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At least 1,099 records · Page 61
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Effect of reaction time on the characteristics of catalytically grown boron nitride nanotubes

The paper reports on the growth of boron nitride nanotube (BNNTs) on Si substrate by catalytic chemical vapor deposition technique and the effect of reaction time and temperature on the size and purity were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy image revealed the bamboo-like BNNTs of multiwalled type with interlayer spacing of 0.34 nm. EDX analysis described the presence of a small percentage of Mg in the sample, indicating the combination of base-tip growth model for the sample synthesized at 1200°C. The reaction time has an effect of extending the length of the BNNTs until the catalyst is oxidized or covered by growth precursor.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Hard magnetic property enhancement of Co{sub 7}Hf-based ribbons by boron doping

Hard magnetic property enhancement of melt spun Co{sub 88}Hf{sub 12} ribbons by boron doping is demonstrated. B-doping could not only remarkably enhance the magnetic properties from energy product ((BH){sub max}) of 2.6 MGOe and intrinsic coercivity ({sub i}H{sub c}) of 1.5 kOe for B-free Co{sub 88}Hf{sub 12} ribbons to (BH){sub max} = 7.7 MGOe and {sub i}H{sub c} = 3.1 kOe for Co{sub 85}Hf{sub 12}B{sub 3} ribbons but also improve the Curie temperature (T{sub C}) of 7:1 phase. The (BH){sub max} value achieved in Co{sub 85}Hf{sub 12}B{sub 3} ribbons is the highest in Co-Hf alloy ribbons ever reported, which is about 15% higher than that of Co{sub 11}Hf{sub 2}B ribbons spun at 16 m/s [M. A. McGuire, O. Rios, N. J. Ghimire, and M. Koehler, Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 202401 (2012)]. The structural analysis confirms that B enters the orthorhombic Co{sub 7}Hf (7:1) crystal structure as interstitial atoms, forming Co{sub 7}HfB{sub x}, in the as-spun state. Yet B may diffuse out from the 7:1 phase after post-annealing, leading to the reduction of Curie temperature and the magnetic properties. The uniformly refined microstructure with B-doping results in high remanence (B{sub r}) and improves the squareness of demagnetization curve. The formation of interstitial-atom-modified Co{sub 7}HfB{sub x} phase and the microstructure refinement are the main reasons to give rise to the enhancement of hard magnetic properties in the B-containing Co{sub 7}Hf-based ribbons.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Hydrogen passivation of interstitial iron in boron-doped multicrystalline silicon during annealing

Effective hydrogenation of interstitial iron in boron-doped multicrystalline silicon wafers is reported. The multicrystalline silicon wafers were annealed with plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposited silicon nitride films, at temperatures of 400 °C – 900 °C and for times from minutes to hours. At low temperatures where a combined effect of hydrogenation and precipitation of dissolved Fe is expected, results show that the hydrogenation process dominates the effect of precipitation. The concentrations of dissolved interstitial iron reduce by more than 90% after a 30-min anneal at temperatures between 600 and 900 °C. The most effective reduction occurs at 700 °C, where 99% of the initial dissolved iron is hydrogenated after 30 min. The results show that the observed reductions in interstitial Fe concentrations are not caused by the internal gettering of Fe at structural defects or by an enhanced diffusivity of Fe due to the presence of hydrogen. The hydrogenation process is conjectured to be the pairing of positively charged iron with negatively charged hydrogen, forming less recombination active Fe-H complexes in silicon.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Spintronics with graphene-hexagonal boron nitride van der Waals heterostructures

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a large bandgap insulating isomorph of graphene, ideal for atomically thin tunnel barrier applications. In this letter, we demonstrate large area chemical vapor deposited (CVD) h-BN as a promising spin tunnel barrier in graphene spin transport devices. In such structures, the ferromagnetic tunnel contacts with h-BN barrier are found to show robust tunneling characteristics over a large scale with resistances in the favorable range for efficient spin injection into graphene. The non-local spin transport and precession experiments reveal spin lifetime ≈500 ps and spin diffusion length ≈1.6 μm in graphene with tunnel spin polarization ≈11% at 100 K. The electrical and spin transport measurements at different injection bias current and gate voltages confirm tunnel spin injection through h-BN barrier. These results open up possibilities for implementation of large area CVD h-BN in spintronic technologies.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Interplay between the structure and dynamics in liquid and undercooled boron: An ab initio molecular dynamics simulation study

In the present work, the structural and dynamic properties of liquid and undercooled boron are investigated by means of ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. Our results show that both liquid and undercooled states present a well pronounced short-range order (SRO) mainly due to the formation of inverted umbrella structural units. Moreover, we observe the development of a medium-range order (MRO) in the undercooling regime related to the increase of inverted umbrella structural units and of their interconnection as the temperature decreases. We also evidence that this MRO leads to a partial crystallization in the β-rhombohedral crystal below T = 1900 K. Finally, we discuss the role played by the SRO and MRO in the nearly Arrhenius evolution of the diffusion and the non-Arrhenius temperature dependence of the shear viscosity, in agreement with the experiment.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Rheological profile of boron nitride–ethylene glycol nanofluids

The paper presents the complete rheological profile of boron nitride (BN)–ethylene glycol (EG) nanofluids. Nanofluids have been produced by two-step method on the basis of commercially available powder of plate-like grains of nanometrical thickness. Viscoelastic structure has been determined in oscillatory measurements at a constant frequency and temperature. Viscosity and flow curves for these materials have been measured. Studies have shown that the Carreau model can be used for the modeling of dynamic viscosity curves of the material. The samples were tested for the presence of thixotropy. The dependence of viscosity on temperature was also examined. The effect of temperature on the dynamic viscosity of BN-EG nanofluids can be modelled with the use of Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann expression.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Strain tunable electronic and magnetic properties of pristine and semihydrogenated hexagonal boron phosphide

Tunable electromagnetic properties of pristine two-dimensional boron phosphide (h-BP) nanosheet and its semihydrogenated structure were studied by density functional theory computations. In sharp contrast to previously reported tensile strain-induced red shift in two-dimensional semiconductors, the direct gap of h-BP undergoes blue shift under biaxial tensile strain. Once semihydrogenated, the h-BP not only transform from the nonmagnetic semiconductor into metal which is spin-resolved but also exhibits linear response between the magnetic moment and biaxial strain with a slope up to 0.005 μB/1%. These findings provide a simple and effective route to tune the electronic and magnetic properties of h-BP nanostructures in a wide range and should inspire experimental enthusiasm.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Direct growth of nanocrystalline hexagonal boron nitride films on dielectric substrates

Atomically thin hexagonal-boron nitride (h-BN) films are primarily synthesized through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on various catalytic transition metal substrates. In this work, a single-step metal-catalyst-free approach to obtain few- to multi-layer nanocrystalline h-BN (NCBN) directly on amorphous SiO{sub 2}/Si and quartz substrates is demonstrated. The as-grown thin films are continuous and smooth with no observable pinholes or wrinkles across the entire deposited substrate as inspected using optical and atomic force microscopy. The starting layers of NCBN orient itself parallel to the substrate, initiating the growth of the textured thin film. Formation of NCBN is due to the random and uncontrolled nucleation of h-BN on the dielectric substrate surface with no epitaxial relation, unlike on metal surfaces. The crystallite size is ∼25 nm as determined by Raman spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the NCBN formed sheets of multi-stacked layers with controllable thickness from ∼2 to 25 nm. The absence of transfer process in this technique avoids any additional degradation, such as wrinkles, tears or folding and residues on the film which are detrimental to device performance. This work provides a wider perspective of CVD-grown h-BN and presents a viable route towards large-scale manufacturing of h-BN substrates and for coating applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Submicron cubic boron nitride as hard as diamond

Here, we report the sintering of aggregated submicron cubic boron nitride (sm-cBN) at a pressure of 8 GPa. The sintered cBN compacts exhibit hardness values comparable to that of single crystal diamond, fracture toughness about 5-fold that of cBN single crystal, in combination with a high oxidization temperature. Thus, another way has been demonstrated to improve the mechanical properties of cBN besides reducing the grain size to nano scale. In contrast to other ultrahard compacts with similar hardness, the sm-cBN aggregates are better placed for potential industrial application, as their relative low pressure manufacturing perhaps be easier and cheaper.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

First principle study of structural, electronic and magnetic properties of zigzag boron nitride nanoribbon: Role of vacancies

We study the effect of vacancies on the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of zigzag boron nitride nanoribbon (ZBNNR) by using first principle calculations. We find that the shift of the vacancies with respect to the ribbon edges causes change in the structural geometry, electronic structure and magnetization of ZBNNR. These vacancies also produce band gap modulation and consequently results the magnetization of ZBNNR.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Stability analysis of zigzag boron nitride nanoribbons

We have explored the structural stability of bare and hydrogenated zigzag boron nitride nanoribbons (ZBNNRs). In order to investigate the structural stability, we calculate the cohesive energy for bare, one-edge and both edges H-terminated ZBNNRs with different widths. It is found that the ZBNNRs with width Nz=8 are energetically more favorable than the lower-width counterparts (Nz<8). Bare ZBNNRs have been found energetically most stable as compared to the edge terminated ribbons. Our analysis reveals that the structural stability is a function of ribbon-width and it is not affected significantly by the type of edge-passivation (one-edge or both-edges)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Dirac cones in transition metal doped boron nitride

The transition metal (TM) doped zinc blende boron nitride (c-BN) is studied by using the first principle calculation. TM atoms fill in the interstitials in c-BN and form two-dimensional honeycomb lattice. The generalized gradient approximation and projector augmented wave method are used. The calculated density of states and band structures show that d electrons of TM atoms form impurity bands in the gap of c-BN. When the TM-BN system is in ferromagnetic or non-magnetic state, Dirac cones emerge at the K point in Brillouin zone. When TM is Ti and Co, the Dirac cones are spin polarized and very close to the Fermi level, which makes them promising candidates of Dirac half-metal [H. Ishizuka and Y. Motome, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 237207 (2012)]. While TM is Ni and Cu, the system is non-magnetic and Dirac cones located above the Fermi level.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Thermal transport across graphene and single layer hexagonal boron nitride

As the dimensions of nanocircuits and nanoelectronics shrink, thermal energies are being generated in more confined spaces, making it extremely important and urgent to explore for efficient heat dissipation pathways. In this work, the phonon energy transport across graphene and hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) interface is studied using classic molecular dynamics simulations. Effects of temperature, interatomic bond strength, heat flux direction, and functionalization on interfacial thermal transport are investigated. It is found out that by hydrogenating graphene in the hybrid structure, the interfacial thermal resistance (R) between graphene and h-BN can be reduced by 76.3%, indicating an effective approach to manipulate the interfacial thermal transport. Improved in-plane/out-of-plane phonon couplings and broadened phonon channels are observed in the hydrogenated graphene system by analyzing its phonon power spectra. The reported R results monotonically decrease with temperature and interatomic bond strengths. No thermal rectification phenomenon is observed in this interfacial thermal transport. Results reported in this work give the fundamental knowledge on graphene and h-BN thermal transport and provide rational guidelines for next generation thermal interface material designs.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

First principles DFT investigation of yttrium-decorated boron-nitride nanotube: Electronic structure and hydrogen storage

The electronic structure and hydrogen storage capability of Yttrium-doped BNNTs has been theoretically investigated using first principles density functional theory (DFT). Yttrium atom prefers the hollow site in the center of the hexagonal ring with a binding energy of 0.8048eV. Decorating by Y makes the system half-metallic and magnetic with a magnetic moment of 1.0µ{sub B}. Y decorated Boron-Nitride (8,0) nanotube can adsorb up to five hydrogen molecules whose average binding energy is computed as 0.5044eV. All the hydrogen molecules are adsorbed with an average desorption temperature of 644.708 K. Taking that the Y atoms can be placed only in alternate hexagons, the implied wt% comes out to be 5.31%, a relatively acceptable value for hydrogen storage materials. Thus, this system can serve as potential hydrogen storage medium.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Evidence for the role of hydrogen in the stabilization of minority carrier lifetime in boron-doped Czochralski silicon

This study demonstrates that the presence of a hydrogen source during fast-firing is critical to the regeneration of B-O defects and that is it not a pure thermally based mechanism or due to plasma exposure. Boron-doped p-type wafers were fired with and without hydrogen-rich silicon nitride (SiN{sub x}:H) films present during the fast-firing process. After an initial light-induced degradation step, only wafers fired with the SiN{sub x}:H films present were found to undergo permanent and complete recovery of lifetime during subsequent illuminated annealing. In comparison, wafers fired bare, i.e., without SiN{sub x}:H films present during firing, were found to demonstrate no permanent recovery in lifetime. Further, prior exposure to hydrogen-rich plasma processing was found to have no impact on permanent lifetime recovery in bare-fired wafers. This lends weight to a hydrogen-based model for B-O defect passivation and casts doubt on the role of non-hydrogen species in the permanent passivation of B-O defects in commercial-grade p-type Czochralski silicon wafers.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Excitonic luminescence of SiGe/Si quantum wells δ-doped with boron

Low-temperature photoluminescence of undoped and moderately δ-doped Si{sub 1−x}Ge{sub x}/Si (x < 0.1) quantum wells has been studied. The influence of boron δ-layer on the excitonic luminescence and the luminescence caused by a dense electron plasma was demonstrated. The conditions under which the luminescence spectra of quantum wells are dominated by impurity-bound excitons (BE) have been established. Some unusual properties of these BE are explained in terms of type II band-offset in Si{sub 1−x}Ge{sub x}/Si (x < 0.1) quantum wells, which favors a spatial separation of electrons and holes. It is shown that the temperature dependence of an excitonic emission in the quantum wells allows to calculate the BE-related density of states and, thus, can be used for contactless estimation of the impurity concentration in quantum wells.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Design and optimization of arrays of neodymium iron boron-based magnets for magnetic tweezers applications

We present the design methodology for arrays of neodymium iron boron (NdFeB)-based magnets for use in magnetic tweezers devices. Using finite element analysis (FEA), we optimized the geometry of the NdFeB magnet as well as the geometry of iron yokes designed to focus the magnetic fields toward the sample plane. Together, the magnets and yokes form a magnetic array which is the basis of the magnetic tweezers device. By systematically varying 15 distinct shape parameters, we determined those features that maximize the magnitude of the magnetic field gradient as well as the length scale over which the magnetic force operates. Additionally, we demonstrated that magnetic saturation of the yoke material leads to intrinsic limitations in any geometric design. Using this approach, we generated a compact and light-weight magnetic tweezers device that produces a high field gradient at the image plane in order to apply large forces to magnetic beads. We then fabricated the optimized yoke and validated the FEA by experimentally mapping the magnetic field of the device. The optimization data and iterative FEA approach outlined here will enable the streamlined design and construction of specialized instrumentation for force-sensitive microscopy.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Synthesis of atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride films on nickel foils by molecular beam epitaxy

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a layered two-dimensional material with properties that make it promising as a dielectric in various applications. We report the growth of h-BN films on Ni foils from elemental B and N using molecular beam epitaxy. The presence of crystalline h-BN over the entire substrate is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. Atomic force microscopy is used to examine the morphology and continuity of the synthesized films. A scanning electron microscopy study of films obtained using shorter depositions offers insight into the nucleation and growth behavior of h-BN on the Ni substrate. The morphology of h-BN was found to evolve from dendritic, star-shaped islands to larger, smooth triangular ones with increasing growth temperature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗