Highly oriented and epitaxial bilayers of PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3/La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (PZT/LSMO) thin films have been grown by pulsed laser deposition on two different substrates (100) - MgO and -LaAlO3 (LAO) respectively. The structural analysis using X-ray diffraction (XRD) evidenced that layered structure was formed without any secondary phase. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images shown change in the grain size and surface roughness with change of the substrate. Room temperature magnetization-field (M-H) exhibited well-shaped magnetization hysteresis loops, good saturation and low coercivity. The electrical properties of hetrostructure exhibited high remnant polarization (30-54 μC/cm2) and dielectric constant (400-1700) depending upon the different substrate and temperature deposition of FM layer. Frequency dependent change in dielectric constant and loss were observed above metallic ferromagnet to insulator paramagnet transition temperature. It is important to note that the frequency dependent dielectric anomalies are attributed to the change in metallic nature of LSMO bottom electrode and also the bilayer.

A GaMnAs ferromagnetic semiconductor film under compressive strain has strong biaxial in-plane anisotropy, which generates four stable magnetization directions at a zero magnetic field. This feature results in a double switching behavior in the main loop of planar Hall resistance (PHR) spectrum. The minor scan of PHR measurement exhibited staggered asymmetric loops due to the formation of the stable muti-domain structures. We demonstrated the observed four stable PHR states can be served as quaternary logic states for spin memory device.

Even after the successful introduction of Cu-based metallization, the electromigration failure risk has remained one of the important reliability concerns for advanced process technologies. The observation of strong bimodality for the electron up-flow direction in dual-inlaid Cu interconnects has added complexity, but is now widely accepted. More recently, bimodality has been reported also in down-flow electromigration, leading to very short lifetimes due to small, slit-shaped voids under vias. For a more thorough investigation of these early failure phenomena, specific test structures were designed based on the Wheatstone Bridge technique. The use of these structures enabled an increase of the tested sample size past 1.1 million, allowing a direct analysis of electromigration failure mechanisms at the single-digit ppm regime. Results indicate that down-flow electromigration exhibits bimodality at very small percentage levels, not readily identifiable with standard testing methods. The activation energy for the down-flow early failure mechanism was determined to be 0.83 ± 0.01 eV. Within the small error bounds of this large-scale statistical experiment, this value is deemed to be significantly lower than the usually reported activation energy of 0.90 eV for electromigration-induced diffusion along Cu/SiCN interfaces. Due to the advantages of the Wheatstone Bridge technique, we were also able to expand the experimental temperature range down to 150 °C, coming quite close to typical operating conditions up to 125 °C. As a result of the lowered activation energy, we conclude that the down-flow early failure mode may control the chip lifetime at operating conditions. The slit-like character of the early failure void morphology also raises concerns about the validity of the Blech-effect for this mechanism. A very small amount of Cu depletion may cause failure even before a stress gradient is established. We therefore conducted large-scale statistical experiments close to the critical current density-length product (jL)*. The results indicate that even at very small failure percentages, this critical product seems to extrapolate to about 2900 ± 400 A/cm for SiCOH-based dielectrics, close to previously determined (jL)* products of about 3000 ± 500 A/cm for the same technology node and dielectric material, acquired with single link interconnects. More detailed studies are currently ongoing to verify the extrapolation methods at small percentages. Furthermore, the scaling behavior of the early failure population was investigated.

The nano-scale strain fields analysis around 90° domains and misfit dislocations in PbTiO3/SrTiO3 001 epitaxial thin film has been conducted using the geometric phase analysis (GPA) combined with high angle annular dark field - scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). The films typically possess a-c mixed domain configuration with misfit dislocations. The PbTiO3 layer was formed from the two layer: the upper 200 nm layer shows the typical a- and c- mixed domain configuration where the a-domains are several tens nm in width; the bottom 100 nm layer shows the different domain configuration that the width is several nm. In the latter case, a-domains are terminated within the film and are short in length. On the other hand, the bottom of a-domains does not contact the film/substrate interface. It keeps away from the interface, and there is completely c-domain layer under a-domains. The HAADF-STEM-GPA shows that the strain fields around an a-domain and a misfit dislocation interact each other: the tensile strain field and lattice plane bending fit together. This result indicates that the a-domain originates from the misfit dislocation.

The crystal growth of indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films on nanoimprinted glass substrates was examined by applying pulsed laser deposition. The nanoimprinted glass was fabricated by thermal nanoimprint using a nanostriped NiO thin film mold. The nanopatterned glass had a straight nanowire array with intervals of about 180 nm, and wire height of about 30 nm. The surface morphology of the ITO thin film grown on the nanoimprinted glass accurately reflected the morphology of the glass surface nanopattern. The ITO thin film on the imprinted glass exhibited preferentially (111)-oriented polycrystalline growth, and had 35% lower resistivity in the direction perpendicular to the nanowire array than that of the film grown on the nonpatterned commercial glass.

Arrays of magnetic nanowires and well-oriented chains of superparamagnetic nanoparticles were fabricated using polymer and alumina membrane templates. The systems were characterized by SQUID and studied by electron magnetic resonance methods. Comparative analysis of the obtained results for different geometries and sizes of the magnetic inclusions is presented.

Nanoscale metrology of graphene-based devices is a substantial challenge. The investigation of defects and stacking order is essential for graphene-based device development. Raman spectroscopy is a useful approach in this regard. The defect-induced Raman D band yields substantial insights regarding defect density and, consequently, can serve as in important tool to quantify impact of defects on eventual graphene-based device performance. Toward this end an investigation of electron beam-induced defects in bi-layer and mono layer graphene samples has been undertaken via the examination of the Raman D, and G bands. The evolution of the aforementioned Raman spectra as a function of electron beam dose was characterized via Raman spectroscopy and compared with spectra from the same samples prior to irradiation. Defect generation in the graphene as a function of electron beam dose was characterized via the change in the intensity ratios of the Raman D and G bands (ID/IG) and the broadening of the G band line width. Continued irradiation at very high flux and very low accelerating voltages have also revealed charge accumulation evident from the narrowing of G band line-widths.

We report on the experimental investigation of the use of Sixtron Advanced Materials Silane-free gas generation system to deposit a transparent SiCxOy Na-diffusion barrier and anti-reflection film (for subsequent TCO thin film coatings) onto glass sheets with an APCVD deposition process. SiCxOy thin films (50-250nm thickness) with a tunable index of 1.65-1.75 are currently being deposited by APCVD On-line float glass coating systems depositing Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) coatings (both for Low-E windows and for solar panel manufacturing applications these coatings typically have a refractive index of about 1.9) using, for example, gaseous Silane (SiH4), Propylene or Ethylene and Oxygen. Such a barrier film is critical for achieving high transparency through its anti-reflection properties having an intermediate index, i.e. close to the value of to achieve high conductivity for subsequent deposited TCO layers and to improve the longevity of the TCO coating performance through its Na-diffusion barrier properties. The Sixtron's Silane-free gas generation system uses a solid material as starting source that is safe for shipping by airand thus removes many of the safety and cost concerns involved with handling and exchanging of hazardous Silane gas cylinders at the thin film production site. A successful transfer of this alternative Si-precursor material to the proprietary CVDgCoat™ APCVD coating platform under development by CVD Equipment corporation would enable the manufacturing and operation of safer and lower cost On-line and Off-line APCVD thin film glass coating systems for the fast growing coated glass sheet market driven by the growing alternative energy demand for both energy saving and energy generation materials.

We analyze a main scheme for the suppression of GeO desorption by the high pressure oxidation which drastically improve the electrical quality of Ge/GeO2 capacitors. The inherent driving force for GeO to form at the Ge/GeO2 interface and to diffuse toward the GeO2 surface was realized by the concentration gradient in the GeO2 film, which was obtained from the thermodynamic calculation. Kinetic consideration based on the comparison with Si/SiO2 stacks suggests that GeO desorption at the GeO2 surface is the rate-limiting process under passive oxidation conditions. When O2 pressure is increased by high pressure oxidation, the vapor pressure of GeO at the GeO2 surface is reduced, restricting GeO desorption at the GeO2 surface.

We have fabricated highly resistive materials PrBa2 (Cu1-xMx) 3O7 (M=Al, Ga, x = 0.20) by doping metals Ga and Al on PrBa2Cu3O7(PBCO). X-ray data indicated no significant second phases in substituting Cu by Al or Ga up to 20%.The electrical resistivity of these materials were three to four orders in magnitude higher than PBCO at 200K, which may give an effective potential barrier to YBCO in high Tc S-I-S Josephson junction. Epitaxial thin films of these materials were grown using KrF excimer laser on LAO (110) single crystal substrates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were deployed to study the crystal orientation, epitaxy and roughness of the single crystal thin films. Micro Raman spectroscopy was carried out to investigate the dopant site in PBCO.

The manufacturing of magnetic PAN/Fe3O4 nanocomposite fibers is explored by an electrospinning process. The nanocomposite fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The magnetic properties of the nanoparticles in the polymer nanocomposite fibers are different from those of the dried as-received nanoparticles.

Fine bulk samples of delta-phase Hf hydride with various hydrogen contents (CH ) ranging from 1.62 to 1.72 in the atomic ratio (H/Hf) were prepared, and their thermal and mechanical properties were characterized. In the temperature range from room temperature to around 650 K, the heat capacity and thermal diffusivity of the samples were measured and the thermal conductivity was evacuated. The elastic modulus was calculated from the measured sound velocity. The Vickers hardness was measured at room temperature. Effects of CH and/or temperature on the properties of Hf hydrides were discussed. At room temperature, the thermal conductivity values of the Hf hydrides were 23 Wm−1K−1. The Young's and shear moduli and the Vickers hardness of Hf hydride decreased with increasing CH .

Nanofluids are engineered colloidal suspensions of nanometer-sized particles in a carrier fluid and are receiving significant attention because of their potential applications in heat transfer area. Theoretical investigations have shown that the enhanced thermal conductivity observed in nanofluids is due to nanoparticle clustering and networking. This provides a low resistance path to the heat flowing through the fluid. However, the surface coating of the nanoparticles, which is often used to provide stable dispersion over the long term, may act as a thermal barrier, reducing the effective thermal conductivity of the nanofluid. Moreover, nanofluids with the same type of nanoparticles may exhibit different effective thermal conductivities, depending upon the thermal properties and thickness of the coating. In this context, thermal conductivity characterization of well dispersed iron oxide nanoparticles with two different surface coatings was carried out employing the transient hot wire technique. The diameter of the iron oxide core was 35 nm and the coatings used were aminosilane and carboxymethyl-dextran (CMX) of 7nm in thickness. Preliminary results suggest that effective thermal conductivity of CMX coated nanoparticle suspensions is slightly higher than that of aminosilane coated nanoparticles. In both cases, the effective thermal conductivity is higher than that predicted by the Maxwell model for composite media.

Using quantum mechanical and classical molecular dynamics computer simulations, we study the full three-dimensional threshold displacement energy surface in Si. We show that the SIESTA density-functional theory method gives a minimum threshold energy of 13 eV that agrees very well with experiments, and predicts an average threshold displacement energy of 36 eV. Using the quantum mechanical result as a baseline, we discuss the reliability of the classical potentials with respect to their description of the threshold energies. We also examine the threshold energies for sputtering in a nanowire, and find that this threshold depends surprisingly strongly on which layer the atom is in.

We report our recent progress on nc-Si:H single-junction and a-Si:H/nc-Si:H/nc-Si:H triple-junction cells made by a modified very-high-frequency (MVHF) technique at deposition rates of 10-15 Å/s. First, we studied the effect of substrate texture on the nc-Si:H single-junction solar cell performance. We found that nc-Si:H single-junction cells made on bare stainless steel (SS) have a good fill factor (FF) of ˜0.73, while it decreased to ˜0.65 when the cells were deposited on textured Ag/ZnO back reflectors. The open-circuit voltage (Voc) also decreased. We used dark current-voltage (J-V), Raman, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements to characterize the material properties. The dark J-V measurement showed that the reverse saturated current was increased by a factor of ˜30 when a textured Ag/ZnO back reflector was used. Raman results revealed that the nc-Si:H intrinsic layers in the two solar cells have similar crystallinity. However, they showed a different crystallographic orientation as indicated in XRD patterns. The material grown on Ag/ZnO has more random orientation than that on SS. These experimental results suggested that the deterioration of FF in nc-Si:H solar cells on textured Ag/ZnO was caused by poor nc-Si:H quality. Based on this study, we have improved our Ag/ZnO back reflector and the quality of nc-Si:H component cells and achieved an initial and stable active-area efficiencies of 13.4% and 12.1%, respectively, in an a-Si:H/nc-Si:H/nc-Si:H triple-junction cell.

Memory properties of nickel silicide nanocrystal monolayers embedded in silicon dioxide have been investigated. The nanocrystal layers were produced by thermal annealing of a sandwich structure comprised of ultrathin Ni film (0.2 nm) sandwiched between two silicon-rich oxide (SiO1.57) layers. Average diameter and areal density is about 2.9 nm and 1.3×1012 cm-2, respectively. Capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements are shown to have C-V characteristics suitable for nonvolatile memory applications, including large memory window (∼ 10 V), long retention time ( > 107 s), and excellent endurance ( > 106 program/erase cycles).

We have investigated the effect of N doping into Cu2O films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. With increasing N-doping concentration up to 3 at.%, the optical bandgap energy is enlarged from ˜2.1 to ˜2.5 eV with retaining p-type conductivity as determined by optical absorption and Hall-effect measurements. Additionally, photoelectron spectroscopy in air measurements shows an increase in the valence and conduction band shifts with N doping. These experimental results demonstrate possible optical bandgap widening of p-type N-doped Cu2O films, which is a phenomenon that is probably associated with significant structural changes induced by N doping, as suggested from x-ray diffraction measurements.

Reliability and performance of ultraviolet light emitting diodes have suffered due to the high dislocation density of the AlN and high Al-content AlxGa1-xN layers when grown on foreign substrates such as sapphire. The development of pseudomorphic layers on low dislocation density AlN substrates is leading to improvements in reliability and performance of devices operating in the ultraviolet-C (UVC) range. One major improvement is the ability to operate devices at much higher current densities and input powers than devices on sapphire substrates. This is due to the better thermal properties and lower dislocation density of devices on AlN substrates. Devices with active area of 0.001 cm2 emitting at ∼265 nm have been measured for their reliability and change in power output over time at input currents of 20 mA (20 A/cm2), 100 mA (100A/cm2) and 150 mA (150 A/cm2). When operating at currents of 20 mA over 3500 hours of consecutive operation has been demonstrated with typical decay of ∼27% over the 3500 hours. Extrapolating the decay with a linear fit gives a L50 (time to 50% of initial power) of ∼5000 hrs. However it is desirable to be able to model the decay to better understand the kinetics and better understand the mechanisms. In order to do this, the lifetime at 20 mA and 100 mA were modeled using an exponential decay function, square root transformation and a log transformation to both be able to fit the experimental data and predict future performance.

A near infrared heating method is presented which directly heats metal substrates to very high temperatures within seconds. The technique is used to heat 1mm thick titanium and stainless steel metal coupons onto which 1 cm2 commercial TiO2 pastes have been deposited within 12-25 seconds giving assembled dye sensitized solar cell efficiencies which are equivalent to cells prepared using a convection oven for 1800 seconds. The near infrared method is applicable to different paste thicknesses and paste types as well as different metal substrates. Near infrared sintering for the shortest times 12.5 seconds yielded cells with the highest efficiency compared to convection oven prepared samples. This ultrafast heating seems to drive off binder very effectively and lead to rapid sintering. Ultrafast sintering allows peak metal temperatures of 500-800 °C to be achieved without the massive losses in cell efficiency observed with the conventional heat treatment at temperatures over 600 ◦C.

Nanosize particles are of fundamental and practical interest for developing advanced materials and devices and micro and nanostructures. As feature sizes shrink, nanoparticle contamination is also becoming increasingly important to achieve and maintain high product yields. In order to employ appropriate material and product development strategies, or institute preventive assembly and remediation strategies to control nanoparticle contamination, it is essential to understand the nature of nanoparticles and to characterize these particles. Particles in the size range 0.1 nm to 100 nm present unique challenges and opportunities for their imaging and characterization. Critical information for this purpose is the number and size of the particles, their morphology, and their physical and chemical structure. Because of this importance, many advances and new developments have been made in qualitative and quantitative characterization techniques for particles in this size range, including neutron holography, three dimensional atom probe imaging, ultrafast microscopy and crystallography, magnetic resonance force microscopy, and high-resolution x-ray crystallography of non-crystalline structures. It is now possible to completely characterize nanoparticles from 0.1 nm to 100 nm size. A brief review of the nature of nanoparticles is presented and recent developments in selected characterization techniques are described.