A new aluminum iron oxide Schottky photodiode designed via sol–gel coating method

A novel aluminum iron oxide(Al/AlFe2O4/p-Si) Schottky photodiode was successfully fabricated via the sol–gel coating process. The microstructure of the spinel ferrite(AlFe2O4) was examined by atomic force microscopy. The current–voltage characteristics of the fabricated photodiode were studied under dark and different illumination conditions at room temperature. By using the thermionic emission theory, the forward bias I–V characteristics of the photodiode are analyzed to determine the main electrical parameters such as the ideality factor(n) and barrier height(ΦB0) of the photodiode. The values of n and ΦB0 for all conditions are found to be about 7.00 and 0.76 eV, respectively. In addition,the values of series resistance(Rs) are determined using Cheung's method and Ohm's law. The values of Rs and shunt resistance(Rsh) are decreased with the increase of illumination intensity. These new spinel ferrites will open a new avenue to other spinel structure materials for optoelectronic devices in the near future.     

Pyroelectric properties and structural defects of a layered TlInS2 crystal doped with lanthanum

The results of investigations of the pyroelectric current in a layered TlInS₂ crystal doped with lanthanum are presented. A comparative analysis of the obtained results and data of photo-induced current transient spectroscopy has been performed. The revealed features of the contribution from electrically active defects to pyroelectric properties of the crystal have been discussed.     

Photovoltaic currents and activity of structural defects in a ferroelectric–semiconductor TlInS<Subscript>2</Subscript>: La single crystal

This paper reports on the results of the investigation of electrically active defects in the crystal structure in a layered ferroelectric–semiconductor TlInS₂: La crystal by photoinduced current transient spectroscopy (PICTS). It has been found that there are states of the crystal that differ in the magnitude of the photoresponse varying within four orders of magnitude, which is interpreted in terms of the differences in states of the domain structure of the crystal. The specific features of the recording of thermal emission from defects in the presence of an additional contribution from the photovoltaic component of the response of the crystal to excitation with light have been discussed.     

Effect of external fields on the memory effect of the incommensurate phase in the ferroelectric-semiconductor TlGaSe<Subscript>2</Subscript>

The effect of external fields (dc electric field, light illumination) on the memory effect of the incommensurate phase in the ferroelectric-semiconductor TlGaSe₂ is studied using the measured dielectric constant. The results obtained are discussed. It is shown for the first time that the effect of external fields on the anomaly related to the memory effect in TlGaSe₂ can be reduced to the following universal empirical rule: when a sample is held for many hours at a constant temperature T ₀ in the temperature range of the incommensurate phase in a dc electric field, the deflection amplitude in the low-temperature part of the anomaly in the temperature dependence of the relative change in the dielectric constant Δ?/? increases (the deflection in the high-temperature part of the Δ?/? anomaly disappears) as compared to this segment in the dependence obtained during isothermal annealing of this sample at the same temperature without an electric field. The crystal remembers its thermal history at a temperature that is several kelvins higher than T ₀. Light illumination increases the deflection amplitude in the high-temperature part of the Δ?/?(T) anomaly and shifts the temperature at which the crystal remembers its thermal history toward lower temperatures with respect to T ₀.     

Effect of the “negative chemical” pressure on the temperatures of phase transitions in the TlInS<Subscript>2</Subscript> layered crystal

The temperature dependences of the permittivity of TlInS_{2(1 −x)}Se_2x solid solutions have been experimentally investigated in the temperature range including the points of structural phase transitions in the solid solutions. It has been established that the isovalent substitution of selenium for sulfur in the anion sublattice of the TlInS_{2(1 − x)}Se_2x solid solutions shifts the phase transition temperatures T _i and T _c toward the low-temperature range with a simultaneous decrease in the temperature interval of the existence of the incommensurate phase. The T-x phase diagram is constructed for the solid solutions under study and the coordinates are determined for a critical point (of the Lifshitz type) at which the lines T _i (x) and T _c (x) converge in the phase diagram. The pattern of the T-x phase diagram for the TlInS_{2(1 − x)}Se_2x solid solutions has been analyzed within the phenomenological model of a virtual crystal.     

Photoelectric activity of structural defects of a single crystal of the ferroelectric-semiconductor TlInS2: La

Photoinduced current transient spectroscopy has been used in studying deep-level defects of the ferroelectric-semiconductor TlInS₂. The specific features of defect detection in the lanthanum-doped and undoped single crystals have been compared. The explanation of the decrease in the photoelectric activity of defects in the doped sample has been proposed.     

Unusual memory effects in an incommensurate phase of the TlInS2 ferroelectric semiconductor

The experimental data on memory effects in an incommensurate phase are analyzed both in undoped layered TlInS₂ crystals selected from different technological batches and in TlInS₂: La. Various types of unusual memory effect are detected. It is shown that the observed memory effects are due to pinning of the soliton superstructure by a defect density wave in the internal field of the electret state. Original Russian Text ? M.-H. Yu. Seyidov, R.A. Suleymanov, F. Salehli, S.S. Babayev, T.G. Mammadov, A.I. Nadjafov, G.M. Sharifov, 2009, published in Fizika Tverdogo Tela, 2009, Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 533–542.     

X-ray study of phase transitions in the system of solid solutions K2Pb4Nb10O30-Na2Pb4Nb10O30-K6W4Nb6O30

Boundaries of morphotropic phase transitions region in the system of solid solutions K₂Pb₄Nb₁₀O₃₀-Na₂Pb₄Nb₁₀O₃₀-K₆W₄Nb₆O₃₀ with the structure of the tetragonal tungsten bronze have been specified. Presence of the second morphotropic phase transition, perpendicular to the first one has been revealed. The temperature dependences of the structural parameters of some compounds have been investigated. The compounds with high values of Curie temperatures and working temperatures have been obtained.     

Esterification of Carboxylic Acids and Diacids by Trialkyl Borate under Solvent- and Catalyst-Free Conditions

Esterification or transesterification reactions are usually carried out in the presence of homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysts. However, recently a new method was reported for the esterification of carboxylic acids by tributyl borate under solvent- and catalyst-free conditions. In order to show the synthetic ability of trialkyl borate esters in the esterification reactions, here, the esterification of other carboxylic acids and diacids by tributyl-, triisoamyl-, and tribenzyl borate under the same conditions were reported. Some of the prepared ester and diester products have found wide applications as plasticizers and synthetic ester base lubricants. The esterification reactions have been cleanly carried out in the absence of any solvent under catalyst-free conditions. The maximum rate belongs to isoamyl trichloroacetate （VIb） which reached about 76% within about 6.5 h. On the basis of obtained findings, it seems that electron withdrawing groups on carboxylic acid facilitate the esterification reaction.     

Photodielectric effect in TlInS<Subscript>2</Subscript> activated by the La impurity

The influence of light on the low-frequency dielectric properties of the TlInS₂ layered crystal is investigated for the first time. It is established that the illumination of the crystal during measurements leads to a substantial change in the behavior of the temperature dependence of the permittivity ɛ of the TlInS₂ compound doped with the lanthanum impurity in the range of the existence of the incommensurate phase. The temperature dependences of the permittivity ε of the TlInS₂ compound doped with the lanthanum impurity after preliminary cooling of the crystal in constant electric fields with different strengths are studied for the first time. The inference is made that the experimentally observed photodielectric effect is associated with the localization of charge carriers at defect levels in the band gap of the crystal with the formation of local polarized states.