SiO2/Ta interface reaction in magnetic multilayers and its influence on Ta buffer layers

Ta is often used as a buffer layer in magnetic multilayers. In this study, Ta/Ni81Fe19/Ta multilayers were deposited by magnetron sputtering on sing-crystal Si with a 300-nm-thick SiO2 film. The composition and chemical states at the interface region of SiO2/Ta were studied using the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and peak decomposition technique. The results show that there is an 'inter-mixing layer" at the SiO2/Ta interface due to a thermodynamically favorable reaction: 15 SiO2 + 37 Ta = 6 Ta2O5 + 5 Ta5Si3. Therefore, the Ta buffer layer thickness used to induce NiFe (111) texture increases.

Magnetic property and interface structure of Ta/NiO/NiFe/Ta

Ta/NiO/NiFe/Ta multilayers, utilizing Ta as buffer layer, were prepared by rf reactive and de magnetron sputtering. The exchange coupling field between NiO and NiFe reached a maximum value of 9.6x10(3) A/m at a NiO film thickness of 50 nm. The composition and chemical states at interface region of Ta/NiO/Ta were studied by using the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and peak decomposition technique. The results show that there is an "intermixing layer" at the Ta/NiO land NiO/Ta) interface due to a thermodynamically favorable reaction 2Ta + 5NiO = 5Ni + Ta2O5. This interface reaction has a great effect on exchange coupling. The thickness of Ni+NiO estimated by XPS depth. profiles is about 8-10 nm.

Determination of the values of hole-mixing coefficients due to interface and electric field in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs superlattices

Numerical calculations within the envelope function framework have been performed to analyze the relations between the magnitude of in-plane optical anisotropy and the values of the additional hole-mixing coefficients due to interface and electric field in (001) symmetric GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs superlattices for light propagating along the [001] direction. It is found that the heavy- and light-hole states are mixed independently by interface and electric field. The numeric results demonstrate that the line shape of the in-plane anisotropic spectrum is determined by the ratio of the two hole-mixing coefficients. Theoretical analysis shows that with the help of simple calculation of the anisotropy at k=0, reliable values of the hole-mixing coefficients can be determined by reflectance-difference spectroscopy (IDS) technique, demanding no tedious fitting of experimental curves. The in-plane optical anisotropy measured by RDS provides a new method of getting the information on buried interfaces through the Value of the hole-mixing coefficient due to interface.

Quantum-well anisotropic forbidden transitions induced by a common-atom interface potential

A prominent effect of the interface potential (IP) [E. L. Ivchenko and A. Yu. Kaminski, Phys. Rev. B 54, 5852 (1996); O. Krebs and P. Voisin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 1829 (1996)], the optical anisotropy of the forbidden transitions in quantum wells has been observed by reflectance-difference spectroscopy. Predictions by the heavy-light-hole coupling IP models are qualitatively consistent with all the observed features of the forbidden and the allowed transitions. The fact that the predicted value of the relative, transition strength, which depends on neither the IP strength nor the electric field, disagrees with the observed one indicates that coupling involving X and/or L bands may also be important. [S0163-1829(99)04227-7].

A new interface anisotropic potential of zinc-blende semiconductor interface induced by lattice mismatch

A new interface anisotropic potential, which is proportional to the lattice mismatch of interfaces and has no fitting parameter, has been deduced for (001) zinc-blende semiconductor interfaces. The comparison with other interface models is given for GaAs/AlAs and GaAs/InAs interfaces. The strong influence of the interface anisotropic potential on the inplane optical anisotropy of GaAs/AlGaAs low dimensional structures is demonstrated theoretically within the envelope function approximation.

A study of the interface of CeO2/Si heterostructure grown by ion beam deposition

Epitaxial cerium dioxide films on single-crystal silicon substrates (CeO2/Si) have been grown by a dual mass-analyzed low-energy ion beam deposition (IBD) system. By double-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD), Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) are 23' and 33' in the rocking curves for (222) and (111) faces of the CeO2 film, respectively, and the lattice-mismatch Delta a/a with the substrate is about - 0.123%. The results show that the CeO2/Si grown by IBD is of high crystalline quality. In this work, the CeO2/Si heterostructure were investigated by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) measurements. Especially, XPS and AES depth profiling was used to analyze the compositions and structures in the interface regions of the as-grown and post-annealed CeO2/Si. It was found that there was no silicon oxide in the interface region of the as-grown sample but silicon oxide in the post-annealed sample. The reason for obtaining such high quality heterostructure mainly depends on the absence of silicon oxide in the surface at the beginning of the deposition. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of reflectivity at the interface of oxide layer on transverse mode control in oxide confined vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

The transverse mode control in oxide confined vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers is discussed by modeling the dielectric aperture as a uniform waveguide and an extra reflectivity at the oxide layer. The phase of the extra reflectivity and the refractive index step can be adjusted to change the mode threshold gain. We calculate the lateral refractive index step from the mode wavelength difference between aperture and perimeter modes, and compare it with that obtained from the weighted average index. The mode reflectivity in terms of the lateral optical confinement factor at the oxide layer is considered in calculating the threshold gain for transverse modes. The numerical results show that higher transverse modes can be suppressed by adjusting the position of a thin AlAs-oxide layer inside a three-quarter-wave layer in the distributed Bragg reflector. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(98)04007-9].

Heteroepitaxy of cubic GaN: influence of interface structure

We report on the epitaxial growth and the microstructure of cubic GaN. The layers are deposited by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs and Si substrates. Despite the extreme lattice mismatch between these materials, GaN grows in the metastable cubic phase with a well-defined orientation-relationship to the GaAs substrate including a sharp heteroboundary. The preference of the metastable phase and its epitaxial orientation originates in the interface structure which is found to be governed by a coincidence site lattice.

Influence of interface modification on the performance of polymer/Bi2S3 nanorods bulk heterojunction solar cells

In this paper, bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices based on the poly[2-methoxy-5-(3',7'-dimethyloctyloxy)- 1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MDMO-PPV):Bi2S3 nanorods hybrid material were present. To optimize the performance of the devices, the interface modification of the hybrid material that has a significant impact on the exciton dissociation efficiency was studied. An improvement in the device performance was achieved by modifying the Bi2S3 surface with a thin dye layer. Moreover, modifying the Bi2S3 surface with anthracene-9-carboxylic acid can enhance the performance further. Compared with the solar cells with Bi2S3 nanorods hybrid with the MDMO-PPV as the active layer, the anthracene-9carboxylic acid modified devices are better in performance, with the power conversion efficiency higher by about one order in magnitude.

scenario-focused development method for a pen-based user interface: model and applications

Pen-based user interface (PUI) has drawn significant interest, owing to its intuitiveness and convenience. While much of the research focuses on the technology, the usability of a PUI has been relatively low since human factors have not been considered sufficiently. Scenario-centric designs are ideal ways to improve usability. However, such designs possess some problems in practical use. To cope with these design issues, the concept of “interface scenarios” is proposed in to facilitate the interface design, and to help users understand the interaction process in such designs. The proposed scenario-focused development method for PUI is coupled with a practical application to show its effectiveness and usability.

A New Criterion Number for the Boundary Conditions at the Solid/Liquid Interface in Nanoscale

A simple, but important three-atom model was proposed at the solid/liquid interface, leading to a new criterion number, lambda, governing the boundary conditions (BCs) in nanoscale. The solid wall is considered as the face-centered-cubic (fcc) structure. The fluid is the liquid argon with the well-known LJ potential. Based on the concept, the two micro-systems have the same BCs if they have The same criterion number. The degree of the locking BCs is enhanced when lambda equals to 0.757. Such critical criterion number results in the substantial epitaxial ordering and one, two, or even three liquid layers are locked by the solid wall, depending on the coupling energy scale ratio of the solid and liquid atoms. With deviation from the critical criterion number, the flow approaches the slip BCs and there are little ordering structures within the liquid. Always at the same criterion number, the degree of the slip is decreased or the locking is enhanced with increasing the coupling energy scale ratio of the solid and liquid atoms. The above analysis is well confirmed by the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The slip length is well correlated in terms of the new criterion number. The future work is suggested to extend the present theory for other microstructures of the solid wall atoms and quasi-LJ potentials.

PHOTOELECTROCHEMICAL BEHAVIOR OF THE GAAS/ALXGA1-XAS SUPERLATTICE ELECTRODE/ELECTROLYTE INTERFACE

Single and multiple quantum wells of lattice-matched superlattices material GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs have been studied as photoelectrodes in photoelectrochemical cells containing nonaqueous electrolyte. Structural photocurrent spectra in the potential range of -1.8 to 1.0 V (vs standard calomel electrode) were obtained. The quantum yields for both superlattice electrodes were estimated and compared.

STUDY OF TI/LNP INTERFACE BY PES

The interface of Ti/InP(110) was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). It is evident that deposition of Ti on the surface of InP(110) at room temperature introduced a break of the In-P bond and a diffusion of In atoms into the Ti film. The interaction of Ti and P occurred at a temperature of 350-degrees-C.

SOME ASPECTS ON INTERFACE MODES AND LO EIGENMODES IN GAAS/ALAS QUANTUM-WELLS

The interface modes and LO phonon modes in GaAs/AlAs quantum wells is investigated within the isotropic dispersionless dielectric continuum with nodes in displacement u at the interfaces as boundary condition. The interface modes are found to be purely interface polarization charge effect while LO eigenmodes induce only bulk polarization charges. Analytical expression is determined for LO eigenmodes and is found in good agreement with realistic model calculation, and its labeling index is interpreted as the helicity of electric field as it travels from one side to the other side of the slab.