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At least 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Nanocrystalline zinc ferrite films studied by magneto-optical spectroscopy

Ferrimagnetic Zn-ferrite (ZnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}) films can be grown with the ferromagnetic resonance linewidth of 40 Oe at 9.5 GHz without going through a high temperature processing. This presents interest for applications. The work deals with laser ablated ZnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} films deposited at O{sub 2} pressure of 0.16 mbar onto fused quartz substrates. The films about 120 nm thick are nanocrystalline and their spontaneous magnetization, 4πM{sub s}, depends on the nanograin size, which is controlled by the substrate temperature (T{sub s}). At T{sub s} ≈ 350 °C, where the grain distribution peaks around ∼20–30 nm, the room temperature 4πM{sub s} reaches a maximum of ∼2.3 kG. The films were studied by magnetooptical polar Kerr effect (MOKE) spectroscopy at photon energies between 1 and 5 eV. The complementary characteristics were provided by spectral ellipsometry (SE). Both the SE and MOKE spectra confirmed ferrimagnetic ordering. The structural details correspond to those observed in MgFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} and Li{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2.5}O{sub 4} spinels. SE experiments confirm the insulator behavior. The films display MOKE amplitudes somewhat reduced with respect to those in Li{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2.5}O{sub 4} and MgFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} due to a lower degree of spinel inversion and nanocrystalline structure. The results indicate that the films are free of oxygen vacancies and Fe{sup 3+}-Fe{sup 2+} exchange.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Optical and magneto-optical studies of martensitic transformation in Ni-Mn-Ga magnetic shape memory alloys

Optical and magneto-optical properties of single crystal of Ni{sub 50.1}Mn{sub 28.4}Ga{sub 21.5} magnetic shape memory alloy during its transformation from martensite to austenite phase were systematically studied. Crystal orientation was approximately along (100) planes of parent cubic austenite. X-ray reciprocal mapping confirmed modulated 10 M martensite phase. Temperature depended measurements of saturation magnetization revealed the martensitic transformation at 335 K during heating. Magneto-optical spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry were measured in the sample temperature range from 297 to 373 K and photon energy range from 1.2 to 6.5 eV. Magneto-optical spectra of polar Kerr rotation as well as the spectra of ellipsometric parameter Ψ exhibited significant changes when crossing the transformation temperature. These changes were assigned to different optical properties of Ni-Mn-Ga in martensite and austenite phases due to modification of electronic structure near the Fermi energy during martensitic transformation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Investigation of optical and interfacial properties of Ag/Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} metal dielectric multilayer structure

One-dimensional periodic metal-dielectric multilayer thin film structures consisting of Ag and Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} alternating layers are deposited on glass substrate using RF magnetron sputtering technique. The spectral property of the multilayers has been investigated using spectrophotometry technique. The optical parameters such as refractive index, extinction coefficient, band gap etc., along with film thickness as well as the interfacial layer properties which influence these properties have been probed with spectroscopic ellipsometry technique. Atomic force microscopy has been employed to characterize morphological properties of this metal-dielectric multilayer.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Optical and local structural study of Gd doped ZrO{sub 2} thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering technique

ZrO{sub 2} samples with 0, 7, 9, 11, 13 % Gd doping have been prepared by RF magnetron sputtering deposition technique for solid oxide fuel cell application. The optical properties of the samples have been studied by transmission spectrophotometry and spectroscopic ellipsometry while the local structure surrounding Zr sites has been characterized by extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurement at Zr K edge with synchrotron radiation. It has been observed that beyond 11% Gd doping, band gap decreases and refractive index increases significantly and also oxygen and Zr coordinations surrounding Zr sites increase which indicates the formation of Gd clustering in ZrO{sub 2} matrix beyond this doping concentration.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Optical and electrical properties of TiOPc doped Alq{sub 3} thin films

The Titanyl phthalocyanine (TiOPc) was doped in Tris (8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum (Alq3) with different concentration. The thin film of optimized doping concentration was studied extensively for optical and electrical properties. The optical properties, studied using ellipsometry, absorption and photoluminescence. The absorption peak of Alq{sub 3} and TiOPc was observed at 387 nm and 707 nm and the photo-luminescence intensity (PL) peak of doped thin film was observed at 517 nm. The DC and AC electrical properties of the thin film were studied by current density-voltage (J-V) characteristics and impedance over a frequency range of 100 Hz - 1 MHz. The electron mobility calculated from trap-free space-charge limited region (SCLC) is 0.17×10{sup −5} cm{sup 2}/Vs. The Cole-Cole plots shows that the TiOPc doped Alq{sub 3} thin film can be represented by a single parallel resistance R{sub P} and capacitance C{sub P} network with a series resistance R{sub S} (10 Ω). The value of R{sub P} and C{sub P} at zero bias was 1587 Ω and 2.568 nF respectively. The resistance R{sub P} decreases with applied bias whereas the capacitance C{sub P} remains almost constant.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Dielectric function in the spectral range (0.5–8.5)eV of an (Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}){sub 2}O{sub 3} thin film with continuous composition spread

We determined the dielectric function of the alloy system (Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}){sub 2}O{sub 3} by spectroscopic ellipsometry in the wide spectral range from 0.5 eV to 8.5 eV and for Al contents ranging from x = 0.11 to x = 0.55. For the composition range x < 0.4, we observe single phase material in the β-modification and for larger Al content also the occurrence of γ-(Al,Ga){sub 2}O{sub 3}. We derived spectra of the refractive index and the absorption coefficient as well as energy parameters of electronic band-band transitions by model analysis of the dielectric function. The dependence of the dielectric functions lineshape and the energy parameters on x is highly continuous, reflecting theoretical expectations. The data presented here provide a basis for a deeper understanding of the electronic properties of this material system and may be useful for device engineering.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Optical constants of Cu(In, Ga)Se{sub 2} for arbitrary Cu and Ga compositions

The optical constants of Cu(In, Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGS)-based polycrystalline layers with different Cu and Ga compositions are parameterized completely up to a photon energy of 6.5 eV assuming several Tauc-Lorentz transition peaks. Based on the modeled optical constants, we establish the calculation procedure for the CIGS optical constants in a two-dimensional compositional space of (Cu, Ga) by taking the composition-induced shift of the critical point energies into account. In particular, we find that the variation of the CIGS optical constants with the Cu composition can be modeled quite simply by a spectral-averaging method in which the dielectric function of the target Cu composition is estimated as a weighted average of the dielectric functions with higher and lower Cu compositions. To express the effect of the Ga composition, on the other hand, an energy shift model reported earlier is adopted. Our model is appropriate for a wide variety of CIGS-based materials having different Cu and Ga compositions, although the modeling error increases slightly at lower Cu compositions [Cu/(In + Ga) < 0.69]. From our model, the dielectric function, refractive index, extinction coefficient, and absorption coefficient for the arbitrary CIGS composition can readily be obtained. The optical database developed in this study is applied further for spectroscopic ellipsometry analyses of CIGS layers fabricated by single and multi-stage coevaporation processes. We demonstrate that the compositional and structural characterizations of the CIGS-based layers can be performed from established analysis methods.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

A comparison of light-coupling into high and low index nanostructured photovoltaic thin films

Periodically structured electrodes are typically introduced to thin-film photovoltaics for the purpose of light management. Highly effective light-trapping and optimal in-coupling of light is crucial to enhance the overall device performance in such thin-film systems. Here, wavelength-scale structures are transferred via direct laser interference patterning to electron-selective TiO{sub 2} electrodes. Two representative thin-film solar cell architectures are deposited on top: an organic solar cell featuring blended P3HT:PCBM as active material, and a hybrid solar cell with Sb{sub 2}S{sub 3} as inorganic active material. A direct correlation in the asymmetry in total absorption enhancement and in structure-induced light in-coupling is spectroscopically observed for the two systems. The structuring is shown to be beneficial for the total absorption enhancement if a high n active material is deposited on TiO{sub 2}, but detrimental for a low n material. The refractive indices of the employed materials are determined via spectroscopic ellipsometry. The study outlines that the macroscopic Fresnel equations can be used to investigate the spectroscopically observed asymmetry in light in-coupling at the nanostructured TiO{sub 2} active material interfaces by visualizing the difference in reflectivity caused by the asymmetry in refractive indices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Atomic-layer deposited thulium oxide as a passivation layer on germanium

A comprehensive study of atomic-layer deposited thulium oxide (Tm{sub 2}O{sub 3}) on germanium has been conducted using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), vacuum ultra-violet variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and electron energy-loss spectroscopy. The valence band offset is found to be 3.05 ± 0.2 eV for Tm{sub 2}O{sub 3}/p-Ge from the Tm 4d centroid and Ge 3p{sub 3/2} charge-corrected XPS core-level spectra taken at different sputtering times of a single bulk thulium oxide sample. A negligible downward band bending of ∼0.12 eV is observed during progressive differential charging of Tm 4d peaks. The optical band gap is estimated from the absorption edge and found to be 5.77 eV with an apparent Urbach tail signifying band gap tailing at ∼5.3 eV. The latter has been correlated to HRTEM and electron diffraction results corroborating the polycrystalline nature of the Tm{sub 2}O{sub 3} films. The Tm{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ge interface is found to be rather atomically abrupt with sub-nanometer thickness. In addition, the band line-up of reference GeO{sub 2}/n-Ge stacks obtained by thermal oxidation has been discussed and derived. The observed low reactivity of thulium oxide on germanium as well as the high effective barriers for holes (∼3 eV) and electrons (∼2 eV) identify Tm{sub 2}O{sub 3} as a strong contender for interfacial layer engineering in future generations of scaled high-κ gate stacks on Ge.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Mid-infrared to ultraviolet optical properties of InSb grown on GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy

Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to investigate the optical properties of an InSb film grown on a GaAs (100) substrate, and to compare the optical properties of InSb film with those of bulk InSb. The film was grown by molecular beam epitaxy under conditions intended to form 90° misfit dislocations at the InSb-GaAs interface. The complex dielectric function obtained in a wide spectroscopic range from 0.06–4.6 eV shows the critical point transitions E{sub 0}, E{sub 1}, E{sub 1} + Δ{sub 1}, E{sub 0}{sup ′}, and E{sub 2}. The amplitudes, energy transitions, broadenings, and phase angles have been determined using a derivative analysis. Comparing film and bulk critical point results reveal that the epitaxial film is nearly relaxed and has bulk-like optical characteristics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Temperature-dependent dielectric functions in atomically thin graphene, silicene, and arsenene

The dielectric functions of atomically thin graphene, silicene, and arsenene have been investigated as a function of temperature. With zero energy gap, more carriers in graphene and silicene are thermally excited as temperature increases and intraband transition strengthens, resulting in the strengthened absorption peak. Yet with large energy gap, interband transition dominates optical absorption of arsenene but it reduces as lattice vibration enhances, inducing the redshift and decreased absorption peak. To validate the theoretical method, the calculated optical constants of isolated graphene are compared with ellipsometry results and demonstrate good agreement.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Room temperature analysis of dielectric function of ZnO-based thin film on fused quartz substrate

A set of sample consist of pure ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO film were grown on fused-quartz substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Here, we report room temperature spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis (covering energy range of 0.5 to 6.3 eV) of pure ZnO film and Cu doped ZnO film at 8 in at. %. The thickness of pure ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO film using in this study is about 350 nm. To extract the dielectric function of ZnO thin film, multilayer modeling is performed which takes into account reflections at each interface through Fresnel coefficients. This method based on Drude-Lorentz models that connect with Kramers-Kronig relations. The best fitting of Ψ (amplitude ratio) and Δ (phase difference) taken by SE measurement are obtained reasonably well by mean the universal fitting of three different photon incident angles. The imaginary part of dielectric function (ε{sub 2}) show the broad peak at around 3.3 eV assigned as combination of optical band energy edge with excitonic states. The exitonic states could not be observed clearly in this stage. The evolution of extracted dielectric function is observable by introducing 8% Cu as indicated by decreasing of excitonic intensity. This result indicates the screening of excitonic state. This study will bring us to have a good undestanding for the role of Cu impurities for ZnO thin films.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Optical properties analysis of Ta-doped TiO{sub 2} thin films on LaAlO{sub 3} substrates

We study optical properties of Ta-doped TiO{sub 2} thin film on LaAlO{sub 3} substrate using spectroscopy ellipsometry (SE) analysis at energy range of 0.5 – 6.5 eV. Room temperature SE data for Ψ (amplitude ratio) and Δ (phase difference) between p- and s- polarized light waves are taken with multiple incident angles at several spots on the samples. Here, absorption coefficient has been extracted from SE measurements at photon incident angle of 70° for different Ta concentration (0.01, 0.4, and 5 at. %). Multilayer modelling is performed which takes into account reflections at each interface through Fresnel coefficients to obtain reasonably well the fitting of Ψ and Δ data simultaneously. As the results, we estimate that film thickness increases by increasing Ta concentration accompanied by the formation of a new electronic structure. By increasing Ta impurities, the blueshift of absorption coefficient (α) peaks is observable. This result indicates that TiO{sub 2} thin film becomes optically resistive by introducing Ta doping. Schematic model of interband transition inTiO{sub 2}:Ta will be proposed base on obtained optical properties. This study enables us to predict the role of Ta doping on the electronic and optical band structures of TiO{sub 2} thin film.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Optical response of columnar TiO{sub 2}:Co on Si substrate

Vertically arranged columnar TiO{sub 2}:Co structure has been deposited on Si (100) substrate using the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique. SEM images confirm the columnar structure of the TiO{sub 2}:Co layer on Si (100). Concentration of the Co dopant has been defined by means of the energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectra. Co concentrations are varied at 0.18, 0.33, and 0.68 at. % using pure TiO{sub 2} as the reference. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra show that the TiO{sub 2}:Co layer have a rutile phase. Further analysis of this structure has been performed by using room temperature spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) measurements in the energy range of 0.5 - 6.5 eV. This optical response shows the unique feature of significantly high density fringe especially below the band gap energy region (lower than 3.3 eV) in contrast to the conventional TiO{sub 2} thin film structure. This unique feature is interpreted as a dominant contribution of the vertical interfaces at columnar boundaries towards reflected light from the sample. The evolution of Ψ and Δ will be discussed as the function of Co concentration and some optical properties will be extracted after reasonably well data fitting by multilayer modelling. Furthermore, by comparing the SE data from different measurement orientations, it has been shown that TiO{sub 2}:Co tends to be anisotropic. This study enables us to further evaluate structural properties through optical responses given by SE measurement.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Parametrized dielectric functions of amorphous GeSn alloys

We obtained the complex dielectric function of amorphous Ge{sub 1−x}Sn{sub x} (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.07) alloys using spectroscopic ellipsometry from 0.4 to 4.5 eV. Amorphous GeSn films were formed by room-temperature implantation of phosphorus into crystalline GeSn alloys grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The optical response of amorphous GeSn alloys is similar to amorphous Ge and can be parametrized using a Kramers-Kronig consistent Cody-Lorentz dispersion model. The parametric model was extended to account for the dielectric functions of amorphous Ge{sub 0.75}Sn{sub 0.25} and Ge{sub 0.50}Sn{sub 0.50} alloys from literature. The compositional dependence of band gap energy E{sub g} and parameters associated with the Lorentzian oscillator have been determined. The behavior of these parameters with varying x can be understood in terms of the alloying effect of Sn on Ge.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

In-situ characterization of the optical and electronic properties in GeTe and GaSb thin films

GeTe and GaSb thin films obtained by pulsed laser deposition were investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry at controlled temperatures. The GeTe films were fully amorphous, while the GaSb films were partially crystalized in the as-deposited state. The Tauc-Lorentz model was employed to fit the experimental data. From the temperature study of the optical constants, it was observed the crystallization in the 150–160 °C range of GeTe amorphous films and between 230 and 240 °C of GaSb amorphous phase. A second transition in the resonance energy and the broadening parameter of the Lorentz oscillator was observed due to the crystallization of Sb after 250 °C. The temperatures of 85 °C and 130 °C are noticed as the start of the relaxation of the amorphous GeTe phase and as-deposited GaSb. The peaks of the imaginary part of the dielectric function red shifted after the phase change, while the variation with temperature of the crystalline phase follows the Varshni law. The electron-phonon coupling constants are 2.88 and 1.64 for c-GeTe and c-GaSb, respectively. An optical contrast up to 60% was obtained for GeTe films and a maximum value of 7.5% is revealed in the case GaSb, which is altered by the partial crystallinity of the as-deposited films.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Experimental and theoretical investigations of the electronic band structure of metal-organic frameworks of HKUST-1 type

The electronic properties of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are increasingly attracting the attention due to potential applications in sensor techniques and (micro-) electronic engineering, for instance, as low-k-dielectric in semiconductor technology. Here, the band gap and the band structure of MOFs of type HKUST-1 are studied in detail by means of spectroscopic ellipsometry applied to thin surface-mounted MOF films and by means of quantum chemical calculations. The analysis of the density of states, the band structure, and the excitation spectrum reveal the importance of the empty Cu-3d orbitals for the electronic properties of HKUST-1. This study shows that, in contrast to common belief, even in the case of this fairly “simple” MOF, the excitation spectra cannot be explained by a superposition of “intra-unit” excitations within the individual building blocks. Instead, “inter-unit” excitations also have to be considered.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

DLTS analysis of amphoteric interface defects in high-TiO{sub 2} MOS structures prepared by sol-gel spin-coating

High-κ TiO{sub 2} thin films have been fabricated from a facile, combined sol – gel spin – coating technique on p and n type silicon substrate. XRD and Raman studies headed the existence of anatase phase of TiO{sub 2} with a small grain size of 18 nm. The refractive index ‘n’ quantified from ellipsometry is 2.41. AFM studies suggest a high quality, pore free films with a fairly small surface roughness of 6 Å. The presence of Ti in its tetravalent state is confirmed by XPS analysis. The defect parameters observed at the interface of Si/TiO{sub 2} were studied by capacitance – voltage (C – V) and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). The flat – band voltage (V{sub FB}) and the density of slow interface states estimated are – 0.9, – 0.44 V and 5.24×10{sup 10}, 1.03×10{sup 11} cm{sup −2}; for the NMOS and PMOS capacitors, respectively. The activation energies, interface state densities and capture cross – sections measured by DLTS are E{sub V} + 0.30, E{sub C} – 0.21 eV; 8.73×10{sup 11}, 6.41×10{sup 11} eV{sup −1} cm{sup −2} and 5.8×10{sup −23}, 8.11×10{sup −23} cm{sup 2} for the NMOS and PMOS structures, respectively. A low value of interface state density in both P- and N-MOS structures makes it a suitable alternate dielectric layer for CMOS applications. And also very low value of capture cross section for both the carriers due to the amphoteric nature of defect indicates that the traps are not aggressive recombination centers and possibly can not contribute to the device operation to a large extent.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗