Oxidation temperature dependent properties of MgO thin film on alumina

The magnesium oxide thin films were prepared by thermal oxidation (in air) of vacuum evaporated magnesium thin film on alumina. It was found that oxidation temperature (623 K, 675 K and 723 K) and thickness (103 nm and 546 nm) dependent effects were prominently manifested in the surface morphology. Electrical and microwave properties (8-12 GHz) of the MgO thin films were also carried out. X-ray diffraction showed orientation along (2 0 0) and (2 2 0) directions. Flowerlike morphology was observed from SEM and flake like morphology for films of higher thickness oxidized at higher temperatures. The magnesium oxide thin film showed NTC behavior. Microwave transmittance was found to increase with increase in oxidation temperature but was lower than alumina. Frequency and oxidation temperature dependent microwave permittivity was obtained. The microwave dielectric constant varied in the range 8.3-15.3.     

Composition depth profiles of Bi3.15Nd0.85Ti3O12 thin films studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

In the present work, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to investigate the composition depth profiles of Bi_3.15Nd_0.85Ti₃O₁₂ (BNT) ferroelectric thin film, which was prepared on Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO₂/Si(1 0 0) substrates by chemical solution deposition (CSD). It is shown that there are three distinct regions formed in BNT film, which are surface layer, bulk film and interface layer. The surface of film is found to consist of one outermost Bi-rich region. High resolution spectra of the O 1s peak in the surface can be decomposed into two components of metallic oxide oxygen and surface adsorbed oxygen. The distribution of component elements is nearly uniform within the bulk film. In the bulk film, high resolution XPS spectra of O 1s, Bi 4f, Nd 3d, Ti 2p are in agreement with the element chemical states of the BNT system. The interfacial layer is formed through the interdiffusion between the BNT film and Pt electrode. In addition, the Ar⁺-ion sputtering changes lots of Bi³⁺ ions into Bi⁰ due to weak Bi-O bond and high etching energy.     

TiO2 thick films supported on reticulated macroporous Al2O3 foams and their photoactivity in phenol mineralization

TiO₂ thick films deposited on macroporous reticulated Al₂O₃ foams with pore size of 10 ppi and 15 ppi were prepared using dip coating from slurries of Aeroxide^® P25 nanopowder and precipitated titania. All prepared films have sufficiently good adhesion to the surface of the substrate also in case of strongly cracked films. No measurable release of deposited TiO₂ after repeated photocatalytic cycles was observed. The photocatalytic activity was characterized as the rate of mineralization of aqueous phenol solution under irradiation of UVA light by TOC technique. The best activity was obtained with Aeroxide^® P25 coated Al₂O₃ foam with the pore size of 10 ppi, annealed at 600 °C. The optimal annealing temperature for preparation of films from precipitated titania could be determined at 700 °C. Films prepared by sol-gel deposition technique were considerably thinner compared to coatings made of suspensions and their photocatalytic activity was significantly smaller.     

Valence control of cobalt oxide thin films by annealing atmosphere

The cobalt oxide (CoO and Co₃O₄) thin films were successfully prepared using a spin-coating technique by a chemical solution method with CH₃OCH₂CH₂OH and Co(NO₃)₂·6H₂O as starting materials. The grayish cobalt oxide films had uniform crystalline grains with less than 50 nm in diameter. The phase structure is able to tailor by controlling the annealing atmosphere and temperature, in which Co₃O₄ thin film was obtained by annealing in air at 300-600, and N₂ at 300, and transferred to CoO thin film by raising annealing temperature in N₂. The fitted X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra of the Co2p electrons are distinguishable from different valence states of cobalt oxide especially for their satellite structure. The valence control of cobalt oxide thin films by annealing atmosphere contributes to the tailored optical absorption property.     

Fabrication of durable hydrophobic surfaces through surface texturing

Low surface energy polymer thin-films can be applied to surfaces to increase hydrophobicity and reduce friction for a variety of applications. However, wear of these thin films, resulting from repetitive rubbing against another surface, is of great concern. In this study, we show that highly hydrophobic surfaces with persistent abrasion resistance can be fabricated by depositing fluorinated carbon thin films on sandblasted glass surfaces. In our study, fluorinated carbon thin films were deposited on sandblasted and as-received smooth glass using deep reactive ion etching equipment by only activating the passivation step. The surfaces of the samples were then rubbed with FibrMet abrasive papers in a reciprocating motion using an automatic friction abrasion analyzer. During the rubbing, the static and kinetic friction forces were also measured. The surface wetting properties were then characterized using a video-based contact angle measuring system to determine the changes in water contact angle as a result of rubbing. Assessment of the wear properties of the thin films was based on the changes in the water contact angles of the coated surfaces after repetitive rubbing. It was found that, for sandblasted glass coated with fluorinated carbon film, the water contact angle remained constant throughout the entire rubbing process, contrary to the smooth glass coated with fluorinated carbon film which showed a drastic decrease in water contact angle with the increasing number of rubbing cycles. In addition, the static and kinetic friction coefficients of the sandblasted glass were also much lower than those of the smooth glass.     

Optical properties of p-type CuAlO2 thin film grown by rf magnetron sputtering

We report the structural and optical properties of copper aluminium oxide (CuAlO₂) thin films, which were prepared on c-plane sapphire substrates by the radio frequency magnetron sputtering method. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) along with X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms that the films consist of delafossite CuAlO₂ phase only. The optical absorption studies show the indirect and direct bandgap is 1.8 eV and 3.45 eV, respectively. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements show three emission peaks at 360 nm (3.45 eV), 470 nm (2.63 eV) and 590 nm (2.1 eV). The first one is near band edge emission while the other two are originated from defects.     

Enhanced photoluminescence of rare-earth doped films prepared by off-axis pulsed laser deposition

Alternate pulsed laser deposition from the host (Al₂O₃) and dopant (Er, Yb) targets has been used to prepare artificially nanostructured films in which the rare earth ion-ion separation is controlled in the nanometer scale in order to control energy transfer between ions. One series of films was prepared in the standard on-axis configuration, i.e. a static substrate being centred with respect to the plasma expansion axis. A second series of films was prepared by rotating the substrate with respect to a shifted axis parallel to the plasma expansion one (off-axis configuration). The latter configuration leads to films with enhanced thickness and Er related photoluminescence intensity uniformity. More interestingly, the Er related photoluminescence lifetime in as-grown films increases up to 2.5 ms, which is much higher than the maximum value of 1 ms obtained for the on-axis configuration films. This enhancement is discussed in terms of a decrease of defect density when using the off-axis configuration.     

Structural characterization of AlN films synthesized by pulsed laser deposition

We obtained AlN thin films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) from a polycrystalline AlN target using a pulsed KrF* excimer laser source (248 nm, 25 ns, intensity of ∼4 × 10⁸ W/cm², repetition rate 3 Hz, 10 J/cm² laser fluence). The target-Si substrate distance was 5 cm. Films were grown either in vacuum (10⁻⁴ Pa residual pressure) or in nitrogen at a dynamic pressure of 0.1 and 10 Pa, using a total of 20,000 subsequent pulses. The films structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and spectral ellipsometry (SE). Our TEM and XRD studies showed a strong dependence of the film structure on the nitrogen content in the ambient gas. The films deposited in vacuum exhibited a high quality polycrystalline structure with a hexagonal phase. The crystallite growth proceeds along the c-axis, perpendicular to the substrate surface, resulting in a columnar and strongly textured structure. The films grown at low nitrogen pressure (0.1 Pa) were amorphous as seen by TEM and XRD, but SE data analysis revealed ∼1.7 vol.% crystallites embedded in the amorphous AlN matrix. Increasing the nitrogen pressure to 10 Pa promotes the formation of cubic (≤10 nm) crystallites as seen by TEM but their density was still low to be detected by XRD. SE data analysis confirmed the results obtained from the TEM and XRD observations.     

Low-temperature liquid phase deposited TiO2 films on stainless steel for photogenerated cathodic protection applications

The low-temperature synthesis of anatase TiO₂ films was an imperative requirement for their application to corrosion prevention of metals. In this paper, a liquid phase deposition (LPD) technique was developed to prepare TiO₂ films on SUS304 stainless steel (304SS) at a relatively low temperature (80 °C). The as-prepared films were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS). It was observed that a dense and crack-free anatase TiO₂ film with a thickness about 300 nm was obtained. The film contained some fluorine and nitrogen elements, and the amounts of these impurities were greatly decreased upon calcination. Under the white light illumination, the electrode potential of TiO₂ coated 304SS rapidly shifted to a more negative direction. Moreover, the photopotential of TiO₂/304SS electrode showed more negative values with increased film thickness. In conclusion, the photogenerated cathodic protection of 304SS was achieved by the low-temperature LPD-derived TiO₂ film.     

Molecule oxygen-driven shaping of gold islands under thermal annealing

Fabrication of the gold micro/nano-structure in a controlled manner has recently attracted considerable interest for its potential applications. With the help of the AFM and XRD measurements, our research on the annealing of the evaporated thin gold films under different thermal environments reveals that O₂ molecule, of which the influence has been generally ignored in the prevenient literatures, can play a very important role in the formation of gold island film. It is experimentally found that the molecule oxygen-driven migration of gold atoms can only occur at a high enough temperature. The time-dependent morphological development of the thin gold film annealing in O₂ is also observed, which is determined by the reduction of the whole interface energy. The morphological features of the Au islands, such as the flat top surfaces and the steep edges, point to the essential role of the interaction between oxygen and the specifically oriented gold surface during the structural evolution.