Structural properties of a-SiO_x:H films studied by an improved infrared-transmission analysis method

An improved method of fitting point-by-point is proposed to determine the absorption coefficient from infrared(IR)transmittance. With no necessity of empirical correction factors, the absorption coefficient can be accurately determined for the films with thin thicknesses. Based on this method, the structural properties of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide materials(a-SiOx:H) are investigated. The oxygen-concentration-dependent variation of the Si–O–Si and the Si–H related modes in a-SiOx:H materials is discussed in detail.     

Effects of annealing rate and morphology of sol–gel derived ZnO on the performance of inverted polymer solar cells

The effects of annealing rate and morphology of sol–gel derived zinc oxide(ZnO)thin films on the performance of inverted polymer solar cells(IPSCs)are investigated.ZnO films with different morphologies are prepared at different annealing rates and used as the electron transport layers in IPSCs.The undulating morphologies of ZnO films fabricated at annealing rates of 10 C/min and 3 C/min each possess a rougher surface than that of the ZnO film fabricated at a fast annealing rate of 50 C/min.The ZnO films are characterized by atomic force microscopy(AFM),optical transmittance measurements,and simulation.The results indicate that the ZnO film formed at 3 C/min possesses a good-quality contact area with the active layer.Combined with a moderate light-scattering,the resulting device shows a 16%improvement in power conversion efficiency compared with that of the rapidly annealed ZnO film device.     

Magnetic behaviors of cerium oxide-based thin films deposited using electrochemical method

Zn and Co multi-doped CeO2 thin films have been prepared using an anodic electrochemical method. The structures and magnetic behaviors are characterized by several techniques, in which the oxygen states in the lattice and the absorptive oxygen bonds at the surface are carefully examined. The absorptive oxygen bond is about 50% of the total oxygen bond by using a semi-quantitative method. The value of actual stoichiometry δ is close to 2. The experimental results indicate that the thin films are of a cerium oxide-based solid solution with few oxygen vacancies in the lattice and many absorptive oxygen bonds at the surface. Week ferromagnetic behaviors were evidenced by observed M–H hysteresis loops at room temperature. Furthermore, an evidence of relative ferromagnetic contributions was revealed by the temperature dependence of magnetization. It is believed that the ferromagnetic contributions exhibited in the M–H loops originate from the absorptive oxygen on the surface rather than the oxygen vacancies in the lattice.     

Identification of pore size in porous SiO2 thin film by positron annihilation

Positron annihilation lifetime and Doppler broadening of annihilation line techniques have been used to obtain information about the small pore structure and size of porous SiO2 thin film produced by sputtered Al-Si thin film and etched Al-Si thin film. The film is prepared by an Al/Si 75：25 at.-% （A175Si25） target with the radiofrequency （RF） power of 66 W at room temperature. A 5 wt.-% phosphoric acid solution is used to etch the Al cylinders. All the A1 cylinders dissolved in the solution after 15 h at room temperature, and the sample is subsequently rinsed in pure water. In this way, the porous SiO2 on the Si substrate is produced. From our results, the values of all lifetime components in the spectra of Al-Si thin film are less than 1 ns, but the value of one of the lifetime components in the spectra of porous SiO2 thin film is τ = 7.80 ns. With these values of lifetime, RTE （Rectangular Pore Extension） model has been used to analyze the pore size.     

Synthesis of ZrSiN composite films using a plasma focus device

ZrSiN thin films are synthesized by using plasma focus through various numbers of focus shots （10, 20, and 30）, with samples placed at 9 cm away from the tip of the anode. Crystal structures, surface morphologies, and elemental compositions of ZrSiN films are characterized by an X-ray diffractometer （XRD） and scanning electron microscope （SEM） attached with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDS）. XRD patterns confirm the formations of polycrystalline ZrSiN films. Crystallinity of nitride increases with the increase of focus shot number. The average crystallite size of zirconium nitride increases from 27 ± 3 nm to 73±8 nm and microstrain decreases from 2.28 to 1.0 with the increase of the focus shot number. SEM results exhibit the formations of granular and oval-shaped microstructures, depending on the number of focus shots. EDS results confirm the presences of silicon, zirconium, nitrogen, and oxygen in the composite films. The content values of Zr and N in the composite films increase with the increase of the focus shot number.     

Properties of transistor based C60 thin film on polystyrene

This paper reports that the n-type organic thin-fihn transistors have been fabricated by using C60 as the active layer and polystyrene as the dielectric. The properties of insulator and the growth characteristic of C60 film were carefully investigated. By choosing different source/drain electrodes, a device with good performance can be obtained. The highest electron field effect mobility about 1.15 cm2/（V. s） could reach when Barium was introduced as electrodes. Moreover, the C60 transistor shows a negligible ＇hysteresis effect＇ contributed to the hydroxyl-free of insulator. The result suggests that polymer dielectrics are promising in applications among n-type organic transistors.     

Characterization of zirconium thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition

Zirconium(Zr) thin films deposited on Si(100) by pulsed laser deposition(PLD) at different pulse repetition rates are investigated. The deposited Zr films exhibit a polycrystalline structure, and the X-ray diffraction(XRD) patterns of the films show the α Zr phase. Due to the morphology variation of the target and the laser–plasma interaction, the deposition rate significantly decreases from 0.0431 /pulse at 2 Hz to 0.0189 /pulse at 20 Hz. The presence of droplets on the surface of the deposited film, which is one of the main disadvantages of the PLD, is observed at various pulse repetition rates. Statistical results show that the dimension and the density of the droplets increase with an increasing pulse repetition rate. We find that the source of droplets is the liquid layer formed under the target surface. The dense nanoparticles covered on the film surface are observed through atomic force microscopy(AFM). The root mean square(RMS) roughness caused by valleys and islands on the film surface initially increases and then decreases with the increasing pulse repetition rate.The results of our investigation will be useful to optimize the synthesis conditions of the Zr films.     

Preparation and modification of VO_2 thin film on R-sapphire substrate by rapid thermal process

The VO2 thin film with high performance of metal-insulator transition （MIT） is prepared on R-sapphire substrate for the first time by magnetron sputtering with rapid thermal process （RTP）. The electrical characteristic and THz transmittance of MIT in VO2 film are studied by four-point probe method and THz time domain spectrum （THz-TDS）. X-ray diffraction （XRD）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, atomic force microscopy （AFM）, and search engine marketing （SEM） are employed to analyze the crystalline structure, valence state, surface morphology of the film. Results indicate that the properties of VO2 film which is oxidized from the metal vanadium film in oxygen atmosphere are improved with a follow- up RTP modification in nitrogen atmosphere. The crystallization and components of VO2 film are improved and the film becomes compact and uniform. A better phase transition performance is shown that the resistance changes nearly 3 orders of magnitude with a 2-~C hysteresis width and the THz transmittances are reduced by 64% and 60% in thermal and optical excitation respectively.     

The design and preparation of a Fabry-Perot polarizing filter

A novel single-cavity narrowband Fabry-Perot （FP） polarizing filter at normal incidence, constructed from a sandwich structure with sculptured anisotropic space layer and symmetric isotropic HR mirrors, is designed and prepared. The optical performances of transmittance, phase shift, central wavelength, and bandwidth for two polarized states are analyzed with the characteristic matrix. The numerical studies accord reasonably well with the experimental results. It is demonstrated that the polarization state of the electromagnetic wave and phase shift can be modulated by employing an anisotropic space layer in the polarizing beam splitter system. The birefringence of the anisotropic space layer provides a sophisticated phase modulation by varying the incidence angles over a broad range to have a wide-angle phase shift.     

Aluminium phthalocyanine chloride thin films for temperature sensing

This study presents the fabrication and temperature sensing properties of sensors based on aluminium phthalocyanine chloride(AlPcCl)thin films.To fabricate the sensors,50-nm-thick electrodes with 50-μm gaps between them are deposited on glass substrates.AlPcCl thin films with thickness of 50–100 nm are deposited in the gap between electrodes by thermal evaporation.The resistance of the sensors decreases with increasing thickness and the annealing at 100℃ results in an increase in the initial resistance of sensors up to 24%.The sensing mechanism is based on the change in resistance with temperature.For temperature varying from 25℃ to 80℃,the change in resistance is up to 60%.Simulation is carried out and results obtained coincide with experimental data with an error of±1%.     

Homogeneity analysis of sculptured thin films deposited in symmetric style through glancing angle deposition technique

The symmetric deposition technique is often used to improve the uniformity of sculptured thin film （STF）. In this paper, optical properties of STF with the columnar angles 4-/3 are analyzed theoretically, based on the characteristic matrix method for extraordinary waves. Then, the transmittances of uniformity monolayer and bilayer STF in symmetrical style are calculated to show the effect of the bilayer structure on the optical properties of STF. The inhomogeneity of STF is involved in analyzing the differences in transmittance and phase retardation between monolayer and bilayer STF deposited in symmetric style. The results show that optical homogeneity of STF can be improved by depositing in symmetric style at the normal incidence, but it is not the same case as the oblique incidence.     

Homogeneous interface-type resistance switching in Au/La0.67Ca0.33MnO3/SrTiO3/F:SnO2 heterojunction memories

La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 thin films are fabricated on fluorine-doped tin oxide conducting glass substrates by a pulsed laser deposition technique with SrTiO3 used as a buffer layer. The current-voltage characteristics of the heterojunetions exhibit an asymmetric and resistance switching behaviour. A homogeneous interface-type conduction mechanism is also reported using impedance spectroscopy. The spatial homogeneity of the charge carrier distribution leads to field- induced potential-barrier change at the Au-La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 interface and a concomitant resistance switching effect. The ratio of the high resistance state to the low resistance state is found to be as high as 1.3 x 10^4% by simulating the AC electric field. This colossal resistance switching effect will greatly improve the signal-to-noise ratio in nonvolatile memory applications.     

Enhancement-mode A1GaN/GaN high electronic mobility transistors with thin barrier＊

An enhancement-mode （E-mode） A1GaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor （HEMTs） was fabricated with 15-nm A1GaN barrier layer. E-mode operation was achieved by using fluorine plasma treatment and post-gate rapid thermal annealing. The thin barrier depletion-HEMTs with a threshold voltage typically around -1.7 V, which is higher than that of the 22-nm barrier depletion-mode HEMTs （-3.5 V）. Therefore, the thin barrier is emerging as an excellent candidate to realize the enhancement-mode operation. With 0.6-tim gate length, the devices treated by fluorine plasma for 150-W RF power at 150 s exhibited a threshold voltage of 1.3 V. The maximum drain current and maximum transconductance are 300 mA/mm, and 177 mS/ram, respectively. Compared with the 22-nm barrier E-mode devices, VT of the thin barrier HEMTs is much more stable under the gate step-stress,     

Multiferroic properties of sol-gel derived Bi5Fe1-xCoxTi3O15 thin films

Co-doped Bi 5 FeTi 3 O 15 thin films (BFCT-x,Bi 5 Fe 1-x Co x Ti 3 O 15) were prepared using a sol-gel technique.XRD patterns confirm their single phase Aurivillius structure,and the corresponding powder Rietveld analysis indicates the change of space group around x=0.12.The magnetic hysteresis loops are obtained and ferromagnetism is therefore confirmed in BFCT-x thin films.The remanent magnetization (M r) first increases and reaches the maximum value of 0.42 emu/cm 3 at x=0.12 due to the possible Fe 3+-O-Co 3+ ferromagnetic coupling.When x=0.25,the M r increases again because of the dominant Fe 3+-O-Co 3+ ferromagnetic coupling.The remanent polarization (2P r) of BFCT-0.25 was measured to be as high as 62 μC/cm 2,a 75% increase when compared with the non-doped BFCT-0 films.The 2P r remains almost unchanged after being subjected to 5.2 × 10 9 read/write cycles.Greatly enhanced ferroelectric properties are considered to be associated with decreased leakage current density.     

Electrical and optical properties of Sb-doped ZnO thin films synthesized by sol–gel method

Sb-doped ZnO thin films with different values of Sb content （from 0 to 1.1 at.%） are deposited by the sol-gel dip- coating method under different sol concentrations. The effects of Sb-doping content, sol concentration, and annealing ambient on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of ZnO films are investigated. The results of the X-ray diffraction and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy （UV-VIS） spectrophotometer indicate that each of all the films retains the wurtzite ZnO structure and possesses a preferred orientation along the c axis, with high transmittance （〉 90%） in the visible range. The Hall effect measurements show that the vacuum annealed thin films synthesized in the sol concentration of 0.75 mol/L each have an adjustable n-type electrical conductivity by varying Sb-doping density, and the photoluminescence （PL） spectra revealed that the defect emission （around 450 nm） is predominant. However, the thin films prepared by the sol with a concentration of 0.25 mol/L, despite their poor conductivity, have priority in ultraviolet emission, and the PL peak position shows first a blue-shift and then a red-shift with the increase of the Sb doping content.     

Neutronic calculations for CANDU thorium systems using Monte Carlo techniques

In this paper, we have investigated the prospects of exploiting the rich world thorium reserves using Canada Deuterium Uranium （CANDU） reactors. The analysis is performed using the Monte Carlo MCNP code in order to understand how much time the reactor is in criticality conduction. Four different fuel compositions have been selected for analysis. We have obtained the infinite multiplication factor, k∞, under full power operation of the reactor over 8 years. The neutronic flux distribution in the full core reactor has already been investigated.     

Characteristics of the magnetic analysis system for a compact MPR-type spectrometer

The magnetic proton recoil（MPR）spectrometer is a novel diagnostic instrument with high perfor-mance for measurements of neutron spectra in inertial confinement fusion（ICF）experiments and high power fusion devices.A compact MPR-type spectrometer dedicated to the research of pulsed deuterium-tritium（DT）neutron spectroscopy of special experimental conditions is currently under design.Analyses of the main parameters and performance of the magnetic analysis system through 3-D particle transport calculations and MonteCarlo simulations and calibration of the system performance as a test using CR-39 solid track detector and α particle from 239pu and 226Ra radioactive sources are presented in this paper.The results indicate that the magnetic analysis system will achieve a detection efficiency level of 10-5-10-4 at an energy resolution of 1.5%-2.1%,and fulfills the design goals of the spectrometer.     

The effect of composition on structural and electronic properties in polycrystalline CuGaSe2 thin film

Polycrystalline CuGaSe2 thin films on Mo-coated soda-lime glass substrates have been synthesized by coevaporation process from Cu, Ga and Se sources. Structural and electrical properties of the as-grown CuGaSe2 films strongly depend on the film composition. Stoichiometric CuGaSe2 is fabricated, as indicated by x-ray diffraction spectroscope （XRD） and x-ray fluorescence （XRF）. A two-phase region is composed of CuGaSe2 and Cu2-xSe phases for Cu-rich films, and CuGaSe2 and CuGa3Se5 phases for Ga-rich films, respectively. Morphological properties are detected by scanning electron microscope （SEM） for various compositional films, the grain sizes of the CuGaSe2films decrease with the extent of deviation from stoichiometric composition. Raman spectroscopy of Cu-rich samples shows that there exist large Cu-Se particles on the film surface. The results from Hall effect measurements for typical samples indicate that CuGaSe2 films are always of p-type semiconductor from Cu-rich to Ga-rich. Stoichiometric CuGaSe2 films exhibit relatively large mobility than any other compositional films. Finally, polycrystalline CuGaSe2 thin film solar cell with a best conversion efficiency of 6.02% has been achieved under the standard air mass （AM）1.5 spectrum for 100mW/cm^2 at room temperature （aperture area, 0.24cm^2）. The open circuit voltage of the CuGaSe2 solar cells is close to770 mV.     

High-voltage SOI lateral MOSFET with a dual vertical field plate

A new silicon-on-insulator(SOI)power lateral MOSFET with a dual vertical field plate(VFP)in the oxide trench is proposed.The dual VFP modulates the distribution of the electric field in the drift region,which enhances the internal field of the drift region and increases the drift doping concentration of the drift region,resulting in remarkable improvements in breakdown voltage(BV)and specific on-resistance(Ron,sp).The mechanism of the VFP is analyzed and the characteristics of BV and Ron,spare discussed.It is shown that the BV of the proposed device increases from 389 V of the conventional device to 589 V,and the Ron,sp decreases from 366 m·cm2to 110 m·cm2.     

A novel high performance TFS SJ IGBT with a buried oxide layer

A novel high performance trench field stop(TFS) superjunction(SJ) insulated gate bipolar transistor(IGBT) with a buried oxide(BO) layer is proposed in this paper. The BO layer inserted between the P-base and the SJ drift region acts as a barrier layer for the hole-carrier in the drift region. Therefore, conduction modulation in the emitter side of the SJ drift region is enhanced significantly and the carrier distribution in the drift region is optimized for the proposed structure. As a result, compared with the conventional TFS SJ IGBT(Conv-SJ), the proposed BO-SJ IGBT structure possesses a drastically reduced on-state voltage drop(Vce(on)) and an improved tradeoff between Vce(on)and turn-off loss(Eoff), with no breakdown voltage(BV) degraded. The results show that with the spacing between the gate and the BO layer Wo = 0.2 μm, the thickness of the BO layer Lo = 0.2 μm, the thickness of the drift region Ld = 90 μm, the half width and doping concentration of the N- and P-pillars Wn = Wp = 2.5 μm and Nn = Np = 3 × 1015cm-3, the Vce(on)and Eoffof the proposed structure are 1.08 V and 2.81 mJ/cm2with the collector doping concentration Nc = 1×1018cm-3and 1.12 V and1.73 mJ/cm2with Nc = 5 × 1017cm-3, respectively. However, with the same device parameters, the Vce(on)and Eofffor the Conv-SJ are 1.81 V and 2.88 mJ/cm2with Nc = 1 × 1018cm-3and 1.98 V and 2.82 mJ/cm2with Nc = 5 × 1017cm-3,respectively. Meanwhile, the BV of the proposed structure and Conv-SJ are 1414 V and 1413 V, respectively.