Influence of microstructure on the corrosion resistance of Fe–44Ni thin films

An Fe–44Ni nanocrystalline（NC） alloy thin film was prepared through electrodeposition. The relation between the microstructure and corrosion behavior of the NC film was investigated using electrochemical methods and chemical analysis approaches. The results show that the NC film is composed of a face-centered cubic phase（γ-（Fe,Ni）） and a body-centered cubic phase（α-（Fe,Ni）） when it is annealed at temperatures less than 400℃. The corrosion resistance increases with the increase in grain size, and the corresponding corrosion process is controlled by oxygen reduction. The NC films annealed at 500℃ and 600℃ do not exhibit the same pattern, although their grain sizes are considerably large. This result is attributed to the existence of an anodic phase, Fe0.947Ni0.054, in these films. Under this condition, the related corrosion process is synthetically controlled by anodic dissolution and depolarization.

A low-frequency wideband metamaterial absorber based on a cave-disk resonator and resistive film

A low-frequency wideband, polarization-insensitive and wide-angle metamaterial absorber （MA） is designed, simulated and analyzed. This MA consists of a periodic arrangement of a cave-disk resonator （CDR）, square resistive film （RF）, and metal ground plane （GP） （a 0.8 mm-thick FR-4 dielectric spacer is sandwiched in between the CDR and RF, and another 1.2-mm thick FR-4 dielectric spacer is inserted in between the RF and GP）. The simulated results based on finite integration technology （FIT） indicate that the absorption of the MA is greater than 90% and almost perfectly impedance- matched to the free space in the whole frequency range of 1 GHz–7 GHz. The simulated absorptions under the conditions of different polarization and incident angles indicate that this composite structure absorber is polarization-insensitive and wide-angled. Furthermore, the distribution of the power loss density indicates that the wideband absorptivity is mainly from the composite electromagnetic loss of the CDR and RF. This design provides an effective and feasible way to construct a low-frequency wideband absorber.

An ultrathin wide-band planar metamaterial absorber based on a fractal frequency selective surface and resistive film

We propose an ultrathin wide-band metamaterial absorber （MA） based on a Minkowski （MIK） fractal frequency selective surface and resistive film. This absorber consists of a periodic arrangement of dielectric substrates sandwiched with an MIK fractal loop structure electric resonator and a resistive film. The finite element method is used to simulate and analyze the absorption of the MA. Compared with the MA-backed copper film, the designed MA-backed resistive film exhibits an absorption of 90% at a frequency region of 2 GHz-20 GHz. The power loss density distribution of the MA is further illustrated to explain the mechanism of the proposed MA. Simulated absorptions at different incidence cases indicate that this absorber is polarization-insensitive and wide-angled. Finally, further simulated results indicate that the surface resistance of the resistive film and the dielectric constant of the substrate can affect the absorbing property of the MA. This absorber may be used in many military fields.

Broadband,polarization-insensitive,and wide-angle microwave absorber based on resistive film

A simple design of broadband metamaterial absorber（MA） based on resistive film is numerically presented in this paper.The unit cell of this absorber is composed of crossed rectangular rings-shaped resistive film,dielectric substrate,and continuous metal film.The simulated results indicate that the absorber obtains a 12.82-GHz-wide absorption from about 4.75 GHz to 17.57 GHz with absorptivity over 90% at normal incidence.Distribution of surface power loss density is illustrated to understand the intrinsic absorption mechanism of the structure.The proposed structure can work at wide polarization angles and wide angles of incidence for both transverse electric（TE） and transverse magnetic（TM） waves.Finally,the multi-reflection interference theory is involved to analyze and explain the broadband absorption mechanism at both normal and oblique incidence.Moreover,the polarization-insensitive feature is also investigated by using the interference model.It is seen that the simulated and calculated absorption rates agree fairly well with each other for the absorber.

Morphology Structure and Electrical Properties of NiCr Thin Film Grown on the Substrate of Silicon Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering

NiCr micron-resistor was designed and prepared by magnetron sputtering and lithography on the substrate of silicon with different powers. It is found that there exists a big gap in the TCR between the annealed group and the un-annealed group. A series of tests were made to figure out the reasons lying behind the gap in the TCR between the annealed group and the un-annealed group. UV reflection results show that there is no increase in the concentration of free electrons after annealing. However, the data obtained from XRD reveal that the annealing does not have an obvious influence on the strain of thin films, but really increases the grain size of thin films. Therefore, the grain boundary scattering plays a dominant role in explaining the obvious difference in the TCR. Finally through appropriate methods, a micron-resistor for heating-up with a low TCR value was obtained.

Nonvolatile Resistive Switching and Physical Mechanism in LaCrO3 Thin Films

Polycrystalline LaCrO3（LCO） thin films are deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition and used as the switching material to construct resistive random access memory devices. The unipolar resistive switching（RS） behavior in the Au/LCO/Pt devices exhibits a high resistance ratio of ~104 between the high resistance state（HRS） and low resistance state（LRS） and exhibits excellent endurance/retention characteristics.The conduction mechanism of the HRS in the high voltage range is dominated by the Schottky emission, while the Ohmic conduction dictates the LRS and the low voltage range of HRS. The RS behavior in the Au/LCO/Pt devices can be understood by the formation and rupture of conducting filaments consisting of oxygen vacancies,which is validated by the temperature dependence of resistance and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results.Further analysis shows that the reset current IR and reset power PR in the reset processes exhibit a scaling law with the resistance in LRS（R0）, which indicates that the Joule heating effect plays an essential role in the RS behavior of the Au/LCO/Pt devices.

PREPARATION AND PROPERTIES OF Ni-Cr AND Fe-Cr-Al FILMS BY VACUUM EVAPORATION

Ni-Cr and Fe-Cr-Al films deposited on the Al2O3 substrate are studied by a method of vacuum evaporation in this paper. Influence of resistance value on density and evaporation parameters of the films reveals that the resistance of films and the adhesion of films to substrates are determined by the evaporation time and the substrate temperate under the condition of the maximum vacuity of 6.2×10-4 Pa, respectively.

Bipolar Resistive Switching in Epitaxial Mn_3O_4 Thin Films on Nb-Doped SrTiO_3 Substrates

Spinel （O01）-orientated Mn304 thin films on Nb-doped SrTi03 （001） substrates are fabricated via the pulsed laser deposition method. X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy indicate that the as-prepared epitaxial fihn is well crystaiHzed. In the film plane the orientation relationship between the film and the substrate is [lOOjMn3 04 ｜｜[110] Nb-doped SrTiO3. After an electroforming process, the film shows bipolar nonvolatile resistance switching behavior. The positive voltage bias drives the sample into a low resistance state, while the negative voltage switches it back to a high resistance state. The switching polarity is different from the previous studies. The complex impedance measurement suggests that the resistance switching behavior is of filament type. Due to the performance reproducibility and state stability, Mn3O4 might be a promising candidate for the resistive random access memory devices.

Effects of Film Thickness and Ar/O2 Ratio on Resistive Switching Characteristics of HfOx-Based Resistive-Switching Random Access Memories

Cu/HfOx/n^＋Si devices are fabricated to investigate the influence of technological parameters including film thickness and Ar/02 ratio on the resistive switching （RS） characteristics of HfOx films, in terms of switch ratio, endurance properties, retention time and multilevel storage. It is revealed that the RS characteristics show strong dependence on technological parameters mainly by altering the defects （oxygen vacancies） in the film. The sample with thickness of 2Onto and Ar/O2 ratio of 12：3 exhibits the best RS behavior with the potential of multilevel storage. The conduction mechanism of all the films is interpreted based on the filamentary model.

Skin temperature measurement method

To improve the accuracy of skin temperature measurements in thermal comfort research,a new measurement method based on a new thermometer is proposed.A platinum film resistance（Pt1000）sensor of the thermometer is welded on a printed circuit board to eliminate the heat loss from the leads and avoid the influence of the surrounding thermal environment.In order to determine the suitable thickness of the board,a steady heat conduction model is established.The simulation results reveal that when the thickness of the board is 0.2 mm,the influence of the surrounding air can be effectively prevented and the skin temperature does not obviously increase.The experimental results of verification show that the maximum measurement error of the skin temperature measured by the thermometer is 0.24 ℃,and the average measurement error of the skin temperature is 0.04 ℃.The proposed method provides an effective and reliable option for the skin temperature measurement in thermal comfort research.

Effect of Axial Magnetic Field on the Microstructure, Hardness and Wear Resistance of TiN Films Deposited by Arc Ion Plating

TiN films were deposited on stainless steel substrates by arc ion plating. The influence of an axial magnetic field was examined with regard to the microstructure, chemical elemental composition, mechanical properties and wear resistance of the films. The results showed that the magnetic field puts much effect on the preferred orientation, chemical composition, hardness and wear resistance of TiN films. The preferred orientation of the TiN films changed from（111） to（220） and finally to the coexistence of（111） and（220） texture with the increase in the applied magnetic field intensity. The concentration of N atoms in the TiN films increases with the magnetic field intensity, and the concentration of Ti atoms shows an opposite trend. At first, the hardness and elastic modulus of the TiN films increase and reach a maximum value at 5 m T and then decrease with the further increase in the magnetic field intensity. The high hardness was related to the N/Ti atomic ratio and to a well-pronounced preferred orientation of the（111） planes in the crystallites of the film parallel to the substrate surface. The wear resistance of the Ti N films was significantly improved with the application of the magnetic field, and the lowest wear rate was obtained at magnetic field intensity of 5 m T. Moreover, the wear resistance of the films was related to the hardness H and the H3/E＊2 ratio in the manner that a higher H3/E＊2 ratio was conducive to the enhancement of the wear resistance.

Characteristic modification by inserted metal layer and interface graphene layer in ZnO-based resistive switching structures

ZnO-based resistive switching device Ag/ZnO/TiN, and its modified structure Ag/ZnO/Zn/ZnO/TiN and Ag/graphene/ZnO/TiN, were prepared. The effects of inserted Zn layers in ZnO matrix and an interface graphene layer on resistive switching characteristics were studied. It is found that metal ions, oxygen vacancies, and interface are involved in the RS process. A thin inserted Zn layer can increase the resistance of HRS and enhance the resistance ratio. A graphene interface layer between ZnO layer and top electrode can block the carrier transport and enhance the resistance ratio to several times. The results suggest feasible routes to tailor the resistive switching performance of ZnO-based structure.

Influence of bias voltage on structure,mechanical and corrosion properties of reactively sputtered nanocrystalline TiN films

Nanocrystalline TiN films were prepared by DC reactive magnetron sputtering.The influence of substrate biases on structure,mechanical and corrosion properties of the deposited films was studied using X-ray diffraction,field emission scanning electron microscopy,nanoindentation and electrochemical techniques.The deposited films have a columnar structure,and their preferential orientation strongly depends on bias voltage.The preferential orientations change from（200）plane at low bias to（111）plane at moderate bias and then to（220）plane at relatively high bias.Nanohardness H,elastic modulus E,H/E＊and H3/E＊2 ratios,and corrosion resistance of the deposited films increase first and then decrease with the increase in bias voltage.All the best values appear at bias of-120 V,attributing to the film with a fine,compact and less defective structure.This demonstrates that there is a close relation among microstructure,mechanical and corrosion properties of the TiN films,and the film with the best mechanical property can also provide the most effective corrosion protection.

Stress and resistivity controls on in situ boron doped LPCVD polysilicon films for high-Q MEMS applications

The simultaneous control of residual stress and resistivity of polysilicon thin films by adjusting the deposition parameters and annealing conditions is studied. In situ boron doped polysilicon thin films deposited at 520 ℃ by low pressure chemical vapor deposition （LPCVD） are amorphous with relatively large compressive residual stress and high resistivity. Annealing the amorphous films in a temperature range of 600-800 ℃ gives polysilicon films nearly zero-stress and relatively low resistivity. The low residual stress and low resistivity make the polysilicon films attractive for potential applications in micro-electro-mechanical-systems （MEMS） devices, especially in high resonance frequency （high-f） and high quality factor （high-Q） MEMS resonators. In addition, polysilicon thin films deposited at 570 ℃ and those without the post annealing process have low resistivities of 2-5 mΩ·cm. These reported approaches avoid the high temperature annealing process （〉 1000 ℃）, and the promising properties of these films make them suitable for high-Q and high-f MEMS devices.

Optical Constant and Electrical Resistivity of Annealed Sn3Sb2S6 Thin Films

In this study,we report the annealing effects on the physical properties of Sn_3Sb_2S_6 thin films.Sn_3Sb_2S_6 thin films were prepared onto non-heated glass substrates via thermal evaporation technique.The as-deposited films were annealed in air for 1 h in the temperature range from 100 to 300 °C.X-ray diffraction results show that the crystallinity of the thin films increased after annealing.The microstructure parameters crystallite size,dislocation density,lattice strain and stacking fault probability were calculated.The optical properties were obtained from the analysis of the experimental recorded transmittance and reflectance spectral data over the wavelength range 300–1800 nm.High absorption coefficient（10~5cm^（-1）） reached to the visible and near-IR spectral range.A decrease in optical band gap from 1.92 to 1.71 e V by increasing the air annealing temperature was observed.Oscillator energy E_o and dispersion energy E_d of the films after annealing were estimated according to the model of Wemple–Di Domenico single oscillator.Spitzer–Fan model was applied to determine the electron free carrier susceptibility and the ratio of carrier concentration to the effective mass.The layers annealed at temperatures 〉150 ℃ undergo abrupt changes in their electrical properties and exhibit a resistive hysteresis behavior.These properties confer to the material interest perspectives for its application in diverse advanced technologies such as photovoltaic applications and optical storage.