Structural properties of 10 μm thick InN grown on sapphire (0001)

The structural properties of a 10 μm thick In-face InN film, grown on Al₂O₃ (0001) by radio-frequency plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and high resolution x-ray diffraction. Electron microscopy revealed the presence of threading dislocations of edge, screw and mixed type, and the absence of planar defects. The dislocation density near the InN/sapphire interface was 1.55×10¹⁰ cm⁻², 4.82×10⁸ cm⁻² and 1.69×10⁹ cm⁻² for the edge, screw and mixed dislocation types, respectively. Towards the free surface of InN, the density of edge and mixed type dislocations decreased to 4.35×10⁹ cm⁻² and 1.20×10⁹ cm⁻², respectively, while the density of screw dislocations remained constant. Using x-ray diffraction, dislocations with screw component were found to be 1.2×10⁹ cm⁻², in good agreement with the electron microscopy results. Comparing electron microscopy results with x-ray diffraction ones, it is suggested that pure edge dislocations are neither completely randomly distributed nor completely piled up in grain boundaries within the InN film.     

Effect of fluorine doping on highly transparent conductive spray deposited nanocrystalline tin oxide thin films

The undoped and fluorine doped thin films are synthesized by using cost-effective spray pyrolysis technique. The dependence of optical, structural and electrical properties of SnO₂ films, on the concentration of fluorine is reported. Optical absorption, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Hall effect studies have been performed on SnO₂:F (FTO) films coated on glass substrates. The film thickness varies from 800 to 1572 nm. X-ray diffraction pattern reveals the presence of cassiterite structure with (2 0 0) preferential orientation for FTO films. The crystallite size varies from 35 to 66 nm. SEM and AFM study reveals the surface of FTO to be made of nanocrystalline particles. The electrical study reveals that the films are degenerate and exhibit n-type electrical conductivity. The 20 wt% F doped film has a minimum resistivity of 3.8 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm, carrier density of 24.9 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³ and mobility of 6.59 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. The sprayed FTO film having minimum resistance of 3.42 Ω/cm², highest figure of merit of 6.18 × 10⁻² Ω⁻¹ at 550 nm and 96% IR reflectivity suggest, these films are useful as conducting layers in electrochromic and photovoltaic devices and also as the passive counter electrode.     

Solar neutrino oscillations in the quasi-vacuum regime

Motivated by recent experimental data, we study solar neutrino oscillations in the range δm²/E ε [10⁻¹⁰, 10⁻⁷] eV²/MeV. In this range vacuum oscillations become increasingly affected by (solar and terrestrial) matter effects for increasing δm², smoothly reaching the MSW regime. A numerical study of matter effects in such “quasi-vacuum” regime is performed. The results are applied to the analysis of the recent solar neutrino phenomenology.     

Measurement of thickness of a thin film by means of laser interference at many incident angles

An optical method for directly measuring the thickness of a thin transparent film has been proposed by means of multi-wave laser interference at many incident angles, and confirmed experimentally by means of equipment made on an experimental basis. Two methods are available: one can be used when an index of refraction of the film, a wavelength λ, and two successive angles of incidence at which the sinusoidal light intensity has minimum values, are known (Method I), and another can be used without an index of film refraction when three successive angles of incidence and a wavelength are known (Method II). The smallest measurable thickness is 1.43λ for Method I, and 2.5λ for Method II. The largest measurable thickness is about 100λ for both methods. The measurement error by means of numerical calculation is Δh/h−1.01×10⁻², and that obtained experimentally with an angular resolution of incident light of 0.3° is Δh/h7×10⁻² for Method I. The refractive index can also be measured by means of Method II.     

Effect of oxygen partial pressure on the structural and optical properties of dc reactive magnetron sputtered molybdenum oxide films

Molybdenum oxide films (MoO₃) were deposited on glass and crystalline silicon substrates by sputtering of molybdenum target under various oxygen partial pressures in the range 8 × 10⁻⁵–8 × 10⁻⁴ mbar and at a fixed substrate temperature of 473 K employing dc magnetron sputtering technique. The influence of oxygen partial pressure on the composition stoichiometry, chemical binding configuration, crystallographic structure and electrical and optical properties was systematically studied. X-ray photoelectron spectra of the films formed at 8 × 10⁻⁵ mbar showed the presence of Mo⁶⁺ and Mo⁵⁺ oxidation states of MoO₃ and MoO_3−x. The films deposited at oxygen partial pressure of 2 × 10⁻⁴ mbar showed Mo⁶⁺ oxidation state indicating the films were nearly stoichiometric. It was also confirmed by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the films formed at oxygen partial pressure of 2 × 10⁻⁴ mbar showed the presence of (0 k 0) reflections indicated the layered structure of α-phase MoO₃. The electrical conductivity of the films decreased from 3.6 × 10⁻⁵ to 1.6 × 10⁻⁶ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹, the optical band gap of the films increased from 2.93 to 3.26 eV and the refractive index increased from 2.02 to 2.13 with the increase of oxygen partial pressure from 8 × 10⁻⁵ to 8 × 10⁻⁴ mbar, respectively.     

Dependences of structural and electrical properties on thickness of polycrystalline Ga-doped ZnO thin films prepared by reactive plasma deposition

Polycrystalline Ga-doped (Ga content: 4 wt%) ZnO (GZO) thin films were deposited on glass substrates at 200 C by a reactive plasma deposition with DC arc discharge technique. The dependences of structural and electrical properties of GZO films on thickness, ranging from 30 to 560 nm, were investigated. Carrier concentration, n, and Hall mobility, μ, increases with increasing film thickness below 100 nm, and then the n remains nearly constant and the μ gradually increases until the thickness reaches 560 nm. The resistivity obtained of the order of 10⁻⁴ Ω cm for these films decreases with increasing film thickness: The highest resistivity achieved is 4.4×10⁻⁴ Ω cm with n of 7.6×10²⁰ cm⁻³ and μ of 18.5 cm²/V s for GZO films with a thickness of 30 nm and the lowest one is 1.8×10⁻⁴ Ω cm with n of 1.1×10²¹ cm⁻³ and μ of 31.7 cm²/V s for the GZO film with a thickness of 560 nm. X-ray diffraction pattern for all the films shows a hexagonal wurtzite structure with its strongly preferred orientation along the c-axis. Full width at half maximum of the (002) preferred orientation diffraction peak of the films decreases with increasing film thickness below 100 nm.     

Synthesis and characterizations of AgSCN nanospheres using AgCl as the precursor

Nanospheres of AgSCN with an average radius of 30–80 nm have been prepared by a simple reaction between AgCl suspension and KSCN in the presence of gelatin. Gelatin played a decisive role as an inhibitor of the direct attack of SCN⁻ ions to AgCl surfaces and coagulation of the growing AgSCN in producing the spherical AgSCN nanoparticles. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectra techniques. The electrical conductivity of thin films of as-prepared AgSCN nanoparticles and polyethylene oxide (PEO) at room temperature was measured. The maximum value of electrical conductivity of as-prepared AgSCN–PEO was 1.53 × 10⁻⁵ S cm⁻¹.     

Scattering mechanisms in (Al, Ga)As/GaAs 2DEG structures

We have prepared a large number of high mobility two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) structures, with undoped spacer thicknesses ranging from 9 to 3200Å. For samples with 400Å of (Al, Ga)As Si-doped at 1.3×10¹⁸ cm⁻³, there is a peak in the 4K mobility at spacers of 400–800Å, with a maximum value of 2×10⁶ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. Increasing the thickness of the doped (Al, Ga)As to 500Å produced an increase in mobility to 3×10⁶ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ for a 400Å space sample. We have compared these results with published analyses of scattering processes in 2DEG structures, and conclude that a combination of ionised impurity and acoustic phonon scattering gives a qualitative explanation of the behaviour, but that the experimental mobility values are generally higher than those predicted theoretically.     

New experimental limit on photon hidden-sector paraphoton mixing

We report on the first results of a search for optical-wavelength photons mixing with hypothetical hidden-sector paraphotons in the mass range between 10⁻⁵ and 10⁻² electron volts for a mixing parameter greater than 10⁻⁷. This was a generation-regeneration experiment using the “light shining through a wall” technique in which regenerated photons are searched for downstream of an optical barrier that separates it from an upstream generation region. The new limits presented here are the most stringent limits to date on the mixing parameter. The present results indicate no evidence for photon-paraphoton mixing for the range of parameters investigated.     

Power factor enhancement in Pr-substituted alloys prepared by high-pressure sintering

Bi₈₅Sb_15−xPr_x (x=0,1,2,3) alloys with partial substitution of Pr for Sb were synthesized by mechanical alloying followed by high-pressure sintering. The crystal structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction. The electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient were measured in the temperature range of 80–300 K. The results show that the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of Pr-substituted samples are both larger than those of the reference sample, Bi₈₅Sb₁₅, in the whole measurement temperature range. The power factor of Bi₈₅Sb₁₃Pr₂ reaches a maximum value of 3.83×10⁻³ W K⁻² m⁻¹ at 235 K, which is about four times larger than that of the reference sample, Bi₈₅Sb₁₅, at the same temperature.     

Fourier Transform Spectroscopy of theYΣ–XΠiTransition of CuO

TheY²Σ⁺–X²Π_inear-infrared electronic transition of CuO was observed at high resolution for the first time. The spectrum was recorded with the Fourier transform spectrometer associated with the McMath–Pierce Solar Telescope at Kitt Peak. The excited CuO molecules were produced in a low pressure copper hollow cathode sputter with a slow flow of oxygen. Constants for theY²Σ⁺states of CuO are:T₀= 7715.47765(54) cm⁻¹,B= 0.4735780(28) cm⁻¹,D= 0.822(12) × 10⁻⁶cm⁻¹,H= 0.46(10) × 10⁻¹⁰cm⁻¹, γ = −0.089587(42) cm⁻¹, γ_D= 0.1272(79) × 10⁻⁶cm⁻¹,b_F= 0.12347(22) cm⁻¹, andc= 0.0550(74) cm⁻¹. ImprovedX²Π_iconstants are also presented.     

Nuclear shielding and magnetic hyperfine structure of hydrogen cyanide

A millimeter-wave molecular beam maser has been used to resolve the magnetic hyperfine structure of hydrogen cyanide. The spin-rotation interaction constants have been measured for the three nuclei ¹⁴N, ¹³C, and H. The paramagnetic nuclear shielding factors have been calculated for the three nuclear sites. The spin-rotation constants for ¹⁴N in H¹²C¹⁴N, for H in H¹²C¹⁴N and for ¹³C in D¹³C¹⁴N are + 10.4 kHz, −3.7 kHz, and +15.0 kHz, respectively. The respective paramagnetic shielding factors are −408.98 × 10⁻⁶, −73.40 × 10⁻⁶, and −249.52 × 10⁻⁶.     

Hard X-ray generation from microdroplets in intense laser fields

Microdroplets of 15-μm diameter are subjected to ultra-short laser pulses of intensities up to 10¹⁵Wcm⁻² to produce hot dense plasma. The hot electrons produced in the microdroplet plasma result in efficient generation of hard X-rays in the range 50–150keV at an irradiance as low as 8×10¹⁴Wcm⁻². The X-ray source efficiency is estimated to be about 2 ×10⁻⁷%. A prepulse that is about 11ns ahead of the main pulse strongly influences the droplet plasma and the resulting X-ray emission. For a similar laser prepulse and intensity, no measurable hard X-ray emission is observed when the laser is focused on a solid target of similar composition and this indicates that liquid droplet targets are best suited for hard X-ray generation in laser–plasma interactions.     

Electrochemical properties of Cr doped V2O5 between 3.8 V and 2.0 V

Cr_0.1V₂O_5.15 was prepared by an oxalic acid assisted sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction showed that Cr doping induced a slight expansion (ΔV/V ≈ 2.3%) in the crystal lattice of V₂O₅. The electrochemical properties of Cr_0.1V₂O_5.15 in the potential range of 3.8–2.0 V were studied by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge cycling and potentiostatic intermittent titration technique. Cyclic voltammetry showed that the irreversible phase transition of V₂O₅ during the first cycle was effectively prevented by Cr doping. This caused the good charge–discharge cycling performance of the doped material. The discharge capacities were recorded to be 200, 170 and 120 mAhg^− 1 after fifty cycles at the C/10, C/2 and 1C rates, respectively. However, ex-situ X-ray diffraction showed that the crystal structure of the material was destroyed after long-term cycling. The lithium diffusion coefficient of Cr_0.1V₂O_5.15 varied between 10^− 11 and 10^− 12 cm² s^− 1, which was larger than that of crystalline V₂O₅, and was close to those of metal doped V₂O₅ in previous reports. The improvement in lithium diffusion kinetics was regarded as an important reason for the good electrochemical performance of Cr_0.1V₂O_5.15.     

Structure, surface morphological and opto-electronic properties of zinc sulphide thin films deposited by dip method

ZnS thin films have been deposited by dip technique using succinic acid as a complexing agent. The structural and morphological characterizations of films have been investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope. X-ray pattern shows crystalline has hexagonal structure. The films show that good optical properties high absorption and band gap value was found to be 3.7 eV. The specific conductivity of the film was found to be in order of 10⁻⁵ (Ω cm)⁻¹ and showing n-type conduction.     

Influence of oxygen growth pressure on laser ablated Cr-doped In2O3 thin films

We present a systematic investigation of the effects of oxygen growth pressure on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of In₂O₃:Cr thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition. X-ray diffraction analysis showed increases in lattice constant from 10.103 Å to 10.337 Å, and in particle size from 13.9 nm to 35.5 nm as the oxygen growth pressure increased from 7.5 × 10⁻⁶ Torr to 7.5 × 10⁻³ Torr, respectively. The observed shift in the X-ray diffraction peaks to lower angles was assumed to be caused by the reduction in the lattice defect density, precisely oxygen vacancies. The optical transparency increased with partial oxygen pressure (P_O2), and an average transmittance of 85% was obtained at 7.5 × 10⁻³ Torr. The films are highly conducting with resistivity as low as 2 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm and mobility as high as 133 cm/V s. Temperature dependent resistivity measurements in the 45 < T < 300 K temperature range reveal that films grown at 7.5×10⁻⁶≤P_O2≤7.5×10⁻⁴ Torr exhibit negative temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR) below approximately T = 60 K, T = 120 K, T = 160 K; then positive TCR in the temperature intervals 60 < T < 300 K, 120 < T < 300 K, and 160 < T < 300 K, respectively. This suggests that two disparate mechanisms govern electrical dc transport in the two temperature regions. Film grown at P_O2 of 7.5 × 10⁻³ Torr displayed typical semiconducting behavior with negative TCR in the whole temperature region.     

Measurement of the WWγ cross section and direct limits on anomalous quartic gauge boson couplings at LEP

The process e⁺e⁻→W⁺W⁻γ is analysed using the data collected with the L3 detector at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 176.8 pb⁻¹. Based on a sample of 42 selected W⁺W⁻ candidates containing an isolated hard photon, the W⁺W⁻γ cross section, defined within phase-space cuts, is measured to be: σ_WWγ=290±80±16 fb, consistent with the Standard Model expectation. Including the process , limits are derived on anomalous contributions to the Standard Model quartic vertices W⁺W⁻γγ and W⁺W⁻Zγ at 95% CL: −0.043 GeV⁻²<a₀/Λ²<0.043 GeV⁻², −0.08 GeV⁻²<a_c/Λ²<0.13 GeV⁻², −0.41 GeV⁻²<a_n/Λ²<0.37 GeV⁻².     

Far-infrared dielectric functions and phonon spectra of alloys determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry

We have used spectroscopic ellipsometry to determine the complex dielectric function of a series of ternary Be_xZn_1−xTe thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The II–VI semiconductor alloys were grown on InP substrates that had an InGaAs buffer layer. After the growth, X-ray diffraction experiments were performed in order to determine the alloy concentration. A standard inversion technique was used to obtain the dielectric functions from the measured ellipsometric spectra, obtained between 2000 nm (5000 cm⁻¹) and 40,000 nm (250 cm⁻¹). By modelling the dielectric function as a collection of oscillators, representing longitudinal and transverse optical phonons of the Be_xZn_1−xTe lattice, we were able to recover the phonon spectra for this alloy system. It is argued that the additional phonon modes that are obtained from ellipsometry are best understood from the recently-proposed percolation model.     

Determination of microquantities of Be in samples using α-sensitive track etch detectors

A new technique of determining Be content in samples using 4.66 MeV γ-rays is proposed. This energy range is sufficient to knock out the neutron from the ⁹Be nucleaus and to excite the first 2.9 MeV level of the ⁸Be nuclei. 1.5 MeV alpha particles are registered by means of CR-39 or cellulose nitrate detectors. Alpha particles produced in the reaction of γ-rays with Li nuclei which are contained in samples may cause the background. The latter is excluded by heating of samples before irradiation for Li molecules to be evaporated. ¹¹B nuclei do not produce alpha particles at the energy range of γ-rays presented above.The results obtained in the experiments of determining Be content in natural beryl crystal samples are in good agreement with their known chemical composition. Microparticles containing Beryllium were found in soil samples from the Ust-Kamenogorsk are deposit region, which contains 10⁻³ − 10⁻⁴ g/g of Be. The sensitivity of the method is 10⁻⁶ g/g of Be in solids.