Comparison between double crystals X-ray diffraction micro-Raman measurement on composition determination of high Ge content Si1_xGex layer epitaxied on Si substrate

It is important to acquire the composition of Si1-xGex layer, especially that with high Ge content, epitaxied on Si substrate. Two nondestructive examination methods, double crystals X-ray diffraction (DCXRD) and micro-Raman measurement, were introduced comparatively to determine x value in Si1-xGex: layer, which show that while the two methods are consistent with each other when x is low, the results obtained from double crystals X-ray diffraction are not credible due to the large strain relaxation occurring in Si1-xGex layers when Ge content is higher than about 20%. Micro-Raman measurement is more appropriate for determining high Ge content than DCXRD.

Micro-Raman study on hydrogenated protocrystalline silicon films

Good quality hydrogenated protocrystalline silicon films were successfully prepared by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) with various hydrogen dilution ratios (R = ([H-2]/[SiH4]) from 10 to 100). The photosensitivity of the films is up to 10(6) under the light intensity of 50mW.cm(-2). The microstructure of the films was studied by micro-region Raman scattering spectra at room temperature. The deconvolution of the Raman spectra by Gaussion functions shows that the films deposited under low hydrogen dilution ratios (R < 33) exhibit typical amorphous properties, while the films deposited under high hydrogen dilution ratios (R > 50) possess a diphasic structure, with increasing crystalline volume fraction with R. The size of the crystallites in the diphasic films is about 2.4 mm, which was deduced from the phonon confinement model. The intermediate range order of the silicon film increases with increasing hydrogen dilution ratio.

Micro-raman investigation of defects in a 4H-SiC homoepilayer

Three types of defects, namely defect I, defect 11, defect 111, in the 4H-SiC homoepilayer were investigated by micro-raman scattering measurement. These defects all originate from a certain core and are composed of (1) a wavy tail region, (11) two long tails, the so called comet and (111) three plaits. It was found that there are 3C-SiC inclusions in the cores of defect 11 and defect III and the shape of inclusion determines the type of defect II or defect III. If the core contains a triangle-shaped inclusion, the defect III would be formed; otherwise, the defect 11 was formed. No inclusion was observed in the core of the defect I. The mechanisms of these defects are discussed.

Raman Spectroscopy of Irradiation Effect in Three Carbon Allotropes Induced by Low Energy B Ions

Irradiation efect in three carbon allotropes C60, diamond and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) induced by 170 keV B ions, mainly including the process of the damage creation, is investigated by means of Raman spectroscopy technique. The diferences on irradiation sensitivity and structural stability for C60, HOPG and diamond are compared. The analysis results indicate that C60 is the most sensitive for B ions irradiation,diamond is the second one and the structure of HOPG is the most stable under B ion irradiation. The damage cross sections ? of C60, diamond and HOPG deduced from the Raman spectra are 7.78×10−15 , 6.38×10−15 and1.31 × 10−15cm2, respectively.

Raman spectroscopy of apatite irradiated with swift heavy ions with and without simultaneous exertion of high pressure

Durango apatite was irradiated with energetic U ions of 2.64 GeV and Kr ions of 2.1 GeV, with and without simultaneous exposure to a pressure of 10.5 GPa. Analysis by confocal Raman spectroscopy gives evidence of vibrational changes being marginal for fluences below 5x10(11) ions/cm(2) but becoming dominant when increasing the fluence to 8x10(12) ions/cm(2). Samples irradiated with U ions experience severe strain resulting in crystal cracking and finally breakage at high fluences. These radiation effects are directly linked to the formation of amorphous tracks and the fraction of amorphized material increasing with fluence. Raman spectroscopy of pressurized irradiated samples shows small shifts of the band positions with decreasing pressure but without a significant change of the Gruneisen parameter. Compared to irradiations at ambient conditions, the Raman spectra of apatite irradiated at 10.5 GPa exhibit fewer modifications, suggesting a higher radiation stability of the lattice by the pressure applied.

Identifying the isolated transition metal ions/oxides in molecular sieves and on oxide supports by UV resonance Raman spectroscopy

Isolated transition metal ions/oxides in molecular sieves and on surfaces are a class of active sites for selective oxidation of hydrocarbons. Identifying the active sites and their coordination structure is vital to understanding their essential role played in catalysis and designing and synthesizing more active and selective catalysts. The isolated transition metal ions in the framework of molecular sieves (e.g., TS-1, Fe-ZSM-5, and V-MCM-41) or on the surface of oxides (e.g., MoO3/Al2O3 and TiO2/SiO2) were successfully identified by UV resonance Raman spectroscopy. The charge transfer transitions between the transition metal ions and the oxygen anions are excited by a UV laser and consequently the UV resonance Raman effect greatly enhances the Raman signals of the isolated transition metal ions. The local coordination of these ions in the rigid framework of molecular sieves or in the relatively flexible structure on the surface can also be differentiated by the shifts of the resonance Raman bands. The relative concentration of the isolated transition metal ion/oxides could be estimated by the intensity ratio of Raman bands. This study demonstrates that the UV resonance Raman spectroscopy is a general technique that can be widely applied to the in-situ characterization of catalyst synthesis and catalytic reactions. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

Phase transformation in the surface region of zirconia and doped zirconia detected by UV Raman spectroscopy

The phase evolution of yttrium oxide and lanthanum oxide doped zirconia (Y2O3-ZrO2 and La2O3-ZrO2, respectively) from their tetragonal to monoclinic phase has been studied using UV Raman spectroscopy, visible Raman spectroscopy and XRD. UV Raman spectroscopy is found to be more sensitive at the surface region while visible Raman spectroscopy and XRD mainly give the bulk information. For Y2O3-ZrO2 and La2O3-ZrO2, the transformation of the bulk phase from the tetragonal to the monoclinic is significantly retarded by the presence of yttrium oxide and lanthanum oxide. However, the tetragonal phase in the surface region is difficult to stabilize, particularly when the stabilizer's content is low. The phase in the surface region can be more effectively stabilized by lanthanum oxide than yttrium oxide even though zirconia seemed to provide more enrichment in the surface region of the La2O3-ZrO2 sample than the Y2O3-ZrO2 sample, based on XPS analysis. The surface structural tension and the enrichment of the ZrO2, component in the surface region of ZrO2-Y2O3 and ZrO2-La2O3 might be the reasons for the striking difference between the phase change in the surface region and the bulk. Accordingly, the stabilized tetragonal surface region can significantly prevent the phase transition from developing into the bulk when the stabilizer's content is high.

Large-area silver-coated silicon nanowire arrays for molecular sensing using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

A new and facile method to prepare large-area silver-coated silicon nanowire arrays for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-based sensing is introduced. High-quality silicon nanowire arrays are prepared by a chemical etching method and used as a template for the generation of SERS-active silver-coated silicon nanowire arrays. The morphologies of the silicon nanowire arrays and the type of silver-plating solution are two key factors determining the magnitude of SERS signal enhancement and the sensitivity of detection; they are investigated in detail for the purpose of optimization.

Monitoring catalytic degradation of dye molecules on silver-coated ZnO nanowire arrays by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Catalytic degradation of organic dye molecules has attracted extensive attention due to their high toxicity to water resources. In this paper, we propose a novel method for the fabrication of uniform silver-coated ZnO nanowire arrays. The degradation of typical dye molecule rhodamine 6G (R6G), as an example, is investigated in the presence of the as-prepared silver-coated ZnO nanowire arrays. The experimental results show that such composite nanostructures exhibit high catalytic activity, and the reaction follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. Furthermore, these nanowire arrays are desirable SERS substrates for monitoring the catalytic degradation of dye molecules. Compared with traditional UV-visible spectroscopy, SERS technology can reflect more truly the catalytic degradation process occurring on the surface of the catalysts.

Large-scale, rapid synthesis and application in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of sub-micrometer polyhedral gold nanocrystals

Macromolecule-protected sub-micrometer polyhedral gold nanocrystals have been facilely prepared by heating an aqueous solution containing poly (N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) and HAuCl4 without adding other reducing agents. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared spectroscopy (UV-vis-NIR), and x-ray diffraction (XRD) were employed to characterize the obtained polyhedral gold nanocrystals. It is found that the 10:1 molar ratio of PVP to gold is a key factor for obtaining quasi-monodisperse polyhedral gold nanocrystals. Furthermore, the application of polyhedral gold nanocrystals in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was investigated by using 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) as a probe molecule. The results indicated that the sub-micrometer polyhedral gold nanocrystals modified on the ITO substrate exhibited higher SERS activity compared to the traditional gold nanoparticle modified film. The enhancement factor (EF) on polyhedral gold nanocrystals was about six times larger than that obtained on aggregated gold nanoparticles (similar to 25 nm).

Wet-chemical approach to three-dimensional gold nanocorallines: Synthesis and application in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

The shape-con trolled synthesis of micrometer- sized gold nanocoralline was simply realized via a wet-chemical approach. The as-prepared hierarchical gold nanocorallines (HGNs) on the solid substrate were initially applied in SERS analysis with 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) as the probe molecule. The HGN-modified glass substrate exhibits a higher SERS effect (one order of magnitude higher) than the aggregated gold nanoparticle (similar to 25 nm)-modified glass substrate.

Surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy and spectroscopy study of redox-induced conformational equilibrium of cytochrome c adsorbed on DNA-modified metal electrode

The redox-induced conformational equilibrium of cytochrome c (cyt c) adsorbed on DNA-modified metal electrode and the interaction mechanism of DNA with cyt c have been studied by electrochemical, spectroscopic and spectroelectrochemical techniques. The results indicate that the external electric field induces potential-dependent coordination equilibrium of the adsorbed cyt c between its oxidized state (with native six-coordinate low-spin and non-native five-coordinate high-spin heme configuration) and its reduced state (with native six-coordinate low-spin heme configuration) on DNA-modified metal electrode. The strong interactions between DNA and cyt c induce the self-aggregation of cyt c adsorbed on DNA. The orientational distribution of cyt c adsorbed on DNA-modified metal electrode is potential-dependent, which results in the deviation from an ideal Nernstian behavior of the adsorbed cyt c at high electrode potentials. The electric-field-induced increase in the activation barrier of proton-transfer steps attributed to the rearrangement of the hydrogen bond network and the self-aggregation of cyt c upon adsorption on DNA-modified electrode strongly decrease the interfacial electron transfer rate.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of microperoxidase-11 on roughed silver electrodes

The conformation of microperoxidase-11 (MP-11) adsorbed on roughened silver electrodes was studied using surface-enhanced Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that MP-11 was initially adsorbed via its polypeptide chain with a alpha-helix conformation, as indicated by the enhancement of the characteristic bands related to the amides I and III. The weak resonance effect of the porphyrin macrocycle in the near IR region contributes to the spectrum of the heme group. The presence of imidazole as the sixth ligand to the heme iron influences the conformation of the polypeptide chain of MP-11 on the electrode surface. Evaporation of solvent water results in an opened conformation of the adsorbed MP-11. which allows the heme group to contact the electrode surface directly.

Application of resonance raman spectroscopy to study the effect of rare-earth ion Er3+ on myoglobin

The effect of rare-earth ion Er3+ On myoglobin(Mb) was studied by using Resonance Raman spectroscopy. The results show that with the variation of Er3+ concentrations, both the oxidation state and spin state of Mb are sensitive to the perturbation of Er3+. Er3+ added to Mb affects the oxidation and spin state synchronously. The structure-sensitive groups of Mb are more accessible to the Er3+ than other groups. According to the fluorometry and CD spectra studied and our results as mentioned above, we considered that Er3+ does not interact with heme directly, and Er3+ probably leads to the conformational changes of Mb due to the change of oxidation and spin state of Heme.