National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Publications

838 articles found

321. Gamma irradiation effects on the properties of indium zinc oxide thin films

Authors: Craciun, D; Socol, G; Le Caer, S; Trinca, LM; Galca, AC; Pantelica, D; Ionescu, P; Craciun, V

Published: SEP 1 2016, THIN SOLID FILMS, 614, 6, DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2016.04.041

Thin films of amorphous and polycrystalline indium zinc oxide (IZO) having various In/(In + Zn) nominal compositions from 0.3 to 0.9 were grown by the pulsed laser deposition technique at room temperature or at 400 degrees C on oxidized Si and quartz substrates. After deposition, the films were gamma irradiated at doses of 10, 20 and 30 kGy under Ar atmosphere. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction investigations could not find measurable changes of the structure after irradiation. Simulations of the X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and diffuse scattering curves acquired from the films showed a small density decrease after irradiation, accompanied by an increase of the thickness and surface roughness. Spectroscopic ellipsometry investigations confirmed the increase of the IZO films' thickness after irradiation, being in agreement with the XRR results. Small changes in the refractive index, most probably caused by changes in the film density were also observed. Four point probe measurements showed very small resistivity increases after irradiation, with the films containing higher In concentration presenting negligible changes. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

322. Preface for ROCAM 2015

Authors: Pintilie, L

Published: SEP 1 2016, THIN SOLID FILMS, 614, 1, DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2016.05.009

323. Growth of highly textured iridium thin films and their stability at high temperature in oxygen atmosphere

Authors: Trupina, L; Nedelcu, L; Negrila, C; Banciu, MG; Huitema, L; Crunteanu, A; Rammal, M; Ghalem, A

Published: SEP 2016, JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE, 51, 8717, DOI: 10.1007/s10853-016-0131-1

The growth and thermal stability of textured iridium thin films used as bottom electrode in electronic devices based on ferroelectric materials were investigated. The thin films were grown using the dc magnetron sputtering technique. The Ir layers directly deposited on SiO2/Si substrates present a mixed (111) and (200) orientations, while the films grown on Ti seed layers exhibit a strong preferred (111) orientation favoured by good matching with the titanium lattice. The substrate temperature during the growth of iridium/titanium stack has a significant effect on the surface morphology of the iridium layer and its thermal stability. The as-grown surface of 20-nm-thick Ir films is smooth, having a root-mean-square (rms) roughness of 0.7 nm. After thermal annealing the Ir film shows an increased surface roughness due to the formation of agglomerations. The change in the surface morphology of the Ir layer is due to titanium diffusion and its oxidation. Thicker and better crystallised iridium thin films annealed in oxygen atmosphere at 700 A degrees C show a good thermal stability with only a slight modification of the surface morphology. Within the limits of experimental error, there is no change in the electrical resistivity before and after thermal annealing. The rms roughness has not varied significantly and the XPS investigation shows no traces of titanium oxide on iridium surface. Ir/Ti stack deposited under the optimum conditions could be successfully used as electrode in devices based on oxide thin films.

324. Transparent field-effect transistors based on AlN-gate dielectric and IGZO-channel semiconductor

Authors: Besleaga, C; Stan, GE; Pintilie, I; Barquinha, P; Fortunato, E; Martins, R

Published: AUG 30 2016, APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE, 379, 276, DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.04.083

The degradation of thin-film transistors (TFTs) caused by the self-heating effect constitutes a problem to be solved for the next generation of displays. Aluminum nitride (AlN) is a viable alternative for gate dielectric of TFTs due to its good thermal conductivity, matching coefficient of thermal expansion to indium-gallium-zinc-oxide, and excellent stability at high temperatures. Here, AlN thin films of different thicknesses were fabricated by a low temperature reactive radio-frequency magnetron sputtering process, using a low cost, metallic Al target. Their electrical properties have been thoroughly assessed. Furthermore, the 200 nm and 500 nm thick AlN layers have been integrated as gate-dielectric in transparent TFTs with indium-gallium-zinc-oxide as channel semiconductor. Our study emphasizes the potential of AlN thin films for transparent electronics, whilst the functionality of the fabricated field-effect transistors is explored and discussed. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

325. Fabrication of naturel pumice/hydroxyapatite composite for biomedical engineering

Authors: Komur, B; Lohse, T; Can, HM; Khalilova, G; Gecimli, ZN; Aydogdu, MO; Kalkandelen, C; Stan, GE; Sahin, YM; Sengil, AZ; Suleymanoglu, M; Kuruca, SE; Oktar, FN; Salman, S; Ekren, N; Ficai, A; Gunduz, O

Published: JUL 7 2016, BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING ONLINE, 15, DOI: 10.1186/s12938-016-0203-0

Background: We evaluated the Bovine hydroxyapatite (BHA) structure. BHA powder was admixed with 5 and 10 wt% natural pumice (NP). Compression strength, Vickers micro hardness, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction studies were performed on the final NP-BHA composite products. The cells proliferation was investigated by MTT assay and SEM. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity of NP-BHA samples was interrogated. Results: Variances in the sintering temperature (for 5 wt% NP composites) between 1000 and 1300 degrees C, reveal about 700 % increase in the microhardness (similar to 100 and 775 HV, respectively). Composites prepared at 1300 degrees C demonstrate the greatest compression strength with comparable result for 5 wt% NP content (87 MPa), which are significantly better than those for 10 wt% and those that do not include any NP (below 60 MPa, respectively). Conclusion: The results suggested the optimal parameters for the preparation of NP-BHA composites with increased mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Changes in micro-hardness and compression strength can be tailored by the tuning the NP concentration and sintering temperature. NP-BHA composites have demonstrated a remarkable potential for biomedical engineering applications such as bone graft and implant.

326. Ultra-High Tunability of Ba(2/3)Sr(1/3) TiO3-Based Capacitors Under Low Electric Fields

Authors: Ghalem, A; Rammal, M; Huitema, L; Crunteanu, A; Madrangeas, V; Dutheil, P; Dumas-Bouchiat, F; Marchet, P; Champeaux, C; Trupina, L; Nedelcu, L; Banciu, MG

Published: JUL 2016, IEEE MICROWAVE AND WIRELESS COMPONENTS LETTERS, 26, 506, DOI: 10.1109/LMWC.2016.2576455

We report the high-frequency electrical characterization of Ba2/3Sr1/3 TiO3 (BST) thin films exhibiting a very high dielectric tunability with low losses at 2.45 GHz under very low applied electrical fields. BST layers were integrated in out-of-plane Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) devices with optimized Ir/MgO(100) bottom electrodes. The high frequency properties of BST films with thicknesses of 200 nm, 450 nm and 1450 nm were thoroughly investigated in the 100 MHz-10 GHz domain and exhibit extremely high capacitance tuning abilities of 82%, 81% and 70% respectively, under applied voltages as low as 10 V. MIM devices responses show the onset of acoustic resonances associated with the BST electrostrictive behavior under an electric field. By combining high tunability with low resistive losses under low applied voltages, these devices are opening promising avenues for their integration in high-performance tunable devices in the microwave domain and particularly at 2.45 GHz, corresponding to the widely used ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) frequency band.

327. Multi-stage pulsed laser deposition of aluminum nitride at different temperatures

Authors: Duta, L; Stan, GE; Stroescu, H; Gartner, M; Anastasescu, M; Fogarassy, Z; Mihailescu, N; Szekeres, A; Bakalova, S; Mihailescu, IN

Published: JUN 30 2016, APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE, 374, 150, DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2015.10.093

We report on multi-stage pulsed laser deposition of aluminum nitride (AlN) on Si (100) wafers, at different temperatures. The first stage of deposition was carried out at 800 degrees C, the optimum temperature for AlN crystallization. In the second stage, the deposition was conducted at lower temperatures (room temperature, 350 degrees C or 450 degrees C), in ambient Nitrogen, at 0.1 Pa. The synthesized structures were analyzed by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). GIXRD measurements indicated that the two-stage deposited AlN samples exhibited a randomly oriented wurtzite structure with nanosized crystallites. The peaks were shifted to larger angles, indicative for smaller inter-planar distances. Remarkably, TEM images demonstrated that the high-temperature AlN "seed" layers (800 degrees C) promoted the growth of poly-crystalline AlN structures at lower deposition temperatures. When increasing the deposition temperature, the surface roughness of the samples exhibited values in the range of 0.4-2.3 nm. SE analyses showed structures which yield band gap values within the range of 4.0-5.7 eV. A correlation between the results of single and multi-stage AlN depositions was observed. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

328. Intrinsic pyroelectric properties of thick, coarse grained Ba1-xSrxTiO3 ceramics

Authors: Ianculescu, A; Pintilie, I; Vasilescu, CA; Botea, M; Iuga, A; Melinescu, A; Dragan, N; Pintilie, L

Published: JUN 2016, CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL, 42, 10348, DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.03.152

The intrinsic pyroelectric properties of thick, coarse grained Ba1-xSrxTiO3 (BST) ceramics were studied in relation with Sr content. The intrinsic values of the pyroelectric coefficient were determined directly from the frequency dependence of the measured pyroelectric signal by adapting the formalism developed for thin films deposited on thick substrates to thick and non-uniformly heated ceramics with uniform composition. Ceramic pellets, of about 1 mm thickness, with relative density of 89-95% were prepared using powder synthesized by the sol gel method. It was found that the intrinsic pyroelectric properties are enhanced by increasing the Sr content, while other features (e.g. tetragonality, grain size, polarization, transition temperature) decrease. The best intrinsic pyroelectric properties were obtained for 30% Sr content. The present results open the possibility to use large and thick BST ceramic pellets for manufacturing detectors useful for monitoring high power lasers. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.

329. Characteristics of Ce3+-doped barium titanate nanoshell tubes prepared by template-mediated colloidal chemistry

Authors: Ianculescu, AC; Vasilescu, CA; Trupina, L; Vasile, BS; Trusca, R; Cernea, M; Pintilie, L; Nicoara, A

Published: JUN 2016, JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, 36, 1642, DOI: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2016.01.045

5 mol% Ce3+-doped barium titanate nanoshell tubes were prepared via sol gel method using as template a polycarbonate membrane with channels of 200 nm diameter. FE-SEM analyses showed that continuous and uniform green tubes with length up to 15 mu m, an average outer diameter of 188.6 nm and wall thickness of 15.1 nm, were obtained. After calcination at 700 degrees C for 1 h, these amorphous 1D nanostructures were converted into polycrystalline tubes with an average outer diameter of 157.4 nm and a grain size of 43.4 nm, as high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) indicated. Thermo-Raman investigations pointed out diffuse phase transitions, inducing the preservation of a stable polar state at higher temperatures (up to 200 degrees C). Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) investigations on 5 mol% Ce3+-doped BaTiO3 nanoshell tubes revealed ferroelectric and piezoelectric behaviour which recommends these tubes for microelectronic devices. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

330. Amorphous thin films in the gallium-chalcogen system

Authors: Popescu, M; Sava, F; Lorinczi, A; Velea, A; Simandan, ID; Galca, AC; Matei, E; Socol, G; Gherendi, F; Savastru, D; Miclos, S

Published: JUN 2016, PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI B-BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, 253, 1037, DOI: 10.1002/pssb.201552551

Thin amorphous films based on gallium-chalcogen (Ga-Ch), namely Ga2S3, Ga2Se3, Ga2Te3, and GaTe have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), optical transmission spectroscopy, ellipsometry, and electrical measurements. Structural measurements showed that Ga is threefold coordinated, except the Te-based alloys were, it seems, only twofold coordinated, while the chalcogen is usually twofold coordinated. In all the compositions, layered and chain-like structures are assumed. The bandgaps range between 1.09 eV for Ga2Te3 and 2.21 eV for Ga2Se3. (C) 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim