National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Epitaxial Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O-3 layers of good structural quality were grown on single crystal SrTiO3 substrates. The pyroelectric coefficient was estimated from the signal generated by the ferroelectric film working as a pyroelectric detector in the voltage mode, without pre-poling procedure. The obtained value is as high as 1.9 x 10(-3) C/m(2) K. The large value is attributed to the presence of 90 degrees ferroelectric domains and to the compressive misfit strain, leading to an enhanced ferroelectric polarization. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

A systematic experimental study of the main challenges for silicon-pixel sensors at the European XFEL is presented. The high instantaneous density of X-rays and the high repetition rate of the XFEL pulses result in signal distortions due to the plasma effect and in severe radiation damage. The main parameters of X-ray-radiation damage have been determined and their impacton p(+)n sensors is investigated. These studies form the basis of the optimized design of a pixel-sensor for experimentation at the European XFEL. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Radiation damage in silicon, caused by the creation of point and cluster defects due to energetic charged hadrons and neutrons, results in a serious degradation of silicon-sensor performance and limits their lifetime. So far not all the defects are understood. The work presented here focuses on the study of radiation damage by electrons of different kinetic energies, from 1.5 MeV to 15 MeV, in order to study the differences between point- and cluster-related defects. The introduction rate of vacancy-related point defects and of so-called clustered regions was investigated as a function of electron energy. It is shown that the ratio between cluster dominated and point defect formation increases with increasing electron energy. 1.5 MeV electrons create only point defects, and the formation of cluster defects starts already at 3.5 MeV. To study the defect kinetics, isothermal annealing at 80 degrees C and isochronal annealing measurements were performed. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adhesion to substrate and antimicrobial efficiency of pulsed laser-deposited ZnO nanostructures were significantly increased by interposing a buffer nano-layer of hydrophobin. The hydrophobin interlayer increased by eight times the ZnO film resilience to wash in water, while in alkaline or acidic artificial sweat, it increased by 2 and 1.2 times, respectively, as compared to textiles covered with ZnO films only. Hydrophobin boosted the biocide effect of ZnO nanostructured films in case of Candida albicans and mold mix inoculum cultures by 50 and 30 %, respectively. An interpretation of these phenomena is advanced based upon the results of the structural investigations.

Radio-frequency Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (in different methane dilutions) was used to synthesize adherent and haemocompatible diamond-like carbon (DLC) films on medical grade titanium substrates. The improvement of the adherence has been achieved by interposing a functional buffer layer with graded composition TixTiC1-x (x = 0-1) synthesized by magnetron co-sputtering. Bonding strength values of up to similar to 67 MPa have been measured by pull-out tests. Films with different sp(3)/sp(2) ratio have been obtained by changing the methane concentration in the deposition chamber. Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were employed for the physical-chemical characterization of the samples. The highest concentration of sp(3)-C (similar to 87 %), corresponding to a lower DLC surface energy (28.7 mJ/m(2) ), was deposited in a pure methane atmosphere. The biological response of the DLC films was assayed by a state-of-the-art biological analysis method (surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectroscopy), in conjunction with other dedicated testing techniques: Western blot and partial thromboplastin time. The data support a cause-effect relationship between sp(3)-C content, surface energy and coagulation time, as well as between platelet-surface adherence properties and protein adsorption profiles.

A high-performance polymeric nanostructured sensing layer for a surface acoustic wave sensor, deposited using a modified matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation direct write technique, exhibited improved performance in terms of response time and frequency deviation. In the present work, we assessed the factors and mechanisms that account for the layer's increased sensing capabilities. The increase in the sensing performance was attributed to an increased diffusion constant, due to greater molecular mobility of polymeric chains caused by the nanoparticles embedded in the polymer matrix.

This paper analyses in detail the core levels evolution of Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3, i.e. Pb 4f, Zr 3d, Ti 2p, O 1s in various conditions: absolutely freshly prepared sample, sample stored under air, and the effects of in vacuum annealing. The aim of the study is to quantify separately the chemical reactivity at the surface and the band bending effects due to the ferroelectric polarization. It is found that freshly prepared samples present mostly inwards (down arrow) polarization. This phenomenon is mostly revealed by the Ti 2p and O 1s spectra, manifested as a distinct component with 1.8 eV lower binding energy in the O 1s binding energy and by 1.1 eV in the Ti 2p binding energy. Sample aging under air suppresses the inwards polarization, and most signal comes from surfaces not presenting ferroelectric permanent polarization perpendicular to the sample surface. This process conducts also to the formation of Pb(CO3)(2) on the surface. Annealing to temperatures up to 400 degrees C stabilizes a surface composed by a main part of surface without polarization perpendicular to the surface, and with some areas presenting outwards (up arrow) polarization. These areas have, most probably, different terminations, the polarized area being (Ti,Zr)O-2 terminated. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Double perovskite Sr2FeMoO6 was prepared by two ways consisting in sol gel technique and solid-state reaction method. The resulting powders from gel and mixed oxides precursors showed microstructures consisting of very fine grains (0.5-0.8 mu m) and a crystalline perovskite structure. The structural and microstructural properties of the double perovskite Sr2FeMoO6 powders as-prepared and ceramics were compared. Tetragonal Sr2FeMoO6 pellets were prepared from the two powders by spark plasma sintering at: 1000, 1100 and 1200 degrees C and then annealing at 1200 degrees C, 2 h in 5%H-2/Ar. The pellets presented different magnetic characteristics. The saturation magnetization of the samples prepared by sol-gel is close to those prepared by conventional synthesis method. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This work presents a systematic investigation by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the mechanisms of interface formation and band bending for Au/Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3 (PZT) layers grown on SrTiO3(001) with a SrRuO3 buffer layer, as function on the initial state of the PZT surface. After isolating the chemical effects, such as the formation of metal Pb at some surfaces, the evolution of the core levels with Au deposition allows one to simultaneously investigate the Schottky barrier formation and the built-in potential effects (charging induced by the static ferroelectric polarization). Areas of the sample with outwards P(+) and no polarization perpendicular to the surface P-(0) are identified for all samples. Only the freshly prepared sample exhibited inward polarization areas P(-). The built-in potential is on the order of 0.9 eV, while the Schottky band bending ranges from 0.2 to 0.6 eV towards lower absolute energies, therefore indicating that the work function of PZT exceeds that of Au deposited. We report also a chemically differentiate value of the built-in potential, manifested by a preferential distribution of the charge accumulated at the surface on Ti and O atoms. The O 1s and Ti 2p core levels manifest quite strong variations with the Au thickness for freshly prepared samples, resulting in shifts on the order of 2 eV towards lower binding energies. Au deposited on areas with an outward polarization is positively charged by the same potential as atoms from the PZT film (0.8-0.9 eV), whereas Au deposited on areas with an inward polarization forms a continuous grounded layer, which progressively pumps the accumulated charge and removes the polarization of these areas. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.