Structural and optical properties of Zn1−xNixTe thin films prepared by electron beam evaporation technique

Zn1-xNixTe thin films with different composition(x=0.0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20) were deposited on glass substrate by electron beam evaporation technique followed by its characterization using advanced structural and optical analysis techniques. Structural properties of the prepared thin films were studied by X-ray diffraction(XRD). The XRD patterns revealed that the binary compounds transformed into a ternary compound with cubic structure having preferred orientation along the c-direction with(111) planes. Composition analysis of the films was determined by energy dispersive analysis of X-rays(EDAX) and found to be in agreement with the precursor composition. Optical properties such as extinction coefficient(k) and band gap energy of these films were examined by using a spectroscopic ellipsometer. It was found that the extinction coefficient(k) increased with the addition of Ni content in the alloy. In comparison, the band gap energy was also determined by using transmission spectra and found to be agreed with that of the ellipsometric results. These analyses confirm that the band gap energy decreases with the increase of Ni content in the alloy.     

Microstructure and properties of indium tin oxide thin films deposited by RF-magnetron sputtering

Tin-doped indium oxide （ITO） thin films were prepared using conventional radio frequency （RF） planar magnetron sputtering equipped with IR irradiation using a ceramic target of In2O3/SnO2 with a mass ratio of 1：1 at various IR irradiation temperatures T1 （from room temperature to 400 ℃ ）. The refractive index, deposited ratio, and resistivity are functions of the sputtering Ar gas pressure. The microstructure of ITO thin films is related to IR T are amorphous at the temperature ranging from 1, the crystalline seeds appear at T1 = 300℃, and the films 27 ℃ to 400 ℃.     

Fabrication and photoluminescence of GaN nanowires prepared by ammoniating GaeO3/BN films on Si substrate

GaN nanowires were successfully prepared on Si（111） substrate through ammoniating Ga203/BN films deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering system. The synthesized nanowires were confirmed as hexagonal wurtzite GaN by X-ray diffraction, selected-area electron diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectra. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the grown GaN nanowires have a smooth and clean surface with diameters ranging from 40 to 160 nm and lengths typically up to several tens of micrometers. The representative photoluminescence spectrum at room temperature exhibited a strong UV light emission band centered at 363 nm and a relative weak purple light emission peak at 422 nm. The growth mechanism is discussed briefly.     

Coherent thermal radiation in thin films and its application in the emissivity design of multilayer films

The infrared transmission spectra of a 0.54-μm-thick Ge film and a 20-μm-thick Si film were experimentally measured. As the incident radiation was in the wavelength range from 1.5μm to 10μm, the Ge film demonstrated a strongly spectral coherence. However, thermal radiation of the Ge film was found to be spatially incoherent due to its extreme thinness. The Si film exhibited significantly spectral and spatial coherence. The results confirmed that thermal radiation of a monolayer film could be coherent spectrally and spatially if the film thickness was comparable with the wavelength. The optical characteristic matrix method was applied to calculate the transmission spectra of the Si and Ge film, and the results agreed well with the measurements. This method was further used to analyze two multilayer films composed of five low emissive layers. Their emissivities were found to be highly emissive at a certain zenith angle, and the emissive peak could be controlled by careful selection of film thickness.     

Influence of catalyst on structural and morphological properties of TiO2 nanostructured films prepared by sol–gel on glass

Transparent TiO2 thin films have been prepared by the sol-gel method using titanium alkoxides as precursors.Thin films were deposited on glass supports by the dip-coating technique.The TiO2 layer acts as a self-cleaning coating generated from its photocatalysis and photoinduced superhydrophilicity.The crystalline structure of TiO2 films was dominantly identified as the anatase phase,consisted of uniform spherical particles of about 14-50 nm in size,which strongly depends upon catalyst-type and heat treatment temperature.Increasing heat treating temperature can lead to an increase in crystalline size.The results indicated that the sample S.S(sample derived from sol containing sulfuric acid as catalyst) exhibits superhydrophilic nature and better photocatalytic activity,which can be attributed to its higher anatase content and lower crystalline size.Morphological studies,carried out using Atomic Force Microscopy(AFM),confirm the presence of crystalline phase with such a grain size and low surface roughness.Thus,the applied films exhibiting high photocatalytic activity,superhydrophilic behavior,and low surface roughness can be used as an efficient self-cleaning coating on glass and other optical applications.     

Characterization of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles prepared by transfor- mation of α-FeOOH

γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by a chemically induced transformation of α-FeOOH.In this method,the precursor(α-FeOOH)was prepared by chemical precipitation,and then treated with a mixed FeCl2/NaOH solution to produce the nanoparticles.X-ray diffraction indicated that when the precursor was treated with FeCl2(0.22 mol/L)and NaOH(0.19 mol/L),pure γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were obtained.However,when the concentration of FeCl2 was<0.22 mol/L or the concentration of NaOH was<0.19 mol/L,α-FeOOH and γ-Fe2O3 phases co-existed in the nanoparticles.Transmission electron microscopy observations showed that in the samples with co-existing phases,the nanoparticles did not have identical morphologies.The pure γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were polygonal rather than spherical.The volume ratio of α-FeOOH and γ-Fe2O3 was estimated for the two-phase samples from magnetization data obtained from a vibrating sample magnetometer.This chemically induced transformation is novel,and could provide an effective route for the synthesis of other metal oxide nanocrystallites.     

Synthesis process of Ba-ferrites from α-FeOOH and γ-FeOOH and investigation of magnetic properties

The claviform BaFe₁₂O₁₉ crystals were synthesized by the precipitation-toptactic reaction method using α-FeOOH and γ-FeOOH as raw materials respectively. The synthesis processes of BaFe₁₂O₁₉, studied by XRD, SEM, EDS, FT-IR, and TG-DTA techniques, included preparations of precursor γ and precursor α, formations of α-Fe₂O₃ and BaFe₂O₄, and production of rod-like BaFe₁₂O₁₉ through dehydroxylation of pod-like FeOOH, followed by reactions of α-Fe₂O₃ with BaCO₃ and BaFe₂O₄. The crystallinity of α-Fe₂O₃ and BaCO₃ from precursor α was better than from precursor γ due to the direct dehydroxylation of α-FeOOH, resulting in a lower nucleation rate and better crystallinity of BaFe₂O₄. BaFe₁₂O₁₉ prepared from precursor α showed lower crystallinity and purity with a higher length-diameter ratio than from precursor γ. The VSM results proved that the appearance of final products had an important influence on magnetic properties.     

Fabrication and photoluminescence of GaN nanowires prepared by ammoniating Ga_2O_3/BN films on Si substrate

GaN has been considered to be the most promising optoelectronic material for such applications as light emitting diodes (LEDs), laser diodes (LDs) as well as high power electronic devices, due to its large direct energy band gap of 3.39 eV at room tempera…     

Electrical and band-gap properties of amorphous zinc–ind ium–tin oxide thin films

Zinc–indium–tin oxide (ZITO) films were grown by pulsed-laser deposition. Three different material compositions were investigated: ZITO-30, ZITO-50 and ZITO-70 in which 30%,50% and 70%, respectively, of the indium in the In2O3 structure was replaced by substitution with zinc and tin in equal molar proportions (co-substitution): In22xZnxSnxO3, where x=0.3, 0.5, 0.7. All ZITO films grown at room temperature were amorphous. The first evidence of crystallinity was observed at higher deposition-temperature as the degree of co-substitution was increased. A decrease in mobility and conductivity was also observed as the degree of co-substitution was increased. The highest mobility for ZITO-30 and ZITO-50 was observed at deposition temperatures just prior to crystallization. The effect of deposition temperature on carrier concentration was minor compared to the effect of oxygen partial pressure during deposition.     

Effect of cold rolling process on microstructure and mechanical properties of high strength β titanium alloy thin sheets

The microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-3.5Al-5Mo-6V-3Cr-2Sn-0.5Fe high strength titanium alloy sheets prepared by unidirectional cold rolling and two-step cross cold rolling were investigated. Results showed that the β phase grains were refined significantly by cold rolling followed by solution treatment for a short time.Compared to unidirectional cold rolling, the short time solution treatment after two-step cross rolling could significantly reduce the non-uniformity of the microstructure of the alloy sheets. After aging treatment at 550 ℃,the anisotropy of the mechanical properties still existed in the unidirectional rolled sheets, and the tensile strength was highest along the rolling direction. After solution and aging treatment, the anisotropy of the mechanical properties of the two-step cross rolling process sheet was not obvious than unidirectional cold rolling,and alloy had good strength and plasticity matching.     

Structure and 57Fe conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy study of Mn-Zn ferrite nanocrystal thin films by electroless plating in aqueous solution

Mn1-xZnxFe2O4thin films with various Zn contents and of different thickness were synthesized on glass substrates directly by electroless plating in aqueous solution at 90℃ without heat treatment. The Mn-Zn ferrite films have a single spinel phase structure and well-crystallized columnar grains growing per- pendicularly to the substrates. The results of conversion electron ^57Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy （CEMS） Indicate that the cation distribution of Mn1-xZnxFe204 ferrite nanocrystal thin films fabricated by electroless plating is different from the bulk materials＇ and a great quantity of Fe^3＋ ions are still present on A sites for x〉0.5. When the Zn content of the films increases, Fe^3＋ ions in the films transfer from A sites to B sites and the hyperfine magnetic field reduces, suggesting that Zn2. has strong chemical affinity towards the A sites. On the other side, with the increase of the thickness of the films, Fe3＋ ions, at B sites in the spinel structure, increase and the array of magnetic moments no longer lies in the thin film plane completely. At x = 0.5, Hc and Ms of Mn1-xZnxFe204thin films show a minimum of 3.7 kA/m and a maximum of 419.6 kA/m, respectively.     

Synthesis of layered LiMnO2 by in situ oxidationintercalation and a study of the reaction mechanism and electrochemical performance

Lithium-ion batteries have become the main candi-date for rechargeable power sources in current electronicproducts because of their high open circuit voltage, highenergy density, longevity and absence of memory effect.Layered LiCoO2 has been used commerci…     

Microstructure and electric characteristics of AETiO_3(AE=Mg,Ca, Sr)doped CaCu_3Ti_4O_(12) thin films prepared by the sol–gel method

This paper focuses on the effects of alkline-earth metal titante AETiO_3(AE = Mg,Ca,Sr) doping on the microstructure and electric characteristics of CaCu_3Ti_4O_(12) thin films prepared by the sol-gel method.The results showed that the grain size of CCTO thin films could be increased by MgTiO_3 doping.The movement of the grain boundaries was impeded by the second phases of CaTiO_3 and SrTiO_3 concentrating at grain boundaries in CaTiO_3 and SrTiO_3 doped CCTO thin films.Rapid ascent of dielectric constant could be observed in 0.1Mg TiO_3 doped CCTO thin films,which was almost as three times high as pure CCTO thin film and the descent of the dielectric loss at low frequency could also be observed.In addition,the nonlinear coefficient(α),threshold voltage(V_T) and leakage current(I_L) of AETiO_3 doped CCTO thin films(AE = Mg,Ca,Sr) showed different variation with the increasing content of the MgTiO_3,CaTiO_3 and SrTiO_3.     

Coarsening behavior of γ′ and γ″ phases in GH4169 superalloy by electric field treatment

The coarsening behaviors of γ′ and γ″ phases in GH4169 alloy aged at 1023 and 1073 K with electric field treatment (EFT) were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). It is demonstrated that precipitation coarsening occurs, and the growth activation energies of γ′ and γ″ phases can be decreased to 115.6 and 198.1 kJ·mol?1, respectively, by applying the electric field. The formation of a large number of vacancies in the matrix is induced by EFT. Due to the occurrence of vacancy migration, the diffusion coefficients of Al and Nb atoms are increased to be 1.6–5.0 times larger than those without EFT at 1023 or 1073 K. Furthermore, the formation of vacancy clusters is promoted by EFT, and the increase in strain energy for the coarsening of γ′ and γ″ phases can be counterbalanced by the formation of vacancy clusters.     

Fabrication of MgB_2 superconducting films by different methods

MgB2 superconducting films have been successfully fabricated on single crystal MgO(111) and c-AL2O3 substrates by different methods. The film deposited by pulsed laser deposition is c-axis oriented with zero resistance transition temperature of 38.4 K, while the other two films fabricated by chemical vapor deposition and electrophoresis are c-axis textured with the zero resistance transition temperature of 38 K and 39 K, respectively. Magnetization hysteresis measurements yield critical current density Jc of 107 A/cm2 at 15 K in zero field for the thin film and of 105 A/cm2 for the thick film. For the thin film deposited by chemical vapor deposition, the microwave surface resistance at 10 K is found to be as low as 100μΩ, which is comparable with that of a high-quality high-temperature superconducting thin film of YBCO.     

Structural and magnetic properties of Fe3O4 nanoparticles prepared by arc-discharge in water

By using a simple and low-cost arc-discharge method in deionized water, high purity Fe3O4 nanoparti- cles have been synthesized on large scale. The structure of these nanoparticles has been studied by means of transmission electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. The synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles show well-defined spherical shape, with diameters ranging from 10 to 30 nm and the average diameter about 20 nm. By investigating the effects of the different processing conditions, optimum parameters were obtained. Moreover, the size of the as-grown nanoparticles can also be controlled through ad- justing the processing parameters. These Fe3O4 nanoparticles were magnetic materials, showing saturation magnetization of 64.97 emu/g at room temperature.     

Structure and ~(57)Fe conversion electron Mssbauer spectroscopy study of Mn-Zn ferrite nanocrystal thin films by electroless plating in aqueous solution

Mn1-xZnxFe2O4 thin films with various Zn contents and of different thickness were synthesized on glass substrates directly by electroless plating in aqueous solution at 90℃ without heat treatment.The Mn-Zn ferrite films have a single spinel phase structure and well-crystallized columnar grains growing perpendicularly to the substrates.The results of conversion electron 57Fe M?ssbauer spectroscopy(CEMS)indicate that the cation distribution of Mn1-xZnxFe2O4 ferrite nanocrystal thin films fabricated by electroless plating is different from the bulk materials' and a great quantity of Fe3 ions are still present on A sites for x>0.5.When the Zn content of the films increases,Fe3 ions in the films transfer from A sites to B sites and the hyperfine magnetic field reduces,suggesting that Zn2 has strong chemical affinity towards the A sites.On the other side,with the increase of the thickness of the films,Fe3 ions,at B sites in the spinel structure,increase and the array of magnetic moments no longer lies in the thin film plane completely.At x = 0.5,Hc and Ms of Mn1-xZnxFe2O4 thin films show a minimum of 3.7 kA/m and a maximum of 419.6 kA/m,respectively.     

Superelasticity of Cu-Ni-Al shape-memory fibers prepared by melt extraction technique

In the paper, a melt extraction method was used to fabricate Cu–4Ni–14Al (wt%) fiber materials with diameters between 50 and 200 μm. The fibers exhibited superelasticity and temperature-induced martensitic transformation. The microstructures and superelasticity behavior of the fibers were studied via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA), respectively. Appropriate heat treatment further improves the plasticity of Cu-based alloys. The serration behavior observed during the loading process is due to the multiple martensite phase transformation.     

Preparation and characterization of oil-soluble In_2O_3 nanoparticles and In_2O_3–SnO_2 nanocomposites and their calcined thin films

Oil-soluble In2O3 nanoparticles and In2O3–SnO 2 nanocomposites were prepared in oleylamine via decomposition of metal acetylacetonate precursors. Thin films of In2O3 and In2O3–SnO 2 were obtained by spin-coating solutions of the oil-soluble In2O3 nanoparticles and In2O3–SnO 2 nanocomposites onto substrates and then calcining them. Transmission electron microspectroscopy, scanning electron microspectroscopy, atomic force microspectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet–visible absorption, and photoluminescence spectroscopy were used to investigate the properties of the nanoparticles and thin films. The In2O3 nanoparticles were cubic-phased spheres with a diameter of ~8 nm; their spectra exhibited a broad emission peak centered at 348 nm. The In2O3–SnO 2 nanocomposites were co-particles composed of smaller In2O3 particles and larger SnO 2 particles; their spectra exhibited a broad emission peak at 355 nm. After the In2O3–SnO 2 nanocomposites were calcined at 400°C, the obtained thin films were highly transparent and conductive, with a thickness of 30–40 nm; the surfaces of the thin films were smooth and crack-free.