Resistive switching behavior and mechanism of HfO_(x) films with large on/off ratio by structure design

Different bilayer structures of HfO_(x)/Ti(TiO_(x)) are designed for hafnium-based memory to investigate the switching characteristics. The chemical states in the films and near the interface are characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,and the oxygen vacancies are analyzed. Highly improved on/off ratio(~104) and much uniform switching parameters are observed for bilayer structures compared to single layer HfO_(x) sample, which can be attributed to the modulation of oxygen vacancies at the interface and better control of the growth of filaments. Furthermore, the reliability of the prepared samples is investigated. The carrier conduction behaviors of HfO_(x)-based samples can be attributed to the trapping and de-trapping process of oxygen vacancies and a filamentary model is proposed. In addition, the rupture of filaments during the reset process for the bilayer structures occur at the weak points near the interface by the recovery of oxygen vacancies accompanied by the variation of barrier height. The re-formation of fixed filaments due to the residual filaments as lightning rods results in the better switching performance of the bilayer structure.

Suppression of Co(Ⅱ)ion deposition and hazards:Regulation of SEI film composition and structure

Despite the presence of Li F components in the solid electrolyte interphase(SEI)formed on the graphite anode surface by conventional electrolyte,these Li F components primarily exist in an amorphous state,rendering them incapable of effectively inhibiting the exchange reaction between lithium ions and transition metal ions in the electrolyte.Consequently,nearly all lithium ions within the SEI film are replaced by transition metal ions,resulting in an increase in interphacial impedance and a decrease in stability.Herein,we demonstrate that the SEI film,constructed by fluoroethylene carbonate(FEC)additive rich in crystalline Li F,effectively inhibits the undesired Li^(+)/Co^(2+)ion exchange reaction,thereby suppressing the deposition of cobalt compounds and metallic cobalt.Furthermore,the deposited cobalt compounds exhibit enhanced structural stability and reduced catalytic activity with minimal impact on the interphacial stability of the graphite anode.Our findings reveal the crucial influence of SEI film composition and structure on the deposition and hazards associated with transition metal ions,providing valuable guidance for designing next-generation electrolytes.

Highly Thermally Conductive and Structurally Ultra‑Stable Graphitic Films with Seamless Heterointerfaces for Extreme Thermal Management

Highly thermally conductive graphitic film(GF)materials have become a competitive solution for the thermal management of high-power electronic devices.However,their catastrophic structural failure under extreme alternating thermal/cold shock poses a significant challenge to reliability and safety.Here,we present the first investigation into the structural failure mechanism of GF during cyclic liquid nitrogen shocks(LNS),which reveals a bubbling process characterized by“permeation-diffusion-deformation”phenomenon.To overcome this long-standing structural weakness,a novel metal-nanoarmor strategy is proposed to construct a Cu-modified graphitic film(GF@Cu)with seamless heterointerface.This well-designed interface ensures superior structural stability for GF@Cu after hundreds of LNS cycles from 77 to 300 K.Moreover,GF@Cu maintains high thermal conductivity up to 1088 W m^(−1)K^(−1)with degradation of less than 5%even after 150 LNS cycles,superior to that of pure GF(50%degradation).Our work not only offers an opportunity to improve the robustness of graphitic films by the rational structural design but also facilitates the applications of thermally conductive carbon-based materials for future extreme thermal management in complex aerospace electronics.

First-principles study and electronic structures of Mn-doped ultrathin ZnO nanofilms

The first-principles density functional calculation is used to investigate the electronic structures and magnetic properties of Mn-doped and N-co-doped ZnO nanofilms.The band structure calculation shows that the band gaps of ZnO films with 2,4,and 6 layers are larger than the band gap of the bulk with wurtzite structure and decrease with the increase of film thickness.However,the four-layer ZnO nanofilms exhibit ferromagnetic phases for Mn concentrations less than 24% and 12% for Mn-doping performed in the whole layers and two layers of the film respectively,while they exhibit spin glass phases for higher Mn concentrations.It is also found,on the one hand,that the spin glass phase turns into the ferromagnetic one,with the substitution of nitrogen atoms for oxygen atoms,for nitrogen concentrations higher than 16% and 5% for Mn-doping performed in the whole layers and two layers of the film respectively.On the other hand,the spin-glass state is more stable for ZnO bulk containing 5% of Mn impurities,while the ferromagnetic phase is stable by introducing the p-type carriers into the bulk system.Moreover,it is shown that using the effective field theory for ferromagnetic system,the Curie temperature is close to the room temperature for the undamped Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yoshida（RKKY） interaction.

Structures and optical properties of tungsten oxide thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering of WO_3 bulk:Effects of annealing temperatures

Tungsten oxide thin films were deposited on glass substrates by the magnetron sputtering of WO3 bulk at room temperature. The deposited films were annealed at different temperatures in air. The structural measurements indicate that the films annealed below 300℃ were amorphous, while the films annealed at 400 ℃ were mixed crystalline with hexagonal and triclinic phases of WO3. It was observed that the crystallization of the annealed films becomes more and more distinct with an increase in the annealing temperature. At 400 ℃, nanorod-like structures were observed on the film surface when the annealing time was increased from 60 min to 180 min. The presence of W=O stretching, W-O-W stretching, W-O-W bending and various lattice vibration modes were observed in Raman measurements. The optical absorption behaviors of the films in the range of 450-800 nm are very different with changing annealing temperatures from the room temperature to 400 ℃. After annealing at 400 ℃, the film becomes almost transparent. Increasing annealing time at 400 ℃ can lead to a small blue shift of the optical gap of the film.

Effect of surfactants on the structure and photoelectric properties of ITO films by sol-gel method

The Indium tin oxide（ITO） thin film possesses excellent photoelectric properties that enable it to act as an ideal transparent conductor.To obtain high-quality ITO films through sol-gel method, the ionic surfactant monoethanolamine and the non-ionic surfactant polyethylene glycol（PEG） were added to the ITO precursor slurry.The influences of surfactants on the structural and photoelectric properties of ITO film samples were investigated.XRD patterns indicated that surfactant monoethanolamine contributed to film predominant grain orientation along the（400） plane.The high transmittance（over 95%） was attributed to the preferred orientation and the grain size expansion of ITO films.SEM showed that the surface particle size and the morphology of ITO films were strongly dependent on the kind of surfactants used.Moving to the shortwave region, the absorption edge of the films exhibited the Burstein-Moss shift.

The effect of multilayer structure on magnetic properties of FePt thin films

The Fe/Pt multilayer films with different structures were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on glass substrates, and the L10-FePt films were obtained after the asdeposited samples were subjected to vacuum annealing at various temperatures. Results show that the Fe/Pt multilayer structure can effectively reduce the ordering temperature of FePt film, and the in-plane coercivity of [Fe （5.2 nm）/Pt （5.2 nm）]7 multilayers can reach 161.2 kA/m after annealed at 350℃ for 30 min. When Fe and Pt layer thickness is equal, the coercivity of the film is the largest. On the other hand, the different Fe-Pt crystalline phases such as Fe3Pt and FePt3 phases are formed after annealing when the thickness ratio of Fe/Pt deviates from 1 after annealing. When Fe and Pt have the same thickness, the thinner single layer gets the lower ordering temperature and the larger coercivity.

Influence of Bath Temperature, Deposition Time and S/Cd Ratio on the Structure, Surface Morphology, Chemical Composition and Optical Properties of CdS Thin Films Elaborated by Chemical Bath Deposition

Cadmium sulphide (CdS) thin films were deposited on glass substrates by the chemical bath deposition (CBD) method, using anhydrous cadmium chloride (CdCl2) and thiourea (CS(NH2)2) as sources of cadmium and sulphur ions respectively. The influence of bath temperature (Tb), deposition time (td) aSnd [S]/[Cd] ratio in the solution on the structural, morphological, chemical composition and optical properties of these films were investigated. XRD studies revealed that all the deposited films were polycrystalline with hexagonal structure and exhibited (002) preferential orientation. The films deposited under optimum conditions (Tb = 75?C, td = 60 min and [S]/[Cd] ratio = 2.5) were relatively well crystallized. These films showed large final thickness and their surface morphologies were composed of small grains with an approximate size of 20 to 30 nm and grains grouped together to form large clusters. EDAX analysis revealed that these films were nonstoichiometric with a slight sulphur deficiency. These films exhibited also a transmittance value about 80% in the visible and infra red range.

Structure and Mechanical Performance of Nitrogen Doped Diamond-like Carbon Films

Nitrogen doped diamond-like carbon （DLC：N） films were prepared by electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition （ECR-CVD） on polycrystalline Si chips. Film thickness is about 50 nm. Auger electron spectroscopy （AES） was used to evaluate nitrogen content, and increasing N2 flow improved N content from 0 to 7.6%. Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） analysis results reveal CN-sp^3C and N-sp^2C structure. With increasing the N2 flow, sp^3C decreases from 73.74% down to 42.66%, and so does N-sp^3C from 68.04% down to 20.23%. The hardness decreases from 29.18 GPa down to 19.74 GPa, and the Young＇s modulus from 193.03 GPa down to 144.52 GPa.

Evolution of magnetic domain structure of martensite in Ni–Mn–Ga films under the interplay of the temperature and magnetic field

Ferromagnetic shape memory Ni-Mn-Ga films with 7M modulated structure were prepared on MgO （001） substrates by magnetron sputtering. Magnetization process with a typical two-hysteresis loop indicates the occurrence of the reversible magnetic field-induced reorientation. Magnetic domain structure and twin structure of the film were controlled by the in- terplay of the magnetic and temperature field. With cooling under an out-of-plane magnetic field, the evolution of magnetic domain structure reveals that martensitic transformation could be divided into two periods： nucleation and growth. With an in-plane magnetic field applied to a thermomagnetic-treated film, the evolution of magnetic domain structure gives evidence of a reorientation of twin variants of martensite. A microstructural model is described to define the twin structure and to produce the magnetic domain structure at the beginning of martensitic transformation; based on this model, the relationship between the twin structure and the magnetic domain structure for the treated film under an in-plane field is also described.

Magnetic properties and structure of Ni_80Fe_20/Ni_48Fe_12Cr_40 bilayer films deposited on SiO_2/Si(100) by electron beam evaporation

Ni80Fe20/Ni48Fe12Cr40 bilayer films and Ni80Fe20 monolayer films were deposited at room temperature on SiO2/Si（100） substrates by electron beam evaporation. The influence of the thickness of the Ni48Fe12Cr40 underlayer on the structure, magnetization, and magnetoresistance of the Ni80Fe20/Ni48Fe12Cr40 bilayer film was investigated. The thickness of the Ni48Fe12Cr40 layer varied from about 1 nm to 18 nm while the Ni80Fe20 layer thickness was fixed at 45 nm. For the as-deposited bilayer films the introducing of the Ni48Fe12Cr40 underlayer promotes both the （111） texture and grain growth in the Ni80Fe20 layer. The Ni48Fe12Cr40 underlayer has no significant influence on the magnetic moment of the Ni80Fe20/Ni48Fe12Cr40 bilayer film. However, the coercivity of the bilayer film changes with the thickness of the Ni48Fe12Cr40 undedayer. The optimum thickness of the Ni48Fe12Cr40 underlayer for improving the anisotropic magnetoresistance effect of the Ni80Fe20/Ni48Fe12Cr40 bilayer film is about 5 nm. With a decrease in temperature from 300 K to 81 K, the anisotropic magnetoresistance ratio of the Ni80Fe20 （45 nm）/Ni48Fe12Cr40 （5 nm） bilayer film increases linearly from 2.1% to 4.8% compared with that of the Ni80Fe20 monolayer film from 1.7% to 4.0%.

X-ray absorption near the edge structure and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies on pyrite prepared by thermally sulfurizing iron films

This paper reports how pyrite films were prepared by thermal sulfurization of magnetron sputtered iron films and characterized by X-ray absorption near edge structure spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy on a 4B9B beam line at the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The band gap of the pyrite agrees well with the optical band gap obtained by a spectrophotometer. The octahedral symmetry of pyrite leads to the splitting of the d orbit into t2g and eg levels. The high spin and low spin states were analysed through the difference of electron exchange interaction and the orbital crystal field. Only when the crystal field splitting is higher than 1.5 eV, the two weak peaks above the white lines can appear, and this was approved by experiments in the present work.

Structure and internal stress of Au films deposited on SiO_2/Si(100) and mica by dc sputtering

Au films with a thickness of about 300 nm were deposited on SiO_2/Si(100) andmica substrates by dc sputtering. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and field emission scanningelectron microscopy were used to analyze the structure and internal stress of the Au films. Thefirms grown on SiO_2/Si(100) show a preferential orientation of [111] in the growth direction.However the films grown on mica have mixture crystalline orientations of [111], [200], [220] and[311] in the growth direction and the orientations of [200] and [311] are slightly more than thoseof [111] and [220]. An internal stress in the films grown on SiO_2/Si(100) is tensile. For Au filmsgrown on mica the internal stresses in the [111]- and [311]-orientation grains are compressive whilethose in the [200]- and [220]-orientation grains are tensile. Au films grown SiO_2/Si(100) havesome very large grains with a size of about 400 nm and have a wider grain size distribution comparedwith those grown on mica.

Influence of Deposition Temperature and Pressure on Microstructure and Tribological Properties of Arc Ion Plated Ag Films

The films deposited at low temperature（LT-films） have increasingly attracted theoretical and technical interests since such films exhibit obvious difference in structure and performances compared to those deposited at room temperature.Studies on the tribological properties of LT-films are rarely reported in available literatures.In this paper,the structure,morphology and tribological properties of Ag films,deposited at LT（166 K） under various Ar pressures on AISI 440C steel substrates by arc ion plating（AIP）,are studied by X-ray diffraction（XRD）,atomic force microscopy（AFM） and a vacuum ball-on-disk tribometer,and compared with the Ag films deposited at RT（300 K）.XRD results show that（200） preferred orientation of the films is promoted at LT and low Ar pressure.The Crystallite sizes are 70 nm-80 nm for LT-Ag films deposited at 0.2 Pa and 0.8 Pa and larger than 100 nm for LT-Ag films deposited at 0.4 Pa and 0.6 Pa,while they are 55 nm-60 nm for RT-Ag films deposited at 0.2 Pa-0.6 Pa and 37 nm for RT-Ag films deposited at 0.8 Pa.The surfaces of LT-Ag films are fibre-like at 0.6 Pa and 0.8 Pa,terrace-like at 0.4 Pa,and sphere-like at 0.2 Pa,while the surfaces of RT-Ag films are composed of sphere-like grains separated by voids.Wear tests reveal that,due to the compact microstructure LT-Ag films have better wear resistances than RT-Ag film.These results indicate that the microstructure and wear resistance of Ag films deposited by AIP can be improved by low temperature deposition.

Structure distortion, optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films co-doped with Al and Sb by sol-gel spin coating

ZnO thin films co-doped with A1 and Sb with different concentrations and a fixed molar ratio of AlCl3 to SbCl3 at 1：2, are prepared by a sol-gel spin-coating method on glass annealed at 550 ℃ for 2 h in air. The x-ray diffraction results confirm that the ZnO thin films co-doped with Al distortion, and the biaxial stresses are 1.03× 10^8. 3.26× 10^8 and Sb are of wurtzite hexagonal ZnO with a very small 5.23 × 10^8, and 6.97× 10^8 Pa, corresponding to those of the ZnO thin films co-doped with Al and Sb in concentrations of 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, 6.0 at% respectively. The optical properties reveal that the ZnO thin films co-doped with Al and Sb have obviously enhanced transmittance in the visible region. The electrical properties show that ZnO thin film co-doped with Al and Sb in a concentration of 1.5 at% has a lowest resistivity of 2.5 Ω·cm.

Pore Structure Regulation of Carboxyethylated Microfibrillated Cellulose Films

Carboxyethylation is a recent chemical pretreatment for preparation of microfibrillated cellulose(MFC).The carboxyethylated MFC film prepared by coating method has compact structure and high mechanical properties.In order to expand its application,three approaches including using organic solvents,different drying methods and cationic additives,have been adopted in this paper to enrich and regulate the pore structure of MFC film.The results show that all the approaches can improve the pore structure but decrease the mechanical properties of MFC film.When organic solvents such as ethanol,isopropanol and n-butanol were used to replace the water in MFC suspension or pre-dried MFC film,the pore structure of films were increased.Additionally,the film obtained by freeze-drying or air-drying after freezing in liquid nitrogen or freezer has high porosity but poor strength.The best drying process is to rewet dry MFC film,freeze in liquid nitrogen and then freeze-dry.Moreover,the addition of cationic polyelectrolytes or alkene ketone dimer(AKD)in MFC suspension can also significantly increase the film's porosity.Through the above approaches,the porosity of carboxyethylated MFC film can be regulated between 20% and 90%.

Structure,magnetization, and magnetostriction of Sm-R-Fe (R=Pr,Nd) thin films

The structure, magnetization, and magnetostriction of Sm0.9Pr0.1Fex and Sm1-xNdxFel.9 thin films have been investigated using X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometer, and optical cantilever method. It is found that the structure of Sm0.9Pr0.1Fex thin films consists of an Sm-Pr-Fe amorphous phase when x≤2.69 and that of Sm1-xNdxFel.9 thin films consists of an Sm-Nd-Fe amorphous phase. The in-plane magnetization of Sm0.91Pr0.1Fex thin films increases with increase in the Fe content, and low values of the in-plane coercivity occur in the range of 1.62≤ x≤ 2.28. The magnetostriction value of Sm0.91Pr0.1Fex thin films increases with increasing the Fe content when x ≤ 1.94 and decreases when x 〉 1.94. The in-plane magnetostriction of Sm1-xNdxFe1.9 thin films under low magnetic fields has been improved by the substitution of Nd for Sm when x = 0.2.

THE EFFECTS OF SPUTTERING POWER ON STRUCTURE AND ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF Cu FILMS

Cu films with thickness of about 500nm were deposited on glass substrateswithout heating by DC magnetron sputtering in pure Ar gas of 1.0Pa. The sputtering powers weremaintained at 390V X 0.27A, 430V X 0.70A and 450V X l.04A, and the corresponding deposition rates ofCu film reached 35nm/min, l04nm/min and 167nm/min. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopyand atomic force microscopy were used to observe the structural characteristics of the films. Theresistance of the films was measured using four-point probe technique. The amount of larger grainsincreases and the resistivity of the films decreases evidently with an increase in sputtering power.It is considered that the increase in deposition rate with sputtering power mainly weakens theinfluence of residual gas atoms on the growing film, and increases substrate and gas temperatures,resulting in the increase in grain size and the decrease in resistivity of the Cu film.

Electronic structure and nematic phase transition in superconducting multiple-layer FeSe films grown by pulsed laser deposition method

We report comprehensive angle-resolved photoemission investigations on the electronic structure of single crystal multiple-layer FeSe films grown on CaF_2 substrate by pulsed laser deposition（PLD） method. Measurements on FeSe/CaF_2 samples with different superconducting transition temperatures T_c of 4 K, 9 K, and 14 K reveal electronic difference in their Fermi surface and band structure. Indication of the nematic phase transition is observed from temperature-dependent measurements of these samples; the nematic transition temperature is 140-160 K, much higher than ~90 K for the bulk FeSe. Potassium deposition is applied onto the surface of these samples; the nematic phase is suppressed by potassium deposition which introduces electrons to these FeSe films and causes a pronounced electronic structure change. We compared and discussed the electronic structure and superconductivity of the FeSe/CaF_2 films by PLD method with the FeSe/SrTiO_3 films by molecular beam epitaxy（MBE） method and bulk FeSe. The PLD-grown multilayer FeSe/CaF_2 is more hole-doped than that in MBE-grown multiple-layer FeSe films. Our results on FeSe/CaF_2 films by PLD method establish a link between bulk FeSe single crystal and FeSe/SrTiO_3 films by MBE method, and provide important information to understand superconductivity in FeSe-related systems.

Structure and Orientation of 1-(Hydroxyl)-5-(dodecyloxy)-naphthalene LB Films by Polarized Fluorescence Spectroscopy

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