scholarly journals Electrostatics and domains in ferroelectric superlattices

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 201270
Author(s):  
Daniel Bennett ◽  
Maitane Muñoz Basagoiti ◽  
Emilio Artacho
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Domain Walls ◽  
Dielectric Substrate ◽  
Dielectric Films ◽  
Dielectric Anisotropy ◽  
Gradient Term ◽  
Square Root ◽  
Ferroelectric Layer ◽  
Natural Separation

The electrostatics arising in ferroelectric/dielectric two-dimensional heterostructures and superlattices is revisited within a Kittel model in order to define and complete a clear paradigmatic reference for domain formation. The screening of the depolarizing field in isolated ferroelectric or polar thin films via the formation of 180° domains is well understood, where the width of the domains w grows as the square-root of the film thickness d , following Kittel’s Law for thick enough films ( w ≪ d ). For thinner films, a minimum is reached for w before diverging to a monodomain. Although this behaviour is known to be qualitatively unaltered when the dielectric environment of the film is modified, we consider the quantitative changes in that behaviour induced on the ferroelectric film by different dielectric settings: as deposited on a dielectric substrate, sandwiched between dielectrics, and in a superlattice of alternating ferroelectric/dielectric films. The model assumes infinitely thin domain walls, and therefore is not expected to be reliable for film thickness in the nanometre scale. The polarization field P(r) does vary in space, deviating from ± P S , following the depolarizing field in linear response, but the model does not include a polarization-gradient term as would appear in a Ginzburg–Landau free energy. The model is, however, worth characterizing, both as paradigmatic reference, and as applicable to not-so-thin films. The correct renormalization of parameters is obtained for the thick-film square-root behaviour in the mentioned settings, and the sub-Kittel regime is fully characterized. New results are presented alongside well-known ones for a comprehensive description. Among the former, a natural separation between strong and weak ferroelectric coupling in superlattices is found, which depends exclusively on the dielectric anisotropy of the ferroelectric layer.

Giant Anisotropy of Conductivity in Hydrogenated Nanocrystalline Silicon Thin Films

1998 ◽  
Vol 536 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. Pevtsov ◽  
N. A. Feoktistov ◽  
V. G. Golubev
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Percolation Theory ◽  
Nanocrystalline Silicon ◽  
Spatial Light Modulators ◽  
Light Emitting ◽  
Light Modulators ◽  
Silicon Thin Films ◽  
Longitudinal Conductivity ◽  
Transverse Conductivity

AbstractThin (<1000 Å) hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon films are widely used in solar cells, light emitting diodes, and spatial light modulators. In this work the conductivity of doped and undoped amorphous-nanocrystalline silicon thin films is studied as a function of film thickness: a giant anisotropy of conductivity is established. The longitudinal conductivity decreases dramatically (by a factor of 109 − 1010) as the layer thickness is reduced from 1500 Å to 200 Å, while the transverse conductivity remains close to that of a doped a- Si:H. The data obtained are interpreted in terms of the percolation theory.

Finite-Element Modeling and Quantitative Measurement Using Scanning Microwave Microscopy to Characterize Dielectric Films

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Rubin ◽  
W. Jolley ◽  
Y. Yang
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Dielectric Film ◽  
Dielectric Constants ◽  
Dielectric Films ◽  
Silicon Substrates ◽  
Fem Modeling ◽  
Dielectric Thin Films ◽  
Microwave Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Microwave Microscopy ◽  
Low K

Abstract Scanning Microwave Impedance Microscopy (sMIM) can be used to characterize dielectric thin films and to quantitatively discern film thickness differences. FEM modeling of the sMIM response provides understanding of how to connect the measured sMIM signals to the underlying properties of the dielectric film and its substrate. Modeling shows that sMIM can be used to characterize a range of dielectric film thicknesses spanning both low-k and medium-k dielectric constants. A model system consisting of SiO2 thin films of various thickness on silicon substrates is used to illustrate the technique experimentally.

scholarly journals Optical Constant and Conformality Analysis of SiO2 Thin Films Deposited on Linear Array Microstructure Substrate by PECVD

Coatings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 510
Author(s):  
Yongqiang Pan ◽  
Huan Liu ◽  
Zhuoman Wang ◽  
Jinmei Jia ◽  
Jijie Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Deposition Rate ◽  
Optical Constant ◽  
Photoelectron Spectroscopy ◽  
Linear Array ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Rf Plasma ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Sio2 Thin Film

SiO2 thin films are deposited by radio frequency (RF) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique using SiH4 and N2O as precursor gases. The stoichiometry of SiO2 thin films is determined by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the optical constant n and k are obtained by using variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometer (VASE) in the spectral range 380–1600 nm. The refractive index and extinction coefficient of the deposited SiO2 thin films at 500 nm are 1.464 and 0.0069, respectively. The deposition rate of SiO2 thin films is controlled by changing the reaction pressure. The effects of deposition rate, film thickness, and microstructure size on the conformality of SiO2 thin films are studied. The conformality of SiO2 thin films increases from 0.68 to 0.91, with the increase of deposition rate of the SiO2 thin film from 20.84 to 41.92 nm/min. The conformality of SiO2 thin films decreases with the increase of film thickness, and the higher the step height, the smaller the conformality of SiO2 thin films.

scholarly journals Emergence and Evolution of Crystallization in TiO2 Thin Films: A Structural and Morphological Study

Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1409
Author(s):  
Ofelia Durante ◽  
Cinzia Di Giorgio ◽  
Veronica Granata ◽  
Joshua Neilson ◽  
Rosalba Fittipaldi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Transition Metal Oxides ◽  
Annealing Temperature ◽  
Morphological Properties ◽  
Degree Of Crystallinity ◽  
Tio2 Thin Films ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Heat Treated ◽  
Complementary Techniques

Among all transition metal oxides, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is one of the most intensively investigated materials due to its large range of applications, both in the amorphous and crystalline forms. We have produced amorphous TiO2 thin films by means of room temperature ion-plasma assisted e-beam deposition, and we have heat-treated the samples to study the onset of crystallization. Herein, we have detailed the earliest stage and the evolution of crystallization, as a function of both the annealing temperature, in the range 250–1000 °C, and the TiO2 thickness, varying between 5 and 200 nm. We have explored the structural and morphological properties of the as grown and heat-treated samples with Atomic Force Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray Diffractometry, and Raman spectroscopy. We have observed an increasing crystallization onset temperature as the film thickness is reduced, as well as remarkable differences in the crystallization evolution, depending on the film thickness. Moreover, we have shown a strong cross-talking among the complementary techniques used displaying that also surface imaging can provide distinctive information on material crystallization. Finally, we have also explored the phonon lifetime as a function of the TiO2 thickness and annealing temperature, both ultimately affecting the degree of crystallinity.

scholarly journals Experimental Study on the Thickness-Dependent Hardness of SiO2 Thin Films Using Nanoindentation

Coatings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Weiguang Zhang ◽  
Jijun Li ◽  
Yongming Xing ◽  
Xiaomeng Nie ◽  
Fengchao Lang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Grain Size ◽  
Integrated Circuits ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems ◽  
Si Substrates ◽  
Sio2 Thin Film ◽  
Average Grain Size

SiO2 thin films are widely used in micro-electro-mechanical systems, integrated circuits and optical thin film devices. Tremendous efforts have been devoted to studying the preparation technology and optical properties of SiO2 thin films, but little attention has been paid to their mechanical properties. Herein, the surface morphology of the 500-nm-thick, 1000-nm-thick and 2000-nm-thick SiO2 thin films on the Si substrates was observed by atomic force microscopy. The hardnesses of the three SiO2 thin films with different thicknesses were investigated by nanoindentation technique, and the dependence of the hardness of the SiO2 thin film with its thickness was analyzed. The results showed that the average grain size of SiO2 thin film increased with increasing film thickness. For the three SiO2 thin films with different thicknesses, the same relative penetration depth range of ~0.4–0.5 existed, above which the intrinsic hardness without substrate influence can be determined. The average intrinsic hardness of the SiO2 thin film decreased with the increasing film thickness and average grain size, which showed the similar trend with the Hall-Petch type relationship.

scholarly journals Precise control of Jeff=12 magnetic properties in Sr2IrO4 epitaxial thin films by variation of strain and thin film thickness

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (21) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Geprägs ◽  
Björn Erik Skovdal ◽  
Monika Scheufele ◽  
Matthias Opel ◽  
Didier Wermeille ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Magnetic Properties ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Epitaxial Thin Films ◽  
Thin Film Thickness ◽  
Precise Control

scholarly journals Correlation of film thickness to optical band gap of Sol-gel derived Ba0.9Gd0.1TiO3 thin films for optoelectronic applications

2017 ◽  
Vol 162 ◽  
pp. 01042
Author(s):  
Yen Chin Teh ◽  
Ala’eddin A. Saif ◽  
Zul Azhar Zahid Jamal ◽  
Prabakaran Poopalan
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Band Gap ◽  
Optical Band Gap ◽  
Sol Gel ◽  
Optoelectronic Applications

Bifurcation and domain walls in thin films of liquid crystals

1989 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Schiller ◽  
G. Pelzl ◽  
D. Demus
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Liquid Crystals ◽  
Domain Walls
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