Amorphous SiC films prepared by low-energy cluster beam deposition

Bimetallic PdAg nanoparticle arrays from monolayer films of diblock copolymer micelles

The self-assembly technique provides a highly efficient route to generate well-ordered structures on a nanometer scale. In this paper, well-ordered arrays of PdAg alloy nanoparticles on flat substrates with narrow distributions of particle size (6-7 nm) and interparticle spacing (about 60 nm) were synthesized by the block copolymer micelle approach. A home-made PS-b-P4VP diblock copolymer was prepared to obtain a micellar structure in toluene. Pd and Ag salts were then successfully loaded in the micellar core of the PS-b-P4VP copolymer. A self-assembled monolayer of the loaded micelles was obtained by dipping the flat substrate in the solution. At this stage, the core of the micelles was still loaded with the metal precursor rather than with a metal. Physical and chemical reducing methods were used to reduce the metal salts embedded in the P4VP core into PdAg nanoparticles. HRTEM and EDX indicated that Pd-rich PdAg alloy nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical or physical reduction; UV-visible spectroscopy observations confirmed that metallic PdAg nanoparticles were quickly formed after chemical reduction; XPS measurements revealed that the PdAg alloy nanoparticles were in a metallic state after a short time of exposure to O2 plasma and after hydrazine reduction.

Synthesis of amorphous silicon carbide nanoparticles in a low temperature low pressure plasma reactor

Commercial scale production of silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles smaller than 10 nm remains a significant challenge. In this paper, a microwave plasma reactor and appropriate reaction conditions have been developed for the synthesis of amorphous SiC nanoparticles. This continuous gas phase process is amenable to large scale production use and utilizes the decomposition of tetramethylsilane (TMS) for both the silicon and the carbon source. The influence of synthesis parameters on the product characteristics was investigated. The as-prepared SiC particles with sizes between 4 and 6 nm were obtained from the TMS precursor in a plasma operated at low temperature and low precursor partial pressure (0.001-0.02 Torr) using argon as the carrier gas (3 Torr). The carbon:silicon ratio was tuned by the addition of hydrogen and characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The reaction mechanism of SiC nanoparticle formation in the microwave plasma was investigated by mass spectroscopy of the gaseous products.

Ion beam nanopatterning in graphite: characterization of single extended defects

The morphology and the electronic structure of a single focused ion-beam-induced artificial extended defect is probed by several methods including micro-Raman spectroscopy, atomic force and scanning tunneling microscopies and Monte Carlo and/or semi-analytical simulation within standard codes. The efficiency of the artificial defect for deposited metallic cluster pinning is also investigated. We show a correlation between the ion dose, morphology, electronic structure and cluster trapping efficiency. At room temperature, cluster pinning is efficient when the displacement per atom is one or more. Well-ordered patterned cluster networks are considered for potential applications.

Structural relaxation of amorphous silicon carbide

We have examined amorphous structures of silicon carbide (SiC) using both transmission electron microscopy and a molecular-dynamics approach. Radial distribution functions revealed that amorphous SiC contains not only heteronuclear (Si-C) bonds but also homonuclear (Si-Si and C-C) bonds. The ratio of heteronuclear to homonuclear bonds was found to change upon annealing, suggesting that structural relaxation of the amorphous SiC occurred. Good agreement was obtained between the simulated and experimentally measured radial distribution functions.