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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 775 records · Page 43
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Solid-phase epitaxy of silicon amorphized by implantation of the alkali elements rubidium and cesium

The redistribution of implanted Rb and Cs profiles in amorphous silicon during solid-phase epitaxial recrystallization has been investigated by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy. For the implantation dose used in these experiments, the alkali atoms segregate at the a-Si/c-Si interface during annealing resulting in concentration peaks near the interface. In this way, the alkali atoms are moved towards the surface. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy in ion channeling configuration was performed to measure average recrystallization rates of the amorphous silicon layers. Preliminary studies on the influence of the alkali atoms on the solid-phase epitaxial regrowth rate reveal a strong retardation compared to the intrinsic recrystallization rate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Photodissociation of methyl iodide adsorbed on low-temperature amorphous ice surfaces

Photodissociation dynamics of methyl iodide (CH{sub 3}I) adsorbed on both amorphous solid water (ASW) and porous amorphous solid water (PASW) has been investigated. The ejected ground-state I({sup 2}P{sub 3/2}) and excited-state I({sup 2}P{sub 1/2}) photofragments produced by 260- and 290-nm photons were detected using laser resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization. In contrast to gas-phase photodissociation, (i) the I({sup 2}P{sub 3/2}) photofragment is favored compared to I({sup 2}P{sub 1/2}) at both wavelengths, (ii) I({sup 2}P{sub 3/2}) and I({sup 2}P{sub 1/2}) have velocity distributions that depend upon ice morphology, and (iii) I{sub 2} is produced on ASW. The total iodine [I({sup 2}P{sub 3/2})+I({sup 2}P{sub 1/2})+I{sub 2}] yield varies with substrate morphology, with greater yield from ASW than PASW using both 260- and 290-nm photons. Temperature-programmed desorption studies demonstrate that ice porosity enhances the trapping of adsorbed CH{sub 3}I, while pore-free ice likely allows monomer adsorption and the formation of two-dimensional CH{sub 3}I clusters. Reactions or collisions involving these clusters, I atomic fragments, or I-containing molecular fragments at the vacuum-surface interface can result in I{sub 2} formation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Atomic rearrangements in amorphous Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} under electron-beam irradiation

The electron-irradiation-induced crystallization of amorphous Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) was investigated by in-situ transmission electron microscopy under the wide electron-energy region of 25-300 keV. The formation of {gamma}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanocrystallites was induced by irradiating the a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin film along with the formation of nanovoids in the crystalline grains regardless of the acceleration voltage. The crystallization became more pronounced with decreasing the electron energy, indicating that electronic excitation processes play a dominant role in the formation of {gamma}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}. Radial distribution analyses suggested that a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} transforms to {gamma}-phase via the 'excited' ('stimulated') amorphous state, in which the breaking and rearrangement of unstable short-range Al-O bonds, i.e., fivefold-coordinated Al-O (AlO{sub 5}) basic units, occur.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

The dynamics of photoinduced defect creation in amorphous chalcogenides: The origin of the stretched exponential function

The article discusses the dynamics of photoinduced defect creations (PDC) in amorphous chalcogenides, which is described by the stretched exponential function (SEF), while the well known photodarkening (PD) and photoinduced volume expansion (PVE) are governed only by the exponential function. It is shown that the exponential distribution of the thermal activation barrier produces the SEF in PDC, suggesting that thermal energy, as well as photon energy, is incorporated in PDC mechanisms. The differences in dynamics among three major photoinduced effects (PD, PVE, and PDC) in amorphous chalcogenides are now well understood.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Temperature dependence of ion-beam mixing in crystalline and amorphous germanium isotope multilayer structures

Self-atom mixing induced by 310 keV gallium (Ga) ion implantation in crystalline and preamorphized germanium (Ge) at temperatures between 164 K and 623 K and a dose of 1 × 10{sup 15} cm{sup −2} is investigated using isotopic multilayer structures of alternating {sup 70}Ge and {sup nat}Ge layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The distribution of the implanted Ga atoms and the ion-beam induced depth-dependent self-atom mixing was determined by means of secondary ion mass spectrometry. Three different temperature regimes of self-atom mixing, i.e., low-, intermediate-, and high-temperature regimes are observed. At temperatures up to 423 K, the mixing is independent of the initial structure, whereas at 523 K, the intermixing of the preamorphized Ge structure is about twice as high as that of crystalline Ge. At 623 K, the intermixing of the initially amorphous Ge structure is strongly reduced and approaches the mixing of the crystalline material. The temperature dependence of ion-beam mixing is described by competitive amorphization and recrystallization processes.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Oxidation induced amorphous stabilization of the subsurface region in Zr-Cu metallic glass

In the present study, we demonstrate that selective surface oxidation of Zr{sub 70}Cu{sub 30} metallic glass can stabilize the amorphous structure in the subsurface region of the matrix. The oxidation proceeds by selective oxidation of Zr, forming monoclinic ZrO{sub 2} layer on the surface, and the subsurface layer becomes Cu-enriched due to back diffusion of Cu atoms from the oxide layer. Interestingly, in this system, the composition change in the subsurface region leads to enhancement of glass stability, forming of a double layered surface structure consisted of inner amorphous layer and outer monoclinic ZrO{sub 2} layer even when the remaining matrix is completely crystallized.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Conversion of pure spin current to charge current in amorphous bismuth

Spin Hall angle and spin diffusion length in amorphous bismuth (Bi) are investigated by using conversion of a pure spin current to a charge current in a spin pumping technique. In Bi/Ni{sub 80}Fe{sub 20}/Si(100) sample, a clear direct current (DC) electromotive force due to the inverse spin Hall effect of the Bi layer is observed at room temperature under a ferromagnetic resonance condition of the Ni{sub 80}Fe{sub 20} layer. From the Bi thickness dependence of the DC electromotive force, the spin Hall angle and the spin diffusion length of the amorphous Bi film are estimated to be 0.02 and 8 nm, respectively.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5}; as-deposited amorphous, crystalline, and laser-reamorphized

We have investigated the electronic structure of as-deposited, crystalline, and laser-reamorphized Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} using high resolution, hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. A shift in the Fermi level as well as a broadening of the spectral features in the valence band and the Ge 3d level between the amorphous and crystalline state is observed. Upon amorphization, Ge 3d and Sb 4d spectra show a surprisingly small breaking of resonant bonds and changes in the bonding character as evidenced by the very similar density of states in all cases.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Mechanism of tailored magnetic anisotropy in amorphous Co{sub 68}Fe{sub 24}Zr{sub 8} thin films

The mechanism of tailored magnetic anisotropy in amorphous Co{sub 68}Fe{sub 24}Zr{sub 8} thin films was investigated by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) on samples deposited without an applied magnetic field, with an out-of-plane field and an in-plane field. Analysis of FMR spectra profiles, high frequency susceptibility calculations, and statistical simulations using a distribution of local uniaxial magnetic anisotropy reveal the presence of atomic configurations with local uniaxial anisotropy, of which the direction can be tailored while the magnitude remains at an intrinsically constant value of 3.0(2) kJ/m{sup 3}. The in-plane growth field remarkably sharpens the anisotropy distribution and increases the sample homogeneity. The results benefit designing multilayer spintronic devices based on highly homogeneous amorphous layers with tailored magnetic anisotropy.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Spin precession by pulsed inductive magnetometry in thin amorphous plates

Broadband magnetic loss and damping behavior of Co-based amorphous ribbons and thin films have been investigated. The permeability and loss response of the transverse anisotropy ribbon samples in the frequency range DC to 1 GHz is interpreted in terms of combined and distinguishable contributions to the magnetization process by domain wall displacements and magnetization rotations. The latter alone are shown to survive at the highest frequencies, where the losses are calculated via coupled Maxwell and Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert (LLG) equations. Remarkably high values of the LLG damping coefficient α = 0.1–0.2 are invoked in this theoretical prediction. Direct measurements of α by pulsed inductive microwave magnetometry are thus performed, both in these laminae and in amorphous films of identical composition, obtaining about one order of magnitude increase of the α value upon the 100 nm÷10 μm thickness range. This confirms that dissipation by eddy currents enters the LLG equation via large increase of the damping coefficient.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Ge L{sub 3}-edge x-ray absorption near-edge structure study of structural changes accompanying conductivity drift in the amorphous phase of Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5}

A gradual uncontrollable increase in the resistivity of the amorphous phase of phase-change alloys, such as Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5}, known as drift, is a serious technological issue for application of phase-change memory. While it has been proposed that drift is related to structural relaxation, no direct structural results have been reported so far. Here, we report the results of Ge L{sub 3}-edge x-ray absorption measurements that suggest that the drift in electrical conductivity is associated with the gradual conversion of tetrahedrally coordinated Ge sites into pyramidal sites, while the system still remains in the amorphous phase. Based on electronic configuration arguments, we propose that during this process, which is governed by the existence of lone-pair electrons, the concentration of free carriers in the system decreases resulting in an increase in resistance despite the structural relaxation towards the crystalline phase.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Diffusion of oxygen in amorphous Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}, and Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5}

The self-diffusivity of oxygen in amorphous Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}), a-Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}, and a-Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} was investigated along with structural analysis in terms of pair distribution function (PDF). The low activation energy, ∼1.2 eV, for diffusion in the oxides suggests a single atomic jump of oxygen ions mediated via vacancy-like defects. However, the pre-exponential factor for a-Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} and a-Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} with lower bond energy was two orders of magnitude larger than that for a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} with higher bond energy. PDF analyses revealed that the short-range configuration in a-Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} and a-Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} was more broadly distributed than that in a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}. Due to the larger variety of atomic configurations of a-Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} and a-Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5}, these oxides have a higher activation entropy for diffusion than a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}. The entropy term for diffusion associated with short-range structures was shown to be a dominant factor for diffusion in amorphous oxides.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electromechanical response of amorphous LaAlO{sub 3} thin film probed by scanning probe microscopies

The electromechanical response of a 3 nm thick amorphous LaAlO{sub 3} layer obtained by molecular beam epitaxy has been studied using scanning probe microscopies. Although this kind of sample is not ferroelectric due to its amorphous nature, the resulting images are identical to what is generally obtained on truly ferroelectric samples probed by piezoresponse force microscopy: domains of apparently opposite polarisation are detected, and perfect, square shaped hysteresis loops are recorded. Moreover, written patterns are stable within 72 h. We discuss in the general case the possible origins of this behaviour in terms of charge injection, ionic conduction and motion of oxygen vacancies. In the case presented in this paper, since the writing process has been conducted with applied voltages lower than the injection threshold measured by conductive atomic force Microscopy, allowing to withdraw the hypothesis of charge injection in the sample, we propose that a bistable distribution of oxygen vacancies is responsible for this contrast.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Direct tunneling through high-κ amorphous HfO{sub 2}: Effects of chemical modification

We report first principles modeling of quantum tunneling through amorphous HfO{sub 2} dielectric layer of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) nanostructures in the form of n-Si/HfO{sub 2}/Al. In particular, we predict that chemically modifying the amorphous HfO{sub 2} barrier by doping N and Al atoms in the middle region—far from the two interfaces of the MOS structure—can reduce the gate-to-channel tunnel leakage by more than one order of magnitude. Several other types of modification are found to enhance tunneling or induce substantial band bending in the Si, both are not desired from leakage point of view. By analyzing transmission coefficients and projected density of states, the microscopic physics of electron traversing the tunnel barrier with or without impurity atoms in the high-κ dielectric is revealed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Stoichiometry determined exchange interactions in amorphous ternary transition metal oxides: Theory and experiment

Amorphous transition metal oxides exhibit exotic transport and magnetic properties, while the absence of periodic structure has long been a major obstacle for the understanding of their electronic structure and exchange interaction. In this paper, we have formulated a theoretical approach, which combines the melt-quench approach and the spin dynamic Monte-Carlo simulations, and based on it, we explored amorphous Co{sub 0.5}Zn{sub 0.5}O{sub 1−y} ternary transition metal oxides. Our theoretical results reveal that the microstructure, the magnetic properties, and the exchange interactions of Co{sub 0.5}Zn{sub 0.5}O{sub 1−y} are strongly determined by the oxygen stoichiometry. In the oxygen-deficient sample (y > 0), we have observed the long-range ferromagnetic spin ordering which is associated with the non-stoichiometric cobalt-rich region rather than metallic clusters. On the other hand, the microstructure of stoichiometric sample takes the form of continuous random networks, and no long-range ferromagnetism has been observed in it. Magnetization characterization of experimental synthesized Co{sub 0.61}Zn{sub 0.39}O{sub 1−y} films verifies the relation between the spin ordering and the oxygen stoichiometry. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of electrical transport shows a typical feature of semiconductors, in agreement with our theoretical results.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Structure-property relations in amorphous carbon for photovoltaics

Carbon is emerging as a material with great potential for photovoltaics (PV). However, the amorphous form (a-C) has not been studied in detail as a PV material, even though it holds similarities with amorphous Silicon (a-Si) that is widely employed in efficient solar cells. In this work, we correlate the structure, bonding, stoichiometry, and hydrogen content of a-C with properties linked to PV performance such as the electronic structure and optical absorption. We employ first-principles molecular dynamics and density functional theory calculations to generate and analyze a set of a-C structures with a range of densities and hydrogen concentrations. We demonstrate that optical and electronic properties of interest in PV can be widely tuned by varying the density and hydrogen content. For example, sunlight absorption in a-C films can significantly exceed that of a same thickness of a-Si for a range of densities and H contents in a-C. Our results highlight promising features of a-C as the active layer material of thin-film solar cells.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Lattice thermal conductivity of crystalline and amorphous silicon with and without isotopic effects from the ballistic to diffusive thermal transport regime

Thermal conductivity of a material is an important physical parameter in electronic and thermal devices, and as the device size shrinks down, its length-dependence becomes unable to be neglected. Even in micrometer scale devices, materials having a long mean free path of phonons, such as crystalline silicon (Si), exhibit a strong length dependence of the thermal conductivities that spans from the ballistic to diffusive thermal transport regime. In this work, through non-equilibrium molecular-dynamics (NEMD) simulations up to 17 μm in length, the lattice thermal conductivities are explicitly calculated for crystalline Si and up to 2 μm for amorphous Si. The Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) is solved within a frequency-dependent relaxation time approximation, and the calculated lattice thermal conductivities in the BTE are found to be in good agreement with the values obtained in the NEMD. The isotopic effects on the length-dependent lattice thermal conductivities are also investigated both in the crystalline and amorphous Si.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Solution-processed amorphous silicon surface passivation layers

Amorphous silicon thin films, fabricated by thermal conversion of neopentasilane, were used to passivate crystalline silicon surfaces. The conversion is investigated using X-ray and constant-final-state-yield photoelectron spectroscopy, and minority charge carrier lifetime spectroscopy. Liquid processed amorphous silicon exhibits high Urbach energies from 90 to 120 meV and 200 meV lower optical band gaps than material prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Applying a hydrogen plasma treatment, a minority charge carrier lifetime of 1.37 ms at an injection level of 10{sup 15}/cm{sup 3} enabling an implied open circuit voltage of 724 mV was achieved, demonstrating excellent silicon surface passivation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗