Thin-Film Metamaterials Called Sculptured Thin Films

Abstract

Morphology and performance are conjointed attributes of metamaterials, of which sculptured thin films (STFs) are examples. STFs are assemblies of nanowires that can be fabricated from many different materials, typicially via physical vapor deposition onto rotating substrates. The curvilinear-nanowire morphology of STFs is determined by the substrate motions during fabrication. The optical properties, especially, can be tailored by varying the morphology of STFs. In many cases prototype devices have been fabricated for various optical, thermal, chemical, and biological applications.

On alignment of nematic liquid crystals infiltrating chiral sculptured thin films

“…Under the right temperature and pressure, an STF grows with columns whose shape is determined by the motion of the substrate. STFs can be prepared from a variety of materials with columns in a variety of shapes, 15 and hence can act as suitable building blocks for tunable devices when infiltrated with LCs.…”

Structural and photovoltaic properties of a-Si (SNc)/c-Si heterojunction fabricated by EBPVD technique

“…STF's performance has improvable features by changing the morphology. This property is an advantage for applications where the film properties are important [3,4]. STFs have wide application areas in biological, chemical, optical and electronic industry; some of these applications are microchannel [5], bioscaffold [6], gas sensor [7], humidity sensor [8], photonic crystal [9], optical filter [10], solar cell [11] and photovoltaic device [12].…”

Fotovoltaik Uygulamalar için GLAD Tekniği ile Büyütülen Spiral Nano Şekilli a-Si İnce Filmlerin Elektriksel ve Yapısal Özelliklerinin İncelenmesi

“…ŞİF'ler üzerine yapılan çalışmalar bu filmlerin üretim şartlarının yoğun bir şekilde çalışılmasını ön plana çıkartmıştır. ŞİF yapılar basitçe iki boyutlu olarak düz, eğimli kolonlar (kolonsal ince filmler-KİF), zigzaglar ve daha kompleks olan C-ve S-şeklinde yapılar; üç boyutlu olarak ise spiral, süper spiral yapılar olarak üretilebilirler [6,7]. İnce filmler büyütülürken kolon yönelimleri anlık veya yavaş yavaş değiştirilerek bu yapılardan ŞİF'ler elde edilebilir.…”