Characterizing defects and transport in Si nanowire devices using Kelvin probe force microscopy.

Si nanowires (NWs) integrated in a field effect transistor device structure are characterized using scanning electron (SEM), atomic force, and scanning Kelvin probe force (KPFM) microscopy. Reactive ion etching (RIE) and vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth were used to fabricate NWs between predefined electrodes. Characterization of Si NWs identified defects and/or impurities that affect the surface electronic structure. RIE NWs have defects that both SEM and KPFM analysis associate with a surface contaminant as well as defects that have a voltage dependent response indicating impurity states in the energy bandgap. In the case of VLS NWs, even after aqua regia, Au impurity levels are found to induce impurity states in the bandgap. KPFM data, when normalized to the oxide-capacitance response, also identify a subset of VLS NWs with poor electrical contact due to nanogaps and short circuits when NWs cross that is not observed in AFM images or in current-voltage measurements when NWs are connected in parallel across electrodes. The experiments and analysis presented outline a systematic method for characterizing a broad array of nanoscale systems under device operation conditions.

Curcuminoid ligands for sensitization of near-infrared lanthanide emission.

Fluorescent lanthanide complexes were synthesized using a non-phenolic analog of curcumin as the principal chromophoric chelating ligand. Sensitized, near-infrared fluorescence is observed in these complexes as a result of photo-excitation of the chromophoric ligands, population of the molecular triplet state, and transfer of energy to the emitting lanthanide ion. For the purpose of intra-molecular energy transfer, the triplet states of curcuminoid ligands are more favorably matched with the excited electronic states of neodymium and ytterbium ions than those associated with less conjugated beta-diketonate ligands. Sensitization of fluorescence through an internal redox reaction, thought to occur in other ytterbium complexes, is predicted to be less probable under the present circumstances.

Preparation and substitution chemistry of [Bu4N]2[W6Cl8(p-OSO2C6H4CH3)6]. A useful precursor for pseudohalide, acetate, and organometallic complexes containing the [W6Cl8](4+) core.

The tosylate (p-toluenesulfonate) cluster [Bu4N]2[W6Cl8(p-OSO2C6H4CH3)6] (1) has been prepared and characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and an X-ray crystal structure. This cluster complex is shown to be a useful starting material for the preparation of pseudohalide clusters, [Bu4N]2[W6Cl8(NCQ)6] (Q = O (2), S (3), and Se (4)), in high yields. Cluster 1 also serves as a precursor to the new cluster compounds: [Bu4N]2[W6Cl8(O2CCH3)6] (5), [Bu4N]2[W6Cl8((mu-NC)Mn(CO)2(C5H5))6] (6), [W6Cl8((mu-NC)Ru(PPh3)2(C5H5))6][ p-OSO2C6H4CH3]4 (7), and [W6Cl8((mu-NC)Os(PPh3)2(C5H5))6][ p-OSO2C6H4CH3]4 (8). X-ray crystal structures are reported for 1, 4, and 5.