Single Crystal Values Research Articles

Atmospheric growth of ZnO films deposited by spray pyrolysis using diethylzinc solution

Non-doped ZnO thin films are deposited on glass substrates by spray pyrolysis using diethylzinc solution at a range from a room temperature to 150°C while making N2 gas flow in atmospheric pressure. The morphology, the structural property, the density and the optical band gap are studied. As the deposition temperature is increasing, the overall density and the optical band gap approach to the values of ZnO single crystal. The quality of ZnO thin film deposited at 150°C becomes near ZnO single crystal.

Field-anneal-induced magnetic anisotropy in highly textured Fe-Al magnetostrictive strips

Highly textured (011)[100] Goss-oriented rolled sheet Fe-Al alloy is a promising magnetostrictive material for use in bending mode sensors and vibrational energy harvesters. In this paper, we performed magnetic field annealing (FA) to induce magnetic anisotropy in strips of highly textured Fe-Al. Prior work suggests FA as a viable alternative to stress annealing (SA), which leads to buckling of Fe-Al rolled sheet samples. The Fe-Al strips studied here exhibited tetragonal magnetostriction values ((3/2)λsat = λ∥ − λ⟂) of ∼136 ppm along their length, which corresponds to ∼78% of the single crystal value along a <100> orientation. The effectiveness of FA on magnetic moment rotation was inferred by comparing post-FA magnetostriction measurements with the maximum possible yield, where λ∥= 0 and λ⟂= (3/2)λsat. Strain gauge data from the middle of the strip indicates that FA achieved ∼27% of the desired built-in uniaxial anisotropy along the parallel direction of the strip length, decreasing λ∥ by 25 ppm of the 95 ppm. Hall effect sensor data was used to assess the potential effect of FA on sensing and energy harvesting performance. FA improved the bending-stress-induced changes in magnetization near the clamped end of the strips by ∼45%. These results suggest that the FA was more effective in the region near the end of the strip than toward the middle of the strip, which we explain may be a result of the use of high temperature permanent magnets at the ends of the strips for the FA protocol.

Review Article: FePt heat assisted magnetic recording media

Heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) media status, requirements, and challenges to extend the areal density (AD) of magnetic hard disk drives beyond current records of around 1.4 Tb/in.2 are updated. The structural properties of granular high anisotropy chemically ordered L10 FePtX-Y HAMR media by now are similar to perpendicular CoCrPt-based magnetic recording media. Reasonable average grain diameter ⟨D⟩ = 8–10 nm and distributions σD/D ∼ 18% are possible despite elevated growth temperatures TG = 650–670 °C. A 2× reduction of ⟨D⟩ down to 4–5 nm and lowering σD/D < 10%–15% are ongoing efforts to increase AD to ∼4 Tb/in.2. X = Cu ∼ 10 at. % reduces the Curie temperature TC by ∼100 K below TC,bulk = 750 K, thereby lowering the write head heat energy requirement. Multiple FePtX-Y granular layers with Y = 30–35 vol. % grain-to-grain segregants like carbides, oxides, and/or nitrides are used to fully exchange decouple the grains and achieve cylindrical shape. FePt is typically grown on fcc MgO (100) seedlayers to form well oriented FePt (002). A FePt lattice parameter ratio c/a ∼0.96 and high chemical order S > 0.90 result in magnetic anisotropy KU ∼ 4.5 × 107 erg/cm3, and only 25% below the FePt single crystal value KU = 6.6 × 107 erg/cm3 has been achieved in 7–8 nm diameter grains. Switching field distributions depend on anisotropy field (HK) distributions, which are currently of the order of ΔHK/HK ∼ 10% (ΔHK ∼ 10–12 kOe, HK ∼ 10–11 T) at room temperature. High thermal conductivity heat sink layers, including Ag, Au, Cu, and Cr, are used to optimize the cooling rate and maximize the down- and cross-track thermal gradient, which determines the achievable track density.

High pressure crystal growth of the antiperovskite centrosymmetric superconductor SrPt3P

Bulk single crystals of SrPt3P have been grown for the first time by a self-flux method at 2GPa and 1500°C using the cubic-anvil, high-pressure and high-temperature technique. The grown black crystals were found to have either a plate-like or pillar-like morphology with maximum dimensions of ~1×0.6×0.3mm3. According to a goniometric study the crystals are elongated in the ab-plane with the c-axis perpendicular to the plane. The crystal structure was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (P4/nmm, #129, Z=2, a=b=5.7927(2)Å, c=5.3729(2)Å and V=180.290(11)Å3). Temperature dependent susceptibility measurements showed a single-phase behaviour and a superconducting transition temperature of 8.6K. This value for single crystals is slightly higher than that previously reported for polycrystalline SrPt3P. The sharpness of the susceptibility drop (∆Tc=0.07K) supports a high homogeneity of obtained crystals.

Comparison of isoelectric points of single-crystal and polycrystalline α-Al2O3and α-Fe2O3surfaces

The surface charging behavior as a function of pH and isoelectric points (IEPs) of single-crystal α-Al2O3 (0001) and (1102) and α-Fe2O3 (0001) was determined by streaming potential measurements using an electrokinetic analyzer. The IEPs of α-Al2O3 (0001) and (11¯02) and α-Fe2O3 (0001) were found to be 4.5, 5.1, and 6.5, respectively. These IEP values for oriented single crystals of α-Al2O3 are in good agreement with literature values, whereas the new IEP value for α-Fe2O3 (0001) is significantly lower than four reported values (IEP = 8–8.5) for single-crystal α-Fe2O3 (0001) (Eggleston and Jordan 1998; Zarzycki et al. 2011; Chatman et al. 2013; Lützenkirchen et al. 2013) and significantly higher than one (IEP = 4) recently measured by Lützenkirchen et al. (2015) on a fresh α-Fe2O3 (0001) surface. Most of the single-crystal IEP values measured recently are lower than IEP values reported for polycrystalline α-Al2O3 and α-Fe2O3, which are generally in the pH range of 8 to 10. Calculations of the IEP values based on estimated Ka values of α-Fe2O3 and α-Al2O3 surfaces in contact with water as a function of defect type and concentration suggest that highly reactive surface defect sites (primarily singly coordinated aquo groups) on the Fe- and Al-oxide powders are possibly a major source of the surface charge differences between polycrystalline samples and their oriented single-crystal counterparts studied here. The results of this study provide a better understanding of the surface charging behavior of Fe and Al-oxides, which is essential for predicting complex processes such as metal-ion sorption occurring at mineral/water interfaces.

Gate-Tuned Thermoelectric Power in Black Phosphorus.

The electric field effect is a useful means of elucidating intrinsic material properties as well as for designing functional devices. The electric-double-layer transistor (EDLT) enables the control of carrier density in a wide range, which is recently proved to be an effective tool for the investigation of thermoelectric properties. Here, we report the gate-tuning of thermoelectric power in a black phosphorus (BP) single crystal flake with the thickness of 40 nm. Using an EDLT configuration, we successfully control the thermoelectric power (S) and find that the S of ion-gated BP reached +510 μV/K at 210 K in the hole depleted state, which is much higher than the reported bulk single crystal value of +340 μV/K at 300 K. We compared this experimental data with the first-principles-based calculation and found that this enhancement is qualitatively explained by the effective thinning of the conduction channel of the BP flake and nonuniformity of the channel owing to the gate operation in a depletion mode. Our results provide new opportunities for further engineering BP as a thermoelectric material in nanoscale.

High Energy Density Lead‐Free Piezoelectric Ceramics for Energy Harvesting and Derived from a Sol–Gel Route

Manganese‐modified niobate ceramics with a high energy density were constructed by pressureless sintering of nanoprecursor powders derived from a sol–gel route. The room‐temperature orthorhombic–tetragonal (O–T) phase boundary of the (Na0.5K0.5)0.94Li0.06NbO3 (NKLN) system was successfully built by adding Mn2+ ions to decrease the O–T transition temperature. For the NKLN + 2.0 mol‐% Mn2+ specimen, an optimal transduction coefficient (d33 × g33) value as high as 9314 × 10–15 m2 N–1 was obtained; this value is comparable to reported values for NKN single crystals, and thus, this material shows potential application in new‐generation lead‐free piezoelectric energy harvesters.

Improved Performance of YIG (Y3Fe5O12) Films Grown on Pt‐Buffered Si Substrates by Chemical Solution Deposition Technique

High‐quality Yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films with crack‐free surface and improved magnetic performance were grown on platinum (Pt)‐buffered Si substrates by chemical solution deposition technique. The saturation magnetization of obtained YIG films can reach 124 emu/cm3, which was the 88% theoretical value of YIG single crystal. The effects of annealing condition were also discussed. When annealed at 750°C for 1 h, YIG films showed a very small coercive field of 12 Oe and the peak‐to‐peak ferromagnetic resonance linewidth can be as low as 95 Oe at 9.10 GHz. The results demonstrated that YIG films prepared on Pt‐buffered Si substrates can be beneficial to the application of YIG films to integrated devices.

Effect of fabrication conditions on phase formation and properties of epitaxial (PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3)0.67-(PbTiO3)0.33 thin films on (001) SrTiO3

The pulsed laser deposition process of 300nm thick films of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3)0.67-(PbTiO3)0.33 on (001)-oriented SrTiO3 was studied by varying deposition pressure, substrate deposition temperature, laser fluence on the target and target-substrate distance. Perovskite phase pure, (001)-oriented, epitaxial smooth films were obtained in a narrow range of deposition parameters. The ferroelectric and dielectric properties of films fabricated within this parameter range still vary significantly. This shows the sensitivity of the system for growth conditions. The best film has a polarization value close to that expected for a (001) poled, stress free single crystal film. All films show deposition conditions dependent variations in the self-bias field. The self-bias is very stable during long cycling for films made at optimum deposition conditions. The piezoelectric coefficients of the films are strongly reduced with respect to bulk single crystal values due to the film clamping. The properties variations are ascribed to changes in the grain boundary properties in which film defects are expected to accumulate. Notably slight off-stoichiometry may cause localized screening charges, affecting specifically the polarization and dielectric constant.

Electronic Properties of High-Quality Epitaxial Topological Dirac Semimetal Thin Films.

Topological Dirac semimetals (TDS) are three-dimensional analogues of graphene, with linear electronic dispersions in three dimensions. Nanoscale confinement of TDSs in thin films is a necessary step toward observing the conventional-to-topological quantum phase transition (QPT) with increasing film thickness, gated devices for electric-field control of topological states, and devices with surface-state-dominated transport phenomena. Thin films can also be interfaced with superconductors (realizing a host for Majorana Fermions) or ferromagnets (realizing Weyl Fermions or T-broken topological states). Here we report structural and electrical characterization of large-area epitaxial thin films of TDS Na3Bi on single crystal Al2O3[0001] substrates. Charge carrier mobilities exceeding 6,000 cm(2)/(V s) and carrier densities below 1 × 10(18) cm(-3) are comparable to the best single crystal values. Perpendicular magnetoresistance at low field shows the perfect weak antilocalization behavior expected for Dirac Fermions in the absence of intervalley scattering. At higher fields up to 0.5 T anomalously large quadratic magnetoresistance is observed, indicating that some aspects of the low field magnetotransport (μB < 1) in this TDS are yet to be explained.

Benchmarking density functional perturbation theory to enable high-throughput screening of materials for dielectric constant and refractive index

We demonstrate a high-throughput density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) methodology capable of screening compounds for their dielectric properties. The electronic and ionic dielectric tensors are calculated for 88 compounds, where the eigenvalues of the total dielectric tensors are compared with single crystal and polycrystalline experimental values reported in the literature. We find that GGA/PBE has a smaller mean average deviation from experiments ($\text{MARD}=16.2$%) when compared to LDA. The prediction accuracy of DFPT is lowest for compounds that exhibit complex structural relaxation effects (e.g., octahedra rotation in perovskites) and/or strong anharmonicity. Despite some discrepancies between DFPT results and reported experimental values, the high-throughput methodology is found to be useful in identifying interesting compounds by ranking. This is demonstrated by the high Spearman correlation factor $(\ensuremath{\rho}=0.92)$. Finally, we demonstrate that DFPT provides a good estimate for the refractive index of a compound without calculating the frequency dependence of the dielectric matrix ($\text{MARD}=5.7$%).

Post-deposition annealing effect on RF-sputtered TiO2 thin-film properties for photonic applications

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were grown on glass substrates at room temperature using RF magnetron sputtering technique. Effect of the post-annealing for 1 h at 400–600 °C on the structural, morphological, optical and waveguide properties was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV–visible spectrophotometry and m-lines spectroscopy (MLS). XRD studies show that as-grown and post-annealed TiO2 films exhibit (101) XRD peak corresponding to the anatase phase of TiO2. Higher annealing temperatures result in a significant increase in crystallinity. The grain size values were calculated and found to be about 15–37 nm. From the analyses made on the SEM micrographs and AFM images, it was revealed that the morphology and surface roughness of the thin films were influenced by the heat treatment temperature. The UV–visible spectroscopy analyses show that as-grown TiO2 films were transparent in the visible region with an average transmittance of more than 75 % and the transmittance decreases slightly with an increase in annealing temperature. Annealed TiO2 films also exhibit an increase in the values of direct optical band gap. MLS measurements at 633-nm wavelength put into evidence that TiO2 planar waveguides demonstrate a well-guided fundamental mode for both transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarized light. Moreover, the refractive index was found to increase with temperature and to approach to the anatase TiO2 single-crystal value for the TiO2 film annealed at 600 °C.

Collapse of the low temperature insulating state in Cr-doped V2O3 thin films

We have grown epitaxial Cr-doped V2O3 thin films with Cr concentrations between 0% and 20% on (0001)-Al2O3 by oxygen-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. For the highly doped samples (&amp;gt;3%), a regular and monotonous increase of the resistance with decreasing temperature is measured. Strikingly, in the low doping samples (between 1% and 3%), a collapse of the insulating state is observed with a reduction of the low temperature resistivity by up to 5 orders of magnitude. A vacuum annealing at high temperature of the films recovers the low temperature insulating state for doping levels below 3% and increases the room temperature resistivity towards the values of Cr-doped V2O3 single crystals. It is well-know that oxygen excess stabilizes a metallic state in V2O3 single crystals. Hence, we propose that Cr doping promotes oxygen excess in our films during deposition, leading to the collapse of the low temperature insulating state at low Cr concentrations. These results suggest that slightly Cr-doped V2O3 films can be interesting candidates for field effect devices.

Post-annealing effects on the physical and optical waveguiding properties of RF sputtered ZnO thin films

ZnO thin films were deposited at room temperature onto glass substrate by RF sputtering technique. Effects of the post-annealing at 300–500°C on the structural, morphological, optical and waveguiding properties were investigated using different characterization techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses have shown that all thin films have a hexagonal wurtzite structure with higher c-axis preferred orientation (002), better crystallinity and larger crystallite size as post-annealing temperature increases. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of annealed samples confirmed that the ZnO stretching vibration bond was found to be stable at 419 cm−1. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) images have revealed that film morphology and surface roughness were influenced by heat treatment temperatures. The UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometry characterisations have indicated that all the films were highly transparent with average transmittance exceeding 81% within the visible region, and the bandgap energy of the as-deposited film was increased with increasing of the annealing temperature.The obtained results from m-lines spectroscopy (MLS) measurements at 632.8 nm wavelength have demonstrated that all ZnO thin film optical waveguides were single mode and the ordinary and extraordinary refractive index values of the film annealed at 500°C were very close to the corresponding ZnO single-crystal values.

Wavelength dependence of magneto-optic properties of terbium gallium garnet ceramics.

The wavelength dependence of magneto-optic properties of TGG ceramics, including the Verdet constant, has been investigated experimentally. The previously obtained Verdet constant of 36.4 rad/Tm for 1064 nm wavelength and 139.6 rad/Tm for 633 nm are in good agreement with presented white light measurements . The comparison with previously reported Verdet constant and absorption coefficient values for TGG single crystal has shown very similar results. These results lead to the conclusion that TGG ceramics is a very good alternative to TGG single crystal and is a powerful approach for realizing large-aperture optical isolators which are required in high-average-power laser systems.

Air-stable solution-processed n-channel organic thin film transistors with polymer-enhanced morphology

N,N′-1H,1H-perfluorobutyl dicyanoperylenecarboxydiimide (PDIF-CN2) is an n-type semiconductor exhibiting high electron mobility and excellent air stability. However, the reported electron mobility based on spin-coated PDIF-CN2 film is much lower than the value of PDIF-CN2 single crystals made from vapor phase deposition, indicating significant room for mobility enhancement. In this study, various insulating polymers, including poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and poly(alpha-methylstyrene) (PαMS), are pre-coated on silicon substrate aiming to enhance the morphology of the PDIF-CN2 thin film, thereby improving the charge transport and air stability. Atomic force microscopy images reveal that with the pre-deposition of PαMS or PMMA polymers, the morphology of the PDIF-CN2 polycrystalline films is optimized in semiconducting crystal connectivity, domain size, and surface roughness, which leads to significant improvement of organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) performance. Particularly, an electron mobility of up to 0.55 cm2/V s has been achieved from OTFTs based on the PDIF-CN2 film with the pre-deposition of PαMS polymer.

Crystal Growth, Morphology, Spectral and Optical Studies of Tris (Thiourea) Zinc Sulphate-Nonlinear Optical Material

The Nonlinear Optical (NLO) material Tris (thiourea) zinc sulphate (ZTS) was grown by slow evaporation method. The unit cell parameter and morphology were determined by single crystal XRD. The molecular structure of ZTS was identified by FTIR analysis. The optical properties of ZTS were determined by UV-Vis spectral studies. The photoluminescence spectrum of ZTS shows the strong emission in ultraviolet region at 360 nm. The thermal behaviors were identified by TG/DTA analyzes and the melting point is 240°C. The hardness of the material is measured by micro hardness test. The SHG efficiency was confirmed by powder technique. The Laser damage threshold value of ZTS single crystal was found to be 20.15 MW/Cm 2 . The effect of L-histidine doping on the morphology of the ZTS single crystal has been studied.

Direct, Soft Chemical Route to Mesoporous Metallic Lead Ruthenium Pyrochlore and Investigation of its Electrochemical Properties

Mesoporous, nanocrystalline metallic lead ruthenium oxide (a pyrochlore) was synthesized through the formation of a mesostructured cohydroxide network via liquid crystal templating, and subsequent “soft” chemical oxidation that crystallizes the oxide at low temperature. The stable S+I– interaction chemistry responsible for the templating methodology is elucidated. The formation of a disordered mesoporous structure with a pore volume of 0.18 cm3/g and walls comprised of nanocrystallites was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and conductivity, N2 isotherm measurements, and TEM observations. The resistivity of mesoporous oxide at room temperature was 0.046 Ω·cm, only 2 orders of magnitude less than the single crystal value, and one of the only two porous metallic oxides that are known to date. The electrocatalytic properties of this material for oxygen reduction and evolution in aqueous and nonaqueous media were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and linear sweep voltammetry. These techniques sh...

A nonreciprocal racetrack resonator based on vacuum-annealed magnetooptical cerium-substituted yttrium iron garnet.

Vacuum annealed polycrystalline cerium substituted yttrium iron garnet (CeYIG) films deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on non-garnet substrates were used in nonreciprocal racetrack resonators. CeYIG annealed at 800°C for 30 min provided a large Faraday rotation angle, close to the single crystal value. Crystallinity, magnetic properties, refractive indices and absorption coefficients were measured. The resonant transmission peak of the racetrack resonator covered with CeYIG was non-reciprocally shifted by applying an in-plane magnetic field.

Electron and hole drift mobility measurements on thin film CdTe solar cells

We report electron and hole drift mobilities in thin film polycrystalline CdTe solar cells based on photocarrier time-of-flight measurements. For a deposition process similar to that used for high-efficiency cells, the electron drift mobilities are in the range of 10−1–100 cm2/V s, and holes are in the range of 100–101 cm2/V s. The electron drift mobilities are about a thousand times smaller than those measured in single crystal CdTe with time-of-flight; the hole mobilities are about ten times smaller. Cells were examined before and after a vapor phase treatment with CdCl2; treatment had little effect on the hole drift mobility, but decreased the electron mobility. We are able to exclude bandtail trapping and dispersion as a mechanism for the small drift mobilities in thin film CdTe, but the actual mechanism reducing the mobilities from the single crystal values is not known.