Material Properties Of Thin Films Research Articles

Ultra‐Thin Cubic Ti3Al Buffer/Template Layer Achieving Giant Polarization of Epitaxial Pb(Zr0.40Ti0.60)O3 Film

AbstractInterface strain significantly affects polarization in ferroelectric devices. In this paper, an innovative strategy is proposed to substantially enhance ferroelectric polarization using an ultra‐thin “soft‐buffer‐layer” (SBL), which reduces dislocation density and increases the tetragonality of ferroelectric thin films because of small elastic constants of Ti3Al along x and y axes. And in this work, it is demonstrated that PbZr0.4Ti0.6O3 (PZT) thin films are perfect c‐axis‐oriented epitaxial structures on (001) SrTiO3 (STO) substrates. The PZT capacitor with Ti3Al buffer layer exhibits a remarkable remnant polarization, reaching up to 131.93 µC cm−2 at an applied voltage of 5.00 V. Surprisingly, under the clamping effect of SrRuO3 and STO, Ti3Al films exhibit cubic structure and facilitate matching to the PZT film. It is proposed that the introduction of the Ti3Al buffer layer notably improves the tetragonality (c/a) ratio from 1.002 to 1.024, and significantly enhancing the polarization. There is no doubt that this adjustment reduces dislocation density and decreases stress influence from STO substrate. Given these advantages, the SBL method presents a compelling option for epitaxial PZT films, and also for enhancing the physical properties of other functional thin film materials.

Microstructural behavior of CNT-PDMS thin-films for multifunctional systems

Heterogeneous ribbed and non-ribbed carbon nanotube (CNT)-PDMS thin-film systems manufactured by large-scale rolling exhibit large-strain and high strain-rate characteristics with favorable surface behaviors, such as superhydrophobicity and drag reduction. However, it is not well understood how the multi-phase microstructure and material properties of non-ribbed thin-films are related to the surface material behavior and fracture. Hence, the objective of this investigation is to characterize the large-strain mechanical behavior and the microstructure of various CNT-PDMS compositions to understand how the CNT loading, agglomeration, distribution, and orientation affect the mechanical behavior and fracture of CNT-PDMS unribbed systems. Non-ribbed thin tensile testing specimens were fabricated for neat PDMS and CNT-PDMS with different weight CNT distributions to understand non-ribbed behavior. The ultimate strain, strength, and global stress–strain behavior were obtained by uniaxial mechanical testing. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the fracture surface was also obtained for each sample to analyze the microstructure and relate the damage mode to the different weight distributions. Based on these experimental measurements and observations, large-strain, hyperelastic and hyper-viscoelastic material models were used to characterize the material behavior. The hyper-viscoelastic material model was shown to provide the most accurate material description of the thin-film behavior of the viscoelastic PDMS with the high-strength CNTs.

Effect of scandium concentration on the performances of cantilever based AlN unimorph piezoelectric energy harvester with silicon nitride substrate

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) offer its ability to sense, control and actuate on sub-micron scale and exhibit its effect on macro scale. To implement any specific MEMS system, small, efficient and long-lifespan micro power sources are required. Piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) along with radioactive source is one of the most promising approaches to harness electrical energy at micro to millimeter range. In this report, a scandium (Sc) doped Aluminium Nitride (AlN) unimorph piezoelectric energy harvester has been demonstrated. Unimorph piezoelectric layer is built on Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) substrate platform that act as cantilever beam and that can be vibrated by inbuilt radioactive system. In particular, Si3N4 as cantilever material and the impact of Sc doping concentration on electrical and mechanical properties of AlN piezoelectric thin film materials have been studied in MATLAB simulation platform. Results obtained from numerical study suggests that the proposed energy harvester model composed of AlScN unimorph piezoelectric (with 10% Sc doping concentration, Sc-10%) layer and Si3N4 cantilever can yield a maximum power output of ~ 19.33 μW and overall mechanical energy conversion efficiency of ~ 91.07%. These are the maximum output power and mechanical energy conversion efficiency numerically obtained from Sc doped AlN piezoelectric energy harvester systems to the best of our knowledge.

Systematic measurement and calibration approach for mechanical properties of polymer thin film materials

ABSTRACT This study investigates the mechanical properties of pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) and PSA blended with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film (PBP) through a series of mechanical tests. The combination of a linear-elastic and viscoelastic material model was employed and calibrated to accurately characterize their mechanical behavior. The tensile test and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) yielded contrasting results regarding the elastic properties of the two polymer thin films. The experimental data revealed that Young's modulus of PBP is significantly higher than that of PSA, whereas the shear modulus of PBP is notably lower than PSA. This behavior can be attributed to the sandwich structure of the PBP composite, where the PSA and PET components interact in different configurations either in parallel or in series during the tensile test and DMA, respectively. This paper presents a systematic approach for the precise and efficient application of material models for PSA and PBP, providing valuable insights for future use in various composite polymer film adhesives. Comprehensive calibration and finite element analysis were conducted for both PSA and PBP materials. Based on these experimental findings, we propose a systematic method for measuring and calibrating the mechanical properties of thin film composite materials. This method offers a reliable reference for future engineering applications, as it can be applied to other material systems to expedite the development process.

Unraveling intrinsic relationship of thermal properties in thermoreflectance experiments

Thermoreflectance techniques, particularly frequency-domain thermoreflectance (FDTR), play a crucial role in measuring the thermal properties of bulk and thin-film materials. These methods precisely measure thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and interfacial thermal conductance by analyzing the surface temperature response signals through thermoreflectance. However, the complex interplay among parameters presents challenges in data analysis, where single-variable analysis often fails to accurately capture intra-layer and inter-layer interactions. In this work, FDTR is used as a case study and the relationships between sensitivity coefficients of various parameters are systematically explored through singular value decomposition (SVD). Specifically, the SVD of sensitivity matrix <i> <b>S</b> </i> of the system's parameters is performed to identify smaller singular values and their corresponding right singular vectors, which are the basis vectors of the null space of matrix <i> <b>S</b> </i>. These vectors reveal the relationships among parameter sensitivities, thereby uncovering the most fundamental combination parameters that determine the thermoreflectance signal. This method not only clarifies the dependency relationships between variables but also determines the maximum number of parameters that can be experimentally extracted, and the parameters that must be known beforehand. To demonstrate the practical value of these combination parameters, this work conducts a detailed analysis of FDTR signals from an aluminum/sapphire sample. Unlike traditional FDTR experiments, which typically fit only the thermal conductivity and interfacial thermal conductance of the substrate, our sensitivity analysis reveals that it is possible to simultaneously determine the thermal conductivity of the metal film, substrate’s thermal conductivity, substrate’s specific heat capacity, and interfacial thermal conductance. The fitting results are consistent with reference values from the literature and measurements from other thermoreflectance techniques, thus validating the effectiveness and reliability of our method. This comprehensive analysis not only deepens the understanding of thermoreflectance phenomena but also provides strong support for the future development of thermal characterization technology and material research, showing the significant potential application of SVD in complex multi-parameter systems.

Finite element analysis of TiN coated thin film

Finite element analysis (FEA) is one of the most widely used techniques in predicting the material behavior under loading conditions in various applications e.g., thin film coating. Thin film coating offers superior mechanical characteristics such as hardness, resistance to wear, etc. In this study, the finite element analysis method is used along with the Johnson Cook Plasticity Model to obtain the deformation behavior and stress distribution of TiN-coated thin film sample. Material properties of TiN thin film coating obtained through nanoindentation are the inputs for the material model. Berkovich indenter is modelled to simulate the results. Elastoplastic analysis is done under different strain conditions as per the Johnson Cook Plasticity Model. FEA model results obtained are compared with the reported results. There is a close match between the values of material model 6 and experiment 1 which suggests that FEA is a prominent tool in predicting the nanoindentation results.

Effects of gamma radiation on structural, optical, and electrical properties of SnO2 thin films

Gamma irradiation at specific doses controls the material properties of thin films because of its high-ionization energy and high penetrating power. In the present work, the effects of gamma irradiation (γ-rays) on the structural, morphological, electrical, and optical properties of pulsed laser-deposited SnO2 thin films were examined. These films were exposed to γ-rays for doses of 0, 75, 100, 125, and 200 kGy. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the films are polycrystalline with a crystallite size of 49.27 nm and it increases with the gamma doses. While the dislocation density and the microstrain decrease, the band gap reduces from 3.8 eV to 3.4 eV with the increase in doses. Raman spectra show the presence of defects caused by gamma irradiation and the photo luminance spectra demonstrate a decrease in the peak intensities for thin films. The blue emission at 437 nm, is associated with oxygen-related defects produced during the phase formation. The Hall measurements confirm that these films are of n-type semiconductors. The I–V characteristics show a rise in conductivity linearly up to 125 kGy and a reduction at 200 kGy due to oxygen vacancies created at the higher gamma doses. The electrical conductivity of all the films increases as a function of temperature, and gamma doses as evident from the rectification behavior. This study infers that gamma rays can modify the material properties hence these films are useful as an electrode for sensing and radiation detection.

Impact of monolayer engineering on ferroelectricity of sub-5 nm Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 thin films

The sub-5 nm Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) thin films have been studied for years; however, they still suffer from challenges including poor ferroelectricity, wake-up effect, and the need for high-temperature annealing. In this paper, the concept and the method of “monolayer engineering” by atomic layer deposition (ALD) are proposed and implemented, which leads to dramatic improvements in the crystallinity and ferroelectricity of the HZO thin film with a thickness of only ∼4 nm at a low annealing temperature of only 370 °C. By substituting one ZrO2 for one HfO2 atomic layer, a high ferroelectric remnant polarization (Pr) ∼15 μC/cm2 is achieved in the HZO thin film. Moreover, the pronounced ferroelectric characteristics are demonstrated in the pristine state, indicating the nearly wake-up-free property of the HZO layer. This study manifests that the monolayer engineering by ALD enables atomic tailoring to enhance the material and physical properties of nanoscale thin films.

Atomic layer engineering on resistive switching in sub-4 nm AlN resistive random access memory devices

This study demonstrates the precise tailoring of material properties of nanoscale thin films and electrical properties of AlN RRAM devices by atomic layer annealing.

Dimensionless Analysis to Determine Elastoplastic Properties of Thin Films by Indentation

By assuming the elastoplastic properties of thin-film materials, a reverse analysis method is proposed by deriving a dimensionless function for the indentation process. The substrate effect is taken into account by assuming a perfect interface between thin-film and substrate materials. In order to obtain the applied load–penetration depth (P-h) curves, the indentation process is numerically modeled as an axisymmetric problem with a rigid-body Berkovich indenter on the semi-infinite substrate when performing finite element (FE) simulations. As a typical soft film/hard substrate problem, the elastic substrate is assumed and the power–law model is used to describe the constitutive properties of thin-film materials. Varying elastic modulus (10–50 GPa), yield strength (60–300 MPa), and hardening exponent (0.1–0.5) characterize different elastoplastic mechanical properties of thin-film materials with film thickness of 10–30 μm. Owing to the good trending P-h curves with the maximum indentation depth up to the 2/3 film thickness for different elastoplastic thin-film materials, a dimensionless function is derived and validated based on the predictions by reliable FE simulations. The proposed dimensionless function elegantly elucidates the essential relationship between the elastoplastic mechanical properties of the thin-film material and indentation responses (e.g., loading and unloading variables). The elastoplastic constitutive curves predicted by the proposed reverse method are confirmed to be in good agreement with the stress-strain curves of materials by FE simulations with the randomly selected elastoplastic mechanical properties and film thicknesses. This study provides a theoretical guidance to understand the explicit relationship between elastoplastic mechanical properties of the thin-film material and indentation responses.

Effect of vanadium precursor on dip-coated vanadium oxide thin films

The effect of chemical substances is reported on the structure, surface morphology, and material properties of vanadium oxide thin films. The study of the chemical substances concentrated on the effects of initial materials (e.g., NH4VO3, NaVO3, VO2, vanadyl acetylacetonate, ammonium decavanadate) and various additives (e.g., acids, chelate ligand, reduction reagent, and tensides). The syntheses are based on sol-gel chemistry. The important aim of the sol-gel technique was to optimize the chemical conditions such as catalyst and solvent for the preparation of perfect V5+-containing layers. The other aim was to check the controllability of the V4+/V5+ ratios. The control was performed in the air by using a reducing agent and in a nitrogen atmosphere. The atomic and bond structures were investigated by 51V MAS NMR, IR, and UV spectroscopies. The supramolecular structures were determined by SEM, EDX, and GIXRD techniques.Graphical abstract

Effect of different substrates on material properties of cubic GaN thin films grown by LP-MOCVD method

The III-nitride cubic phase are promising materials in photovoltaics and other optoelectronic devices due to their favorable material properties. This research work presents the growth of cubic gallium nitride (c-GaN) thin films on two different substrate gallium phosphide (GaP) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrates using the low-pressure metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD) technique. The growth conditions are modified for each substrate to obtain c-GaN epitaxial films with good crystalline quality. Stress values for c-GaN epitaxial layers 0.62 GPa and 1.24 GPa were calculated using X-ray diffraction measurements for c-GaN grown on GaP and GaAs substrates, respectively. The stress state calculated by XRD proved that in both cases, c-GaN on GaP and on GaAs substrates, they was compressed layers. Raman measurements showed two peaks for c-GaN at 555 cm−1 (TO) and 745 cm−1 (LO) modes for c-GaN grown on GaP. For GaAs, only observed 555 cm−1 (TO) mode. It obtained the formation of c-GaN epitaxial films on both substrates. The surface morphology and the quality of the films depend on the type of substrates, compact layers with better crystalline quality are observed in the samples grown in GaP than GaAs substrate. Band gap (Eg) of GaN was obtained with approximate values of 380 nm for c-GaN of both substrates, which is where the Eg of c-GaN is found.

Bi-Substituted Ferrite Garnet Type Magneto-Optic Materials Studied at ESRI Nano-Fabrication Laboratories, ECU, Australia

Since 2007, at the Electron Science Research Institute (ESRI) nano-fabrication laboratories, Edith Cowan University, Australia, we have devoted research efforts to the synthesis and characterization of bismuth-containing ferrite-garnet-type thin-film magneto-optic (MO) materials of different compositions. We report on the growth and characteristics of radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtered bismuth-substituted iron-garnet thin films. We study the process parameters associated with the RF magnetron sputter deposition technique and investigate the results of optimizing process parameters. To achieve the best MO properties, we employ a few unique techniques, such as co-sputtered nanocomposite films and all-garnet multilayer structures, as well as the application of oxygen plasma treatment to amorphous garnet layers immediately following the deposition process. We demonstrated a remarkable enhancement in the MO properties of Bi-containing ferrite-type garnet thin-film materials, including record-high MO figures of merit and improved conventional and unconventional hysteresis loops of Faraday rotation. Previously unpublished research results on the forward-looking applications of magnetic garnet coatings applied to microparticles of advanced luminescent materials are reported. In the context of developing the next-generation ultra-fast optoelectronic devices, such as light intensity switches and modulators, high-speed flat panel displays, and high-sensitivity sensors, it is important to consider the desirable optical, magnetic, and magneto-optic properties that are found in highly bismuth-substituted iron garnet thin-film materials of various composition types.

Ge/Al and Ge/Si3N4/Al Core/Shell Quantum Dot Lattices in Alumina: Boosting the Spectral Response by Tensile Strain.

We investigated the production conditions and optoelectrical properties of thin film material consisting of regularly ordered core/shell Ge/Al and Ge/Si3N4/Al quantum dots (QDs) in an alumina matrix. The materials were produced by self–assembled growth achieved by means of multilayer magnetron sputtering deposition. We demonstrated the successful fabrication of well-ordered 3D lattices of Ge/Al and Ge/Si3N4/Al core/shell quantum dots with a body-centred tetragonal arrangement within the Al2O3 matrix. The addition of shells to the Ge core enables a strong tuning of the optical and electrical properties of the material. An Al shell induces a bandgap shift toward smaller energies, and, in addition, it prevents Ge oxidation. The addition of a thin Si3N4 shell induces huge changes in the material spectral response, i.e., in the number of extracted excitons produced by a single photon. It increases both the absolute value and the width of the spectral response. For the best sample, we achieved an enhancement of over 250% of the produced number of excitons in the measured energy range. The observed changes are, as it seems, the consequence of the large tensile strain in Ge QDs which is induced by the Si3N4 shell addition and which is measured to be about 3% for the most strained QDs. The tensile strain causes activation of the direct bandgap of germanium, which has a very strong effect on the spectral response of the material.

Hemocompatibile Thin Films Assessed under Blood Flow Shear Forces.

The aim of this study was to minimize the risk of life-threatening thromboembolism in the ventricle through the use of a new biomimetic heart valve based on metal–polymer composites. Finite volume element simulations of blood adhesion to the material were carried out, encompassing radial flow and the cone and plane test together with determination of the effect of boundary conditions. Both tilt-disc and bicuspid valves do not have optimized blood flow due to their design based on rigid valve materials (leaflet made of pyrolytic carbon). The main objective was the development of materials with specific properties dedicated to contact with blood. Materials were evaluated by dynamic tests using blood, concentrates, and whole human blood. Hemostability tests under hydrodynamic conditions were related to the mechanical properties of thin-film materials obtained from tribological tests. The quality of the coatings was high enough to avoid damage to the coating even as they were exposed up to maximum loading. Analysis towards blood concentrates of the hydrogenated carbon sample and the nitrogen-doped hydrogenated carbon sample revealed that the interaction of the coating with erythrocytes was the strongest. Hemocompatibility evaluation under hydrodynamic conditions confirmed very good properties of the developed coatings.

Identification of Mechanical Properties of Thin-Film Elastoplastic Materials by Machine Learning

Identification of Mechanical Properties of Thin-Film Elastoplastic Materials by Machine Learning

Effects of working pressure on the material and defect properties of Sb2S3 thin-film solar cells achieved by the VTD method.

Antimony sulfide (Sb2S3), an emerging material for photovoltaic devices, has drawn growing research interest due to its inexpensive and high-throughput device production. In this study, the material and defect properties of Sb2S3 thin films prepared by the vapor transport deposition (VTD) method at different working pressures were studied. Solar cells based on a structure of glass/ITO/CdS/Sb2S3/Au were fabricated. The working pressure showed a significant effect on the device's performance. The current density versus voltage measurement and scanning electron microscopy analysis outcome were utilized to investigate the photovoltaic and microstructural properties in the samples. The compositional analysis by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurement confirmed the Sb/S ratio as 2:2.8 for the thin films. The identification and characterization of the defects present in Sb2S3 thin films were performed via admittance measurements. Compared to the defect density, the defect energy level was found to inherit a more important role in the device's performance. The best solar cell performance with better crystal quality, lower defect density, and longer capture lifetime was achieved under the substrate working pressure of 2 Pa. The highest efficiency was found to be 0.86% with Voc=0.55V, Jsc=5.07mA/cm2.

Evaluation of thin film material properties using a deep nanoindentation and ANN

Due to the substrate effect, there are several difficulties to evaluate the material properties of thin films via nanoindentation. In this study, an inverse analysis method based on an artificial neural network (ANN) is proposed to obtain free-volume-model (FVM) parameters of thin film metallic glass (TFMG) via nanoindentation. Unlike conventional nanoindentation procedures for thin films, a deeper indentation depth (≈ 30% of film thickness) is adopted to accurately identify the film properties even with significant substrate deformations. Both sphero-conical and Berkovich tips are employed to ensure unique solutions. A complex mapping function of inverse analysis is replaced by establishing ANN between nanoindentation (features) and material (targets) parameters. The established ANN model is trained with the database generated via systematic finite element analyses (FEA). The trained ANN model is experimentally validated by estimating the material properties of Zr55Cu30Ag15 TFMG deposited on two different substrates (Si and soda lime glass). The maximum difference of plastic indentation energy between experiments and FEA values using the estimated film material properties was within 3%.

Atomistic kinetic Monte Carlo simulation on atomic layer deposition of TiN thin film

The atomic layer deposition (ALD) process of TiN thin films is widely used in microelectronics, but the detailed growth mechanism is still elusive at the atomistic level. In the present computational study, we carry out kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) simulations on the ALD process using TiCl4 and NH3 precursors. Based on the on-lattice model, we sort out key reactions relevant for the ALD process such as adsorption/desorption of precursors, generation of surface Cl atoms, and evolution of free HCl and Cl2 molecules. The reaction energies considering local environments are calculated at the level of density functional theory (DFT) while the activation barriers are linearly fitted to sampled cases among distinct reaction families. The resulting kMC model produces the temperature-dependent growth rates and the amounts of Cl residues in reasonable agreement with experiments. The detailed growth pathway is discussed based on the simulation results, which underscores the critical role of surface Cl atoms in the ALD process by generating HCl gas molecules. By revealing the atomistic mechanisms in the TiN-ALD process, the present work would help optimize material properties of TiN thin films.

Subpicosecond Optical Stress Generation in Multiferroic BiFeO3.

Optical excitation leads to ultrafast stress generation in the prototypical multiferroic BiFeO3. The time scales of stress generation are set by the dynamics of the population of excited electronic states and the coupling of the electronic configuration to the structure. X-ray free-electron laser diffraction reveals high-wavevector subpicosecond-time scale stress generation following ultraviolet excitation of a BiFeO3 thin film. Stress generation includes a fast component with a 1/e rise time with an upper limit of 300 fs and longer-rise time components extending to 1.5 ps. The contributions of the fast and delayed components vary as a function of optical fluence, with a reduced a fast-component contribution at high fluence. The results provide insight into stress-generation mechanisms linked to the population of excited electrons and point to new directions in the application of nanoscale multiferroics and related ferroic complex oxides. The fast component of the stress indicates that structural parameters and properties of ferroelectric thin film materials can be optically modulated with 3 dB bandwidths of at least 0.5 THz.