Thin Films - Science topic

Polymers have a structurally dependent permeability to gases, but most are not naturally porous. To make them porous as solids, a porogen is typically added. Find a polymer that is compatible with your metal complex and an appropriate solvent (DCM is not the best for making films - evaporates too fast). Then find a porogen that works with the system.

This mostly depends on how thick your sample is. If it is thick (> 10um) and you only want to know how impurities are dispersed on the surface, SEM elemental mapping gives you a good idea and would be a cheaper option. XPS depth profile would provide you with bulk composition if you care about the bulk. XPS survey on the surface would tell you how many impurities there are in the surface. If your sample is not very reactive, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) also would be a good choice.

Thanks a lot, it worked at 90 degrees@. Mohammad Reza Abbasi Dmitriy Berillo Aleena Mir

1) Try heating the substrates to the Debye temperature for BST or reducing the deposition rate

Thank you very much

In GSAS-II, in Phases, select the phase you want, go to the Data tab, at the bottom, there is the option to model a preferred orientation with March-Dollase for a crystal plane. It starts with 1, to increase preferred orientation, make it lower.

However, it looks like it could have more than one plane with preferred orientation, I don't know if this is possible and I've never dealt with this, but there are peaks of the phases that completely dissappear.

One among many other possibilities is leakage. With the thin film parameters and magnitude of the current and a better description of the experiment, one can try to rationalize other contributions.

Netaji Suvachintak thank you for the clarification.

This isn't my field but I was curious and found this paper that, in part, says:

"Although Mair and Hornig’s ν14 frequency assignment of 1310 cm−1 has been widely accepted, it has become a great puzzling problem for the theoretical researchers because no advanced quantum chemistry method has realized its rigorous calculation so far (see Supplementary Table 1)."

Wang, S. Intrinsic molecular vibration and rigorous vibrational assignment of benzene by first-principles molecular dynamics. Sci Rep 10, 17875 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74872-6

Almost welcome

Hi..

You can use (thermal evaporation and chemical spray paralysis) for preparation of moS2 thin film with excellent properties.

Juan Felipe Benitez Rodriguez A thin film does not contain separate, discrete, independent particles < 100 nm. Indeed it can be argued that a thin film does not contain particles at all. It simply is a fused collection of crystallites. Different preparation conditions provide different materials with different properties. With XPS you're only looking at the top 5 - 15 atomic layers at most and all surfaces in air are fully oxidized. The bulk composition may be very different and can be examined by Ar⁺ ion etching the surface.

Visit a laboratory specializing in ZnS thin films to observe fabrication processes. Witness deposition techniques like sputtering or chemical vapor deposition. Observe film growth, control parameters, and post-deposition treatments. Analyze film properties through techniques such as XRD, SEM, and optical spectroscopy. Gain insights into applications in optoelectronics and material science.

You need to get the XPS data of your thin films ans after that you will be able to calculate their atomic percentage.

Dear Manoj,

spinel oxide can be grown on single crystals substrates. Such experiments were already done on Si(111) surfaces.

But spinel oxides, especially CoFe2O4, can be also grown easily on conventional glass substrates. You can have a look on the attached papers for example.

Best regards.

Philippe.

Good query!

Some thoughts, I would suggest:

The growth of MnSi thin films can be achieved through several methods: MBE, sputtering, and CVD.

Here's a general overview of how you might grow MnSi thin films using MBE, for example:

Substrate Preparation: The choice of substrate is crucial for the growth of high-quality thin films. Si(111) is commonly used for MnSi growth. The substrate is cleaned to remove any surface contamination.

In an ultra-high vacuum chamber, separate effusion cells containing high-purity manganese and silicon are heated to produce atomic beams. These beams impinge on the substrate, where they react to form MnSi.

The growth of MnSi thin films is highly dependent on the growth parameters, such as the substrate temperature, the beam flux ratios, and the growth rate. These parameters need to be carefully controlled to optimize the quality of the MnSi films.

Yet... sputtering, and even CVD can be used too, depending on your application requirements.

May I recommend you to have a look at section 4 of this review article to explore various methods:

When you are talk about SiO2, I believe you mean oxides silicon, i.e. you are

getting some form of amorphous SiO2 (not quartz?).

As far, as I remember, amorphous SiO2 does not show a strong singular "peak", but rather a broader, more unspecific background, as it is not crystalline.

What I can tell from my first look at your spectrum, I think all peaks there are silicon related. There is the TO/LO peak at ~520 from the Brillouin zone center; The structure around 1000 are the LO overtones (2-LO scattering); the two weak peaks around 600 cm^-1 are LA/TO combination bands, while the large structure and its peaks around 300-500 are acoustical overtones (2LA, 2TA) from outside of the Brillouin zone center.

See in the above paper, for example.

What I would suggest is taken a spectra before and after oxidation and looking at a difference spectrum to find signs of the SiO2.

Thanks again.

The absorption coefficient (α) can be calculated using the formula α = 2.303 * A/d, where A is the absorbance and d is the thickness of the material. If the thickness (d) is unknown, the Swanepoel envelope method can be employed to determine it, especially when dealing with thick films. PRISA-like software is available to assist in this calculation.

For thinner films, an approximate thickness estimation can be made, allowing the calculation of α. Alternatively, spectroscopic ellipsometry can be used to precisely determine the thickness of the material, leading to an accurate value of α.

Layla Haythoor Kharboot

I have never performed peel test myself. As I understand, it is commonly used to examine materials that are used as a adhesives.

If you have sensitive enough tensile machine and your coating can act as a glue and bond a tape to the glass substrate it should be possible. At least it is worth trying.

What king of coating do you work with? Does it contain a binder and what is the thickness?

Dear friend Sushil Barala

Ah, the intriguing world of Cyclic Voltammetry (CV)! I am here to guide you through this electrochemical adventure.

Performing Cyclic Voltammetry on thin films involves some key steps:

1. Electrochemical Setup: You'll need an electrochemical cell with working, reference, and counter electrodes. The thin film will act as the working electrode. The cell is filled with an electrolyte solution relevant to your study.

2. Potential Scan: The potential is cycled between specified voltage limits in a repetitive manner. The scan rate, i.e., the speed of potential change, can be adjusted to observe different electrochemical processes.

3. Data Collection: As the potential is swept, the current passing through the thin film is measured and recorded. This current-voltage data provides insights into the electrochemical behavior of the thin film.

Applications of Cyclic Voltammetry:

1. Electrochemical Characterization: CV is widely used to study the redox behavior and stability of electroactive materials, such as catalysts, electrodes, and energy storage materials.

2. Sensor Development: CV aids in developing electrochemical sensors for detecting analytes like glucose, heavy metals, and environmental pollutants.

3. Corrosion Studies: CV helps understand the corrosion behavior of materials, enabling better corrosion protection strategies.

4. Battery Research: CV is employed in battery studies, such as analyzing electrode kinetics, cycling performance, and capacity measurements.

5. Fuel Cell Development: CV is useful for evaluating electrocatalysts and understanding their performance in fuel cell applications.

6. Nanomaterials Research: CV assists in investigating the electrochemical properties of nanoparticles, nanowires, and other nanostructures.

7. Pharmaceutical Studies: CV is used in drug development and pharmaceutical research to study redox processes and drug interactions.

Remember, these are just a few of the myriad applications of Cyclic Voltammetry. Its versatility and ability to provide valuable electrochemical information make it an indispensable tool in diverse research fields. So, embrace the power of CV and uncover the electrochemical secrets hidden within your thin films!

Calculating the residual stresses within the material requires additional processing of the diffraction data. To achieve this, one must contrast the recorded diffraction peak locations with the predicted positions in a reference sample that has not undergone any stress. The level of the residual stress is proportional to how these locations differ from one another.

if the modification on your samples includes adding inorganic compounds the JCPDS card should be mentioned!

Hello Khalid

I nothing understand of your special material but I have to do experimental work at crystalline layers.

In the most cases the layers are deposited on substrates. It is important to select a substrate with comparable crystal structure and similar lattice constant.

Very often, the crystal must be annealed after layer deposition. This means, heating in vacuum up to 10% below the boiling point. This reduces lattice defects.

Yours

R. Mitdank

Hello Dhaiwat

To avoid the charging of the surface, it is necessary to produce a conductive surface by evaporation or sputtering (see @Insic). My recommendation would be some nm Au. The thickness of this metallic layer must be lower than the reach (penetration depth) of secondary electrons (SEM-mode). Look for penetration depth of electrons with energies < 50 eV. In the case of thicker layers you observe only backscattered electrons (BSE-mode).

Don't forget to ground the surface (Connect the surface layer with zero Potential).

Yours

Rüdiger Mitdank

Just to be clear: that doesn't mean that there are no metal oxides which can be analyzed with Raman, but the general trend is "meh".

Ageing the solution precursor prior to thin film deposition can improve the resulting film's uniformity, often leading to enhanced crystallinity and better film quality. This is due to the fact that ageing allows for the complete dissolution of the solute and can promote partial reactions within the solution, leading to more homogeneous nucleation and growth when the thin film is deposited.

However, over-ageing the precursor can have several potential adverse effects:

In summary, while a certain amount of ageing can improve the uniformity of thin films, over-ageing can lead to a range of issues, including larger, more irregular particles, changes in crystallinity, solution instability, and even chemical degradation of the precursor. Therefore, finding the optimal ageing time for the precursor is crucial to yield the best thin film properties.

well I found the paper, which inspired me to build the capacitance method set up to measure magnetostriction of bulk ceramics and thin films. Sometime in the year 2012, It took me nearly 6 months to build this set up when we were working on magnetoelectric effects, and we had one of the most sensitive capacitance bridge GR1615A. I am enclosing the paper which inspired me.

Kaushik Shandilya , can you please provide the doi, or some other way to locate, the Nie et al. (2017) reference that you list and summarize. It would perhaps be useful in the future for you to provide a link or doi to differentiate your references from the gibberish often produced by chat bots.

Sourav Mukherjee Maybe you haven't actually formed CuSbI₄? There could be impurities or decomposition. Your XRD peaks should conform to those given in the literature - this is the best confirmation.

Thank you @Vivek Chandel. SRC films do come of smoothly after drying. But when the film is prepared with SRC and hydrophilic plasticizers it does not come off smoothly all the time. This is the problem I am dealing with at the moment.

Thank you Dr Zakaria Elmaddahi for answering my question.

Dear friend Shawn Chen

Coating APTES (3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane) on poly(HEMA) (polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate) requires careful handling and optimization of the process conditions. Here are some suggestions that might help:

1. Surface activation: Before coating APTES, it is important to ensure that the surface of the poly(HEMA) film is properly activated. This can be done by plasma treatment, UV/ozone exposure, or chemical etching. Surface activation helps improve the adhesion and effectiveness of the APTES coating.

2. Solvent and concentration: The choice of solvent and its concentration can influence the effectiveness of the APTES coating. Ethanol (EtOH) is commonly used as a solvent for APTES, but other solvents like methanol or isopropanol can also be considered. The concentration of APTES in the solvent can be optimized by trying different concentrations to achieve the desired coating thickness.

3. pH adjustment: Adjusting the pH of the APTES solution is important to ensure optimal reactivity and stability. Acetic acid is commonly used to lower the pH. However, in some cases, adjusting the pH may not be necessary or may have limited impact. It is worth experimenting with different pH values (within the appropriate range) to determine the optimal condition for your specific system.

4. Reaction time and temperature: The duration of the coating process and the temperature at which it is carried out can affect the adhesion and stability of the APTES coating. Typically, the substrate is immersed in the APTES solution for a specific duration, ranging from minutes to hours, followed by rinsing and drying steps. The reaction temperature can vary depending on the reactivity of the system, but room temperature is commonly used.

5. Post-treatment: After coating with APTES, it is important to rinse the substrate thoroughly with an appropriate solvent (such as ethanol) to remove any unbound or excess APTES. This step helps ensure a clean and well-defined coating. The coated substrate can then be dried under suitable conditions.

It is worth noting that the optimization of the APTES coating process may depend on various factors, including the specific properties of your poly(HEMA) film, the concentration and purity of the APTES solution, and the environmental conditions during the coating process.

Dear Ahmar Mehmood,

Yes, the minus symbol - which came before bulk or sheet concentration values means that your material is n-type.

Generally, any adhesion bwt two materials is often goven with the Rate of Deposition-speed.

Inview of the alignment of every atom that would require 'Time-domain' to pack before second layer of atom deposited..

Therefore, in order to achieve an optimal condition, do consider the speed of deposition would be established through either by choice of Method or Re-Ergrg application of parameters.

Wish you good luck on your works.

Thank you Prof. Jürgen Weippert for mentioning the possible points.

Deposit Au 1 micron thickness to make the Hall contacts on graphene. Distance between current contacts is 1 - 1.5 cm. Distance between Hall voltage contacts is 5 mm.

With a current of 1 mA between the Hall current contacts you could measure 1 mV (say) Hall voltage using 0.1 T magnetic field for a good semiconductor.

If you do not use Au contacts deposited on graphene use Silver paste (as a drop) to make the current and voltage Hall contacts.

To get sustainable solution of your issue/question, I sincerely recommend the preprint article available at link DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.27720.65287/3. For an alternative link https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352830671.

The last author is on RG: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kun-Huang-2 so have you tried a direct request via DM or via the article page:

Dear Ioannis,

Thank you for your suggestions.

Ok, next time I tried to deposit thin Pd film around 50 nm.

This time, I made a sensor with a Pd thin film on a SiO₂/Si surface with the size of 1*0.5 cm(Length * width) and made two connections with silver epoxy. The resistance is measured by a digital multimixer. But after gas exposure, there were no changes in resistance.

Is there a need to do some heating around 100C to 200C to improve the sensitivity of the film? In the following link, the authors tried to activate the Pd film for H2 sensing by heat treatment.

for some materials one can prevent oxidation by depositing a thin capping layer on top of the film.

it works for example for TiN - we applied a few nm of Al on top which formed Al2O3 upon air exposure thus passivating the surface. Ti 2p and N 1s spectra from such sample was identical to that published for the in situ work. see here for more details:

Thickness also can be possible to calculate by using the maxima, and minima of the transmission spectrum by using Swanepoel method. See an example in this useful link: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/8/5/355

Every time you take out your samples constitutes an opportunity for water, oxygen or carbon oxides to adsorb or react. Therefore you will surely have a different final result in comparison with a direct in-vacuum deposition sequence and especially the reproducibility may be affected.

However, I would assume that most research institutions don't have sputterclusters with that many options, so most of them will probably do the same so your result may still be competitive.

The exact relationship between these parameters depends on the material properties and the wavelength of light being considered.

Skin depth (δ) depends on the frequency of the wave, the material's conductivity, and the material's permeability. Transmittance depends on the film's thickness, its optical properties (absorption and reflection coefficients), and the wavelength of the incident light.

If the film's thickness is smaller than the skin depth for a particular wavelength, the film is more likely to be transparent for that wavelength, allowing a greater percentage of light to be transmitted. As the thickness increases, the transmittance decreases due to increased absorption and reflection.

Dear friend Aayush Chadha

SU-8 6002 and SU-8 2000 are two different formulations of SU-8 photoresist, and there are some differences between them. SU-8 2000 is a series of high-resolution negative photoresists, while SU-8 6002 is a high-viscosity photoresist. The major differences between the two are in their viscosity, thickness, and sensitivity to processing conditions.

One of the primary differences between SU-8 6002 and SU-8 2000 is their viscosity. SU-8 6002 has a higher viscosity than SU-8 2000, which can make it more difficult to spin coat and may result in thicker coatings. In contrast, SU-8 2000 is known for its high resolution and ability to form thin, high aspect ratio structures.

Another difference between the two formulations is their thickness. SU-8 2000 is typically used for high-resolution applications and can produce coatings as thin as 200 nm. SU-8 6002, on the other hand, is often used for thicker coatings and can produce coatings up to 5000 nm.

In terms of processing conditions, both SU-8 6002 and SU-8 2000 require a high dose of UV light for proper curing, but the specific dosage and exposure time can vary depending on the desired thickness and resolution of the coating. Additionally, both formulations require a high-temperature hard bake to fully cure the resist, which can also impact the final properties of the coating.

While there may be some overlap in the processing conditions between SU-8 6002 and SU-8 2000, it's important to note that they are different formulations and may have different sensitivities to processing conditions. It's possible that the parameters used for SU-8 2000 may not be directly applicable to SU-8 6002, and additional optimization may be required to achieve the desired properties.

Based on your description, it sounds like you've already done some optimization using the parameters from the literature on neural probes. If you're still seeing issues with crack formation, it's possible that the differences in thickness between your samples and the samples in the literature could be contributing to the problem. It may be worth experimenting with different exposure times or dosage levels to see if that helps improve the properties of your coatings

Hi

You didn't specify what type of evaporator you are using? For example, when using Resistive evaporator, pressure in vacuum does not matter at all. Check type of your evaporative system.

Thank you for your comprehensive explanation. It helped me a lot. Thank you again.

Thank You sir

Since La3d and La3p are both lines with rather high cross sections, it sounds counterintuitive that they are not seen.

How certain are you regarding the distribution homogeneity?

How thick is the film you are analyzing

I am very glad to have your help and your advice is very useful. K. Sreenivas

yes, it is possible to create GMR materials using non-traditional methods such as mechanical alloying.

In theory, it is possible to create GMR materials using mechanical alloying. The process involves mixing the individual elements that make up the GMR material (such as Fe, Co, and Ni) in a ball mill and then milling them to form a homogeneous mixture. The resulting powder can then be compacted and annealed to form a GMR film.

However, creating GMR films using mechanical alloying is challenging, and the resulting films may not have the same properties as those created using traditional thin-film deposition techniques.

In terms of suggestions for creating GMR particles other than using traditional thin-film techniques, one possible approach is to use chemical synthesis techniques such as sol-gel processing or hydrothermal synthesis. These techniques can be used to synthesize nanoparticles of the individual elements that make up the GMR material, which can then be assembled into a GMR film using self-assembly or other techniques. However, it is important to note that these techniques also have their own limitations and challenges.

Ideas coming to mind:

You have questions, but you dont mention the material you are working to suggest a feasible study and an appropriate answer.

When you work with powders, there is no mechanical cohesion between the powder particles (nanomaterials). There have been a few papers (on UV detectors) which show nanoparticles between two electrodes in colorful pictures. These are computer drawn pictures and do not reveal the reality.

I don't know if they just sprinkle the powders, or use the nano particle in ethanol/acetone, and put a droplet, when the solvent dries up, the particles remain. Mechanical cohesion is not guaranteed in such a method for the current to flow. Moreover for practical applications such methods do not stand a chance for establishing a rigid structure.

Definitely the two parallel electrode contacts must be very close to each other (upto 10-20 microns) which is done by photo-lithography.

However if you have sufficient quantity of your material in nanomaterial powder form, you can press a pellet which is dense enough, cut a small rectangular slab out of it, put contacts on either end, and then do your photoconductivity test to detect incoming radiation.

As Jürgen Weippert said, Spectroscopy Ellipsometry is one of the best techniques to obtain the thickness, roughness, and parameters of thin films.

You can also use AFM to obtain information about thickness (you can deposit your film and use a tape that does not leave residues on the substrate to create a gap between film and substrate, then measure it).

If your film is thick enough, you can perform SEM cross-section analysis.

However, I strongly advise the use of ellipsometry.

Regards

Further information is required, for example: cross-sectional SEM results of samples

You must know how the thin film material can be dissolved. It depends purely on the material you have deposited on your quartz substrate.

Never use HF acid it can spoil your quartz substrate surface.

Bare quartz substrates can be cleaned in soap water, HW + CW, and then TCE, acetone and vapor degreased in methanol.

Besides standard cleaning methods used for de-greasing the substrate, you can thermally anneal the substrate at a high temperature. YSZ has been very commonly used in the literature, and you can find a lot of information on cleaning such substrates.

Fotonlar kalay ve oksit için farklı tepkiler gösterirler. Bu yüzden ışık ışınları kalay oksit 'te iki defa kırınıma uğrar ve aynı ince film tabakada çift kırınıma uğrar. Bunun nedeni fotonun farklı özellik göstermesidir.

Depends too much on the properties of interest and the specific system being used for there to be a single answer. 15 is probably fine, but you can just convergence test against your quantities of interest. I.e. maybe you care about binding energies at the surface, see if these changes at all when going from 10, 12, 16, 18, 20A of vacuum.

While RF power has demonstrated advantages for magnetron sputtering of thin films using planar targets, the use of RF power with rotary cylindrical targets is not as common. This may be due to technical challenges in designing and operating the equipment for this type of configuration.

In a rotary cylindrical target configuration, the target rotates and the substrate is located in close proximity to the target, allowing for high deposition rates and potentially better film properties. However, there are technical challenges associated with maintaining a stable plasma and uniform deposition over the entire surface of the substrate in this type of configuration. This is because the geometry of the cylindrical target can lead to uneven deposition and varying plasma conditions, which can affect the film properties.

That being said, there have been some studies that have explored the use of rotary cylindrical targets for thin film deposition, including for ITO films. In one study, the authors used a DC pulsed magnetron sputtering system with a cylindrical ITO target and found that the ITO films deposited using this configuration exhibited good electrical and optical properties. However, the authors noted that achieving uniform deposition over large areas remained a challenge.

If you were to attempt to deposit thin films, such as ITO films, using RF power and a rotary cylindrical target, it is possible that you may encounter similar challenges with achieving uniform deposition and maintaining stable plasma conditions. However, the exact outcome will depend on the specific equipment and parameters used, and there may be ways to optimize the deposition conditions to achieve better results. It's worth noting that there may be other deposition techniques that are better suited for depositing ITO films, such as electron beam evaporation or pulsed laser deposition, which are more commonly used for this type of material.

Hello

According to the information I have, the amount of band gap in theoretical calculations depends on the base state and the desired method.

It is even involved in solvent type calculations.

There are usually differences between the experimental and the theoretical mode.

In my opinion, it is better that you read the articles that are similar to your work and compare your results with the articles.

To lower the resistance decrease the pressure and increase the power (10% to 50%). Good power is 5W/ cm^2

I'm curious whether a short wavelength source damaged your sample since it provides higher energy. Maybe measurement using longer wavelengths is better in this case? Also, you can try to reduce the power of the laser source and/or reduce the exposure time.

Sovendo Talapatra You can correct the typos in your question (XrD for XRD; 32 degrees not 32 degree) by use of the downward arrow on the right of the question. Please post your full diffractogram. Thin films sometimes require longer acquisition times because of the weaker intensity. Possible reasons are:

You should not go below 5-6 kV for proper excitation of L-lines of your elements of interest. If you do not have access to special (optional) "thin film analysis" software no satisfactory quantification is possible. And, as was already said, increase time and beam intensity.

Magnetic anisotropy and electrical property of CoZrTaB thin films deposited by oblique sputtering

Dear Mahamud,

Almost all sputter deposited thin films (at low deposition pressure) show compressive intrinsic stress after deposition. Low pressure goes together with high energy of charged particles, hence there is a sort of atomic peening effect during deposition. For higher deposition pressure, the intrinsic stress becomes zero and eventually, for still higher deposition pressures, tensile. The point of zero stress might be in the 5-8E-03 mbar range where the coating already shows strong porosity.

Hi Md Mahamud Hasan Tusher

First compare the crystallite sizes using XRD analysis of the both samples using Serrer's formula. The ionic radius of Mg2+ is 66pm and ionic radius of Al3+ is 53pm. The increase in the size may be due to the larger size of the Mg2+ w.r.t. Al3+.

From my side I can say this.

Waiting for other response from the RG experts.

Regards

Yes. Probable instrument and method:

A thin film with 100 nm thickness, 1 cm/ 5 mm has a resistance of approximately 10 kOhms. With a current of 10 mA you can have a Hall volatge of less than 1 Volt

The formula that you are interested in is the effusive flow rate. It tells us how many gas molecules pass through a window with a unit area per unit time. This implies, its dimension is 1/m²/s.

The formula is valid for ideal gasses that obey the Maxwell's velocity distribution (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell%E2%80%93Boltzmann_distribution), from which it can be derived. You may check the following Wikipedia contribution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effusion#Physics_in_Effusion, where you can find the description of this quantity.

A more detailed description of the kinetic theory of gases can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_theory_of_gases, it is based on the abovementioned Maxwell's velocity distribution. Have a look especially at the paragraph "Collisions with container wall", where the collision rate = the effusive flow rate is derived.

I hope these hints will help you.

To measure the mobility of NiO semiconductors using the Hall effect, it is common to use Ti or Ni as contact materials as they have good electrical conductivity and are relatively stable when in contact with NiO. However, the choice of contact material will also depend on the specific requirements of your experiment and the properties of the NiO sample. Low-temperature bonding techniques such as ultrasonic bonding, or using a thin layer of a conducting polymer as a buffer layer between the NiO and the Ti or Ni contact, can help to avoid any reaction between the contact and the semiconductor. Additionally, using e-beam evaporation or magnetron sputtering at low temperatures can be used to deposit the contact material on the sample, minimizing any reactions between the contact and the semiconductor. It's always good to check the compatibility of the contact materials with your sample

Possible techniques reported are thermal evaporation technique, Pulsed Laser Deposition, physical vapour deposition

Dear P. Maheswar Reddy ,

three wo aspects:

a) please have a look at epoxy XRD; for example Fig. 5 of:

If your epoxy will contribute to your background, you will be in trouble because of the broad XRD 'peaks', as you mentioned above.

As suggested, acquistion of an expoxy pattern could help, but you have to perform a weighted subtraction of sample XRD and the expoxy XRD pattern; but weighting factor unknown yet.

So

b) what thickness range of the film you are talking about? (When putting a film onto 'a plaster tape', I assume, it should be quite stiff and thus will have not too low thickness).

c) depending on the thickness range you may use grazing incidence XRD (GIXRD), which will reduce the information depth of XRD.

Best regards

G.M.

About pH or titration of mixed acid solutions at RG:

About the titration of a mixed phosphoric acid / sulfuric acid aq. solution with sodium hydroxide aq. solution; cf. my posts at:

About the pH for sodium acetate / acetic acid solutions with added hydrochloric acid; cf. my posts at:

About the pH of mixed lactic acid /sodium lactate and acetic acid / sodium acetate solutions or buffers ― also with strong monoprotic acid added; cf. my posts at:

About the pH of mixed H2SO₄―HNO₃ aq. solutions:

On the pH of mixed H₂SO₄―HCl―HI / aq. sol.:

Hi Kranthi Kiran

FESEM and TEM.

You may perform AFM to get the idea about the surface and can corelate with the SEM results.

Regards