Refractory transition-metal (TM) diborides exhibit inherent hardness. However, this is not always sufficient to prevent failure in applications involving high mechanical and thermal stress, since hardness is typically accompanied by brittleness leading to crack formation and propagation. Toughness, the combination of hardness and ductility, is required to avoid brittle fracture. Here, we demonstrate a strategy for simultaneously enhancing both hardness and ductility of ZrB2-rich thin films grown in pure Ar on Al2O3(0001) and Si(001) substrates at 475 °C. ZrB2.4 layers are
Utilizing semiconductor nanowires
for (opto)electronics requires
exact knowledge of their current–voltage properties. We report
accurate on-top imaging and I–V characterization
of individual as-grown nanowires, using a subnanometer resolution
scanning tunneling microscope with no need for additional microscopy
tools, thus allowing versatile application. We form Ohmic contacts
to InP and InAs nanowires without any sample processing, followed
by quantitative measurements of diameter dependent I–V properties with a very small spread in measured values compared
to standard techniques.
The microstructure of stoichiometric ZrB2.0 and B over-stoichiometric ZrB2.5 thin films has been studied using atom probe tomography (APT), X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Both films consist of columnar ZrB2 grains with AlB2type crystal structure. The narrow stoichiometry range of ZrB2 results in the presence of separate disordered B-rich boundaries even in ZrB2.0. At higher average B content, specifically ZrB2.5, the formation of a continuous network around the sides of the ZrB2 columns is promoted. In addition, the APT field evaporation characteristics of ZrB2 and its influence on the measured local composition has been studied and compared to the average composition from elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA). Differences in the measured average compositions of the two techniques are explained by the APT detector dead-time/space. A new pile-up pairs correction procedure based on coevaporation correlation data was thus employed here for the APT data and compared with the 10 B-method (the B equivalence of the 13 C-method), as well as the combination of both methods. In ZrB2.0, all of the applied compositional correction methods were found to reduce the compositional difference when appropriate isotopic abundances were used. In ZrB2.5, the inhomogeneity of the film likely increased the local APT composition to such an extent that even conservative correction procedures overestimated the B content compared to the ERDA reference. The strengths of the pile-
Mass spectral overlaps in atom probe tomography (APT) analyses of complex compounds typically limit the identification of elements and microstructural analysis of a material. This study concerns the TiSiN system, chosen because of severe mass-to-charge-state ratio overlaps of the N and Si peaks as well as the N and Si peaks. By substituting N withN, mass spectrum peaks generated by ions composed of one or more N atoms will be shifted toward higher mass-to-charge-state ratios, thereby enabling the separation of N from the predominant Si isotope. We thus resolve thermodynamically driven Si segregation on the nanometer scale in cubic phase TiSiN thin films for Si contents 0.08 ≤ x ≤ 0.19 by APT, as corroborated by transmission electron microscopy. The APT analysis yields a composition determination that is in good agreement with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and elastic recoil detection analyses. Additionally, a method for determining good voxel sizes for visualizing small-scale fluctuations is presented and demonstrated for the TiSiN system.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.