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At least 1,135 records · Page 63
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Interface magnetism of Co{sub 2}FeGe Heusler alloy layers and magnetoresistance of Co{sub 2}FeGe/MgO/Fe magnetic tunnel junctions

The interface magnetism between Co{sub 2}FeGe Heusler alloy layers and MgO layers was investigated using {sup 57}Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Interface-sensitive samples, where the {sup 57}Fe isotope was used only for the interfacial atomic layer of the Co{sub 2}FeGe layer on the MgO layer, were prepared using atomically controlled alternate deposition. The {sup 57}Fe Mössbauer spectra of the interface-sensitive samples at room temperature were found similar to those of the bulk-sensitive Co{sub 2}FeGe films in which the {sup 57}Fe isotope was distributed throughout the films. On the other hand, the tunnel magnetoresistance effect of magnetic tunnel junctions with Co{sub 2}FeGe layers as the ferromagnetic electrodes showed strong reduction at room temperature. These results indicate that the strong temperature dependence of the tunneling magnetoresistance of magnetic tunnel junctions using Heusler alloy electrodes cannot be attributed simply to the reduction of the magnetization at the interfaces between the Heusler alloy and insulator layers.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electrical and physical characterization of the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/p-GaSb interface for 1%, 5%, 10%, and 22% (NH{sub 4}){sub 2}S surface treatments

In this work, the impact of ammonium sulfide ((NH{sub 4}){sub 2}S) surface treatment on the electrical passivation of the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/p-GaSb interface is studied for varying sulfide concentrations. Prior to atomic layer deposition of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, GaSb surfaces were treated in 1%, 5%, 10%, and 22% (NH{sub 4}){sub 2}S solutions for 10 min at 295 K. The smallest stretch-out and flatband voltage shifts coupled with the largest capacitance swing, as indicated by capacitance-voltage (CV) measurements, were obtained for the 1% treatment. The resulting interface defect trap density (D{sub it}) distribution showed a minimum value of 4 × 10{sup 12 }cm{sup −2}eV{sup −1} at E{sub v} + 0.27 eV. Transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy examination revealed the formation of interfacial layers and increased roughness at the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/p-GaSb interface of samples treated with 10% and 22% (NH{sub 4}){sub 2}S. In combination, these effects degrade the interface quality as reflected in the CV characteristics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Interface-structure of the Si/SiC heterojunction grown on 6H-SiC

The Si/SiC heterojunctions were prepared on 6H-SiC (0001) C-face by low-pressure chemical vapour deposition at 850 ∼ 1050 °C. Transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction were employed to investigate the interface-structure of Si/SiC heterojunctions. The Si/6H-SiC heterostructure of large lattice-mismatch follows domain matching epitaxy mode, which releases most of the lattice-mismatch strain, and the coherent Si epilayers can be grown on 6H-SiC. Si(1-11)/6H-SiC(0001) heterostructure is obtained at 900 °C, and the in-plane orientation relationship of Si/6H-SiC heterostructure is (1–11)[1-1-2]{sub Si}//(0001)[-2110]{sub 6H-SiC}. The Si(1-11)/6H-SiC(0001) interface has the same 4:5 Si-to-SiC matching mode with a residual lattice-mismatch of 0.26% along both the Si[1-1-2] and Si[110] orientations. When the growth temperature increases up to 1000 °C, the 〈220〉 preferential orientation of the Si film appears. SAED patterns at the Si/6H-SiC interface show that the in-plane orientation relationship is (-220)[001]{sub Si}//(0001)[2-1-10]{sub 6H-SiC}. Along Si[110] orientation, the Si-to-SiC matching mode is still 4:5; along the vertical orientation Si[001], the Si-to-SiC mode change to approximate 1:2 and the residual mismatch is 1.84% correspondingly. The number of the atoms in one matching-period decreases with increasing residual lattice-mismatch in domain matching epitaxy and vice versa. The Si film grows epitaxially but with misfit dislocations at the interface between the Si film and the 6H-SiC substrate. And the misfit dislocation density of the Si(1-11)/6H-SiC(0001) and Si(-220)/6H-SiC(0001) obtained by experimental observations is as low as 0.487 × 10{sup 14 }cm{sup −2} and 1.217 × 10{sup 14 }cm{sup −2}, respectively, which is much smaller than the theoretical calculation results.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Two-dimensional superconductivity at (110) LaAlO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} interfaces

Novel low dimensional quantum phenomena at (110) LaAlO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} (LAO/STO) interfaces are expected after the quasi two dimensional electron gas similar to that of (001) LAO/STO interfaces was found at this (110) system. Here, we report the two dimensional superconductivity with a superconducting transition temperature of ≅ 184 mK at (110) LAO/STO interfaces. The two dimensional characteristics of the superconductivity are consistent with our analysis based on a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. The estimated superconducting layer thickness is about 18 nm. This discovery may inspire new studies of LAO/STO interfaces and open additional opportunities for design of novel oxide electronic devices.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Atomic and electronic structure of the SrNbO{sub 3}/SrNbO{sub 3.4} interface

We have determined the atomic-scale structure of the SrNbO{sub 3}/SrNbO{sub 3.4} interface and related it to the electronic structure. Experimentally, transmission electron microscopy observations reveal that SrNbO{sub 3} and SrNbO{sub 3.4} show orientation relationships [1{sup ¯}10]{sub SrNbO{sub 3}} // [010]{sub SrNbO{sub 3{sub .{sub 4}}}} and (110){sub SrNbO{sub 3}} // (001){sub SrNbO{sub 3{sub .{sub 4}}}}, and that their interface is coherent and atomically abrupt. Theoretically, this interface is found to be strongly anisotropic in electronic structure, and takes on quasi-one-dimensional nature. We also find that the interface impacts greatly the electron occupation of Nb d orbitals, particularly d{sub z}{sup 2} orbital. The combined study represents a relevant advance in atomically bridging structures to properties of heterointerfaces.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Interface stress development in the Cu/Ag nanostructured multilayered film during the tensile deformation

Cu/Ag nanostructured multilayered films (NMFs) with different stacking sequences were investigated by synchrotron X-ray diffraction during the tensile deformations for interface stress study. The lattice strains were carefully traced and the stress partition, which usually occurs in the multiphase bulk metallic materials during plastic deformations, was first quantitatively analyzed in the NMFs here. The interface stress of the Cu/Ag NMFs was carefully analyzed during the tensile deformation and the results revealed that the interface stress was along the loading direction and exhibited three-stage evolution. This tensile interface stress has a detrimental effect on the deformation, leading to the early fracture of the NMFs.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Properties of the c-Si/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} interface of ultrathin atomic layer deposited Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layers capped by SiN{sub x} for c-Si surface passivation

This work presents a detailed study of c-Si/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} interfaces of ultrathin Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layers deposited with atomic layer deposition (ALD), and capped with SiN{sub x} layers deposited with plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. A special focus was the characterization of the fixed charge density of these dielectric stacks and the interface defect density as a function of the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layer thickness for different ALD Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} deposition processes (plasma-assisted ALD and thermal ALD) and different thermal post-deposition treatments. Based on theoretical calculations with the extended Shockley–Read–Hall model for surface recombination, these interface properties were found to explain well the experimentally determined surface recombination. Thus, these interface properties provide fundamental insights into to the passivation mechanisms of these Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/SiN{sub x} stacks, a stack system highly relevant, particularly for high efficiency silicon solar cells. Based on these findings, it was also possible to improve the surface passivation quality of stacks with thermal ALD Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} by oxidizing the c-Si surface prior to the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} deposition.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

The equilibrium shape of fluid-fluid interfaces: Derivation and a new numerical method for Young’s and Young-Laplace equations

Many physical problems require explicit knowledge of the equilibrium shape of the interface between two fluid phases. Here, we present a new numerical method which is simply implementable and easily adaptable for a wide range of problems involving capillary deformations of fluid-fluid interfaces. We apply a simulated annealing algorithm to find the interface shape that minimizes the thermodynamic potential of the system. First, for completeness, we provide an analytical proof that minimizing this potential is equivalent to solving the Young-Laplace equation and the Young law. Then, we illustrate our numerical method showing two-dimensional results for fluid-fluid menisci between vertical or inclined walls and curved surfaces, capillary interactions between vertical walls, equilibrium shapes of sessile heavy droplets on a flat horizontal solid surface, and of droplets pending from flat or curved solid surfaces. Finally, we show illustrative three-dimensional results to point out the applicability of the method to micro- or nano-particles adsorbed at a fluid-fluid interface.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Tuning of in-plane optical anisotropy by inserting ultra-thin InAs layer at interfaces in (001)-grown GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells

The in-plane optical anisotropy (IPOA) in (001)-grown GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells (QWs) with different well widths varying from 2 nm to 8 nm has been studied by reflectance difference spectroscopy. Ultra-thin InAs layers with thickness ranging from 0.5 monolayer (ML) to 1.5 ML have been inserted at GaAs/AlGaAs interfaces to tune the asymmetry in the QWs. It is demonstrated that the IPOA can be accurately tailored by the thickness of the inserted ultra-thin InAs layer at the interfaces. Strain-induced IPOA has also been extracted by using a stress apparatus. We find that the intensity of the strain-induced IPOA decreases with the thickness of the inserted InAs layer, while that of the interface-induced IPOA increases with the thickness of the InAs layer. Theoretical calculations based on 6 band k ⋅ p theory have been carried out, and good agreements with experimental results are obtained. Our results demonstrate that, the IPOA of the QWs can be greatly and effectively tuned by inserting an ultra-thin InAs layer with different thicknesses at the interfaces of QWs, which does not significantly influence the transition energies and the transition probability of QWs.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Orientation dependences of atomic structures in chemically heterogeneous Cu{sub 50}Ta{sub 50}/Ta glass-crystal interfaces

Molecular dynamics simulations based on an angular-dependent potential were performed to examine the structural properties of chemically heterogeneous interfaces between amorphous Cu{sub 50}Ta{sub 50} and crystalline Ta. Several phenomena, namely, layering, crystallization, intermixing, and composition segregation, were observed in the Cu{sub 50}Ta{sub 50} region adjacent to the Ta layers. These interfacial behaviors are found to depend on the orientation of the underlying Ta substrate: Layering induced by Ta(110) extends the farthest into Cu{sub 50}Ta{sub 50}, crystallization in the Cu{sub 50}Ta{sub 50} region is most significant for interface against Ta(100), while inter-diffusion is most pronounced for Ta(111). It turns out that the induced layering behavior is dominated by the interlayer distances of the underlying Ta layers, while the degree of inter-diffusion is governed by the openness of the Ta crystalline layers. In addition, composition segregations are observed in all interface models, corresponding to the immiscible nature of the Cu-Ta system. Furthermore, Voronoi polyhedra 〈0,5,2,6〉 and 〈0,4,4,6〉 are found to be abundant in the vicinity of the interfaces for all models, whose presence is believed to facilitate the structural transition between amorphous and body centered cubic.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

The nature of interfaces and charge trapping sites in photocatalytic mixed-phase TiO{sub 2} from first principles modeling

Mixed phase rutile/anatase catalysts show increased reactivity compared with the pure phases alone. However, the mechanism causing this effect is not fully understood. The electronic properties of the interface and the relative energy of the electron in each phase play a key role in lowering the rate of recombination of electron hole pairs. Using density functional theory and the +U correction, we calculated the bands offsets between the phases taking into account the effect of the interface. Our model included several thousands atoms, and thus is a good representation of an interface between actual nanoparticles. We found rutile to have both higher conduction and valence band offsets than rutile, leading to an accumulation of electrons in the anatase phase accompanied by hole accumulation in the rutile phase. We also probed the electronic structure of our heterostructure and found a gap state caused by electrons localized in undercoordinated Ti atoms which were present within the interfacial region. Interfaces between bulk materials and between exposed surfaces both showed electron trapping at undercoordinated sites. These undercoordinated (typically four) atoms present localized electrons that could enable reduction reactions in the interfacial region, and could explain the increased reactivity of mixed-phase TiO{sub 2} photocatalyst materials.

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

Diffusion phenomenon at the interface of Cu-brass under a strong gravitational field

To investigate diffusion phenomenon at the interface between Cu and brass under a strong gravitational field generated by ultracentrifuge apparatus, we performed gravity experiments on samples prepared by electroplating with interfaces normal and parallel to the direction of gravity. For the parallel-mode sample, for which sedimentation cannot occur thorough the interface, the concentration change was significant within the lower gravity region; many pores were observed in this region. Many vacancies arising from crystal strain due to the strong gravitational field moved into the lower gravity region, and enhanced the atoms mobilities. For the two normal-mode samples, which have interface normal to the direction of gravity, the composition gradient of the brass-on-Cu sample was steeper than that for Cu-on-brass. This showed that the atoms of denser Cu diffuse in the direction of gravity, whereas Zn atoms diffuse in the opposite direction by sedimentation. The interdiffusion coefficients became higher in the Cu-on-brass sample, and became lower in the brass-on-Cu sample. This rise may be related to the behavior of the vacancies.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Interfacial bonding and electronic structure of GaN/GaAs interface: A first-principles study

Understanding of GaN interfacing with GaAs is crucial for GaN to be an effective interfacial layer between high-k oxides and III-V materials with the application in high-mobility metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) devices. Utilizing first principles calculations, here, we investigate the structural and electronic properties of the GaN/GaAs interface with respect to the interfacial nitrogen contents. The decrease of interfacial N contents leads to more Ga dangling bonds and As-As dimers. At the N-rich limit, the interface with N concentration of 87.5% shows the most stability. Furthermore, a strong band offsets dependence on the interfacial N concentration is also observed. The valance band offset of N7 with hybrid functional calculation is 0.51 eV. The electronic structure analysis shows that significant interface states exist in all the GaN/GaAs models with various N contents, which originate from the interfacial dangling bonds and some unsaturated Ga and N atoms. These large amounts of gap states result in Fermi level pinning and essentially degrade the device performance.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Silicon/HfO{sub 2} interface: Effects of proton irradiation

Substrate oxide interfaces are of paramount importance in deciding the quality of the semiconductor devices. In this work we have studied how 200 keV proton irradiation affects the interface of a 13 nm thick, atomic layer deposited hafnium dioxide on silicon substrate. Pre- and post-irradiation electrical measurements are used to quantify the effect of proton irradiation for varying electrode geometries. Proton irradiation introduces positive charge in the oxide and at the interface of Si/HfO{sub 2} interface. The gate current is not very much affected under positive injection since the induced positive charge is compensated by the injected electrons. Current voltage characteristics under negative bias get affected by the proton irradiation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Synthesis of metal silicide at metal/silicon oxide interface by electronic excitation

The synthesis of metal silicide at the metal/silicon oxide interface by electronic excitation was investigated using transmission electron microscopy. A platinum silicide, α-Pt{sub 2}Si, was successfully formed at the platinum/silicon oxide interface under 25–200 keV electron irradiation. This is of interest since any platinum silicide was not formed at the platinum/silicon oxide interface by simple thermal annealing under no-electron-irradiation conditions. From the electron energy dependence of the cross section for the initiation of the silicide formation, it is clarified that the silicide formation under electron irradiation was not due to a knock-on atom-displacement process, but a process induced by electronic excitation. It is suggested that a mechanism related to the Knotek and Feibelman mechanism may play an important role in silicide formation within the solid. Similar silicide formation was also observed at the palladium/silicon oxide and nickel/silicon oxide interfaces, indicating a wide generality of the silicide formation by electronic excitation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Chemical mixing at “Al on Fe” and “Fe on Al” interfaces

The chemical mixing at the “Al on Fe” and “Fe on Al” interfaces was studied by molecular dynamics simulations of the layer growth and by {sup 57}Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The concentration distribution along the layer growth direction was calculated for different crystallographic orientations, and atomically sharp “Al on Fe” interfaces were found when Al grows over (001) and (110) oriented Fe layers. The Al/Fe(111) interface is also narrow as compared to the intermixing found at the “Fe on Al” interfaces for any orientation. Conversion electron Mössbauer measurements of trilayers—Al/{sup 57}Fe/Al and Al/{sup 57}Fe/Ag grown simultaneously over Si(111) substrate by vacuum evaporation—support the results of the molecular dynamics calculations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Effect of dielectric stoichiometry and interface chemical state on band alignment between tantalum oxide and platinum

The tantalum oxide–platinum interface electronic properties determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are found to depend on the dielectric stoichiometry and platinum chemical state. We demonstrate the slow charging of the tantalum oxide in cases of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}/Pt and Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5−y}/Pt interfaces under the X-ray irradiation. This behavior is proposed to be related to the charge accumulation at oxygen vacancies induced traps. Based on the proposed methodology, we define the intrinsic conductive band offset (CBO) ∼1.3 eV (both for Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}/Pt and Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5−y}/Pt) and CBO after the full saturation of the traps charging ∼0.5 eV, while the last one defines the energy position of charged traps below the bottom of conduction band. We demonstrate also the pining at the both Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}/Pt and Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5−y}/Pt interfaces even in the “intrinsic” state, apparently induced by the presence of additional interfacial states. No shifts of Ta4f line and band alignment in over stoichiometric Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5+x}/Pt structure during X-ray irradiation, as well as the absence of pinning, resulting in increase of CBO up to 2.3 eV are found. This behavior is related to the PtO{sub 2} interfacing layer formation at Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5+x}/Pt, blocking the charging of the surface states and associated dipole formation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
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↗