Selected properties of Al_xZn_yO thin films prepared by reactive pulsed magnetron sputtering using a two-element Zn/Al target

• Witold Posadowski,
• Artur Wiatrowski,
• Jarosław Domaradzki and
• Michał Mazur

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 344–354, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.29

• : aluminium zinc oxide; magnetron sputtering; thin film; transparent conducting oxide; transparent electronics; Introduction Aluminium-doped zinc oxide (AZO) is a potential alternative to indium tin oxide (ITO) for transparent conducting oxide (TCO) electrodes in transparent electronic and photovoltaic

• , and the glass substrate itself. For comparison, the thin film spectra are presented together with the T characteristic of a bare glass substrate. As can be seen, all films, measured at different places of the substrate as a function of X, were well transparent, with an average transmission of about 70

• (Figure 11). The results presented in Figure 11 support the optical bandgap results presented in Figure 10. The higher the Al content, the wider the optical bandgap of the prepared thin film [1][24][25]. Discussion The analysis described in this paper showed a strong dependence of thickness as well as

Controllable two- and three-state magnetization switching in single-layer epitaxial Pd_1−xFe_x films and an epitaxial Pd_0.92Fe_0.08/Ag/Pd_0.96Fe_0.04 heterostructure

• Igor V. Yanilkin,
• Amir I. Gumarov,
• Gulnaz F. Gizzatullina,
• Roman V. Yusupov and
• Lenar R. Tagirov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 334–343, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.28

• epitaxial thin-film heterostructure Pd0.92Fe0.08(20 nm)/Ag(20 nm)/Pd0.96Fe0.04(20 nm) were grown in an ultrahigh-vacuum (UHV) apparatus (SPECS, Germany) by molecular beam deposition. Epi-polished MgO(100) single-crystal plates (Crystal GmbH, Germany) were used as substrates. The deposition routine and

Interfacial nanoarchitectonics for ZIF-8 membranes with enhanced gas separation

• Season S. Chen,
• Zhen-Jie Yang,
• Chia-Hao Chang,
• Hoong-Uei Koh,
• Sameerah I. Al-Saeedi,
• Kuo-Lun Tung and
• Kevin C.-W. Wu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 313–324, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.26

• -octanol solution was added dropwise to the zinc nitrate solution. The mixture was kept at 80 °C in an oil bath for 12 h to form a ZIF-8 free-standing thin film on the liquid–liquid interface. After the reaction, fragments of the ZIF-8 thin film were dispersed in methanol to remove solvents and unreacted

• synthesis method. Figure 1a shows that the XRD patterns of the as-synthesized free-standing ZIF-8 thin film was identical to that of a ZIF-8 crystal simulated with data from Crystallography Open Database (Mercury, version 3.6), indicating the success of the synthesis of ZIF-8 crystals by interfacial

Investigation of a memory effect in a Au/(Ti–Cu)Ox-gradient thin film/TiAlV structure

• Damian Wojcieszak,
• Jarosław Domaradzki,
• Michał Mazur,
• Tomasz Kotwica and
• Danuta Kaczmarek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 265–273, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.21

• analysis of resistive switching properties observed in a Au/(Ti–Cu)Ox/TiAlV structure with a gradient distribution of Cu and Ti along the (Ti–Cu)Ox thin film thickness. Thin films were prepared via multisource reactive magnetron co-sputtering. The programmed profile of the pulse width modulation

• coefficient during sputtering of the Cu target allowed us to obtain the designed gradient U-shape profile of the Cu concentration in the deposited thin film. Electrical measurements of the Au/(Ti–Cu)Ox/TiAlV structure showed the presence of nonpinched hysteresis loops in the voltage–current plane testifying a

• investigations allowed us to conclude about the possible mechanism for the observed resistive switching mechanism. Keywords: gradient thin film; magnetron sputtering; memory effect; resistive switching; Introduction In recent years, significant development has been observed in design, simulation, manufacturing

Thermal oxidation process on Si(113)-(3 × 2) investigated using high-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy

• Hiroya Tanaka,
• Shinya Ohno,
• Kazushi Miki and
• Masatoshi Tanaka

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 172–181, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.12

• towards a thin film regime. Conclusion We investigated three oxidation growth modes – oxidation, etching, and transition modes – in the third of which both oxidation and etching occur. Reaction dynamics in the oxidation of Si(113)-(3 × 2) was observed in real time using VT-STM. Nucleation of the oxide and

A comprehensive review on electrospun nanohybrid membranes for wastewater treatment

• Senuri Kumarage,
• Imalka Munaweera and
• Nilwala Kottegoda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 137–159, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.10

Tin dioxide nanomaterial-based photocatalysts for nitrogen oxide oxidation: a review

• Viet Van Pham,
• Hong-Huy Tran,
• Thao Kim Truong and
• Thi Minh Cao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 96–113, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.7

• a SnO2 thin film with a thickness of about 130 nm is 3.597 eV [42]. The reported bandgap of bulk SnO2 is 3.6 eV. Changing the morphology, particle size, or the formation of OVs or defects narrow the bandgap. In the study of Babu et al., a redshift of the absorption edge was observed when SnO2

• thin film materials that can replace powder materials, (5) adhering the catalyst materials on commercial films such as polypropylene, polytetrafluorethylene, or PM2.5 films for real-life applications, such as air filters and NOx gas treatment membranes; and (6) applying the materials in biological

Effect of lubricants on the rotational transmission between solid-state gears

• Huang-Hsiang Lin,
• Jonathan Heinze,
• Alexander Croy,
• Rafael Gutiérrez and
• Gianaurelio Cuniberti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 54–62, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.3

• are taken into account due to high pressure at intermediate sliding velocities. On the macroscopic scale, the hydrodynamics of the fluid can be analyzed by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) [6][7], which is based on solving the Navier–Stokes equation [8][9] or Reynold equation [10] for the thin-film

Sputtering onto liquids: a critical review

• Anastasiya Sergievskaya,
• Adrien Chauvin and
• Stephanos Konstantinidis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 10–53, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.2

• designed to coat objects with thin film materials. Sputtering is the physical phenomenon describing the ejection of atoms from a surface bombarded by fast particles such as noble gas cations. These ions can be produced in a low-pressure plasma and accelerated towards a negatively biased surface, that is

• from the plasma to the film during growth through heating of the substrate and/or via bombardment by energetic particles or post-deposition annealing of the film can be envisaged. More information on thin film deposition (onto solid substrates) by sputtering-based processes can be found in books such

Design aspects of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ THz sources: optimization of thermal and radiative properties

• Mikhail M. Krasnov,
• Natalia D. Novikova,
• Roger Cattaneo,
• Alexey A. Kalenyuk and
• Vladimir M. Krasnov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1392–1403, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.103

• of the other two materials, namely Bi-2212 and polycrystalline gold electrodes. At low T both have linear κ(T). For Bi-2212 we assume κab(T) = 0.1 T(K) W·K−1·m−1 [45] with an anisotropy κab/κc = 8 [46]. For a polycrystalline gold thin film we use κ(T) = 3 T(K) W·K−1·m−1 [32]. The heat is produced in

Plasmon-enhanced photoluminescence from TiO₂ and TeO₂ thin films doped by Eu³⁺ for optoelectronic applications

• Marcin Łapiński,
• Jakub Czubek,
• Katarzyna Drozdowska,
• Anna Synak,
• Wojciech Sadowski and
• Barbara Kościelska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1271–1278, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.94

• thermal annealing of the gold thin film. Thermal dewetting of gold film results in spherical gold nanostructures with average dimensions of 50 nm. Both, luminescent TiO2:Eu and TeO2:Eu films were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering from mosaic targets. The morphology of the gold nanostructures was

• + was ca. 90%:10%. Additionally, on the basis of the survey spectrum the total percentage content of europium in the TiO2:Eu layer was calculated to be 5%. Figure 5 shows the UV–vis transmittance spectra for all prepared TiO2:Eu structures. It can be seen that the TiO2:Eu thin film deposited directly on

• TiO2 or TeO2 film are responsible for the emission of light. The intensity of the luminescence can be enhanced by the plasmon resonance from Au nanostructures. The gain is tunable by the thickness of a Al2O3 thin film deposited as a separator between metallic nanostructures and the luminescent layer

Enhancement of the piezoelectric coefficient in PVDF-TrFe/CoFe₂O₄ nanocomposites through DC magnetic poling

• Marco Fortunato,
• Alessio Tamburrano,
• Maria Paola Bracciale,
• Maria Laura Santarelli and
• Maria Sabrina Sarto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1262–1270, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.93

• for 30 min and then spin coated (30 s with a spin speed of 2000 rpm) onto polyethylene terephthalate/indium tin oxide (PET/ITO, Sigma-Aldrich, Rs = 60 Ω/sq). The obtained melt was cured in the oven at 120 °C for 2 h. After curing, the nanostructured thin film was placed over a heated mat reaching 65

Assessment of the optical and electrical properties of light-emitting diodes containing carbon-based nanostructures and plasmonic nanoparticles: a review

• Keshav Nagpal,
• Erwan Rauwel,
• Frédérique Ducroquet and
• Protima Rauwel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1078–1092, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.80

• from certain limitations, including high processing temperatures, cracking upon bending, and poor transparency in the blue and UV regions. In addition, ITO is expensive owing to the fact that it is deposited by high-vacuum thin-film deposition methods and the price of indium has escalated by almost 900

• absorbed (≈540 nm) by AuNP and the PL emission of the Alq3 thin film (≈530 nm) implies a suitable plasmonic coupling with the NPB HTL (Figure 6b). In Figure 6c, the SPR coupling radius for a 20 nm AuNP was estimated to be ≈10 nm. This implies that the excitonic recombination occurs very close to the NPB

• a uniform thin film. Some of the commonly used polymers and metal oxides for ETL are PBD, PBD-PMMA, BND, ZnO, SnO2, and TiO2 [69][70][71]. Improvements in the device performance have been reported, when using polymer–MWNT nanocomposite-based ETL. For example, Fournet et al. have investigated the

Progress and innovation of nanostructured sulfur cathodes and metal-free anodes for room-temperature Na–S batteries

• Marina Tabuyo-Martínez,
• Bernd Wicklein and
• Pilar Aranda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 995–1020, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.75

• . reported on the wet impregnation of carbon fiber cloth with sulfur dissolved in CS2 [56]. The process leads to sulfur deposition within the hollow lumen of the carbon fibers as well as on the external surface as thin film. A battery assembled with a metal Na anode had a capacity of 120 mAh·g−1 after 300

In situ transport characterization of magnetic states in Nb/Co superconductor/ferromagnet heterostructures

• Olena M. Kapran,
• Roman Morari,
• Taras Golod,
• Evgenii A. Borodianskyi,
• Vladimir Boian,
• Andrei Prepelita,
• Nikolay Klenov,
• Anatoli S. Sidorenko and
• Vladimir M. Krasnov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 913–923, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.68

• states in complex thin-film multilayers. In this work, we study experimentally in-plane transport properties of microstructured Nb/Co multilayers. We apply various transport characterization techniques, including magnetoresistance, Hall effect, and the first-order-reversal-curves (FORC) analysis. We

Effects of temperature and repeat layer spacing on mechanical properties of graphene/polycrystalline copper nanolaminated composites under shear loading

• Chia-Wei Huang,
• Man-Ping Chang and
• Te-Hua Fang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 863–877, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.65

• . Keywords: dislocation; graphene/Cu; molecular dynamics; shear; self-healing; Introduction Graphene is a monolayered hexagonal thin film composed of sp2-bonded carbon atoms and has extraordinary properties for applications in nanoelectronics [1][2][3][4][5][6]. However, because of the two-dimensional

Comprehensive review on ultrasound-responsive theranostic nanomaterials: mechanisms, structures and medical applications

• Sepand Tehrani Fateh,
• Lida Moradi,
• Elmira Kohan,
• Michael R. Hamblin and
• Amin Shiralizadeh Dezfuli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 808–862, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.64

9.1% efficient zinc oxide/silicon solar cells on a 50 μm thick Si absorber

• Rafal Pietruszka,
• Bartlomiej S. Witkowski,
• Monika Ozga,
• Katarzyna Gwozdz,
• Ewa Placzek-Popko and
• Marek Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 766–774, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.60

• elsewhere [15]. Zn1−xMgxO and Zn1−xAlxO grown by ALD Sample A, covered by ZnONR, and sample B were placed in the growth chamber of the ALD reactor. Before the growth process, the ALD reactor chamber was heated to 250 °C. The samples stayed in the chamber at this temperature for 2 h. A thin film of MZO was

Physical constraints lead to parallel evolution of micro- and nanostructures of animal adhesive pads: a review

• Thies H. Büscher and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 725–743, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.57

• shape of the pad. An important structural feature of both types of attachment pads is the presence of a micro- or even nanoscopic superficial thin film contributing to the compliance of hairy and smooth attachment devices. In smooth systems the epicuticle covers the fibrous material of the pad and

• microscale roughness. (B) Soft smooth pad requires additional load to form an adhesive contact (B, upper image), whereas the adhesion interaction pulls the elastic thin film of the spatula into a complete contact with the rough substrate surface (Figure 6A and 6B are from [241] and were adapted by permission

Prediction of Co and Ru nanocluster morphology on 2D MoS₂ from interaction energies

• Cara-Lena Nies and
• Michael Nolan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 704–724, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.56

• gap in understanding thin film nucleation on 2D materials. In this paper, we present a density functional theory (DFT) study of the adsorption of small Co and Ru structures, with up to four atoms, on a monolayer of MoS2. We explore how the metal–substrate and metal–metal interactions contribute to the

• stability of metal clusters on MoS2, and how these interactions change in the presence of a sulfur vacancy, to develop insight to allow for a prediction of thin film morphology. The strength of interaction between the metals and MoS2 is in the order Co > Ru. The competition between metal–substrate and metal

• . Based on this understanding, we propose Co on MoS2 as a suitable candidate for advanced interconnects, while Ru on MoS2 is more suited to catalysis applications. Keywords: cobalt (Co); 2D materials; molybdenum disulfide (MoS2); ruthenium (Ru); thin film nucleation; Introduction Layered materials that

Electromigration-induced formation of percolating adsorbate islands during condensation from the gaseous phase: a computational study

• Alina V. Dvornichenko,
• Vasyl O. Kharchenko and
• Dmitrii O. Kharchenko

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 694–703, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.55

• computational study of a change in the morphology of a growing thin film during condensation caused by electromigration effects. It will be shown, that separated circular adsorbate islands, realized in an isotropic system, become elongated in the direction of the applied electrical field. We discuss the

• dynamics of the evolution of surface morphology at elevated temperatures. This effect can lead to a change in the morphology of the surface compared to the isotropic case of deposition without the presence of an external field. Mathematical and numerical modeling of nanostructured thin film growth

• with specified physical and chemical properties. In this article we perform a computational study of a change in the morphology of a growing thin film during condensation induced by electromigration effects and show that separated circular adsorbate islands realized in the isotropic system become

A review of defect engineering, ion implantation, and nanofabrication using the helium ion microscope

• Frances I. Allen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 633–664, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.52

• material are all dials to turn. The properties engineered span electronic, magnetic, optical, chemical, and thermal properties. In the case of 2D and thin-film materials supported on a substrate, defects induced by backscattered ions and sputtered atoms also need to be considered. A recent computational

• function [30]. In several of these works, high-resolution scanning TEM (STEM) imaging has been performed to enable the analysis of the defects created on the atomic scale [26][29][30] (see, e.g., Figure 2c). Apart from 2D materials, thin-film samples have also been the subject of electronic property tuning

• by localized helium ion irradiation. For example, using a helium ion dose of 5 × 1014 ions/cm2, permanent local tuning of the charge density in an amorphous thin film of the semiconductor indium gallium zinc oxide (film thickness 50 nm) has been demonstrated, thereby enabling activation of the

Impact of GaAs(100) surface preparation on EQE of AZO/Al₂O₃/p-GaAs photovoltaic structures

• Piotr Caban,
• Rafał Pietruszka,
• Jarosław Kaszewski,
• Monika Ożga,
• Bartłomiej S. Witkowski,
• Krzysztof Kopalko,
• Piotr Kuźmiuk,
• Katarzyna Gwóźdź,
• Ewa Płaczek-Popko,
• Krystyna Lawniczak-Jablonska and
• Marek Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 578–592, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.48

• B series, respectively. From the AFM results shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4, one can see that A1, A2, A4, B1, and B4 samples exhibit uniform surfaces by the means of polycrystalline thin film topography. By taking into consideration the roughness of the surfaces (RMS was measured for an area of 4

• , in which the SA10 passivation step (stage 4) was intentionally skipped. The samples prepared using the HCl solution bath (A3, B3) exhibit a predisposition to form crystallized oxide islands at the beginning of the stage of the ALD thin film covering GaAs. Additionally, they show a very rugged surface

Structural and optical characteristics determined by the sputtering deposition conditions of oxide thin films

• Petronela Prepelita,
• Florin Garoi and
• Valentin Craciun

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 354–365, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.29

• films with thickness values ranging from 200 to 300 nm. Thus, we analyzed the beneficial effect of increasing film thickness on the composition, morphology, structure, and spectral characteristics of the studied samples. This way of analyzing oxide thin film thickness dependence on the optical and

• structures. XRD patterns of ZnO thin film samples with different thickness, namely: 200, 250, and 300 nm. XPS patterns of SiO2 thin films: general spectra. High-resolution XPS spectra acquired from SiO2 samples: (a) Si 2p3 and (b) O 1s. XPS survey spectra acquired from ZnO films. High-resolution (a) Zn 2p3

Scanning transmission helium ion microscopy on carbon nanomembranes

• Daniel Emmrich,
• Annalena Wolff,
• Nikolaus Meyerbröker,
• Jörg K. N. Lindner,
• André Beyer and
• Armin Gölzhäuser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 222–231, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.18

• originate from a molecular thin film, they can be as thin as 1 nm. The conductivity of such membranes is low, which poses a challenge to SE imaging with charged-particle microscopes such as SEM or HIM [24]. This work demonstrates that the holder is easily optimized for such difficult samples. It is possible