scholarly journals Reactive Dual Magnetron Sputtering: A Fast Method for Preparing Stoichiometric Microcrystalline ZnWO4 Thin Films

Surfaces ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-114
Author(s):  
Yannick Hermans ◽  
Faraz Mehmood ◽  
Kerstin Lakus-Wollny ◽  
Jan P. Hofmann ◽  
Thomas Mayer ◽  
...  

Thin films of ZnWO4, a promising photocatalytic and scintillator material, were deposited for the first time using a reactive dual magnetron sputtering procedure. A ZnO target was operated using an RF signal, and a W target was operated using a DC signal. The power on the ZnO target was changed so that it would match the sputtering rate of the W target operated at 25 W. The effects of the process parameters were characterized using optical spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy, including energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy as well as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that stoichiometric microcrystalline ZnWO4 thin films could be obtained, by operating the ZnO target during the sputtering procedure at a power of 55 W and by post-annealing the resulting thin films for at least 10 h at 600 °C. As FTO coated glass substrates were used, annealing led as well to the incorporation of Na, resulting in n+ doped ZnWO4 thin films.

Author(s):  
Tianlei Ma ◽  
Marek Nikiel ◽  
Andrew G. Thomas ◽  
Mohamed Missous ◽  
David J. Lewis

AbstractIn this report, we prepared transparent and conducting undoped and molybdenum-doped tin oxide (Mo–SnO2) thin films by aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD). The relationship between the precursor concentration in the feed and in the resulting films was studied by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, suggesting that the efficiency of doping is quantitative and that this method could potentially impart exquisite control over dopant levels. All SnO2 films were in tetragonal structure as confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction measurements. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterisation indicated for the first time that Mo ions were in mixed valence states of Mo(VI) and Mo(V) on the surface. Incorporation of Mo6+ resulted in the lowest resistivity of $$7.3 \times 10^{{ - 3}} \Omega \,{\text{cm}}$$ 7.3 × 10 - 3 Ω cm , compared to pure SnO2 films with resistivities of $$4.3\left( 0 \right) \times 10^{{ - 2}} \Omega \,{\text{cm}}$$ 4.3 0 × 10 - 2 Ω cm . Meanwhile, a high transmittance of 83% in the visible light range was also acquired. This work presents a comprehensive investigation into impact of Mo doping on SnO2 films synthesised by AACVD for the first time and establishes the potential for scalable deposition of SnO2:Mo thin films in TCO manufacturing. Graphical abstract


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (21) ◽  
pp. 4509
Author(s):  
Weijia Yang ◽  
Fengming Wang ◽  
Zeyi Guan ◽  
Pengyu He ◽  
Zhihao Liu ◽  
...  

In this work, we reported a comparative study of ZnO thin films grown on quartz glass and sapphire (001) substrates through magnetron sputtering and high-temperature annealing. Firstly, the ZnO thin films were deposited on the quartz glass and sapphire (001) substrates in the same conditions by magnetron sputtering. Afterwards, the sputtered ZnO thin films underwent an annealing process at 600 °C for 1 h in an air atmosphere to improve the quality of the films. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet-visible spectra, photoluminescence spectra, and Raman spectra were used to investigate the structural, morphological, electrical, and optical properties of the both as-received ZnO thin films. The ZnO thin films grown on the quartz glass substrates possess a full width of half maximum value of 0.271° for the (002) plane, a surface root mean square value of 0.50 nm and O vacancies/defects of 4.40% in the total XPS O 1s peak. The comparative investigation reveals that the whole properties of the ZnO thin films grown on the quartz glass substrates are comparable to those grown on the sapphire (001) substrates. Consequently, ZnO thin films with high quality grown on the quartz glass substrates can be achieved by means of magnetron sputtering and high-temperature annealing at 600 °C.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1117 ◽  
pp. 139-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Dobromir ◽  
Radu Paul Apetrei ◽  
A.V. Rogachev ◽  
Dmitry L. Kovalenko ◽  
Dumitru Luca

Amorphous Nb-doped TiO2 thin films were deposited on (100) Si and glass substrates at room temperature by RF magnetron sputtering and a mosaic-type Nb2O5-TiO2 sputtering target. To adjust the amount of the niobium dopant in the film samples, appropriate numbers of Nb2O5 pellets were placed on the circular area of the magnetron target with intensive sputtering. By adjusting the discharge conditions and the number of niobium oxide pellets, films with dopant content varying between 0 and 16.2 at.% were prepared, as demonstrated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the as-deposited samples showed the lack of crystalline ordering in the samples. Surfaces roughness and energy band gap values increase with dopant concentration, as showed by atomic force microscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy measurements.


2017 ◽  
Vol 268 ◽  
pp. 229-233
Author(s):  
A.R. Nurhamizah ◽  
Zuhairi Ibrahim ◽  
Rosnita Muhammad ◽  
Yussof Wahab ◽  
Samsudi Sakrani

This research aims to study the growth and the effect of annealing temperature on the structural properties of Platinum/YSZ/Platinum thin film. The thin films were prepared by RF and DC magnetron sputtering method utilized platinum as electrodes (anode and cathode) and YSZ as electrolyte. Two temperatures of annealing (400 and 600 °C) were conducted onto Platinum/YSZ/Platinum thin film for comparison in this study. Crystalline phase, microstructure and thickness of thin films were evaluated using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) technique. Results show that Pt/YSZ/Pt thin film without post-annealing gives a better morphology and crystal phase.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 9896
Author(s):  
Veronica Sulyaeva ◽  
Maxim Khomyakov ◽  
Marina Kosinova

Boron carbide is one of the most important non-metallic materials. Amorphous BCx films were synthesized at room temperature by single- and dual-target magnetron sputtering processes. A B4C target and C target were operated using an RF signal and a DC signal, respectively. The effect of using single- and dual-target deposition and process parameters on the chemical bonding and composition of the films as well as their functional properties were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray energy dispersive analysis, X-ray diffraction, ellipsometry, and spectrophotometry. It was found that the film properties depend on the sputtering power and the used targets. EDX data show that the composition of the samples varied from B2C to practically BC2 in the case of using an additional C target. According to the XPS data, it corresponds to the different chemical states of the boron atom. A nanoindentation study showed that the film with a composition close to B2C deposited with the highest B4C target power reached a hardness of 25 GPa and Young’s modulus of 230 GPa. The optical properties of the films also depend on the composition, so the band gap (Eg) of the BCx film varied in the range of 2.1–2.8 eV, while the Eg of the carbon-rich films decreased to 1.1 eV.


Coatings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
San-Ho Wang ◽  
Sheng-Rui Jian ◽  
Guo-Ju Chen ◽  
Huy-Zu Cheng ◽  
Jenh-Yih Juang

The effects of annealing temperature on the structural, surface morphological and nanomechanical properties of Cu-doped (Cu-10 at %) NiO thin films grown on glass substrates by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering are investigated in this study. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicated that the as-deposited Cu-doped NiO (CNO) thin films predominantly consisted of highly defective (200)-oriented grains, as revealed by the broadened diffraction peaks. Progressively increasing the annealing temperature from 300 to 500 °C appeared to drive the films into a more equiaxed polycrystalline structure with enhanced film crystallinity, as manifested by the increased intensities and narrower peak widths of (111), (200) and even (220) diffraction peaks. The changes in the film microstructure appeared to result in significant effects on the surface energy, in particular the wettability of the films as revealed by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and the contact angle of the water droplets on the film surface. The nanoindentation tests further revealed that both the hardness and Young’s modulus of the CNO thin films increased with the annealing temperature, suggesting that the strain state and/or grain boundaries may have played a prominent role in determining the film’s nanomechanical characterizations.


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (26) ◽  
pp. 1450210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhong Hua ◽  
Xiangcheng Meng ◽  
Yaming Sun ◽  
Wanqiu Yu ◽  
Dong Long

The stacked precursors were deposited on glass substrates from Cu , Sn and ZnS targets by magnetron sputtering with six kinds of stacking sequences. The precursors were sulfurized at 500°C for 2 h in an atmosphere of sulfur. The properties of thin films such as microstructure, morphology, chemical composition, electrical and optical properties of the films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning election microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Hall effect measurements and UV-visible spectrophotometer (UV-VIS). The results show that the thin film after sulfurizing at 500°C using the stacking order of Cu / Sn / ZnS /glass is the best absorber layer for Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 thin films solar cell among the six kinds of stacking sequences.


2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 2127-2139 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Tyholdt ◽  
S. Jørgensen ◽  
H. Fjellvåg ◽  
A.E. Gunnæs

Textured, thin films of BiFeO3 (∼120 nm thickness) were synthesized by chemical solution deposition from a mixture of iron- and bismuth- 2-methoxyethoxides on Si(100)/SiO2/TiO2/Pt substrates. The use of alkoxides ensured good homogeneity and a low degree of organics that further facilitated low crystallization temperatures. Crystalline films were according to x-ray diffraction already obtained at 480 °C. Precursor characteristics were investigated using thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry, whereas phase purity, microstructure and film topography were examined by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A small (10%) Bi excess was found necessary to obtain dense, pore-free films. Such additions also prevented decomposition of BiFeO3 at high temperatures. The observed (012) texture is believed to originate from the growth mechanism as no relation to the substrate is found. This is also confirmed by observing (012) texture for films on glass substrates.


2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 352-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Tao Zheng ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Xianggui Kong ◽  
Hongwei Tian ◽  
Shansheng Yu ◽  
...  

Fe–N thin films were deposited on glass substrates by dc magnetron sputtering under various Ar∕N2 discharge conditions. Crystal structures and elemental compositions of the films were characterized by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Magnetic properties of the films were measured using a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer. Films deposited at different N2∕(Ar+N2) flow ratios were found to have different crystal structures and different nitrogen contents. When the flow ratios were 60%, 50%, and 30%, a nonmagnetic single-phase FeN was formed in the films. At the flow ratio of 10%, two crystal phases of γ′-Fe4N and ε-Fe3N were detected. When the flow ratio reduced to 5%, a mixture of α-Fe, ε-Fe3N, FeN0.056, and α″-Fe16N2 phases was obtained. The value of saturation magnetization for the mixture was found to be larger than that of pure Fe.


2005 ◽  
Vol 04 (04) ◽  
pp. 725-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
RANGARAO ARNEPALLI ◽  
VIRESH DUTTA

Cadmium Telluride: Iodine nanoparticle thin films were prepared by spraying iodine doped CdTe nanoparticles dispersed in 1-Butanol, on the glass substrates kept at 200°C for 20 min. Iodine doped CdTe nanoparticles had been prepared by adding trace amounts of Iodine powder in addition to stoichiometric ratios of Cd and Te in the Solvothermal synthesis. The films were prepared by applying without a voltage and with a voltage of 700 V to the nozzle during the deposition. The presence of iodine in the films was confirmed by the sign of voltage generated (positive relative to the cold end) in the hot probe method and also from the elemental analysis using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction patterns of the films showed predominantly Hexagonal CdTe peaks in both the cases. From the transmission spectra of the films the bandgap was found to be 1.77 eV against the bulk CdTe bandgap of 1.5 eV. The band edge was not as sharp as compared to that in case of the undoped films. SEM and TEM micrographs of both the films revealed the formation of Nanofibers.


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