CdS thin films were fabricated by annealing precursors which were deposited using the method of Sputtering, Evaporation and Sputtering (SES). Effect of sputtering time and RF power on the structural, compositional, surface morphology and optical properties of CdS thin films was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersion spectrometer (EDS), UV-Vis spectrophotometer and photoluminescence (PL). The results reveal that the properties and growth of the obtained CdS films are greatly influenced by the second sputtering time rather than the first sputtering time. The deposited precursors are substrate/Cd/CdS, and transformed to CdS after annealing. The CdS films are hexagonal structure with a preferred orientation along (002) plane. Besides, the dense CdS films without cracks or pinholes have S/Cd atomic ratios of 0.87-0.99. Additionally, the grain size, morphology and composition of CdS films change with increasing RF power from 80 W to 150 W. All CdS films have a high average transmittance and band gaps of 2.25-2.43 eV. The PL emission peaks at 530 nm for CdS thin films are possibly caused by the band edge emission while the PL emission peaks at 680 nm arise from sulfur vacancies.

Te-doped ZnO thin films (5 wt.%) were fabricated by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) using TeO2 (T-series) and ZnTe (Z-series) dopants, followed by annealing under oxygen pressures (AOP) of 100 and 500 Pa. XRD confirmed that all films retained a hexagonal wurtzite structure with preferential growth along the (002) plane. After AOP, Te phases persisted alongside trace TeO3 formation, while oxygen pressure significantly modulated film stress, lattice strain, and grain size. FESEM revealed morphological evolution: the T-series transitioned from "mixed fine-coarse grain aggregates" to irregular block structures after AOP, whereas the Z-series transformed from "particle cluster structures" to dense blocks. XPS analysis showed that increased oxygen pressure elevated zinc vacancy (V-Zn) concentrations in the T-series and reduced interstitial zinc (Zn-i) content in the Z-series, collectively enhancing p-type conductivity. Te doping primarily occurred via substitution of Zn2+ by Te ions. Optical characterization demonstrated visible-light transmittance > 85%, stress-modulated bandgap values of 3.27-3.30 eV, and photoluminescence peaks at 375-600 nm (UV-yellow) and 820-840 nm (Near-infrared), whose intensities increased with oxygen pressure. This study elucidates the synergistic effects of Te doping and oxygen pressure on tailoring the structure-property relationships of ZnO thin films.

CdSe thin films are prepared through sputtering‐evaporation‐sputtering (SES) deposition combined with annealing. Effect of sputtering time on the properties of CdSe films is studied using X‐ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, UV‐visible spectrophotometer, fluorescence spectrometer, and positron annihilation Doppler broadening spectroscopy. The results show that the SES precursors are transformed into hexagonal CdSe films. CdSe films have the crystal size of 34–47 nm and the Se/Cd atomic ratio of 0.54–0.76 with increasing sputtering time. With sputtering time = 3 min, CdSe films have uniform and dense surfaces. The CdSe thin films have a high transmission with optical bandgaps of 1.60–1.64 eV. These films exhibit a photoluminescence (PL) emission peak at 782 nm caused by band‐to‐band transitions, as well as a PL emission peak at 829 nm caused by vacancies. The surface defects of all CdSe films are less than those of their inner, and with increasing sputtering time to 5 min, defect types become complex.

Defects play a pivotal role in determining the performance of semiconductor materials, and their influence can be effectively adjusted through processing techniques. In this study, CdS thin films were prepared using a novel sputtering-evaporation-sputtering (SES) method with metal target followed with annealing. The effects of annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties of CdS film were thoroughly investigated by combining various experimental techniques with first-principles calculations. The results showed that the unannealed precursor of CdS film has poor crystallinity and low transmittance, with unreacted Cd present. Annealing significantly improves crystallinity of CdS films. The transmittance and stoichiometric ratio initially increase with annealing temperature but decrease at higher temperatures. Optimal annealing conditions enable a complete transformation of precursors into CdS films, while excessive temperatures lead to the escape of sulfur and the formation of sulfur vacancies. Sulfur vacancies, confirmed by first-principles calculations and positron annihilation Doppler broadening spectroscopy, significantly contribute to the observed transmittance degradation at elevated temperatures. This research is expected to provide insights into the thermal treatment and vacancy management of CdS thin films.

In order to understand the effect of oxygen pressure during annealing (OPA) on the morphology, structure, and luminescence properties of Te doped ZnO films, 5 wt.

In this paper, cadmium sulfide (CdS) films were prepared by annealing the precursors which were obtained with different sputtering pressures and substrates (quartz glass, Si wafer and glass) via sputtering-evaporationsputtering (SES) method. The properties of the CdS films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, atomic force microscope, UV-Vis spectrophotometer and photoluminescence. Results indicated that the hexagonal CdS films were obtained at appropriate sputtering pressure (>1 Pa), and their grain size ranged from 14 nm to 44 nm. During the annealing, the conversion of the precursors to CdS films occurred, accompanied by the Cd volatilization. Additionally, the CdS films had good transmittance and the bandgaps of 2.32-2.36 eV. Besides, the rougher substrate surface led to the formation of the rougher film. The best quality CdS films were obtained at 2.8 Pa, using a quartz glass substrate. Its strong green emission peak originated from the transition from sulfur vacancies to sulfur interstitials. The weak red emission peaks of the other CdS films was attributed to sulfur vacancy defects. The vacancy-related emission behavior in annealed films was mainly affected by their composition. The results show that desirable CdS films prepared by annealing SES precursors can be suitable for different device applications.

A low-cost and green preparation method of ZnSe films was proposed in this paper. The precursors which were deposited on the quartz glass substrates by Sputtering-Evaporation-Sputtering (SES) were annealed and converted to ZnSe films. The properties of ZnSe films were investigated by the X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), energy dispersion spectrometer (EDS), UV-Vis spectrophotometer and Fluorescence (FL). The results showed that the sputtering time (twice time = T) and evaporation current (I) had effects on the structure, surface morphology, composition, optical and electrical properties of ZnSe films. The ZnSe films were cubic, with crystallite size of 20 -26 nm. However, ZnO appeared in the obtained films with T >= 6 min, and Zn appeared with increasing T to 8min. SEM results showed that in addition to the smallest T of 1 min, the ZnSe films were uniform and dense. With increasing T or decreasing I, the Se/Zn atomic ratio of ZnSe thin films decreased, which were markedly Se-poor. The obtained films had transmittances of 25 - 90 % and band gaps of 2.30-2.65 eV. All ZnSe films had the FL emission peak at 598 nm originated from the defects such as Se vacancies. Among them, ZnSe film (T = 4 min) also had an emission peak at 485 nm, which was possibly caused by the near-band edge emission, indicating its higher film quality. In addition, Hall effect analysis showed that the ZnSe films were N-type semiconductor, and the resistivity and carrier concentration of these ZnSe films were in the range of 4.08 x 103-5.39 x 103 Omega center dot cm and 8.32 x 1014-9.75 x 1014 cm-3, respectively. The results indicate that the ZnSe films fabricated by annealing SES precursors have the potential for device applications.

High-quality CdS thin films were successfully fabricated using the sputtering-evaporation-sputtering method in conjunction with annealing in sulfur-vapor atmosphere. The structure, morphology, composition, optical properties and defects of the films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscopy, UV-Vis spectrophotometer, and Slow Positron Doppler Broadening Spectroscopy. The results show that precursors include Cd and CdS and are converted into CdS films during annealing. The CdS films exhibit a hexagonal structure with oriented growth along the (002) crystal plane. And the CdS films have a dense structure without any cracks or pinholes and their S/Cd atomic ratios are in the range of 0.98-1.07. All CdS films have high transmittance in the visible range and band gap in the range of 2.38-2.41eV. Sulfur-atmosphere annealing improves the crystallinity, optical transmittance, and chemical composition of the CdS films. Besides, as annealing temperature increases, the crystallite size of the CdS films enhances with the rms surface roughness of 5.18-7.9 nm. It is also found that defect concentration in the annealed films decreases with increasing depth from the surface. And increasing annealing temperature is beneficial to improve the crystallinity of CdS films, attributed to the sulfur diffusion and occupation of sulfur vacancies. The CdS film annealed at 500 degrees C shows the good crystallinity, high uniformity, and low defect concentration, which can be utilized for photodetectors.

In order to understand the effects of nitrogen ionization during preparation and oxygen pressure during annealing (OPA) on the morphology, structure, and luminescent properties of Mg-doped ZnO thin films, Zn0.97Mg0.03O films were prepared in both ionized and non-ionized N2 using Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD), followed by annealing at 600 °C under various oxygen pressures. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) results reveal that all Zn0.97Mg0.03O films exhibit a preferentially oriented hexagonal wurtzite structure along the (002) direction, with the films prepared in ionized nitrogen showing the presence of Zn3N2 phase. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) observations indicate that the films prepared in non-ionized and ionized N2 exhibit near-spherical and conical shaped particles, respectively. Combined XRD and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analyses indicate an increase in Zn interstitial (Zni) content in the films after annealing, with higher content observed at a higher OPA; films annealed under oxygen pressure of 100 Pa exhibit maximum tensile stress and highest N content. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of both ionized and non-ionized films reveal a strong ultraviolet-violet peak (360–450 nm) and weaker blue-green peak (450–550 nm), with a broad and weak near-infrared (NIR) peak around 825 nm. The NIR peak primarily originates from the recombination of electrons bound to Zni and holes bound to oxygen vacancies (Vo) ; ionization of nitrogen enhances the green emission.

Investigating the mechanism of positron annihilation in liquid-scintillator based neutrino experiments could be helpful for positron reconstruction algorithms and positron-electron discrimination analysis. Based on this, we utilize a novel positron annihilation lifetime spectrometer to characterize a series of liquid scintillator samples without direct contact with the positron source by applying the anti-coincidence method, which facilitates the measurement of liquids with high accuracy and low background. We obtain an ortho-positronium (o-Ps) lifetime value of 3.02 ns for liquid scintillators composed of linear alkylbenzene and two solutes, and we also measure liquid scintillator samples by bubbling different gases to study the interaction of oxygen dissolved with positronium. The discussion of the annihilation behavior of o-Ps in liquid scintillators further clarify the factors affecting the lifetime and intensity of o-Ps, and the calculation of annihilation rate and free volume radius within the samples has potential applications in characterizing gas solubility and free volume in liquids with o-Ps as probe.

In this study, ZnS thin films doped with different content of Ag were deposited on quartz glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering technique and were annealed at 600 C in sulfur vapor. The crystal structure, grain size, surface morphology, composition, optical properties and defects of the doped ZnS thin films were analyzed by Xray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive Xray spectroscopy (EDS), UV-Vis spectroscopy and positron annihilation doppler broadening spectroscopy (DBS). The results showed that all films exhibited the cubic sphalerite structure with a preferred orientation along the (111) crystal plane, and the composition of the doped films were more consistent with the stoichiometric ratio compared to the undoped film. The grain size gradually increased as the Ag content grew, indicating the improvement of crystallinity of the ZnS thin films. Besides, the bandgap values of these ZnS films with good optical transparency in the visible region were decreased from 3.87eV to 3.53eV as the Ag content grew. DBS results also showed that the defect concentration of ZnS films gradually decreased from the surface to the inner layer, and the film defects decreased with the increase of Ag content. However, the types of defects changed when the Ag content increased. Furthermore, the results showed Ag also has an effect on the porosity of ZnS thin films.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between defects and luminescent properties in thin films, ZnO films containing 0 to 8 at

Cadmium selenide (CdSe) thin films were grown on quartz glass substrates by thermal annealing of thin-film precursors deposited by successive sputtering, evaporation and sputtering (SES) method. The crystal structure, surface morphology, composition, optical and electrical properties of CdSe films were investigated. XRD analysis revealed that the SES deposited precursors after annealing, were converted into hexagonal CdSe films with a preferential orientation. FE-SEM results showed that the CdSe films obtained at 400 degrees C and 500 degrees C were dense, uniform and had greater grains than that obtained at 300 degrees C, while pores and peeling of CdSe film appeared at 600 degrees C. EDS results showed that all CdSe films were Cd-rich, and the composition of the CdSe film prepared at 500 degrees C was closest to the ideal stoichiometric ratio. The formation of CdSe films included atomic diffusions, the selenization reaction and CdSe grain growth, accompanied by volatilization of Cd and Se. The CdSe films exhibited good transmittance of about 60-85 % and band gaps of 1.57-1.67 eV. The PL spectra showed that the CdSe films prepared at different temperatures had a strong emission peak at 782 nm and a weak emission peak at 829 nm, which were possibly caused by the band-to-band transitions and defect emissions. In addition, electrical measurements showed that the CdSe films were n-type conductivity, the resistivity was in the range of 9.65 x 102-7.55 x 103 Omega cm, and the carrier concentration was in the range of 5.72 x 1014-2.99 x 1015 cm 3 .

As a kind of wide-band gap semiconductor, ZnS has attracted extensive attention in recent years due to its excellent photoelectric performance, which has broad application prospects in solar cells, photocatalysts and sensors. In this paper, ZnS thin films were first deposited by RF magnetron sputtering, and then annealed at 600℃ and different sulfur pressures. The crystal structure, surface morphology, grain size, composition, transmittance and defects of ZnS thin films were analyzed by XRD, XRD, SEM, EDS, UV-vis transmission spectra, positron annihilation Doppler broadening spectroscopy (DBS). The results show that the crystallinity of ZnS films can be improved by annealing in sulfur atmosphere, and the optical band gap of ZnS films after annealing is 3.43-3.58 eV. When the sulfur pressure is higher than 0.49atm, the sulfur interstitial atoms in the ZnS and the elemental sulfur on the surface reduce the transmittance of the film in the visible region. The DBS results also showed that the defect concentration of ZnS films decreased gradually from the surface layer to the inner layer, and the defect of ZnS films decreased with the increase of sulfur pressure. At the same time, the 3γ annihilation also proves that the interior of the film was relatively dense, and the open porosity of the film will increase due to vulcanization. Adsorbed sulfur occupies the position of sulfur vacancy defect in the crystal through internal diffusion, which leads to the decrease of defect concentration and the improvement of film quality.

In order to deeply understand the effect of annealing atmosphere on the structure and luminescence performance of ZnMgO films, self-made targets were used to prepare Mg incorporated ZnO thin films on quartz glass substrates in a nitrogen atmosphere at 400 °C using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. The prepared ZnMgO films were subsequently annealed in air and vacuum atmospheres at 500 °C, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to analyze the structure, morphology, elemental composition and chemical state of the film. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra were measured using a fluorescence spectrophotometer. The results revealed that both the as-prepared and annealed samples exhibited a hexagonal wurtzite structure with the (002) orientation. However, the annealed samples show different degrees of secondary orientation growth (SOG) due to the influence of annealing oxygen pressure. After air annealing, the SOG is more pronounced, resulting in larger grain size and a stronger (002) diffraction peak. After air annealing, the films were more prone to forming oxygen interstitials (O i ), while vacuum annealing favored the formation of zinc interstitials (Zn i ). The PL spectrum shows a strong ultraviolet emission peak (372–385 nm) and a weak red emission peak (730–760 nm), and the mechanisms behind these two emission peaks are discussed.

ZnS x Se 1-x thin films were prepared by annealing in sulfur and selenium vapor (ASSV) at 700°C. The properties of the films were studied by XRD, SEM, Raman spectroscopy, UV-VIS transmission spectra, and positron annihilation Doppler broadening spectroscopy (DBS). The results show that all ZnS x Se 1-x thin films have a hexagonal structure, and change gradually from ZnSe to ZnS with increasing x from 0 to 1. And the only formation of ZnS x Se 1-x ternary compound is observed in the films without any detectable impurities. As selenium content increases, the size of the ZnS x Se 1-x crystal grains becomes great with a discontinuous and incompact distribution of the grains on the substrates. The optical absorption edges of ZnS x Se 1-x thin films are found to be redshifted with the decrease of x, with the band-gap energies of 2.53-3.58 eV. Additionally the DBS reveals that ZnS x Se 1-x thin films with 0< x<0.5 have the lower micro-defect content than those with 0.5

ZnS, a kind of wide-band gap semiconductor, has attracted extensive attention in recent years due to its excellent photoelectric performance, which has broad application prospects in solar cells, photocatalysts and sensors. In this work, ZnS thin films are first deposited by radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering, and then annealed at 600 ℃ and different sulfur pressures. The crystal structure, surface morphology, grain size, composition, transmittance and defects of ZnS thin films are analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, UV-vis transmission spectra, and positron annihilation Doppler broadening spectroscopy. The results show that the crystallinities of ZnS films can be improved by being annealed in sulfur atmosphere, and the optical band gaps of ZnS films after being annealed are in a range of 3.43–3.58 eV. When the sulfur pressure is higher than 0.49 atm, the sulfur interstitial atoms in the ZnS and the elemental sulfur on the surface reduce the transmittance of the film in the visible region. The Doppler broadening spectroscopy results also show that the defect concentrations of ZnS films decrease gradually from their surface layers to the inner layers, and the defects of ZnS films decrease with the increase of sulfur pressure. Meanwhile, the 3γ annihilation also proves that the interior of the film is relatively dense, and the open porosity of the film will increase due to vulcanization. Adsorbed sulfur occupies the position of sulfur vacancy defect in the crystal through internal diffusion, which leads the defect concentration to decrease and the film quality to be improved.

A novel solid-state block copolymer (i.e., poly(urethane-b-siloxane, PUSR) electrolyte for lithium metal battery was designed and prepared. The structures of PUSR copolymer and PUSR-based solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) were characterized by FT-IR and XPS, respectively; the physical properties, mechanical, thermal and electrochemical performances of the SPEs were also investigated. It was shown that the types of lithium salt and their contents in the SPEs had a significant impact on the performances of PUSR-based electrolytes. For most PUSR-based SPEs, the maximum fracture elongation ratio and maximum fracture intensity can be up to 170% and 5 MPa, respectively; and the thermal decomposition temperature is above 320 °C. For the PUSR-LiBOB40 SPE, its ion conductivity (σ), Li ionic transference number ( $${t}_{{Li}^{+}}$$ ) and electrochemical window reach 1.5 × 10−4S cm−1, 0.80 and over 5.0 V at room temperature, respectively. The evaluation on the lithium metal battery (LMB) assembled with PUSR-LiBOB40 electrolyte demonstrates that PUSR-based electrolyte was a promising and potential SPE candidate for lithium metal battery with high energy and power density, high stability and long-life. This work paves a new way for development of advanced SPE for LMBs.

首先采用磁控溅射法在玻璃衬底上沉积Zn薄膜,再先后于200℃和400℃温度下对Zn薄膜进行硫化处理以制备ZnS薄膜,借助X射线衍射仪(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线能谱仪(EDS)、紫外-可见分光光度计等研究了硫化时间对所制ZnS薄膜性能的影响.结果表明,ZnS为六方晶体结构,在200℃及400℃和硫化时间均为1 h的条件下,所制ZnS薄膜的结晶性、光学性质、S/Zn原子比及组织均匀性最佳.

In this paper, ZnSe films were prepared on quartz substrates by selenizing as-sputtered zinc films at different temperatures for 6 h. The crystal structure, morphology, microscopic defects and optical properties of the ZnSe films were characterized by XRD, SEM, Raman spectroscopy, UV-visible spectrophotometer and slow positron beam Doppler broadening spectroscopy, respectively. The results showed that ZnSe thin films had the best structural and optical properties when the selenization temperature was 700 degrees C . All ZnSe thin films have a hexagonal wurtzite structure. The results of XRD?SEM and Raman spectra all showed that the crystallization and molar ratio of the films were significantly optimized with the increase of temperature. The transmission spectra of the films showed an obvious absorption edge of ZnSe and increased transmittance with the increase of temperature. The variation of defect concentration and types in the ZnSe thin films were released visually by slow positron beam Doppler broadening energy spectra.