Investigation of layers’ properties using brush discharge: Mobility of charge carriers in the layer is zero

This work is mainly based on the paper “R. Rinkunas, S. Kuskevicius, A contactless method of resistance measurement, Tech. Phys., 59 (2009) 133–137”. This paper contains a proposed contact less method for measuring resistivity of various materials, as well as various ambient parameters related to resistivity, e.g., humidity, intensity of illumination, sample thickness, etc. The mentioned paper describes experimental applications of the proposed method for measuring resistances in the range from 10⁷ Ω to 10¹³ Ω.In this work, a model of the method proposed previously is presented. On the basis of that model, it has been determined that during charging of an insulating layer of a material (on whose surface the deposited ions are immobile), the charge flux becomes wider as it approaches the surface of the insulator. For example, the diameter of the charge flow region may increase from 0.2 mm (near the needle tip) up to 2 cm near the surface of the insulator. [Those numbers correspond to the distance h = 1 mm between the needle and the substrate, insulating layer thickness 40 μm and needle–substrate voltage of 4000 V. A change of those parameters would cause a change of the size of the spot on the layer surface].It has been determined experimentally that resistance of the air gap between the needle and the substrate is linearly dependent only on h, whereas the electromotive force, which is responsible for the electric current from the needle to the substrate, also depends only on h.The radial coordinate of the points where the gradient of the electric charge density is largest is equal to h/2 (a zero radial coordinate corresponds to the point that is directly below the needle).During transfer of charge carriers from the needle onto the surface of the insulating layer, the largest potential is obtained at the point corresponding to radial coordinate r = 0, but this potential is still smaller than the electromotive force that causes electric current in the circuit (i.e., the difference between the power supply voltage and the voltage on the capacitor formed by the needle and the substrate, when no charge has been deposited yet).The time dependence of charging current and of the potential difference between the needle and the substrate is not monotonic: at first the current increases, then it begins to decrease, and the potential difference at first decreases, then it begins to increase. The initial parts of those dependences can be explained by the “breakdown” of the capacitor formed by the needle and the substrate, and the subsequent time dependence is determined by the increase of the insulating layer potential due to accumulation of charge on it.     

Effects of Ag layer and ZnO top layer thicknesses on the physical properties of ZnO/Ag/Zno multilayer system

Two groups of transparent conductive ZnO/Ag/ZnO, ZAZ, multilayer coatings were successively deposited by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering. Sputtering was carried out from zinc (Zn) and silver (Ag) metallic targets. The effects of Ag layer thickness and ZnO top layer thickness on the properties of the ZAZ multilayer system were examined using different analytical methods. The influences of the Ag layer thickness and ZnO top layer thickness on structural properties were studied using X-ray diffraction. The thicknesses of ZAZ multilayer system were determined using X-ray reflectometry. A sheet resistance of 2.3 Ω/sq at an Ag layer thickness of 17.7 nm was obtained. The sheet resistance changes slightly with ZnO top layer thickness. The optical properties of the films were analyzed. Both Ag layer thickness and ZnO top layer thickness affect transmittance. The optical constants of the ZAZ multilayer system were calculated from transmittance and reflectance measurements. The figure of merit was applied on the ZAZ coatings and the most suitable films for the application as transparent conductive electrodes were determined.     

脉冲高能量密度等离子体法类金刚石膜的制备及分析

利用脉冲高能量密度等离子体法在光学玻璃衬底上、在室温下成功的制备了光滑、致密、均匀的纳米类金刚石膜.工艺研究表明：放电电压和放电距离以及工作气体种类对纳米类金刚石膜的沉积起着关键作用.利用拉曼光谱、扫描电镜以及电子能量损失谱分析薄膜的形态结构表明：薄膜具有典型的类金刚石特征；纳米类金刚石膜的晶粒尺寸小于20nm甚至为非晶态；类金刚石膜中含有一定量的氮原子，随着沉积能量的升高，氮的含量增大.纳米类金刚石膜的薄膜电阻超过109Ω/cm2.对放电溅射过程进行了理论分析，结果与工艺研究的结论吻合.     

Characteristic difference between ITO/ZrCu and ITO/Ag bi-layer films as transparent electrodes deposited on PET substrate

The metallic-glass film of ZrCu layer deposited by co-sputtering was utilized as the metallic layer in the bi-layer structure transparent conductive electrode of ITO/ZrCu (IZC) deposited on the PET substrate using magnetron sputtering at room temperature. In addition, the pure Ag metal layer was applied in the same structure of transparent conductive film, ITO/Ag, in comparison with the IZC film. The ZrCu layer could form a continuous and smooth film in thickness lower than 6 nm, compared with the island structure of pure Ag layer of the same thickness. The 30 nm ITO/3 nm ZrCu films could show the optical transmittance of 73% at 550 nm wavelength. The 30 nm ITO/12 nm ZrCu films could show the better sheet resistance of 20 Ω/sq, but it was still worse than that of the ITO/Ag films. It was suggested that an alloy system with lower resistivity and negative mixing heat between atoms might be another way to form a continuous layer in thickness lower than 6 nm for metal film.     

Electrostatic ignition hazards due to pneumatic transport of flammable powders through insulating or dissipative tubes and hoses – New experiments and calculations

During transportation of powder through pipes or hoses made from insulating materials, electrostatic discharges can occur. To define the resistivity limit of the insulating material for the avoidance of propagating brush discharges, the charging current due to the powder transfer was determined experimentally using different types of hoses and bulk material. The subsequent modeling shows that propagating brush discharges will not occur if such hoses are constructed from dissipative materials or when the resistance measured from the inner surface to the conductive structure of the hose multiplied with the contact area of the electrode is below 4 MΩ m².     

Characteristics of ZnO-Cu-ZnO multilayer films on copper layer properties

ZnO/Cu/ZnO multilayers on glass with different copper layer thickness were prepared by simultaneous RF magnetron sputtering of ZnO and dc magnetron sputtering of Cu. Different optimization procedure were used for good transparent conductive film. Several analytical tools such as spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscope (SEM), four point probes were used to explore the causes of the changes in electrical and optical properties. The sheet resistance of the structure was severely influenced by the deposition condition of both top ZnO and intermediate Cu layer. Effect of substrate temperature and annealing treatment on ZnO and Cu layer was analyzed. A sheet resistance of 10 Ω/sq and transmittance over 85% at 580 nm wavelength was achieved and could be reproduced by controlling the preparation process parameter. The results of an optimization condition of both oxide layers and metallic Cu layers are illustrated.     

Study on the electrical and optical properties of Ag/Al-doped ZnO coatings deposited by electron beam evaporation

A layer of silver was deposited onto the surface of glass substrates, coated with AZO (Al-doped ZnO), to form Ag/AZO film structures, using e-beam evaporation techniques. The electrical and optical properties of AZO, Ag and Ag/AZO film structures were studied. The deposition of Ag layer on the surface of AZO films resulted in lowering the effective electrical resistivity with a slight reduction of their optical transmittance. Ag (11 nm)/AZO (25 nm) film structure, with an accuracy of ±0.5 nm for the thickness shows a sheet resistance as low as 5.6 ± 0.5 Ω/sq and a transmittance of about 66 ± 2%. A coating consisting of AZO (25 nm)/Ag (11 nm)/AZO (25 nm) trilayer structure, exhibits a resistance of 7.7 ± 0.5 Ω/sq and a high transmittance of 85 ± 2%. The coatings have satisfactory properties of low resistance, high transmittance and highest figure of merit for application in optoelectronics devices including flat displays, thin films transistors and solar cells as transparent conductive electrodes.     

Electrostatic force acting on conductive ball between electrodes

To advance electrostatic applications such as novel printing technologies and solder ball control for LSI bumping, the electrostatic force acting on a conductive ball between two electrodes is calculated. The electrostatic force increases as the ratio of the ball diameter to the electrode separation increases. The electrostatic force is also calculated for the case when a charge pattern is formed on the insulating layer on the upper electrode. In this case, the electrostatic force initially varies as the square of the charge pattern area but eventually plateaus to a constant value as the area increases. Experiments investigating the force acting on the ball are performed. The force estimated from these experiments agrees with the value obtained by electric field analysis.     

Sheet sticking caused by charge flow in a buried conducting layer

Electrostatic charge causes sheets to misfeed from the input stacks in inkjet and laser printers. Conductive layers within sheets that suppress discharges and reduce particulate contamination also aggravate sheet sticking. The surface potential of sheet media is a direct measure of the charge in the buried conducting layer. Our experiments find that the times characterizing the voltage transients range from 10 to 1000 s for conductive layers with sheet resistivities in the range from 10⁺⁹ to 10⁺¹¹ Ω/□. Our models predict that charge flowing in the conducting layer increases the electrostatic sticking force. Model predictions are in agreement with our experimental measurements.     

Graphitization of a diamond surface upon high-dose ion bombardment

Results from structural and morphological studies, measurements of the sheet electrical resistance, and estimating resistivity ρ_m of a graphite-like conducting surface layer formed upon high-dose irradiation of the (111) face of a synthetic diamond with Ar⁺ ions at an energy of 30 keV and a target temperature of 400°C are presented. It is found that the orienting effect of the diamond lattice is visible in the suppression of the formation of graphite crystallites with axis c perpendicular to the surface. The thickness of the modified layer is 40–50 nm, and its sheet resistance is 0.5 kΩ/sq. Resistivity ρ_m = 20–25 μΩ m of the modified layer lies within the range of ρ values of graphite and glassy carbon materials.     

Effect of ground electrode on charge injection and surface potential of corona charged polyethylene film

The surface potential decay measurement is a simple and low cost tool to assess electrical properties of insulation materials; therefore, understanding the physical mechanisms of the surface potential decay becomes necessary. With our recent space charge measurement results on corona charged samples, bipolar charge injection on corona charged samples had been observed. Based on this new fact, it is anticipated that the ground electrode should have significant effect during corona charging and subsequently decay processes. In the paper, low density polyethylene (LDPE) film with gold ground electrode was compared with LDPE film with aluminium ground to study effect of ground electrode on charge injection and surface potential decay processes. Charging current during the corona charging, surface potential decay and space charge dynamics after corona charging in the samples with either gold coated or aluminium ground electrode were measured. Differences have been observed for gold ground electrode when compared with aluminium ground electrode. Higher work function of gold electrode is responsible for the observed differences. A preliminary simulation has also attempted to show that the bipolar injection may take place in corona charged LDPE films.     

Deposition of Ni, Ag, and Pt-based Al-doped ZnO double films for the transparent conductive electrodes by RF magnetron sputtering

Ni, Ag, and Pt-based Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films have been deposited as transparent conductivity layers on quartz by RF magnetron sputtering and characterized by X-ray diffraction, Hall measurement, optical transmission spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The deposition of thicker metal layer in double layers resulted in lowering the effective electrical resistivity with a slight reduction of their optical transmittance. A film consisting of AZO (250 nm)/Ni (2 nm) double structure, exhibits a sheet resistance of 21.0 Ω/sq, a high transmittance of 76.5%, and characterize good adhesion to substrate. These results make the satisfactory for GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and solar cells with metal-based AZO double films as current spread layers.     

Effect of cross-linkable polymer on the morphology and properties of transparent multi-walled carbon nanotube conductive films

In this study, we fabricated optically transparent and electrically conductive multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) thin films using a spray-coating technique. The transparency and the electrical resistance of thin film are dependent on the nanotube content deposited on the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) were used as adhesion promoters to improve MWCNT coating more significantly. The cross-linked polymer resulted in a superior bond between the MWCNTs and the substrates. The surface electrical resistance was significantly lower than the original sheet after nitric acid (HNO₃) treatment because of the removed surfactant and the increased interconnecting networks of MWCNT bundles, thus improving the electrical and optical properties of the films. Stronger interaction between the MWCNTs and the substrates resulted in lower decomposition of the polymer chain and less amounts of MWCNTs separated into the HNO₃ solution. The lower sheet electrical resistance of PVP/PAA-g-MWCNT conductive films on the PET substrate was because of a more complete conductive path with the cross-linked polymer than that without. Such an improved sheet of electrical resistance varied from 8.83 × 10⁴ Ω/□ to 2.65 × 10³ Ω/□ with 5.0 wt.% PVP/PAA-g-MWCNT sprayed on the PET after acid treatment.     

Transparent conductive and near-infrared reflective Cu-based Al-doped ZnO multilayer films grown by magnetron sputtering at room temperature

Cu-based Al-doped ZnO multilayer films were deposited on glass substrates by DC magnetron sputtering at room temperature. Three kinds of multilayer structures (AZO/Cu, AZO/Cu/AZO, and Cu/AZO) were designed for comparison, and the effects of the Cu layer thickness on photoelectrical properties of the multilayer films were investigated. The results revealed that the transparent-conductive property and near-infrared reflectance of the films are closely correlated with the Cu layer thickness, and among the three structures, AZO/Cu bi-layer films exhibited preferable photoelectrical properties. The AZO/Cu bi-layer film with a Cu layer thickness of 7 nm displayed the highest figure of merit of 4.82 × 10⁻³ Ω⁻¹, with a low sheet resistance of 21.7 Ω/sq and an acceptable visible transmittance of 80%. The near infrared reflectance above 50% can be simultaneously obtained. The good performance of the coatings indicates that they are promising for coated glasses, thin film solar cells and heat-reflectors.     

Electrical and mechanical properties of graphene oxide on flexible substrate

Graphene oxide (GO) was deposited via the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method to lower the oxygen concentration of graphene sheets for large-scale production. In addition, the direct synthesis of large-scale GO films using transfer processes on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate was conducted. The thickness of the GO films was controlled to adjust the optical, electrical, and mechanical properties. The Young's modulus values of films with thicknesses of 100–200 nm were 324–529 GPa. Moreover, the GO films exhibited excellent conductivity, with a sheet resistance of 276–2024 Ω/sq at 23–77% transparency. Experiments show that transfer processes for flexible substrates can produce high-quality cost-effective transparent conductive films.     

High efficiency screen-printed n-type silicon solar cell using co-diffusion of APCVD boron emitter and POCl3 back surface field

We present the fabrication and analysis of Passivated Emitter and Rear Totally Diffused (PERT) solar cells on n-type silicon using a co-diffusion process. In a single high temperature step, a BSG/SiO_x stack deposited by APCVD and a POCl₃ back surface field diffuse into the wafer to form the boron doped emitter and phosphorus doped back surface field. The SiO_x layer on top of BSG acts as a masking layer to prevent cross-doping of phosphorus as well as a blocking layer for boron out-diffusion. This resulted in an initial sheet resistance of 76 Ω/□ with good uniformity and a final p⁺ emitter sheet resistance of 97 Ω/□ after boron rich layer removal. Additionally, bulk lifetime was investigated before and after the high temperature step that resulted in an increase from 1.2 ms to 1.5 ms due to a POCl₃ gettering effect. A peak cell efficiency of 20.3% was achieved and each recombination component in terms of saturation current density was calculated and analyzed to understand the cell for further efficiency enhancement.     

Highly-doped p-type few-layer graphene on UID off-axis homoepitaxial 4H–SiC

In this report we investigate structural and electrical properties of epitaxial Chemical Vapor Deposition quasi-free-standing graphene on an unintentionally-doped homoepitaxial layer grown on a conducting 4H–SiC substrate 4° off-axis from the basal [0001] direction towards [11-20]. Due to high density of SiC vicinal surfaces the deposited graphene is densely stepped and gains unique characteristics. Its morphology is studied with atomic force and scanning electron microscopy. Its few-layer character and p-type conductance are deduced from a Raman map and its layers structure determined from a high-resolution X-ray diffraction pattern. Transport properties of the graphene are estimated through Hall effect measurements between 100 and 350 K. The results reveal an unusually low sheet resistance below 100 Ω/sq and high hole concentration of the order of 10¹⁵ cm⁻². We find that the material's electrical properties resemble those of an epitaxially-grown SiC PIN diode, making it an attractive platform for the semiconductor devices technology.     

Memory and nonlinear transport effects in charging–discharging of a supercapacitor

We report on the results of analysis of the kinetics of charge–discharge current of Panasonic supercapacitors in a wide range of time from 10^–1 to 10⁴ s. The non-Debye behavior of relaxation observed earlier by us and other authors is confirmed experimentally, and the influence of the supercapacitor charging regime on this process for various previous histories (values of applied voltage, charging time, and load resistance) is analyzed. The results are compared with available experimental data for paper–oil and electrolytic capacitors and with the results of calculations in the linear response model. It is found that in contrast to conventional capacitors, the response of the supercapacitor under investigation to variations of the charging regime does not match the linear response model. The relation of this nonlinearity to processes in the double electric layer, the morphology of the porous electrode, and the effect of charge reversal in pores is considered.     

Fabrication of textured SnO2:F thin films by spray pyrolysis

Transparent conductive SnO₂:F thin films with textured surfaces were fabricated on soda-lime-silica glass substrates by spray pyrolysis. Structure, morphology, optical and electrical properties of the films were investigated. Results show that the film structure, morphology, haze, transmittance and sheet resistance are dependent on the substrate temperature and film thickness. An optimal 810 nm-thick SnO₂:F film with textured surface deposited at 520 °C exhibits polycrystalline rutile tetragonal structure with a (2 0 0) orientation. The sheet resistance, average transmittance in visible region, and haze of this film were 8 Ω/□, 80.04% and 11.07%, respectively, which are suitable for the electrode used in the hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells.     

A new approach for preventing charging up of soft material samples by coating with conducting polymers in SIMS analysis

Dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) analysis of soft materials such as polymer or biomaterial is one of challenging subjects due to the charge up effect brought from the irradiation of a primary ion beam, hampering the collection of secondary ions. Conventional methods against the charging up are the electron beam irradiation for charge compensation and surface coating with metal, normally gold. Those methods require a compromise analytical condition, reducing the primary ion beam current to suppress the range of the charging, which degrading the performances of the SIMS analyses. We have proposed that a thicker conductive layer, capable of delocalizing the charge onto the surface, should be put on a soft insulator sample to avoid charging up. The depth profile of the hair sample coated wholly with a polythiophen-based conducting polymer was successfully measured in longer time without any charging up even in the maximum current of the oxygen primary ion beam (O₂⁺: 7.5 keV, 400 nA) or using an electron beam compensation system. Thus, the proposed method coating with a conductive organic polymer against the charging issue would be expected as a breakthrough on SIMS analysis.