In this study we present the results of electroless deposition of silver (Ag) and electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of Al2O3 layers on glass for application in thin film transistor (TFT). Since Ag exhibits excellent resistivity, it is selected to be the material of conductive layer. Ag thin film electrical and physical parameters are studied as a function of the deposition time and working temperature. We study the thin-film electrical and mechanical properties using 4-point Probe, surface analyzer and nano indenter. The Ag film, thicker than 200 nm, exhibited a specific electrical sheet resistivity of about 500 m£[/¡¼. We also study the thin-film morphology and composition using SEM and FTIR, respectively. In this study, Mechanism and kinetics of the electrophoretic process in an Al2O3 cell are also studied. Al2O3 concentration levels are set from 1.25 to 7.5%, and deposition time from 5~20 seconds. Deposition time and Al2O3 particle concentration is experimentally discussed and characterized. The result shows that a linear relationship between the deposition rate and applied voltage is obtained. Besides, in this study, deposition of conductive layer silver and insulating layer Al2O3 for TFT are studied. A new process to deposit Ag layer and Al2O3 layer to be the conductivity layer and insulating layer of TFT is presented. First, the circuit pattern is defined by lithography process. Then, Ag is deposited with thickness of 200 nanometers. Second, the wafer is immersed in the stripper solution to remove the resist. After the deposition of the Ag on glass is finished, Al2O3 nano-scale particle concentration is prepared for electrophoretic deposition.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references.

The design of nanoparticles in mesoporous supports is explored through synthetic strategies of electrophoretic deposition and electroless deposition with application towards energy storage. Electrophoretic deposition of nanoparticles into a mesoporous thin film is examined using charged nanocrystals in a low-permittivity solvent. To provide a basis for the deposition, the mechanism of particle charging in a low-permittivity solvent was studied. Dispersions of carbon black particles in toluene with an anionic surfactant were characterized using differential-phase optical coherence tomography with close electrode spacing to measure the electrophoretic mobility. The particle charge in concentrated dispersions was found to decrease as a function of increasing surfactant concentration. Partitioning of cations between the surfactant-laden particle surface and micelle cores in the double-layer was found to govern the dynamics of particle charging. Subsequently, charged Au nanocrystals were deposited by electrophoresis within perpendicular mesochannels of a TiO2 support. High loadings of 21 wt% Au with good dispersion were achieved within the mesoporous TiO2 support using electrophoretic deposition, which would otherwise be inhibited by the weak nanocrystal-support interaction. According to a modified Fokker-Planck equation, the mean penetration depth of a single nanocrystal inside of the perpendicular pores was found to be dependent on the electric field strength, electrophoretic mobility, pore diameter, nanocrystal size, and local deposition rate constant. Nanocomposites for electrochemical capacitors were designed via electroless deposition of redox-active MnO2 in a high surface area mesoporous carbon support. Disordered mesoporous carbon supports with a pore size of ~8 nm were used both in amorphous (AMC) and graphitic (GMC) form, with a ~1000-fold larger conductivity for GMC. High loadings of 30 wt% MnO2 were achieved in the AMC in the form of ~1 nm thick domains, which were highly dispersed throughout the support. Oxidation of the GMC was necessary to facilitate wetting and deposition of the MnO2 precursor in order to achieve high loadings of 35 wt% MnO2 with ~1 nm thickness. High gravimetric MnO2 pseudocapacitances of >500 F/gMnO2 were achieved at low loadings and low scan rate of 2 mV/s for both carbon supports. However, at high scan rates ≥100 mV/s, the MnO2 pseudocapacitance is twofold larger for MnO2/GMC, relative to MnO2/AMC. Sodium ion diffusion throughout both MnO2/AMC and MnO2/GMC was shown to be facile. For the GMC versus AMC support, the higher MnO2 pseudocapacitance is attributed to the higher electronic conductivity, which facilitates electron transport to the MnO2 domains. / text

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-154).

No description available.

Yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) coatings were produced from a YSZ suspension in acetylacetone (ACAC) using electrophoretic deposition (EPD) and then consolidated via the natural drying and isothermal sintering with the constraint of the metal substrates. Before EPD, the operational pH of the suspension was adjusted by addition of acetic acid or organic bases. The effect of suspension pH on the deposition of EPD coatings was studied with respect to the suspension stability, coating density and microstructure both for a mono-sized system and micro-nano binary systems. The constrained drying process of the deposits was examined via the measurement of the critical cracking thickness (CCT). The sinterability of coatings was evaluated by micro-hardness and microstructure. For a mono-sized (0.26μm) suspension, results showed that the zeta potential had a high positive value on both sides of the isoelectric point (IEP). This probably resulted from the adsorption of base molecules triethanolamine (TEA), detected by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Three alkalis with different molecular structure were compared and the effect of their molecule length on the interparticle repulsion was discussed. Accordingly, the double layer thickness of the particles can be estimated. Based on this, particle interactions were estimated for different pH suspensions. The reduced particle coagulation increased the packing density of the EPD coatings from 38 % at pH 7.4 to 53 % at pH 8.4. Therefore, subsequent sintering of coatings was promoted. After sintering at 1200 °C, coatings made in pH 8.4 suspensions obtained a much higher hardness and had fewer big pores than coatings fabricated in pH 7.4 suspensions. The CCT of the latter is slightly higher than the former which might be ascribed to its particle network structure. In a binary suspension composed of the coarse (1μm) and fine (with average size of 100 nm or 10 nm, content varied in 0-30 wt. % to the powder mixture) YSZ powders, interactions between different species can be tuned by the zeta potential of individual component. Binary particles can be well dispersed at pH 4 when both of the coarse and fine powders reached their highest zeta potentials. Heterocoagulation occurred between them to form a haloing structure with fine powders covered on the coarse particle surfaces when they exhibited zeta potentials of the opposite sign at pH 8.6. Particle interactions were estimated and the microstructures of the binary coatings were examined to discuss how the different fine particle sizes influenced the particle packing after EPD. At pH 4, there existed a “stability window” for the 10 nm fines at 10 wt. % whereas no noticeable the border of the window can be observed for 100 nm fines within the measuring range. 10 nm and 100 nm fine powders gave similar overall densities of binary EPD coatings which were independent of the fine powder content. For heterocoagulation coatings made at pH 8.6, although the adsorption of fine particles reduce the agglomeration of coarse powder, the low zeta potential of the halos led to a loose structure of the “skeleton” ( the packing of the coarse powder) in the final binary coatings. 10 nm fine powders was observed to give a higher CCT and denser particle packing than 100 nm fine powders especially in a pre-saturated heterocoagulated binary coatings at 20 wt. % fine powder content. In order to further improve the sintering of the EPD coatings at low temperature sintering, a layer of CuO was applied on the coarse powder surface. With the addition of 30 wt. % fine powders, the hardness of EPD coatings after sintering 2 hours at 1150°C increased from 6 to 61 Vickers. With the presence of CuO, the hardness values were enhanced by 2.5-4.25 times. The density measurements indicated that the CuO layer not only served as a sintering aid, the CuO layer also helped with the binary particle packing particularly in the heterocoagulation condition because of the stronger particle interactions between the fine powders and CuO modified coarse powders. It seems that CuO had no significant impact on the cracking resistance of the binary coatings during drying, however t-m phase transformation was observed during sintering possibly due to the liquid phase induce by CuO.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Materials Science, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2005. / Supervisor: Patrick S. Nicholson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-181). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 178-191).

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / High Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (HT-PEMFC) have received renewed interest in recent years due to its inherent advantages associated with the limitations faced by Low Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (LT-PEMFC). The high Pt loadings required for PEMFCs have significantly hindered its commercialisation. Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD) is a promising route to reduce the noble metal loading. EPD is a method in which charged colloidal particles are deposited onto a target substrate under the force of an externally applied electric field. To effectively study the EPD method, the methodology of this study was divided into two parts: (i) the EPD method was studied via known empirical methods to fabricate, test and characterise MEAs suitable for HT-PEMFCs. The feasibility of the EPD method was determined by comparing the performance of the fabricated EPD MEAs to MEAs fabricated via spraying methods, and (ii) due to the promising results obtained in part (i) of the methodology, a theoretical model was developed to obtain a deep understanding about nature of the interactions between the Pt/C particles in a colloidal suspension. The theoretical model will serve as a foundation for future studies. In part (i) of the methodology, the Pt/C particles were studied in organic solutions (i.e. Isopropyl Alcohol, IPA) via the Zetasizer Nano ZS instrument under various salt (NaCl) concentrations and pH conditions while introducing polymeric surfactants, i.e. Nafion® ionomer and Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to the suspension. The optimum catalyst suspensions were selected to fabricate GDEs via the EPD method. Physical characterisations revealed that the EPD GDEs exhibited cracked morphology with high porosity. Electrochemical characterisations revealed that the EPD MEA showed significantly better performance (i.e. 73% higher peak power) compared to the hand vi sprayed MEA due to lower charge transfer and mass transport resistance at high current densities. Compared to the ultrasonically sprayed MEA, the EPD MEA exhibited a peak power increase of ~12% at a slightly lower Pt loading (i.e. ~4 wt%). A comparative study between the Nafion® ionomer and PTFE in the CLs of two EPD MEAs revealed superior performance for the EPD MEA with the PTFE in the CLs. Part (ii) of the methodology deals with the electrical interfacial properties of the aqueous Pt/C suspension. The study consists of two sets of measurements (i.e. electrophoretic and coagulation dynamic studies) conducted for different electrolyte compositions. A theoretical background on determining the interfacial potential and charge from electrophoretic and coagulation dynamic measurements are provided. Detailed statements of the Standard Electrokinetic and Derjaguin, Landau, Vervey and Overbeek Models are given in the forms that are capable of addressing electrophoresis and the interaction of particles for an arbitrary ratio of the particle to Debye radius, interfacial potential and electrolyte composition. The obtained experimental data were processed by using numerical algorithms based on the formulated models for obtaining the interfacial potential and charge. While analysing the dependencies of interfacial potential and charge on the electrolyte compositions charge, conclusions were made regarding the mechanisms of charge formation. It was established that the behaviour of system stability is in qualitative agreement with the results computed from the electrophoretic data. The verification of quantitative applicability of the employed models was conducted by calculating the Hamaker constant from the experimental data. It was proposed how to explain the observed variations of the predicted Hamaker constant and its unusually high value.