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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 1,171 records · Page 65
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Electron-phonon interaction and thermal boundary resistance at the crystal-amorphous interface of the phase change compound GeTe

Phonon dispersion relations and electron-phonon coupling of hole-doped trigonal GeTe have been computed by density functional perturbation theory. This compound is a prototypical phase change material of interest for applications in phase change non-volatile memories. The calculations allowed us to estimate the electron-phonon contribution to the thermal boundary resistance at the interface between the crystalline and amorphous phases present in the device. The lattice contribution to the thermal boundary resistance has been computed by non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations with an interatomic potential based on a neural network scheme. We find that the electron-phonon term contributes to the thermal boundary resistance to an extent which is strongly dependent on the concentration and mobility of the holes. Further, for measured values of the holes concentration and electrical conductivity, the electron-phonon term is larger than the contribution from the lattice. It is also shown that the presence of Ge vacancies, responsible for the p-type degenerate character of the semiconductor, strongly affects the lattice thermal conductivity of the crystal.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Energy band alignment and electronic states of amorphous carbon surfaces in vacuo and in aqueous environment

In this paper, we obtain the energy band positions of amorphous carbon (a–C) surfaces in vacuum and in aqueous environment. The calculations are performed using a combination of (i) classical molecular dynamics (MD), (ii) Kohn-Sham density functional theory with the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) exchange-correlation functional, and (iii) the screened-exchange hybrid functional of Heyd, Scuseria, and Ernzerhof (HSE). PBE allows an accurate generation of a-C and the evaluation of the local electrostatic potential in the a-C/water system, HSE yields an improved description of energetic positions which is critical in this case, and classical MD enables a computationally affordable description of water. Our explicit calculation shows that, both in vacuo and in aqueous environment, the a-C electronic states available in the region comprised between the H{sub 2}/H{sub 2}O and O{sub 2}/H{sub 2}O levels of water correspond to both occupied and unoccupied states within the a-C pseudogap region. These are localized states associated to sp{sup 2} sites in a-C. The band realignment induces a shift of approximately 300 meV of the a-C energy band positions with respect to the redox levels of water.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Dopant selection for control of charge carrier density and mobility in amorphous indium oxide thin-film transistors: Comparison between Si- and W-dopants

The dependence of oxygen vacancy suppression on dopant species in amorphous indium oxide (a-InO{sub x}) thin film transistors (TFTs) is reported. In a-InO{sub x} TFTs incorporating equivalent atom densities of Si- and W-dopants, absorption of oxygen in the host a-InO{sub x} matrix was found to depend on difference of Gibbs free energy of the dopants for oxidation. For fully oxidized films, the extracted channel conductivity was higher in the a-InO{sub x} TFTs containing dopants of small ionic radius. This can be explained by a reduction in the ionic scattering cross sectional area caused by charge screening effects.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

70 °C synthesis of high-Sn content (25%) GeSn on insulator by Sn-induced crystallization of amorphous Ge

Polycrystalline GeSn thin films are fabricated on insulating substrates at low temperatures by using Sn-induced crystallization of amorphous Ge (a-Ge). The Sn layer stacked on the a-Ge layer (100-nm thickness each) had two roles: lowering the crystallization temperature of a-Ge and composing GeSn. Slow annealing at an extremely low temperature of 70 °C allowed for a large-grained (350 nm) GeSn layer with a lattice constant of 0.590 nm, corresponding to a Sn composition exceeding 25%. The present investigation paves the way for advanced electronic optical devices integrated on a flexible plastic substrate as well as on a Si platform.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Improvement of thermal stability of amorphous CoFeSiB thin films

The excellent soft magnetic properties of amorphous (a-) CoFeSiB films make it suited for use in the yoke of granular-in-gap sensors, but only if their thermal stability can be improved. To this end, this study investigated the effects of adding small amounts of other metals on the magnetic and structural properties of a-CoFeSiB films. It was found that adding metals with relatively large atomic radii is an effective way to increase thermal stability, with both Ta and Hf showing good thermal stability after annealing at temperatures of 473 to 573 K. Indeed, a -(CoFeSiB){sub 96.2}Hf{sub 3.8} film was found to maintain its initial coercivity of 0.2 Oe without very little decrease in magnetization after annealing at 623 K. Furthermore, even after annealing at 673 K a -(CoFeSiB){sub 93.0}Hf{sub 7.0} film still had a relatively low coercivity of approximately 0.5 Oe.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Observation of amorphous to crystalline phase transformation in Te substituted Sn-Sb-Se thin films

Thin films of Sn-Sb-Se-Te (8 ≤ x ≤ 14) chalcogenide system were prepared by thermal evaporation technique using melt quenched bulk samples. The as-prepared thin films were found amorphous as evidenced from X-ray diffraction studies. Resistivity measurement showed an exponential decrease with temperature upto critical temperature (transition temperature) beyond which a sharp decrease was observed and with further increase in temperature showed an exponential decrease in resistivity with different activation energy. The transition temperature showed a decreasing trend with tellurium content in the sample. The resistivity measurement during cooling run showed no abrupt change in resistivity. The resistivity measurements of annealed films did not show any abrupt change revealing the structural transformation occurring in the material. The transition width showed an increase with tellurium content in the sample. The resistivity ratio showed two order of magnitude improvements for sample with higher tellurium content. The observed transition temperature in this system was found quite less than already commercialized Ge-Sb-Te system for optical and electronic memories.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

MoS{sub 2} on an amorphous HfO{sub 2} surface: An ab initio investigation

The energetic stability, electronic and structural properties of MoS{sub 2} adsorbed on an amorphous a-HfO{sub 2} surface (MoS{sub 2}/HfO{sub 2}) are examined through ab initio theoretical investigations. Our total energy results indicate that the formation of MoS{sub 2}/HfO{sub 2} is an exothermic process with an adsorption energy of 34 meV/Å{sup 2}, which means that it is more stable than similar systems like graphene/HfO{sub 2} and MoS{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2}. There are no chemical bonds at the MoS{sub 2}-HfO{sub 2} interface. Upon formation of MoS{sub 2}/HfO{sub 2}, the electronic charge distribution is mostly localized at the interface region with no net charge transfer between the adsorbed MoS{sub 2} sheet and –HfO{sub 2} surface. However, the MoS{sub 2} sheet becomes n-type doped when there are oxygen vacancies in the HfO{sub 2} surface. Further investigation of the electronic distribution reveals that there are no electron- and hole-rich regions (electron-hole puddles) on the MoS{sub 2} sheet, which makes this system promising for use in high-speed nanoelectronic devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Single walled carbon nanotube network—Tetrahedral amorphous carbon composite film

Single walled carbon nanotube network (SWCNTN) was coated by tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) using a pulsed Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc system to form a SWCNTN—ta-C composite film. The effects of SWCNTN areal coverage density and ta-C coating thickness on the composite film properties were investigated. X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements prove the presence of high quality sp{sup 3} bonded ta-C coating on the SWCNTN. Raman spectroscopy suggests that the single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) forming the network survived encapsulation in the ta-C coating. Nano-mechanical testing suggests that the ta-C coated SWCNTN has superior wear performance compared to uncoated SWCNTN.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Superconducting state parameters of monovalent and polyvalent amorphous

In the present study deals, we have calculated superconducting state parameter (SSP) like electron-phonon coupling strength λ, coulomb pseudo potential, μ*, transition temperature Tc, isotope effect exponent α and effective interaction strength N{sub 0}V of monovalent (Li), divalent (Zn), trivalent (In) and tetravalent (Pb) amorphous. To carry out this work we have used our newly constructed model pseudo potential to describe electron ion interaction along with three different local field correction functions like Hartree, Taylor and Sarkar et al. The present results are found in good agreement with other available theoretical as well as experimental data.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Investigation of optical and electrical properties of amorphous Se{sub 95−x}S{sub x}Zn{sub 5}(x=0.2, 2, 5 and 10) thin films

In this study, we reported that the optical and electrical analysis of amorphous Se{sub 90-x}S{sub x}Zn{sub 5} (x=0.2, 2, 5, 10) thin films. Bulk samples of the investigated material were prepared by melt quenching technique. Thin films of ~ 300nm thickness were deposited on cleaned glass substrates by thermal evaporation technique. The morphological study of the investigated material in powder form carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirms the disorder of the material increases at lower sulfur doping (up to 5%) whereas at higher (S) doping (10%) the defects of the material decreases. The optical parameters were estimated from optical absorption spectra data measured from UV-Vis-spectrophotometer in the wavelength range 200-900 nm. It was found that the value of optical band gap (E{sub g}) of the investigated thin films decreases up to lower S doping and increases at higher (S) doping. The other optical parameters such as absorption coefficient (α) and extinction coefficient (K) increases up to lower S doping and decreases at higher S doping. This remarkable change in the values of optical parameters was interpreted on the basis of model proposed by Davis and Mott. Electrical parameters of the investigated thin films were carried out in the temperature range 309-370 K. Analysis of data shows activation energy decreases with the increase of concentration of (S) increases up to 5% and at 10% it increases again.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Nonpolar resistive memory switching with all four possible resistive switching modes in amorphous LaHoO{sub 3} thin films

We studied the resistive memory switching in pulsed laser deposited amorphous LaHoO{sub 3} (a-LHO) thin films for non-volatile resistive random access memory applications. Nonpolar resistive switching (RS) was achieved in Pt/a-LHO/Pt memory cells with all four possible RS modes (i.e., positive unipolar, positive bipolar, negative unipolar, and negative bipolar) having high R{sub ON}/R{sub OFF} ratios (in the range of ∼10{sup 4}–10{sup 5}) and non-overlapping switching voltages (set voltage, V{sub ON} ∼ ±3.6–4.2 V and reset voltage, V{sub OFF} ∼ ±1.3–1.6 V) with a small variation of about ±5–8%. Temperature dependent current-voltage (I–V) characteristics indicated the metallic conduction in low resistance states (LRS). We believe that the formation (set) and rupture (reset) of mixed conducting filaments formed out of oxygen vacancies and metallic Ho atoms could be responsible for the change in the resistance states of the memory cell. Detailed analysis of I–V characteristics further corroborated the formation of conductive nanofilaments based on metal-like (Ohmic) conduction in LRS. Simmons-Schottky emission was found to be the dominant charge transport mechanism in the high resistance state.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Controlled motion of domain walls in submicron amorphous wires

Results on the control of the domain wall displacement in cylindrical Fe{sub 77.5}Si{sub 7.5}B{sub 15} amorphous glass-coated submicron wires prepared by rapid quenching from the melt are reported. The control methods have relied on conical notches with various depths, up to a few tens of nm, made in the glass coating and in the metallic nucleus using a focused ion beam (FIB) system, and on the use of small nucleation coils at one of the sample ends in order to apply magnetic field pulses aimed to enhance the nucleation of reverse domains. The notch-based method is used for the first time in the case of cylindrical ultrathin wires. The results show that the most efficient technique of controlling the domain wall motion in this type of samples is the simultaneous use of notches and nucleation coils. Their effect depends on wire diameter, notch depth, its position on the wire length, and characteristics of the applied pulse.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Columnar recombination for X-ray generated electron-holes in amorphous selenium and its significance in a-Se x-ray detectors

Although amorphous selenium (a-Se) has a long and successful history of application in optical and X-ray imaging, some of its fundamental properties are still puzzling. In particularly, the mechanism of carrier recombination following x-ray excitation and electric field and temperature dependences of the electron-hole pair creation energy (W{sub ehp}) remain unclear. Using the combination of X-ray photocurrent and pulse height spectroscopy measurements, we measure W{sub ehp} in a wide range of temperatures (218–320 K) and electric fields (10–100 V/µm) and show that the conventional columnar recombination model which assumes Langevin recombination within a column (a primary electron track) fails to explain experimental results in a wide range of electric fields and temperatures. The reason for the failure of the conventional model is revealed in this work, and the theory of the columnar recombination is modified to include the saturation of the recombination rate at high electric field in order to account for the experimental results in the entire range of fields and temperatures.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide thin film grown by pulse laser deposition technique

Highly electrically conducting and transparent in visible light IGZO thin film were grown on glass substrate at substrate temperature of 400 C by a pulse laser deposition techniques. Structural, surface, electrical, and optical properties of IGZO thin films were investigated at room temperature. Smooth surface morphology and amorphous nature of the film has been confirmed from the AFM and GIXRD analysis. A resistivity down to 7.7×10{sup −3} V cm was reproducibly obtained while maintaining optical transmission exceeding 70% at wavelengths from 340 to 780 nm. The carrier densities of the film was obtain to the value 1.9×10{sup 18} cm{sup 3}, while the Hall mobility of the IGZO thin film was 16 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1}S{sup −1}.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Aluminum induced crystallization of amorphous Ge thin films on insulating substrate

Aluminium (metal) induced crystallization of amorphous Ge in bilayer and multilayer Ge/Al thin films deposited on quartz substrate at temperature well below the crystallization temperature of bulk Ge is reported. The crystallization of poly-Ge proceeds via formations of dendritic crystalline Ge grains in the Al matrix. The observed phases were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The microstructure of Al thin film layer was found to have a profound influence on such crystallization process and formation of dendritic grains.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Short range atomic migration in amorphous silicon

Experiments on self-diffusion in amorphous silicon between 400 and 500 °C are presented, which were carried out by neutron reflectometry in combination with {sup 29}Si/{sup nat}Si isotope multilayers. Short range diffusion is detected on a length scale of about 2 nm, while long range diffusion is absent. Diffusivities are in the order of 10{sup −19}–10{sup −20} m{sup 2}/s and decrease with increasing annealing time, reaching an undetectable low value for long annealing times. This behavior is strongly correlated to structural relaxation and can be explained as a result of point defect annihilation. Diffusivities for short annealing times of 60 s follow the Arrhenius law with an activation enthalpy of (0.74 ± 0.21) eV, which is interpreted as the activation enthalpy of Si migration.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of tetrahedral amorphous carbon coating on the resistivity and wear of single-walled carbon nanotube network

Single walled carbon nanotube networks (SWCNTNs) were coated by tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) to improve the mechanical wear properties of the composite film. The ta-C deposition was performed by using pulsed filtered cathodic vacuum arc method resulting in the generation of C+ ions in the energy range of 40–60 eV which coalesce to form a ta-C film. The primary disadvantage of this process is a significant increase in the electrical resistance of the SWCNTN post coating. The increase in the SWCNTN resistance is attributed primarily to the intrinsic stress of the ta-C coating which affects the inter-bundle junction resistance between the SWCNTN bundles. E-beam evaporated carbon was deposited on the SWCNTNs prior to the ta-C deposition in order to protect the SWCNTN from the intrinsic stress of the ta-C film. The causes of changes in electrical resistance and the effect of evaporated carbon thickness on the changes in electrical resistance and mechanical wear properties have been studied.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Periodic molybdenum disc array for light trapping in amorphous silicon layer

We demonstrate the light trapping effect in amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) layer by inserting a layer of periodic molybdenum disc array (MDA) between the a-Si:H layer and the quartz substrate, which forms a three-layer structure of Si/MDA/SiO{sub 2}. The MDA layer was fabricated by a new cost-effective method based on nano-imprint technology. Further light absorption enhancement was realized through altering the topography of MDA by annealing it at 700°C. The mechanism of light absorption enhancement in a-Si:H interfaced with MDA was analyzed, and the electric field distribution and light absorption curve of the different layers in the Si/MDA structure under light illumination of different wavelengths were simulated by employing numerical finite difference time domain (FDTD) solutions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗