TiN Films Research Articles

Growing MASnI3 perovskite single-crystal films by inverse temperature crystallization

Perovskite single-crystal films are promising candidates for high-performance perovskite optoelectronic devices due to their optoelectrical properties. However, there are few reports of single-crystal films of tin based perovskites. Here, for the first time, we realize the controllable growth and preparation of lead-free tin perovskite MASnI3 single crystals via inverse temperature crystallization (ITC) strategy with γ–butyrolactone (GBL) as solvent. The solubility characteristics of MASnI3 in GBL are clarified by quantitative analytical method. Highly repeatability experiments are further demonstrated using this unique solubility and ITC properties. Sequentially, using space limiting method, tin perovskite MASnI3 single-crystal thin films are fabricated with micron-scale thickness, which is highly desired for efficient tin perovskite solar cells. Our MASnI3 single-crystal thin films show typical single-crystalline features including strongly optical absorbance with sharp absorption edges, pure-phase x-ray diffraction patterns, and absence of Sn(IV) x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We believe that our findings will further broaden the application prospects of tin perovskite MASnI3 single crystals and cause a new upsurge in exploring the field of lead-free perovskite single-crystal growth.

Friction reduction mechanisms of TiN film sliding in graphene aqueous dispersion

AbstractThe lamellar structure and weak interlayer shear force of graphene endow itself potential application value in lubrication fields, while its lubrication performance has been vastly investigated in various fields. However, there are few studies on the composite tribological performance of graphene and ceramic films. In this study, a solid–liquid lubricating system which TiN film slides in graphene aqueous dispersion is developed, aiming to achieve low friction of the TiN ceramic film in macroscale contact. Two kinds of TiN films were obtained by multi‐arc ion plating and magnetron sputtering respectively. The tribological test show that the friction coefficient of the TiN film drops when adding graphene aqueous dispersion and varies with the concentrations of graphene. The results indicate that the graphene might act in two ways to achieve low friction of TiN film, which are liquid lubricating effect of solvents and the formation of smooth sliding interface promoted by graphene.

Influence of thickness on the resistivity and infrared emissivity of TiN films

Influence of thickness on the resistivity and infrared emissivity of TiN films

Effects of Fluid Aging and Reservoir Temperature on Waterflooding in 2.5D Glass Micromodels

To study improved oil recovery (IOR) via laboratory experiments at the pore scale, we performed waterflooding experiments in a glass 2.5D micromodel (dual depth: 12 and 27 μm) with crude oil (CRO) and brines of variable compositions at temperatures ranging from 22 °C (room temperature) to 90 °C. The time-dependent residual oil saturation (ROS) for various flooding and aging protocols was extracted from optical microscopy images of the entire pore space in the micromodel. Additionally, we used high-resolution images to examine the microscopic distributions of oil and brine at the subpore level. Variation of the fluid aging history (before the first flooding with high-salinity water, HSW) revealed that sequential aging with formation water and CRO led to significantly higher ROS values than aging with CRO only. Video analysis of the pore space showed that most of the oil was trapped via a complete bypassing of the deep pores. On increasing the waterflooding temperature, both the ROS and the fraction of bypassed pores became smaller. An increase in dewetting of tiny oil drops and films from the pore walls supports the notion of a ROS decrease via a wettability alteration. Subsequent flooding with low-salinity water (LSW) did not lead to recovery of additional oil, regardless of aging condition or temperature. Our results show the significance of fluid aging and temperature to design a successful microfluidic IOR strategy.

Study on capacitance properties of the sputtered carbon doped titanium nitride electrode material for supercapacitor

Titanium nitride doped with carbon film (TiN/C) is designed as the electrode for supercapacitor since the titanium nitride has the pseudocapacitive nature. In this paper, the TiN/C films without any binder are prepared by using magnetron co-sputtering method. The surface of C doped TiN film changes into pyramid shape, which increases the porosity and surface roughness of the film, and enhances the formation of surface pseudocapacitive material TiOxNy, which promotes the super capacitive properties of TiN/C electrode. The TiN film electrode with ∼5.33 at.% doped C displays an outstanding capacitance performance with the maximum areal capacitance of 45.81 mF cm−2. It is 3 times that of the un-doped TiN (16.25 mF cm−2) at a scan rate of 10 mV s−1 in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution. It exhibits excellent electrochemical cycling stability and excellent reversibility with a decay rate of 3.72% after 5000 cycles. In addition, the TiN/C-2 electrode has the great capacitance performance and the large capacitance contribution with the value of 85%. The incorporation of C element to the transition metal nitride could be a feasible method to improve the capacitance performance of transition metal nitride electrode.

Low temperature deposition with inductively coupled plasma

Abstract The processing temperature of chemical and physical vapor deposition could be successfully lowered by applying inductively coupled plasma without deteriorating the film quality. Despite the low process temperature, the deposition rate was higher than that observed in conventional deposition processes, and the impurity content could be kept low. Some examples of inductively coupled plasma applicationse. g. TiB2, TiN, TiO2, and SnO2 films are shown.

Effect of oxidation behavior on visible–infrared property of TiN films

Effect of oxidation behavior on visible–infrared property of TiN films

Enhanced Conductivity and Microstructure in Highly Textured TiN1-x /c-Al2O3 Thin Films.

Titanium nitride thin films are used as an electrode material in superconducting (SC) applications and in oxide electronics. By controlling the defect density in the TiN thin film, the electrical properties of the film can achieve low resistivities and a high critical temperature (Tc) close to bulk values. Generally, low defect densities are achieved by stoichiometric growth and a low grain boundary density. Due to the low lattice mismatch of 0.7%, the best performing TiN layers are grown epitaxially on MgO substrates. Here, we report for the first time a Tc of 4.9 K for ultrathin (23 nm), highly textured (111), and stoichiometric TiN films grown on 8.75% lattice mismatch c-cut Al2O3 (sapphire) substrates. We demonstrate that with the increasing nitrogen deficiency, the (111) lattice constant increases, which is accompanied by a decrease in Tc. For highly N deficient TiN thin films, no superconductivity could be observed. In addition, a dissociation of grain boundaries (GBs) by the emission of stacking faults could be observed, indicating a combination of two sources for electron scattering defects in the system: (a) volume defects created by nitrogen deficiency and (b) defects created by the presence of GBs. For all samples, the average grain boundary distance is kept constant by a miscut of the c-cut sapphire substrate, which allows us to distinguish the effect of nitrogen deficiency and grain boundary density. These properties and surface roughness govern the electrical performance of the films and influence the compatibility as an electrode material in the respective application. This study aims to provide detailed and scale-bridging insights into the structural and microstructural response to nitrogen deficiency in the c-Al2O3/TiN system, as it is a promising candidate for applications in state-of-the-art systems such as oxide electronic thin film stacks or SC applications.

Tribochemistry of Tin Films Sliding Against Ceramic Counterparts In Vacuum Condition and N2 Atmosphere

Tribochemistry of Tin Films Sliding Against Ceramic Counterparts In Vacuum Condition and N2 Atmosphere

Electrochemical Fabrication of Tin Films on Different Substrates in a Choline Chloride–Ethylene Glycol Deep Eutectic Solvent Containing Boric Acid

Electrochemical Fabrication of Tin Films on Different Substrates in a Choline Chloride–Ethylene Glycol Deep Eutectic Solvent Containing Boric Acid

Effect of Target Power Ratio on Microstructure and Deposition Rate of Tin Film Deposited by Dual Pulse Power Magnetron Sputtering

Effect of Target Power Ratio on Microstructure and Deposition Rate of Tin Film Deposited by Dual Pulse Power Magnetron Sputtering

Neuronal and glial cell co-culture organization and impedance spectroscopy on nanocolumnar TiN films for lab-on-a-chip devices.

Lab-on-a-chip devices, such as multielectrode arrays (MEAs), offer great advantages to study function and behavior of biological cells, such as neurons, outside the complex tissue structure. Nevertheless, in vitro systems can only succeed if they represent realistic conditions such as cell organization as similarly found in tissues. In our study, we employ a co-culture system of neuron-like (SH-SY5Y) and glial-like (U-87 MG) cells with various neuron-glial ratios to model different brain regions with different cellular compositions in vitro. We find that cell behavior in terms of cellular organization, as well as proliferation, depends on neuron-glial cell ratio, as well as the underlying substrate material. In fact, nanocolumnar titanium nitride (TiN nano), which exhibits improved electric properties for neural recording on MEA, shows improved biocompatible features compared to indium tin oxide (ITO). Moreover, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy experiments allow us to monitor cellular processes label-free in real-time over several days with multielectrode arrays. Additionally, electrochemical impedance experiments reveal superiority of TiN with nanocolumnar surface modification in comparison with ITO. TiN nano exhibits enhanced relative cell signals and improved signal-to-noise ratio, especially for smaller electrode sizes, which makes nanocolumnar TiN a promising candidate for research on neural recording and stimulation.

Study on TiN film growth mechanism using spectroscopic ellipsometry

Study on TiN film growth mechanism using spectroscopic ellipsometry

Structure and properties of Ta doped TiN films prepared using different sputtering powers for Ta target

Ta doped TiN films were prepared on glass substrates by DC magnetron co-sputtering. The structure and properties of the obtained (Ti,Ta)N film were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared spectrophotometer and four probes method. The results show that with the increase of the sputtering power (PTa) for Ta target, the amount of Ta added to TiN lattice increases, resulting in a slight distortion of TiN lattice and stress transformation in the film. Correspondingly, the optical and electrical properties of the film changed. Raman spectrum was deconvoluted into five Lorentz peaks in the range of 50-1400 cm?1 and a new Raman peak appeared in all samples due to the substitution of Ta for Ti. The analysis of deconvolution results shows that the peak positions of different phonon modes and FWHM change, which may be related to the change of stress in the thin films caused by adding Ta to TiN lattice. The sample prepared with power of 50W has the maximum infrared emissivity of 1.35 and 0.43 at 2.5 and 25 ?m wavelengths, respectively, indicating that (Ti,Ta)N film is promising candidate for replacing TiN in Low-E glass.

Study on the Crystallinity and Oxidation States of Nanoporous Anodized Tin Oxide Films Regulated by Annealing Treatment for Supercapacitor Application

In this study, electrodeposition combined with anodization was employed to prepare a nanoporous tin oxide film on a pure copper substrate. It was found that annealing temperature played a critically significant role in regulating the crystallinity, pore size, and contents of different oxidation states of the anodized tin oxide film to affect the electrochemical performance. The study verified that SnOx films treated by optimized annealing at 500 °C with precisely controlling the nanoporous morphology and crystallinity displayed competitive specific capacitance at an appropriate ratio of Sn4+ to Sn2+. A maximum specific capacitance of 86.2 mF/cm2 could be achieved at this temperature, and the capacitance retention rate still exceeded 90% even after 8000 charge-discharge cycles. With properly designed annealing treatment, we implemented tin film anodization to obtain an optimized electrode with significantly enhanced electrochemical performance, which shows a promising application in the electrochemical field to prepare electrodes.

The performance of a perovskite-silicon tandem photovoltaic device coupled with the infrared-enhanced response titanium subnitride film

Two kinds of carrier’s passivating contact capping stacks have been fostered for an asymmetric silicon based solar cell, in which ITO/a-SiOx(In) is for hole selection and possesses graded distribution of In, Si, O elements as well as intrinsic- and p-type ultrathin SiOx(In) layer trait, while the SiOx-TiNy layer on rear of n-Si absorber is for electron selection and behaves as a degenerated material with higher electron concentration (1023-1024 /cm3). By using Hall effect, X-ray photoemission and minority carrier lifetime measurements and simulation analyses with AFORS-HET software of TiNy films and ITO/a-SiOx(In)/n-Si/SiOx-TiNy device, respectively, it is found that the performance of the device is strongly correlated to the N deficiency of TiNy film, in addition the simulation results demonstrate that the reduced density of interface state (Dit(E)) and the enhanced near-infrared response (EQE) lead to an increase of open-circuit voltage from 578.6 to 744.1 mV, and power conversion efficiency (PCE) has increased by 30.65%, compared with the prototype of semiconductor-quasi-insulator-semiconductor device (SQIS). Moreover, a monolithic tandem device by n-i-p type perovskite cell tunnel-connected to the modified SQIS cell has achieved a PCE of 31.39%, which is predicted through an available estimation under the maximum values of the Jsc, Voc and pFF.

Effects of deposition temperature on structure, residual stress and corrosion behavior of Cr/TiN/Ti/TiN films

Composite TiN film was prepared on AZ31 at four sets of different deposition temperatures. X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescent were employed to determine the structure, residual stress, thickness and chemical elements. A scratch tester with Rockwell C diamond styli and electrochemical workstation were used to evaluate the adhesion and corrosion behavior of the obtained film. The effects of deposition temperature on structure, residual stress, adhesion, thickness and corrosion behavior were investigated as well. The results show that the films are composed of TiN with (111), (200) and (222) planes, Ti with (002) plane, and Cr (110) plane. The maximum residual compressive stress is about 413.4 MPa, and the elements distribution is not uniform when the film deposited at 150 °C. With the increase of deposition temperature, the grain size and crystallinity increase, the thickness decreases, the residual stress decreases first and then increases, the film becomes more compact and has better corrosion resistance. However, when the deposition temperature is greater than 250 °C, the surface roughness and the thermal stress begin to increase, the bonding performance and the corrosion resistance also decrease.

Construction and Characterization of TiN/Si3N4 Composite Insulation Layer in TiN/Si3N4/Ni80Cr20 Thin Film Cutting Force Sensor.

The measurement of cutting force is an effective method for machining condition monitoring in intelligent manufacturing. Titanium nitride films and silicon nitride films were prepared on 304 stainless steel substrates by DC-reactive magnetron sputtering and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The effects of substrate negative bias and nitrogen flow on the surface microstructures of TiN film were investigated. The smoothness of the film is optimal when the bias voltage is −60 V. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was performed on the samples with the optimal smoothness, and it was found that when the nitrogen flow rate was higher than 2 sccm, the titanium nitride film had a mixed phase of TiN(111) and (200). It is further revealed that the change of peak intensity of TiN(200) can be enhanced by nitrogen flow. Through atomic force microscopy (AFM), it is found that the stronger the intensity of the TiN (200) peak, the smoother the surface of the film is. Finally, the effect of different film thicknesses on the hardness and toughness of the TiN/Si3N4 film system was studied by nanoindentation experiments. The nanohardness (H) of the TiN/Si3N4 film can reach 39.2 GPa, the elastic modulus (E) is 480.4 GPa, the optimal toughness value (H3/E2) is 0.261 GPa, and the sample has good insulation performance. Linear fitting of the film’s toughness to nanohardness shows that TiN/Si3N4 films with higher hardness usually have a higher H3/E2 ratio.

Obliquely Bideposited TiN Thin Film with Morphology-Dependent Optical Properties

TiN thin films were obliquely bideposited with different subdeposit thicknesses. The morphology of the bideposited film was varied from a nano-zigzag array to a vertically grown columnar structure by reducing the subdeposit thickness. The principal index of refraction and extinction coefficient were obtained to explain the measured reflectance and transmittance spectra. The loss of the bideposited thin film decreased as the thickness of the subdeposit decreased. The principal indices for normal incidence were near or under unity, indicating the low reflection by the bideposited thin films. A TiN film with a subdeposit thickness of 3 nm demonstrated an average index of refraction of 0.83 and extinction coefficient of below 0.2 for visible wavelengths. The retrieved principal refractive indexes explained the anisotropic transmission and reflection. For most normal incident cases, the analysis offers the tunable anisotropic property of a TiN nanostructured film for multilayer design in the future.

2D numerical simulations of liquid tin film flows with heat flux on free surface under a perpendicular magnetic field

2D numerical simulations of liquid tin film flows with heat flux on free surface under a perpendicular magnetic field