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The infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry (IRSE) of n-alkylthiol (CH3(CH2)xSH, x = 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 15, and 17, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), with 5-18 carbon atoms (C5-C18), grown on gold-coated Si(100) substrates) was investigated at room temperature. The C-H stretching vibrations could be resolved even for pentathiol, the shortest chain studied. The symmetric and asymmetric stretching vibrations of the CH2 groups are located at about 2850 and 2920 cm(-1), and those of CH3 are at about 2877 and 2962 cm(-1), respectively; they show a slight shift with the number of CH2 units. In addition, Fermi resonance of the symmetric CH3 stretching vibration at 2940 cm(-1) appears with decreasing chain length due to weak coupling with the asymmetric CH2 stretching vibration. The "odd-even effect" of the n-alkylthiol SAMs with varying CH2 units could be distinguished by the two interactive IRSE parameters. The relative ellipsometric spectra for the four longest chains could be reproduced quite well by using a Lorentz multioscillator model with a three-phase optical model (air/SAMs/gold). On the basis of the theoretical calculations, the vibrational strength of these oscillators is very weak, its magnitude being 10(-4)-10(-5). The full width at half-maximum (fwhm) of the peaks varies from 7 to 33 cm(-1). Moreover, the intensity of the C-H vibrations increases with the number of methylene units, due to strong lateral interactions and ordering effects occurring for longer chains.

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Structural and optical properties of sol-gel derived Zn1-xMnxO nanoparticles AIP Conf.Doped zinc oxide films are of high interest in thin film solar cell technology for application as transparent conducting oxide. Rapid and detailed characterisation of ZnO thin film properties is required for quality control and optimisation of the deposited films. In the present work, a new model of dielectric functions based on the effective medium approximation (EMA) is developed and is applied for characterisation of polycrystalline boron doped zinc oxide (ZnO:B) films, deposited by low pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD) technique onto glass substrates. The model takes into account that polycrystalline ZnO is considered to consist of crystal grains surrounded by depletion layers. Using this model and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) performed in reflection configuration over a wide mid-infrared spectral region (from 2 lm up to 25 lm), the properties of depletion layer and the bulk of the grains in ZnO can be rapidly characterised in detail, and the volume fraction of the depletion layer can be extracted. The results are in good agreement with previously presented theories of electron transport in polycrystalline materials. Using electrical measurements like conductivity and Hall techniques in addition to the optically determined parameters, predominant electron scattering mechanisms in polycrystalline films for different doping levels are identified. The measurements show the impact of the doping level on depletion layer of the crystallites. It is shown, furthermore, that under a water vapour rich environment the volume fraction of the depletion layer may increase up to 5 times and more, while the mobility of the charge carriers in the depletion layer drops drastically from about 31 cm 2 V À1 s À1 to about 8 cm 2 V À1 s À1 . This indicates that water vapour exposure causes an increase of the potential barrier in the grain boundary depletion layer, limiting the electron transport across the grain boundaries to a classical thermionic emission mechanism. V C 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.

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