Following the structural changes of triolein films during lipolysis.

The laser assisted micro structuring of thin films especially for electronic applications without influence the functionality of the multi-layer system e.g. due to melting products is a challenge for the laser micro machining techniques. The P2 scribing of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells on stainless steel carrier foil was studied using shockwave- induced film delamination (SWIFD) patterning. The delamination process is induced by a shock wave generated by the laser ablation of the rear side of the carrier foil. In the present study UV nanosecond laser pulses provided by a KrF excimer laser were used to induce the SWIFD process. The morphology and size of the achieved thin-film structures were studied in dependence on various laser irradiation parameters by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the materials composition after the laser patterning was analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The temporal sequences of processes involved in the SWIFD process were analyzed with high speed shadowgraph experiments. The results of the present study shows that in dependence on the laser parameter used a large process window exist in which the CIGS thin film can be removed from the substrate without visible thermal modification of the CIGS thin film.

Thin films of nucleic acid bases have been grown on cleaved KBr (100) by evaporation deposition. The structures of the thin films are investigated by infrared spectrometry and X-ray diffraction. The orientation of these molecules on the substrate has also been determined by the measurement of FT-IR (fourier transform infrared reflection) absorbance. It is revealed that adenine and thymine molecules are evaporated on the substrate to form thin films without decomposition.

The recovery of a modulated magnetic structure in epitaxial BiFeO3 thin films as revealed by neutron diffraction is reported. The magnetic structure in thin films is found to strongly depend on substrate orientation. The substrate orientation causes different strain–relaxation processes resulting in different thin‐film crystal structures. The (110) oriented film with a monoclinic structural phase has a single‐domain modulated magnetic structure where the magnetic moment lies in the HHL plane. For the (111) oriented film that has a rhombohedral structure, a modulated structure superimposed on the G‐type antiferromagnetic order is found. These results indicate that slight structural modifications in the BiFeO3 thin film cause drastic changes in the magnetic structure.

We have studied the electrical transport properties of La 1-x Sr x MnO 3 (LSMO) thin films on a-SiO 2 (SiO 2 glass) substrates produced by the metal organic decomposition (MOD) method.The LSMO thin films have been produced for x = 0.00, 0.15 and 0.30 in a pure O 2 gas atmosphere.Although LaMnO 3 (LMO) single crystal is an antiferromagnetic insulator (AFI), LMO thin films we have produced show the ferromagnetic metal (FM) properties for suitable heat treatment conditions.We consider that the excess of O 2-ions in LMO thin films produced in a pure O 2 gas atmosphere induces the strong hole self-doping into those and the LMO thin films change from AFI to FM. Whereas, the ordinary hole doping is also occurred in LSMO thin films at x > 0. Thus the carrier doping for LSMO thin films at x > 0 is caused by the hole self-doping by O 2-ions and the ordinary hole doping by the replacement of La 3+ ions by Sr 2+ ones.To investigate the crystallographic structure of the LSMO thin films, X-ray diffraction measurements have been performed by use of Cu-K radiation.We have found that all LSMO thin films have perovskite structure and are polycrystalline.In addition, to investigate the surface structure of the LSMO thin films, scanning electron microscope measurements have been carried out.We have found that the LSMO thin films are formed of the aggregation of LSMO fine particles.The average fine particle sizes are roughly ~100nm.By controlling the repetition number of spin-coating to drying process of the MOD method, we have prepared the 50 nm ~ 170 nm thick LSMO thin films.Electrical resistivities of the LSMO thin films have been measured as a function of temperature (4K-300K).We have observed the metal-insulator transition (MIT) for all LSMO thin films.The MIT temperature of the LMO thin film decreases as the film thickness increases.In addition, the MIT temperature increases with increasing x for LSMO thin films with the same layer number.By use of the hole self-doping and ordinary doping models, these phenomena are explained.

A facile process to prepare copper oxide thin films as solar selective absorbers

The structure study of thin semiconductor and dielectric films by diffraction of synchrotron radiation

The domain structures in a ferroelectric thin film are studied using a phase-field model. A cubic-to-tetragonal ferroelectric phase transition in lead titanate thin film is considered. Both elastic interactions and electrostatic interactions are taken into account. The focus is on the effect of electrical boundary conditions on the domain morphologies and volume fractions. It is shown that different electric boundary conditions may have a significant effect on the domain structures.

A laser process to provide a thin barrier or capping metal over the copper features of a multichip module thin film (MCM-D) structure is described. Capping of copper features is required to avoid copper corrosion and diffusion into overlaying dielectric layers of thin film structure. Furthermore, in a multilevel thin film structure, certain barrier metals provide improved adhesion for the subsequent dielectric layer. Experiments with XeCl and Nd-Yag lasers were performed to determine the best laser source for a copper/polymer/ceramic material set. The laser capping process is more robust and quicker than conventional photolithography or electroless plating capping processes, while eliminating the wet chemical operations. Also, the laser capping process eliminates the undercapping and variable capping metal thickness problems associated with photolithography and/or electroless plating techniques. The results of capping metal features on bare glass ceramic and polymer surfaces are described.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

The main objective of this study was to investigate the structure and properties of ZrNxOy thin films associated with oxygen content and film thickness. ZrNxOy thin films were deposited using hollow cathode discharge ion plating on Si (100) substrate. The thickness of ZrNxOy films increased with increasing oxygen flow rate, ranging from 143 to 894 nm. Phase separation from ZrNxOy to ZrN and monoclinic ZrO2 (m-ZrO2) was observed by x-ray diffraction (XRD). The electrical and mechanical properties were influenced by the film thickness and the amount of separated phase, m-ZrO2. ZrNxOy thin films with smaller thickness or deposited at higher O2 flow rate were found to have higher electrical resistivity. Hardness of the ZrNxOy thin films increased with increasing thickness, which could be related to microstructure change of the thin films. Residual stress of the ZrN phase in the ZrNxOy thin films, measured using the modified sin2 ψ XRD method, decreased with increasing oxygen flow rate. The thickness dependence of the residual stress in ZrN was different with different oxygen flow rates. The average residual stress of the ZrNxOy thin films also decreased with increasing oxygen flow rate and the stress did not showed significant dependence on the film thickness.

This study has successfully demonstrated a DRIE assisted wet anisotropic bulk micromachining (DAWN process) to fabricate various three-dimensional MEMS devices on SOI wafer. The DAWN process can offer thin film structure, reinforced (thin film) structure, and thick structure with totally different mechanical characteristics. The thin film structure has small stiffness and mass, whereas the thick structure has large stiffness and mass. The reinforced structure has small mass but large stiffness. Since these structures can be fabricated and integrated using the DAWN process, various applications become available.

CuInS2 (CIS) thin films are prepared by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method (SILAR) by single cationic route under two different conditions (without stirring and with stirring). The effect of stirring on the structural, optical, compositional and morphological properties of the prepared Cu-rich CuInS2 thin films has been studied and reported in this paper. Full Text: PDF References M.Krunks, A.Mere, A.Katerski, V.Mikli and J.Krustok, "Characterization of sprayed CuInS2 films annealed in hydrogen sulfide atmosphere", Thin Solid Films 511-512, 434 (2006).CrossRef S.K.Kim, W.J.Jeong, G.C.Park, Y.G.Back, Y.G.Jeong and Y.T.Yoo, "Heat-treatment effect of chalcopyrite copper indium disulphide thin film growth", Synthetic Metals 71, 1747 (1995).CrossRef Roland Scheer, Progress in photovoltaics: Research and Applications, "Open questions after 20 years of CuInS2 research", (2012).CrossRef M.Krunks, O.Kijatkina, H.Renace, I.Oja, V.Mikli and A.Mere, "Composition of CuInS2 thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis", Thin Solid Films 403-404, 71 (2002).CrossRef Y.B.He, T.Kramer, I.Osterreicher, A.polity, R.Gregor, W. Krieg seis, D.Hasselkamp and B.K.Meyer, "Highly (112)-Oriented CuInS2 Thin Films Deposited by a One-Stage RF Reactive Sputtering Process", Jpn.J.Appl.Phys. 41, L484 (2002).CrossRef J.Qiu, Z.Jin, J.Qian, Y.Shi and W.Wu, "ILGAR CuInS2 films from various preparation conditions", Mater. Lett. 59, 2735 (2005).CrossRef N.Suriyanarayanan and C.Mahendran, "EDAX, SEM, Photoluminescence and Electrical properties of Zn- doped polycrystalline CuInS2 Thin films by spray pyrolysis", Archives of Physics Research 3 (1), 54 (2012).DirectLink Y.Pena, S.Lugo, M.C.Rodriguez, A.Vazquez, I.Gomez and P.Elizo nodo, "CuInS2 thin films obtained through the annealing of chemically deposited In2S3?CuS thin films", Appl.Surf. Sci. 257, 2193 (2011).CrossRef A.B.Mandale, S.D.Sathaye and K.R.Patil, "Preparation of Q-copper indium sulfide thin films by liquid?liquid interface reaction technique (LLIRT)", Mater. Lett. 55, 30 (2002).CrossRef M.Ben Rabeh, N.Chaglabou and M.Kanzari, "Effect of Antimony Incorporation in CuInS2 Thin Films", Chalcogenide Lett. 6 (4),155 (2009).CrossRef Y.B.He, A.Polity, R.Gregor, D.Pfisterer, I.Osterreicher, D.Hasse lkamp and B.K.Meyer, "Characterization of RF reactively sputtered Cu?In?S thin films", Physics B. 308-310, 1074 (2001).CrossRef K.Zeaiter, Y.Llinares and C.Llinares, "Structural and photoluminescence study of the quaternary alloys system CuIn(SxSe1?x)2", Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 61, 313 (2000).CrossRef A.Antony, A.S.Asha, R.Yoosuf, R.Manoj and M.K.Jayaraj, "Growth of CuInS2 thin films by sulphurisation of Cu?In alloys", Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 81, 407 (2004)CrossRef Y.Shi, Z.Jin, C.Li, H.An and J.Qiu, "Effect of [Cu]/[In] ratio on properties of CuInS2 thin films prepared by successive ionic layer absorption and reaction method", Appl. Surf. Sci. 252, 3737 (2006).CrossRef S.J.Roh, R.SMane, H.Pathan, O.S.Joo and S.H.Han, "Rapid growth of nanocrystalline CuInS2 thin films in alkaline medium at room temperature", Appl. Surf. Sci. 252, 1981 (2005).CrossRef Gray Hodes, Chemical Solution Deposition of Semiconductor Films (Marcel Dekker, Inc, pp-131).DirectLink R.P.Wijesundera and W.Siripala, "Preparation of CuInS2 thin films by electrodeposition and sulphurisation for applications in solar cells", Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 81, 147 (2004).CrossRef C.Guillen, J.Herrero, M.T.Gutierrez and F.Briones, "Structure, morphology and optical properties of CuInS2 thin films prepared by modulated flux deposition", Thin solid films 480- 481, 19 (2005). DirectLink P.Guha, S.Gorai, D.Ganguli and S.Chanudhuri, "Ammonia-mediated wet chemical synthesis of CuInS2"Mater. Lett. 57, 1786 (2003).CrossRef Y.B.He. T.Kramer, I.Osterreicher, A.Polity, B.K.Meyer and M.Hardt, "Post-growth treatment effects on properties of CuInS2 thin films deposited by RF reactive sputtering", Semicond. Sci.Technol. 20, 685 (2005).CrossRef S.Aksay and B.Altiokka, "Effect of substrate temperature on some of the optical parameters of CuInS2 films", Physica Status Solidi (c) 4, 585-588, No.2 (2007)CrossRef N.M.Ravindra, Preethi Ganapathy, Jinsoo Choi, "Energy gap?refractive index relations in semiconductors ? An overview", Infrared Physics and Technology, 50, 1 21 (2007)CrossRef

The structure and substructure of thin films of Al, Ag, Ge, and Ni with thicknesses in the range 100 to 700 Å, are investigated using an electron microscope and electron diffraction techniques. The results are compared with a previous determination of the thickness‐dependence of the strength of the films [1]. The structure and substructure of Au, Ag, and Ge films of uniform thickness (about 200 to 300 Å) are changed by various heat treatments following the measurement of their strength. The origin of the higher strength of the films is discussed on the basis of the results obtained.

Organisation, structure and morphology of organic thin films via electron microscopy

Group 4 metal oxides TiO2, ZrO2, and HfO2 were deposited on glass substrates at substrate temperatures ranging from 100 to 800 °C by reactive direct current magnetron sputtering using an Ar and O2 mixture as discharge gas. On the basis of the obtained cross-sectional and surface morphologies, crystallographic structures, and film properties, the homologous substrate-temperature dependence of the film structure and properties for the sputter-deposited metal oxide thin films are discussed. The x-ray diffraction measurements show the diffraction patterns characteristic of the anatase (tetragonal) structure at substrate temperatures below 400 °C and those of the rutile (tetragonal) structure at substrate temperatures above 600 °C for TiO2 thin films and the patterns attributable to the monoclinic structure with 〈−111〉 orientation for ZrO2 and HfO2 thin films. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations show voided columnar structures with rough surfaces for TiO2 thin films and fine columnar structures with smooth surfaces for ZrO2 and HfO2 thin films, which is supported by the results obtained from atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis. The quantitative data on the lattice strain, crystallite size, surface roughness, and refractive index are plotted against the homologous substrate temperature, Tsub/Tm (Tsub: substrate temperature and Tm: melting point of thin film materials). The lattice strain reaches approximately zero at Tsub/Tm = 0.3–0.35, suggesting that the residual stress is relaxed at this point, and the crystallite size reaches a plateau at the same range of Tsub/Tm. The surface roughness increases sharply after passing Tsub/Tm = 0.25–0.30, and the refractive index shows a rise at Tsub/Tm = 0.30–0.35. The images obtained by SEM and AFM are categorized based on the property transition observed in the quantitative property changes. The data obtained in this work are utilized to systematically study the effectiveness and appropriateness of the homologous (normalized) substrate temperature to explain the changes in structure, morphology, and properties of oxide thin films. Furthermore, it is suggested that the structure zone model, which is normally applied to sputtered metal films, is also applicable to sputtered oxide thin films.

Two dimensional (2D) imine-based covalent organic framework (COF), 2D-COF, is a newly emerging molecular 2D polymer with potential applications in thin film electronics, sensing, and catalysis. It is considered an ideal candidate due to its robust 2D nature and precise tunability of the electronic and functional properties. Herein, we report a scalable facile synthesis of 2D imine-COF with control over film thickness (ranging from 100 nm to a few monolayers) and film dimension reaching up to 2 cm on a dielectric (glass) substrate. Highly crystalline 2D imine polymer films are formed by maintaining a quasi-equilibrium (very slow, ∼15 h) in Schiff base condensation reaction between p-phenylenediamine (PDA) and benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxaldehyde (TCA) molecules. Free-standing thin and ultrathin films of imine-COF are obtained using sonication exfoliation of 2D-COF polymer. Insights into the microstructure of thin/ultrathin imine-COF are obtained using scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), which shows high crystallinity and 2D layered structure in both thin and ultrathin films. The chemical nature of the 2D polymer was established using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Optical band gap measurements also reveal a semiconducting gap. This is further established by electronic structure calculation using density functional theory (DFT), which reveals a semiconductor-like band structure with strong dispersion in bands near conduction and valence band edges. The structural characteristics (layered morphology and microscopic structure) of 2D imine-COF show significant potential for its application in thin film device fabrication. In addition, the electronic structure shows strong dispersion in the frontier bands, making it a potential semiconducting material for charge carrier transportation in electronic devices.