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Microstructures and Electrical Conductivity of Thin Films
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Microstructures and Electrical Conductivity of Thin Films

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Thin Films and Interfaces".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (21 October 2021) | Viewed by 5752

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Paola Manini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Napoli Federico II, Complesso Universitario Monte S. Angelo, Via Cintia 4, I-80126 Napoli, Italy
Interests: luminescent materials; functional materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Marianna Ambrico

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CNR- Institute for the Science and Technology of Plasmas, Branch Office in Bari, Bari, Italy
Interests: solid state physics; device physics; optical and electrical characterizations of thin films and devices; (bio)electronics; semiconductors; superconductors; melanins

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

During the last few decades, particular attention has been paid to the research on the surface microstructuring of thin films involving both the adoption of physical and chemical techniques and the subsequent testing of their electrical response. These efforts are aimed toward developing more efficient devices or to increase sensor performance. It has been also recognized that microstructures offer the possibility for a broad range of applications from bioelectronics to sensing and renewable energy.

This Special Issue aims at providing an interdisciplinary overview on the most intriguing and original results and recent progress in surface roughening methods (including chemical or plasma/laser surface texturing) with a special emphasis on the correlation with modification/improvement of the electrical properties. Reports of potential foreseeable applications are also welcomed. Main topics may cover thin film deposition technologies; substrate surface preparation techniques, DC/AC electrical conductivity, carrier mobility, efficiency parameters of microstructured surface, hybrid structures or devices; and biocompatibility and bioactivity of functionalized surfaces for bioelectronics applications.

We do believe this collection will stimulate and circulate new ideas on the topic and will contribute to the dissemination of expertise for young investigators, as well as leading experts in the field.

Prof. Paola Manini
Dr. Marianna Ambrico
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • thin films
  • microstructured surface
  • grain growth
  • DC/AC electrical conductivity
  • carrier mobility
  • alloys and composites
  • hybrid structures
  • surface functionalization
  • bioelectronics
  • dynamic interfaces
  • biocompatible surfaces

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 6221 KiB  
Article
Structural, Optical and Mechanical Properties of Nanocrystalline Molybdenum Thin Films Deposited under Variable Substrate Temperature
by Nanthakishore Makeswaran, Cristian Orozco, Anil K. Battu, Eva Deemer and C. V. Ramana
Materials 2022, 15(3), 754; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15030754 - 19 Jan 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1957
Abstract
Molybdenum (Mo), which is one among the refractory metals, is a promising material with a wide variety of technological applications in microelectronics, optoelectronics, and energy conversion and storage. However, understanding the structure–property correlation and optimization at the nanoscale dimension is quite important to [...] Read more.
Molybdenum (Mo), which is one among the refractory metals, is a promising material with a wide variety of technological applications in microelectronics, optoelectronics, and energy conversion and storage. However, understanding the structure–property correlation and optimization at the nanoscale dimension is quite important to meet the requirements of the emerging nanoelectronics and nanophotonics. In this context, we focused our efforts to derive a comprehensive understanding of the nanoscale structure, phase, and electronic properties of nanocrystalline Mo films with variable microstructure and grain size. Molybdenum films were deposited under varying temperature (25–500 °C), which resulted in Mo films with variable grain size of 9–22 nm. The grazing incidence X-ray diffraction analyses indicate the (110) preferred growth behavior the Mo films, though there is a marked decrease in hardness and elastic modulus values. In particular, there is a sizable difference in maximum and minimum elastic modulus values; the elastic modulus decreased from ~460 to 260–280 GPa with increasing substrate temperature from 25–500 °C. The plasticity index and wear resistance index values show a dramatic change with substrate temperature and grain size. Additionally, the optical properties of the nanocrystalline Mo films evaluated by spectroscopic ellipsometry indicate a marked dependence on the growth temperature and grain size. This dependence on grain size variation was particularly notable for the refractive index where Mo films with lower grain size fell in a range between ~2.75–3.75 across the measured wavelength as opposed to the range of 1.5–2.5 for samples deposited at temperatures of 400–500 °C, where the grain size is relatively higher. The conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies indicate a direct correlation with grain size variation and grain versus grain boundary conduction; the trend noted was improved electrical conductivity of the Mo films in correlation with increasing grain size. The combined ellipsometry and conductive AFM studies allowed us to optimize the structure–property correlation in nanocrystalline Mo films for application in electronics and optoelectronics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microstructures and Electrical Conductivity of Thin Films)
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21 pages, 5507 KiB  
Article
Structural Properties of Thin ZnO Films Deposited by ALD under O-Rich and Zn-Rich Growth Conditions and Their Relationship with Electrical Parameters
by Sushma Mishra, Ewa Przezdziecka, Wojciech Wozniak, Abinash Adhikari, Rafal Jakiela, Wojciech Paszkowicz, Adrian Sulich, Monika Ozga, Krzysztof Kopalko and Elzbieta Guziewicz
Materials 2021, 14(14), 4048; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14144048 - 20 Jul 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3207
Abstract
The structural, optical, and electrical properties of ZnO are intimately intertwined. In the present work, the structural and transport properties of 100 nm thick polycrystalline ZnO films obtained by atomic layer deposition (ALD) at a growth temperature (Tg) of 100–300 °C [...] Read more.
The structural, optical, and electrical properties of ZnO are intimately intertwined. In the present work, the structural and transport properties of 100 nm thick polycrystalline ZnO films obtained by atomic layer deposition (ALD) at a growth temperature (Tg) of 100–300 °C were investigated. The electrical properties of the films showed a dependence on the substrate (a-Al2O3 or Si (100)) and a high sensitivity to Tg, related to the deviation of the film stoichiometry as demonstrated by the RT-Hall effect. The average crystallite size increased from 20–30 nm for as grown samples to 80–100 nm after rapid thermal annealing, which affects carrier scattering. The ZnO layers deposited on silicon showed lower strain and dislocation density than on sapphire at the same Tg. The calculated half crystallite size (D/2) was higher than the Debye length (LD) for all as grown and annealed ZnO films, except for annealed ZnO/Si films grown within the ALD window (100–200 °C), indicating different homogeneity of charge carrier distribution for annealed ZnO/Si and ZnO/a-Al2O3 layers. For as grown films the hydrogen impurity concentration detected via secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) was 1021 cm−3 and was decreased by two orders of magnitude after annealing, accompanied by a decrease in Urbach energy in the ZnO/a-Al2O3 layers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microstructures and Electrical Conductivity of Thin Films)
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