"Sputter Deposition of Single Crystal ZnO Films on 18% Lattice mismatched c-Al2O3 Substrates via Nitrogen Mediated Crystallization" N. Itagaki, K. Kuwahara, I. Suhariadi, K. Oshikawa, K. Matsushima, D. Yamashita, H. Seo, K. Kamataki, G. Uchida, K. Koga, and M. Shiratani

Zinc-Indium Oxynitride Thin Films for Multiple-Quantum–Well Solar Cells
N. Itagaki, K. Matsushima, T. Hirose, K. Kuwahara, D. Yamashita, H. Seo, K. Kamataki, G. Uchida, K. Koga, M. Shiratani

"High Capacity Li Ion Battery Anodes Using Silicon Carbide Nanoparticles Produced by Double Multi-Hollow Discharge Plasma CVD"
K. Kamataki, M. Shiratani, T. Ishihara, H. Nagano, Y. Morita, K. Kuwahara, G. Uchida, H. Seo, N. Itagaki, K. Koga

Interaction between amplitude modulated reactive plasmas and nanoparitcles grown in the plasmas
KUNIHIRO KAMATAKI, KAZUNORI KOGA, GIICHIRO UCHIDA, NAHO ITAGAKI, HYUNWOONG SEO AND MASAHARU SHIRATANI

"Deposition profile control of plasma CVD films on nano-patterned substrates" M. Shiratani, K. Koga

対象論文 “Cluster-suppressed plasma chemical vapor deposition method for high quality hydrgenated amorphous silicon films”, K. Koga, M. Kai, M. Shiratani, Y. Watanabe, and N. Shikatani, Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Vol.41, pp. L168-170 (2002).

対象講演「クラスタ抑制プラズマCVD装置による高品質a-Si : H作製」
（古閑一憲, 園田剛士,鹿谷昇,白谷正治,渡辺征夫）

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.35848/1882-0786/abd717

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1002/ppap.202000159

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/abc3a1

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.diamond.2020.108050

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.cplett.2020.137920

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.molstruc.2020.129479

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/abba0c

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.3389/fpls.2020.568924

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1063/5.0011563

Language：English  

DOI： 10.35848/1882-0786/ab9712

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1038/s41598-020-61596-w

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/ab71dc

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/ab7698

Language：English  

DOI： 10.7567/1347-4065/ab656c

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.7567/1882-0786/ab5491

Language：English  

DOI： 10.1585/pfr.14.4406141

Language：English  

DOI： 10.1585/pfr.14.4406120

Language：English  

DOI： 10.1585/pfr.14.4406115

Language：English  

DOI： 10.1585/pfr.14.4406144

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.7567/1347-4065/ab163a

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1585/pfr.13.1406082

Language：English  

DOI： 10.1166/sam.2018.3141

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1149/07703.0017ecst

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1557/adv.2017.178

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1615/PlasmaMed.2017019137

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1557/adv.2016.617

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1557/adv.2016.625

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.879.1772

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1166/sam.2016.2520

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1557/adv.2015.59

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1557/adv.2016.37

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1557/adv.2016.41

Language：Japanese  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/opl.2015.248

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1117/12.2078114

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/opl.2015.87

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/opl.2015.39

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/opl.2015.21

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/opl.2015.12

Language：Japanese  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/opl.2014.742

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1088/1742-6596/518/1/012016

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1088/1742-6596/518/1/012020

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1088/1742-6596/518/1/012017

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1088/1742-6596/518/1/012009

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1088/1742-6596/518/1/012008

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1088/1742-6596/518/1/012002

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1088/1742-6596/518/1/012007

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1088/1742-6596/518/1/012010

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1088/1742-6596/518/1/012014

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1117/12.2041081

Language：English  

DOI： 10.7566/JPSCP.1.015078

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1088/1742-6596/441/1/012029

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1539/joh.11-0164-OA

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/opl.2012.890

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/opl.2012.969

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/opl.2012.970

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/opl.2012.966

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/opl.2012.1245

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/opl.2012.839

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1002/pssc.201001230

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1002/pssc.201100229

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1002/pssc.201100166

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1063/1.3653600

Language：Japanese  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/TENCON.2010.5685920

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/TENCON.2010.5686474

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/TENCON.2010.5686677

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/TENCON.2010.5686467

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/TENCON.2010.5686688

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/TENCON.2010.5686686

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/TENCON.2010.5686679

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/TENCON.2010.5686456

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/TENCON.2010.5686704

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/PVSC.2010.5617205

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/PVSC.2010.5616502

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/PVSC.2010.5616514

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

We collected dust particles ranging in size from 1 nm to 10 µm from the Large Helical Device employing two methods: an ex-situ filtered vacuum collection method and an in-situ dust collection method. The size distribution from 1 nm to 10 µm is well expressed by the Junge distribution. Dust particles are classified into three kinds: small spherical dust particles below 1 µm in size, agglomerates consisting of primary particles of 10 nm, and large dust particles above 1 µm in size and irregular in shape; this suggests three formation mechanisms of dust particles: chemical vapor deposition growth, agglomeration, and peeling from walls. In-situ collection shows that agglomeration between dust particles takes place in main discharges. The primary dust particles in agglomerates are around 10 nm in size, suggesting agglomeration between a negatively charged large agglomerate and a positively charged dust particle 10 nm in size. We have also confirmed the important fact that a large number of dust particles move during vacuum vent. Therefore, the in-situ dust collection method is needed to reveal the generation-time and -processes of dust particles and their deposition position during discharges.

DOI： 10.1585/pfr.4.034

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1088/1742-6596/100/6/062006

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1088/1742-6596/100/8/082018

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1088/1742-6596/100/6/062007

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1039/B704910B

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1143/JJAP.44.L1509

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1143/JJAP.44.L1430

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1109/TPS.2004.828129

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/PROC-762-A9.5

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/PROC-766-E3.8

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/S1369-8001(02)00108-7

Language：Japanese  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1088/0963-0252/11/3A/334

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1351/pac200274030483

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：Japanese  

Language：Japanese  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/PROC-664-A5.6

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1238/Physica.Topical.089a00029

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/PROC-609-A5.6

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

DOI： 10.1557/PROC-612-D9.2.1

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1143/JPSJ.69.1925

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1143/JPSJ.68.1578

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1143/JJAP.38.1553

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

DOI： 10.1007/s11090-024-10500-9

researchmap

Other Link： https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11090-024-10500-9/fulltext.html

DOI： 10.1007/s11090-024-10500-9

Web of Science

DOI： 10.1109/TPS.2024.3432879

Web of Science

Publisher：Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Part 1: Regular Papers and Short Notes and Review Papers  

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/ad5d78

Web of Science

Scopus

Publisher：IEEE Sensors Letters  

Nonthermal atmospheric-pressure discharge plasma is considered important for sterilization. Reactive species, such as active oxygen species, radicals, and nitrate ions, generated by the discharge plasma damage the target bacterial cell wall/membrane and DNA. Several plasma sterilization methods have been proposed, including dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). To achieve effective sterilization, it is necessary to evaluate their characteristics using many parameters. This letter aims to demonstrate a proof-of-concept of a novel biological indicator for plasma sterilization. A biological indicator is used to verify sterilization outcomes. We employ DNA-labeled microbeads as biological indicators for the rapid visualization of plasma sterilization. This is based on our recently developed method for visual detection of DNA molecules. If plasma-derived factors cause the degradation of the DNA attached to the microbeads, this can be confirmed by visualization. Herein, we present the correlation between sterilization and visualization in the case of DBD. This method offers a rapid evaluation of plasma sterilization because it easily and quickly determines the sterilization capability of the plasma.

DOI： 10.1109/LSENS.2024.3420437

Web of Science

Scopus

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

DOI： 10.1557/s43580-024-00907-z

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Other Link： https://link.springer.com/article/10.1557/s43580-024-00907-z/fulltext.html

Publisher：Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Part 1: Regular Papers and Short Notes and Review Papers  

We investigated the effects of tailored voltage waveform (TVW) discharges on the deposition of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films in CH4/Ar capacitively coupled plasma. TVW discharges employ two driving radio frequencies (13.56 MHz and 27.12 MHz) and control their phase shifts to independently regulate ion bombardment energy (IBE) and ion flux. In this study, a-C:H films were deposited by changing DC-self bias with phase shift and constant applied voltage peak-to-peak. Additionally, we investigated phase-resolved optical emission spectroscopy (PROES) for plasma characterization. As a result, plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) for a-C:H films using TVW discharges realize control of film properties such as mass density, sp3 fraction, and H content, while keeping the deposition rate constant. Thus, it is suggested that TVW discharges realize the independent control of IBE and ion flux with high accuracy, highlighting its utility in a-C:H film depositions.

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/ad53b0

Web of Science

Scopus

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：IOP Publishing  

Abstract

Large-scale fabrication of thulium iron garnet (TmIG) films on gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) substrates, with a total area of 25 cm², has been demonstrated by rotating substrate holders during on-axis sputtering. By optimizing the growth parameters based on the pressure and flow rate of the oxygen ratio, a Tm/Fe ratio of 0.65 was obtained, which is close to the stoichiometry of TmIG. The increase in post-annealing temperature has induced the growth of the TmIG structure by the strain of the lattice constant mechanism. At the highest post-annealing temperature, the crystal structure of TmIG (444) and the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) were obtained. This result demonstrates the potential method for large-scale fabrication of TmIG film with PMA.

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/ad5aff

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Other Link： https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.35848/1347-4065/ad5aff/pdf

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：AIP Publishing  

We have fabricated smooth-surfaced amorphous In2O3:Sn (a-ITO) films at a high temperature of 550 °C, far above the typical crystallization threshold of 150 °C for ITO films. This achievement has been made possible by intentionally introducing N2 into the sputtering atmosphere, which maintains a low N atom incorporation of only a few atomic percent within the films. Positioned within ZONE-T of the Thornton diagram (higher-temperature region characterized by high film density), our method allows the preparation of films with superior film density about 6.96 g/cm3, substantially exceeding the density of 6.58 g/cm3 for conventional a-ITO films fabricated under ZONE-1 (low-temperature region) and approaching the bulk crystal density of In2O3 at 7.12 g/cm3. The films also feature a high carrier density of 5 × 1020 cm−3 and a remarkably low resistivity of 3.5 × 10−4 Ω cm, comparable to those of polycrystalline films. The analysis via vacuum-ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy on N and O atom densities in the plasma suggests that amorphization is primarily caused not by N atoms incorporated in the films but by those temporally adsorbed on the film surface, inhibiting crystal nucleation before eventually desorbing. Our findings will pave the way not only for broader applications of a-ITO films but also for the design of other amorphous materials at temperatures beyond their crystallization points.

DOI： 10.1063/5.0211090

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Publisher：Materials Research Express  

ZnO-AlN pseudo-binary amorphous alloys (a-ZAON hereinafter) with tunable band gaps in the deep ultraviolet (DUV) region have been synthesized using magnetron sputtering. The miscibility gap between ZnO and AlN has been overcome using room-temperature sputtering deposition, leveraging the rapid quenching abilities of sputtered particles to fabricate metastable but single-phase alloys. X-ray diffraction patterns and optical transmittance spectra revealed that the synthesized films with chemical composition ratios of [Zn]/([Zn] + [Al]) = 0.24-0.79 likely manifested as single-phase of a-ZAON films. Despite their amorphous structures, these films presented direct band gaps of 3.4-5.8 eV and thus high optical absorption coefficients (105 cm−1). Notably, the observed values adhered to Vegard’s law for crystalline ZnO-AlN systems, implying that the a-ZAON films were solid solution alloys with atomic-level mixing. Furthermore, atomic force microscopy analyses revealed smooth film surfaces with root-mean-square roughness of 0.8-0.9 nm. Overall, the wide-ranging band gap tunability, high absorption coefficients, amorphous structures, surface smoothness, and low synthesis temperatures of a-ZAON films position them as promising materials for use in DUV optoelectronic devices and power devices fabricated using large-scale glass and flexible substrates.

DOI： 10.1088/2053-1591/ad4f57

Web of Science

Scopus

Publisher：Applied Physics Express  

This study reports the response of lettuce seeds undergoing dormancy breaking and early senescence to DBD plasma irradiation. A heat map of germination percentages at 12 h reveals that dormancy has broken at 39 days' storage, and that one minute of plasma irradiation enhances germination in dormant seeds. Plasma irradiation does not affect those seeds where dormancy has already broken. Early senescence via storage was estimated using ESR measurements and the molecular modification of quercetin. This study reveals that lettuce seed susceptibility to plasma irradiation depends on storage duration and conditions, with dormancy state as a critical variable modulating the impact of plasma irradiation.

DOI： 10.35848/1882-0786/ad3798

Web of Science

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.35848/1882-0786/ad33ea

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publisher：Environmental Science and Pollution Research  

Developing an optimal environmentally friendly bioremediation strategy for petroleum products is of high interest. This study investigated heavy fuel oil (HFO)-contaminated soil (4 and 6 g kg−1) remediation by individual and combined bioaugmentation-assisted phytoremediation with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and with cold plasma (CP)-treated M. sativa. After 14 weeks of remediation, HFO removal efficiency was in the range between 61 and 80% depending on HFO concentration and remediation technique. Natural attenuation had the lowest HFO removal rate. As demonstrated by growth rate and biomass acquisition, M. sativa showed good tolerance to HFO contamination. Cultivation of M. sativa enhanced HFO degradation and soil quality improvement. Bioaugmentation-assisted phytoremediation was up to 18% more efficient in HFO removal through alleviated HFO stress to plants, stimulated plant growth, and biomass acquisition. Cold plasma seed treatment enhanced HFO removal by M. sativa at low HFO contamination and in combination with bioaugmentation it resulted in up to 14% better HFO removal compared to remediation with CP non-treated and non-bioaugmented M. sativa. Our results show that the combination of different remediation techniques is an effective soil rehabilitation strategy to remove HFO and improve soil quality. CP plant seed treatment could be a promising option in soil clean-up and valorization.

DOI： 10.1007/s11356-024-33182-4

Scopus

PubMed

Publisher：Plasma  

Plasma-driven science is defined as the artificial control of physical plasma-driven phenomena based on complex interactions between nonequilibrium open systems. Recently, peculiar phenomena related to physical plasma have been discovered in plasma boundary regions, either naturally or artificially. Because laboratory plasma can be produced under nominal conditions around atmospheric pressure and room temperature, phenomena related to the interaction of plasma with liquid solutions and living organisms at the plasma boundaries are emerging. Currently, the relationships between these complex interactions should be solved using science-based data-driven approaches; these approaches require a reliable and comprehensive database of dynamic changes in the chemical networks of elementary reactions. Consequently, the elucidation of the mechanisms governing plasma-driven phenomena and the discovery of the latent actions behind these plasma-driven phenomena will be realized through plasma-driven science.

DOI： 10.3390/plasma7010011

Web of Science

Scopus

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

Abstract

Several studies have documented that treatment by cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP) on plants foster seed germination and growth in recent years. However, the molecular processes that underlie the action of CAPP on the seeds and plants remain mostly enigmatic. We here introduce gemmae of Marchantia polymorpha, a basal liverwort, as a novel model plant material suitable for CAPP research. Treating the gemmae with CAPP for a constant time interval at low power resulted in consistent growth enhancement, while growth inhibition at higher power in a dose-dependent manner. These results distinctly demonstrate that CAPP irradiation can positively and negatively regulate plant growth depending on the plasma intensity of irradiation, offering a suitable experimental system for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the action of CAPP in plants.

DOI： 10.1038/s41598-024-53104-1

Web of Science

Scopus

PubMed

researchmap

Other Link： https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-53104-1

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier BV  

DOI： 10.1016/j.rsurfi.2024.100204

Scopus

researchmap

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

The current research focuses on carbon dioxide (CO2) conversion at ambient conditions using streamer plasma. In this study, treatment time and humidity have been found to influence CO2 conversion. Our findings reveal a maximum CO2 conversion rate of 35.2%, achieved with a remarkably high energy efficiency of CO2 conversion at 135% and a low energy cost of 2.17 eV/molecule. We employed optical emission and fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy spectroscopy to analyze the different dissociation products of CO2 and determine the percentage of CO2 conversion. Furthermore, we utilized a two-dimensional (2D) fluid dynamics model and a zero-dimensional (0D) chemistry model to gain insights into the reactor mechanism.

DOI： 10.1002/ppap.202300141

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Smart Processing Society for Materials, Environment & Energy (High Temperature Society of Japan)  

 Carbon dioxide reduction is one of the key technologies for achieving a sustainable society. In this study, plasma catalysis were used to hydrogenate carbon dioxide to produce methane. Plasma catalysis have attracted attention in recent years as a technology promoting a reaction at lower temperatures by various synergistic effects between plasma and catalysts. In this study, molecular sieve with a pore diameter of 3 Å was used as a catalyst and its role was investigated. The results showed that: 1. molecular and atomic adsorption functions of molecular sieves are useful to inhibit reverse reactions; 2. the influence of molecular sieves becomes stronger at higher pressures, resulting in higher methane production; 3. energetic reactive particles derived from hydrogen deactivate molecular sieves; 4. molecules adsorbed on molecular sieve can be recycled by hydrogen plasma irradiation.

DOI： 10.7791/jspmee.13.31

CiNii Research

researchmap

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier BV  

DOI： 10.1016/j.tsf.2023.140176

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publisher：Japan Society for Occupational Health  

<p><b>Objectives:</b> We aimed to analyze the subchronic toxicity and tissue distribution of indium after the intratracheal administration of indium-tin oxide nanoparticles (ITO NPs) to the lungs of rats.</p><p><b>Methods:</b> Male Wistar rats were administered a single intratracheal dose of 10 or 20 mg In/kg body weight (BW) of ITO NPs. The control rats received only an intratracheal dose of distilled water. A subset of rats was periodically euthanized throughout the study from 1 to 20 weeks after administration. Indium concentrations in the serum, lungs, mediastinal lymph nodes, kidneys, liver, and spleen as well as pathological changes in the lungs and kidneys were determined. Additionally, the distribution of ionic indium and indium NPs in the kidneys was analyzed using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.</p><p><b>Results:</b> Indium concentrations in the lungs of the 2 ITO NP groups gradually decreased over the 20-week observation period. Conversely, the indium concentrations in the mediastinal lymph nodes of the 2 ITO groups increased and were several hundred times higher than those in the kidneys, spleen, and liver. Pulmonary and renal toxicities were observed histopathologically in both the ITO groups. Both indium NPs and ionic indium were detected in the kidneys, and their distributions were similar to the strong indium signals detected at the sites of inflammatory cell infiltration and tubular epithelial cells.</p><p><b>Conclusions:</b> Our results demonstrate that intratracheal administration of 10 or 20 mg In/kg BW of ITO NPs in male rats produces pulmonary and renal toxicities.</p>

DOI： 10.1093/joccuh/uiae019

Web of Science

Scopus

PubMed

CiNii Research

Publisher：Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing  

Climate change is considered one of the main challenges in this century, and CO2 emissions significantly cause it. Integrating CO2 capture, storage, and conversion is proposed to solve this problem. 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl) ionic liquid was employed to capture and store CO2 from the air and subsequently converted into CO using non-thermal plasma. Moreover, we also tested the CO2 capture and storage capacity of water from different sources, e.g., Milli-Q, deionized water, and tap water. [Bmim]Cl solution captured CO2 from the air and then converted to CO after 24 h using plasma. In comparison with water (Milli-Q water, deionized water, and tap water), CO production was increased by 28.31% in the presence of water (Milli-Q water, deionized water, and tap water) + [Bmim]Cl. It suggests that this method could be a promising way to capture, store, and convert CO2 from air at atmospheric pressure and room temperature as an effort to reduce carbon emission.

DOI： 10.1007/s11090-024-10500-9

Scopus

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

This study provides the health effects assessment of rice cultivated from plasma-irradiated seeds. The rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivated from seeds with plasma irradiation showed a growth improvement (slope-ratios of with plasma to without plasma were 1.066, 1.042, and 1.255 for tiller, and earing, and ripening periods, respectively) and an 4% increase in yield. The cultivated rice was used for repeated oral administrations to mice for 4-week period. Distilled water and rice cultivated from seeds without plasma irradiation were also used as control. The weights of the lung, kidney, liver, and spleen, with corresponding average values of 0.22 g, 0.72 g, 2.1 g, and 0.17 g for w/ plasma group and 0.22 g, 0.68 g, 2.16 g, and 0.14 g for w/o plasma group, respectively, showing no effect due to the administration of rice cultivated from plasma-irradiated seeds. Nutritional status, liver function, kidney function, and lipid, neutral fat profiles, and glucose metabolism have no significant difference between with and without plasma groups. These results show no obvious subacute effects were observed on rice grains cultivated and harvested from the mother plant that experienced growth improvement by plasma irradiation. This study provides a new finding that there is no apparent adverse health effect on the grains harvested from the plasma-irradiated seeds.

DOI： 10.1038/s41598-023-43897-y

Web of Science

Scopus

PubMed

researchmap

Publisher：Japanese Journal of Applied Physics  

Highly selective Si3N4 etching on Si was achieved in a CH3F/O2/Ar plasma using pulsed-microwave plasma and time-modulation bias. The Si3N4/Si selectivity reached infinity at a peak-to-peak voltage (V pp) of 240 V. The effect of pulsed-microwave on CH3F gas dissociation for highly selective Si3N4 etching was investigated by deposited film analysis, optical emission spectroscopy, and ion current flux measurements. As the duty cycle of the pulsed-microwave was decreased, the plasma density during the pulse on period decreased and the CH/H ratio increased. The pulsed-microwave plasma produced low-dissociation radicals by providing a low plasma density. The low-dissociation radicals in the CH3F plasma formed a fluorine (F)-rich hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) layer on the Si3N4 wafer surface. The F-rich HFC layer promotes Si3N4 etching even at low ion energy, where Si etching does not proceed, and enables highly selective Si3N4 etching on Si.

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/ace0ca

Web of Science

Scopus

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

A gas-liquid discharge plasma (GLDP) reactor is used to degrade organic pollutants such as phenol. GLDP contains a 7-pin plate system used to enhance phenol degradation in the presence of various pH, and gas bubbles produced from air, O2, O3, CO2, and Ar gases. Experimental outcomes show the impact of solution pH, as phenol degradation efficiencies of 85%, 90%, 96%, and 98% were obtained for pH of 12, 9, 3, and 1, respectively, after 60 min of treatment. This shows that the optimum pH for phenol degradation lies between 1 and 3. Moreover, we explored the influence of gas bubbles generated using various gases, such as air, O2, O3, CO2, and Ar, on phenol degradation. In the presence of O3 gas bubbles, the rate and degree of phenol degradation were significantly increased compared to gas bubbles produced from other gases (O2, CO2, Ar, and air). The degradation competence of phenol by added oxygen remained higher than argon. The performance of the GLDP system at various pH values and gas bubbles was evaluated using kinetic models. Pseudo-zero, first and second reaction kinetics models were used to examine the degradation of phenol. The rate of degradation at different pH and in the presence of gas bubbles follows pseudo-zero-order kinetics. Our GLDP reactor consumed energy of 127.5 J l-1 for phenol degradation under the influence of air bubbles and pH 5. The outcome of this research can help in the design of new reactors for industrial wastewater treatment.

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/acebfb

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Publisher：Journal of Applied Physics  

In this study, we developed a hybrid machine learning technique by combining appropriate classification and regression models to address challenges in producing high-mobility amorphous In2O3:Sn (a-ITO) films, which were fabricated by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering with a nitrogen-mediated amorphization method. To overcome this challenge, this hybrid model that was consisted of a support vector machine as a classification model and a gradient boosting regression tree as a regression model predicted the boundary conditions of crystallinity and experimental conditions with high mobility for a-ITO films. Based on this model, we were able to identify the boundary conditions between amorphous and crystalline crystallinity and thin film deposition conditions that resulted in a-ITO films with 27% higher mobility near the boundary than previous research results. Thus, this prediction model identified key parameters and optimal sputtering conditions necessary for producing high-mobility a-ITO films. The identification of such boundary conditions through machine learning is crucial in the exploration of thin film properties and enables the development of high-throughput experimental designs.

DOI： 10.1063/5.0160228

Web of Science

Scopus

Publisher：Japanese Journal of Applied Physics  

The surface passivation of crystalline silicon (c-Si) is studied during growth of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) by means of plasma-enhanced CVD. The surface passivation is characterized by an in situ method of the photocurrent measurement of c-Si during the growth of an a-Si:H passivation layer at various growth temperatures. The passivation is also characterized by an ex situ method of the carrier lifetime measurement performed at RT in air. According to both the in situ and ex situ characterization results, the surface passivation is optimized around a growth temperate of 200 °C, where the defect reduction and the band offset formation at the a-Si:H/c-Si interface play important roles.

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/ace118

Web of Science

Scopus

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CO2 methanation is an effective technology for CO2 reduction. Generally, methanation reactions are accelerated using thermal catalysts. However, the temperature control is difficult because CO2 methanation is an exothermic reaction, and the catalyst is deactivated by overheating. Plasma catalysis can solve this problem by driving this reaction at lower temperatures. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the contribution of the active species generated in the plasma to CO2 methanation. We found that the density of active species is linearly related to the power density, and in particular, the CH4 generation rate is determined by the CO-derived active species, not the H-derived active species. Furthermore, with an increase in the catalyst temperature, a new reaction pathway for CH4 production is added. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of the relationship between the active species produced in plasma and CO2 methanation.

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/acdad9

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

Single-step fabrication of fibrous Si/Sn composite nanowire anodes by high-pressure He plasma sputtering for high-capacity Li-ion batteries
Abstract

To realize high-capacity Si anodes for next-generation Li-ion batteries, Si/Sn nanowires were fabricated in a single-step procedure using He plasma sputtering at a high pressure of 100–500 mTorr without substrate heating. The Si/Sn nanowires consisted of an amorphous Si core and a crystalline Sn shell. Si/Sn composite nanowire films formed a spider-web-like network structure, a rod-like structure, or an aggregated structure of nanowires and nanoparticles depending on the conditions used in the plasma process. Anodes prepared with Si/Sn nanowire films with the spider-web-like network structure and the aggregated structure of nanowires and nanoparticles showed a high Li-storage capacity of 1219 and 977 mAh/g, respectively, for the initial 54 cycles at a C-rate of 0.01, and a capacity of 644 and 580 mAh/g, respectively, after 135 cycles at a C-rate of 0.1. The developed plasma sputtering process enabled us to form a binder-free high-capacity Si/Sn-nanowire anode via a simple single-step procedure.

DOI： 10.1038/s41598-023-41452-3

Web of Science

Scopus

PubMed

researchmap

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

Abstract

Plasma irradiation leads not only active species, but also reactive chemical species, ultraviolet light, electric fields, magnetic fields, and shock waves. To date the effects of reactive chemical species have been mainly discussed. To understand the biological effect caused by an electric potential induced with an atmospheric-pressure plasma, the behavior of cell stimulated by electric potential was investigated using HeLa cell. The cell concentration assay revealed that less than 20% of cells inactivated by potential stimulation and the remained cells proliferate afterward. Fluorescent microscopic observation revealed that potential stimulation is appreciable to transport the molecules through membrane. These results show that potential stimulation induces intracellular and extracellular molecular transport, while the stimulation has a low lethal effect. A possible mechanism for this molecular transport by potential stimulation was also shown using numerical simulation based on an equivalent circuit of the experimental system including adhered HeLa cell. The potential formation caused by plasma generation is decisive in the contribution of plasma science to molecular biology and the elucidation of the mechanism underlying a biological response induction by plasma irradiation.

DOI： 10.1038/s41598-023-42976-4

Web of Science

Scopus

PubMed

researchmap

Other Link： https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-42976-4

Publisher：Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing  

High-quality amorphous silicon nitride (SiNx) thin films were fabricated by the controlled growth of nanoparticles during SiH4+N2 multi-hollow remote plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at low substrate temperature 100 °C. Measurements from quartz crystal microbalances showed that a higher amount of nanoparticle incorporation in the SiNx film corresponded to a higher ratio of N/Si in the film, implying that the nanoparticles were nitrided in the plasma phase. We controlled the size of the nanoparticles by tuning the gas flow ratio of N2/SiH4 and the total gas flow rate. Transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed that smaller nanoparticles in the plasma led to a higher ratio of N/Si in the film and a lower hydrogen content. We attribute these results to the low heat capacity and large specific surface area of the nanoparticles, which enabled active chemical reactions on their surface in the plasma.

DOI： 10.1016/j.mssp.2023.107613

Web of Science

Scopus

Publisher：Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing  

We experimentally report the control of structural inhomogeneity and magnetic properties of Co-doped ZnO films using nitrogen mediated-crystallization. The ZnO:CoN were grown on a silicon substrate at room temperature by RF-magnetron sputtering using nitrogen and followed by a post-annealing treatment for 3 hours at 400 °C, 600 °C, 800 °C and 1000 °C in the air. This method induces changes in inhomogeneity properties comprised by microstructure and stoichiometry of each film, which are confirmed by X-ray diffraction, thermal desorption, and X-ray fluorescence measurements. The difference in inhomogeneity has led to the transformation in the magnetic properties. Films annealed at 400 °C, which showed the highest inhomogeneity, exhibited superparamagnetic-ferromagnetic properties. In contrast, all the other films exhibited diamagnetic properties. Increasing the post-annealing temperature above 400 °C reduces inhomogeneities indicated by improved grain size, decreased impurities, and lattice parameters and stoichiometry of ZnO:CoN films approached those of pure ZnO. Our present results will contribute to control the inhomogeneity of ZnO:Co films to improve magnetic properties at room temperature.

DOI： 10.1016/j.mssp.2023.107503

Web of Science

Scopus

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：IOP Publishing  

Abstract

This study aimed to realize in situ resource utilization in deep-space missions. The Sabatier reaction is used to generate CH₄ from CO₂, which accounts for 95% of the Martian atmosphere, and H₂ from H₂O on Mars. In general, thermal catalysis at temperatures above 250 °C drives the process. This high-temperature process, however, causes catalyst deactivation due to overheating. Plasma catalysis drives low-temperature reactions by excitation and decomposition of source gases via electron impact. We investigated the effect of removing H₂O from gas phase in the reaction with Cu and Ni catalysts using molecular sieves in this study. The reverse reaction can be aided by OH radicals derived from H₂O. Therefore, CO₂ conversion increased from 49.4% to 69.1% for Cu catalysts with molecular sieves, and CH₄ selectivity increased from 3.49% to 6.33%. These findings imply that removing H₂O can suppress the reverse reactions.

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/ace831

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Other Link： https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.35848/1347-4065/ace831/pdf

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Colossal research on CO2 and N2 conversion using non-thermal plasma (NTP) technology has been ongoing since many years. The primary focus is on CO and NH3 production through CO2 and N2 conversion, respectively, with high conversion efficiency and low energy consumption with or without catalysts. Although in the present study, we propose that the NTP can assist in converting CO2 and N2 to plant nutrients in the form of plasma-treated/activated water. We used a homemade streamer plasma device and produced plasma-activated water (PAW) using CO2 and N2 feed gas, CO2-activated water (CAW) and N2-activated water (NAW). Later, we used CAW and NAW to treat the radish seeds and evaluate the germination rate, germination percentage, and seeding growth. To understand the chemical changes in PAW after the NTP treatment, we performed a chemical analysis to detect NO2¯, NO3¯, NH4+, and H2O2 along with the PAW pH and temperature shift. Additionally, to understand the other species produced in the gas phase, we simulated chemical reactions using COMSOL Multiphysics® software. Our results show that NOx and NHx species are less produced in CAW than in NAW, but CO2-generated PAW offers a significantly more substantial effect on enhancing the germination rate and seeding growth than NAW. Therefore, we suggested that CO and H2O2 formed during CAW production trigger early germination and growth enhancement. Furthermore, the total plasma reactor energy consumption, NO3¯ and NH4+ selective production percentage, and N2 conversion percentage were calculated. To our best knowledge, this is the first study that uses plasma-assisted CO2 conversion as a nutrient for plant growth.

DOI： 10.3389/fphy.2023.1211166

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Publisher：Japanese Journal of Applied Physics  

The etching characteristics were studied via time-modulation bias (bias pulsing) by varying the pulsing parameters. The etch profiles were verified using polysilicon gate structures with dense and isolated patterns. Ion energy was defined as the peak-to-peak voltage (V pp) controlled by the RF bias power. The durations of the on period and off period (off time) of bias pulsing were adjusted by the pulse frequency and duty cycle. Profile evolution was observed in the variations in V pp and off time. Increasing the ion energy induced vertical profiles of dense patterns and the tapered profiles of isolated patterns. Extending the off time of bias pulsing induced tapered profiles of dense patterns and vertical profiles of isolated patterns. These results indicated that increasing the ion energy and pulse off time simultaneously was the direction to achieve anisotropic etch profiles for both the isolated and dense patterns.

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/acc7ab

Web of Science

Scopus

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Methanation of CO2 is a key technology to realize a sustainable society. The reactions should be driven at a lower temperatures from the viewpoint of catalyst stability. Methanation with plasma catalysis can drive reactions at lower temperature than thermal catalysis. However, the reaction mechanism is little understood due to the complexity of the interactions. In this study, we investigated the power and pressure dependence of the methanation efficiency when only plasma is used as a fundamental research. We discuss how these parameters change the vibrational temperature and active species density and affect the methanation efficiency using optical emission spectroscopy.

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/acc66a

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/acde29

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：English   Publisher：Plants  

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is an economically important source of natural low-calorie sweeteners, steviol glycosides (SGs), with stevioside (Stev) and rebaudioside A (RebA) being the most abundant. Pre-sowing seed treatment with cold plasma (CP) was shown to stimulate SGs biosynthesis/accumulation up to several fold. This study aimed to evaluate the possibility to predict CP-induced biochemical changes in plants from morphometric parameters. Principle component analysis (PCA) was applied to two different sets of data: morphometric parameters versus SGs concentrations and ratio, and morphometric parameters versus other secondary metabolites (total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC)) and antioxidant activity (AA). Seeds were treated for 2, 5 and 7 min with CP (CP2, CP5 and CP7 groups) before sowing. CP treatment stimulated SGs production. CP5 induced the highest increase of RebA, Stev and RebA+Stev concentrations (2.5-, 1.6-, and 1.8-fold, respectively). CP did not affect TPC, TFC or AA and had a duration-dependent tendency to decrease leaf dry mass and plant height. The correlation analysis of individual plant traits revealed that at least one morphometric parameter negatively correlates with Stev orRebA+Stev concentration after CP treatment.

DOI： 10.3390/plants12081585

Web of Science

Scopus

PubMed

Language：English   Publisher：Genes and Environment  

Background: Non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma technologies form the core of many scientific advances, including in the electronic, industrial, and biotechnological fields. The use of plasma as a cancer therapy has recently attracted significant attention due to its cancer cell killing activity. Plasma-activated Ringer’s lactate solution (PAL) exhibits such activity. In addition to ROS, PAL contains active compounds or species that cause cancer cell death, but the potential mutagenic risks of PAL have not been studied. Results: PAL has a low pH value and a high concentration of H2O2. H2O2 was removed from PAL using catalase and catalase-treated PAL with a pH of 5.9 retained a killing effect on HeLa cells whereas this effect was not observed if the PAL was adjusted to pH 7.2. Catalase-treated PAL at pH 5.9 had no significant effect on mutation frequency, the expression of γH2AX, or G2 arrest in HeLa cells. Conclusion: PAL contains one or more active compounds or species in addition to H2O2 that have a killing effect on HeLa cells. The compound(s) is active at lower pH conditions and apparently exhibits no genotoxicity. This study suggested that identification of the active compound(s) in PAL could lead to the development of novel anticancer drugs for future cancer therapy.

DOI： 10.1186/s41021-023-00260-x

Web of Science

Scopus

PubMed

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Frontiers Media SA  

DOI： 10.3389/fphy.2022.1118018

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

DOI： 10.1557/s43578-022-00886-7

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Other Link： https://link.springer.com/article/10.1557/s43578-022-00886-7/fulltext.html

Language：English   Publisher：日本環境変異原ゲノム学会  

プラズマ活性化乳酸リンゲル液(PAL)の細胞障害性と遺伝毒性について検討した。pHが低く高濃度のH2O2を含有するPALから、カタラーゼを用いてH2O2を除去した。その結果、PALのpHは5.6以下から5.9に上昇し、これらのカタラーゼ処理したPALではHeLa細胞に対する殺細胞効果が保持されていたが、カタラーゼ処理したPALのpHを7.2に調整すると効果が消失した。だが、カタラーゼ処理したpH5.9のPALには、HeLa細胞における変異頻度やγH2AX発現およびG2期停止に対し有意な作用を観察されなかった。以上より、今回の実験結果から、PALはH2O2以外にもHeLa細胞に対し殺細胞効果をもたらす1種類以上の活性化合物や活性種が含有されていることが明らかにされた。また、これらの物質は低pH条件下で活性化し遺伝毒性は有さないことから、PAL中の活性物質を同定することにより、抗癌剤の新薬開発に繋がることが期待された。

Language：English   Publisher：The Japan Society of Vacuum and Surface Science  

<p>Amorphous carbon (a-C(:H)) thin films have been studied in a wide range of fields as protective films for automotive parts, hard masks for semiconductor device fabrication, and biocompatible films for medical devices due to their excellent characteristics. In particular, mechanical properties (film stress and fracture toughness) related to film delamination are important because they are related to the durability of the films, which in turn are related to film stress and adhesion strength. Recently, we have shown that the introduction of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) between two layers of a-C:H thin films reduces film stress[1]. In this study, we evaluated other properties of the CNP-inserted sample and examined the effect of CNPs on the mechanical properties of the film toward the practical stage.</p><p>Sandwich structure films were fabricated using a capacitively coupled plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system [1]. Ar and CH4 gases were introduced from the top at 19 sccm and 2.6 sccm, respectively. The thickness of the first and second layers was 154 nm. For the nanoindentation test, a nanoindentation tester (ENT-1100a) was employed and a Berkovich indenter was used.</p><p></p><p>The load-unloading curve by nano-indentation showed a typical curve at 5 mN, and a step in the curve occurred at over 8 mN, and SEM images of the indentation showed that the membrane peeled off in a circular shape when the step occurred. EDS analysis of the peel scar revealed that the peel occurred at the interface between the first and second layers. In addition, the fracture toughness of the film was determined from the SEM images of the delamination traces and the load-unloading curve at the time of step generation, and it decreased with increasing Cp in the region where the film stress was constant for the CNP coverage. These results suggest that CNP coverage has a negative correlation with fracture toughness and that there is an optimum value for improving mechanical properties. Other properties will be discussed in detail in the presentation.</p><p></p><p>[1] S.H. Hwang et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 59 100906, (2020).</p>

DOI： 10.14886/jvss.2023.0_1ga06

CiNii Research

Publisher：Plasma Medicine  

Seed treatment with non-thermal plasma has seen a tremendous increase in both direct and indirect applications recently. In this review, we examined the effects of direct plasma irradiation, plasma-activated water (PAW), plasma-activated Ringer’s lactate solution, and plasma-treated soil on seeds, resulting in positive, negative, and neutral changes. Furthermore, we will compare the impact of pressure and feed gases on seed germination and seedling growth. Addition-ally, we focused on the types of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) and their concentrations produced in the gas and liquid phases, as these play a crucial role in germination percentage and seedling growth. In conclusion, we find that plasma agriculture’s success is contingent on seed morphology, the types and concentrations of reactive species, and specific plasma characteristics.

DOI： 10.1615/PlasmaMed.2023050454

Scopus

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

DOI： 10.1557/s43580-022-00417-w

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Other Link： https://link.springer.com/article/10.1557/s43580-022-00417-w/fulltext.html

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

DOI： 10.1557/s43578-022-00827-4

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Other Link： https://link.springer.com/article/10.1557/s43578-022-00827-4/fulltext.html

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：SPRINGER HEIDELBERG  

Applicability of precise Raman spectral analysis of a-C:H films deposited using a plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method has been discussed based on the sensitivity to initial conditions in peak separation. The spectral analysis offers to deconvolute the spectra into five peaks, while the as-deposited films prepared by plasma CVD is difficult to the five-peak separation. We found the peak position and the peak height ratio of the D-band to the G(+)-band can be employed to discuss the structure of the as-deposited films. We examined the structural difference between the films deposited at the powered electrode and that at grounded electrode. We found graphene nanoribbon-like structures may be formed in the films deposited on the grounded substrate. This result suggests that the substrate position is an important factor to form the graphene nanoribbon-like structure.

DOI： 10.1557/s43580-022-00310-6

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：IOP Publishing  

Abstract

We investigated the effects of amplitude modulated (AM) capacitively coupled Ar discharge plasma on the ion energy distribution function (IEDF) and the ion angular distribution function (IADF) incident on electrodes using the particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision model. For AM discharge, the electron density and electron temperature and the kinetic energy and angle of ions incident on the ground electrode change periodically with AM frequency, whereas ones for continuous wave discharge are almost constant. For AM discharge, the plasma had hysteresis characteristics. The peak energy of IEDF varies from 53 to 135 eV and the FWHM of IADF varies from 1.82 to 3.34 degrees for gas pressure 10mTorr, the peak-to-peak input voltage 400 V and AM level of 50%. The variation width of the peak energy of IEDF and FWHM of IADF increases with the AM level. These effects of AM method discharge are more noticeable at lower pressures. Thus, the AM discharge offers a way to control simultaneously IEDF and IADF, which opens a new avenue for plasma processes such as an ALD-like PECVD.

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/ac7626

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Other Link： https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.35848/1347-4065/ac7626/pdf

Publisher：AIP Advances  

We investigate the effects of the amplitude modulation (AM) discharge method on the growth of nanoparticles and the relation between growth of nanoparticles and plasma generation in tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS)/O2/Ar plasma. The laser-light scattering (LLS) intensity, which is proportional to the density and the sixth power of the size of nanoparticles in the Rayleigh scattering regime, decreases by 18% at an AM level of 10% and by 60% at an AM level of 50%. On the other hand, the ArI emission intensity, which is roughly proportional to plasma density, is higher than that for the continuous wave discharge. Thus, AM discharges suppress growth of nanoparticles in TEOS plasma. We have shown oscillations of the axial electric field Ez with the AM frequency for AM discharge by electric field measurement using an electro-optic probe. We have discussed that these fluctuations of Ez mainly lead to the vertical oscillation of the levitation position of nanoparticles trapped in the plasma sheath boundary region by taking into account the force balance equation in the axial direction on these negatively charged nanoparticles.

DOI： 10.1063/5.0097691

Web of Science

Scopus

Language：English  

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publisher：Antioxidants  

In order to ensure sufficient food resources for a constantly growing human population, new technologies (e.g., cold plasma technologies) are being developed for increasing the germination and seedling growth without negative effects on the environment. Pinaceae species are considered a natural source of antioxidant compounds and are valued for their pharmaceutical and nutraceutical properties. In this study, the seeds of seven different Norway spruce half-sib families were processed for one or two minutes with cold plasma (CP) using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma equipment. At the end of the second vegetation season, the total flavonoid content (TFC), DPPH (2,2- diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate), and ABTS (2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) antioxidant activity, and the amounts of six organic acids (folic, malic, citric, oxalic, succinic, and ascorbic) were determined in the needles of different half-sib families of Norway spruce seedlings. The results show that the TFC, antioxidant activity, and amounts of organic acids in the seedling needles depended on both the treatment duration and the genetic family. The strongest positive effect on the TFC was determined in the seedlings of the 477, 599, and 541 half-sib families after seed treatment with CP for 1 min (CP1). The TFC in these families increased from 118.06 mg g−1 to 312.6 mg g−1 compared to the control. Moreover, seed treatment with CP1 resulted in the strongest increase in the antioxidant activity of the needles of the 541 half-sib family seedlings; the antioxidant activity, determined by DPPH and ABTS tests, increased by 30 and 23%, respectively, compared to the control. The obtained results indicate that the CP effect on the amount of organic acids in the needles was dependent on the half-sib family. It was determined that treatment with CP1 increased the amount of five organic acids in the needles of the 541 half-sib family seedlings. The presented results show future possibilities for using cold plasma seed treatment in the food and pharmacy industries.

DOI： 10.3390/antiox11081558

Web of Science

Scopus

PubMed

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

Abstract

Discharge plasma irradiates seeds with reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). However, RONS introduced in seeds by plasma irradiation have not been successfully detected thus far. This study provides experimental evidence that nitrate ion NO₃⁻ is introduced in lettuce seeds as RONS upon irradiation with atmospheric-pressure air dielectric barrier discharge plasma. Plasma irradiation for 5 min promotes seed germination. The components of the plasma-irradiated seeds were examined using electrospray ionization quantum mass spectrometry (ESI QMS), which revealed that the plasma irradiation introduced an ion with a mass of 62 m/z in detectable amounts. This ion was identified as NO₃⁻ by liquid chromatography (LC), multiple wavelength detector (MWD), and LC-ESI QMS. A one-dimensional simulation at electron temperature T_e = 1 eV, electron density N_e = 10¹³/m³, and gas temperature T_g = 300 K indicated the introduction of NO₃⁻, involving nitric oxide NO. NO₃⁻ is one of the most important ions that trigger signal transduction for germination when introduced in seeds. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed that there was no change on the surface of the seeds after plasma irradiation. Plasma irradiation is an effective method of introducing NO₃⁻ in seeds in a dry process without causing damage.

DOI： 10.1038/s41598-022-16641-1

Web of Science

Scopus

PubMed

CiNii Research

researchmap

Other Link： https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-16641-1

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

DOI： 10.1007/s41614-022-00077-1

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Other Link： https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41614-022-00077-1/fulltext.html

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

DOI： 10.1557/s43580-022-00306-2

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Other Link： https://link.springer.com/article/10.1557/s43580-022-00306-2/fulltext.html

Web of Science

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：American Chemical Society (ACS)  

DOI： 10.1021/acs.cgd.2c00145

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Abstract: Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has low power output and efficiency. Even though the low-concentrated light can increase the POUT and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of DSSC, the effect of increase in the cell temperature, particularly electrolyte evaporation, becomes a major concern. In this study, we compared and investigated the performance of acetonitrile (AN-50), propionitrile (PN-50), and 3-metoxy propionitrile (Z-100) as nitrile-based electrolyte under low-concentrated light. The results showed 4–8 times increase in JSC and POUT in all electrolytes. AN-50 demonstrated an improved performance under influence of 2 cm distance concave mirror concentrated light with the highest JSC = 74.21 mA/cm2, POUT = 24.53 mW/cm2, and η = 7.99%. However, the performance of cell with AN-50 and PN-50 started to degrade within 3 h of measurement. In contrast, Z-100 displayed performance stability during 4 days measurement even with the lowest JSC= 49.98 mA/cm2, POUT = 19.50 mW/cm2, and η = 6.35%. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

DOI： 10.1557/s43580-022-00270-x

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

DOI： 10.1557/s43580-022-00234-1

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Other Link： https://link.springer.com/article/10.1557/s43580-022-00234-1/fulltext.html

Language：Others  

To meet the needs of the hungry population, it is critical to boost agricultural product production while minimizing contaminated waste. The use of two nonthermal technologies, pulsed electric field (PEF) and nonthermal plasma (NTP), is increasing every day. As both PEF and NTP are relatively newer areas, there is limited knowledge about these two technologies and their modes of action. Studies showed that PEF treatment on the plant seeds helps germination and seedling growth. The positive impact of PEF intensity is highly dependent on the seed coat type and plant species. Another nonthermal technology, NTP, affects seed germination, seedling growth, yield, and resilience to abiotic stress when generated at varying pressures with and without different feed gases. Early germination, germination rate, and germination percentage were all improved when the seedlings were treated with NTP. Similarly to the PEF treatment, NTP had a negative or no effect on germination. This review examined the effects of PEF and NTP on seed germination and ana-lyzed the situation and mechanism behind the positive or negative effect. Deactivation of proteins and enzymes to extend the shelf life of beverages is another prominent application of PEF and NTP. The interaction of PEF and NTP with proteins aids in understanding the microscopic mechanism of these technologies. Therefore, we covered in this review the potential structural and functional changes in proteins/enzymes as a result of PEF and NTP, as well as a comparison of the benefits and drawbacks of these two technologies.

DOI： 10.3390/agronomy12020482

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：IOP Publishing  

<title>Abstract</title>
Nitrogen is a very common element, comprising approximately 78% of Earth’s atmosphere, and is an important component of various electronic devices while also being essential for life. However, it is challenging to directly utilize dinitrogen because of the highly stable triple bond in this molecule. The present review examines the use of non-equilibrium plasmas to generate controlled electron impacts as a means of generating reactive nitrogen species (RNS) with high internal energy values and extremely short lifetimes. These species include ground state nitrogen atoms, excited nitrogen atoms, etc. RNS can subsequently react with oxygen and/or hydrogen to generate new highly reactive compounds and can also be used to control various cell functions and create new functional materials. Herein, plasma-processing methods intended to provide RNS serving as short-lived precursors for a range of applications are examined in detail.

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/ac25dc

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Other Link： https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.35848/1347-4065/ac25dc/pdf

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/ac4822

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Upconversion materials (UC) can convert low-energy photons into visible light and, therefore, can be incorporated in solar cells to increase the absorption of visible light. This study synthesized UC nanophosphors Yb3+, Er3+: Y2O3 and Yb3+, Er3+, Zn2+: Y2O3 by a simple co-precipitation method for application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The impact of the enhancement in the concentration of Zn2+ on the photoluminescence (PL) and color point of the synthesized nanophosphors was also investigated. The synthesized nanophosphors emitted intense red and weaker green emissions upon excitation at 980 nm. The incorporation of Zn2+ to the Yb3+, Er3+: Y2O3 nanophosphors leads to color tunability in the red and yellow regions. Furthermore, the synthesized nanophosphors were incorporated into the DSSC photoanode to form a TiO2-UC-based DSSC for converting near-infrared (NIR) into visible light. We observed that the TiO2-UC-based DSSC showed an enhancement ratio in current density and power conversion efficiency of 17.4% and 16.6%, respectively, compared to the bare TiO2-based DSSC. These results reveal that UC-based Yb3+, Er3+, Zn2+: Y2O3 nanophosphors are useful in improving the efficiency of DSSCs and in color tunability applications.

DOI： 10.1016/j.optmat.2021.111928

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Plasma nanotechnology is widely used for nanoscale etching, dopant implantation and thin-film deposition for state-of-the-art semiconductor devices. Such a plasma nanotechnology has another interesting aspect of synthesizing nanoparticles, in a controlled manner of atomic composition, structure and those size. Here, we present the polymerization and growth of silicon nanoparticles from a molecular level to 10 nm-particles in hydrogen diluted silane plasmas. The polymerization and growth are experimentally studied using various plasma diagnostic tools. The results indicate that nanoparticles are rapidly formed via gas-phase reactions in a low-density plasma comprising high-energy electrons. The growth kinetics and the modification of plasma properties are discussed in terms of gas-phase reactions, charging and coagulation of nanoparticles.

DOI： 10.1109/OJNANO.2022.3209995

Web of Science

Scopus

researchmap

Publisher：2022 International Conference on Informatics Electrical and Electronics, ICIEE 2022 - Proceedings  

Ferromagnetic semiconductor has attracted much attention for the application of spintronic devices, which will bring next generation of the information technology. Cobalt-doped Zinc Oxides (ZnO: Co) is strong candidate of this material group. The ZnO: Co films were grown on a silicon substrate (100) at room temperature by radio-frequency (rf) sputtering deposition and followed by post-Annealing treatment for 3 hours at 400°C and 800°C in the air. The transition from paramagnetic to ferromagnetic occurs after annealing at 400°C, and the properties return to paramagnetic like as-deposition when the temperature rises to 800°C. The XRD measurement of ZnO: Co films exhibited a wurtzite structure in the (002) plane and was free from secondary phases. Then, post-Annealing at 400°C due to shift peak and decrease oxygen element, meanwhile the crystallinity significantly up to 800°C.

DOI： 10.1109/ICIEE55596.2022.10010108

Scopus

Publisher：Proceedings of Technical Papers - International Microsystems, Packaging, Assembly, and Circuits Technology Conference, IMPACT  

EUV lithography drives the miniaturization of semiconductors for higher integration, and semiconductor manufacturing is in transition from two-dimensional (2D) to three-dimensional (3D) structures [1], which plays a crucial role in supporting packaging for edge computing such as Internet-of-Things (loT). 3D power scaling enables higher integration without reducing the size of transistors by arranging them vertically instead of horizontally. One of the important processes in manufacturing 3D structured semiconductors is the formation of films on sidewalls of trenches and holes. Such films are often deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) [2]. Due to the gas decomposition by plasma, PECVD method archives a high deposition rate of good quality films at low temperature, which is an advantage over other deposition methods such as atomic layer deposition (ALD) [3]. However, this does not fully meet the actual manufacturing requirements. For instance, SiO2 dielectric films deposited by PECVD usually have low coverage and poor film quality on sidewall of trenches and holes compared to films on surface. Ion impact is one of the most important factors contributing to improving step coverage and film quality in trenches and holes. One parameter that characterized ion impact is the ion energy distribution function (IEDF) and ion angular distribution (IADF) [4], [5]. There are strong needs for low temperature deposition in trenches and holes.

DOI： 10.1109/IMPACT56280.2022.9966682

Web of Science

Scopus

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1038/s41598-021-81175-x

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1021/acsaem.1c02774

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

The study of protein–protein interactions is of great interest. Several early studies focused on the murine double minute 2 (Mdm2)–tumor suppressor protein p53 interactions. However, the effect of plasma treatment on Mdm2 and p53 is still absent from the literature. This study investigated the structural changes in Mdm2, p53, and the Mdm2–p53 complex before and after possible plasma oxidation through molecular dynamic (MD) simulations. MD calculation revealed that the oxidized Mdm2 bounded or unbounded showed high flexibility that might increase the availability of tumor suppressor protein p53 in plasma-treated cells. This study provides insight into Mdm2 and p53 for a better understanding of plasma oncology.

DOI： 10.3390/ijms22179585

Language：English  

DOI： 10.1016/j.tsf.2021.138701

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.cplett.2021.138369

Language：Others  

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/abe47d

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.35848/1882-0786/abd717

Language：Others  

DOI： 10.1021/acsagscitech.0c00070

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/abba0c

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.3390/pr9010002

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/abc3a1

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.35848/1347-4065/abbb20

Language：Others  

DOI： 10.3390/PR8081002

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.01.179

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1002/pip.2961

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.cap.2019.11.001

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Local supply of reactive oxygen species into a tissue model by atmospheric-pressure plasma-jet exposure
© 2019 Author(s). The supply of reactive oxygen species (ROSs) into a tissue by plasmas must be controlled for the safe and effective use of plasma technologies in biomedical applications. In this study, the two-dimensional distributions of ROSs after passing through an agarose tissue model by the plasma-jet exposures were visualized using a KI-starch gel reagent to evaluate the local ROS supply. Partial ROS supply on the tissue model surface induced the local ROS supply in a pointlike shape just under the plasma-exposed spot. The O3-containing gas exposure without direct plasma contact could not induce the local ROS supply. Therefore, the local ROS supply was assumed to be induced by plasma-specific effects. However, the results also indicated that the plasma jet coming in direct contact with the tissue model surface did not necessarily induce the local ROS supply. The effects of the tissue model thickness on the local ROS supply were also studied; the local ROS supply could penetrate to a depth of 2 mm in the tissue model under the given experimental conditions.

DOI： 10.1063/1.5091740

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.7567/1347-4065/ab1473

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.7567/1347-4065/ab163b

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Progress and perspectives in dry processes for nanoscale feature fabrication: toward intelligent processes and virtual product development

Language：Japanese  

Language：Others  

Spatial correlation between density fluctuations of high energy electrons and nanoparticles in amplitude modulated capactively coupled plasma

Language：Others  

Room-temperature fabrication of amorphous In2O3:Sn films with high electron mobility via nitrogen mediated amorphization

Language：Others  

Effects of nitrogen impurity on zno crystal growth on Si substrates
Effects of nitrogen impurity on ZnO crystal growth on Si substrates have been investigated. The quantitative analysis on the surface morphology deriving height-height correlation function indicates that adsorbed nitrogen atoms suppress the secondary nucleation and enhance adatom migration. The resultant films have smooth surface as well as large grain size up to 24 nm even for small thickness of 10 nm. ZnO films fabricated by using such films as buffer layers possess high crystal quality, where the full width at half maximum of (002) rocking curve is 0.68°, one-fourth of that for films fabricated without nitrogen.

DOI： 10.1557/adv.2019.28

Language：Others  

Sputter Epitaxy of (ZnO)x(InN)1-x films on Lattice-mismatched Sapphire Substrate
We have recently developed a novel semiconductor, (ZnO)x(InN)1-x (abbreviated to ZION). In this study, we have succeeded in direct epitaxial growth of ZION films on 19?21&#37;-lattice-mismatched c-plane sapphire by radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that there is no epitaxial relationship between ZION films fabricated at room-temperature (RT) and the sapphire substrates, while the films fabricated at 450oC grow epitaxially on the sapphire substrates. From the analysis of time evolution of the surface morphology, the process for the epitaxial growth of ZION on sapphire is found to consist of three stages. They are (i) initial nucleation of ZION crystallites with crystal axis aligned to the sapphire substrate, (ii) island growth from the initially formed nuclei and subsequent nucleation (secondary nucleation) of ZION crystallites, and (iii) lateral growth of ZION islands originated from initially formed nuclei. On the other hand, non-epitaxial ZION films fabricated at RT just grow in 3D mode. From these results, we conclude that the substrate temperature is the key to control of nucleation and subsequent epitaxial growth of ZION films on the lattice-mismatched substrate.

DOI： 10.1557/adv.2019.17

Language：Others  

Photoluminescence of (ZnO)0.82(InN)0.18 films -Incident light angle dependence-
We have fabricated a new semiconducting material, (ZnO)x(InN)1-x (called ZION hereafter), which is a pseudo-binary alloy of wurtzite ZnO (band gap: 3.4 eV) and wurtzite InN (band gap: 0.7 eV). We have succeeded in fabricating epitaxial (ZnO)0.82(InN)0.18 films on ZnO templates by RF magnetron sputtering. XRD measurements show that the full width at half maximum of the rocking curves from (101) plane and (002) plane are significantly small of 0.11 ? and 0.16 ?, respectively, indicating good in-plane and out-of-plane crystal alignment. High crystal quality of the films was also proved by deducing the defect density from XRD analysis showing that the edge type dislocation density is low of 8.2×108 cm-2. Furthermore, we observed room temperature photoluminescence from ZION films as a parameter of incident angle of He-Cd laser light. The results indicate that an emission peak of 2.79 eV is originated from ZION.

DOI： 10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.941.2099

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1038/s41598-018-21001-z

Language：Others  

Cross correlation analysis of fluctuation of interactions between nanoparticles and low pressure reactive plasmas
We analyzed fluctuations of interactions between low pressure reactive plasmas and nanoparticles formed in the plasmas, to shed light on origins of fluctuations of interactions and to control fluctuations in plasma processes. Spatiotemporal fluctuations of nanoparticle density develop not only in a linear way but also in a nonlinear way. The results suggest nonlinear interactions potentially induce spatial and temporal process fluctuations.

DOI： 10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.941.2104

Language：Others  

Effects of sputtering pressure on (ZnO)<inf>x</inf>(InN)<inf>1-x</inf> crystal film growth at 450?C
We studied effects of sputtering pressure on growth of (ZnO)x(InN)1-x crystal films deposited at 450°C by rf magnetron sputtering. Epitaxial growth of (ZnO)x(InN)1-x films was realized on single-crystalline ZnO template. X-ray diffraction measurements show that full width at half maximum of the rocking curves from the (101) plane of the films reaches minimum value of 0.11? at 0.5 Pa. The sputtering gas pressure is a key tuning knob for controlling the crystal quality of ZION films.

DOI： 10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.941.2093

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1116/1.5037539

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. To produce hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films with high mass density at a high deposition rate and low substrate bias voltage, we deposited these films on a Si substrate by plasma chemical vapor deposition, using toluene as a source compound and varying the gas flow-rate ratio of H2/(H2+ Ar). By decreasing the gas flow-rate ratio from 55&#37; to 11&#37;, the hydrogen content in the films decreased, and the density of sp3carbon atoms in the films increased, whereas their surface roughness increased. At the gas flow-rate ratio of 11&#37;, we produced a-C:H films with a high bulk density of 1830 kg/m3at a high deposition rate of 81.1 nm/min.

DOI： 10.1016/j.tsf.2018.02.035

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1166/sam.2018.3303

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (other academic)  

DOI： 10.7567/JJAP.57.01AG01

Language：Others  

我々は、マルチホロー放電プラズマCVD法を開発し、サイズ・構造制御した結晶Siナノ粒子の連続作製に成功した。この方法では、サイズ・構造制御の重要パラメタはガス圧力とSiH4ガスに対するH2希釈率であることを明らかにした。結晶Siナノ粒子を用いて作製したショットキセルの量子効率がバンドギャップの3倍以上の光子エネルギー入射で100&#37;以上を示し、多重励起子生成型太陽電池の原理検証に成功した。また、結晶Siナノ粒子増感太陽電池として世界最高性能の太陽電池を実現した。加えてPtに代わる低コストポリマー対向電極材料の特性改善にSiナノ粒子が有効であることを明らかにした。

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.tsf.2017.02.067

Language：Others  

色素増感太陽電池の対向電極は電解液との酸化還元反応の触媒として務め、太陽電池の性能に(特に、充填率に)重要な役割を果たす。カーボン、グラフェン、カーボンナノチューブ、遷移金属及びその化合物、ポリマーなど多くの材料が色素増感太陽電池の白金対向電極を代替するため、研究されているが、高価な白金は依然としてドミナントな対向電極材料として使われている。本研究では低価のポリマーを用いた色素増感太陽電池の対向電極を研究した。ここではPoly(3、4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate)(PEDOT:PSS)を対向電極材料として使用した。以前研究と同様に、PEDOT:PSS対向電極を用いた色素増感太陽電池の最初効率は低かった。特に、相対的に不十分な触媒反応のため、充填率が大きく低下された結果を示した。PEDOT:PSS対向電極の触媒反応の向上のため、本研究はナノ粒子を導入した。ナノ粒子による対向電極の表面積の増加は触媒反応の活性化とともに色素増感太陽電池の効率を向上させた。結果的に、ナノ粒子を含めたポリマーナノコンポジット対向電極は白金対向電極以上の触媒反応とともに、さらに高い効率を示した。

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2017.01.034

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1088/1741-4326/aa7fc2

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1039/c7cp04083k

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.electacta.2017.08.030

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1038/s41598-017-08643-1

Language：Japanese  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1109/TPS.2016.2632124

Language：Others  

Influence of plasma irradiation on silkworm
© 2017 by Begell House, Inc. Silkworms have recently been proposed as an animal model for safety testing in basic research. We propose using silkworms for in vivo trials of direct plasma treatment. In this study, the influence of plasma irradiation on silkworms was investigated using a non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma. Silkworm survival rate decreased with increasing low-frequency voltage and plasma irradiation period. Further investigation of the plasma-generated agents (oxygen related radicals, UV light, and charged particles), revealed that the contribution of charged particles significantly increases silkworm mortality.

Language：Japanese  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1063/1.4968568

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1166/jnn.2016.13233

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.abb.2016.03.024

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.electacta.2016.06.020

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1007/s13391-016-4018-8

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.7567/APEX.9.076202

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.7567/JJAP.55.07LE03

Language：English  

Correlation between SiH
We have measured the hydrogen content ratio I<inf>SiH2</inf>/I<inf>SiH</inf>associated with Si–H<inf>2</inf>and Si–H bonds in p–i–n (PIN) a-Si:H solar cells by Raman spectroscopy. With decreasing I<inf>SiH2</inf>/I<inf>SiH</inf>, the efficiency, short-circuit current density, open-circuit voltage, and fill factor of PIN a-Si:H solar cells after light soaking tend to increase. Namely, I<inf>SiH2</inf>/I<inf>SiH</inf>correlates well with light-induced degradation of the cells. While a single I-layer has a low I<inf>SiH2</inf>/I<inf>SiH</inf>of 0.03–0.09, a PIN cell has I<inf>SiH2</inf>/I<inf>SiH</inf>= 0.18 because many Si–H<inf>2</inf>bonds exist in the P-layer and at the P/I interface of the PIN solar cells. To realize PIN solar cells with higher stability, we must suppress Si–H<inf>2</inf>bond formation in the P-layer and at the P/I interface.

DOI： 10.7567/JJAP.55.07LE03

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1166/jnn.2016.12210

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1063/1.4948430

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.12.112

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1166/sam.2016.2520

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.7567/APEX.9.016201

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.7567/JJAP.55.01AA11

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.7567/JJAP.55.01AA19

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1038/srep17781

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1109/TPS.2015.2488619

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1166/jnn.2015.11427

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.electacta.2015.04.105

Language：Others  

Attraction during binary collision of fine particles in Ar plasma
Forces exerted on fine particles in plasmas play central roles in their transport, agglomeration, as well as Coulomb crystals and liquids. The forces are complicated because of charge fluctuation of fine particles, charge screening in plasma, anisotropy of plasma flow, and so on. Various formulas of such forces have been theoretically predicted but many of them have not been supported by experimental results yet. Here we carried out experiments on binary collision of fine particles using Ar rf-discharge plasmas. PMMA fine particles of 10 μm diameter were injected into the plasma and they were levitated around the plasma sheath boundary. The number of fine particles levitated was so small that we can observe non-collective pair interaction. We observed binary collisions of fine particles with a high speed and high resolution camera. We found that repulsion of two fine particles takes place in short distances, whereas attraction takes place in middle distances. These results indicate that inter-molecular like potential exists between them. The attraction corresponds to non-collective fine-particle attraction due to shadow effects.

Language：Others  

Cluster Incorporation into A-Si:H Films Deposited Using H 2 +SiH 4 Discharge Plasmas
Light-induced degradation is the most important issue for hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells. Our previous results have suggested that incorporation of clusters into films is responsible for the light-induced degradation. Therefore, it is important to control the incorporation of clusters. Recently, we have developed multi-hollow discharge plasma CVD method, by which clusters are driven toward the downstream region and high quality a-Si:H films can be deposited in the upstream region. Here, we report effects of H2 dilution on cluster incorporation. Cluster size was measured by TEM, and the incorporation amount of clusters was measured with quartz crystal microbalances. H2 dilution leads to smaller clusters and the cluster incorporation in the upstream region increases with H2 dilution because the diffusion velocity of such small clusters much surpasses gas flow velocity.

Language：Others  

Cross correlation analysis of plasma perturbation in amplitude modulated reactive dusty plasmas
Interactions between plasmas and nano-interface are one of the most important issues in plasma processing. We have studied effects of plasma perturbation on growth of nanoparticles in amplitude modulated reactive dusty plasmas and have clarified that amplitude modulation (AM) leads to suppression of growth of nanoparticles [1]. Here we report results of cross correlation analysis of time evolution of laser light scattering intensity from nanoparticles in reactive plasmas. Experiments were carried out using a capacitively-coupled rf discharge reactor with a two-dimensional laser light scattering (LLS) system. We employed Ar +DM-DMOS discharge plasmas to generate nanoparticles. The peaks at higher harmonics and subharmonics in spectra of laser light scattering intensity were detected, suggesting nonlinear coupling between plasma and nanoparticle amount. We found high cross correlation t between waves at AM frequency and its higher harmonics. Namely, perturbation at fAM closely correlates with those at higher harmonics.

Language：Others  

Deposition rate and etching rate due to neutral radicals and dust particles measured using QCMs together with a dust eliminating filter
We have developed an in-situ method for measuring deposition rate of radicals and dust particles using quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs) together with a dust eliminating filter. The QCMs have three channels of quartz crystals. Channel 1 was used to measure total deposition rate due to radicals and dust particles. Channel 2 was covered with a dust eliminating filter. Channel 3 was covered with a stainless-steel plate. Moreover, all QCMs are covered with a grounded stainless steel mesh for suppressing influx of charged particles. The measurements were conducted in the Large Helical Device in the National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan. Although the deposition measurements during the discharges were difficult, we obtained deposition rate and etching rate by comparing the data before and after each discharge. The frequency difference for channel 1 changes from 0.1 Hz (etching) to -0.5 Hz (deposition), while those for channels 2 and 3 are within a range of +/-0.1 Hz and +/-0.05 Hz, respectively. The QCM method gives information on deposition rate and etching rate due to neutral radicals and dust particles.

Language：Others  

Effects of electrode structure on characteristics of multi-hollow discharges
Silane plasmas are widely employed for hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) film deposition. Amorphous silicon nanoparticles below 10 nm in size (clusters) are formed in silane plasmas and some of them are incorporated into a-Si:H films, leading to the light induced degradation which is the most important issue for a-Si:H solar cells. To suppress cluster incorporation, a multi-hollow discharge plasma CVD method has been developed and succeeded in depositing highly stable a-Si:H films. For further improvement of the film qualities, we have employed a thicker grounded electrode to suppress plasma expansion toward the deposition region. From optical images of the discharge plasmas, the expansion was significantly suppressed using 10 mm thick grounded electrode. For the 10 mm thick electrode, optical emission intensity ratio of Si* (288 nm) and SiH* (414 nm) ISi*/ISiH*, which shows a ratio of cluster generation ratio and radical ones, was 20&#37; of that for 1mm thick electrode. These results suggest that the generation of clusters was also suppressed using the 10 mm thick grounded electrode.

Language：Others  

Effects of N2 dilution on fabrication of Ge nanoparticles by rf sputtering
Multiple exciton generation (MEG) in QDs is expected to enhance significantly the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells. Although there are several reports on MEG characteristics from various QD materials such as PbS, CdSe, CdS ZnS, and Ag2S, such materials have disadvantages of their toxicity and limited resources. Here we have developed quantum-dots (QDs) solar cells using Ge nanoparticles fabricated by rf sputtering method under high pressure. We fabricated Ge nanoparticles by rf sputtering at a pressure of 1.5 Torr. Since the mean free path of Ge atoms is an order of micrometer, and Ge nanoparticles are formed in gas phase. We fabricated Ge nanoparticles using Ar and N2 to terminate surface defects by N. Ge and Ar emission intensities decrease significantly with increasing N2 partial pressure. The electron density was measured with a plasma absorption probe. The electron density decreases with increasing N2 partial pressure.

Language：Others  

Here we report evaluation of electron density and temperature using optically trapped single fine particle. Experiments were carried out with a radio frequency low pressure plasma reactor, where we set two quartz windows as top and bottom flanges to irradiate an infrared laser light of 1064 nm wavelength from the bottom side. Ar plasmas were generated between a powered ring-electrode set at the bottom of the reactor and a grounded mesh placed at the center of the reactor at 100 Pa by applying 13.56 MHz voltage. The particles injected into the plasmas were monodisperse methyl methacrylate-polymer spheres of 10 μm in diameter. A negatively charged particle, which is suspended plasma sheath boundary, was trapped at the focal point of the irradiated laser light due to the transfer of momentum from the scattering of incident photons. At the beginning of the trapping, particle of 10 μm in size was trapped above 505 μm from the bottom window. After 230 min, the size and position were 9.56 μm and 520 μm, respectively. From the results, the electron density and temperature are deduced to be 1.7×109 cm-3 and 1.9 eV.

Language：Others  

Raman spectroscopy of PIN hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells
Light-induced degradation of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is a key issue for enhancing competitiveness in solar cell market. A-Si:H films with a lower density of Si-H2 bonds shows higher stability. Here we identified Si-H2 bonds in PIN a-Si:H solar cells fabricated by plasma CVD using Raman spectroscopy. A-Si:H solar cell has a structure of B-doped μc-SiC:H (12.5 nm)/ non-doped a-Si:H (250nm)/ P-doped μc-Si:H (40 nm) on glass substrates (Asahi-VU). By irradiating HeNe laser light from N-layer, peaks correspond to Si-H2 bonds (2100 cm-1) and Si-H bonds (2000 cm-1) have been identified in Raman scattering spectra. The intensity ratio of Si-H2 and Si-H ISiH2/ISiH is found to correlate well to light induced degradation of the cells Therefore, Raman spectroscopy is a promising method for studying origin of light-induced degradation of PIN solar cells.

Language：Others  

Simple Evaluation Method of Atmospheric Plasma Irradiation Dose using pH of Water
Atmospheric discharge plasmas are promising for agricultural productivity improvements and novel medical therapies, because plasma provides high flux of short-lifetime reactive species at low temperature, leading to low damage to living body. For the plasma-bio applications, various kinds of plasma systems are employed, thus common evaluation methods are needed to compare plasma irradiation dose quantitatively among the systems. Here we offer simple evaluation method of plasma irradiation dose using pH of water. Experiments were carried out with a scalable DBD device. 300 μl of deionized water was prepared into the quartz 96 microwell plate at 3 mm below electrode. The pH value has been measured just after 10 minutes irradiation. The pH value was evaluated as a function of plasma irradiation dose. Atmospheric air plasma irradiation decreases pH of water with increasing the dose. We also measured concentrations of chemical species such as nitrites, nitrates and H2O2. The results indicate our method is promising to evaluate plasma irradiation dose quantitatively.

Language：Others  

Substrate temperature dependence of Au-induced crystalline Ge film formation using sputtering deposition
We are developing Au-induced crystalline Ge film formation using sputtering deposition. For the method, very thin Au films were deposited on SiO2 substrates and then Ge atoms were irradiated to the Au films by sputtering. We found two kinds of Ge film growth: one is Ge film formation on Au films, and the other is Ge film formed between Au films and SiO2. The latter film formation, however, takes place in a narrow temperature range around 140°C. Here we report two kinds of substrate temperature dependence of Ge film formation: one is annealing temperature of Au films, and the other is the substrate temperature dependence during Ge sputtering. 30nm-thick Au films were deposited quartz glass as a catalyst at room temperature by sputtering. Then the Au films were annealed in a temperature range from room temperature to 190 °C in a vacuum. Au grain grows and crystal orientation shows better alignment as the annealing temperature rises. We found that the smaller grain size with random orientation is better for Ge film formed between Au films and SiO2.

Language：Others  

Synthesis of indium-containing nanoparticles using plasmas in water to study their effects on living body
Nanoparticles can be employed for biomedical applications such as biomarkers, drug delivery systems, and cancer therapies. They are, however, pointed out their adverse effects on human body. Here, we synthesed indium-containing nanoparticles using discharge plasmas with indium electrodes immersed in DI water and administrated nanoparticles to rats to analyze their kinetics in living body. The discharge power was 5.1 W. The electron density is 5x1017/cm3 deduced from Stark broadening of hydrogen lines. TEM observation shows the mean size of primary nanoparticles is 7 nm. The nanoparticles are indium crystalline and indium hydroxide crystalline. The synthesized nanoparticles and purchased nanoparticles (In2O3, <100nm) were administrated to rats using subcutaneous injection. Indium of 166.7 g/day (synthesized) and of 27.8 g/day (purchased) are detected from the urine at 12 weeks after the administration. Synthesized nanoparticles dispersed in water are useful for analyzing kinetics of nanoparticles in living body. Work partly supported by KAKENHI.

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2014.10.049

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.tsf.2015.01.012

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1063/1.4927217

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.tsf.2015.02.052

Language：English  

Effects of discharge voltage on the characteristics of a-C:H films prepared by H-assisted Plasma CVD method
Hydrogen bonding configurations and hydrogen content of a-C:H films deposited by H-assisted plasma CVD were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Plasma parameters related to deposition rate were derived using optical emission spectroscopy. The a-C:H films contain a large number of sp³ configurations (93&#37;) and a few sp² configurations (7&#37;). Most of the hydrogen is bonded in methyl groups which shows the structure of deposited a-C:H films is polymer-like carbon. The mass density has nearly linear decreases with increasing the hydrogen atom density, indicating that control of hydrogen content is crucial to obtain a-C:H films of high mass density. A slight increase in radical generation rate and significant increases in etching rate by hydrogen atoms lead to decrease the deposition rate when the discharge voltage increases from 170 V to 180 V.

DOI： 10.14723/tmrsj.40.123

Language：English  

Deposition of Carbon Films on PMMA Using H-assisted Plasma CVD

DOI： 10.7566/JPSCP.1.015072

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.7567/JJAP.54.01AD02

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1109/TPS.2014.2343975

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1109/TPS.2014.2325038

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1088/2053-1591/1/3/036405

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1117/1.OE.53.8.087109

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.cap.2013.11.056

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.7567/JJAP.53.05FZ01

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.tsf.2013.08.103

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1007/s12541-014-0343-8

Language：Japanese  

Performance enhancement of dye and Si quantum dot hybrid nanostructured solar cell with TiO2 barrier
Dye and quantum dot (QD) are representative sensitizers of the photochemical solar cells. Dye has the highest efficiency in the whole sensitizers. QDs have relatively low performance but their multiple exciton generation enhanced theoretical efficiency from 33 to 44&#37; and expected to achieve high efficiency. This work tried to enhance the photovoltaic performance with the co-sensitization of N719 dye and Si QD. The performance of dye and QD co-sensitized solar cell was not much enhanced because of electron loss of charge recombination. Therefore, TiO2 barrier layer was introduced on TiO2 and Si QD. It blocked the charge recombination with redox electrolyte. It also helped better electron injection from excited dye to TiO2 with strengthened dye adsorption. Consequently, the performance of co-sensitized solar cell was enhanced with reduced charge recombination and increased dye adsorption.

DOI： 10.14723/tmrsj.39.321

Language：Others  

Nanostructure control of Si and Ge quantum dots based solar cells using plasma processes
We report characteristics of quantum dot (QD) sensitized solar cells using Si nanoparticles and Ge nanoparticles. Si nanoparticles were synthesized by multi-hollow discharge plasma chemical vapor deposition, whereas Ge nanoparticles were done by a radio frequency magnetron sputtering using Ar+H2 under high pressure conditions. The electrical power generation from Si QDs and Ge QDs was confirmed. Si QD sensitized solar cells show an efficiency of 0.024&#37;, fill factor of 0.32, short-circuit current of 0.75 mA/cm2 and open-circuit voltage of 0.10 V, while Ge QD sensitized solar cells show an efficiency of 0.036&#37;, fill factor of 0.38, short-circuit current of 0.64 mA/cm2 and open-circuit voltage of 0.15 V. © (2014) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.

DOI： 10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.783-786.2022

Language：Others  

スパッタリング成膜法を用いた酸化亜鉛（ZnO）薄膜の結晶成長において，初期核形成を制御する新しい方法「不純物添加結晶化（Impurity Mediated Crystallization: IMC）法」を開発した．本手法により，高格子不整合基板上への原子レベルで平坦なZnO単結晶膜の作製や，ガラス基板上への極薄低抵抗ZnO導電膜の形成が可能となった．本稿では，IMC法について紹介するとともに，これら成果の概要を述べる．

Language：Others  

Study on the Crystal Growth Mechanism of ZnO Films Fabricated Via Nitrogen Mediated Crystallization
Effects of nitrogen addition to the sputtering atmosphere on crystal growth of ZnO films have been studied. The AFM characterization shows that the nitrogen suppresses the nucleation in the early stage of the crystal growth leading to a non-continue film structure with sparsely distributed grains. As the deposition time increases, the physical properties of the ZnO films are modified by enhancement of adatoms migration at the growing surface, thus homogenous and dense films with larger grain size are obtained. Utilizing these ZnO films as buffer layers with film thickness greater than 4?nm, the electrical resistivity of ZnO:Al films have been significantly decreased from 7.8 × 10?3?Ω?cm to 6.7 × 10?4?Ω?cm.

DOI： 10.7566/JPSCP.1.015064