Improvement of Nickel-Stanogermanide Contact Properties by Platinum Interlayer

We report an effective method to improve the formation of nickel stanogermanide（Ni Ge Sn） by the incorporation of a platinum（Pt） interlayer. After the Ni/Pt/Ge Sn samples are annealed we obtain uniform Ni Ge Sn thin films,which are characterized by means of sheet resistance, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy,cross-section transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. These results show that the presence of Pt increases the smoothness and uniform morphology of Ni Ge Sn films.

Influence of Structure Parameters on Performance of the Thermoelectric Module

A numerical model of thermoelectric module （TEM） is created by academic analysis,and the impacts of the resistance ratio and thermoelement size on the output power and thermoelectric efficiency of the TEM are analyzed by the MATLAB numerical calculation.The numerical model is validated by the ANSYS thermal,electrical,and structural coupling simulation.The effects of the variable physical property parameters and contact effect on the output power and thermoelectric efficiency are evaluated,and the concept of aspect ratio optimal domain is proposed,which provides a new design approach for the TEM.

Ohmic contact behaviour of Co/C/4H-SiC structures

The electrical contact properties of Co/4H-SiC structures are investigated.A carbon interfacial layer between a Co film and SiC is used to improve the Ohmic contact properties significantly.The C film is deposited prior to Co film deposition on SiC using DC sputtering.The high quality Ohmic contact and specific contact resistivity of 2.30×10-6Ω·cm2 are obtained for Co/C/SiC structures after two-step annealing at 500℃for 10 min and 1050℃for 3 min.The physical properties of the contacts are examined by using XRD.The results indicate that the Co-based metal contacts have better structural stability of silicide phases formed after the high temperature annealing and carbon-enriched layer is produced below the contact,playing a key role in forming an Ohmic contact through the reduction of effective Schottky barrier height for the transport of electrons.The thermal stability of Au/Co/C/SiC Ohmic contacts is investigated.The contacts remain Ohmic on doped n-type（2.8×1018 cm-3） 4H-SiC after thermal aging treatment at 500℃for 20 h.

Graphene electrode with tunable charge transport in thin-film transistors

Graphene, a single atomic layer of sp2-hybridized carbon, has immense potential as a transparent conducting material in electronic applications owing to its superior properties, including optical transparency and high conductivity. Particularly, the tunable work function of graphene enables the integration of graphene electrodes with various electronic devices. To achieve high performance in graphene-based devices, effective charge transport between the graphene electrode and the semiconducting material needs to be optimized; this is closely related to the modulation of the Schottky barrier （SB）. In this study, we investigate the ~nable charge transport properties as a function of graphene doping in n-channel thin-film transistors （TFTs） in terms of the electrical characteristics and low-frequency noise （LFN） behaviors. Alkali metal carbonates tuned the work function of graphene, resulting in a dramatic decrease in the SB and an improvement of the carrier injection in n-channel TFTs. The electrical performance of the TFTs was evaluated by extraction of the field-effect mobilities and ratio of contact resistance to total resistance. Furthermore, the level of contact noise created by the barrier height fluctuation and relative contribution of channel noise and contact noise in the TFTs was investigated by LFN measurements to demonstrate the ~nable charge transport. Our findings therefore provide new insights into the tunable charge transport mechanism in graphene-based devices and reveal the immense potential of graphene as electrodes in high performance flexible and transparent displays.

Determination of mechanical properties of Zanthoxylum armatum using the discrete element method

Using the discrete element method to investigate the behavior of particles is a crucial strategy in the research and development of novel equipment.Green pepper(Zanthoxylum armatum)is a globally renewable plant-derived medicinal and food homologous commodity with a wide range of uses and great demand,but the mechanical properties needed to develop its processing equipment are scarce.Thus,this case study aimed to systematically explore the necessary input parameters to model green pepper,and to provide new insights for the guidance of future industrial applications worldwide.On the basis of the experimental measured physical properties,the contact properties of green pepper on zinc-coated steel were first calibrated and then used to determine the contact properties between particles.The differences between the experimental and simulation results were analyzed for selection and verification of the contact properties accurately.Difference analysis confirmed that the co-efficient of restitution,coefficient of static friction and coefficient of rolling friction for contact between the particle and zinc-coated steel have values of 0.392,0.650,and 0.168,and those coefficients for particle-to-particle contact have values of 0.199,0.710,and 0.184,respectively.Discoveries in this work may contribute to the research and development of production equipment for green pepper.

Electrical transport and current properties of rare-earth dysprosium Schottky electrode on p-type GaN at various annealing temperatures

The electrical and current transport properties of rapidly annealed Dy/p-GaN SBD are probed by I-V and C-V techniques. The estimated barrier heights（BH） of as-deposited and 200 ℃ annealed SBDs are 0.80 eV（I-V）/0.93 eV（C-V） and 0.87 eV（I-V）/1.03 eV（C-V）. However, the BH rises to 0.99 eV（I-V）/1.18 eV（C-V）and then slightly deceases to 0.92 eV（I-V）/1.03 eV（C-V） after annealing at 300 ℃ and 400 ℃. The utmost BH is attained after annealing at 300 ℃ and thus the optimum annealing for SBD is 300 ℃. By applying Cheung＇s functions, the series resistance of the SBD is estimated. The BHs estimated by I-V, Cheung＇s and ΨS-V plot are closely matched; hence the techniques used here are consistency and validity. The interface state density of the as-deposited and annealed contacts are calculated and we found that the NSS decreases up to 300 ℃ annealing and then slightly increases after annealing at 400 ℃. Analysis indicates that ohmic and space charge limited conduction mechanisms are found at low and higher voltages in forward-bias irrespective of annealing temperatures. Our experimental results demonstrate that the Poole-Frenkel emission is leading under the reverse bias of Dy/p-GaN SBD at all annealing temperatures.

Toplayer-dependent crystallographic orientation imaging in the bilayer two-dimensional materials with transverse shear microscopy

Nanocontact properties of two-dimensional(2D)materials are closely dependent on their unique nanomechanical systems,such as the number of atomic layers and the supporting substrate.Here,we report a direct observation of toplayer-dependent crystallographic orientation imaging of 2D materials with the transverse shear microscopy(TSM).Three typical nanomechanical systems,MoS_(2) on the amorphous SiO_(2)/Si,graphene on the amorphous SiO_(2)/Si,and MoS_(2) on the crystallized Al_(2)O_(3),have been investigated in detail.This experimental observation reveals that puckering behaviour mainly occurs on the top layer of 2D materials,which is attributed to its direct contact adhesion with the AFM tip.Furthermore,the result of crystallographic orientation imaging of MoS_(2)/SiO_(2)/Si and MoS_(2)/Al_(2)O_(3) indicated that the underlying crystalline substrates almost do not contribute to the puckering effect of 2D materials.Our work directly revealed the top layer dependent puckering properties of 2D material,and demonstrate the general applications of TSM in the bilayer 2D systems.