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In this paper, the ferroelectric (FE) properties of 20-nm-thick Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films deposited by an atomic layer deposition technique by using O3 or H2O as an oxygen source were studied. For both oxygen source, the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films exhibited the formation of a non-centrosymmetric orthorhombic phase, which was responsible for the FE behavior. However, it was shown that the H2O-based Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films were more unsuitable for hydrogen from H2O than the O3-based Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films, which reduced the FE polarization and increased the leakage behavior. The results indicated that the use of O3 as an oxygen source in the ALD process has potential for the fabrication of FE Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films for next generation memory applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing geometry size of lithium niobate (LN)-based photonic elements is imperative for realizing ultra-compact LN photonic systems with novel functionalities. However, precision fabrication of LN structures of tens-of-nanometers and below is a challenging task. Focused ion beam (FIB) is promising for ultra-smooth LN nano-patterning due to its flexibility and high resolution. However, tremendous surface roughness was left on the LN surface during FIB milling because of the inhomogenous etching of the metallic film, coated on LN surface to avoid charge accumulation. To achieve ultra-smooth patterns, in this paper, an organic conductive resist was used as an alternative to metallic films. The results showed that surface roughness was kept lower than 0.6 nm with etching depth from hundreds of nanometers to several nanometers. Ultra-shallow steps were fabricated on LN surface with controllable 10 nm step height. This work paves the way to the ultra-smooth and ultra-shallow FIB patterning of LN nano-structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A voltage-pulse method is utilized to investigate the charge-injection-induced time decay of the source–drain current of field-effect transistors with randomly networked single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the conduction channel. The relaxation of trapped carriers in the CNT networks can be accounted for by assuming two exponential decays occurring simultaneously. The slow decay is characterized by a time constant comparable to literature data obtained for a carrier recombination in the semiconducting CNTs. The faster decay with a time constant that has a smaller order of magnitude is attributed to the annihilation of trapped carriers in metallic CNTs or at metal-CNT contacts. Both time constants are gate-bias dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It is shown in this letter that the field-effect electrical response of transistors with their channel made of networks of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) embedded in a poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) matrix can be significantly altered by light illumination. The experimental results indicate a photo-activated electron transfer from P3HT selectively to the semiconducting SWNTs. This finding points to a potential optoelectronic application of such a field-effect device as a photo-triggered electronic switch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoparticles patterned on stretchable films for broad applications lack efficient fabrication methods. In this study, femtosecond laser-induced transfer was employed to assemble nanoparticles into a well-defined array on a flexible substrate while mitigating the inevitable plasmon resonances. The metal islands patterned on the substrate are regularly transferred as spherical nanoparticles onto the polymer, with a small deposition deviation and large embedded depth after laser irradiation. However, inhomogeneous laser absorption in the patterned array severely amplifies the printing deviation and narrows the process window, particularly for smaller patterns and complex arrangements. Plasmon resonance excited by an incident laser causes a localized optical field distribution, which accounts for absorption enhancement or suppression. The field distribution from the numerical simulation exhibited periodicity related to the laser parameters and array geometry. A theoretical model was established to clarify the propagation of plasmon resonance waves. The field distribution was modulated by adjusting the polarization direction, guided by theoretical and simulation analyses. Finally, regular and complex nanoparticle arrays were successfully fabricated after tuning the plasmon resonances. This study provides an effective method for fabricating programmable nanoparticle arrays on flexible films. [Display omitted] • Femtosecond laser-induced transfer is employed to print the small-scale and well-defined nanoparticles array with inevitable plasmons. • The effects of laser pulse energy and array geometry on the position and size deviations of printed nanoparticles are revealed. • Excitation, reflection, and superposition of the plasmon resonances in patterned island arrays are demonstrated by numerical simulation and theoretical analysis. • The uniformity and accuracy of nanoparticle arrays are improved significantly by adjusting the polarization direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]