Classical simulation of atomic beam focusing and deposition for atom lithography

We start from the intensity distribution of a standing wave (SW) laser field and deduce the classical equation of atomic motion.The image distortion is analyzed using transfer function approach. Atomic flux density distribution as a function of propagation distance is calculated based on Monte-Carlo scheme and trajectory tracing method.Simulation results have shown that source imperfection,especially beam spread, plays an important role in broadening the feature width,and the focus depth of atom lens for real atomic source is longer than that for perfect source.The ideal focal plane can be easily determined by the variation of atomic density at the minimal potential of the laser field as a function of traveling distance.     

Laser-induced-forward-transfer: a rapid prototyping tool for fabrication of photonic devices

We propose a rapid prototyping method for the fabrication of optical waveguides based on the direct laser-printing method of ultrafast Laser-Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) followed by further processing. The method was implemented for the fabrication of titanium in-diffused lithium niobate channel waveguides and X-couplers by LIFT-depositing titanium metal followed by diffusion. Propagation loss as low as 0.8 dB/cm was measured in preliminary experiments.     

Microstructure and photoluminescence of Er-doped SiOx films synthesized by ion beam assisted deposition

Er-doped SiO_x films were synthesized at 500℃ by ion beam assisted deposition technique and annealed at 800 and 1100℃ for 2h in the air atmosphere. The analysis by using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy showed that the ratio of Si to O decreased from 3 in the as-deposited films to about 1 in the annealed films. The investigation by using transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction indicated that annealing induces a microstructure change from amorphous to crystalline. The grain sizes in the films were about 10 and 40nm when annealed at 800 and 1100℃, respectively. The films annealed at temperatures of 800 and 1100℃ exhibited a sharp photoluminescence (PL) at 1.533μm from the Er centres when pumped by 980nm laser. The influence of microstructure and grain size on the PL from Er-doped SiO_x films has been studied and discussed.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of nanopore processing in a graphene sheet by using gas cluster ion beam

The formation of a nanopore in a graphene sheet by collision with an argon cluster is simulated using molecular dynamics method. The number of removed carbon atoms and the size of the nanopore are obtained as a function of the kinetic energy of the cluster. In contrast to nanosculpting with a monomer ion beam, the size of the nanopore that is created by one shot of the cluster varies because of the variety of atom configuration. However, the mean size of the nanopore can be controlled over a wide range only by changing the kinetic energy of the cluster. This implies that the cleaning and processing of the graphene sheet may be realized simultaneously by changing the acceleration energy of the cluster.     

Influence of deposition rate on the properties of ZrO_2 thin films prepared in electron beam evaporation method

ZrO2 thin films were prepared in electron beam thermal evaporation method. And the deposition rate changed from 1.3 to 6.3 nm/s in our study. X-ray diffractometer and spectrophotometer were employed to characterize the films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra pattern shows that films structure changed from amorphous to polycrystalline with deposition rate increasing. The results indicate that internal stresses of the films are compressive in most case. Thin films deposited in our study are inhomogeneous, and the inhomogeneity is enhanced with the deposition rate increasing.     

Preparation of high J c YBa2Cu3O7−δ superconducting thin films by ion beam sputtering deposition

Preparation of high T _c and high J _c YBa₂Cu₃O_7– superconducting thin films by ion beam sputtering deposition is reported. The main factors affecting the composition of the films and the orientation of the crystal grains have been examined. Experimental results show that the Y, Ba and Cu composition of as-deposited films can be conveniently and accurately adjusted by a combined sputtering target which consists of a large sintered target of YBa₂Cu₃O_7– and a small one that is Ba and Cu rich (YBa_2.5Cu_3.3O_x). Fabrication conditions of highly oriented superconducting thin films are described. YBa₂Cu₃O_7– superconducting films with zero resistance at 88–90.5K and critical current density J _c (at 77K) of 1.5×10⁵ A/cm² are obtained.     

The formation of V–Al–N thin films by reactive ion beam mixing of V/Al interfaces

The reactive ion beam mixing (IBM) of V/Al interfaces by low-energy N₂⁺ ions at room temperature leads to the formation of V–Al–N ternary nitride thin films. The kinetics, growth mechanisms, composition and electronic structure of those films have been studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, Factor Analysis and Monte Carlo TRIDYN simulations. The comparison of experimental results with those obtained from TRIDYN simulations suggests that the chemical reaction with the nitrogen partial pressure and processes driven by residual defects are the rate-controlling mechanisms during the reactive IBM of V/Al interfaces. The kinetics of mixing is characterized by two stages. During the first stage (≤4×10¹⁶ ions/cm²), the formation of vanadium nitride is observed. In the second stage, vanadium nitride is transformed into a V–Al–N ternary nitride due to Al incorporation in the near surface region. Moreover, the V/Al ratio can be varied in a broad range, whereas the nitrogen concentration slightly decreases with increasing the aluminium content of the film.     

Enhancement of resolution and quality of nano-hole structure on GaN substrates using the second-harmonic beam of near-infrared femtosecond laser

By using a second harmonic of near infrared femtosecond (fs) laser (λ=387 nm, 150 fs) with high NA objective lens, fabrication resolution has been greatly improved in nano-fabrication of wide band-gap semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN). We have carried out a wet-chemical-assisted fs laser ablation method, in which the laser beam is focused onto a single-crystal GaN substrate immersed in a concentrated hydrochloric (HCl) acid solution. A two-step processing involving irradiation with a fs laser beam in air followed by wet chemical treatment is also performed for comparison. In the wet-chemical-assisted ablation, theoretical diameters of ablation craters are calculated as a function of pulse energy by assuming that the reaction is based on two-photon absorption. In lower energy, the calculated curve is close to the experimental value, while the actual measured diameters in the region of higher energy are larger than calculated values. In the condition of the highest fabrication resolution, we obtained ablation craters smaller than 200 nm at full width at half maximum. We have also demonstrated the fabrication of two-dimensional (2D) periodic nanostructures on surface of a GaN substrate using the second harmonic single fs-laser pulse. Uniform ablation craters with the size as small as 410 nm in diameter are arranged with a periodicity of 1 μm. Such structures are applicable to 2D photonic crystals which improve the light extraction efficiency for blue LEDs in the near future.     

Effect of 100 MeV O7+ ion beam irradiation on structural,optical and electronic properties of SnO2 thin films

In this paper, we present the impact of swift heavy ion beam irradiation on the structural, optical and electronic properties of SnO₂ thin films. Thin films were deposited using the pulsed laser deposition technique on Al₂O₃ substrates. Atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV–visible absorption and temperature-dependent resistivity measurements were performed to explore the morphological, structural, optical and electronic properties of the as-deposited and irradiated samples. The peak intensity of the (200) peak was found to decrease monotonously with increasing irradiation fluence. The band gap energy of the 1×10¹¹ ion/cm² irradiated sample was found to increase. The electrical resistivity of the samples showed a continuous increase with the irradiation fluence.     

Kinetic consideration for the incubation of the phase transformation and its application to the crystallization of amorphous alloy

Though much progress has been made on the phase transformation kinetics model, little attention has been paid to the incubation reaction before the transformation initiates. In this study, the kinetics characteristics of the incubation time during isothermal reaction and the onset temperature during isochronal one are indicated. A model is established with the consideration of the incubation time corresponding to its annealing temperature during the isothermal case and the onset temperature corresponding to its heating rate during the isochronal case, from which a correlation between the incubation time and the onset temperature can be drawn. Finally, the proposed model has been applied well to the crystallization of Mg₆₅Cu₂₅Y₁₀ amorphous alloy.     

Design of magnet and control of the beam emittance for Penning H－ ion source

The design requirement and principle of the deflection magnet for Magnetron and Penning H^－ ion source are discussed. It is proved that there exists a maximum emittance for the beam that may be transformed by the magnet into a state with equal Twiss parameters of α_r=α_y and β_r=β_y, which is the requisite condition to get a minimum emittance at the entrance of RFQ after transporting by a LEBT with solenoids. For this maximum emittance, the corresponding magnetic field gradient index is 1.     

The role of substrate surface termination in the deposition of?(111)?CdTe on?(0001) sapphire

The small lattice mismatch and sixfold symmetry offered by the (0001) planes of sapphire make it an ideal substrate candidate for the deposition of (111) CdTe films. There, however, exists a wide disparity in film quality among various researchers with both single crystal and highly twinned, multidomain films being reported. We have developed a pulsed laser deposition process that enables us to deposit nearly single-domain (111) CdTe films exhibiting excellent surface morphology. Such films are deposited on as-received sapphire substrates in vacuum conditions where oxygen is readily available. If, however, film deposition is preceded by the deposition of a submonolayer of aluminum prior to film growth then a secondary CdTe domain emerges with an in-plane orientation having a 180°-in-plane offset from the first domain. These multidomain films show poor crystallographic and morphological properties, similar to what has been reported elsewhere. It is concluded that the singly terminated (0001) sapphire substrates are a prerequisite for the deposition of high-quality (111) CdTe films.     

The specular component of light scattering and the charac- terization of the height distribution for random surfaces

The relations between the specular reflection component of the intensity scattered by random surfaces and the height distributions of the surfaces are analyzed theoretically. In the extraction of the height distribution, both the phase and the amplitude of the specular wave are required. The measured specular intensity data versus the perpendicular component of the wave vector are used for the retrieval of the phase distribution of the specular wave, in which the Ger-chberg-Saxton iterative algorithm is employed, and the characterization of the height distribution of random surfaces is accomplished. In the experiment, two samples with Gaussian and quasi-two level height distributions, respectively, are practically measured and the results of the height probability density function obtained by light scattering method are in good accordance with those by atomic force microscopy. The method of this paper is of important significance for the characterizations and studies of random surfaces.     

The effect of cesium metal clusters on the optical properties of cesium iodide thin films

Cesium metal clusters strongly affect the optical properties of cesium iodide thin films. The metal clusters are formed during film formation by thermal evaporation. The cesium cluster of 30–40 nm in the matrix of cesium iodide insulating thin films results in Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). The peak position of these SPR peaks showed a red shift. This was shown to be due to changes in the dielectric constant of CsI resulting from the strains in the films caused by the metal clusters themselves.     

The Effect of Disorder on the Free-Energy for the Random Walk Pinning Model: Smoothing of the Phase Transition and Low Temperature Asymptotics

We consider the continuous time version of the Random Walk Pinning Model (RWPM), studied in (Berger and Toninelli (Electron. J. Probab., to appear) and Birkner and Sun (Ann. Inst. Henri Poincaré Probab. Stat. 46:414–441, 2010; ). Given a fixed realization of a random walk Y on ℤ ^d with jump rate ρ (that plays the role of the random medium), we modify the law of a random walk X on ℤ ^d with jump rate 1 by reweighting the paths, giving an energy reward proportional to the intersection time L_t(X,Y)=ò₀^t 1_Xs=Ys dsL_{t}(X,Y)=\int_{0}^{t} \mathbf {1}_{X_{s}=Y_{s}}\,\mathrm {d}s: the weight of the path under the new measure is exp (βL _t (X,Y)), β∈ℝ. As β increases, the system exhibits a delocalization/localization transition: there is a critical value β _c , such that if β>β _c the two walks stick together for almost-all Y realizations. A natural question is that of disorder relevance, that is whether the quenched and annealed systems have the same behavior. In this paper we investigate how the disorder modifies the shape of the free energy curve: (1) We prove that, in dimension d≥3, the presence of disorder makes the phase transition at least of second order. This, in dimension d≥4, contrasts with the fact that the phase transition of the annealed system is of first order. (2) In any dimension, we prove that disorder modifies the low temperature asymptotic of the free energy.     

Changes in the state of polarization of partially coherent flat-topped beam in turbulent atmosphere for different source conditions

The polarization states, i.e. the size, the shape and the orientation of the polarization ellipse of partially coherent flat-topped (PCFT) beams passing through atmospheric turbulence are studied in detail. The effects are studied of different source conditions on the polarization states of a PCFT beam propagating through atmospheric turbulence. Based on the unified theory of the polarization states for random electromagnetic beams, we have established the detailed formula for calculating the change of the polarization states of such beams. The polarization states behavior of PCFT beams passing through atmospheric turbulence for any arbitrary order of a flat-topped beam “N” under different source conditions were investigated.     

Determination of the optical parameters of a-Si:H thin films deposited by hot wire–chemical vapour deposition technique using transmission spectrum only

Three demonstration samples of intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films were deposited using hot wire–chemical vapour deposition (HW–CVD) technique. The optical parameters and the thickness were determined from the extremes of the interference fringes of transmission spectrum in the range of 400–2500 nm using the envelope method. The calculated values of the refractive index (n) were fitted using the two-term Cauchy dispersion relation and the static refractive index values (n ₀) obtained were 2.799, 2.629 and 3.043 which were in the range of the reported values. The calculated thicknesses for all samples were cross-checked with Taly-Step profilometer and found to be almost equal. Detailed analysis was carried out to obtain the optical band gap (E _g) using Tauc’s method and the estimated values were 1.99, 2.01 and 1.75 eV. The optical band gap values were correlated with the hydrogen content (C _H) in the samples calculated from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. An attempt was made to apply Wemple–DiDomenico single-effective oscillator model to the a-Si:H samples to calculate the optical parameters. The optical band gap obtained by Tauc’s method and the static refractive index calculated from Cauchy fitting are in good agreement with those obtained by the single-effective oscillator model. The real and the imaginary parts of dielectric constant (ε _r, ε _i), and the optical conductivity (σ) were also calculated.     

The Solutions for the Boundary Layer Problem of Boltzmann Equation in a Half-Space

We study the half space boundary layer problem for Boltzmann equation with cut-off potentials in all the cases −3<γ≤1, while the boundary condition is imposed on the incoming particles of Dirichlet type, and the solution is assumed to approach to a global Maxwellian at the far field. The same as for cut-off hard sphere model, there is an implicit solvability condition on the boundary data which gives the co-dimensions of the boundary data in terms of positive characteristic speeds.     

Conditions for the formation of an H−/D− ion beam in a volume plasma source with a magnetic filter

A one-dimensional model for the transport of a plasma with two ion species across the magnetic field in a steady-state volume negative-ion source is proposed. The conditions in the magnetic filter adjacent to the plasma electrode optimum for the generation, formation, and extraction of an H⁻/D⁻ ion beam are found. The theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental data.