In this paper, Ni/NiO/Ni multilayers are deposited on glass substrates using radio frequency magnetron sputtering, where the structural and morphological properties are analyzed using X-ray diffraction besides scanning electron microscopy techniques. The associated magnetic hysteresis loops are obtained by vibrating sample magnetometer for temperatures ranging from - 100 to 300 °C. Hence, the parameters α, β, Bmax, HC, and Br defining a hysteresis loop are determined at each temperature using Preisach model for the first two parameters, while the remaining ones are deduced experimentally. The set of these parameters are introduced within the training data set in the context of an ANFIS-based approach to predict the hysteresis loop of a Ni/NiO/Ni multilayer for any temperature below the Curie temperature. The comparison conducted between theoretical and experimental results showed a good agreement. This work provided more insights regarding the consolidation of experimental characterization with the development of soft computing-based frameworks.

In this paper, a new Au/p-Si Schottky Barrier Diode (SBD) based on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) intermediate thin-film is proposed and experimentally investigated by including the annealing temperature effect. We elaborated the Au/ITO/p-Si structure by means of RF magnetron sputtering technique and compared its electrical properties with the conventional Au/p-Si SBD. The role of the annealing process at 200 and 400 °C as well as the ITO interface thin-layer in improving the SBD basic electrical parameters is analyzed. The characterization has revealed that a higher Schottky barrier (ϕb) of 0.79V is achieved. Moreover, close to unit ideality factor of (n = 1.25) and reduced density of states (Nss = 1.5 × 1012cm-2) and series resistance of (Rs = 32Ω) are recorded. These achievements can be attributed to the enhanced interface quality provided by introducing the ITO thin-film. Moreover, the annealing process enables improved crystallinity and allows efficient rearrangement of atoms at the interfaces. The thermal stability behavior of the investigated designs is analyzed, where new Figure of Merit (FoMs) parameters are proposed. It is found that the annealed Au/ITO/p-Si structure offers the opportunity for suppressing the degradation related-heating effects. Therefore, the proposed Au/ITO/p-Si SBD pinpoint a new path toward achieving superior electrical characteristics and improved thermal stability, which makes it a potential alternative for high-performance microelectronic and optoelectronic applications.

In this paper, a transparent conductive ITO/Ag/ITO (IAI) multilayer structure with a high Haacke Figure of Merit (FoM) far surpassing those found up to now is experimentally demonstrated. An optimized IAI multilayer electrode was elaborated by means of RF magnetron sputtering technique. The structural and electrical characteristics of the prepared tri-layered design were investigated. The influence of the annealing process on the IAI electrode performance was also carried out. Unlike the IAI structure as-deposited, it was revealed that the annealed samples maintained an average transparency superior than 89%. This behavior indicates the effectiveness of the thermal treatment for ensuring favorable light management. In addition, it was found that the annealing process paves a new path toward improving the electrode conductivity, where the heat treated electrode at 600°C yielded a very low sheet resistance of 2.95Ω × sq-1. Therefore, by well optimizing both IAI geometry and annealing conditions, we were able to elaborate high-quality coating with a superior FoM of 120.8 × 10-3Ω-1. This makes the sputtered IAI multilayer design a suitable alternative to the conventional ITO-based electrodes for optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications.

In this paper, versatile Metal/TCO/p-Si Schottky Barrier Diodes (SBDs) with dissimilar TCO intermediate layers (ZnO and ITO) were fabricated by RF magnetron sputtering technique. An overall electrical performance comparison between the Al/ZnO/p-Si, Au/ITO/p-Si and the conventional Au/p-Si structures is carried out. The measured I-V characteristics indicate that the proposed Al/ZnO/p-Si design exhibits an outstanding capability for achieving a high rectifying ratio of 142 dB. This is mainly due to the enhanced Schottky barrier height (SBH) of 0.75 V and close to unite ideality factor (n = 1.23). Such behavior can be attributed to the enhanced interface quality achieved by introducing TCO inter-layers, which could decrease the Series resistance. A comparative study of the elaborated structures performance is carried out in which new Figures of Merit (FoM) parameters that combine both electrical and thermal stability performances are proposed. The Experimental results show that the proposed designs with ITO and ZnO sub-layers exhibits improved FoM parameters as compared to the conventional Au/p-Si structure. Moreover, this comparative study enables to the designer to acquire a comprehensive review about the Si-based SBDs design tradeoffs. It is demonstrated that the insertion of a TCO inter-layer might be beneficial for avoiding the degradation related-heating effects. Therefore, the proposed designs offer the possibility of bridging the gap between superior electrical performance and high thermal stability, which makes them suitable for developing high-performance Schottky solar cells and sensing applications.

In this paper, the role of introducing an intermediate Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) thin-film in improving the Au/Si Schottky Barrier Diodes (SBDs) electrical performance is experimentally analyzed. The Au/ITO/Si/Au structures with different ITO thicknesses were fabricated using RF magnetron sputtering technique. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the investigated structures are analyzed, where the device electrical parameters are extracted. It is found that the introduced ITO thin-film has a significant impact in reducing the ideality factor (n=1.25), the interfacial defects (Nss=1.5×1012 eV-1cm-2) and the series resistance (Rs=32Ω). Our study demonstrates that the use of ITO intermediate thin-film can generate minority carrier injection effects, which lead to achieve the dual role of enhanced derived current and lower series resistance. Moreover, the structure thermal stability behavior is investigated and compared with those of the conventional design in order to reveal the device reliability against the thermal variation. Furthermore, the effect of the annealing on the device thermal stability is also analyzed. Our investigation shows that the annealed structure provides the possibility for avoiding the degradation related-heating effects. Therefore, the proposed Au/ITO/Si/Au structure offers the opportunity for bridging the gap between achieving superior electrical performance and enhanced thermal stability. The obtained results may facilitate the design of high-performance SBDs for sensing and microelectronic applications.

Bilayer of nickel and nickel oxide were deposited on glass substrates using RF magnetron sputtering technique. The magnetic properties of the prepared thin films were carried out at room temperature in both parallel and perpendicular magnetic field to the sample. The Preisach model was applied to provide a mathematical model of the magnetic hysteresis loop in the case of parallel geometry, along the easy axis of the bi-layer NiO / Ni. Good agreement was obtained between the theoretical and experimental results.

Iron thin films were deposited on glass substrates using RF magnetron sputtering and their optimal deposition conditions were determined. The structure properties were analyzed using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and their magnetic hysteresis loops were obtained by Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) at room temperature. In this situation, the magnetic field is either parallel or perpendicular to the substrate plane. The main contribution of this work is to characterize the thin layers and present a mathematical model that can get best fit of the characteristics B(H). By using Preisach model, good agreement was obtained between theoretical and experimental results in both cases.