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

• ; gallium arsenide; photovoltaics; surface passivation; Introduction The atomic layer deposition (ALD) method is used for silicon passivation in photovoltaics. In recent years we proposed the usage of ALD for the construction of simplified Si-based cells [1]. Once zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods were employed as

Spontaneous shape transition of Mn_xGe_1−x islands to long nanowires

• S. Javad Rezvani,
• Luc Favre,
• Gabriele Giuli,
• Yiming Wubulikasimu,
• Isabelle Berbezier,
• Augusto Marcelli,
• Luca Boarino and
• Nicola Pinto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 366–374, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.30

• Ge on Si substrates, or the endotaxial growth of transitional metal silicides (e.g., CoSi2) [34][36]. In these studies, the NWs exhibit a narrow diameter distribution, in contrast to those obtained by VLS, which commonly have wider range due to the droplet size distribution. In the present work, we

• epilayer and the substrate as detected in several heteroepitaxial systems, such as Ge on Si [42][43][44], InAs on GaAs [45], Co silicide [36], and silicides with different metals [35]. Such a mechanism is expected to occur in our Mn layers deposited on Ge(111) substrates, due to the large lattice mismatch

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

• of the samples by depleting the films of oxygen. Figure 2 shows the general oxide spectra for three SiO2 samples. The high-resolution (HR) analysis of the Si 2p3 and O 1s spectra recorded [43][44] for the SiO2 samples are shown in Figure 3. Using this analysis, we determined the elemental composition

• as well as the chemical and electronic states of the elements that exist in the SiO2 films. Although Si 2p3 shows small chemical changes, the binding energy value of 103.7 eV indicates a completely oxidized Si for the SiO2 films (Figure 3a) [43][44][45][46]. Experimental data reveal that there is

• measured thickness values for the oxide films are shown in Table 2 and they are found to be similar to the predefined ones. The EDS distribution in all investigated samples showed the presence of chemical elements such as Zn L, Si K, and O K (Table 2). In the case of the 200 nm thick SiO2 sample, the

The nanomorphology of cell surfaces of adhered osteoblasts

• Christian Voelkner,
• Mirco Wendt,
• Regina Lange,
• Max Ulbrich,
• Martina Gruening,
• Susanne Staehlke,
• Barbara Nebe,
• Ingo Barke and
• Sylvia Speller

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 242–256, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.20

• osteoblast after 3 h of adhesion to titanium. The ruffles on the cell membrane are visible. (FE-SEM SUPRA25, 1 kV, 30° angle, 100 nm Ti on Si wafer, fixation by 2.5% glutardialdehyde (GA), acetone series, critical point drying). Edge height analysis. (a) Topography of a fixed osteoblast on a 10 nm Au layer

Extended iron phthalocyanine islands self-assembled on a Ge(001):H surface

• Rafal Zuzak,
• Marek Szymonski and
• Szymon Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 232–241, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.19

• the passivation of semiconducting materials, which removes surface dangling bonds and significantly reduces surface reactivity, may also provide a sufficiently insulating layer for an efficient decoupling of molecular structures from the substrate influence. Among such surfaces, hydrogen-passivated Si

• (001):H [22][23], Si(111):H [24], and Ge(001):H [25][26][27][28] surfaces are most commonly mentioned. Iron phthalocyanines (FePc) have been studied on Si(111):H [24] and it was concluded that the molecules are weakly coupled to the substrate. Interestingly, in another study, it has been reported that

• FePc molecules deposited at room temperature on Si(111):H serve as sources of single Fe atoms and undergo de-metalation [29]. Importantly, hydrogen-passivated Si/Ge surfaces may also act as platforms for nanostructurization by the atomically precise desorption of individual hydrogen atoms and the

A review on the biological effects of nanomaterials on silkworm (Bombyx mori)

• Sandra Senyo Fometu,
• Guohua Wu,
• Lin Ma and
• Joan Shine Davids

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 190–202, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.15

• -doped carbon dots (C-NCDs), and to 0.39 µg/µL of Si NPs in order to study the differences in the immune responses and programmed cell death induced in hemocytes [153]. It was shown that autophagy and apoptosis caused by Si NPs were reverted and experimental groups exposed to C-NCDs, CdTe QDs caused

• autophagy, apoptosis, and necrosis in the hemocytes. Xing et al. [154] studied the outcome of introducing Si NPs in the hemolymph of the silkworm. It was reported that 3.9 µg of Si NPs was toxic to the hemocytes when compared to the groups exposed to 0.39 and 0.039 µg of Si NPs. A high dose of Si NPs (3.9

• of nanomaterials, such as Ag NPs, CdTe QDs, and Si NPs have shown to induce an excessive production of ROS, which causes oxidative stress leading to cell apoptosis and autophagy. This review also discussed the effects of nanomaterials on the silk fibers. Reports indicate that the presence of these

ZnO and MXenes as electrode materials for supercapacitor devices

• Ameen Uddin Ammar,
• Ipek Deniz Yildirim,
• Feray Bakan and
• Emre Erdem

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 49–57, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.4

• large family of hexagonal layered ternary transition-metal carbides, carbonitrides, and nitrides with the formula: Mn+1AXn where M denotes a transition metal (Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, or Ta), A denotes a group-13 or group-14 element (Al, Si, P, S, Ga, Ge, As, Cd, Ln, Sn, Tl, or Pb), and X denotes

Atomic layer deposited films of Al₂O₃ on fluorine-doped tin oxide electrodes: stability and barrier properties

• Hana Krýsová,
• Michael Neumann-Spallart,
• Hana Tarábková,
• Pavel Janda,
• Ladislav Kavan and
• Josef Krýsa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 24–34, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.2

• , and water and dried in a stream of argon. Si(100) wafers with a 300 nm thick thermal oxide layer (Silicon Quest International, USA) were treated successively with acetone/ethanol/water. Al2O3 films were grown by using an ALD system R200 (Picosun, Finland) in the thermal mode with varying numbers of

• values of 5 and 10 nm, the remaining thickness of the Al2O3 film on FTO was in the range of 7–8 nm. This suggests that during the 5 min exposure to 1 M NaOH, approx. 9–10 nm of the ALD film was dissolved, which corresponds to a dissolution rate of approx. 108–120 nm/h. When a Si/SiO2 wafer coated with

• (CN)6] in 0.5 M KCl demonstrating the blocking properties of 17 nm thick Al2O3 films on FTO before and after exposure to 1 M NaOH for 5 or 60 min compared to uncovered FTO. The scan rate is 50 mV/s. Si wafer coated with an Al2O3 film (17 nm) after exposure to 1 M NaOH for 1h. (a) Optical microscopy

Bio-imaging with the helium-ion microscope: A review

• Matthias Schmidt,
• James M. Byrne and
• Ilari J. Maasilta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1–23, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.1

Piezotronic effect in AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterojunction nanowires used as a flexible strain sensor

• Jianqi Dong,
• Liang Chen,
• Yuqing Yang and
• Xingfu Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1847–1853, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.166

• substrate, followed by a 500 nm layer of Si-doped N-GaN (the doping concentration was 5 × 1018·cm−3). The thickness of the heavily doped GaN was 1.5 μm and the Si doping concentration was 1.0 × 1019·cm−3. The thickness of the two thin N++-GaN layers was only 10 nm each with a Si concentration of 4.5 × 1019

Unravelling the interfacial interaction in mesoporous SiO₂@nickel phyllosilicate/TiO₂ core–shell nanostructures for photocatalytic activity

• Bridget K. Mutuma,
• Xiluva Mathebula,
• Isaac Nongwe,
• Bonakele P. Mtolo,
• Boitumelo J. Matsoso,
• Rudolph Erasmus,
• Zikhona Tetana and
• Neil J. Coville

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1834–1846, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.165

• °C, urea hydrolysis took place reducing the nickel precursor to nickel species, which diffused into the silica layers through the mesoporous shell. The nickel species reacted with the surface hydroxides to give nickel phyllosilicate via a Ni–O–Si polymerization reaction. TiO2 (dTiO2 = 30 ± 9 nm) was

• spectroscopy is a useful technique to determine the functional groups present in the silica and nickel phyllosilicate nanomaterials. Figure S2c in Supporting Information File 1 shows infrared absorption peaks of mSiO2 and mSiO2@NiPS at 813 and 1073 cm−1, characteristic of Si–O symmetric stretching and

• asymmetric stretching modes in silica and silicates [49][54]. It was difficult to specify the Si–O–Si stretching bands that are distinct for 1:1 nickel phyllosilicate, due to the broad band observed at 950–1100 cm−1, which also represents the band position for Si–O–Si in silica. In the wavenumber region of

Nanomechanics of few-layer materials: do individual layers slide upon folding?

• Ronaldo J. C. Batista,
• Rafael F. Dias,
• Ana P. M. Barboza,
• Alan B. de Oliveira,
• Taise M. Manhabosco,
• Thiago R. Gomes-Silva,
• Matheus J. S. Matos,
• Andreij C. Gadelha,
• Cassiano Rabelo,
• Luiz G. L. Cançado,
• Ado Jorio,
• Hélio Chacham and
• Bernardo R. A. Neves

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1801–1808, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.162

• talc flake (green-orange shades) with a thickness of approximately 2.4 nm (corresponding to two layers) deposited on a Si–SiOx substrate (blue shades). (b) Schematic drawing indicating the morphology of the fold shown in panel (a). (c) AFM image of an atypical fold with complex morphology eventually

Electron beam-induced deposition of platinum from Pt(CO)₂Cl₂ and Pt(CO)₂Br₂

• Aya Mahgoub,
• Hang Lu,
• Rachel M. Thorman,
• Konstantin Preradovic,
• Titel Jurca,
• Lisa McElwee-White,
• Howard Fairbrother and
• Cornelis W. Hagen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1789–1800, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.161

• the electron beam close to the circular Si areas in which the deposition was done. Unless stated otherwise, the beam energy used during deposition was 18 kV and the beam current was varied from 12–140 pA between experiments. To achieve high spatial resolution, all deposition experiments were done in

• dispersive X-ray analysis Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy was performed using an Oxford XMax150 detector on a Zeiss Supra 55 SEM. For EDX measurements, 250 × 250 nm2 squares were deposited, thick enough to minimize the signal from the Si substrate during the analysis with a 5 keV beam. The beam

• directional doser, which was used to increase the partial pressure of the precursor at the surface of the substrate (silicon in the case of Pt(CO)2Br2, Ru-capped Si/Mo multilayers in the case of Pt(CO)2Cl2). Deposits were produced over 12 h under steady-state deposition conditions using a 3 kV electron beam

Mapping of integrated PIN diodes with a 3D architecture by scanning microwave impedance microscopy and dynamic spectroscopy

• Rosine Coq Germanicus,
• Peter De Wolf,
• Florent Lallemand,
• Catherine Bunel,
• Serge Bardy,
• Hugues Murray and
• Ulrike Lüders

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1764–1775, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.159

• , a body-centred tetragonal configuration (β-Sn, also called Si-II) must be formed from the initial cubic diamond silicon (Si-I) in the highly stressed region just below the tip [12]. Furthermore, in air and under ambient conditions, due to the interaction between the tip and the surface, the probe

• . The starting material is a p-type Si substrate with relatively high ohmic resistance (1 kΩ·cm), oriented along the ⟨100⟩ direction. The first step in the process consists of forming an n-type doped buried layer (BN) on the top of the wafer (through implantation and diffusion of the doping species). A

• ) highlights the type of doping in different Si layers, such as the BN implanted layer and the diffused doping along the deep trenches. In addition, the ∂C/∂V amplitude mapping (Figure 7b) identifies the implanted p+ anode area and reveals the diffusion shape of the BN implanted layer. sMIM-R and sMIM-C

Absorption and photoconductivity spectra of amorphous multilayer structures

• Oxana Iaseniuc and
• Mihail Iovu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1757–1763, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.158

• external electric field reaches high values. When a negative voltage is applied, this sharp increase of the current occurs in dark and under illumination. This effect was observed for amorphous thin-film structures with different electrodes (As2S3, As2S3Gex) and amorphous HS (As2S3/Sb2S3, Si/As2S3) [14]. I

Direct observation of the Si(110)-(16×2) surface reconstruction by atomic force microscopy

• Tatsuya Yamamoto,
• Ryo Izumi,
• Kazushi Miki,
• Takahiro Yamasaki,
• Yasuhiro Sugawara and
• Yan Jun Li

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1750–1756, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.157

• , Himeji, Hyogo 671-2280, Japan Institute for Nanoscience Design, Osaka University, 1-2 Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan 10.3762/bjnano.11.157 Abstract The atomic arrangement of the Si(110)-(16×2) reconstruction was directly observed using noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) at 78 K

• between upper and lower terraces, which have not been reported using STM. These findings are key evidence for establishing an atomic model of the Si(110)-(16×2) reconstruction, which indeed has a complex structure. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM); Si

• (110); Si(110)-(16×2); Introduction The Si(110) surface, which is one of the low-index Si planes, has been attracting growing interest in the fields of industrial technology and surface science. From an industrial application perspective, it has been considered to be a promising material for p-type

Imaging and milling resolution of light ion beams from helium ion microscopy and FIBs driven by liquid metal alloy ion sources

• Nico Klingner,
• Gregor Hlawacek,
• Paul Mazarov,
• Wolfgang Pilz,
• Fabian Meyer and
• Lothar Bischoff

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1742–1749, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.156

• ], the fabrication of graphene nanomeshes [8], the formation of single Si nanocrystals embedded in SiO2 for single-electron transistors [9], the spatially resolved engineering of the thermal conductivity in individual Si nanowires [10], as well as the creation of nano-Josephson superconducting tunnel

• mass-separated FIBs from a Co36Nd64 LMAIS to implant Co into Si at elevated temperatures, leading to metallic CoSi2 nanostructures down to 20 nm [13]. Ge nanowires could be grown by molecular beam epitaxy, via a vapor–liquid–solid process, on a Si substrate after formation of a regular seed array using

• keV Ga beams on a crystalline Si sample from different studies [44][45] are plotted and fitted by a double Gaussian for comparison in Figure 6. The near-axis resolution of the He beam from a GFIS is smaller than that of the LMIS-driven Ga FIB but the beam tails lead to a comparable behavior along the

Seebeck coefficient of silicon nanowire forests doped by thermal diffusion

• Shaimaa Elyamny,
• Elisabetta Dimaggio and
• Giovanni Pennelli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1707–1713, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.153

• is cheap and abundant. Also, there are established technologies for processing Si and Si is biocompatible. Furthermore, the use of silicon for thermoelectric generator devices will make them technologically compatible with standard CMOS devices. The main requirement for the use of silicon as

• measurement apparatus based on the guarded hot-plate technique, schematically shown in Figure 2. This apparatus has already been used in a previous publication for the measurement of the thermal conductivity of undoped silicon nanowire forests [23]. Essentially, the Si chip with the contacted nanowire forest

• slightly doped SiNW forests, and their doping by diffusion after fabrication, is a possible route for the exploitation of nanostructured silicon for thermoelectric purposes. Procedures for the fabrication of macroscopic nanostructured-Si generators, based on interconnected p- and n-doped legs, are under

The influence of an interfacial hBN layer on the fluorescence of an organic molecule

• Christine Brülke,
• Oliver Bauer and
• Moritz M. Sokolowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1663–1684, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.149

• observed for hBN on SiO2/Si [61], on Cu foils [62], and on other metal foils [63][64] for our samples of hBN/Cu(111). This is an obvious discrepancy, which we cannot explain based on our current data. It may, however, be related to the specific interface between hBN and the single crystalline Cu substrate

Selective detection of complex gas mixtures using point contacts: concept, method and tools

• Alexander P. Pospelov,
• Victor I. Belan,
• Dmytro O. Harbuz,
• Volodymyr L. Vakula,
• Lyudmila V. Kamarchuk,
• Yuliya V. Volkova and
• Gennadii V. Kamarchuk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1631–1643, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.146

• Spectroscopy of Molecular Systems and Nanostructured Materials, B. Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering, 47 Nauky Ave., Kharkiv, 61103, Ukraine Department of Pediatrics and Rehabilitation, SI “Institute for Children and Adolescents Health Care” of NAMS of Ukraine, 52-A Yuvileinyi Ave

• ., Kharkiv, 61153, Ukraine Department of Pediatrics, V. Karazin Kharkiv National University, 4 Svobody Sq., Kharkiv, 61077, Ukraine Laboratory of Age Endocrinology and Metabolism, SI “Institute for Children and Adolescents Health Care” of NAMS of Ukraine, 52-A Yuvileinyi Ave., Kharkiv, 61153, Ukraine

A self-powered, flexible ultra-thin Si/ZnO nanowire photodetector as full-spectrum optical sensor and pyroelectric nanogenerator

• Liang Chen,
• Jianqi Dong,
• Miao He and
• Xingfu Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1623–1630, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.145

• work, a new type of self-powered, high-performance ultra-thin p-Si/n-ZnO nanowire (NW) flexible photodetector (PD) and its application as full-spectrum optical sensor and pyroelectric nanogenerator (PENG) are demonstrated. The working mechanism of PDs for PENGs is carefully investigated and

• limits their application in the field of flexible electronics. Recently, the design of flexible devices with Si membranes as building blocks has been explored. These devices have become promising candidates for the use as flexible PDs due to many advantages, such as good compatibility, working in a harsh

• environment, low cost, and easy preparation [6][7][8][9]. However, the energy supply system of traditional Si-based flexible PDs utilizes an external battery, which will affect the portability, comfort, and durability of wearable devices due to large volume, and limited capacity. Therefore, it is necessary to

PTCDA adsorption on CaF₂ thin films

• Philipp Rahe

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1615–1622, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.144

• functionality. Here, the molecular properties of 3,4,9,10-perylene tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) adsorbed on insulating CaF2 thin films that were grown on Si(111) surfaces are studied. Scanning tunnelling microscopy is used to compare the properties of PTCDA molecules adsorbed on a partly CaF1-covered Si

• (111) surface with deposition on thicker CaF2/CaF1/Si(111) films. The identification of mostly single molecules on the CaF1/Si(111) interface layer is explained by the presence of atomic-size defects within this layer. Geometry-optimisation calculations using density functional theory reveal a geometry

• partially KBr-covered Ag(111) surfaces [24] as well as for cyanoporphyrin molecules on KBr-covered Cu(111) surfaces [26]. Here, the understanding of molecular adsorption on insulating thin films is extended by studying an insulator-on-semiconductor system, namely CaF2 thin films grown on Si(111) surfaces

High-responsivity hybrid α-Ag₂S/Si photodetector prepared by pulsed laser ablation in liquid

• Raid A. Ismail,
• Hanan A. Rawdhan and
• Duha S. Ahmed

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1596–1607, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.142

• monodisperse Ag2S NPs when using the CTAB surfactant. The optoelectronic properties of α-Ag2S/p-Si photodetector, such as current–voltage characteristics and responsivity in the dark and under illumination, were also improved after using the CTAB surfactant. The responsivity of the photodetector increases from

• 0.64 to 1.85 A/W at 510 nm after adding CTAB. The energy band diagram of the α-Ag2S/p-Si photodetector under illumination was constructed. The fabricated photodetectors exhibited reasonable stability after three weeks of storage under ambient conditions with a responsivity of 70% of the initial value

• . synthesized monodisperse Ag2S NPs by using a sonochemical method and fabricated photodetector devices by integrating Ag2S NPs on a graphene sheet [17]. Tretyakov et al. [18] reported the characterization of a Ag2SQD (quantum dots)/Si heterojunction photodetector used for short-wave infrared radiation

Fabrication of nano/microstructures for SERS substrates using an electrochemical method

• Jingran Zhang,
• Tianqi Jia,
• Xiaoping Li,
• Junjie Yang,
• Zhengkai Li,
• Guangfeng Shi,
• Xinming Zhang and
• Zuobin Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1568–1576, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.139

• ] machined elliptic nanostructures with different parameters on Si substrates, including the spacing between structures and the thickness of the gold film. A spacing of 15 nm between the adjacent nanostructures was for the detection of R6G molecules with a concentration of 10−6 mol·L−1. Compared with other

• over a 20 × 20 μm2 area. Before the tests, the Raman spectra were rectified using a standard Si substrate. A Raman intensity peak of 1362 cm−1 for R6G was chosen in the experiment. An atomic force microscopy (AFM) system (Dimension Icon, Bruker, Germany) was employed to detect the two-dimensional and

Adsorption and self-assembly of porphyrins on ultrathin CoO films on Ir(100)

• Feifei Xiang,
• Tobias Schmitt,
• Marco Raschmann and
• M. Alexander Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1516–1524, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.134

• perpendicular to the surface has previously been observed for variety of molecules [37][38][39]. Many metal phthalocyanines have been shown to rotate on metal surfaces [40][41][42][43], but notably also a modified Co phthalocyanine on Si(100) [44]. Molecules sometimes come close enough to each other or can be