Morphology Of Annealed Samples Research Articles

Effect of annealing temperature on the thermoelectric properties of ZnInO thin films grown by physical vapor deposition

This research work has been demonstrated the growth of ZnInO thin films using thermal evaporation technique for thermoelectric power generation applications. The pure zinc powder and indium metal were evaporated on the multi-crystalline Si substrate using the vacuum tube furnace. Deposited thin films were annealed at various temperatures (500–700 °C) for 30 min in a programmable muffle furnace. XRD data concluded that the sample annealed at temperature 500 °C, has a weak structure of ZnO. But as we have increased the annealing temperature, indium atoms get thermal energy from the annealing process and reacted with ZnO molecule to form ZnInO composite. The vibrational and rotational modes of the samples were studied by the Raman spectroscopic analysis and morphology of annealed samples was verified by SEM. The Seebeck coefficient data suggested that the value of Seebeck coefficient varies between (140.9–182.2) μV/oC. The maximum value of the Seebeck coefficient was obtained for the sample annealed at 600 °C because the mobility of carriers is highest at that temperature. But the value of electrical conductivity and power factor for the sample annealed at 600 °C is minimum due to low carrier concentration. Because of these conclusions, it may be suggested that this material can be a potential choice soon for thermoelectric power generation applications.

Thin plasma-polymerized films of dichloro(methyl)phenylsilane

Thin plasma polymer films were deposited from a mixture of dichloro(methyl)phenylsilane (DCMPS) vapour and gaseous hydrogen in a r.f. (13.56 MHz) capacitive coupling deposition system on pieces of silicon wafers. Some samples were annealed in vacuum at the temperature ranging from 450 to 700°C. Chemical composition, structure and surface morphology of annealed samples and those stored in air at room temperature were studied by FTIR, XPS, SEM, and optical microscopy. Thermal stability and a decomposition of the plasma polymer with increasing temperature were characterized by thermogravimetry together with mass spectrometry. The plasma polymer was stable up to a temperature of 300°C. Above that temperature the material started to decompose together with additional cross-linking due to incorporation of extra oxygen atoms forming new siloxane bonds. The plasma polymer was tough at room temperature but much more brittle at elevated temperatures.