NiO removal of Ni/Au Ohmic contact to p-GaN after annealing

The Ni/Au contact was treated with oxalic acid after annealing in O_2 ambient, and its I-V characteristic showed the property of contact has been obviously improved. An Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) depth pro-file of the contact as-annealed showed that the top layer was highly resistive NiO, while an X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS) of oxalic acid treated samples indicated that the NiO has been removed effectively. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to observe the surface morphology of the contacts, and it was found that the lacunaris surface right after annealing became quite smooth with lots of small Au exposed areas after oxalic acid treatment. When the test probe or the subsequently deposited Ti/Au was directly in contact with these small Au areas, they worked as low resistive current paths and thus decrease the specific contact resistance.

Fabrication and properties of Sb-doped ZnO thin films grown by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering

Sb-doped and undoped ZnO thin films were deposited on Si (100) substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses revealed that all the films had polycrystalline wurtzite structure and c-axis preferred orientation. Room temperature Hall measurements showed that the as-grown films were n-type and conducting (rho similar to 1-10 Omega cm). Annealing in a nitrogen ambient at 400 degrees C for 1 h made both samples highly resistive (rho > 10(3) Omega cm). Increasing the annealing temperature up to 800 C, the resistivity of the ttndoped ZnO film decreased gradually, but it increased for the Sb-doped ZnO film. In the end, the Sb-doped ZnO film annealed at 800 C became semi-insulating with a resistivity of 10(4)Omega cm. In addition, the effects of annealing treatment and Sb-doping on the structural and electrical properties are discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Degradation of polyimide induced by nitrogen laser irradiation

The degradation behavior of polyimide (PMDA-ODA) induced by nitrogen laser irradiation was studied. The changes in the surface morphology and the composition of the irradiated polyimide films were examined by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy. The initial reaction was achieved by photochemical degradation of polyimide in the highly electronic excited state by the absorption of a second 337 nm photon. Atmospheric oxygen sequentially reacted with the produced radicals to form a highly oxidized layer. The formation of carbonyl group was enhanced by the heat remaining on the irradiated polyimide film surfaces. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The growth of gamma-LiAlO2 layer with a highly-preferred orientation on (0001) sapphire

Using vapor transport equilibration (VTE) technique we succeeded in the fabrication of single-phase gamma-LiAlO2 layer on (0001) sapphire substrate. X-ray diffraction indicated that the as-fabricated layer was highly textured with [100] orientation at proper VTE treatment temperature range from 1050 degrees C to 1100 degrees C. The main factors affecting the quality of the gamma-LiAlO2 layer were investigated by SEM and transmission spectra. These results reveal the possibility of fabricating gamma-LiAlO2 (100)//sapphire (0001) composite substrate for GaN-based epitaxial film by VTE.

Highly efficient and stable organic light-emitting diodes employing MoO3-doped perylene-3, 4, 9, 10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride as hole injection layer

We report highly efficient and stable organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with MoO3-doped perylene-3, 4, 9, 10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) as hole injection layer (HIL). A green OLED with structure of ITO/20 wt% MoO3: PTCDA/NPB/Alq(3)/LiF/Al shows a long lifetime of 1012 h at the initial luminance of 2000 cd/m(2), which is 1.3 times more stable than that of the device with MoO3 as HIL. The current efficiency of 4.7 cd/A and power efficiency of 3.7 lm/W at about 100 cd/m(2) have been obtained. The charge transfer complex between PTCDA and MoO3 plays a decisive role in improving the performance of OLEDs.

Highly efficient white organic light-emitting devices based on a multiple-emissive-layer structure

Characteristics of white organic light-emitting devices based on phosphor sensitized fluorescence are improved by using a multiple-emissive-layer structure, in which a phosphorescent blue emissive layer is sandwiched between red and green&yellow ones. In this device, bis[(4,6-difluorophenyl)-pyridinato-N,C-2] (picolinato), bis(2,4-diphenyl-quinoline) iridium (III) acetylanetonate, fac bis (2-phenylpyridine) iridium, and 5,6,11,12-tetraphenylnaphthacene are used as blue, red, green, and yellow emitters, respectively.

Highly conductive, methanol resistant fuel cell membranes fabricated by layer-by-layer self-assembly of inorganic heteropolyacid

Layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly is a simple and elegant method of constructing organic-inorganic composite thin films from environmentally benign aqueous solutions. In this paper, we utilize this method to develop proton-exchange membranes for fuel cells. The multilayer film is constructed onto the surface of sulfonated poly(arylene ether ketone) (SPAEK-COOH) membrane by LBL self-assembly of polycation chitosan (CTS) and negatively charged inorganic particle phosphotungstic acid (VIA). The highly conductive inorganic nanoparticles ensure SPAEK-COOH-(CTS/PTA)(n) membranes to maintain high proton conductivity values up to 0.086 S cm(-1) at 25 degrees C and 0.24S cm(-1) at 80 degrees C, which are superior than previous LBL assembled electrolyte systems.

Highly efficient single-emitting-layer white organic light-emitting diodes with reduced efficiency roll-off

By codoping blue and orange phosphorescent dyes into a single host material, a highly efficient white organic light-emitting diode (WOLED) with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage coordinates of (0.38, 0.43) at 12 V is demonstrated. Remarkably, this WOLED achieves reduced current efficiency roll-off, which slightly decreases from its maximum value of 37.3-31.0 cd/A at 1000 cd/m(2). The device operational mechanism is subsequently investigated in order to unveil the origin of the high performance.

Highly efficient inverted top-emitting organic light-emitting diodes using a lead monoxide electron injection layer

By introducing an effective electron injection layer (EIL) material, i.e., lead monoxide (PbO), combined with the optical design in device structure, a high efficiency inverted top-emitting organic light-emitting diode (ITOLED) with saturated and quite stable colors for different viewing angles is demonstrated. The green ITOLED based on 10-(2-benzothiazolyl)-1, 1, 7, 7-tetramethyl-2, 3, 6, 7-tetrahydro-1H, 5H, 11H-[1] benzopyrano [6, 7, 8-ij] quinolizin-11-one exhibits a maximum current efficiency of 33.8 cd/A and a maximum power efficiency of 16.6 lm/W, accompanied by a nearly Lambertian distribution as well as hardly detectable color variation in the 140 forward viewing cone. A detailed analysis on the role mechanism of PbO in electron injection demonstrates that the insertion of the PbO EIL significantly reduces operational voltage, thus greatly improving the device efficiency.

A high-performance tandem white organic light-emitting diode combining highly effective white-units and their interconnection layer

By utilizing 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline:Li/MoO3 as an effective charge generation layer (CGL), we extend our recently demonstrated single-emitting-layer white organic light-emitting diode (WOLED) to realize an extremely high-efficiency tandem WOLED. This stacked device achieves maximum forward viewing current efficiency of 110.9 cd/A and external quantum efficiency of 43.3% at 1 mu A/cm(2) and emits stable white light with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage coordinates of (0.34, 0.41) at 16 V. It is noted that the combination of effective single units and CGL is key prerequisite for realizing high-performance tandem WOLEDs.

STM image of tungstosilicic acid molecular layer on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite

Molecular layer of tungstosilicic acid (H4SiW12O40) deposited on freshly-cleaved highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) was observed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in air at room temperature. The molecular dimension (11.5 Angstrom) of H4SiW12O40 measured by STM is consistent with known crystallographic parameter. We also imaged the boundary of H4SiW12O40 molecular layer on HOPG showing that molecular layer of H4SiW12O40 was formed. It has been proved that individual tungstosilicic acid species is imaged. The probable reason for the formation of the molecular layer is also discussed.

Microstructure and Evolution of Mechanically-Induced Ultrafine Grain in Surface Layer of Al-Alloy Subjected to USSP

Experiments were conducted to investigate the ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructures in the surface layer of an aluminum alloy 7075 heavily worked by ultrasonic shot peening. Conventional and high-resolution electron microscopy was performed at various depths of the deformed layer. Results showed that UFG structures were introdued into the surface layer of 62 μm thick. With increasing strain, the various microstructural features, e.g., the dislocation emission source, elongated microbands, dislocation cells, dislocation cell blocks, equiaxed submicro-, and nano-crystal grains etc., were successively produced. The grain subdivision into the subgrains was found to be the main mechanism responsible for grain refinement. The simultaneous evolution of high boundary misorientations was ascribed to the subgrain boundary rotation for accommodating further strains. Formed microstructures were highly nonequilibratory.  2002 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structure and residual stress in gamma-LiAlO2, layer fabricated by vapor transport equilibration on (0001)sapphire

gamma-LiAlO2 layers with a highly preferred (1 0 0) orientation were prepared by vapor transport equilibration (VTE) technique on (0 0 0 1) sapphire substrate. Microststructure of the gamma-LiAlO2 layers was studied by XRD and SEM. In the temperature range from 750 to 1100 degrees C, the residual stress in the gamma-LiAlO2 layers varied from tensile to compressive with the increase of VTE temperature, and the critical point of the change between tensile and compressive stress is around 975 degrees C. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A highly efficient light-trapping structure for thin-film silicon solar cells

A highly efficient light-trapping structure, consisting of a diffractive grating, a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) and a metal reflector was proposed. As an example, the proposed light-trapping structure with an indium tin oxide (ITO) diffraction grating, an a-Si:H/ITO DBR and an Ag reflector was optimized by the simulation via rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) for a 2.0-mu m-thick c-Si solar cell with an optimized ITO front antireflection (AR) layer under the air mass 1.5 (AM1.5) solar illumination. The weighted absorptance under the AM1.5 solar spectrum (A(AM1.5)) of the solar cell can reach to 69%, if the DBR is composed of 4 pairs of a-Si:H/ITOs. If the number of a-Si:H/ITO pairs is up to 8, a larger A(AM1.5) of 72% can be obtained. In contrast, if the Ag reflector is not adopted, the combination of the optimized ITO diffraction grating and the 8-pair a-Si:H/ITO DBR can only result in an A(AM1.5) of 68%. As the reference, A(AM1.5) = 31% for the solar cell only with the optimized ITO front AR layer. So, the proposed structure can make the sunlight highly trapped in the solar cell. The adoption of the metal reflector is helpful to obtain highly efficient light-trapping effect with less number of DBR pairs, which makes that such light-trapping structure can be fabricated easily.

Realization of highly uniform self-assembled InAs quantum wires by the strain compensating technique

Self-assembled InAs quantum wires (QWRs) on InP(001) substrate have been grown by molecular-beam epitaxy, using a strain compensating technique. Atom force microscope, Transmission electron microscopy, and high-resolution x-ray diffraction are used to characterize their structural properties. We proposed that, by carefully adjusting composition of InAlGaAs buffer layer and strain compensating spacer layers, stacked QWRs with high uniformity could be achieved. In addition, the formation mechanism and vertical anti-correlation of QWRs are also discussed. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.