Crystallization and surface segregation in CuIn0.7Ga0.3Se2 thin films on Cu foils grown by pulsed laser deposition

This work reports unexpected crystallization and segregation behavior of CuIn_0.7Ga_0.3Se₂ (CIGS) thin films deposited on flexible Cu foils by pulsed laser deposition. A composite-type microstructure containing nanometer-scaled CIGS crystallites embedded in amorphous Cu-rich matrix is observed even at the high temperature of 500 °C. The findings are attributed to very fast condensation of the ablated species and random nucleation induced from the amorphous matrix. Cu-rich particulates tend to precipitate on the film surface, and their average size, shape, number density and composition exhibit a strong dependence on the substrate temperature up to 500 °C. The similar crystallization properties of the films on Cu foils and glass substrates are noticeable to the use of Cu foils for flexible solar cells.     

Efficient one-pot synthesis of Ag nanoparticles loaded on N-doped multiphase TiO2 hollow nanorod arrays with enhanced photocatalytic activity

The simultaneous Ag loaded and N-doped TiO₂ hollow nanorod arrays with various contents of silver (Ag/N-THNAs) were successfully synthesized on glass substrates by one-pot liquid phase deposition (LPD) method using ZnO nanorod arrays as template. The catalysts were characterized by Raman spectrum, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), ultraviolet-vis (UV-vis) absorption spectrum and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results suggest that AgNO₃ additive in the precursor solutions not only can promote the anatase-to-rutile phase transition, but also influence the amount of N doping in the samples. The photocatalytic activity of all the samples was evaluated by photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution. The sample exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity under UV light illumination when the AgNO₃ concentration in the precursor solution was 0.03 M, due to Ag nanoparticles acting as electron sinks; When the AgNO₃ concentration was 0.07 M, the sample performed best under visible light illumination, attributed to the synergetic effects of Ag loading, N doping, and the multiphase structure (anatase/rutile).     

Structural properties of the titanium dioxide thin films grown by atomic layer deposition at various numbers of reaction cycles

A dependence of structural properties of TiO₂ films grown on both Si- and Ti-substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD) at the temperature range of 250-300 °C from titanium ethoxide and water on the number of reaction cycles N was investigated using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-Ray diffraction (XRD). TiO₂ films grown on both Si- and Ti-substrates revealed amorphous structure at low values of N < 400. However, an increase of N up to values 400-3600 resulted in the growth of polycrystalline TiO₂ with structure of anatase on both types of substrates and according to XRD-measurements the sizes of crystallites rose with the increase of N. The maximum anatase crystallite size for TiO₂ grown on Ti-substrate was found to be on ∼35% lower in comparing with that for TiO₂ grown on Si-substrate. A use of titanium methoxide as a Ti precursor with the ligand size smaller than in case of titanium ethoxide allowed to observe an influence of the ligand size on both the growth per cycle and structural properties of TiO₂. The average growth per cycle of TiO₂ deposited from titanium methoxide and water (0.052 ± 0.01 nm/cycle) was essentially higher than that for TiO₂ grown from titanium ethoxide and water (0.043 ± 0.01 nm/cycle). Ligands of smaller sizes were found to promote the higher crystallinity of TiO₂ in comparison with the case of using the titanium precursor with ligands of bigger sizes.     

Deposition of quasi-crystal Al-doped ZnO thin films for photovoltaic device applications

Quasi-crystal aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) films were prepared by in situ radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering (sputtering without annealing) on glass substrates. The influence of deposition parameters on the optoelectronic and structural properties of the in situ deposited quasi-crystal AZO films was investigated in order to compare resulting samples. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that the quasi-crystal AZO thin films have excellent crystallization improved with increase of the RF power and substrate temperature, with an extremely preferential c-axis orientation exhibit sharp and narrow XRD pattern similar to that of single-crystal. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images show that quasi-crystal AZO thin films have uniform grains and the grain size increase with the increase of RF power and substrate temperature. Craters of irregular size with the columnar structure are observed in the quasi-crystal AZO thin films at a lower substrate temperature while many spherical shaped grains appeared at a higher substrate temperature. The average optical transmittance of all the quasi-crystal AZO films was over 85% in the 400-800 nm wavelength range. The resistivity of 4.176 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm with the grain size of 76.4891 nm was obtained in the quasi-crystal AZO thin film deposited at 300 °C, under sputtering power of 140 W.     

Optical and electrical characteristics of Al-doped ZnO thin films prepared by aqueous phase deposition

Transparent conducting Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films have been deposited by sol-gel route. Starting from an aqueous solution of zinc acetate by adding aluminum chloride as dopant, a c-axis oriented polycrystalline ZnO thin film 100 nm in thickness could be spin-coated on glass substrates via a two-step annealing process under reducing atmosphere. The effects of thermal annealing and dopant concentration on the structural, electrical and optical properties of AZO thin films were investigated. The post-treated AZO films exhibited a homogenous dense microstructure with grain sizes less than 10 nm as characterized by SEM photographs. The annealing atmosphere has prominent impact on the crystallinity of the films which will in turn influence the electrical conductivity. By varying the doping concentrations, the optical and electrical properties could be further adjusted. An optimal doping concentration of Al/Zn = 2.25 at.% was obtained with minimum resistivity of 9.90 × 10⁻³ Ω-cm whereas the carrier concentration and mobility was 1.25 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³ and 5.04 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, respectively. In this case, the optical transmittance in the visible region is over 90%.     

Effect of annealing on the nanoscratch behavior of multilayer Si0.8Ge0.2/Si films

In this study, we examined the nanoscratch behavior of annealed multilayered silicon-germanium (SiGe) films comprising alternating sublayers (Si) deposited using an ultrahigh-vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHV/CVD) system. Annealing consisted of ex situ thermal treatment in a furnace system. We used a nanoscratch technique to investigate the nanotribological behavior of the SiGe films and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to observe deformation phenomena. Our AFM morphological studies of the SiGe films revealed that pile-up phenomena occurred on both sides of each scratch. The scratched surfaces of the SiGe films that had been subjected to various annealing conditions exhibited significantly different features, it is conjectured that cracking dominates in the case of SiGe films while ploughing dominates during the scratching process. We obtained higher coefficients of friction (μ) when the ramped force was set at 6000 μN, rather than 2000 μN, suggesting that annealing of SiGe films leads to higher shear resistance; annealing treatment not only produced misfit dislocations in the form of a significantly wavy sliding surface but also promoted scratching resistance.     

Improving the Mechanical Properties of Polycarbonate Nanocomposites with Plasma‐Modified Carbon Nanofibers

The mechanical properties of polycarbonate film embedded with carbon nanofibers were studied based on plasma surface modification of carbon nanofibers by the use of polystyrene. The nanofiber surfaces were modified by various processing conditions including plasma polymerization power, nanofiber concentration, and ultrasonication time. The tensile strength and Young's modulus of the carbon nanofiber‐polycarbonate composites were then measured. The mechanical behavior of the composite was found to be affected by dispersion of the nanofibers. Higher plasma power resulted in improved mechanical strength. A maximum strength (10% increase) was achieved at a low concentration (1 wt.%) of nanofibers. The optimization of ultrasonication time indicated that the maximum strength occurred at different times for the composites with different concentrations of the modified carbon nanofibers.     

Isotope Effects in the Electrochemical Reduction of Oxalic Acid-D2 and Benzoic Acid-D

Abstract

The electrochemical reduction of model carboxylic acid at lead cathodes in deuterated media was studied for potential use in the synthesis of special deuterated compounds.

Oxalic acid-d₂ in D₂O gives good yields of glyoxylic acid-d₂. An unexpected large isotope effect of 5.3 ± 1.7 was found in this reaction, leading to significant depletion of deuterium content in the aldehyde group.

Benzoic acid-d in CD₃OD/diluted D₂SO₄ yields benzyl alcohol-d, 7,7-d₂. The isotope effect of 2.4 ± 1.0 is within the expected range. No deuterium is incorporated into the aromatic nucleus. Essentially unlabelled benzyl alcohol is obtained in CD₃OH/dil. H₂SO₄.     

脉冲激光沉积法制备的ZnO薄膜的低阈值电抽运紫外随机激射

分别采用直流反应溅射法和脉冲激光沉积法在硅衬底上沉积ZnO薄膜, 用X射线衍射、扫描电镜、光致发光谱等手段对两种方法沉积的ZnO薄膜的结晶状态、 表面形貌和光致发光等进行了表征. 进一步对比研究了以上述两种方法制备的ZnO薄膜作为发光层的金属-绝缘体-半导体结构器件的电抽运紫外随机激射. 结果表明, 与以溅射法制备的ZnO薄膜作为发光层的器件相比, 以脉冲激光沉积法制备的ZnO薄膜为发光层的器件具有更低的紫外光随机激射阈值电流和更高的输出光功率. 这是由于脉冲激光沉积法制备的ZnO薄膜中的缺陷更少, 从而显著地减少了紫外光在光散射过程中的光损耗. 关键词： 随机激射 ZnO薄膜 脉冲激光沉积 溅射     

沉积温度对硫化锌(ZnS)薄膜的结晶和光学特性影响研究

对不同温度下沉积的ZnS薄膜的结晶情况和光学特性进行了研究, 结果表明：沉积温度对ZnS薄膜的物理和光学特性有较大影响, 不同的温度沉积的ZnS薄膜具有不同的择优取向, 牢固度也大不相同; 不同沉积温度下, ZnS薄膜的光学常数也不尽相同. 温度为115 ℃和155 ℃时, ZnS薄膜的物理性能和光学性能较差, 不适合空间用光学薄膜的研制使用. 而190 ℃和230 ℃沉积温度下所得薄膜具有较好的物理和光学性能, 适合于不同要求的空间用薄膜器件的研制使用. 关键词： 硫化锌薄膜 沉积温度 表面形貌 光学常数