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At least 451 records · Page 25

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DOE OSTI2020

Sputtered Au–Ta films with tunable electrical resistivity

Gold–tantalum alloy films are attractive for hohlraums used in indirect drive magnetized inertial confinement fusion. A high electrical resistivity of over ~100 µΩ cm at cryogenic temperatures is an essential requirement for allowing an externally imposed pulsed magnetic field to soak through a hohlraum and magnetize the fusion fuel. In this work, we systematically study properties of Au–Ta alloy films in the entire compositional range from pure Au to pure Ta with thicknesses up to 30 µm. These films are made by direct current magnetron co-sputtering on planar substrates. Films are characterized by a combination of high-energy ion scattering, x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, nanoindentation, and electrical transport measurements. Results show that an alloy with ~80 at.% of Ta forms a metallic glass exhibiting a maximum electrical resistivity of ~300 µΩ cm with a weak temperature dependence in the range of 5–400 K. The deposition of a film with ~80 at.% of Ta onto a sphero-cylindrical substrate for hohlraum fabrication is also demonstrated.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2022

Phase transformation and growth mechanism of RF sputtered ferroelectric lead scandium tantalate (PbSc 0.5 Ta 0.5 O 3 ) films

Lead scandium tantalate (PbSc 0.5 Ta 0.5 O 3 , PST), an order/disorder ferroelectric, is a potential candidate for electrocaloric cooling and pyroelectric infrared (IR) detector. In this work, we report the phase transformation kinetics from two series of samples containing pure amorphous and mixture of amorphous and pyrochlore to desired perovskite phase using postdeposition rapid thermal processing (RTP) as well as growth mechanism of RF sputtered PST thin films using excess lead target on platinized silicon (Pt/Ti/SiO 2 /Si) substrates. We find that small changes in the temperature ramp have a large effect on the degree of perovskite conversion (ferroelectric phase), orientation (crystallographic texture), and long-range order parameter (< S 111 >). Through isothermal annealing, we obtained optimal perovskite phase at ≥700°C temperature. The phase transformation is characterized by spontaneous formation of center-type in-plane radial rosette-like structures revealed by scanning electron microscopy. The PST perovskite crystallites were found to coexist with pyrochlore in RTP annealed films. The volume fractions for perovskite and pyrochlore phase were obtained from the analysis of “rosettes” and respective X-ray diffraction intensities which helped to determine various parameters associated with phase kinetics (n, k, and activation energy, Ea) and accompanying growth. The effective activation energies of perovskite transition and growth were found to be 332 ± 11 kJ/mol (345 ± 11 kJ/mol) and 114 ± 10 kJ/mol (122 ± 10 kJ/mol), respectively, for pure amorphous only (and mixed amorphous and pyrochlore) phase following nucleation-growth controlled Avrami's equation. A linear growth rate (n~1) for the perovskite phase indicates predominant interface-controlled process and diffusion-limited phenomena thus inhibiting rosette size owing to reactant depletion and soft impingement at the grain boundary. However, the growth behavior is isotropic in two-dimension parallel to the plane of the substrates for both sample series. Furthermore, lead loss was severe for in-situ growth and RTP combined with conventional furnace annealing than those of RTP only films, which were closer to stoichiometric albeit with excess lead and marginal oxygen vacancies (V o ).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2023

Characterizing the composition, structure, and mechanical properties of magnetron sputtering physical vapor deposition TiN and TiSiN coatings

Ti(Si)N coatings were deposited on Si wafers via magnetron sputtering physical vapor deposition technique. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to study the morphologies, grain size, and thicknesses of the different films. X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of the titanium nitride cubic phase. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to study the silicon and oxygen levels in the films, and high resolution XPS was used to determine the surface oxide to nitride ratios as well as the silicon–nitrogen environment. The hardness of these films was then determined with nanoindentation. It was shown that grain size and film density could be controlled by the Si level and the ion bombardment to eliminate the oxygen level in the nitride coatings, which led to the harder films. It was suggested that due to the miscibility of Si, a ternary TiSiN solid solution was formed. Stronger (200) orientation of the TiN B1-NaCl crystals was associated with increased hardness of the coatings. In conclusion, this crystalline structure was preserved after incorporating Si.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2024

Boron carbide films with reduced nodular defect density deposited by full-face erosion radio-frequency magnetron sputtering

Boron carbide coatings deposited by sputtering with conventional planar magnetrons exhibit nodular growth defects. Here, we demonstrate that the density of nodular defects in B 4 C films can be greatly reduced by using a full-face-erosion magnetron source that achieves a more uniform target erosion by sweeping the confining magnetic field over the target surface. Here, we systematically study properties of B 4 C films deposited on substrates with different tilt angles and demonstrate deposition of ultrathick films with compressive residual stress below 200MPa.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2018

Formation of Luminescence Spectra and Emission Intensity in the UV and Visible Spectral Regions for n-ZnO/p-GaN and n-ZnO/p-ZnO Structures when Depositing ZnO Films by High-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

The emission spectra of structures based on ZnO films deposited by high-frequency magnetron sputtering are studied. Clearly pronounced emission lines associated with the recombination of free (λ = 363 nm) and bound excitons (λ = 377, 390, 410 nm) are observed in the PL (photoluminescence) spectra (T = 300 K) of n-ZnO/p-GaN:Mg structures, and no substantial emission is observed in the impurity PL region λ = 450–600 nm. Only emission lines characteristic of n-ZnO (λ = 374 nm) are observed in the EL (electroluminescence) spectra of n-ZnO/p-ZnO structures (T = 300 K).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2018

Luminescence and Stimulated Emission of Polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} Films Deposited by Magnetron-Assisted Sputtering

The stimulated emission of Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} alloy thin films formed by magnetron-assisted sputtering onto a sodium-fluoride layer deposited onto a molybdenum layer on a glass substrate is observed. The structural and optical parameters of the films are determined by scanning electron microscopy, local X-ray spectral microanalysis, X-ray structural analysis, and low-temperature luminescence (T = 10 K) measurements in the range of excitation levels of 1.6–75 kW cm{sup –2} provided by nanosecond nitrogen-laser pulses. The stimulated emission threshold corresponds to ~25 kW cm{sup –2}. Comparative analysis of the emission of Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} thin films suggests that the introduction of sodium results in significant improvement of the structural quality, specifically, in a decrease in the density of energy states in the band tails and in a decrease in the concentration of nonradiative-recombination centers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2019

Effect of the Temperature of Photonic Annealing on the Structural and Optical Properties of ZnO Films Synthesized by Dual Magnetron-Assisted Sputtering

Zinc-oxide films 1.4 μm in thickness are deposited onto glassy substrates by the dual magnetron-assisted sputtering of zinc targets in an argon and oxygen gas atmosphere. The dependences of the structural and optical characteristics of the ZnO films on the temperature of postdeposition photonic annealing are studied. It is established that an increase in the annealing temperature yields an increase in the degree of crystallinity of the films. Electron microscopy shows that the deposited ZnO coatings are columnar in structure and the microstructure density and crystallite size increase upon annealing. It is found that, at an annealing temperature of 450–650°C, the optical transmittance increases to >90% in the spectral range 400–1100 nm. The experimental results show that the temperature of vacuum photonic annealing has the most profound effect on the final properties of ZnO coatings.