Grain boundary conductivity and microstructure study of 4% Y2O3 doped CeO2 thin films

1996 ◽  
Vol 453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyan Tian ◽  
Siu-Wai Chan

AbstractThe thin films of 4% Y2O3 doped CeO2 have been deposited on different substrates of Pd film/(001) LaAlO3, Pd film/r-cut sapphire, and Pd film/Quartz using an e-beam deposition technique. The microstructures and electrical properties of the films were investigated by means of x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and ac impedance spectroscopy. Both textured and polycrystalline films were produced on different substrates. A brick layer model was adopted to correlate the micro structure and electrical property of the films. Only the grain boundary arc was observed in the film complex impedance plots. The conductivities of the films were similar to the conductivity of 6% Y2O3 doped CeO2 bulk grain boundary because of lower preexponential factor, although the activation energies were smaller than that of bulk grain boundary. The resistive gram boundaries were found to dominate the conductivities of the films.

1997 ◽  
Vol 500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyan Tian ◽  
Siu-Wai Chan

ABSTRACTHigh quality textured 0.58% Y2O3 doped CeO2 films with (001), (111)/(001) and (110) were prepared using an e-beam deposition technique on substrates of (001) LaAlO3, r-cut sapphire, and fused silica, respectively. The composition and stoichiometry of the films were verified by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy analysis. Both x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analyses gave consistent microstructural information. Complex impedance measurements have been performed to study the electrical properties of these films as a function of temperature. The conductivities of the films were dominated by grain boundaries of high conductivities as compared to that of the bulk ceramic of the same dopant concentration. The activation energies for the film conductivities were only slightly higher than that for the bulk lattice conductivities, but much lower than that for the bulk grain boundary conductivity. These results have been discussed in terms of the differences of the grain size and grain boundary microstructures between the films and the bulk ceramics.


1995 ◽  
Vol 411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyan Tian ◽  
Siu-Wai Chan

ABSTRACTThin films of 4% Y2O3 doped CeO2/Pd film/(001)LaA103 with a very low pinhole density were successfully prepared using electron-beam deposition technique. The microstructure of the films was characterized by x-ray diffraction and the electrical properties were studied as a function of temperature with AC impedance spectroscopy. A brick layer model was adopted to correlate the electrical properties to the microstructure of the films, which can be simplified as either a series or a parallel equivalent circuit associated with either a fine grain or a columnar grain structure, respectively. The conductivities of the films fell between the conductivities derived from the two circuit models, suggesting that the films are of a mixed fine grain and columnar grain structure. The measured dielectric constants of the films were found smaller than that of the bulk.


2007 ◽  
Vol 1042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Oguchi ◽  
Ichiro Takeuchi ◽  
Daniel Josell ◽  
Edwin J Heilweil ◽  
Leonid A Bendersky

AbstractThree 100 nm-thick Mgx(TM)1-x (TM = Ni and Ti) composition spread thin films having compositional variation 0.4<x<0.95 and capped with a 5 nm-thick Pd layer were deposited in combinatorial electron-beam (e-beam) deposition chamber. Crystallinity of the films was characterized by scanning x-ray diffraction (XRD) and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Hydrogen absorption and desorption of the films were monitored with an infrared (IR) camera that could image a full area of the films. The observed changes in IR intensity due to hydrogen absorption/desorption demonstrated sensitivity of the method to the differences in compostion, microstructure and type of TM.


Author(s):  
J. T. Sizemore ◽  
D. G. Schlom ◽  
Z. J. Chen ◽  
J. N. Eckstein ◽  
I. Bozovic ◽  
...  

Investigators observe large critical currents for superconducting thin films deposited epitaxially on single crystal substrates. The orientation of these films is often characterized by specifying the unit cell axis that is perpendicular to the substrate. This omits specifying the orientation of the other unit cell axes and grain boundary angles between grains of the thin film. Misorientation between grains of YBa2Cu3O7−δ decreases the critical current, even in those films that are c axis oriented. We presume that these results are similar for bismuth based superconductors and report the epitaxial orientations and textures observed in such films.Thin films of nominally Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox were deposited on MgO using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). These films were in situ grown (during growth oxygen was incorporated and the films were not oxygen post-annealed) and shuttering was used to encourage c axis growth. Other papers report the details of the synthesis procedure. The films were characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).


2003 ◽  
Vol 775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donghai Wang ◽  
David T. Johnson ◽  
Byron F. McCaughey ◽  
J. Eric Hampsey ◽  
Jibao He ◽  
...  

AbstractPalladium nanowires have been electrodeposited into mesoporous silica thin film templates. Palladium continually grows and fills silica mesopores starting from a bottom conductive substrate, providing a ready and efficient route to fabricate a macroscopic palladium nanowire thin films for potentially use in fuel cells, electrodes, sensors, and other applications. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicate it is possible to create different nanowire morphology such as bundles and swirling mesostructure based on the template pore structure.


1998 ◽  
Vol 545 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Caylor ◽  
A. M. Stacy ◽  
T. Sands ◽  
R. Gronsky

AbstractBulk skutterudite phases based on the CoAs3 structure have yielded compositions with a high thermoelectric figure-of-merit (“ZT”) through the use of doping and substitutional alloying. It is postulated that further enhancements in ZT may be attained in artificially structured skutterudites by engineering the microstructure to enhance carrier mobility while suppressing the phonon component of the thermal conductivity. In this work the growth and properties of singlephase CoSb3 and IrSb3 skutterudite thin films are reported. The films are synthesized by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) where the crystallinity can be controlled by the deposition temperature. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Rutherford- Back Scattering (RBS) were used to probe phase, structure, morphology and stoichiometry of the films as functions of growth parameters and substrate type. A substrate temperature of 250°C was found to be optimal for the deposition of the skutterudites from stoichiometric targets. Above this temperature the film is depleted of antimony due to its high vapor pressure eventually reaching a composition where the skutterudite structure is no longer stable. However, when films are grown from antimony-rich targets the substrate temperature can be increased to at least 350°C while maintaining the skutterudite phase. In addition, adhesion properties of the films are explored in terms of the growth mode and substrate interaction. Finally, preliminary room temperature electrical and thermal measurements are reported.


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (04) ◽  
pp. 1550011 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Sharma ◽  
M. Tomar ◽  
V. Gupta ◽  
A. Badola ◽  
N. Goswami

In this paper gas sensing properties of 0.5–3% polyaniline (PAni) doped SnO 2 thin films sensors prepared by chemical route have been studied towards the trace level detection of NO 2 gas. The structural, optical and surface morphological properties of the PAni doped SnO 2 thin films were investigated by performing X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy measurements. A good correlation has been identified between the microstructural and gas sensing properties of these prepared sensors. Out of these films, 1% PAni doped SnO 2 sensor showed high sensitivity towards NO 2 gas along with a sensitivity of 3.01 × 102 at 40°C for 10 ppm of gas. On exposure to NO 2 gas, resistance of all sensors increased to a large extent, even greater than three orders of magnitude. These changes in resistance upon removal of NO 2 gas are found to be reversible in nature and the prepared composite film sensors showed good sensitivity with relatively faster response/recovery speeds.


2002 ◽  
Vol 09 (05n06) ◽  
pp. 1611-1615 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. CAMPILLO ◽  
L. F. CASTRO ◽  
P. VIVAS ◽  
E. BACA ◽  
P. PRIETO ◽  
...  

La 0.67 Ca 0.33 MnO 3 - δ thin films were deposited using a high-pressure dc-sputtering process. Pure oxygen at a pressure of 3.8 mbar was used as sputtering gas. The films were grown on (001) LaAlO 3 and (001) SrTiO 3 substrates at heater temperature of 850° without any annealing treatment. The formation of highly a-axis-oriented films with sharp interface with substrate surface is demonstrated by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope (TEM), and atomic force microscope (AFM) analysis. Electrical characterization revealed a metal–insulator transition at T MI = 276 K, and magnetic characterization showed good magnetic properties with a PM–FM transition at TC ≈ 262 K.


1999 ◽  
Vol 564 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Barmak ◽  
G. A. Lucadamo ◽  
C. Cabral ◽  
C. Lavoie ◽  
J. M. E. Harper

AbstractWe have found the dissociation behavior of immiscible Cu-alloy thin films to fall into three broad categories that correlate most closely with the form of the Cu-rich end of the binary alloy phase diagrams. The motivation for these studies was to use the energy released by the dissociation of an immiscible alloy, in addition to other driving forces commonly found in thin films and lines, to promote grain growth and texture evolution. In this work, the dissociation behavior of eight dilute (3.3 ± 0.5 at% solute) binary Cu-systems was investigated, with five alloying elements selected from group VB and VIB, two from group VillA, and one from group 1B. These alloying elements are respectively V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, Fe, Ru and Ag. Several experimental techniques, including in situ resistance and stress measurements as well as in situ synchrotron x-ray diffraction, were used to follow the progress of solute precipitation in approximately 500 nm thick films. In addition, transmission electron microscopy was used to investigate the evolution of microstructure of Cu(Ta) and Cu(Ag). For all eight alloys, dissociation occurred upon heating, with the rejection of solute and evolution of microstructure and texture often occurring in multiple steps that range over several hundred degrees between approximately 100 and 900°C. However, in most cases, substantial reduction in resistivity of the films took place at temperatures of interest to metallization schemes, namely below 400°C.


1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 2012-2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Seifert ◽  
Laurent Sagalowicz ◽  
Paul Muralt ◽  
Nava Setter

Pb1−xCaxTiO3 thin films with x = 0−0.3 for pyroelectric applications were deposited on platinized silicon wafers by chemical solution processing. Ca-substitution for Pb in PbTiO3 results in a reduced c/a ratio of the unit cell, which, in turn, leads to better pyroelectric properties. Control of nucleation and growth during rapid thermal annealing to 650 °C allowed the formation of either highly porous or dense (111) oriented films. The inclusion of pores creates a matrix-void composite with the low permittivity desired for pyroelectric applications, resulting in a high figure of merit. The growth mechanisms for the microstructural evolution of both dense and porous films were analyzed by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and allowed establishment of microstructure/property relationships.


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