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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
211

Cristaux moléculaires : des cristaux coeur-coquille aux réseaux de cristaux / Molecular crystals : from core-shell crystals to networks of crystals

Adolf, Cyril 04 October 2017 (has links)
L’agencement relatif de systèmes cristallins moléculaires, par une méthode d’organisation avancée est une stratégie de premier plan. Le développement de tels systèmes permet la conception de dispositifs innovants dans le domaine des matériaux poreux, magnétiques ou optiques.Les travaux menés dans le cadre de cette étude ont pour objectif l’élaboration d’architectures macroscopiques hiérarchisées concernant l’état cristallin, de type « réseaux de cristaux ». Dans un premier temps, le développement et la caractérisation de réseaux iso-structuraux ont été réalisés. Ces séries, formées par liaisons hydrogènes, servent à l’étude de la croissance cristalline épitaxiale, développée par la suite. À partir de ces résultats, la préparation d’architectures monocristallines de type cristal cœur-coquille ainsi que la soudure cristalline sont entreprises.Enfin, la généralisation de cette mise en forme de l’état cristallin à des systèmes formés par liaisons de coordination est présentée. / The relative disposition of applicative molecular systems by an advanced organization method is a well-defined strategy (core-shell type crystals). It is aimed at developing innovative materials.The presented study deals with the elaboration of a new organization method concerning the crystalline matter to obtain “network of crystals”. This strategy of materials processing occurs at a macroscopic scale and in a hierarchical way.Firstly, series of isostructural crystalline molecular networks have been designed with a molecular tectonics approach. These series, formed by hydrogen bonds, are then used for the study of the epitaxial growth of crystal. The preparation of a single crystalline architecture with a defined sequenced area of different compositions is demonstrated: core-shell crystals and welded crystals.Finally, the developed strategy is applied to coordination networks exhibiting luminescent properties in order to generalize the described process.
212

Développement et caractérisation de nouveaux procédés de passivation pour les capteurs d'images CMOS / Development and characterization of new passivation processes for CMOS images sensors

Ait Fqir Ali, Fatima Zahra 01 October 2013 (has links)
La conception des futures générations de capteurs d'images CMOS, nécessite l'intégration de structures 3D telles que les tranchées profondes d'isolation, ou encore l'adoption de nouvelles architectures telles que les capteurs d'images à illumination face arrière. Cependant, l'intégration de telles architectures engendre l'apparition de nouvelles interfaces Si/SiO2, pouvant être la source d'un fort courant d'obscurité Idark, dégradant considérablement les performances électro-optiques du capteur. Ainsi, dans le but d'éliminer le Idark et d'augmenter l'efficacité de collecte et de confinement des photoporteurs au sein de la photodiode, la passivation de ces interfaces par l'introduction d'une jonction fortement dopée a été étudiée. D'une part, la passivation de la face arrière a été réalisée par implantation ionique activée par recuit laser pulsé. Grâce à un traitement très court et localisé, le recuit laser a démontré sa capacité à réaliser des jonctions minces et très abruptes. Une très bonne qualité cristalline ainsi que des taux d'activation avoisinant les 100% ont pu être atteint dans le mode fusion. Le mode sous-fusion quant à lui permet d'obtenir des résultats prometteurs en multipliant le nombre de tir laser. Les résultats électriques ont permis de distinguer les conditions optimales d'implantation et de recuit pour l'achèvement d'un faible niveau de Idark comparable à la référence en vigueur ainsi qu'une bonne sensibilité. Le deuxième axe d'étude s'est intéressé à la passivation des flancs des DTI par épitaxie sélective dopée in-situ. Des dépôts très uniformes de la cavité accompagnés d'une très bonne conformité de dopage le long des tranchées ont pu être réalisés. Les résultats sur lot électrique ont montré un très faible niveau de Idark supplantant la référence en vigueur / In order to maintain or enhance the electro-optical performances while decreasing the pixel size, advanced CMOS Image Sensors (CIS) requires the implementation of new architectures. For this purpose, deep trenches for pixel isolation (DTI) and backside illumination (BSI) have been introduced as ones of the most promising candidates. The major challenge of these architectures is the high dark current level (Idark) due to the generation/recombination centers present at both, DTI sidewalls and backside surfaces. Therefore, the creation of very shallow doped junctions at these surfaces reducing Idark and further crosstalk by drifting the photo-generated carriers to the photodiode region appears as key process step for introducing these architectures. For the backside surface passivation, a very shallow doped layer can be achieved by low-energy implantation followed by very short and localized heating provided by pulsed laser annealing (PLA). In the melt regime, box-shaped profiles with activation rates close to 100% and excellent crystalline quality have been achieved. The non-melt regime shows some potential, especially for multiple pulse conditions. In the optimal process conditions, very low level of Idark comparable to the standard reference has been achieved. In the other side, the passivation of DTI sidewalls has been performed by in-situ doped Epitaxy. Deposited layers with good uniformity and doping conformity all along the DTI cavity have been achieved. The electrical results show Idark values lower than the standard reference
213

Tertiary limestones and sedimentary dykes on Chatham Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean, New Zealand

Titjen, Jeremy Quentin January 2007 (has links)
The Chatham Islands are located in the SW Pacific Ocean, approximately 850 km to the east of the South Island of New Zealand. This small group of islands is situated near the eastern margin of the Chatham Rise, an elongated section of submerged continental crust that represents part of the Late Paleozoic-Mesozoic Gondwana accretionary margin. The location and much of the geology of the Chatham Islands are attributed to intra-plate basaltic volcanism, initiated during the Late Cretaceous, in association with development of a failed rifting system to the south of the Chatham Rise. Despite the volcanic nature of much of the geology, the majority of the Cenozoic sedimentary stratigraphic record on the islands comprises non-tropical skeletal carbonate deposits whose deposition was often coeval with submarine volcanics and volcaniclastic deposits. This has resulted in complex stratigraphic relationships, with the volcanic geology exerting a strong influence on the geometry and distribution of the carbonate deposits. These limestones, despite some general field descriptions, have been little studied and are especially poorly understood from a petrographic and diagenetic perspective. The carbonate geology in detail comprises eleven discrete limestone units of Late Cretaceous through to Pleistocene age which were studied during two consecutive field expeditions over the summers of 2005 and 2006. These limestone occurrences are best exposed in scattered coastal outcrops where they form prominent rugged bluffs. While many of the younger (Oligocene to Pliocene) outcrops comprise of poorly exposed, thin and eroded limestone remnants (it;5 m thick), older (Late Paleocene to Early Oligocene) exposures can be up to 100 m in thickness. The character of these limestones is highly variable. In outcrop they display a broad range of textures and skeletal compositions, often exhibit cross-bedding, display differing degrees of porosity occlusion by cementation, and may include rare silicified horizons and evidence of hardground formation. Petrographically the limestones are skeletal grainstones and packstones with a typical compositional makeup of about 70% skeletal material, 10% siliciclasts, and 20% cement/matrix. Localised increases in siliciclastics occur where the carbonates are diluted by locally-derived volcaniclastics. The spectrum of skeletal assemblages identified within the Chatham Island limestones is diverse and appears in many cases to be comparable to the bryozoan dominant types common in mainland New Zealand and mid-latitude Australian cool-water carbonates in general. However, some key departures from the expected cool-water carbonate skeletal makeup have been identified in this study. The occurrence of stromatolitic algal mats in Late Cretaceous and Early Eocene carbonate deposits indicates not cool-temperate, but certainly warm-temperate paleoclimatic conditions. A change to cool-temperate conditions is recorded in the limestone flora/fauna from the mid-Late Miocene times following the development and later northward movement of the Subtropical Front. An uncharacteristic mix of shallow-shelf (bryozoans) and deeper water fauna (planktic foraminifera), together with their highly fragmented and abraded nature, is indicative of the likely remobilisation and redistribution of carbonate, primarily during episodic storm events. The Chatham Islands limestones formed within the relative tectonic stability of an oceanic island setting, which was conducive to ongoing carbonate accumulation throughout much of the Cenozoic. This contrasts markedly with other mainland New Zealand shelf carbonates which formed over sporadic and short-lived geological periods, experiencing greater degrees of burial cementation controlled by a relatively more active tectonic setting. As a consequence of the tectonically stable setting, the Chatham Islands limestones have experienced little burial and exhibit a paucity of burial cementation effects. They remain commonly soft and friable. Detailed petrographic investigations have shown the limestones are variably cemented by rare uneven acicular spar fringes, poorly to well-developed syntaxial rim cements about echinoderm fragments, and equant/blocky microsparite. Staining of thin sections and cathodoluminescence petrography show these spar cement generations are non-ferroan and their very dull- to non-luminescent nature supports precipitation from Mn-poor oxygenated waters, likely of an either meteoric or combined marine/shallow burial origin. Micrite is the dominant intra- and inter-particle pore fill and occurs both as a microbioclastic matrix and as precipitated homogenous and/or micropeloidal cement. The rare fringing cements often seen in association with homogenous and/or micropeloidal micrite may be indicative of true early marine (seafloor) cement precipitation and localised hardground development. An interesting feature of the geology of the Chatham Islands is the occurrence of carbonate material within sedimentary dykes. The locations of the dykes are in association with volcanic and volcaniclastic deposits. Similarities between dyke characteristics at Red Bluff on Chatham Island with mainland occurrences from East Coast and Canterbury Basins (North and South Islands, respectively) on mainland New Zealand have been recognised. They show complex structures including sidewall striations, internal flow structures as revealed by grain sorting, and extra-clast inclusions of previous fill lithologies which are characteristic of carbonate injection. This is in contrast to other dykes which are known to be of a passive fill origin. Multiple phases of carbonate sediment injection can be recognised by crosscutting relationships enabling the determination of a parasequence of events. Possible injection mechanisms are most likely associated with sediment overloading or hydrothermal pressurisation associated with emplacement of submarine volcanics. The Chatham Islands provide an exciting example of a geologically unique and complex non-tropical carbonate depositional setting. The production of carbonates is controlled by volcanic and volcaniclastic sediment input with the types of carbonate deposits and water depth variations related to thermal uplift/subsidence in association with global eustatic sealevel and temperature changes associated with development of Southern Ocean water fronts from the Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic. Carbonate deposition on the Chatham Islands is considered to relate to a rather variable and small scale oceanic, high energy, cool-water carbonate ramp setting whose geometry was continually evolving/changing as a consequence of periodic volcanic episodes.
214

Besetzte und unbesetzte elektronische Struktur von geordneten Dünnschichtverbindungen der Seltenen Erden Eu und Yb mit den Übergangsmetallen Pd und Ni

Wieling, Sönke 26 August 2003 (has links) (PDF)
The present thesis deals with the occupied and unoccupied electronic states of intermetallic compounds of the rare-earth metals (RE) Eu and Yb with the transition metals Pd and Ni. The compounds were prepared in-situ as epitaxial thin films on single-crystalline substrates. For comparison, the experiments were extended to a Ba/Pd compound, which was prepared in the same way. All samples were characterised by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) and inverse photoemission (IPE). For the IPE experiments an appropriate spectrometer was built. It consists of a combination of a toroidal-grating and a crystal monochromator and enables experiments with photon energies in the range of 10-25 eV and at 1486.6 eV. LEED experiments reveal the formation of a AuCu3 structure with a (111) surface orientation for RE/Pd systems, while the formation of a CaCu5-structure with (0001) surface orientation for the Ba/Pd and Eu/Ni compounds was found. The Eu compounds show a surface-valence transition from the trivalent to the divalent configuration. An ordered overstructure is formed at the surface despite an increase of the ionic volume of Eu by about 40 %. The measured electronic structure is in good accordance with results of local-density-approximation band-structure calculations. / In der vorliegenden Dissertation werden die besetzten und unbesetzten elektronischen Zustände intermetallischer Verbindungen der Seltenen Erden (SE) Eu und Yb mit den Übergangsmetallen Pd und Ni betrachtet. Die Verbindungen wurden als epitaktische Dünnschichten in-situ auf einkristallinen Substraten präpariert und mittels niederenergetischer Elektronenbeugung (LEED), Photoelektronenspektroskopie (PES) und inverser Photoemission (IPE) charakterisiert. Zu Vergleichszwecken wurde die Untersuchung zusätzlich auf eine auf gleiche Weise präparierte Ba/Pd-Verbindung ausgedehnt. Für die Durchführung der IPE-Experimente wurde ein entsprechendes Spektrometer aufgebaut. Die Kombination aus einem Toroidgitter- und einem Kristallmonochromator ermöglicht wahlweise Experimente im Photonenenergiebereich von 10-25 eV und bei 1486,6 eV. Die Analysen der LEED-Daten ergaben für die SE/Pd-Systeme die Bildung der AuCu3-Struktur mit einer (111)-Oberflächenorientierung, für die Ba/Pd- und die Eu/Ni-Verbindungen die der CaCu5-Struktur mit (0001)"=Oberflächenorientierung. Die Eu-Verbindungen zeigen dabei Oberflächenvalenzübergänge von der drei- zu der zweiwertigen Konfiguration mit Ausbildung geordneter Überstrukturen an der Oberfläche trotz einer 40 prozentigen Zunahme des Eu-Ionenvolumens. Die beobachtete elektronische Struktur stimmt gut mit den Ergebnissen von Bandstrukturrechnungen in der lokalen Dichtenäherung überein.
215

Semipolar And Nonpolar Group III-Nitride Heterostructures By Plasma-Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Rajpalke, Mohana K 07 1900 (has links) (PDF)
Group III-nitride semiconductors are well suited for the fabrication of devices including visible-ultraviolet light emitting diodes, high-temperature and high-frequency devices. The wurtzite III-nitride based heterostructures grown along polar c-direction have large internal electric fields due to discontinuities in spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations. For optoelectronic devices, such as light-emitting diodes and laser diodes, the internal electric field is deleterious as it causes a spatial separation of electron and hole wave functions in the quantum wells, which decreases emission efficiency. Growth of GaN-based heterostructures in alternative orientations, which have reduced (semipolar) or no polarization (nonpolar) in the growth direction, has been a major area of research in the last few years. The correlation between structural, optical and transport properties of semipolar and nonpolar III-nitride would be extremely useful. The thesis focuses on the growth and characterizations of semipolar and nonpolar III-nitride heterostructures by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to the III-nitride semiconductors. The importance of semipolar and nonpolar III-nitride heterostructures over conventional polar heterostructures has been discussed. Chapter 2 deals with the descriptions of molecular beam epitaxy system and working principles of different characterization tools used in the present work. Chapter 3 addresses the molecular beam epitaxial growth of nonpolar (1 1 -2 0) and semipolar (1 1 -2 2) GaN on sapphire substrates. An in-plane orientation relationship is found to be [0 0 0 1] GaN || [-1 1 0 1] sapphire and [-1 1 0 0] GaN || [1 1 -2 0] sapphire for nonpolar GaN on r-sapphire substrates. Effect of growth temperature on structural, morphological and optical properties of nonpolar GaN has been studied. The growth temperature plays a major role in controlling crystal quality, morphology and emission properties of nonpolar a-plane GaN. The a-plane GaN shows crystalline anisotropy nature and it has reduced with increase in the growth temperature. The surface roughness was found to decrease with increase in growth temperature and film grown at 760°C shows reasonably smooth surface with roughness 3.05 nm. Room temperature photoluminescence spectra show near band emission peak at 3.434 -3.442 eV. The film grown at 800 ºC shows broad yellow luminescence peak at 2.2 eV. Low temperature photoluminescence spectra show near band emission at 3.483 eV along with defect related emissions. Raman spectra exhibit blue shift due to compressive strain in the film. An in-plane orientation relationship is found to be [1 -1 00] GaN || [1 2-1 0] sapphire and [-1 -1 2 3] GaN || [0 0 0 1] sapphire for semipolar GaN on m-plane sapphire substrates. The surface morphology of semipolar GaN film is found to be reasonably smooth with pits on the surface. Room temperature photoluminescence shows the near band emission (NBE) at 3.432 eV, which is slightly blue shifted compared to the bulk GaN. The Raman E2 (high) peak position observed at 569.1 cm1. Chapter 4 deals with the fabrication and characterizations of Au/nonpolar and Au/semipolar GaN schottky diodes. The temperature-dependent current–voltage measurements have been used to determine the current mechanisms in Schottky diodes fabricated on nonpolar a-plane GaN and semipolar GaN epilayers. The barrier height (φb) and ideally factor (η) estimated from the thermionic emission model are found to be temperature dependent in nature indicate the deviations from the thermionic emission (TE) transport mechanism. Low temperature I-V characteristics of Au/ GaN Schottky diode show temperature independent tunnelling parameter. Barrier heights calculated from XPS are found to be 0.96 eV and 1.13 eV for Au/nonpolar GaN and Au/semipolar GaN respectively. Chapter 5 demonstrates the growth of InN on r-sapphire substrates with and without GaN buffer layer. InN film and nanostructures are grown on r-sapphire without GaN buffer layer and they are highly oriented along (0002) direction. The electron microscopy study confirms the nanostructures are vertically aligned and highly oriented along the (0001) direction. The Raman studies of InN nanostructures show the SO modes along with the other possible Raman modes. The band gap of InN nanostructures is found to be 0.82 eV. InN grown with a-plane GaN buffer shows nonpolar orientated growth. Growth temperature dependent studies of nonpolar a-plane InN epilayers are carried out. The valence band offset value is calculated to be 1.31 eV for nonpolar a-plane InN/GaN heterojunctions. The heterojunctions form in the type-I straddling configuration with a conduction band offsets of 1.41 eV. Chapter 6 deals with the temperature dependent I-V characteristics of the nonpolar a-plane (1 1 -2 0) InN/GaN heterostructures. The measured values of barrier height and ideality factor from the TE model show the temperature dependent variation. The double Gaussian distribution has mean barrier height values ( ϕb ) of 1.17 and 0.69 eV with standard deviation (σs ) of 0.17 and 0.098 V, respectively. The modified Richardson plot ln (Is/T2)-q2σ2/2k2T2 ) versus q/kT in the temperature range of 350 – 500 K, yielded the Richardson constant of 19.5 A/cm2 K2 which is very close to the theoretical value of 24 A/cm2 K2 for n-type GaN. The tunneling parameters E0 found to be temperature independent at low temperature range (150 –300 K). Chapter 7 concludes with the summary of present investigations and the scope for future work.
216

Engineering Multicomponent Nanostructures for MOSFET, Photonic Detector and Hybrid Solar Cell Applications

Jamshidi Zavaraki, Asghar January 2015 (has links)
Silicon technologyhas been seekingfor a monolithic solution for a chip where data processing and data communication is performed in the CMOS part and the photonic component, respectively. Traditionally, silicon has been widely considered for electronic applications but not for photonic applications due to its indirect bandgap nature. However, band structure engineering and manipulation through alloying Si with Ge and Sn has opened new possibilities. Theoretical calculations show that it is possible to achieve direct transitions from Ge ifit is alloyed with Sn. Therefore, a GeSn system is a choice to get a direct bandgap. Extending to ternary GeSnSi and quaternary GeSnSiCstructures grown on Si wafers not only makes the bandgap engineering possible but also allowsgrowing lattice matched systems with different strain and bandgaps located in the infrared region. Different heterostructures can be designed and fabricated for detecting lightas photonic sensing oremitting the light as lasers. Alloying not only makes engineering possible but it also induces strain which plays an important role for electronic applications. Theoretical and experimental works show that tensile strain could increase the mobility, which is promising for electronic devices where high mobility channels for high performance MOSFETs is needed to speed up the switching rate. On the other hand, high n-doping in tensile strains in p-i-n structures makesΓ band transitions most probable which is promising for detection and emission of the light. As another benefit of tensile strain, the direct bandgap part shrinks faster than the indirect one if the strain amount is increased. To get both electronic and photonic applications of GeSn-based structures, two heterostructures (Ge/GeSn(Si)/GeSi/Ge/Si and Ge/GeSn/Si systems), including relaxed and compressive strained layers used to produce tensile strained layers, were designed in this thesis. The low temperature growth is of key importance in this work because the synthesis of GeSn-based hetrostructures on Si wafers requires low thermal conditions due tothe large lattice mismatch which makes them metastable. RPCVD was used to synthesize theseheterostructures because not only it offers a low temperature growth but also because it is compatible with CMOS technology. For utilization of these structures in devices, n-type and p-type doping of relaxed and compressive strained layers were developed. HRRLMs, HRTEM, RBS, SIMS, and FPP techniques were employed to evaluatestrain, quality, Sn content and composition profile of the heterostructures. The application of GeSn-based heterostructures is not restricted to electronics and photonics. Another application investigated in this work is photovoltaics. In competition with Si-based solar cells, which have, or areexpected to have,high stability and efficiency, thirdgeneration solar cells offer the use of low cost materials and production and can therefore be an alternative for future light energy conversion technology. Particularly, quantum dot sensitized solar cells are associated with favorable properties such as high extrinsic coefficients, size dependent bandgaps and multiple exciton generation and with a theoretical efficiencyof 44%. In this work, two categories of QDs, Cd-free and Cd-based QDs were employed as sensitizers in quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). Cd-based QDs have attracted large interest due to high quantum yield,however, toxicityremains still totheir disadvantage. Mn doping as a bandgap engineering tool for Cd-based type IIZnSe/CdS QDs wasemployed to boostthe solar cell efficiency. Theoretical and experimental investigations show that compared to single coreQDSSCs,typeII core-shells offer higher electron-hole separation due to efficient band alignment where the photogenerated electrons and holes are located in the conduction band of the shell and valence band of the core, respectively. This electron-hole separation suppresses recombination and by carefully designing the band alignment in the deviceit can increase the electron injection and consequently the power conversion efficiency of the device. Considering eco-friendly and commercialization aspects, three different “green” colloidal nanostructures having special band alignments, which are compatible for sensitized solar cells, were designed and fabricated by the hot injection method. Cu2GeS3-InP QDs not only can harvest light energy up to the infraredregion but can also be usedastypeII QDs. ZnS-coating was employed as a strategy to passivate the surface of InP QDs from interaction with air and electrolyte. In addition, ZnS-coating and hybrid passivation was applied for CuInS2QDs to eliminate surface traps. / <p>QC 20151125</p>
217

The effect of epitaxial strain and R³+ magnetism on the interfaces between polar perovskites and SrTiO₃

Monti, Mark Charles 08 June 2011 (has links)
We have embarked on a systematic study of novel charge states at oxide interfaces. We have performed pulsed laser deposition (PLD) growth of epitaxial oxide thin films on single crystal oxide substrates. We studied the effects of epitaxial strain and rare-earth composition of the metal oxide thin films. We have successfully created TiO₂ terminated SrTiO₃ (STO) substrates and have grown epitaxial thin films of LaAlO₃ (LAO), LaGaO₃ (LGO), and RAlO₃ on STO using a KrF pulsed excimer laser. Current work emphasizes the importance of understanding the effect of both epitaxial strain and R³+ magnetism on the interface between RAlO₃ and STO. We have demonstrated that the interfaces between LAO/STO and LGO/STO are metallic with carrier concentrations of 1.1 x 10¹⁴ cm[superscript -2] and 4.5 x 10¹⁴ cm[superscript −2], respectively. Rare-earth aluminate films, RAlO₃, with R = Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, and Tb, were also grown on STO. Conducting interfaces were found for R = Pr, Nd and Gd, and the results indicate that for R [does not equal] La the magnetic nature of the R³+ ion causes increased scattering with decreasing temperature that is modeled by the Kondo effect. Epitaxial strain between the polar RAlO₃ films and STO appears to play a crucial role in the transport properties of the metallic interface, where a decrease in the R³+ ion size causes an increase in sheet resistance and an increase in the onset temperatures for increased scattering. / text
218

Oxidation und epitaktische Oxidation von Nickel und Nickellegierung / Oxidation and epitaxial oxidation of Nickel and Nickel alloys

Brandt, Cirsten Maja 16 August 2002 (has links)
No description available.
219

Structural and Magnetic Properties of Epitaxial MnSi(111) Thin Films

Karhu, Eric 12 January 2012 (has links)
MnSi(111) films were grown on Si(111) substrates by solid phase epitaxy (SPE) and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) to determine their magnetic structures. A lattice mismatch of -3.1% causes an in-plane tensile strain in the film, which is partially relaxed by misfit dislocations. A correlation between the thickness dependence of the Curie temperature (TC) and strain is hypothesized to be due to the presence of interstitial defects. The in-plane tensile strain leads to an increase in the unit cell volume that results in an increased TC as large as TC = 45 K compared to TC = 29.5 K for bulk MnSi crystals. The epitaxially induced tensile stress in the MnSi thin films creates an easy-plane uniaxial anisotropy. The magnetoelastic coefficient was obtained from superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry measurements combined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) data. The experimental value agrees with the coefficient determined from density functional calculations, which supports the conclusion that the uniaxial anisotropy originates from the magnetoelastic coupling. Interfacial roughness obscured the magnetic structure of the SPE films, which motivated the search for a better method of film growth. MBE grown films displayed much lower interfacial roughness that enabled a determination of the magnetic structure using SQUID and polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR). Out-of-plane magnetic field measurements on MBE grown MnSi(111) thin films on Si(111) substrates show the formation of a helical conical phase with a wavelength of 2?/Q = 13.9 ± 0.1 nm. The presence of both left-handed and right-handed magnetic chiralities is found to be due to the existence of inversion domains that result from the non-centrosymmetric crystal structure of MnSi. The magnetic frustration created at the domain boundaries explains an observed glassy behaviour in the magnetic response of the films. PNR and SQUID measurements of MnSi thin films performed in an in-plane magnetic field show a complex magnetic behaviour. Experimental results combined with theoretical results obtained from a Dzyaloshinskii model with an added easy-plane uniaxial anisotropy reveals the existence of numerous magnetic modulated states that do not exist in bulk MnSi. It is demonstrated in this thesis that modulated chiral magnetic states can be investigated with epitaxially grown MnSi(111) thin films on insulating Si substrates, which offers opportunities to investigate spin-dependent transport in chiral magnetic heterostructures based on this system.
220

Structural Characterization of Tetracene Films by Lateral Force Microscopy and Grazing-Incidence X-Ray Diffraction

Tersigni, Andrew 13 April 2012 (has links)
Organic semiconductors show promise to yield a novel class of bendable electronic devices, and much research efforts have focused on the optimization of these films for device performance. It is well known that the structure of organic films has a large influence over the electronic properties. In particular, the carrier mobility is often highly anisotropic, and domain boundaries have a detrimental effect on charge transport. Therefore the domain structure and lattice orientation are of particular interest. However, little is known about the domain structure of organic films, and techniques to study these properties have only begun to emerge in recent years. In this thesis, we apply two experimental techniques, Grazing-Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXD) and Lateral Force Microscopy (LFM), toward studying the lattice and domain structure of tetracene films grown on the silicon(001)-monohydride surface. We describe the necessary steps toward optimizing the sensitivity of these techniques to the domain structure. Results show that the crystalline tetracene films form a layered morphology in which the a-b plane lies parallel to the substrate surface. The film lattice structure is similar to bulk tetracene, and the lattice is confined to two orthogonal orientations, forming a partially-commensurate relationship with the substrate surface lattice along the film 'a' axis. LFM images reveal two types of polycrystalline domains. The first type ("major domains") are tens of microns in size, and are classified by their lattice orientation. They are subdivided into the second type ("sub-domains"), which range from 0.1 to 5um in size, and are argued to represent regions of uniform molecular tilt direction. The GIXD data show that the single-crystal domains which comprise these two larger domain types are anisotropic in size, being up to two times longer along the film 'b' axis than along 'a'. The single-crystal domains range from 0.05 to 0.2um in size, depending on lattice orientation and film thickness. The mathematical basis for these single-crystal domain size calculations is presented. The single-crystal domain sizes are thickness-dependent, and are two orders of magnitude smaller than a typical surface island observed in atomic-force microscopy (AFM) topographs. Substrate steps can also significantly influence the film structure by inducing boundaries in the single-crystal domains and sub-domains, but not in the major domains. This detailed knowledge of the domain structure of organic thin-films may assist in our understanding of the factors which affect charge transport in thin films, and may help to direct research efforts in optimizing the film structure for device performance. / Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT).

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