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Mo-La2O3 multilayer metallization systems for high temperature surface acoustic wave sensor devices
2019, Menzel, S.B., Seifert, M., Priyadarshi, A., Rane, G.K., Park, E., Oswald, S., Gemming, T.
Developing advanced thin film materials is the key challenge in high-temperature applications of surface acoustic wave sensor devices. One hundred nanometer thick (Mo-La2O3) multilayer systems were fabricated at room temperature on thermally oxidized (100) Si substrates (SiO2/Si) to study the effect of lanthanum oxide on the electrical resistivity of molybdenum thin films and their high-temperature stability. The multilayer systems were deposited by the magnetron sputter deposition of extremely thin (≤1 nm) La interlayers in between adjacent Mo layers. After deposition of each La layer the process was interrupted for 25 to 60 min to oxidize the La using the residual oxygen in the high vacuum of the deposition chamber. The samples were annealed at 800 °C in high vacuum for up to 120 h. In case of a 1 nm thick La interlayer in-between the Mo a continuous layer of La2O3 is formed. For thinner La layers an interlayer between adjacent Mo layers is observed consisting of a (La2O3-Mo) mixed structure of molybdenum and nm-sized lanthanum oxide particles. Measurements show that the (Mo-La2O3) multilayer systems on SiO2/Si substrates are stable at least up to 800 °C for 120 h in high vacuum conditions.
Investigation of the strain-sensitive superconducting transition of BaFe1.8Co0.2As2 thin films utilizing piezoelectric substrates
2014, Trommler, S., Hänisch, J., Iida, K., Kurth, F., Schultz, L., Holzapfel, B., Hühne, R.
The preparation of biaxially textured BaFe1.8Co0.2As2 thin films has been optimized on MgO single crystals and transfered to piezoelectric (001) Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.72Ti0.28O3 substrates. By utilizing the inverse piezoelectric effect the lattice parameter of these substrates can be controlled applying an electric field, leading to a induction of biaxial strain into the superconducting layer. High electric fields were used to achieve a total strain of up to 0.05% at low temperatures. A sharpening of the resistive transition and a shift of about 0.6 K to higher temperatures was found at a compressive strain of 0.035%.
Ultrathin structures derived from interfacially modified polymeric nanocomposites to curb electromagnetic pollution
2021, Sushmita, Kumari, Formanek, Petr, Fischer, Dieter, Pötschke, Petra, Madras, Giridhar, Bose, Suryasarathi
The use of electronic devices and wireless networks is increasing rapidly, and electromagnetic (EM) pollution remediation remains a challenge. We employed a unique approach to fabricate two ultrathin (approx. 53 μm) multilayered assemblies to address this. By sequentially stacking thin films of polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) and polycarbonate (PC) nanocomposites and interfacially locking them with a mutually miscible polymer (PMMA, polymethyl methacrylate), materials with enhanced structural properties and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance can be designed. Utilizing reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) as a template, ferrite was grown on the surface to design two different nanohybrid structures (rGO–Fe3O4 and MoS2–Fe3O4). PVDF was composited with either rGO–Fe3O4 or MoS2–Fe3O4, and multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were dispersed in the PC component. As PC and PVDF are immiscible, their poor interface would result in inferior structural properties, which can be challenging in designing EMI shielding materials due to cyclic thermal fatigue. Hence, PMMA is sandwiched to interfacially stitch the components (PC and PVDF) and improve interfacial adhesion. This was confirmed using SEM/EDS and Raman mapping/imaging. The mechanical stability of the multilayered assemblies was characterized using a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA), and the storage modulus was found to be as high as 2767 MPa at 40 °C (@constant frequency and strain amplitude), for the multilayered film with rGO–Fe3O4 in PVDF, PMMA as a sandwich layer and CNTs in PC. A typical assembly of 9 multilayers (∼480 μm) with rGO–Fe3O4 in PVDF, and CNTs in PC, and interfacially stitched with PMMA gave rise to a high EMI shield effectiveness (SET) of −26.3 dB @ 26.5 GHz. This unique arrangement of a multilayered assembly suppressed EMI primarily by absorption.
Mechanistic insight into the non-hydrolytic sol–gel process of tellurite glass films to attain a high transmission
2020, Pan, Xuanzhao, Zhao, Jiangbo, Qian, Gujie, Zhang, Xiaozhou, Ruan, Yinlan, Abell, Andrew, Ebendorff-Heidepriem, Heike
The development of amorphous films with a wide transmission window and high refractive index is of growing significance due to the strong demand of integrating functional nanoparticles for the next-generation hybrid optoelectronic films. High-index TeO2-based glass films made via the sol-gel process are particularly suitable as their low temperature preparation process promises high compatibility with a large variety of nanoparticles and substrates that suffer from low thermal stability. However, due to the lack of in-depth understanding of the mechanisms of the formation of undesired metallic-Te (highly absorbing species) in the films, the preparation of high-transmission TeO2-based sol-gel films has been severely hampered. Here, by gaining insight into the mechanistic chemistry of metallic-Te formation at different stages during the non-hydrolytic sol-gel process, we identify the chemical route to prevent the generation of metallic-Te in a TeO2-based film. The as-prepared TeO2-based film exhibits a high transmission that is close to the theoretical limit. This opens up a new avenue for advancing the performance of hybrid optoelectronic films via incorporating a large variety of unique nanoparticles. © 2020 The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Electroless-deposited platinum antennas for wireless surface acousticwave sensors
2019, Brachmann, E., Seifert, M., Neumann, N., Alshwawreh, N., Uhlemann, M., Menzel, S.B., Acker, J., Herold, S., Hoffmann, V., Gemming, T.
In an effort to develop a cost-efficient technology for wireless high-temperature surface acoustic wave sensors, this study presents an evaluation of a combined method that integrates physical vapor deposition with electroless deposition for the fabrication of platinum-based planar antennas. The proposed manufacturing process becomes attractive for narrow, thick, and sparse metallizations for antennas in the MHz to GHz frequency range. In detail, narrow platinum-based lines of a width down to 40 μm were electroless-deposited on γ -Al2O3 substrates using different seed layers. At first, the electrolyte chemistry was optimized to obtain the highest deposition rate. Films with various thickness were prepared and the electrical resistivity, microstructure, and chemical composition in the as-prepared state and after annealing at temperatures up to 1100 °C were evaluated. Using these material parameters, the antenna was simulated with an electromagnetic full-wave simulation tool and then fabricated. The electrical parameters, including the S-parameters of the antenna, were measured. The agreement between the simulated and the realized antenna is then discussed.
Thermophilic films and fibers from photo cross-linkable UCST-type polymers
2015, Liu, Fangyao, Jiang, Shaohua, Ionov, Leonid, Agarwal, Seema
Photo cross-linkable thermoresponsive polymers of UCST-type based on acrylamide (AAm) and acrylonitrile (AN) useful for preparing thermophilic hydrogel films and fibers are presented. The polymers prepared via free radical and reversible addition fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization methods using N-(4-benzoylphenyl)acrylamide (BPAm) as photo cross-linkable comonomers provided highly stable UCST-type phase transition in water reproducible without hysteresis for many cycles. The cloud point could be manipulated by varying the acrylonitrile amount in the feed. Chemically cross-linked hydrogel films and nanofibers (average diameter 500 nm) were successfully prepared from the ter-copolymers by solution casting and electrospinning followed by UV irradiation. These hydrogels showed a continuous positive volume transition behavior in water with increasing temperature that was utilized for the design of microactuators.
Influence of molecular weight of polycation polydimethyldiallylammonium and carbon nanotube content on electric conductivity of layer-by-layer films
2022, Neuber, Sven, Sill, Annekatrin, Efthimiopoulos, Ilias, Nestler, Peter, Fricke, Katja, Helm, Christiane A.
For biological and engineering applications, nm-thin films with high electrical conductivity and tunable sheet resistance are desirable. Multilayers of polydimethyldiallylammonium chloride (PDADMA) with two different molecular weights (322 and 44.3 kDa) and oxidized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were constructed using the layer-by-layer technique. The surface coverage of the CNTs was monitored with a selected visible near infrared absorption peak. Both the film thickness and the surface coverage of the CNTs increased linearly with the number of CNT/PDADMA bilayers deposited (film thickness up to 80 nm). Atomic force microscopy images showed a predominantly surface-parallel orientation of CNTs. Ohmic behavior with constant electrical conductivity of each CNT/PDADMA film and conductivity up to 4 · 103 S/m was found. A change in PDADMA molecular weight by almost a factor of ten has no effect on the film thickness and electrical conductivity, only the film/air roughness is reduced. However, increasing CNT concentration in the deposition dispersion from 0.15 up to 0.25 mg/ml results in an increased thickness of a CNT/PDADMA bilayer (by a factor of three). The increased bilayer thickness is accompanied by a decreased electrical conductivity (by a factor of four). The decreased conductivity is attributed to the increased monomer/CNT ratio.
Phase formation and high-temperature stability of very thin co-sputtered Ti-Al and multilayered Ti/Al films on thermally oxidized si substrates
2020, Seifert, M., Lattner, E., Menzel, S.B., Oswald, S., Gemming, T.
Ti-Al thin films with a thickness of 200 nm were prepared either by co-sputtering from elemental Ti and Al targets or as Ti/Al multilayers with 10 and 20 nm individual layer thickness on thermally oxidized Si substrates. Some of the films were covered with a 20-nm-thick SiO2 layer, which was used as an oxidation protection against the ambient atmosphere. The films were annealed at up to 800 °C in high vacuum for 10 h, and the phase formation as well as the film architecture was analyzed by X-ray diffraction, cross section, and transmission electron microscopy, as well as Auger electron and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results reveal that the co-sputtered films remained amorphous after annealing at 600 °C independent on the presence of the SiO2 cover layer. In contrast to this, the γ-TiAl phase was formed in the multilayer films at this temperature. After annealing at 800 °C, all films were degraded completely despite the presence of the cover layer. In addition, a strong chemical reaction between the Ti and SiO2 of the cover layer and the substrate took place, resulting in the formation of Ti silicide. In the multilayer samples, this reaction already started at 600 °C.
Surface polarization, field homogeneity, and dielectric breakdown in ordered and disordered nanodielectrics based on gold-polystyrene superlattices
2023, Buchheit, Roman, Niebuur, Bart-Jan, González-García, Lola, Kraus, Tobias
Hybrid dielectrics were prepared from dispersions of nanoparticles with gold cores (diameters from 2.9 nm to 8.2 nm) and covalently bound thiol-terminated polystyrene shells (5000 Da and 11 000 Da) in toluene. Their microstructure was investigated with small angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy. The particles arranged in nanodielectric layers with either face-centered cubic or random packing, depending on the ligand length and core diameter. Thin film capacitors were prepared by spin-coating inks on silicon substrates, contacted with sputtered aluminum electrodes, and characterized with impedance spectroscopy between 1 Hz and 1 MHz. The dielectric constants were dominated by polarization at the gold-polystyrene interfaces that we could precisely tune via the core diameter. There was no difference in the dielectric constant between random and supercrystalline particle packings, but the dielectric losses depended on the layer structure. A model that combines Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars theory and percolation theory described the relationship of the specific interfacial area and the dielectric constant quantitatively. The electric breakdown of the nanodielectric layers sensitively depended on particle packing. A highest breakdown field strength of 158.7 MV m−1 was found for the sample with 8.2 nm cores and short ligands that had a face-centered cubic structure. Breakdown apparently is initiated at the microscopic maxima of the electric field that depends on particle packing. The relevance of the results for industrially produced devices was demonstrated on inkjet printed thin film capacitors with an area of 0.79 mm2 on aluminum coated PET foils that retained their capacity of 1.24 ± 0.01 nF@10 kHz during 3000 bending cycles.
Metrological large range magnetic force microscopy
2018, Dai, G., Hu, X., Sievers, S., Fernández, Scarioni, A., Neu, V., Fluegge, J., Schumacher, H.W.
A new metrological large range magnetic force microscope (Met. LR-MFM) has been developed. In its design, the scanner motion is measured by using three laser interferometers along the x, y, and z axes. Thus, the scanner position and the lift height of the MFM can be accurately and traceably determined with subnanometer accuracy, allowing accurate and traceable MFM measurements. The Met. LR-MFM has a measurement range of 25 mm × 25 mm × 5 mm, larger than conventional MFMs by almost three orders of magnitude. It is capable of measuring samples from the nanoscale to the macroscale, and thus, it has the potential to bridge different magnetic field measurement tools having different spatially resolved scales. Three different measurement strategies referred to as Topo&MFM, MFMXY, and MFMZ have been developed. The Topo&MFM is designed for measuring topography and MFM phase images, similar to conventional MFMs. The MFMXY differs from the Topo&MFM as it does not measure the topography profile of surfaces at the second and successive lines, thus reducing tip wear and saving measurement time. The MFMZ allows the imaging of the stray field in the xz- or yz-planes. A number of measurement examples on a multilayered thin film reference sample made of [Co(0.4 nm)/Pt(0.9 nm)]100 and on a patterned magnetic multilayer [Co(0.4 nm)/Pt(0.9 nm)]10 with stripes with a 9.9 μm line width and 20 μm periodicity are demonstrated, indicating excellent measurement performance.