Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “ALIGNMENT”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,747 records · Page 97
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Modification of energy band alignment and electric properties of Pt/Ba{sub 0.6}Sr{sub 0.4}TiO{sub 3}/Pt thin-film ferroelectric varactors by Ag impurities at interfaces

We report on the effects of Ag impurities at interfaces of parallel-plate Pt/Ba{sub 0.6}Sr{sub 0.4}TiO{sub 3}/Pt thin film ferroelectric varactors. Ag impurities occur at the interfaces due to diffusion of Ag from colloidal silver paint used to attach the varactor samples with their back side to the plate heated at 600–750 °C during deposition of Ba{sub 0.6}Sr{sub 0.4}TiO{sub 3}. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry suggest that amount and distribution of Ag adsorbed at the interfaces depend strongly on the adsorbent surface layer. In particular, Ag preferentially accumulates on top of the Pt bottom electrode. The presence of Ag significantly reduces the barrier height between Pt and Ba{sub 0.6}Sr{sub 0.4}TiO{sub 3} leading to an increased leakage current density and, thus, to a severe degradation of the varactor performance.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Valence and conduction band alignment at ScN interfaces with 3C-SiC (111) and 2H-GaN (0001)

In order to understand and predict the behavior of future scandium nitride (ScN) semiconductor heterostructure devices, we have utilized in situ x-ray and ultra-violet photoelectron spectroscopy to determine the valence band offset (VBO) present at ScN/3C-SiC (111) and 2H-GaN (0001)/ScN (111) interfaces formed by ammonia gas source molecular beam epitaxy. The ScN/3C-SiC (111) VBO was dependent on the ScN growth temperature and resistivity. VBOs of 0.4 ± 0.1 and 0.1 ± 0.1 eV were, respectively, determined for ScN grown at 925 °C (low resistivity) and 800 °C (high resistivity). Using the band-gaps of 1.6 ± 0.2 and 1.4 ± 0.2 eV previously determined by reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy for the 925 and 800 °C ScN films, the respective conduction band offsets (CBO) for these interfaces were 0.4 ± 0.2 and 0.9 ± 0.2 eV. For a GaN (0001) interface with 925 °C ScN (111), the VBO and CBO were similarly determined to be 0.9 ± 0.1 and 0.9 ± 0.2 eV, respectively.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Fully quantum state-resolved inelastic scattering of NO(X) + Kr: Differential cross sections and product rotational alignment

Fully quantum state selected and resolved inelastic scattering of NO(X) by krypton has been investigated. Initial Λ-doublet state selection is achieved using an inhomogeneous hexapole electric field. Differential cross sections and even-moment polarization dependent differential cross sections have been obtained at a collision energy of 514 cm{sup −1} for both spin-orbit and parity conserving and changing collisions. Experimental results are compared with those obtained from quantum scattering calculations and are shown to be in very good agreement. Hard shell quantum scattering calculations are also performed to determine the effects of the different parts of the potential on the scattering dynamics. Comparisons are also made with the NO(X) + Ar system.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Orientation and alignment effects in ion-induced fragmentation of water: A triple coincidence study

The technique of recoil ion momentum spectroscopy is employed to determine the complete momentum vectors for three fragment dissociation channels, [D{sub 2}O]{sup (q+2)} → (D{sup +} + D{sup +} + O{sup q+}) with q = 1, 2, or 3 formed in collisions of isolated water molecules with 450 keV Xe{sup 9+} ions. The kinetic energy released in each of these dissociation channels is measured and angular correlations between the fragment momenta are determined. From the angular correlations of the three fragment ions with the direction of the incoming beam, a strong anisotropy in the emission of recoil fragments is reported. It is inferred that the molecular plane prefers to lie orthogonal to the incoming beam direction with certain orientations being more preferred than others and a clear signature of non-coplanar dissociation is also observed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

In situ Raman spectroscopy for growth monitoring of vertically aligned multiwall carbon nanotubes in plasma reactor

Portable and highly sensitive Raman setup was associated with a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition reactor enabling in situ growth monitoring of multi-wall carbon nanotubes despite the combination of huge working distance, high growth speed and process temperature and reactive plasma condition. Near Edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy was used for ex situ sample analysis as a complementary method to in situ Raman spectroscopy. The results confirmed the fact that the “alternating” method developed here can accurately be used for in situ Raman monitoring under reactive plasma condition. The original analytic tool can be of great importance to monitor the characteristics of these nanostructured materials and readily define the ultimate conditions for targeted results.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Room-temperature near-infrared silicon carbide nanocrystalline emitters based on optically aligned spin defects

Bulk silicon carbide (SiC) is a very promising material system for bio-applications and quantum sensing. However, its optical activity lies beyond the near infrared spectral window for in-vivo imaging and fiber communications due to a large forbidden energy gap. Here, we report the fabrication of SiC nanocrystals and isolation of different nanocrystal fractions ranged from 600 nm down to 60 nm in size. The structural analysis reveals further fragmentation of the smallest nanocrystals into ca. 10-nm-size clusters of high crystalline quality, separated by amorphization areas. We use neutron irradiation to create silicon vacancies, demonstrating near infrared photoluminescence. Finally, we detect room-temperature spin resonances of these silicon vacancies hosted in SiC nanocrystals. This opens intriguing perspectives to use them not only as in-vivo luminescent markers but also as magnetic field and temperature sensors, allowing for monitoring various physical, chemical, and biological processes.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
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

Effusive atomic oven nozzle design using an aligned microcapillary array

We present a simple and inexpensive design for a multichannel effusive oven nozzle which provides improved atomic beam collimation and thus extended oven lifetimes. Using this design, we demonstrate an atomic lithium source suitable for trapped-atom experiments. At a nozzle temperature of 525 °C, the collimated atomic beam flux directly after the nozzle is 1.2 × 10{sup 14} atoms/s with a peak beam intensity greater than 5.0 × 10{sup 16} atoms/s/sr. This suggests an oven lifetime of several decades of continuous operation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Development of vertically aligned ZnO-nanowires scintillators for high spatial resolution x-ray imaging

Newly designed scintillator of (0001)-oriented ZnO vertical nanowires (vnws) for X-ray imaging was prepared on a Ga-doped ZnO/soda-lime glass by electrodeposition, and the light emission feature was estimated in a synchrotron radiation facility. The ZnO-vnws scintillator revealed a strong light emission and improved resolution on CMOS image compared with that for the ZnO-layer scintillator, although the light emission performance was deteriorated in comparison to the Lu{sub 3}Al{sub 5}O{sub 12:}Ce{sup 3+}. The light emission property closely related to the nanostructure and the resultant photoluminescence characteristic.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Spectroscopy and dynamics of charge transfer excitons in type-II band aligned quantum confined heterostructures

We illustrate effect of charge transfer (CT) in type-II quantum confined heterostructure by comparing CdSe quantum dots (QDs), CdSe/CdTe heterostructure quantum dots (HQDs) and CdSe/CdTe/CdSe quantum well-quantum dots (QWQDs) heterostructures. CdSe core QDs were synthesized using a kinetic growth method where QD size depends on reaction time. For shell coating we used modified version of successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). Size of different QDs ∼5 to 7 nm were measured by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Strong red shift from ∼597 to ∼746 nm in photoluminescence (PL) spectra from QDs to QWQDs shows high tunability which is not possible with single constituent semiconductor QDs. PL spectra have been recorded at different temperatures (10K-300K). Room temperature time correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) measurements for QDs to QWQDs show three exponential radiative decay. The slowest component decay constant in QWQDs comes around eight fold to ∼51 ns as compared to ∼6.5 ns in HQD suggesting new opportunities to tailor the radiative carrier recombination rate of CT excitons.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

UV light sensing properties of Sm doped vertically aligned ZnO nanorod arrays

Samarium doped ZnO nanorods were grown on silicon substrate by using vapor phase transport method (VPT) with the growth temperature of 950°C. The synthesized nanorods were characterized by XRD, field emission scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectra, and photocurrent measurements. The XRD result revealed that Sm was successfully doped into lattice plane of hexagonal ZnO nanorods. The FESEM result confirms the pure ZnO has nanorod like morphology with an average diameter and length of 130nm and 10µm respectively. The above observation is supported by the Micro-Raman spectroscopy result. The photocurrent in the visible region has been significantly enhanced due to deposition of Sm on the surface of the ZnO nanorods. Sm acts as a visible sensitizer because of its lower band gap compared to ZnO.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Plasmon enhanced fluorescence studies from aligned gold nanorod arrays modified with SiO{sub 2} spacer layers

Here, we demonstrate that quasi self-standing Au nanorod arrays prepared with plasma polymerisation deposited SiO{sub 2} dielectric spacers support surface enhanced fluorescence (SEF) while maintaining high signal reproducibility. We show that it is possible to find a balance between enhanced radiative and non-radiative decay rates at which the fluorescent intensity is maximized. The SEF signal optimised with a 30 nm spacer layer thickness showed a 3.5-fold enhancement with a signal variance of <15% thereby keeping the integrity of the nanorod array. We also demonstrate the decreased importance of obtaining resonance conditions when localized surface plasmon resonance is positioned within the spectral region of Au interband transitions. Procedures for further increasing the SEF enhancement factor are also discussed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

An InP/Si heterojunction photodiode fabricated by self-aligned corrugated epitaxial lateral overgrowth

An n-InP/p-Si heterojunction photodiode fabricated by corrugated epitaxial lateral overgrowth (CELOG) method is presented. N-InP/p-Si heterojunction has been achieved from a suitable pattern containing circular shaped openings in a triangular lattice on the InP seed layer on p-Si substrate and subsequent CELOG of completely coalesced n-InP. To avoid current path through the seed layer in the final photodiode, semi-insulating InP:Fe was grown with adequate thickness prior to n-InP growth in a low pressure hydride vapor phase epitaxy reactor. The n-InP/p-Si heterointerface was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Room temperature cross-sectional photoluminescence (PL) mapping illustrates the defect reduction effect in InP grown on Si by CELOG method. The InP PL intensity measured above the InP/Si heterojunction is comparable to that of InP grown on a native planar substrate indicating low interface defect density of CELOG InP despite of 8% lattice mismatch with Si. The processed n-InP/p-Si heterojunction photodiodes show diode characteristics from the current-voltage (I-V) measurements with a dark current density of 0.324 mA/cm{sup 2} at a reverse voltage of −1 V. Under the illumination of AM1.5 conditions, the InP/Si heterojunction photodiode exhibited photovoltaic effect with an open circuit voltage of 180 mV, a short circuit current density of 1.89 mA/cm{sup 2}, an external quantum efficiency of 4.3%, and an internal quantum efficiency of 6.4%. This demonstration of epitaxially grown InP/Si heterojunction photodiode will open the door for low cost and high efficiency solar cells and photonic integration of III-Vs on silicon.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Band alignment and photon extraction studies of Na-doped MgZnO/Ga-doped ZnO heterojunction for light-emitter applications

Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy is carried out to measure the energy discontinuity at the interface of p-type Na-doped MgZnO (NMZO)/n-type Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) heterojunction grown by dual ion beam sputtering. The offset values at valence band and conduction band of NMZO/GZO heterojunction are calculated to be 1.93 and −2.36 eV, respectively. The p-type conduction in NMZO film has been confirmed by Hall measurement and band structure. Moreover, the effect of Ar{sup +} ion sputtering on the valence band onset values of NMZO and GZO thin films has been investigated. This asymmetric waveguide structure formed by the lower refractive index of GZO than that of NMZO indicates that easy extraction of photons generated in GZO through the NMZO layer into free space. The asymmetric waveguide structure has potential applications to produce ZnO-based light emitters with high extraction efficiency.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Early stages of plasma induced nitridation of Si (111) surface and study of interfacial band alignment

We report here a systematic study of the nitridation of the Si (111) surface by nitrogen plasma exposure. The surface and interface chemical composition and surface morphology are investigated by using RHEED, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). At the initial stage of nitridation two superstructures—“8 × 8” and “8/3 × 8/3”—form, and further nitridation leads to 1 × 1 stoichiometric silicon nitride. The interface is seen to have the Si{sup 1+} and Si{sup 3+} states of silicon bonding with nitrogen, which suggests an atomically abrupt and defect-free interface. The initial single crystalline silicon nitride layers are seen to become amorphous at higher thicknesses. The AFM image shows that the nitride nucleates at interfacial dislocations that are connected by sub-stoichiometric 2D-nitride layers, which agglomerate to form thick overlayers. The electrical properties of the interface yield a valence band offset that saturates at 1.9 eV and conduction band offset at 2.3 eV due to the evolution of the sub-stoichiometric interface and band bending.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Hydrothermal synthesis of highly crystalline ZnO nanorod arrays: Dependence of morphology and alignment on growth conditions

Highly oriented zinc oxide nanorod were successfully grown on seeded p-type silicon substrate by hydrothermal methode. The morphology and the crystallinty of ZnO c-axis (002) arrays were systematically studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. The effect of seed layer pre-annealing on nanorods properties was explained according to the nucleation site of ZnO nanoparticles on silicon substrate. In addition, the variation of the equal molarity of zinc nitrate hexahydrate and hexamine concentrations in the reaction vessel play a crucial role related to the ZnO nanorods.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗