Structural and Electrical Properties of K(Ta, Nb)O3 Thin Films with the Variation of Sintering Temperature.

In this study, KTa0.55Nb0.45O3 (KTN) thin films were manufactured by using Chemical Solution Deposition (CSD) method with variations in the sintering temperature and were investigated in order to apply their applicability in memory devices. The KTN thin films were made after coating the PZT bufferlayer on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate. Each layer was dried at 200°C for 5 min to remove any organic materials and pyrolyzed at 400°C for 10 min. Finally, the layers were sintered for 30 min under an oxygen atmosphere, respectively. The pattern of KTN thin films showed a preference to the (100) and (200) orientations. Also, an increase in the sintering temperature caused the KTN crystalline peak intensities to also increase. When looking at the results from the Scanning Electron Microscope and Atomic Force Microscope data, the average grain size and root mean square roughness (Rrms) of KTN thin films were 109~157 nm and about 4 nm, respectively. Typical dielectric dispersion characteristics were observed in which the dielectric constant decreases with an increase of the applied frequency. The specimen sintered at 750°C showed the highest dielectric constant of 769 at 1 kHz.

Electro-Caloric Properties of BT/PZT Multilayer Thin Films Prepared by Sol-Gel Method.

In this study, Barium Titanate (BT)/Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) multilayer thin films were fabricated by the spin-coating method on Pt (200 nm)/Ti (10 nm) SiO2 (100 nm)/P-Si (100) substrates using BaTiO3 and Pb(Zr0.90Ti0.10)O3 metal alkoxide solutions. The coating and heating procedure was repeated several times to form the multilayer thin films. All of BT/PZT multilayer thin films show X-ray diffraction patterns typical to a polycrystalline perovskite structure and a uniform and void free grain microstructure. The thickness of the BT and PZT film by one-cycle of drying/sintering was approximately 50 nm and all of the films consisted of fine grains with a flat surface morphology. The electrocaloric properties of BT/PZT thin films were investigated by indirect estimation. The results showed that the temperature change ΔT can be calculated as a function of temperature using Maxwell's relation; the temperature change reaches a maximum value of ~1.85 °C at 135 °C under an applied electric field of 260 kV/cm.

Dielectric Properties of (Ca0.7Sr0.3)(Zr0.8Ti0.2)O3 Thin Films with Different Deposition Temperatures.

In this paper, (Ca0.7Sr0.3)(Zr0.8Ti0.2)O3 thin films were fabricated by RF-sputtering at various deposition temperatures from 300 °C to 700 °C to determine the optimal deposition condition. The XRD data confirmed the successful fabrication of crystalline CSZT thin films. Based on the dielectric properties of the fabricated thin films, the optimal deposition temperature was 700 °C, which resulted in a film with a relatively high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss (28.4 and 0.006) (at 1 MHz). Moreover, the CSZT thin film deposited at 700 °C showed stable dielectric properties at microwave frequencies. With increasing deposition temperature, the roughness of the CSZT thin film increased but the leakage current of the CSZT thin film decreased, simultaneously.

YBa2Cu3O6+xSemiconductors Fabricated Using the Aerosol Deposition Method for IR Sensors.

In this study, YBa2Cu306+x (YBCO) thick films were investigated for their application in uncooled microbolometers. YBCO powders were prepared using the conventional mixed oxide method and were deposited on an SiO2/Si substrate using the aerosol deposition method (ADM) at room temperature. As a result of thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) of YBCO powder, an endothermic peak was observed at approximately 820 °C. The powder was calcined at 880 °C. The deposited film were annealed at 600-750 °C (O2:Ar = 1:1, pO2) and their structural and electrical properties were investigated at varying annealing temperatures. From X-ray diffraction (XRD) results, all films displayed the typical XRD patterns of the tetragonal phase and the second phase was observed. The thickness of all the YBCO thick films was approximately 15.7 µm. As a result of the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR = 1/R * dR/dT), the YBCO thick films annealed at 700 °C showed the maximum value of -3.1%/°C and all YBCO thick films showed typical NTCR (negative temperature coefficient of resistance) properties, displaying decreased electrical resistance with an increase in temperature.

Structural and Electrical Properties of Lithium-Ion Rechargeable Battery Using the LiFePO4/Carbon Cathode Material.

LiFePO4/C composite powder as cathode material and graphite powder as anode material for Li-ion batteries were synthesized by using the sol-gel method. An electrochemical improvement of LiFePO4 materials has been achieved by adding polyvinyl alcohol as a carbon source into as-prepared materials. The samples were characterized by elemental analysis (EA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-EM). The chemical composition of LiFePO4/C powders was in a good agreement with that of the starting solution. The capacity loss after 500 cycles of LiFePO4/C cell is 11.1% in room temperature. These superior electrochemical properties show that LiFePO4/C composite materials are promising candidates as cathode materials.

Effect of Post-Annealing on (Ca07Sr0.3)(Zr0.8Ti0.2)O3 Films on Pt and Cu Substrates Fabricated by Aerosol Deposition.

We investigated the annealing effect of CSZT films on Pt and Cu substrates fabricated by aerosol deposition (AD) process. The fabricated films were annealed at 100, 250, and 500 degrees C, and all XRD patterns revealed CSZT phase with a perovskite structure, with the exception of the films on Cu substrates annealed at 250 and 500 degrees C, which presented a CuO secondary phase. The dielectric constant and the dielectric loss of the CSZT films on the Pt substrates were observed to increase slightly as the annealing temperature increased. However, the Cu substrates annealed at 250 degrees C presented lower values. The leakage current of films on the Pt substrate decreased as the annealing temperature increased. On the other hand, the films on a Cu substrate increased as the annealing temperature increased, and these results showed that the films on Cu substrates have inferior properties due to the presence of CuO.

Characterization of Anodic Aluminum Oxide Membrane with Variation of Crystallizing Temperature for pH Sensor.

We fabricated electrolyte-dielectric-metal (EDM) device incorporating a high-k Al2O3 sensing membrane from a porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) using a two step anodizing process for pH sensors. In order to change the properties of the AAO template, the crystallizing temperature was varied from 400 degrees C to 700 degrees C over 2 hours. The structural properties were observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The pH sensitivity increased with an increase in the crystallizing temperature from 400 degrees C to 600 degrees C. However at 700 degrees C, deformation occurred. The porous AAO sensor with a crystallizing temperature of 600 degrees C displayed the good sensitivity and long-term stability and the values were 55.7 mV/pH and 0.16 mV/h, respectively.

Development of thermal runaway preventing ZnO varistor for surge protective device.

In this paper, the centre of electrode is suggested for heat conduction. Therefore, the specific reflow soldering process is needed. The comparison of temperature difference among the different areas of ZnO varistors is analyzed. With the nominal surge current, thermal behavior is analyzed. The operation point of temperature for disconnection is proposed. Accordingly, the thermal runaway-preventing ZnO varistors were covered with a fusible alloy, i.e., a thermal fuse, in the process of manufacture, which is expected to ensure there the liability of being resistant to lightning discharge and to ensure stability against thermal runaway in the failure mode. Additionally, it is expected to reduce much more limit voltage than the existing products to which the fuse was separately applied. The thermal runaway-preventing ZnO varistor of the surge protection devices can be widely used as part of the protection provisions of lightning discharge and surge protection demanded in connection with power IT about Green Growth which is nowadays becoming the buzzword in the electric power industry.

Electrical properties of lead-free 0.98(Na0.5K0.5)NbO3-0.02Ba(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 piezoelectric ceramics by optimizing sintering temperature.

Lead-free 0.98(Na0.5K0.5)NbO3-0.02Ba(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 [0.98NKN-0.02BZT] ceramics were fabricated by the conventional mixed oxide method with sintering temperature at 1,080°C to 1,120°C. The results indicate that the sintering temperature obviously influences the structural and electrical properties of the sample. For the 0.98NKN-0.02BZT ceramics sintered at 1,080°C to 1,120°C, the bulk density increased with increasing sintering temperature and showed a maximum value at a sintering temperature of 1,090°C. The dielectric constant, piezoelectric constant [d33], electromechanical coupling coefficient [kp], and remnant polarization [Pr] increased with increasing sintering temperature, which might be related to the increase in the relative density. However, the samples would be deteriorated when they are sintered above the optimum temperature. High piezoelectric properties of d33 = 217 pC/N, kp = 41%, dielectric constant = 1,951, and ferroelectric properties of Pr = 10.3 µC/cm2 were obtained for the 0.98NKN-0.02BZT ceramics sintered at 1,090°C for 4 h.

Ferroelectric properties of PZT/BFO multilayer thin films prepared using the sol-gel method.

In this study, Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/BiFeO3 [PZT/BFO] multilayer thin films were fabricated using the spin-coating method on a Pt(200 nm)/Ti(10 nm)/SiO2(100 nm)/p-Si(100) substrate alternately using BFO and PZT metal alkoxide solutions. The coating-and-heating procedure was repeated several times to form the multilayer thin films. All PZT/BFO multilayer thin films show a void-free, uniform grain structure without the presence of rosette structures. The relative dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the six-coated PZT/BFO [PZT/BFO-6] thin film were approximately 405 and 0.03%, respectively. As the number of coatings increased, the remanent polarization and coercive field increased. The values for the BFO-6 multilayer thin film were 41.3 C/cm2 and 15.1 MV/cm, respectively. The leakage current density of the BFO-6 multilayer thin film at 5 V was 2.52 × 10-7 A/cm2.