Narrow Results

BaM thin films have been synthesized by dispersing the dried gel nano powders prepared by Sol-Gel method. The solution was made by dissolving iron nitrate Fe(NO₃).9H₂O, barium nitrate Ba(NO₃)₂ and citric acid in deyonized water and methanol. This sol was slowly evaporated until a dried gel was formed. This dried gel was then added to ethylene glycol. The final solution was vigorously shaken and mixed in ultrasonic cleaner for 30 min to disperse particles sufficiently. Then the prepared solution spin coated on Si(110) substrate. The obtained thin films were dried at 120 °C and then calcined at 900 °C for 1 h. The films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM).

Amorphous germanium (a-Ge) films (thickness 25-450 nm) were obtained on the glass substrates at room temperature by the vacuum (3·10^-6mmHg) pulsed laser (Q-switched glass: Nd³⁺ laser: wavelength — 1.06 μm, pulse duration — 30 ns, intensity in the Ge target irradiation zone — ~10⁹ W/cm²) deposition method in non-equilibrium conditions of growth. The optical properties of fabricated films were studied in the range of 400-1000 nm using a spectrometer Filmetrics F20. It was shown that the optical properties of a-Ge films are explained by the Tauc model for amorphous semiconductors. It was also established that the optical gap of films depends on their thickness.

Thin film materials are the key elements of continued technological advances made in the fields of optoelectronic, photonic and magnetic devices. Thin film studies have directly or indirectly advanced many new areas of research in solid state physics and chemistry which are based on phenomena uniquely characteristic of the thickness, geometry and structure of the film. The processing of materials into thin films allows easy integration into various types of devices. Thin films are extremely thermally stable and reasonably hard, but they are fragile. On the other hand organic materials have reasonable thermal stability and are tough, but are soft. Thin film mechanical properties can be measured by tensile testing of freestanding films and by the micro beam cantilever deflection technique, but the easiest way is by means of nanoindentation. Optical experiments provide a good way of examining the properties of semiconductors. Particularly measuring the absorption coefficient for various energies gives information about the band gaps of the material. Thin film materials have been used in semiconductor devices, wireless communications, telecommunications, integrated circuits, rectifiers, transistors, solar cells, light-emitting diodes, photoconductors and light crystal displays, lithography, micro- electromechanical systems (MEMS) and multifunctional emerging coatings, as well as other emerging cutting technologies.

A magnetized sheet plasma ion source was developed for steady state high density plasma with strong density and high temperature gradients. This feature provides efficient formation of negative hydrogen (H^-) ions over a wide beam extraction area through the electron volume process. A hexapole confinement at the cathode, addition of argon and magnesium seeding led to the increase of H^- yield. The device configuration is suitable for plasma based materials processing namely, synthesis of TiN, SiH, SnO₂, and the formation of advanced MAX phase materials Ti₂AlC, Ti₂CdC and NbAlC.