Research on the multi‐crystalline structure in sapphire grown by Kyropoulos technique

The macroscopic distribution of multi‐crystalline structure (MCS) in a sapphire boule grown by Kyropoulos technique was characterized using polariscope. The morphology and texture of subgrains from , and orientations were investigated using Synchrotron radiation white‐beam topography technique. The morphology of subgrains was found to be diverse from crystallographic orientation. The relative angles between subgrains are smaller than 1°. The defect structure on a basal‐plane specimen from the lower part of the “shoulder” was examined by X‐ray rocking curve and chemical etching technique. It was found that the defect concentration changes drastically near MCS center. The nature of spatial distribution of MCS and the defect distribution near MCS in a grown boule was discussed in detail.     

Variable‐range hopping dc conduction in dysprosium oxide films grown on Si substrates

Thin dysprosium oxide films were prepared on p‐Si substrates to form MOS structure. The oxide films were annealed at different conditions and their crystal structures were determined by X‐ray diffraction. The dc electrical transport properties of the devices were studied in the temperature range (293‐400 K). The current‐temperature characteristics was analysed according to Mott's variable‐range hopping mechanism. The mechanism's parameters were calculated and compared with the results obtained by X‐ray diffraction. It was established that as the average grain size of air‐annealed films increases, the disorder degree parameter T₀ decreases and the density of states at Fermi level increases, which leads to decrease the average hopping distance. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Defect structure and light‐induced scattering of Zr‐doped near‐stoichiometric Mn:Fe:LiNbO3 crystals grown by TSSG method

Near‐stoichiometric Mn:Fe:LiNbO₃ crystals doped with various concentration of ZrO₂ were grown by top seed solution growth (TSSG) method in the air atmosphere. The Zr concentration in the crystal was determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer. The defect structures were analyzed by means of ultraviolet‐visible and infrared transmittance spectra. The appearance of vibration peak at 3466 cm^‐1 in infrared spectra manifested that Li/Nb ratio in crystals approached to stoichiometric proportion. The fundamental absorption edge represented continuous red‐shift which was discrepancy with congruent doped LiNbO₃ crystals showed that doping ions possessed different location mechanism. The light‐induced scattering of the doped stoichiometric LiNbO₃crystals were quantitatively scaled via incident exposure energy. The results demonstrated that Zr(2 mol%):Mn:Fe:LiNbO₃ crystal had the weakest light‐induced scattering and the mechanism related to their defect structures was discussed. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Oriented orthorhombic Lead Oxide film grown by vapour phase deposition for X‐ray detector applications

Several materials are under investigations for flat panel x‐ray detector applications. Among them, PbO shows interesting properties, i.e. high sensitivity, large stopping power and high resistivity at room temperature. However, the exploitation of PbO is limited by the difficulty to obtain good quality films constituted by a single phase. In this paper, we describe a new approach for the vapour phase growth of orthorhombic PbO films. The grown layers show a single phase, good crystallinity, and preferential orientation along the c axis. Optical characterization evidenced the presence of a broad defect band. Gold contacted films showed very high electrical resistivity and appreciable response to X‐ray radiation.     

Relationship between morphology and structure of shape‐controlled CeO2 nanocrystals synthesized by microwave‐assisted hydrothermal method

The influence of synthesis conditions on morphology and structure of CeO₂ nanocrystals prepared by microwave‐assisted hydrothermal method were studied by XRD, TEM, Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence measurements. Decisive effect of the OH^‐/Ce³⁺ molar ratio in the reaction mixture on the size and shape of CeO₂ nanocrystals was established and explained. Rise of the concentration of OH^‐ groups at the surface of growing CeO₂ nanocrystals promotes shape transformation from irregular (spheroidal) to cube and enables oriented attachment mode of particle growth. I was found that the unit cell parameter and intensity of Ce³⁺ defect related band in the luminescence and Raman spectra in ceria nanoparticles increase as follows: irregular shape nanocrystals < large cube < small primary cube shape particles. The reason is growing contribution of total subsurface volume under {100} faces, exposed by ceria nanocubes, where enhanced concentration of Ce³⁺ and oxygen vacancies occur.     

Growth and characterization of highly c‐axis textured SrTiO3 thin films directly grown on Si(001) substrates by ion beam sputter deposition

Highly c‐axis textured SrTiO₃ (STO) thin films have been directly grown on Si(001) substrates using ion beam sputter deposition technique without any buffer layer. The substrate temperature was varied, while other parameters were fixed in order to study effect of substrate temperature on morphology and texture evolution of STO films. X‐ray diffraction, pole figure analysis, atomic force microscope, and high‐resolution electron microscopy were used to characterize and confirm quality and texture of the STO films. The experimental results show that optimum substrate temperature to achieve highly c‐axis textured films is at 700 °C. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 002_STO was found to be 2° and fraction of (011) orientation was as low as 1%. The surface morphology was Volmer‐Weber growth mode with a small roughness ∼1 nm. The lowest leakage current density (5.8 μA/cm² at 2 V) and the highest dielectric constant (ε_STO ∼ 98) were found for highly c‐axis textured films grown at 700 °C. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)