More Like this

1. Correction to “Thin Films and Bulk Phases Conucleate at the Interfaces of Pentacene Thin Films”

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c02808  

   Dramstad, Thorn A.; Wu, Zhihao; Gretz, Grace M.; Haugstad, Greg; Massari, Aaron M. (May 2022, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C)
2. Structural anisotropy in Sb thin films

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0159670  

   Adhikari, Pradip; Wijesinghe, Anuradha; Rathore, Anjali; Yoo, Timothy Jinsoo; Kim, Gyehyeon; Yeom, Sinchul; Lee, Hyoung-Taek; Mazza, Alessandro R; Sohn, Changhee; Park, Hyeong-Ryeol; et al (January 2024, APL Materials)

   Sb thin films have attracted wide interest due to their tunable band structure, topological phases, high electron mobility, and thermoelectric properties. We successfully grow epitaxial Sb thin films on a closely lattice-matched GaSb(001) surface by molecular beam epitaxy. We find a novel anisotropic directional dependence on their structural, morphological, and electronic properties. The origin of the anisotropic features is elucidated using first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The growth regime of crystalline and amorphous Sb thin films was determined by mapping the surface reconstruction phase diagram of the GaSb(001) surface under Sb2 flux, with confirmation of structural characterizations. Crystalline Sb thin films show a rhombohedral crystal structure along the rhombohedral (211) surface orientation parallel to the cubic (001) surface orientation of the GaSb substrate. At this coherent interface, Sb atoms are aligned with the GaSb lattice along the [1̄10] crystallographic direction but are not aligned well along the [110] crystallographic direction, which results in anisotropic features in reflection of high-energy electron diffraction patterns, misfit dislocation formation, surface morphology, and transport properties. Our DFT calculations show that the preferential orientation of the rhombohedral Sb (211) plane may originate from the GaSb surface, where Sb atoms align with the Ga and Sb atoms on the reconstructed surface. The formation energy calculations confirm the stability of the experimentally observed structures. Our results provide optimal film growth conditions for further studies of novel properties of Bi1−xSbx thin films with similar lattice parameters and an identical crystal structure, as well as functional heterostructures of them with III–V semiconductor layers along the (001) surface orientation, supported by a theoretical understanding of the anisotropic film orientation. 

   more » « less
3. Thin liquid films in a funnel

   https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2021.626  

   Lin, T.-S.; Dijksman, J.A.; Kondic, L. (October 2021, Journal of Fluid Mechanics)

   null (Ed.)

   We explore flow of a completely wetting fluid in a funnel, with particular focus on contact line instabilities at the fluid front. While the flow in a funnel may be related to a number of other flow configurations as limiting cases, understanding its stability is complicated due to the presence of additional azimuthal curvature, as well as due to convergent flow effects imposed by the geometry. The convergent nature of the flow leads to thickening of the film, therefore influencing its stability properties. In this work, we analyse these stability properties by combining physical experiments, asymptotic modelling, self-similar type of analysis and numerical simulations. We show that an appropriate long-wave-based model, supported by the input from experiments, simulations and linear stability analysis that originates from the flow down an incline plane, provides a basic insight allowing an understanding of the development of contact line instability and emerging length scales. 

   more » « less
4. Performance of Transparent Metallic Thin Films

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c04832  

   Wang, Yanfeng; Yang, Fei; Zhang, Zhengjun; Zhao, Yiping (July 2021, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C)
5. Young’s modulus of V3O5 thin films

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0159873  

   Nieves, Christian; Verbel, Camilo; Lysenko, Sergiy; Fernández, Félix_E; Rúa, Armando (August 2023, AIP Advances)

   Vanadium oxide V3O5 exhibits an insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) near 430 K, which is the highest value for all vanadium oxides exhibiting IMTs. This makes it interesting for advanced electronic applications. However, the properties of V3O5 have been little studied, and, in particular, there are no reports of experimentally determined mechanical properties. In this work, Young’s modulus of sputter-deposited V3O5 thin films has been determined by measuring the fundamental resonant frequency of V3O5-coated silicon microcantilevers using a laser beam deflection technique. After deposition, the films were characterized by x-ray diffraction, resistivity measurements, and atomic force microscopy. The value of Young’s modulus experimentally determined for V3O5 was 198 ± 14 GPa, which is slightly lower than the computationally derived values for bulk crystal V3O5. 

   more » « less