Transport Behaviour of La0.8Sr0.2AlO3 Thin Film on Oxygen Deficient SrTiO3 Substrate

La_0.8Sr_0.2AlO₃ (LSAO) thin films are grown on SrTiO₃ (STO) and MgO substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy. The LSAO thin film on oxygen deficient STO substrate exhibits metallic behaviour over the temperature range of 80--340K. The optical transmittance spectrum indicates that theLSAO thin films on MgO substrate are insulating at room temperature. The transport properties of LSAO thin films on STO substrates deposited in different oxygen pressure are compared. Our results indicate that oxygen vacancies in STO substrates should be mainly responsible for the transport behaviour of LSAO thin films.     

Temperature and Thickness Effects on Electrical Properties of InP Films Deposited by Spray Pyrolysis

InP film samples are prepared by spray pyrolysis technique using aqueous solutions of InCl₃ and Na₂HPO₄, which are atomized with compressed air as carrier gas onto glass substrates at 500°C with different thicknesses of the films. The structural properties of the samples are determined by x-ray diffraction (XRD). It is found that the crystal structure of the InP films is polycrystalline hexagonal. The orientations of all the obtained films are along the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. The electrical measurements of the samples are obtained by dc four-probe technique on rectangular-shape samples. The effects of temperature on the electrical properties of the InP films are studied in detail.     

Growth, Antimony Incorporation Behaviour and Beryllium Doping of GaAs1-ySby Grown on GaAs by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

A series of GaAs1-ySby epilayers are grown on GaAs substrates under antimony compositions of samples with beryllium doping are obtained different growth conditions. Different A non-equilibrium thermodynamics model is used to calibrate and fit the Sb composition. Activation energy of 0.37 eV for the dissociation process of Sb4 molecules is obtained. Carrier mobility and concentration of samples are influenced by the Sb composition. Quasi-qualitative analysis of mobility is used to explain the relations among Sb composition, carrier mobility and concentration. High resolution x-ray diffraction （HRXRD） rocking curves and Hall effects measurements are used to determine the crystal quality, carrier mobility and concentration.     

Effect of Annealing Temperature on Structural and Optical Properties of N-Doped ZnO Films

Nitrogen-doped ZnO （ZnO：N） films are prepared by thermal oxidation of sputtered Zn3N2 layers on A1203 substrates. The correlation between the structural and optical properties of ZnO：N films and annealing temperatures is investigated. X-ray diffraction result demonstrates that the as-sputtered Zn3N2 films are transformed into ZnO：N films after annealing above 600℃. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that nitrogen has two chemical states in the ZnO：N films： the No acceptor and the double donor （N2）o. Due to the No acceptor, the hole concentration in the film annealed at 700℃ is predicted to be highest, which is also confirmed by Hall effect measurement. In addition, the temperature dependent photoluminescence spectra allow to calculate the nitrogen acceptor binding energy.     

Electrical and magnetic properties of non-stoichiometric (La0.8Sr0.2)1−xMnO3 perovskites

The structure, transport and magnetic properties of (La_0.8Sr_0.2)_1−xMnO₃ (0≤x≤0.30) polycrystalline perovskite manganites have been investigated. For all the samples the Curie temperatures, T_c, remain nearly unchanged (329±3 K). Resistivity versus temperature curves for the samples show a double-peak behavior. A significant magnetoresistance (MR) effect and different temperature dependences of the MR ratios of the samples are observed. The shapes of the MR-T curves of the samples can be adjusted by changing x. For the x=0.30 sample, a nearly constant MR ratio of (9.5±0.5)% is obtained over the temperature range from 205 to 328 K.     

Influence of Grain Size on Electrical and Optical Properties of InP Films

InP film samples were prepared by spray pyrolysis technique using aqueous solutions of InCl₃ and Na₂HPO₄, which were atomized with compressed air as carrier gas onto glass substrates at 500°C with different thicknesses of the films. It is found that the resistivity of the polycrystalline films strongly depends on the grain size. It is observed that the grain size of the films increase with the decrease of the energy band gap and strain of the film. The changes observed in the energy band gap and strain related to the film grain size of the films are discussed in detail.     

Enhanced Magnetoresistance of （La0.67Ca0.33MnO3） Composites Coated by Zn0.95Co0.05O

La0.7Ca0.3MnO3：xZn0.95Co0.05O （x=0.0,0.05, 0.1, 0.15mol） composites are prepared by a sol-gel process. X- ray diffraction and energy diffraction spectroscopy reveal that there is no evidence of a reaction between the La0.7 Ca0.3 MnO3 （LCMO） and Zn0.95Co0.05 O （ZCO）. Magnetization M, Curie temperature Tc and metal-insulator transition temperatures Tp are observed to decrease with increasing ZCO content. Compared with x = 0.0, a great enhancement in the magnetoresistance （MR） is observed at around Tc for x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15. Based on the tunneling MR and percolation models, this great change of MR is well explained.     

Barrier Enhancement Effect of Postannealing in Oxygen Ambient on Ni/AIGaN Schottky Contacts

Al0.2 Ga0.8N/GaN samples are grown by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition （MOCVD） method on （0001） sapphire substrates. A 10nm-thick Ni layer is deposited on AlGaN as the transparent Schottky contact. The effect of postannealing in oxygen ambient on the electrical properties of Ni/AlGaN is studied by current-voltage- temperature （I-V-T） measurement. The annealing at a relatively low temperature of 300℃ for 90 s results in a decrease of the ideality factor from 2.03 to 1.30 and an increase of the Schottky barrier height from 0.77eV to 0.954 e V. The I-V-T analysis confirms the improvement originated from the formation of NiO, a layer with higher resistance, which could passivate the surface states of AlGaN and suppress the tunnelling current. Furthermore, the annealing also leads to an increase of the transmittance of the contacts from 57.5% to 78.2%, which would be favourable for A1GaN-based photodetectors.     

Influence of Ytterbia Content on Residual Stress and Microstructure of Y2O3--ZrO2 Thin Films Prepared by EB-PVD

Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 （YSZ） thin films with different Y2O3 molar contents （0, 3, 7, and 12 mol%） are deposited on BK7 substrates by electron-beam evaporation technique. The effects of different Y2O3 contents on residual stresses and structures of YSZ thin films are studied. Residual stresses are investigated by means of two different techniques： the curvature measurement and x-ray diffraction method. It is found that the evolution of residual stresses of YSZ thin films by the two different methods is consistent. Residual stresses of films transform from compressive stress into tensile stress and the tensile stress increases monotonically with the increase of Y2O3 content. At the same time, the structures of these films change from the mixture of amorphous and monoclinic phases into high temperature cubic phase. The variations of residual stress correspond to the evolution of structures induced by adding of Y2O3 content.     

Effects of Different Dispersion Methods on the Microscopical Morphology of TiO2 Film

Nanocrystalline porous TiO2 films were prepared on conducting glass supports （ITO） by processed commercial TiO2 nanometre powder （P25）. Three methods of physical dispersing for TiO2 powder, i.e. grinding, magnetic stirring, sonicleaning, were used to disperse TiO2 nanometre powder. Surface morphologies of TiO2 films were observed by optic-microscope and SEM. It is found that the surface morphologies of TiO2 films are determined not only by the dispersing methods but also by the percentage of TiO2 powder in the dispersing system. Different film morphologies can be obtained under the same preparation condition but with different dispersing methods. A lot of cracks exist on the film surface for which the TiO2 slurry is dispersed by grinding. Magnetic stirring leads to some white points and micro-holes on the film surface. Only a few of micro-holes can be observed on the film surface, in which the TiO2 slurry is dispersed by sonicleaning. Different surface morphologies can also be found with different thicknesses of TiO2 films. Different film thicknesses are due to different percentages of TiO2 powder in the slurry. The related mechanism leading to different features of the surface morphologies for the TiO2 films is discussed.     

Photonic Band Gap Properties of Three-Dimensional SiO2 Photonic Crystals

Three-dimensional SiO2 photonic crystals （PhCs） are fabricated on quartz substrates by the vertical deposition method. Scanning electron microscopy measurement reveals that the samples exhibit an ordered close-packed arrangement of SiO2 spheres. It is found that the position of the [111] photonie band gap （PBG） shifts to a long wavelength （red shift） with increasing sphere size. Gap broadening effects are observed due to the presence of defects in the samples. Moreover, the optical properties of the PBG are very sensitive to the annealing temperature. Our results indicate that the optical properties of the PBG can be easily tuned in the visible region by appropriate experimental parameters, which will be useful for practical applications of PhC optical devices.     

Influence of Interface Structure of Co/Cu （100） Superlattices on Electronic Structure and Giant Magnetoresistance

Electronic structures and magnetoresistance （MR） of Co3 Cu5 and Co3 Cur models as well as their interface atom exchange models Co2 CuCoCu4 and Co2 CuCoCu6 are investigated by the tlrst-principles pseudopotential planewave method based on density functional theory. Charge transfer, magnetic moment, density of states, spin asymmetry factor, and MR ratio are discussed. The results show that the values of charge transfer and spin asymmetry factor at the Fermi level of Co layers are closely related to the neighbouring background of the Co layer. The Co layer with two sides adjacent to the Cu layer would transfer more charge to the Cu layer than other neighbouring background and have the largest spin asymmetry factor at the Fermi level. The Co layer with two neighbouring Co layers （interior Co） would gain a little charge and have the smallest spin asymmetry factor at the Fermi level. Two-current model is used to evaluate the MR ratio of Co2CuCoCu4 （Co2CuCoCu6） to be larger than that of Co3 Cu5 （Co3 CUT）, which can be explained by the charge transfer and spin asymmetry factor.     

Microstructure and Optical Properties of AgxO Prepared by Direct-Current Magnetron-Sputtering Method

Two series of AgxO films are prepared on glass substrates by dc magnetron-sputtering method at room temperature and 90℃ under different oxygen to argon gas ratio （OAR） conditions. The mierostrueture is investigated by XRD and SEM in order to obtain the information on the component evolution of AgO＋Ag2O to Ag2O. Its optical properties are investigated by reflectance and absorption spectroscopy to extract the information on metallic and dielectric behaviour evolution of Ag2O, AgO and silver particles and the interband transition. The results indicate that the AgxO film prepared at room temperature is mainly made up of AgO and Ag2 O clusters while Ag2O is the primary component of AgxO prepared at 90℃. The AgxO film mainly consisting of the primary component shows indirect interband transition structure occurring at 2.89eV. Combination of increasing OAR and substrate temperature is an effective method to lower the threshold of thermal decomposition temperature of AgxO and to deal with the bottleneck of short-wavelength optical and magneto-optieM storage.     

Influence of Different Substrates on Laser Induced Damage Thresholds at 1064nm of Ta2O5 Films

Ta2O5 films are prepared on Si, BK7, fused silica, antireflection （AR） and high reflector （HR） substrates by electron beam evaporation method, respectively. Both the optical property and laser induced damage thresholds （LIDTs） at 1064 nm of Ta2O5 films on different substrates are investigated before and after annealing at 673 K for 12 h. It is shown that annealing increases the refractive index and decreases the extinction index, and improves the O/Ta ratio of the Ta2O5 films from 2.42 to 2.50. Moreover, the results show that the LIDTs of the Ta2O5 films are mainly correlated with three parameters： substrate property, substoichiometry defect in the films and impurity defect at the interface between the substrate and the films. Details of the laser induced damage models in different cases are discussed.     

First-Principles Study of Defects in CuGaO2

Using the first-principles methods, we study the electronic structure, intrinsic and extrinsic defects doping in transparent conducting oxides CuGaO₂. Intrinsic defects, acceptor-type and donor-type extrinsic defects in their relevant charge state are considered. The calculation result show that copper vacancy and oxygen interstitial are the relevant defects in CuGaO₂. In addition, copper vacancy is the most efficient acceptor. Substituting Be for Ga is the prominent acceptor, and substituting Ca for Cu is the prominent donors in CuGaO₂. Our calculation results are expected to be a guide for preparing n-type and p-type materials in CuGaO₂.     

High-quality epitaxial LaNiO3 thin films on SrTiO3(100) and LaAlO3(100)

LaNiO₃ thin films have been deposited by pulsed laser deposition on SrTiO₃(100) and LaAlO₃(100) substrates. The processing conditions have been investigated in order to optimize electrical resistivity, crystal quality, and surface morphology. Excellent properties are achieved at moderate substrate temperature and relatively low oxygen pressure, without the need for annealing. Thickness exerts an important influence on electrical transport, as the electrical resistivity increases quickly in films thicker than a few tens of nanometer. The surface of the films on LaAlO₃ is very flat in all the studied thickness range, but the films on SrTiO₃ develop a pattern of boundaries and even cracks as the thickness is higher. Below the critical thickness, high-quality epitaxial films with very smooth surface and low electrical resistivity are obtained under the optimum conditions of substrate temperature and oxygen pressure. The optimum processing conditions are different depending on the substrate, and control is especially critical in films deposited on SrTiO₃.     

Au5Si2/Si Heterojunction Nanowires Formed by Combining SiO Evaporation with Vapour--Liquid--Solid Mechanism

Crystalline AusSi2/Si heterojunetion nanowires （AusSi2/SiNWs） are obtained by thermal evaporating SiO pow- ders on thick gold-coated silicon substrates in a low vacuum system. Structure analysis of the produced AusSh/Si heterojunetions is performed by employing a transmission electron microscope （TEM） and a selected area electric diffraetometer. The chemical compositions axe studied by a energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscope attached to the TEM. A two-step growth model is proposed to describe the formation of the AusSi2/SiNWs. During the first step, crystalline SiNWs are formed via a growth mechanism combining the oxide-assisted growth process with the vapour-liquid-solid model at relatively high temperature. In the second step, the temperature decreases and one segment of the preformed SiNWs reacts with the remnant Au to form single crystalline AusSi2 nanowires by a solid-liquid-solid process. The present work should be useful for the future synthesis and research of high-quality gold silicide nanowires and microelectronic devices based on the nanowires.     

Flexible Cu（In,Ga）Se2 Thin-Film Solar Cells on Polyimide Substrate by Low-Temperature Deposition Process

The electrical and structural properties of polycrystalline Cu（In, Ga）Se2 films grown on polyimide （PI） substrates below 400℃ via one-stage and three-stage co-evaporation process have been investigated by x-ray diffraction spectra （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and Hall effect measurement. As shown by XRD spectra, the stoichiometric CIGS films obtained by one-stage process exhibit the characteristic diffraction peaks of the （In0.68Ga0.32）2Se3 and Cu（In0.7Ga0.3）2Se. It is also found that the film structures indicate more columnar and compact than the three-stage process films from SEM images. The stoichiometric CIGS films obtained by three-stage process exhibit the coexistence of the secondary phase of （In0.68Ga0.32）2Se3, Cu2-xSe and Cu（In0.7Ga0.3）2Se. High net carrier concentration and sheet conductivity are also observed for this kind of film, related to the presence of Cu2-xSe phase. As a result, when the CIGS film growth temperature is below 400℃, the three-stage process is inefficient for solar cells. By using the one-stage co-evaporation process, the flexible CIGS solar cell on a PI substrate with the best conversion efficiency of 6.38% is demonstrated （active area 0.16cm^2）.     

Optical Emission Spectroscopy Investigation of a Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Aerodynamic Actuator

The optical emission spectroscopy of a surface dielectric barrier discharge plasma aerodynamic actuator is investigated with different electrode configurations, applied voltages and driving frequencies. The rotational temperature of N2 （C^3 Ⅱu） molecule is calculated according to its rotational emission band near 380.5 nm. The average electron energy of the discharge is evaluated by emission intensity ratio of first negative system to second positive system of N2. The rotational temperature is sensitive to the inner space of an electrode pair. The average electron energy shows insensitivity to the applied voltage, the driving frequency and the electrode configuration.     

A Comparison of GaN Epilayers with Multiple Buffer Layers and with a Single Buffer Layer Grown on Si（111） Studied by HRXRD and RBS/Channeling

Two hexagonal GaN epilayers （samples A and B） with multiple buffer layers and single buffer layer are grown on Si （111） by metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy （MOVPE）. From the results of Rutherford backscattering （RBS）/channeling and high resolution x-ray diffraction （HRXRD）, we obtain the lattice constant （a and c） of two GaN epilayers （aA = 0.3190 nm, cA = 0.5184 nm and aB = 0.3192 nm, CB = 0.5179 nm）, the crystal quality of two GaN epilayers （ ХminA=4.87%, ХminB =7.35% along 〈1-↑213〉 axis） and the tetragonal distortion eT of the two samples along depth （sample A is nearly fully relaxed, sample B is not relaxed enough）. Comparing the results with the two samples, it is indicated that sample A with multiple buffer layers have better crystal quality than sample B with a single buffer layer, and it is a good way to grow GaN epilayer on Si （111） substrates using multiple buffer layers to improve crystal quality and to reduce lattice mismatch.