The lithium tantalite [LiTaO3, abbreviated to LT] thin films were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by spin coating with sol-gel technology and various rapid thermal processing in this thesis. By changing the annealed layers and heating temperature(500~800¢J), the effects of various thermal treatments on the thin films growth and the related properties are studied. Besides, the dynamic response of pyroelectric IR detector using LiTaO3 films was studied. In addition, the detector with back side etching was achieved by the anisotropic wet etching of back silicon substrate. The comparisons of detectors with and without backside etching were also investigated. Experimental results reveal that the annealed layers will influence strongly on grain size, dielectricity, ferroelectricity and pyroelectricity of LT thin films. With the increase of the annealed layers, the grain size of LT thin film increases slightly, and highly c-axis orientated LT films can be obtained for the twelve annealed layers. From 4 to 12 annealed layers, the relative dielectric constant of LT thin film increases from 35 up to 65, the dielectric loss (tand) decreases from 0.00637 to 0.00324, the coercive field (Ec) decreases from 84.79KV/cm to 46.23KV/cm, the remnant polarization (Pr) increases from 2.54 mC/cm2 to 7.36 mC/cm2, and the pyroelctric coefficient (g) increases from 2.18´10-8 C/cm2K up to 5.71´10-8 C/cm2K. In addition, the results also show that the LT thin film possesses the largest figures of merit Fv (3.02¡Ñ10-10 Ccm/J) and Fm (4.08¡Ñ10-8 Ccm/J) at heating temperature of 700¢J with twelve annealed layers. The voltage responsivities (Rv) measured at 70 Hz exists a largest value of 8398 V/W with twelve annealed layers. The specific detectivity (D*) measured at 200 Hz has the maximum value of 1.1¡Ñ108 cmHz1/2/W with twelve annealed layers. The results show that LT12 pyroelectric thin film detector exists both the maximums of voltage responsivity and specific detecivity. Therefore, optimizing the conditions of this study, LT12 thin film will be the most suitable for IR detector application. Finally, the voltage responsivities (Rv) of LT thin film increases from 8398 V/W to 9537 V/W, and the specific detectivity (D*) increases from 1.1¡Ñ108 cmHz1/2/W to 2.67¡Ñ108 cmHz1/2/W after backside etching. The results show that the detectivity can be improved after backside etching.

Abstract Recently, titanium dioxide¡]TiO2¡^ is one of the most extensively studied transition-metal oxides because of its remarkable photocatalyst efficiency and electronic properties. In this paper, thin films ware obtained by dual ion beam sputtering. By different processes, these samples can be classified into three categories. Firstly, thin films, deposited on 200 mash copper grids for 15 minutes, were investigated that many TiO grains is about 5 nm in size by transmission electron microscopy¡]TEM¡^. Next, TiO2 thin films, sputtered on si wafers and glass for 180 minutes in an O2 environment by using titanium target, were initially identified by X ray diffraction instrument¡]XRD¡^. The result shows that some thin films have good orientations. By TEM, TiO2 grains on bottom of films are about 20 nm. By scanning electron microscopy¡]SEM¡^, TiO2 grains on the surface are about 1~2 £gm in size and are oblong in shape. The last, TiO thin films were directly deposited on si wafer for 180 minutes in no O2 environment by using titanium target and then annealed to transform from TiO to TiO2. By XRD, the thin film, annealed at 600¢J for 1hr, has good orientation. By TEM, TiO2 grains, annealed at 1000¢J for 24hr, grow up to 1-2 £gm in size and are oblong in shap.

In the work, photocatalytical treatment of acetic acid wastewater by nanostructured film of TiO2 under ultra-violet ¡]UV¡^ light illumination was studied. Nanosized TiO2 suspension was prepared by the sol-gel process. Then it was dip-coated on indium tin-oxide¡]ITO¡^glass, which could be used as the anode if applicable. Effects the UV light intensity, UV light wavelength, reactive area of TiO2 film, solution pH, and applied bias voltage on photocatalysis efficiency of acetic acid in term of COD removal were studied in this work. Experimental results have shown that a pseudo first-order kinetics was obeyed in all tests. In this study UV light of 312nm outperformed that of 365nm ¡]15.3¢H vs. 11.0¢H¡^. UV light intensity of 20W was also found to be superior to 10W with COD removal of 11.0¢H against 6.7¢H. COD removal at pH¡×3.18 was about 3.6 times greater as compared with that of at pH=9.98. When the reactive area of TiO2 film was increased to three times, the COD removal was almost doubled. An applied external voltage was found to enhance the removal of COD. When an external voltage of 15V was applied, the COD removal was increased to 84.6¢H. It is ascribed to an external voltage would prevent or lower the extent of electron-hole recombination. In this work, the pseudo first-order reaction rate equation K¡¬=1.7679(COD)-0.7547 was obtained for various concentrations of acetic acid tested.

In this study, maghemite (&amp / #947 / -Fe2O3) thin films were prepared by chemical solution deposition on glass and quartz substrates. The solution was prepared by using 0.3 M iron (III) nitrate [Fe(NO3)3 - 9H2O] as precursor and dissolved in a mixture of 2-methoxyethanol and acetylacetone in a molar ratio of 20:2, by stirring the solution at RT for 2 hours. Substrates were prepared by either piranha etching method or ultrasonic cleaning method. The solution was spin coated on glass and quartz substrates at 1400 and 4000 rpm for 1 minute. The resultant film thickness was found as 65 and 80 nm by SEM. Viscosity of the main solution was found to be approximately as 0.0035 Pa.s by viscosity measurement. TGA/DTA analyses showed that, to produce maghemite thin film, heat treatment should be done between 330 &deg / C and 440 &deg / C. Homogeneous and crack free maghemite thin films were observed by Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) methods. TEM studies verified maghemite thin film formation by using electron diffraction and SAED (selected area electron diffraction) method. Thin film characteristics were evaluated by changing the experimental parameters which are annealing temperature, annealing time and thickness of the films using XRD (x-ray diffraction) method. Optical band gap of maghemite thin films were found as approximately 2.64 eV by UV-VIS Spectrophotometer. Magnetic properties of maghemite thin films were also examined by VSM (vibrating sample magnetometer).

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) thin films are deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Effects of heat treatment and source gases on the structure and physical properties are investigated. Chemical bonding is analyzed in comparison with the better understood isoelectronic carbon compound, graphite. It seems that the basic difference between h-BN and graphite arises from the different electronegativities of boron and nitrogen atoms. Optical absorptions in UV-visible range for crystalline and amorphous structures are outlined. The expressions used for the evaluation of mechanical stress induced in thin films are derived. The deposited films are considered to be turbostratic as they do not exhibit the characteristic optical absorption spectra of a crystal. A new system, stylus profilometer, is implemented and installed for thin film thickness and mechanical stress measurements. Hydrogen atom density within the films, estimated from FTIR spectroscopy, is found to be a major factor affecting the order and mechanical stress of the films. Heat treatment of the films reduces the hydrogen content, does not affect the optical gap and slightly increases the Urbach energy probably due to an increased disorder. Increasing the nitrogen gas flow rate in the source gas results in more ordered films. The virtual crystal of these films is detected to be unique. Relative bond concentrations of the constituent elements indicate a ternary boron-oxygen-nitrogen structure. The physical properties of h-BN such as high resistivity and wide band gap seem suitable for optoelectronic applications such as gate dielectrics in thin film transistors and light emitting devices in the blue region.

Magnetite (Fe3O4) thin films were prepared by a sol-gel process in which, a solution of iron (III) nitrate dissolved in ethylene glycol was applied on glass substrates by spin coating. Xerogel films were obtained by drying the coated films at 110 &deg / C. The films were sintered between 300 &deg / C and 450 &deg / C in order to observe the phases existing in the films at different temperatures. Coating solution showed Newtonian behaviour and viscosity was found as 0.0215 Pa.s. DTA analysis showed that, sintering temperature should be selected between 291 &deg / C and 350 &deg / C in order to produce magnetite thin films. Prepared magnetite thin films were characterized by XRD, SEM, AFM, TEM, VSM and UV-Vis spectrometer. In-plane grazing angle diffraction studies showed that magnetite phase was present upon sintering the films at 300 &deg / C. From the SEM studies, it was shown that films with defect free surfaces were obtained and by cross section studies, thickness of the films was found as ~10-200 nm. AFM images showed that no cracks or any other defects on the film surface were present. TEM results proved the existence of single phase magnetite in the produced films. UV-Vis spectrum results showed that transmittance of the films increases with decreasing sintering temperature and increasing spinning rate. Up to 96% transmittance was observed between the wavelengths of 900-1100 nm. Magnetic properties of magnetite thin films were also examined by VSM (Vibrating Sample Magnetometer) and ferromagnetic behaviour was shown using VSM data.

Pure and palladium&amp / #8208 / covered 350 nm thick magnesium thin films were deposited on glass substrates via thermal evaporation. In the as&amp / #8208 / deposited state, films were highly textured with Mg (001) parallel to the substrate. Hydrogen loading experiments were carried out in two different conditions / namely isothermal and isochronal. Hydrogenation behaviors of the thin films were followed by twopoint probe electrical resistance and optical transmittance measurements, as well as x&amp / #8208 / ray diffraction studies. Isothermal hydrogenation experiments conducted on Pd&amp / #8208 / covered Mg thin films have revealed that these films can absorb hydrogen at temperatures starting from 333 K, producing MgH2 with a random texture. When the films were heated slowly starting from the room temperature, on the other hand, hydrogenation gives rise to a textured MgH2, where (110) parallel to the substrate with a minor (101) component. Formation of the textured hydride in isochronal loading was discussed within the context of lattice mismatch in Mg to MgH2 transformation. It was further shown that formation of such a textured hydride in Mg thin films minimizes in&amp / #8208 / plane lattice distortion.

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) thin films are very attractive materials due to their tunable optical properties and potential applications in not only photovoltaic devices but also in electronics, bio-labeling and fluorescence imaging. Recently, there is a great interest in flexible photovoltaic devices due to their unique properties such as very low weight, mechanical durability and large area applications. Organic semiconductors and their heterojunctions with inorganic materials are the most promising candidates for flexible photovoltaic applications. Preparation of CdS and Polypyrrole (PPy) semiconducting thin films on flexible polyethyleneterephtalate (PET) substrates and investigation of their morphological, structural, optical and electrical properties are the main scopes of this thesis. In the first part of the study, CdS thin films were deposited on PET via electrodeposition method. Taking the advantages of electrodeposition methods, CdS thin films with good optical and electrical properties were produced. CdS thin films were also deposited on soda-lime glass substrates in order to observe substrate effect. Scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-vis spectrometry have been used to determine the structural and optical properties of the films deposited at various temperatures and for different deposition time intervals. For all samples, molecularly homogenous CdS films have been observed with atomic percent ratios of the Cd to S very close to 1:1. Thin films showed (002) hexagonal crystal structure around 26 (2) with average grain size 7.0 nm. CdS films have high transmittance for the wavelength greater than 500nm. Band gap energies of the films, which range between 2.74 and 2.68 eV, decreased with increasing both deposition temperature and time. For further characterization, photoelectrochemical performances and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) of both as deposited and CuCl2 treated CdS thin films have been investigated. Later, following to the deposition of individual CdS thin films, polypyrrole thin films were produced and then heterojunctions of polypyrrole with CdS were examined. It has been observed that cadmium sulfide enhanced the photoelectrochemical properties of the polypyrrole film. Influence of the polypyrrole thin film deposition time on the photoelectrochemical properties has been also investigated in this study. Frequency dependent measurements revealed that type of charge carrier changes as a function of polypyrrole deposition time.

Electrochemical biosensors are cost effective, fast and portable devices, which can determine the existence and amounts of chemicals in a specific medium. These devices have many potential applications in many fields such as determination of diseases, process and product control, environmental monitoring, and drug research. To realize these potentials of the devices, many studies are being carried out to increase their sensitivity, selectivity and long term stabilities. Surface modification studies with various types of particles (metal nano particles, carbon nano tubes etc.) can be count among these studies. Although zeolites and zeo-type materials are investigated for many years, they still hold interest on them due to their capabilities. By means of their chemical resistances, large surface areas, tailorable surface properties, and porous structures they can be applied in many applicational fields. In some recent studies, these properties are intended to be used in the field of biosensors. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of zeolite nanoparticles on electrochemical biosensor performances. Firstly, several different procedures were investigated in order to find the best and optimum methodology to attach previously synthesized zeolites on Si wafer substrates for the first time. For this purpose, the ultrasonication, spin coating and direct attachment methods were used and their efficiencies were compared. Perfectly oriented, fully covering, zeolite monolayers are produced by direct attachment method. Successively produced zeolite thin films were then patterned with the help of Electron Beam Lithography technique to show the compatibility of coating methods to the CMOS technology. Combination of Direct Attachment and EBL techniques resulted well controlled zeolite monolayer patterns. Then zeolite modified electrochemical biosensors were tested for their performances. With these experiments it was intended to improve the selectivity, sensitivity and storage stabilities of standard electrochemical biosensors. Experiments, conducted with different types of zeolites, showed that zeolites have various effects on the performances of electrochemical biosensors. Amperometric biosensor response magnitudes have been doubled with the addition of Silicalites. Faster conductometric electrode responses were achieved with enzyme immobilization on zeolite film technique. Also it is seen that Beta type zeolites modified through different ion exchange procedures, resulted different responses in IS-FET measurements.

The photocatalytic activity of semiconductor metal oxides can be improved by the addition of sensitizer which enhances the band gap by considerable red shift of the absorption edge of semiconductor. In the present study, the effect of ascorbic acid as sensitizer on the photocatalytic activity of titania-silica binary mixtures was studied. The SiO2-TiO2 mixtures having 50wt%Ti:Si composition were prepared with sol-gel method. The surface area and porosity of the samples were modified by using various amounts of polyethylene glycol (PEG) as template. The thin films of the samples were obtained by dip coating of glass plates to colloidal solutions. The samples were characterized by methylene blue adsorption method and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were measured with methylene blue degradation, methyl orange degradation and direct water splitting in the presence and absence of ascorbic acid. Increase in the surface area and reaction rate with increasing PEG addition until a threshold value was observed. Highest methylene blue degradation activity was observed for 27g PEG added sol-gel derived film and surface area of this film is measured as 44m2/m2. Ascorbic acid presence shows a significant increase in the photocatalytic degradation activity of methyl orange. The sensitization effect of ascorbic acid was also compared with the effect of EDTA. It was found that the effect of ascorbic acid on the methyl orange degradation rate is significantly higher than the effect of EDTA. However, the effect of EDTA is more pronounced in water splitting reaction.