Ultrafast dynamics of femtosecond laser-induced high spatial frequency periodic structures on silicon surfaces

Femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures(LIPSS)have been extensively studied over the past few decades.In particular,the period and groove width of high-spatial-frequency LIPSS(HSFL)is much smaller than the diffraction limit,making it a useful method for efficient nanomanufacturing.However,compared with the low-spatial-frequency LIPSS(LSFL),the structure size of the HSFL is smaller,and it is more easily submerged.Therefore,the formation mechanism of HSFL is complex and has always been a research hotspot in this field.In this study,regular LSFL with a period of 760 nm was fabricated in advance on a silicon surface with two-beam interference using an 800 nm,50 fs femtosecond laser.The ultrafast dynamics of HSFL formation on the silicon surface of prefabricated LSFL under single femtosecond laser pulse irradiation were observed and analyzed for the first time using collinear pump-probe imaging method.In general,the evolution of the surface structure undergoes five sequential stages:the LSFL begins to split,becomes uniform HSFL,degenerates into an irregular LSFL,undergoes secondary splitting into a weakly uniform HSFL,and evolves into an irregular LSFL or is submerged.The results indicate that the local enhancement of the submerged nanocavity,or the nanoplasma,in the prefabricated LSFL ridge led to the splitting of the LSFL,and the thermodynamic effect drove the homogenization of the splitting LSFL,which evolved into HSFL.

Numerical Analysis of the Adhesive Forces in Nano-Scale Structure

Nanohairs, which can be found on the epidermis of Tokay gecko＇s toes, contribute to the adhesion by means of van der Waals force, capillary force, etc. This structure has inspired many researchers to fabricate the attachable nano-scale structures. However, the efficiency of artificial nano-scale structures is not reliable sufficiently. Moreover, the mechanical parameters related to the nano-hair attachment are not yet revealed qualitatively. The mechanical parameters which have influence on the ability of adhesive nano-hairs were investigated through numerical simulation in which only van der Waals force was considered. For the numerical analysis, finite element method was utilized and van der Waals force, assumed as 12-6 Lennard-Jones potential, was implemented as the body force term in the finite element formulation.

Dependence of R-G Currenton Bulk Traps Characteristics and Silicon Film Structure in SOI Gated-Diode

The dependence of the Recombination- Generation( R- G) current on the bulk trap characteristics and sili- con film structure in SOI lateral p+ p- n+ diode has been analyzed num erically by using the simulation tool,DESSIS- ISE.By varying the bulk trap characteristics such as the trap density and energy level spectrum systematically,the dependence of the R- G current on both of them has been dem onstrated in details.Moreover,the silicon film doping concentration and thickness are changed to make silicon body varies from the fully- depletion m ode into the partial- ly- depletion one.The influence of the transfer of silicon body characteristics on the R- G currenthas also been care- fully examined.A better understanding is obtained of the behavior of bulk trap R- G current in the SOI lateral gat- ed- diode.

DESIGN AND PREPARATION OF SILICON NITRIDE COMPOSITE WITH HIGH FRACTURE TOUGHNESS AND NACRE STRUCTURE

A new way of designing and preparing silicon nitride ceramic composite with high fracture toughness and nacre structure has been proposed. To mimic the laminated structure of nacre, Si_3N_4 matrix ceramic layer can be obtained through compacting rolling method. To mimic the secondary toughening of nacre structure, SiC whisker is added into Si_3N_4 and acts as the secondary toughening phase. Boron nitride (BN)is selected to mimic the organic layer in nacre so as to form the weak interfaces between Si_3N_4 layers. Alumina is added into BN to adjust the bonding strength of the interface.The Si_3N_4 sheets are stacked into the die after coating with BN. After the removal of the organic matter in them, the green body is hot pressed at 1820℃for 1.5 hours under N_2 atmosphere. The fracture toughness of the so-made Si_3N_4 composite at room temperature is 20.36MPa m￣(1/2), the three-point bending strength at room temperature is 651.47MPa. The crack spreads and deflects along the interface between BN and Si_3N_4 layer and extends through the BN layer into Si_3N_4 layer. The improvement of the fracture toughness may be due to the staircase-shape-like crack which provides the long crack path, the fracture and deformation of Si_3N_4 layer, and the pullout of SiC whiskers from the Si_3N_4 layer.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of a new type of austempered boron alloyed high silicon cast steel

In the present paper, a new type of austempered boron alloyed high silicon cast steel has been developed, and its microstructures and mechanical properties at different temperatures were investigated. The experimental results indicate that the boron alloyed high silicon cast steel comprises a dendritic matrix and interdendritic eutectic borides in as-cast condition. The dendritic matrix is made up of pearlite, ferrite, and the interdendritic eutectic boride is with a chemical formula of M2B （M represents Fe, Cr, Mn or Mo） which is much like that of carbide in high chromium white cast iron. Pure ausferrite structure that consists of bainitic ferrite and retained austenite can be obtained in the matrix by austempering treatment to the cast steel. No carbides precipitate in the ausferrite structure and the morphology of borides remains almost unchanged after austempering treatments. Secondary boride particles precipitate during the course of austenitizing. The hardness and tensile strength of the austempered cast steel decrease with the increase of the austempering temperature, from 250℃ to 400 ℃. The impact toughness is 4-11 J.cm^-2 at room temperature and the impact fracture fractogragh indicates that the fracture is caused by the brittle fracture of the borides.

EFFECTS OF Sn AND Sb ON STRUCTURE AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF HIGH INDUCTION ORIENTED SILICON STEEL

Effects of Sn and Sb on the structure and magnetic properties of high induction oriented silicon steel have been investigated.The heats with Sn or Sb possess rather fine primary and secondary gram sizes.Sn or Sb promotes the finer AlN particles,increases the amount of pre- cipitated AlN after normalizing and strengthens the ability of inhibition.After decarburizing annealing,the texture components of{110}〈115〉and〈110〉〈001〉tend to increase and form more secondary grain nuclei.

Effects of Phenyl Content and Molecular Structure on the Refractive Index of Organic Silicon Polymer

The effects of phenyl content and group distribution on the refractive index of phenyl silicone oil were investigated by synthesis and characterization of silicone oils of different molecular structures.A group contribution function model was established to predict the refractive index. The results showed that refractive index of phenyl silicone oil increased as its phenyl content increased. A linear equation had been established to describe the quantitative relationship between the refractive index and phenyl content.Refractive index values from the group contribution function model showed good consistency with experimental results.

Hierarchical microstructures with high spatial frequency laser induced periodic surface structures possessing different orientations created by femtosecond laser ablation of silicon in liquids

High spatial frequency laser induced periodic surface structures(HSFLs)on silicon substrates are often developed on flat surfaces at low fluences near ablation threshold of 0.1 J/cm2,seldom on microstructures or microgrooves at relatively higher fluences above 1 J/cm^2.This work aims to enrich the variety of HSFLs-containing hierarchical microstructures,by femtosecond laser(pulse duration:457 fs,wavelength:1045 nm,and repetition rate:100 kHz)in liquids(water and acetone)at laser fluence of 1.7 J/cm^2.The period of Si-HSFLs in the range of 110–200 nm is independent of the scanning speeds(0.1,0.5,1 and 2 mm/s),line intervals(5,15 and 20μm)of scanning lines and scanning directions(perpendicular or parallel to light polarization direction).It is interestingly found that besides normal HSFLs whose orientations are perpendicular to the direction of light polarization,both clockwise or anticlockwise randomly tilted HSFLs with a maximal deviation angle of 50°as compared to those of normal HSFLSs are found on the microstructures with height gradients.Raman spectra and SEM characterization jointly clarify that surface melting and nanocapillary waves play important roles in the formation of Si-HSFLs.The fact that no HSFLs are produced by laser ablation in air indicates that moderate melting facilitated with ultrafast liquid cooling is beneficial for the formation of HSFLs by LALs.On the basis of our findings and previous reports,a synergistic formation mechanism for HSFLs at high fluence was proposed and discussed,including thermal melting with the concomitance of ultrafast cooling in liquids,transformation of the molten layers into ripples and nanotips by surface plasmon polaritons(SPP)and second-harmonic generation(SHG),and modulation of Si-HSFLs direction by both nanocapillary waves and the localized electric field coming from the excited large Si particles.

Probing Structure, Thermochemistry, Electron Affinity and Magnetic Moment of Dysprosium-doped Silicon Clusters DySi_n(n = 3～10) and Their Anions with Double-hybrid Density Functional Theory

The equilibrium geometries, electronic structures and electronic properties including adiabatic electron affinity（AEA）, vertical detachment energy（VDE）, simulated photoelectron spectroscopy, HOMO-LUMO gap, charge transfer, and magnetic moment for DySi_n（n = 3~10） clusters and their anions were systematically investigated by using the ABCluster global search technique combined with the B3 LYP and B2 PLYP density functional methods. The results showed that the lowest energy structure of neutral DySi_n（n = 3~10） can be regarded as substituting a Si atom of the ground state structure of Si_（n＋1） with a Dy atom. For anions, the extra electron effect on the structure is significant. Starting from n = 6, the lowest energy structures of DySi_n~？（n = 3~10） differ from those of neutral. The ground state is quintuplet electronic state for DySi_n（n = 3~10） excluding DySi_4 and DySi_9, which is a septet electronic state. For anions, the ground state is a sextuplet electronic state. The reliable AEA and VDE of DySi_n（n = 3~10） are reported. Analyses of HOMO-LUMO gaps indicated that doping Dy atom to silicon clusters can improve significantly their photochemical reactivity, especially for DySi_9. Analyses of NPA revealed that the 4 f electrons of Dy in DySi_4, DySi_9, and DySi_n~？ with n = 4 and 6~10 participate in bonding. That is, DySi_nbelongs to the AB type. The 4 f electrons of Dy atom provide substantially the total magnetic moments for DySi_n and their anions. The dissociation energies of Ln（Ln = Pr, Sm, Eu, Gd, Ho, and Dy） fromLn Sin and their anions were evaluated to examine the relative stabilities.

Sub-micron-structure machining on silicon by femtosecond laser

Sub-micron-structure machining on silicon substrate was studied by direct writing system of femtosecond laser with the central wavelength of 800 nm, pulse duration of 120 fs and repetition rate of 1 kHz. Three kinds of experiments were conducted: 1) the effect of photoresist on silicon; 2) machinability of different orientations of silicon; and 3) the size of micro-structure and the cross-section shape. Photoresist SU8 was coated onto silicon substrates in thicknesses of 100 μm. SU8 remained on the silicon substrate while the silicon under the machined SU8 was removed after laser machining. Orientations of (100), (110), and (111) silicon substrates were machined with the laser power of 60 μW and the scanning speed of 3 mm/min. Spike morphologies were observed on all three orientations of silicon substrates without obvious directional difference of these spikes on different silicon substrates. In addition, the ablation threshold energies were also similar. In the consideration of ablation energy, one numerical model of the machining parameters has been proposed to simulate the cross-section of the micro-structure. The predicted shape by simulation can fit the profile of the cross-section shape well.

STRUCTURE EFFECTS OF SILICON AND CARBON BY CLUSTER MASS SPECTRA

Microclusters from different structures of silicon and carbon are studied by SIMS under UHV conditions in the mass range below M=200. The sputtered mass spectra of ions Sin+, Cn+ and Cn were obtained from the 10 keV O2+ primary beam bombardment. Comparisons of each spectrum in each group have shown the strong structure effects on the cluster patterns. A brief discussion on the results has been given.

A comparison study on the electronic structures, lattice dynamics and thermoelectric properties of bulk silicon and silicon nanotubes

In order to investigate the mechanism of the electron and phonon transport in a silicon nanotube （SiNT）, the elec- tronic structures, the lattice dynamics, and the thermoelectric properties of bulk silicon （bulk Si） and a SiNT have been calculated in this work using density functional theory and Boltzmann transport theory. Our results suggest that the thermal conductivity of a SiNT is reduced by a factor of 1, while its electrical conductivity is improved significantly, although the Seebeck coefficient is increased slightly as compared to those of the bulk Si. As a consequence, the figure of merit （ZT） of a SiNT at 1200 K is enhanced by 12 times from 0.08 for bulk Si to 1.10. The large enhancement in electrical conductivity originates from the largely increased density of states at the Fermi energy level and the obviously narrowed band gap. The significant reduction in thermal conductivity is ascribed to the remarkably suppressed phonon thermal conductivity caused by a weakened covalent bonding, a decreased phonon density of states, a reduced phonon vibration frequency, as well as a shortened mean free path of phonons. The other factors influencing the thermoelectric properties have also been studied from the perspective of electronic structures and lattice dynamics.

Synthesis and room-temperature NO_2 gas sensing properties of a WO_3 nanowires/porous silicon hybrid structure

We report on the fabrication and performance of a room-temperature NO2 gas sensor based on a WO3 nanowires/porous silicon hybrid structure. The W18O49 nanowires are synthesized directly from a sputtered tungsten film on a porous silicon （PS） layer under heating in an argon atmosphere. After a carefully controlled annealing treatment, WO3 nanowires are obtained on the PS layer without losing the morphology. The morphology, phase structure, and crystallinity of the nanowires are investigated by using field emission scanning electron microscopy （FESEM）, X-ray diffractometer （XRD）, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy （HRTEM）. Comparative gas sensing results indicate that the sensor based on the WO3 nanowires exhibits a much higher sensitivity than that based on the PS and pure WO3 nanowires in detecting NO2 gas at room temperature. The mechanism of the WO3 nanowires/PS hybrid structure in the NO2 sensing is explained in detail.

Ring Structures of Silicone Oligomers:a Density Functional Theory Study

Silicones can be cross-linked to materials with a wide variety of properties.In this work,the ringed oligomers of [SiO(OH)_2]nas well as the stacked structures of trimer and the linear strands of the dimer and trimer were investigated systematically at B3 LYP/6-311 + + G(d,p) level combined with the conductor-like screening model(CPCM).This theoretical model reveals that,(1) SiO(OH)_2 will condense to stable ringed structures with SiO tetrahedrons;(2) in the ringed octamer [SiO(OH)_2]8,the macrocycle begins to pucker drastically;(3) from the linear strands of SiO rings it can be seen that the longer the chain is,the greater the energies decrease;(4) in [SiO(OH)_2]n(n ≥5) and in the strands of ringed oligomers,the highest occupied molecular orbitals(HOMOs) are primarily the n orbitals of the lone-pair electrons of oxygen atoms,so there are no delocalized π bonds.

Effect of driving frequency on the structure of silicon grown on Ag(111) films by very-high-frequency magnetron sputtering

The effect of driving frequency on the structure of silicon grown on Ag（111） film is investigated, which was prepared by using the very-high-frequency（VHF）（40.68 MHz and 60 MHz） magnetron sputtering. The energy and flux density of the ions impinging on the substrate are also analyzed. It is found that for the 60-MHz VHF magnetron sputtering, the surface of silicon on Ag（111） film exhibits a small cone structure, similar to that of Ag（111） film substrate, indicating a better microstructure continuity. However, for the 40.68-MHz VHF magnetron sputtering, the surface of silicon on Ag（111） film shows a hybrid structure of hollowed-cones and hollowed-particles, which is completely different from that of Ag（111）film. The change of silicon structure is closely related to the differences in the ion energy and flux density controlled by the driving frequency of sputtering.

Three-dimensional Deposition of Silicon Structure from Silicate Glass with Dispersed Metallie Muminum by Femtosecond Laser Irradiation

We fabricated a silicon structure in silicate glass prepared with metallic aluminum in the starting material, using femtosecond laser irradiation. Small Si-rich structures such as Si clusters were transformed into larger, but still nano-sized, Si particles by laser irradiation. These structures grew to microsize particles due to the thermite reaction promoted by heat treatment. We determined the effect of focused laser pulses on the Si deposition process using the time-resolved transient lens method. Localized high-temperature, high-pressure, and the generation of shock waves appear to be very important in forming the Si-rich structures that ultimately grow into Si particles.

Effect of Silicon Application on Rice Growth and Production Structure

This paper studies the effect of silicon on the growth and production structure of rice( Oryza sativa L.),and proposes the appropriate applying amount of silicon. The results show that the application of silicon fertilizer to rice can increase specific leaf weight and leaf area index,and improve rice yield by increasing grain number,kernel number and thousand kernel weight. The growth rate of rice yield is 3. 45%-15. 69% by applying silicon. In the Jianghan Plain,the applying amount of silicon fertilizer for rice( SiO_2) is recommended at 15-30 kg/ha.

Modelling and Calculation of Silicon Conduction Band Structure and Parameters with Arbitrary Uniaxial Stress

Using the k·p theory, the coupling effect between the Δ1 and Δ2’ bands on the energy band structure of different energy valleys is studied. The analytical model of the energy-dispersion relationship applicable to uniaxial stress for arbitrary crystal plane and orientation as well as different energy valleys is established. For typical crystal orientations, the main parameters of energy band structure such as band edge level, splitting energy, density-of-state (DOS) effective mass and conductivity effective mass are calculated. The calculated results are in good agreement with the data reported in related literature. Finally, the relationship between the DOS effective mass, conductivity effective mass and the change of stress and orientation of different crystal planes is given. The proposed model and calculation results can provide a theoretical reference for the design of nano-electronic devices and TCAD simulation.

Realization of advanced passive silicon photonic devices with subwavelength grating structures developed by efficient inverse design

Compact passive silicon photonic devices with high performance are always desired for future largescale photonic integration.Inverse design provides a promising approach to realize new-generation photonic devices,while it is still very challenging to realize complex photonic devices for most inverse designs reported previously due to the limits of computational resources.Here,we present the realization of several representative advanced passive silicon photonic devices with complex optimization,including a sixchannel mode(de)multiplexer,a broadband 90 deg hybrid,and a flat-top wavelength demultiplexer.These devices are designed inversely by optimizing a subwavelength grating(SWG)region and the multimode excitation and the multimode interference are manipulated.Particularly,such SWG structures are more fabrication-friendly than those random nanostructures introduced in previous inverse designs.The realized photonic devices have decent performances in a broad bandwidth with a low excess loss of<1 dB,which is much lower than that of previous inverse-designed devices.The present inverse design strategy shows great effectiveness for designing advanced photonic devices with complex requirements(which is beyond the capability of previous inverse designs)by using affordable computational resources.

Morphology and Structure of SiO_2 Film Using Thermal Oxidation Process on(111)Silicon Crystals in Dry Oxygen Atmosphere

By means of scanning electron microscope(SEM)and high voltage electron microscope(HVEM)we have observed and analysed morphology and micro-structure of silicon oxide film with different thickness formed on(111)silicon monocrystal under dry oxygen atmosphere at 1100℃.Compared with their oxidation kinetic curves consisted of three stages,we suggested a mechanism on forming silicon oxide film.According to electron and X-ray diffraction analyses the silicon oxide films consisted of silica with different crystal structure.We also have discussed a stacking fault and a dislocation formed in the Si-Sio_2 interface region simulaneously forming silicon oxide film.