Substrate effect on mechanical relaxation of polystyrene in ultrathin films

Mechanical relaxation behavior in ultrathin polystyrene (PS) films supported on silicon oxide (SiO_x) and gold (Au) substrates has been studied by dynamic viscoelastic measurement. Based on the method, effects of free surface and substrate interface on the segmental dynamics were discussed. In the case of thin PS films with a thickness of approximately 200 nm, α_a-relaxation process corresponding to the segmental motion did not show any deviation from the bulk behavior. In contrast, for the films thinner than about 50 nm, the relaxation time distribution for the α_a-process became broader, probably due to a mobility gradient in the surface and interfacial regions. When we sandwiched an ultrathin PS film between SiO_x layers, another relaxation process, in addition to the original α_a-process, appeared at a higher temperature side that we assigned to the interfacial α_a-relaxation process. However, this was never seen for an ultrathin PS film between Au layers, implying that restriction from the substrate interface might be weak in this case.     

Morphology dependent ultrafast electron dynamics in ultrathin gold films

Ultrafast electron dynamics in 5 nm thick gold films have been investigated as a function of film morphology. The transient reflectivity data reveal a sub-100 fs rise time and a complex relaxation profile on the picosecond timescale. These data are discussed in terms of a modified two-temperature model of the electron dynamics accounting for the initial relaxation of the non-thermal population. The electron–phonon coupling may be sensitive to film morphology. The possible origin of this behaviour is discussed and results are placed in the context of enhanced photochemistry on thin metal films.     

Silicide formation in bilayer ultrathin iron and cobalt films on silicon

The processes that occur in ultrathin (up to 1 nm) Fe and Co layers during deposition onto the Si(100)2 × 1 surface in various sequences and during annealing of the formed structures to a temperature of 400°C are studied. The elemental and chemical compositions of the films are analyzed by in situ high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation, and their magnetic properties are determined using the magnetic linear dichroism effect in the angular distribution of Fe 3p and Co 3p electrons. It is shown that, when iron is first deposited, the formed structure consists of the layers of FeSi, Fe₃Si, Co-Si solid solution, and metallic cobalt with segregated silicon. The structure formed in the alternative case consists of the layers of CoSi, Co-Si solid solution, Co, Fe-Si solid solution, and Fe partly covered by silicon. All layers (apart from FeSi, CoSi) form general magnetic systems characterized by ferromagnetic ordering. Annealing of the structures at temperatures above 130dgC (for the Co/Fe/Si system) and ～200°C (for Fe/Co/Si) leads to the formation of nonmagnetic binary and ternary silicides (Fe _x Co_{1 ? x} Si, Fe _x Co_{2 ? x} Si).     

Formation of ultrathin iron magnetic films on the silicon vicinal surface

Physics of the Solid State - The phase composition, electronic structure, and magnetic properties of ultrathin layers of iron and iron silicides formed upon deposition of 1- to 25-Å-thick Fe...     

Characterization of the photo-irradiation effects on polystyrene ultrathin films with ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy

The synchrotron-radiation-induced structural degradation in polystyrene thin films was analyzed by comparing measured ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) spectra with model molecular orbital calculations. The analysis confirms degradation of the phenyl pendant groups and the generation of conjugated double-bonds in the degraded polymer. The observed degradation in polystyrene is found to be very similar to one from polyethylene previously investigated.     

Thickness dependence of the surface plasmon dispersion in ultrathin aluminum films on silicon

The collective excitation in Al films deposited on Si(1 1 1)-7 × 7 surface was investigated by high-resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy (HREELS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). At the Al film thickness d < 10 ML, the surface plasmon of Al film has only a small contribution to the observed energy-loss peaks in the long wavelength limit (q_∥≈0), while its contribution becomes significant for q_∥>d^-1. More interestingly, for thin Al films, the initial slope of the surface plasmon dispersion curve is positive at q_∥∼0, in a sharp contrast to bulk Al surface where the energy dispersion is negative. These observations may be explained based on the screening interaction of the space charge region at the Al-Si interface.     

脉冲激光晶化超薄非晶硅膜的分子动力学研究

利用准分子脉冲激光晶化非晶硅薄膜是制备高密度尺寸可控的硅基纳米结构的有效方法之一.本文将脉冲激光对非晶硅超薄膜的影响处理为热传导问题,采用了基于Tersoff势函数的分子动力学方法模拟了在非晶氮化硅衬底上2.7 nm超薄非晶硅膜的脉冲激光晶化过程.研究了不同激光能量对非晶硅薄膜晶化形成纳米硅的影响,发现在合适的激光能量窗口下,可以获得高密度尺寸可控的纳米硅薄膜,进而模拟了在此能量作用下非晶硅膜中成核与生长的机理与微观过程,并对晶化所获得的纳米硅薄膜的微结构进行了分析. 关键词： 非晶硅 分子动力学 脉冲激光晶化     

Electronic properties of ultrathin films based on pyrrolofullerene molecules on the surface of oxidized silicon

Results of the investigation into the interface formation during the deposition of the films based on aziridinylphenylpyrrolofullerene (APP-C₆₀) up to 8 nm thick on the surface of the oxidized silicon substrate are presented. The procedure of detecting reflection of testing low-energy electron beam from the surface implemented in the total current spectroscopy mode with a change in the incident electron energy from 0 to 25 eV is used. The structure of maxima in the total current spectra induced by the APP-C₆₀ deposited film is established, and the character of interrelation of these maxima with π* and σ* energy bands in the studied materials is determined. It is revealed due to analyzing the variation in intensities of the total current spectra of the deposited APP-C₆₀ film and the (SiO₂)n-Si substrate that the APP-C₆₀ film is formed at the early deposition stage with the coating thickness thinner than one monolayer without the formation of the intermediate modified organic layer. As the APP-C₆₀/(SiO₂)n-Si interface is formed, the work function of the surface increases by 0.7 eV, which corresponds to the transfer of the electron density from substrate (SiO₂)n-Si toward the film APP-C₆₀. The optical absorption spectra of the APP-C₆₀ films are measured and compared with the spectra of films of unsubstituted C₆₀.     

Ratio between energy gap and transition temperature in ultrathin superconducting films

The ratio $\text{2Δ(0)}\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{B}}\text{T}{}_{\mathrm{C}}$ increases with decreasing film thickness (down to 5 nm) for vapour-quenched micro-crystalline Pb, while it is almost independent of thickness for amorphous Ga and Bi.     

Observation of coherent phonon states in porous silicon films

The dynamics of differential transmission and reflectance spectra of porous silicon films was studied using the femtosecond excitation technique (τ≈50 fs, ?ω_pump=2.34 eV) with supercontinuum probing (?ω_probe=1.6–3.2 eV) and controlled time delay with a step of Δt=7 fs between the pump and probe pulses. A short-lived region of photoinduced bleaching was observed in the differential transmission spectra at wavelengths shorter than the pump wavelength. The excitation of coherent phonon states with a spectrum corresponding to nanocrystalline silicon with an admixture of a disordered phase was observed. The relaxation of electronic excitation was found to slow down in the spectral region where the amplitude of excited coherent vibrations was maximal.     

Superconductivity in ultrathin films

It is shown that the pair breaking parameter of the Maki-Thompson contributions to the fluctuation conductivity above the superconducting transition temperature has the same thickness dependence as the transition temperature depression in very thin amorphous Be-Al films. Both can be ascribed to an extremely thin surface sheath with suppressed superconductivity.Supported by the Swedish Natural Science Research Board.     

A STM point-probe method for measuring sheet resistance of ultrathin metallic films on semiconducting silicon

We report a novel approach for distinguishing surface, bulk and space–charge layer conductivities of metalized semiconductor surfaces. The method employs current injection from the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope and a spring-contact electrode placed on the surface in situ in UHV. The current–voltage behavior is sensitive to polarity in a way that distinguishes the surface contribution. The method is illustrated for the Si(1 1 1) 7 × 7 metallized surface and dependence of the conductivity with changing thickness of silver overlayers.