Polysilazane and silazane-based precursor films were deposited on stacked TiN/Ti/TEOS/Si-substrate by spin-coating, then annealed at 150~400oC, integrated further to form the top electrode and pad, and finally characterized. Theprecursor solutions were composed of 20% perhydro-polysilazane (SiH2NH)n, and 20% hydropolymethyl silazane(SiHCH3NH)n in dibutyl ether. Annealing of the precursor films led to the compositional change of the two chemicals intosilicon (di)oxides, which was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra. It is thought that thedifferent results that were obtained originated from the fact that the two precursors, despite having the same synthetic routeand annealing conditions, had different chemical properties. Electrical measurement indicated that under 0.6MV/cm, a largercapacitance of 2.776×10−11 F and a lower leakage current of 0.4pA were obtained from the polysilazane-based dielectric films,as compared to 9.457×10−12 F and 2.4pA from the silazane-based film, thus producing a higher dielectric constant of 5.48compared to 3.96. FTIR indicated that these superior electrical properties are directly correlated to the amount of Si-O bondsand the improved chemical bonding structures of the spin-on dielectric films, which were derived from a precursor without C.The chemical properties of the precursor films affected both the formation and the electrical properties of the spin-on dielectricfilm.

We have investigated the structural and electrical properties of Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) thin films deposited by anRF magnetron sputtering at various RF powers from 50 to 90W. All the GZO thin films are grown as a hexagonal wurtzitephase with highly c-axis preferred parameters. The structural and electrical properties are strongly related to the RF power. Thegrain size increases as the RF power increases since the columnar growth of GZO thin film is enhanced at an elevated RFpower. This result means that the crystallinity of GZO is improved as the RF power increases. The resistivity of GZO rapidlydecreases as the RF power increases up to 70W and saturates to 90W. In contrast, the electron concentration of GZO increasesas the RF power increases up to 70W and saturates to 90W. GZO thin film shows the lowest resistivity of 2.2×10−4Ωcmand the highest electron concentration of 1.7×1021cm−3 at 90W. The mobility of GZO increases as the RF power increasessince the grain boundary scattering decreases due to the reduced density of the grain boundary at a high RF power. Thetransmittance of GZO thin films in the visible range is above 90%. GZO is a feasible transparent electrode for application asa transparent electrode for thin film solar cells.

We have investigated the structural and optical properties of Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) thin films deposited by RFmagnetron sputtering at various deposition temperatures from 100 to 500oC. All the GZO thin films are grown as a hexagonalwurtzite phase with highly c-axis preferred parameter. The structural and electrical properties are strongly related to depositiontemperature. The grain size increases with the increasing deposition temperature up to 400oC and then decreases at 500oC. Thedependence of grain size on the deposition temperature results from the variation of thermal activation energy. The resistivityof GZO thin film decreases with the increasing deposition temperature up to 300oC and then decreases up to 500oC. GZO thinfilm shows the lowest resistivity of 4.3×10−4Ωcm and highest electron concentration of 1.0×1021cm−3 at 300oC. The mobilityof GZO thin films increases with the increasing deposition temperature up to 400oC and then decreases at 500oC. GZO thinfilm shows the highest resistivity of 14.1cm2/Vs. The transmittance of GZO thin films in the visible range is above 87% atall the deposition temperatures. GZO is a feasible transparent electrode for the application to the transparent electrode of thinfilm solar cells.

Si Nanowire (NW) field effect transistors (FETs) were fabricated on hard Si and flexible polyimide (PI) substrates, and their electrical characteristics were compared. Si NWs used as channels were synthesized by electroless etching method at low temperature, and these NWs were refined using a centrifugation method to get the NWs to have an optimal diameter and length for FETs. The gate insulator was poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVP), prepared using a spin-coating method on the PI substrate. Gold was used as electrodes whose gap was 8 μm. These gold electrodes were deposited using a thermal evaporator. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the device were measured using a semiconductor analyzer, HP-4145B. The electrical properties of the device were characterized through hole mobility, Ion/Ioff ratio and threshold voltage. The results showed that the electrical properties of the TFTs on PVP were similar to those of TFTs on SiO2. The bending durability of SiNWs TFTs on PI substrate was also studied with increasing bending times. The results showed that the electrical properties were maintained until the sample was folded about 500 times. But, after more than 1000 bending tests, drain current showed a rapid decrease due to the defects caused by the roughness of the surface of the Si NWs and mismatches of the Si NWs with electrodes.

Novel unsaturated polyester composites with PAN-based nanofiber, stabilized PAN nanofiber, and carbonized nanofiber webs have been fabricated, respectively, and the effects of the nanofiber web content on their electrical resistivity, the thermal stability, dynamic storage modulus, and fracture surfaces were studied. The result demonstrated that the introduction of just one single layer (which is corresponding to 2 wt.%) of the carbonized nanofiber web to unsaturated polyester resin (UPE) could contribute to reducing markedly the electrical resistivity of the resin reflecting the percolation threshold, to improving the storage modulus, and to increasing the thermal stability above 350℃. The effect on decreasing the resistivity and increasing the modulus was the greatest at the carbonized PAN nanofiber web content of 8 wt.%, particularly showing that the storage modulus was increased about 257~283% in the measuring temperature range of -25℃ to 50℃. The result also exhibited that the carbonized PAN nanofibers were distributed uniformly and compactly in the unsaturated polyester, connecting the matrix three-dimensionally through the thickness direction of each specimen. It seemed that such the fiber distribution played a role in reducing the electrical resistivity as well as in improving the dynamic storage modulus.

Graphene is one of the most promising materials for many applications. It can be used in a variety of applications not only as a reinforcement material for polymer to obtain a combination of desirable mechanical, electrical, thermal, and barrier properties in the resulting nanocomposite but also as a component in energy storage, fuel cells, solar cells, sensors, and batteries. Recent research at Michigan State University has shown that it is possible to exfoliate natural graphite into graphite nanoplatelets composed entirely of stacks of graphene. The size of the platelets can be controlled from less than 10 nm in thickness and diameters of any size from sub-micron to 15 microns or greater. In this study we have investigated the influence of melt compounding processing on the physical properties of a polyamide 6 (PA6) nanocomposite reinforced with exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets (xGnP). The morphology, electrical conductivity, and mechanical properties of xGnP-PA6 nanocomposite were characterized with electrical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, AC impedance, and mechanical properties. It was found that counter rotation (CNR) twins crew processed xGnP/PA6 nanocomposite had similar mechanical properties with co-rotation (CoR) twin screw processed or with CoR conducted with a screw design modified for nanoparticles (MCoR). Microscopy showed that the CNR processed nanocomposite had better xGnP dispersion than the (CoR) twin screw processed and modified screw (MCoR) processed ones. It was also found that the CNR processed nanocomposite at a given xGnP content showed the lowest graphite X-ray diffraction peak at 26.5˚ indicating better xGnP dispersion in the nanocomposite. In addition, it was also found that the electrical conductivity of the CNR processed 12 wt.% xGnP-PA6 nanocomposite is more than ten times higher than the CoR and MCoR processed ones. These results indicate that better dispersion of an xGnP-PA6 nanocomposite is attainable in CNR twins crew processing than conventional CoR processing.

In this study, we fabricated a polymer light emitting diode (PLED) and investigated its electrical and optical characteristics in order to examine the effects of the PFO [poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-2-7-diyl) end capped with N,N-bis(4-methylphenyl)-4-aniline] concentrations in the emission layer (EML). The PFO polymer was dissolved in toluene ranging from 0.2 to 1.2 wt%, and then spin-coated. To verify the influence of the TPBI [2,2',2"-(1,3,5-Benzinetriyl)-tris(1-phenyl-1-H-benzimidazole)]electron transport layer, TPBI small molecules were deposited by thermal evaporation. The current density, luminance, wavelength and current efficiency characteristics of the prepared PLED devices with and without TPBI layer at various PFO concentrations were measured and compared. The luminance and current efficiency of the PLED devices without TPBI layer were increased, from 117 to 553 cd/m2 and from 0.015 to 0.110 cd/A, as the PFO concentration increased from 0.2 to 1.0 wt%. For the PLED devices with TPBI layer, the luminance and current efficiency were 1724 cd/m2 and 0.501 cd/A at 1.0 wt% PFO concentration. The CIE color coordinators of the PLED device with TPBI layer at 1.0 wt% PFO concentration showed a more pure blue color compared with the one without TPBI, and the CIE values varied from (x, y) = (0.21, 0.23) to (x, y) = (0.16, 0.11).

The (1-x)La0.7Sr0.3MnO3(LSMO)/xZnFe2O4(ZFO) (x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.06 and 0.09) composites were prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction method. We investigated the structural properties, magnetic properties and electrical transport properties of (1-x)LSMO/xZFO composites using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field-cooled dc magnetization and magnetoresistance (MR) measurements. The XRD and SEM results indicate that LSMO and ZFO coexist in the composites and the ZFO mostly segregates at the grain boundaries of LSMO, which agreed well with the results of the magnetic measurements. The resistivity of the samples increased by the increase of the ZFO doping level. A clear metal-to-insulator (M-I) transition was observed at 360K in pure LSMO. The introduction of ZFO further downshifted the transition temperature (350K-160K) while the transition disappeared in the sample (x = 0.09) and it presented insulating/semiconducting behavior in the measured temperature range (100K to 400K). The MR was measured in the presence of the 10kOe field. Compared with pure LSMO, the enhancement of low-field magnetoresistance (LFMR) was observed in the composites. It was clearly observed that the magnetoresistance effect of x = 0.03 was enhanced at room temperature range. These phenomena can be explained using the double-exchange (DE) mechanism, the grain boundary effect and the intrinsic transport properties together.

The ac, dc conductivity and dielectric properties of DyCoO3 were reported in the temperature range of 77 - 300K and in the frequency range of 20 Hz - 100 kHz. It was observed that at low temperature, ac conductivity is much higher than dc conductivity and the hopping carrier between localized states near the Fermi level was the dominant loss mechanism. A comparison of the measured ac conductivity σ(Ω) was made with some of the models of hopping conductivity of the proposed earlier in the literature. It was observed that in DyCoO3 the measured ac conductivity, over the entire frequency and temperature region, can be explained reasonably well by assuming two contributions σ1(Ω) and σ2(Ω) to the measured σ(Ω). The first, σ1(Ω), which dominates at low temperature, may be due to impurity conduction in a small polaron; the second, σ2(Ω), which dominates at higher temperatures, depending on the frequency of measurements, may be due to the hopping of a small polaron and is reasonable for the dielectric relaxation peak.

In this work, the effect of co-carbon fillers on the electrical and mechanical properties of epoxy nanocomposites was investigated. The graphite nanosheets (GNs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were used as co-carbon fillers. The results showed that the electrical conductivity of the epoxy nanocomposites showed a considerable increase upon an addition of MWNTs when GNs were fixed at 2 wt.%. This indicated that low content GNs formed the bulk conductive network and then MWNTs added were intercalated between the GN layers, resulted in the formation of additional conductive pathway. Furthermore, the flexural strength of the epoxy nanocomposites was enhanced with increasing the MWNT content. It was probably attributed to the flexible MWNTs compared with rigid GNs, resulted in the enhancement of the mechanical properties.

BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films were prepared on Pt/TiO2/Si substrate by r.f. magnetron sputtering. The effects of deposition pressure on electrical properties were investigated using measurement of dielectric properties, leakage current and polarization. When BFO targets were prepared, Fe atoms were substituted with Mn 0.05% to increase electrical resistivity of films. (Fe+Mn)/Bi ratio of BFO thin films increases with increasing partial pressure of O2 gas. The deposited films showed the only BFO phase at 10 mTorr, the coexistence of BFO and Bi2O3 phase at 30-50 mTorr, and the only Bi2O3 phase at 70 mTorr. The crystallinity of BFO films was reduced due to the higher Bi contents and the decrease of surface mobility of atoms at high temperature. The porosity and surface roughness of films increased with the increase of the deposition pressure. The films deposited at high pressure showed low dielectric constant and high leakage current. The dielectric constant of films deposited at various deposition pressures was 84~153 at 1 kHz. The leakage current density of the films deposited at 10~70 mTorr was about 7×10.6~1.5×10.2A/cm2 at 100 kV/cm. The leakage current was found to be closely related to the morphology and composition of the BFO films. BFO films showed poor P-E hysteresis loops due to high leakage current.

The electrolyte effects of the electroplating solution in Cu films grown by ElectroPlating Deposition(EPD) were investigated. The electroplated Cu films were deposited on the Cu(20 nm)/Ti (20 nm)/p-type Si(100) substrate. Potentiostatic electrodeposition was carried out using three terminal methods: 1) an Ag/AgCl reference electrode, 2) a platinum plate as a counter electrode, and 3) a seed layer as a working electrode. In this study, we changed the concentration of a plating electrolyte that was composed of CuSO4, H2SO4 and HCl. The resistivity was measured with a four-point probe and the material properties were investigated by using XRD(X-ray Diffraction), an AFM(Atomic Force Microscope), a FE-SEM(Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope) and an XPS(X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy). From the results, we concluded that the increase of the concentration of electrolytes led to the increase of the film density and the decrease of the electrical resistivity of the electroplated Cu film.

This paper presents a novel single-step method to prepare the Ag nanometallic particle dispersed fluid (nanofluid) by electrical explosion of wire in liquid, deionized water (DI water). X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to investigate the characteristics of the Ag nanofluids. Zeta potential was also used to measure the dispersion properties of the as-prepared Ag nanofluid. Pure Ag phase was detected in the nanofluids using water. FE-SEM analysis shows that the size of the particles formed in DI water was about 88 nm and Zeta potential value was about -43.68 without any physical and chemical treatments. Thermal conductivity of the as-prepared Ag particle dispersed nanofluid shows much higher value than that of pure DI water.

Fe-Cr steels are the most promising candidate for interconnect in solid oxide fuel cells. In this study, an effective, dense and well adherent (LaSr)(CrCo) [LSCC] coating layer was produced onto 430 stainless steel (STS-430) by atmospheric plasma spraying and the oxidation behavior as well as electrical properties of the LSCC coated STS-430 were investigated. A significant oxidation of pristine STS-430 occurred at in air environment, leading to the formation of and scale layer up to after 1200h, and consequently increased an area specific resistance of . Although the plasma sprayed LSCC coating contained the characteristic pore network, the coated samples presented apparent advantages in reducing oxidation growth of STS-430, resulting a decrease in oxide scale thickness of at after 1200h. The area specific resistance of the LSCC coated STS-430 was much reduced to after exposure at for 1200h, compared to that of the pristine STS-403.

Mn-substituted BiFeO3(BFO) thin films were prepared by r.f. magnetron sputtering under an Ar/O2mixture of various deposition pressures at room temperature. The effects of the deposition pressure andannealing temperature on the crystallization and electrical properties of BFO films were investigated. X-raydiffraction patterns revealed that BFO films were crystallized for films annealed above 500oC. BFO filmsannealed at 550oC for 5 min in N2 atmosphere exhibited the crystallized perovskite phase. The (Fe+Mn)/Biratio decreased with an increase in the deposition pressure due to the difference of sputtering yield. The grainsize and surface roughness of films increased with an increase in the deposition pressure. The dielectricconstant of BFO films prepared at various conditions shows 127~187at 1kHz. The leakage current densityof BFO films annealed at 500oC was approximately two orders of magnitude lower than that of 550oC. Theleakage current density of the BFO films deposited at 10~30m Torr was about 5×10-6~3×10-2A/cm2 at 100kV/cm. Due to the high leakage current, saturated P-E curves were not obtained in BFO films. BFO film annealedat 500oC exhibited remnant polarization(2Pr) of 26.4µC/cm2 at 470kV/cm.

Thermoelectric power and resistivity are measured for the perovskite LaNi1-xTixO3 (x≤0.5) in thetemperature range 77K−300K. The measured thermoelectric power of LaNi1-xTixO3 (x≤0.5) increases linearlywith temperature and is represented by A+BT. The x=0.1 sample showed metallic behavior, the x=0.3showed metal and insulating transition around 150K, and x=0.5 showed insulating behavior the over thewhole temperature range. The electrical resistivity of x=0.1 shows linear temperature dependence over thewhole temperature range and T2 dependence. On the other hand, the electrical resistivity of x=0.3 shows alinear relation between lnρ and T−1/4 (variable range hopping mechanism) in the range of 77K to 150K. Forx=0.5, the temperature dependence of resistivity is characteristic of insulating materials; the resistivity datawas fitted to an exponential law, such as ln(ρ/T) and T−1, which is usually attributed to a small polaronhopping mechanism. These experimental results are interpreted in terms of the spin polaron (x=0.1) andvariable range hopping (x=0.3) or small polaron hopping (x=0.5) of an almost localized Ni3+ 3d polaron.

Ni-GDC (gadolinia-doped ceria) composite powders, the anode material for the application of solid oxide fuel cells, were prepared by a solution reduction method using hydrazine. The distribution of Ni particles in the composite powders was homogeneous. The Ni-GDC powders were sintered at 1400˚C for 2 h and then reduced at 800˚C for 24 h in 3% H2. The percolation limit of Ni of the sintered composite was 20 vol%, which was significantly lower than these values in the literature (30-35 vol%). The marked decrease of percolation limit is attributed to the small size of the Ni particles and the high degree of dispersion. The hydrazine method suggests a facile chemical route to prepare well-dispersed Ni-GDC composite powders.

Composites of gadolinium-doped ceria/magnesia(CGO/MgO) were synthesized and characterized for the electrolytes of intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells. XRD and SEM results revealed that composite electrolytes consisted of their own phases after sintering at 1400˚C without noticeable solid solution of Mg into CGO. As the MgO content increased, the total electrical conductivity decreased, which might be attributed to the decrease of grain boundary conductivity, possibly due to the lowering of the continuity of the CGO grains and blocking effects of the insulating MgO phase. The space charge effect may not be a significant factor to affect the electrical conductivity of the CGO/MgO composites.

The effects of an addition of ZrO2 on the microstructure and electrical properties of MgO films as a protective layer for AC plasma display panels were investigated. MgO + a 200 ppm ZrO2 protective layer prepared by e-beam evaporation exhibited a secondary electron emission coefficient (γ) that was improved by 21% compared to that of a pure MgO protective layer. The relative density and Vickers hardness increased with a further addition of ZrO2. These results suggest that the discharge properties and optical properties of MgO protective layers are closely related to the relative density and Vickers hardness. The good optical and electrical properties of γ, at 0.080, a grain size of 19 μm and an optical transmittance of 91.93 % were obtained for the MgO + 200 ppm ZrO2 protective layer sintered at 1700˚C for 5 hrs.

In this study, the thermoelectric power and resistivity of the perovskite manganiteLa0.75Ba0.25MnO3 were investigated in the temperature range 300K-1200K. The electrical resistivity andthermoelectric power indicate a transport mechanism dominated by adiabatic small-polaron hopping. Thepower factor increases from 2×10−6W/mK2 to 1×10−5W/mK2 as to the temperature increases from 400K to1200K, which indicates that the compound is highly feasible as a thermoelectric material at high temperatures.