Huang-Chin Chen

Origin of a needle-like granular structure for ultrananocrystalline diamond films grown in a N2/CH4 plasma

Microstructural evolution as a function of substrate temperature (TS) for conducting ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films is systematically studied. Variation of the sp2 graphitic and sp3 diamond content with TS in the films is analysed from the Raman and near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectra. Morphological and microstructural studies confirm that at TS = 700 °C well-defined acicular structures evolve. These nanowire structures comprise sp3 phased diamond, encased in a sheath of sp2 bonded graphitic phase. TS causes a change in morphology and thereby the various properties of the films. For TS = 800 °C the acicular grain growth ceases, while that for TS = 700 °C ceases only upon termination of the deposition process. The grain-growth process for the unique needle-like granular structure is proposed such that the CN species invariably occupy the tip of the nanowire, promoting an anisotropic grain-growth process and the formation of acicular structure of the grains. The electron field emission studies substantiate that the films grown at TS = 700 °C are the most conducting, with conduction mediated through the graphitic phase present in the films.

Induction and regulation of differentiation in neural stem cells on ultra-nanocrystalline diamond films

The interaction of ultra-nanocrystalline diamond (UNCD) with neural stem cells (NSCs) has been studied in order to evaluate its potential as a biomaterial. Hydrogen-terminated UNCD (H-UNCD) films were compared with standard grade polystyrene in terms of their impact on the differentiation of NSCs. When NSCs were cultured on these substrates in medium supplemented with low concentration of serum and without any differentiating factors, H-UNCD films spontaneously induced neuronal differentiation on NSCs. By direct suppression of mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signaling-regulated kinase1/2 (MAPK/Erk1/2) signaling pathway in NSCs using U0126, known to inhibit the activation of Erk1/2, we demonstrated that the enhancement of Erk1/2 pathway is one of the effects of H-UNCD-induced NSCs differentiation. Moreover, functional-blocking antibody directed against integrin beta1 subunit inhibited neuronal differentiation on H-UNCD films. This result demonstrated the involvement of integrin beta1 in H-UNCD-mediated neuronal differentiation. Mechanistic studies revealed the cell adhesion to H-UNCD films associated with focal adhesion kinase (Fak) and initiated MAPK/Erk1/2 signaling. Our study demonstrated that H-UNCD films-mediated NSCs differentiation involves fibronectin-integrin beta1 and Fak-MAPK/Erk signaling pathways in the absence of differentiation factors. These observations raise the potential for the use of UNCD as a biomaterial for central nervous system transplantation and tissue engineering.

The effect of ultra-nanocrystalline diamond films on the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells

The interaction of ultra-nanocrystalline diamond (UNCD) with neural stem cells (NSCs) has been studied along with its surface modification in order to improve its function as a biomaterial. Hydrogen- and oxygen-terminated UNCD films were compared with standard grade polystyrene in terms of their impact on the growth, expansion and differentiation of NSCs. When NSCs were cultured on these substrates in low serum and without any differentiating factors, hydrogen-terminated UNCD films spontaneously induced cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation. Oxygen-terminated UNCD films were also shown to further improve neural differentiation, with a preference to differentiate into oligodendrocytes. Hence, controlling the surface properties of UNCD could manipulate the differentiation of NSCs for different biomedical applications. These observations raise the potential for the use of UNCD as a biomaterial for central nervous system transplantation and tissue engineering.

Origin of platelike granular structure for the ultrananocrystalline diamond films synthesized in H2-containing Ar/CH4 plasma

The modification on microstructure of diamond films due to the incorporation of H2 species into the Ar/CH4 plasma was systematically investigated. While the hydrogen-free plasma produced the ultrananocrystalline diamond films with equiaxed grains (about 5 nm in size), the hydrogen-containing plasma resulted in platelike grains (about 100×300 nm2 in size). The size of the platelike grains increased with the H2 content in the plasma. Transmission electron microscopy and optical emission spectroscopy reveal that only 0.1%H2 incorporated in the Ar/CH4 plasma is sufficient for inducing the formation of platelike grains, suggesting that the platelike grains are formed via the competition between the attachment and the etching of hydrocarbons onto the existing diamond surfaces. In Ar plasma, the diamond grains were always passivated with hydrocarbons and the active carbon species in the plasma can only renucleate to form nanocrystalline diamond grains. Incorporation of H2 species in the plasma leads to partial e...

Self-carbonized lamellar nano/micro hierarchical structure C/TiO2 and its Li-ion intercalation performance

In this study, two new layered titanates, fibrillar TiO2·(CH3COOH)1.4 and chrysanthemum-like TiO2·(CH3COOH)0.9 (named as FT and CT) with acetic acid and acetate intercalation have been synthesized by reacting titanium isopropoxide (TTIP) with acetic acid at different temperatures. Furthermore, nano/micro hierarchical structure TiO2 with high TiO2-B/anatse ratio was obtained by annealing the titanate (CT). For use as an anode for lithium ion batteries, uniform carbon coated titanium dioxide with high TiO2-B content was obtained by “self-carbonizing” CT under argon atmosphere at 350 °C, and the compound was named SC-CT350. The capacity of the anode made from SC-CT350 can reach 144 mA h g−1 under a high charging/discharging rate (10 C) and showed excellent retention ability.

Effects of low-temperature Si buffer layer thickness on the growth of SiGe by molecular beam epitaxy

The thickness of a low-temperature silicon (LT-Si) buffer layer has been found to affect the growth of a SiGe overlayer significantly. 300-nm-thick Si0.7Ge0.3 films were grown on 50- to 300-nm-thick LT-Si buffer layers at 450 °C by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy. The threading dislocation density was found to decrease with the thickness of the LT-Si buffer in the thickness range of 50–200 nm. The density remains at the same low level when the thickness was increased from 200 to 300 nm. A relatively dense misfit dislocation network was observed to form at the SiGe/Si interface in samples with the LT-Si buffer layer thickness exceeding 200 nm. It is suggested that the presence of more point defects in the thicker LT-Si buffer layer is more effective to block the propagation of threading dislocations.

Structural and electronic properties of nitrogen ion implanted ultra nanocrystalline diamond surfaces

Enhanced electron field emission (EFE) properties have been observed for nitrogen implanted ultra-nanocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films grown by microwave plasma enhanced CVD. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements show that sp2 fraction and C-N bonding increase upon N-implantation and annealing. Significant difference in current-voltage (I-V) curves at the grain and grain boundary has been observed from scanning tunneling spectroscopic (STS) measurement. From the variation of normalized conductance (dI/dV)/(I/V) versus V, bandgap is measured to be 4.8 eV at the grain and 3.8 eV at the grain boundary for as prepared UNCD. Upon nitrogen implantation and annealing, the bandgap decreases for both grain and grain boundary and density of states are introduced in the bandgap. Current imaging tunneling spectroscopy (CITS) imaging shows that the grain boundaries have higher conductivity than the grains and are the prominent electron emitters. The enhancement in EFE properties upon nitrogen implantatio...

Enhanced electron field emission properties by tuning the microstructure of ultrananocrystalline diamond film

Synthesis of microcrystalline-ultrananocrystalline composite diamond (MCD-UNCD) films, which exhibit marvelous electron field emission (EFE) properties, was reported. The EFE of MCD-UNCD composite diamond film can be turned on at a low field as 6.5 V/μm and attain large EFE current density about 1.0 mA/cm2 at 30 V/μm applied field, which is better than the EFE behavior of the nondoped planar diamond films ever reported. The MCD-UNCD films were grown by a two-step microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MPECVD) process, including forming an UNCD layer in CH4/Ar plasma that contains no extra H2, followed by growing MCD layer using CH4/H2/Ar plasma that contains large proportion of H2. Microstructure examinations using high resolution transmission electron microscopy shows that the secondary MPECVD process modifies the granular structure of the UNCD layer, instead of forming a large grain diamond layer on top of UNCD films. The MCD-UNCD composite diamond films consist of numerous ultrasmall grai...

Effects of high energy Au-ion irradiation on the microstructure of diamond films

The effects of 2.245 GeV Au-ion irradiation and subsequent annealing processes on the evolution of microstructure of diamond films with microcrystalline (MCD) or ultra-nanocrystalline (UNCD) granular structure were investigated, using near edge x-ray absorption fine structure and electron energy loss spectroscopy in transmission electron microscopy. For MCD films, the Au-ion irradiation disintegrated some of the diamond grains, resulting in the formation of nano-sized carbon clusters embedded in a matrix of amorphous carbon (a-C). The annealing process recrystallized the diamond grains and converted the a-C into nano-sized graphite particulates and, at the same time, induced the formation of nano-sized i-carbon clusters, the bcc structured carbon with a0 = 0.432 nm. In contrast, for UNCD films, the Au-ion irradiation transformed the grain boundary phase into nano-sized graphite, but insignificantly altered the crystallinity of the grains of the UNCD films. The annealing process recrystallized the material...

Engineering the Interface Characteristics of Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Films Grown on Au-Coated Si Substrates

Enhanced electron field emission (EFE) properties have been observed for ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films grown on Au-coated Si (UNCD/Au-Si) substrates. The EFE properties of UNCD/Au-Si could be turned on at a low field of 8.9 V/μm, attaining EFE current density of 4.5 mA/cm(2) at an applied field of 10.5 V/μm, which is superior to that of UNCD films grown on Si (UNCD/Si) substrates with the same chemical vapor deposition process. Moreover, a significant difference in current-voltage curves from scanning tunneling spectroscopic measurements at the grain and the grain boundary has been observed. From the variation of normalized conductance (dI/dV)/(I/V) versus V, bandgap of UNCD/Au-Si is measured to be 2.8 eV at the grain and nearly metallic at the grain boundary. Current imaging tunneling spectroscopy measurements show that the grain boundaries have higher electron field emission capacity than the grains. The diffusion of Au into the interface layer that results in the induction of graphite and converts the metal-to-Si interface from Schottky to Ohmic contact is believed to be the authentic factors, resulting in marvelous EFE properties of UNCD/Au-Si.