Conductivity and current-voltage characteristics of PZT thin-film heterostructures

The conductivity of thin-film Pt/PZT/Pt structures has been studied using the method of current-voltage characteristics. The asymmetry of current-voltage characteristics has been revealed, which indicates that the potential barriers at the interfaces between the studied structures are different, and this asymmetry changes depending on the conditions of synthesis. It has been found that the current-voltage curve on semilogarithmic scales has several linear regions, which gives evidence that several mechanisms determine the conductivity of this structure. Two main conductivity mechanisms have been determined: ohmic mechanism and Frenkel-Poole emission. The conductivity of these structures increases with an increase in temperature, but the shape of the current-voltage characteristics remains unchanged.     

Ab-initio investigation of Ni(Fe)/ZrO2(0 0 1) and Ni-Fe/ZrO2(0 0 1) interfaces

The atomic and electronic structures of Me/ZrO₂(0 0 1) interfaces, where Me is Ni, Fe or a Ni-Fe alloy, are investigated by the plane wave pseudopotential method within density-functional theory. The work of separation of metal films from oxide substrate for the O- and Zr-terminated Me/ZrO₂(0 0 1) interfaces is calculated. High adhesion at both Me/(ZrO₂)_O and Me/(ZrO₂)_Zr interfaces is found. The effect of oxygen vacancies on the adhesion at the metal-ceramic interfaces is also investigated. It is shown that Ni(Fe)-O interaction at the O-terminated interface weakens in the presence of interfacial oxygen vacancies. At interfaces with Ni-Fe alloys the adhesion depends strongly on the composition of the interfacial layers and their magnetic properties.     

Structural and electronic properties of PbTe (rocksalt)/CdTe (zinc-blende) interfaces

We study interfaces between highly ionic crystals with different crystal structure by first-principles total-energy calculations in the repeated-slab approximation and compare the results with experimental data extracted from high-resolution transmission electron micrographs. The non-polar (1 1 0) interface between PbTe (rocksalt) and CdTe (zinc-blende) crystals gives rise to a lateral spatial offset between the two crystal halves. At the polar (1 0 0) interfaces a strong variation of the interface extent with respect to the cation or anion termination is observed. Furthermore, we calculate band offsets and projected interface band-structures for PbTe/CdTe interfaces. The results are discussed versus the interface orientation.     

Nanostructured heterophase thin films of lead zirconate titanate

The results of a comprehensive study of electrophysical and photoelectric properties of capacitor structures are analyzed within the proposed model of Pb(ZrTi)O₃ (PZT) films with an excess lead content, which is based on the presence of heterophase intergrain boundaries. It is shown that aging of thin-film capacitor structures is accompanied by a significant increase in the oxygen content in submicron PZT films, as well as by the modification of elemental and phase compositions of the interfaces. It is confirmed experimentally that a decrease in the switching charge in the aged PZT films is due to the oxygen sorption at heterophase crystallite boundaries containing lead oxide and to pinning of the polarization in regions adjacent to the charged boundaries. It is demonstrated that the current-voltage characteristics of the capacitor structures are described in terms of the mechanisms of space-charge-limited currents.     

Quantitative elemental and phase composition analysis by auger spectra: Matrix factors

This work is devoted to the methodical support of composition diagnostics of near-surface layers, thin films, and layered structures with interfaces by Auger spectra in the course of ion profiling. Two alternative approaches used currently in diagnostics, elemental and phase analysis, are compared by an example of objects of the known phase composition, which are buried cobalt disilicide layers in silicon. Contributions of the ion sputtering, primary electron beam backscattering, generation and escape of Auger electrons are considered.     

First principles study of hafnium intercalation between graphene and Ir(111) substrate

The intercalation of heteroatoms between graphene and metal substrates is a promising method for integrating epitaxial graphene with functional materials. Various elements and their oxides have been successfully intercalated into graphene/metal interfaces to form graphene-based heterostructures, showing potential applications in electronic devices. Here we theoretically investigate the hafnium intercalation between graphene and Ir(111). It is found that the penetration barrier of Hf atom is significantly large due to its large atomic radius, which suggests that hafnium intercalation should be carried out with low deposition doses of Hf atoms and high annealing temperatures. Our results show the different intercalation behaviors of a large-size atom and provide guidance for the integration of graphene and hafnium oxide in device applications.     

Structure transformation of Ir clusters on Ir surfaces

A small Ir cluster can assume either a one-dimensional linear-chain structure or a two-dimensional island-like structure. We present a study of the energetics of the 1 D to 2 D structure transformation of three-atom Ir clusters on the Ir(111) and (001) surfaces. On the (111) plane, the temperature dependence of the ratio of the probabilities of observing a three-atom cluster in the 1 D and 2 D structures exhibits a simple linear Arrhenius behavior. The 2 D island structure is found to be more stable with the cluster binding energy lower by 0.098±0.004 eV. On the (001) plane, the 1 D chain structure is more stable with the cluster binding energy lower by 0.335±0.015 eV. From these energies, the relative pair interaction at three different bond lengths can be derived. The relative pair potential is found to be non-monotonic in distance dependence. We explain the (1×5) reconstruction of the Ir(001) surface as being caused by the large difference in the pair binding energy of the first and second nearest-neighbor bonds. In addition, we find a significant deviation from the simple linear Arrhenius behavior at low temperatures for the three-atom Ir cluster on the Ir (001) plane, indicating that the entropy factor is temperature dependent.     

Strain relief through heterophase interface reconstruction: Ag(111)/Ru(0001)

We report an experimental (scanning tunneling microscopy) and theoretical (embedded atom method) study of a heterophase interface reconstruction between Ag(111) and Ru(0001). Despite the large 7% mismatch, the second layer of Ag from the Ru exhibits a hexagonal structure with Ag bulk spacing, providing a close match to bulk Ag. The first layer of Ag (next to Ru) is reconstructed in a highly symmetrical and regular structure containing monolayer long threading dislocations. We argue that this structure may generally occur to relieve strain in a certain class of heterophase interfaces.     

Lamb wave dispersion in a PZT/metal/PZT sandwich plate with imperfect interface

Abstract

The Lamb wave dispersion in a PZT/Metal/PZT sandwich plate is investigated by employing the exact linear equations of electro-elastic waves in piezoelectric materials within the scope of the plane-strain state. It is assumed that at the interfaces between the piezoelectric face layers and metal core layer, shear-spring and normal-spring type imperfect conditions are satisfied. The degree of this imperfectness is estimated through the corresponding shear-spring and normal-spring type parameters which appear in the contact condition characterizing the transverse and normal displacements’ discontinuity. The corresponding dispersion equation is derived, and as a result of the numerical solution to this equation, the dispersion curves are constructed for the first and second lowest modes in the cases where the material of the face layers is PZT and the material of the middle layer is Steel (St). Consequently, for the PZT/St/PZT sandwich plate, the study of the influence of the problem parameters such as the piezoelectric and dielectric constants, layer thickness ratios, non-dimensional shear-spring, and normal-spring type parameters, is carried out. In particular, it is established that the imperfectness of the contact between the layers of the plate causes a decrease in the values of the wave propagation velocity.     

The presence of a (1 × 1) oxygen overlayer on ZnO(0001) surfaces and at Schottky interfaces

The atomic surface and interface structures of uncoated and metal-coated epi-polished ZnO(0001) Zn-polar wafers were investigated via surface x-ray diffraction. All uncoated samples showed the presence of a fully occupied (1 × 1) overlayer of oxygen atoms located at the on-top position above the terminating Zn atom, a structure predicted to be unstable by several density functional theory calculations. The same oxygen overlayer was clearly seen at the interface of ZnO with both elemental and oxidized metal Schottky contact layers. No significant atomic relaxations were observed at surfaces and interfaces processed under typical device fabrication conditions.     

Anisotropic interface magnetoresistances in Pt(111)/Co n /Pt(111)

It is shown in terms of a fully relativistic spin-polarized ab initio-type approach that in Pt/Co/Pt trilayers two types of anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) have to be distinguished: an in-plane and an out-of-plane AMR. The obtained results, namely the magnetic field dependence as well as the thickness dependence of both AMR types are in very good agreement with a very recent experimental study, in which the in-plane as well as the out-of-plane AMR was reported for this system. The difference between the two types of AMR is visualized in terms of layer-resolved resistivities. In particular, it is confirmed that the anisotropic interface magnetoresistance (AIMR) introduced in the recent publication mainly originates in the vicinity of the Co/Pt interfaces.     

Effect of Ir(pq)2acac doping on CBP in phosphorescence organic light-emitting diodes

Doping is one of the most powerful methods amongst the various performance improvement ways. Doping affects the energy levels of the host layer by the energy level of the dopant. This allows the energy bandgap to be adjusted to a desired level and thus generates light corresponding to that energy level. Alternatively, it can act as an energy barrier between the interfaces to change the flow of carriers. In this study, the voltage dependences of undoped and doped devices were observed. Bis(2-phenylquinoline) iridium(III) (acetylacetonate) (Ir(pq)₂acac) was doped in 4,4′-N, N′-dicarbazole-biphenyl (CBP) as the emission layer. The light intensity changes with the doping concentration, and the efficiency was also studied. When a high voltage was applied, the effect of triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) adversely affected the electron-hole recombination. We analyzed the optimal operating conditions and the effect of doping concentration on OLEDs.     

Proton states in193Ir and195Ir populated via the (α) reaction

The nuclear structures of¹⁹³Ir and¹⁹⁵Ir have been studied using the¹⁹⁴Pt(t, α) and¹⁹⁶Pt(t, α) reactions. Levels up to ～2MeV in excitation energy were studied with a resolution of ～13keV (FWHM) and spectroscopic strengths were extracted. The low-lying states in¹⁹³Ir have been interpreted in terms of both the Nilsson and the rotation-vibration models including Coriolis, particle-vibration and rotation-vibrational couplings. The previously assigned 3/2⁺ [402], 11/2^? [505], 1/2⁺[400] and 1/2⁺[411] bands were populated and candidates for the 5/2⁺ [402] and 7/2⁺ [404] bandheads were observed. TheK ₀ +2 gamma vibration based on the ground state was populated because it is mixed with the 7/2⁺ [404] state. Surprisingly, there was no significant difference between the stripping and pick-up strengths for the low-lying states in¹⁹³Ir, suggesting that the equilibrium nuclear shape of¹⁹³Ir has large overlaps with the shapes of both¹⁹²Os and¹⁹⁴Pt. The nuclear level structure of¹⁹⁵Ir appears to be similar to those of the lighter iridium isotopes.     

On linear modeling of interface damping in vibrating structures

Dissipation of mechanical vibration energy at contact interfaces in a structure, commonly referred to as interface damping, is an important source of vibration damping in built-up structures and its modeling is the focus of the present study. The approach taken uses interface forces which are linearly dependent on the relative vibration displacements at the contact interfaces.The main objective is to demonstrate a straightforward technique for simulation of interface damping in built-up structures using FE modeling and simple, distributed, damping forces localized to interfaces where the damping occurs.As an illustration of the resulting damping the dissipated power is used for evaluation purposes. This is calculated from surface integrals over the contact interfaces and allows for explicit assessment of the effect of simulated interface forces for different cases and frequencies. The resulting loss factor at resonance is explicitly evaluated and, using linear simulations, it is demonstrated that high damping levels may arise even though the displacement differences between contacting surfaces at damped interfaces may be very small.     

Ir(Fppy)_3掺杂PVK体系发光特性的研究

对蓝色磷光材料Ir(Fppy)3不同浓度掺杂PVK薄膜的光致发光(PL)和电致发光(EL)特性进行了研究。并制备了结构为ITO/PEDOT:PSS/PVK:Ir(Fppy)3/BCP/Alq3/LiF/Al的蓝色磷光有机电致发光器件。实验结果发现,磷光材料掺杂浓度不同,器件发光特性不同。当Ir(Fppy)3掺杂浓度比较低时,EL光谱中可以观察到PVK较弱的发光;当Ir(Fppy)3掺杂浓度较高时,会发生浓度猝灭;当Ir(Fppy)3掺杂浓度比较适中时,EL光谱中观察不到PVK的发光,只有Ir(Fppy)3的发光。通过I-V-L特性的比较,当掺杂浓度为4%时,器件的光电特性最好。     

(Chicken feathers keratin)/polyurethane membranes

Actually, chicken feathers are considered as waste from the poultry industry; however, 90% of feather structure is constituted by a protein called keratin. In this research, the properties of feather keratin and polyurethane are combined in order to synthesize hybrid synthetic–natural membranes. Both polymers are linked by urethane bonds which are similar to peptide bonds found in proteins. Keratin is incorporated onto the polyurethane matrix by dissolving protein in a salt solution (urea and 2-mercaptoethanol) at different concentrations: 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, and 21% (w/w). In order to know the effect of urea on membranes, keratin is incorporated to polyurethane in two ways; as keratin salt solution and after dialyzing. Both membrane types were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to observe their morphologic changes. Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Termogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) were used to study membrane structures. Results show that keratin is grafted in polyurethane and, therefore, there is an influence of amino acids through the amino and carboxylic groups (NH and COOH) into the synthetic polymer structure. According with characterization results, the obtained membranes are functional materials that can be useful in diverse applications, among them the separation process can be emphasized.     

Spin-pumping-enhanced magnetic damping in ultrathin Cu(0 0 1)/Co/Cu and Cu(0 0 1)/Ni/Cu films

The influence of the Cu capping layer thickness on the spin pumping effect in ultrathin epitaxial Co and Ni films on Cu(0 0 1) was investigated by in situ ultrahigh vacuum ferromagnetic resonance. A pronounced increase in the linewidth is observed at the onset of spin pumping for capping layer thicknesses d_Cu larger than 5 ML, saturating at d_Cu = 20 ML for both systems. The spin mixing conductance for Co/Cu and Ni/Cu interfaces was evaluated.     

Universal distribution of transparencies in highly conductive Nb/AlO(x)/Nb junctions

We report the observation of the universal distribution of transparencies, predicted by Schep and Bauer [Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 3015 (1997)] for dirty sharp interfaces, in uniform Nb/AlO(x)/Nb junctions with high specific conductance (10(8) ohm(-1) cm(-2)). Experiments used the BCS density of states in superconducting niobium for transparency distribution probing. Experimental results for both the dc I-V curves at magnetic-field-suppressed supercurrent and the Josephson critical current in zero magnetic field coincide remarkably well with calculations based on the multimode theory of multiple Andreev reflections and the Schep-Bauer distribution.     

Electronic structures and mechanical properties of Al(111)/ZrB2(0001) heterojunctions from first-principles calculation

Employing first-principles density functional theory (DFT), the structures and electronic and mechanical properties of Al(111)/ZrB₂(0001) heterojunctions are investigated. It is found that both B-terminated ZrB₂(0001) and Zr-terminated ZrB₂(0001) can form heterojunction interfaces with Al(111) surface. The heterojunction with B-terminated ZrB₂(0001) is demonstrated to be most stable by comparing the surface adhesion energies of six different heterojunction models. In the stable configurations, the Al atom is found projecting to the hexagonal hollow site of neighbouring boron layer for the B-terminated ZrB₂(001), and locating at the top site of the boron atoms for Zr-terminated ZrB₂(001) interface. The mechanisms of interface interaction are investigated by density of states, charge density difference and band structure calculations. It is found that covalent bonds between surface Al atoms and B atoms are formed in the B-terminated heterojunction, whereas the Al atoms and Zr atoms are stabilised by interface metallic bonds for the Zr-terminated case. Mechanical properties of Al/ZrB₂ heterojunctions are also predicted in the current work. The values of moduli of Al/ZrB₂ heterojunctions are determined to be between those of single crystal Al and ZrB₂, which exhibit the transition of mechanical strength between two bulk phases. DFT calculations with the current models provide the mechanical properties for each heterojunction and the corresponding contributions by each type of interface in the composite materials. This work paves the way for industrial applications of Al(111)/ZrB₂(0001) heterojunctions.     

Energy Minigaps in the Quantum Wires with Lateral Surface Structures

Energy minigaps caused by lateral surface structures in quasi-one-dimensional GaAs/AlAs quantum wires are calculated with the variational and degenerate-pert urbational approaches. By a coordinate transformation, the structured interfaces of wires are transformed into planar ones so that the boundary conditions of the electronic wave functions can be satisfied exactly on the interfaces. The dependence of energy minigaps on lateral surface structures are discussed.