Coacervate Structures of CdI_2 Thin Film Grown during Phase Transformation

The microstructure of CdI2 thin film grown during vapor-phase deposition was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thin film deposited on Si crystal consists of numerous sunflower-like aggregates. These aggregates display well self-assembly characteristics. The size of Sunflower-like aggregates is between 12 and 44 μm. Each sunflower-like aggregate is surrounded with many adjacent wings-'petals'. The structure of central region of the 'sunflower' is obviously difFerent from that of the 'petal'. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) was employed in determining the chemical valence of the thin film. Self-organization efFect is used to explain the coring growth process of CdI2 thin film

Correlation between the Low-Temperature Photoluminescence Spectra and Photovoltaic Properties of Thin Polycrystalline CdTe Films

A dominant intrinsic luminescence band, which is due to the surface potential barriers of crystalline grains, and an edge doublet, which arises as an LO-phonon repetition of the e-h band, has been revealed in the low-temperature photoluminescence spectra of fine-grained obliquely deposited films. Doping film with In impurity leads to quenching of the doublet band, while further thermal treatment causes activation of the intrinsic band, the half-width and the blue shift of the red edge of which correlates with the maximum value of anomalously high photovoltage generated by 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.

Fabrication and Properties of Double-Side Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 Thin Film on CeO2 Buffered Sapphire Substrate

The double-side Tl2Ba2 CaCu2O8 （Tl-2212） superconducting thin films were fabricated on CeO2 buffered sapphire substrates. The reactive magnetron sputtering technique was used to grow CeO2 buffer thin films on sapphire substrates. Making use of the metal cerium as a sputtering source, the depositing rate is much higher compared with the CeO2 target. The Ti-2212 thin films on CeO2 buffered sapphire substrates were fabricated by adc magnetron sputtering and post-annealing process. The x-ray diffraction indicates that the thin film is pure Tl-2212 phase with the e-axis perpendicular to the substrate surfaces, and epitaxially grown on the CeO2 buffered sapphire. The critical transition temperature Tc is around 106K, the critical current density Jc is around 3.5 MA/cm^2 at 77K, and the microwave surface resistance R8 at 77K and 10 CHz of the film is as low as 390μ Ω.

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.

Structural, Optical and Luminescence Properties of ZnO Thin Films Prepared by Sol-Gel Spin-Coating Method： Effect of Precursor Concentration

Transparent zinc oxide（ZnO） thin films are fabricated by a simple sol-gel spin-coating technique on glass substrates with different solution concentrations（0.3-1.2 M） using zinc acetate dehydrate [Zn（CH_3COO）_2·2H_2O] as precursor and isopropanol and monoethanolamine（MEA） as solvent and stabilizer, respectively. The molar ratio of zinc acetate dehydrate to MEA is 1.0. X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy are employed to investigate the effect of solution concentration on the structural and optical properties of the ZnO thin films. The obtained results of all thin films are discussed in detail and are compared with other experimental data.

Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulation of Deposition of Co Thin Film on Cu(001)

A kinetic Monte Carlo （kMC） simulation is conducted to study the growth of ultrathin film of Co on Cu（001） surface. The many-body, tight-binding potential model is used in the simulation to represent the interatomic potential. The film morphology of heteroepitaxial Co film on a Cu（001） substrate at the transient and final state conditions with various incident energies is simulated. The Co covered area and the thickness of the film growth of the first two layers are investigated. The simulation results show that the incident energy influences the film growth and structure. There exists a transition energy where the interracial roughness is minimum. There are some void regions in the film in the final state, because of the influence of the island growth in the first few layers. In addition, there are deviations from ideal layer-by-layer growth at a coverage from 0 - 2 monolayers （ML）.

Epitaxial Growth of Ga_XIn_(1-X) As Film by RF Sputtering and Physical Properties of the Films

Single crystal Ga X In 1-X As films have grown up on GaAs(100) substrate at 375℃ and on InP(100) substrate at 390℃, respectively, by the method of rf sputtering with using undoped GaInAs polycrystal as target. However, on Si(100) or Si(111) substrates at 260～390℃, even at 465℃, only polycrystalline films were obtained. In addition, the structure, composition, electrical characteristic and optical properties of the Ga X In 1-X As films were investigated using X ray diffraction (XRD), reflection of high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), energy dispersion analyzer of X ray (EDAX), Hall measurements and spectroscopic ellipsometry.

Electromagnetic analysis of GMI effect in sandwich structured films

A model of giant magneto-impedance （GMI） effect in sandwich-structured film has been proposed based on the superposition principle of electromagnetic field. The expression of impedance is derived in the frames of electrodynamics and ferromagnetism. Electromagnetic interaction between the inner layer and outer layer is discussed. Numerical simulation is conducted and the results show that the conductivity of the inner layer is much larger than that of the outer ferromagnetic layer. The skin effect and the maximum GMI effect of the sandwich film may appear at a much lower frequency compared to that of monofilm. The computational results agree with experimental data.

Crystal Structure during Film Formation

For evaporation-deposited Ti films, face-centred cubic structure was observed at the initial stage of film growth, then transited to the hexagonal close-packed structure during film growing (less than 50 nm thick). While. for ion-beam sputter-deposited films. the structure of films always kept the fcc structure during all stages of film formation. The structure of film at initial growth stages relates with the substrate. It is discussed that different film processes and different growth stages provide different thermodynamic condition of film formation and result in the different crystal structures of films during the film formation

Composition and Microstructure of Magnetron Sputtering Deposited Ti-containing Amorphous Carbon Films

Ti-containing carbon films were deposited by using magnetron sputtering deposition. The composition and microstructure of the carbon films were characterized in detail by combining the techniques of Rutherford backscattering spectrometry （RBS）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, X-ray diffraction （XRD） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. It is found that carbon films contain Ti 18 at pct; after Ti incorporation, the films consist of titanium carbide; C1s peak appears at 283.4 eV and it could be divided into 283.29 and 284.55 eV, representing sp2 and sp3, respectively, and sp2 is superior to sp3. This Ti-containing film with dominating sp2 bonds is nanocomposites with nanocrystalline TiC clusters embedded in an amorphous carbon matrix, which could be proved by XRD and TEM.

THE STRUCTURE OF LANGMUIR-BLODGETT FILMS OF TETRA-NONYL PHTHALOCYANINE COPPER

Langmuir-Blodgett(LB)films of tetra-nonyl phthalocyanine copper (TNPcCu)were prepared.Molecular arrangement and orientation of these films were studied in detail.LB multilayer films of TNPcCu show a very Strong x-ray diffration peak and two weak peaks which indicate that the LB films form a quasi-crystal structure which molecules are arranged orderly.IR reflection absorption spectra and polarized VIS absorption spectra not only confirm the previous result but also indicate that phthalocyanine rings orient nearly perpendicular to the substrate surface and perpendicular to the lifting direction and the side-chain segments are not preferred oriented.

Laser Damage Mechanisms of Amorphous Ta2O5 Films at 1064, 532 and 355nm in One-on-One Regime

Ta2O5 films are deposited on fused silica substrates by conventional e-beam evaporation. Surface topography and chemical composition are examined by atomic force microscopy （AFM） and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）. The calculation of electron structures of Ta2O5 and Ta2O5-x is attempted using a first-principle pseudopotential method within the local density approximation. The laser-induced damage threshold （LIDT） is performed at 1064, 532 and 355 nm in 1-on-1 regime, respectively. The results show that the LIDT increases with the wavelength increasing, which is in agreement with the wavelength effect. However, the LIDT results are not consistent with the empirical equation （I（λ）=aλm）, which may be attributed to the intrinsic absorption of Ta2O5 at the wavelengths of 532 or/and 355 nm. Moreover, different damage morphologies are observed when the films are irradiated at different wavelengths. It is concluded that the laser damage at 1064 nm is the defect dominant mechanism and at 355 nm it is the intrinsic absorption dominant mechanism, whereas at 532 nm it is the combined defect and intrinsic absorption dominant mechanism.

Influence of Post-Annealing Temperature on Properties of Ta-Doped ZnO Transparent Conductive Films

Ta-doped ZnO transparent conductive films are deposited on glass substrates by rf sputtering at 300℃. The influence of the post-annealing temperature on the structural, morphologic, electrical, and optical properties of the films is investigated by x-ray diffraction, Hall measurement, and optical transmission spectroscopy. The lowest resistivity of 3.5 ×10^-4 Ω·cm is obtained from the film annealed at 400℃in N2. The average optical transmittance of the films is over 90%. The optical bandgap is found to decrease with the increase of the annealing temperature.

Evolution of Magnetic Domain Structure in a YIG Thin Film

The evolution of a magnetic domain structure induced by temperature and magnetic field is reported in silicon- doped yttrium iron garnet （YIG） films with perpendicular anisotropy. During a cooling-down procedure from 300K to 7K, a 20% change in the domain width is observed, with the long tails of the stripes being shortened and the twisting stripes being straightened. Under the influence of the stray field of a barium ferrite, the garnet presents an interesting domain structure, which shows an appearance of branching protrusions. The intrinsic mechanisms in these two processes are also discussed.

Preparation and structural properties of thin carbon films by very-high-frequency magnetron sputtering

Growth and structural properties of thin a-C films prepared by the 60 MHz very-high-frequency（VHF） magnetron sputtering were investigated. The energy and flux of ions impinging the substrate were also analyzed. It is found that the thin a-C films prepared by the 60 MHz sputtering have a lower growth rate, a smooth surface, and more sp3 contents.These features are related to the higher ion energy and the lower ions flux onto the substrate. Therefore, the 60 MHz VHF sputtering is more suitable for the preparation of thin a-C film with more sp3 contents.

Effect of Pre-heating Temperature on Structural and Optical Properties of Sol-gel Derived Zn_(0.8)Cd_(0.2)O Thin Films

Zn_（0.8）Cd_（0.2）O thin films prepared using the spin-coating method were investigated. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and UV-Vis spectrophotometry were employed to illustrate the effects of the pre-heating temperature on the crystalline structure, surface morphology and transmission spectra of Zn_（0.8）Cd_（0.2）O thin films. When the thin films were pre-heated at 150 ℃, polycrystalline Zn O thin films were obtained. When the thin films were pre-heated at temperatures of 200 ℃ or higher, preferential growth of Zn O nanocrystals along the c-axis was observed. Transmission spectra showed that thin films with high transmission in the visible light range were prepared and effective bandgap energies of these thin films decreased from 3.19 e V to 3.08 e V when the pre-heating temperature increased from 150 ℃ to 300 ℃.

Cubic ZnO films obtained at low pressure by molecular beam epitaxy

A zinc oxide thin film in cubic crystalline phase, which is usually prepared under high pressure, has been grown on the Mg O（001） substrate by a three-step growth using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The cubic structure is confirmed by in-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction measurements and simulations. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that the outer-layer surface of the film（less than 5 nm thick） is of ZnO phase while the buffer layer above the substrate is of ZnMgO phase, which is further confirmed by the band edge transmissions at the wavelengths of about 390 nm and 280 nm, respectively. The x-ray diffraction exhibits no peaks related to wurtzite ZnO phase in the film. The cubic ZnO film is presumably considered to be of the rock-salt phase. This work suggests that the metastable cubic ZnO films, which are of applicational interest for p-type doping, can be epitaxially grown on the rock-salt substrates without the usually needed high pressure conditions.

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.

Influences of oscillatory structural forces on dewetting of nanoparticle-laden ultrathin films

To understand the influences of nanoparticles on dewetting in ultra-thin films, both linear stability the- ory and numerical simulations are performed in the present study, with the consideration of oscillatory structural （OS） forces. Long scale approximation is utilized to simplify the hydrodynamic and diffusion equations to a nonlinear system for film thickness and nanoparticle concentration. Results show that the presence of nanoparticles generally suppresses the dewetting process. Two physical mechanisms responsi- ble for this phenomenon are addressed in the present study. When the oscillatory structural forces are relatively smaller, the essential feature of film evolution is similar to the case of particle-free flow. The reduction of the linear growth rate and the postponement of film rupturing can be attributed to the increment of the viscosity due to the presence of nanoparti- cles. On the other hand, when the intensity of the OS forces becomes stronger, the stepwise thinning of film can be ob- served which prevents the film from rupture. Numerical sim- ulations indicate that this phenomenon is caused by the ex- istence of a stable zone due to the oscillatory nature of the structural forces. Another interesting finding is that the non- uniformity of the distribution of nanoparticle concentration might destabilize a spinodally stable film, and trigger the oc- currence of film dewetting.