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.
{"title":"Empowering TiO2:ZrO2 composite for energy storage through chemical beam vapor deposition","authors":"Md Kashif Shamim , William Maudez , Estelle Wagner , Seema Sharma , Radheshyam Rai , Giacomo Benvenuti , Rashmi Rani","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140628","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140628","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nanocomposite TiO<sub>2</sub>:ZrO<sub>2</sub> 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 TiO<sub>2</sub> anatase phase, ZrO<sub>2</sub> tetragonal phase and ZrTiO<sub>4</sub> 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<sup>–1</sup> S/cm), and low leakage current density (down to ∼4.4 × 10<sup>–7</sup> A/cm<sup>2</sup> 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}
Pub Date : 2025-02-21DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140636
Cheikh Zakaria Eldjilali , Gregory Soon How Thien , Zi-Neng Ng , Boon Kar Yap , Kar Ban Tan , H.C. Ananda Murthy , Kah-Yoong Chan
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.
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.
{"title":"Electrochromic performances of TiO2 nanocrystals thin films for smart glass applications","authors":"Cheikh Zakaria Eldjilali , Gregory Soon How Thien , Zi-Neng Ng , Boon Kar Yap , Kar Ban Tan , H.C. Ananda Murthy , 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 TiO<sub>2</sub> 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 TiO<sub>2</sub> thin films. TiO<sub>2</sub> 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}
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.
{"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 , A.A. Andronov , A.S. Klimov , L.J. Ngon A Kiki , E.M. Oks , 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}
Pub Date : 2025-02-19DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140633
Tahir Rajgoli , Tushar Sant , Suhas M. Jejurikar , Sandip Hinge , Roshan Makkar , Vasant Sathe , Arun Banpurkar
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.
本文报告了非极性氮化镓（GaN）薄膜在不同剂量的高能 4 MeV X 射线辐照下的惰性。研究采用脉冲激光沉积（PLD）方法，在蓝宝石衬底上沉积了一组具有非极性晶体取向的优质氮化镓薄膜。为了研究高能辐射对薄膜物理和化学特性的影响，薄膜在大气环境中暴露于不同剂量值（8 至 12 千戈瑞 (kGy) ）的高能 X 射线下，X 射线是通过轫致辐射过程产生的。利用各种技术研究恶劣环境对这些薄膜的物理和化学特性的影响。结构、微观结构和化学研究证实了这些薄膜对高能 X 射线的抵抗性。因此，通过之前和现在的研究工作，我们确信非极性氮化镓薄膜是制造下一代高能辐射探测器的最合适选择。
{"title":"Inert nature of non-polar GaN thin films against energetic x-rays (4 MeV)","authors":"Tahir Rajgoli , Tushar Sant , Suhas M. Jejurikar , Sandip Hinge , Roshan Makkar , Vasant Sathe , 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}
Pub Date : 2025-02-19DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140635
Myung Mo Ahn , Se Jun Park , Boyoung Shim , Seungmin Moon , Song Yi Baek , Changsoo Lee , Jaehyun Kim , Chulhwan Choi
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.
{"title":"Stress control in thick hydrogenated amorphous carbon films to mitigate stress-induced defects in semiconductor processes","authors":"Myung Mo Ahn , Se Jun Park , Boyoung Shim , Seungmin Moon , Song Yi Baek , Changsoo Lee , Jaehyun Kim , 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 N<sub>2</sub> 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}
Pub Date : 2025-02-18DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140629
Yang Xiang , Xinru Zhang , Chan Yang , Shuanglong Feng
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.
{"title":"Electrochemical modulation of Te material morphology and performance of Si/Te photodetectors","authors":"Yang Xiang , Xinru Zhang , Chan Yang , 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}
Pub Date : 2025-02-18DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140632
Khaoula Rahmouni , Ilyas Bensalem , Abdelhamid Benhaya , Nicolas Martin
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.
{"title":"Electrical resistivity, wettability, and structural properties of oriented columnar Mo thin films","authors":"Khaoula Rahmouni , Ilyas Bensalem , Abdelhamid Benhaya , 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<sup>−1</sup>. 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}
Pub Date : 2025-02-18DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140631
Çağrı Durmuş , Uğur Demirkol , Tamer Akan
The study involved the deposition of Zinc oxide/vanadium pentoxide (ZnO/V2O5) composite thin films on the glass substrates using the Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) plasma process. Three methods were employed: (1) ZnO and V2O5 powders were mixed in a 50:50 molar ratio, and plasma was generated in the same crucible (V + Z), (2) V2O5 plasma was deposited first, followed by ZnO (VZ), and (3) ZnO plasma was deposited first, followed by V2O5 (ZV). These deposition processes were performed entirely within the TVA system without removing the samples from the vacuum environment. This approach significantly reduced the risk of contamination and minimized processing time compared to conventional techniques. The structural, elemental, surface morphological, optical, and antibacterial properties of the deposited thin films were extensively investigated. The thin films exhibited primarily amorphous structures with some crystalline formations. Optical analysis revealed a single bandgap of 3.63 eV for the V + Z sample, while VZ and ZV samples displayed dual bandgaps (2.40 eV & 3.48 eV for VZ; 2.48 eV & 3.15 eV for ZV). Antibacterial tests showed that VZ and ZV thin films had superior activity, completely inhibiting Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli after 2 h, compared to the lower inhibition observed with V + Z films. These findings demonstrate the potential of ZnO/ V2O5 composite thin films, particularly layered structures, for applications requiring enhanced antibacterial properties.
{"title":"Deposition of zinc oxide/vanadium pentoxide composite thin films by thermionic vacuum arc plasma","authors":"Çağrı Durmuş , Uğur Demirkol , Tamer Akan","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140631","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140631","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study involved the deposition of Zinc oxide/vanadium pentoxide (ZnO/V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>) composite thin films on the glass substrates using the Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) plasma process. Three methods were employed: (1) ZnO and V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> powders were mixed in a 50:50 molar ratio, and plasma was generated in the same crucible (V + <em>Z</em>), (2) V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> plasma was deposited first, followed by ZnO (VZ), and (3) ZnO plasma was deposited first, followed by V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> (ZV). These deposition processes were performed entirely within the TVA system without removing the samples from the vacuum environment. This approach significantly reduced the risk of contamination and minimized processing time compared to conventional techniques. The structural, elemental, surface morphological, optical, and antibacterial properties of the deposited thin films were extensively investigated. The thin films exhibited primarily amorphous structures with some crystalline formations. Optical analysis revealed a single bandgap of 3.63 eV for the V + <em>Z</em> sample, while VZ and ZV samples displayed dual bandgaps (2.40 eV & 3.48 eV for VZ; 2.48 eV & 3.15 eV for ZV). Antibacterial tests showed that VZ and ZV thin films had superior activity, completely inhibiting <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> and <em>Escherichia coli</em> after 2 h, compared to the lower inhibition observed with V + <em>Z</em> films. These findings demonstrate the potential of ZnO/ V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> composite thin films, particularly layered structures, for applications requiring enhanced antibacterial properties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"814 ","pages":"Article 140631"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143445537","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}
Pub Date : 2025-02-14DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140630
Daniel Ellis , Maryam Eslami , Daniel V. Krogstad , R. Mohan Sankaran
Corrosion mitigation of steel by coatings produced from benign and environmentally-friendly alternatives to the toxic and carcinogenic hexavalent chromium systems remains a critical challenge. Here, we demonstrate that zirconia-based coatings can be produced by initially depositing a film from a precursor solution, and subsequently converted to a functional coating using an atmospheric-pressure microwave-powered plasma. The effects of processing parameters including microwave power, precursor concentration, pass spacing, and repetitions were studied by characterizing the morphology and chemical composition of the fabricated coatings using scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, respectively. Results show that changing the processing conditions has a complex effect on aspects of the coating including defects and degree of precursor conversion. From our parametric study, we found that the coatings could be optimized by multiple treatment repetitions, small pass spacing, lower precursor concentration in the solution, and higher plasma power. The ability of the coatings to prevent corrosion was assessed by linear polarization resistance measurements. We find six-fold decrease in the corrosion rate compared to a blank test, indicating that our approach is a promising candidate for the creation of corrosion-protective conversion coatings on steel that minimizes the use of harmful chemicals and chemical waste.
{"title":"Zirconia-based coatings on mild steel fabricated by atmospheric-pressure plasma processing for corrosion protection","authors":"Daniel Ellis , Maryam Eslami , Daniel V. Krogstad , R. Mohan Sankaran","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140630","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140630","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Corrosion mitigation of steel by coatings produced from benign and environmentally-friendly alternatives to the toxic and carcinogenic hexavalent chromium systems remains a critical challenge. Here, we demonstrate that zirconia-based coatings can be produced by initially depositing a film from a precursor solution, and subsequently converted to a functional coating using an atmospheric-pressure microwave-powered plasma. The effects of processing parameters including microwave power, precursor concentration, pass spacing, and repetitions were studied by characterizing the morphology and chemical composition of the fabricated coatings using scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, respectively. Results show that changing the processing conditions has a complex effect on aspects of the coating including defects and degree of precursor conversion. From our parametric study, we found that the coatings could be optimized by multiple treatment repetitions, small pass spacing, lower precursor concentration in the solution, and higher plasma power. The ability of the coatings to prevent corrosion was assessed by linear polarization resistance measurements. We find six-fold decrease in the corrosion rate compared to a blank test, indicating that our approach is a promising candidate for the creation of corrosion-protective conversion coatings on steel that minimizes the use of harmful chemicals and chemical waste.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"814 ","pages":"Article 140630"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143452918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-13DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140627
Chin-Tai Chen, Ya-Han Lee
Nanomaterials and composite thin films at nanometer scales have been studied over decades as electron/hole transport layers and heterogeneous structures of organic solar cells using different manufacturing methods such as blade coating, spin coating, inkjet printing, and spray coating. The optoelectronic performances for fabricating thin-film devices on glass substrates involve the solid nanofilms' electrical and optical properties. Recently, research on composite nanofilms has progressed in pursuit of further enhancing these properties. This paper reports a crossed-spray deposition method to implement it using two atomizers. With the crossed sprays of hole transport layers (HTL) and photoactive layers (PL), the structured nanofilms with multiple components were produced with a higher electrical conductivity and optical absorptance than that formed by a single spray only. The experimental results showed that an organic solar cell comprising the HTL and PL from the crossed sprays was produced with better performances than the single spray. Using crossed sprays employing the composite deposition method, the layer interfaces of the spray deposition films with a high series resistance still need to be reduced to improve the device performance, posing a challenge to the uniform film-forming process.
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