Publications

The ferroelectric/semiconductor heterostructures were fabricated by sol-gel deposition of lead titanate (PT) thin films on a single-crystalline p-type Si wafers. The ETT films were crystallyzed by a conventional thermal annealing for 30 min at temperatures ranging from 575 degrees C to 675 degrees C. Current-voltage and capacitance-voltage characteristics show a hysteresis which can be due to the spontaneous polarization of PbTiO3. The current-voltage characteristics exhibit a diode behaviour while the capacitance-voltage exhibits a large memory window, up to 3.5 V, for the films annealed at 600-650 degrees C. At the illumination with modulated light, a.c. photovoltage was detected on a broad range of wavelengths (0.35+4 mu m) for all samples. The spectral distribution of the photoelectric signal in the UV-Vis-IR domain shows two local maxima. A model is proposed to explain the observed experimental results.

Hardness, X-ray diffraction and transmission as well as infrared reflection measurements on virgin and ultraviolet (UV)-irradiated amorphous films of the GexAs40-xS60 system have been performed. The UV light induces film softening for x 19. The structure remains amorphous but the distance characteristic of medium range order decreases for x 19. Photo-contraction of the films (up to similar to 12%) has been revealed from IR spectra and X-ray transmission experiments. A main effect of UV light is the release of sulphur. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A quantum confinement model is proposed to explain the carriers transport in a nanowire network of porous silicon. The electron Hamiltonian is written as the sum of the longitudinal and the transversal contributions. The last one corresponds to a two-dimensional infinite cylindrical quantum well, whose energy levels determine the activation energies observed in the temperature dependence of the dark current. The model is in excellent agreement with the experimental data.

The time-evolutions of both the electrical resistance in air, and of the response to reducing gases lead to the conclusion that the resistance of tin dioxide gas sensors is not governed by intergranular barriers. A conductance model is discussed, with a surface resistance and a bulk resistance connected in parallel. The long-termed evolution of the sensor resistance (ageing) is attributed to oxygen diffusion into the bulk.

Optical properties of as prepared porous silicon (PS) were compared with those of thermally treated and chemically cleaned samples. The change of the photoluminescence (PL) spectra correlated with ellipsometric. reflectance and Raman measurements leads us to conclude that the adsorbed species in the PS nanocrystalline structure play an important role in the origin of the PI emission, at least for as - anodized samples.

The paper describes a new linear image sensor for photometry by applying bipolar technology (Standard Buried Collector-SEC) to the manufacture of self-scanning linear photodiode arrays. On a monolithic chip we have designed 128 to 1024 linear photodiodes, demultiplexing system and signals processing system. A dynamic simulation and a real-time measurement have been implemented, that allow to take into account every operational phase of detection. The dialogue between the various functions is established by message's transmission, using common data areas stored on disks or in central memory of PC compatible computer.

Co1.4Mn1.6O4 (CMO) thin films were deposited onto silicon by Metalorganic Decomposition (MOD) method. Structure, composition and morphology were investigated by Electron Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Electrical measurements showed possible applications as negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistors.

By combining the changes induced by different reducing gases in electrical resistance with the corresponding changes of a second physical parameter it is possible to discriminate between groups off different reducing gases.

Two original evaluations of the embedding process and of the hydration promotion in cements using only Mossbauer data have been proposed. Quantitative factors connected with the Mossbauer parameters and describing the hydration degree, the quality of the precipitate bonds in the cement matrix, as well as the influence of the additional organic components on the hydration process were found.