Physics Commons^™

Applications Of High Throughput (Combinatorial) Methodologies To Electronic, Magnetic, Optical, And Energy-Related Materials, Martin L. Green, Ichiro Takeuchi, Jason R. Hattrick-Simpers

Faculty Publications

High throughput (combinatorial) materials science methodology is a relatively new research paradigm that offers the promise of rapid and efficient materials screening, optimization, and discovery. The paradigm started in the pharmaceutical industry but was rapidly adopted to accelerate materials research in a wide variety of areas. High throughput experiments are characterized by synthesis of a “library” sample that contains the materials variation of interest (typically composition), and rapid and localized measurement schemes that result in massive data sets. Because the data are collected at the same time on the same “library” sample, they can be highly uniform with respect to …

Growth Analysis Of (Ag,Cu)Inse2 Thin Films Via Real Time Spectroscopic Ellipsometry, S. A. Little, V. Ranjan, R. W. Collins, S. Marsillac

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In situ and ex situ characterization methods have been applied to investigate the properties of (Ag,Cu)InSe₂ (ACIS) thin films. Data acquired from real time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) experiments were analyzed to extract the evolution of the nucleating, bulk, and surface roughness layer thicknesses. The evolution of these layer thicknesses suggests a transition from Volmer-Weber to Stranski-Krastanov type behavior when Cu is replaced by Ag. The complex dielectric functions of ACIS at both deposition and room temperature as a function of film composition were also extracted from the RTSE data, enabling parameterization of the alloy optical properties.

Wetting Properties Induced In Nano-Composite Poss-Ma Polymer Films By Atomic Layer Deposited Oxides, Kyle A. Vasquez, Anita J. Vincent-Johnson, W. Chris Hughes, Brian H. Augustine, Kyoungmi Lee, Gregory N. Parsons, Giovanna Scarel

Department of Physics and Astronomy - Faculty Scholarship

Due to their unique properties, nano-composite polyhedral oligomeric silsequioxane (POSS) copolymer films are attractive for various applications. Here we show that their natural hydrophobic character can become hydrophilic when the films are modified by a thin oxide layer, up to 8 nm thick, prepared using atomic layer deposition. A proper choice of the deposition temperature and thickness of the oxide layer are required to achieve this goal. Unlike other polymeric systems, a marked transition to a hydrophilic state is observed with oxide layers deposited at increasing temperatures up to the glass transition temperature (∼110 °C) of the POSS copolymer film. …

Measurement Of The Elastic Tensor Of Smsco3 And Ndsco3 Using Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy With Ab Initio Calculations, Kenneth A. Pestka, Eric S. Scott, Y Lepage

Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Publications

The complete elastic tensors of SmScO3 and NdScO3 were measured using resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) in combination with ab-initio calculations. Measurement of the elastic tensor of these recently synthesized single crystal RE scandates is essential for understanding dynamic lattice applications including phonon confinement, strain induced thin film growth and superlattice construction. On average, the experimental elastic constants differed by less than 5% of the theoretical values, further validating the accuracy of modern ab-initio calculations as a means of estimating the initial elastic constants used in RUS measurements.

An Infrared Imaging Method For High-Throughput Combinatorial Investigation Of Hydrogenation-Dehydrogenation And New Phase Formation Of Thin Films, H. Oguchi, Jason R. Hattrick-Simpers, I. Takeuchi, E. J. Heilweil, L. A. Bendersky

Faculty Publications

We have developed an infrared imaging setup enabling in situ infrared images to be acquired, and expanded on capabilities of an infrared imaging as a high-throughput screening technique, determination of a critical thickness of a Pd capping layer which significantly blocks infrared emission from below, enhancement of sensitivity to hydrogenation and dehydrogenation by normalizing raw infrared intensity of a Mg thin film to an inert reference, rapid and systematic screening of hydrogenation and dehydrogenation properties of a Mg–Ni composition spread covered by a thickness gradient Pd capping layer, and detection of formation of a Mg₂Si phase in a …

Nano-Structure Formation Driven By Local Protonation Of Polymer Thin Films, Carsten Maedler, Harald Graaf, Mingdi Yan, Andres H. La Rosa

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report the creation of nano-structures via Dip Pen Nanolithography by locally exploiting the mechanical response of polymer thin films to an acidic environment. Protonation of cross linked poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) leads to a swelling of the polymer. We studied this process by using an AFM tip coated with a pH 4 buffer. Protons migrate through a water meniscus between tip and sample into the polymer matrix and interact with the nitrogen of the pyridyl group forming a pyridinium cation. The increase in film thickness, which is due to Coulomb repulsion between the charged centers, was investigated using Atomic Force Microscopy. …

Electronic And Structural Properties Of Molybdenum Thin Films As Determined By Real Time Spectroscopic Ellipsometry, J. D. Walker, H. Khatri, V. Ranjan, Jian Li, R. W. Collins, S. Marsillac

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Walker, J.D., Khatri, H., Ranjan, V., Li, J., Collins, R.W., & Marsillac, S. (2009). Electronic and structural properties of molybdenum thin films as determined by real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry. Applied Physics Letters, 94(14). doi: 10.1063/1.3117222

Fabrication Of Robust Superconducting Granular Aluminium/Palladium Bilayer Microbolometers With Sub-Nanosecond Response, Thomas E. Wilson

Physics Faculty Research

We provide a convenient recipe for fabricating reliable superconducting microbolometers as acoustic phonon detectors with sub-nanosecond response, using imagereversal optical lithography and dc-magnetron sputtering, and our recipe requires no chemical or plasma etching. Our approach solves the traditional problem for granular aluminium bolometers of unreliable (i.e., non-Ohmic) electrical contacts by sequentially sputtering the granular aluminium film and then a palladium capping layer. We use dc calibration data, the method of Danilchenko et al. [1], and direct nanosecond-pulsed photoexcitation to obtain the microbolometer’s characteristic current, thermal conductance, characteristic relaxation time, and heat capacity. We also demonstrate the use of the deconvolution …

Piezomagnetism In Epitaxial Cr2o3 Thin Films And Spintronic Applications, Sarbeswar Sahoo, Christian Binek

Christian Binek Publications

Stress-induced perturbation of the antiferromagnetic long-range order in epitaxially grown Cr2O3 thin films gives rise to pronounced piezomagnetism and a significant reduction of the antiferromagnetic ordering temperature. The temperature dependence of the piezomagnetic moment measured by superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry reveals a power law behaviour with a critical exponent 2B=0.66 in accordance with the Ising anisotropy of a three-dimensional system. The observed shift of the Neel temperature allows estimating the internal lateral stress which is in excellent agreement with an independent estimate based on the elastic properties of Cr2O3 and the lattice mismatch at the interface between the sapphire …

Laser Ablation Of Optically Thin Absorbing Liquid Layer Predeposited Onto A Transparent Solid Substrate, S. I. Kudryashov, K. Lyon, S. D. Shukla, D. Murry, S. D. Allen

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

Ablation of optically thin liquid 2-propanol layers of variable thickness on IR-transparent solid Si substrate by a nanosecond CO ₂laser has been experimentally studied using time-resolved optical interferometric and microscopy techniques. Basic ablation parameters - threshold fluences for surface vaporization and explosive homogeneous boiling of the superheated liquid, ablation depths, vaporization (ablation) rates, and characteristic ablation times versus laser fluence - were measured as a function of alcohol layer thickness. The underlying ablation mechanisms, their thermodynamics, and microscopic details are discussed.

c 2006 American Institute of Physics

Carrier Dynamics In Α‐Fe2o3 (0001) Thin Films And Single Crystals Probed By Femtosecond Transient Absorption And Reflectivity, Alan G. Joly, Joshua R. Williams, Scott A. Chambers, Gang Xiong, Wayne P. Hess, David M. Laman

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Femtosecond transient reflectivity and absorption are used to measure the carrier lifetimes in α‐Fe₂O₃ thin films and single crystals. The results from the thin films show that initially excited hot electrons relax to the band edge within 300 fs and then recombine with holes or trap within 5 ps. The trapped electrons have a lifetime of hundreds of picoseconds. Transient reflectivity measurements from hematite (α‐Fe₂O₃)single crystals show similar but slightly faster dynamics leading to the conclusion that the short carrier lifetimes in these materials are due primarily to trapping to Fe d- …

Preparation, Structural Characterization, And Dynamic Properties Investigation Of Permalloy Antidot Arrays, Andriy Vovk, Leszek M. Malkinski, Scott L. Whittenburg, Charles O'Connor, Jin-Seung Jung, Suk-Hong Min

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Regular nanosized structures are considered to be promising materials for magnetic information storage media with high density of information. Recently attention was paid to static and dynamic magnetic properties arising from dimensional confinement in such nanostructures. Here we present an investigation of permalloy antidot arrays of different thicknesses. Thin permalloyfilms of thickness ranging from were deposited on nanoporous membranes with a pore size of . It was found that additional ferromagnetic resonance peaks appear for film thicknesses below , while films with larger thicknesses show resonanceproperties similar to continuous films. A comparison between the filmsdeposited onto Si wafers and porous …

Thorium-Based Thin Films As Highly Reflective Mirrors In The Euv, David D. Allred, William R. Evans, Jed E. Johnson, Richard L. Sandberg, R. Steven Turley

Faculty Publications

As applications for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation have been identified, the demand for better optics has also increased. Thorium and thorium oxide thin films (19 to 61 nm thick) were RF-sputtered and characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM), spectroscopic ellipsometry, low-angle x-ray diffraction (LAXRD), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) in order to assess their capability as EUV reflectors. Their reflectance and absorption at different energies were also measured and analyzed at the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley. The reflectance of oxidized thorium is reported between 2 and 32 nm at 5, 10, and 15 …

Holographic Recording Of Patterns In Thin Film Acrylamide-Based Photopolymer, Izabela Naydenova, Kotakonda Pavani, Emilia Mihaylova, Katia Loudmer, Suzanne Martin, Vincent Toal

Conference Papers

A study of the light induced surface relief modulation in thin photopolymer layers is reported. Due to the nature of the photopolymer used no additional post-processing is required after holographic recording. An investigation of the dependence of the amplitude of the photoinduced relief modulation on different parameters of recording such as spatial frequency, intensity of the beams and times of exposure has been carried out. The surface relief modulation is characterized by white light interferometry. Photopolymer layer thickness ranges from 1-5m. A model of the mechanism of surface relief formation is proposed on the basis of the measured dependencies. A …

Self-Assembly Of Ge Quantum Dots On Si(100)- 2×1 By Pulsed Laser Deposition, M. S. Hegazy, H. E. Elsayed-Ali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Self-assembled Ge quantum dots are grown on Si(100)- 2×1 by pulsed laser deposition. The growth is studied by in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction and postdeposition atomic force microscopy. After the completion of the wetting layer, transient hut clusters, faceted by different planes, are observed. When the height of these clusters exceeded a certain value, the facets developed into {305} planes. Some of these huts become {305}-faceted pyramids as the film mean thickness was increased. With further thickness increase, dome clusters developed on the expense of these pyramids. © 2005 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.1949285]

Femtosecond Spectrotemporal Magneto-Optics, J.-Y. Bigot, L. Guidoni, E. Beaurepaire, Peter N. Saeta

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

A new method to measure and analyze the time and spectrally resolved polarimetric response of magnetic materials is presented. It allows us to study the ultrafast magnetization dynamics of a CoPt₃ ferromagnetic film. The analysis of the pump-induced rotation and ellipticity detected by a broad spectrum probe beam shows that magneto-optical signals predominantly reflect the spin dynamics in ferromagnets.

Optical Transmission Measurements Of Explosive Boiling And Liftoff Of A Layer Of Micron-Scale Water Droplets From A Krf Laser-Heated Si Substrate, Sergey I. Kudryashov, Susan D. Allen

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

Water plume velocities were measured in air by optical transmission as a function of laser fluence using a KrF laser for explosive boiling and liftoff of a layer of micron-scale waterdroplets from a laser-heated Si substrate of interest for laser particle removal. The thickness of the superheated water layer near the water/Si interface determines acceleration and removal of the waterdroplets from the Si substrate.

© 2003 American Institute of Physics

Study Of A Growth Instability Of Γ-In[Sub 2]Se[Sub 3], C. Amory, J. C. Bernede, S. Marsillac

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

γ-In[sub 2]Se[sub 3] thin film are deposited for various substrate temperatures in the range of 523–673 K. This study shows that at 573 and 673 K the thin films are well crystallized with grains aligned along the c axis. Between these temperatures, a domain of instability appears where the γ-In[sub 2]Se[sub 3] thin films have a randomly orientation and the c-lattice parameter increases. The presence of the metastable phase κ-In[sub 2]Se[sub 3], during the growth, can explain the existence of this domain of instability. The insertion of Zn during the preparation process allows us to stabilize the phase κ at …

In-Situ X-Ray-Absorption Spectroscopy Study Of Hydrogen Absorption By Nickel-Magnesium Thin Films, B. Farangis, Ponnusamy Nachimuthu, T. J. Richardson, J. L. Slack, Rupert C. Perera, Eric M. Gullikson, Dennis W. Lindle, M. Rubin

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Research

Structural and electronic properties of co-sputtered Ni-Mg thin films with varying Ni to Mg ratio were studied by in-situ x-ray absorption spectroscopy in the Ni L-edge and Mg K-edge regions. Co-deposition of the metals led to increased disorder and decreased coordination around Ni and Mg compared to pure metal films. Exposure of the metallic films to hydrogen resulted in formation of hydrides and increased disorder. The presence of hydrogen as a near neighbor around Mg caused a drastic reduction in the intensities of multiple scattering resonances at higher energies. The optical switching behavior and changes in the x-ray spectra varied …

Cuin1-Xalxse2 Thin Films And Solar Cells, P. D. Paulson, M. W. Haimbodi, S. Marsillac, R. W. Birkmire, W. N. Shafarman

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

CuIn[sub 1-x]Al[sub x]Se[sub 2] thin films are investigated for their application as the absorber layer material for high efficiency solar cells. Single-phase CuIn[sub 1-x]Al[sub x]Se[sub 2] films were deposited by four source elemental evaporation with a composition range of 0≤x≤0.6. All these films demonstrate a normalized subband gap transmission >85% with 2 µm film thickness. Band gaps obtained from spectroscopic ellipsometry show an increase with the Al content in the CuIn[sub 1-x]Al[sub x]Se[sub 2] film with a bowing parameter of 0.62. The structural properties investigated using x-ray diffraction measurements show a decrease in lattice spacing as the Al content increases. …

Stability Of Self-Similar Solutions For Van Der Waals Driven Thin Film Rupture, Thomas P. Witelski, Andrew J. Bernoff

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

Recent studies of pinch-off of filaments and rupture in thin films have found infinite sets of first-type similarity solutions. Of these, the dynamically stable similarity solutions produce observable rupture behavior as localized, finite-time singularities in the models of the flow. In this letter we describe a systematic technique for calculating such solutions and determining their linear stability. For the problem of axisymmetric van der Waals driven rupture (recently studied by Zhang and Lister), we identify the unique stable similarity solution for point rupture of a thin film and an alternative mode of singularity formation corresponding to annular “ring rupture.”

Photoluminescence Properties Of Silicon Quantum-Well Layers, Peter N. Saeta, A. C. Gallagher

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

Nanometer-scale crystal silicon films surrounded by SiO₂ were prepared by oxidizing silicon-on-insulator substrates prepared from SIMOX (separation by implantation of oxygen) and crystallized hydrogenated amorphous silicon films. Average silicon layer thickness was determined from reflection spectra. When sufficiently thin (<2 >nm), all layers emitted red photoluminescence under blue and UV cw excitation, with a spectrum that did not depend on the mean layer thickness. The spectrum was roughly Gaussian with a peak energy of 1.65 eV, which is lower than for most porous silicon spectra. The time scale for the luminescence decay was ~35 μs at room temperature and …

Reflection High-Energy Electron-Diffraction Study Of Melting And Solidification Of Pb On Graphite, Z. H. Zhang, P. Kulatunga, H. E. Elsayed-Ali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The melting and solidification of Pb thin films on pyrolytic graphite are investigated in situ by reflection high-energy electron diffraction. Thin films with thicknesses of 4-150 monolayers are investigated. The surface morphology of the thin films were studied by scanning electron microscopy. Superheating of the Pb thin films by 4±2 to 12±2 K is observed from diffraction intensity measurements. Upon cooling the substrate, the Pb on graphite is seen to supercool by ∼69±4 K.

Summary Of The Workshop On The Applications Of X-Ray Standing Waves In Studies Of Surfaces, Fiims, And Buik Materiais, David R. Heskett, L. Berman

Physics Faculty Publications

Highlights of the satellite workshop on the technique of x-ray standing waves which preceded the 5th International Conference on Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation held at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA are presented. At the workshop, many applications of the x-ray standing-wave technique were described in both invited and contributed talks. While the predominant use of the XSW technique was to analyze the structure of adsorbates on surfaces, applications in the characterization of thin films, interfaces, clean surfaces, and bulk materials were also presented. Most of the talks concentrated on experimental results, but some theory was also …

Low‐Cost Technique For Preparing N‐Sb2S3/P‐Si Heterojunction Solar Cells, O. Savadogo, K. C. Mandal

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Optical Rectification At Semiconductor Surfaces, Shun Lien Chuang, Stefan Schmitt-Rink, Benjamin I. Greene, Peter N. Saeta, Anthony F. J. Levi

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

We show that far-infrared radiation can be generated in the depletion field near semiconductor surfaces via the inverse Franz-Keldysh effect or electric-field-induced optical rectification. This mechanism is conceptually different from those previously proposed and accounts for many recent experimental observations.

Ultrafast Electronic Disordering During Femtosecond Laser Melting Of Gaas, Peter N. Saeta, J.-K. Wang, Y. Siegal, N. Bloembergen, E. Mazur

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

We have observed an ultrarapid electronic phase transformation to a centrosymmetric electronic state during laser excitation of GaAs with intense femtosecond pulses. Reflection second-harmonic intensity from the upper 90 atomic layers vanishes within 100 fs; reflectivity rises within 0.5 ps to a steady value characteristic of a metallic molten phase, long before phonon emission can heat the lattice to the melting temperature.

Review Of Hall Effect And Magnetoresistance Measurements In Gaas Materials And Devices, David C. Look

Physics Faculty Publications

The use of magnetic fields in the electrical characterization of semiconductor materials is familiar to everyone in the form of Hall‐effect measurements. However, there is another magnetic‐field‐based phenomenon, magnetoresistance (MR), which is highly useful but not nearly so familiar to the majority of workers. One of the unique features of MR measurements is their applicability to common device structures, in particular, field‐effect transistors (FETs) and contact‐resistance patterns. We will show how channel mobility information can be extracted from the MR data in metal‐semiconductor FETs (MESFETs) and modulation‐doped heterostructure FETs (MODFETs), and also how the material under ohmic contacts can be …

Intermetallic Reactions In Vacuum-Deposited Nickel And Gold Films On (111) Silicon Single Crystals, K. H. Yoon, Gordon Lewis, L. L. Levenson

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Pure nickel and gold thin films were vacuum-deposited on (111) silicon single crystals. When Ni/Au/Si or Au/Ni/Si samples were heated to about 550° in situ, hexagonal or deformed hexagonal shaped crystallites were formed on the silicon substrates. The composition of these crystallites was determined by using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and scanning Auger microprobe methods. The crystallites were identified as NiSi2. The crystal-lites on the (111) silicon plane parallel to the surface appeared as regular hexagons while the inclined crystal-lites resembled trapezia. The results of Auger spectra and in-depth composition profiles for Ni, Au, and Si showed that the …

Cryogenic Thin-Film Electron Emitters, Pavel Smejtek, David G. Onn, M. Silver

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Thin‐film electron emitters are described, which operate below 200°K and below a limiting critical applied voltage (νc) in a stable temperature‐independent regime. Current‐voltage characteristics and normal electron energy distributions are presented. Fabrication and operation criteria are outlined. Comparison with temperature‐dependent emitters is made, and possible conduction mechanisms discussed briefly.