We describe the magnetron sputtering deposition of thin films at oblique angles. A general relation between the deposition rate of the film and experimental parameters such as gas pressure or substrate tilt angle is deduced and experimentally tested. The model also permits the direct determination of the thermalization mean free path of the sputtered particles in the plasma gas, a key magnitude...

Amorphous carbon films are deposited employing high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) at pulsing frequencies of 250 Hz and 1 kHz. Films are also deposited by direct current magnetron sputtering (dcMS), for reference. In both HiPIMS and dcMS cases, unipolar pulsed negative bias voltages up to 150 V are applied to the substrate to tune the energy of the positively charged ions that bomb...

In this review, we report on the use of low pressure plasmas for elaborating materials at the heart of solid polymer fuel cells (SPFC), especially electrodes and the membrane electrolyte. Electrodes are formed using plasma sputtering techniques while the ion conducting membranes are built up using plasma polymerization. Fuel cell performance will be improved by these approaches. The electrode c...

In situ grown nickel sulfide and cobalt sulfide hierarchical nanospheres on F-doped SnO2 (FTO) substrates exhibited comparable catalytic activities to sputtering Pt on the counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The fresh cells with the nickel sulfide and cobalt sulfide on the counter electrodes could reach power conversion efficiencies of 6.81% and 6.59% respectively, approa...

A beam experiment is presented to study heterogeneous reactions relevant to plasma-surface interactions in reactive sputtering applications. Atom and ion sources are focused onto the sample to expose it to quantified beams of oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, noble gas ions, and metal vapor. The heterogeneous surface processes are monitored in situ by means of a quartz crystal microbalance and Fourie...

Microstructural features of sputtered chromium and chromium-50 wt. % platinum thin films on carbon substrates are presented. Films produced by rf sputtering and dc magnetron sputtering are compared using analytical electron microscopy techniques. All rf-sputtered films are uniform in chemistry and thickness and are amorphous. The chromium film became crystalline with a grain size ofless than 10...

The electrical properties of polymeric thin film transisitors (P-TFTs) based on poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-cobithiophene) alternating copolymer (F8T2) have been studied. Device performance was compared for amorphous silicon nitride deposited by LPCVD and PECVD techniques, aluminum oxide deposited by sputtering, titanium oxide deposited by sputtering, and thermal silicon oxide gate dielectrics. A ...

Hydrogen adsorption by graphite is examined by classical molecular dynamics simulation using a modified Brenner REBO potential. Such interactions are typical in chemical sputtering experiments, and knowledge of the fundamental behavior of hydrogen and graphene in collisional conditions is essential for modeling the sputtering mechanism. The hydrogen adsorption rate is found to be dependent on t...

This paper reports the effect of the different deposition methods towards the ZnO nanostructure crystal quality and film thickness on the polyimide substrate. The ZnO film has been deposited by using the spray pyrolysis technique, sol-gel and RF Sputtering. Different methods give a different nanostructure of the ZnO thin film. Sol gel methods, results of nanoflowers ZnO thin film with the thick...