National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Silicon detectors represent an important option for the Large Hadron Collider and for its upgrades in luminosity and energy, especially for the tracking system. The main limitation in their utilisation comes from the degradation in the hostile radiation environment where they, will work for long time, without the possibility to be changed. The main goal of this paper is to study, the role of growth technology on stable defect concentrations produced by long-time continuous irradiation in the radiation field estimated for LHC and SLHC.

Temperature dependent EPR measurements on copper doped Rb2ZnCl4 single crystals allowed us to evidence and study the P2(1)cn <----> ClcI structural phase transition that takes place in this compound at 74.6 K. From the two types Of Cu2+ centers localized at different anionic sites, called Cu2+(I) and Cu2+(II), which are formed in this compound, only the Cu2+(II) centers exhibit observable changes in their EPR spectra, attributable to the symmetry lowering. The observed changes have been related to the soft-mode responsible for the structural phase transition. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The alkoxidic route and the spinning deposition were used to prepare monolayer sol-gel indium tin oxide (ITO) films. The morphology and crystalline structure were investigated by cross-section transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The ITO sol-gel mono-layer contains three regions of different porosities. The basic crystalline structure is that of the In2O3 lattice. The optical properties have been studied by optical transmission and spectroscopic ellipsometry. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A model for trapping phenomena in nanocrystalline silicon investigated by the optical charging spectroscopy method is proposed. The model takes into account all the possible contributions to the discharge current. The results previously obtained on fresh and passivated porous silicon samples are interpreted within the framework of the model, which provides a good fit to the experimental data. The role played by the different kinds of trapping centers (donors and acceptors, surface and bulk) and the different trap parameters is analyzed. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.

In this paper we report correlations between the structure, the photoluminescence and the transport properties of luminescent porous silicon. These correlations combined with the observed temperature dependence of tunneling characteristics yield quite a wholesome (pea-pod-like) model for this system. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

We have successfully applied laser annealing to sol-gel deposited SnO2:Sb thin films in order to achieve their crystallization. The as-deposited films are quasi-amorphous and electrically non-conductive. After laser annealing they crystallize and become conductive. This paper presents a comparative study of the laser annealed films and shows the influence of the irradiation parameters on the crystallization process and the electrical behavior of the films. Our results are quite promising in view of applying this kind of treatment to films deposited on thermally sensitive substrates (e.g. polymers). (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Calcium orthophosphates (CaP) and hydroxyapatite (HA) were intensively studied in order to design and develop a new generation of bioactive and osteoconductive bone prostheses. The main drawback now in the CaP and HA thin films processing persists in their poor mechanical characteristics, namely hardness, tensile and cohesive strength, and adherence to the metallic substrate. We report here a critical comparison between the microstructure and mechanical properties of HA and CaP thin films grown by two methods. The films were grown by KrF* pulsed laser deposition (PLD) or KrF* pulsed laser deposition assisted by in situ ultraviolet radiation emitted by a low pressure Hg lamp (UV-assisted PLD). The PLD films were deposited at room temperature, in vacuum on Ti-5Al-2.5Fe alloy substrate previously coated with a TiN buffer layer. After deposition the films were annealed in ambient air at 500-600 C. The UV-assisted PLD films were grown in (10(-2)-10(-1) Pa) oxygen directly on Ti-5Al-2.5Fe substrates heated at 500-600 degreesC. The films grown by classical PLD are crystalline and stoichiometric. The films grown by UV-assisted PLD were crystalline and exhibit the best mechanical characteristics with values of hardness and Young modulus of 6-7 and 150-170 GPa, respectively, which are unusually high for the calcium phosphate ceramics. To the difference of PLD films, in the case of UV-assisted PLD, the GIXRD spectra show the decomposition of HA in Ca2P2O7, Ca2P2O9 and CaO. The UV lamp radiation enhanced the gas reactivity and atoms mobility during processing, increasing the tensile strength of the film, while the HA structure was destroyed. (C) 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Nanocrystalline silicon is studied with a view to obtaining a new photonic material. Non-equilibrium electronic processes in such materials play a significant role. We have studied trapping phenomena in nanocrystalline porous silicon and nanocrystalline silicon-based Multi-Quantum Wells structures by means of Optical Charging Spectroscopy method, which is a very good and sensitive method. We have also analyzed the modeling of the processes that occur during our measurements. This modeling allows us to separate the relative contribution of the different types of discharge currents that can appear: ohmic conduction currents of either equilibrium or non-equilibrium carriers, displacement currents, diffusion currents and tunneling currents through insulating layers (in Multi-Quantum Wells structures). It also allows us to increase the accuracy of the determination of the experimental trap parameters and to determine parameters that are not directly measurable. The model can be applied to other nanocrystalline semiconductors and can be easily generalized for other high resistivity materials.

Tl-0 (6 p(1)) irradiation centers are proposed as new paramagnetic probes for structural phase transition investigations. The P2(1)cn --> C1 c1 phase transition in Rb-2 ZnCl4 single crystals is monitored using the Tl-0 and the well-known Tl2+ (6 s(1)) paramagnetic probes. The anomalous temperature dependence exhibited by the EPR spectra of both types of centers in the C1 c1 phase was analyzed considering a soft mode contribution.

Pigments based on cadmium selenide sulphides and cadmium sulfides were analysed as regarding their structure and stability against the laser irradiation, a new technique for cleaning the painted surfaces in artwork restoration, The pulsed Nd:YAG laser radiation determines the effusion of some sulphur from the red pigment Cd(S,Se) and significant decrease of the average size of the crystallites. The color turns to dark red. For yellow pigment (CdS) no change of crystallite size was detected after laser irradiation.