Rapid and highly efficient growth of graphene on copper by chemical vapor deposition of ethanol

The growth of graphene by chemical vapor deposition on metal foils is a promising technique to deliver large-area films with high electron mobility. Nowadays, the chemical vapor deposition of hydrocarbons on copper is the most investigated synthesis method, although many other carbon precursors and metal substrates are used too. Among these, ethanol is a safe and inexpensive precursor that seems to offer favorable synthesis kinetics. We explored the growth of graphene on copper from ethanol, focusing on processes of short duration (up to one min). We investigated the produced films by electron microscopy, Raman and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. A graphene film with high crystalline quality was found to cover the entire copper catalyst substrate in just 20 s, making ethanol appear as a more efficient carbon feedstock than methane and other commonly used precursors.

Growth of composite sapphire/Ti : sapphire by the hydrothermal method

Composite sapphire/Ti:sapphire crystals for high-power laser application were grown by the hydrothermal method. The results of the X-ray rocking curve analysis indicate high crystalline quality of the surface Al2O3 material. The strong bonding between the overgrown Al2O3 and seed Ti:Al2O3 crystals is indispensable for withstanding high thermal stresses produced by intense optical pumping. The optical loss at the boundary of the composite crystal is considerably low, indicating the lack of scattering centers. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Substantial photo-response of InGaN p-i-n homojunction solar cells

InGaN p-i-n homojunction structures were grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, and solar cells with different p-contact schemes were fabricated. X-ray diffraction measurements demonstrated that the epitaxial layers have a high crystalline quality. Solar cells with semitransparent p-contact exhibited a fill factor (FF) of 69.4%, an open-circuit voltage (V-oc) of 2.24 V and an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 41.0%. On the other hand, devices with grid p-contact showed the corresponding values of 57.6%, 2.36 V, 47.9% and a higher power density. These results indicate that significant photo-responses can be achieved in InGaN p-i-n solar cells.

Spatial variation of optical and structural properties of ELO GaN directly grown on patterned sapphire by HVPE

A 275 mu m thick GaN layer was directly grown on the SiO2-prepatterned sapphire in a home-built vertical hydride vapour phase epitaxy (HVPE) reactor. The variation of optical and structure characteristics were microscopically identified using spatially resolved cathodeluminescence and micro-Raman spectroscopy in a cross section of the thick film. The D X-0(A) line with the FWHM of 5.1 meV and etch- pit density of 9 x 10(6) cm(-2) illustrated high crystalline quality of the thick GaN epitaxial layer. Optically active regions appeared above the SiO2 masks and disappeared abruptly due to the tapered inversion domains at 210 - 230 mu m thickness. The crystalline quality was improved by increasing the thickness of the GaN/sapphire interface, but the region with a distance of 2 mu m from the top surface revealed relatively low quality due to degenerate surface reconstruction by residual gas reaction. The x-ray rocking curve for the symmetric (0 0 2) and asymmetric (1 0 2) reflections also showed good quality and a small wing tilt of the epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) GaN.

Interfaces in heterostructures of AlInGaN/GaN/Al2O3

Rutherford backscattering/channeling (RBS/C) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) are used to comprehensively characterize a heterostructure of AlInGaN/GaN/Al2O3(0001). The AlInGaN quaternary layer was revealed to process a high crystalline quality with a minimum yield of 1.4% from RBS/C measurements. The channeling spectrum of (1 (2) under bar 13) exhibits higher dechanneling than that of (0001) at the interface of AlInGaN/GaN. XRD measurements prove a coherent growth of AlInGaN on the GaN template layer. Combining RBS/C and XRD measurements, we found that the interface of GaN/Al2O3 is a nucleation layer, composed of a large amount of disorders and cubic GaN slabs, while the interface of AlInGaN/GaN is free of extra disordering (i.e. compare with the GaN layer). The conclusion is further evidenced by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Temperature quenching mechanisms for photoluminescence of MBE-grown chlorine-doped ZnSe epilayers

We report on a detailed investigation on the temperature-dependent behavior of photoluminescence from molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown chlorine-doped ZnSe epilayers. The overwhelming neutral donor bound exciton ((ClX)-X-0) emission at 2.797 eV near the band edge with a full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of similar to 13 meV reveals the high crystalline quality of the samples used. In our experiments, the quick quenching of the (ClX)-X-0 line above 200 K is mainly due to the presence of a nonradiative center with a thermal activation energy of similar to 90 meV, The same activation energy and similar quenching tendency of the (ClX)-X-0 line and the I-3 line at 2.713 eV indicate that they originate from the same physical mechanism. We demonstrate for the first time that the dominant decrease of the integrated intensity of the I, line is due to the thermal excitation of the "I-3 center"-bound excitons to its free exciton states, leaving the "I-3 centers" as efficient nonradiative centers. The optical performance of ZnSe materials is expected to be greatly improved if the density of the "I-3 center" can be controlled. The decrease in the luminescence intensity at moderately low temperature (30-200 K) of the (ClX)-X-0 line is due to the thermal activation of neutral-donor-bound excitons ((ClX)-X-0) to free excitons. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

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.

X-ray-diffraction study of quasipseudomorphic ErSi1.7 layers formed by channeled ion-beam synthesis

ErSi1.7 layers with high crystalline quality (chi(min) of Er is 1.5%) have been formed by 90 keV Er ion implantation to a dose of 1.6X10(17)/cm(2) at 450 degrees C using channeled implantation. The perpendicular and parallel elastic strain e(perpendicular to)=-0.94%+/-0.02% and e(parallel to)=1.24%+/-0.08% of the heteroepitaxial erbium silicide layers have been measured with symmetric and asymmetric x-ray reflections using a double-crystal x-ray diffractometer. The deduced tetragonal distortion e(T(XRD))=e(parallel to)-e(perpendicular to)=2.18%+/-0.10%, which is consistent with the value e(T(RBS))2.14+/-0.17% deduced from the Rutherford backscattering and channeling measurements. The quasipseudomorphic growth of the epilayer and the stiffness along a and c axes of the epilayer deduced from the x-ray diffraction are discussed.

Stripe domain structure in epitaxial (001) BiFeO3 thin films on orthorhombic TbScO3 substrate

We have analyzed the ferroelastic and ferroelectric domain structure of high crystalline quality (001) BiFeO3 films on orthorhombic (110) TbScO3 substrates. Two domains were present in stripes separated by (010) vertical boundaries, with spontaneous polarizations in adjacent domains rotated by 109 degrees. The striped morphology was caused by nucleation of only two ferroelastic domains on the low symmetry GdFeO3-type substrate. Domain engineering through substrate symmetry is an important finding for rhombohedral ferroelectric epitaxial thin films. The stripe pattern with vertical walls may be useful for extracting domain wall contributions to magnetism and electrical transport properties of BiFeO3 materials.

The effects of temperature on the molecular orientation of zinc phthalocyanine films

Phthalocyanine compounds have been widely investigated as candidate materials for technological applications, which is mainly due to their thermal stability and possibility of processing in the form of thin films. In most applications, the controlled growth of thin films with high crystalline quality is essential. In this study, zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) thin films were prepared by evaporation on glass and Au-coated glass substrates with subsequent annealing at different temperatures in ambient atmosphere. The morphological and structural features of 80 nm thick zinc phthalocyanine films were investigated, evidencing an alpha -> beta phase transformation after annealing the films at 200 A degrees C, as indicated by UV-Vis spectroscopy and FTIR analyses. A better uniformity of the annealed films was also evidenced via AFM analysis, which may be of importance for applications where film homogeneity and excellent optical quality are required.

Temperature dependence of electron properties of Sn doped In2O3 nanobelts

This paper reports on the measurements of transport properties of high crystalline quality Sn doped In2O3 nanobelts. The samples presented metallic conduction in a large range of temperatures; however, at low temperatures, the resistivity showed a slight increase and the current-voltage curves showed a tendency to saturate even in the low-voltage range. From these observations, we discuss some arguments on the possibility of low dimensional conducting channels as the main responsible for the conduction at low temperatures. Additionally, we present an alternative technique for production of low resistance ohmic contacts, which can be further used in devices' construction. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of the network modifier on the characteristics of MSnO 3 (M=Sr and Ca) thin films synthesized by chemical solution deposition

CaSnO3 and SrSnO3 alkaline earth stannate thin films were prepared by chemical solution deposition using the polymeric precursor method on various single crystal substrates (R- and C-sapphire and 100-SrTiO3) at different temperatures. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (θ-2θ, ω- and φ-scans), field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence. Epitaxial SrSnO3 and CaSnO 3 thin films were obtained on SrTiO3 with a high crystalline quality. The long-range symmetry promoted a short-range disorder which led to photoluminescence in the epitaxial films. In contrast, the films deposited on sapphire exhibited a random polycrystalline growth with no meaningful emission regardless of the substrate orientation. The network modifier (Ca or Sr) and the substrate (sapphire or SrTiO3) influenced the crystallization process and/or the microstructure. Higher is the tilts of the SnO6 octahedra, as in CaSnO3, higher is the crystallization temperature, which changed also the nucleation/grain growth process. © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of the network modifier on the characteristics of MSnO3 (M=Sr and,Ca) thin films synthesized by chemical solution deposition

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Influence of the network modifier on the characteristics of MSnO3 (M=Sr and Ca) thin films synthesized by chemical solution deposition

CaSnO3 and SrSnO3 alkaline earth stannate thin films were prepared by chemical solution deposition using the polymeric precursor method on various single crystal substrates (R- and C-sapphire and 100-SrTiO3) at different temperatures. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (θ-2θ, ω- and φ-scans), field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence. Epitaxial SrSnO3 and CaSnO3 thin films were obtained on SrTiO3 with a high crystalline quality. The long-range symmetry promoted a short-range disorder which led to photoluminescence in the epitaxial films. In contrast, the films deposited on sapphire exhibited a random polycrystalline growth with no meaningful emission regardless of the substrate orientation. The network modifier (Ca or Sr) and the substrate (sapphire or SrTiO3) influenced the crystallization process and/or the microstructure. Higher is the tilts of the SnO6 octahedra, as in CaSnO3, higher is the crystallization temperature, which changed also the nucleation/grain growth process.

RF-sputter fabrication of magnetic garnet thin films and simulation modeling for 1-D magnetic photonic crystal waveguide devices

One dimensional magnetic photonic crystals (1D-MPC) are promising structures for integrated optical isolator applications. Rare earth substituted garnet thin films with proper Faraday rotation are required to fabricate planar 1D-MPCs. In this thesis, flat-top response 1D-MPC was proposed and spectral responses and Faraday rotation were modeled. Bismuth substituted iron garnet films were fabricated by RF magnetron sputtering and structures, compositions, birefringence and magnetooptical properties were studied. Double layer structures for single mode propagation were also fabricated by sputtering for the first time. Multilayer stacks with multiple defects (phase shift) composed of Ce-YIG and GGG quarter-wave plates were simulated by the transfer matrix method. The transmission and Faraday rotation characteristics were theoretically studied. It is found that flat-top response, with 100% transmission and near 45o rotation is achievable by adjusting the inter-defect spacing, for film structures as thin as 30 to 35 μm. This is better than 3-fold reduction in length compared to the best Ce-YIG films for comparable rotations, thus allows a considerable reduction in size in manufactured optical isolators. Transmission bands as wide as 7nm were predicted, which is considerable improvement over 2 defects structure. Effect of repetition number and ratio factor on transmission and Faraday rotation ripple factors for the case of 3 and 4 defects structure has been discussed. Diffraction across the structure corresponds to a longer optical path length. Thus the use of guided optics is required to minimize the insertion losses in integrated devices. This part is discussed in chapter 2 in this thesis. Bismuth substituted iron garnet thin films were prepared by RF magnetron sputtering. We investigated or measured the deposition parameters optimization, crystallinity, surface morphologies, composition, magnetic and magnetooptical properties. A very high crystalline quality garnet film with smooth surface has been heteroepitaxially grown on (111) GGG substrate for films less than 1μm. Dual layer structures with two distinct XRD peaks (within a single sputtered film) start to develop when films exceed this thickness. The development of dual layer structure was explained by compositional gradient across film thickness, rather than strain gradient proposed by other authors. Lower DC self bias or higher substrate temperature is found to help to delay the appearance of the 2nd layer. The deposited films show in-plane magnetization, which is advantageous for waveguide devices application. Propagation losses of fabricated waveguides can be decreased by annealing in an oxygen atmosphere from 25dB/cm to 10dB/cm. The Faraday rotation at λ=1.55μm were also measured for the waveguides. FR is small (10° for a 3mm long waveguide), due to the presence of linear birefringence. This part is covered in chapter 4. We also investigated the elimination of linear birefringence by thickness tuning method for our sputtered films. We examined the compressively and tensilely strained films and analyze the photoelastic response of the sputter deposited garnet films. It has been found that the net birefringence can be eliminated under planar compressive strain conditions by sputtering. Bi-layer GGG on garnet thin film yields a reduced birefringence. Temperature control during the sputter deposition of GGG cover layer is critical and strongly influences the magnetization and birefringence level in the waveguide. High temperature deposition lowers the magnetization and increases the linear birefringence in the garnet films. Double layer single mode structures fabricated by sputtering were also studied. The double layer, which shows an in-plane magnetization, has an increased RMS roughness upon upper layer deposition. The single mode characteristic was confirmed by prism coupler measurement. This part is discussed in chapter 5.