Transport Properties Of Thin Films Research Articles

Effect of the annealing treatment on structural and transport properties of thermoelectric Sm y (Fe x Ni1−x )4Sb12 thin films

The crystallographic and transport properties of thin films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition and belonging to the Sm y (Fe x Ni1-x )4Sb12 filled skutterudite system were studied with the aim to unveil the effect exerted by temperature and duration of thermal treatments on structural and thermoelectric features. The importance of annealing treatments in Ar atmosphere up to 523 K was recognized, and the thermal treatment performed at 473 K for 3 h was selected as the most effective in improving the material properties. With respect to the corresponding bulk compositions, a significant enhancement in phase purity, as well as an increase in electrical conductivity and a drop in room temperature thermal conductivity, were observed in annealed films. The low thermal conductivity, in particular, can be deemed as deriving from the reduced dimensionality and the consequent substrate/film interfacial stress, coupled with the nanometric grain size.

Relationship between electrical and optical characterization of Ga-doped ZnO thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering

Introduction: Transparent conducting films have received much attention in energy conversion applications. To replace high-cost indium-tin-oxide (ITO), Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) film is considered due to its high conductivity, good transparency, low cost, and low toxicity. Methods: GZO and pure ZnO films were deposited on glass substrates by dc magnetron sputtering. The crystalline structure of the samples was verified by using X-ray diffraction. In particular, the relationship between the electrical and optical characterization of the GZO film was investigated through the plasma wavelength obtained from transmittance and reflectance spectra. Meanwhile, carrier transport was directly confirmed by Hall effect-based measurements. Results: The GZO film shows a hexagonal wurtzite structure, with successful incorporation of Ga into the ZnO lattice. Ga doping increases the carrier concentration, leading to a decrease in the resistivity of the film. This study also discusses the correlation of carrier transport obtained from Hall effect-based measurements and optical spectroscopies. Here, we extracted the optical carrier concentration and optical mobility from the plasma wavelength and compared them with the Hall data. Conclusion: The dependence of carrier transport on ionized impurity scattering can be pointed out. It proposes an effective way to qualitatively predict the electrical characteristics and transport properties of thin films via optical transmittance and reflectance analysis.

Molecular study on anisotropic thermal conductivity of nanoscale liquid argon films with different configurations

The thermodynamic and transport properties of thin films may be substantially divergent from their bulk materials. This is especially distinguished for nanoscale liquid films, as demonstrated by prior work about the specific heat capacity of nanoscale water films. Furthermore, the forms of thin liquid films, either freestanding, sessile or confined, also exhibit apparent impact on the properties. In this investigation, the influence of size and solid/liquid interface on the thermal conductivities of nanoscale liquid argon films with these different forms is studied by employing the molecular dynamics method. The results show that the anisotropy of the thermal conductivity is closely related to the configuration, but weakened while the film thickness increases. The relationships between the anisotropic thermal conductivities and the thin film size are revealed by considering the contribution of a solid/liquid interface to the thermal conductivity. The reason is analyzed in the aspect of size and interface by comparison of the densities, potential energy distributions, and vibrational densities of state of argon atoms, which show asymmetry in the directions parallel and perpendicular to the sessile film. Thus, insight is provided into the interface effect on the anisotropic thermal conductivity of nanoscale liquid argon films with different forms which can be found in many applications including interface separation, evaporation, and distillation.

Antiferromagnetic Oxide Thin Films for Spintronic Applications

Antiferromagnetic oxides have recently gained much attention because of the possibility to manipulate electrically and optically the Néel vectors in these materials. Their ultrafast spin dynamics, long spin diffusion length and immunity to large magnetic fields make them attractive candidates for spintronic applications. Additionally, there have been many studies on spin wave and magnon transport in single crystals of these oxides. However, the successful applications of the antiferromagnetic oxides will require similar spin transport properties in thin films. In this work, we systematically show the sputtering deposition method for two uniaxial antiferromagnetic oxides, namely Cr2O3 and α-Fe2O3, on A-plane sapphire substrates, and identify the optimized deposition conditions for epitaxial films with low surface roughness. We also confirm the antiferromagnetic properties of the thin films. The deposition method developed in this article will be important for studying the magnon transport in these epitaxial antiferromagnetic thin films.

Photoacoustic thermal characterization of low thermal diffusivity thin films

The photoacoustic measurement technique is a powerful yet underrepresented method to characterize the thermal transport properties of thin films. For the case of isotropic low thermal diffusivity samples, such as glasses or polymers, we demonstrate a general approach to extract the thermal conductivity with a high degree of significance. We discuss in particular the influence of thermal effusivity, thermal diffusivity, and sample layer thickness on the significance and accuracy of this measurement technique. These fundamental thermal properties guide sample and substrate selection to allow for a feasible thermal transport characterization. Furthermore, our data evaluation allows us to directly extract the thermal conductivity from this transient technique, without separate determination of the volumetric heat capacity, when appropriate boundary conditions are fulfilled. Using silica, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) thin films, and various substrates (quartz, steel, and silicon), we verify the quantitative correctness of our analytical approach.

Kinetics of the thermal reduction process in graphene oxide thin films from in-situ transport measurements

We investigate the influence of the thermal annealing process on the transport properties of thin films made of graphene oxide. Specially developed methodology allows us to demonstrate that the thermal annealing process of graphene oxide thin films can be described as a kinetic process with one activation energy, which equals 0.94 eV ± 0.12 eV. Moreover, we show that the electrical transport mechanism evolves with the annealing temperature (reduction level) of GO thin films. We have noticed that the Variable Range Hopping transport model change from 3D, 2D to Efros-Shklvoskii with a reduction level. Our findings contribute to further understanding of the role of kinetics in thermal reduction processes of thin films made of graphene oxide and could be useful in applications in which electrical parameters need to be tuned.

S-Rich PbS Quantum Dots: A Promising p-Type Material for Optoelectronic Devices

PbS colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are versatile building blocks for bottom-up fabrication of various optoelectronic devices. The transport properties of thin films of this class of materials depend...

Molecular beam epitaxy of the magnetic Kagome metal FeSn on LaAlO3 (111)

Materials with Kagome layers are expected to give rise to rich physics arising from band structures with topological properties, spin liquid behavior, and the formation of Skyrmions. Until now, most work on Kagome materials has been performed on bulk samples due to difficulties in thin film synthesis. Here, by using molecular beam epitaxy, layered Kagome-structured FeSn films are synthesized on the (111) oriented LaAlO3 substrate. Both in situ and ex situ characterizations indicate that these films are highly crystalline and c-axis oriented, with atomically smooth surfaces. The films grow as disconnected islands, with lateral dimensions on the micron meter scale. By patterning Pt electrodes using a focused electron beam, the longitudinal and transverse resistance of single islands have been measured in magnetic fields. Our work opens a pathway for exploring mesoscale transport properties in thin films of Kagome materials and related devices.

Electronic transport in thin films of BaPbO3 : Unraveling two-dimensional quantum effects

Recently, perovskite related BaPbO$_3$ has attracted attention due to its hidden topological properties and, moreover, has been used as a thin layer in heterostructures to induce two-dimensional superconductivity. Here we investigate the normal state electronic transport properties of thin films of BaPbO$_3$. Temperature and magnetic field dependent sheet resistances are strongly affected by two-dimensional quantum effects. Our analysis decodes the interplay of spin--orbit coupling, disorder, and electron--electron interaction in this compound. Similar to recently discussed topological materials, we find that weak antilocalization is the dominant protagonist in magnetotransport, whereas electron--electron interactions play a pronounced role in the temperature dependence. A systematic understanding of these quantum effects is essential to allow for an accurate control of properties not only of thin films of BaPbO$_3$, but also of topological heterostructures.

Transport Properties and Finite Size Effects in \u03b2-Ga2O3 Thin Films

Thin films of the wide band gap semiconductor β-Ga2O3 have a high potential for applications in transparent electronics and high power devices. However, the role of interfaces remains to be explored. Here, we report on fundamental limits of transport properties in thin films. The conductivities, Hall densities and mobilities in thin homoepitaxially MOVPE grown (100)-orientated β-Ga2O3 films were measured as a function of temperature and film thickness. At room temperature, the electron mobilities ((115 ± 10) cm2/Vs) in thicker films (>150 nm) are comparable to the best of bulk. However, the mobility is strongly reduced by more than two orders of magnitude with decreasing film thickness ((5.5 ± 0.5) cm2/Vs for a 28 nm thin film). We find that the commonly applied classical Fuchs-Sondheimer model does not explain sufficiently the contribution of electron scattering at the film surfaces. Instead, by applying an electron wave model by Bergmann, a contribution to the mobility suppression due to the large de Broglie wavelength in β-Ga2O3 is proposed as a limiting quantum mechanical size effect.

A Coupled Thermodynamic Model for Transport Properties of Thin Films during Physical Aging.

A coupled diffusion model based on continuum thermodynamics is developed to quantitatively describe the transport properties of glassy thin films during physical aging. The coupled field equations are then embodied and applied to simulate the transport behaviors of O2 and CO2 within aging polymeric membranes to validate the model and demonstrate the coupling phenomenon, respectively. It is found that due to the introduction of the concentration gradient, the proposed direct calculating method on permeability can produce relatively better consistency with the experimental results for various film thicknesses. In addition, by assuming that the free volume induced by lattice contraction is renewed upon CO2 exposure, the experimental permeability of O2 within Matrimid® thin film after short-time exposure to CO2 is well reproduced in this work. Remarkably, with the help of the validated straightforward permeability calculation method and free volume recovery mechanism, the permeability behavior of CO2 is also well elucidated, with the results implying that the transport process of CO2 and the variation of free volume are strongly coupled.

Preparation of thulium iron garnet ceramics and investigation of spin transport properties in thin films

Compensated ferrimagnetic thulium iron garnet ceramics were prepared by the sol-gel method, which is significantly better than conventional solid-state reactions. Saturation magnetization yielded a maximum of 16.7 emu/g for specimens sintered at 900 °C. Subsequently, using the TmIG bulk as the target, an epitaxial film was grown by pulsed laser deposition. Furthermore, the spin transport properties of film with an attached 5 nm-thick platinum layer were studied in terms of longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) and spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR). The LSSE coefficient was as high as 0.38 μV/K and the SMR was 0.0072%. These results indicated that the bulk material and thin film presented excellent qualities, which are extremely important for the fundamental investigation of novel spin transport behaviour in compensated ferrimagnetic insulators. These results also provide more alternatives for spintronic materials.

Thin-Film Thermal Conductivity Measurements Using Superconducting Nanowires

We present a simple experimental scheme for estimating the cryogenic thermal transport properties of thin films using superconducting nanowires. In a parallel array of nanowires, the heat from one nanowire in the normal state changes the local temperature around adjacent nanowires, reducing their switching current. Calibration of this change in switching current as a function of bath temperature provides an estimate of the temperature as a function of displacement from the heater. This provides a method of determining the contribution of substrate heat transport to the cooling time of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors. Understanding this process is necessary for successful electrothermal modeling of superconducting nanowire systems.

Mesoscale simulations of confined Nafion thin films.

The morphology and transport properties of thin films of the ionomer Nafion, with thicknesses on the order of the bulk cluster size, have been investigated as a model system to explain the anomalous behaviour of catalyst/electrode-polymer interfaces in membrane electrode assemblies. We have employed dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) to investigate the interaction of water and fluorocarbon chains, with carbon and quartz as confining materials, for a wide range of operational water contents and film thicknesses. We found confinement-induced clustering of water perpendicular to the thin film. Hydrophobic carbon forms a water depletion zone near the film interface, whereas hydrophilic quartz results in a zone with excess water. There are, on average, oscillating water-rich and fluorocarbon-rich regions, in agreement with experimental results from neutron reflectometry. Water diffusivity shows increasing directional anisotropy of up to 30% with decreasing film thickness, depending on the hydrophilicity of the confining material. A percolation analysis revealed significant differences in water clustering and connectivity with the confining material. These findings indicate the fundamentally different nature of ionomer thin films, compared to membranes, and suggest explanations for increased ionic resistances observed in the catalyst layer.

Strain fields and electronic structure of antiferromagnetic CrN

We present a theoretical analysis of the role that strain plays on the electronic structure of chromium nitride crystals. We use LSDA+U calculations to study the elastic constants, deforma- tion potentials and strain dependence of electron and hole masses near the fundamental gap. We consider the lowest energy antiferromagnetic models believed to describe CrN at low temperatures, and apply strain along different directions. We find relatively large deformation potentials for all models, and find increasing gaps for tensile strain along most directions. Most interestingly, we find that compressive strains should be able to close the relatively small indirect gap (' 100 meV) at moderate amplitudes ' 1.3%. We also find large and anisotropic changes in the effective masses with strain, with principal axes closely related to the magnetic ordering of neighboring layers in the antiferromagnet. It would be interesting to consider the role that these effects may have on typical film growth on different substrates, and the possibility of monitoring optical and transport properties of thin films as strain is applied.

QM/MM calculations combined with the dimer approach on the static disorder at organic‐organic interfaces of thin‐film organic solar cells composed of small molecules

AbstractA QM/MM approach using ωB97X‐D combined with AMOEBA calculations was used to analyze the energetic disorder in the vicinity of interfaces in amorphous organic heterostructures. Distributions of ground‐, excited‐, and cationic‐state energies as well as of ionization potentials and excitation energies, all being relevant quantities for the transport properties of thin films, were calculated. As already found for bulk amorphous organic semiconductors, local densities of states at molecular interfaces possess Gaussian‐shaped profiles with a significant amount of disorder. Assuming a disorder‐limited activation of exciton and charge transport, a decrease in the amount of disorder could improve the transport properties. Relating calculated disorders to molecular parameters revealed that in line with the Bässler model, especially the molecular polarity, its change upon electronic excitation, and the molecular polarizability are relevant quantities leading to energetically largely disordered films. Moreover, because of the different mechanisms of exciton and polaron delocalization, a given morphology with disordered charge‐transport levels gives not necessarily rise to disordered exciton‐transport levels and vice versa.

Structural and electrical transport properties of La2Mo2O9 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

We have studied the structure and electrical properties of La2Mo2O9 thin films of different thicknesses prepared by the laser deposition technique at different substrate temperatures. The structural properties of the thin films have been investigated using XRD, XPS, AFM, TEM, SEM, and Raman spectroscopy. The electrical transport properties of the thin films have been investigated in wide temperature and frequency ranges. The cubic nature of the thin films has been confirmed from structural analysis. An enhancement of the oxygen ion conductivity of the films up to five orders of magnitude is obtained compared to that of the bulk La2Mo2O9, suggesting usefulness of the thin films as electrolytes in micro-solid oxide fuel cells. The enhanced dc ionic conductivity of the thin films has been interpreted using the rule of the mixture model, while a power law model has been used to investigate the frequency and temperature dependences of the conductivity. The analysis of the results predicts the three-dimensional oxygen ion conduction in the thin films.

Electrical Transport Properties of Thin Film Composed of a-ZnO Nanorods

Electrical Transport Properties of Thin Film Composed of a-ZnO Nanorods

On the emergence of structure and transport properties in (Al50Mn50)100 −xCux

In this contribution we report on emerging structure and transport properties of thin films of (Al50Mn50)100−xCux, evaporated at low temperature. Their structures have been investigated by electron diffraction, their transport properties and thermal stability by resistivity measurements, showing global resonance effects between two global subsystems, as there is the Fermi gas as one and the forming static structure of the remaining ions as the other one. The global resonances are self-organizing by the exchange of characteristic momentum, trigger density anomalies and hybridization effects, both reported in this contribution. We show strong indications for a combined action of density and an effective-valence anomalies, to keep the peak position on a resonance-preferred position in reciprocal space. In real space it causes the spherical structural periodicity of nearest-neighbor shells at medium-range distances. The spherical-periodic atomic order of an amorphous phase is analog to planar order in a crystal. The characteristic atomic distances between nearest neighbor shells are determined by the Friedel wavelength, half of the Fermi wavelength, indicating resonance effects. They influence all the properties including phase stability and electronic transport. The electronic transport properties and thermal stability data strongly correlate with the structural determination under global resonances.

Charge transport and contact resistance in coplanar devices based on colloidal polyaniline dispersion

ABSTRACTThe charge transport properties of thin films prepared from colloidal dispersion of polyaniline stabilized by poly(N‐vinylpyrrolidone) (PANI/PVP) have been investigated. The electrical characterization of coplanar device comprising of gold electrodes and PANI/PVP film deposited by spin coating served to gain insights into the contact and bulk resistance. The films prepared from PANI/PVP colloidal dispersion show high stability over a large temperature range. Temperature dependent measurements in the range from 90 to 350 K reveal that the charge transport can be described by a three‐dimensional variable‐range hopping mechanism as the dominant mode in the films. The stability of the films cast from dispersion within a large temperature range opens the possibility of the application as a polymer semiconductor layer in sensors and charge‐transport interlayer in organic solar cells. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016, 54, 1710–1716