Cuiling Yu

Structural, electrical and optical properties of yttrium-doped ZnO thin films prepared by sol–gel method

Yttrium-doped ZnO thin films were deposited on silica glass substrates by the sol–gel method. The structural, electrical and optical properties of yttrium-doped ZnO thin films were investigated systematically and in detail. All the thin films have a preferred (0 0 2) orientation. When compared with the electrical resistivity values of films without annealing treatment, the values of films annealed in the reducing atmosphere were decreased by about three orders of magnitude. The lowest electrical resistivity value was 6.75 × 10−3 Ω cm, which was obtained in the 0.5 at% yttrium-doped ZnO thin film annealed in nitrogen with 5% hydrogen at 500 °C. In room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra, two PL emission peaks are found in the pure ZnO thin film; one is the near-band-edge (NBE) emission at 3.22 eV and the other is a green emission at about 2.38 eV. Nevertheless, the green emission is not found in the PL of the yttrium-doped ZnO thin films. The low-temperature PL spectrum of the undoped ZnO thin film at 83 K is split into well-resolved free and bound excition emission peaks in the ultraviolet region, but the NBE emission of the 5 at% yttrium-doped ZnO thin film at 83 K has only one broad emission peak.

Thickness measurement of sample in diamond anvil cell

We report on an original method that measures sample thickness in a diamond anvil cell under high pressures. The method is based on two hypotheses: completely plastic deformation on the gasket and completely elastic deformation of the diamonds. This method can further eliminate the effect of diamond deformation on the thickness measurement of a sample, which permits us to measure the thickness of alumina up to 41.4 GPa.

Phase transformation and resistivity of dumbbell-like ZnO microcrystals under high pressure

High-pressure Raman spectra and in situ electrical resistivity measurement of the dumbbell-like ZnO microcrystals have been investigated by using the diamond-anvil-cell technique at room temperature. The dumbbell-like ZnO microcrystals were synthesized via a facile solution method under mild conditions. In terms of the Raman results, the dumbbell-like ZnO microcrystals underwent a transition from wurtzite to rock-salt structure with increasing pressure and the phase-transition pressure was about 11.13 GPa. In situ electrical resistivity measurement of the dumbbell-like ZnO microcrystals was performed on a designed diamond anvil cell. The change in electrical resistivity related to the phase structure for the ZnO microcrystals was observed with the applied pressure of up to 34.86 GPa. Moreover, the pressure dependence of the electrical resistivity for the dumbbell-like ZnO microcrystals annealed at different conditions was also investigated.

Finite element analysis of resistivity measurement with van der Pauw method in a diamond anvil cell

Using finite element analysis, the authors studied the steady current field distribution under the configuration of van der Pauw method [L. J. van der Pauw, Philips Tech. Rev. 20, 220 (1958)] for resistivity measurement in a diamond anvil cell. Based on the theoretical analysis, the authors obtained the theoretical accuracy curve of the van der Pauw method. This method provides accurate determination of sample resistivity when the ratio of sample thickness to its diameter is less than 0.45. They found that the contact area between electrode and sample is a key factor in the resistivity measurement accuracy and its size is dependent on the sample diameter for a given measurement accuracy.

Finite element analysis of resistivity measurement with four point probe in a diamond anvil cell

Using finite element analysis, we studied the steady current field distribution under the configuration of four point probe method for resistivity measurement in a diamond anvil cell (DAC). Based on the theoretical analysis, we made a correction to the formula by Valdes [L. B. Valdes, Proc IRE, 42, 420 (1958)]. The results show that our formula provides more accurate determination of sample resistivity, especially when the sample thickness is less than the probe spacing. We found that finite size of the electrode could lead to significant errors in resistivity measurement for semiconducting samples. We also found that the probe spacing is a key factor in the resistivity measurement accuracy for samples in DAC. When the sample thickness t is close to the probe spacing s, the error becomes larger and reaches a maximum.

Finite element analysis of the effect of electrode resistivity on resistivity measurement in a diamond anvil cell

The effect of electrode resistivity on the in situ resistivity measurement in a diamond anvil cell was studied using finite element analysis. The theoretical analysis reveals that the origin of significant error for a thin sample is mainly caused by the resistivity difference between the electrodes and the sample. The authors found that reducing such resistivity differences can improve the accuracy. The result shows that the van der Pauw method [L. J. van der Pauw, Philips Tech. Rev. 20, 220 (1958)] can provide more accurate results for thin samples compared with the four-point probe method. This approach provides means to simulate actual experiments and to eliminate the measurement error.