Nonlinear properties and stability against DC accelerated aging stress of praseodymium oxide-based ZnO varistors by Er2O3 doping

The microstructure, nonlinear properties, and stability against DC accelerated aging stress of ZnO-Pr₆O₁₁-CoO-based varistors doped with Er₂O₃ was investigated at sintering temperatures of 1300 and 1350 °C. The addition of Er₂O₃ to ZnO-Pr₆O₁₁-CoO-based varistor greatly improved the nonlinear properties and the varistor sintered at 1300 °C exhibited good nonlinearity, with nonlinear exponent of 52.8 and leakage current of 9.8 μA The increase of sintering temperature deteriorated the nonlinear properties, whereas it greatly improved the stability.     

Nonlinear electrical properties and DC accelerated aging characteristics of ZnO-Pr6O11-CoO-Cr2O3-Dy2O3-based varistors

The nonlinear electrical properties and stability against DC accelerated aging stress of various varistors, which are composed of ZnO-Pr₆O₁₁-CoO-Cr₂O₃-Dy₂O₃ (ZPCCD)-based ceramics, was investigated as a function of Dy₂O₃ content. The varistors with Dy₂O₃ exhibited a high nonlinear exponent above 30, compared with that without Dy₂O₃. The varistor with 0.5 mol% Dy₂O₃ exhibited the highest nonlinearity, with a nonlinear exponent of 66.6 and a leakage current of 1.2 μA. Furthermore, this varistor showed the high stability, in which the variation rate of varistor voltage, of nonlinear exponent, and of leakage are −1.9, −10.5, and +275.0%, respectively, under DC accelerated aging stress, 0.95 V_1 mA/150 °C/24 h.     

Influence of substrate temperature on electrical and optical properties of p-type semitransparent conductive nickel oxide thin films deposited by radio frequency sputtering

Nickel oxide thin films were deposited on fused silica and Si(1 0 0) substrates at different substrate temperatures ranging from room temperature to 400 °C using radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering from a Ni metal target in a mixture of O₂ and Ar. With the increase of substrate temperature, nickel oxide films deposited on the Si substrates exhibit transition from amorphous to poly-crystalline structures with different preferred orientations of NiO(2 0 0) and (1 1 1). The films deposited at higher temperature exhibit higher Ni²⁺/Ni³⁺ ratio. With substrate temperature increasing from room temperature to 400 °C, the electrical resistivities of nickel oxide films increase from (2.8 ± 0.1) × 10⁻² to (8.7 ± 0.1) Ω cm, and the optical band-gap energies increase from 3.65 to 3.88 eV. A p-nickel oxide/n-zinc oxide heterojunction was fabricated to confirm the p-type conduction of nickel oxide thin film, which exhibited a steadily rectifying behavior.     

Strong localization in conducting Langmuir-Blodgett films of quasi-one-dimensional charge-transfer complexes

The temperature dependence of intragrain conductivity of the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of (C₁₆H₃₃-TCNQ)_0.4(C₁₇H₃₅-DMTTF)_0.6 has been studied by means of measuring the surface acoustic waves (SAW) attenuation in a piezocrystal resonator covered by the LB film. [(C₁₆H₃₃-TCNQ)_0.4(C₁₇H₃₅-DMTTF)_0.6 denotes the surface-active charge-transfer complex of hexadecyltetracyanoquinodimethane (C₁₆H₃₃-TCNQ) and heptadecyldimethyltetrathiofulvalene (C₁₇H₃₅-DMTTF)]. We have found that the intragrain conductivity decreases with decreasing temperature, following σ∝exp(−1/T^1/2) law. According to the theory of electron transport in quasi-one-dimensional disordered systems (Q1D DS) proposed by E.P. Nakhmedov et al. [Sov. Phys. Solid State 31 (1989) 368] and developed by Z.H. Wang et al. [Phys. Rev. B 43 (1991) 4373], this temperature behaviour of the conductivity points to the disorder-induced electron localization within the film grains. Fitting our experimental data to the relations proposed in these references, allowed us to evaluate the electron relaxation times due to scattering by phonons and impurities. Based on structural parameters of the conducting bilayer, we have also estimated the Fermi velocity and density of states at the Fermi level, which enabled us to determine the mean free path and localization length in the film studied.     

Slowing down of the relaxational dynamics at the ferroelectric phase transition in one-dimensional (TMTTF)2AsF6

We present measurements of the dielectric response of quasi one-dimensional system (TMTTF)₂AsF₆ in a wide temperature and frequency range. We provide a thorough characterization of the relaxational dynamics observed close to the ferroelectric-like transition at T_c=100 K. Our measurements, extending up to 100 MHz, reveal a continuous slowing down of the mean relaxation time when approaching T_c from high as well as from low temperatures. The simultaneous critical rise of the dielectric constant and relaxation time point to an explanation of the transition in terms of a classic ferroelectric scenario.     

Scattering mechanisms of charge carriers in transparent conducting oxide films

Scattering mechanisms of charge carriers in Transparent Conducting Oxide (TCO) films have been analyzed theoretically. For the degenerate polycrystalline TCO films with relatively large crystallite sizes and high carrier concentrations (higher than 5 × 10¹⁸ cm^–3), the depletion layers between crystallites are very thin compared to the crystallite sizes, and the grain boundary scattering on electrical carriers makes a small contribution to limit the mobility of the films. Instead of thermionic emission current, a tunneling current dominates the electron transport over grain boundaries. The Petritz model which is based on thermionic emission and extensively quoted in literature should not be applicable. The main scattering mechanisms for the TCO films are ionized impurity scattering in the low-temperature range and lattice vibration scattering in the high-temperature range. The ionized impurity scattering mobility is independent of temperature and the mobility due to thermal lattice vibration scattering is inversely proportional to the temperature. The results obtained from Hall measurements on our ZnO, ITO, SnO₂ and SnO₂:F films prepared with various methods supports the analysis.     

Effect of modifying a methyl siloxane-based dielectric by a polymer thin film for pentacene thin-film transistors

We report on the fabrication of pentacene thin-film transistors (TFTs) utilizing a spun methyl siloxane-based spin-on-glass (SOG) dielectric and show that these devices can give a similar electrical performance as achieved by using pentacene TFTs with a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) dielectric. To improve the electrical performance of pentacene TFTs with the SOG dielectric, we employed a hybrid dielectric of an SOG/cross-linked poly-4-vinylphenol (PVP) polymer. The PVP film was deposited onto the spun SOG dielectric prior to pentacene evaporation, resulting in an improvement of the saturation field effect mobility (μ_sat) from 0.01 cm²/(V s) to 0.76 cm²/(V s). The good surface morphology and the matching surface energy of the SOG dielectric that was modified with the polymer thin film allow the optimized growth of crystalline pentacene domains whose nuclei are embedded in an amorphous phase.     

Structural and transport properties of cubic spinel ZnCo2O4 thin films grown by reactive magnetron sputtering

We report on the growth of cubic spinel ZnCo₂O₄ thin films by reactive magnetron sputtering and bipolarity of their conduction type by tuning of oxygen partial pressure ratio in the sputtering gas mixture. Crystal structure of zinc cobalt oxide films sputtered in an oxygen partial pressure ratio of 90% was found to change from wurtzite Zn_1−xCo_xO to spinel ZnCo₂O₄ with an increase of the sputtering power ratio between the Co and Zn metal targets, D_Co/D_Zn, from 0.1 to 2.2. For a fixed D_Co/D_Zn of 2.0 yielding single-phase spinel ZnCo₂O₄ films, the conduction type was found to be dependent on the oxygen partial pressure ratio: n-type and p-type for the oxygen partial pressure ratio below ∼70% and above ∼85%, respectively. The electron and hole concentrations for the ZnCo₂O₄ films at 300 K were as high as 1.37×10²⁰ and 2.81×10²⁰ cm⁻³, respectively, with a mobility of more than 0.2 cm²/V s and a conductivity of more than 1.8 S cm⁻¹.     

First-Principles Study of Tetragonal BaTiO3 Subjected to Uniaxial Tensile Stress along the c Axis

Tetragonal BaTiO₃ under uniaxial tensile stress along the c axis is investigated from first principles. The structural parameters and polarization show a little abrupt change near a critical stress σ_c of 4.57GPa, which is related to the uniaxial tensile stress induced change of elastic constants. We also find that the ferroelectric lattice distortion increases with the increasing stress. Moreover, it is found that uniaxial tensile stress can enhance the piezoelectric strain coefficients, which reach their maximum values at the stress σ_c.     

The great potential of coupled substitutions in In2O3 for the generation of bixbyite-type transparent conducting oxides, In2−2xMxSnxO3

The study of coupled substitution of In³⁺ by Sn⁴⁺/M²⁺ species in In₂O₃ has allowed In_2−2xSn_xM_xO₃ solid solutions with bixbyite structure to be synthesized for M=Ni, Mg, Zn, Cu and Ca. The latter exhibit a rather broad homogeneity range and are characterized by an ordered cationic distribution. More importantly, these novel oxides are transparent conductors, and among them the Zn and Cu phases show a great potential, since one observes a semi-metallic behavior with conductivity up to 3×10² and 3×10³ (Ω cm)⁻¹, respectively, to be compared to 2×10³ (Ω cm)⁻¹ for reduced ITO. Moreover, in contrast to the latter no reducing conditions are required for reaching such performances.     

Field dependence of hole mobility in TPD-doped polystyrene

Field and temperature dependence of hole mobility in N,N^′-diphenyl-N,N^′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-(1,1′-biphenyl)-4,4′-diamine (TPD) doped in polystyrene (PS) is studied using the transient photoconductivity technique. We observe both the positive and negative field dependence of mobility with increasing field and temperature. The field and temperature at which negative field dependence begins is low compared with earlier reports on similar systems (with 20 wt% dopant concentration). Results are discussed on the basis of the Gaussian disorder model (GDM), which predicts that the interplay of both the energetic and positional disorder of dopant molecules in the sample decides the slope of the logμ versus E^1/2 plot. The observed mobility dependence is rationalized on the basis of low energetic disorder in the sample. The reason for low energetic disorder is purely due to the film morphology of the sample. Even for a dopant concentration of 20 wt%, we observe clustering and chaining of TPD molecules, which may provide low energetic and positional disorder.     

Detection of collective motions in dielectric spectra and the meaning of the generalized Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman equation

Based on the reduction property of dielectric spectra associated with the power-law function [∼(jωτ)^±ν] that appears in the frequency domain, one can develop an effective procedure for detection of different reduced motions (described by the corresponding power-law exponents) in temperature domain. If the power-law exponent ν is related to characteristic relaxation time τ by the relationship ν=ν₀ ln(τ/τ_s)/ln(τ/τ₀) (here τ_s, τ₀ are the characteristic times characterizing a movement over fractal cluster that is defined in Ref. [Ya.E. Ryabov, Yu. Feldman, J. Chem. Phys. 116 (2002) 8610]) and the simple temperature dependence of τ(T)=τ_A exp(E/T) obeys the traditional Arrhenius relationship, then one can prove that any extreme point figuring in the complex permittivity ε(jω) spectra (characterized by the values [ω_m, y(ω_m)]) obeys the generalized Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman (VFT) equation. This important statement confirms the existence of the ‘universal’ response (UR) (discovered and classified by Jonscher in frequency domain) and opens new possibilities in the detection of the ‘hidden’ collective motions in temperature region for self-similar (heterogeneous) systems. It gives also the extended interpretation of the VFT equation and allows one to differentiate collective motions passing through an extreme point. This differentiation, in turn, allows one to select the proper fitting function containing one or two (at least) relaxation times for the fitting of the complex permittivity function ε(jω) in the limited frequency domain. This conclusion can allow for the classification of dielectric spectroscopy as the spectroscopy of the reduced (collective) motions, which are described by different power-law exponents on the mesoscale region. The verification of this approach on available DS data (poly(ethylene glycol)-based-single-ion conductors) completely confirms the basic statements of this theory and opens new possibilities in general classification of different motions that can be detected in the analysis of the different dielectric permittivity spectra.     

Analysis of infrared reflectivity of conducting polymers: example of camphor-sulphonic-acid-doped polyaniline

The reflectivity spectrum of a polyaniline CSA-doped in presence of m-cresol has been measured over the wide wavenumber range of 15- 9 000 cm ^-1 (0.002-1.1 eV) at room temperature. Experimental data compare well with similar experiments performed by another group. The conductivity spectrum of this conducting polymer has been deduced from the reflectivity spectrum by means of two methods, Kramers-Kronig transformation and best fit of an “extended Drude” model to the reflectivity spectrum. Whereas the deviation from Drude behavior was interpreted in terms of Anderson localization or by inhomogeneous disorder by other groups, it is shown here that a different model developed for conducting oxides that also exhibit non-Drude behavior, applies very well to this example of conducting polymer. Received 11 February 1999 and Received in final form 26 April 1999     

The roles of zinc selenide sandwiched between organic layers and its applications in white light-emitting diodes

In this paper, the roles of zinc selenide (ZnSe) sandwiched between organic layers, i.e. organic/ZnSe/aluminum quinoline (Alq₃), have been studied by varying device structure. A broad band emission was observed from ITO/poly(N-vinylcarbazole)(PVK)(80 nm)/ZnSe(120 nm)/ Alq₃(15 nm)/Al under electric fields and it combined the emissions from the bulk of PVK, ZnSe and Alq₃, however, emission from only Alq₃ was observed from trilayer device ITO/N,N^′-bis-(1-naphthyl)-N,N^′-diphenyl-1, 1^′-biphenyl-4, 4^′-diamine (NPB) (40 nm)/ZnSe(120 nm)/ Alq₃(15 nm)/Al. Consequently the luminescence mechanism in the ZnSe layer is suggested to be charge carrier injection and recombination. By thermal co-evaporating Alq₃ and 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-t-butyl-6-(1,1,7,7-tetramethyljulolidyl-9-enyl)-4H-pyran (DCJTB), we get white light emission with a Commission Internationale de l’E clairage (C.I.E) co-ordinates of (0.32, 0.38) from device ITO/PVK(80 nm)/ZnSe(120 nm)/ Alq₃:DCJTB(0.5 wt% DCJTB)(15 nm)/Al at 15 V and the device performs stably with increasing applied voltages.     

Electron transport with mobility above 10–3 cm2/Vs in amorphous film of co‐planar bipyridyl‐substituted oxadiazole

We demonstrate that a bipyridyl substituted oxadiazole (Bpy‐OXD) shows high electron mobility that reached above 10^–3 cm²/Vs. We believe that the high mobility results from both the hybrid molecular structure of the two electron‐accepting units: bipyridyl and oxadiazole, and the planar molecular structure based on its lack of sterically hindered bulky substituent. The computational analysis elucidates that the amorphous nature of Bpy‐OXD in thin‐film state probably results from the polymorphic effect in isolated state and the volume effect in solid state. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Effect of Cu-stoichiometry on the dielectric and electric properties in CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics

CaCu_3+yTi₄O₁₂ (y=0, ±0.025, ±0.05, ±0.1 and −0.15) ceramics are prepared by the conventional solid-state reaction technique under sintering condition of 1050 ^°C, 10 h. X-ray diffraction shows that they all have the good crystalline structure. Cu-deficient ceramics exhibit the microstructures of uniform grain size distribution, whereas both Cu-stoichiometric and Cu-rich ceramics display microstructures of bimodal grain size distribution. The largeness of low-frequency dielectric permittivity at room temperature is found to be very sensitive to the Cu-stoichiometry. Upon raising the measuring temperature, all of the ceramics present commonly three semicircles in the complex impedance plane. It indicates that there exist three distinct contributions, which are ascribed to arising from domains, grain boundaries and domain boundaries. In addition, the influence of CuO segregation on the dielectric and electrical properties is also discussed.     

Photoelectrochemical etching of ZnS: Further evidence for non-uniform flow of charge carriers in Schottky barriers

It is shown that short photoelectrochemical etching of two kinds of ZnS crystals leads to a reduction in the surface recombination velocity as evidenced by their increased photocurrent. The unique surface morphology (>10⁹ pits cm^–2) revealed after photoetching supports the hypothesis that the charge flow within the space charge layer is highly nonuniform.Incumbent of Helen & Milton A. Kimmelman Career Development Chair in perpetuity established by Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman, New York, NY     

Investigation of p-type behavior in Ag-doped ZnO thin films by E-beam evaporation

Ag-doped ZnO (ZnO:Ag) thin films were grown on glass substrates by E-beam evaporation technique. The structural, electrical and optical properties of the films were investigated as a function of annealing temperature. The films were subjected to post annealing at different temperatures in the range of 350-650 °C in an air ambient. All the as grown and annealed films at temperature of 350 °C showed p-type conduction. The films lost p-type conduction after post annealing treatment temperature of above 350 °C, suggesting a narrow post annealing temperature window for the fabrication of p-type ZnO:Ag films. ZnO:Ag film annealed at 350 °C revealed lowest resistivity of 7.25 × 10⁻² Ω cm with hole concentration and mobility of 5.09 × 10¹⁹ cm⁻³ and 1.69 cm²/V s, respectively. Observation of a free-to-neutral-acceptor (e,A^o) and donor-acceptor-pair (DAP) emissions in the low temperature photoluminescence measurement confirms p-type conduction in the ZnO:Ag films.     

Influence of charge carrier mobility on the performance of organic solar cells

The power conversion efficiency of organic solar cells based on donor–acceptor blends is governed by an interplay of polaron pair dissociation and bimolecular polaron recombination. Both processes are strongly dependent on the charge carrier mobility, the dissociation increasing with faster charge transport, with raised recombination losses at the same time. Using a macroscopic effective medium simulation, we calculate the optimum charge carrier mobility for the highest power conversion efficiency, for the first time accounting for injection barriers and a reduced Langevin‐type recombination. An enhancement of the charge carrier mobility from 10^–8 m²/V s for state of the art polymer–fullerene solar cells to about 10^–6 m²/V s, which yields the maximum efficiency, corresponds to an improvement of only about 20% for the given parameter set. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Influence of N2 flow ratio on the properties of hafnium nitride thin films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering

Hafnium nitride (Hf-N) thin films were deposited on fused silica at different N₂ flow ratio (N₂/N₂ + Ar) using a reactive DC magnetron sputtering system. A gradual evolution in the composition of the films from Hf₃N₂, HfN, to higher nitrides was found through X-ray diffraction (XRD). Films of Hf₃N₂ and HfN show positive temperature coefficients of resistivity, while higher nitride has a negative one. Highly oriented growth of (0 0 1) Hf₃N₂ and NaCl-structure (1 0 0) HfN films were fabricated on fused silica substrate at relatively lower temperature of 300 °C. The electrical resistivity values of both as-deposited and post-deposition annealed films were measured by a four-point probe method. The obtained minimum resistivity of as-deposited film is 20 μΩ cm, and this result shows potential application of HfN films as electrode materials in electronic devices.