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Transition metal nitrides are a fascinating class of hard coating material that provides an excellent platform for investigating superconductivity and fundamental electron‐phonon ( e‐ph ) interactions. In this work, the structural, morphological, and superconducting properties have been studied for Mo 2 N thin films deposited via direct current magnetron sputtering on c‐plane Al 2 O 3 and MgO substrates to elucidate the effect of internal strain on superconducting properties. High‐resolution X‐ray diffraction and time‐of‐flight elastic recoil detection analysis confirm the growth of single‐phase Mo 2 N thin films exhibiting epitaxial growth with twin‐domain structure. Low‐temperature electrical transport measurements reveal superconducting transitions at ≈5.2 and ≈5.6 K with corresponding upper critical fields of ≈5 and ≈7 T for the films deposited on Al 2 O 3 and MgO, respectively. These results indicate strong type‐II superconductivity, and the observed differences in superconducting properties are attributed to substrate‐induced strain, which leads to higher e‐ph coupling for the film on MgO substrate. These findings highlight the tunability of superconducting properties in Mo 2 N films through strategic substrate selection.

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells are deposited in current production using evaporation-based tech- niques. Fabricating CdTe solar cells using magnetron sputtering would have the advantage of being more cost-efficient. Here, we show that such deposition results in the incorporation of the magnetron working gas Ar, within the films. Post deposition processing with CdCl 2 improves cell efficiency and during which stacking faults are removed. The Ar then accumulates into clusters leading to the creation of voids and blisters on the surface. Using molecular dynamics, the penetration threshold energies are determined for both Ar and Xe, with CdTe in both zinc-blende and wurtzite phases. These calculations show that more Ar than Xe can penetrate into the growing film with most penetration across the (111) surface. The mechanisms and energy barriers for interstitial Ar and Xe diffusion in zinc-blende are determined. Barriers are reduced near existing clusters, increasing the probability of capture-based cluster growth. Barriers in wurtzite are higher with non-Arrhenius behaviour observed. This provides an explanation for the increase in the size of voids observed after stacking fault removal. Blister exfoliation was also modelled, showing the formation of shallow craters with a raised rim.

Nickel oxide is a promising material for transparent electronics applications. This semiconductor demonstrates the possibility of modifying its physical properties depending on the method of growth and subsequent processing. Here the effects of the discharge power are reported during reactive dc magnetron sputtering, as well as the modes of subsequent annealing of NiO films, on their structural, electrical, and optical properties. NiO films are annealed at various temperatures both in an oxygen‐containing environment and under vacuum conditions. Deposited NiO films have a polycrystalline structure with a preferred orientation (200) for the low discharge power mode and (111) for the high discharge power mode. However, obtained NiO films exhibit crystallinity improvement after annealing. The presence of both Ni2+ and Ni3+ oxidation states in the deposited films is found. In addition, it is shown that the relative carrier concentration (Ni3+/Ni2+ peak area ratio) can be controlled by choosing the NiO film preparation mode. The trend in this ratio corresponds to the trend in film conductivity and the number of free‐charge carriers. The deposited films are semitransparent, and the estimated optical bandgap of NiO is in the range from 3.50 to 3.74 eV. The study of the structural, optical, and electrical properties of nickel oxide thin films obtained by DC magnetron sputtering and modification of their properties by annealing at various temperatures and environments is reported. The difference in the effect of film annealing depending on the modes of their initial growth is shown.

Fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coatings have been prepared using the mid-frequency pulsed DC closed field unbalanced magnetron sputtering technique in an Ar/O2 atmosphere using blends of tin oxide and tin fluoride powder formed into targets. FTO coatings were deposited with a thickness of 400 nm on glass substrates. No post-deposition annealing treatments were carried out. The effects of the chemical composition on the structural (phase, grain size), optical (transmission, optical band-gap) and electrical (resistivity, charge carrier, mobility) properties of the thin films were investigated. Depositing FTO by magnetron sputtering is an environmentally friendly technique and the use of loosely packed blended powder targets gives an efficient means of screening candidate compositions, which also provides a low cost operation. The best film characteristics were achieved using a mass ratio of 12% SnF2 to 88% SnO2 in the target. The thin film produced was polycrystalline with a tetragonal crystal structure. The optimized conditions resulted in a thin film with average visible transmittance of 83% and optical band-gap of 3.80 eV, resistivity of 6.71 × 10−3 Ω·cm, a carrier concentration (Nd) of 1.46 × 1020 cm−3 and a mobility of 15 cm2/Vs.

The thermoelectric performance of Bi₂Te₃ thin films is highly sensitive to deposition temperature because substrate heating simultaneously controls microstructure, stoichiometry, and charge transport. Here, ~ 450 nm Bi₂Te₃ films were deposited on glass by single-target DC magnetron sputtering while varying the substrate temperature from room temperature to 300 °C (RT, 100 °C, 200 °C, 300 °C). FESEM reveals progressive grain coarsening and improved grain connectivity with increasing temperature, while cross-sectional imaging confirms a comparable film thickness across all samples. EDS shows a monotonic Te-loss trend at elevated substrate temperatures, indicating increasing deviation from stoichiometric Bi₂Te₃. XRD confirms crystalline Bi₂Te₃ formation for all conditions and shows systematic peak shifts/lattice-spacing trends with temperature; no distinct elemental Bi or Te peaks are detected within measurement limits. Hall and transport measurements demonstrate that electrical conductivity increases with substrate temperature, whereas the Seebeck response decreases in magnitude, reflecting the expected conductivity–thermopower trade-off as composition and carrier transport evolve. The power factor ( ) reaches a maximum of ~ 4 µW cm⁻¹ K⁻² for films deposited at 200 °C, identifying an intermediate-temperature window that optimizes the balance between conductivity and thermopower for this DC-sputtering route. UV–Vis reflectance analysis indicates a substrate-temperature-dependent increase in the apparent optical bandgap extracted from Kubelka–Munk/Tauc-type treatment in the 300–1100 nm window, which is reported as an apparent optical metric rather than the intrinsic Bi₂Te₃ bandgap. Overall, these results establish ~ 200 °C as the most favorable substrate temperature in this study for achieving high PF Bi₂Te₃ thin films on glass and provide practical processing guidance for thermoelectric thin-film optimization.

Nickel Oxide Thin Films In article 2300815, Yakov Enns and co‐workers produce thin films of nickel oxide (NiO) by magnetron sputtering. The modification of the properties of NiO films by annealing at various temperatures and environments is reported. The difference in the effect of film annealing depending on the modes of their initial growth is shown.

According to increasing demand for energy, PV cells seem to be one of the best answers for human needs. Considering features such as availability, low production costs, high stability, etc., metal oxide semiconductors (MOS) are a focus of attention for many scientists. Amongst MOS, TiO2 and CuxO seem to be promising materials for obtaining an effective photoconversion effect. In this paper, specific investigation, aimed at the manufacturing of the complete photovoltaic structure based on this concept is described in detail. A set of samples manufactured by DC magnetron sputtering, with various process parameters, is characterized by morphology comparison, layer structure and material composition investigation, and finally by the obtained photovoltaic parameters. Based on SEM studies, it was established that the films are deposited uniformly and complete their formation; without clearly defined faces, the conglomerates of the film grow individually. These are areas with a uniform structure and orientation of atoms. The sizes of conglomerates are in a normal direction range from 20 to 530 nm and increase with film thickness. The film thickness was in the range from 318 to 1654 nm, respectively. The I-V study confirms the photovoltaic behavior of thin film solar cells. The open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current density (Jsc) values of the photovoltaic devices ranged from 1.5 to 300 mV and from 0.45 to 7.26 µA/cm3, respectively, which corresponds to the maximum efficiency at the level of 0.01%. Specific analysis of the junction operation on the basis of characteristics flow, Rs, and Rsh values is delivered.

The effect of Mo thin film deposition power in DC sputtering on the formation of a MoSe2 interfacial layer grown via the annealing of CIGSe/Mo precursors in an Se-free atmosphere was investigated. A Mo layer was deposited on glass substrates using the DC magnetron sputtering method. Its electrical resistivity, as well as its morphological, structural, and adhesion characteristics, were analyzed regarding the deposition power. In the case of thinner films of about 300 nm deposited at 80 W, smaller grains and a lower volume percentage of grain boundaries were found, compared to 510 nm thick film with larger agglomerates obtained at 140 W DC power. By increasing the deposition power, in contrast, the conductivity of the Mo film significantly improved with lowest sheet resistance of 0.353 Ω/square for the sample deposited at 140 W. Both structural and Raman spectroscopy outputs confirmed the pronounced formation of MoSe2, resulting from Mo films with predominant (110) orientated planes. Sputtered Mo films deposited at 140 W power improved Mo crystals and the growth of MoSe2 layers with a preferential (103) orientation upon the Se-free annealing. With a more porous Mo surface structure for the sample deposited at higher power, a larger contact area developed between the Mo films and the Se compound was found from the CIGSe film deposited on top of the Mo, favoring the formation of MoSe2. The CIGSe/Mo hetero-contact, including the MoSe2 layer with controlled thickness, is not Schottky-type, but a favourable ohmic-type, as evaluated by the dark I-V measurement at room temperature (RT). These findings support the significance of regulating the thickness of the unintentional MoSe2 layer growth, which is attainable by controlling the Mo deposition power. Furthermore, while the adhesion between the CIGSe absorber layer and the Mo remains intact, the resistance of final devices with the Ni/CIGSe/Mo structure was found to be directly linked to the MoSe2 thickness. Consequently, it addresses the importance of MoSe2 structural properties for improved CIGSe solar cell performance and stability.

A multilayer film, composed by ZrN-Ag (20 nm) and Mo-S-N (10 nm) layers, combining the intrinsic lubricant characteristics of each layer was deposited using DC magnetron sputtering system, to promote lubrication in a wide-range of temperatures. The results showed that the ZrN-Ag/Mo-S-N multilayer film exhibited a sharp interface between the different layers. A face-centered cubic (fcc) dual-phases of ZrN and Ag co-existed in the ZrN-Ag layers, whilst the Mo-S-N layers displayed a mixture of hexagonal close-packed MoS 2 (hcp-MoS 2 ) nano-particles and an amorphous phase. The multilayer film exhibited excellent room temperature (RT) triblogical behavior, as compared to the individual monolayer film, due to the combination of a relative high hardness with the low friction properties of both layers. The reorientation of MoS 2 parallel to the sliding direction also contributed to the enhanced anti-frictional performance at RT. At 400 °C, the reorientation of MoS 2 as well as the formation of MoO 3 phase were responsible for the lubrication, whilst the hard t-ZrO 2 phase promoted abrasion and, consequently, led to increasing wear rate. At 600 °C, the Ag 2 MoO 4 double-metal oxide was the responsible for the low friction and wear-resistance; furthermore, the observed transformation from t-ZrO 2 to m-ZrO 2 , could also have contributed to the better tribological performance.