Ferroelectricity in Non-Stoichiometric SrTiO\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3e Films Studied by Ultraviolet Raman Spectroscopy

Homoepitaxial Sr1+xTiO3+δ films with -0.2 ≤ x ≤ 0.25 grown by reactive molecular-beam epitaxy on SrTiO3 (001) substrates have been studied by ultraviolet Raman spectroscopy. Non-stoichiometry for strontium- deficient compositions leads to the appearance of strong first-order Raman scattering at low temperatures, which decreases with increasing temperature and disappears at about 350 K. This indicates the appearance of a spontaneous polarization with a paraelectric-to-ferroelectric transition temperature above room temperature. Strontium-rich samples also show a strong first-order Raman signal, but the peaks are significantly broader and exhibit a less pronounced temperature dependence, indicating a stronger contribution of the disorder- activated mechanism in Raman scattering

Magnetic Structure and Ordering of Multiferroic Hexagonal LuFeO\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3e

We report on the magnetic structure and ordering of hexagonal LuFeO3 films of variable thickness grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) on YSZ (111) and Al2O3 (0001) substrates. These crystalline films exhibit long-range structural uniformity dominated by the polar P63cm phase, which is responsible for the paraelectric to ferroelectric transition that occurs above 1000 K. Using bulk magnetometry and neutron diffraction, we find that the system orders into a ferromagnetically-canted antiferromagnetic state via a single transition below 155 K regardless of film thickness, which is substantially lower than that previously reported in hexagonal LuFeO3 films. The symmetry of the magnetic structure in the ferroelectric state implies that this material is a strong candidate for linear magnetoelectric coupling and control of the ferromagnetic moment directly by an electric field

Epitaxial CrN Thin Films with High Thermoelectric Figure of Merit

A large enhancement of the thermoelectric figure of merit is reported in single crystalline films of CrN. The strong reduction of the lattice thermal conductivity in the rock-salt phase of this material is shown to be related to intrinsic lattice instabilities, which is similar to the resonant bonding effect proposed for cubic IV-VI compounds. These results demonstrate that useful ideas from classic thermoelectrics and phase change materials can be extended to transition metal nitrides and oxides

Study of the Sorption Properties of Ge20Se80 Thin Films for NO2 Gas Sensing

In this study we investigated the sorption ability of Ge20Se80 thin films applied as active layers of quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) for NO2 gas sensing. To identify the chalcogenide system appropriate for gas sensing, we provided data for the packing fraction of a number of chalcogenide systems and discussed their suitability. We performed Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atom force microscopy (AFM) measurements on the thin films both before and after gas absorption, which showed that the introduced gas molecules interact electrostatically with the chalcogen atoms of the host material and initiate some degree of structural changes in it. The weight change due to NO2 gas absorption was measured by frequency change of the resonator. The absorbed mass increased monotonically with the thickness of chalcogenide films and the NO2 gas concentration. At the conditions of our experiment, up to 11.4 ng of the gas was absorbed into 200nm thick Ge20Se80 film at 5000 ppm NO2 concentration. The process of gas molecules absorption is found irreversible at the purging conditions.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1204.044

Novel Magnetic and Optical Properties of Sn\u3csub\u3e1−x\u3c/sub\u3eZn\u3csub\u3ex\u3c/sub\u3eO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Nanoparticles

In this work, we report on the effects of doping SnO2 nanoparticles with Zn2+ ions. A series of ∼2–3 nm sized Sn1−x ZnxO2 crystallite samples with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.18 were synthesized using a forced hydrolysis method. Increasing dopant concentration caused systematic changes in the crystallite size, oxidation state of Sn, visible emission, and band gap of SnO2 nanoparticles. X-ray Diffraction studies confirmed the SnO2 phase purity and the absence of any impurity phases. Magnetic measurements at room temperature showed a weak ferromagnetic behavior characterized by an open hysteresis loop. Their saturation magnetization Ms increases initially with increasing Zn concentrations; however for x \u3e 0.06, Ms decreases. Samples with the highest Ms values (x = 0.06) were analyzed using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer, looking for traces of any magnetic elements in the samples. Concentrations of all transition metals (Fe, Co, Mn, Cr, and Ni) in these samples were below ppb level, suggesting that the observed magnetism is not due to random inclusions of any spurious magnetic impurities and it cannot be explained by the existing models of magnetic exchange. A new visible emission near 490 nm appeared in the Zn doped SnO2 samples in the photoluminescence spectra which strengthened as x increased, suggesting the formation of defects such as oxygen vacancies. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the nominal Zn dopant concentrations and the 2+ oxidation state of Zn in the Sn1−x ZnxO2 samples. Interestingly, the XPS data indicated the presence of a small fraction of Sn2+ ions in Sn1−xZnxO2 samples in addition to the expected Sn4+, and the Sn2+ concentration increased with increasing x. The presence of multi-valent metal ions and oxygen defects in high surface area oxide nanoparticles has been proposed as a potential recipe for weak ferromagnetis

Structural Study of Ag-Ge-S Solid Electrolyte Glass System for Resistive Radiation Sensing

Solid electrolytes based on chalcogenide glasses have been one of the most promising candidates for the next generation non-volatile memories. Here we propose a new application of chalcogenide solid electrolytes for low cost, high performance microelectronic radiation sensor that reacts to γ-radiation to produce an easily measurable change in electrical resistance. The active layer material is Ag-doped GeS thin film glasses and several compositions of GeS base glasses were tested for best resistive sensing capability. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was used for elemental analysis and Raman scattering spectroscopy was measured to determine the structural details and radiation induced structural changes. We also present initial electrical measurement results with test devices

Electron Beam Effects in Ge–Se Thin Films and Resistance Change Memory Devices

Chalcogenide glasses are the advanced materials of choice for the emerging nanoionic memory devices – conductive bridge random access memory (CBRAM). To understand the nature of the effects occurring in these devices under influence of electron-beam radiation, the interaction of blanked chalcogenide films and nanostructured films containing chalcogenide glass and silver (Ag) source are studied. Raman spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction are used for establishing the structural and compositional effects occurring under radiation. They have strong compositional dependence with the stoichiometric compositions being most stable showing less structural changes after radiation. These effects are associated with the availability of lone-pair electrons, their participation in the bonding configurations and the coupling of electron states in the bandgap. They are further enhanced in the bilayers by silver diffusion in the chalcogenide matrix, as a result of interaction with electrons. These effects are used to interpret the electrical performance of CBRAM devices after radiation. The devices are characterized by their resistance states, threshold voltage and endurance. Those based on selenium-rich and stoichiometric composition undergo continuous parameters changes with increase in the radiation dose while in the devices based on germanium-rich composition a counter play of the structural changes and expulsion of silver occur

Tuning the Bandgap and Cytotoxicity of ZnO by Tailoring the Nanostructures

Tuning the bandgap and cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) is very important, not only for customizing their optoelectronic and biomedical applications, but also for their cytotoxicity assay and safe usage. A unique soft-template of polyvinylpyrrolidone has been developed here to realize a rapid room-temperature neutral synthesis of ZnO with controlled nanostructures for tuning the bandgap and cytotoxicity of ZnO. By simply changing the reagent stoichiometry and the soft-template shape, high-purity ZnO rods, tripods, tubes, and unique T-like tubes with tunable size, surface composition/charge, bandgap, and cytotoxicity are obtained. It has been revealed that the ZnO bandgap can be remarkably reduced by introducing the surface nonstoichiometry; and the ZnO-induced cytotoxicity can be tuned by the size, shape, surface charge/composition, and bandgap of ZnO NPs at different degrees. Significantly, both the photochemistry reaction and the reactive oxygen species induced by ZnO NPs are not necessary for the ZnO-induced cytotoxicity

Synthesis of Metastable Ruddlesden–Popper Titanates, (\u3cem\u3eA\u3c/em\u3eTiO\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3e)\u3csub\u3e\u3cem\u3en\u3c/em\u3e\u3c/sub\u3e\u3cem\u3eA\u3c/em\u3eO, with \u3cem\u3en\u3c/em\u3e ≥ 20 by Molecular-Beam Epitaxy

We outline a method to synthesize (ATiO3)nAO Ruddlesden–Popper phases with high-n, where the A-site is a mixture of barium and strontium, by molecular-beam epitaxy. The precision and consistency of the method described is demonstrated by the growth of an unprecedented (SrTiO3)50SrO epitaxial film. We proceed to investigate barium incorporation into the Ruddlesden–Popper structure, which is limited to a few percent in bulk, and we find that the amount of barium that can be incorporated depends on both the substrate temperature and the strain state of the film. At the optimal growth temperature, we demonstrate that as much as 33% barium can homogeneously populate the A-site when films are grown on SrTiO3 (001) substrates, whereas up to 60% barium can be accommodated in films grown on TbScO3 (110) substrates, which we attribute to the difference in strain. This detailed synthetic study of high n, metastable Ruddlesden–Popper phases is pertinent to a variety of fields from quantum materials to tunable dielectrics