Thin Solid Films最新文献

{"title":"Correlating the growth characteristics with the optical and structural properties of atomic layer deposited zinc tin oxide","authors":"Poorani Gnanasambandan ,&nbsp;Noureddine Adjeroud ,&nbsp;Renaud Leturcq","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140677","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140677","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Zinc tin oxide (ZTO) films with precise Sn content is of strong interest for the development of channel layers for amorphous oxide based thin film transistors and buffer layers on copper–indium–gallium–sulfide solar cells. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been effectively used for buffer layers with appropriate electronic properties, still an in-depth understanding correlating the structural and functional properties with the growth of the ternary oxide remains to be addressed. Here we investigate the mixing of ZnO and <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>SnO</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>x</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> on the growth and resulting opto-electronic properties by varying the supercycle parameters (cycle ratio and bilayer period) of the ALD process. We show that the growth of ZnO on <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>SnO</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>x</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> in ZTO thinfilms is more complex than a simple substrate-inhibited growth model. Moreover, we demonstrate a strong dependence of the optical properties with the mixed nature of the films as the optical properties of the film not only depend on the Sn content, but also on the bilayer period at a given Sn content. More specifically, the band-gap for a given Sn composition is high for the well-mixed material at the smallest bilayer period, starts decreasing slightly for bilayer periods between 10–20 and falls to the band-gap of ZnO as bilayer period increases further <span><math><mo>&gt;</mo></math></span>40. With the change in ZTO films from well-mixed to multilayer material as the bilayer period is varied, we illustrate that the optical properties of ZTO can be tuned effectively without largely altering the composition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"825 ","pages":"Article 140677"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144307613","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":"Engineering nanostructured ZnSe thin films by Gamma irradiation","authors":"Tripti Gupta ,&nbsp;Jaspreet Kaur ,&nbsp;Annu Sharma ,&nbsp;R.P. Chauhan","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140713","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140713","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In radiation ambiance, the studies on radiation interaction with materials are imperative to have their technological applications in medical and research fields. Also, defect engineering is of profound inquisitiveness to 2-dimensional materials community. The present work aims at estimating the sensitivity of ZnSe thin films for dosimetry applications. Thus, the effects of high-dose gamma (γ) rays are explored for their structural, surface, morphological, optical, and electrical characteristics on ZnSe thin films grown on glass substrates. From XRD (X-ray Diffraction) analyses, a decrease in crystallite sizes is obtained indicating an enhancement of defects. The optical characterization of irradiated thin films shows the bandgap variation; parameters such as extinction coefficient and refractive index have also been extracted. Electrical measurements were also carried out to study thin film’s sensitivity towards different γ doses. Physical alterations that the material undergoes with irradiation can be exploited for γ dosimetry applications. The modifications induced via γ-irradiation in structural, morphological, optical, surface, and electrical have been anatomized.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"824 ","pages":"Article 140713"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144241291","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":"Ultra-thin inorganic oxide and nitride films as an alternative blocking layer for electrochemical sensors","authors":"Adam McHenry ,&nbsp;Grant Jolly ,&nbsp;Thomas Young ,&nbsp;Michael Brothers ,&nbsp;Victoria Coyle ,&nbsp;Steve Kim ,&nbsp;Jason Heikenfeld","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140712","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140712","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The desire to translate biosensors for real time molecular monitoring has intensified due to the commercial success of 2-week continuous glucose monitors. However, a common limitation for emerging biosensors is that their lifetimes are often too short for commercially expected benchmarks of at least 3-day and ideally 2-week operation. Electrochemical sensors remain the preferred format of biochemical sensing thanks to their low cost, size, weight, and power requirements for mobile deployment. When exposed to biological fluid, all electrochemical sensors require a blocking layer to protect the electrode surface from fouling and redox interferents. Traditional blocking layer approaches rely on self-assembled monolayers which are often fragile to biological interferents like proteins and require specific electrode materials to improve their stability. Presented here is an evaluation of ultra-thin inorganic oxide and nitride films as an alternative to self-assembled monolayer blocking layers. Specifically, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and aluminum oxide films were deposited by electron beam evaporation or atomic layer deposition at thicknesses of several nanometers to mimic the electrical capacitance of a conventional monolayer blocking layer. These oxide films were characterized over 7-days and demonstrated to provide poor protection against interfering redox currents from dissolved ferricyanide (150 - 300 µA/cm2) and oxygen reduction interference (30 - 60 µA/cm2). The oxide films were then used as a blocking layer in an electrochemical aptamer sensor using the previously published aptamer for phenylalanine. The phenylalanine sensor showed a binding affinity stronger than found in literature, but a reduced signal gain (∼ 20 % change in methylene blue redox current compared to the expected 50 % previously published on gold). It is speculated and supported by literature that these oxide and nitride films gradually dissolve over periods of days in an aqueous environment. Results further show that if lower quality oxide or nitride films are used, they may be more stable, but at the cost of initially higher in currents. While oxide and nitride films fail to improve upon the performance of thiol-blocking layers on gold electrodes, they may provide utility in some applications by allowing for alternate electrode materials and surfaces to be used instead of traditional self-assembled monolayers on gold electrodes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"824 ","pages":"Article 140712"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144241783","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":"Vortex critical velocities in metallic-capped epitaxial NbN thin films","authors":"J.C. Zapata ,&nbsp;Yeonkyu Lee ,&nbsp;Jeehoon Kim ,&nbsp;N. Haberkorn","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140710","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140710","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We report the impact of proximity effects induced by different capping layers on the vortex dynamics and Larkin-Ovchinnikov instability in epitaxial NbN thin films. Bilayers consisting of 5 nm and 10 nm thick NbN were combined with capping layers of magnetic 5 nm thick Fe_0.2Ni_0.8 and non-magnetic 5 nm thick Al and 10 nm thick Pt. The critical temperature (<em>T_c</em>), which is approximately 16 K in pure samples, decreases due to the influence of the capping layers. This reduction is more pronounced for Fe_0.2Ni_0.8, where <em>T_c</em> is fully suppressed for 5 nm thick NbN and decreases to 10.1 K for 10 nm thick films. Additionally, <em>T_c</em> is restored when an ultrathin AlN insulating layer is introduced, preventing electronic interaction. In contrast, Al and Pt capping layers also reduce <em>T_c</em>, but to a lesser extent compared to magnetic layers. By performing current-voltage curves, we determined the vortex critical velocities as a function of the magnetic field. Initially, the velocities start at approximately 6 km/s at low fields, subsequently decreasing to values between 1.8–2.8 km/s at fields around 1 T While a negligible impact is observed at low fields, the velocities at moderate and high fields tend to increase near <em>T_c</em> for non-magnetic capping layers. These increases (approximately 20 %) may be attributed to changes in the quasiparticle relaxation time, likely due to phonon escape contributions, as well as modifications in the electron diffusion coefficient and heat dissipation to local heating generated by inhomogeneities. Comparatively, the impact of capping layers is significantly smaller than previously reported for NbN and other disordered superconductors, where the initial vortex velocities in pure films were much lower than those observed in the films used in this study.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"824 ","pages":"Article 140710"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144203964","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":"SiO2 passivation and ionic-liquid gating for (In,Ga)As-InP narrow channels","authors":"C. Golz ,&nbsp;A. Aleksandrova ,&nbsp;M.P. Semtsiv ,&nbsp;H. Weidlich ,&nbsp;W.T. Masselink ,&nbsp;Y. Takagaki","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140698","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140698","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Narrow channels mesa-etched from an In_0.75Ga_0.25As-InP heterostructure are passivated using SiO₂ films prepared by sputtering for the protection concerning the negligible surface depletion. Concerning the scattering for the electrons caused by the molecules attached to the side walls, the conduction becomes nearly independent of the atmosphere in which the channels are placed. The incompleteness in preventing the alteration of surface conditions may suggest diffusion of plausibly oxygen through the SiO₂ film. The channel resistance decreases anomalously for temperatures above 250 K, indicating that defects are generated in the deposition of the SiO₂ layer. The thermal activation of the defect-induced conduction can be eliminated by annealing. Nevertheless, the recovery of the crystallinity is not sufficient for heavy damages due to the decomposition of InP at high annealing temperatures. Although the existence of degenerate electrons cannot be deduced from the temperature dependence of the resistance, low-temperature quantum magnetotransport properties provide the evidence. Besides, gate-tuning of the channel resistance using a solid-type ionic liquid is additionally demonstrated.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"825 ","pages":"Article 140698"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144270699","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":"Optimization and application of doped erbium silicate films by regulating annealing and film deposition processes","authors":"Huabao Shang ,&nbsp;Lei Wang ,&nbsp;Deren Yang ,&nbsp;Dongsheng Li","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140708","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140708","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>By regulating the deposition and crystallization processes of doped erbium silicate thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering, the near-infrared and up-conversion luminescence (UCL) properties have been significantly improved. Studies demonstrate that higher annealing temperatures and longer annealing times effectively improve the crystallinity and luminescence performance of erbium-doped silicate films with varying compositions. Employing oxygen as the annealing atmosphere further reduces oxygen vacancy defects in the films, enhancing the optical activity of erbium ions. For the sputtering process, optimizing the substrate temperature and chamber atmosphere significantly increases the migration rate of sputtered particles on the substrate, thereby promoting film crystallization performance. Additionally, modifying the sputtering and annealing conditions influences the phonon energy changes related to defect concentration, enabling tunable green/red emission ratios in UCL. Through combined annealing and sputtering process optimization, doped erbium silicate films exhibit substantial improvements in both luminescence intensity and lifetime. The optimized preparation process not only provides valuable insights for enhancing the performance of other erbium compound films but also demonstrates broad application potential in high-performance erbium-ion emitting devices. Owing to the high luminescence efficiency, long lifetime, low cost, and simple silicon-compatible fabrication process, optimized erbium-doped silicate films are promising candidates for gain materials in silicon-based efficient lasers and optical amplifiers, offering a novel solution for integrated optical devices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"824 ","pages":"Article 140708"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144212330","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":"Improved cavitation erosion resistance of TiSiN/TiN multilayer coating with Al addition","authors":"Ergeng Zhang ,&nbsp;Jingwei Jiang ,&nbsp;Dandan Liang ,&nbsp;Qiang Chen ,&nbsp;Qiong Zhou ,&nbsp;Hanyin Ke ,&nbsp;Shuni Ying","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140707","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140707","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This work studied the effect of Al addition on the mechanical property and cavitation erosion resistance of TiSiN/TiN and TiSiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings. Adding Al into TiSiN/TiN elevates hardness from 17.8 GPa to 20.1 GPa and <em>H³/E²</em> ratio from 0.050 GPa to 0.082 GPa, while refining average grain size from 7.3 nm to 5.9 nm through substitutional solid solution formation. The modified TiSiN/TiAlN system demonstrates exceptional cavitation performance, extending incubation duration beyond 20 h with maximum mass loss rate reduced from 215 μg/h to 4 μg/h, compared to 12-hour incubation period of TiSiN/TiN coating. This notable enhancement is attributed to Al-induced grain refinement in the TiSiN/TiAlN coating, which increases toughness and enables efficient energy dissipation from cavitation pulses, thereby improving fatigue limit and delaying crack initiation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"823 ","pages":"Article 140707"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144138771","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, characterization, and photocatalytic properties of Au nanoparticle-anchored TiO2 and CaCO3 core–shell composite particles","authors":"Akihiro Kohno ,&nbsp;Sana Ito ,&nbsp;Kenta Kato ,&nbsp;Hironobu Minowa ,&nbsp;Atsushi Aratake ,&nbsp;Yasuko Yamada Maruo","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140706","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140706","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>TiO₂-based photocatalysts have garnered considerable attention, yet a deeper understanding of their photoreduction mechanism is essential for improved material design and application. In this study, core–shell composites were synthesised by coating CaCO₃, with TiO₂ via a sol-gel method using titanium tetraisopropoxide. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were subsequently anchored onto the composite surface. The CaCO₃@TiO₂ composite was prepared by precipitating CaCO₃ on TiO₂ using a carbonation method in which CO₂ was passed through a saturated aqueous solution of Ca(OH)₂ containing TiO₂. The AuNPs were anchored to the surfaces of the core–shell particles via precipitation using HAuCl₄ · 4H₂O as the precursor. Various physicochemical characterizations were performed on the synthesised photocatalysts. The photocatalytically produced amounts of CH₄ and CO were evaluated. As compared to AuNP/TiO₂@CaCO₃, AuNP/CaCO₃@TiO₂ produced 17 times more CH₄ and 1.4 times more CO via CO₂ reduction. The obtained results suggest that multi-electron reduction in AuNP/CaCO₃@TiO₂ to produce CH₄ occurs near CaCO₃, which is an insulator with CO₂ adsorption ability. Furthermore, the amount of CH₄ produced using AuNP/CaCO₃@TiO₂ was 1.1 times higher than that produced by a reported catalyst, which was prepared by physically mixing TiO₂ and CaCO₃ in the same ratio as that in AuNP/CaCO₃@TiO₂; the dissimilarity in the chemical structures of the physically mixed and precipitated photocatalysts was held responsible for the observed differences in their photocatalytic efficiencies. This study advances the existing knowledge about the mechanism of photocatalytic reduction reactions using TiO₂-based materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"823 ","pages":"Article 140706"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144138770","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 plasmon-polariton study of photoinduced diffusion in light-sensitive Ag–As2S3 thin-film structure","authors":"I.Z. Indutnyi,&nbsp;V.I. Mynko,&nbsp;M.V. Sopinskyy,&nbsp;S.V. Mamykin","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140705","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140705","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explores photostimulated silver diffusion in an \"Ag grating–As₂S₃ layer\" structure using the surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) resonance method. The process was examined under illumination with light of various wavelengths (405, 532, and 632.8 nm). A silver diffraction grating with a 515 nm period and 20 nm relief depth, optimal for SPP excitation, served as the substrate. The kinetics of structural changes were monitored via the shape and angular shift of the SPP resonance in the specular reflection of p-polarized low-intensity He-Ne laser radiation. Differences in the optical properties of photodoped As₂S₃ layers exposed to light from spectral regions corresponding to interband transitions, as well as to transitions involving localized states within the As₂S₃ band gap, were revealed. These differences are shown to be associated with the specific mechanisms of photodoping under different exposure conditions. Irradiation with short-wavelength light (405 nm) results in intense generation of electron-hole pairs, formation of Ag–S bonds, and Ag₂S clusters, significantly increasing both the refractive index and the extinction coefficient of the chalcogenide layer. This leads to a substantial change in the angular position of the SPP resonance, with a relatively small change in its depth. In contrast, exposure to longer-wavelength radiation leads to photodoping primarily driven by internal photoemission of electrons, resulting in increased interface roughness and a significant decrease in plasmon resonance depth with only a small shift in its position.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"824 ","pages":"Article 140705"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144195339","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 effects of carbon and nitrogen incorporation on the structure, mechanical properties and superconducting transition temperature of (NbMoTaW)100-z(CN)z coatings","authors":"František Lofaj ,&nbsp;Petra Hviščová ,&nbsp;Gabriel Pristáš ,&nbsp;Jozef Dobrovodský ,&nbsp;Dmitry Albov ,&nbsp;Maksym Lisnichuk ,&nbsp;Slavomír Gabáni ,&nbsp;Karol Flachbart","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140704","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140704","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Studies of the effects of nitrogen and carbon concentration on reactive DC magnetron sputtered (NbMoTaW)_100-z(CN)_z coatings reveal that nitrogen and carbon are actively incorporated into the cubic sub-lattice of metals until saturation is achieved above 4 sccm of N₂ flow. The hardness and indentation modulus of the studied coatings strongly depend on the concentration of nitrogen and carbon. Maximum hardness values of around 50 GPa, considerably exceeding the superhardness limit of 40 GPa, are achieved when the sum of nitrogen and carbon concentration approaches 50 at %. The content of nitrogen and carbon also influences the superconducting transition temperature T_c. Nevertheless, it turns out that the carbon concentration has a decisive influence on the observed T_c changes. The reason is probably the lower atomic mass of carbon compared to nitrogen and the increase of the electron-phonon interaction due to the different bonding of carbon (compared to N) to the metallic sub-lattice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"823 ","pages":"Article 140704"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144131450","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}