| 1. |
- Choolakkal, Arun Haridas, 1992-
(författare)
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Conformal chemical vapor deposition of boron carbide thin films
- 2023
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The sustainability goals of the modern world and the fascinating properties of sub-micron scale materials promote development of materials in thin film form. Thin films are materials that have thicknesses ranging from sub-nanometer to several micrometers, synthesized by various deposition techniques. They are used for diverse applications, such as light emitting diodes, solar cells, semiconductor chips, etc. The primary objective of this research project is to develop a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process for conformal boron carbide thin films. Since boron carbide is a promising neutron converter material for solid-state neutron detectors, the process was validated by depositing on prototype detector chips. In this study, triethylboron (TEB) was used as single source CVD precursor to deposit boron carbide thin films. The initial experiments focused on low reaction rate deposition by depositing in a kinetically limited regime. The films deposited at ≤450 °C in 8:1 aspect ratio micro-trench structures were highly conformal and show a stoichiometry of about B5.2C. We attribute this observed conformality to the slow reaction kinetics of the TEB at the low deposition temperature enabling the diffusive transport of the precursor molecule down the trench. The depositions carried out on the prototype detector-chips show promising results. We expand our studies to investigate a new strategy with the prospect of improving the step coverage at higher temperatures for better film properties. We hypothesize that adding a suitable heavier molecule, diffusion additive, with an appropriate partial pressure can enhance the step coverage by pushing the lighter precursor molecule via competitive co-diffusion. It was tested by adding Xe gas to the boron carbide CVD from TEB. The result shows that with this diffusion additive the step coverage was improved from 0.71 to 0.97. From our experimental results, we suggest a competitive diffusion model that can be adapted to other CVD processes to enhance the film step coverage. The CVD process is further validated by depositing onto carbon nanotube membranes. The initial results show that the process was able to afford evenly deposition around the individual nanotubes in the carbon nanotube membrane. Raman spectroscopy measurements show a similar D-band to G-band intensity ratio before and after the deposition indicating that no defects were induced in the nanotubes.
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| 2. |
- Lorentzon, Marcus, 1993-
(författare)
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Nanostructured TiN/ZrAlN and HfAlN Thin Films : Effect of Structure on Mechanical Properties
- 2024
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Transition metal nitrides are a remarkable group of ceramic materials that offer exceptional properties such as high hardness, low tribological wear, excellent thermal stability, and high oxidation resistance. Alloys such as TiN, CrN, VN, ZrN, and HfN have been identified as ideal candidates for protective coatings on cutting tool inserts in the metal processing industry. While TiAlN has been widely accepted, ZrAlN and HfAlN alloys have much unexplored potential. With a melting point of HfN at 3300 °C, approximately 400 °C higher than TiN, HfAlN shows great potential for age-hardening at even higher temperatures. These remarkable materials inspire us to push the limits of what is possible, and to continue to innovate materials science.The work performed in this thesis focuses on the development of hard coatings using ionassisted reactive magnetron sputtering. The coatings are based on group IV TM-Al-N, where TM is either Ti, Zr, or Hf. The aim is to enhance the performance of these ceramic coatings by simultaneously increasing their hardness and toughness. To achieve this, the growth mechanisms, structure, and mechanical properties of the films were studied in detail. The coatings were deposited onto single crystal Si(001) and MgO(001) substrates.The first study describes the development of a multilayer structure, consisting of alternating layers of TiN and Zr0.37Al0.63N1.09, with a bilayer period of 20 nm, with the aim of combining the unique properties of the constituent materials. Cubic rocksalt TiN is known for its high hardness and unfortunate brittleness. Hexagonal wurtzite Zr0.37Al0.63N1.09 is less hard, but also more ductile. The crystal structure of the multilayers varied depending on the substrate temperature during growth. At temperatures below ~350 °C, the ZrAlN layers grew near amorphous, while they were nanocrystalline between 500 °C and 800°C. At 900 °C, the ZrAlN segregated into a nanolabyrinthine structure consisting of w-AlN and c-ZrN. The hardness of the films increased significantly with increasing deposition temperature, from 24 GPa to 36 GPa. The films also showed superior fracture stress compared to the available literature, increasing from 6.1 to 7.7 GPa. The fracture toughness of the films was also improved compared to the binary constituents, up to 2.8 MPa√m. These findings illustrate the potential of combining diverse materials, to create new structures with enhanced properties and highlight the importance of optimizing the growth conditions to achieve the desired film functionality.In a second study, single-crystal Hf1-xAlxNy films were grown at high temperatures on MgO(001) substrates. Excess nitrogen in HfNy (y=1.22, 1.33) film created ordered nanosized domains of variations in the nitrogen composition, leading to the formation of a compositionally modulated superstructure. In Hf0.93Al0.07N1.15, the immiscibility of the constituents (c-HfN and c-AlN) causes the formation of a superstructure consisting of isostructural Al-rich and Hf-rich domains due to surface initiated spinodal decomposition. Micropillar compression tests reveal a ductile HfN1.22 and substantial strain hardening upon deformation. Hf0.93Al0.07N1.15 exhibited a brittle nature, although at a substantially increased yield stress in comparison, consistent with the improved hardness from 26 GPa to 40.5 GPa, measured by nanoindentation.
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| 3. |
- Chang, Jui-Che, 1996-
(författare)
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Controlled growth of metastable Ta3N5 semiconducting films
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The semiconductor tritantalum pentanitride (Ta3N5) is a promising material for green energy applications, specifically in the photoelectrolysis of water to produce oxygen and hydrogen. With a bandgap of approximately 2 eV, Ta3N5 is well-suited for efficient solar light absorption across a broad spectrum, and its band positions align favorably with the redox potential of water. Theoretically, this material could achieve a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of up to 15.9%. However, the intricate nature of the Ta-N compounds and its metastability have limited research into the development of high-quality Ta3N5. In this thesis, the metastable Ta3N5 films were grown using two types of reactive magnetron sputtering techniques, direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS) and high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). Several key parameters were found to stabilize the formation of Ta3N5 phase, including the amount of oxygen in a gas mixture of Ar and N2, total working pressure, the Ta2O5 seed layer, and Ar/N2 partial pressure ratio. First, sputter growth of Ta-N film using a gas mixture of Ar and N2 without oxygen gas, only metallic -TaN and ε-TaN phase were formed. After introducing a small amount of oxygen in the process gas (~2% of total working pressure), the oxygen atoms, with higher electronegativity, replace nitrogen atoms to trigger and stabilize the formation of crystalline Ta3N5-type structure. In addition, with a suitable Ar/N2 partial pressure ratio for Ta3N5 formation, a low-degree fiber-textural orthorhombic Ta3N5 film was formed at the total working pressure range from 5 to 30 mTorr. At 40 mTorr total working pressure, the deposited film transforms to O-rich amorphous Ta-O-N compound. Second, the effect of Ta2O5 seed layer on the control of Ta-N phase was studied. The Ta3N5 phase can be grown only with a Ta2O5 seed layer assistance. Without the seed layer, only metallic TaN phases were formed no matter if the film was grown with or without oxygen assistance. Furthermore, domain epitaxial growth of Ta3N5 film on sapphire substrate was achieved through the control of seed layer’s thickness and crystallinity. While the film was grown on an amorphous TaOx seed layer, the Ta3N5 structure becomes polycrystalline. Third, the formation mechanism and epitaxial growth were studied through microstructural analysis in combination of first-principle density-functional theory calculations. Time-dependent growth evolution of Ta3N5 films combined with HRTEM and EDX measurement revealed that the nitridation of Ta2O5 seed layer and Ta-N film deposition occurs simultaneously at the beginning of the Ta3N5 deposition. Further deposition, the Ta3N5 layer was dominated by {00k} domain mixed with (113) domain with a thin TaN layer between Ta3N5 layer and substrate. Last, various Ta-N compounds were grown via controlling the Ar/N2 partial pressure ratio and total working pressure. When the reactive gas was changed from pure Ar to pure nitrogen, the deposited films transformed from Ta metal (mixed with TaOx), TaN, TaN mixed with Ta3N5 to polycrystalline Ta3N5 phase. To summarize the work conducted in this thesis, I have established a reproducible and precise method for cultivating metastable Ta3N5 through the magnetron sputter deposition technique. The elucidated growth mechanism holds promise for synthesizing Ta3N5 on diverse substrates using alternative techniques, ensuring a controlled and adaptable approach.
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| 4. |
- Chang, Jui-Che
(författare)
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Metastable orthorhombic Ta3N5 thin films grown by magnetron sputter epitaxy
- 2022
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The semiconductor tritantalum pentanitride (Ta3N5) is a promising green-energy material for photoelectrolyzing water to produce oxygen and hydrogen owing to its proper bandgap of 2.0 ± 0.2 eV and band positions to redox potential of water. Compare with the conventional setup of water splitting, such as TiO2, Fe2O3, Cu2O, and WO3, the Ta3N5 shows a proper band gap, which leads to a theoretical efficiency as high as 15.9%. However, the complexity of the Ta-N system and the metastability of the Ta3N5 result in the limited research of the growth of high quality stoichiometric Ta3N5.Conventionally, the two-step growth of oxidation and nitridation of a metal Ta using thermal annealing in oxygen and ammonia environment is used to produce the Ta3N5. However, the amount of incorporated oxygen in the Ta3N5 samples and film’s thickness and interface are hardly to be controlled, and the use of ammonia as the nitridation gas is harmful to the environment. Hence, in this thesis work, the reactive magnetron sputtering is used to synthesis the Ta3N5, which demonstrates some advantages, such as possibility to grow on a substrate with nanostructure on the surface, a simplification of growth process, usage of environmental-friendly reactive gas, and even scaling up to the industrial application.The thesis presents a successful growth of orthorhombic Ta3N5-type Ta-O-N compound thin films on Si and sapphire substrates, specifically Ta3-xN5-yOy, using reactive magnetron sputtering with a gas mixture of Ar, N2, and O2. In the deposition process, the total working pressure was increasing from 5 to 40 mTorr, while keeping same partial pressure ratio (Ar: N2: O2 = 3: 2: 0.1). When the total pressure in the region between 5-30 mTorr, a low-degree fiber-textural Ta3-xN5-yOy films were grown. In addition, with the characterization of elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA), the atomic fraction of O, N, and Ta of as-grown Ta3-xN5-yOy films were found varying from 0.02 to 0.15, 0.66 to 0.54, and 0.33 to 0.31, respectively, which leads to a b-lattice constant decrease around 1.3 %, shown in X-ray diffraction (XRD) results. For a total working pressure up to 40 mTorr, an amorphous O-rich Ta-O-N compound film was formed mixed with non-stoichiometric TaON and Ta2O5, which further raised the oxygen atomic fraction to ~0.48. The increasing total working pressure results in an increasing band gap from 2.22 to 2.66 eV of Ta3-xN5-yOy films, and further increasing to around 2.96 eV of O-rich Ta-O-N compound films. The mechanism of increasing oxygen atomic fraction in the film is founded correlated with the forming oxide on the Ta target surface during the deposition process due to the strong reactivity of O to Ta by the characterization of optical emission spectroscopy (OES). Moreover, the sputter yield was reduced due to the target poisoning, and which is evidenced by both plasma analysis and depth profile from ERDA.A further studies with the deposition parameters for nearly pure Ta3N5 films (oxygen atomic fraction ~2%) was performed using c-axis oriented Al2O3 substrate. In this research, it is found that a Ta2O5 seed layer and a small amount of oxygen were necessary for the growth of Ta3N5. Without the help of seed layer and oxygen, only metallic TaN phases, either mixture of ε- and δ- TaN or δ-TaN were grown, evidenced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Furthermore, the structure and phase purity of Ta3N5-phase dominated films was found highly correlated with the thickness of the Ta2O5 seed layer. With the increasing thickness of the seed layer from 5, 9, to 17 nm, the composition of grown films was changed from 111-oriented δ-TaN mixed with c-axis oriented Ta3N5, c-axis oriented Ta3N5, to polycrystalline Ta3N5. In addition, the azimuthal φ-scans in grazing incident geometry demonstrates that the c-axis oriented Ta3N5 contained epitaxially three-variant-orientation domains, in which the a and b planes parallel to the m and a planes of c-axis oriented Al2O3. With the simulation of density functional theory (DFT), the growth of thin seed layers of orthorhombic Ta2O5 (β-Ta2O5) was found promoting by introducing a small amount of oxygen, after calculating the interplay between the topological and energy selection criteria. By the co-action of the mentioned criteria, this already grown Ta2O5 seed layer favored the growth of the orthorhombic Ta3N5 phase. Hence, the mechanism of the domain epitaxial growth of c-axis oriented Ta3N5 on c-axis oriented Al2O3 is attributed to the similar atomic arrangement Ta3N5(001) and β-Ta2O5(201) with a small lattice mismatch around of 2.6% and 4.5%, for the interface of film/seed layer and seed layer/substrate, respectively, and a favorable energetic interaction between involved materials.
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| 5. |
- Kindlund, Hanna, 1984-
(författare)
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Toughness Enhancement in Hard Single-Crystal Transition-Metal Nitrides : V-Mo-N and V-W-N Alloys
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Transition-metal nitrides are known for their high hardness, good wear resistance, high-temperature stability, and chemical inertness. Because of these properties, they are extensively used in many industrial applications, notably as protective wear, erosion, and scratch resistant coatings, which are often subjected to high thermo-mechanical stresses. While high hardness is essential, most applications also require high ductility, to avoid brittle failure due to cracking. However, transitionmetal nitrides, as most ceramics, generally exhibit low ductility and hence poor toughness.Improving toughness, the combination of hardness and ductility, of ceramic materials requires suppression of crack initiation and/or propagation, both of which depend on the microstructure, electronic structure, and bonding nature of the coating material. This, however, is an extremely challenging task that requires a fundamental understanding of the mechanical behavior of materials. Theoretical studies, for example, ab initio calculations and simulations are therefore useful in the design of “unbreakable” materials by providing information about the electronic origins of hardness and ductility. Recent density functional theory calculations predicted that alloying can increase toughness in a certain family of transition-metal nitrides such as V-Mo-N and V-W-N alloys. Toughness enhancement in these alloys arises from a near optimal filling of the metallic d-t2g states, due to their high valence electron concentrations, leading to an orbital overlap which favors ductility during shearing.This thesis focuses on the growth and characterization of V1-xMoxNy (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.7, 0.55 ≤ y ≤ 1.03) and V1-xWxNy (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.83, 0.75 ≤ y ≤ 1.13) cubic alloy thin films. I show that alloying VN with WN increases the alloy hardness and reduces the elastic modulus, an indication of enhanced toughness. I investigated the growth, nanostructure, and atomic ordering of as-deposited V1-xWxNy(001)/MgO(001) thin films. In addition, I studied the growth, structural and mechanical properties, and electronic structure of V1-xMoxNy(001)/MgO(001) and V0.5Mo0.5Ny(111)/Al2O3(0001) thin films. I demonstrate that these alloys exhibit not only higher hardness than the parent binary compound, VN, but also dramatically increased ductility. V0.5Mo0.5N hardness is more than 25% higher than that of VN. Using nanoindentation I show that while VN and TiN reference samples undergo severe cracking typical of brittle ceramics, V0.5Mo0.5N films do not crack. Instead, they exhibit material pile-up around nanoindents, characteristic of plastic flow in ductile materials. Furthermore, the wear resistance of V0.5Mo0.5N is significantly higher than that of VN. I also show, for the first time, anion-vacancyinduced toughening of single-crystal V0.5Mo0.5Ny/MgO(001) films. Nanoindentation hardness of these alloys increases with the introduction of N-vacancies, while the elastic modulus remains essentially constant. In addition, typical scanning electron micrographs of nanoindents show no cracks, which demonstrate that N-vacancies lead to toughness enhancement in these alloys. Valence band x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses show that vacancy-induced toughening is due to a higher electron density of d-t2g(Metal) – d-t2g(Metal) orbitals with increasing N-vacancy concentration, and essentially equally dense p(N) – d-eg(Metal) first neighbor bonds.Overall, I demonstrate that it is possible to design and deposit hard and ductile transition-metal nitride coatings. My research results thus provide a pathway toward the development of new tough materials.
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| 6. |
- Olsson, Simon
(författare)
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Approximant Phases in Quasicrystalline AlCuFe Thin Films
- 2012
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Quasicrystalline materials exhibit properties that are very different from conventional metallic materials. They are mostly metallic alloys, and show high hardness and stiffness but low electrical and thermal conductivity. The coefficient of friction and surface energy of the quasicrystalline materials are also very low. Approximants are a family of phases that are related to the quasicrystals. These phases share the local atomic arrangement of quasicrystals and have as a result many similar physical properties. Bulk quasicrystals are too brittle for many of the suggested applications, instead the most important area of applications concerns that of surface coatings. In this work, quasicrystalline and approximant phases have been synthesized in thin films. Multilayered Al/Cu/Fe thin films, with a nominal global composition corresponding to the quasicrystalline phase, have been deposited by magnetron sputtering onto Si and Al2O3 substrates. During isothermal annealing at temperatures up to 700 °C homogeneous thin films were formed. It is found that when using Si as substrate a film-substrate reaction occurs already below 390 °C, where Si diffuses into the film. This changes the composition, promoting the formation of the cubic α-approximant phase. Annealing at 600 °C for 4 h the cubic a-approximant phase forms in a polycrystalline state, with a small amount of a second phase, τ7-Al3Fe2Si3. The film is within 1.5 at.% of the ideal composition of the a-approximant phase, and contains 8 at.% Si. Continued annealing for 64 h provides for more diffusion of Si to 12 at.%, which result in an increase of the t7-phase. The rate of Si in-diffusion was observed to decrease with annealing time, and the lattice parameter of the a-phase was continuously decreasing as diffused Si substituted for Al. No degradation of the crystal quality of the remaining α-phase was observed even after as much as 150 h of treatment. When annealing the same Al/Cu/Fe thin film grown on non-reactant Al2O3 substrates the icosahedral Al62.5Cu25Fe12.5 quasicrystalline phase is formed.
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| 7. |
- Xie, Mengyao, 1982-
(författare)
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Structural and elastic properties of InN and InAlN with different surface orientations and doping
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Group–III nitrides, InN, GaN, AlN, and their alloys, have revolutionized solid state lighting and continue to attract substantial research interest due to their unique properties and importance for optoelectronics and electronics. Among the group–III nitrides, InN has the lowest effective electron mass and the highest electron mobility, which makes it suitable for high–frequency and high power devices. InxAl1–xN alloys cover the widest wavelength region among any semiconductor systems with band gaps ranging from 0.6 eV (InN) to 6.2 eV (AlN). Thus, InxAl1–xN is promising for light emitting diodes and laser diodes in a wide spectral range from infrared to deep ultraviolet, as well as for solar cell applications. InxAl1–xN thin films are also extensively studied in relation to their application for Bragg reflectors, microcavities, polariton emission and high electron mobility transistors. Despite the intense research, many of the fundamental properties of InN and InxAl1–xN remain controversial. For example, the material lattice parameters, stiffness constants, structural anisotropy and defects in nonpolar and semipolar films, effect of impurities and dopants are not established. Furthermore, to fabricate InN based devices, reliable n– and p–type doping should be achieved. At present, control and assessment of p–type conductivity using Mg doping of InN is one of the most outstanding issues in the field.This thesis focuses on: i) Establishing the structural and elastic properties of InxAl1−xN with arbitrary surface orientations (papers I to III); ii) Studying structural and free-charge carrier properties of non/semi-polar and zinc-blende InN (papers IV and V) and iii) Establishing the effects of doping (p and n) on lattice parameters, structural and free-charge carrier properties of InN (Papers VI and VII). The work includes ab initio calculations and experimental studies of InN and InxAl1−xN materials grown in world−class laboratories in Japan, Europe and the USA.The first part of the thesis includes general description of the basic material properties. Next, the structural and elastic properties and defects in InxAl1−xN and InN are discussed. The experimental techniques and relevant methods used to characterize the materials are described, as well as details on the ab initio calculations used in this work are provided. Part II consists ofseven papers.In Paper I we present the first theoretical analysis on the applicability of Vegard’s linear rule in InxAl1−xN alloys in relation to strain related elastic and piezoelectric properties. We derive the elastic stiffness constants and biaxial coefficients, as well as the respective deviations from linearity by using ab initio calculations. The stress−strain relationships to extract composition from the lattice parameters are derived in different coordinate systems for InxAl1−xN with an arbitrary surface orientation. The error made in the composition extracted from the lattice parameters if the deviations from linearity are not taken into account is discussed for different surface orientations, compositions and degrees of strain. The strain induced piezoelectric polarization is analyzed for InxAl1−xN alloys grown psudomorphically on GaN. We establish the importance of the deviation from linearity in the extracted strain values in respect to the piezoelectric polarization.Paper II reports the lattice parameters of InxAl1−xN in the whole compositional range using first-principle calculations. Deviations from Vegard’s rule are obtained via the bowing parameters, which largely differ from previously reported values. The paper discusses for the first time the implications of the observed deviations from Vegard’s rule on the In content extracted from x-ray diffraction.Paper III discusses the lattice parameters and strain evolution in Al−rich InxAl1−xN films with composition. Decoupling of compositional effects on the strain determination was accomplished by measuring the In contents in the films both by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and x−ray diffraction (XRD). It is suggested that strain plays an important role for the observed deviation from Vegard’s rule in the case of pseudomorphic films. It is found that Vegard’s rule in the narrow compositional range around the lattice matching to GaN may be applicable.Paper IV reports the first study of structural anisotropy of non-polar InN and semi−polar InN grown on sapphire and γ-LiAlO2 substrates. The on−axis rocking curve (RC) widths were found to exhibit anisotropic dependence on the azimuth angle. The finite size of the crystallites and extended defects are suggested to be the dominant factors determining the RC anisotropy in a-plane InN, while surface roughness and curvature could not play a major role. Furthermore, strategy to reduce the anisotropy and magnitude of the tilt and minimize defect densities in a−plane InN films is suggested. The semipolar InN was found to contain two domains nucleating on zinc−blende InN(111)A and InN(111)B faces. These two wurtzite domains develop with different growth rates, which was suggested to be a consequence of their different polarity. We found that a− and m−plane InN films have basal stacking fault densities similar or even lower compared to nonpolar InN grown on free−standing GaN substrates, indicating good prospects of heteroepitaxy on foreign substrates for the growth of InN−based devices.Paper V reports the development of appropriate methods based on X-ray diffraction and Infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry to identify wurtizte and zinc-blende InN and quantify their phase ratio. Detailed analysis on the formation of the cubic and wurtzite phases is presented and their evolution with film thickness is discussed in detail. The free-charge carrier and phonon properties of the two phases are discussed together with the determination of the surface electron accumulation.Paper VI studies the effect of Mg doping on the structural parameters and free−charge carrier properties of InN. We demonstrate the capability of infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry to identify p−type doping. The paper provides important information on the effect of Mg doping on extended defects and lattice parameters, and also discussed the relationship between doping, defects and carrier mobility.Paper VII presents the first study on the effect of impurities on the lattice parameters of InN using first principle calculations. We considered both the size and the deformation potential effect for Mg0, Mg−, Si+ and O+ and Hi+. The incorporation of H on interstitial site and substitutional O leads to expansion of the lattice. On the other hand, incorporation of Si or Mg leads to contraction of the lattice. The most pronounced effect is observed for Si. Our results indicate that the experimentally observed increase of the in−plane lattice parameter of Mg doped InN cannot be explained neither by the size nor by the deformation potential effect and suggest that the growth strain is changed in this case. The reported size and deformation potential coefficients can be used to elucidate the origin of strains in InN epitaxial layers and the degree of electrically active impurities.
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| 8. |
- Žukauskaitė, Agnė
(författare)
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Metastable YAlN and ScAlN thin films : growth and characterization
- 2012
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- ScxAl1-xN and YxAl1-xN thin films were deposited in a ultra high vacuum system using reactive magnetron co-sputtering from elemental Al, Sc and Y targets in Ar/N2. Their mechanical, electrical, optical, and piezoelectrical properties were investigated with the help of transmission electron microscopy, xray diffraction, ellipsometry, I-V and C-V measurements, and two different techniques for piezoelectric characterization: piezoresponse force microscopy and double beam interferometry. Compared to AlN, improved electromechanical coupling and increase in piezoelectric response was found in ScxAl1-xN/TiN/Al2O3 structures with Sc content up to x=0.2. Microstructure of the films had a stronger influence on piezoelectric properties than the crystalline quality, which affected the leakage currents. YxAl1-xN thin films show a formation of solid solution up to x=0.22. Lattice constants obtained experimentally are in good agreement with theoretical predictions obtained through first principle (ab initio) calculations using density-functional formalism. The mixing enthalpy for wurtzite, cubic, and layered hexagonal phases of the YxAl1-xN system was also calculated.
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| 9. |
- Broekhuijsen, Sjoerd, 1993-
(författare)
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11B4C containing Ni/Ti neutron multilayer mirrors
- 2021
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The work in this thesis covers the design, growth and characterisation of neutron multilayers. The performance of these multilayers is highly dependent on the obtained interface width between the layers, even a modest improvement can offer a substantial increase in reflectivity performance. As multilayers are such an integral component of many neutron optical instruments, any improvement in terms of reflectivity performance has broad implications for all neutron scattering experiments. This project has been carried out with the construction of the European Spallation Source (ESS) in mind, but the principles extend to all neutron scattering sources.Ni/Ti is the conventional material system of choice for neutron optical components due to the high contrast in scattering length density (SLD). The reflected intensity of such components is largely dependent on the interface width, caused by the formation of nanocrystallites, interdiffusion, and/or intermixing. Apart from hampering the reflectivity performance, the finite interface width between the layers also limits the minimum usable layer thickness in the mirror stack. The formation of nanocrystallites has been eliminated by co-depositing of B4C . This has been combined with a modulated ion assistance scheme to smoothen the interfaces. X-ray reflectivity (XRR) measurements show significantly improvements compared to pure Ni/Ti multilayers. This has further been investigated using low neutron-absorbing 11B4C instead. After deposition, the 11B4C containing films have been characterized using neutron reflectometry, X-ray reflectivity, transmission electron microscopy, elastic recoil detection analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A large part of his work has focused on fitting X-ray and neutron reflectivity measurements in order to obtain structural parameters.The fits to the experimental data suggest a significant improvement in interface width for the samples that have been co-deposited with 11B4C using a modulated ion assistance scheme during deposition. Any accumulation of roughness has been eliminated, and the average initial interface width at the first bilayer has been reduced from 6.3 Å to 4.5 Å per bilayer. The respective reflectivity performance for these structural parameters have been simulated for a neutron supermirror (N = 5000) for both materials at a neutron wavelength at λ = 3 Å using the IMD software. The predicted reflectivity performance for the 11B4C containing samples amounts to about 71%, which is a significant increase compared to the pure Ni/Ti samples which have a predicted reflectivity of 62%. This results in a reflectivity increase from 0.84% to 3.3% after a total of 10 reflections, resulting in more than 400% higher neutron flux at experiment.
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| 10. |
- Dorri, Samira, 1988-
(författare)
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Magnetron Sputter Epitaxy of CrB2/TiB2 Diboride Superlattice Thin Films
- 2024
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Artificial superlattices with their exceptional properties have been popular in a broad range of applications such as electronic, magnetic, optical, and hard coating. Another potential application for single crystal artificial superlattices is highly efficient interference neutron optics, owing to an ultimate interface width of just ±½ atomic layer. Moreover, studies of superlattices have been instrumental in understanding the hardening mechanisms in transition metal nitrides and carbides while such studies on transition metal diborides is lacking, despite extensive studies on monolithic transition metal diboride thin films.This work is an initiative to grow CrB2/TiB2 (0001) diboride superlattices epitaxially onto Al2O3 (0001) substrates by direct current magnetron sputter epitaxy implementing two different approaches; compound diboride targets, and co-sputtering of a metal target with a compound target. Effects of substrate temperature, B stoichiometry (B/TM ratio), modulation period Λ = DCrB2 + DTiB2, layer thickness ratio , and relative applied power to magnetrons on the structural and interface quality of superlattices are studied and discussed.Using compound targets, superlattices with thickness ratio Γ = 0.3 and modulation periods Λ between 1 and 10 nm, and with Λ = 6 nm and thickness ratios between 0.2 to 0.8 were synthesized at the optimum sputter gas pressure of pAr = 4 mTorr and a substrate temperature of 600 °C. It is found that superlattices with Λ = 6 nm and Γ in the range of 0.2-0.4 exhibit the highest structural quality. However, B segregation in the over-stoichiometric TiBy layers (y > 2), grown from TiB2 compound target, results in narrow epitaxial superlattice columnar growth with structurally distorted B-rich boundaries. By co-sputtering from Ti and TiB2 targets, y could be reduced from 3.3 to 0.9 in TiBy layers through controlling the relative applied target power. Co-sputtered TiBy single layers and superlattices were grown at substrate temperatures between 600 and 900 °C. 300-nm-thick TiB2.3 single layers grown at 750 °C exhibited epitaxial domains about 10x larger than non-co-sputtered films.A significant enhancement for close-tostoichiometry CrB1.7/TiB2.3 superlattices with modulation periods Λ = 6 nm was achieved at 750 °C. X-ray diffraction, time of flight elastic recoil detection analysis, scanning transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, selected area electron diffraction, and nano-indentation are used for characterization.
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