Saibal Basu

Structure and morphology of Cu/Ni film grown by electrodeposition method: A study of neutron reflectivity and AFM

We present a detailed study of the interface morphology of an electro-deposited (ED) Ni/Cu bilayer film by using off-specular (diffuse) neutron reflectivity technique and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The Ni/Cu bilayer has been electro-deposited on seed layers of Ti/Cu. These two seed layers were deposited by magnetron sputtering. The depth profile of density in the sample has been obtained from specular neutron reflectivity data. AFM image of the air-film interface shows that the surface is covered by globular islands of different sizes. The AFM height distribution of the surface clearly shows two peaks [Fig. 3] and the relief structure (islands) on the surface in the film can be treated as a quasi-two-level random rough surface structure. We have demonstrated that the detailed morphology of air-film interfaces, the quasi-two level surface structure as well as morphology of the buried interfaces can be obtained from off-specular neutron reflectivity data. We have shown from AFM and off-specular neutron reflectivity data that the morphologies of electro-deposited surface is distinctly different from that of sputter-deposited interface in this sample. To the best of our knowledge this is the first attempt to microscopically quantify the differences in morphologies of metallic interfaces deposited by two different techniques viz. electro-deposition and sputtering.

Fast Response and High Sensitivity of ZnO Nanowires-Cobalt Phthalocyanine Heterojunction Based H2S Sensor.

The room temperature chemiresistive response of n-type ZnO nanowire (ZnO NWs) films modified with different thicknesses of p-type cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) has been studied. With increasing thickness of CoPc (>15 nm), heterojunction films exhibit a transition from n- to p-type conduction due to uniform coating of CoPc on ZnO. The heterojunction films prepared with a 25 nm thick CoPc layer exhibit the highest response (268% at 10 ppm of H2S) and the fastest response (26 s) among all samples. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and work function measurements reveal that electron transfer takes place from ZnO to CoPc, resulting in formation of a p-n junction with a barrier height of 0.4 eV and a depletion layer width of ∼8.9 nm. The detailed XPS analysis suggests that these heterojunction films with 25 nm thick CoPc exhibit the least content of chemisorbed oxygen, enabling the direct interaction of H2S with the CoPc molecule, and therefore exhibit the fastest response. The improved response is attributed to the high susceptibility of the p-n junctions to the H2S gas, which manipulates the depletion layer width and controls the charge transport.

Structural and Magnetic Study of an Electrodeposited Ni ∕ Cu Thin Film by Neutron Reflectometry

The structural and magnetic properties of Ni-Cu thin film on a Si(lll) substrate, grown by the electrodeposition method, have been studied using room-temperature neutron reflectometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. The structural parameters of the thin film have been extracted from unpolarized neutron reflectometry measurements. The polarized neutron reflectivity measurement showed that there is a reduction in the magnetic moment of a Ni atom compared to its bulk value in the layer as well as at the interfaces. XRD shows crystalline growth of the film. The correlation factors quantifying the morphology of the Ni-air interface have been obtained from AFM measurements.

Investigation of interface magnetic moment of Fe/Ge multilayer : A neutron reflectivity study

Fe∕Ge multilayer sample was grown on Si(100) substrate by rf sputtering. X-ray diffraction shows that the Fe layers are polycrystalline whereas the Ge layers are amorphous in this sample. X-ray reflectometry and unpolarized neutron reflectometry techniques have been used to determine the structural parameters viz. individual layer thickness, interface roughness, and the density of the layers. Polarized neutron reflectometry has given magnetic moment depth profile for the multilayer thin film. There is a large reduction in magnetic moment for Fe atom on an average in the Fe layers. Magnetic moments of Fe at the interfaces are lower compared to the regions away from the interfaces. There is an asymmetry between magnetic moments at Fe on Ge interfaces and Ge on Fe interfaces as well. Superconducting quantum interference device measurement indicates that the sample is ferromagnetic at room temperature with a lower magnetic moment compared to bulk iron.

Probing molecular packing at engineered interfaces in organic field effect transistor and its correlation with charge carrier mobility.

Surface engineering of SiO2 dielectric using different self-assembled monolayer (SAM) has been carried out, and its effect on the molecular packing and growth behavior of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) has been studied. A correlation between the growth behavior and performance of organic field effect transistors is examined. Depth profiling using positron annihilation and X-ray reflectivity techniques has been employed to characterize the interface between CuPc and the modified and/or unmodified dielectric. We observe the presence of structural defects or disorder due to disorientation of CuPc molecules on the unmodified dielectric and ordered arrangement on the modified dielectrics, consistent with the high charge carrier mobility in organic field effect transistors in the latter. The study also highlights the sensitivity of these techniques to the packing of CuPc molecules on SiO2 modified using different SAMs. Our study also signifies the sensitivity and utility of these two techniques in the characterization of buried interfaces in organic devices.

Nature of WO4 tetrahedra in blue light emitting CaWO4 probed through the EXAFS technique

Blue emission due to self trapped exciton recombination in CaWO4 is believed to be very sensitive to the nature of the WO4 structural units. The present manuscript deals with the probing of structural differences existing in WO4 tetrahedra of CaWO4 particles having varying average crystallite sizes and different blue light emission characteristics. Based on XRD, W L1 edge XANES and W L3 edge EXAFS studies, it is inferred that factors like average W–O and Ca–O bond lengths, average number of oxygen atoms around W6+ ions and disorder in WO4 tetrahedra do not have any effect on the blue luminescence intensity from the samples. The lifetime value of excitons is lower for the nanocrystals/nanoparticles of CaWO4 compared to the bulk sample. The lower lifetime of self trapped excitons and the associated decrease in blue luminescence intensity for nanoparticles/nanocrystals (compared to bulk) has been explained based on competing non-radiative processes involving the interaction of holes with surface hydroxyl groups and an associated decrease in the extent of radiative exciton recombination.

Separation and correlation of structural and magnetic roughness in a Ni thin film by polarized off-specular neutron reflectometry

Diffuse (off-specular) neutron and x-ray reflectometry has been used extensively for the determination of interface morphology in solids and liquids. For neutrons, a novel possibility is off-specular reflectometry with polarized neutrons to determine the morphology of a magnetic interface. There have been few such attempts due to the lower brilliance of neutron sources, though magnetic interaction of neutrons with atomic magnetic moments is much easier to comprehend and easily tractable theoretically. We have obtained a simple and physically meaningful expression, under the Born approximation, for analyzing polarized diffuse (off-specular) neutron reflectivity (PDNR) data. For the first time PDNR data from a Ni film have been analyzed and separate chemical and magnetic morphologies have been quantified. Also specular polarized neutron reflectivity measurements have been carried out to measure the magnetic moment density profile of the Ni film. The fit to PDNR data results in a longer correlation length for in-plane magnetic roughness than for chemical (structural) roughness. The magnetic interface is smoother than the chemical interface.

Studies with Ni/Ti multilayer films using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and neutron reflectometry: microscopic characterization of structure and chemical composition

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and neutron reflectometry (NR) have been performed on Ni/Ti multilayer films, deposited by electron beam evaporation, under ultra high vacuum. Chemical composition of the layers has been obtained from XPS analysis. The layer thicknesses and densities have been obtained within few angstroms from NR. Impurities were detected in the film in the form of carbides and oxides in the Ti layers and in elemental form in the Ni layers. From an in situ XPS experiment on a Ti film with Ni overlayer we found that impurities get incorporated in the film during deposition.

Spin-phonon coupling in scandium doped gallium ferrite

We embarked on a study of Scandium (Sc) doped (onto Ga site) gallium ferrite (GaFeO3) and found remarkable magnetic properties. In both doped as well as parent compounds, there were three types of Fe3+ ions (depending on the symmetry) with the structure conforming to space group Pna21 (Sp. Grp. No. 33) below room temperature down to 5 K. We also found that all Fe3+ ions occupy octahedral sites, and carry high spin moment. For the higher Sc substituted sample (Ga1−xScxFeO3: x = 0.3), a canted magnetic ordered state is found. Spin-phonon coupling below Neel temperature was observed in doped compounds. Our results indicated that Sc doping in octahedral site modifies spin-phonon interactions of the parent compound. The spin-phonon coupling strength was estimated for the first time in these Sc substituted compounds.

Identification of a kinetic length scale which dictates alloy phase composition in Ni-Al interfaces on annealing at low temperatures

Ni-aluminides are an important class of intermetallics from technological point of view. Ni-Al phase diagram has been studied in detail experimentally as well as theoretically. It is known that if annealed at low temperature, the first alloy phase is usually NiAl3 according to Benes rule. It is also understood that heat of formation may get modified by local densities of the constituents forming the alloy. In this regard, it is important to identify a kinetic length scale for defining “local density” in a system. We have deposited ultrathin multilayers of Ni and Al of layer thickness in tens of nanometres with Ni:Al stoichiometric ratio as 3:1 and 1:3, respectively. Considering these stoichiometry, Ni3Al and NiAl3 are the thermodynamically favoured alloy phases in these samples. We used x-ray reflectivity, polarized neutron reflectivity, x-ray diffraction, and secondary ion mass spectroscopy to follow the alloy formation after annealing and identified the alloy phases at interfaces with nanometre resolut...