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Through in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation, we report the behaviors of phosphorus (P)-doped silicon nanowires (SiNWs) during electrochemical lithiation/delithiation cycling. Upon lithiation, lithium (Li) insertion causes volume expansion and formation of the crystalline Li15Si4 phase in the P-doped SiNWs. During delithiation, vacancies induced by Li extraction aggregate gradually, leading to the generation of nanopores. The as-formed nanopores can get annihilated with Li reinsertion during the following electrochemical cycle. As demonstrated by our phase-field simulations, such first-time-observed reversible nanopore formation can be attributed to the promoted lithiation/delithiation rate by the P dopant in the SiNWs. Our phase-field simulations further reveal that the delithiation-induced nanoporous structures can be controlled by tuning the electrochemical reaction rate in the SiNWs. The findings of this study shed light on the rational design of high-power performance Si-based anodes.

A low temperature growth method based on electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced metal organic chemical vapor deposition system (ECR-PEMOCVD) was proposed for the growth of gallium nitride (GaN) films on ordinary soda-lime glass substrates with sputtered Cu as intermediate layer (Cu/glass substrates). The influence of deposition temperature on the properties of the GaN films on Cu/glass substrates was systematically investigated by means of In-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence spectra. With this method, high c-orientated crystalline GaN films with relatively smooth surface were achieved on amorphous Cu/glass substrate at an extremely low temperature of ~400 °C. The successfully growth of crystalline GaN films on amorphous Cu/glass substrates show great potential for significant improvements in the scalability and cost of GaN based devices, since the adverse effects with high temperature process for glass substrates can be effectively suppressed by this technique.

Gallium nitride (GaN) films were deposited on Ni metal substrate using electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced metal organic chemical vapor deposition system. With this approach, highly c-oriented GaN films with smooth surface were obtained at an extremely low temperature of ~480 °C. The trimethyl gallium (TMGa) flux dependent structural, morphological, and optical characteristics of GaN films were investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis, reflection high energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence analysis. The results indicate that it is feasible to deposit GaN films on Ni metal substrate under the proper deposition procedures. The high quality GaN films with high c-axis orientation and strong ultraviolet emission peak are successfully achieved under the optimized TMGa flux of 1.2 sccm. The GaN/Ni structure has great potential for the development of high power devices with excellent heat dissipation.

Highly c -axis oriented GaN films were deposited on Cu coated glass substrates using electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced metal organic chemical vapor deposition (ECR-PEMOCVD). In-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to systematically analyze the influence of TMGa flux on the crystalline quality of the GaN films. GaN films with strong c -axis preferred orientation were achieved under the optimal TMGa flux of 1.4 sccm. Moreover, a strong near band edge (NBE) emission peak located at 354 nm was observed in the room temperature PL spectrum for the optimized GaN sample. The GaN/Cu/glass structure shows great potential for application in large area low cost GaN-based LED devices.

Annealing studies were performed to investigate the effects of heat treatment on InN thin films by changing the annealing condition from vacuum to high pressure N 2 . A significant variation of ∼400 meV in the surface work function was observed for InN films. The basic principles of Kelvin probe measurement revealed that the surface band bending E SBB is crucial in investigating the significant changes of surface work function on the InN. The stoichiometric ratio imbalance of In and N was indirectly determined to be the main cause of the variation in band bending by analyzing the X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray measurements. Thus, the annealing treatment could be an effective method to adjust the surface work function of InN by changing the annealing condition from vacuum to high pressure N 2 .

Au-20 wt% Sn eutectic solder is used as bumps in flip chip package of power LED (Light Emitting Diode) due to its excellent properties. The Au/Sn dual-layer films were fabricated on Si wafer by pulse electroplating of Au and Sn sequentially, and the solid–solid interfacial reaction during aging and the eutectic reaction during reflow soldering were investigated in the present work. After storage at room temperature for 1 week, three phases of AuSn, AuSn2 and AuSn4 were sequentially formed at the Au/Sn (10 μm/10 μm) interface, and the thickness of this reaction region was about 5 μm. Firstly, AuSn4 was formed at the Au/Sn interface, and then AuSn and AuSn2 were formed at the Au/AuSn4 interface. After aging at 150 °C for 5 and 10 h, a similar layered structure of AuSn/AuSn2/AuSn4 was also observed. Due to the faster diffusion of Au to Sn layer, all the Sn elements were consumed after aging at 150 °C for 15 h and AuSn4 layer gradually transformed into AuSn and AuSn2 layers. For the specimen of Au/Sn (9 μm/6 μm) films on Si chip, a bamboo-shoot-like microstructure of Au5Sn/AuSn/AuSn2 was formed in the reaction region after reflowed at 280 °C for 10 s; while a typical two-phase (Au5Sn and AuSn) eutectic microstructure was formed after reflowed at 280 °C for 60 s.

Highly c-axis-oriented GaN films were deposited on Ti coated glass substrates using low temperature electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced metal organic chemical vapor deposition system (ECR-PEMOCVD) with trimethyl gallium (TMGa) as gallium source. The influence of TMGa flux on the properties of GaN films were systematically investigated by reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman scattering. The GaN film with small surface roughness and high c-axis preferred orientation was successfully achieved at the optimized TMGa flux of 1.0 sccm. The ohmic contact characteristic between GaN and Ti layer was clearly demonstrated by the near-linear current-voltage (I–V) curve. The GaN/Ti/glass structure has great potential to dramatically improve the scalability and reduce the cost of solid-state lighting light emitting diodes.