Role of solute in stress development of nanocrystalline films during heating:An in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction study

The effect of the solute(Mo)on the stress development of nanocrystalline Ni and Ni-Mo films upon heat-ing has been investigated in real time using in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction.The complex and distinct relationship between the film stress and grain boundaries(GBs)has been examined by the evolution of real-time intrinsic stress in combination with the in situ grain growth and thermal characterizations.The different intrinsic stress evolutions in the Ni and Ni-Mo films during the heating process result from the modification of GBs by Mo alloying,including GB amorphization,GB relaxation,and GB segregation.It has been found that GBs play a vital role in the stress development of nanocrystalline films.The addition of a solute can not only inhibit grain growth but also influence the stress evolution in the film by changing the atomic diffusivity at the GBs.This work provides valuable and unique insights into the effect of solutes on stress development in nanocrystalline films during annealing,permitting control of the film stress through solute addition and heat treatment,which is critical for improving the design,processing,and lifetime of advanced nanocrystalline film devices at high temperatures.

Light-stimulated adaptive artificial synapse based on nanocrystalline metal-oxide film

Artificial synapses utilizing spike signals are essential elements of new generation brain-inspired computers.In this paper,we realize light-stimulated adaptive artificial synapse based on nanocrystalline zinc oxide film.The artificial synapse photoconductivity shows spike-type signal response,long and short-term memory(LTM and STM),STM-to-LTM transition and paired-pulse facilitation.It is also retaining the memory of previous exposures and demonstrates spike-frequency adaptation properties.A way to implement neurons with synaptic depression,tonic excitation,and delayed accelerating types of response under the influence of repetitive light signals is discussed.The developed artificial synapse is able to become a key element of neuromorphic chips and neuromorphic sensorics systems.

EFFECT OF GRID BIAS ON DEPOSITION OF NANOCRYSTALLINE DIAMOND FILMS

A positive grid bias and a negative substrate bias voltages are applied to the self-made hot filament chemical vapor deposited （HFCVD） system. The high quality nanocrystalline diamond （NCD） film is successfully deposited by double bias voltage nucleation and grid bias voltage growth. The Micro-Raman XRD SEM and AFM are used to investigate the diamond grain size, microstructure, surface morphology, and nucleation density. Results show that the obtained NCD has grain size of about 20 nm. The effect of grid bias voltage on the nucleation and the diamond growth is studied. Experimental results and theoretical analysis show that the positive grid bias increases the plasma density near the hot filaments, enhances the diamond nucleation, keeps the nanometer size of the diamond grains, and improves the quality of diamond film.

Transport Properties of K_xV_2O_5·nH_2O Nanocrystalline Films

Five different compositions of KxV2O5-nH2O （where prepared by the sol-gel process. Electrical conductiv x=0.00, 0.0017, 0.0049, 0.0064 and 0.0091 mol） were ty and thermoelectric power were measured parallel to the substrate surface in the temperature range of 300-480 K. The electrical conductivity showed that all samples were semiconductors and that conductivity increased with increasing K content. The conductivity of the present system was primarily determined by hopping carrier mobility. The carrier density was evaluated as well. The conduction was confirmed to obey non-adiabatic small polaron hopping. The thermoelectric power or Seebeck effect, increased with increasing K ions content. The results obtained indicated that an n-type semiconducting behavior within the temperature range was investigated.

Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition Nanocrystalline Tungsten Carbide Thin Film and Its Electro-catalytic Activity

Nanocrystalline tungsten carbide thin films were fabricated on graphite substrates by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition （PECVD） at H2 and Ar atmosphere, using WF6 and CH4 as precursors. The crystal phase, structure and chemical components of the films were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and energy-dispersive spectrometer （EDS）, respectively. The results show that the film prepared at CH4/WF6 concentration ratio of 20 and at 800℃ is composed of spherical particles with a diameter of 20-35 nm. Electrochemical investigations show that the electrochemical real surface area of electrode of the film is large, and the electrode of the film exhibits higher electro-catalytic activity in the reaction of methanol oxidation. The designated constant current of the film catalyst is 123.6 mA/cm^2 in the mixture solution of H2SO4 and CH3OH at the concentration of 0.5 and 2.0 mol/L at 70℃, and the designated constant potential is only 0.306 V （vs SCE）.

Electrodeposition of SnO_2 nanocrystalline thin film using butyl-rhodamine B as a structure-directing agent

Porous SnO2 nanocrystalline thin films were successfully electrodeposited from an oxygen-saturated acid aqueous solution of SnCl2 containing different concentrations of butyl-rhodamine B（BRhB） at 70℃.BRhB with substitute of amidocyanogen can be dissolved in the acid deposition solution,where HCl was added to suppress hydrolysis of SnCl2.So it was used as a structure-directing agent to promote the crystal growth of SnO_2.The formed porous morphology and tetragonal rutile crystalline structure of the electrodeposited thin films were controlled by the addition of BRhB with different amounts.

Optimization of Gas Sensing Performance of Nanocrystalline SnO_2 Thin Films Synthesized by Magnetron Sputtering

Tin oxide （SnO2） is one of the most promising transparent conducting oxide materials, which is widely used in thin film gas sensors. We investigate the dependence of the deposition time on structural, morphologicaJ and hydrogen gas sensing properties of SnO2 thin films synthesized by dc magnetron sputtering. The deposited samples are characterized by XRD, SEM, AFM, surface area measurements and surface profiler. Also the H2 gas sensing properties of SnO2 deposited samples are performed against a wide range of operating temperature. The XRD analysis demonstrates that the degree of crystallinity of the deposited SnO2 films strongly depends on the deposition time. SEM and AFM analyses reveal that the size of nanoparticles or agglomerates, and both average and rms surface roughness is enhanced with the increasing deposition time. Also gas sensors based on these SnO2 nanolayers show an acceptable response to hydrogen at various operating temperatures.

Scanning Tunneling Microscopic and Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopic Studies of Nanocrystalline CdSe Thin Film

Nanocrystalline CdSe thin film prepared by chemical solution deposition was imaged in air with a scanning tunnelling microscope(STM). Scanning tunnelling current spectroscopy(STS) was taken at a fixed tip - sample separation. Tunnelling current(i) - voltage(v) curve and differential conductance spectrum show an n-type schottky rectifying behaviour and yield a direct measure of band gap energy. An increase of bandgap energy (1.8 - 2.1eV) was measured indicating energy quantization of this particular thin film.,

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.

Impact of nitrogen doping on growth and hydrogen impurity incorporation of thick nanocrystalline diamond films

A much larger amount of bonded hydrogen was found in thick nanocrystalline diamond （NCD） films produced by only adding 0.24% N2 into 4% CH4/H2 plasma, as compared to the high quality transparent microcrystalline diamond （MCD） films, grown using the same growth parameters except for nitrogen. These experimental results clearly evidence that defect formation and impurity incorporation （for example, N and H） impeding diamond grain growth is the main formation mechanism of NCD upon nitrogen doping and strongly support the model proposed in the literature that nitrogen competes with CHx （x = 1, 2, 3） growth species for adsorption sites.

Atomic Force Microscopy Studies on the Chemical Treatment of Nanocrystalline Porous TiO_2 Films

AFM has been utilized to study the surface topography and the local conductivity of nanocrystalline TiO2 films. Improving the local conductivity by Ti(iso-C3H7O)4 treatment is characterized by quantitative analysis of the simultaneous current image. The mechanism of Ti(iso C3H7O)4 treatment is discussed.

Quantized Nanocrystalline CdTe Thin Films

Nanocrystalline CdTe thin films were prepared by asymmetric rectangular pulse electrodeposition in organic solution at 110 degreesC. STM image shows a porous network morphology constructed by interconnected spherical CdTe crystallites with a mean diameter of 4.2 nm. A pronounced size quantization was indicated in the action and absorption spectra. Potentials dependence dual conductive behavior was revealed in the photocurrent-potential (I-V) curves.

Time-resolved Microwave Conductivity Studies on the Chemical Treatment of the Nanocrystalline Porous TiO2 Films

Effect of Ti(iso-C3H7O)4 treatment on the photoinduced charge carrier kinetics of nanocrystalline porous TiO2 films is studied by time-resolved microwave conductivity measurements. Analysis of the transient photoconductivity decays indicates that Ti(iso-C3H7O)4 treatment leads to an increased concentration of photogenerated charge carriers and a fast interfacial transfer rate of holes via the surface modification of the freshly growing TiO2 nanocrystallites.

Role of Hydrogen Dilution in the Low-Temperature Growth of Nanocrystalline Si:H Thin Films from siH_4/H_2 Mixture

Hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon thin films were fabricated from Sill4 with H2 dilution at a low substrate temperature of 200℃ by the conventional plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. A high deposition rate over 0.75 nm/s can be achieved. Raman scattering spectral measurements revealed that the crystalline fraction and grain size increased with the increase in hydrogen dilution ratio. Fourier transform infrared spectrum measurements showed that the hydrogen content decreased and the Si-H bonding configuration changed mainly from Sill to Sill2 with the increase in hydrogen dilution ratio. This suggested that the hydrogen dilution played an important role in the low-temperature growth of nanocrystalline silicon thin film. The growth mechanism is discussed in terms of a surface diffusion model and hydrogen etching effects.

Morphology and Structure Analyses of SnO2 Thin Film Coated on Al2O3 Ultrafine Particles by Gas Phase Reaction in Fluidized Bed

Fluidized chemical vapor deposition (FCVD) technology was developed for coating SnO 2 thin film on ultrafine Al 2O 3 particles.Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution electron microscopy (HREM) analyses demonstrated that SnO 2 films with different structures were deposited through controlling the coating temperature, reactant concentration, etc .. Nanocrystalline SnO 2 film was formed at 572.15K by gas phase reaction of SnCl 4 and H 2O.Electron probe microanalyser (EPMA) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) analyses indicated that the distribution of nanocrystalline SnO 2 over inner and outer part of the Al 2O 3 agglomerates was homogeneous.

Fabrication and characteristics of nitrogen-doped nanocrystalline diamond/p-type silicon heterojunction

Nitrogen-doped nanocrystalline diamond films(N-NDFs)have been deposited on p-type silicon(Si)by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition.The reaction gases are methane,hydrogen,and nitrogen without the conventional argon(Ar).The N-NDFs were characterized by X-ray diffraction,Raman spectroscopy,and scanning electron microscopy.The grain sizes are of 8~10 nm in dimension.The N-NDF shows n-type behavior and the corresponding N-NDF/p-Si heterojunction diodes are realized with a high rectification ratio of 102 at^7.8 V,and the current density reaches to1.35 A/cm2 at forward voltage of 8.5 V.The findings suggest that fabricated by CH_4/H_2/N_2 without Ar,the N-NDFs and the related rectifying diodes are favorable for achieving high performance diamond-based optoelectronic devices.

In Situ Studies of Deformation and Fracture in Sputtering Copper Film

Nanocrystalline copper films were prepared by sputtering and then in situ straining experiments were performed using a trans- mission electron microscope. Macroscopically, these copper films exhibited very low ductility (<l%). Dislocation activity was limited in regions far from propagating cracks. Near stable growing cracks, considerable local plasticity was observed. The evidence of slip ac- tivity both within grain interiors and in grain boundaries was also observed. Although some dislocation; moved very fast, others showed rates much lower than those typically measured for bulk copper. Fracture was intergranular, but not brittle. It occurred by linking of microcracks. Microcracks formed within a micrometer or so ahead of the main crack tip, usually within a grain boundary. Linking then took place by the easiest available path.

Photoelectric properties of thin Eu^(3+)-doped TiO_2 films sensitized by cis-RuL_2(SCN)_2·2H_2O

Thin nanocrystalline TiO2 films doped by europium ions (Eu3+) were obtained by the sol-gel method. The photoelectric properties of Eu3+-doped TiO2 film electrode sensitized by cis-RuL2(SCN)2·2H2O (L=cis-2,2′-bipyridine-4,4′-dicarboxlic acid) ruthenium complex were studied. The thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Effect of doping Eu3+ on microscopic structure and photoelectrical properties were discussed. The result shows that doping europium ions makes specific surface area of these films larger, which contributes to improving the photoelectric properties. It is found that an optimal composition doped with 0.2 mol.% Eu3+ exhibits the highest photoelectric properties. Isc is 0.37 mA·cm-2, which is 0.17 mA·cm-2 bigger than that of un-doped films; Voc is 405 mV, which is 50 mV bigger than that of un-doped films.

Nanodiamond films deposited at moderate temperature on pure titanium substrate pretreated by ultrasonic scratching in diamond powder suspension

Nanocrystalline diamond （NCD） film deposition on pure titanium and Ti alloys is extraordinarily difficult because of the high diffusion coefficient of carbon in Ti, the large mismatch in their thermal expansion coefficients, the complex nature of the interlayer formed during diamond deposition, and the difficulty to achieve very high nucleation density. In this investigation, NCD films were successfully deposited on pure Ti substrate by using a novel substrate pretreatment of ultrasonic scratching in a diamond powder-ethanol suspension and by a two-step process at moderate temperature. It was shown that by scratching with a 30-μm diamond suspension for 1 h, followed by a 10-h diamond deposition, a continuous NCD film was obtained with an average grain size of about 200 nm. Detailed experimental results on the preparation, characterization, and successful deposition of the NCD films on Ti were discussed.

Instability of nc-Si: H Films Fabricated by PECVD

An analysis is given to explain the instability of the high conductivity property of nc-Si:H fabricated. Detailed discussion is carried out concentrating on the conductivity and growth mechanism. It is assumed that the instability of the conductivity of the nc-Si:H stems from two part: the phase transition from nanocrystallites into a-Si:H, and the oxygen incorporation of the thin layer of the film, which contributes more to the effect when the film suffers the exposure to air. The theory is in agreement with the experiment and measurement.