Tuning the Electronic Structure of Sr2IrO4 Thin Films by Bulk Electronic Doping Using Molecular Beam Epitaxy

By means of oxide molecular beam epitaxy with shutter-growth mode, we fabricate a series of electron-doped （Sr1-xLax）2IrO4 （001） （x=0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.15） single crystalline thin films and then investigate the doping dependence of the electronic structure utilizing in-situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. It is found that with the increasing doping content, the Fermi levels of samples progressively shift upward. Prominently, an extra electron pocket crossing the Fermi level around the M point is evidently observed in the 15% nominal doping sample. Moreover, bulk-sensitive transport measurements confirm that the doping effectively suppresses the insulating state with respect to the as-grown Sr2IrO4, though the doped samples still remain insulating at low temperatures due to the localization effect possibly stemming from disorders including oxygen deficiencies. Our work provides another feasible doping method to tune electronic structure of Sr2 IrO4.

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.

Preparation,Characterization and Electronic Properties of Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide Films

Tin oxide（SnO2） and fluorine doped tin oxide（FTO） films were prepared on glass substrates by sol-gel spin-coating using SnCl4 and NH4F precursors.Fluorine doping concentration was fixed at 4 at%and 20 at%by controlling precursor sol composition.Films exhibited the tetragonal rutile-type crystal structure regardless of fluorine concentration.Uniform and highly transparent FTO films,with more than 85%of optical transmittance,were obtained by annealing at 600℃.Florine doping of films was verified by analyzing the valence band region obtained by XPS.It was found that the fluorine doping affects the shape of valence band of SnO2 films.In addition,it was observed that the band gap of SnO2 is reduced as well as the Fermi level is upward shifted by the effect of fluorine doping.

Influence of Ag and Sn incorporation in In_2S_3 thin films

Ag- and Sn-doped In2S3 thin films were deposited on glass substrates using the thermal evaporation technique. The doping was realized by thermal diffusion. The influences of Ag and Sn impurities on the electrical, structural, morphological, and optical properties of the In2S3 films were investigated. In all deposited samples, the x-ray diffraction spectra revealed the formation of cubic In2S3 phase. A significant increase in the crystallite size was observed after Ag doping,while the doping of Sn slightly decreased the crystallite size. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy verified the diffusion of Ag and Sn into the In2S3 films after annealing. The optical study illustrated that Ag doping resulted in a reduction of the optical band gap while Sn doping led to a widening of the gap. Optical properties were investigated to determine the optical constants. Besides, it was found that the resistivity decreases significantly either after Ag or Sn incorporation. The study demonstrates that the Sn-doped In2S3 thin films are more suitable for buffer layer application in solar cells than the Ag-doped In2S3 thin films.

Preparation and Characterization of Transparent Conductive Zinc Doped Tin Oxide Thin Films Prepared by Radio-frequency Magnetron Sputtering

High transparent and conductive thin films of zinc doped tin oxide （ZTO） were deposited on quartz substrates by the radio-frequency （RF） magnetron sputtering using a 12 wt% ZnO doped with 88 wt% SnO2 ceramic target.The effect of substrate temperature on the structural,electrical and optical performances of ZTO films has been studied.X-ray diffraction （XRD） results show that ZTO films possess tetragonal rutile structure with the preferred orientation of （101）.The surface morphology and roughness of the films was investigated by the atomic force microscope （AFM）.The electrical characteristic （including carrier concentration,Hall mobility and resistivity） and optical transmittance were studied by the Hall tester and UV- VIS,respectively.The highest carrier concentration of -1.144×1020 cm-3 and the Hall mobility of 7.018 cm2（V ·sec）-1 for the film with an average transmittance of about 80.0% in the visible region and the lowest resistivity of 1.116×10-2 Ω·cm were obtained when the ZTO films deposited at 250 oC.

Helium Plasma Damage of Low-k Carbon Doped Silica Film:the Effect of Si Dangling Bonds on the Dielectric Constant

The low-k carbon doped silica film has been modified by radio frequency helium plasma at 5 Pa pressure and 80 W power with subsequent XPS, FTIR and optical emission spec- troscopy analysis. XPS data indicate that helium ions have broken Si-C bonds, leading to Si-C scission with C（1s） lost seriously. The Si（2p）, O（ls）, peak obviously shifted to higher binding en- ergies, indicating an increasingly oxidized Si（2p）. FTIR data also show that the silanol formation increased with longer exposure time up to a week. Contrarily, the CHa stretch, Si-C stretching bond and the ratio of the Si-O-Si cage and Si-O-Si network peak sharply decreased upon exposure to helium plasma. The OES result indicates that monovalent helium ions in plasma play a key role in damaging carbon doped silica film. So it can be concluded that the monovalent helium ions besides VUV photons can break the weak Si-C bonds to create Si dangling bonds and free methyl radicals, and the latter easily reacts with O_2 from the atmosphere to generate CO_2 and H_2O. The bonds change is due to the Si dangling bonds combining with H_2O, thereby, increasing the dielectric constant k value.

Synthesis and Investigation of Phenol Red Dye Doped Polymer Films

The optical properties of the pure polymer film and polymer films doped with Phenol Red dye at different concentrations were investigated. The films were prepared using the casting technique. Poly (methyl-methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer was doped with the Phenol Red dye dissolved in a mixture of chloroform and little quantity of methanol, used as suitable solvent for both the dye and the polymer. The spectral absorption measurements of these films were carried out at different dye concentrations using UV-Vis double-beam spectrophotometer in the wavelength range 300 - 800 nm. The optical parameters of the prepared Phenol Red dye doped polymer films, absorption coefficient (α), extinction coefficient (κ), refractive index (n), optical and electrical conductivities (σopt and σelect), and optical energy band gap (Eg), were determined. The results showed that the Phenol Red dye doped polymer film is a good candidate for photonic applications such as, solar cells, optical sensors, and other photonic devices.

Characterization of doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon films prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition

The B- and P-doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon films （nc-Si：H） are prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition （PECVD）. The microstructures of doped nc-Si＇H films are carefully and systematically characterized by using high resolution electron microscopy （HREM）, Raman scattering, x-ray diffraction （XRD）, Auger electron spectroscopy （AES）, and resonant nucleus reaction （RNR）. The results show that as the doping concentration of PH3 increases, the average grain size （d） tends to decrease and the crystalline volume percentage （Xc） increases simultaneously. For the B-doped samples, as the doping concentration of B2H6 increases, no obvious change in the value of d is observed, but the value of Xc is found to decrease. This is especially apparent in the case of heavy B2H6 doped samples, where the films change from nanocrystalline to amorphous.

Bactericidal and Photoeatalytie Activity of Fe^(3+)-TiO_2 Thin Films Prepared by the Sol-gel Method

Pure TiO2 thin films and iron doped TiO2 thin films on glass substrate were prepared by sol-gel method, and characterized by X-ray diffractometer （XRD）, thermo-gravimetric analysis （TG-DSC）, high resolution transmission electron microscope （HRTEM）, scanning electron microscope （SEM） and UV-Vis spectroscopy, respectively. The experimental results show that the pure TiO2 thin films and iron doped TiO2 thin films can destroy most of the escherichia coli and bacillus subtillis under the irradiation of 365 nm UV-light. However, the iron doped TiO2 thin film is a better photocatalyst than pure TiO2 thin film. The ultrastructural studies provide direct evidences for understanding the bactericidal mechanism of the TiO2 photocatalyst.

Double-layer indium doped zinc oxide for silicon thin-film solar cell prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis

Indium doped zinc oxide （ZnO：In） thin films were prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis on corning eagle 2000 glass substrate. 1 and 2 at.% indium doped single-layer ZnO：In thin films with different amounts of acetic acid added in the initial solution were fabricated. The 1 at.% indium doped single-layers have triangle grains. The 2 at.% indium doped single-layer with 0.18 acetic acid adding has the resistivity of 6.82 × 10^-3 Ω. cm and particle grains. The doublelayers structure is designed to fabricate the ZnO：In thin film with low resistivity （2.58 × 10^-3 Ω. cm） and good surface morphology. It is found that the surface morphology of the double-layer ZnO：In film strongly depends on the substratelayer, and the second-layer plays a large part in the resistivity of the doublewlayer ZnO：In thin film. Both total and direct transmittances of the double-layer ZnO：In film are above 80% in the visible light region. Single junction a-Si：H solar cell based on the double-layer ZnO：In as front electrode is also investigated.

Fabrication and Characterization of Well-Aligned Zn1-xMnxO Nanorods

Well-Migned Zn1-xMnxO nanorods have been synthesized successfully on bare silicon substrates by a simple evaporation method without using any catalyst. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy studies demonstrate that the as-grown nanorods are of single wurtzite phase with a preferential growth direction along their c- axes, Quantitative energy-dispersive spectrum analysis reveals that the concentration of manganese is around 4 at,%, Magnetic measurements show the single-phase Zn1-xMnxO nanorod arrays exhibiting the paramagnetic behaviour. Photolumlnescence spectra demonstrate that the Zn1-xMnxO nanorods preserve ultraviolet emission at room temperature.

Photocatalytic properties of P25-doped TiO_2 composite film synthesized via sol–gel method on cement substrate

TiO2 films have received increasing attention for the removal of organic pollutants via photocatalysis. To develop a simple and effective method for improving the photodegradation efficiency of pollutants in surface water, we herein examined the preparation of a P25-TiO2 composite film on a cement substrate via a sol–gel method. In this case, Rhodamine B（Rh B）was employed as the target organic pollutant. The self-generated TiO2 film and the P25-TiO2 composite film were characterized by X-ray diffraction（XRD）, N2 adsorption/desorption measurements, scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, transmission electron microscopy（TEM）, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy（DRS）. The photodegradation efficiencies of the two films were studied by Rh B removal in water under UV（ultraviolet） irradiation. Over 4 day exposure, the P25-TiO2 composite film exhibited higher photocatalytic performance than the self-generated TiO2 film. The photodegradation rate indicated that the efficiency of the P25-TiO2 composite film was enhanced by the addition of the rutile phase Degussa P25 powder. As such, cooperation between the anatase TiO2 and rutile P25 nanoparticles was beneficial for separation of the photo-induced electrons and holes. In addition, the influence of P25 doping on the P25-TiO2 composite films was evaluated. We found that up to a certain saturation point, increased doping enhanced the photodegradation ability of the composite film. Thus, we herein demonstrated that the doping of P25 powders is a simple but effective strategy to prepare a P25-TiO2 composite film on a cement substrate, and the resulting film exhibits excellent removal efficiency in the degradation of organic pollutants.

Hydrogen roles approaching ideal electrical and optical properties for undoped and Al doped ZnO thin films

This paper distinguished hydrogen roles to improve electron mobility and carrier concentration in ZnO and Al doped ZnO sputtered films.By combining experimental evidences and theoretical results,we find out that hydrogen located at oxygen vacancy sites(H_(O))is the main factor gives rise to increase simultaneously mobility and carrier concentration which has not been mentioned before.Introducing appropriate hydrogen content during sputtering not only results in crystalline relaxation but also supports doping Al into ZnO,increasing carrier concentration and electron mobility in the film.First principles calculations confirmed hydrogen substitutional stability for oxygen vacancy,significantly reducing electron conductivity effective mass and hence increasing electron mobility.In particular,0.8%hydrogen partial pressure ratio achieved 61 cm^(2)V^(-1)s^(-1)maximum electron mobility,optical transmittance above 82%in visible and near-infrared regions,and 2×10^(20) cm^(-3)carrier concentrations for H-Al co-doped ZnO film.These values approach ideal electrical and optical properties for transparent conducting oxide films.The presence of one maximum electron mobility was attributed to competition between increasing mobility due to restoring effective electron mass and hydrogen passivation of native defects,and decreased electron mobility due to electron-phonon scattering.

The third-order optical nonlinearity of the stainless steel doped SrTiO_3 thin film grown by L-MBE

Stainless steel-doped SrTiO3 thin films were fabricated by laser molecular beam epitaxy (L-MBE). Nonlinear optical property of the thin film was measured by the single beam Z-scan technique at the wavelength of 532 nm. Two two-phonon absorption coefficient and nonlinear refractive index were determined to be 9.37 x 10-7 m/W and 1.55 x 10-6 esu, respectively. The merit figure T was calculated to be 1.8, satisfying condition T < 1 for an optical switch. The thin film has a very promising prospect for the applications in optical device.

High conductive and transparent AI doped ZnO films for a-SiGe：H thin film solar cells

Al doped zinc oxide （AZO） films were prepared by mid-frequency magnetron sputtering for silicon （Si） thin film solar cells. Then, the influence of deposition parameters on the electrical and optical properties of the films was studied. Results showed that high conductive and high transparent AZO thin films were achieved with a minimum resistivity of 2.45 × 10^-4 Ω·cm and optical transmission greater than 85% in visible spectrum region as the films were deposited at a substrate temperature of 225℃ and a low sputtering power of 160 W. The optimized films were applied as back reflectors in a-SiGe：H solar cells. A relative increase of 19% in the solar cell efficiency was achieved in comparison to the cell without the ZnO films doped with Al （ZnO：Al）.

The structure and magnetic properties of β-(Ga_(0.96)Mn_(0.04))_2O_3 thin film

High quality epitaxial single phase（Ga_（0.96）Mn_（0.04））_2O_3 and Ga_2O_3 thin films have been prepared on sapphire substrates by using laser molecular b（eam）epitaxy（L-MBE）. X-ray diffraction results indicate that the thin films have the monoclinic structure with a 201 preferable orientation. Room temperature（RT） ferromagnetism appears and the magnetic properties of β-（Ga_（0.96）Mn_（0.04））_2O_3 thin film are enhanced compared with our previous works. Experiments as well as the first principle method are used to explain the role of Mn dopant on the structure and magnetic properties of the thin films. The ferromagnetic properties are explained based on the concentration of transition element and the defects in the thin films.

Structural, Optical and Electrical Properties of Ga Doped ZnO/Cu grid/Ga Doped ZnO Transparent Electrodes

Ga doped ZnO （OZO）/Cu grid/GZO transparent conductive electrode （TCE） structures were fabricated at room temperature （RT） by using electron beam evaporation （EBE） for the Cu grids and RF magnetron sputtering for the GZO layers. In this work, we investigated the electrical and optical characteristics of GZO/Cu grid/GZO multilayer electrode for thin film solar cells by using evaporated Cu grid and sputtered GZO thin films to enhance the optical transparency without significantly affecting their conductivity. The optical transmittance and sheet resistance of GZO/Cu grid/GZO multilayer are higher than those of GZO/Cu film/GZO multilayer independent of Cu grid separation distance and increase with increasing Cu grid separation distances. The calculation of both transmittance and sheet resistance of GZO/Cu grid] GZO multilayer was based on Cu filling factor correlated with the geometry of Cu grid. The calculated values for the transmittance and sheet resistance of the GZO/Cu grid/GZO multilayer were similar to the experimentally observed ones. The highest figure of merit ФTc is 5.18× 10^-3Ω^-1 for the GZO/Cu grid] GZO multilayer with Cu grid separation distance of 1 mm was obtained, in this case, the transmittance and resistivity were 82.72% and 2.17 × 10 ^-4Ωcm, respectively. The transmittance and resistivity are accentahle for nractical thin film snlar cell annlicatinn~

Preparation, Characterization, Luminescent and Electrochemical Properties of Ru（bpy）e-functionalized Silica Nanoparticles

Ru（II）-complex functionalized silica nanoparticles（nano-SiO2） were prepared via a coordination reaction of cis-dichlorobis（2,2＇-bipyridine）ruthenium[Ru（bpy）2C12] complex with poly（4-vinylpyridine）（P4VP）-modified na- no-SiO2 particles. Both the Ru-complex and the functionalized nano-SiO2P4VP-Ru（bpy） hybrids were doped in poly（methyl methacrylate）（PMMA） to form optically transparent thin films. The composition and spectroscopic properties of the nano-SiO2P4VP-Ru（bpy） hybrids were evaluated with the help of thermogravimetric and elemental analysis, and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and fluores- cence spectroscopy. Microscopy images revealed that the nanohybrids were approximately 12 nm in diameter and readily formed aggregates following the functionalization with P4VP and Ru（bpy）2C12. The as-prepared na- no-SiO2P4VP-Ru（bpy） hybrids produced emissions at approximately 604 and 654 nm under radiation both in solution and in doped thin films. Finally, cyclic voltammetry studies on the nanohybrid-modified electrode revealed a redox couple with the cathodic and anodic potentials at approximately 0.28 and 0.73 V（vs. Ag/AgCI）, attributed to the one electron transfer of Ru（bpy）22＋/3＋ immobilized on the nano-SiO2 particles.