No Arabic abstract
We report on an extensive structural and electrical characterization of under-gate dielectric oxide insulators Al2O3 and HfO2 grown by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). We elaborate the ALD growth window for these oxides, finding that the 40-100 nm thick layers of both oxides exhibit fine surface flatness and required amorphous structure. These layers constitute a base for further metallic gate evaporation to complete the Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor structure. Our best devices survive energizing up to ~3 MV/cm at 77 K with the leakage current staying below the state-of-the-art level of 1 nA. At these conditions the displaced charge corresponds to a change of the sheet carrier density of 3 times 1013 cm-2, what promises an effective modulation of the micromagnetic properties in diluted ferromagnetic semiconductors.
The paper presents results for zinc oxide films grown at low temperature regime by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). We discuss electrical properties of such films and show that low temperature deposition results in oxygen-rich ZnO layers in which free carrier concentration is very low. For optimized ALD process it can reach the level of 10^15 cm-3, while mobility of electrons is between 20 and 50 cm2/Vs. Electrical parameters of ZnO films deposited by ALD at low temperature regime are appropriate for constructing of the ZnO-based p-n and Schottky junctions. We demonstrate that such junctions are characterized by the rectification ratio high enough to fulfill requirements of 3D memories and are deposited at temperature 100degC which makes them appropriate for deposition on organic substrates.
Hybridisation is a powerful strategy towards the next generation of multifunctional materials for environmental and sustainable energy applications. Here, we report a new inorganic nanocarbon hybrid material prepared with atomically controlled deposition of a monocrystalline TiO2 layer that conformally coats a macroscopic carbon nanotube (CNT) fiber. Through X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and photoemission spectroscopy we detect the formation of a covalent Ti-O-C bond at the TiO2/CNT interface and a residual strain of approximately 0.7-2 %, which is tensile in TiO2 and compressive in the CNT. It arises after deposition of the amorphous oxide onto the CNT surface previously functionalized by the oxygen plasma used in ALD. These features are observed in samples of different TiO2 thickness, in the range from 10 to 80 nm. Ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy on a 20 nm-thick TiO2 coated sample gives a work function of 4.27 eV, between that of TiO2 (4.23 eV) and the CNT fiber (4.41 eV), and the presence of new interband gap states that shift the valence band maximum to 1.05 eV below the Fermi level. Photoelectrochemical measurements demonstrate electron transfer from TiO2 to the CNT fiber network under UV irradiation. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements reveal a low resistance for charge transfer and transport, as well as a large capacitance. Our results point to the fact that these hybrids, in which each phase has nanometric thickness and the current collector is integrated into the material, are very different from conventional electrodes and can provide a number of superior properties.
The recent study of oxides led to the discovery of several new fascinating physical phenomena. High-temperature superconductivity, colossal magnetoresistance, dilute magnetic doping, or multiferroicity were discovered and investigated in transition-metal oxides, representing a prototype class of strongly correlated electronic systems. This development was accompanied by an enormous progress regarding thin film fabrication. Within the past two decades, epitaxial thin films with crystalline quality approaching semiconductor standards became available using laser molecular beam epitaxy. This evolution is reviewed, particularly with emphasis on transition-metal oxide thin films, their versatile physical properties, and their impact on the field of spintronics. First, the physics of ferromagnetic half-metallic oxides, such as the doped manganites, the double perovskites and magnetite is presented together with possible applications based on magnetic tunnel junctions. Second, the wide bandgap semiconductor zinc oxide is discussed particularly with regard to the controversy of dilute magnetic doping with transition-metal ions and the possibility of realizing p-type conductivity. Third, the field of oxide multiferroics is presented with the recent developments in single-phase multiferroic thin film perovskites as well as in composite multiferroic hybrids.
Palladium diselenide (PdSe$_2$), a new type of two-dimensional noble metal dihalides (NMDCs), has received widespread attention for its excellent electrical and optoelectronic properties. Herein, high-quality continuous centimeter-scale PdSe$_2$ films with layers in the range of 3L-15L were grown using Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method. The absorption spectra and DFT calculations revealed that the bandgap of the PdSe$_2$ films decreased with increasing number of layers, which is due to PdSe$_2$ enhancement of orbital hybridization. Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) analysis shows that PdSe2 has significant layer-dependent optical and dielectric properties. This is mainly due to the unique strong exciton effect of the thin PdSe$_2$ film in the UV band. In particular, the effect of temperature on the optical properties of PdSe$_2$ films was also observed, and the thermo-optical coefficients of PdSe$_2$ films with different number of layers were calculated. This study provides fundamental guidance for the fabrication and optimization of PdSe$_2$-based optoelectronic devices.
The crystal structure of Nb22O54 is reported for the first time, and the structure of orthorhombic Nb12O29 is reexamined, resolving previous ambiguities. Single crystal x-ray and electron diffraction were employed. These compounds were found to crystallize in the space groups P2/m (a = 15.7491(2) A, b = 3.8236(3) A, c = 17.8521(2) A, beta = 102.029(3)) and Cmcm (a = 3.8320(2) A, b = 20.7400(9) A, c = 28.8901(13) A) respectively and share a common structural unit, a 4x3 block of corner sharing NbO6 octahedra. Despite different constraints imposed by symmetry these blocks are very similar in both compounds. Within a block, it is found that the niobium atoms are not located in the centers of the oxygen octahedra, but rather are displaced inward toward the center of the block forming an apparent antiferroelectric state. Bond valence sums and bond lengths do not show the presence of charge ordering, suggesting that all 4d electrons are delocalized in these compounds at the temperature studied, T = 200 K.