Suchergebnisse

The spinodal decomposition and thermal stability of thin In0.72Al0.28N layers and In0.72Al0.28N/AlN superlattices with AlN(0001) templates on Al2O3(0001) substrates was investigated by in-situ heating up to 900 degrees C. The thermally activated structural and chemical evolution was investigated in both plan-view and cross-sectional geometries by scanning transmission electron microscopy in combination with valence electron energy loss spectroscopy. The plan-view observations demonstrate evidence for spinodal decomposition of metastable In0.72Al0.28N after heating at 600 degrees C for 1 h. During heating compositional modulations in the range of 2-3 nm-size domains are formed, which coarsen with applied thermal budgets. Cross-sectional observations reveal that spinodal decomposition begin at interfaces and column boundaries, indicating that the spinodal decomposition has a surface-directed component. ; Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council (VR) [621-2012-4420, 621-2012-4359, 622-2008-405]; European Research Council (ERC); Swedish Foundation for Strategic research (SSF) through the Nano-N program; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [SFO-Mat-LiU 2009-00971]; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation

Glancing angle deposition (GLAD) of AlN nanostructures was performed at room temperature by reactive magnetron sputtering in a mixed gas atmosphere of Ar and N-2. The growth behavior of nanostructures shows strong dependence on the total working pressure and angle of incoming flux. In GLAD configuration, the morphology changed from coalesced, vertical nanocolumns with faceted terminations to highly inclined, fan-like, layered nanostructures (up to 38 degrees); while column lengths decreased from around 1743 to 1068 nm with decreasing pressure from 10 to 1.5 mTorr, respectively. This indicates a change in the dominant growth mechanism from ambient flux dependent deposition to directional ballistic shadowing deposition with decreasing working pressures, which is associated with the change of energy and incident angle of incoming reactive species. These results were corroborated using simulation of metal transport (SiMTra) simulations performed at similar working pressures using Ar and N separately, which showed the average particle energy and average angle of incidence decreased while the total average scattering angle of the metal flux arriving at substrate increased with increasing working pressures. Observing the crystalline orientation of GLAD deposited wurtzite AlN nanocolumns using X-ray diffraction (XRD), pole-figure measurements revealedc-axis growth towards the direction of incoming flux and a transition from fiber-like to biaxial texture took place with increasing working pressures. Under normal deposition conditions, AlN layer morphology changed from {0001} to {10 (1) over bar1} with increasing working pressure because of kinetic energy-driven growth. ; Funding Agencies|VetenskapsradetSwedish Research Council [2018-04198]; Energimyndigheten [46658-1]; Stiftelsen Olle Engkvist ByggmastareSwedish Research Council [197-0210]; Linkoping University Library; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [SFO-Mat-LiU 2009-00971]

Selective-area grown, catalyst-free GaN nanorod (NR) arrays grown on Si substrates have been realized using liquid-target reactive magnetron sputter epitaxy (MSE). Focused ion beam lithography (FIBL) was applied to pattern Si substrates with TiN(x)masks. A liquid Ga target was sputtered in a mixture gas of Ar and N-2, ranging the N(2)partial pressure (P-N) ratio from 100% to 50%. The growth of NRs shows a strong correlation withP(N)on the selectivity, coalescence, and growth rate of NRs in both radial and axial directions. The growth rate of NRs formed inside the nanoholes increases monotonically withP(N). TheP(N)ratio between 80% and 90% was found to render both a high growth rate and high selectivity. When theP(N)ratio was below 80%, multiple NRs were formed in the nanoholes. For aP(N)ratio higher than 90%, parasitic NRs were grown on the mask. An observed dependence of growth behavior upon theP(N)ratio is attributed to a change in the effective Ga/N ratio on the substrate surface, as an effect of impinging reactive species, surface diffusivity, and residence time of adatoms. The mechanism of NR growth control was further investigated by studying the effect of nanoholes array pitch and growth temperature. The surface diffusion and the direct impingement of adatoms were found to be the dominant factors affecting the lateral and axial growth rates of NR, respectively, which were well elucidated by the collection area model. ; Funding Agencies|Energimyndigheten [46658-1]; VetenskapsradetSwedish Research Council [2018-04198]; Stiftelsen Olle Engkvist ByggmastareSwedish Research Council [197-0210]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [SFO-Mat-LiU 2009-00971]; Energimyndigheten

Catalyst-free GaN nanorod regular arrays have been realized by reactive magnetron sputter epitaxy. Two nanolithographic methods, nanosphere lithography (NSL) and focused ion beam lithography (FIBL), were applied to pattern Si substrates with TiNx masks. The growth temperature was optimized for achieving selectivity and well-faceted nanorods grown onto the NSL-patterned substrates. With increasing temperature from 875 to 985 °C, we observe different growth behaviors and associate them with selective insensitive, diffusion-dominated, and desorption-dominated zones. To further achieve site-specific and diameter control, these growth parameters were transferred onto FIBL-patterned substrates. Further investigation into the FIBL process through tailoring of milling current and time in combination with varying nanorod growth temperature, suggests that minimization of mask and substrate damage is the key to attain uniform, well-defined, single, and straight nanorods. Destruction of the mask results in selective area growth failure, while damage of the substrate surface promotes inclined nanorods grown into the openings, owning to random oriented nucleation. ; Funding agencies: Swedish Research Council (VR) [621-2012-4420, 621-2013-5360, 2016-04412]; Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) under the VINNMER international qualification program; Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) [RIF 14-0074]; Sw

Catalystless growth of InxAl1-xN core-shell nanorods have been realized by reactive magnetron sputter epitaxy onto Si(111) substrates. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The composition and morphology of InxAl1-xN nanorods are found to be strongly influenced by the growth temperature. At lower temperatures, the grown materials form well-separated and uniform core-shell nanorods with high In-content cores, while a deposition at higher temperature leads to the formation of an Al-rich InxAl1-xN film with vertical domains of low In-content as a result of merging Al-rich shells. The thickness and In content of the cores (domains) increase with decreasing growth temperature. The growth of the InxAl1-xN is traced to the initial stage, showing that the formation of the core-shell nanostructures starts very close to the interface. Phase separation due to spinodal decomposition is suggested as the origin of the resultant structures. Moreover, the in-plane crystallographic relationship of the nanorods and substrate was modified from a fiber textured to an epitaxial growth with an epitaxial relationship of InxAl1-xN[0001]//Si[111] and InxAl1-xN[11 (2) over bar0]//Si[1 (1) over bar0] by removing the native SiOx layer from the substrate. ; Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council (VR) [621-2012-4420]; Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) under the VINNMER international qualification program; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation

The influence of structural configurations of indium aluminum nitride (InA1N) nanospirals, grown by reactive magnetron sputter epitaxy, on the transformation of light polarization are investigated in terms of varying structural chirality, growth temperatures, titanium nitride (TiN) seed (buffer) layer thickness, nanospiral thickness, and pitch. The handedness of reflected circularly polarized light in the ultraviolet-visible region corresponding to the chirality of nanospirals is demonstrated. A high degree of circular polarization (P-c) value of 0.75 is obtained from a sample consisting of 1.2 mu m InA1N nanospirals grown at 650 degrees C. A film-like structure is formed at temperatures lower than 450 degrees C. At growth temperatures higher than 750 degrees C, less than 0.1 In-content is incorporated into the InA1N nanospirals. Both cases reveal very low P-c-A red shift of wavelength at P-c peak is found with increasing nanospiral pitch in the range of 200-300 nm. The P-c decreases to 0.37 for two-turn nanospirals with total length of 0.7 mu m, attributed to insufficient constructive interference. A branch-like structure appears on the surface when the nanospirals are grown longer than 1.2 mu m, which yields a low P-c around 0.5, caused by the excessive scattering of incident light. ; Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council (VR) [621-2012-4420, 621-2013-5360, 621-2013-4018]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [SFO-Mat-LiU 2009-00971]; Centre in Nano science and technology (CeNano) at Linkoping University

Nucleation of self-induced nanorod and core-shell structure formation by surface-induced phase separation have been studied at the initial growth stage. The growth of well-separated core shell nanorods is only found in a transition temperature region (600 degrees C amp;lt;= T amp;lt;= 800 degrees C) in contrast to the result of thin film growth outside this region (T amp;lt; 600 degrees C or T amp;gt; 800 degrees C). Formation of multiple compositional domains, due to phase separation, after similar to 20 nm InxAl1-xN epilayer growth from sapphire substrate promotes the core-shell nanorod growth, showing a modified Stranski-Krastanov growth mode. The use of VN seed layer makes the initial growth of the nanorods directly at the substrate interface, revealing a Volmer-Weber growth mode. Different compositional domains are found on VN template surface to support that the phase separation takes place at the initial nucleation process and forms by a self-patterning effect. The nanorods were grown from In-rich domains and initiated the formation of core-shell nanorods due to spinodal decomposition of the InxAl1-xN alloy with a composition in the miscibility gap. ; Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council (VR) [621-2012-4420]; Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) under the VINNMER international qualification program; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation

GaN nanorods, essentially free from crystal defects and exhibiting very sharp band-edge luminescence, have been grown by reactive direct-current magnetron sputter epitaxy onto Si (111) substrates at a low working pressure of 5 mTorr. Upon diluting the reactive N2 working gas with a small amount of Ar (0.5 mTorr), we observed an increase in the nanorod aspect ratio from 8 to ~35, a decrease in the average diameter from 74 to 35 nm, and a two-fold increase in nanorod density. With further dilution (Ar = 2.5 mTorr), the aspect ratio decreased to 14, while the diameter increased to 60 nm and the nanorod density increased to a maximum of 2.4 × 109 cm−2. Yet, lower N2 partial pressures eventually led to the growth of continuous GaN films. The observed morphological dependence on N2 partial pressure is explained by a change from N-rich to Ga-rich growth conditions, combined with reduced GaN-poisoning of the Ga-target as the N2 gas pressure is reduced. Nanorods grown at 2.5 mTorr N2 partial pressure exhibited a high intensity 4 K photoluminescence neutral donor bound exciton transitions (D0XA) peak at ~3.479 eV with a full-width-at-half-maximum of 1.7 meV. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy corroborated the excellent crystalline quality of the nanorods. ; Funding agencies: Swedish Research Council (VR) [621-2013-5360, 621-2012-4420, 2016-04412]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area Grant in Materials Science AFM-SFO MatLiU [2009-00971]; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation

We demonstrate the versatility of magnetron sputter epitaxy by achieving high-quality GaN nanorods on different substrate/template combinations, specifically Si, SiC, TiN/Si, ZrB2/Si, ZrB2/SiC, Mo, and Ti. Growth temperature was optimized on Si, TiN/Si, and ZrB2/Si, resulting in increased nanorod aspect ratio with temperature. All nanorods exhibit high purity and quality, proved by the strong bandedge emission recorded with cathodoluminescence spectroscopy at room temperature as well as transmission electron microscopy. These substrates/templates are affordable compared to many conventional substrates, and the direct deposition onto them eliminates cumbersome post-processing steps in device fabrication. Thus, magnetron sputter epitaxy offers an attractive alternative for simple and affordable fabrication in optoelectronic device technology. ; Funding agencies: Swedish Research Council (VR) [621-2012-4420, 621-2013-5360, 2016-04412]; Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) under the VINNMER international qualification program; Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) through the Resea

We develop and discuss appropriate methods based on x-ray diffraction and generalized infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry to identify wurtizte and zinc-blende polymorphs, and quantify their volume fractions in mixed-phase epitaxial films taking InN as an example. The spectral signatures occurring in the azimuth polarization (Muller matrix) maps of mixed-phase epitaxial InN films are discussed and explained in view of polymorphism (zinc-blende versus wurtzite), volume fraction of different polymorphs and their crystallographic orientation, and azimuth angle. A comprehensive study of the structural, phonon and free electron properties of zinc-blende InN films containing inclusions of wurtzite InN is also presented. Thorough analysis on the formation of the zinc-blende and wurtzite phases is given and the structural evolution with film thickness is discussed in detail. The phonon properties of the two phases are determined and discussed together with the determination of the bulk free-charge carrier concentration, and electron accumulation at the mixed-phase InN film surfaces. ; Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council (VR) [2013-5580]; Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) under the VINNMER international qualification program [2011-03486]; Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) [FFL12-0181]; Linkoping Linnaeus Initiative on Nanoscale Functional Materials (LiLiNFM) by VR; National Science Foundation [MRSEC DMR-0820521]; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; J. A. Woollam Co., Inc.; J. A. Woollam Foundation

Direct growth of orthorhombic Ta3N5-type Ta-O-N compound thin films, specifically Ta3-xN5-yOy, on Si and sapphire substrates with various atomic fractions is realized by unbalanced magnetron sputtering. Low-degree fiber-textural Ta3-xN5-yOy films were grown through reactive sputtering of Ta in a gas mixture of N-2, Ar, and O-2 with keeping a partial pressure ratio of 3:2:0.1 in a total working pressure range of 5-30 mTorr. With increasing total pressure from 5 to 30 mTorr, the atomic fraction of O in the as-grown Ta3-xN5-yOy films was found to increase from 0.02 to 0.15 while that of N and Ta decrease from 0.66 to 0.54 and 0.33 to 0.31, respectively, leading to a decrease in b lattice constant up to around 1.3%. Metallic TaNx phases were formed without oxygen. For a working pressure of 40 mTorr, an amorphous, O-rich Ta-N-O compound film with a high O fraction of similar to 0.48, was formed, mixed with non-stoichiometric TaON and Ta2O5. By analyzing the plasma discharge, the increasing O incorporation is associated with oxide formation on top of the Ta target due to a higher reactivity of Ta with O than with N. The increase of O incorporation in the films also leads to a optical bandgap widening from similar to 2.22 to similar to 2.96 eV, which is in agreement with the compositional and structural changes from a crystalline Ta3-xN5-yOy to an amorphous O-rich Ta-O-N compound. ; Funding Agencies|Vetenskapseddet [2018-04198]; Energimyndigheten [46658-1]; Stiftelsen 011e Engkvist Byggmastare [197-0210]; Linkoping University Library; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [SFO-Mat-LiU 2009-00971]; VR-RFI [821-2012-5144, 2017-00646_9]; Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF)Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research [RIF14-0053, 5E13-0333]

Selective-area growth (SAG) of single-crystal wurtzite GaN nanorods (NRs) directly onto Si(001) substrates with un-etched native SiOx amorphous layer, assisted by a patterning TiNx mask fabricated by nanosphere lithography (NSL), has been realized by reactive magnetron sputter epitaxy (MSE). The GaN NRs were grown vertically to the substrate surface with the growth direction along c-axis in the well-defined nano-opening areas. A 5-step structural and morphological evolution of the SAG NRs observed at different sputtering times depicts a comprehensive growth model, listed in sequence as: formation of a polycrystalline wetting layer, predominating c-axis oriented nucleation, coarsening and coalescence of multi-islands, single NR evolution, and finally quasi-equilibrium crystal shape formation. Room-temperature cathodoluminescence spectroscopy shows a strong GaN bandedge emission with a uniform luminescence across the NRs, indicating that the SAG NRs are grown with high quality and purity. In addition, single-longitudinal-mode lasing, attributed to well-faceted NR geometry forming a Fabry-Perot cavity, was achieved by optical pumping, paving a way for fabricating high-performance laser optoelectronics using MSE. ; Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council (VR) [621-2012-4420, 621-2013- 5360]; Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) under the VINNMER international qualification program; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [SFO-Mat-LiU 2009-00971]; Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) through the Research Infrastructure Fellow [RIF 14-0074]; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation; Myfab National Access program at MC2 NanoFabrication Laboratory, Chalmers University of Technology; Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of Taiwan [MOST 105-2112-M-006-004-MY3]

The phase evolution of reactive radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtered Cr0.28Zr0.10O0.61 coatings has been studied by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction during annealing under air atmosphere and vacuum. The annealing in vacuum shows t-ZrO2 formation starting at similar to 750-800 degrees C, followed by decomposition of the alpha-Cr2O3 structure in conjunction with bcc-Cr formation, starting at similar to 950 degrees C. The resulting coating after annealing to 1140 degrees C is a mixture of t-ZrO2, m-ZrO2, and bcc-Cr. The air-annealed sample shows t-ZrO2 formation starting at similar to 750 degrees C. The resulting coating after annealing to 975 degrees C is a mixture of t-ZrO2 and alpha-Cr2O3 (with dissolved Zr). The microstructure coarsened slightly during annealing, but the mechanical properties are maintained, with no detectable bcc-Cr formation. A larger t-ZrO2 fraction compared with alpha-Cr2O3 is observed in the vacuum-annealed coating compared with the air-annealed coating at 975 degrees C. The results indicate that the studied pseudo-binary oxide is more stable in air atmosphere than in vacuum. ; Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council (VR)Swedish Research Council [621-20124368, 330-2014-6336]; Knut and Alice Wallenberg FoundationKnut & Alice Wallenberg Foundation; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009 00971]; Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions, Cofund, Project INCA [600398]; Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) through the Future Research Leaders 6 program; Swedish Research Council via the Rontgen Angstrom Cluster (RAC) Frame Program [2011-6505]; German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF) [05K12CG1]

A free-standing high-output power density polymeric thermoelectric (TE) device is realized based on a highly conductive (approximate to 2500 S cm(-1)) structure-ordered poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate film (denoted as FS-PEDOT:PSS) with a Seebeck coefficient of 20.6 mu V K-1, an in-plane thermal conductivity of 0.64 W m(-1) K-1, and a peak power factor of 107 mu W K-2 m(-1) at room temperature. Under a small temperature gradient of 29 K, the TE device demonstrates a maximum output power density of 99 +/- 18.7 mu W cm(-2), which is the highest value achieved in pristine PEDOT:PSS based TE devices. In addition, a fivefold output power is demonstrated by series connecting five devices into a flexible thermoelectric module. The simplicity of assembling the films into flexible thermoelectric modules, the low out-of-plane thermal conductivity of 0.27 W m(-1) K-1, and free-standing feature indicates the potential to integrate the FS-PEDOT:PSS TE modules with textiles to power wearable electronics by harvesting human bodys heat. In addition to the high power factor, the high thermal stability of the FS-PEDOT:PSS films up to 250 degrees C is confirmed by in situ temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction and grazing incident wide angle X-ray scattering, which makes the FS-PEDOT:PSS films promising candidates for thermoelectric applications. ; Funding Agencies|Vinnova Marie Curie incoming project [2016-04112]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [200900971]; Recruitment Program of Global Youth Experts; National Natural Science Foundation of China [21474035]; United States National Science Foundation [DMR-1262261]; Open Fund of the State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices [2016-skllmd-03]; European Research Council [ERC 307596]