Organic and inorganic–organic thin film structures by molecular layer deposition: A review

• Pia Sundberg and
• Maarit Karppinen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1104–1136, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.123

• inorganic thin films, i.e., atomic layer deposition (ALD), is currently experiencing a strongly growing interest. Like ALD in case of the inorganics, the emerging molecular layer deposition (MLD) technique for organic constituents can be employed to fabricate high-quality thin films and coatings with

• . Such layer-engineered and/or nanostructured hybrid materials with exciting combinations of functional properties hold great promise for high-end technological applications. Keywords: atomic layer deposition (ALD); hybrid inorganic–organic thin films; molecular layer deposition (MLD); nanolaminates

• ; nanostructuring; organic thin films; superlattices; thin-film technology; Introduction Many high-end technologies rely on our capability to fabricate thin films and coatings with on-demand tailored compositions and architectures in a highly controlled way. The atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique is capable

Growth and characterization of CNT–TiO₂ heterostructures

• Yucheng Zhang,
• Ivo Utke,
• Johann Michler,
• Gabriele Ilari,
• Marta D. Rossell and
• Rolf Erni

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 946–955, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.108

• the topic of synthesis and characterization of the CNT–TiO2 interface. In particular, atomic layer deposition (ALD) offers a good control of the size, crystallinity and morphology of TiO2 on CNTs. Analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques such as electron energy loss spectroscopy

• /metal oxide material systems. Keywords: atomic layer deposition (ALD); carbon nanotubes; electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS); interface; titanium dioxide (TiO2); transmission electron microscopy (TEM); Introduction Since the discovery by Iijima in 1991, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have always been on

• can be found in the review by Leary [19]. Recently, we have adopted the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique to deposit TiO2 on CVD-grown MW-CNTs. ALD relies on self-limiting surface reactions (dissociative chemisorption) of gases which are alternately introduced into and purged out of the reaction

Atomic layer deposition, a unique method for the preparation of energy conversion devices

• Julien Bachmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 245–248, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.26

• frameworks, is conferred with a direct relevance towards energy conversion applications. The conformal coating of non-planar samples is a property that uniquely defines atomic layer deposition (ALD) [3][4][5][6][7], which is why ALD is inherently suited to the preparation of energy conversion devices. ALD

Modeling and optimization of atomic layer deposition processes on vertically aligned carbon nanotubes

• Nuri Yazdani,
• Vipin Chawla,
• Eve Edwards,
• Vanessa Wood,
• Hyung Gyu Park and
• Ivo Utke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 234–244, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.25

• aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) arrays have emerged as possible scaffolds to support large surface area ceramic layers. However, obtaining conformal and uniform coatings of ceramics on structures with high aspect ratio morphologies is non-trivial, even with atomic layer deposition (ALD). Here we implement

• ceramic coating of the CNTs. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a highly attractive option for coating CNTs because it enables a wide range of ceramics and metals to be deposited conformally on arbitrary surface topologies with precise control of layer thickness [1][18]. However, vertically aligned CNT

Photovoltaic properties of ZnO nanorods/p-type Si heterojunction structures

• Rafal Pietruszka,
• Bartlomiej S. Witkowski,
• Grzegorz Luka,
• Lukasz Wachnicki,
• Sylwia Gieraltowska,
• Krzysztof Kopalko,
• Eunika Zielony,
• Piotr Bieganski,
• Ewa Placzek-Popko and
• Marek Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 173–179, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.17

• on zinc oxide nanorods grown by a hydrothermal method on top of p-type Si, covered on top with ZnO:Al films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and acting as a transparent electrode. These simple and low costs solar cells show a power conversion efficiency, which we consider satisfactory

3D-nanoarchitectured Pd/Ni catalysts prepared by atomic layer deposition for the electrooxidation of formic acid

• Loïc Assaud,
• Evans Monyoncho,
• Kristina Pitzschel,
• Anis Allagui,
• Matthieu Petit,
• Margrit Hanbücken,
• Elena A. Baranova and
• Lionel Santinacci

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 162–172, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.16

• , University of Ottawa, 161 Louis-Pasteur St., Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada 10.3762/bjnano.5.16 Abstract Three-dimensionally (3D) nanoarchitectured palladium/nickel (Pd/Ni) catalysts, which were prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on high-aspect-ratio nanoporous alumina templates are investigated with

• intermediates. High catalytic activities are measured for low masses of Pd coatings that were generated by a low number of ALD cycles, probably because of the cluster size effect, electronic interactions between Pd and Ni, or diffusion effects. Keywords: anodic aluminum oxide; atomic layer deposition (ALD

• nanostructures are highly correlated with the technique of fabrication. Among the numerous methods that have been recently explored, the use of atomic layer deposition (ALD) to fabricate and/or functionalize nanostructures appears to be very promising. Catalysts grown by ALD often demonstrated similar or

Quantum size effects in TiO₂ thin films grown by atomic layer deposition

• Massimo Tallarida,
• Chittaranjan Das and
• Dieter Schmeisser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 77–82, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.7

• influenced by quantum size effects. The modified electronic properties may play an important role in charge carrier transport and separation, and increase the efficiency of energy conversion systems. Keywords: atomic layer deposition (ALD); charge transfer multiplet; covalency; energy conversion; quantum

• by the band gap being too large, has been demonstrated in many systems [3]. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a chemical method to grow homogeneous thin films in an atomically controlled mode, which allows for the conformal coating of complex structures with precise thickness and a high degree of

• thin TiO2 films are used to increase efficiency. We deduce that thin TiO2 films exhibit peculiar electronic properties, which should be ascribed to quantum size effects. These influence the covalency in TiO2 by favouring a delocalization of conduction band states. Experimental Atomic layer deposition

Synthesis of indium oxi-sulfide films by atomic layer deposition: The essential role of plasma enhancement

• Cathy Bugot,
• Nathanaëlle Schneider,
• Daniel Lincot and
• Frédérique Donsanti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 750–757, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.85

• Cd-free buffer layers are based on zinc and indium-compounds, with current record efficiencies obtained by chemical bath deposition (CBD, 19.7% and 19.1% for Zn(S,O,OH) [4][5], 15.7% for In(S,O,OH) [6]) or atomic layer deposition (ALD, 18.5% for Zn(O,S) [7], 18.1% for (Zn,Mg)O [8], 16.4% for In2S3 [9

Ellipsometry and XPS comparative studies of thermal and plasma enhanced atomic layer deposited Al₂O₃-films

• Jörg Haeberle,
• Karsten Henkel,
• Hassan Gargouri,
• Franziska Naumann,
• Bernd Gruska,
• Michael Arens,
• Massimo Tallarida and
• Dieter Schmeißer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 732–742, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.83

• not influenced significantly. Initial state energy shifts in all PE-ALD samples are observed which we attribute to a net negative charge within the films. Keywords: Al2O3; ALD; ellipsometry; PE-ALD; XPS; Introduction Thin aluminum oxide (Al2O3) layers deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) have

Surface passivation and optical characterization of Al₂O₃/a-SiC_x stacks on c-Si substrates

• Gema López,
• Pablo R. Ortega,
• Cristóbal Voz,
• Isidro Martín,
• Mónica Colina,
• Anna B. Morales,
• Albert Orpella and
• Ramón Alcubilla

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 726–731, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.82

• ) grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a good alternative for passivating both lightly and highly doped n- and also p-type c-Si substrates [2][3][4]. The excellent passivation quality is due to a double effect: (i) chemical passivation that involves a low density of interface defects, Dit (≈1011 eV

• study the surface passivation of aluminum oxide/amorphous silicon carbide (Al2O3/a-SiCx) stacks on both p-type and n-type crystalline silicon (c-Si) substrates as well as the optical characterization of these stacks. Al2O3 films of different thicknesses were deposited by thermal atomic layer deposition

• (ALD) at 200 °C and were complemented with a layer of a-SiCx deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) to form anti-reflection coating (ARC) stacks with a total thickness of 75 nm. A comparative study has been carried out on polished and randomly textured wafers. We have

Evolution of microstructure and related optical properties of ZnO grown by atomic layer deposition

• Adib Abou Chaaya,
• Roman Viter,
• Mikhael Bechelany,
• Zanda Alute,
• Donats Erts,
• Anastasiya Zalesskaya,
• Kristaps Kovalevskis,
• Vincent Rouessac,
• Valentyn Smyntyna and
• Philippe Miele

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 690–698, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.78

• photoluminescence emissions correspond to transitions near the band-edge and defect-related transitions. Additional emissions were observed from band-tail states near the edge. A high oxygen ratio and variable optical properties could be attractive for an application of atomic layer deposition (ALD) deposited

• different deposition techniques such as sol–gel [18], chemical vapor deposition [19], electro-deposition [5][6][7], RF sputtering, and atomic layer deposition (ALD) [16][17]. It is well known that the optoelectronic properties of zinc oxide thin film [20][21] are strongly dependent on the structure [11][22

Preparation of electrochemically active silicon nanotubes in highly ordered arrays

• Tobias Grünzel,
• Young Joo Lee,
• Karsten Kuepper and
• Julien Bachmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 655–664, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.73

• deposited into the pores conformally by atomic layer deposition (ALD). This method based on well-defined, self-limiting surface reactions carried out in a cyclic manner enables one to create films of accurately tunable thickness d on the surfaces of such porous substrates [12][13][14][15], Because silicon

Near-field effects and energy transfer in hybrid metal-oxide nanostructures

• Ulrich Herr,
• Barat Achinuq,
• Cahit Benel,
• Giorgos Papageorgiou,
• Manuel Goncalves,
• Johannes Boneberg,
• Paul Leiderer,
• Paul Ziemann,
• Peter Marek and
• Horst Hahn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 306–317, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.34

• structure of the TiO2:Eu core due to the perfect lattice matching possible in the homoepitaxial case. In order to investigate the possibility for generation of such coatings, TiO2:Eu nanoparticles were subjected to a post-processing step in an atomic layer deposition (ALD) chamber supplied with trimethyl

Functionalization of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes

• Eloise Van Hooijdonk,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Rony Snyders and
• Jean-François Colomer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 129–152, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.14

• layer deposition (ALD). First the VA-CNTs were modified by chemical functionalization with a trimethylaluminium (TMA) monolayer or ex-situ Ar, O2 or Ar/O2 RF-plasma functionalization. Then, platinum was deposited by ALD. The gas-phase functionalization route was preferred in order to control the

• distribution along the length of the tube, since defects are nucleation sites for NP growth [122]. Functionalization of VA-CNT arrays with platinum nanoparticles is promising in fuel-cell development [123]. Similar samples, i.e., platinum decorated VA-CNTs, were produced by Dameron et al. [124] using atomic

Self-assembled monolayers and titanium dioxide: From surface patterning to potential applications

• Yaron Paz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 845–861, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.94

• chains in the LB film plays a role in improving the capturing of the spheres. Atomic-layer deposition (ALD) is a gas–phase thin-film deposition method employing self-terminating surface reactions, leading to a linear correlation between the thickness of the layer and the number of deposition cycles