Room-temperature fabrication of ultra-thin ZrOx dielectric for high-performance InTiZnO thin-film transistors

In this letter, indium–titanium–zinc–oxide thin-film transistors with zirconium oxide (ZrO_x) gate dielectric were fabricated at room temperature. In the devices, an ultra-thin ZrO_x layer was formed as the gate dielectric by sol–gel process followed by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The devices can be operated under a voltage of 4 V. Enhancement mode operations with a high field-effect mobility of 48.9 cm²/V s, a threshold voltage of 1.4 V, a subthreshold swing of 0.2 V/decade, and an on/off current ratio of 10⁶ were realized. Our results demonstrate that UV-irradiated ZrO_x dielectric is a promising gate dielectric candidate for high-performance oxide devices.     

Shadow-casted ultrathin surface coatings of titanium and titanium/silicon oxide sol particles via ultrasound-assisted deposition

Ultrasound-assisted deposition (USAD) of sol nanoparticles enables the formation of uniform and inherently stable thin films. However, the technique still suffers in coating hard substrates and the use of fast-reacting sol–gel precursors still remains challenging. Here, we report on the deposition of ultrathin titanium and titanium/silicon hybrid oxide coatings using hydroxylated silicon wafers as a model hard substrate. We use acetic acid as the catalyst which also suppresses the reactivity of titanium tetraisopropoxide while increasing the reactivity of tetraethyl orthosilicate through chemical modifications. Taking the advantage of this peculiar behavior, we successfully prepared titanium and titanium/silicon hybrid oxide coatings by USAD. Varying the amount of acetic acid in the reaction media, we managed to modulate thickness and surface roughness of the coatings in nanoscale. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy studies showed the formation of conformal coatings having nanoroughness. Quantitative chemical state maps obtained by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) suggested the formation of ultrathin (<10 nm) coatings and thickness measurements by rotating analyzer ellipsometry supported this observation. For the first time, XPS chemical maps revealed the transport effect of ultrasonic waves since coatings were directly cast on rectangular substrates as circular shadows of the horn with clear thickness gradient from the center to the edges. In addition to the progress made in coating hard substrates, employing fast-reacting precursors and achieving hybrid coatings; this report provides the first visual evidence on previously suggested “acceleration and smashing” mechanism as the main driving force of USAD.     

Al(OH)3溶胶浓度对TC4钛合金微弧氧化膜特性的影响

利用自制多功能微弧氧化(MAO)电源,在保持电学参数和处理时间不变的条件下对TC4钛合金表面进行了MAO处理,研究了Al(OH)₃溶胶浓度对钛合金MAO膜的生长特性、微观结构、相结构和电致变色特性的影响.结果表明:随着Al(OH)₃溶胶浓度(体积分数)C的增加,膜层的生长速率由慢到快逐渐增加,膜表面微孔尺寸和粗糙度逐渐增大,而微孔密度逐渐减小;当C≤10%时,膜层由锐钛矿相TiO₂组成,而当C>10%时,膜层中开始出现金红石相TiO₂并随着C的增加其相对含量逐渐增大,并在C=40%时,膜层全部由金红石相TiO₂组成;在pH＝2.0的HCl溶液中的循环伏安测试结果表明,C≤20%制备试样的膜层颜色变化不明显,随着C的进一步增加,制备试样的膜层颜色变化逐渐明显,并在C=40%时,其着色呈蓝色且色泽均匀;该试样在循环伏安测试过程中还表现出了良好的稳定性和可逆性. 关键词： 微弧氧化 氧化膜 微观结构 电致变色     

Investigation on a novel ZnO/TiO2–B photocatalyst with enhanced visible photocatalytic activity

A new type of composite photocatalysts (ZnO/TiO₂–B) with Zinc oxide nanoparticles dispersed on boron doped titanium dioxide was prepared via a sol–gel method. The as-prepared powders were characterized by HRTEM, XRD, XPS, UV–vis DRS, and PL techniques. The results reveal that B³⁺ ions are doped into the TiO₂ lattice in interstitial mode, while ZnO nanoparticles are dispersed on the surface of TiO₂. The absorption of photocatalysts was extended into visible light region and the photogenerated electrons and holes were separated efficiently. Hence, ZnO/TiO₂–B composite photocatalyst exhibits much better photocatalytic activity than those of pure TiO₂ and TiO₂–B on photodegradation of 4-chlorophenol under visible light irradiation.     

Effects of anodizing conditions on bond strength of anodically oxidized film to titanium substrate

The bond strength of the oxide film to the titanium substrate and its inherent structural characteristics are very important preconditions for the success of titanium implants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the micro-morphologies, crystalline structures, and bond strengths of the anodically oxidized films formed on titanium with the variation of electrolytes and applied current densities. In contrast to the specimens produced using sulfuric acid as the electrolyte, those produced using phosphoric acid showed quite different shapes and densities of the pores as the applied current densities were varied. The oxide films anodized in sulfuric acid consisted of anatase and rutile TiO₂, whileTiP₂O₇ was predominantly formed on the Ti surfaces anodized using phosphoric acid as the electrolyte. The oxide films, which did not experience spark deposition showed amorphous shape and their bond strengths were significantly lower than those of the other groups (p < 0.05). Those specimens which experienced initial spark deposition with a low current condition showed the highest bond strengths (34.2 MPa) within each electrolyte sub-set. The growing rates of the oxide film thicknesses in relation to the electric current changes varied according to the type of electrolyte, and the oxide film thickness influenced the bond strength.     

A hybrid photodiode with planar heterojunction structure consisting of ZnO nanoparticles and CuPc thin film

A photodiode with planar heterojunction was fabricated using copper (II) phthalocyanine (CuPc) organic semiconductor and zinc oxide (ZnO) inorganic nanoparticles (NPs, ～5 nm). The current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of ITO/ZnO NPs/CuPc/Ag device in dark and under illumination with a solar simulator were investigated in detail. The measurement results showed that the device exhibited good rectifying behavior in dark and under illumination. A rectification ratio (RR) of 15.44 at 1.95 V was achieved for the device under 100 mW/cm² illumination power. Also, the RR of the device as a function of light intensity was observed. The photoresponsive mechanism of the photodiode was illuminated in term of its energy band diagram.     

Surface flatness of optical thin films evaluated by gray level co-occurrence matrix and entropy

The surface characteristics of titanium oxide films evaluated by gray level co-occurrence matrices (GLCMs) and entropy are demonstrated experimentally. A PC-based measurement system was set up to detect the interference fringe of optical coating surface as captured by a Fizeau interferometer. Titanium oxide films were prepared by an electron-beam gun evaporation method. The proposed measuring system was used to evaluate the surface flatness of titanium oxide films coated on glass substrates. The variation of entropy in titanium oxide films before and after film deposition was found to be related to the root-mean-square (rms) surface roughness. Surface characteristics of thin films were fast measured by our proposed method and the test results were verified by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electrical microscopy (SEM).     

Rapid reduction of titanium dioxide nano-particles by reduction with a calcium reductant

Micro-, submicron-, and nano-scale titanium dioxide particles were reduced by reduction with a metallic calcium reductant in calcium chloride molten salt at 1173 K, and the reduction mechanism of the oxides by the calcium reductant was explored. These oxide particles, metallic calcium as a reducing agent, and calcium chloride as a molten salt were placed in a titanium crucible and heated under an argon atmosphere. Titanium dioxide was reduced to metallic titanium through a calcium titanate and lower titanium oxide, and the materials were sintered together to form a micro-porous titanium structure in molten salt at high temperature. The reduction rate of titanium dioxide was observed to increase with decreasing particle size; accordingly, the residual oxygen content in the reduced titanium decreases. The obtained micro-porous titanium appeared dark gray in color because of its low surface reflection. Micro-porous metallic titanium with a low oxygen content (0.42 wt%) and a large surface area (1.794 m² g⁻¹) can be successfully obtained by reduction under optimal conditions.     

CMOS有源像素图像传感器的电子辐照损伤效应研究

对某国产CMOS图像传感器进行了两种不同能量的电子辐照试验,在辐照前后及退火过程中采用离线测量方法,考察了暗信号、饱和电压、光谱响应特性等参数,分析了器件的电子辐照效应损伤机理。结果表明:暗信号和暗信号非均匀性都随着辐照剂量的增加及高温退火时间的延长而增大;饱和电压在两种能量电子辐照下均出现较大幅度的减小,并在高温退火过程中有所恢复;光谱响应特性无特别明显变化。经分析,暗电流、饱和电压的变化主要由辐照诱发的氧化物陷阱电荷导致的光敏二极管耗尽层展宽和界面陷阱电荷密度增大导致产生-复合中心的增加所引起。     

Patterning of thin tin oxide film with nano-size particle for two-dimensional micro-gas sensor array

Thin tin oxide film with nano-size particle was prepared on silicon substrate by hydrothermal synthetic method and successive sol–gel spin coating method. The fabrication method of tin oxide film with ultrafine nano-size crystalline structure was tried to be applied to fabrication of micro-gas sensor array on silicon substrate. The tin oxide film on silicon substrate was well patterned by chemical etching upto 5 μm width and showed very uniform flatness. The tin oxide film preparation method and patterning method were successfully applied to newly proposed two-dimensional micro-sensor fabrication.     

Optical characteristics of particles produced using electroerosion dispersion of titanium in hydrogen peroxide

Titanium oxide particles are produced using electric-discharge dispersion of titanium in aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide. Electron vacuum microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and diffuse reflection spectroscopy are used to study the morphology, composition, and optical characteristics of the erosion particles. It has been demonstrated that the particles consist of titanium and titanium oxides with different valences. The edge of the optical absorption is located in the UV spectral range. The band gap is 3.35 eV for indirect transitions and 3.87 eV for direct allowed transitions. The band gap decreases due to the relatively long heating in air at a temperature of 480–550°C, so that powder oxide compositions can be obtained, the optical characteristics of which are similar to optical characteristics of anatase. The erosion products are completely oxidized to rutile after annealing in air at a temperature of 1000°C.     

Effects of Gold and Silver Nanoparticles on Optical Bistability of Titanium Dioxide Nanocolloid

Physics of the Solid State - In this study, titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanocolloid was synthesized through sol–gel method, and nonlinear optical properties were studied using z-scan method. The...     

溶胶-凝胶法制备均相掺钛干凝胶

以溶胶-凝胶法制备掺钛干凝胶,采用冰乙酸控制钛酸四丁酯水解,结合钛源与硅源独立预水解技术制备前体掺钛溶胶和凝胶。考察了溶剂量、抑制剂量和掺钛量对溶胶稳定性和均匀性的影响,以及老化、干燥条件和掺钛量对凝胶均匀性的影响,并优化了工艺参数。结果表明,冰乙酸能够有效地控制钛源水解并改善溶胶均匀性,结合钛源和硅源独立预水解技术,能够可控地制备出掺钛溶胶。在乙醇与醇盐物质的量比为5、冰乙酸与钛酸四丁酯物质的量比为6、钛硅原子数比为2%~20%的条件下可以得到均匀、稳定的溶胶。钛硅原子数比低于10%的溶胶在100℃老化24h,100℃开放条件下干燥24h能够形成均匀的干凝胶。钛硅原子数比高于10%的凝胶在干燥过程中析出氯化钠,得不到均匀的凝胶。     

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of TiO2 and other titanate electrodes and various standard Titanium oxide materials: Surface compositional changes of the TiO2 electrode during photoelectrolysis

Surface compositional changes were observed for TiO₂ single crystal electrodes used for photoelectrolysis of water. Surface stoichiometries of several types of TiO₂, SrTiO₃ and BaTiO₃ electrodes were characterized by XPS and compared with a variety of titanium, titanium oxide and titanium hydride standard materials. Reduction of the electrode surface in a hydrogen atmosphere results in an oxygen deficient surface composition. Photoelectrolysis at current densities of $\text{10–15}\text{mA}\text{cm}{}^2$ for periods up to 8 h appears to return the electrode surface to a nearly stoichiometric oxygen-to-metal ratio. Reduction of the titanium oxide surfaces was also observed by exposure to an argon ion beam. Analysis of the electrode surface by a combination of XPS and ion-sputter profiling was still possible by simultaneous analysis of standard materials.     

Structural role of polyethylene glycol in the formation of anatase nanocrystalline titania at low temperature

Anatase nanocrystalline TiO₂ thin films were obtained by a sol–gel dip‐coating method, in which the nanocrystallization is effected by a simple hot water treatment of the deposited films at temperatures below 90 °C under atmospheric pressure for 1 h. The dip‐coating sol was prepared by reacting titanium tetra‐n‐butoxide [Ti(OⁿBu)₄] with polyethylene glycol (PEG) in ethanol. Films obtained from a sol that do not contain PEG show no sign of crystallization, demonstrating the importance of PEG in the crystallization process. Raman studies of reaction dynamics show that PEG undergoes a nucleophilic substitution reaction replacing butoxy groups in Ti(OⁿBu)₄. Stoichiometric reactions of Ti(OⁿBu)₄ with PEG in polar and nonpolar solvents were performed, and they yielded different titanium–PEG hybrid polymers, which were isolated and characterized by various spectroscopic techniques such as IR, Raman, solid‐state NMR and MALDI‐TOF‐MS. NMR studies evidenced the location and the way in which PEG is bonded with titanium atoms in the titanium–PEG hybrid polymers. On the basis of these studies, we have proposed structures for these polymers. It is demonstrated that the structure of the obtained polymers plays an important role in the formation of anatase TiO₂ nanoparticles in hot water at temperatures below 90 °C under atmospheric pressure. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CdTe/CdS太阳电池I-V，C-V特性研究

测量了CdTe太阳电池器件从50kHz至1MHz频率范围的电容-电压特性，计算了吸收层的载流子浓度和空间电荷区的位置，电容-电压特性测试结果出现两个峰，峰特征与测试频率有关，用多结模型进行模拟分析，解释了实验结果.测量了电池从220K至300K的变温暗电流-电压特性，得出电池的反向暗饱和电流密度J₀和二级管理想因子A，分析了J₀，A随测量温度的变化,并讨论了电池器件的电流特性. 关键词： CdTe太阳电池 电流-电压特性 电容-电压特性     

Effect of Ag doping on the crystallization and phase transition of TiO2 nanoparticles

TiO₂ nanoparticles doped with different Ag contents were prepared by a modified sol–gel method, using titanium tetraisopropoxide and silver nitrate as precursors and 2-propanol as solvent. Silver was incorporated into the TiO₂ matrix via decomposition of AgNO₃ during thermal treatment in different atmospheres. Effects of Ag doping on the crystallization and phase transition of the TiO₂ nanoparticles were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy techniques. While air annealing incorporates silver into TiO₂ matrix in silver oxide form, annealing in nitrogen incorporates metallic silver into TiO₂. Formation of silver oxide increases the thermal stability of the TiO₂ particles. Silver oxide affects the crystallization process of TiO₂ particles and the temperature of transition form anatase to rutile. On the other hand, presence of metallic silver in the samples annealed in nitrogen atmosphere decreases the temperature of phase transition of TiO₂ nanoparticles.     

Optical characteristics of titanium with a natural surface layer

We discuss the solutions of the inverse problem of multiangle ellipsometry for titanium with a natural surface layer, namely, the determination of the thickness of the near-surface layer and optical characteristics by use of which one can interpret the titanium structure. It turned out that the studied samples of pure polycrystalline titanium have a rather thick inhomogeneous layer of polycrystalline titanium with oxygen and, on this layer, there is a surface layer similar to titanium oxide. The data on the optical characteristics of pure polycrystalline titanium agree well with those determined earlier by other optical methods.     

Low-temperature photo-activated inorganic electron transport layers for flexible inverted polymer solar cells

A simple and versatile route of forming sol–gel-derived metal oxide n-type electron transport layers (ETLs) for flexible inverted polymer solar cells (PSCs) is proposed using low-temperature photochemical activation process. The photochemical activation, which is induced by deep ultraviolet irradiation on sol–gel films, allows formation of metal oxide n-type ETLs such as zinc oxide (ZnO) and indium gallium zinc oxide films at a low temperature. Compared to poly(3-hexylthiophene)/phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester inverted PSCs with thermally annealed ZnO ETLs (optimized efficiency of 3.26 ± 0.03 %), the inverted PSCs with photo-activated ZnO ETLs showed an improved efficiency of 3.60 ± 0.02 %. The enhanced photovoltaic property is attributed to efficient charge collection from low overall series resistance and high surface area-to-geometric area ratio by the photo-activated ZnO ETLs.