Impacts of hydrogen annealing on the carrier lifetimes in p-type 4H-SiC after thermal oxidation

Thermal oxidation and hydrogen annealing were applied on a 100μm thick Al-doped p-type 4H-Si C epitaxial wafer to modulate the minority carrier lifetime,which was investigated by microwave photoconductive decay(μ-PCD).The minority carrier lifetime decreased after each thermal oxidation.On the contrary,with the hydrogen annealing time increasing to3 hours,the minority carrier lifetime increased from 1.1μs(as-grown)to 3.14μs and then saturated after the annealing time reached 4 hours.The increase of surface roughness from 0.236 nm to 0.316 nm may also be one of the reasons for limiting the further improvement of the minority carrier lifetimes.Moreover,the whole wafer mappings of minority carrier lifetimes before and after hydrogen annealing were measured and discussed.The average minority carrier lifetime was up to 1.94μs and non-uniformity of carrier lifetime reached 38%after 4-hour hydrogen annealing.The increasing minority carrier lifetimes could be attributed to the double mechanisms of excess carbon atoms diffusion caused by selective etching of Si atoms and passivation of deep-level defects by hydrogen atoms.

Micro-Mechanism of Silicon-Based Waveguide Surface Smoothing in Hydrogen Annealing

The micro-mechanism of the silicon-based waveguide surface smoothing is investigated systematically to explore the effects of silicon-hydrogen bonds on high-temperature hydrogen annealing waveguides. The effect of silicon- hydrogen bonds on the surface migration movement of silicon atoms and the waveguide surface topography are revealed. The micro-migration from an upper state to a lower state of silicon atoms is driven by silicon- hydrogen bonding, which is the key to ameliorate the rough surface morphology of the silicon-based waveguide. The process of hydrogen annealing is experimentally validated based on the simulated parameters. The surface roughness declines from 1.523nm to 0.461 nm.

Effect of annealing treatment on hydrogen storage properties of La-Ti-Mg-Ni-based alloy

The present study dealt with investigations on the effects of annealing on the hydrogen storage properties of La 1.6 Ti 0.4 MgNi 9 alloys.The experimental alloys were prepared by magnetic levitation melting followed by annealing treatment.For La 1.6 Ti 0.4 MgNi 9 alloys,LaNi 5,LaNi 3 and LaMg 2 Ni 9 were the main phases,Ti 2 Ni phase appeared at 900℃.Annealing not only enhanced the maximum and effective hydrogen storage capacity,improved the hydrogen absorption/desorption kinetics,but also increased the discharge capacity.The cyclic stability had been improved markedly by annealing,e.g.,when the discharge capacity reduced to 60% of maximum discharge capacity,the charge/discharge cycles increased from 66（as-cast） to 89（annealed at 800℃） and 127 times（annealed at 900℃）.La 1.6 Ti 0.4 MgNi 9 alloy annealed at 900℃ exhibited better electrochemical properties compared to the other two alloy electrodes.

Effect of Preparation Technique on Microstructure and Hydrogen Storage Properties of LaNi(3.8)Al(1.0)Mn(0.2) Alloys

La Ni3.8Al1.0Mn0.2 alloy was prepared by vacuum induction melting and melt-spinning.The effects of different preparation techniques of the as-cast,cast then annealed,as-spun and spun then annealed alloys on the microstructure and hydrogen storage properties were investigated.The results indicated that the non-Ca Cu5 phases in the alloy became tinier and more dispersive after annealing or melt-spinning compared to those of the as-cast one.But in the spun then annealed alloy,the non-Ca Cu5 phases disappeared and only a single-phase with Ca Cu5 type structure was found.For all the alloys,the cell volume was increased in an order of as-cast 〈 spun then annealed 〈 cast then annealed 〈 as-spun,and the change of plateau pressure showed the opposite trend with that of the cell volume.The plateau could be flattened after melt-spinning or annealing,and the spun then annealed alloy showed the minimum plateau slope.The absorption kinetics of the alloy was promoted after melt-spinning or annealing.It is suggested that the change in cell volume and compositional homogeneity resulting from different preparation techniques contribute to the difference of the hydrogen storage properties of the investigated alloys.

Mass production of magnetocaloric LaFeMnSiB alloys with hydrogenation

LaFe_（11.39）Mn_（0.35）Si_（1.26）B_（0.1）Hxalloys were prepared by hydrogenation.Samples were annealed at 1343Kfor30-90 hto form the NaZn13 phase.La-rich andα-Fe secondary phases were also detected.Saturated hydrogenation at 553 Kand 0.15 MPa of H_2 pressure for 5hwas employed to improve the Curie temperature of the alloys to 279 K.The maximum magnetic entropy change,relative cooling power,and adiabatic temperature change of LaFe_（11.39）Mn_（0.35）Si_（1.26）B_（0.1）H_x annealed at 1343 Kfor 90hafter hydrogen absorption are 6.38J/（kg·K）（magnetic changesμ0ΔH =1.65T）,100.1J/kg（μ0ΔH =1.65T）,and 2.2 K（μ0ΔH =1.48T）,respectively.Although the maximum magnetic entropy change of the LaFe_（11.39）Mn_（0.35）Si_（1.26）B_（0.1）H_x alloys is lower than those of similar alloys with high purity raw materials,the relative cooling power is nearly the same.The effect of impurities of the raw materials used was also discussed.It is assumed that the impurity of 0.2wt.% Al is responsible for the reduced entropy change of the resulted alloys.The LaFe_（11.39）Mn_（0.35）Si_（1.26）B_（0.1）H_x alloys prepared by this method could be a low cost alternative material for room temperature magnetic cooling applications.

Nonlinear current-voltage characteristics originated from phase segregation and micro-cracks in polycrystalline La_(0.67)Ba_(0.33)MnO_3

Polycrystalline La0.67Ba0.33MnO3 bulk samples were annealed in flowing 95%Ar：5%H2 （AH） mixed gas at 973 K for different time respectively. The influence of the annealing time on the current-voltage properties was systematically investigated. Linear current-voltage characteristics were observed in the as-prepared and the 10 h annealed samples, and nonlinear current-voltage characteristics was found in the 100 h annealed sample. At the same time, segregation of impurity phase and micro-cracks were found on the surfaces of the 100 h annealed samples, which was testified to be Ba ion impurity. Analysis showed that the changes of electronic properties were caused by barium ion im-purities and micro-cracks in the 100 h annealed sample.