Ternary Films Research Articles

High‐Temperature Stability Amorphous Ternary AlBN Dielectric Films on N ++ GaN

Dielectric films have played a vital role in the development of micro- and nanoelectronic devices over the past decades. However, the stability of current dielectrics under extreme high-temperature conditions is still a major shortcoming to be overcome. Herein, the successful fabrication of high-quality amorphous ternary AlBN dielectric films on n++GaN substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at room temperature (25 ± 2 °C) is reported. Systematic characterizations on the morphology, structure, chemical composition, and band offsets properties of the fabricated films reveal that both as-deposited and 800 °C postdeposition annealing (PDA) thin films are amorphous and exhibit good physical and electrical properties. Large band offsets (>2.0 eV), high dielectric constants (>10), and low leakage currents are achieved in both cases. Furthermore, the leakage current density in the Au/AlBN/n++GaN junctions of 800 °C PDA thin films is reduced by approximately one order of magnitude compared with those of as-deposited thin films. The demonstration of these excellent properties indicates that the amorphous AlBN dielectric thin films are promising candidates for integrated dielectric layers in electronic devices for harsh environment applications.

Three-dimensional network of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/nanocrystalline cellulose/cobalt oxide for supercapacitor

A ternary composite film comprising poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) integrated with cobalt oxide (Co3O4) was fabricated through facile electrodeposition. The formation of the ternary hybrid was confirmed via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) revealed a formation of a three-dimensional porous network after the integration of Co3O4 that allowed a very high degree of utilization of active sites. The specific capacitance of ternary composite was 200.7 F/g which was greater than PEDOT (42.0 F/g and PEDOT/NCC (101.1 F/g). The ternary composite also showed excellent specific capacitance retention of 84.3% after 2000 cycles. The lower equivalent series resistance (ESR) of the ternary composite compared to PEDOT/NCC and PEDOT demonstrated its good conductivity as well as its relatively low charge transfer resistance (Rct), implying its potential candidacy as electrode material for supercapacitors.

Boosted Efficiency Over 18.1% of Polymer Solar Cells by Employing Large Extinction Coefficients Material as the Third Component

A series of binary and ternary polymer solar cells (PSCs) is successfully fabricated. The optimal ternary PSCs achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.14%, benefiting from the increased short circuit current density (JSC ) of 26.53 mA cm-2 and fill factor (FF) of 78.51% in comparison with the JSC s (25.05 mA cm-2 and 25.65 mA cm-2 ) and the FFs (77.13% and 76.55%) of the corresponding binary PSCs. The photon harvesting ability of ternary active layers can be enhanced, which can be confirmed from the EQE spectral difference of the optimized ternary and binary PSCs, especially in the wavelength range from 680 nm to 800 nm. The refractive index and extinction coefficients of binary and ternary blend films are measured, which can well support the enhanced photon harvesting ability in different wavelength ranges. Photogenerated exciton distribution in active layers is simulated by the transmission matrix method based on the Beer-Lambert law. The photogenerated exciton density can be enhanced in the middle of the active layers by incorporating a third component in acceptors, which is conducive to charge collection by individual electrodes, resulting in the simultaneously enhanced JSC and FF of the optimal ternary PSCs.

Preparation of TiO2-CNT-Ag Ternary Composite Film with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity via Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

In this study, a TiO2-CNT-Ag ternary composite film was successfully synthesized using the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method by simultaneously feeding a carbon nanotube (CNT)/Ag suspension and titanium tetraisopropoxide gas. The prepared TiO2-CNT-Ag film was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Moreover, the Ag/Ti ratio of the film was confirmed using an inductivity-coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer. The performance of the TiO2-composite film for the degradation of rhodamine 6G under simulated solar light irradiation was evaluated. The rate constant of the prepared TiO2-CNT-Ag for rhodamine 6G degradation was approximately 1.8 times greater than that of prepared TiO2. This result indicates that the addition of CNT and Ag significantly improved the photocatalytic activity of the prepared films.

Structure evolution and mechanical properties of co-sputtered Zr-Al-B2 thin films

Zirconium diboride (ZrB2) represents a promising hard coating material for demanding high-temperature applications and could provide an excellent basis for fine-tuning mechanical properties via the concept of alloying. Here, combining density functional theory and experiments, we investigate the effect of aluminum alloying on thermally induced structure evolution and mechanical properties of α-structured Zr1 − xAlxB2 + Δ. Ab initio calculations predict a strong tendency for spinodal phase separation of hexagonal Zr1 − xAlxB2 solid solution into isostructural binaries. Experimental results confirm predictions of the insolubility of aluminum in the ZrB2 phase when the structure of magnetron co-sputtered Zr0.72Al0.28B2.64 films with an aluminum content of 8 at. % has a nanocomposite character consisting of hexagonal α-ZrB2 nanocolumns surrounded by an amorphous Al-rich tissue phase. The films are structurally stable up to 1100 °C but out-diffusion of Al atoms from boundary regions during annealing was observed. Al alloying causes a significant decrease in hardness when the hardness of the reference as-deposited ZrB2.2 and Zr0.72Al0.28B2.64 is 39 and 23 GPa, respectively. Low hardening effect in ternaries was observed after annealing at 1000 °C when the hardness increased from 23.5 to 26.5 GPa due to the locally increased concentration of point defects at the boundaries of the nanocolumns and Al-rich tissue phases. Young's modulus decrease from 445 (ZrB2.2) to 345 GPa (Zr0.72Al0.28B2.64) indicates a change in the mechanical response of the ternary film toward more ductile behavior.

Observation of negative photoresponse in joule-heated Au/Cu2SnS3 ternary chalcogenide thin film deposited by low energy pulsed laser deposition

Gold (Au) nanoparticles trapped within Cu2SnS3 (CTS) thin films were effectively deposited on a low-cost glass substrate using a simple pulsed laser deposition of 15 mJ for 5 ns at a 10 Hz repetition rate. The film's structural, morphological, topography, optical, and optoelectronic properties were investigated. Highly crystalline ternary chalcogenide CTS with tetragonal symmetry and 17 nm grain size is prepared. The 110 Ω resistivity of the thin film increases up to 125 Ω indicating a negative photoresponse under visible light excitation. The decrease in the photocurrent is also observed with Cu2SnS3/Au/Cu2SnS3 sandwich ternary chalcogenide structure at resistivities values from 31 to 35 Ω and a Joule effect influence the presence of plasmonic Au nanoparticle interlayers involved a lower phonon disorder given a higher photoresponse effect as predicted from Urbach energy.

In1-xGaxSb nanofoams made by ion irradiation of sputtered films: Atomic composition and structure

This article reports on the atomic composition and structural changes induced by ion irradiation in In1-xGaxSb films deposited by magnetron sputtering on SiO2/Si. Samples with x values equal 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5 and 1 were irradiated with 16 MeV Au+7 ions, in the fluence range 5 × 1013–2 × 1014 cm−2 (3 × 1014 for GaSb) and the structure and atomic composition of the films were investigated. Upon irradiation, all films attain a nanofoam-like structure, and the most pronounced swelling was observed in ternary films with 20% Ga atomic concentration. With particle induced x-ray emission technique, we identified the presence of C, O, Ga, In and Sb, with C and O concentrations significantly higher in the nanofoams, compared to the as-deposited films. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry analysis showed the atomic composition of the ternaries is not uniform, but forms two layers with slightly different relative atomic concentrations, specially after irradiation, with C and O uptake greatly enhanced by ion irradiation, more pronounced towards the surface. Grazing incidence x-ray diffraction analysis revealed that ion irradiation with total fluence of 2 × 1014 cm−2 induces amorphization of the ternaries, except for samples with 50% Ga, which remain polycrystalline, despite the ion-induced porosity.

Influences of Co and process parameters on structure and corrosion properties of nanocrystalline Ni-W-Co ternary alloy film fabricated by electrodeposition at low current density

In this paper, efforts have been dedicated to electrodeposit nanocrystalline Ni-W-Co ternary alloy film on copper substrate through electrodeposition in sulfate-citrate bath. Effects of electrodeposition parameters such as Co ion concentration, applied current density, electrolytic bath pH and deposition time on structural, composition, surface characteristics and corrosion properties of Ni-W-Co alloys were explored. Corrosion and wear behaviors were evaluated. It proved that Ni-W-Co alloy has a uniform, compact and flatter surface, exhibiting colony-like morphology. Amorphous or nanocrystalline structure was formed depending on the process parameters including current density, pH and electrolyte composition. The crystallite size was little affected by Co content but greatly affected by current, bath pH and the duration of plating time. The average roughness Ra was optimized to 4–7 nm. This ternary alloy contains 33 wt% W, 21–60 wt% Ni and 2.8–40 wt% Co. In the alloy, the decrease of nickel content corresponds to the increase of Co and vice versa. W content varied little with the change of electrodeposition conditions. Co content slightly decreases as current density increases. Increasing bath pH greatly decreases the Co contents and increases the Ni content. A ternary complex [M(HWO4)(C6H5O7)]2−(M = Ni, Co) in solution is crucial for the formation of Ni-W-Co alloy. The optimized process parameters for best corrosion and wear resistance were 5–8 mA cm−2, 55 min, 0.1 mol L−1 Co2+ and pH = 6.

Tribomechanical and microstructural properties of cathodic arc-deposited ternary nitride coatings

Sintered carbides are promising materials for surfaces that are exposed to extreme wear. Owing to their high service load, ceramic-based thin films are coated on carbides using different techniques. In this study, non-toxic and cobalt-free powder metallurgy-sintered carbide samples were coated with TiN, TiAlN, CrAlN, and TiSiN ceramic-based thin film coatings by cathodic arc physical vapor deposition. The microstructure (phase formation, coating thickness, surface roughness, and topography), mechanical properties (hardness, modulus of elasticity, and plasticity indices), and tribological properties (nanoscratch and wear behavior) of the thin film coatings were investigated. No cracks or defects were detected in these layers. The ceramic-based ternary nitride thin film coatings exhibited better mechanical performance than the TiN coating. The TiN thin film coating had the highest average surface roughness, which deteriorated its tribological performance. The ternary nitride thin film coatings exhibited high toughness, while the TiN thin film coating exhibited brittle behavior under applied loads when subjected to nanoscratch tests. The wear resistance of the ternary nitride coatings increased by nearly 9–17 times as compared to that of the TiN coating and substrate. Among all the samples investigated, the substrate showed the highest coefficient of friction (COF), while the TiSiN coating exhibited the lowest COF. The TiSiN thin film coating showed improved mechanical and tribological properties as compared to other binary and ternary nitride thin film coatings.

Thermoelectrical properties of ternary lead chalcogenide plumbum-selenium-tellurium thin films with excess of tellurium prepared by plasma-chemical vapor deposition

Ternary chalcogenide PbSeTe thin films with sufficient excess of tellurium over the stoichiometry Pb50Se50-xTex have been fabricated by Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. High-pure elemental lead, tellurium, and selenium were the starting materials, that were supplied by the flow of high-pure argon into the 40 MHz inductively-coupled non-equilibrium plasma discharge at low pressure 13 Pa. Argon also served as the plasma-feed gas. The structural properties and chemical composition of the films were characterized by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction analysis, respectively. The dependence of the Seebeck coefficient, resistivity and thermoelectric power factor on structural properties and composition were investigated. The influence of film composition on thermoelectric characteristics was studied.

Simplified Route for Deposition of Binary and Ternary Bismuth Sulphide Thin Films for Solar Cell Applications

For photovoltaic applications, undoped and Ni2+ doped Bi2S3 thin films were chemically deposited onto glass substrates at room temperature. Elemental diffraction analysis confirmed the successful Ni2+ incorporation in the range of 1.0 to 2.0 at. %, while X-ray Diffraction analysis revealed that orthorhombic crystal lattice of Bi2S3 was conserved while transferring from binary to ternary phase. Scanning electron microscopy images reported homogeneous and crack-free morphology of the obtained films. Optoelectronic analysis revealed that the bandgap value was shifted from 1.7 to 1.1 eV. Ni2+ incorporation also improved the carrier concentration, leading to higher electrical conductivity. Resultant optoelectronic behavior of ternary Bi2−x NixS3 thin films suggests that doping is proved to be an effectual tool to optimize the photovoltaic response of Bi2S3 for solar cell applications.

Research on the Preparation and Application of Chitosan Composite Membrane

In this study, an edible chitosan/castanopsis powder/essential oil ternary composite film was prepared by the casting film forming method. Prepare 1.5% chitosan (CTS) solution and 3% Castanopsis sclerophylla powder (ST) gelatinization solution respectively, and measure the CTS solution and ST gelatinization solution according to different mass ratios of chitosan and Castanopsis sclerophylla powder. Mix the liquid uniformly, add 15% glycerin to plasticize, then add different content of essential oil (EO) and Tween 80, high-speed shear mixing, vacuum defoaming, quantitative casting in the mold, drying at 45 °C to form a film .Through the study of the physicochemical properties and antibacterial ability of the composite film, the results show that the addition of an appropriate amount of Castanopsis sclerophylla powder can improve the physical and chemical properties of the composite film, and the essential oil can effectively improve the water barrier and antibacterial properties of the film. The edible film is used for fresh-keeping packaging of fresh meat, and the result shows that the edible film has good antibacterial and antioxidant effects.

Ternary organic solar cells with double side chain fullerene derivative as guest electron acceptors in PM7:Y6 blend films

In this paper, a fullerene derivative dihydronaphthyl-based C70 bisadduct (NC70BA) was used as a guest acceptor and introduced into PM7:Y6 binary films to fabricate ternary organic solar cells (OSCs). A high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of up to 15.70% was achieved after the addition of NC70BA to PM7:Y6 binary films with an open-circuit voltage (VOC) of 0.870 V, a short-circuit current density (JSC) of 25.35 mA cm−2, and a fill factor (FF) of 71.2%. NC70BA upshifts the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels of the blend acceptor and enlarges the energy bandgap. In addition, the optimized ternary films enhance the short wavelength photon harvesting intensity, improve the exciton dissociation and charge extraction, and improve the surface morphology and crystallinity of the ternary photoactive layer. As a result, the VOC, JSC and FF of the ternary OSCs simultaneously improve compared with those of PM7:Y6 binary OSCs. This study presents an effective method to improve the PCE by adopting a ternary strategy and NC70BA as a guest acceptor.

Structural, optical, and electrical properties via two simple routes for the synthesis of multi-phase potassium antimony oxide thin films

Multi-phase ternary oxide glass thin films of potassium antimony oxide were synthesized via dip coating (DC) and spray pyrolysis (SP) methods. The growth of thin film was conducted on a non-conductive borosilicate glass substrate. Surface morphology was investigated and showed different characteristics. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the peaks corresponded to the monoclinic KSb3O5 and K2Sb4O11 phases. The structural parameter analysis shows that the lower values of micro strain (ε), dislocation density (δ), and stacking fault probability (SF) with higher number (N) of particle in the multi-phase thin film for the spray pyrolysis method confirm slightly larger crystallite size, less crystal imperfection, and less structural disorder. The lower average transmission, absorption, and extinction coefficients resulted to higher refractive index, permittivity, and electrical susceptibility for the sample synthesized by a spray pyrolysis method. In addition, the average energy band gap values (Eg) of 3.57 and 3.60 eV were obtained for the dip coating and spray pyrolysis methods, respectively. However, the lower Rs (14.69 × 107 Ω/sq.) with higher σh (85.09 S/cm) and the FOM(H-HR) (0.183 Ω-1) of the multi-phase K–Sb–O thin film for the dip coating method were obtained may be due to more interconnections generated at the interface and there are less residual on the surface of thin film.

High‐Performance Ternary Semitransparent Polymer Solar Cells with Different Bandgap Third Component as Non‐Fullerene Guest Acceptor

Ternary semitransparent polymer solar cells (ST‐PSCs) have great potential to simultaneously improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and average visible transmittance (AVT). Non‐fullerene acceptor IHIC was synthesized by a simple one‐step process under low cost and had an A‐D‐A structure similar to ITIC and IT‐4F. Ternary device based on PM6:Y6:IHIC (20%) demonstrated higher hole and electron mobility (2.78, 3.12 × 10−4 cm2 V−1 S−1) and more balanced charge transport properties (μe/μh = 1.12) than the host binary device, and the ternary ST‐PSC demonstrated a PCE of 12.18% and AVT of 27.07%. Ternary PSCs with 20% ITIC or IT‐4F also exhibited more balanced μe/μh ratios (1.31 and 0.85), but with slightly enhanced short‐current circuit density (JSC) and reduced AVT (23–24%), mainly owing to unavoidable absorption of third component in the visible region. Our conclusion in this work was that the little A‐D‐A non‐fullerene acceptor could improve ternary blend film morphology and charge transport channels and enhanced JSC and PCE, and PM6:Y6:IHIC (20%) with high AVT over 27% and PCE over 12% was more suitable in ST‐PSCs than PM6:Y6:ITIC/IT‐4F (20%).

Strain Engineering of Energy Storage Performance in Relaxor Ferroelectric Thin Film Capacitors

AbstractDielectric energy storage capacitors are receiving a great deal of attention owing to their high energy density and fast charging–discharging speed. The current energy storage density of dielectrics is relatively low and cannot meet the requirements of miniaturization of pulsed power equipment. Therefore, increasing the energy storage density of dielectrics has become a research hotspot. Herein, using phase‐field simulations to design polymorphic nanodomains, the strain engineering of energy storage performance of binary and ternary solid solution relaxor ferroelectric films is investigated. The results show that the energy storage performance of the ternary film is better than that of the binary film due to the polymorphic nanodomains. In addition, as the film in‐plane strain is modified from −2% to 2%, the energy density is improved by 80%, and the efficiency also increases from 52% to 77%. This work proves the remarkable energy storage performance of polymorphic films and provides a theoretical basis to optimize the energy‐storage performance of ferroelectric thin‐film capacitors by adjusting the misfit strain.

Conquering the morphology barrier of ternary all-polymer solar cells by designing random terpolymer for constructing efficient binary all-polymer solar cells

The ternary strategy based on two electron donors and one electron acceptor can effectively expand the absorption and photovoltaic performance of all-polymer solar cells (all-PSC). However, it is still challenging to realize the ideal morphology of the ternary blend film through reasonable molecular design. To overcome the morphology barrier of ternary all-PSC, here we replaced physical blending of two donors (P1 and P2) by chemical random ternary copolymerization obtaining a terpolymer namely P1-co-25%P2. The binary all-PSCs constructed by integrating P1-co-25%P2 with a polymerized non-fullerene acceptor PYFT exhibited an impressively high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 14.67%, which obviously outperformed those of obtained from ternary all-PSCs based on P1:P2:PYFT. Further morphology characterization of these blend films revealed that the incorporation of the P2 unit in the P1 backbone can optimize the π-π stacking, miscibility and phase separation that beneficial to exciton diffusion and charge transport, illustrating the unparalleled superiority of the random ternary copolymerization strategy compared to the ternary blending strategy.

Automated Instrument for the Deposition of Thin Films Using Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction

The development and improvement of thin film deposition techniques is an important research topic to obtain new materials at submicro and nano scale with high homogeneity and thickness control. Here, we designed and built an automated device for the deposition of binary or ternary compound films using Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR). The instrument is integrated by three different systems. The first system consists of a mobile platform of two degrees of freedom. The second part has an 8-bit microcontroller used to adjust the velocities along the horizontal and vertical axes. The third, the control system, uses a mobile app that can be implemented in smart devices, developed in free code software for programming and monitoring the main deposition parameters of the SILAR device such as the number of cycles, the immersion and emersion velocities, the residence time at each step, and the number of reactors. The performance of our instrument was verified through the deposition of PbS films, varying the number of deposition cycles to study the variations in the film thickness and structure, and assessed by profilometry, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. The system demonstrated is useful to obtain crystalline films with controllable thicknesses.

High-Performance Ternary Perovskite-Organic Solar Cells.

Perovskite solar cells in which 2D perovskites are incorporated within a 3D perovskite network exhibit improved stability with respect to purely 3D systems, but lower record power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). Here, a breakthrough is reported in achieving enhanced PCEs, increased stability, and suppressed photocurrent hysteresis by incorporating n-type, low-optical-gap conjugated organic molecules into 2D:3D mixed perovskite composites. The resulting ternary perovskite-organic composites display extended absorption in the near-infrared region, improved film morphology, enlarged crystallinity, balanced charge transport, efficient photoinduced charge transfer, and suppressed counter-ion movement. As a result, the ternary perovskite-organic solar cells exhibit PCEs over 23%, which are among the best PCEs for perovskite solar cells with p-i-n device structure. Moreover, the ternary perovskite-organic solar cells possess dramatically enhanced stability and diminished photocurrent hysteresis. All these results demonstrate that the strategy of exploiting ternary perovskite-organic composite thin films provides a facile way to realize high-performance perovskite solar cells.

High‐quality ternary relaxor ferroelectric thin films on Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition method

AbstractIn this work, ternary relaxor ferroelectric thin films 0.5mol% Mn‐doped 0.36Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3‐0.36Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3‐0.28PbTiO3 (Mn‐PIMNT) with high Curie point were grown on the Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate with the addition of La0.6Sr0.4CoO3 (LSCO) as a buffer layer. The phase and domain structure, nanoscale piezoelectric response, and macroscopic ferroelectric, dielectric, pyroelectric properties of Mn‐PIMNT thin films were studied. Both the crystalline quality and the crystallographic orientation exhibited strong temperature dependence within the substrate temperature of 450–580°C. Under the optimized temperature of 530°C, the Mn‐PIMNT thin film exhibited excellent global electrical properties with remnant polarization Pr∼35.6 μC/cm2, coercive field Ec∼5.1 kV/mm, dielectric constant ∼3360, and relatively low dielectric loss tanδ∼0.03. It was further found that the pyroelectric coefficient of the Si‐substrated Mn‐PIMNT thin film reached 6.7 × 10−4 C/m2·K. The optimized ferroelectric thin films Mn‐PIMNT on Si substrate with excellent temperature stability show great potential in integrated microelectromechanical systems.