Femtosecond optical Kerr effect study of Ge(10)AS(40)S(30)Se(20) film

The results of the femtosecond optical heterodyne detection of optical Kerr effect at 805 nm with the 80 fs ultrafast pulses in amorphous Ge10As40S30Se20 film is reported in this paper. The film shows an optical non-linear response of: 200 fs under ultrafast 80 fs-pulse excitation and the values of real and imaginary parts of non-linear susceptibility chi((3)) were 9.0 X 10(-12) and -4.0 X 10(-12) esu, respectively. The large third-order non-linearity and ultrafast response are attributed to the ultrafast distortion of the electron orbits surrounding the average positions of the nucleus of Ge, As, S and Se atoms. This Ge10As40S30Se20 chalcogenide glass would be expected as a promising material for optical switching technique. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optical properties of ZnO thin film on gamma-LiAlO2 substrate grown by pulsed laser deposition

Optical properties were investigated of ZnO thin films grown oil (100) gamma-LiAlO2 (LAO) substrates by pulsed laser deposition method. C-axis oriented ZnO film was grown oil (100) LAO substrate at the substrate temperature of 550 degrees C. The transmittances of the films were over 85%. Peaks attributed to excitons were seen in the absorption spectra, indicating that the thin films have high crystallinity. Photoluminescence spectra were observed at room temperature; the peak at 550 urn is ascribed to oxygen vacancies in the ZnO films caused by the diffusion of Li from the substrate into the film during deposition. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Changing planar thin film growth into self-assembled island formation by adjusting experimental conditions

Illustrated in this paper are two examples of altering planar growth into self-assembled island formation by adapting experimental conditions. Partial oxidation, undersaturated solution and high temperature change Frank-Van der Merwe (FM) growth of Al0.3Ga0.7As in liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) into isolated island deposition. Low growth speed, high temperature and in situ annealing in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) cause the origination of InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) to happen while the film is still below critical thickness in Stranski-Krastanow (SK) mode. Sample morphologies are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or atomic force microscopy (AFM). It is suggested that such achievements are of value not only to fundamental researches but also to spheres of device applications as well. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anomalous temperature dependence of photoluminescence from a-C : H film deposited by energetic hydrocarbon ion beam

The temperature dependence of photoluminescence (PL) from a-C:H film deposited by CH3+ ion beam has been performed and an anomalous behavior has been reported. A transition temperature at which the PL intensity, peak position and full width at the half maximum change sharply was observed. It is proposed that different structure units. at least three, are responsible for such behavior. Above the transition point. increasing temperature will lead to the dominance of non-radiative recombination process, which quenches the PL overall and preferentially the red part, Possible emission mechanisms have been discussed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

The microstructure and its high-temperature annealing behaviours of a-Si : O : H film

The microstructure and its annealing behaviours of a-Si:O:H film prepared by PECVD are investigated in detail using micro-Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Infrared absorption spectroscopy. The results indicate that the as-deposited a-Si:O:H film is structural inhomogeneous, with Si-riched phases surrounded by O-riched phases. The Si-riched phases are found to be nonhydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si) clusters, and the O-riched phases SiOx:H (x approximate to 1. 35) are formed by random bonding of Si, O and H atoms. By high-temperature annealing at 1150 degreesC, the SiOx:H (x approximate to 1.35) matrix is shown to be transformed into SiO2 and SiOx ( x approximate to 0.64), during which all of the hydrogen atoms in the film escape and some of silicon atoms are separated from the SiOx:H ( x approximate to 1.35) matrix; The separated silicon atoms are found to be participated in the nucleation and growth processes of solid-phase crystallization of the a-Si clusters, nano-crystalline silicon (ne-Si) is then formed. The microstructure of the annealed film is thereby described with a multi-shell model, in which the ne-Si clusters are embedded in SiOx (x = 0.64) and SiO2. The former is located at the boundaries of the nc-Si clusters, with a thickness comparable with the scale of nc-Si clusters, and forms the transition oxide layer between the ne-Si and the SiO2 matrix.

Operational Optimization of GaN Thin Film Growth Employing Numerical Simulation in a Showerhead MOCVD Reactor

A detailed reaction-tran sport model was studied in a showerhead reactor for metal organic chemical vapor deposition of GaN film by using computational fluid dynamics simulation. It was found that flat flow lines without swirl are crucial to improve the uniformity of the film growth, and thin temperature gradient above the suscptor can increase the film deposition rate. By above-mentioned research, we can employ higher h (the distance from the susceptor to the inlet), P (operational pressure) and the rate of susceptor rotation to improve the film growth.

Controlled growth of silicon nanowires by solid-liquid-solid method and their formation mechanism

High quality silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were grown directly from n-(111) silicon single crystal substrate by using Au film as a metallic catalyst. The diameter and length of the formed nanowires are 30-60 nm and from several micrometers to sereral tens of micrometers, respectively. The effects of Au film thickness, annealing temperature, growth time and N-2 gas flow rate on the formation of the nanowires were experimentally investigated. The results confirmed that the silicon nanowires with controlled diameter, length, shape and orientation can be obtained via reasonably choosing and optimizing various technical conditions. The formation process of the silicon nanowires is analyzed qualitatively based on solid-liquid-solid growth mechanism.

Blue Luminescent Properties of Silicon Nanowires Grown by a Solid-Liquid-Solid Method

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were grown directly from n-(111) single-crystal silicon (c-Si) substrate based on a solid-liquid-solid mechanism, and Au film was used as a metallic catalyst. The room temperature photoluminescence properties of SiNWs were observed by an Xe lamp with an exciting wavelength of 350 nm. The results show that the SiNWs exhibit a strongly blue luminescent band in the wavelength range 400-480 nm at an emission peak position of 420 nm. The luminescent mechanism of SiNWs indicates that the blue luminescence is attributed to the oxygen-related defects, which are in SiOx amorphous oxide shells around the crystalline core of SiNWs.

AN ALUMINUM OXYNITRIDE FILM

We report on an aluminum oxynitride (AlON) film which was successfully made using the reactiver r.f. sputtering method in an N2-O2 mixture. The fabrication process, atomic components, breakdown field and refractive index of the AlON film are shown in detail. The AlON film is a new polyfilm combining the good properties of Al2O3 and AlN, and it is very interesting with regard to optoelectronic devices and integrated optic circuits.

COMPARISON OF PROPERTIES OF SOLID-PHASE EPITAXIAL SILICON-ON-SAPPHIRE FILMS RECRYSTALLIZED BY RAPID THERMAL ANNEALING AND FURNACE ANNEALING

Chemically vapour deposited silicon on sapphire (SOS) films 0.25 mu m thick were implanted with Si-28(+) and recrystallized in solid phase by furnace annealing (FA) and IR rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in our laboratory. An improvement in crystalline quality can be obtained using both annealing procedures. After FA, it is hard to retain the intrinsic high resistivity value(10(4)-10(5) Ohm cm) observed in as-grown SOS films, so the improvement process cannot be put to practical use effectively. However, it is demonstrated that by properly adjusting the implantation and RTA conditions, significant improvements in both film quality and film autodoping can be accomplished. This work describes a modified double solid phase epitaxy process in which the intrinsic high resistivities of the as grown SOS films are retained. The mechanism of suppression of Al autodoping is discussed.

Improvement of CMOS SOS devices characteristics by a modified solid phase epitaxy

CMOS/SOS devices have lower carriers mobility and higher channel leakage current than bulk silicon CMOS devices. These mainly results from the defects of heteroepitaxial silicon film, especially from the defects near Si-Sapphire interface. This paper describes the experiment results of CMOS/SOS devices characteristics improved by a better epitaxial silicon quality which is obtained by a modified solid phase epitaxy.

Synthesis and luminescence properties of hybrid organic-inorganic transparent titania thin film activated by in-situ formed lanthanide complexes

Stable transparent titania thin films were fabricated at room temperature by combining thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTFA)-modified titanium precursors with amphiphilic triblock poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO, P123) copolymers. The obtained transparent titania thin films were systematically investigated by IR spectroscopy, PL emission and excitation spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. IR spectroscopy indicates that TTFA coordinates the titanium center during the process of hydrolysis and condensation. Luminescence spectroscopy confirms the in-situ formation of lanthanide complexes in the transparent titania thin film.

A solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell based on a novel ionic liquid gel and ZnO nanoparticles on a flexible polymer substrate

This paper describes a new strategy to make a full solid-state, flexible, dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) based on novel ionic liquid gel, organic dye, ZnO nanoparticles and carbon nanotube (CNT) thin film stamped onto a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The CNTs serve both as the charge collector and as scaffolds for the growth of ZnO nanoparticles, where the black dye molecules are anchored.

Properties of poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate)-ionic liquid composite film and its application in the determination of trace metals combined with bismuth film electrode

A new kind of bismuth film modified electrode to sensitively detect trace metal ions based on incorporating highly conductive ionic liquids 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIMPF6) in solid matrices at glassy carbon (GC) was investigated. Poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS), silica, and Nafion were selected as the solid matrices. The electrochemical properties of the mixed films modified GC were evaluated. The electron transfer rate of Fe(CN)(6)(4-)/Fe(CN)(6)(3-) can be effectively improved at the PSS-BMIMPF6 modified GC.

One-step immobilization of tris(2,2 '-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) via vapor-surface sol-gel deposition towards solid-state electrochemiluminescence detection

A novel method for immobilization of tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) (Ru(bpy)(3)Cl-2) on electrode surfaces based on the vapor-surface sol-gel deposition strategy is first demonstrated in this paper. Ru(bpy)(3)Cl-2 immobilized sol-gel (Ru(bpy)(3)Cl-2/sol-gel) films were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy and field-emitted scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). These results showed that Ru(bpy)(3)Cl-2 was successfully incorporated into the silica sol-gel film. it was found that many irregular Ru(bpy)(3)Cl-2/sol-gel clusters were formed on surfaces through one deposition and thick sol-gel films were observed after further deposition.