2 results
Strain Sensitivity in Ion-implanted Polymers
- Giovanni Di Girolamo, Marcello Massaro, Emanuela Piscopiello, Emanuela Pesce, Ciro Esposito, Leander Tapfer, Marco Vittori Antisari
-
- Journal:
- MRS Online Proceedings Library Archive / Volume 1134 / 2008
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 01 February 2011, 1134-BB08-13
- Print publication:
- 2008
-
- Article
- Export citation
-
Ion implantation process was used to fabricate ultra-thin conducting films in inert polymers and to tailor the surface electrical properties for strain gauge applications. To this aim, polycarbonate substrates were irradiated at room temperature with low energy Cu+ ions of 60 keV at 1 μA/cm2 and with doses ranging from 1×1016 to 1×1017 ions/cm2. XRD and TEM measurements on the nanocomposite surfaces demonstrated the spontaneous precipitation of Cu nanocrystals at 1×1016 ions/cm2 fluence. These nanocrystals were located at about 50 nm - 80 nm below the polymer surface in accordance with TRIM calculations. Optical absorption spectra exhibited a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) at 2 eV, in accordance with the formation of Cu nanoparticles. For doses of 5×1016 ions/cm2 the formation of a continuous nanocrystalline Cu subsurface film occurred and a well pronounced SPR peak was observed. Otherwise, for higher doses (1×1017 ions/cm2) a damaged and structurally disordered film was obtained and the SPR peak was smeared out. Electrical conductivity measurements clearly indicated a reduced electrical resistance for the samples implanted with a doses up to 5×1016 ions/cm2, whereas higher doses (1×1017 ions/cm2) resulted detrimental for the electrical properties, probably due to the radiation induced damage. The dependence of electrical resistance from surface load was evaluated during compression tests up to 3 MPa. A significant linear variation of the electrical resistance with the surface load was found and could be related to the changes in the spatial distribution of nanoparticles inside the copper film.
On the Structural and Optical Properties of ZnO Nanoparticles Formed in Silica by Ion Implantation
- Maria Antonella Tagliente, Marcello Massaro, Giovanni Mattei, Paolo Mazzoldi, Giovanni Pellegrini, Valentina Bello, Daniela Carbone
-
- Journal:
- MRS Online Proceedings Library Archive / Volume 942 / 2006
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 01 February 2011, 0942-W08-36
- Print publication:
- 2006
-
- Article
- Export citation
-
Zinc Oxide (ZnO) is a II-VI semiconductor material with a wide direct band-gap of 3.37 eV at room temperature (RT). In the past decades, the material has been used for a variety of applications such as gas sensors, surface acoustic wave devices, or transparent contacts. Recently, ZnO has gained a new substantial interest primarily because to its potentialities for optoelectronic and spintronic applications. The renewed interest has been fueled by the availability of high-quality bulk substrates, reports of p-type conduction and theoretical predictions of its ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature when doped with transition metals. In the domain of optoelectronics, its main applications include devices emitting in the blue and UV regions by exploiting its wide band-gap such as light-emitting and laser diodes. With respect to several wide band-gap semiconductor materials, ZnO has the advantage of a larger exciton binding energy (about 60 meV) which paves the way for an intense near-band-edge excitonic emission at room and higher temperatures. On the other hand, a band gap engineering can be also achieved by the incorporation of Cadmium and Magnesium atoms into the ZnO lattice.
Many techniques have been used to prepare ZnO in various forms, such as single crystals, powders and films. In the past few years, the great attention toward materials with nanometric size have motivated a number of studies on the synthesis of ZnO nanocrystals. Ion implantation is one of the most effective and versatile technique to obtain nanoparticles. ZnO particles embedded in silica matrix have been successfully prepared by ion implantation followed by thermal oxidation.
In this work, we report on a detailed structural and optical characterization of the ZnO-silica nanocomposites by using several complementary techniques; in particular, Glancing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD), Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS), linear Optical Absorption (OA) in the UV-near IR spectrum and Photo-Luminescence (PL). The ZnO nanoparticles embedded in SiO2 matrix were prepared by implanting the substrates with 130 keV Zn+ ions at doses of 1, 1.5 and 2´1017 ions/cm2. Subsequently, the implanted samples were annealed for 1h in a furnace at a temperature between 500 and 800°C under flowing O2 gas. X-ray diffraction results indicate the formation of Zn and ZnO nanoparticles in the as-implanted and annealed samples, respectively. Moreover, the ZnO nanocrystals embedded in the SiO2 matrix have a (002) preferred orientation. After the oxidation, the optical absorption spectra show an absorption edge at about 374 nm by confirming the presence of the ZnO particles. A relatively strong exciton photoluminescence peak was observed at room temperature under pulsed N2 laser excitation at l=337nm. The results obtained, peculiarly related to the implantation doses and annealing temperature, are discussed.