Formation of epitaxial Tl_2Ba_2Ca_2Cu_3O_(10) superconducting films by dc-magnetron sputtering and triple post-annealing method

For obtaining pure phase T12Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 （T1-2223） films with good superconducting properties, the growth technique is improved by dc magnetron sputtering and a triple post-annealing process. The triple post-annealing process comprises annealing twice in argon and once in oxygen at different temperatures. In the first low-temperature annealing phase in argon, T12Ba2CaCu2O8 （T1-2212） is obtained to effectively minimize evaporation in the next step. With the increase of temperature in the second annealing stage in argon, the previously prepared T1-2212 inter-phase is converted into T1-2223 phase. An additional annealing in oxygen is also adopted to improve the properties of T1-2223 films, each containing an optimal oxygen content value. The results of X-ray diffraction （XRD） θ-2θ scans, 09 scans and rotational φ scans show that each of the T1-2223 films has a high phase purity and an epitaxial structure. Smooth films are observed by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The critical temperatures Tc of the films are measured to be about 120 K and the critical current densities Jc can reach 4.0 MA/cm2 at 77 K at self field.

Influence of Post-Annealing on Electrical Characteristics of Thin-Film Transistors with Atomic-Layer-Deposited ZnO-Channel/Al_2O_3-Dielectric

High-performance thin-film transistors （TFTs） with a low thermal budget are highly desired for flexible electronic applications. In this work, the TFTs with atomic layer deposited ZnO-channel/Al2O3-dielectric are fabricated under the maximum process temperature of 200℃. First, we investigate the effect of post-annealing environment such as N2, H2-N2 （4%） and O2 on the device performance, revealing that o2 annealing can greatly enhance the device performance. Further, we compare the influences of annealing temperature and time on the device performance. It is found that long anneMing at 200℃is equivalent to and even outperforms short annealing at 300℃. Excellent electrical characteristics of the TFTs are demonstrated after 02 anneMing at 200℃ for 35 rain, including a low off-current of 2.3 × 10-13 A, a small sub-threshold swing of 245 m V/dec, a large on/off current ratio of 7.6×10s, and a high electron effective mobility of 22.1cm2/V.s. Under negative gate bias stress at -10 V, the above devices show better electrical stabilities than those post-annealed at 300℃. Thus the fabricated high-performance ZnO TFT with a low thermal budget is very promising for flexible electronic applications.

Enhancement of post-annealing stability in Co/Ni multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy by Au insertion layers

Enhancement of post-annealing stability in Co/ Ni multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy （PMA） was obtained by inserting Au layers into Ni/Co interfaces. After annealing at 350 ℃, the effective mag- netic anisotropy density （Kef0 for Ta（3）/Pt（2）/[Co（0.3）/ Ni（0.6）/Au（0.3）]× 3/Co（0.3）/Pt（1）/Ta（3） （in nm） keeps at 0.48 × 105 J·m^-3. Scanning transmission electron micro- scopy-high-angle annular dark field （STEM-HAADF） analysis shows that the diffusion between Ni and Co layers is obstructed by the Au insertion layers among them, which is responsible for the post-annealing stability enhancement of the multilayers. Multilayers with Pt insertion layers were also investigated as reference samples in this work. Com- pared with Pt-layer-inserted Co/Ni multilayers, the Au insertion layers are found to bring seldom interfacial PMA to the multilayers, making it competitive in being employed to enhance the post-annealing stability of PMA Co/Ni multilayers which are used for magnetic random access memory devices （MRAM）.

Fabrication of Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 superconducting films without thallium pellets

A new improved two-step method in fabricating Tl2Ba2 CaCu2O8（Tl-2212） thin films is presented in this paper. In the first process of dc magnetron sputtering, the thallium content in the precursor film is largely increased by adjusting the ratio of thallium in the sputtering targets. After the second annealing process in the absence of additional thallium pellets or powder source, high-quality Tl-2212 thin films can be obtained. The proper content of thallium in the precursor film provides a relatively stable atmosphere to guarantee the growth of Tl-2212 film. This method avoids the repeated production of the thallium pellets in the post-annealing process, the repeatability and controllability of the experiment are greatly improved. X-ray diffraction（XRD） scans show that all of the sharp peaks of the sample films can be assigned to the（00 l） peaks of Tl-2212 phase. The highest superconducting critical temperature（Tc） of the films is 105 K and the critical current density（Jc） can achieve 1.93 MA/cm2 in zero magnetic field at 77 K for a 600 nm film.

Effect of annealing on performance of PEDOT:PSS/n-GaN Schottky solar cells

We develop a heterojunction-based Schottky solar cell consisting of n-type GaN and PEDOT：PSS and also investigate the effect of annealing on the performance of the solar cell. The results show that the open circuit voltage （Voc） increases from 0.54 V to 0.56 V, 0.71 V and 0.82 eV while decreases to 0.69 eV after annealing at 100 ℃, 130 ℃, 160 ℃, and 200 ℃, respectively, which can be ascribed to the change of barrier height of PEDOT：PSS/GaN Schottky contact induced by variation of the work function of the PEDOT：PSS. Furthermore, the conductivity and surface roughness measurements of the PEDOT：PSS indicate that annealing can increase the grain size and improve the connectivity between PEDOT and PSS particles, and cause thermal degradation at the same time, which leads to the rise in short-circuit current density （ISC） up to 160 ℃ and the dropoff in ISC after annealing at 200 ℃.

Erratum to“Fabrication of Tl_(2)Ba_(2)CaCu_(2)O_(8) superconducting films without thallium pellets

The rocking curve of Tl-2212 thin films in Fig.2 of our original paper[1]should be replaced with the following new one.Accordingly,in the fifth paragraph of Section 3 of the original paper,the statement“The full width at half maximum(FWHM)of the(0012)peak of the Tl-2212 phase is about 0.24°”should be“The full width at half maximum(FWHM)of the(0012)peak of the Tl-2212 phase is about 0.42°”.

Effect of Substrate Temperature on the Structure and Magnetic Properties of CoPt/AlN Multilayer Films

The effect of substrate temperature on the structure and magnetic properties of CoPt/AlN multilayer films has been investigated.The crystallinity of CoPt has been improved with increasing substrate temperature from room temperature to 400 ℃.After post-annealing process,L1_0 CoPt structure transformation has also been promoted.However,since the easy magnetic axis of L1_0 CoPt is in[001]orientation,the promotion of L1_0 CoPt transformation causes the change of easy magnetic axis in（111） textured CoPt layers,which impairs the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.The optimum substrate temperature should be room temperature to obtain the strongest perpendicular magnetic anisotropy according to the results of the present work.

Effect of starting composition and post-anneal on the structure and luminescence properties of Eu-doped Ca-α-SiAlON phosphors prepared by combustion synthesis

Eu-doped Ca-α-SiAlON yellow phosphors, with the compositions Ca0.72Eu0.08Si9.56Al2.44O0.84N15.16, were prepared by a highly efficient combustion synthesis method. By optimizing the starting compositions of reactants and choosing appropriate post-annealing conditions, phase-pure, uniform and fine Ca-α-sialon：Eu2＋ phosphors possessing the particle size ranging -3-5μm, and good luminescence properties with an intense emission band that peaks at 592 nm under n-UV or blue light excitation were ob-tained. The results indicated that combustion synthesis method was an energy efficient, time saving and low cost way to prepare Ca-α-SiAlON phosphors by controlling the mass ratio of comburents. A combination with post-annealing treatment was desired for further increase of the properties of Ca-α-SiAlON phosphors.

Fabrication of highly luminescent TiO_(2):Eu^(3+) thin film with low annealing temperature requirement by co-doping with Sn^(4+) ions

Rare earth(RE)-doped TiO_(2)thin films possess important applications in modern optoelectronic devices.However,the high annealing temperature requirement remains a critical restriction in device fabrications.In this work,TiO_(2)thin films doped with trivalent europium(Eu^(3+))ions were fabricated by a convenient sol-gel approach and subsequent annealing treatment.Interestingly,it is found that the optimal post-annealing temperature of TiO_(2):Eu^(3+)thin film is dramatically reduced from 800 to 300℃by incorporating 10 at%Sn^(4+)into the sol precursor.The Sn-incorporated film annealed at 300℃shows a 4-fold enhancement in photoluminescence(PL)intensity related to Eu^(3+)ions to the optimized Sn-free film.Systematic analysis reveals that this enhancement is attributed to Sn element promoting the crystallization of both anatase TiO_(2)and rutile SnO_(2)clusters at 300℃,which provides sufficient SnO_(2)/TiO_(2)crystal boundary facilitating Eu^(3+)to occupy and sensitized by SnO_(2)crystals.These results provide valuable insights into fabricating highly luminescent RE-doped TiO_(2)thin films with low annealing temperature requirement,which is essential for designing optoelectronic devices based on RE materials more freely in the future.

Unusual effects of vacuum annealing on large-area Ag_(3)PO_(4) microcrystalline film photoanode boosting cocatalyst-and scavengerfree water splitting

Ag_(3)PO_(4) as a novel photoanode material,despite its arguably highest photoactivity,suffers for its poor light absorption and stability for photoelectrochemical(PEC)water oxidation.In this work,4.54.5 cm^(2) Ag_(3)PO_(4) microcrystalline films are grown via a room-temperature solution process,and vacuum annealing is proposed to solve the stability and light absorption issues.It is found that the major process below 400℃ of vacuum annealing is the|Recovery|process for Ag_(3)PO_(4) microcrystals,when lattice defects and Ag0 surface species get reduced.Next,|Recrystallization|stage occurs at>40℃.The recovery of native defects of silver vacancies,with both density functional theory calculation and experimental results,could simultaneously improve the light absorption and catalytic activity of Ag_(3)PO_(4).The 400℃-annealed Ag_(3)PO_(4) photoanode,with enhanced light harvesting and crystal quality,exhibits 88% increase in(Jlight-Jdark)value(1.94 mA cm^(-2))than non-annealed photoanode(1.03 mA cm^(-2)).Moreover,it retains>99% current density after a 4000-s stability test.These results suggest that vacuum annealing can substantially improve the PEC performance of Ag_(3)PO_(4) microcrystalline film photoanodes due to mitigated effects of native defects,improved light harvesting,and inhibited Ag_(3)PO_(4) decomposition during water oxidation reaction.

High performance Sm-Co powders obtained by crystallization from ball milled amorphous state

Isotropic Sm-Co nanoparticle powders with high coercivity were prepared by high-energy ball milling followed by optimal annealing at different temperatures.The covercivity increased monotonically with increasing of the annealing temperature and a highest coercivity of 31.2 kOe was obtained.The sample with an optimal energy product of 17.0 MGOe still had a coercivity of 18.2 kOe.The evolution of phase,particle size,mechanism of coercivity and other related magnetic properties were analyzed.The excellent performance is attributed to nanoscale size grains below 15 nm and good exchange coupling between nanoparticles.