Table Of ContentMaterials Horizons: From Nature to Nanomaterials
Sushil Kumar
D. K. Aswal Editors
Recent
Advances in
Thin Films
Materials Horizons: From Nature
to Nanomaterials
Series Editor
Vijay Kumar Thakur, School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing,
Cranfield University, Cranfield, UK
Materialsareanindispensablepartofhumancivilizationsincetheinceptionoflife
onearth.Withthepassageoftime,innumerablenewmaterialshavebeenexplored
aswellasdevelopedandthesearchfornewinnovativematerialscontinuesbriskly.
Keeping in mind the immense perspectives of various classes of materials, this
series aimsatprovidingacomprehensivecollectionofworksacrossthebreadthof
materials research at cutting-edge interface of materials science with physics,
chemistry, biology and engineering.
This series covers a galaxy of materials ranging from natural materials to
nanomaterials. Some of the topics include but not limited to: biological materials,
biomimeticmaterials,ceramics,composites,coatings,functionalmaterials,glasses,
inorganic materials, inorganic-organic hybrids, metals, membranes, magnetic
materials, manufacturing of materials, nanomaterials, organic materials and
pigments to name a few. The series provides most timely and comprehensive
informationonadvancedsynthesis,processing,characterization,manufacturingand
applications ina broad range ofinterdisciplinary fields inscience, engineering and
technology.
This series accepts both authored and edited works, including textbooks,
monographs,referenceworks,andprofessionalbooks.Thebooksinthisserieswill
provideadeepinsightintothestate-of-artofMaterialsHorizonsandservestudents,
academic, government and industrial scientists involved in all aspects of materials
research.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/16122
Sushil Kumar D. K. Aswal
(cid:129)
Editors
Recent Advances in Thin
Films
123
Editors
Sushil Kumar D.K.Aswal
CSIR-National Physical Laboratory CSIR-National Physical Laboratory
NewDelhi, India NewDelhi, India
ISSN 2524-5384 ISSN 2524-5392 (electronic)
Materials Horizons:From Nature toNanomaterials
ISBN978-981-15-6115-3 ISBN978-981-15-6116-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6116-0
©SpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd.2020
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar
methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom
therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained
hereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregard
tojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations.
ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721,
Singapore
Preface
Thin film is a two-dimensional layer of material deposited using controlled pro-
cesses on some supporting surface. There are a variety of thin films based on its
structures such as amorphous thin films, crystalline/polycrystalline/nanocrystalline
thin films, nanostructured thin films, nanocomposite thin films, multilayer and
supperlattice structures and monolayers. Advances in deposition processes and
characterizationtoolsforthesethinfilmsduringlastfivedecadesorsohaveenabled
a wide range of breakthroughs in technological applications such as optical coat-
ings, magnetic recording media, electronic semiconductor devices, light emitting
devices, hard coatings on cutting tools, thin-film solar cells and thin-film sensors.
Noticeable advancements have taken place in already progressing field of thin
films and related technology in recent past. Ultra-thin films, monolayers, nano-
materials, hybrid thin films, organic and polymer thin films, etc. recently added to
the inventory of class of thin-film materials have given new dimension in realiza-
tionofexceptionalproperties.Thesethinfilmshavewell-determinedstructuresand
functionalities which have further opened up the avenue for advancement of
devices.
The present book entitled Recent Advances in Thin Films is a collection of 22
review articles from experts who presented their recent R&D work in 17th
InternationalConferenceonThinFilms(ICTF-17),workingspecificallyinthefield
of surface engineering, hard coatings, epitaxial growth, magnetic materials, pho-
tovoltaic and sensors. The book also covers an overview of recent advances in
development of thin film based newer devices and applications such as hydro-
electric cell, electrocaloric cooling devices and hybrid flexible sensors. All the
chapters contain in-depth studies and analysis of recent aspects of thin films as
material and its use for devices. The book is not only useful for researchers in the
area under discussion invarious chaptersbutalso for Ph.D. students, graduate and
undergraduate students specializing in condensed matter physics and material sci-
ence.Particularly,thechapter“ThinFilmandSignificanceofItsThickness”willbe
interesting to students for right understanding of thin film definition and signifi-
cance of thin film thicknesses in various devices.
v
vi Preface
The other chapters of the book deal with recent advancement in growth, char-
acterization and device applications of thin films. Chapter “Ultra-Thin Films on
Complex Metallic Alloy Surfaces: A Perspective” gives an overview of ultra-thin
films on complex alloy surfaces. The nextfour chapters (“Growth Defects in PVD
HardCoatings”–“Synthesis,StabilityandSelf-DiffusioninIronNitrideThinFilms:
AReview”)aremainlyfocusedongrowthaspectofhardcoatings,epitaxialgallium
nitride thin films, non-magnetic cobalt in cobalt thin films and iron nitride thin
films. Chapter “Photoelectron Energy Loss Spectroscopy: A Versatile Tool for
MaterialScience”discussednewinsightinphotoelectronenergylossspectroscopy
tool for thin-film material characterization. Chapter “MoS - and MoO -Based
2 3
Ultrathin Layered Materials for Optoelectronic Applications” is about MoS - and
2
MaO - based ultra-thin layered materials for optoelectronic applications. The next
3
three chapters (“Optoelectronic Properties of Nanocrystalline Silicon-Based
Superlattice Structures”–“Organic Thin Films: Langmuir Monolayers and
Multilayers”) discussed about thin-film multilayer and superlattice structures.
Chapters “Thin Films for Electrocaloric Cooling Devices”–“Conducting Polymers
and Their Composites Adding New Dimensions to Advanced Thermoelectric
Materials” are about overview of newer applications of thin films such as hydro-
electric cell, electrocaloric cooling devices and polymer-based thermoelectric
materials, respectively. The next four chapters (“HWCVD: A Potential Tool for
Silicon-Based Thin Films and Nanostructures”–“Nanostructured Black Silicon for
EfficientThinSiliconSolarCells:PotentialandChallenges”)areaboutphotovoltaic
applications of various kinds of solar cells such as silicon, dye sensitized, per-
ovskite and polymer. Particularly, chapter “Nanostructured Black Silicon for
EfficientThinSiliconSolarCells:PotentialandChallenges”discussedaboutrecent
advancement in the use of various thin-film layers in nanostructured black silicon
solarcells.Thelastfourchapters(“ChemiresistiveSensorsforH SGas:Stateofthe
2
Art”–“Vanadium Oxide Thin Films for Optical and Gas Sensing Applications”)
of the book cover recent development in a variety of thin film based sensors.
We are thankful to all the eminent contributors who made extraordinary efforts
in preparing their respective chapters. We hope this book will be an important
reference book for a wide scientific community doing R&D work in thin film in
universities, research institutions and industries.
New Delhi, India Sushil Kumar
December 2019 D. K. Aswal
Contents
Thin Film and Significance of Its Thickness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Sushil Kumar and D. K. Aswal
Ultra-Thin Films on Complex Metallic Alloy Surfaces:
A Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Vincent Fournée, Julian Ledieu, Émilie Gaudry, Hem-Raj Sharma,
and Ronan McGrath
Growth Defects in PVD Hard Coatings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Miha Čekada, Peter Panjan, Aljaž Drnovšek, Matjaž Panjan,
and Peter Gselman
Growth Dynamics of Epitaxial Gallium Nitride Films Grown
on c-Sapphire Substrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Shibin Krishna, Neha Aggarwal, Lalit Goswami, and Govind Gupta
High-Density Non-magnetic Cobalt in Cobalt Thin Films . . . . . . . . . . . 103
B. N. Dev and Nasrin Banu
Synthesis, Stability and Self-Diffusion in Iron Nitride Thin Films:
A Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Mukul Gupta
Photoelectron Energy Loss Spectroscopy: A Versatile Tool
for Material Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Christian Godet, Denis G. F. David, Victor Mancir da Silva Santana,
Jailton Souza de Almeida, and Didier Sébilleau
MoS - and MoO -Based Ultrathin Layered Materials
2 3
for Optoelectronic Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Hongfei Liu
Optoelectronic Properties of Nanocrystalline Silicon-Based
Superlattice Structures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Pratima Agarwal and Asha Yadav
vii
viii Contents
Evolutionary Design, Deposition and Characterization Techniques
for Interference Optical Thin-Film Multilayer Coatings
and Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
S. Jena and N. K. Sahoo
Organic Thin Films: Langmuir Monolayers and Multilayers. . . . . . . . . 345
Sarathi Kundu
Thin Films for Electrocaloric Cooling Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Gunnar Suchaneck and Gerald Gerlach
Colossal Humidoresistance Inducement in Magnesium Ferrite Thin
Film Led to Green Energy Device Invention: Hydroelectric Cell . . . . . . 389
Jyoti Shah, Rekha Gupta, and R. K. Kotnala
ConductingPolymersandTheir CompositesAddingNewDimensions
to Advanced Thermoelectric Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Meetu Bharti, Ajay Singh, K. P. Muthe, and D. K. Aswal
HWCVD: A Potential Tool for Silicon-Based Thin Films
and Nanostructures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
Rajiv O. Dusane
Role of Ultrathin Electron Transport Layers in Performance
of Dye-Sensitized and Perovskite Solar Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Vibha Saxena
Optical Optimization of Thin-Film Polymer Solar Cells. . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
Sanjay Tiwari and Ralph Gebauer
Nanostructured Black Silicon for Efficient Thin Silicon Solar Cells:
Potential and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
Sanjay K. Srivastava, Prashant Singh, Avritti Srivastava, P. Prathap,
Sushil Kumar, C. M. S. Rauthan, and D. K. Aswal
Chemiresistive Sensors for H S Gas: State of the Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625
2
Niranjan Ramgir, Ankita Pathak, K. R. Sinju, Bhagyashri Bhangare,
A. K. Debnath, and K. P. Muthe
Substituted Phthalocyanine-Based Nanostructured Materials
for Room-Temperature Gas Sensing Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665
Aman Mahajan, Rajan Saini, and R. K. Bedi
Hybrid Flexible Sensor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685
V. B. Patil
Vanadium Oxide Thin Films for Optical and Gas Sensing
Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
Ravish Kumar Jain and Atul Khanna
About the Editors
Dr. Sushil Kumar ispresentlySeniorPrincipalScientistandHead–Photovoltaic
MetrologyGroupatCSIR-NationalPhysicalLaboratory(NPL),NewDelhiandalso
recognizedasProfessorofPhysicalSciencesatAcademyofScientific&Innovative
Research (AcSIR). His research interests cover solar cells, thin film coatings and
plasma processing and related instrumentation. He was a visiting fellow at Ecole
Polytechnique–Palaiseau,Paris,Franceduring2002-2003.HereceivedhisPh.Din
1997fromtheInstituteofTechnology(nowIIT-BHU),BanarasHinduUniversity,
Varanasi with research focusing on the stress relieved diamond like carbon thin
films. He has significantly contributed over the years in process development for
growth of nanostructured diamond like coatings, and silicon thin films and their
related instrumentation. He has published more than 100 research papers in
peer-reviewed international journals and also holds three international patents on
deposition of diamond-like carbon films (USA and European Patents) and nanos-
tructured silicon films (USA patent). Some well recognized academic awards he
received includes: BOYSCAST fellowship by the Department of Science and
Technology, Government of India and Young Scientist Award, CSIR, INDIA.
Recently, he has also developed a laboratory for organic solar cells testing and
validation at CSIR-NPL. His current research focuses on the development of
productsfor rural householdand recyclingof solar modules.
Dr. D. K. Aswal is currently Director, CSIR- National Physical Laboratory
(CSIR-NPL), New Delhi, Director, Central Electronics Engineering Research
Institute (CEERI, Pilani) and Chairman, National Accreditation Board for Testing
andCalibrationLaboratories(NABL),Indiaismaintaininglienwithhispositionas
“OutstandingScientist”atBhabhaAtomicResearchCentre(BARC),Departmentof
Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India, Mumbai. Dr. Aswal, during
2012-2015,hasalsoservedasSecretary,AtomicEnergyEducationSociety(AEES),
Mumbai,whichisanautonomousinstitutionunderDAE.Dr.AswaljoinedBARC
throughthetrainingschoolbatchoftheyear1986aftercompletingM.Sc.inPhysics
(Goldmedalist)fromGarhwalUniversityin1985.HeobtainedhisPh.D.inPhysics
fromMumbaiUniversityandsubsequentlycarriedoutpost-doctoralresearchwork
ix
