Structure and stability of a silicon cluster on sequential doping with carbon atoms

SiC is a highly stable material in bulk. On the other hand, alloys of silicon and carbon at nanoscale length are interesting from both technological as well fundamental view point and are being currently synthesized by various experimental groups (Truong et. al., 2015 [26]). In the present work, we identify a well-known silicon cluster viz., Si₁₀ and dope it sequentially with carbon atoms. The evolution of electronic structure (spin state and the structural properties) on doping, the charge redistribution and structural properties are analyzed. It is interesting to note that the ground state SiC clusters prefer to be in the lowest spin state. Further, it is seen that carbon atoms are the electron rich centres while silicon atoms are electron deficient in every SiC alloy cluster. The carbon–carbon bond lengths in alloy clusters are equivalent to those seen in fullerene molecules. Interestingly, the carbon atoms tend to aggregate together with silicon atoms surrounding them by donating the charge. As a consequence, very few Si–Si bonds are noted with increasing concentrations of C atoms in a SiC alloy. Physical and chemical stability of doped clusters is studied by carrying out finite temperature behaviour and adsorbing O₂ molecule on Si₉C and Si₈C₂ clusters, respectively.     

Fabrication and characterization of n-ZnO on p-SiC heterojunction diodes on 4H-SiC substrates

We report on the growth and characterization of n-ZnO/p-4H-SiC heterojunction diodes. Our n-ZnO layers were grown with radical-source molecular beam epitaxy (RS-MBE) on p-4H-SiC epilayers, which was previously prepared in a horizontal hot-wall reactor by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) on the n-type 4H-SiC wafers. Details on the n-ZnO growth on 8-off 4H-SiC wafers, the quality of the layers and the nature of realized p–n structures are discussed. Mesa diode structures were fabricated. Al was sputtered through a circle mask with diameter 1 mm and annealed to form Ohmic contacts to p-SiC. Ohmic contacts to the n-ZnO were formed by 30 nm/300 nm Ti/Au sputtered by electron beam evaporation. Electrical properties of the structures obtained have been studied with Hall measurements, and current–voltage measurements (I–V). I–V measurements of the device showed good rectifying behavior, from which a turn-on voltage of about 2 V was obtained.     

Scanning probe microscopy investigations of the electrical properties of chemical vapor deposited graphene grown on a 6H-SiC substrate

Sublimated graphene grown on SiC is an attractive material for scientific investigations. Nevertheless the self limiting process on the Si face and its sensitivity to the surface quality of the SiC substrates may be unfavourable for later microelectronic processes. On the other hand, chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene does not posses such disadvantages, so further experimental investigation is needed. In this paper CVD grown graphene on 6H-SiC (0 0 0 1) substrate was investigated using scanning probe microscopy (SPM). Electrical properties of graphene were characterized with the use of: scanning tunnelling microscopy, conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) with locally performed C-AFM current–voltage measurements and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). Based on the contact potential difference data from the KPFM measurements, the work function of graphene was estimated. We observed conductance variations not only on structural edges, existing surface corrugations or accidental bilayers, but also on a flat graphene surface.     

In-Situ Synthesis and Characterization of Nanocomposites in the Si-Ti-N and Si-Ti-C Systems

The pyrolysis (1000 °C) of a liquid poly(vinylmethyl-co-methyl)silazane modified by tetrakis(dimethylamido)titanium in flowing ammonia, nitrogen and argon followed by the annealing (1000–1800 °C) of as-pyrolyzed ceramic powders have been investigated in detail. We first provide a comprehensive mechanistic study of the polymer-to-ceramic conversion based on TG experiments coupled with in-situ mass spectrometry and ex-situ solid-state NMR and FTIR spectroscopies of both the chemically modified polymer and the pyrolysis intermediates. The pyrolysis leads to X-ray amorphous materials with chemical bonding and ceramic yields controlled by the nature of the atmosphere. Then, the structural evolution of the amorphous network of ammonia-, nitrogen- and argon-treated ceramics has been studied above 1000 °C under nitrogen and argon by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. HRTEM images coupled with XRD confirm the formation of nanocomposites after annealing at 1400 °C. Their unique nanostructural feature appears to be the result of both the molecular origin of the materials and the nature of the atmosphere used during pyrolysis. Samples are composed of an amorphous Si-based ceramic matrix in which TiN_xC_y nanocrystals (x + y = 1) are homogeneously formed “in situ” in the matrix during the process and evolve toward fully crystallized compounds as TiN/Si₃N₄, TiN_xC_y (x + y = 1)/SiC and TiC/SiC nanocomposites after annealing to 1800 °C as a function of the atmosphere.     

电站锅炉中粉煤灰与SiC耐火材料结渣性研究

本文主要研究含Cr2O3的硅酸锆结合SiC耐火材料的抗粉煤灰侵蚀规律,将两种不同的粉煤灰平铺在SiC耐火材料上,作用温度为1250～1450 ℃,保温时间为40小时,然后用视频光学显微镜和XRD衍射图谱来确定其显微结构和物相组成,初步实验结果表明SiC质耐火材料具有较好的抗煤灰侵蚀性能.     

用锌有机源和CO2/H2混合气源PECVD沉积ZnO薄膜

在等离子体作用下,以CO2/H2混合气为氧源,Zn(C2H5)2锌为锌源,在单晶硅上生长出高度择优取向的氧化锌薄膜。X射线衍射分析表明,薄膜为六方结构,c轴高度择优;原子力显微镜观察到晶粒是有规律地按六方排布,薄膜的表面粗糙度较小;从光致发光谱还发现在380 nm处有非常强的紫外峰。     

大尺寸电阻加热式碳化硅晶体生长热场设计与优化

大尺寸低缺陷碳化硅(SiC)单晶体是功率器件和射频(RF)器件的重要基础材料,物理气相传输(physical vapor transport, PVT)法是目前生长大尺寸SiC单晶体的主要方法。获得大尺寸高品质晶体的核心是通过调节组分、温度、压力实现气相组分在晶体生长界面均匀定向结晶,同时尽可能减小晶体的热应力。本文对电阻加热式8英寸(1英寸=2.54 cm)碳化硅大尺寸晶体生长系统展开热场设计研究。首先建立描述碳化硅原料受热分解热质输运及其多孔结构演变、系统热输运的物理和数学模型,进而使用数值模拟方法研究加热器位置、加热器功率和辐射孔径对温度分布的影响及其规律,并优化热场结构。数值模拟结果显示,通过优化散热孔形状、保温棉的结构等设计参数,电阻加热式大尺寸晶体生长系统在晶锭厚度变化、多孔介质原料消耗的情况下均能达到较低的晶体横向温度梯度和较高的纵向温度梯度。     

1200 V碳化硅功率MOSFET低温特性的实验表征及分析

碳化硅功率MOSFET是宽禁带功率半导体器件的典型代表,具有优异的电气性能。基于低温环境下的应用需求,研究了1200 V碳化硅功率MOSFET在77.7 K至300 K温区的静/动态特性,定性分析了温度对碳化硅功率MOSFET性能的影响。实验结果显示,温度从300 K降低至77.7 K时,阈值电压上升177.24%,漏-源极击穿电压降低32.99%,栅极泄漏电流降低82.51%,导通电阻升高1142.28%,零栅压漏电流降低89.84%(300 K至125 K)。双脉冲测试显示,开通时间增大8.59%,关断时间降低16.86%,开关损耗增加48%。分析发现,碳化硅功率MOSFET较高的界面态密度和较差的沟道迁移率,是导致其在低温下性能劣化的主要原因。     

Enhancement of corrosion resistance of electrocodeposited Ni–SiC composites by magnetic field

The corrosion behavior and surface morphology of Ni–SiC composite coatings produced by electrodeposition with the aid of magnetic field were studied. The results of the electrochemical analysis including polarization resistance and potentiodynamic polarization curves showed that a magnetic field of 0.1 T could significantly improve the corrosion resistance of the composite. The electrochemical impedance spectra revealed that a passive layer was formed on the surface of the Ni–SiC coating with the magnetic field. The microstructures of electrodeposited Ni–SiC composite coatings were also examined. More SiC particles were found to be incorporated into the coating with the presence of magnetic field, which was considered to be one of the reasons for the enhancement of corrosion resistance as SiC particles were reported to be corrosion inhibitors. Contribution to special issue “Magnetic field effects in Electrochemistry”     

Molecularly engineered graphene surfaces for sensing applications: A review

Graphene is scientifically and commercially important because of its unique molecular structure which is monoatomic in thickness, rigorously two-dimensional and highly conjugated. Consequently, graphene exhibits exceptional electrical, optical, thermal and mechanical properties. Herein, we critically discuss the surface modification of graphene, the specific advantages that graphene-based materials can provide over other materials in sensor research and their related chemical and electrochemical properties. Furthermore, we describe the latest developments in the use of these materials for sensing technology, including chemical sensors and biosensors and their applications in security, environmental safety and diseases detection and diagnosis.