Thin Solid Films最新文献

{"title":"Doped barium titanate for enhanced ferroelectric photovoltaic performance","authors":"Shi Xuan Jia ,&nbsp;Lei Wang ,&nbsp;Ye Feng Wang ,&nbsp;Tian-Yi Hu ,&nbsp;Ke Zhen Hui ,&nbsp;Jing Hui Zeng","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140815","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140815","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The carrier mobility of barium titanate (BaTiO₃) with perovskite structure leads to its insulating characteristics and low power conversion efficiency as a ferroelectric photovoltaic device. To solve this problem, both A-site La-doped and B-site Mn-Nb co-doped BaTiO₃ photovoltaic thin film devices have been prepared. Their UV-Visible spectra revealed that as the doping content increases, the bandgap gradually decreases. From the XPS study, La-doping and Mn-Nb co-dopingof BTO can both increase the presence of oxygen vacancies in the BaTiO₃, which is beneficial to its conductivity and mobility as a result of charge compensation. The reduction of the bandgap and the improvement of the conductivity result in a large short-current density 58 μA·cm^-2 for Mn-Nb co-doped BTO. This work shows that the performance of ferroelectric photovoltaics can be effectively improved by A-site or B-site doping that improves electrical conductivity and light absorption.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"831 ","pages":"Article 140815"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145340719","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effect of fabrication conditions on microstructure and optical properties of Au-Cu nanogranular thin films","authors":"T. Rerek ,&nbsp;M. Trzcinski ,&nbsp;R. Szczesny ,&nbsp;L. Skowronski","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140814","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140814","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Au–Cu alloys were prepared using the physical vapor deposition method by simultaneous deposition of gold and copper atoms and by annealing Au<span><math><mo>∖</mo></math></span>Cu and Cu<span><math><mo>∖</mo></math></span>Au bilayers. The amount of Au and Cu atoms and the layer thicknesses of both metals were established for the atomic ratio of Au:Cu = 1:1. The morphology and topography of the fabricated Au–Cu alloy layers and Au<span><math><mo>∖</mo></math></span>Cu, Cu<span><math><mo>∖</mo></math></span>Au bilayers as well as Au and Cu thin films were examined using the X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy methods. Characterization of optical properties of the prepared specimens was performed using the spectroscopic ellipsometry technique. The Au and Cu atoms in the Au<span><math><mo>∖</mo></math></span>Cu and Cu<span><math><mo>∖</mo></math></span>Au bilayers does not mix each other during the deposition process. The post-deposition annealing leads to formation of the Au–Cu alloy. The studies showed that the obtained films exhibit a fine-grained microstructure. The simultaneous deposition of Au and Cu atoms leads to the formation of their alloy at the room temperature. In this investigation we examine the influence of the method of deposition and the annealing process of the gold–copper systems on their morphology and optical properties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"831 ","pages":"Article 140814"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145420018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Surface modification of copper by the formation of self-assembled monolayers at different concentrations of octadecanethiol in order to study aging process in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution","authors":"Zahra Sabaghian ,&nbsp;Reza Arefinia ,&nbsp;Ali Davoodi","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140808","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140808","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have attracted considerable interest for surface modification of metals due to their ability to tailor interfacial properties, enhance corrosion resistance, and improve hydrophobicity. In the present work, the aging process of octadecanethiol (ODT) SAMs was studied in a wide range of concentration (1, 10 and 100 mM) in 3.5 wt% NaCl. The aging process of ODT-SAMs was studied by different electrochemical methods: potentiodynamic dynamic polarization, linear polarization resistance, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The experimental findings demonstrated that the SAM prepared using 100 mM ODT exhibited perfect corrosion inhibition performance. Specifically, after 1 h exposure to NaCl solution, the SAM exhibited superior corrosion inhibition (99.8%). During 48 h immersion, the polarization resistance (<em>R</em>_p) for all ODT-SAMs initially increases, then decreases, and finally stabilizes at a constant value. The atomic force microscope analysis revealed a positive correlation between ODT concentration and surface characteristics. Specifically, both surface roughness and coverage increased as ODT concentration rose. Moreover, contact angle measurements demonstrated that higher ODT concentrations led to enhanced hydrophobicity of the ODT-SAMs. Morphological examination was performed using scanning electron microscopy. Fourier-transform infrared analysis confirmed the presence of characteristic functional groups indicating the formation of ODT-SAM on the copper surface. After immersion in NaCl solution, the characteristic bands became intensified, indicating structural disordering of the monolayer. The impedance data facilitated a comprehensive analysis of the SAMs' key properties. This examination encompassed crucial parameters such as: monolayer thickness, molecular tilt angle and surface coverage. The aging mechanism of ODT-SAMs was well studied by both electrochemical and surface analysis methods.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"830 ","pages":"Article 140808"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145278060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Argon flow effect on the properties and composition of diamond-like carbon films grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition","authors":"O.M. Chapura,&nbsp;V.V. Kovalenko,&nbsp;V.A. Tarala,&nbsp;M.G. Ambartsumov","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140811","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140811","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were synthesized on single-crystal silicon and glass substrates by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition at varying argon flow in the methane/argon plasma-forming mixture. The resulting DLC films were studied by energy-dispersive spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, Raman and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. It was found that the thickness of the DLC films decreases with increasing argon flow while the argon content increases throughout the entire volume of the films. The synthesized films were characterized by a refractive index of 2.16 and an extinction coefficient of 0.195 over the entire studied range of argon flow. At the same time, increasing the argon flow resulted in a decrease in the band gap from 1.19 to 1.14 eV and a decrease in the hydrogen concentration from 28.5 to 28 at. % in the coating material. The synthesized films were classified as amorphous hydrogenated diamond-like carbon films. Furthermore, calculations revealed that the increase in argon flow was accompanied by a decrease in the proportion of <em>sp³</em>-hybridized carbon atoms from 46.4 to 45.5 % and an increase of sp² cluster size from 0.79 to 0.81 nm. The most probable reason for this could be the introduction of high-energy argon ions into the coating material, facilitating the transition of subsurface <em>sp³</em>-hybridized carbon atoms to <em>sp²</em>-hybridized ones during the relaxation process.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"830 ","pages":"Article 140811"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145326257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Controllable tuning of reversible thermally induced phase transition and adaptive infrared emissivity in microcrystalline VO2 thin films via argon ion implantation","authors":"Andrii Nikolenko,&nbsp;Oleksandr Kolomys,&nbsp;Viktor Strelchuk,&nbsp;Petro Lytvyn,&nbsp;Denys Maziar,&nbsp;Maksym Alieksandrov,&nbsp;Borys Romanyuk,&nbsp;Oleksandr Dubikovskyi,&nbsp;Zinoviia Tsybrii,&nbsp;Yevhen Melezhyk,&nbsp;Viacheslav Zabudsky,&nbsp;Nataliia Kukhtaruk","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140810","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140810","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The effects of argon ion (Ar⁺) implantation on the dynamics of infrared (IR) thermal emissivity and optical properties of microcrystalline vanadium dioxide (VO₂) thin films were investigated during the metal-insulator transition (MIT) using infrared thermography and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Thin films deposited on Si(100) substrates were Ar⁺-implanted at 180 keV with doses between 2.15 × 10¹⁵ and 5.36 × 10¹⁵ ions/cm². Temperature-dependent emissivity was examined in the mid- and long-wave infrared spectral ranges during heating-cooling cycles, with emphasis on hysteretic behavior associated with the VO₂(M1) ↔ VO₂(R) phase transition. Comparative analysis of pristine and implanted VO₂ films revealed a dose-dependent reduction of the transition temperature from 340 K in the pristine film to 321 K and 315 K, an increase in metallic-phase emissivity from 0.30 to 0.34 and 0.46 at the two implantation levels, and a broadening of the emissivity hysteresis loop from ∼7 K in the initial sample to ∼9 K in the implanted films. Moreover, the amplitude of the emissivity change across the phase transition decreased substantially, from 0.21 in the pristine film to 0.08 in the film implanted with the highest dose. These effects are discussed in relation to implantation-induced structural disorder, including enhanced defect density and strain relaxation, which modify the coexistence of metallic and insulating domains. The results highlight ion implantation as an effective approach for tailoring the emissive response of VO₂ thin films for adaptive infrared devices and thermal management applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"830 ","pages":"Article 140810"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145326256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interface engineering to achieve long-term stability of ultra-thin silver film on silica","authors":"Allamula Ashok ,&nbsp;Peela Lasya ,&nbsp;Daljin Jacob ,&nbsp;P Muhammed Razi ,&nbsp;Satyesh Kumar Yadav","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140813","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140813","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We report zinc (Zn) as a seed layer material and a need for a specific deposition sequence to grow ultrathin silver (Ag) films on quartz (SiO₂). Ag films of thickness 4, 6, 8 and 10 nm were deposited by DC magnetron sputtering without and with Zn seed layer thickness of 1, 2 and 4 nm. The effect of Zn seed layer thickness and its annealing on the surface morphology, sheet resistance, and stability of ultrathin Ag films is investigated. We show that by increasing Zn seed layer thickness from 1 to 2 nm, there is a 5-order reduction in sheet resistance of 6 nm Ag films. We find that annealing of seed layer is crucial to achieve stability of ultrathin Ag films. 6 nm Ag film with 2 nm Zn is unstable to 100 °C annealing, while the 6 nm Ag film with annealed 2 nm Zn seed layer is stable. 2 nm Zn seeded 8 nm Ag film maintained a constant sheet resistance of 7 Ω/□ for all 6 months of exposure to ambient conditions. Such stable exposed ultrathin Ag films can find applications as catalysts, sensors, transparent conductive electrodes for solar cells, LEDs and plasmonic devices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"830 ","pages":"Article 140813"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145364586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Simultaneous barrier reduction and effective doping in CdTe solar cells using CuBr","authors":"Banghua Liu ,&nbsp;Ziwei Xu ,&nbsp;Shiyu Yuan ,&nbsp;Fu You ,&nbsp;Xin Zhang ,&nbsp;Yunpu Tai ,&nbsp;Di Zhang ,&nbsp;Komiljon Yakubov ,&nbsp;Jingquan Zhang ,&nbsp;Chebotareva Alla ,&nbsp;Guanggen Zeng","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140806","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140806","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Introducing a back-contact material is a crucial strategy for enhancing the efficiency of cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells. This work pioneers the application of a solution-processed copper(I) bromide (CuBr) layer as an efficient back-contact for CdTe solar cells. The CuBr layer serves a dual purpose: it effectively reduces the back-contact barrier, as evidenced by the elimination of the upward bending in Mott-Schottky curves and the \"roll-over\" phenomenon in dark current density-voltage characteristics, and it acts as a source for copper doping into the CdTe absorber. This doping increases the hole concentration, leading to a significant enhancement in the apparent carrier density and a reduced saturation dark current density. Consequently, key device parameters were substantially improved, including an increase in open-circuit voltage (from 788 mV to 824 mV) and a reduction in series resistance (from 4.45 Ω·cm² to 2.90 Ω·cm²). Ultimately, an optimized device with an FTO/MZO/CdSe/CdTe/CuBr/Au structure achieved a power conversion efficiency of 14.7 %.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"829 ","pages":"Article 140806"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145227734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The biennial TACT International Thin Films Conference (TACT 2023)","authors":"Kao-Shuo Chang,&nbsp;Yi-Cheng Lin,&nbsp;Ming-Tzer Lin,&nbsp;Jr-Jeng Ruan,&nbsp;Ta-Chin Wei,&nbsp;Yi-Jia Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140805","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140805","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"829 ","pages":"Article 140805"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145333864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A comprehensive study of CrN/AlCrN-based monolayers and architected multilayers","authors":"Yutao Zhang ,&nbsp;Corinne Nouveau ,&nbsp;Aurélien Besnard ,&nbsp;José Outeiro ,&nbsp;Alex Montagne ,&nbsp;Denis Lagadrillère ,&nbsp;Andrzej Kusiak ,&nbsp;Luc Imhoff","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140804","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140804","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cr, CrN, and AlCrN monolayers and Cr/CrN/AlCrN multilayers were deposited on rough/mirror-polished tungsten carbide and silicon substrates by Direct Current magnetron sputtering. The multilayers were developed based on the optimized monolayers. In this paper, we introduce and discuss the optimization steps and performances of the AlCrN monolayers and the CrN/AlCrN-based multilayers. The influence of the deposition temperature and substrate bias voltage on the coating properties, the number of interfaces, and the thickness of CrN/AlCrN pairs were systematically studied for the monolayers and multilayers, respectively. The composition of the monolayers was determined by energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and verified by x-ray photoelectron spectrometry. Scanning electron microscopy observations permitted to define the microstructure and thickness of the coatings. Ball-on-disc tests were realized to determine the coefficient of friction and wear rate. The hardness and elastic modulus were calculated from nanoindentation tests. The adhesion was quantified by scratch-tests. The thermal conductivity measurement was obtained by Modulated Photo Thermal Radiometry. The optimized coatings have a dense and homogeneous surface morphology on WC<img>Co substrates, are well crystallized, present a grain size lower than 10 nm, a friction coefficient of 0.5, and low wear rates. The results indicate that the optimal AlCrN monolayers are obtained at 300 °C/-250 V. The optimized AlCrN monolayers also have tensile and mostly compressive stresses, a hardness of 25.8 GPa, an elastic modulus of 170 GPa, and a Lc2 critical load of 58 N. The optimal multilayers are the one with decreasing CrN/AlCrN pairs thickness from substrate to top layer and the one with a doubled number of interfaces. The multilayers have low residual stresses from -47.7 MPa to 44.8 MPa, a hardness from 16.1 to 24.8 GPa, an elastic modulus from 429 to 670 GPa, a Lc2 critical load from 47 to 52 N, a low and similar thermal conductivity from 1.95 to 2.42 W·m^-1·K^-1.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"829 ","pages":"Article 140804"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145227732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Non-reactive Direct Current and chopped High-Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering deposition of Indium Tin Oxide thin films with enhanced optical and electrical properties","authors":"Rachid Oubaki,&nbsp;Salah-Eddine Bouzarmine,&nbsp;Younes Lablali,&nbsp;Youssef Samih,&nbsp;Olayinka O. Abegunde,&nbsp;Jones Alami,&nbsp;Mohammed Makha","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140802","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140802","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tin doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films were deposited by an industrial PVD system using Direct-current Magnetron Sputtering (DcMS) and chopped High-Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (c-HiPIMS). The depositions were made without extra heating and oxygen supply, with working pressure ranging from 0.2 to 6 Pa. ITO films with a higher figure of merit (FM) were obtained when using c-HiPIMS below 1 Pa, attributed to higher transmittance and reduced resistivity. The ITO films deposited by c-HiPIMS exhibit a significant reduction of the FM at pressures higher than 1 Pa due to the decreased charge carrier concentration. c-HiPIMS afford higher and almost constant FM of ITO at pressures between 0.2 – 1 Pa compared to DcMS, indicating the stability of the process in non-reactive mode within this pressure range. The difference in the FM between the two processes was explained based on the process energetics revealed by SRIM simulations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"829 ","pages":"Article 140802"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145227733","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}