National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films were obtained by pulsed laser deposition on (001) SrTiO3 (STO) on a range of substrate temperatures during ablation between 300 degrees C and 600 degrees C. A hexagonal system lying on a cubic one should be difficult to be obtained in epitaxial form. The geometrical selection of the AZO growth on (001) STO is not giving a unique preferential orientation. Two orientations, c-axis (along [001]) and 110, have been observed experimentally with different ratios at different substrate temperature. Discussions are made with respect to the temperature dependence of lattice mismatch between the two cases and the cubic surface of the substrate, and to the substrate surface morphology and terminating atomic layer composition. The 110 AZO is the main phase at deposition temperature of 550 degrees C, while for other substrate temperatures the 001 is the preferential orientation. The conductive character of 110 AZO thin film have been inferred from both ellipsometry spectra and current-voltage measurements. Excepting the samples deposited at 300 degrees C, the lowest resistivity is recorded for the samples with 110 AZO as the main phase. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gallium antimonide (GaSb) is the basis of the most photovoltaic and thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems and its innovative technological aspects based on modern ultra-high vacuum techniques are in trend for device achievement. The real surface of GaSb is modified by technological processes that can conduce to problems related to the reproducible control of its surface properties. The GaSb surface is reactive in atmosphere due to oxygen presence and exhibits a native oxide layer. The evolution of native oxides during the ion sputtering, chemical etching and thermal annealing processes for preparing the surface is presented in detailed way. Ratios of surface constituents are obtained by Angle Resolved X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (ARXPS). Moreover, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Low-Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) are used for characterization. The surface stoichiometry is changed using a specific etchant (e.g. citric acid) at different etching time and is analyzed by ARXPS, SEM, EDS and AFM methods. The experimental results provide useful information regarding surface native oxides characteristics on n-GaSb(100) to be taken into account for development of low resistance contacts for TPV devices based on GaSb alloy. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We report a study on the biocompatibility vs. thickness in the case of titanium nitride (TiN) films synthesized on 410 medical grade stainless steel substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The films were grown in a nitrogen atmosphere, and their in vitro cytotoxicity was assessed according to ISO 10993-5 [1]. Extensive physical-chemical analyses have been carried out on the deposited structures with various thicknesses in order to explain the differences in biological behavior: profilometry, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction and surface energy measurements. XPS revealed the presence of titanium oxynitride beside TiN in amounts that vary with the film thickness. The cytocompatibility of films seems to be influenced by their TiN surface content. The thinner films seem to be more suitable for medical applications, due to the combined high values of bonding strength and superior cytocompatibility.

Reducing the recombination rate of photo-generated electron-hole pairs in the surface of pristine TiO2 materials can be done, among others, via local spatial charge separation in the photocatalytically active surface region. A local electric field acting for this purpose can be ensured, for instance, in hetero-junction regions formed at the interface between a TiO2 film and a WO3 ultra-thin layer. The option for the WO3-TiO2 semiconductor pair is related to the suitable fit of their band structures. To model the interface, a more in-depth knowledge of local atomic environment is required. Here, we discuss the local atomic ordering and the related effects in the interface region of TiO2/WO3 and WO3/TiO2 structures grown on Si (100) substrates. Materials characterization was done by using XRD, XPS and XAS techniques. We demonstrate that tungsten atoms enter as W6+ or W4+ cations into the rutile-type TiO2 lattice, by substituting the Ti4+ cations. While W6+-Ti4+ substitution leaves the surrounding rutile matrix unchanged, the W4+-Ti4+ substitution induces a local rutile-to-anatase transition. The current results are relevant in designing new applications structures with enhanced photocatalytic performances.

The depth composition of the thin layer alloy, AuGeNi, devoted to acting as an ohmic contact on n-GaAs(110) has been investigated by in situ XPS combined with Argon ion sputtering techniques. The fresh cleaved surfaces, supposed to be free of oxygen, were usually deposited with a 200nm metallic layer in high vacuum conditions (better than 10(-7) torr), by thermal evaporation, and annealed at a 430-450 degrees Celsius temperature for 5 minutes. About 18 sessions of ion Ar surfaces etching and intermediate XPS measurements were performed in order to reveal the border of the metal/semiconductor interface. The atomic concentrations of the chemical elements have been approximated. Au4f, Ga3d, Ga2p, As3d, As2p, Ni2p(3/2), Ge3d, O1s, and C1s spectral lines were recorded. The Au, Ge, and Ni have a homogenous distribution while Ga and As tend to diffuse to the surface. Oxygen is present in the first layers of the surface while carbon completely disappears after the second etching step. The existence of an Au-Ga alloy was detected and XPS spectra show only metal Ni and Ge within the layer and at the interface. We tried to perform a study about the depth chemical composition profile analysis of AuGeNi layer on cleaved n-GaAs(110) by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) technique.

Carbon layers grown on lead zirco-titanate (PZT) weakly interact with the substrate and exhibit a nearly two dimensional character, up to a carbon surface density approaching that of graphene. The first feature is evidenced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the second by angle resolved near-edge-absorption spectroscopy (NEXAFS). The binding energies and lineshape parameters of C 1s are similar to that of graphene. The dichroism of C K-edge NEXAFS shows the prevalence of in-plane sp(2) bonds for layers whose effective coverage is below the graphene surface density. The polarization state of the substrate, oriented outwards, is preserved upon carbon deposition. The surface Pb content is strongly affected by the carbon ad-layers.

A bimodal (micro/mesoporous) COF was synthesized by coupling tetrakis-1,3,5,7-(4'-iodophenyl) adamantane with 4,4'-diethynylbiphenyl following a Sonogashira protocol. The COF preparation strategy led, however, to the incomplete recovery of the palladium catalyst and ICP-OES analysis indicated that around 0.1 wt% palladium remained inside the pores. Noteworthily, the remnant palladium catalyst is still accessible and can be valorised in additional catalytic reactions like the hydrogenation of nitrostyrene. Further deposition of 0.5 wt% active metals (like palladium or gold) enhanced the catalytic activity and tuned the catalyst selectivity with respect to analogous metal catalysts prepared using active carbon as a support. The resulting COF-supported metal NPs are stable and recyclable catalysts. Under normal conditions, this COF is also able to adsorb large amounts of weak electrophilic gases like carbon dioxide.

Epitaxial La0.67Ba0.33Ti0.02Mn0.98O3 (denoted as LBTMO hereafter) thin films of approximately 95 nm thickness were deposited by a pulsed laser deposition technique onto SrTiO3 (STO) (001) substrates. High-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations revealed that the films are epilayers with a four-fold symmetry around the [001] direction. Cross-sectional TEM and the presence of Pendellosung fringes in the XRD profiles demonstrate smooth interfaces. The STO substrate induces an in-plane compressive strain, which leads to a slight tetragonality of the film structure. The epilayers exhibit paramagnetic-to-ferromagnetic phase transitions at the Curie temperature T-C (286 K), close to room temperature. The magnetization easy axis lies in the film plane along the [100] direction of the (001) substrate. The magnetic entropy change (Delta S-M) associated with the second-order magnetic phase transition was determined via magnetization measurements in the temperature range between 210 and 350 K under different magnetic fields. The relative cooling power (RCP) of this film is about 220 J kg(-1), somewhat lower than that of bulk Gd (410 J kg(-1)) for a 50 kOe field change, making the LBTMO ferromagnetic thin films a promising candidate for micro/nanomagnetic refrigeration around room temperature. The proposed universal curve provides a simple method for extrapolating Delta S-M in a wide range of fields and temperatures, thus confirming the order of the magnetic transition in this system. The magnetic entropy (Delta S-M)(max) around T-C is proportional to (mu H-0/T-C)(2/3) in agreement with the mean-field theory, indicating the existence of long-range ferromagnetic interactions in epitaxial LBTMO thin films.

A two dimensional photonic crystal with hexagonal symmetry is investigated by finite-difference time-domain and finite difference frequency-domain theoretical calculations. The system consist in a germanium substrate patterned with holes of different radii, varying from 0.1 alpha to 0.45 alpha, The photonic band gaps (PBGs) and the reflectance spectra allow a complete characterization of the structure. It was shown the presence of PBGs at telecommunication wavelengths which makes the present systems suitable for optoelectronic applications, representing a potential alternative to Si-based technology