Thin Solid Films最新文献

{"title":"Effect of structural distortion on the metal-insulator transition in Ar+-implanted VO2 thin films","authors":"O.F. Kolomys,&nbsp;D.M. Maziar,&nbsp;V.V. Strelchuk,&nbsp;P.M. Lytvyn,&nbsp;V.P. Melnik,&nbsp;B.M. Romanyuk,&nbsp;O.Y. Gudymenko,&nbsp;O.V. Dubikovskyi,&nbsp;O.I. Liubchenko,&nbsp;O.A. Kulbachinskiy","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140643","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140643","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The structural, optical, morphological, and electrical properties of VO₂ films implanted with Ar⁺ ions were studied using Atomic-force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and electrical resistivity measurements. AFM studies of surface morphology revealed that with an increased dose of Ar⁺ implantation, the roughness of the surface nanorelief nearly doubled, and the homogeneity of the structured grain arrangement improved. XRD studies indicated that a higher dose of Ar⁺ implantation reduces the degree of angular distortion of the VO₂ unit cell, attributable to an increase in the concentration of point defects at the film/substrate heterointerface and relaxation of lattice mismatch strains. Using temperature-dependent micro-Raman spectroscopy, the regularities of changes in the frequencies of characteristic vibrations of the long and short V-V dimers along the <em>c</em>-axis of VO₂(M1), the V-V tilting vibrations nearly perpendicular to the <em>c</em>-axis, and the V-O bond stretching vibrations in the oxygen VO₆ octahedron were determined. The strain ε_а along the V-V chain decreases, accompanied by an increase in the length of V-V bonds. The most significant changes in the lengths of L₂ and L₅ bonds were observed, as evidenced by the rise in the compression strain ε_с along the <em>c</em>_M1 axis. Raman and electrical studies of VO₂ nanocrystalline films demonstrated that the observed coexistence of two structural phases (monoclinic and tetragonal) during the metal-insulator transition (MIT) is due to size dispersion and inhomogeneity in strain distribution. A decrease in the temperature coefficient of resistance and the film resistance at room temperature at high implantation doses is explained by the formation of conductive (metallic) vanadium oxide phases. The changes in strain, crystallite size, and Ar⁺ implantation dose have been shown to lower the phase transition temperature of VO₂ to near room temperature, which is essential for their widespread application in functional devices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"815 ","pages":"Article 140643"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143549037","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":"Effect of deposition mode and pulse parameters on the mechanical and tribological properties of magnetron sputtered TiBx films","authors":"Alexander S. Grenadyorov,&nbsp;Sergey V. Rabotkin,&nbsp;Vladimir O. Oskirko,&nbsp;Igor M. Goncharenko,&nbsp;Vyacheslav A. Semenov,&nbsp;Konstantin V. Oskomov,&nbsp;Elizaveta O. Kraynova,&nbsp;Аndrey А. Solovyev","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140640","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140640","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The structural, mechanical and tribological properties of TiB_x films deposited by high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) were characterized to understand the effect of pulse parameters, including pulse length (7‒170 μs) and peak target current density (0.44‒1.1 A cm^‒2), on the film properties. For comparison, the films are also obtained in direct current (dcMS) and mid-frequency (mfMS) sputtering modes. The films are deposited on WC-Co substrates from a TiB₂ target at an Ar pressure of 0.2 Pa, average discharge power of 500 W, substrate bias voltage of ‒65 V and a substrate temperature of 420 °C. The phase composition, mechanical (hardness, elastic modulus), and tribological (friction coefficient and wear rate) properties of TiB_x films were measured. The adhesion of the films was assessed using the scratch and Rockwell C indentation tests. It is shown that HiPIMS is a preferred technique for depositing high quality TiB_x films with improved mechanical and tribological properties and that the pulse parameters significantly influence the properties of the deposited films. TiB_x films deposited using optimal HiPIMS parameters (pulse length of 100 μs and peak target current density of 0.44 A cm^‒2) outperform those produced using dcMS and mfMS in terms of hardness and friction coefficient. All TiB_x films exhibit low wear rates (about 2 × 10^‒6 mm³H^‒1m^‒1) and good adhesion to the WC-Co substrate, regardless of the sputtering mode.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"815 ","pages":"Article 140640"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143519146","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":"Synthesis and characterization of aperiodic multifunctional AlN/Al2O3 nanomultilayers","authors":"Danielle E. White ,&nbsp;Koushik Jagadish ,&nbsp;Yu-Tsun Shao ,&nbsp;Andrea M. Hodge","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140638","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140638","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Optical-mechanical multifunctionality in ceramic nanomultilayered coatings is an area of research relatively unexplored. Particularly, layer aperiodicity has been shown to improve transmittance, where the effect on mechanical deformation remains unknown. Here, AlN/Al₂O₃ nanomultilayers are synthesized via sputtering with four unique, optically optimized aperiodic layer structures with a minimum ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared transmittance of 90% and with an Al₂O₃ volume fraction ranging from 30% to 73%. Deformation was explored at different length scales, revealing the effect of local volume fraction and individual layer thicknesses within the aperiodic structure. It was determined that the deformation behavior is correlated to the local AlN or Al₂O₃ volume fraction within a given layer stack, where individual layer thickness and adjacent layer interactions were shown to affect crack propagation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"815 ","pages":"Article 140638"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143519145","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":"Empowering TiO2:ZrO2 composite for energy storage through chemical beam vapor deposition","authors":"Md Kashif Shamim ,&nbsp;William Maudez ,&nbsp;Estelle Wagner ,&nbsp;Seema Sharma ,&nbsp;Radheshyam Rai ,&nbsp;Giacomo Benvenuti ,&nbsp;Rashmi Rani","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140628","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140628","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nanocomposite TiO₂:ZrO₂ thin films were deposited using the Chemical Beam Vapour Deposition technique with a combinatorial approach, allowing for rapid scanning of multiple parameters on a single substrate. The films were carefully studied for their structural, morphological, and dielectric properties with respect to different element compositions (∼80:20, ∼70:30, and ∼60:40 (Ti:Zr) atomic %). The X-ray diffraction measurements showed the presence of TiO₂ anatase phase, ZrO₂ tetragonal phase and ZrTiO₄ orthorhombic phase, which was further confirmed by Raman analysis. Atomic Force Microscopy and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy revealed homogeneous morphology for all the composite films. Notably, the ∼60:40 (Ti:Zr) atomic %) nanocomposite thin film exhibited a high dielectric constant (up to ∼73), high ionic conductivity (up to 10^–1 S/cm), and low leakage current density (down to ∼4.4 × 10^–7 A/cm² at 1.2 V), making it an attractive material for energy storage applications in the future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"815 ","pages":"Article 140628"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143487880","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":"Electrochromic performances of TiO2 nanocrystals thin films for smart glass applications","authors":"Cheikh Zakaria Eldjilali ,&nbsp;Gregory Soon How Thien ,&nbsp;Zi-Neng Ng ,&nbsp;Boon Kar Yap ,&nbsp;Kar Ban Tan ,&nbsp;H.C. Ananda Murthy ,&nbsp;Kah-Yoong Chan","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140636","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140636","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Electrochromic (EC) windows can adjust the visible and infrared light transmission via voltage control, providing a feasible strategy to reduce indoor energy consumption. In sol-gel spin-coated EC thin films, samples are typically subjected to a pre-heating step, also known as pre-annealing, followed by a post-deposition annealing step. Despite the extensive utilization of the sol-gel spin-coating method in EC thin film fabrication, minimal focus has been paid to the influence of the pre-heating duration on the EC properties of TiO₂ thin films. While the pre-heating step incurs additional process duration and costs, the optimization of this step would result in improved fabrication process and EC performance.</div><div>Therefore, this study investigated the distinct influence of the pre-heating duration on the structural, optical, and EC properties of TiO₂ thin films. TiO₂ nanocrystals-based EC thin films were fabricated and the pre-heating duration impact was studied in this investigation. It was found that controlling the pre-heating duration by reducing it from 60 min to 30 s resulted in more than a 3-fold enhancement in optical modulation at a wavelength of 633 nm and an enhancement of more than 1-fold in the thin film's coloration efficiency. Furthermore, it was also found that the crystalline size decreased from 17 nm to 14 nm by reducing the pre-heating time. The findings are important to elucidate the effect of the pre-heating process, especially it highlights the distinctive behaviour at shorter pre-heating durations, which is crucial in the optimization of the EC fabrication process.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"815 ","pages":"Article 140636"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143487825","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":"Electron beam deposition of silicon-oxycarbonitride films in a nitrogen-containing hollow cathode discharge plasma in the fore-vacuum pressure range","authors":"V.A. Burdovitsin ,&nbsp;A.A. Andronov ,&nbsp;A.S. Klimov ,&nbsp;L.J. Ngon A Kiki ,&nbsp;E.M. Oks ,&nbsp;F.A. Sukhovolsky","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140634","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140634","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Silicon-oxycarbonitride films were deposited by electron beam evaporation of silicon carbide in a nitrogen-containing atmosphere. To increase the nitrogen reactivity, the deposition was carried out in a hollow cathode discharge plasma; thus the nitrogen atmosphere near the deposition region is a nitrogen plasma. The electron beam performs two functions simultaneously: evaporation of the source material and provision of a hollow cathode discharge. Increase in hollow cathode discharge current, and thus also the nitrogen plasma density, leads to an increase in the nitrogen content of the deposited films, as well as increased oxygen content, optical band gap, and film hardness.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"815 ","pages":"Article 140634"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143487826","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":"Inert nature of non-polar GaN thin films against energetic x-rays (4 MeV)","authors":"Tahir Rajgoli ,&nbsp;Tushar Sant ,&nbsp;Suhas M. Jejurikar ,&nbsp;Sandip Hinge ,&nbsp;Roshan Makkar ,&nbsp;Vasant Sathe ,&nbsp;Arun Banpurkar","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140633","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140633","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Here, in the present article, we report the inert nature of non-polar gallium nitride (GaN) thin films against highly energetic 4 MeV x- rays irradiation of varying dosages. For the study, a set of quality GaN films having non-polar crystallographic orientations on sapphire substrate deposited using the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) route was used. To investigate the effect of energetic radiations on film's physical and chemical properties, the films were exposed to the energetic x-rays with varying dose values from 8 to 12 kilogray (kGy) in an atmospheric environment, where x-rays were produced by the bremsstrahlung process. The effect of harsh environments on the physical and chemical properties associated with these films using respective techniques. The structural, microstructural as well as chemical investigation confirms the resistive nature of these films against the highly energetic x-rays. Thus from the earlier and present research work, we assure that the non-polar GaN films can be the most suitable option to fabricate next-generation high-energy radiation detectors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"814 ","pages":"Article 140633"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143465541","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":"Stress control in thick hydrogenated amorphous carbon films to mitigate stress-induced defects in semiconductor processes","authors":"Myung Mo Ahn ,&nbsp;Se Jun Park ,&nbsp;Boyoung Shim ,&nbsp;Seungmin Moon ,&nbsp;Song Yi Baek ,&nbsp;Changsoo Lee ,&nbsp;Jaehyun Kim ,&nbsp;Chulhwan Choi","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140635","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140635","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study addresses stress-induced defects in hydrogenated amorphous carbon layers (ACL) used as hard masks in Vertical NAND (VNAND) memory fabrication. The addition of N₂ gas during ACL deposition enabled precise control of stress in ACL films deposited at high temperatures. This stress control reduced the film's tensile stress, thereby mitigating arcing defects and delamination issues caused by high stress. It was confirmed that film stress was controlled by changes in hydrogen content and adjustments to the coefficient of thermal expansion without adversely affecting other film properties from the analyses of Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. This approach has been demonstrated to enhance productivity and yield in high-volume semiconductor manufacturing. Our findings provide valuable insights for managing film stress in next-generation semiconductor devices, including High Bandwidth Memory and Bonding VNAND.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"814 ","pages":"Article 140635"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143452919","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":"Electrochemical modulation of Te material morphology and performance of Si/Te photodetectors","authors":"Yang Xiang ,&nbsp;Xinru Zhang ,&nbsp;Chan Yang ,&nbsp;Shuanglong Feng","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140629","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140629","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Silicon (Si) material has a lower cost and mature preparation process, epitaxial growth of tellurium (Te) material with narrow bandgap on Si substrate and preparation of Si-based detector can not only broaden the response band of silicon material but also improve the device response speed. In this paper, electrochemical deposition was used to grow Te materials inside a patterned silicon window to prepare Si/Te photodetectors. By regulating the pH of precursor solution and deposition time, the chemical reaction of Te during deposition and the crystal structure under relative conditions were investigated, as well as growing nanowire-type, feather-type, nanosheet-type, and nanorod-type Te materials. Finally, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction methods characterized the Te with different morphologies. Our results illustrate that the higher the pH of the Te material, the slower the reduction reaction rate, and the alkaline condition requires a larger deposition voltage. After photovoltaic testing, all three conditions responded to lasers at 635 nm and 1550 nm wavelengths, which lays the foundation for dual-band Si/Te photodetectors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"814 ","pages":"Article 140629"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143471593","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":"Electrical resistivity, wettability, and structural properties of oriented columnar Mo thin films","authors":"Khaoula Rahmouni ,&nbsp;Ilyas Bensalem ,&nbsp;Abdelhamid Benhaya ,&nbsp;Nicolas Martin","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140632","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140632","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This work reports on the effects of oblique angle deposition on the microstructure, electrical resistivity, and wettability of molybdenum (Mo) thin films. DC magnetron sputtering deposits Mo on silicon wafers while the substrate inclination angle varies from a = 10° to 80°. A constant film thickness of 800 nm is prepared, whereas the deposition angle α is systematically changed from 0 to 80°. Thin film crystalline structure is analyzed by X-ray diffraction and shows that for a substrate inclination angle lower than 60°, the (110) peak of the bcc Mo phase becomes more pronounced. Grain size and crystallinity decrease as the deposition angle increases, particularly for α higher than 60°, from 12.4 to 8.9 nm. Morphological characteristics of Mo thin films show a significant voided architecture as the substrate inclination angle rises. Oxygen enrichment is also obtained, and Mo films become less conductive with an electrical resistivity increasing by two orders of magnitude as the substrate inclination angle reaches 80°. Using the contact angle technique, it is found that Mo films are hydrophobic with an improved wettability as an angle tends to be glancing, the values of surface free energy were increased from 48.1 and 62.1 mN m⁻¹. Results indicate that rather than adjusting the composition of thin films, it is possible to affect their properties by modifying their nanostructured design.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"814 ","pages":"Article 140632"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143474178","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}