Sb Materials Research Articles

Systematic analysis of New Technologies and trends of infrared photodetectors

Infrared detection has always been regarded as an important technology with significant applications in military, industrial, and daily life. Infrared photodetectors (IRPDs) have experienced the development process from thermal IRPDs to photonic IRPDs, until now, the latter can be widely used in focal plane array (FPA). For a long time, IRPD technology based on HgCdTe and InSb materials has dominated the market, but there are still limitations in operating temperature and detectable wavelength region. Since the 21st century, people have been committed to researching new types of IRPDs. Type-II superlattice system technology is considered an alternative solution to the long wave region, and its performance can be improved by adding unipolar potential barriers, which only allow one type of carriers to pass normally. Quantum well and quantum dot are new IRPD technologies based on quantum theory. The former is based on developed GaAs growth technology and can reduce production costs; The latter utilizes the binding mechanism of quantum dots to increase the operating temperature, but whether it can be applied to large-scale devices remains to be researched. All these technologies will contribute to the development and application of the third generation of IRPD.

Isolated p-Block Antimony Atoms Activated CuO@Co-CN Enable High Performances for Water Splitting and Zn-Air Batteries.

This study reports an effective strategy for designing 3D electrocatalyst via the deposition of ZIF67-derived Co-CN shell layer over CuO nanoarrays to form a CuO@Co-CN hybrid, followed by incorporation with p-block Sb single atoms (CuO@Co-CN/Sb) to obtain highly activated catalytic behaviors. Inheriting both the excellent intrinsic catalytic activity of the components and their synergy, the CuO@Co-CN/Sb material serves as a high-efficiency multifunctional catalyst for overall water splitting and zinc (Zn)-air batteries. The material yields a current density of 10 mAcm-2 at a low overpotential of 72 and 250mV for the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction, respectively. Furthermore, an electrolyzer based on CuO@Co-CN/Sb shows remarkable performance with a derived current density of 0.5 Acm-2 at low cell voltage of 2.67V and good stability for 50h continuous operation at a high current density of 0.5 Acm-2. Simultaneously, Zn-air battery using the CuO@Co-CN/Sb material as air cathode yields a high open circuit voltage of 1.455V and a discharge power density of 131.07 mWcm-2.

3D Confinement Stabilizes the Metastable Amorphous State of Antimony Nanoparticles - A New Material for Miniaturized Phase Change Memories?

The wet-chemical synthesis of 3D confined antimony nanoparticles (Sb-NP) at low and high temperatures is described. Using reaction conditions that are mild in temperature and strong in reducing power allows the synthesis of amorphous Sb-NP stabilized with organic ligands. Exchanging the organic ligand 1-octanethiol by iodide enabled to investigate the unusual strong stability of this metastable material through simultaneous thermal analysis combining differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. Additionally, in situ high temperature powder x-ray diffraction (p-XRD) shows a significant increase in stabilization of the amorphous phase in comparison to thin layered, 1D confined Sb or bulk material. Further, it is shown with scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) experiments that the optical response of the different phases in Sb-NP make the distinctness of each phase possible. It is proposed that the Sb-NP introduced here can serve as a 3D-confined optically addressable nanomaterial of miniaturized phase change memory devices.

Insights into the pressure-dependent physical properties of cubic Ca3MF3 (M = As and Sb): First-principles calculations

Here, first-principles calculations have been employed to make a comparative study on structural, mechanical, electronic, and optical properties of new Ca3MF3 (M = As and Sb) photovoltaic compounds under pressure. The findings disclose that these two systems possess a direct band gap, showcasing a large tunable range under pressure, effectively encompassing the visible light spectrum. Adjusting various levels of hydrostatic pressure has effectively tuned both the band alignment and the effective masses of electrons and holes. Both compounds were initially identified as brittle materials at 0 GPa pressure; however, as the pressure increases, they transform, becoming highly anisotropic and ductile. Due to the material's mechanical robustness and enhanced ductility, as evidenced by its stress-induced mechanical properties, the Ca3MF3 (M = As and Sb) material shows potential for use in solar energy applications. Furthermore, as the influence of external pressure increases, the absorption edge seems to move slightly towards lower energy region. Optical properties show that the materials studied might be used from several optoelectronic devices in the visible and ultraviolet range area. Our findings show that pressure considerably influences the physicochemical properties of Ca3MF3 (M = As and Sb) compounds, which is a promising feature that can be useful for optoelectronic and photonic applications, for instance, light-emitting diodes, photodetectors, and solar cells.

Multilevel phase transition behavior of In2Se3-doped with Sb materials based on flexible polyimide substrate

The In2Se3-doped Sb phase change material was deposited onto a polyimide substrate using magnetron sputtering technique. A comprehensive investigation was conducted on the thermal stability, bending resistance, crystal structure, and electrical properties of this material. The findings revealed its remarkable thermal stability, data retention, and bending resilience, particularly in the In0.05Se0.19Sb0.76 film, which exhibited minimal resistance drift. The aging test confirmed the stability of the electronic structure in In2Se3-doped Sb, accompanied by reduced structural relaxation. Notably, no new crystalline phase emerged in In0.05Se0.19Sb0.76 film, but stronger In-Sb bonds were formed. Raman spectroscopy and bending tests further indicated that deformation had minimal impact on the film’s structure and surface. Utilizing the In0.05Se0.19Sb0.76 material and polyimide substrate, a flexible phase change memory device demonstrated reliable SET/RESET operations even after bending, offering three stable resistance states for multilevel storage. This enhanced the storage density, making In2Se3-doped Sb material a promising flexible phase change material with excellent performance and vast potential for applications in phase change storage, such as electronic fabrics and flexible smart wearable electronics.

Temperature and refractive index sensor based on perfect absorber in InSb double rectangular ring resonator metamaterials

InSb is an important semiconductor material in the field of optoelectronic devices due to its high electron and hole mobility, low effective mass, and low energy gap at room temperature. In this paper, a thermally controlled dual-band terahertz metamaterial absorber with a patterned InSb film is designed and studied. The unit cell of the proposed metamaterial is composed of combined InSb double rectangular ring resonators (DRRR) adhered on a continuous gold layer and substrate. Finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) simulation results demonstrate that the absorption peak can reach 98.95 %, and 99.45 % at 1.499 THz and 1.592 THz when the external environment temperature is 283 K. Electric field distribution and parameter sweep indicate the two absorption peaks result from the near-field coupled linear superposition between the big square and small square resonators. The proposed absorber not only has the features of wide incident-angle stability, but also polarization insensitivity. Besides, the proposed absorber shows temperature-tunable features due to the temperature-dependent variation of the permittivity of InSb material. The InSb pattern proposed in this paper provides an alternative method for designing of dual parameters sensor in the terahertz band, the proposed dual-band absorber can function as a temperature sensor with sensitivities of about 8.6 GHz/K and 12.8 GHz/K, respectively. The proposed dual-band absorber can also be used as a refractive index sensor with sensitivities of about 1.065 THz /RIU, and 0.499 THz /RIU, respectively. Therefore, the present work provides an effective method for implementing thermally and refractive index sensors in the terahertz range.

First principles exploration of structural, mechanical, thermodynamic, optic, electronic and dynamic properties of MgNiX (X=Bi, Ge, Sb) for energy storage applications

Energy storage material development is primarily dependent on their design and theoretical exploration. Using density functional theory is a good way to achieve this. To do that, MgNiX (Bi, Ge, Sb) are proposed, and their full characteristics are investigated using density functional theory. MgNiX (Bi, Ge, Sb) are investigated in terms of their structural, mechanical, thermodynamic, optical, electronic, and dynamic properties. The formation energies for MgNiX (Bi, Ge, Sb) are −0.224, −0.258 and −0.421 eV/atom, respectively, implying synthesisability and dynamic stability. The evolution of elastic constants of materials demonstrates that all materials satisfy the Born stability criterion, hence MgNiX (Bi, Ge, Sb) are mechanically stable. Several polycrystalline elastic constants are computed and evaluated. The electronic band structures show that the valence band and conduction band overlaps, indicating the metallic nature of MgNiX (Bi, Ge, Sb) materials which are calculated by using PBE-GGA, PBE+SOC and PBE+U methods. The phonon modes are found to be in positive frequencies that confirms dynamical stability of the materials. The materials' free energy, entropy, specific heat capacity, Debye and melting temperatures and Grüneisen parameters are also obtained and discussed. The maximum optical conductivity is determined in the ultraviolet region for MgNiBi and MgNiSb as 73 at about 5.1 eV and 80 at about 5.50 eV, respectively and it is determined as 62 at 0.65 eV in the infrared region for MgNiGe.

Study on Epitaxial Growth of High‐Quality InSb Materials

AbstractThis paper discusses the optimization of the growth temperature and Sb/In ratio of 1 µm InSb thin films grown on GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy due to the InSb materials with larger lattice constants have smaller growth windows. The results show that atomic steps can be clearly seen in InSb thin films grown at 420 °C with a Sb/In ratio of 6. The InSb material grown under this condition has the smallest FWHM, indicating the best crystal quality. At the same time, the highest electron mobility measured at room temperature is 38860 cm2 V−1 s−1. The transport properties and crystal quality of InSb/AlxIn1‐xSb heterostructures corresponding to different Al compositions are also studied. The results show that as the Al component increases, dislocation scattering caused by lattice mismatch affects the electron mobility of the channel layer. The highest electron mobility of InSb/AlxIn1‐xSb heterostructures obtained is 18900 cm2 V−1 s−1 at room temperature.

Adsorption Behavior of NO and NO2 on Two-Dimensional As, Sb, and Bi Materials: First-Principles Insights.

To address the most significant environmental challenges, the quest for high-performance gas sensing materials is crucial. Among numerous two-dimensional materials, this study investigates the gas-sensitive capabilities of monolayer As, Sb, and Bi materials. To compare the gas detection abilities of these three materials, we employ first-principles calculations to comprehensively study the adsorption behavior of NO and NO2 gas molecules on the material surfaces. The results indicate that monolayer Bi material exhibits reasonable adsorption distances, substantial adsorption energies, and significant charge transfer for both NO and NO2 gases. Therefore, among the materials studied, it demonstrates the best gas detection capability. Furthermore, monolayer As and Sb materials exhibit remarkably high capacities for adsorbing NO and NO2 gas molecules, firmly interacting with the gas molecules. Gas adsorption induces changes in the material's work function, suggesting the potential application of these two materials as catalysts.

Unlocking the potential of ultra-thin two-dimensional antimony materials: Selective growth and carbon coating for efficient potassium-ion storage

Antimony-based anodes have attracted wide attention in potassium-ion batteries due to their high theoretical specific capacities (∼660 mA h g−1) and suitable voltage platforms. However, severe capacity fading caused by huge volume change and limited ion transportation hinders their practical applications. Recently, strategies for controlling the morphologies of Sb-based materials to improve the electrochemical performances have been proposed. Among these, the two-dimensional Sb (2D-Sb) materials present excellent properties due to shorted ion immigration paths and enhanced ion diffusion. Nevertheless, the synthetic methods are usually tedious, and even the mechanism of these strategies remains elusive, especially how to obtain large-scale 2D-Sb materials. Herein, a novel strategy to synthesize 2D-Sb material using a straightforward solvothermal method without the requirement of a complex nanostructure design is provided. This method leverages the selective adsorption of aldehyde groups in furfural to induce crystal growth, while concurrently reducing and coating a nitrogen-doped carbon layer. Compared to the reported methods, it is simpler, more efficient, and conducive to the production of composite nanosheets with uniform thickness (3–4 nm). The 2D-Sb@NC nanosheet anode delivers an extremely high capacity of 504.5 mA h g−1 at current densities of 100 mA g−1 and remains stable for more than 200 cycles. Through characterizations and molecular dynamic simulations, how potassium storage kinetics between 2D Sb-based materials and bulk Sb-based materials are explored, and detailed explanations are provided. These findings offer novel insights into the development of durable 2D alloy-based anodes for next-generation potassium-ion batteries.

Robust Interfacial Chemistry Induced by B‐Doping Enables Rapid, Stable Sodium Storage

AbstractConstructing a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) at the electrode–electrolyte interface is powerful for optimizing the battery performance. However, studies related to interface chemistry have particularly focused on engineering electrolytes and overlooked regulating electrode materials. Here, this study reports that the B‐doped Bi interconnected nanoparticles (B─Bi) are prepared by a facile and effective chemical reduction reaction. The B doping helps to catalyze the electrolyte decomposition and more NaF formation on the electrode surface, which facilitates a stable uniform SEI with enhanced mechanical stability. Such a robust SEI layer can inhibit the further decomposition of electrolytes and promote the interfacial Na+ transfer. The B─Bi offers a reversible capacity of 403.1 mAh g−1 at 1.0 A g−1 and a high rate capability of 203 mAh g−1 at 80 A g−1. Moreover, the B‐doping method also finds its viability to stabilize SEI in Sb material. This study demonstrates a new strategy for engineering the interface chemistry toward stable SEI and excellent performance.

Anisotropic mechanical behavior and thermal attributes of antiferromagnetic UX2(X=P, As, Sb) materials: A density functional and elasticity theories study

In this work, we delve into the investigation of mechanical and thermal properties of antiferromagnetic UX2 (X=P, As, Sb), which are structured in the unique anti-Cu2Sb-type tetragonal form. The study’s principal findings revolve around the revelation of distinctive compressibility patterns and an observed preference for shear deformation in these compounds. These patterns are notably marked by a lower compressibility along the [100] direction than the [001] one, and the ease of shear deformation on the (100) plane compared to the (001) one. Intriguingly, our findings identify these compounds as residing on the brink of the brittle/ductile borderline as per Pugh’s ratio and Poisson’s ratio. Furthermore, the mechanical strength in these materials is significantly influenced by shear deformation, a fact indicated by the values of bulk and Young’s modulus. Among the UX2 (X=P, As, Sb) compounds, our analysis of the Debye temperature singles out UP2 as an outstanding performer due to its higher Debye temperature. A noteworthy aspect of this study is the quicker propagation of longitudinal waves over transverse waves, as indicated by the wave velocity and anisotropy calculations. We bring forth an enriched understanding of the anisotropic behavior of these materials in terms of bulk modulus, Young’s modulus, shear modulus, and Poisson’s ratio. The predicted high melting temperatures of the UX2 (X=P, As, Sb) compounds, coupled with the computed heat capacities aligning well with existing experimental data, point towards their potential applicability in high-temperature settings. Collectively, our study not only validates the methodologies employed but also brings to light fascinating new insights into the mechanical and thermal properties of these compounds, deepening our understanding of the intricate interplay between their atomic constitution and physical properties.

Study of structural, electronic and optoelectronic properties of the Half Heusler LiMgZ (Z = N, P or Sb) materials: DFT and TDDFT approaches

In this paper, we illustrate the structural, electronic, and optoelectronic properties of LiMgZ (Z = N, P or Sb) half-materials using two methods: DFT and TDDFT. To achieve this goal, we have performed the DFT method under the Quantum Espresso package. Both calculation methods have been done under the approximations: GGA-PBE. In order to determine the optimized lattice parameters of each studied compound, the total energies have been calculated as a function of this parameter. The obtained results show that all the studied compounds are indirect band gap semiconductors, except for the LiMgSb material which shows a direct band gap. Moreover, the calculated band gap energy values are 2.30 eV, 2.15 eV, and 1.1 eV for LiMgP, LiMgN, and LiMgSb respectively. It is clear that this latter compound is more suitable for photovoltaic applications.

Facile synthesis of BiSb/C composite anodes for high‐performance and long‐life lithium‐ion batteries

AbstractAlloy‐type antimony (Sb) is considered as an attractive candidate anode for high‐energy lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) because of its high theoretical specific capacity and volumetric capacity. However, Sb suffers from enormous volume variation during cycling, which causes electrode cracking and pulverization, and hence the fast capacity decay and poor cyclability, limiting its practical applications as a LIB anode. Herein, we report a facile, scalable, low‐cost, and efficient route to successfully fabricate BiSb/C composites via a two‐step high‐energy mechanical milling (HEMM) process. The as‐prepared BiSb/C composites consist of nanosized BiSb totally embedded in a conductive carbon matrix. As LIB anodes, BiSb/C‐73 (with 30 wt% carbon) electrodes exhibit excellent Li‐storage properties in terms of stable high reversible capacities, long‐cycle life, and high‐rate performance. Reversible capacities of ∼583, ∼466, ∼433, and ∼425 mAh g−1 at a current density of 500 mA g−1 after 100, 300, 500, and 1000 cycles, respectively, were achieved. In addition, a high capacity of ∼380 mAh g−1 can still be retained at a high rate of 5 A g−1. Such outstanding cycling stability and rate capability could be mainly attributed to the synergistic effects between the ability of nanosized BiSb particles to withstand electrode fracture during Li insertion/extraction and the buffering effect of the carbon matrix. The as‐prepared BiSb/C composites are based on commercially available and low‐cost Bi, Sb, and graphite materials. Interestingly, HEMM is a more convenient, efficient, scalable, green, and mass‐production route, making as‐prepared materials attractive for high‐energy LIBs.

Refractive index sensing of human blood using patterned photonic crystal containing defects

This work presents an innovative platform of a multi-channel one-dimensional photonic crystal (1-DPC) based on blood refractive index data of different patients in the aspect of the main protein components like hemoglobin. This photonic crystal (PC) contains a defect center infiltrated with plasma using a microorder size syringe. When binary silica and III–V semiconductor (InSb) materials are combined, they increase the refractive index difference between the alternate layers of the composite material, resulting in a wide photonic band gap (PBG). We use the well-known transfer matrix method (TMM) to observe the reflectance of various blood samples that were previously published. We assess and contrast the influence of different refractive index data on the dynamic shift in PBG calculation for novel superior and resourceful sensor in the prevention of microscopic organisms such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus linked with COVID-19. Yet, the performance of this PC has more moral content and unlimited casting efficacy in the face of an incurable virus.

Designing Sb phase change materials by alloying with Ga2S3 towards high thermal stability and low resistance drift by bond reconfigurations

The pure Sb phase-change thin films alloyed with Ga2S3 alloy have been prepared and the related properties have been investigated. Compared with pure Sb, Ga2S3-alloyed Sb films exhibit higher crystallization temperature (∼250 °C), larger ten-year data retention temperature (∼166 °C), and higher crystallization activation energy (4.10 eV). These thermal parameters indicate that the thermal stability of the Ga2S3-alloyed Sb thin films can be considerably enhanced due to the formation of high binding energy Sb-S and Sb-Ga bonds. Moreover, the enhanced thermal stability can also significantly lower resistance drift coefficient (0.0014). According to the analysis of the crystallization mechanism, the crystallization kinetic index (n) is determined to be 0.625, implying one-dimensional growth type in Ga2S3-alloyed Sb thin films. This can benefit to reduce the nucleation randomness and decrease resistance drift. The work demonstrates that Ga2S3-alloyed Sb materials have excellent potential for embedded memory applications.

Understanding the switching mechanism of oxygen-doped Sb phase-change material: Insights from first principles

The crystalline–amorphous–crystalline transition process of an oxygen-tuned Sb phase-change material has been obtained by employing ab initio molecular dynamic calculations. By analyzing the local atomic arrangement and the electron structure of the SbO system, the intrinsic mechanism is explored to comprehend the material function: (1) ultrafast crystallization and difficulty in creating a glassy state of a pure Sb material might be caused by the resonance bonding of linear arrangement Sb atoms in the rhombohedral phase; (2) the impurity oxygen atoms break the medium and long-range linear arrangement of the Sb network by steric effects and change the electronic structure of these Sb atoms bonded to oxygen atoms, i.e., the obvious increase in electron localization and the great decrease in state distribution around the Fermi surface due to the high electronegativity of oxygen. These factors set an effective barrier for crystallization and improve the amorphous stability and, thus, data retention. The present research and scheme provide important insights into the engineering and manipulation of a phase-change material through first-principles calculations toward non-volatile phase change memory.

Large Exciton-Driven Linear and Nonlinear Optical Processes in Monolayers of Nitrogen Arsenide and Nitrogen Antimonide

We demonstrate that atomically thin nitrogen-based binary group V wide band gap indirect semiconductors (β-NX (X = As, Sb)) embody 3-fold valley degenerated band structures and strong linear and nonlinear optical activities. Contrary to NAs, the fundamental optical absorption in NSb is quite resilient toward the temperature variations between 0 and 450 K. In the absence of lattice vibrations, exciton in NSb is, however, less strongly bound (1.30 eV) compared to the tighter case in NAs (1.62 eV), leading to a more delocalized Mott–Wannier-type texture. The inhomogeneous excitonic line widths for both monolayers within these temperatures are within the 100–400 meV range. The most significant nonlinear second harmonic optical coefficients (2ω resonances) in NAs and NSb monolayers are obtained as ∼636 and 270 pm/V at 3.2 eV (387 nm) and 2.6 eV (477 nm), respectively. We also present a detailed analysis of in-plane biaxial strain on these structures and found that tensile strain dynamically stabilizes structures with no loss in absorbance spectra (and does not influence exciton binding energy in NAs). The nonlinear coefficient also significantly improves at the two most important 810 and 1560 nm wavelengths compared to the cases offered by the monolayer transitional metal dichalcogenides. Our analyses originate from a fully ab initio G0W0+Bethe-Salpeter excited-state theory. The temperature-dependent linear absorption spectra are evaluated by including the electron–phonon self-energies, whereas the nonlinear spectra are treated using the modern theory of polarization within the same perturbative approach. Our reference findings provide important advanced characteristics for applications of two-dimensional β-NX (X = As, Sb) materials and should motivate further theoretical and experimental investigations of these interesting materials.

The evaluation of Sb and SnSb negative electrode materials in full Na-ion cells

Na-ion batteries (SIB) represent a realistic and important alternative to commercial Li-ion batteries and are expected to play a significant role in future stationary energy storage systems and E-mobility applications. The search for next-generation negative electrode active materials for Na-ion is critically important, especially to replace hard carbon. Based on previous Na half-cell studies which indicated that both Sb and SnSb demonstrated encouraging performance, we have studied the performance of these materials in full Na-ion cells using a mixed phase O3/P2 layered oxide as the positive electrode. By working on the P/N balance, the Na-ion full cells show encouraging performance even at non-optimized cell balances, with an absence of Na plating, and a high cyclability. For the best performing experimental iteration, we predict a specific energy performance close to 183 W h kg−1 for a Na-ion cell capacity of 49 Ah based on the data on cell A11017.

Structural Assessment of Interfaces in Projected Phase-Change Memory.

Non-volatile memories based on phase-change materials have gained ground for applications in analog in-memory computing. Nonetheless, non-idealities inherent to the material result in device resistance variations that impair the achievable numerical precision. Projected-type phase-change memory devices reduce these non-idealities. In a projected phase-change memory, the phase-change storage mechanism is decoupled from the information retrieval process by using projection of the phase-change material’s phase configuration onto a projection liner. It has been suggested that the interface resistance between the phase-change material and the projection liner is an important parameter that dictates the efficacy of the projection. In this work, we establish a metrology framework to assess and understand the relevant structural properties of the interfaces in thin films contained in projected memory devices. Using X-ray reflectivity, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, we investigate the quality of the interfaces and the layers’ properties. Using demonstrator examples of Sb and Sb2Te3 phase-change materials, new deposition routes as well as stack designs are proposed to enhance the phase-change material to a projection-liner interface and the robustness of material stacks in the devices.