Optical characteristics of nanocrystalline AlxGa1-xN thin films deposited by hollow cathode plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Gallium nitride (GaN), aluminum nitride (AlN), and AlxGa(1-x)N films have been deposited by hollow cathode plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition at 200 degrees C on c-plane sapphire and Si substrates. The dependence of film structure, absorption edge, and refractive index on postdeposition annealing were examined by x-ray diffraction, spectrophotometry, and spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements, respectively. Well-adhered, uniform, and polycrystalline wurtzite (hexagonal) GaN, AlN, and AlxGa1-xN films were prepared at low deposition temperature. As revealed by the x-ray diffraction analyses, crystallite sizes of the films were between 11.7 and 25.2 nm. The crystallite size of as-deposited GaN film increased from 11.7 to 12.1 and 14.4 nm when the annealing duration increased from 30 min to 2 h (800 degrees C). For all films, the average optical transmission was similar to 85% in the visible (VIS) and near infrared spectrum. The refractive indices of AlN and AlxGa1-xN were lower compared to GaN thin films. The refractive index of as-deposited films decreased from 2.33 to 2.02 (lambda = 550 nm) with the increased Al content x (0 400 nm). Postdeposition annealing at 900 degrees C for 2 h considerably lowered the refractive index value of GaN films (2.33-1.92), indicating a significant phase change. The optical bandgap of as-deposited GaN film was found to be 3.95 eV, and it decreased to 3.90 eV for films annealed at 800 degrees C for 30 min and 2 h. On the other hand, this value increased to 4.1 eV for GaN films annealed at 900 degrees C for 2 h. This might be caused by Ga2O3 formation and following phase change. The optical bandgap value of as-deposited AlxGa1-xN films decreased from 5.75 to 5.25 eV when the x values decreased from 1 to 0.68. Furthermore, postdeposition annealing did not affect the bandgap of Al-rich films. (C) 2014 American Vacuum Society

Pulsed Beam Tests at the SANAEM RFQ Beamline

A proton beamline consisting of an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source, two solenoid magnets, two steerer magnets and a radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) is developed at the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority's (TAEA) Saraykoy Nuclear Research and Training Center (SNRTC-SANAEM) in Ankara. In Q4 of 2016, the RFQ was installed in the beamline. The high power tests of the RF power supply and the RF transmission line were done successfully. The high power RF conditioning of the RFQ was performed recently. The 13.56 MHz ICP source was tested in two different conditions, CW and pulsed. The characterization of the proton beam was done with ACCTs, Faraday cups and a pepper-pot emittance meter. Beam transverse emittance was measured in between the two solenoids of the LEBT. The measured beam is then reconstructed at the entrance of the RFQ by using computer simulations to determine the optimum solenoid currents for acceptance matching of the beam. This paper will introduce the pulsed beam test results at the SANAEM RFQ beamline. In addition, the high power RF conditioning of the RFQ will be discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. Proceedings of the International Particle Accelerator Conference 2017 (IPAC'17), May 14-19, 2017, TUPAB015, p. 134

Genetic Basis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neuropsychiatric disorders of childhood. Due to studies reporting that the effects of ADHD diagnosis on functioning may last throughout life, this disorder, which has great importance for child and adolescent psychiatry, started to attract greater attention recently in terms of adult psychiatry. A review, evaluating the results of studies conducted on the genetic basis of ADHD, which started to attract increasing attention both in our country and the world, was thought to help clinicians working in this field. PubMed and Turkish Psychiatry Index online search engines were screened using “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder”, “ADHD”, “genetics” as key words. The data obtained were combined with information gleaned from several textbooks. Based on previous studies, it could easily be concluded that ADHD is one of the most common heritable psychiatric disorder with distinguished genetic features. Despite its importance for diagnosis and treatment, the etiology of ADHD is still not clear and the disorder seems to be a complex problem arising from the effects of both genetic and environmental factors. Although previous studies revealed that ADHD displayed familial and hereditary transmission, stable patterns of Mendelian inheritance could not be discriminated by evaluation of pedigrees. Therefore, many studies have been conducted on the molecular genetic basis of ADHD recently. The previous studies did not report consistent results in identification of the genes responsible for ADHD which has been partially linked to heterogeneity of the disorder. Grouping relevant patients according to comorbidities and persistence in adolescence rather than DSM-IV subtypes could be an important alternative method for overcoming this limitation in the research studies

Low-Temperature Deposition of Hexagonal Boron Nitride via Sequential Injection of Triethylboron and N2/H2 Plasma

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) thin films were deposited on silicon and quartz substrates using sequential exposures of triethylboron and N 2 /H 2 plasma in a hollow-cathode plasma- assisted atomic layer deposition reactor at low temperatures ( ≤ 450 ° C). A non-saturating film deposition rate was observed for substrate temperatures above 250 ° C. BN films were charac- terized for their chemical composition, crystallinity, surface morphology, and optical properties. X-ray photoelectron spec- troscopy (XPS) depicted the peaks of boron, nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen at the film surface. B 1s and N 1s high-resolution XPS spectra confirmed the presence of BN with peaks located at 190.8 and 398.3 eV, respectively. As deposited films were polycrystalline, single-phase hBN irrespective of the deposition temperature. Absorption spectra exhibited an optical band edge at ~ 5.25 eV and an optical transmittance greater than 90% in the visible region of the spectrum. Refractive index of the hBN film deposited at 450 ° C was 1.60 at 550 nm, which increased to 1.64 after postdeposition annealing at 800 ° C for 30 min. These results represent the first demonstration of hBN deposi- tion using low-temperature hollow-cathode plasma-assisted sequential deposition technique. © 2014 The American Ceramic Society

Hollow cathode plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition of crystalline AIN, GaN and AI Ga1- N thin films at low temperatures

Cataloged from PDF version of article.The authors report on the use of hollow cathode plasma for low-temperature plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition (PA-ALD) of crystalline AlN, GaN and AlxGa1 xN thin films with low impurity concentrations. Depositions were carried out at 200 C using trimethylmetal precursors and NH3 or N2/H2 plasma. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed the presence of 2.5–3 at.% O in AlN and 1.5–1.7 at.% O in GaN films deposited using NH3 and N2/H2 plasma, respectively. No C impurities were detected within the films. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy analyses performed on the films deposited using NH3 plasma revealed the presence of O, C (both <1 at.%), and H impurities. GIXRD patterns indicated polycrystalline thin films with wurtzite crystal structure. Hollow cathode PA-ALD parameters were optimized for AlN and GaN thin films using N2/H2 plasma. Trimethylmetal and N2/H2 saturation curves evidenced the selflimiting growth of AlN and GaN at 200 C. AlN exhibited linear growth with a growth per cycle (GPC) of 1.0 A. For GaN, the GPC decreased with the increasing number of deposition cycles, indicating ˚ substrate-enhanced growth. The GPC calculated from a 900-cycle GaN deposition was 0.22 A. ˚ Ellipsometric spectra of the samples were modeled using the Cauchy dispersion function, from which the refractive indices of 59.2 nm thick AlN and 20.1 nm thick GaN thin films were determined to be 1.94 and 2.17 at 632 nm, respectively. Spectral transmission measurements of AlN, GaN and AlxGa1 xN thin films grown on double side polished sapphire substrates revealed near-ideal visible transparency with minimal absorption. Optical band edge values of the AlxGa1 xN films shifted to lower wavelengths with the increasing Al content, indicating the tunability of band edge values with the alloy composition

Are Cellulose nanocrystals &#8216;alien particles&#8217; to human experience?

A wide family of cellulose-based additives are authorized worldwide as fillers and thickening agents in foods, pills and tablets, and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is, among these, the most important one. Since MCC manufacturing is similar to the main production route of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), it is reasonable to wonder whether the MCC would contain CNCs as minor components. In this Short Communications we provide first results about the occurrence of CNCs in MCC, observed by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy after serial filtrations of MCC suspensions. The incidence of cellulose nanoparticles has been proved in several different trials in our ongoing works on diverse MCC samples and the nanoparticles isolated showed shape and dimensions similar to those commonly produced by acidic hydrolysis at laboratory level. Therefore, the presence of CNCs in many products is considered as a certainty. The foods and the pharmaceuticals we have been consuming so far, do indeed contain traces of CNCs to such an extent that this wide presence in consumed products should be taken into account when considering possible limitations of the use of these nanoparticles in food contact materials manufacture

Fabrication of AlN/BN bishell hollow nanofibers by electrospinning and atomic layer deposition

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Aluminum nitride (AlN)/boron nitride (BN) bishell hollow nanofibers (HNFs) have been fabricated by successive atomic layer deposition (ALD) of AlN and sequential chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of BN on electrospun polymeric nanofibrous template. A four-step fabrication process was utilized: (i) fabrication of polymeric (nylon 6,6) nanofibers via electrospinning, (ii) hollow cathode plasma-assisted ALD of AlN at 100 degrees C onto electrospun polymeric nanofibers, (iii) calcination at 500 degrees C for 2 h in order to remove the polymeric template, and (iv) sequential CVD growth of BN at 450 degrees C. AlN/BN HNFs have been characterized for their chemical composition, surface morphology, crystal structure, and internal nanostructure using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and selected area electron diffraction. Measurements confirmed the presence of crystalline hexagonal BN and AlN within the three dimensional (3D) network of bishell HNFs with relatively low impurity content. In contrast to the smooth surface of the inner AlN layer, outer BN coating showed a highly rough 3D morphology in the form of BN nano-needle crystallites. It is shown that the combination of electrospinning and plasma-assisted low-temperature ALD/CVD can produce highly controlled multi-layered bishell nitride ceramic hollow nanostructures. While electrospinning enables easy fabrication of nanofibrous template, self-limiting reactions of plasma-assisted ALD and sequential CVD provide control over the wall thicknesses of AlN and BN layers with sub-nanometer accuracy. (C) 2014 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Electrical Degradation in Dielectric and Piezoelectric Oxides: Review of Defect Chemistry and Associated Characterization Techniques

The properties of dielectric and piezoelectric oxides are determined by their processing history, crystal structure, chemical composition, microstructure, dopants (or defect) distribution, and defect kinetics. These materials are essential in a diverse range of applications including aerospace, medical, military, transportation, power engineering, and communication, where they are used as ceramic discs, thick and thin films, multilayer devices, etc. Significant advances in understanding the materials, processing, properties, and reliability of these materials have led to their widespread use in consumer electronics, military, and aerospace applications. This review delves into electrical degradation in dielectrics and piezoelectrics, focusing on defect chemistry and key characterization techniques. It also provides a detailed discussion of various spectroscopic, microscopic, and electronic characterization techniques essential for analyzing defects and degradation mechanisms

Project PROMETHEUS: Design and Construction of a Radio Frequency Quadrupole at TAEK

The PROMETHEUS Project is ongoing for the design and development of a 4-vane radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) together with its H+ ion source, a low energy beam transport (LEBT) line and diagnostics section. The main goal of the project is to achieve the acceleration of the low energy ions up to 1.5 MeV by an RFQ (352 MHz) shorter than 2 meter. A plasma ion source is being developed to produce a 20 keV, 1 mA H+ beam. Simulation results for ion source, transmission and beam dynamics are presented together with analytical studies performed with newly developed RFQ design code DEMIRCI. Simulation results shows that a beam transmission 99% could be achieved at 1.7 m downstream reaching an energy of 1.5 MeV. As the first phase an Aluminum RFQ prototype, the so-called cold model, will be built for low power RF characterization. In this contribution the status of the project, design considerations, simulation results, the various diagnostics techniques and RFQ manufacturing issues are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 8 figures, Proceedings of the 2nd International Beam Instrumentation Conference 2013 (IBIC'13), 16-19 Sep 2013, WEPC02, p. 65