Abstract: Ultrathin crystals of the layered transition-metal dichalcogenide MoS2 (semiconducting) and TaS2 (metallic) were obtained by mechanical peeling or chemical exfoliation techniques and electrically contacted using electron-beam lithography. The MoS2 devices showed high field-effect mobility in the tens of cm2∕Vs and an on/off ratio higher than 105. The TaS2 devices remained metallic despite the fabrication process and showed an enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature and disappearance of the charge density wave phase anomaly at low temperature.

Abstract: Chalcogenide materials are receiving increasing interest for their many applications as active materials in emerging memories, such as phase-change memories, programmable metallization cells, and cross-point devices. The great advantage of these materials is the capability to appear in two different phases, the amorphous and the crystalline phases, with rather different electrical properties. The aim of this work is to provide a physically based model for conduction in the amorphous chalcogenide material, able to predict the current-voltage (I−V) characteristics as a function of phase state, temperature, and cell geometry. First, the trap-limited transport at relatively low currents (subthreshold regime) is studied, leading to a comprehensive model for subthreshold conduction accounting for (a) the shape of the I−V characteristics, (b) the measured temperature dependence, (c) the dependence of subthreshold slope on the thickness of the amorphous phase, and (d) the voltage dependence of the activation ener...

Abstract: A detailed theoretical picture is given for the physics of strain effects in bulk semiconductors and surface Si, Ge, and III–V channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors. For the technologically important in-plane biaxial and longitudinal uniaxial stress, changes in energy band splitting and warping, effective mass, and scattering are investigated by symmetry, tight-binding, and k⋅p methods. The results show both types of stress split the Si conduction band while only longitudinal uniaxial stress along ⟨110⟩ splits the Ge conduction band. The longitudinal uniaxial stress warps the conduction band in all semiconductors. The physics of the strain altered valence bands for Si, Ge, and III–V semiconductors are shown to be similar although the strain enhancement of hole mobility is largest for longitudinal uniaxial compression in ⟨110⟩ channel devices and channel materials with substantial differences between heavy and light hole masses such as Ge and GaAs. Furthermore, for all these materials,...

Abstract: When collimated beams of low energy ions are used to bombard materials, the surface often develops a periodic pattern or “ripple” structure. Different types of patterns are observed to develop under different conditions, with characteristic features that depend on the substrate material, the ion beam parameters, and the processing conditions. Because the patterns develop spontaneously, without applying any external mask or template, their formation is the expression of a dynamic balance among fundamental surface kinetic processes, e.g., erosion of material from the surface, ion-induced defect creation, and defect-mediated evolution of the surface morphology. In recent years, a comprehensive picture of the different kinetic mechanisms that control the different types of patterns that form has begun to emerge. In this article, we provide a review of different mechanisms that have been proposed and how they fit together in terms of the kinetic regimes in which they dominate. These are grouped into regions of behavior dominated by the directionality of the ion beam, the crystallinity of the surface, the barriers to surface roughening, and nonlinear effects. In sections devoted to each type of behavior, we relate experimental observations of patterning in these regimes to predictions of continuum models and to computer simulations. A comparison between theory and experiment is used to highlight strengths and weaknesses in our understanding. We also discuss the patterning behavior that falls outside the scope of the current understanding and opportunities for advancement.

Abstract: Carbonaceous purity assessment for chemical vapor deposition multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) using Raman spectroscopy was investigated Raman spectroscopy was performed on a reference sample set containing predetermined ratios of MWNTs and representative synthesis by-products Changes in the characteristic Raman peak ratios (ie, ID∕IG, IG′∕IG, and IG′∕ID) as a function of MWNT content were measured Calibration curves were generated from the reference samples and used to evaluate MWNTs synthesized under different conditions with varying purity The efficacy of using Raman spectroscopy in conjunction with thermogravimetric analysis for quantitative MWNT purity assessment is discussed

Abstract: Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films have been prepared by mist chemical vapor deposition and magnetron sputtering. The band gap shift as a function of carrier concentration in n-type zinc oxide (ZnO) was systematically studied considering the available theoretical models. The shift in energy gap, evaluated from optical absorption spectra, did not depend on sample preparations; it was mainly related to the carrier concentrations and so intrinsic to AZO. The optical gap increased with the electron concentration approximately as ne2∕3 for ne≤4.2×1019 cm−3, which could be fully interpreted by a modified Burstein–Moss (BM) shift with the nonparabolicity of the conduction band. A sudden decrease in energy gap occurred at 5.4−8.4×1019 cm−3, consistent with the Mott criterion for a semiconductor-metal transition. Above the critical values, the band gap increased again at a different rate, which was presumably due to the competing BM band-filling and band gap renormalization effects, the former inducing a band gap widen...

Abstract: We study the dynamic ac conductivity of a nonequilibrium two-dimensional electron-hole system in optically pumped graphene. Considering the contribution of both interband and intraband transitions, we demonstrate that at sufficiently strong pumping the population inversion in graphene can lead to the negative net ac conductivity in the terahertz range of frequencies. This effect might be used in graphene-based coherent sources of terahertz radiation.

Abstract: In this paper, we performed a detailed study of the formation of femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSSs) on platinum and gold at near-damage threshold fluences. We find a unique type of LIPSS entirely covered with nanostructures. A distinctive feature of the nanostructure-covered LIPSS is that its period is appreciably less than that of the regular LIPSS. We show that the reduced period is caused by an increase of the real part of the effective refractive index of the air-metal interface when nanostructures develop and affect the propagation of surface plasmons.

Abstract: We analyze transport in metallic single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) on insulating substrates over the bias range up to electrical breakdown in air. To account for Joule self-heating, a temperature-dependent Landauer model for electrical transport is coupled with the heat conduction equation along the nanotube. The electrical breakdown voltage of SWCNTs in air is found to scale linearly with their length, approximately as 5V∕μm; we use this to deduce a thermal conductance between SWCNT and substrate g≈0.17±0.03WK−1m−1 per tube length, which appears limited by the SWCNT-substrate interface rather than the thermal properties of the substrate itself. We examine the phonon scattering mechanisms that limit electron transport, and find the strong temperature dependence of the optical phonon absorption rate to have a remarkable influence on the electrical resistance of micron-length nanotubes. Further analysis reveals that unlike in typical metals, electrons are responsible for less than 15% of the total therm...

Abstract: The commonly used current-voltage characteristics are found inadequate for describing the pulsed nature of the high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) discharge; rather, the description needs to be expanded to current-voltage-time characteristics for each initial gas pressure. Using different target materials (Cu, Ti, Nb, C, W, Al, and Cr) and a pulsed constant-voltage supply, it is shown that the HIPIMS discharges typically exhibit an initial pressure dependent current peak followed by a second phase that is power and material dependent. This suggests that the initial phase of a HIPIMS discharge pulse is dominated by gas ions, whereas the later phase has a strong contribution from self-sputtering. For some materials, the discharge switches into a mode of sustained self-sputtering. The very large differences between materials cannot be ascribed to the different sputter yields but they indicate that generation and trapping of secondary electrons play a major role for current-voltage-time characteristics. In particular, it is argued that the sustained self-sputtering phase is associated with the generation of multiply charged ions because only they can cause potential emission of secondary electrons, whereas the yield caused by singly charged metal ions is negligibly small.

Abstract: We propose a method of using atomistic computer simulations to obtain partial pair correlation functions from wide angle diffraction experiments with metallic liquids and their glasses. In this method, a model is first created using a semiempirical interatomic potential and then an additional atomic force is added to improve the agreement with experimental diffraction data. To illustrate this approach, the structure of an amorphous Cu64.5Zr35.5 alloy is highlighted, where we present the results for the semiempirical many-body potential and fitting to x-ray diffraction data. While only x-ray diffraction data were used in the present work, the method can be easily adapted to the case when there are also data from neutron diffraction or even in combination. Moreover, this method can be employed in the case of multicomponent systems when the data of several diffraction experiments can be combined.

Abstract: A method for spatially resolved measurement of the minority carrier diffusion length in silicon wafers and in silicon solar cells is introduced. The method, which is based on measuring the ratio of two luminescence images taken with two different spectral filters, is applicable, in principle, to both photoluminescence and electroluminescence measurements and is demonstrated experimentally by electroluminescence measurements on a multicrystalline silicon solar cell. Good agreement is observed with the diffusion length distribution obtained from a spectrally resolved light beam induced current map. In contrast to the determination of diffusion lengths from one single luminescence image, the method proposed here gives absolute values of the diffusion length and, in comparison, it is much less sensitive to lateral voltage variations across the cell area as caused by local variations of the series resistance. It is also shown that measuring the ratio of two luminescence images allows distinguishing shunts or surface defects from bulk defects.

Abstract: We present a theoretical study of electron mobility in cylindrical gated silicon nanowires at 300 K based on the Kubo-Greenwood formula and the self-consistent solution of the Schrodinger and Poisson equations. A rigorous surface roughness scattering model is derived, which takes into account the roughness-induced fluctuation of the subband wave function, of the electron charge, and of the interface polarization charge. Dielectric screening of the scattering potential is modeled within the random phase approximation, wherein a generalized dielectric function for a multi-subband quasi-one-dimensional electron gas system is derived accounting for the presence of the gate electrode and the mismatch of the dielectric constant between the semiconductor and gate insulator. A nonparabolic correction method is also presented, which is applied to the calculation of the density of states, the matrix element of the scattering potential, and the generalized Lindhard function. The Coulomb scattering due to the fixed i...

Abstract: An effective interatomic interaction potential for SiC is proposed. The potential consists of two-body and three-body covalent interactions. The two-body potential includes steric repulsions due to atomic sizes, Coulomb interactions resulting from charge transfer between atoms, charge-induced dipole-interactions due to the electronic polarizability of ions, and induced dipole-dipole (van der Waals) interactions. The covalent characters of the Si–C–Si and C–Si–C bonds are described by the three-body potential. The proposed three-body interaction potential is a modification of the Stillinger-Weber form proposed to describe Si. Using the molecular dynamics method, the interaction potential is used to study structural, elastic, and dynamical properties of crystalline (3C), amorphous, and liquid states of SiC for several densities and temperatures. The structural energy for cubic (3C) structure has the lowest energy, followed by the wurtzite (2H) and rock-salt (RS) structures. The pressure for the structural transformation from 3C-to-RS from the common tangent is found to be 90 GPa. For 3C-SiC, our computed elastic constants (C11, C12, and C44), melting temperature, vibrational density-of-states, and specific heat agree well with the experiments. Predictions are made for the elastic constant as a function of density for the crystalline and amorphous phase. Structural correlations, such as pair distribution function and neutron and x-ray static structure factors are calculated for the amorphous and liquid state.

Abstract: In the present work, we have investigated the capability of different bimetallic combinations to be used in a fiber optic sensor based on the technique of surface plasmon resonance. The metals considered for the present analysis are silver, gold, copper, and aluminum. The performance of the sensor with different bimetallic combinations is evaluated and compared numerically. The performance is analyzed in terms of three parameters: sensitivity, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and operating range. On the basis of the comparison and some logical criteria, the best possible bimetallic combination along with requisite thickness distribution is predicted. The bimetallic combination is capable of simultaneously providing the larger values of sensitivity, SNR, and operating range, which is not possible with any single metallic layer.

Abstract: We demonstrate extremely stable and highly efficient organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on molybdenum oxide (MoO3) as a buffer layer on indium tin oxide (ITO). The significant features of MoO3 as a buffer layer are that the OLEDs show low operational voltage, high electroluminescence (EL) efficiency and good stability in a wide range of MoO3 thickness. A green OLED with structure of ITO∕MoO3∕N,N′-di(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N′-diphenyl-benzidene (NPB)∕NPB: tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3):10-(2-benzothiazolyl)-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1,1,7,7-tetramethyl-1H, 5H, 11H-(1)-benzopyropyrano(6,7-8-i,j)quinolizin-11-one (C545T)∕Alq3∕LiF∕Al shows a long lifetime of over 50000h at 100cd∕m2 initial luminance, and the power efficiency reaches 15lm∕W. The turn-on voltage is 2.4V, and the operational voltage at 1000cd∕m2 luminance is only 6.9V. The significant enhancement of the EL performance is attributed to the improvement of hole injection and interface stability at anode.

Abstract: This research is supported in part by the Australian Research Council, Australia, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research RIKEN, and the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Japan.

Abstract: Despite the importance of the operational lifetime of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) in practical applications, little is known about the nature of chemical reactions associated with efficiency losses during operation. To gain an insight into a chemical mechanism of operational degradation, we studied operation-induced changes in chemical compositions of fluorescent and phosphorescent OLEDs utilizing carbazole derivatives in emissive layers. We detected substantial losses of the emissive components, including the carbazole-derived host 4,4′-bis(N-carbazolyl)biphenyl (CBP) and, if present, phosphorescent dopant. Several different materials were found only in the degraded OLEDs, and some of them were isolated and identified by nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. A similar set of products was found upon UV irradiation of CBP films. Structures of degradation products suggest that the key step in operational degradation of OLEDs is homolytic cleavage of weaker bonds, e.g., an exocyclic C–N...

Abstract: An excellent adhesion of hard coatings to steel substrates is paramount in practically all application areas. Conventional methods utilize Ar glow etching or cathodic arc discharge pretreatments that have the disadvantage of producing weak interfaces or adding droplets, respectively. One tool for interface engineering is high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS). HIPIMS is based on conventional sputtering with extremely high peak power densities reaching 3kWcm−2 at current densities of >2Acm−2. HIPIMS of Cr and Nb was used to prepare interfaces on 304 stainless steel and M2 high speed steel (HSS). During the pretreatment, the substrates were biased to Ubias=−600V and Ubias=−1000V in the environment of a HIPIMS of Cr and Nb plasma. The bombarding flux density reached peak values of 300mAcm−2 and consisted of highly ionized metal plasma containing a high proportion of Cr1+ and Nb1+. Pretreatments were also carried out with Ar glow discharge and filtered cathodic arc as comparison. The adhesion was ev...

Abstract: We report a systematic and comprehensive computational study of the electronic structure of GaN and InN surfaces in various orientations, including the polar c plane, as well as the nonpolar a and m planes. Surface band structures and density-of-states plots show the energetic position of surface states, and by correlating the electronic structure with atomistic information we are able to identify the microscopic origins of each of these states. Fermi-level pinning positions are identified, depending on surface stoichiometry and surface polarity. For polar InN we find that all the surface states are located above the conduction-band minimum, and explain the source of the intrinsic electron accumulation that has been universally observed on InN surfaces.

Abstract: Plasma waves in the two-dimensional electron-hole system in a graphene-based heterostructure controlled by a highly conducting gate are studied theoretically. The energy spectra of two-dimensional electrons and holes are assumed to be conical (neutrinolike), i.e., corresponding to their zero effective masses. Using the developed model, we calculate the spectrum of plasma waves (spatio-temporal variations of the electron and hole densities and the self-consistent electric potential). We find that the sufficiently long plasma waves exhibit a linear (soundlike) dispersion, with the wave velocity determined by the gate layer thickness, the gate voltage, and the temperature. The plasma wave velocity in graphene heterostructures can significantly exceed the plasma wave velocity in the commonly employed semiconductor gated heterostructures. The gated graphene heterostructures can be used in different voltage tunable terahertz devices which utilize the plasma waves.

Abstract: Contact resistance effects are significant in many organic field-effect transistors. Here, we present a detailed analysis of the contact resistance in staggered, top-gate conjugated polymer field-effect transistors. A compact physical model based on the current crowding formalism has been developed. It includes gate modulation of the bulk resistivity of the semiconductor to explain the experimentally observed gate voltage dependence of the contact resistance for different thicknesses of the semiconducting film. The contact resistance is found to be Ohmic. For thick semiconducting films, we have observed a significant asymmetry between source and drain contact resistances with the drain resistances increasing more rapidly with thickness than the source resistance, reflecting the importance of diffusion at the drain contact.

Abstract: This work describes an experimental study of thermal conductance across multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT) array interfaces, one sided (Si-CNT-Ag) and two sided (Si-CNT-CNT-Cu), using a photoacoustic technique (PA). Well-anchored, dense, and vertically oriented multiwalled CNT arrays have been directly synthesized on Si wafers and pure Cu sheets using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. With the PA technique, the small interface resistances of the highly conductive CNT interfaces can be measured with accuracy and precision. In addition, the PA technique can resolve the one-sided CNT interface component resistances (Si-CNT and CNT-Ag) and the two-sided CNT interface component resistances (Si-CNT, CNT-CNT, and CNT-Cu) and can estimate the thermal diffusivity of the CNT layers. The thermal contact resistances of the one- and two-sided CNT interfaces measured using the PA technique are 15.8±0.9 and 4.0±0.4mm2K∕W, respectively, at moderate pressure. These results compare favorably with those obtained using a steady state, one-dimensional reference bar method; however, the uncertainty range is much narrower. The one-sided CNT thermal interface resistance is dominated by the resistance between the free CNT array tips and their opposing substrate (CNT-Ag), which is measured to be 14.0±0.9mm2K∕W. The two-sided CNT thermal interface resistance is dominated by the resistance between the free tips of the mating CNT arrays (CNT-CNT), which is estimated to be 2.1±0.4mm2K∕W.

Abstract: Spark-plasma sintering (SPS) provides accelerated densification and, in many cases, limited grain growth compared to regular hot pressing and sintering. Possible mechanisms of this enhancement of the consolidation in SPS versus conventional techniques of powder processing are identified. The consolidation enhancing factors are categorized with respect to their thermal and nonthermal nature. This paper analyses the influence of a major factor of thermal nature: high heating rates. The interplay of three mechanisms of material transport during SPS is considered: surface diffusion, grain-boundary diffusion, and power-law creep. It is shown that high heating rates reduce the duration of densification-noncontributing surface diffusion, this favors powder systems’ sinterability and the densification is intensified by grain-boundary diffusion. Modeling indicates that, besides the acceleration of densification, high heating rates diminish grain growth. The impacts of high heating rates are dependent on particle sizes. Besides SPS, the obtained results are applicable to the broad spectrum of powder consolidation techniques which involve high heating rates. The conducted experiments on SPS of an aluminum alloy powder confirm the model predictions of the impact of heating rates and initial grain sizes on the shrinkage rates during the electric current-assisted consolidation. It is noted, that this study considers only one of many possible mechanisms of the consolidation enhancement during SPS, which should stimulate further efforts on the modeling of field-assisted powder processing.

Abstract: Experimental study was carried out to study the phase changeheat transfer within a composite of phase changematerial (PCM) infiltrated high thermal conductivityfoam. An experimental setup was built to measure the temperature profiles and capture the melting evolution of the PCM inside aluminumfoams.Aluminumfoams were used as the porous material, and low melting temperature paraffin wax was used as the PCM. It was observed from the results that the system parameters of the wax/foam composite had a significant influence on its heat transfer behavior. By using higher porosity aluminumfoam, the steady-state temperature was reached faster as compared to the foams with lower porosity. Similarly for the bigger pore size foams the steady state was attained faster as compared to the smaller pore size foams. This was due to the greater effect of convection in both the higher porosity and bigger pore size foams. However, for the lower porosity foams the heater temperature was comparatively lower than the higher porosity foams due to greater heat conduction through the foammaterial. Therefore, an optimal value should be selected for the foam porosity and pore size such that the effects of both conduction and convection heat transfers can be completely utilized to have a greater and improved thermal performance for the wax/aluminum foamcomposite.

Abstract: Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) in the size range ∼7–35 nm are synthesized by ball-milling technique, and microstructural and optical properties of the NPs are studied using varieties of techniques. Results from ball-milled NPs are compared with those of the commercially available ZnO nanopowder. X-ray diffraction pattern of the milled NPs indicates lattice strain in the NPs. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis reveal severe lattice distortion and reduction in lattice spacing in some of the NPs. Optical absorption spectra of milled NPs show enhanced absorption peaked at 368 nm, which is blueshifted with reference to starting ZnO powder. Room-temperature photoluminescence spectra show five peaks consisting of ultraviolet and visible bands, and relative intensity of these peaks drastically changes with increasing milling time. Raman spectra of milled powders show redshift and broadening of the Raman modes of ZnO, and a new Raman mode evolve in the milled NPs. A correlation between...

Abstract: The frequency response of a cantilever beam is well known to depend strongly on the fluid in which it is immersed. In this article, we present a theoretical model for the frequency response of a rectangular cantilever beam immersed in a viscous fluid that enables the flexural and torsional modes of arbitrary order to be calculated. This extends the previous models of Sader and Green [J. Appl. Phys. 84, 64 (1998); 92, 6262 (2002)], which were formulated primarily for the fundamental mode and the next few harmonics, to the general case of arbitrary mode order by accounting for the three-dimensional nature of the flow field around the cantilever beam. Due to its importance in atomic force microscope applications, results for the thermal noise spectrum are presented and the influence of mode order on the frequency response investigated.

Abstract: Nanofluids have been proposed as a route for surpassing the performance of currently available heat transfer liquids in the near future. In this study an equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation was used to model a nanofluid system. The thermal conductivity of the base fluid and nanofluid was computed using the Green-Kubo method for various volume fractions of nanoparticle loadings. This study showed the ability of molecular dynamics to predict the enhanced thermal conductivity of nanofluids. Through molecular dynamics calculation of mean square displacements for liquid phase in base fluid and for liquid and solid phases in nanofluid, this study tried to investigate the mechanisms involved in thermal transport of nanofluids at the atomic level. The result showed that the thermal transport enhancement of nanofluids was mostly due to the increased movement of liquid atoms in the presence of nanoparticle. Diffusion coefficients were also calculated for base fluid and nanofluids. Similarity of enhancement in...

Abstract: Symmetric, plate-impact experiments were performed to validate photon Doppler velocimetry (PDV) with established shock wave diagnostics. Impact velocity measurements using shorting pins demonstrated that the velocity accuracy of PDV can be 0.1% or better. Shock velocities and refractive indices were also measured with PDV (at 1550 nm) and velocity interferometer system for any reflector (VISAR) (at 532 nm) to obtain window corrections for single crystal LiF (100), c-cut sapphire, and z-cut quartz. Time-dependent, free-surface velocity histories for shocked LiF(100) provide a direct comparison between PDV and VISAR diagnostics and illustrate the benefits and shortcomings of the new diagnostic. Further implications of these results are presented.