Structural and luminescent properties of terbium doped strontium titanate xerogel
We report on synthesis and photoluminescence of sol-gel derived terbium doped strontium titanate on monocrystalline silicon and in the porous anodic alumina matrix. The microstructure and morphology of the samples are analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope analyses. The thickness of the spin-on films deposited on silicon is about 115 and 170 nm due to the annealing temperature 750 and 1000 °C respectively. The samples reveal terbium luminescence in the visible range.
Blue-light emission at room temperature from Ar+-irradiated SrTiO3
Oxide-based electronic devices are expected to have fascinating properties, unlike those made from conventional semiconductors. SrTiO3 (STO) is a key material for this new field of electronics1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11. Here we report on blue-light emission at room temperature from Ar+-irradiated, metallic STO. The irradiation introduces oxygen deficiencies to a depth of ∼20 nm from the crystal surface. These deficiencies generate conduction carriers and stabilize a hole level in a self-trapped state. We propose a model by which the doped conduction electrons and the in-gap state produce a radiative process that results in blue-light emission. The emitting region can be patterned into any size and shape with conventional microscopic fabrication techniques.
Quanto: a Rietveld program for quantitative phase analysis of polycrystalline mixtures
Quantitative determination of phase abundance in a multicomponent polycrystalline mixture is a basic goal in materials characterization. Because of several advantages compared with traditional techniques, the Rietveld method has been increasingly applied to this task. Further progress in this direction would be to carry out the analysis automatically. The new Rietveld package Quanto is devoted to the automatic estimation of the weight fraction of each crystalline phase in a mixture. The amorphous content can be estimated by means of the internal-standard method. Corrections for preferred orientation and microabsorption effects are available. A user-friendly graphical interface facilitates interaction. A data bank including several organic and inorganic phases is supplied with the program.