Annealing of silver nanolayers sputtered on polytetrafluoroethylene

Silver nanolayers sputtered on polytetrafluoroethylene and their changes induced by post‐deposition annealing at 100–300 °C are studied. Changes in surface morphology and roughness are examined by atomic force microscopy and by measurement of electrical sheet resistance by two‐point technique. Chemical composition was determined by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrokinetic analysis in dependence on the gold layer thickness. The annealing at 300 °C leads to significant rearrangement of the silver layer, and the transition threshold increases to 35 nm. The presence of oxidized structures on silver‐coated samples is observed in XPS spectra and by electrokinetic analysis, too. Annealing of pristine and silver‐coated poly(tetrafluoroethylene) at 300 °C results in significant change of the sample surface morphology and chemistry. There is observed formation of isolated silver islands on the surface, which could be connected with silver melting. Later, the silver agglomeration takes place. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of post-deposition annealing on chemical composition of SiNx film in SiO2/SiNx/SiO2/Si stacked structure

To systematically evaluate the quality of SiN_x films in multi-stacked structures, we investigated the effects of post-deposition annealing (PDA) on the film properties of SiN_x within the SiO₂/SiN_x/SiO₂/Si stacked structure by performing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray reflectivity (XRR), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscope–electron energy loss spectroscopy (STEM-EELS) analyses. The XPS results showed that PDA induces the oxidation of the SiN_x layer. In particular, new finding is that Si-rich SiN_x in the SiN_x layer is preferentially oxidized by PDA even in multi-stacked structure. The XRR results showed that the SiN_x layer becomes thinner, whereas the interface layer between the SiN_x layer and Si becomes thicker. It is concluded by STEM-EELS and XPS that this interface layer is SiON layer. The density of N–H and Si–H bonding within the stacked structure strongly depends on the PDA temperature. Our study helps elucidate the properties of SiN_x films in stacked structures from various perspectives.     

嵌段共聚物薄膜快速自组装方法

嵌段共聚物 (BCP) 薄膜可通过不同的退火方法诱导其微相分离,从而获得大面积圆柱状、层状和球状等纳米图案。这些长程有序的纳米结构形态,已经广泛应用在纳米光刻和电子器件等多个领域中。目前,有效且快速的退火方法仍然是BCP薄膜自组装技术中的研究热点。本文首先介绍了制备BCP薄膜纳米结构图案常用的退火技术,然后综述了三种新型快速退火技术,最后分析总结了这些退火技术的优缺点。     

Water-annealing regulated protein-based magnetic nanofiber materials: tuning silk structure and properties to enhance cell response under magnetic fields

In this study, flexible silk fibroin protein and biocompatible barium hexaferrite (BaM) nanoparticles were combined and electrospun into nanofibers, and their physical properties could be tuned through the mixing ratios and a water annealing process. Structural analysis indicates that the protein structure of the materials is fully controllable by the annealing process. The mechanical properties of the electrospun composites can be significantly improved by annealing, while the magnetic properties of barium hexaferrite are maintained in the composite. Notably, in the absence of a magnetic field, cell growth increased slightly with increasing BaM content. Application of an external magnetic field during in vitro cell biocompatibility study of the materials demonstrated significantly larger cell growth. We propose a mechanism to explain the effects of water annealing and magnetic field on cell growth. This study indicates that these composite electrospun fibers may be widely used in the biomedical field for controllable cell response through applying different external magnetic fields.     

硅单粒子位移损伤多尺度模拟研究

本文结合分子动力学方法和动力学蒙特卡罗方法, 研究了单个粒子入射硅引起的位移损伤缺陷的产生和演化过程; 基于Shockley-Read-Hall理论计算了单个粒子入射引起的位移损伤缺陷导致的泄漏电流增加及其演化过程, 比较了缺陷退火因子与泄漏电流退火因子之间的差异, 并将计算结果与实验值进行了对比. 结果表明, 计算泄漏电流时, 仅考虑一种缺陷的情况下缺陷退火因子与泄漏电流退火因子相同, 考虑两种缺陷类型情况下二者在数值上有所区别, 但缺陷退火因子仍能在一定程度上反映泄漏电流的退火行为. 分子动力学模拟中采用Stillinger-Weber势函数和Tersoff势函数时缺陷退火因子和泄漏电流退火因子与实验结果一致, 基于Stillinger-Weber势函数的计算结果与实验值更为接近.     

Graphene screen‐printed radio‐frequency identification devices on flexible substrates

Despite the great promise of printed flexible electronics from 2D crystals, and especially graphene, few scalable applications have been reported so far that can be termed roll‐to‐roll compatible. Here we combine screen printed graphene with photonic annealing to realize radio‐frequency identification devices with a reading range of up to 4 meters. Most notably our approach leads to fatigue resistant devices showing less than 1% deterioration of electrical properties after 1000 bending cycles. The bending fatigue resistance demonstrated on a variety of technologically relevant plastic and paper substrates renders the material highly suitable for various printable wearable devices, where repeatable dynamic bending stress is expected during usage. All applied printing and post‐processing methods are compatible with roll‐to‐roll manufacturing and temperature sensitive flexible substrates providing a platform for the scalable manufacturing of mechanically stable and environmentally friendly graphene printed electronics.

     

Time‐resolved investigation of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 growth and Ga gradient formation during fast selenisation of metallic precursors

Ga segregation at the backside of Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ solar cell absorbers is a commonly observed phenomenon for a large variety of sequential fabrication processes. Here, we investigate the correlation between Se incorporation, phase formation and Ga segregation during fast selenisation of Cu–In–Ga precursor films in elemental selenium vapour. Se incorporation and phase formation are analysed by real‐time synchrotron‐based X‐ray diffraction and fluorescence analysis. Correlations between phase formation and depth distributions are gained by interrupting the process at several points and by subsequent ex situ cross‐sectional electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The presented results reveal that the main share of Se incorporation takes place within a few seconds during formation of In–Se at the top part of the film, accompanied by outdiffusion of In out of a ternary Cu–In–Ga phase. Surprisingly, CuInSe₂ starts to form at the surface on top of the In–Se layer, leading to an intermediate double graded Cu depth distribution. The remaining Ga‐rich metal phase at the back is finally selenised by indiffusion of Se. On the basis of a proposed growth model, we discuss possible strategies and limitations for the avoidance of Ga segregation during fast selenisation of metallic precursors. Solar cells made from samples selenised with a total annealing time of 6.5 min reached conversion efficiencies of up to 14.2 % (total area, without anti‐reflective coating). The evolution of the Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ diffraction signals reveals that the minimum process time for high‐quality Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ absorbers is limited by cation ordering rather than Se incorporation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

浅析电子型掺杂铜氧化物超导体的退火过程

铜氧化物高温超导体的发现, 打破了基于电声子相互作用BCS理论所预言的超导转变温度极限, 掀开了高温超导材料探索和高温超导机理研究的序幕. 根据掺杂类型的不同, 铜氧化物超导材料可以分为空穴型掺杂和电子型掺杂两类. 受限于样品, 对电子型掺杂铜氧化物的研究工作远少于空穴型掺杂体系. 本文简要回顾有关电子型掺杂铜氧化物超导体近期研究成果, 通过对比电子型掺杂和空穴型掺杂铜氧化物的相图来阐明电子型掺杂铜氧化物的研究对探索高温超导机理的必要性, 并特别针对电子型掺杂样品制备中的关键因素“退火过程”展开讨论. 结合课题组最新实验结果和相关实验报道我们发现电子型掺杂铜氧化物超导体在制备过程中除受到温度和氧分压的影响外, 退火效果还受到界面应力的强烈调制. 在综合考虑样品生长过程中温度、气氛及应力等多种因素的基础上, 探讨了“保护退火”方法导致电子型体系化学掺杂相图变化的起因.     

Fabrication of Cu2ZnSn(SxSe1−x)4 thin film solar cell by single step sulfo-selenization of stacked metallic precursors

We have synthesized an efficient Cu₂ZnSn(S_xSe_1−x)₄ (CZTSSe) absorbers by using single-step rapid thermal sulfo-selenization process of sputtered stack metallic precursor (Zn/Sn/Cu) films. The structural and morphological studies confirm that the suitability of the rapid thermal sulfo-selenization process for the synthesis of a CZTSSe absorber without any secondary phases with large grains. The annealing atmosphere with a mixed-chalcogen source enhances the grain growth of the CZTSSe absorber as compared with pure Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) and Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ (CZTSe) absorbers. The CZTSSe thin film solar cell shows the best conversion efficiency of ∼7%.     

Microstructure characterization of short-chain branching polyethylene with differential scanning calorimetry and successive selfnucleation/annealing thermal fractionation

A series of the copolymers of ethylene with 1-hexene(M1–M9) synthesized by metallocene catalyst Et[Ind]2ZrCl2/MAO was studied by differential scanning calorimetry and successive self-nucleation and annealing(SSA) thermal fractionation. The distribution of methylene sequence length(MSL) in the different copolymers was determined using the SSA method. The comonomer contents of samples M4 and M5 are 2.04 mol% and 2.78 mol%, respectively. Both M4 and M5 have low comonomer content and their MSL distribution profiles exhibit a monotonous increase trend with their MSL. The longest MSL of M5 is 167, and its corresponding molar percent is 43.95%, which is higher than that of M4. Moreover, the melting temperature(Tm) of M5 is also higher than that of M4. The comonomer contents of samples M7, M8, and M9 are 8.73 mol%, 14.18 mol% and 15.05 mol%, respectively. M7, M8, and M9 have high comonomer contents, and their MSL distribution profiles display unimodality. M7 has a lower peak value of 33 and a narrow MSL distribution, resulting in a Tm lower than that of M8 and M9. The MSL and its distribution are also key points that influence the melting behavior of copolymers. Sometimes, MSL and its distribution of copolymers have a greater impact on it than the total comonomer contents, which is different from traditional views.