction coefficient, and “plasticity index”) properties. The effect of substrate temperature (varied in the range of 30-400 °C) on the properties of Si:C:N films is presented. A reasonable compositional and structural dependencies of film properties were determined using, respectively, the XPS atomic concentration ratios N/Si and C/Si, as well as the relative integrated intensities of the IR absorption bands from the SiN and SiC bonds (controlled by deposition temperature), evaluated in the first part of this work. In view of their good mechanical properties, Si:C:N films seem to be useful coatings for improving surface mechanics of engineering materials.     

First-principles study on electronic structure and elastic properties of Ti2SC

We have performed first-principles study on electronic structure and elastic properties of Ti₂SC. The absence of band gap at the Fermi level and the finite value of the density of states at the Fermi energy reveal the metallic behavior of this compound. The five independent elastic constants were derived and the bulk modulus, Young's modulus, shear modulus, and Poisson's ratio were determined. The high bulk modulus and hardness was found to be originated from the strong Ti 3d-S 2p hybridization. Such strong MA bonding is unusual in the MAX phases studied so far. Ti₂SC is elastically stable and exhibits highly elastic isotropy.     

A study on electrical and mechanical properties of hybrid-polymer thin films by a controlled TEOS bubbling ratio

Organic-inorganic hybrid-polymer thin films were deposited on silicon(1 0 0) substrates at room temperature by PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition). Ethylcyclohexane and TEOS (tetraethoxysilane) were utilized as organic and inorganic precursors with hydrogen gas for the ethylcyclohexane bubbler and argon gas for both the TEOS bubbler and as a carrier gas. To compare the electrical and the mechanical properties of the plasma polymerized thin films, we grew the hybrid-polymer thin films under conditions of various TEOS bubbling ratios. MTS nano-indenter was used to measure the hardness and Young's modulus and showed that these values increased as the TEOS bubbling ratio increased, with the highest hardness at 0.8 GPa in this experiment. An impedance analyzer was utilized for the measurements of I-V curves and capacitance, showing the lowest dielectric constant at approximately 1.83, with a leakage current density of 10⁻⁸ A/cm² at 1 MV/cm, respectively.     

六角相ErAx (A=H,He)体系弹性性质的第一性原理研究

本文采用第一性原理研究了六角相ErA_x (A=H, He)的弹性性质, 其中x=0, 0.0313, 0.125, 0.25, 分别讨论了体系中不同浓度的氢和氦对体系弹性性质的影响. 计算结果表明, 六角相铒-氢体系晶体的弹性常数、体弹模量、剪切模量、杨氏模量基本上随着晶体中氢的浓度增加而增加, 然而, 铒-氦体系的弹性常数、体弹模量、剪切模量和杨氏模量几乎随着氦浓度的增加而降低. 从电荷转移方面分析了氢和氦与Er的相互作用, 发现六角相ErH_x的弹性性质随H浓度的变化机理与ErHe_x随He浓度的变化机理不同. 关键词： 第一性原理 弹性性质 x')" href="#">六角相ErH_x x')" href="#">六角相ErHe_x     

A nanoindentation study of the mechanical properties of ZnO thin films on (0 0 0 1) sapphire

The mechanical properties of epitaxial ZnO thin films grown on (0 0 0 1) sapphire substrate were investigated by nanoindentation with a Berkovich tip and compared with that of bulk ZnO single crystal. In all indents on ZnO film a single discontinuity (‘pop-in’) in the load versus indentation depth data was observed at a specific depth of between 13 and 16 nm. In bulk ZnO, however only 65% of indents showed pop-in event at a specific depth of between 12 and 20 nm. The mechanism responsible for the ‘pop-in’ event in the epitaxial ZnO thin films as well as in bulk ZnO was attributed to the sudden propagation of dislocations, which had been pinned down by pre-existing defects, along the pyramidal and basal {0 0 0 1} planes (cross slip). The elastic modulus and hardness of the epitaxial ZnO thin films were determined to be 154 ± 5 and 8.7 ± 0.2 GPa, respectively, at an indentation depth of 30 nm.     

Characterization of hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films by end-Hall ion beam deposition

Pure hydrogenated amorphous carbon (α-C:H) and nitrogen doped hydrogenated amorphous carbon (α-C:H:N) thin films were prepared using end-Hall (EH) ion beam deposition with a beam energy ranging from 24 eV to 48 eV. The composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of the films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, scanning probe microscopy (SPM), and nano-scratch tests. The films are uniform and smooth with root mean square roughness values of 0.5-0.8 nm for α-C:H and 0.35 nm for α-C:H:N films. When the ion energy was increased from 24 eV to 48 eV, the fraction of sp³ bonding in the α-C:H films increased from 36% to 55%, the hardness increased from 8 GPa to 12.5 GPa, and the Young's modulus increased from 100 GPa to 130 GPa. In the α-C:H:N films, N/C atomic ratio, the hardness and Young's modulus of the α-C:H:N films are, 0.087, 15 and 145 GPa, respectively. The results indicate that both higher ion energy and a small amount of N doping improve the mechanical properties of the films. The results have demonstrated that smooth and uniform α-C:H and α-C:H:N films with large area and reasonably high hardness and Young's modulus can be synthesized by EH ion source.     

Mechanical properties of twist grain boundaries in Cu

In a previous paper we studied the Young's and shear modulus of a high-angle twist grain boundary (5) in Cu, using the EAM, and related it to the uniaxial strain derivatives of single crystals. In this paper, we discuss elastic properties of ten additional twist grain boundaries, from 8.8–43.6°. The monolayer Young's modulus at each boundary was calculated and found to be 20–50% higher than the bulk value for all eleven boundaries for both csl and type1 structures. The monolayer shear modulus at each boundary was calculated and found to be 93–98% lower than the bulk value for six grain boundaries with csl structure and found to decrease with increasing twist angle. The critical shear stress was also calculated for eleven boundaries with csl structure and found to roughly decrease with increasing twist angle.     

An influence of the electrodes on the frequency of piezoelectric bars

An influence of the vacuum deposited electrodes on the frequency of longitudinally vibrating piezoelectric quartz bars was studied. Both theoretical considerations and measurements show a linear dependence of the frequency on the mass and elastic properties of the electrodes. The influence of the electrodes on the frequency can be eliminated for certain ratio of the length of electrodes to the length of bar (l₁/l₀)₀. A discrepancy between the theoretical and experimental value of this ratio is ascribed to various values of Young's modulus of the bulk metal and a vacuum deposited layer.Devoted to Professor V. Petrílka on his sixty-fifth birthday.     

Field emission from nitrogen-implanted CVD diamond film grown on silicon wafer

Nitrogen was implanted into chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond films and the electron field emission properties of the nitrogenated diamond films were investigated. Nitrogen implantation was carried out using 10 keV in the dose range from 1×10¹⁶ to 5×10¹⁷ cm^-2 at room temperature. Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements revealed that nitrogen implantation damaged the structure of the diamond film and promoted the formation of sp² C–C and sp² C–N bondings. Increasing the implantation dose could lower the threshold field of the emission of the diamond film from 18 V/m to 4 V/m. The effective work function of the nitrogen-implanted CVD diamond films was estimated to be in the range of 0.01–0.1 eV. The enhancement of field emission for nitrogen-implanted CVD diamond films was attributed to the increase of the sp² C bonds fraction and the formation of defect bands within the bulk diamond band gap induced by nitrogen implantation, which could alter the work function and elevate the Fermi level. Consequently, the energy barrier for electron tunneling was reduced.     

Piezoelectric resonators of InP:Fe

Piezoelectric resonators in the form of rectangular platelets of semiinsulating InPFe were produced by cleaving along direction {011} to excite fundamental longitudinal modes of vibrations. The analysis of the transfer function of such resonators in the region around resonance frequencies delivered such parameters as elastic modulus and piezoelectric coefficients of InP, which could be compared with values from literature. The pertinent elastic modulus agrees within 1.6%, whereas the value of piezoelectric coefficient e ₁₄=(1.3±20%) C/m² is approximately three times higher than the older experimental value, but lies nearer to some theoretical predictions and to a recent experimental value.     

Dynamic compliance of multilayer coatings

The algorithm for calculation of dynamic compliance of multilayer coatings was developed. The compliance modulus and phase lag of coating surface motion vs. the current pressure depend on viscoelastic properties of materials, ratio of wavelength to layer thickness λ/H, and ratio of wave velocity to propagation velocity of shear vibrations in the base layer V / C _t,2 ⁰ Dynamic compliance of the two-layer coating consisting of a thick base layer and thin durable outer layer was calculated. The elasticity modulus of the outer layer ranged up to eight values of elastic modulus of the inner layer; the density of the outer layer either remained equal to the density of the inner layer or increased proportionally to the elastic modulus. Depending on V / C _t,2 ⁰ two scenarios of compliant coating interaction with the turbulent flow were distinguished: resonant and broadband ones. It is shown that the vibration properties of two-layer coatings can be significantly better than the properties of the monolayer coatings. This makes it possible either to increase the coating strength or to work efficiently at lower velocities.     

Correlation between structural and mechanical properties of PbTiO3 thin films grown by pulsed-laser deposition

Tetragonal lead titanate (PbTiO₃, PT) thin films are grown on (1 0 0) MgO substrate by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) for expected applications in integrated optics. The realisation of outstanding and reliable devices into integrated circuits requires sufficient mechanical resistance despite that the obtained PT films display interesting waveguiding properties associated with low optical losses. Two mechanical properties characteristic of elasticity and hardness of PT films are studied. The elastic modulus (E or Young's modulus) and the hardness (H) are measured by the nanoindentation technique. These mechanical properties are correlated to the crystalline quality of PT/MgO thin films. The films show epitaxial relationship with the MgO substrate and the orientation of crystallites perpendicularly to the surface substrate may be the consequence of a growth process along c-axis, a-axis or both. Differences on curves plotting hardness and elastic modulus as a function of indentation depth are observed as the curves are less dispersed for the films mainly c-axis oriented.     

Effect of gas flow ratio on the microstructure and mechanical properties of boron phosphide films prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering

Boron phosphide films were grown on silicon substrate by radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering using boron target and hydrogen phosphine at different gas flow ratios (PH₃/Ar) at lower temperature. The chemical composition, microstructure and mechanical properties were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectrum, FTIR spectrum, surface profilometer and nano-indenter. The results indicate that the atomic ratio (P/B) rises from 1.06 up to 1.52 with the gas flow ratio increasing from 3/50 to 15/50. Simultaneously, the hardness and Young's modulus decrease from 25.4 GPa to 22.5 GPa, and 250.4 GPa to 238.4 GPa, respectively. Microstructure transforms from microcrystalline state to amorphous state along with the gas flow ratio increasing. Furthermore higher gas flow ratio leads to lower stress. The BP film prepared at the gas flow ratio of 3/50 can be contributed with the best properties.     

First-principles investigations on elastic, phonon and thermodynamic properties of SrB6 under pressure

The elastic, phonon and thermodynamic properties of the divalent alkaline-earth hexaboride SrB₆ are investigated by using plane-wave pseudopotential density functional theory method. The calculated structure parameters and bulk modulus are well consistent with the available experiment and theoretical data. The pressure dependences of elastic constants C_ij, bulk modulus B₀, shear modulus G, Young's modulus E and Poisson's ratio σ are also presented. With these elastic parameters, we investigate the mechanical stability and compressibility of SrB₆. For the thermodynamic properties, both phonon and quasi-harmonic Debye model methods are adopted. Through the comparison with experimental and other theoretical results, we found the method of quasi-harmonic Debye model is a little better. Moreover, the phonon dispersion relations are also obtained. It is found that there are two LO/TO splitting around 5 THz and 26 THz, respectively.     

Decay of Re186

The decay of Re 186 was investigated with a double focusing spectrometer and scintillation spectrometer. Four transitions were observed with energies of 122·7±0·1 keV, 137·2 keV, 632·2±1·5 keV and 768·2±1·5 keV and the relative-ray intensities 18, 246, 0·9 and 1 respectively. TheK-conversion coefficients determined for low-energy transitions are in good agreement with the theoretical values ( _K ^122·7 =0·53±0·05, _K ^137·2 =0·44±0·02). The relative intensities of theK, L, M andN conversion lines were also determined for these transitions:KL _I +IIL _III M=1·20±0·201·32±0·20 1±0·150·57±0·08 for 122·7 keV transition,KL _I +IIL _III MN=1·57±0·081· 72±0080·70±0·030·20±0·01 for 137·2 keV transition. In the beta spectrum two groups were observed with the end points of 1076±3 keV and 939±3 keV and relative intensities 74±4% and 21±4% respectively. For the branching ofK-capture it was found that 1·5% populates the 122·7 keV level and 3·5% the ground state. The decay scheme from the present results is proposed.The authors would like to thank M. Buriánek and V. Kopiva for help in the measurements.     

Influence of oxygen on the elastic properties of nanocrystalline diamond films studied by laser-induced surface acoustic waves

Laser-induced surface acoustic waves (SAWs) were used to study the influence of oxygen on the elastic properties of nanocrystalline diamond films. A series of samples was grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on the (100) plane of p-type silicon for 3h under different O(2)/(CH(4)+H(2)) flow ratios from 0% to 8%. The elastic properties of these nanocrystalline diamond films were determined from the SAW dispersion curves. The maximum frequency realized was about 310 MHz in wideband SAW experiments and about 700 MHz using a narrowband mask method with several higher harmonics. It was found that the densities of all samples were surprisingly high, approaching the ideal value of diamond, whereas the Young's modulus increased from 700 to 950 GPa with the addition of oxygen. It is concluded that oxygen has a significant positive effect on the elastic properties of nanocrystalline diamond.     

IrB和IrB$lt;sub$gt;2$lt;/sub$gt;力学性质的第一性原理计算

采用平面波赝势密度泛函理论对0–100 GPa静水压下P₁ -IrB（空间群Pnma）和P₅ -IrB₂（空间群Pmmn）结构的平衡态晶格常数、弹性常数等性质进行了研究. 研究结果表明,P₁ -IrB不可压缩性随着压强的增加而增强;P₅ -IrB₂ 结构在0–100 GPa范围内弹性常数、体弹模量、剪切模量均呈现出有规律的变化,当所加压强为50 GPa时,杨氏模量和在b方向的晶格常数发生异常变化. 对零压下P₁ -IrB和P₅ -IrB₂ 的电子结构的研究发现,二者均没有一个明显的带隙,主要原因为Ir原子和B原子间的共价作用. 从P₁ -IrB和P₅ -IrB₂的能带结构和态密度图可以发现这两种结构均有金属性. 关键词： 1 -IrB')" href="#">P₁ -IrB 5-IrB₂')" href="#">P₅-IrB₂ 第一性原理 力学性质     

Nanomechanical characterizations of InGaN thin films

In_xGa_1−xN thin films with In concentration ranging from 25 to 34 at.% were deposited on sapphire substrate by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Crystalline structure and surface morphology of the deposited films were studied by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Hardness, Young's modulus and creep resistance were measured using a nanoindenter. Among the deposited films, In_0.25Ga_0.75N film exhibits a larger grain size and a higher surface roughness. Results indicate that hardness decreases slightly with increasing In concentration in the In_xGa_1−xN films ranged from 16.6 ± 1.1 to 16.1 ± 0.7 GPa and, Young's modulus for the In_0.25Ga_0.75N, In_0.3Ga_0.7N and In_0.34Ga_0.66N films are 375.8 ± 23.1, 322.4 ± 13.5 and 373.9 ± 28.6 GPa, respectively. In addition, the time-dependent nanoindentation creep experiments are presented in this article.     

InOOH压致氢键对称化及其弹性性质

利用第一性原理研究了InOOH在高压下的氢键对称化行为及其对InOOH弹性等性质的影响.结果表明约在18 GPa时InOOH中的氢键发生了对称化转变,导致轴比率b/c对压力的斜率由负值变为正值;压缩弹性常数、非对角弹性常数、体积模量和纵波波速出现异常增加,如体积模量增加了20%—40%.高压下InOOH弹性性质呈现出更加明显的各向异性.常压下InOOH呈现韧性,且伴随着氢键对称化韧性异常增加.对畸变金红石型MOOH(M=Al,In,Ga,Fe,Cr)化合物在高压下的弹性性质转变与氢键性质转变的耦合规律进行了初探.     

Pulsed laser ablation of borax target in vacuum and hydrogen DC glow discharges

The aim of our experiment was to produce a material with BH bonds for applications in hydrogen storage and generation. By using KrF excimer laser (λ = 248 nm) ablation of borax (Na₂B₄O₇) target, thin films were deposited on KBr and silicon substrates. Ablation was performed both in vacuum and in hydrogen atmosphere. DC glow discharge technique was utilized to enhance hydrogen gas ionization. Experiments were performed using laser fluence from 5 to 20 J/cm². Films were deposited under gas pressure of 1 × 10⁻⁵ to 5 × 10⁻² mbar and substrate temperatures of 130-450 °C. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of films showed presence of circular particulates. Film thickness, roughness and particulates number increased with increase in laser fluence. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis shows that sodium content in the particulates is higher than in the target. This effect is discussed in terms of atomic arrangements (both at surface and bulk) in systems where ionic and covalent bonds are present and by looking at the increased surface/bulk ratio of the particulates with respect to the deposited films. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements showed presence of BO stretching and BOB bending bonds. Possible reasons for absence of BH bonds are attributed to binding enthalpy of the competing molecules.