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A model for the electrostatic detection apparatus is presented. An electrostatic potential models the effects of indented writing, erasures, and fingerprints. Poole–Frenkel emission from Mylar surface states is employed to model the discharge process. Experimental evidence is provided which supports the model. The role of the Mylar sheet is identified. The electric effect of indented writing is identified as a surface charge created by paper-to-paper friction.

Graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide thin films are very promising materials because they can be used in optoelectronic devices and in a growing range of applications such as touch screens and flexible displays. In this work, graphene oxide (GO) and thermally reduced graphene oxide (rGO) thin films, deposited on Ti/glass substrates, have been obtained by electrophoretic deposition. The morphological and the structural properties of the samples have been investigated by micro-Raman technique, X-ray reflectometry, and SEM analysis. In order to study the optical and electrical properties, variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry and impedance analysis have been performed. The thermal annealing changes strongly the structural, electrical, and optical properties, because during the thermal processes some amount of sp3 bonds originally present in GO were removed. In particular, the annealing enhances the Ohmic behavior of the rGO film increasing its conductivity and the estimated optical density. Moreover...

In this work, charge transport through interpoly thin nitride/oxide stacked films, including nitride/oxide dual- and oxide/nitride/oxide tri-layer films, was studied. Extensive experimental results, concerning current conduction in single oxide layer, single nitride layer, nitride/oxide dual-layer, and oxide/nitride/oxide tri-layer films are presented. An effective investigation of the various mechanisms that can explain current conduction and charge trapping in these dielectrics was performed. To this aim, different approaches to transport modeling, namely, a classical current continuity model, a transmission model, and a two-step trap assisted model are proposed. The gains and trade offs offered by each model are pointed out. A comprehensive model for the conduction mechanisms in thin nitride/oxide stacked films is proposed.

To develop excellent silicon oxide film using low temperature method, ion plating (IP) oxide is investigated. Physicochemical characterizations of the IP oxide are studied using ellipsometry, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and P-etch rate measurement. The IP oxide is a high-density dielectric with strained bonds. Electrical characterizations are also analyzed using capacitance–voltage and current–voltage techniques through metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors. The IP oxide has a low leakage current, a high breakdown field, and low interface state density. In addition, IP oxide annealed in N2 ambient is also studied. After high-temperature annealing, the characteristics of IP oxide become comparable to those of thermal oxide. The novel oxide film is successfully applied as a gate insulator to low-temperature processed (⩽620 °C) polysilicon thin-film transistors.

Efficient control of intercalation of epitaxial graphene by specific elements is a way to change properties of the graphene. Results of several experimental techniques, such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, micro-Raman mapping, reflectivity, attenuated total reflection, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray reflectometry, gave a new insight into the intercalation of oxygen in the epitaxial graphene grown on 4H-SiC(0001). These results confirmed that oxygen intercalation decouples the graphene buffer layer from the 4H-SiC surface and converts it into the graphene layer. However, in contrast to the hydrogen intercalation, oxygen does not intercalate between carbon planes (in the case of few layer graphene) and the interlayer spacing stays constant at the level of 3.35–3.32 A. Moreover, X-ray reflectometry showed the presence of an oxide layer having the thickness of about 0.8 A underneath the graphene layers. Apart from the formation of the nonuniform thin oxide layer, generation of defects in graphene caused by...

Metal-catalyst-free chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of large area uniform nanocrystalline graphene on oxidized silicon substrates is demonstrated. The material grows slowly, allowing for thickness control down to monolayer graphene. The as-grown thin films are continuous with no observable pinholes, and are smooth and uniform across whole wafers, as inspected by optical-, scanning electron-, and atomic force microscopy. The sp 2 hybridized carbon structure is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. Room temperature electrical measurements show ohmic behavior (sheet resistance similar to exfoliated graphene) and up to 13 of electric-field effect. The Hall mobility is ∼40 cm 2/Vs, which is an order of magnitude higher than previously reported values for nanocrystalline graphene. Transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and transport measurements indicate a graphene crystalline domain size ∼10 nm. The absence of transfer to another substrate allows avoidance of wrinkles, holes, and etching residues which are usually detrimental to device performance. This work provides a broader perspective of graphene CVD and shows a viable route toward applications involving transparent electrodes.

This paper describes a pulse technique for measuring the properties and charge‐transfer characteristics of electrographic receptors. This method has the unique capability, as compared with electrometer methods or ac bridge methods, of separately measuring the charge deposited on the surface of the dielectric layer, the displacement charge, and the charge passing through the dielectric. The technique is used to obtain a detailed analysis of the electrographic properties of a dielectric coated paper, including the relaxation of the paper substrate, the capacitances of the virtual air gap and the dielectric layer, and the threshold voltage for charge transfer.

This paper investigates energy filtering in silicon nanowires and nanosheets by resonant electron tunneling through a geometric superlattice. A geometric superlattice is any kind of periodic geometric feature along the transport direction of the nanowire or nanosheet. Multivalley quantum-transport simulations are used to demonstrate the manifestation of minibands and minibandgaps in the transmission spectra of such a superlattice. We find that the presence of different valleys in the conduction band of silicon favors a nanowire with a rectangular cross section for effective energy filtering. The obtained energy filter can consequently be used in the source extension of a field-effect transistor to prevent high-energy electrons from contributing to the leakage current. Self-consistent Schrodinger-Poisson simulations in the ballistic limit show minimum subthreshold swings of 6 mV/decade for geometric superlattices with indentations. The obtained theoretical performance metrics for the simulated devices are compared with conventional III-V superlatticeFETs and TunnelFETs. The adaptation of the quantum transmitting boundary method to the finite-element simulation of 3-D structures with anisotropic effective mass is presented in Appendixes A and B. Our results bare relevance in the search for steep-slope transistor alternatives which are compatible with the silicon industry and can overcome the power-consumption bottleneck inherent to standard CMOS technologies.This paper investigates energy filtering in silicon nanowires and nanosheets by resonant electron tunneling through a geometric superlattice. A geometric superlattice is any kind of periodic geometric feature along the transport direction of the nanowire or nanosheet. Multivalley quantum-transport simulations are used to demonstrate the manifestation of minibands and minibandgaps in the transmission spectra of such a superlattice. We find that the presence of different valleys in the conduction band of silicon favors a nanowire with a rectangular cross section for effective energy filtering. The obtained energy filter can consequently be used in the source extension of a field-effect transistor to prevent high-energy electrons from contributing to the leakage current. Self-consistent Schrodinger-Poisson simulations in the ballistic limit show minimum subthreshold swings of 6 mV/decade for geometric superlattices with indentations. The obtained theoretical performance metrics for the simulated devices are ...

Luminescence imaging is currently being used to provide spatially resolved defect in high volume silicon solar cell production. One option to obtain the high throughput required for on the fly detection is the use a silicon line scan cameras. However, when using a silicon based camera, the spatial resolution is reduced as a result of the weakly absorbed light scattering within the camera's chip. This paper address this issue by applying deconvolution from a measured point spread function. This paper extends the methods for determining the point spread function of a silicon area camera to a line scan camera with charge transfer. The improvement in resolution is quantified in the Fourier domain and in spatial domain on an image of a multicrystalline silicon brick. It is found that light spreading beyond the active sensor area is significant in line scan sensors, but can be corrected for through normalization of the point spread function. The application of this method improves the raw data, allowing effecti...

Silicon nanocrystals embedded in silicon oxide that show room temperature photoluminescence (PL) have great potential in silicon light emission applications. Nanocrystalline silicon particle formation by laser irradiation has the unique advantage of spatially controlled heating, which is compatible with modern silicon micro-fabrication technology. In this paper, we employ continuous wave laser irradiation to decompose substrate-bound silicon-rich silicon oxide films into crystalline silicon particles and silicon dioxide. The resulting microstructure is studied using transmission electron microscopy techniques with considerable emphasis on the formation and properties of laser damaged regions which typically quench room temperature PL from the nanoparticles. It is shown that such regions consist of an amorphous matrix with a composition similar to silicon dioxide which contains some nanometric silicon particles in addition to pores. A mechanism referred to as “selective silicon ablation” is proposed which consistently explains the experimental observations. Implications for the damage-free laser decomposition of silicon-rich silicon oxides and also for controlled production of porous silicon dioxide films are discussed.Silicon nanocrystals embedded in silicon oxide that show room temperature photoluminescence (PL) have great potential in silicon light emission applications. Nanocrystalline silicon particle formation by laser irradiation has the unique advantage of spatially controlled heating, which is compatible with modern silicon micro-fabrication technology. In this paper, we employ continuous wave laser irradiation to decompose substrate-bound silicon-rich silicon oxide films into crystalline silicon particles and silicon dioxide. The resulting microstructure is studied using transmission electron microscopy techniques with considerable emphasis on the formation and properties of laser damaged regions which typically quench room temperature PL from the nanoparticles. It is shown that such regions consist of an amorphous matrix with a composition similar to silicon dioxide which contains some nanometric silicon particles in addition to pores. A mechanism referred to as “selective silicon ablation” is proposed which ...

In this paper, we proposed a novel nano-gap thermophotovoltaic (TPV) device made up of thin-films including the radiator. The optical, electrical, and thermal responses and performance of the device were assessed using coupled opto-electro-thermal numerical simulation. The device design consists of a thin-film tungsten radiator which is paired with a thin-film silicon TPV cell across a nanometric vacuum gap. Results were simulated based on experimental properties available in the current literature database. It is discovered that the maximum electrical power output of the thin-film nano-gap TPV device increases with cell temperature up to a certain threshold value due to improvements in generated photocurrent. Thin-film tungsten as a radiator is shown to improve radiative heat transfer above the bandgap compared to conventional bulk tungsten. The effect of cell thickness on responses and performance was also analysed. A 1-μm cell produces better performance over thinner thicknesses at the cost of greater cooling requirements. However, the improvements in output power offset the cooling costs, allowing for consistently favourable efficiencies. Finally, it is shown that the temperature profile in silicon thin-films under convective cooling can be approximated as uniform, simplifying the heat transport modelling process.In this paper, we proposed a novel nano-gap thermophotovoltaic (TPV) device made up of thin-films including the radiator. The optical, electrical, and thermal responses and performance of the device were assessed using coupled opto-electro-thermal numerical simulation. The device design consists of a thin-film tungsten radiator which is paired with a thin-film silicon TPV cell across a nanometric vacuum gap. Results were simulated based on experimental properties available in the current literature database. It is discovered that the maximum electrical power output of the thin-film nano-gap TPV device increases with cell temperature up to a certain threshold value due to improvements in generated photocurrent. Thin-film tungsten as a radiator is shown to improve radiative heat transfer above the bandgap compared to conventional bulk tungsten. The effect of cell thickness on responses and performance was also analysed. A 1-μm cell produces better performance over thinner thicknesses at the cost of greater ...

This paper presents a method of measuring the temperature of water near a 1-mm-diameter magnetic sphere under induction heating. The method is based on the temperature dependence of the absorption coefficient of water at a wavelength of 1150 nm. In this study, two-dimensional images of the absorbance, which is the transverse projection of the absorption coefficient of water, were acquired by a near-infrared camera through a telecentric lens, and three-dimensional radial profiles of the temperature were then generated by applying inverse Abel transforms (IATs) to the absorbance profiles. To ensure the spherical symmetry of the temperature and the parallelity of the light rays, which are the conditions necessary to apply an IAT, the onset of free convection and the angles of deflection were evaluated. This paper also presents a method of estimating the heat generation rate in a sphere by fitting the numerical solutions of the thermal conduction equation to the measured temperatures. The temperatures and hea...

Ferroelectric hafnium oxide is a promising candidate for logic and memory applications as it maintains excellent ferroelectric properties at nm-size ensuring compatibility with state of the art semiconductor manufacturing. Most of the published papers report on the study of this material through Metal-Insulator-Metal capacitors or Metal-Insulator-Silicon transistors. However, for 3D vertical transistors in which both the channel and gate are polysilicon, the case of silicon-based electrodes cannot be ignored. In this paper, we report the fabrication of various ferroelectric capacitors with silicon (S) based conductive layers and titanium nitride metal (M) electrodes using aluminum doped hafnium oxide (I). The ferroelectric device with silicon-based electrodes shows superior polarization and steeper switching. These results pave the way toward 3D integration for potential 3D NAND replacement.

Dual-energy computed tomography and the Alvarez and Macovski [Phys. Med. Biol. 21, 733 (1976)] transmitted intensity (AMTI) model were used in this study to estimate the maps of density (ρ) and atomic number (Z) of mineralogical samples. In this method, the attenuation coefficients are represented [Alvarez and Macovski, Phys. Med. Biol. 21, 733 (1976)] in the form of the two most important interactions of X-rays with atoms that is, photoelectric absorption (PE) and Compton scattering (CS). This enables material discrimination as PE and CS are, respectively, dependent on the atomic number (Z) and density (ρ) of materials [Alvarez and Macovski, Phys. Med. Biol. 21, 733 (1976)]. Dual-energy imaging is able to identify sample materials even if the materials have similar attenuation coefficients at single-energy spectrum. We use the full model rather than applying one of several applied simplified forms [Alvarez and Macovski, Phys. Med. Biol. 21, 733 (1976); Siddiqui et al., SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2004); Derzhi, U.S. patent application 13/527,660 (2012); Heismann et al., J. Appl. Phys. 94, 2073–2079 (2003); Park and Kim, J. Korean Phys. Soc. 59, 2709 (2011); Abudurexiti et al., Radiol. Phys. Technol. 3, 127–135 (2010); and Kaewkhao et al., J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer 109, 1260–1265 (2008)]. This paper describes the tomographic reconstruction of ρ and Z maps of mineralogical samples using the AMTI model. The full model requires precise knowledge of the X-ray energy spectra and calibration of PE and CS constants and exponents of atomic number and energy that were estimated based on fits to simulations and calibration measurements. The estimated ρ and Z images of the samples used in this paper yield average relative errors of 2.62% and 1.19% and maximum relative errors of 2.64% and 7.85%, respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the method accounts for the beam hardening effect in density (ρ) and atomic number (Z) reconstructions to a significant extent.

Molecular electronics studies how the molecular nature affects the probability of charge carriers to tunnel through the molecules. Nevertheless, transport is also critically affected by the contacts to the molecules, an aspect that is often overlooked. Specifically, the limited ability of non-metallic contacts to maintain the required charge balance across the fairly insulating molecule often have dramatic effects. This paper shows that in the case of lead/organic monolayer-silicon junctions, a charge balance is responsible for an unusual current scaling, with the junction diameter (perimeter), rather than its area. This is attributed to the balance between the 2D charging at the metal/insulator interface and the 3D charging of the semiconductor space-charge region. A derivative method is developed to quantify transport across tunneling metal-insulator-semiconductor junctions; this enables separating the tunneling barrier from the space-charge barrier for a given current-voltage curve, without complementary measurements. The paper provides practical tools to analyze specific molecular junctions compatible with existing silicon technology, and demonstrates the importance of contacts' physics in modeling charge transport across molecular junctions.

The development and optimization of sputtering techniques for the deposition of refractory metal thin films for very large scale integration (VLSI) barrier and encapsulation layers is of significant concern for the microelectronic fabrication industry. A number of directed sputtering techniques such as collimation and low pressure longthrow configurations have been applied to this problem. This paper addresses a number of issues present in the understanding and simulation of the growth of films deposited by directed sputtering techniques over VLSI topography. In particular the role of high energy neutral gas atoms reflected from the target is investigated as a source of resputtering. Also addressed is the creation of a low density porous film on the sidewalls of vias/contacts due to oblique incident fluxes on these areas. Experimentally Ti and W films are deposited at pressures varying from 0.2 to 12.0 mTorr with and without collimators present. A number of re-emission/resputtering mechanisms were investigated using a Monte Carlo growth simulator and it was found that the model most consistent with the experimental films was an assumption of resputtering due to reflected neutrals. A significant result is a dramatic increase in the resputtering rate when a collimator was present due to a relative increase in the reflected neutral flux. Finally, the paper presents an analysis of the effect of pressure on bottom and step coverage in high aspect topography.The development and optimization of sputtering techniques for the deposition of refractory metal thin films for very large scale integration (VLSI) barrier and encapsulation layers is of significant concern for the microelectronic fabrication industry. A number of directed sputtering techniques such as collimation and low pressure longthrow configurations have been applied to this problem. This paper addresses a number of issues present in the understanding and simulation of the growth of films deposited by directed sputtering techniques over VLSI topography. In particular the role of high energy neutral gas atoms reflected from the target is investigated as a source of resputtering. Also addressed is the creation of a low density porous film on the sidewalls of vias/contacts due to oblique incident fluxes on these areas. Experimentally Ti and W films are deposited at pressures varying from 0.2 to 12.0 mTorr with and without collimators present. A number of re-emission/resputtering mechanisms were investi...

The gated polysilicon field emitter arrays coated with diamondlike carbon (DLC) were fabricated by a transfer mold method using anisotropic etching of Si and the deposition of DLC using methane ion beam. This paper describes significant enhancement in electron emission and considerable reduction in turn-on voltage for the emitter arrays by the DLC coating. In addition, the paper discusses the emission mechanism from the energy band diagram of a field emitter coated with a sufficiently thin dielectric material having a low electron affinity, and shows that an effective work function of the DLC coated polysilicon field emitter is about 2.9 eV.

This paper provides a detailed description explaining how to calculate the relation between the silicon Raman frequency and local stress or strain in the silicon, applied to stress measurements in microelectronics. This relation is well known for measurements from the (100) surface of silicon. However, it is often used in the wrong way, neglecting non-zero stress tensor elements. Especially, in current 3D microelectronics technology, where the stress caused by through Si vias or micro-bumps is of large importance, the vertical stress component, which highly affects the measured Raman frequency shift, is often erroneously neglected. In addition, the equations for the (100) surface are also often used incorrectly for cross-sectional measurements from a (110) surface. In this paper, different ways to calculate the relation between Raman frequency and triaxial stress, and the related Raman peak intensities, are discussed in detail.

In previous papers, a new model was proposed for the optical dielectric function of zinc blende semiconductors and was applied successfully to the alloy series AlxGa1−xAs. It was found to be more generally valid than any previous model. In this paper, it is used to obtain an analytic expression for the dielectric function of the II‐VI compound CdTe at room temperature. Unlike the previous application, additional polynomial terms in the real part of the optical dielectric function are not introduced, so that the Kramers‐Kronig relationship between the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function is satisfied exactly. As demonstrated before, the model covers not only the entire photon energy range of the given spectral data, but also is valid below and somewhat above the given spectral range. This is advantageous especially when spectral data are not provided in the range of interest, or when joining two separate data causes an artificial discontinuity. The model determines the optical dielectric function in the limit as the line broadening approaches zero, which is useful in calculating the optical dielectric function at all temperatures. For demonstration, the optical dielectric function at 70 K and 600 K is calculated and presented.

The electromagnetic field generated by a horizontal electric dipole in the air over a dielectric‐coated conducting or dielectric half‐space is evaluated in an earlier paper subject to the conditions k20≪k21≪‖k22‖ on the wave numbers of the three regions and the condition k1l≤ 0.6 on the thickness l of the dielectric layer. Unintentionally, the severe condition ‖k2 l‖2≪1 was also imposed in the determination of the field in the dielectric layer and the half‐space below it. That restriction is removed in this paper and new complete formulas are derived which have wide potential application.

In a recent paper Yokoyama [Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 165, 265 (1988)] showed that a correct thermodynamic definition of the anchoring energy at the interface between a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) and another medium requires the preliminary choice of a ‘‘Gibbs dividing surface.’’ As a consequence of this, the measured value of the anchoring energy coefficient can depend on which method is used to perform the experiment. This dependence probably explains the large discrepancies that are often reported in the literature between anchoring energy coefficients measured on the same substrate by different authors. To test this important point the anchoring energy coefficient at a SiOx nematic interface has been measured by using two different methods at the same time: a reflection light method and a transmitted light method. Both these methods have been already used in the literature. In this paper the latter method is analyzed in detail and it is shown that its accuracy is greatly reduced by the presence of spurious bulk contributions. To increase accuracy, a new experimental procedure is proposed that exploits the differing dependence of surface and bulk contributions on the intensity of the magnetic field. This new method allows one to separate bulk and surface contributions without using fitting procedures. Therefore both the anchoring energy and information on the bulk director distortion can be directly obtained from the experiment. The transmitted light and the reflected light methods are used simultaneously to measure the azimuthal anchoring energy coefficient at the SiOx nematic interface on the same NLC sample at the same temperatures. A satisfactory agreement between the anchoring energy coefficients measured by the two methods is found.

The study presented in this paper relates mostly to impact testing of polymers and similar materials to measure their crack resistance and dynamic properties. For some impact testers, then, at low impact velocities the initial transient forces can be very small and short lived so as to be insignificant. This is so that the specimen mostly experiences a steadily increasing strain until it fails. At higher impact velocities both transient and generally increasing strain are both significant in taking the specimen to its failure point. With very high impact velocities, the specimen can fail mostly due to the initial impact forces. It is possible in some cases to cushion the specimen from the initial higher impact transients and related secondary effects such as bounce at the contact points. This is if a steadily increasing strain to fail the specimen is the main requirement. Of course, this is only feasible when the impact forces are not too dominant. However, as material technology has rapidly advanced so dynamic as well as toughness properties of materials have much improved. Also, the variety and mix of properties now available in different materials has greatly increased. With these trends, testing that can combine well impact, strong dynamic forces and steadily increasing strain loading of the specimen is of increasing interest. This can be so that the force‐time curve of such testing to failure of a specimen can also be regarded as its dynamic performance signature. A problem is in arranging and monitoring the dynamic forces of such tests so as to be able to analyze effectively test results. These are the factors examined in this paper.

Raman spectroscopy represents an insightful characterization tool in electronics, which comprehensively suits the technological needs for locally and quantitatively assessing crystal structures, domain textures, crystallographic misalignments, and residual stresses in piezoelectric materials and related devices. Recent improvements in data processing and instrumental screening of large sampling areas have provided Raman spectroscopic evaluations with rejuvenating effectiveness and presently give spin to increasingly wider and more sophisticated experimental explorations. However, the physics underlying the Raman effect represents an issue of deep complexity and its applicative development to non-cubic crystallographic structures can yet be considered in its infancy. This review paper revisits some applicative aspects of the physics governing Raman emission from crystalline matter, exploring the possibility of disentangling the convoluted dependences of the Raman spectrum on crystal orientation and mechanical stress. Attention is paid to the technologically important class of piezoelectric materials, for which working algorithms are explicitly worked out in order to quantitatively extract both structural and mechanical information from polarized Raman spectra. Systematic characterizations of piezoelectric materials and devices are successively presented as applications of the developed equations. The Raman response of complex crystal structures, described here according to a unified formalism, is interpreted as a means for assessing both crystallographic textures and stress-related issues in the three-dimensional space (thus preserving their vectorial and tensorial nature, respectively). Statistical descriptions of domain textures based on orientation distribution functions are also developed in order to provide a link between intrinsic single-crystal data and data collected on polycrystalline (partly textured) structures. This paper aims at providing rigorous spectroscopic foundations to Raman approaches dealing with the analyses of functional behavior and structural reliability of piezoelectric devices.

Three papers published recently [P. M. Young, C. H. Grein, H. Ehrenreich, and R. H. Miles, J. Appl. Phys. 74, 4774 (1993); G. M. Williams, J. Appl. Phys. 77, 4153 (1995); C. H. Grein, M. E. Flatte, H. Ehrenreich, and R. H. Miles, J. Appl. Phys. 77, 4156 (1995)] concerning the comparison of theoretically predicted performance of HgCdTe photodiodes with InAs/InGaSb superlattice photovoltaic detectors are obscure with respect to optimal selection of HgCdTe photodiode structures. Both Comments [G. M. Williams, J. Appl. Phys. 77, 4153 (1995); C. H. Grein, M. E. Flatte, H. Ehrenreich, and R. H. Miles, J. Appl. Phys. 77, 4156 (1995)] have not noticed the important results of papers published by Humpreys [Infrared Phys. 23, 171 (1983); Infrared Phys. 26, 337 (1986)], who critically reexamined the role of a radiative mechanism in the detection of infrared radiation. To explain our point of view on competition between InAs/InGaSb SLs and ‘‘bulk’’ HgCdTe detectors, we present a generalized model of an infrared photo...

Eddy current pulsed thermography (ECPT) applies induction heating and a thermal camera for non-destructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E). Because of the variation in resultant surface heat distribution, the physical mechanism that corresponds to the general behavior of ECPT can be divided into an accumulation of Joule heating via eddy current and heat diffusion. However, throughout the literature, the heating mechanisms of ECPT are not given in detail in the above two thermal phenomena and they are difficult to be separated. Nevertheless, once these two physical parameters are separated, they can be directly used to detect anomalies and predict the variation in material properties such as electrical conductivity, magnetic permeability and microstructure. This paper reports physical interpretation of these two physical phenomena that can be found in different time responses given the ECPT image sequences. Based on the phenomenon and their behaviors, the paper proposes a statistical method based on single channel blind source separation to decompose the two physical phenomena using different stages of eddy current and thermal propagation from the ECPT images. Links between mathematical models and physical models have been discussed and verified. This fundamental understanding of transient eddy current distribution and heating propagation can be applied to the development of feature extraction and pattern recognition for the quantitative analysis of ECPT measurement images and defect characterization.

There is need for non-reciprocal devices such as circulators and isolators. Although such devices are common at frequencies below 10 GHz, there is a lack of compact, low-weight, devices at higher microwave frequencies. This paper examines the non-reciprocal behavior associated with attenuated total reflection (ATR) for multi-layered dielectric and magnetic structures. Non-reciprocal behaviors produced by ATR have been explored for semi-infinite magnetic materials. This paper focuses on ATR behavior with magnetic films of finite thickness, from thick layers of around 3 cm to thin layers of about 1 µm. The results show significant non-reciprocity even for magnetic layers less than 0.1 cm thick, with reflection loss differences of more than 30 dB between positive and negative signal propagation. Results are presented for yttrium iron garnet and M type barium hexagonal ferrites. The two materials allow nonreciprocal behavior at different frequencies, 5–20 GHz for the garnet and 45–80 GHz for the hexagonal fer...

The recent trend in miniaturization of piezoelectrically active devices is driving research on size effects of these functional materials under reduced length scales. In this paper, we measure and model the generation of charge in thin piezoelectric structures under sinusoidal hydrostatic pressure and show how the subsequent thermally induced pyroelectric effect dominates the response in the smallest samples. We calculate the temperature profiles through the lead zirconate titanate structures, and determine the pyroelectric coefficient in these materials to be p′=0.28±0.02 mC m−2 K−1. The analysis of the piezoelectric and pyroelectric charge response described in this paper has significant impact on the design and fundamental functional behavior of small-scale piezoelectric devices.

Cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) is an ideal material for room temperature nuclear radiation detection, but CZT crystals of high quality and low defects concentration are difficult to obtain. Therefore, in order to improve the performance of the CZT detector, the working conditions of the CZT detector could be appropriately changed to make the internal electric field of the CZT detector close to uniform distribution so as to improve the electron transport performance. In this paper, alpha induced transient charge analysis has been used to study the internal electric field of the CZT detector, and deep level defects in CZT were linked with internal electric field distribution. Based on the process, a variety of deep level defects on electron trapping and detrapping by changing the temperature, the output waveform change of charge sensitive preamplifier (the pulse height spectra for alpha radiation at different temperatures) was observed, and then the effects of deep level defects on electron mobility ( μe), electron transport time ( TR), the internal electric field, and the electron collection efficiency of the CZT detector were analyzed. The experimental results indicated that the influence of deep level defects was a main factor to the internal electric field in the range of −140 to 40 °C. As the temperature rises, the influence of these defects weakens, μe and electron collection efficiency both increase, and internal electric field distribution tends to be uniform. Moreover, with the further increasing temperature (−40 to 20 °C), μe decreased and internal electric field distribution became fluctuating, but electron collection efficiency was basically unchanged, which suggested that the influence of lattice vibration in the range of −40 to 20 °C turned to be the main factor. The above conclusions demonstrated that although the CZT detector has excellent room temperature detection ability, room temperature was not its optimal working temperature due to the influence of high concentration deep level defects. At −20 °C, the CZT detector presented the highest electron collection efficiency and maximum which limited the influence of deep level defects on electron transport, performing the optimal properties.

Structure-engineered silicon exhibits a wealth of unique optical properties below its bandgap, which holds promise for mid-infrared and terahertz applications such as photodetection, thermophotovoltaics, radiative cooling, and spectroscopy. In this paper, we investigate enhancement mechanisms of sub-bandgap absorption of black silicon fabricated into periodic pyramids. Our measurements indicate that the pyramid structure leads to an enhanced broadband absorption in the wavelength region from 1.5 to 13.07 μm with an efficiency of over 80%. The broadband absorption enhancement is shown to originate from the Rayleigh–Wood anomaly, localized magnetic plasmonic resonance, and graded-index effect, which together facilitate the interaction between light and free-carriers in silicon. These results are helpful for understanding the interaction between light and black silicon.

Naturally occurring materials with hyperbolic optical properties are attracting considerable interest due to their ability to confine light in small volumes and their resulting potential for applications in photonics. This paper uses a first-principles theoretical approach without adjustable parameters to investigate the hyperbolic optical properties of bulk calcite (CaCO3). This material exhibits natural hyperbolic behavior within its Reststrahlen bands at 1403–1552 and 864–887 cm−1. The calculated results are shown to be in good agreement with our reflectance data obtained from frequency- and polarization-dependent measurements. These results show that calcite is an attractive natural hyperbolic material; in addition, it has the advantage of low losses and is available commercially in a variety of crystal orientations.

Two-dimensional black phosphorene (BP) has attracted much interest for application in electronic devices. Contacts between BP and metal electrodes are critical components of BP-based devices and can dramatically affect device performances. In this paper, we adopted first-principles calculations to explore binding energies, electronic structures, and potential distribution for interface systems of Al-, Au-, Cu-, Ni-, and Ti-monolayer BP in surface contact and edge contact (EC) types. Moreover, we also used density functional theoretical coupled with the nonequilibrium Green’s function method to investigate contact resistances and Schottky barrier heights (SBHs) for transport systems of monolayer BP with Al, Au, Cu, Ni, and Ti electrodes. Our calculated results indicate that the contact type between BP and metals may greatly affect electrical properties of BP–metal contacts. Changing contact type between metal electrodes and BP channel can change the type of Schottky barrier of metal–BP contacts. The contact barrier of metal–BP depends on the metal material. Selecting an appropriate contact type and metal can effectively regulate the contact barrier of metal–BP. Specifically exciting, our estimated lateral SBHs for the Ni–BP system in EC-type agree well with the experimental results. We have provided a new strategy on choosing an appropriate contact type to achieve low contact resistance for the metal–BP interface.

This thesis work aims at a better understanding of magneto-optical properties of dilute nitrides and II-VI diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum structures. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part gives an introduction of the research fields, together with a brief summary of the scientific results included in the thesis. The second part consists of seven scientific articles that present the main findings of the thesis work. Below is a short summary of the thesis. Dilute nitrides have been of great scientific interest since their development in the early 1990s, because of their unusual fundamental physical properties as well as their potential for device applications. Incorporation of a small amount of N in conventional Ga(In)As or Ga(In)P semiconductors leads to dramatic modifications in both electronic and optical properties of the materials. This makes the dilute nitrides ideally suited for novel optoelectronic devices such as light emitting devices for fiber-optic communications, highly efficient visible light emitting devices, multi-junction solar cells, etc. In addition, diluted nitrides open a window for combining Si-based electronics with III-V compounds-based optoelectronics on Si wafers, promising for novel optoelectronic integrated circuits. Full exploration and optimization of this new material system in device applications requires a detailed understanding of their physical properties. Papers I and II report detailed studies of effects of post-growth rapid thermal annealing (RTA) and growth conditions (i.e. presence of N ions, N2 flow, growth temperature and In alloying) on the formation of grown-in defects in Ga(In)NP. High N2 flow and bombardment of impinging N ions on grown sample surface is found to facilitate formation of defects, such as Ga interstitial (Gai) related defects, revealed by optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR). These defects act as competing carrier recombination centers, which efficiently decrease photoluminescence (PL) intensity. Incorporation of a small amount of In (e.g. 5.1%) in GaNP seems to play a minor role in the formation of the defects. In GaInNP with 45% of In, on the other hand, the defects were found to be abundant. Effect of RTA on the defects is found to depend on initial configurations of Gai related defects formed during the growth. In Paper III, the first identification of an interfacial defect at a heterojunction between two semiconductors (i.e. GaP/GaNP) is presented. The interface nature of the defect is clearly manifested by the observation of ODMR lines originating from only two out of four equivalent orientations. Based on its resolved hyperfine interaction between an unpaired electronic spin (S=1/2) and a nuclear spin (I=1/2), the defect is concluded to involve a P atom at its core with a defect/impurity partner along a direction. Defect formation is shown to be facilitated by N ion bombardment. In Paper IV, the effects of post-growth hydrogenation on the efficiency of the nonradiative (NR) recombination centers in GaNP are studied. Based on the ODMR results, incorporation of H is found to increase the efficiency of the NR recombination via defects such as Ga interstitials. In Paper V, we report on our results from a systematic study of layered structures containing an InGaNAs/GaAs quantum well, by the optically detected cyclotron resonance (ODCR) technique. By monitoring PL emissions from various layers, the predominant ODCR peak is shown to be related to electrons in GaAs/AlAs superlattices. This demonstrates the role of the SL as an escape route for the carriers confined within the InGaNAs/GaAs single quantum well. The last two papers are within a relatively new field of spintronics which utilizes not only the charge (as in conventional electronics) but also the quantum mechanical property of spin of the electron. Spintronics offers a pathway towards integration of information storage, processing and communications into a single technology. Spintronics also promises advantages over conventional charge-based electronics since spin can be manipulated on a much shorter time scale and at lower cost of energy. Success of semiconductor-based spintronics relies on our ability to inject spin polarized electrons or holes into semiconductors, spin transport with minimum loss and reliable spin detection. In Papers VI and VII, we study the efficiency and mechanism for carrier/exciton and spin injection from a diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) ZnMnSe quantum well into nonmagnetic CdSe quantum dots (QD’s) by means of spin-polarized magneto PL combined with tunable laser spectroscopy. By means of a detailed rate equation analysis presented in Paper VI, the injected spin polarization is deduced to be about 32%, decreasing from 100% before the injection. The observed spin loss is shown to occur during the spin injection process. In Paper VII, we present evidence that energy transfer is the dominant mechanism for carrier/exciton injection from the DMS to the QD’s. This is based on the fact that carrier/exciton injection efficiency is independent of the width of the ZnSe tunneling barrier inserted between the DMS and QD’s. In sharp contrast, spin injection efficiency is found to be largely suppressed in the structures with wide barriers, pointing towards increasing spin loss.

Organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) have been the subject of intense research because of their potential for flat panel display and solid state lighting applications. While small molecule OLEDs with very high efficiencies have been demonstrated, solution processable devices are more desirable for large size flat panel display and solid state applications because they are compatible with low cost, large area roll-to-roll manufacturing process. In this review paper, we will present the recent progress made in solution processable OLEDs. The paper will be divided into three parts. In the first part of the paper, we will focus on the recent development of fluorescent polymer OLEDs based on conjugated polyfluorene copolymers. Specifically, we will present results of carrier transport and injection measurements, and discuss how the charge transport and injection properties affect the device performance. In the second part of the paper, we will focus on the recent progress on phosphorescent dye-dispersed nonconjugated polymer OLEDs. Specifically, we will present our recent results on high efficiency green and blue emitting devices based on the dye-dispersed polymer approach. Similar to fluorescent conjugated polymer OLEDs, charge transport and injection properties in dye-dispersed polymer OLEDs also play an important role in the device performance. In the third part of this paper, we will present our results on white emitting phosphorescent OLEDs. Two approaches have been used to demonstrate white emitting OLEDs. First, white emitting OLEDs were made using blue emitting OLEDs with downconversion phosphors. Second, white emitting OLEDs were made by dispersing red, green, and blue phosphorescent dyes into the light emitting layer. High efficiency devices have been demonstrated with both approaches

The paper presents the analysis of the three-dimensional polymer network distribution inside the polymer-stabilized ferroelectric liquid-crystal layer based on the laser scanning fluorescence confocal microscopy and a fluorescent dye tagging of the polymer. The studies of polymer-stabilized ferroelectric liquid-crystal structures described in this paper are focused on the comparison of the influence of polymer network in case that the polymerization is initiated in the chevron as well as in the quasibookshelf liquid-crystal molecular orientation. In the case of the chevron structure the regular distribution of the polymer network within the layer leads to the monostability of the chevron state. On the other hand the specific distribution of the polymer in the polymer-stabilized quasibookshelf stripe textures leads to the perfect bistability, improved multiplex driving, and analog gray scale capability.

Since their initial demonstration in 1995, light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) have received attention due to potential advantages over traditional polymer optoelectronic devices. A standard LEC consists of two electrodes surrounding an active layer that contains polymer and mobile ions. When a bias is applied, the ions separate and move toward the electrodes, creating a reversible p–n junction analog. Immobilizing the ions after ion dissociation using one of several demonstrated methods to create a “fixed-junction LEC” allows the device to produce a significant photovoltaic response. Recently, our group demonstrated chemically fixed junction LECs using a polymerizable ionic liquid (ATOA-AS) that conferred important advantages over first-generation chemically fixed junction devices, including improved phase compatibility and turn-on time. Early tests showed improvements in the performance of these devices over the first chemically fixed junctions in terms of light-emitting properties. However, their photovoltaic behavior has not been previously investigated. In this paper, we demonstrate photovoltaic behavior in chemically fixed junction LECs based on the polymerizable ionic liquid ATOA-AS as the ion source. While further improvements in the photovoltaic performance of fixed-junction devices still need to be made before they are considered a commercially viable technology, we find that the devices reported here compare well to other single-layer polymer homojunction solar cells and demonstrate an exceptionally high VOC (>1.8 V for some configurations). We also explore the effects that changes to various aspects of device composition and testing procedures have on device performance.

Applying atmospheric plasma etching to the surface texturing process of silicon solar cells is a promising strategy for the current photovoltaic manufacturing industry due to its low equipment cost and good fabrication flexibility. This paper investigates the morphology evolution of the silicon surface etched by an Ar/CF4/O2 plasma and the associated optical properties. Results show that the generation of the light trapping structure on the polished silicon surface can be divided into two stages on the basis of the multi-scale morphological images and the quantitative evaluation of roughness parameters. The initial roughening stage mainly involves the formation of high-frequency nanoroughness that can act as an effective medium layer with a gradual refractive index. The resulting optical medium effect can reduce the surface reflectance within a broad range of wavelengths. At the next texturing stage, the low-frequency and high-amplitude microroughness dominates the morphology of the etched silicon surface. It features inverted parabolic structures with a high aspect ratio, which can cause multiple reflections of the incident light. The optical medium effect resulting from the nanoroughness is also inherited. Thus, the anti-reflectance property of the etched silicon surface is greatly improved. This work demonstrates that the light trapping properties of silicon surface etched by atmospheric plasma jet are a synergy of the optical medium effect and geometrical optics. Insights into the morphology evolution and optical properties of the textured surfaces are important for developing a new surface texturing process of silicon solar cells.

Investigation of the polarization switching mechanism in ferroelectric hafnium zirconium oxide (HZO) film is of great importance for developing high-quality ferroelectric memory devices. Recently, several works have been reported to describe the switching process of polycrystalline HZO film using the inhomogeneous field mechanism (IFM) model. However, no report has recorded the effect of high pressure annealing (HPA) on the polarization switching process. In this paper, we have carried out a careful investigation on the switching properties of HZO capacitors annealed at 600 °C with various high pressure conditions (1, 50, and 200 atm) using the IFM model. As pressure increases to 200 atm, the ferroelectric properties were enhanced in the HZO films, and, as a result, highest remanent polarization (Pr of 24.5 μC/cm2) was observed when compared with 1 and 50 atm. Similarly, as HPA increases, the HZO capacitors showed a decrement of the coercive field, which significantly improved the switching properties. The time consumed for reversing 80% polarization was 113.1, 105.7, and 66.5 ns for the sample annealed at 1, 50, and 200 atm, respectively. From the IFM model, the smallest active field (2.997 MV/cm) and a uniform distribution of the local electric field (0.304) were observed at 200 atm. Furthermore, the characteristic time constant ( τ 0 ) showed a decreasing trend (34.7, 18.1, and 11.7 ps) with increasing HPA. The improved switching properties and detailed findings recorded in this study may be helpful for developing the ferroelectric hafnia based non-volatile memory applications.

In this paper we review the subject of oxide breakdown (BD), focusing our attention on the case of the gate dielectrics of interest for current Si microelectronics, i.e., Si oxides or oxynitrides of thickness ranging from some tens of nanometers down to about 1 nm. The first part of the paper is devoted to a concise description of the subject concerning the kinetics of oxide degradation under high-voltage stress and the statistics of the time to BD. It is shown that, according to the present understanding, the BD event is due to a buildup in the oxide bulk of defects produced by the stress at high voltage. Defect concentration increases up to a critical value corresponding to the onset of one percolation path joining the gate and substrate across the oxide. This triggers the BD, which is therefore believed to be an intrinsic effect, not due to preexisting, extrinsic defects or processing errors. We next focus our attention on experimental studies concerning the kinetics of the final event of BD, during which the gate leakage increases above acceptable levels. In conditions of intrinsic BD, the leakage increase is due to the growth of damage within the oxide in localized regions. Observations concerning this damage are reviewed and discussed. The measurement of the current, voltage, and power dissipated during the BD transient are also reported and discussed in comparison with the data of structural damage. We then describe the current understanding concerning the dependence of the BD current transient on the conditions of electric field and voltage. In particular, as the oxide thickness and, as a consequence, the voltage levels used for accelerated reliability tests have decreased, the BD transient exhibits a marked change in behavior. As the stress voltage is decreased below a threshold value, the BD transient becomes slower. This recently discovered phenomenon has been termed progressive BD, i.e., a gradual growth of the BD spot and of the gate leakage, with a time scale that under operation conditions can be a large fraction of the total time to BD. We review the literature on this phenomenon, describing the current understanding concerning the dependence of the effect on voltage, temperature, oxide thickness, sample geometry, and its physical structure. We also discuss the possible relation to the so-called soft oxide BD mode and propose a simpler, more consistent terminology to describe different BD regimes. The last part of the paper is dedicated to exploratory studies, still at the early stages given the very recent subject, concerning the impact on the BD of materials for the metal-oxide-semiconductor gate stack and, in particular, metal gates.

When measuring I-V characteristics and carrier lifetimes in quasi-steady-state (QSS) conditions, it is important to consider the time dependence of the charge due to excess carriers within the device. This paper shows that the space-charge region present in pn-junction devices and in many lifetime test structures can produce a significant capacitive effect when measuring the low voltage and low carrier density range of QSS I-V curves. Both computer modeling and experiments show that the junction capacitance is particularly significant in the case of low-resistivity silicon wafers, but it can also be noticeable in intermediate and high-resistivity samples. The paper demonstrates that the static I-V characteristics can be accurately reconstructed using a simple analytical model for the space-charge region. It thus fills a gap in the understanding of the low injection range of QSS voltage and lifetime measurements.

The domain structure of ferroelectric ceramics can be altered by the process of electrical poling. This paper develops quantitative approaches for reflection geometry and spherical harmonic texture analysis, both of which describe these changes at angles parallel to and tilted from the poling axis. The x-ray-diffraction approach uses the relative intensity ratio of ferroelectric poles in poled and unpoled lead zirconate titanate to calculate a domain switching fraction (η) or a multiple of a random distribution, which are shown to be linearly related. An x-ray area detector diffractometer was used for these measurements, although the technique applies to any x-ray reflection geometry. The neutron-diffraction approach employs a Rietveld refinement with a spherical harmonic texture model. Both approaches calculate similar domain textures for two poling fields and the small differences between the approaches can be attributed to surface domain texture. This paper shows that the March–Dollase pole distributio...

The use of stibnite (Sb2S3) as a light-harvesting material in thin film solar cells has received considerable research interest during the transition of the millennium. However, the use of perovskite diminished the research in the field, and the potential of antimony Chalcogenides [Sb2(S,Se)3] was not explored thoroughly. Although these materials also provide bandgap tuning like perovskite, by varying the composition of S and Se, it is not as popular as perovskite for the fabrication of solar cells mainly because of the low efficiency of the solar cells based on it. In this paper, we present a landscape of the functional role of various device parameters on the performance of Sb2(S,Se)3-based solar cells. For this purpose, we first calibrate the optoelectronic model used for simulation with the experimental results from the literature. The model is then subjected to parametric variations to explore the performance metrics for this class of solar cells. Our results show that despite the belief that the open circuit voltage is independent of contact layers’ doping in proper band-aligned carrier selective thin film solar cells, here we observe otherwise and the open circuit voltage is indeed dependent on the doping density of the contact layers. Using the detailed numerical simulation and analytical model, we further identify the performance optimization route for Sb2(S,Se)3-based thin film solar cells.

Although titanium dioxide ( TiO 2) is a promising constituent of the metasurface operative in the visible, the experimental demonstration is limited so far because TiO 2 is intrinsically chemically/physically stable and is hard to be processed into nanostructures with high precision. In this paper, we develop a facile pathway to fabricate the TiO 2 metasurface via oxidation of Ti nanoparticle array that can be made by the conventional lift-off process. Under an optimized heat-treatment procedure in air, Ti nanoparticles are converted to TiO 2 nanoparticles with a size expansion predictable by the molar volume mismatch between Ti and TiO 2, while the global periodic arrangement is retained. We apply this technique to a Ti nanoparticle array fabricated on the phosphor plate of yttrium aluminum garnet doped with Ce 3 + (YAG:Ce) and demonstrate the directional outcoupling of emission through the metasurface. The photoluminescence from the YAG:Ce plate is directionally enhanced in the forward direction, as large as three times as much compared to that from the flat YAG:Ce plate without the metasurface. Because of the high transparency and lossless feature of TiO 2 in the visible, the present metasurface does not lower the total quantum yield of the system consisting of the YAG:Ce plate and the TiO 2 metasurface, which is beneficial for the solid-state-lighting application.

Cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers (CLCEs), which exhibit selective reflection derived from a helical molecular structure, are receiving a great deal of attention because they deform largely due to the cross-linked polymer chains. Reflection wavelength of a CLCE film can be tuned by mechanical stretching that induces a change in the helical pitch. However, stretch-induced reflection wavelength tuning has some issues such as a large load required and a limited tuning range. In this paper, reflection wavelength of a CLCE film is tuned facilely and widely by bending. Outward and inward bendings cause blue and red shifts, respectively. Bending–buckling load required for the reflection tuning is much lower than stretching one, which is proved experimentally and theoretically. By considering the bending behavior of materials, we can impose large strain on a CLCE film and tune reflection wavelength over 300 nm, which is almost the whole region of visible light. This wideband reflection wavelength tuning by low-load bending leads to expanding applications of CLCEs.

Polymer piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) have attracted extensive interest in mechanical energy conversion and wearable electronics for the advantages they have to offer owing some of their characteristics, e.g., the fact that they are light weight, possess a desirable flexibility, and benefit from a high adaptability and simple large-scale manufacturing processes. In this paper, a high-performance organic flexible PENG based on a poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluorethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] film doped with a SnS nanosheet (NS) micropillar array has been prepared and characterized. The piezoelectric coefficient of the P(VDF-TrFE)/SnS NSs (0.3 wt. %) nanocomposite has been greatly enhanced compared with that of the pristine P(VDF-TrFE) film, from 13 to 21 pC N−1. It also demonstrates outstanding open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current (Isc) outputs of 17.28 V cm−2 and 0.94 μA cm−2 under the pressure of 0.5 MPa, which represents a 6-fold and 4-fold improvement, respectively, compared with what a neat P(VDF-TrFE) film was able to deliver. The device was capable of producing a high output power density of 10.69 μW cm−2 under an applied pressure of 0.5 MPa. The dramatic enhancement obtained using nanocomposite micropillar array films results from a more developed β-phase content in the organic film, the higher piezoelectric properties of SnS NSs, and the better alignment of dipoles induced by the micropillar array structure. These remarkably enhanced PENG performances seem to hold much promise for the development of wearable electronics exploiting ambient mechanical energy, thanks to its ability to produce different signals depending on the nature of the source of stimuli.

Femtosecond lasers (fs-lasers) offer a powerful and advantageous tool for fabricating a very large variety of materials. When processing transparent dielectrics, structural defects, such as cracks and broken edges, are always present, thus restricting the precision of fs-laser processing. In this paper, the formation and suppression mechanism of fs-laser induced structural defects are systematically studied. We demonstrate a novel method to improve the processing precision of lithium niobate (LiNbO 3) by elevating the substrate temperature. A crack-free ablation hole with a smooth edge was fabricated at the substrate temperature of 1000 °C. Our results show that the increase of absorptivity and the suppression of incubation effects are responsible for the high precision processing at a high substrate temperature, which not only inhibits the formation of defects, but also additionally increases the efficiency of fs-laser processing. This work provides a simple method to efficiently suppress the defect formation induced by fs-laser in LiNbO 3 samples, paving the way for a new technique for high precision fs-laser processing.

Nb₃Sn thin films are promising candidates for future application in superconducting radio frequency cavities due to their low surface resistivity, high critical temperature, and critical field, as compared to bulk niobium, which is the current state of the art. In this paper, we report the deposition of Nb₃Sn thin films by magnetron co-sputtering at the extremely low temperature of 435°C. These thin films show a critical temperature of 16.3 K, a high critical current density of 1.60×10⁵A/cm², and a strong shielding effect. The key to achieving low-temperature growth is the independent kinetic control of Nb and Sn species in the sputtering process. From a technological viewpoint, the low-temperature approach paves the way for the use of Nb₃Sn as a coating in cryogenic efficient copper based cavities, thereby avoiding the detrimental interdiffusion of Cu.

The use of an indium surfactant considerably alters the composition and morphology of low-temperature non-polar m-plane ( 10 1 ¯ 0 ) AlxGa1−xN (x ∼ 0.2) and of silicon-doped AlGaN/InGaN multiple quantum wells grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. This paper compares heterostructures grown with indium surfactant with those grown under conventional stoichiometric and gallium-rich conditions at the relatively low temperature necessary for growth of In0.16Ga0.84N quantum wells (565 °C). Stoichiometric growth results in rough, inhomogeneous AlGaN layers that are unsuitable for optical devices. Gallium-rich growth produces a smoother AlGaN layer, reduced inhomogeneities, and sharper interfaces as compared to stoichiometric growth. However, due to the low temperature, gallium-rich growth leads to the formation of an unintentional GaN layer on top of each AlGaN barrier, reducing the energies of confined electronic states in the quantum wells. An indium surfactant enables two-dimensional AlGaN growth at low temperature, producing atomically flat surface morphology and sharp heterostructure interfaces. Indium surfactant assisted epitaxy also eliminates the high aluminum alloy inhomogeneities observed with conventional stoichiometric and gallium-rich growth. Even though partial indium incorporation into the AlGaN layer is found at the studied temperatures, the high-quality, uniform non-polar In0.055Al0.19Ga0.755N/In0.16Ga0.84N quantum wells grown with indium surfactant display bright and narrow photoluminescence that is essential for device applications.

This paper reports on the ohmic contact formed by the conductive glass layer found at the interface of Ag/Si contacts on lowly doped emitter silicon solar cells due to the presence of semimetal nanoparticles. The scanning electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscope analyses revealed an interface glass layer (IGL) thickness of greater than 380 nm, which was enriched with micro-sized alloys composed of semimetal nanoparticles. This IGL was conductive as confirmed by conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM). The presence of these semimetal nanoparticles, identified as Ag 2Te and PbTe, was both endowed with low bandgap energies as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. These semimetal nanoparticles were found only in the IGL and formed a “bridge” to connect the Ag gridline and Si emitter for carrier transport. Based on the modified Fowler–Nordheim tunneling process, the modeled C-AFM I–V characteristic curve showed a barrier height of 0.1 eV corresponding to an IGL thickness of only 18 nm. Thus, the carrier transport mechanism “through the conductive bridge” was formed by the semimetal nanoparticles embedded in the IGL. Therefore, the high conductivity of the interface glass led to the specific contact resistance to be independent of the emitter peak doping concentration.

Ferroelectric tin hypothiodiphosphate (Sn 2P 2S 6) crystals are well-known for their significant piezoelectric, electro-optic, and nonlinear optical properties. These crystals have usually been grown by a vapor transport technique. We report in this paper on the first study of photorefractive nonlinearity in Sn 2P 2S 6 crystals grown by the Bridgman method. Pronounced photorefraction is observed in the near-infrared region of the spectrum even with no preliminary optical sensitizing.

The goal of this paper was to investigate the optical properties of the nanofibrous structures synthesized by plasma ionization at a various number of pulses manipulated by laser frequency and scanning speed. Through experimental analyses, it was determined that more nanofibers were generated at higher frequencies and slower scanning speeds. Also, it was found that generated nanofibers have hybrid structures of both silicon and silicon oxide due to being prepared under ambient conditions and rapid cooling process. Slower scanning speeds produced greater amounts of silicon oxide as the average surface temperature is above the oxidation threshold; however, increasing the pulse numbers via the laser frequency has a reverse effect as at higher frequency, the average surface temperature is lower. This was confirmed through both experimental and theoretical results obtained via computerized simulations.