HRTEM observations of La2Zr2O7 thin layers on LaAlO3 obtained by chemical methods

11 pagesInternational audienceLa2Zr2O7 (LZO) films have been grown by metalorganic Decomposition (MOD) to be used as buffer layers for coated conductors. LZO can crystallize into two similarstructures: fluorite or pyrochlore. Coated conductor application focuses on pyrochlore structure because it is a good barrier against oxygen diffusion. Classical X-ray diffraction is not able to separate the contribution of these two structures. TEM and HRTEM were used to determine the local distribution of these two phases in epitaxial LZO layers grown on LaAlO3. A characteristic feature of LZO thin films deposited by MOD is the formation of nanovoids in an almost single crystal structure of LZO pyrochlore phase. Forcomparison, LZO layers deposited by Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) were also studied. In this last case, the film is compact without voids and thestructure corresponds to pyrochlore phase. Thus, the formation of nanovoids is a characteristic feature of MOD grown films

XAFS atomistic insight of the oxygen gettering in Ti/HfO2 based OxRRAM

Hafnia-based resistive memories technology has come to maturation and acceded to the market of nonvolatile memories. Nevertheless, the physical mechanisms involved in resistive switching are not yet fully understood and the numerous ab initio simulations studies have few many atomic-scale experimental counterparts. In this study we investigate the oxygen migration mechanism from an amorphous HfO2 layer to the Ti cap layer at a local scale before and after a thermal treatment. X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Ti K edge and Hf L(III )edge has been performed on samples as-deposited and annealed in Ar at 400 degrees C to mimic the back-end-of-line thermal budget (BEOL) of CMOS technology. The short-range Ti and Hf environments have been determined, showing that annealing promotes the migration of O from HfO2 to Ti, the amount of which is quantified. This provokes an expansion and an increase of atomic disorder in the Ti lattice. The nature of the oxygen gettering mechanism by the Ti metal is understood by comparing samples with increasing Ti-capping thickness. We show that the Ti getter effect has to be activated by thermal treatment and that the O diffusion takes place in a region of a few nanometers close to the Ti/HfO2 interface. Therefore, the thermal budget history and the Ti cap-layer thickness determine the oxygen vacancy content in the HfO2 layer, which in turn controls the electrical properties, especially the forming operation

Paramagnetic gold in a highly disordered Au-Ni-O alloy

Magnetic materials are usually classified into a distinct category such as diamagnets, paramagnets or ferromagnets. The enormous progress in materials science allows one nowadays, however, to change the magnetic nature of an element in a material. Gold, in bulk form, is traditionally a diamagnet. But in a ferromagnetic environment, it can adopt an induced ferromagnetic moment. Moreover, the growth of gold under certain conditions may lead to a spontaneous ferromagnetic or paramagnetic response. Here, we report on paramagnetic gold in a highly disordered Au–Ni–O alloy and focus on the unusual magnetic response. Such materials are mainly considered for plasmonic applications. Thin films containing Au, Ni and NiO are fabricated by co-deposition of Ni and Au in a medium vacuum of 2 × 10−2 mbar. As a result, Au is in a fully disordered state forming in some cases isolated nanocrystallites of up to 4 nm in diameter as revealed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The disorder and the environment, which is rich in oxygen, lead to remarkable magnetic properties of Au: an induced ferromagnetic and a paramagnetic state. This can be proven by measuring the x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. Our experiments show a way to establish and monitor Au paramagnetism in alloys

Autonomic impairment of patients in coma with different Glasgow coma score assessed with heart rate variability

Primary objective: The objective of this study is to assess the functional state of the autonomic nervous system in healthy individuals and in individuals in coma using measures of heart rate variability (HRV) and to evaluate its efficiency in predicting mortality. Design and Methods: Retrospective group comparison study of patients in coma classified into two subgroups, according to their Glasgow coma score, with a healthy control group. HRV indices were calculated from 7 min of artefact-free electrocardiograms using the Hilbert–Huang method in the spectral range 0.02–0.6 Hz. A special procedure was applied to avoid confounding factors. Stepwise multiple regression logistic analysis (SMLRA) and ROC analysis evaluated predictions. Results: Progressive reduction of HRV was confirmed and was associated with deepening of coma and a mortality score model that included three spectral HRV indices of absolute power values of very low, low and very high frequency bands (0.4-0.6 Hz). The SMLRA model showed sensitivity of 95.65%, specificity of 95.83%, positive predictive value of 95.65%, and overall efficiency of 95.74%. Conclusions: HRV is a reliable method to assess the integrity of the neural control of the caudal brainstem centres on the hearts of patients in coma and to predict patient mortality

In situ synthesis of gold nanoparticles in exponentially-growing layer-by-layer films

International audienceIn situ synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) in polyelectrolytes multilayers (PEMs) has recently gained much attention. Due to the versatility of their composition, PEMs offer a unique opportunity to synthesize a variety of NPs. So far, mostly cationic precursors have been used and only few studies have investigated the possibility of using amine groups to bind anionic precursors. Here, we use exponentially growing poly(L-lysine)/hyaluronan (PLL/HA) films as a nanoreservoir to bind and sequester aurochlorate (AuCl4-) anions thanks to the large number of free amine groups. The polypeptide-polysaccharide reactive template enabled the formation in a spatially-confined environment of gold NP at a very high yield. The synthesized gold NPs were homogenous and well-dispersed in the nanocomposite. Importantly, there was no particular effect of the film-ending layer (either PLL or HA). The largest particles of similar to 9 nm and the largest amount of gold were obtained at acidic pH of 3. When the pH was increased, smaller and more numerous NPs were synthesized but the total amount of gold was lower. Based on UV-visible spectrometry, FTIR and TEM data, we finally propose a scheme for the mechanism of gold NPs formation, in which several groups of PLL and HA contribute to the binding of gold ions, the nucleation and growth of NPs, and their stabilization in the "bulk" of the film. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Waveguide saturable absorbers at 1.55 μm based on intraband transitions in GaN/AlN QDs

We report on the design, fabrication and optical characterization of GaN/AlN quantum-dot-based waveguides for all-optical switching via intraband absorption saturation at 1.55 μm. The transmittance of the TMpolarized light increases with the incident optical power due to the saturation of the s-p z intraband absorption in the QDs. Single-mode waveguides with a ridge width of 2 μm and a length of 1.5 mm display 10 dB absorption saturation of the TM-polarized light for an input pulse energy of 8 p J and 150 fs. © 2013 Optical Society of America.This work was supported by Spanish Government Project TEC2012-37958-C02-01, Comunidad de Madrid Project S2009/ESP-178, and the EU Marie Curie IEF ‘SolarIn’ (#331745), and EU ERC-StG ‘TeraGaN’ (#278428) projects.Peer Reviewe

Thickness effects in naturally superhydrophilic TiO2-SiO2 nanocomposite films deposited via a multilayer sol-gel route.

International audienceTiO2-SiO2 nanocomposite films of various thicknesses have been deposited via a multilayer sol-gel route. These films exhibit a natural and persistent superhydrophilicity, which allows considering new applications for easy to clean surfaces. Atomic force microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, as well as ellipsometry and UV/visible spectrometry measurements, were performed to study how the multilayer procedure influenced the morphology and composition of composite films in relation to their thickness. The natural and photo-induced wettability of these films was studied and discussed in relation to morphology, composition, and thickness features. It is concluded that, while such features did not significantly influence the natural wettability of nanocomposite films, their photo-induced wettability was considerably enhanced when increasing their thickness, which favored a faster superhydrophilicity photo-regeneration when this natural property started to disappear after a long aging period in ambient atmosphere