XPS study of residual oxide layers on p-GaAs surfaces

The total thickness and composition of a residual oxide layer after chemical etching of p-GaAs:Zn + In has been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The variation of the Ga to As oxides ratio along the depth has been determined. A concentration correlation of doping isovalent impurity and the dislocation density with the composition of residual oxides is looked for. The total thickness of the residual oxide layer on p- and semi-insulating GaAs is about 5–6 Å. It is found that the Ga₂O₃ quantity in the oxide bulk is greater than the same value of As₂O₃ in highly In-doped samples. In-doping in concentrations over 1.5 × 10¹⁹ cm⁻³ increases the Ga₂O₃ content and the density of the residual oxide. This influence is determined by reducing the dislocation density and changing the point defect environment. The presence of As-rich precipitates on the dislocations and in the matrix decreases the sputtering time and changes the composition of the residual oxide. The correlation between the type of high temperature dislocations revealed by Abrahams-Buiocchi (AB) etching and the oxide layer composition is shown. The results obtained could be used in the first stages of epitaxial growth, metallization and other technological processes of semiconductor device and ICs fabrication.     

Structural and adhesion properties of surfaces functionalized with polyelectrolytes and polystyrene particles

Surfaces functionalized with polystyrene particles and polyelectrolytes were used to investigate the morphological and adhesion properties of composite substrates. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies showed that surfaces with non-homogeneous topography have non-homogeneous adhesion properties. In addition, the homogeneity of the adhesion properties is dependent upon the chemical species used to functionalize the surface. Force volume (FV) imaging was utilized to map the adhesion of the fabricated substrates with high-resolution. The FV studies revealed that the hydrophobicity of the surface is not uniform despite the fact that the surface was functionalized with the same polyelectrolyte. The analysis methodology we report here opens the possibility to design better surfaces for future tissue engineering applications.     

Site-directed exchange studies with combinatorial libraries of nanostructures

We describe a new combinatorial method for studying the exchange between solution adsorbates and nanoscale features within libraries generated via dip-pen nanolithography. Four different compounds, 1-octadecanethiol, 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid, ferrocene (11-mercaptoundecyl), and ferrocene (11-mercapto-1-oxoundecyl), are studied on amorphous and single-crystal gold substrates. This series of adsorbates allows us to compare the exchange properties of patterns of nanoscale features as a function of composition, feature size, and type of underlying substrate. Moreover, these properties can be compared and contrasted with bulk SAM properties. The novel strategy provides not only a method for initiating site-specific exchange processes but also a way of extracting kinetic information about the rate of such processes in situ.     

IR-spectral investigation of the structure of glasses in the Fe2O3-V2O5 system

The structure of glasses in the Fe₂O₃-V₂O₅ system in the 0–50 mol% Fe₂O₃ range is studied by IR-spectroscopy. It is found that the introduction of Fe₂O₃ favours the transformation of the VO₅-groups into VO₄ ones. This effect may be shown with the aid of IR-spectra, owing to the fact that these glasses are characterized by two high-frequency bands at 1020 and 930 cm^–1. The first is determined by the vibrations of the short V=O nonbridging bonds in the VO₅-groups, while the second is assigned to the vibrations of the V—O-bonds in deformed VO₄-tetrahedra.

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IR-spektroskopische Strukturuntersuchung von Gläsern des Systems Fe₂O₃-V₂O₅

Zusammenfassung Die Struktur von Gläsern des Systems Fe₂O₃-V₂O₅ in dem Bereich von 0–50 Molprozent Fe₂O₃ wurde mit Hilfe der IR-Spektroskopie untersucht. Zusatz von Fe₂O₃ begünstigt die Umwandlung der VO₅- in VO₄-Gruppen. Das kann in den IR-Spektren durch zwei Banden bei 1020 und 930 cm^–1 festgestellt werden. Die erste wird durch Schwingungen der kurzen V=O-Nichtbrücken-bindungen in den VO₅-Gruppen verursacht, die zweite wird auf Schwingungen der V—O-Bindungen in dem deformierten VO₄-Tetraeder zurückgeführt.

     

Increasing the reliability of the identification by high-performance liquid chromatography by means of selective and/or sensitive detection

An approach for quantitative assessment of the reliability of identification at high-performance liquid chromatography is proposed. The quantitative assessment of identification is useful for determination of selectivity at validation of the analytical methods. Chromatograms and spectra of the analytes are presented as maps in which characteristics as retention times, detector's signals, maxima and minima and another characteristics of spectra are used for identification. A formula for quantitative determination of the contribution of these characteristics on the reliability of identification is given. Using the more selective diode array detector than the convenient UV detector increases the reliability by several orders. A similar result was obtained when the UV detector was replaced with the more sensitive and selective fluorescence detector. Despite of the small contribution of the separation to the reliability its influence is very important for distinguishing of isomers because their spectra are identical.     

Guilaume Greyling and Harald Pasch: Thermal field-flow fractionation of polymers

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry -     

Adsorption of amino acids on indium arsenide (1 0 0) surfaces: Assessment of passivation capabilities

Angle-Resolved X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (ARXPS) was used to examine amino acid bonding and oxide removal on InAs(1 0 0) surfaces. Five amino acids were studied, including cysteine, lysine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and arginine. Observations on the ability of specific functional groups to prevent oxide formation were made by examining the thickness of oxide films on the functionalize surfaces. Amino acids that possessed more than one functional group having resonance were shown to most effectively affect oxide formation. The influence of these groups on the electronic structure of InAs(1 0 0) provides insight into how multifunctional passivation strategies could be beneficial, as well as showing how biological molecules might affect detection when InAs(1 0 0) is used as a platform.