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We present a detailed study of post-deposition annealing effects on contact resistance of Au, Ti, Hf and Ni electrodes on Mg 2 Si thin films. Thin-film Mg 2 Si and metal contacts were deposited using magnetron sputtering. Various post-annealing temperatures were studied to determine the thermal stability of each contact metal. The specific contact resistivity (SCR) was determined using the Cross Bridge Kelvin Resistor (CBKR) method. Ni contacts exhibit the best thermal stability, maintaining stability up to 400 °C, with a SCR of approximately 10 −2 Ω-cm 2 after annealing. The increased SCR after high temperature annealing is correlated with the formation of a Mg-Si-Ni mixture identified by cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) characterization, X-ray diffraction characterization (XRD) and other elemental analyses. The formation of this Mg-Si-Ni mixture is attributed to Ni diffusion and its reaction with the Mg 2 Si film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three polyethylene containing different non-planar aliphatic ring ether units (1,4-cyclohexylenedioxy, 4,4′-bicyclohexylenedioxy and 4,4′-isopropylidenedicyclohexylenedioxy) were synthesized via acyclic diene metathesis polymerization (ADMET) and subsequent hydrogenation. They were compared with their counterpart polymers containing aromatic ring defects in aspects of chain structural, thermal properties and crystalline structure by investigations with 1 H NMR, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Regardless of the trans/cis isomers of cyclohexane moieties in these polymers, the results demonstrated that polyethylene containing non-planar aliphatic ring units showed decreased thermal stability as compared with the corresponding PE containing aromatic ring defects. Moreover, study on crystallization behaviors indicated that in contrast to their aromatic counterparts, introduction of the non-planar aliphatic defects perturbed the corresponding crystal structure more intensively, and larger space is needed to include these defects in the solid phase. As a result, their WAXD reflections shifted to lower scattering angles that correspond to increased d -spacing, and the polymers exhibited lower melting points. SAXS results proved that non-planar aliphatic ring defects result in increased dimension of amorphous region. Calculated by melting points and enthalpy, these polymers had smaller crystalline lamella thickness and lower crystallinity than their aromatic counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]