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Institute
BTU
The TiO2 films are prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) method using titanium
isopropoxide precursors at 250 °C and analyzed using resonant photoemission spectroscopy (resPES). We report on the Ti2p and O1s core levels, on the valence band (VB) spectra and
x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) data, and on the resonant photoelectron spectroscopy (resPES) profiles at the O1s and the Ti3p absorption edges. We determine the elemental
abundance, the position of the VB maxima, the partial density of states (PDOS) in the VB and in the conduction band (CB) and collect these data in a band scheme. In addition, we analyze the band-gap states as well as the intrinsic states due to polarons and charge-transfer
excitations. These states are found to cause multiple Auger decay processes upon resonant
excitation. We identify several of these processes and determine their relative contribution to the Auger signal quantitatively. As our resPES data allow a quantitative analysis of these defect states, we determine the relative abundance of the PDOS in the VB and in CB and also the charge neutrality level.
The anatase and rutile polymorphs of TiO2 are analyzed in the same way as the TiO2 ALD layer. The electronic properties of the TiO2ALD layer are compared with the anatase and rutile polymorphs of TiO2. In our comparative study, we find that ALD has its own
characteristic electronic structure that is distinct from that of anatase and rutile. However, many details of the electronic structure are comparable and we benefit from our spectroscopic
data and our careful analysis to find these differences. These can be attributed to a stronger hybridization of the O2p and Ti3d4s states for the ALD films when compared to the anatase and rutile polymorphs.
For several years, scientists have been trying to understand the mechanisms that reduce the long‐term stability of perovskite solar cells. In this work, we examined the effect of water and photon flux on the stability of CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite films and solar cells using in situ near‐ambient pressure X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP‐XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and current density–voltage (J–V) characterization. The used amount of water vapor (up to 1 mbar) had a negligible impact on the perovskite film. The higher the photon flux, the more prominent were the changes in the NAP‐XPS and FESEM data; also, a faster decline in power conversion efficiency (PCE) and a more substantial hysteresis in the J‐V characteristics were observed. Based on our results, it can be concluded that the PCE decrease originates from the creation of Frenkel pair defects in the perovskite film under illumination. The stronger the illumination, the higher the number of Frenkel defects, leading to a faster PCE decline and more substantial hysteresis in the J‐V sweeps.
The passivation of n-type InP (100) using sulfur in combination with a gadolinium aluminate (GAO) dielectric layer has been studied. Photoluminescence, minority-carrier lifetime, and capacitance−voltage measurements indicate that a (NH4)2S vapor passivation step prior to atomic layer deposition of the oxide effectively lowers the interface state density. Surface and interface chemistry were studied by synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SRPES). The effect of ex situ surface passivation after native oxide removal in HCl solution was examined. It was observed that surface reoxidation occurred during (NH4)2S vapor exposure, leading to the formation of Inx(HPO4)y. S was present on the surface as a sulfide in both surface and subsurface sites. After atomic layer deposition of GAO, sulfates were detected in addition to Inx(HPO4)y, which was confirmed by near-edge X-ray absorptionfine structure analysis. The S in the stack was quantified using reference-free grazing incidence X-rayfluorescence
analysis. X-ray absorption spectroscopy showed that Gd was oxidized and present in the 3+ oxidation state, most likely as a phosphate close to the InP interface and possibly mixed with sulfates. Energy-dependent SRPES measurements of Al 2p and Gd 4d core levels, complemented by transmission electron microscopy, further suggest that the dielectric layer was segregated. Valence band measurements confirm the effective passivation of InP, indicating unpinning of the surface Fermi level.
Oxide surface coatings are of importance in tailoring interface properties with respect to surface passivation, adjustment of surface potentials, or providing active centers for surface reactions. In this contribution, we report about surface coatings prepared by the atomic layer deposition (ALD) method. ALD is known for its conformal growth of ultrathin, dense films which exhibit a low concentration of pinholes.
Ultra-small rock salt cobalt monoxide (CoO) nanoparticles were synthesized and subjected to partial oxidation (‘corrosion’) with ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) to form mixed-valence CoOx(1 < x< 2) water oxidation catalysts. Spectroscopic, microscopic and analytical methods evidenced a structural reformation of cubic CoO to active CoOx with a spinel structure. The superior water oxidation activity of CoOx has been established in electrochemical water oxidation under alkaline conditions.
Electrochemical water oxidation with CoOx was recorded at a considerably low overpotential of merely 325 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 in comparison to 370 mV for CoO. Transformation of both octahedral CoII and CoIII sites into amorphous Co(OH)2–CoOOH is the key to high electrochemical activity while the presence of a higher amount of octahedral CoIII sites in CoOx is imperative for an efficient oxygen evolution process.
It has been recently demonstrated that the photoactivity toward oxygen evolution of a number of n-type metal oxides can be substantially improved by a reductive electrochemical pretreatment. Such an enhancement has been primarily linked to the formation of low valent metal species that increase electrode conductivity. In this work, we report new insights into the electrochemical doping using highly ordered (110)-oriented hematite nanorods directly grown on FTO. The reductive pretreatment consists in applying negative potentials for a controlled period of time. Such a pretreatment was optimized in both potentiostatic and potentiodynamic regimes. We show that the optimized pretreatment enhances electrode conductivity due to an increase in charge carrier density. However, it additionally triggers changes in the morphologic, catalytic and electronic properties that facilitate the separation and collection of the photogenerated charge carriers causing an up to 8-fold enhancement in the photocurrent for water oxidation. The reductive pretreatment can be considered as a highly controllable electrochemical n-type doping with the amount of generated Fe2+/polaron species and the change in film morphology as the main factors determining the final efficiency for water photooxidation of the resulting electrodes.
The photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is one of the most efficient ways to obtain hydrogen from water using solar power which can be used as carbon free fuel. The PEC device can bedesigned using semiconducting material that will convert solar radiation to H2. Silicon can be one of the best choices for PEC due to its success in solar cells technology. There are certain issues with Si such as stability in electrochemical medium [1] and higher surface reflectance (25%) which limits the Si as an ideal candidate for PEC technique [2]. In the present work we addressed these issues by surface structuring and laminating the surface with metal oxide. The microstructuring of Si was done by electrochemical method. The Si microstructure photocathode was stabilized by thin layer of ALD grown TiO2 film. The microstructuring and lamination of Si photocathode by ALD layer of TiO2 decreased the reflectance ofthe surface and shift the onset potential towards anodic direction by 350 mV with a prolonged stability over 60 hours[3]. [1] C. Levy-Clement, J. Electrochem. Soc 1991, 12, 69 [2] J. Oh, et al. Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, 4, 1690 [3] C. Das, et al. Nanoscale
2015,7, 7726
We studied by STM the growth of HfO2 on Si (111)-H stepped surface (miscut by 0.5∘). The steps are aligned in the [11-2] direction. In order to obtain well defined steps and terraces we prepare the sample by chemical etching in 40% Nh4F. In our in-situ study we investigate the ALD growth of HfO2 by TDMAH and H2O [1-2]. We follow for the first four ALD cycles the distribution of the nucleation sites. We also study the influence of the substrate temperature by comparing the growth within the ALD window at 300K and 580K. We observed that at RT the as-grown HfO2 forms stripes which are oriented normal to the step orientations. Further growth starts from the step edges and proceeds towards the terraces. Defects created by the etching processes act as nucleation sites for 3D islands. Based on our STM data we are able to correlate the structural changes on that inert and stepped Si(111)-H surface during ALD with experimental [3] and theoretical [4] results obtained for planar Si(100) surfaces. [1] M. Tallarida et al., Semicond. Sci. Technol. 27, 074010 (2012)
[2] K. Kolanek et al., Thin Solid Films 518, 4688 (2010)
[3] K. Kolanek et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 31, 01A104 (2013) [4]L. Riikka et al., J. Appl. Phys.96, 7686 (2004)
Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is an excellent deposition technique to grow thin film with high homogeneity coverage on ideal surfaces. Here we are interested in the growth properties on non-ideal (stepped, inert) surfaces. Using STM we studied the growth of Al2O3 by ALD on stepped surface of HOPG and silver covered HOPG (Ag-HOPG). The HOPG sample was cleaved to and then cleaned by N2 in vacuum. We obtain regular steps with terrace widths of 50nm - 500nm. Ag was deposited by thermal deposition on the HOPG. The Al2O3 growth at RT was studies after the first, third, and fifth cycle. Silver evaporation
leads to step decoration with island of 1nm-7nm. On the terraces we find the formation of 2D domain of Ag chains. The features caused by the individual ALD cycles of Al2O3 depend on the terrace widths of the HOPG substrate. For small terraces (<100nm) we obtain a growth of 2D domains ( 20nm-25nm) on the edge steps and in the middle of the terrace. For large terraces (>100nm) we find agglomeration of the precursors on individual nucleation sites. Here 3D islands are formed with a height of up to 5nm in the fifth ALD cycle.
Sacrificial Self-Assembled Monolayers for the Passivation of GaAs(100) Surfaces and Interfaces
(2016)
The use of sacrificial self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) to prepare clean n-type GaAs (100) surfaces without band bending in vacuo is demonstrated. GaAs surface passivation using octadecanethiol SAMs after HCl cleaning is shown to lead to an enhancement of the room-temperature photoluminescence intensity. Synchrotron-radiation photoelectron spectroscopy (SRPES) finds that the interfacial oxide between GaAs and the SAM remains below the detection limit. Evidence for both Ga–S and As–S bonds at the GaAs–thiolate interface is found. The limited thermal stability of the SAM allows the desorption of the alkyl chains by in situ thermal annealing at temperatures above 180 °C, leaving S bonded to Ga behind. The resulting surface contains only a very small amount of O (0.05 ML coverage) and C (about 3% of the SAM remaining) and shows no band bending with the surface Fermi level close to the conduction band. Atomic layer deposition of Al₂O₃ on this surface occurs via the formation of Al–S bonds without introducing any additional band bending. This indicates that the surface preparation of n-type GaAs (100) using sacrificial octadecanethiol SAMs followed by in situ thermal removal provides a route toward GaAs/oxide interfaces without interfacial oxides and without band bending.
Titanium oxide (TiO2) deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is used as a protective layer in
photocatalytic water splitting system as well as a dielectric in resistive memory switching. The way
ALD is performed (thermally or plasma-assisted) may change the growth rate as well as the electronic properties of the deposited films. In the present work, the authors verify the influence of the ALD mode on functional parameters, by comparing the growth rate and electronic properties of
TiO2 films deposited by thermal (T-) and plasma-enhanced (PE-) ALD. The authors complete the
study with the electrical characterization of selected samples by means of capacitance–voltage and
current–voltage measurements. In all samples, the authors found a significant presence of Ti3+ states, with the lowest content in the PE-ALD grown TiO2 films. The observation of Ti3+ states
was accompanied by the presence of in-gap states above the valence band maximum. For films thinner than 10 nm, the authors found also a strong leakage current. Also in this case, the PE-ALD films showed the weakest leakage currents, showing a correlation between the presence of Ti3+ states and leakage current density.
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is one of the most emerging fields for green energy generation and storage. Here we show a study of microstructured Si covered by a TiO2 nano-layer. The microstructures are prepared by galvanostatic selective etching of Si. The TiO2 nano-layer was deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) to protect the microstructured photocathode against corrosion. The obtained microstructured photocathode showed a shift in the onset potential of 400 mV towards the anodic direction compared to bare Si. The Si microstructures laminated with a nano-layer of TiO2 show stability over 60 hours of measurement.
Graphene oxide (GO) was explored as an atomically-thin transferable seed layer for the atomic layer deposition (ALD) of dielectric materials on any substrate of choice. This approach does not require specific chemical groups on the target surface to initiate ALD. This establishes GO as a unique interface which enables the growth of dielectric materials on a wide range of substrate materials and opens up numerous prospects for applications. In this work, a mild oxygen plasma treatment was used to oxidize graphene monolayers with well-controlled and tunable density of epoxide functional groups. This was confirmed by synchrotron-radiation photoelectron spectroscopy. In addition, density functional theory calculations were carried out on representative epoxidized graphene monolayer models to correlate the capacitive properties of GO with its electronic structure. Capacitance–voltage measurements showed that the capacitive behavior of Al2O3/GO depends on the oxidation level of GO. Finally, GO was successfully used as an ALD seed layer for the deposition of Al2O3 on chemically inert single layer graphene, resulting in high performance top-gated field-effect transistors.
Charakterisierung von TiO2-ALD-Schichten und deren Nutzung für die Passivierung von Si-Photokathoden
(2015)
Wir berichten zunächst über den Einfluss der Methode der Atomlagenabscheidung auf die TiO2-Schichteigenschaften. Insbesondere wird der Zusammenhang zwischen Ti3+- sowie Interbandzuständen mit elektrischen Kennlinien und deren Einfluss auf funktionale Schichteigenschaften diskutiert. Anschließend werden Mikrostrukturierung, Grenzflächen-Engineering und konforme Abscheidung einer TiO2-ALD-Schutzschicht effektiv zur Performance-Steigerung von p-Si-Photokathoden angewendet.
Titanium dioxide is one of the metal oxides which have versatile application in different fields. The applications of TiO2 are in the field of cosmetics, electronics (memory resistive switching), dye, photonics and photocatalysis. In the present paper we study the resPES data of TiO2 films prepared by atomic layer deposition. The measurements are done in in-situ system at beam line U49/2-PGM2 in BESSY-II. The density of state in valence band and conduction band is obtained from the resonance photo electron spectroscopy (res-PES) of the O1s and the Ti2p edge. The data allow to determine the position of the VBM and CBM with respect to the Fermi energy. Also the existence of localized O2p and Ti2p derived states is deduced which appear in the gap. In addition we determine the charge neutrality level (CNL).The CNL is the position where the weight of the density of state from valence band and conduction band are equal. This is an important quantity for the discussion of interface properties.