Crystalline quality of 3C-SiC formed by high-fluence C-implanted Si

Carbon ions at 40 keV were implanted into (1 0 0) high-purity p-type silicon wafers at 400 °C to a fluence of 6.5 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm². Subsequent thermal annealing of the implanted samples was performed in a diffusion furnace at atmospheric pressure with inert nitrogen ambient at 1100 °C. Time-of-flight energy elastic recoil detection analysis (ToF-E ERDA) was used to investigate depth distributions of the implanted ions. Infrared transmittance (IR) and Raman scattering measurements were used to characterize the formation of SiC in the implanted Si substrate. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) was used to characterize the crystalline quality in the surface layer of the sample. The formation of 3C-SiC and its crystalline structure obtained from the above mentioned techniques was finally confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that 3C-SiC is directly formed during implantation, and that the subsequent high-temperature annealing enhances the quality of the poly-crystalline SiC.     

Characterization of diamond films deposited on Re substrate by magnetic field-assisted hot filament chemical vapor deposition

A periodically magnetic field (PMF) was used in a hot-filament chemical vapor deposited (HFCVD) for diamond growth on the rhenium substrate. The morphology, band structures and crystalline structure of the film were analyzed by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometer (XRD), respectively. The results show that the thickness of the diamond film is about 2900 nm by 4 h deposition with magnetic field-assisted. There is no interlayer between diamond film and the rhenium substrate. The result shows that the turn on voltage of the sample is enhanced from 3.3 to 2.6 V/μm with the PMF. Also the total emission current density at 6.2 V/μm increased from 6.3 to 21.5 μA/cm².     

Molybdophosphoric acid in sol-gel titania: Physico-chemical properties

Titania mixed with molybdophosphoric acid, HMoP, in various proportions (1, 15, 25 and 50 wt.%) was obtained by the sol-gel method. The gels were dried and calcined in air at 400, 600 and 800 °C. The crystalline phases were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD), whereas the physico-chemical properties were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and ³¹P MAS-NMR spectroscopy. FTIR was a technique used to determine acidic properties by pyridine adsorption. XRD showed that HMoP does not decompose until 700 °C. The stabilization of the anatase phase and the Keggin HMoP crystalline structure were evidenced by Raman spectroscopy; whereas FTIR-pyridine adsorption spectra showed that titania-HMoP present Brönsted and Lewis acid sites. A correlation between the acid sites and the amount of HMoP was observed by ³¹P MAS-NMR.     

The effects of porous silicon on the crystalline properties of ZnO thin films

In the present work, ZnO was deposited on porous silicon substrates by sol-gel spin coating and rf magnetron sputtering. The porous silicon (PS) substrates were formed by electrochemical anodization on p-type (1 0 0) silicon wafer, and the starting material for ZnO was Zinc acetate dehydrate. Raman spectroscopy revealed the good quality of the porous silicon substrate. XRD analysis showed that highly (0 0 2) oriented ZnO thin films were formed. SEM, AFM and optical microscope have been used to understand the effects of the substrate on crystalline properties of the samples. The results indicated that the porous silicon substrate is beneficial to improve the crystalline quality in lattice mismatch heteroepitaxy due to its sponge-like structure.     

Characterization of a Co-Se thin film by scanning Auger microscopy and Raman spectroscopy

Scanning Auger microscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy are combined to characterize a Co-Se thin film sample, containing 84 at.% Se, which had been modified in localized areas following excitation with an intense focused Ar⁺ laser (514.5 nm). The information obtained helps to establish that a previous assignment for a Co-Se sample of Raman features between 168 and 175 cm⁻¹ actually refers to an oxygenated Co-Se species, and that Co-Se interactions in a Se-rich environment give rise to Raman structure between 181 and 184 cm⁻¹. Comparisons are made for the use of Ar⁺ and HeNe laser sources for Raman measurements in this context; the latter in general gives both better resolution and better signal-to-noise characteristics.     

Effect of growth time on the structure, Raman shift and photoluminescence of Al and Sb codoped ZnO nanorod ordered array thin films

Al and Sb codoped ZnO nanorod ordered array thin films have been deposited on glass substrate with a ZnO seed layer by hydrothermal method at different growth time. The effect of growth time on structure, Raman shift, and photoluminescence (PL) was studied. The thin films at growth time of 5 h consist of nanorods growth vertically oriented with ZnO seed layer, and the nanorods with an average diameter of 27.8 nm and a length of 1.02 μm consist of single crystalline wurtzite ZnO crystal and grow along [0 0 1] direction. Raman scattering analysis demonstrates that the thin films at the growth time of 5 h have great Raman shift of 15 cm⁻¹ to lower wavenumber and have low asymmetrical factor Г_a/Г_b of 1.17. Room temperature photoluminescence reveals that there is more donor-related PL in films with growth time of 5 h.     

Variable-temperature Raman scattering study on anatase titanium dioxide nanocrystals

The temperature dependence of the Raman modes in anatase TiO₂ nanocrystals has been investigated over the temperature range 77-873 K. With increasing temperature, the frequency of the E_g mode at 639 cm⁻¹ shifts sublinearly to the lower frequencies, however, the frequency of the lowest-frequency E_g mode shifts sublinearly to the higher frequencies from 138 cm⁻¹ at 77 K to 152 cm⁻¹ at 873 K and the frequency of the B_1g mode at 397 cm⁻¹ increases firstly and attains a maximum near 350 K. The linewidth of all of the three modes increases linearly with increasing temperature. The anharmonic effects contribute a lot to the temperature dependence behavior of the frequency and linewidth of Raman modes in anatase TiO₂ nanocrystals.     

The application of Raman and anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy for in situ monitoring of structural changes in laser irradiated titanium dioxide materials

The use of Raman and anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy to investigate the effect of exposure to high power laser radiation on the crystalline phases of TiO₂ has been investigated. Measurement of the changes, over several time integrals, in the Raman and anti-stokes Raman of TiO₂ spectra with exposure to laser radiation is reported. Raman and anti-stokes Raman provide detail on both the structure and the kinetic process of changes in crystalline phases in the titania material. The effect of laser exposure resulted in the generation of increasing amounts of the rutile crystalline phase from the anatase crystalline phase during exposure. The Raman spectra displayed bands at 144 cm⁻¹ (A1g), 197 cm⁻¹ (Eg), 398 cm⁻¹ (B1g), 515 cm⁻¹ (A1g), and 640 cm⁻¹ (Eg) assigned to anatase which were replaced by bands at 143 cm⁻¹ (B1g), 235 cm⁻¹ (2 phonon process), 448 cm⁻¹ (Eg) and 612 cm⁻¹ (A1g) which were assigned to rutile. This indicated that laser irradiation of TiO₂ changes the crystalline phase from anatase to rutile. Raman and anti-stokes Raman are highly sensitive to the crystalline forms of TiO₂ and allow characterisation of the effect of laser irradiation upon TiO₂. This technique would also be applicable as an in situ method for monitoring changes during the laser irradiation process.     

Raman spectroscopy of SWNTs produced by a XeCl excimer laser ablation at high temperatures

Synthesis of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) was carried out by an ablation method using a XeCl excimer laser. It was irradiated onto a graphite target containing Co and Ni at the temperatures of 1073, 1173, 1273, 1373, 1473, 1523 and 1623 K under the atmosphere (0.1 MPa) of Ar gas with the flow rate of 12 ml/min. The measurement by a scanning/transmission electron microscope and Raman spectroscopy found the formation of SWNTs with the diameter of about 1.3 nm and the length of about 2 μm in ablated carbonaceous soot. The ratio of peak intensity of 1590 cm⁻¹ (G band) to that of 1335 cm⁻¹ (D band) in the high frequency Raman spectra increased with increasing the ambient temperature. The radial breathing mode (RBM) in the low frequency Raman spectra shows that the mean diameter of SWNTs increased with increasing the ambient temperature.     

Surface enhanced Raman scattering of organic sample powders spread over vacuum-evaporated silver thin film

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) from samples prepared by spreading para-nitrobenzoic acid (PNBA) and adenosine powders over silver thin films was achieved. The SERS intensities of the ionized PNBA on the silver film increase with increased applied pressure through a cover-glass and reach a maximum at 0.6 MPa. In contrast, the signals caused by adenosine remain nearly unchanged under applied pressures of 0-0.6 MPa. Beyond 0.6 MPa, the signals attributable to samples decrease in intensity. Atomic force microprobe images reveal that nanometer-scale surface morphology is changed by 0.8 MPa pressure, suggesting that the decrease in SERS intensity is related to pressure-induced morphological changes. Results obtained in this study indicate that SERS spectra are obtainable easily, without solvents, under ambient conditions using dispersion of the sample powder.     

Annealing temperature dependence of Raman scattering in Si/SiO2 superlattice prepared by magnetron sputtering

Si/SiO₂ superlattices were prepared by magnetron sputtering, and the deposition temperature and annealing temperature had a great influence on the superlattice structure. In terms of SEM images, the mean size of Si nanocrystals annealed at 1100 °C is larger than that of nanocrystals annealed at 850 °C. It was found that the films deposited at room temperature are amorphous. With increasing deposition temperature, the amorphous and crystalline phases coexist. With increasing annealing temperature, the Raman intensity of the peak near 470 cm⁻¹ decreases, and the intensity of that at 520 cm⁻¹ increases. Also, on increasing the annealing temperature, the Raman peak near 520 cm⁻¹ shifts and narrows, and asymmetry emerges. A spherical cluster is used to model the nanocrystals in Si/SiO₂ superlattices, and the observed Raman spectra are analyzed by combining the effects of confinement on the phonon frequencies. Raman spectra from a variety of nanocrystalline silicon structures were successfully explained in terms of the phonon confinement effect. The fitted results agreed well with the experimental observations from SEM images.     

Photon-assisted synthesis of C60 polymers by laser irradiation

The harmonics of a free electron laser (FEL) were irradiated in vacuum to surfaces of compressed C₆₀ and a mixture of C₆₀ and I₂. The power and frequency of the fundamental FEL macro-pulse were ca. 0.5 mJ/pulse and 2 Hz, respectively. The irradiation time was 120-180 min. After irradiation of FEL with a typical wavelength of 450 or 345 nm, the Raman peak of Ag(2)-derived vibration mode of C₆₀ shifted to the lower-energy side. The Raman peak shift of the mixture powder sample was greater than that of pure C₆₀. Furthermore, changes of the crystalline structure indicated that various intermolecular combinations occurred by irradiation. These results strongly suggest that three-dimensional polymerization of C₆₀ was promoted by laser irradiation and the effect of photon-assisted hole-doping from iodine atoms to C₆₀ molecules.     

Investigation of thermal annealing effects on microstructural and optical properties of HfO2 thin films

In the present paper, we investigate the effect of thermal annealing on optical and microstructural properties of HfO₂ thin films (from 20 to 190 nm) obtained by plasma ion assisted deposition (PIAD). After deposition, the HfO₂ films were annealed in N₂ ambient for 3 h at 300, 350, 450, 500 and 750 °C. Several characterisation techniques including X-ray reflectometry (XRR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), UV Raman and FTIR were used for the physical characterisation of the as-deposited and annealed HfO₂ thin films. The results indicate that as-deposited PIAD HfO₂ films are mainly amorphous and a transition to a crystalline phase occurs at a temperature higher than 450 °C depending on the layer thickness. The crystalline grains consist of cubic and monoclinic phases already classified in literature but this work provides the first evidence of amorphous-cubic phase transition at a temperature as low as 500 °C. According to SE, XRR and FTIR results, an increase in the interfacial layer thickness can be observed only for high temperature annealing. The SE results show that the amorphous phase of HfO₂ (in 20 nm thick samples) has an optical bandgap of 5.51 eV. Following its transition to a crystalline phase upon annealing at 750 °C, the optical bandgap increases to 5.85 eV.     

Observation of nuclear wave packets in the excited state of the F-center in alkali halides

Oscillations of nuclear wave packets (NWPs) in the excited state of the F-center in four alkali halides, potassium chloride (KCl), potassium bromide (KBr), potassium iodide (KI), and rubidium chloride (RbCl), are investigated. In KCl, the dominant mode is the LO mode near the zone center in the Brillouin zone. In KBr, the NWP oscillation consists mainly of the LO mode near the zone center and the LA modes near the singularity points in the [1 0 0] and/or [1 1 0] crystal directions. In KI, the totally symmetric local mode is dominant in the NWP oscillation. In RbCl, the LO mode near the zone boundary [1 0 0] predominantly forms the NWP oscillation. We comprehensively elucidate correspondences and differences between the present results and the resonance Raman spectra by considering the spatial extension of the electronic wave function and the perturbed phonon density of states.     

Effect of a LaSrCoO3 buffer layer on Pb1 − xLaxTi1 − x/4O3 films studied by polarized Raman spectroscopy

A confocal Raman investigation of Pb_1 − xLa_xTi_1 − x/4O₃ (PLT) thin films grown by RF magnetron sputtering on PbO_x/Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates with an intermediate LaSrCoO₃ (LSCO) layer was performed. The influence of the LaSrCoO₃ buffer layer was analyzed taking advantage of the observed Raman spectral band variation, which varied according to different manufacturing procedures. In the presence of a LSCO layer, the A1(1TO) Raman mode, which was indicative of tetragonal distortion, was pronouncedly enhanced, and a slight deviation from the (0 0 1) plane of the film was observed from the angular dependence of the polarized Raman spectral intensity. Furthermore, the spectral band variation as well as the residual stress along the in-depth direction was measured in the film from cross-sectional spectral line scans. This latter measurement showed a relaxation of the lattice mismatch in the presence of LSCO and PbO layers.     

Effect of magnetic annealing on phonon behaviors of nanocrystalline BiFeO3

Influence of magnetic annealing at 823 K up to 10 T (T) on the phonon behaviors of nanocrystalline BiFeO₃ was investigated by Raman spectroscopy. The frequencies of fundamental Raman modes increase obviously with increasing annealing magnetic field, and the intensity of the 1260 cm⁻¹ two-phonon mode decreases. The pronounced anomalies of Raman phonon modes under magnetic annealing are attributed to the change of the spin-phonon coupling due to the modulation of spiral spin order. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of Raman peak positions, for the two prominent modes (147 and 176 cm⁻¹), show no notable anomaly around T_N except the sample annealed under 10 T magnetic field; meanwhile, in this sample, another obvious phonon anomaly occurs at ∼150 K (another magnetic phase transition point), which indicate that stronger magnetic annealing with 10 T intensely enhances the spin-phonon coupling, and possibly increases magnetoelectric coupling of nanocrystalline BiFeO₃ due to severely modulation of spiral spin order.     

Passively Q-switched Nd:YAG pumped UV lasers at 280 and 374 nm

Pulsed UV lasers at the wavelengths of 374 and 280 nm are realized by cascaded second harmonic generation (SHG) and sum frequency generation (SFG) processes using a Nd:YAG laser at 1123 nm. The Nd:YAG laser is longitudinally pumped and passively Q-switched, and it has a high peak power of 3.2 kW. The UV peak powers at 280 and 374 nm are 100 and 310 W, with pulse lengths of 6 and 8 ns, respectively. Spectral broadening of 374 nm laser by stimulated Raman scattering is studied in single mode pure silica core UV fiber. Realizations of UV lasers enabling compact design at 280 and 374 nm wavelengths are demonstrated.     

Crystalline orientation effects on conical structure formation in femtosecond laser irradiation of silicon and germanium

Irradiation of Si(1 0 0), Si(1 1 1), Si(1 1 0), Ge(1 0 0), and Ge(1 1 1) is compared for 150 fs, 800 nm wavelength pulses in a rough vacuum atmosphere. The surface crystalline orientation of the material is found to affect the final morphology, with (1 1 1)- and (1 1 0)-surface orientations exhibiting a much higher tendency for conical structure formation under multiple-pulse irradiation. Using cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, the structures on Si(1 1 1) are found to have primarily crystalline cores with the same crystalline orientation as the substrate. The results show that the crystalline orientation of the target should be considered in laser machining applications.     

Effects of carbonization and substrate temperature on the growth of 3C-SiC on Si(1 1 1) by SSMBE

The growth of 3C-SiC on Si(1 1 1) substrate was performed at different carbonization temperatures and substrate temperatures by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy (SSMBE). The properties of SiC film were analyzed with in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The best carbonization temperature of 810 °C was found to be optimal for the surface carbonization. The quality of SiC film grown on Si at substrate temperature of 1000 °C is best. The worse crystalline quality for the sample grown at higher temperature was attributed to the large mismatch of thermal expansion coefficient between SiC and Si which caused more dislocation when sample was cooled down to room temperature from higher substrate temperature. Furthermore, the larger size of single pit and the total area of the pits make the quality of SiC films grown at higher temperature worse. More Si atoms for the sample grown at lower temperature were responsible for the degradation of crystalline quality for the sample grown at lower temperature.     

Microstructural evolution upon annealing in Ar-implanted Si

The annealing effects of crystalline silicon (Si) implanted with argon (Ar) ions at a dose of 2 × 10¹⁶ Ar⁺/cm² at room temperature and subsequently annealed at 400-1100 °C for 30 min were investigated. The samples were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Before and after annealing up to 600 °C, an amorphous layer is formed but Ar bubbles are not observed in the damage layer. After annealing at 800 °C, argon bubbles are observed together with extended defects. The damage layer evolves into a polycrystalline structure. After annealing at 1100 °C; exfoliation occurs on the sample surface, and microtwin lamellas form in the damage layer. Raman scattering revealed that a strong recrystallization occurs from 600 °C to 800 °C. The results were compared with the case of helium implantation, with particular focus on bubble formation mechanisms.