Thickness-dependent effective surface resistances of nearly ferroelectric superconductors

The effective surface resistance of nearly ferroelectric superconducting film in the dielectriclike response is theoretically investigated based on the electrodynamics of the nearly ferroelectric superconductors. We calculate the intrinsic film surface resistance for isolated thin film and the effective surface resistance for a superconductor/dielectric layered structure. It is found that the thickness-dependent surface resistance has two different behaviors separated by a critical film thickness being equal to the London penetration length. That is, a nonresonant dependence is seen when the film thickness is less than the London penetration length, and an anomalously resonant behavior is found when the film thickness is larger than the London penetration length. The nonresonant dependence is similar to that of a cuprate superconductor and it further is characterized by some other critical thicknesses. As for the anomalous resonant region it is seen only in a nearly ferroelectric superconductor.     

Determination of Thickness of an Inaccessible Thin Film under a Multilayered System from Natural Frequencies

We investigate the relationship between natural frequencies of a multilayered system of different elastic materials and the thickness of the undermost thin film. The natural frequencies are numerically calculated from the reflection coefficient of a sample system of ＂steel-epoxy resin-aluminium-thin polymer＂ with normal incidence. Strain energy ratio is defined and calculated to give the physics explanation why some frequencies are sensitive to thickness of the thin film in certain range. Experiments of three specimens indicate that the measured natural frequencies agree well with the theoretical ones. It is found in our experiments that the ratio of the lowest film thickness to wavelength is about 1/5. The average relative errors for the inverted polymer film thicknesses are found to be 11.8%, -4.8% and -1.3%, respectively.     

Spinodal wrinkling in thin-film poly(ethylene oxide)/polystyrene bilayers

Optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to study a novel roughness-induced wrinkling instability in thin-film bilayers of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and polystyrene (PS). The observed wrinkling morphology is manifested as a periodic undulation at the surface of the samples and occurs when the bilayers are heated above the melting temperature of the semi crystalline PEO (T_m = 63 ) layer. During the wrinkling of the glassy PS capping layers the system selects a characteristic wavelength that has the largest amplitude growth rate. This initial wavelength is shown to increase monotonically with increasing thickness of the PEO layer. We also show that for a given PEO film thickness, the wavelength can be varied independently by changing the thickness of the PS capping layers. A model based upon a simple linear stability analysis was developed to analyse the data collected for the PS and PEO film thickness dependences of the fastest growing wavelength in the system. The predictions of this theory are that the strain induced in the PS layer caused by changes in the area of the PEO/PS interface during the melting of the PEO are sufficient to drive the wrinkling instability. A consideration of the mechanical response of the PEO and PS layers to the deformations caused by wrinkling then allows us to use this simple theory to predict the fastest growing wavelength in the system.     

Role of surface Cooper pair interactions on critical temperature of ultra thin film superconductors

The superconductivity mechanism of Pb thin film on a Si substrate in the weak interaction regime is investigated. A discrete Fermi surface is constructed depend on the film thickness and electron density and crystallographic orientation. We consider two types of Cooper pair interactions, Cooper pair interaction at thin film surfaces and Cooper pair in the thin film volume. We have chosen the surface Cooper pair interaction, of ultra thin films superconductor proportional to the inverse of thin film thickness, while the volume Cooper pair interaction has been considered as a constant. By these assumptions, we have found oscillation feature of critical temperature Tc and energy gap Δ in terms of thin film thickness similar to the experimental results for Pb/Si(111) thin film superconductor. However, by increasing number of Pb layers, the thin film Tc goes to bulk Tc. In contrast to the previous claimed constant value for the Δb(T=0)/kBTc in bulk, we have found oscillation of this parameter in terms of thin film thickness similar to the Tc oscillation.     

A Thin Liquid Film and Its Effects in an Atomic Force Microscopy Measurement

Recently, it has been observed that a liquid film spreading on a sample surface will significantly distort atomic force microscopy （AFM） measurements. In order to elaborate on the effect, we establish an equation governing the deformation of liquid film under its interaction with the AFM tip and substrate. A key issue is the critical liquid bump height yoc, at which the liquid film jumps to contact the AFM tip. It is found that there are three distinct regimes in the variation of yoc with film thickness H, depending on Hamaker constants of tip, sample and liquid. Noticeably, there is a characteristic thickness H^＊ physically defining what a thin film is; namely, once the film thickness H is the same order as H^＊, the effect of film thickness should be taken into account. The value of H^＊ is dependent on Hamaker constants and liquid surface tension as well as tip radius.     

Combining Brillouin spectroscopy and laser-SAW technique for elastic property characterization of thick DLC films

Surface Brillouin spectroscopy (SBS) has been widely used for elastic property characterization of thin films. For films thicker than 500 nm, however, the wavelength of surface acoustic wave in the frequency range available for SBS is smaller than film thickness, and the SBS measures only the Rayleigh wave of the film. The laser-SAW technique, on the other hand, measures only the low-frequency portion of the surface acoustic wave dispersion and can estimate only one elastic modulus of the film (typically Young's modulus). In this work, we have combined the two methods to determine both Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of a diamond-like carbon (DLC) film. It was found that reasonable estimates can be obtained for the longitudinal wave velocity, shear wave velocity, and Young's modulus of the film. The Poisson's ratio, however, still has a relatively large measurement error.     

Numerical study of a thin liquid film flowing down an inclined wavy plane

We investigate the stability of a thin liquid film flowing down an inclined wavy plane using a direct numerical solver based on a finite element/arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian approximation of the free-surface Navier-Stokes equations. We study the dependence of the critical Reynolds number for the onset of surface wave instabilities on the inclination angle, the waviness parameter, and the wavelength parameter, focusing in particular on mild inclinations and relatively large waviness so that the bottom does not fall monotonously. In the present parameter range, shorter wavelengths and higher amplitude for the bottom undulation stabilize the flow. The dependence of the critical Reynolds number evaluated with the Nusselt flow rate on the inclination angle is more complex than the classical relation (5/6 times the cotangent of the inclination angle), but this dependence can be recovered if the actual flow rate at critical conditions is used instead.     

Optical response of a YBCO light modulating device driven by a critical amount of current

The far-infrared optical response of a light-modulating device fabricated from a thin YBa₂Cu₃O₇ (YBCO) film is presented. A critical amount of current was used to switch the YBCO film between a substantially non-transparent superconducting state and a partially transmitting non-superconducting state. Experimental results show the optical extinction ratio of the device to increase with decreasing temperature below the critical temperature of the film. The results correlate well with modeling. Simulations of the optical response of the light-modulating device as a function of wavelength and YBCO film thickness are also presented.     

激励表面等离子共振的金属薄膜最佳厚度分析

根据电磁场在金属薄膜中的能量分布规律和金属薄膜具有复介电常数的特点,对激励表面等离子共振的金属薄膜的最佳厚度进行了探讨. 指出金属薄膜的最佳厚度与激励光波长和金属薄膜的折射率有关,建立了描述它们之间关系的数学表达式,并用实验方法进行验证. 将理论结果与他人的测量结果进行对比后发现,两者符合较好. 研究结果表明：在角度调制下的表面等离子共振传感器,为了获得更高的灵敏度,可根据激励光波长和金属薄膜折射率的虚部确定所要制备金属薄膜的最佳厚度;在波长调制下,则由中心波长和折射率的虚部确定金属薄膜的最适宜使用厚度. 关键词： 折射率 金属薄膜 全内反射 表面等离子共振     

Critical behaviour of magnetic thin film with Heisenberg spin-S model

The magnetic properties of a ferromagnetic thin film of face centered cubic (FCC) lattice with Heisenberg spin-S are examined using the high-temperature series expansions technique extrapolated with Padé approximations method. The critical reduced temperature of the system τ_c is studied as function of thickness of the film and the exchange interactions in the bulk, and within the surfaces J_b, J_s and J_⊥ respectively. A critical value of surface exchange interaction above which surface magnetism appears is obtained. The dependence of the reduced critical temperature on the film thickness L has been investigated.     

Elastic-plastic analyses on the residual stresses and curvature of the film/substrate bilayer system

During thermal cycling, the residual stresses are often generated in the film/substrate bilayer due to the material mismatch between the substrate and the film. If the thickness of the film is relatively high, the thermal residual stresses in it may be of different signs. When the film is subjected to elastic-plastic deformation, two plastic zones with different thicknesses may be generated in the film at a significantly high temperature difference. In this paper, a theoretical model which reflects the complete history of thermal residual stresses and curvatures in the elastoplastic film/substrate bilayer system is developed. Solutions are derived to estimate the residual stresses and curvature in the film as functions of temperature difference. The case of Al/Si system is used to illustrate the implementation of this model. Results show that the critical temperature difference at which the second plastic zone near the film surface is generated near the Al film surface is dependent on the film thickness. The strain hardening of the film has an obvious influence on the magnitude of residual stresses within the film at high temperature difference.     

Influence of Surface Transition Layers on Phase Transformation and Pyroelectric Properties of Ferroelectric Thin Film

Taking into account surface transition layers （STLs）, we study the phase transformation and pyroelectric properties of ferroelectric thin films by employing the transverse Ising model （TIM） in the framework of the mean field approximation. The distribution functions representing the intra-layer and inter-layer couplings between the two nearest neighbour pseudo-spins are introduced to characterize STLs. Compared with the results obtained by the traditional treatments for the thin films using only the single surface transition layer （SSL）, it is shown that the STL model reflects a more realistic and comprehensive situation of films. The effects of various parameters on the phase transformation properties have shown that STL can make the Curie temperature of the film higher or lower than that of the corresponding Sulk material, and the thickness of STL is a key factor influencing the film properties. For a film with definite thickness, there exists a critical STL thickness at which ferroelectricity will disappear when the intra-layer and inter-layer interactions are weak.     

Laser-induced periodic surface structures on different poly-carbonate films

Laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) were generated on oriented and amorphous thick, as well as on spin-coated thin, poly-carbonate films by polarized ArF excimer laser light. The influence of the film structure and thickness on the LIPSS formation was demonstrated. Below a critical thickness of the spin-coated films the line-shaped structures transformed into droplets. This droplet formation was explained by the laser-induced melting across the whole film thickness and subsequent de-wetting on the substrate. The thickness of the layer melted by laser illumination was computed by a heat-conduction model. Very good agreement with the critical thickness for spin-coated films was found. The original polymer film structure influences the index of refraction of the thin upper layer modified by the laser treatment, as was proven by the dependence of the structure’s period on the angle of incidence both for ‘s’- and ‘p’-polarized beams. The effect of the original surface roughness – grains in thick films or holes in thin films – was studied using atomic force microscopy. It was shown that the oblique incidence of ‘s’-polarized beams results in an intensity confinement in the direction of the forward scattering and in asymmetrical interference pattern formation around these irregularities. A new, two-dimensional grating-like structure was generated on spin-coated films. These gratings might be used as a special kind of mask. Received: 10 July 2001 / Accepted: 23 July 2001 / Published online: 30 August 2001     

Investigating the surface morphology and magnetic contrast of epitaxial ferromagnetic structures

The surface morphology of nickel thin films is investigated via atomic force microscopy. The multistage film growth mechanism is found to be dependent on substrate temperature and film thickness. It is shown that conduction electron scattering from the irregularities of the outer and inner surfaces of structures are influenced by the surface morphology and determined by an integrated contribution of the surface’s fluctuation density spectrum. The morphology influence can be decreased under certain growth conditions so that the residual mean free path of conduction electrons can reach 1000 nm, exceeding the film thickness. Epitaxial nanostructures with high electron mobility have been fabricated. Investigation of their magnetic structure has shown that their magnetic domain dimensions are less than the residual mean free path of electrons determined by the surface morphology.     

级联亚波长平面介质栅偏振分束器研究

提出了一种纳米厚度金属层连接的级联亚波长平面介质光栅三明治结构,利用该结构中纳米金属连接层上下界面处的表面等离子共振的互作用形成多波长共振的特点设计了适用于光通信波段（1 300～1 600nm）高性能的宽带偏振器和宽带偏振分束器。利用严格耦合波理论分析发现偏振分束器带宽主要由金属连接层厚度控制,光栅厚度基本不影响偏振分束器带宽,只影响共振深度和共振波长。该结论为后续的制备提供了理论指导和借鉴作用。     

Equilibrium and kinetic surface segregation in binary alloy thin films

A general theoretical analysis of the effect of film thickness on equilibrium and kinetic surface segregation in binary alloy thin films is presented. In this analysis, a constrained condition that represents the finite size of thin film system has been introduced to the modified Darken model, which has been used to describe both equilibrium and kinetic surface segregation in bulk materials. Simulation of surface segregation for alloy thin films can be carried out for all composition ranges and all film thicknesses if only knowing the surface segregation parameters for bulk materials. Simulations of equilibrium and kinetic surface segregation in Cu(1 1 1)Ag binary alloy thin film are presented.     

Maxwell stress distributions in chiral sculptured thin films due to obliquely incident plane waves

When a circularly polarized plane wave is obliquely incident on a chiral sculptured thin film (STF), the Maxwell stress dyadic exhibits a decreasing periodic variation across the thickness of the film. Normal and tangential surface tractions exist on the two faces of the chiral STF, as well as a net normal pressure across the film. These stresses are affected by the incidence angle of light, and are maximized when (i) the incident plane wave and the chiral STF are co-handed, (ii) the wavelength falls within a regime called the Bragg regime, (iii) the ratio of film thickness to the structural period of the chiral STF reaches a saturation value, and (iv) the deviation from normal incidence is small.     

低温制备微晶硅薄膜生长机制的研究

采用热丝化学气相沉积技术制备了一系列处于不同生长阶段的薄膜样品，用原子力显微镜系 统地研究生长在单晶硅衬底和玻璃衬底上薄膜表面形貌的演化.按照分形理论分析得到：在 玻璃衬底上的硅薄膜以零扩散随机生长模式生长；而在单晶硅衬底上，薄膜早期以有限扩散 生长模式生长，当膜厚超过某一临界厚度时转变为零扩散随机生长模式.岛面密度与膜厚的 依赖关系表明，在临界厚度时硅衬底和玻璃衬底上的岛面密度均出现了极大值.Raman谱的测 量证实，玻璃衬底上薄膜临界厚度与非晶/微晶相变之间存在密切的关系.不同的衬底材料直 接影响反应 关键词： 生长机制 微晶硅薄膜 表面形貌 热丝化学气相沉积     

Long-range surface plasmon polaritons with subwavelength mode expansion in an asymmetrical system

Long-range surface plasmon polariton (LRSPP) modes in an asymmetrical system, in which the thin metal film is sandwiched between a semi-infinite substrate and a high permittivity polymer film with a finite thickness, are theoretically calculated and analyzed. Due to the high permittivity of the polymer film, at proper polymer film thicknesses, the index-matching condition of the dielectrics at both sides of the metal can be satisfied for supporting LRSPP modes, and the electromagnetic field above the metal can be localized well. It is found that these LRSPP modes have both long propagation lengths and subwavelength mode expansion above the metal at the optimal polymer film thicknesses. Furthermore, the requirements on the refractive index and the thickness of the polymer film to support LRSPP modes at the optimal thicknesses are found to be not critical.     

Optical properties change of oxide film — metal system during the film growth: computer simulation

Results of computer simulation of reflective properties of the oxide film-metal system in the process of oxidation in the air environment are presented. The complex refractive indices for oxide film and metal were used as the initial data. Thin films (the thickness is comparable with the wavelength of incident radiation) and thick films (thickness is much larger than the wavelength of incident radiation) are considered. The parameter characterizing the cyclic character of system reflectivity during the growth of film thickness was derived for the thin film. It is shown that the cyclic parameter does not depend on optical properties of a metal substrate. In the air environment, this parameter is determined by a complex refractive index of the film, its thickness, and direction of incident radiation. Relationships for the estimate of system reflectivity in the process of oxide film growth are presented for the thick film.