Materials Science and Engineering Commons^™

Imaging The Three-Dimensional Orientation And Rotational Mobility Of Fluorescent Emitters Using The Tri-Spot Point Spread Function, Oumeng Zhang, Jin Lu, Tianben Ding, Matthew D. Lew

Electrical & Systems Engineering Publications and Presentations

Fluorescence photons emitted by single molecules contain rich information regarding their rotational motions, but adapting single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) to measure their orientations and rotational mobilities with high precision remains a challenge. Inspired by dipole radiation patterns, we design and implement a Tri-spot point spread function (PSF) that simultaneously measures the three-dimensional orientation and the rotational mobility of dipole-like emitters across a large field of view. We show that the orientation measurements done using the Tri-spot PSF are sufficiently accurate to correct the anisotropy-based localization bias, from 30 nm to 7 nm, in SMLM. We further characterize the emission anisotropy …

Perovskite Solar Cells Fabricated Via Scalable Dip Coating Methods, Joseph F. Iannello

Theses and Dissertations

Perovskite solar cells present the possibility for less expensive electricity generation, through the use of low cost materials and fabrication methods relative to current silicon-based technology. Many current methods of fabricating thin film perovskite solar cells focus on spin-coating, which inherently lacks scalability due to particle conglomeration, poor uniformity over a larger area, and safety concerns. Dip-coating, an alternative to spin-coating, which is explored here addresses these issues which limit scalability. Each individual layer can be separately synthesized, deposited, and characterized, which leads towards scalability. Choosing only the best results from each independent layer allowed progress to the creation of …

Characterization And Analysis Of Ultrathin Cigs Films And Solar Cells Deposited By 3-Stage Process, Grace Rajan, Krishna Aryal, Shankar Karki, Puruswottam Aryal, Robert W. Collins, Sylvain Marsillac

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In view of the large-scale utilization of Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) solar cells for photovoltaic application, it is of interest not only to enhance the conversion efficiency but also to reduce the thickness of the CIGS absorber layer in order to reduce the cost and improve the solar cell manufacturing throughput. In situ and real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) has been used conjointly with ex situ characterizations to understand the properties of ultrathin CIGS films. This enables monitoring the growth process, analyzing the optical properties of the CIGS films during deposition, and extracting composition, film thickness, grain size, and surface roughness which …

Structural And Photoluminescence Properties Of Zno Thin Films Deposited By Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis, Iwan Sugihartono, Erfan Handoko, Vivi Fauzia, Artoto Arkundato, Lara Permata Sari

Makara Journal of Technology

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films on a silicon (Si) (111) substrate were grown herein using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis at 450 °C with different Zn concentrations. The ZnO thin films had X-ray diffraction patterns of a polycrystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure. The (002) and (101) peak intensities changed under different Zn concentrations. Furthermore, according to Scherer's and Stokes–Wilson equations, the crystallite size and the internal strain of the ZnO thin films in the (002) and (101) peaks changed with the Zn concentration. Optically, the photoluminescence spectra indicated that the ratio of the UV/GB emission of the ZnO thin films was the highest …

Surface And Interface Characterization Of Solution-Processed Metal Oxides And Pedot:Pss Using Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Lynette M. Kogler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Solution-processed materials are appealing for use in printable electronics as a means to lower production costs, but precise control of the process is crucial for achieving the desired properties in the final materials and their interfaces. Electronic interface properties depend on both the involved materials and their fabrication processes, impacting the development and commercialization of these materials. Analyzing the chemical and electronic structure of these materials, particularly at the surfaces and interfaces, is important not only for insuring that the materials have the desired properties, but also for understanding the effects of the fabrication process and how to modify properties …

Transient Nonlinear Optical Properties Of Thin Film Titanium Nitride, Sarahkatie Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

nitride (TiN) and scandium nitride (ScN), using the beam deflection characterization technique. The thin films were made at the Air Force Research Lab by controllably unbalanced magnetron sputtering. Transition metal nitrides, specifically TiN, are used widely in industry because of their unique properties, including extreme hardness and high damage threshold. The properties of thin film transition metal nitrites are dependent on the chemical structure of the thin film, which can be heavily influenced by substrate and deposition method. This durability and tunability is an asset in applications such as sensor protection and all optical computing. Two substrates, sapphire (Al_{2 …}

Synthesis And Characterization Of Kesterite Cu2znsns4 (Czts) Thin Films For Solar Cell Application, Mohamed M.A. Abusnina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The quaternary compound Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) gained considerable attention in the last decade due to its potential as an active-layer semiconductor for low-cost thin-film solar cells. The material is composed of nontoxic and Earth-abundant constituents, has optical properties suitable for photovoltaic application, and can be synthesized using a wide variety of methods.

Polycrystalline CZTS was grown in this work using vacuum-based deposition to first deposit metal films (precursors) of Cu, Zn, and Sn. In a subsequent step, the precursors underwent an annealing treatment in sulfur vapor environment (sulfurization) to form CZTS. Using sputtering, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) …

Comparative Characterization Of Molybdenum Oxide Thin Films Grown On Various Substrates Using Temporally Different Pulsed Laser Deposition Techniques, Krishna Harsha Puppala

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) technique, with its vast tunability in terms of thin film fabrication has been the center of this study. By changing the temporal component of the laser source used for deposition into the femtosecond (fs) regime, interesting structural, morphological changes can be achieved which may prove to be beneficial for photocatalytic applications. In particular, molybdenum oxide thin films, which are the less well-studied and potentially newer candidates for photocatalysis applications have been chosen for investigation. Hence, a detailed characterization study of molybdenum oxide thin films synthesized using femtosecond-based (f-PLD) and nanosecond-based (n-PLD) techniques, was carried out in …

Interface Reaction Induced Stress Development In An Aluminum Thin Film Copper Bulk Plate Diffusion Couple, Michael Codie Mishler

Material Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

This thesis investigates the mechanism of the interface reaction induced intermetallic phase formation (IMC) and its impact on the interface reliability in Al-Cu diffusion couple pairing. This study is motivated by the accelerated failure experiments in lead frame to integrated circuit (IC) package wire-bonds using copper (Cu) wire and aluminum (Al) bond-pad that have shown failure most often occurs at the interface of the intermetallic compound (IMC) γ2-phase (Cu9Al4). In order for simulative investigation, we created a diffusion couple consisting of Cu bulk plate coated pure Al thin films with thickness of ~2µm. This configuration is adapted to resemble the …

Magneto-Ionic Control Of Interfacial Magnetism, Geoffrey Beach

Composites at Lake Louise (CALL 2015)

Voltage control of magnetism has the potential to substantially reduce power consumption in spintronic memory and logic devices, while offering new functionalities through field-effect operation [1-4]. Magneto-electric coupling has most often been achieved using complex oxides such as ferroelectrics, piezoelectrics, or multiferroic materials. Here I describe a new approach to voltage control of magnetism based on solid-state electrochemical switching of the interfacial oxidation state [2-4] in thin metallic ferromagnets. In ultrathin ferromagnet/oxide bilayers, strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) often arises from arises from interfacial hybridization between the ferromagnetic metal and oxygen ions. By using a solid-state ionic conductor with high …

Crystallization Engineering As A Route To Epitaxial Strain Control, Andrew R. Akbashev, Aleksandr V. Plokhikh, Dmitri Barbash, Samuel Lofland, Jonathan E. Spanier

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

The controlled synthesis of epitaxial thin films offers opportunities for tuning their functional properties via enabling or suppressing strain relaxation. Examining differences in the epitaxial crystallization of amorphous oxide films, we report on an alternate, low-temperature route for strain engineering. Thin films of amorphous Bi–Fe–O were grown on (001)SrTiO3 and (001)LaAlO3substrates via atomic layer deposition. In situ X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies of the crystallization of the amorphous films into the epitaxial (001)BiFeO3 phase reveal distinct evolution profiles of crystallinity with temperature. While growth on (001)SrTiO3 results in a coherently strained film, the same films obtained on (001)LaAlO3 …

Mechanical And Optical Properties Of Silicon Nitride Thin Films On Glass, Lukas Simurka, Selen Erkam, Tuncay Turutoglu

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Optical thin films have been widely used in glass coating industry for various energy saving applications such as solar control and low emissivity glasses. However, handling and processing of these systems can lead into various mechanical defects decreasing its lifetime and optical performance. Therefore, understanding and control of the mechanical properties plays an important role in thin films production. Silicon nitride is one of the most commonly used materials in the optical systems. Its high refractive index and good mechanical properties provide different functionalities. It can be used as a buffer layer for tuning of the optical performance or as …

Combining In Situ Tensile Testing And Orientation Microscopy In The Sem: A Mems Based Setup For Studying Time Dependent Deformation Of Thin Films By Tkd And Stem, Jan Philipp Liebig, Benoit Merle, Mathias Goken

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Structures in integrated devices are constantly subjected to residual or thermal stresses during operation. Understanding the relaxation behavior of thin films is therefore critical for improving their reliability.

Recently it was shown that Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction (TKD) in the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) enables the determination of local crystal orientations with high spatial resolution using standard Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) instrumentation [1, 2]. Giving access to quantitative information on mechanisms like grain growth, grain rotation and strain gradient evolution, time resolved TKD stands out as a promising technique for the characterization of microstructural changes upon relaxation of thin films.

We …

Improved Terahertz Modulation Using Germanium Telluride (Gete) Chalcogenide Thin Films, Alexander H. Gwin, Christopher H. Kodama, Tod V. Laurvick, Ronald Coutu Jr., Philip F. Taday

Faculty Publications

We demonstrate improved terahertz (THz) modulation using thermally crystallized germanium telluride (GeTe) thin films. GeTe is a chalcogenide material that exhibits a nonvolatile, amorphous to crystalline phase change at approximately 200 °C, as well as six orders of magnitude decreased electrical resistivity. In this study, amorphous GeTe thin films were sputtered on sapphire substrates and then tested using THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). The test samples, heated in-situ while collecting THz-TDS measurements, exhibited a gradual absorbance increase, an abrupt nonvolatile reduction at the transition temperature, followed by another gradual increase in absorbance. The transition temperature was verified by conducting similar thermal …

Impact Of Symmetry On The Ferroelectric Properties Of Catio₃ Thin Films, Michael D. Biegalski, Liang Qiao, Yijia Gu, Apurva Mehta, Qian He, For Full List Of Authors, See Publisher's Website.

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Epitaxial strain is a powerful tool to induce functional properties such as ferroelectricity in thin films of materials that do not possess ferroelectricity in bulk form. In this work, a ferroelectric state was stabilized in thin films of the incipient ferroelectric, CaTiO₃, through the careful control of the biaxial strain state and TiO₆ octahedral rotations. Detailed structural characterization was carried out by synchrotron x-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy. CaTiO₃ films grown on La_0.18Sr_0.82Al_0.59Ta_0.41O₃ (LSAT) and NdGaO₃ (NGO) substrates experienced a 1.1% biaxial strain state …

Continual Cell Deformation Induced Via Attachment To Oriented Fibers Enhances Fibroblast Cell Migration, Sisi Qin, Vincent Ricotta, Marcia Simon, Richard A. F. Clark, Miriam Rafailovich

Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Fibroblast migration is critical to the wound healing process. In vivo, migration occurs on fibrillar substrates, and previous observations have shown that a significant time lag exists before the onset of granulation tissue. We therefore conducted a series of experiments to understand the impact of both fibrillar morphology and migration time. Substrate topography was first shown to have a profound influence. Fibroblasts preferentially attach to fibrillar surfaces, and orient their cytoplasm for maximal contact with the fiber edge. In the case of en-mass cell migration out of an agarose droplet, fibroblasts on flat surfaces emerged with an enhanced velocity, v …

Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (Icvd) Polymer Thin Films : Structure-Property Effects On Thermal Degradation And Adhesion, Vijay Jain Bharamaiah Jeevendrakumar

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Opportunities and challenges for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of polymer thin films stems from their applications in electronics, sensors, and adhesives with demands for control over film composition, conformity and stability. Initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) is a subset of the CVD technique that conjoins bulk free-radical polymerization chemistry with gas-phase processing. The novelty of iCVD technique stems from the use of an initiator that can be activated at low energies (150 – 300 °C) to react with surface adsorbed monomer to form a polymer film. This reduces risk for potential unwarranted side-reactions.

The Impact Of Seed Layer Structure On The Recrystallization Of Ecd Cu And Its Alloys, Brendan B. O'Brien

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Despite the significant improvements originally offered by the use of Cu over Al as the interconnect material for semiconductor devices, the continued down-scaling of interconnects has presented significant challenges for semiconductor engineers. As the metal line widths shrink, both the conductivity and reliability of lines decrease due to a stubbornly fine-grained microstructure in narrow lines.

The Ph Sensing Properties Of Rf Sputtered Ruo2 Thin-Film Prepared Using Different Ar/O2 Flow Ratio, Ali Sardarinejad, Devendra Kumar Maurya, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The influence of the Ar/O₂ gas ratio during radio frequency (RF) sputtering of the RuO₂ sensing electrode on the pH sensing performance is investigated. The developed pH sensor consists in an RF sputtered ruthenium oxide thin-film sensing electrode, in conjunction with an electroplated Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The performance and characterization of the developed pH sensors in terms of sensitivity, response time, stability, reversibility, and hysteresis are investigated. Experimental results show that the pH sensor exhibits super-Nernstian slopes in the range of 64.33-73.83 mV/pH for Ar/O₂ gas ratio between 10/0-7/3. In particular, the best pH sensing performance, in …

Synthesis, Structure, Properties And Applications Of Nanoporous Silicon And Palladium, Xu Jiang

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Nanoporous (np) materials with pore size below 100 nano-meters exist naturally in biological and mineral structures, and synthetic np materials have been used industrially for centuries. Np materials have attracted significant research interest in recent decades, as the development of new characterization techniques and nanotechnology allow the observation and design of np materials at a new level. This study focuses on two np materials: nanoporous silicon (np-Si) and nanoporous palladium (np-Pd).

Silicon (Si), because of its high capacity to store lithium (Li), is increasingly becoming an attractive candidate as anode material for Li ion batteries (LIB). One significant problem with …

Spectroscopic Investigation Of The Chemical And Electronic Properties Of Chalcogenide Materials For Thin-Film Optoelectronic Devices, Kimberly Horsley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Chalcogen-based materials are at the forefront of technologies for sustainable energy production. This progress has come only from decades of research, and further investigation is needed to continue improvement of these materials.

For this dissertation, a number of chalcogenide systems were studied, which have applications in optoelectronic devices, such as LEDs and Photovoltaics. The systems studied include Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) and CuInSe2 (CISe) thin-film absorbers, CdTe-based photovoltaic structures, and CdTe-ZnO nanocomposite materials. For each project, a sample set was prepared through collaboration with outside institutions, and a suite of spectroscopy techniques was employed to answer specific questions about the system. These …

Epoxy Catalyzed Sol-Gel Method For Pinhole-Free Pyrite Fes2 Thin Films, S. Kment, H. Kmentova, A. Sarkar, R. J. Soukup, N. J. Ianno, D. Sekora, J. Olejnicek, P. Ksirova, J. Krysa, Z. Remes, Z. Hubicka

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

The uniform pinhole-free iron disulfide (FeS₂) pyrite thin films were fabricated. In the first step the FeO(OH)_x xerogel solution was synthetized by means of a novel epoxy catalyzed sol-gel method and next spin-coated onto various substrates to form the thin films. In the second step the xerogel coatings were annealed to yield hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) films, which were transformed into pyrite by chemical sulfurization. Among the main deposition parameters studied were the temperature of xerogel-hematite transformation and the optimal sulfurization temperature and duration. It has been observed that 15 min sulfurization at the temperature …

Cztsse Thin Film Solar Cells : Surface Treatments, Chinmay S. Joglekar

Open Access Theses

Chalcopyrite semiconducting materials, specifically CZTS, are a promising alternative to traditional silicon solar cell technology. Because of the high absorption coefficient; films of the order of 1 micrometer thickness are sufficient for the fabrication of solar cells. Liquid based synthesis methods are advantageous because they are easily scalable using the roll to roll manufacturing techniques.

Various treatments are explored in this study to enhance the performance of the selenized CZTS film based solar cells. Thiourea can be used as a sulfur source and can be used to tune band gap of CZTSSe. Bromine etching can be used to manipulate the …

Physical Analysis Of Vo2 Films Grown By Atomic Layer Deposition And Rf Magnetron Sputtering, Madhavi Tangirala, Kai Zhang, David Nminibapiel, Venkateswara Pallem, Christian Dussarrat, Wei Cao, Thomas N. Adam, Corbet S. Johnson, Hani E. Elsayed-Ali, Helmut Baumgart

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Among the many vanadium suboxides and different stoichiometries, VO₂ has received considerable attention due to its remarkable metal-insulator transition (MIT) behavior, which causes a significant reversible change in its electrical and optical properties occurring across the phase transition at 67°C. The initially amorphous VO₂ thin films were fabricated by the emerging, Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technique with (tetrakis[ethylmethylamino]vanadium) {V(NEtMe)₄} as precursor and H₂O vapor as oxidation agent. For benchmarking we have also used the RF Magnetron Sputtering technique to deposit metallic vanadium thin films, which were later oxidized during furnace annealing. Post annealing of …

Polarization Of Bi2te3 Thin Film In A Floating-Gate Capacitor Structure, Hui Yuan, Kai Zhang, Haitao Li, Hao Zhu, John E. Bonevich, Helmut Baumgart, Curt A. Richter, Qiliang Li

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) capacitors with Bi₂Te₃ thin film sandwiched and embedded inside the oxide layer have been fabricated and studied. The capacitors exhibit ferroelectric-like hysteresis which is a result of the robust, reversible polarization of the Bi₂Te₃ thin film while the gate voltage sweeps. The temperature-dependent capacitance measurement indicates that the activation energy is about 0.33 eV for separating the electron and hole pairs in the bulk of Bi₂Te₃, and driving them to either the top or bottom surface of the thin film. Because of the fast polarization speed, potentially excellent …

In Situ Study Of The Role Of Substrate Temperature During Atomic Layer Deposition Of Hfo2 On Inp, H. Dong, Santosh Kc, X. Qin, B. Brennan, S. Mcdonnell, D. Zhernokletov, C. Hinkle, J. Kim, K. Cho, R. Wallace

Faculty Publications

The dependence of the “self cleaning” effect of the substrate oxides on substrate temperature during atomic layer deposition (ALD) of HfO2 on various chemically treated and native oxide InP (100) substrates is investigated using in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The removal of In-oxide is found to be more efficient at higher ALD temperatures. The P oxidation states on native oxide and acid etched samples are seen to change, with the total P-oxide concentration remaining constant, after 10 cycles of ALD HfO2 at different temperatures. An (NH4)2 S treatment is seen to effectively remove native oxides and passivate the InP surfaces …

Synthesis And Optimization Of Vo₂ Thin Films For Phase Transition Applications By Atomic Layer Deposition And Rf Magnetron Sputtering, Madhavi Tangirala

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Among many Vanadium oxides and suboxides, VO₂ has received considerable attention due to its remarkable metal-insulator transition (MIT) or semiconductor-metal transition (SMT) behavior, a reversible change in its electrical and optical properties that occurs due to a phase transition near a temperature of 68°C. Electrically, the resistivity of VO₂ can be changed as large as 4-5 orders of magnitude. Optically, the transmittance drops dramatically above the transition temperature in the metallic state where the VO₂ film becomes highly reflective in the infrared region. All these properties result in structural phase transformation from a low temperature monoclinic to …

Indium Diffusion Through High-K Dielectrics In High-K/Inp Stacks, H. Dong, W. Cabrera, R. Galatage, Santosh Kc, B. Brennan, X. Qin, S. Mcdonnell, D. Zhernokletov, C. Hinkle, K. Cho, Y. Chabal, R. Wallace

Faculty Publications

Evidence of indium diffusion through high-k dielectric (Al2O3 and HfO2) films grown on InP (100) by atomic layer deposition is observed by angle resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and low energy ion scattering spectroscopy. The analysis establishes that In-out diffusion occurs and results in the formation of a POx rich interface.High mobility III-V channel materials are contenders to replace Si in semiconductor devices like metal oxide semiconductor filed effect transistors (MOSFETs) for the sub 22 nm technology node.1 Extensive research is being carried out to determine the validity of these III-V materials for use as the channel, in a variety of …

Structural, Optical And Electrical Properties Of Yttrium-Doped Hafnium Oxide Nanocrystalline Thin Films, Abhilash Kongu

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hafnium oxide (HfO2) has emerged as the most promising high-k dielectric for Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) devices and has been highlighted as the most suitable dielectric materials to replace silicon oxide because of its comprehensive performance. In the present research, yttrium-doped HfO2 (YDH) thin films were fabricated using RF magnetron sputter deposition onto Si (100) and quartz with a variable thickness. Cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy coupled with Filmetrics revealed that film thickness values range from 700 A° to 7500 A°. Electrical properties such as AC Resistivity and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of YDH films were studied. YDH films that were relatively thin (<1500 A°) crystallized in monoclinic phase while thicker films crystallized in cubic phase. The band gap (Eg) of the films was calculated from the optical measurements. The band gap was found to be ∼5.60 eV for monoclinic while it is ∼6.05 eV for cubic phase of YDH films. Frequency dependence of the electrical resistivity (ρac) and the total conductivity of the films were measured. Resistivity decreased (by three orders of magnitude) with increasing frequency from 100 Hz to 1 MHz, attributed due to the hopping mechanism in YDH films. Whereas, while ρac∼1Ω-m at low frequencies (100 Hz), it decreased to ∼ 104 Ω-cm at higher frequencies (1 MHz). Aluminum (Al) metal electrodes were deposited to fabricate a thin film capacitor with YDH layer as dielectric film thereby employing Al-YDH-Si capacitor structure. The results indicate that the capacitance of the films decrease with increasing film thickness. A detailed analysis of the electrical characteristics of YDH films is presented.

Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition Of Ruthenium-Titanium Nitride Mixed-Phase Layers For Direct-Plate Liner And Copper Diffusion Barrier Applications, Adam James Gildea

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Current interconnect networks in semiconductor processing utilize a sputtered TaN diffusion barrier, Ta liner, and Cu seed to improve the adhesion, microstructure, and electromigration resistance of electrochemically deposited copper that fills interconnect wires and vias. However, as wire/via widths shrink due to device scaling, it becomes increasingly difficult to have the volume of a wire/via be occupied with ECD Cu which increases line resistance and increases the delay in signal propagation in IC chips. A single layer that could serve the purpose of a Cu diffusion barrier and ECD Cu adhesion promoter could allow ECD Cu to occupy a larger …