WorldWideScience

Sample records for films epitaxial growth

  1. Growth of epitaxial thin films by pulsed laser ablation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lowndes, D.H.

    1992-01-01

    High-quality, high-temperature superconductor (HTSc) films can be grown by the pulsed laser ablation (PLA) process. This article provides a detailed introduction to the advantages and curent limitations of PLA for epitaxial film growth. Emphasis is placed on experimental methods and on exploitation of PLA to control epitaxial growth at either the unit cell or the atomic-layer level. Examples are taken from recent HTSc film growth. 33 figs, 127 refs

  2. Zirconia thin films from aqueous precursors: Processing, microstructural development, and epitaxial growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, K.T.

    1991-01-01

    Thin films of ZrO 2 (Y 2 O 3 ) were prepared from aqueous salt precursors by spin coating. Films were pyrolyzed to produce porous polycrystalline thin films of 5-10 nm grain size. Subsequent microstructural development depends greatly upon the nature of the substrate. Upon randomly oriented sapphire, the films initially sintered to full density; further heat treatment and grain growth causes these films to break into interconnected islands and finally isolated particles. Thermodynamic calculations predict that breakup is energetically favorable when the grain-size film-thickness ratio exceeds a critical value. Upon basal-plane-oriented sapphire, grain growth and breakup prefer the (100) oriented grains, presumably because this orientation is a special interface of low energy. The isolated, oriented grains produced by film breakup act as seeds for the growth of newly deposited material. Upon (100) cubic zirconia, true epitaxial films develop. Epitaxial growth was observed for lattice mismatches up to 1.59%. Growth proceeds from a fine epitaxial layer which is produced during the initial stages of heat treatment, consuming the porous polycrystalline material and producing a dense epitaxial thin film whose misfit is accommodated by a combination of film strain and misfit dislocations

  3. Adsorption-controlled growth of BiMnO3 films by molecular-beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, J. H.; Ke, X.; Misra, R.; Schiffer, P.; Ihlefeld, J. F.; Mei, Z. G.; Liu, Z. K.; Xu, X. S.; Musfeldt, J. L.; Heeg, T.; Schlom, D. G.; Roeckerath, M.; Schubert, J.

    2010-01-01

    We have developed the means to grow BiMnO 3 thin films with unparalleled structural perfection by reactive molecular-beam epitaxy and determined its band gap. Film growth occurs in an adsorption-controlled growth regime. Within this growth window bounded by oxygen pressure and substrate temperature at a fixed bismuth overpressure, single-phase films of the metastable perovskite BiMnO 3 may be grown by epitaxial stabilization. X-ray diffraction reveals phase-pure and epitaxial films with ω rocking curve full width at half maximum values as narrow as 11 arc sec (0.003 deg. ). Optical absorption measurements reveal that BiMnO 3 has a direct band gap of 1.1±0.1 eV.

  4. Growth and characterization of Hg 1– Cd Te epitaxial films by ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Growth of Hg1–CdTe epitaxial films by a new technique called asymmetric vapour phase epitaxy (ASVPE) has been carried out on CdTe and CZT substrates. The critical problems faced in normal vapour phase epitaxy technique like poor surface morphology, composition gradient and dislocation multiplication have ...

  5. Effect of growth temperature on defects in epitaxial GaN film grown by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. S. Kushvaha

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available We report the effect of growth temperature on defect states of GaN epitaxial layers grown on 3.5 μm thick GaN epi-layer on sapphire (0001 substrates using plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The GaN samples grown at three different substrate temperatures at 730, 740 and 750 °C were characterized using atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The atomic force microscopy images of these samples show the presence of small surface and large hexagonal pits on the GaN film surfaces. The surface defect density of high temperature grown sample is smaller (4.0 × 108 cm−2 at 750 °C than that of the low temperature grown sample (1.1 × 109 cm−2 at 730 °C. A correlation between growth temperature and concentration of deep centre defect states from photoluminescence spectra is also presented. The GaN film grown at 750 °C exhibits the lowest defect concentration which confirms that the growth temperature strongly influences the surface morphology and affects the optical properties of the GaN epitaxial films.

  6. Growth and characterization of Hg1–xCdxTe epitaxial films by ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    Abstract. Growth of Hg1–xCdxTe epitaxial films by a new technique called asymmetric vapour phase epitaxy. (ASVPE) has been carried out on CdTe and CZT substrates. The critical problems faced in normal vapour phase epitaxy technique like poor surface morphology, composition gradient and dislocation multiplication.

  7. Thin film evolution equations from (evaporating) dewetting liquid layers to epitaxial growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thiele, U

    2010-01-01

    In the present contribution we review basic mathematical results for three physical systems involving self-organizing solid or liquid films at solid surfaces. The films may undergo a structuring process by dewetting, evaporation/condensation or epitaxial growth, respectively. We highlight similarities and differences of the three systems based on the observation that in certain limits all of them may be described using models of similar form, i.e. time evolution equations for the film thickness profile. Those equations represent gradient dynamics characterized by mobility functions and an underlying energy functional. Two basic steps of mathematical analysis are used to compare the different systems. First, we discuss the linear stability of homogeneous steady states, i.e. flat films, and second the systematics of non-trivial steady states, i.e. drop/hole states for dewetting films and quantum-dot states in epitaxial growth, respectively. Our aim is to illustrate that the underlying solution structure might be very complex as in the case of epitaxial growth but can be better understood when comparing the much simpler results for the dewetting liquid film. We furthermore show that the numerical continuation techniques employed can shed some light on this structure in a more convenient way than time-stepping methods. Finally we discuss that the usage of the employed general formulation does not only relate seemingly unrelated physical systems mathematically, but does allow as well for discussing model extensions in a more unified way.

  8. Self-regulated growth of LaVO3 thin films by hybrid molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Hai-Tian; Engel-Herbert, Roman; Dedon, Liv R.; Martin, Lane W.

    2015-01-01

    LaVO 3 thin films were grown on SrTiO 3 (001) by hybrid molecular beam epitaxy. A volatile metalorganic precursor, vanadium oxytriisopropoxide (VTIP), and elemental La were co-supplied in the presence of a molecular oxygen flux. By keeping the La flux fixed and varying the VTIP flux, stoichiometric LaVO 3 films were obtained for a range of cation flux ratios, indicating the presence of a self-regulated growth window. Films grown under stoichiometric conditions were found to have the largest lattice parameter, which decreased monotonically with increasing amounts of excess La or V. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering measurements were carried out to confirm film compositions. Stoichiometric growth of complex vanadate thin films independent of cation flux ratios expands upon the previously reported self-regulated growth of perovskite titanates using hybrid molecular beam epitaxy, thus demonstrating the general applicability of this growth approach to other complex oxide materials, where a precise control over film stoichiometry is demanded by the application

  9. Epitaxial thin film growth of LiH using a liquid-Li atomic template

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oguchi, Hiroyuki; Ikeshoji, Tamio; Orimo, Shin-ichi; Ohsawa, Takeo; Shiraki, Susumu; Hitosugi, Taro; Kuwano, Hiroki

    2014-01-01

    We report on the synthesis of lithium hydride (LiH) epitaxial thin films through the hydrogenation of a Li melt, forming abrupt LiH/MgO interface. Experimental and first-principles molecular dynamics studies reveal a comprehensive microscopic picture of the crystallization processes, which sheds light on the fundamental atomistic growth processes that have remained unknown in the vapor-liquid-solid method. We found that the periodic structure that formed, because of the liquid-Li atoms at the film/MgO-substrate interface, serves as an atomic template for the epitaxial growth of LiH crystals. In contrast, films grown on the Al 2 O 3 substrates indicated polycrystalline films with a LiAlO 2 secondary phase. These results and the proposed growth process provide insights into the preparation of other alkaline metal hydride thin films on oxides. Further, our investigations open the way to explore fundamental physics and chemistry of metal hydrides including possible phenomena that emerge at the heterointerfaces of metal hydrides

  10. Liquid phase epitaxial growth of heterostructured hierarchical MOF thin films

    KAUST Repository

    Chernikova, Valeriya

    2017-05-10

    Precise control of epitaxial growth of MOF-on-MOF thin films, for ordered hierarchical tbo-type structures is demonstrated. The heterostructured MOF thin film was fabricated by successful sequential deposition of layers from two different MOFs. The 2-periodic layers, edge-transitive 4,4-square lattices regarded as supermolecular building layers, were commendably cross-linked using a combination of inorganic/organic and organic pillars.

  11. Liquid phase epitaxial growth of heterostructured hierarchical MOF thin films

    KAUST Repository

    Chernikova, Valeriya; Shekhah, Osama; Spanopoulos, Ioannis; Trikalitis, Pantelis N.; Eddaoudi, Mohamed

    2017-01-01

    Precise control of epitaxial growth of MOF-on-MOF thin films, for ordered hierarchical tbo-type structures is demonstrated. The heterostructured MOF thin film was fabricated by successful sequential deposition of layers from two different MOFs. The 2-periodic layers, edge-transitive 4,4-square lattices regarded as supermolecular building layers, were commendably cross-linked using a combination of inorganic/organic and organic pillars.

  12. Epitaxial growth of fcc Ti films on Al(001) surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saleh, A.A.; Shutthanandan, V.; Shivaparan, N.R.; Smith, R.J.; Tran, T.T.; Chambers, S.A.

    1997-01-01

    High-energy ion scattering (HEIS), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) were used to study the growth of thin Ti films on Al(001) surfaces. The Al surface peak area in the backscattered ion spectrum of MeV He + ions, incident along the [00 bar 1] direction, was used to monitor the atomic structure of the Ti films during growth. An initial decrease in the area was observed indicating epitaxial film growth. This decrease continued up to a critical film thickness of about 5.5 ML, after which point the structure of the film changed. Titanium films 3, 5, and 9 ML thick were characterized using XPD in the same chamber. Both the HEIS and XPD results show that the Ti films grow with an fcc structure on Al(001). A tetragonal distortion of 2.4% in the fcc Ti film was measured using ions incident along the [10 bar 1] direction. Although there is a general similarity of fcc Ti growth on both Al(001) and Al(110), the submonolayer growth regime does show differences for the two surfaces. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

  13. One-step Ge/Si epitaxial growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Hung-Chi; Lin, Bi-Hsuan; Chen, Huang-Chin; Chen, Po-Chin; Sheu, Hwo-Shuenn; Lin, I-Nan; Chiu, Hsin-Tien; Lee, Chi-Young

    2011-07-01

    Fabricating a low-cost virtual germanium (Ge) template by epitaxial growth of Ge films on silicon wafer with a Ge(x)Si(1-x) (0 deposition method in one step by decomposing a hazardousless GeO(2) powder under hydrogen atmosphere without ultra-high vacuum condition and then depositing in a low-temperature region. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the Ge film with an epitaxial relationship is along the in-plane direction of Si. The successful growth of epitaxial Ge films on Si substrate demonstrates the feasibility of integrating various functional devices on the Ge/Si substrates.

  14. Epitaxial thin film growth of LiH using a liquid-Li atomic template

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oguchi, Hiroyuki, E-mail: oguchi@nanosys.mech.tohoku.ac.jp [Department of Nanomechanics, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579 (Japan); Micro System Integration Center (muSIC), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-0845 (Japan); Ikeshoji, Tamio; Orimo, Shin-ichi [Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Ohsawa, Takeo; Shiraki, Susumu; Hitosugi, Taro [Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Kuwano, Hiroki [Department of Nanomechanics, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579 (Japan)

    2014-11-24

    We report on the synthesis of lithium hydride (LiH) epitaxial thin films through the hydrogenation of a Li melt, forming abrupt LiH/MgO interface. Experimental and first-principles molecular dynamics studies reveal a comprehensive microscopic picture of the crystallization processes, which sheds light on the fundamental atomistic growth processes that have remained unknown in the vapor-liquid-solid method. We found that the periodic structure that formed, because of the liquid-Li atoms at the film/MgO-substrate interface, serves as an atomic template for the epitaxial growth of LiH crystals. In contrast, films grown on the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} substrates indicated polycrystalline films with a LiAlO{sub 2} secondary phase. These results and the proposed growth process provide insights into the preparation of other alkaline metal hydride thin films on oxides. Further, our investigations open the way to explore fundamental physics and chemistry of metal hydrides including possible phenomena that emerge at the heterointerfaces of metal hydrides.

  15. Epitaxial growth of rhenium with sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oh, Seongshik [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States) and Department of Physics, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)]. E-mail: soh@boulder.nist.gov; Hite, Dustin A. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States); Cicak, K. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States); Osborn, Kevin D. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States); Simmonds, Raymond W. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States); McDermott, Robert [University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States); Cooper, Ken B. [University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States); Steffen, Matthias [University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States); Martinis, John M. [University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States); Pappas, David P. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States)

    2006-02-21

    We have grown epitaxial Rhenium (Re) (0001) films on {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (0001) substrates using sputter deposition in an ultra high vacuum system. We find that better epitaxy is achieved with DC rather than with RF sputtering. With DC sputtering, epitaxy is obtained with the substrate temperatures above 700 deg. C and deposition rates below 0.1 nm/s. The epitaxial Re films are typically composed of terraced hexagonal islands with screw dislocations, and island size gets larger with high temperature post-deposition annealing. The growth starts in a three dimensional mode but transforms into two dimensional mode as the film gets thicker. With a thin ({approx}2 nm) seed layer deposited at room temperature and annealed at a high temperature, the initial three dimensional growth can be suppressed. This results in larger islands when a thick film is grown at 850 deg. C on the seed layer. We also find that when a room temperature deposited Re film is annealed to higher temperatures, epitaxial features start to show up above {approx}600 deg. C, but the film tends to be disordered.

  16. New phenomena in epitaxial growth: solid films on quasicrystalline substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fournee, V; Thiel, P A

    2005-01-01

    An overview is given of the research conducted in the field of solid film growth on quasiperiodic surfaces. An atomistic description of quasicrystalline surfaces is presented and discussed in relation to bulk structural models. The various systems for which thin film growth has been attempted so far are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on the nucleation mechanisms of the solid films, on their growth modes in relation to the nature of the deposited metals, on the possibility of intermixing or alloying at the interface and on the epitaxial relationships at the crystal-quasicrystal interfaces. We also describe situations where the deposited elements adopt a quasiperiodic structure, which opens up the possibility of extending our understanding of the relation between quasiperiodicity and the physical properties of such structurally and chemically complex solids. (topical review)

  17. Growth of Sr2CrReO6 epitaxial thin films by pulsed laser deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orna, J.; Morellon, L.; Algarabel, P.A.; Pardo, J.A.; Magen, C.; Varela, M.; Pennycook, S.J.; De Teresa, J.M.; Ibarra, M.R.

    2010-01-01

    We report the growth, structural, magnetic, and electrical transport properties of epitaxial Sr 2 CrReO 6 thin films. We have succeeded in depositing films with a high crystallinity and a relatively large cationic order in a narrow window of growth parameters. The epitaxy relationship is Sr 2 CrReO 6 (SCRO) (0 0 1) [1 0 0]-parallel SrTiO 3 (STO) (0 0 1) [1 1 0] as determined by high-resolution X-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Typical values of saturation magnetization of M S (300 K)=1 μ B /f.u. and ρ (300 K)=2.8 mΩ cm have been obtained in good agreement with previous published results in sputtered epitaxial thin films. We estimate that the antisite defects concentration in our thin films is of the order of 14%, and the measured Curie temperature is T C =481(2) K. We believe these materials be of interest as electrodes in spintronic devices.

  18. Epitaxial growth of silicon for layer transfer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teplin, Charles; Branz, Howard M

    2015-03-24

    Methods of preparing a thin crystalline silicon film for transfer and devices utilizing a transferred crystalline silicon film are disclosed. The methods include preparing a silicon growth substrate which has an interface defining substance associated with an exterior surface. The methods further include depositing an epitaxial layer of silicon on the silicon growth substrate at the surface and separating the epitaxial layer from the substrate substantially along the plane or other surface defined by the interface defining substance. The epitaxial layer may be utilized as a thin film of crystalline silicon in any type of semiconductor device which requires a crystalline silicon layer. In use, the epitaxial transfer layer may be associated with a secondary substrate.

  19. Epitaxial thin film growth and properties of unconventional oxide superconductors. Cuprates and cobaltates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krockenberger, Y.

    2006-01-01

    The discovery of high-temperature superconductors has strongly driven the development of suited thin film fabrication methods of complex oxides. One way is the adaptation of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) for the growth of oxide materials. Another approach is the use of pulsed laser deposition (PLD) which has the advantage of good stoichiometry transfer from target to the substrate. Both techniques are used within this thesis. Epitaxial thin films of new materials are of course needed for future applications. In addition, the controlled synthesis of thin film matter which can be formed far away from thermal equilibrium allows for the investigation of fundamental physical materials properties. (orig.)

  20. Epitaxial thin film growth and properties of unconventional oxide superconductors. Cuprates and cobaltates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krockenberger, Y.

    2006-07-01

    The discovery of high-temperature superconductors has strongly driven the development of suited thin film fabrication methods of complex oxides. One way is the adaptation of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) for the growth of oxide materials. Another approach is the use of pulsed laser deposition (PLD) which has the advantage of good stoichiometry transfer from target to the substrate. Both techniques are used within this thesis. Epitaxial thin films of new materials are of course needed for future applications. In addition, the controlled synthesis of thin film matter which can be formed far away from thermal equilibrium allows for the investigation of fundamental physical materials properties. (orig.)

  1. Epitaxial growth and properties of YBaCuO thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geerk, J.; Linker, G.; Meyer, O.

    1989-08-01

    The growth quality of YBaCuO thin films deposited by sputtering on different substrates (Al 2 O 3 , MgO, SrTiO 3 , Zr(Y)O 2 ) has been studied by X-ray diffraction and channeling experiments as a function of the deposition temperature. Besides the substrate orientation, the substrate temperature is the parameter determining whether films grow in c-, a-, (110) or mixed directions. Epitaxial growth correlates with high critical current values in the films of up to 5.5x10 6 A/cm 2 at 77 K. Ultrathin films with thicknesses down to 2 nm were grown revealing three-dimensional superconducting behaviour. Films on (100) SrTiO 3 of 9 nm thickness and below are partially strained indicating commensurate growth. From the analysis of the surface disorder 1 displaced Ba atom per Ba 2 Y row was obtained indicating that the disordered layer thickness is about 0.6 nm. Tunnel junctions fabricated on these films reveal gap-like structures near ±16 mV and ±30 mV. (orig.) [de

  2. Growth of CrTe thin films by molecular-beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sreenivasan, M.G.; Hou, X.J.; Teo, K.L.; Jalil, M.B.A.; Liew, T.; Chong, T.C.

    2006-01-01

    We report the growth of Cr 1-δ Te films on (100) GaAs substrates using ZnTe buffer layers by solid-source molecular-beam epitaxial technique. RHEED patterns indicate a clear structural change during the initial stages of deposition. Temperature-dependent magnetization results reveal that different NiAs-related phases of Cr 1-δ Te can be obtained at different substrate temperatures. By varying the film thickness, a metastable zinc blende structure of CrTe could be obtained at lower substrate temperature

  3. Epitaxial growth of topological insulator Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} film on Si(111) with atomically sharp interface

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bansal, Namrata [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States); Kim, Yong Seung [Graphene Research Institute, Sejong University, Seoul 143-747 (Korea, Republic of); Edrey, Eliav; Brahlek, Matthew; Horibe, Yoichi [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States); Iida, Keiko; Tanimura, Makoto [Research Department, Nissan Arc, Ltd. Yokosuka, Kanagawa 237-0061 (Japan); Li Guohong; Feng Tian; Lee, Hang-Dong; Gustafsson, Torgny; Andrei, Eva [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States); Oh, Seongshik, E-mail: ohsean@physics.rutgers.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States)

    2011-10-31

    Atomically sharp epitaxial growth of Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} films is achieved on Si(111) substrate with molecular beam epitaxy. Two-step growth process is found to be a key to achieve interfacial-layer-free epitaxial Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} films on Si substrates. With a single-step high temperature growth, second phase clusters are formed at an early stage. On the other hand, with low temperature growth, the film tends to be disordered even in the absence of a second phase. With a low temperature initial growth followed by a high temperature growth, second-phase-free atomically sharp interface is obtained between Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} and Si substrate, as verified by reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction. The lattice constant of Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} is observed to relax to its bulk value during the first quintuple layer according to RHEED analysis, implying the absence of strain from the substrate. TEM shows a fully epitaxial structure of Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} film down to the first quintuple layer without any second phase or an amorphous layer.

  4. Epitaxial growth of atomically flat gadolinia-doped ceria thin films by pulsed laser deposition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, Yunzhong; Pryds, Nini; Schou, Jørgen

    2011-01-01

    Epitaxial growth of Ce0.8Gd0.2O2(CGO) films on (001) TiO2-terminated SrTiO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition was investigated using in situ reflective high energy electron diffraction. The initial film growth shows a Stransky–Krastanov growth mode. However, this three-dimensional island...... formation is replaced by a two-dimensional island nucleation during further deposition, which results in atomically smooth CGO films. The obtained high-quality CGO films may be attractive for the electrolyte of solid-oxide fuel cells operating at low temperature....

  5. Epitaxial growth of cubic Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films on Ge substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Molle, A; Wiemer, C; Bhuiyan, M D N K; Tallarida, G; Fanciulli, M [CNR-INFM, Laboratorio Nazionale MDM, via C. Olivetti 2, I-20041 Agrate Brianza (Italy)], E-mail: alessandro.molle@mdm.infm.it

    2008-03-15

    Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films were grown on Ge (001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The epitaxial character of the film is demonstrated by electron diffraction during the growth. The structural characterization of the films shows that the Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} forms a bixbyite polymorph with a (110) out-of-plane orientation. The formation of bixbyite structured Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} is discussed in terms of the atomic arrangement of the oxide planes on the Ge(001) surface.

  6. Growth and characterization of ultrathin epitaxial MnO film on Ag(001)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kundu, Asish K.; Menon, Krishnakumar S. R.

    2016-07-01

    We present here a comprehensive growth procedure to obtain a well-ordered MnO(001) ultrathin film on Ag(001) substrate. Depending upon the oxygen partial pressure during the growth, different phases of manganese oxide have been detected by Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopic (XPS) studies. A modified growth scheme has been adopted to get well-ordered and stoichiometric MnO(001) ultrathin film. The detailed growth mechanism of epitaxial MnO film on Ag(001) has been studied step by step, using LEED and XPS techniques. Observation of sharp (1 × 1) LEED pattern with a low inelastic background, corresponds to a long-range atomic order with low defect densities indicating the high structural quality of the film. The Mn 2p and Mn 3s core-level spectra confirm the oxidation state as well as the stoichiometry of the grown MnO films. Apart from the growth optimization, the evolution of strain relaxation of the MnO(001) film with film thickness has been explored.

  7. Epitaxial Growth of Hard Ferrimagnetic Mn3Ge Film on Rhodium Buffer Layer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atsushi Sugihara

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Mn\\(_3\\Ge has a tetragonal Heusler-like D0\\(_{22}\\ crystal structure, exhibiting a large uniaxial magnetic anisotropy and small saturation magnetization due to its ferrimagnetic spin structure; thus, it is a hard ferrimagnet. In this report, epitaxial growth of a Mn\\(_3\\Ge film on a Rh buffer layer was investigated for comparison with that of a film on a Cr buffer layer in terms of the lattice mismatch between Mn\\(_3\\Ge and the buffer layer. The film grown on Rh had much better crystalline quality than that grown on Cr, which can be attributed to the small lattice mismatch. Epitaxial films of Mn\\(_3\\Ge on Rh show somewhat small coercivity (\\(H_{\\rm c}\\ = 12.6 kOe and a large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (\\(K_{\\rm u}\\ = 11.6 Merg/cm\\(^3\\, comparable to that of the film grown on Cr.

  8. Molecular beam epitaxy growth of InSb1−xBix thin films

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Song, Yuxin; Wang, Shumin; Saha Roy, Ivy

    2013-01-01

    Molecular beam epitaxy growth for InSb1−xBix thin films on (100) GaAs substrates is reported. Successful Bi incorporation for 2% is achieved, and up to 70% of the incorporated Bi atoms are at substitutional sites. The effects of growth parameters on Bi incorporation and surface morphology are stu...

  9. Big-data reflection high energy electron diffraction analysis for understanding epitaxial film growth processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasudevan, Rama K; Tselev, Alexander; Baddorf, Arthur P; Kalinin, Sergei V

    2014-10-28

    Reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) has by now become a standard tool for in situ monitoring of film growth by pulsed laser deposition and molecular beam epitaxy. Yet despite the widespread adoption and wealth of information in RHEED images, most applications are limited to observing intensity oscillations of the specular spot, and much additional information on growth is discarded. With ease of data acquisition and increased computation speeds, statistical methods to rapidly mine the data set are now feasible. Here, we develop such an approach to the analysis of the fundamental growth processes through multivariate statistical analysis of a RHEED image sequence. This approach is illustrated for growth of La(x)Ca(1-x)MnO(3) films grown on etched (001) SrTiO(3) substrates, but is universal. The multivariate methods including principal component analysis and k-means clustering provide insight into the relevant behaviors, the timing and nature of a disordered to ordered growth change, and highlight statistically significant patterns. Fourier analysis yields the harmonic components of the signal and allows separation of the relevant components and baselines, isolating the asymmetric nature of the step density function and the transmission spots from the imperfect layer-by-layer (LBL) growth. These studies show the promise of big data approaches to obtaining more insight into film properties during and after epitaxial film growth. Furthermore, these studies open the pathway to use forward prediction methods to potentially allow significantly more control over growth process and hence final film quality.

  10. Morphology and grain structure evolution during epitaxial growth of Ag films on native-oxide-covered Si surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hur, Tae-Bong; Kim, Hong Koo; Perello, David; Yun, Minhee; Kulovits, Andreas; Wiezorek, Joerg

    2008-01-01

    Epitaxial nanocrystalline Ag films were grown on initially native-oxide-covered Si(001) substrates using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. Mechanisms of grain growth and morphology evolution were investigated. An epitaxially oriented Ag layer (∼5 nm thick) formed on the oxide-desorbed Si surface during the initial growth phase. After a period of growth instability, characterized as kinetic roughening, grain growth stagnation, and increase of step-edge density, a layer of nanocrystalline Ag grains with a uniform size distribution appeared on the quasi-two-dimensional layer. This hierarchical process of film formation is attributed to the dynamic interplay between incoming energetic Ag particles and native oxide. The cyclic interaction (desorption and migration) of the oxide with the growing Ag film is found to play a crucial role in the characteristic evolution of grain growth and morphology change involving an interval of grain growth stagnation

  11. Direct Measurements of Island Growth and Step-Edge Barriers in Colloidal Epitaxy

    KAUST Repository

    Ganapathy, R.

    2010-01-21

    Epitaxial growth, a bottom-up self-assembly process for creating surface nano- and microstructures, has been extensively studied in the context of atoms. This process, however, is also a promising route to self-assembly of nanometer- and micrometer-scale particles into microstructures that have numerous technological applications. To determine whether atomic epitaxial growth laws are applicable to the epitaxy of larger particles with attractive interactions, we investigated the nucleation and growth dynamics of colloidal crystal films with single-particle resolution. We show quantitatively that colloidal epitaxy obeys the same two-dimensional island nucleation and growth laws that govern atomic epitaxy. However, we found that in colloidal epitaxy, step-edge and corner barriers that are responsible for film morphology have a diffusive origin. This diffusive mechanism suggests new routes toward controlling film morphology during epitaxy.

  12. Growth and characterization of III-N ternary thin films by plasma assisted atomic layer epitaxy at low temperatures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nepal, Neeraj; Anderson, Virginia R.; Hite, Jennifer K.; Eddy, Charles R.

    2015-08-31

    We report the growth and characterization of III-nitride ternary thin films (Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N, In{sub x}Al{sub 1−x}N and In{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N) at ≤ 500 °C by plasma assisted atomic layer epitaxy (PA-ALE) over a wide stoichiometric range including the range where phase separation has been an issue for films grown by molecular beam epitaxy and metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The composition of these ternaries was intentionally varied through alterations in the cycle ratios of the III-nitride binary layers (AlN, GaN, and InN). By this digital alloy growth method, we are able to grow III-nitride ternaries by PA-ALE over nearly the entire stoichiometry range including in the spinodal decomposition region (x = 15–85%). These early efforts suggest great promise of PA-ALE at low temperatures for addressing miscibility gap challenges encountered with conventional growth methods and realizing high performance optoelectronic and electronic devices involving ternary/binary heterojunctions, which are not currently possible. - Highlights: • III-N ternaries grown at ≤ 500 °C by plasma assisted atomic layer epitaxyGrowth of InGaN and AlInN in the spinodal decomposition region (15–85%) • Epitaxial, smooth and uniform III-N film growth at low temperatures.

  13. Growth and characterization of III-N ternary thin films by plasma assisted atomic layer epitaxy at low temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nepal, Neeraj; Anderson, Virginia R.; Hite, Jennifer K.; Eddy, Charles R.

    2015-01-01

    We report the growth and characterization of III-nitride ternary thin films (Al x Ga 1−x N, In x Al 1−x N and In x Ga 1−x N) at ≤ 500 °C by plasma assisted atomic layer epitaxy (PA-ALE) over a wide stoichiometric range including the range where phase separation has been an issue for films grown by molecular beam epitaxy and metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The composition of these ternaries was intentionally varied through alterations in the cycle ratios of the III-nitride binary layers (AlN, GaN, and InN). By this digital alloy growth method, we are able to grow III-nitride ternaries by PA-ALE over nearly the entire stoichiometry range including in the spinodal decomposition region (x = 15–85%). These early efforts suggest great promise of PA-ALE at low temperatures for addressing miscibility gap challenges encountered with conventional growth methods and realizing high performance optoelectronic and electronic devices involving ternary/binary heterojunctions, which are not currently possible. - Highlights: • III-N ternaries grown at ≤ 500 °C by plasma assisted atomic layer epitaxyGrowth of InGaN and AlInN in the spinodal decomposition region (15–85%) • Epitaxial, smooth and uniform III-N film growth at low temperatures

  14. Crystallography and Growth of Epitaxial Oxide Films for Fundamental Studies of Cathode Materials Used in Advanced Li-Ion Batteries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonid A. Bendersky

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Li-ion battery systems, synthesized as epitaxial thin films, can provide powerful insights into their electrochemical processes. Crystallographic analysis shows that many important cathode oxides have an underlying similarity: their structures can be considered as different ordering schemes of Li and transition metal ions within a pseudo-cubic sublattice of oxygen anions arranged in a face-center cubic (FCC fashion. This oxygen sublattice is compatible with SrTiO3 and similar perovskite oxides, thus perovskites can be used as supporting substrates for growing epitaxial cathode films. The predicted epitaxial growth and crystallographic relations were experimentally verified for different oxide films deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD on SrTiO3 or SrRuO3/SrTiO3 of different orientations. The results based on cross-sectional high-resolution TEM of the following films are presented in the paper: (a trigonal LiCoO2; (b orthorhombic LiMnO2; (c monoclinic Li2MnO3; (d compositionally-complex monoclinic Li1.2Mn0.55Ni0.15Co0.1O2. All results demonstrated the feasibility of epitaxial growth for these materials, with the growth following the predicted cube-on-cube orientation relationship between the cubic and pseudo-cubic oxygen sublattices of a substrate and a film, respectively.

  15. Effects of film polarities on InN growth by molecular-beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, K.; Yoshikawa, A.

    2003-01-01

    Effects of the film polarity on InN growth were investigated in molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). It was found that N-polarity InN could be grown at higher temperatures than In-polarity one. For the In-polarity films, which were grown on Ga-polar GaN template, the highest growth temperature was limited below 500 deg. C, and the surface morphology and crystal quality tended to be poor mainly because of the tolerated low growth temperature. While for the N-polarity InN films, which were grown on MBE-grown N-polar GaN, the growth temperature could be as high as 600 deg. C. The step-flow-like growth morphology was achieved for the InN films grown with N polarity at 580 deg. C. The resulting full widths of half maximum of x-ray rocking curve around InN (002) and (102) reflections were about 200-250 and 950-1100 arc sec, respectively. The photoluminescence of the InN films peaked at 0.697 eV. The recording Hall mobility of InN film grown in N polarity is 1400 cm 2 /V s with a background carrier concentration of 1.56x10 18 cm -3 at room temperature. For both-polarity films, we found N-rich condition was necessary for the stable InN growth

  16. Self-Organized Ni Nanocrystal Embedded in BaTiO3 Epitaxial Film

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ge FF

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Ni nanocrystals (NCs were embedded in BaTiO3 epitaxial films using the laser molecular beam epitaxy. The processes involving the self-organization of Ni NCs and the epitaxial growth of BaTiO3 were discussed. With the in situ monitoring of reflection high-energy electron diffraction, the nanocomposite films were engineered controllably by the fine alternation of the self-organization of Ni NCs and the epitaxial growth of BaTiO3. The transmission electron microscopy and the X-ray diffraction characterization confirmed that the composite film consists of the Ni NCs layers alternating with the (001/(100-oriented epitaxial BaTiO3 separation layers.

  17. Ion beam deposited epitaxial thin silicon films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orrman-Rossiter, K.G.; Al-Bayati, A.H.; Armour, D.G.; Donnelly, S.E.; Berg, J.A. van den

    1991-01-01

    Deposition of thin films using low energy, mass-separated ion beams is a potentially important low temperature method of producing epitaxial layers. In these experiments silicon films were grown on Si (001) substrates using 10-200 eV 28 Si + and 30 Si + ions at substrate temperatures in the range 273-1073 K, under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions (deposition pressure -7 Pa). The film crystallinity was assessed in situ using medium energy ion scattering (MEIS). Films of crystallinity comparable to bulk samples were grown using 10-40 eV 28 Si + and 30 Si + ions at deposition temperatures in the range 623-823 K. These experiments confirmed the role of key experimental parameters such as ion energy, substrate temperature during deposition, and the surface treatment prior to deposition. It was found that a high temperature in situ anneal (1350-1450 K) gave the best results for epitaxial nucleation, whereas low energy (20-40 eV) Cl + ion bombardment resulted in amorphous film growth. The deposition energy for good epitaxial growth indicates that it is necessary to provide enough energy to induce local mobility but not to cause atomic displacements leading to the buildup of stable defects, e.g. divacancies, below the surface layer of the growing film. (orig.)

  18. Seed layer technique for high quality epitaxial manganite films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Graziosi

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available We introduce an innovative approach to the simultaneous control of growth mode and magnetotransport properties of manganite thin films, based on an easy-to-implement film/substrate interface engineering. The deposition of a manganite seed layer and the optimization of the substrate temperature allows a persistent bi-dimensional epitaxy and robust ferromagnetic properties at the same time. Structural measurements confirm that in such interface-engineered films, the optimal properties are related to improved epitaxy. A new growth scenario is envisaged, compatible with a shift from heteroepitaxy towards pseudo-homoepitaxy. Relevant growth parameters such as formation energy, roughening temperature, strain profile and chemical states are derived.

  19. Epitaxial ternary nitride thin films prepared by a chemical solution method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Luo, Hongmei [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Feldmann, David M [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Wang, Haiyan [TEXAS A& M; Bi, Zhenxing [TEXAS A& M

    2008-01-01

    It is indispensable to use thin films for many technological applications. This is the first report of epitaxial growth of ternary nitride AMN2 films. Epitaxial tetragonal SrTiN2 films have been successfully prepared by a chemical solution approach, polymer-assisted deposition. The structural, electrical, and optical properties of the films are also investigated.

  20. Epitaxial growth of manganese oxide films on MgAl2O4 (001) substrates and the possible mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Lizhu; Wu, Shuxiang; Zhou, Wenqi; Li, Shuwei

    2014-03-01

    Three types of manganese oxide films were grown on MgAl2O4 (001) substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE) under different growth rates and substrate temperatures. The structural characteristics and chemical compositions of the films were investigated by using in-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), ex-situ X-ray diffraction, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS). At a lower substrate temperature (730 K), the epitaxial film tends to form mixed phases with a coexistence of Mn3O4 and Mn5O8 in order to relieve the mismatch-strain. However, at a higher substrate temperature (750 K), all of the films crystallize into Mn3O4; the critical thickness of the film grown under a lower growth rate (7 Å/min) is much larger than that under a high growth rate (10 Å/min). When the film reaches a certain critical thickness, the surface will become fairly rough, and another oriented phase Mn3O4 would crystallize on such a surface.

  1. Removable polytetrafluoroethylene template based epitaxy of ferroelectric copolymer thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Wei; Chen, Qiusong; Zhang, Jian; Wang, Hui; Cheng, Qian; Jiang, Yulong; Zhu, Guodong

    2018-04-01

    In recent years ferroelectric polymers have shown their great potentials in organic and flexible electronics. To meet the requirements of high-performance and low energy consumption of novel electronic devices and systems, structural and electrical properties of ferroelectric polymer thin films are expected to be further optimized. One possible way is to realize epitaxial growth of ferroelectric thin films via removable high-ordered polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) templates. Here two key parameters in epitaxy process, annealing temperature and applied pressure, are systematically studied and thus optimized through structural and electrical measurements of ferroelectric copolymer thin films. Experimental results indicate that controlled epitaxial growth is realized via suitable combination of both parameters. Annealing temperature above the melting point of ferroelectric copolymer films is required, and simultaneously moderate pressure (around 2.0 MPa here) should be applied. Over-low pressure (around 1.0 MPa here) usually results in the failure of epitaxy process, while over-high pressure (around 3.0 MPa here) often results in residual of PTFE templates on ferroelectric thin films.

  2. Stabilisation of late transition metal and noble metal films in hexagonal and body centred tetragonal phases by epitaxial growth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hueger, E.

    2005-08-26

    In this work ultrathin metallic films with a crystal phase different to their natural bulk structure were produced by hetero-epitaxial growth on metallic substrates. A further aim of this work was to understand the initiation, growth and stability of crystal phase modifications of these films. there exist cases where the films turn beyond the pseudomorphic-growth to a crystal phase different from their natural bulk structure. The present work presents and discusses such a case in addition to the general phenomenon of pseudomorphic-growth. In particular it is shown that metals whose natural phase is face centred cubic (fcc) can be grown in body centred tetragonal (bct) or hexagonal close packed (hcp) phases in the form of thin films on (001) surfaces of appropriate substrates. The growth behavior, electron diffraction analysis, appearance conditions, geometric fit considerations, examples and a discussion of the phase stability of non-covered films and superlattices is given reviewing all epitaxial-systems whose diffraction pattern can be explained by the hexagonal or pseudomorphic bct phase. (orig.)

  3. Epitaxial growth of YBa2Cu3O7-δ thin films on LiNbO3 substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, S.G.; Koren, G.; Gupta, A.; Segmuller, A.; Chi, C.C.

    1989-01-01

    In situ epitaxial growth of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ thin films on Y-cut LiNbO 3 substrates using a standard laser ablation technique is reported. Resistance of the films shows a normal metallic behavior and a very sharp ( c (R=0) of 92 K. High critical current density of J c (77 K)=2x10 5 A/cm 2 is observed, which is in accordance with epitaxial growth. Film orientation observed from x-ray diffraction spectra indicates that the c axis is normal to the substrate plane and the a axis is at 45 degree to the [11.0] direction of the hexagonal lattice of the substrate with two domains in mirror image to the (110) plane

  4. Computer graphic investigation on the epitaxial growth of superconductor films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyamoto, A.; Iwamoto, S.; Inui, T.; Agusa, K.

    1989-01-01

    A mechanism of the epitaxial growth the oxide superconductor films has been investigated by using the computer graphics for the combination of orthorhombic Ba 2 YCu 3 O 7-x with substrate crystals such as SrTiO 3 MgO, and ZrO 2 . The (001) plane Ba 2 YCu 3 O 7-x with substrate crystals such as SrTiO 3 , MgO, and ZrO 2 . The (001) plane of Ba 2 YCu 3 O 7-x has been shown to fit the (100) plane of SrTiO 3 , MgO, and ZrO 2 . A crystallographic fit has also been proved between the (110) plane of Ba 2 YCu 3 O 7-x and the (110) plane of SrTiO 3 . These results are consistent with the experimental data about the epitaxial growth of the Ba 2 YCu 3 O 7-x films. Furthermore, detailed investigation of atomic arrangements has indicated some differences in the ionic interaction at the superconductor-substrate interface among SrTiO 3 , MgO, and ZrO 2 substrates. As for ZrO 2 (100) plane, for examples, ionic arrangements at the oxide layer is favorable only for the interaction with Y 3+ layer of Ba 2 YCu 3 O 7-x , while the Zr-O layer of ZrO 2 can interact with both Ba-O layer and Cu-O layer of Ba 2 YCu 3 O 7-x

  5. Epitaxial growth of fcc-CoxNi100-x thin films on MgO(110) single-crystal substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtake, Mitsuru; Nukaga, Yuri; Sato, Yoichi; Futamoto, Masaaki; Kirino, Fumiyoshi

    2009-01-01

    Co x Ni 100-x (x=100, 80, 20, 0 at. %) epitaxial thin films were prepared on MgO(110) single-crystal substrates heated at 300 deg. C by ultrahigh vacuum molecular beam epitaxy. The growth mechanism is discussed based on lattice strain and crystallographic defects. CoNi(110) single-crystal films with a fcc structure are obtained for all compositions. Co x Ni 100-x film growth follows the Volmer-Weber mode. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the out-of-plane and the in-plane lattice spacings of the Co x Ni 100-x films are in agreement within ±0.5% with the values of the respective bulk Co x Ni 100-x crystals, suggesting that the strain in the film is very small. High-resolution cross-sectional transmission microscopy shows that an atomically sharp boundary is formed between a Co(110) fcc film and a MgO(110) substrate, where periodical misfit dislocations are preferentially introduced in the film at the Co/MgO interface. The presence of such periodical misfit dislocations relieves the strain caused by the lattice mismatch between the film and the substrate.

  6. Growth of epitaxial Pt thin films on (0 0 1) SrTiO{sub 3} by rf magnetron sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kahsay, A. [Departament de Física Aplicada i Òptica, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Polo, M.C., E-mail: mcpolo@ub.edu [Departament de Física Aplicada i Òptica, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Ferrater, C.; Ventura, J. [Departament de Física Aplicada i Òptica, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Rebled, J.M. [Departament d’Electrònica, Universitat de Barcelona Institut de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia IN 2UB, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Varela, M. [Departament de Física Aplicada i Òptica, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona (Spain)

    2014-07-01

    The growth of platinum thin film by rf magnetron sputtering on SrTiO{sub 3}(0 0 1) substrates for oxide based devices was investigated. Platinum films grown at temperatures higher than 750 °C were epitaxial ([1 0 0]Pt(0 0 1)//[1 0 0]STO(0 0 1)), whereas at lower temperatures Pt(1 1 1) films were obtained. The surface morphology of the Pt films showed a strong dependence on the deposition temperature as was revealed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). At elevated temperatures there is a three-dimensional (3D) growth of rectangular atomically flat islands with deep boundaries between them. On the other hand, at low deposition temperatures, a two-dimensional (2D) layered growth was observed. The transition from 2D to 3D growth modes was observed that occurs for temperatures around 450 °C. The obtained epitaxial thin films also formed an atomically sharp interface with the SrTiO{sub 3}(0 0 1) substrate as confirmed by HRTEM.

  7. Epitaxial growth of bcc-FexCo100-x thin films on MgO(1 1 0) single-crystal substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtake, Mitsuru; Nishiyama, Tsutomu; Shikada, Kouhei; Kirino, Fumiyoshi; Futamoto, Masaaki

    2010-01-01

    Fe x Co 100-x (x=100, 65, 50 at%) epitaxial thin films were prepared on MgO(1 1 0) single-crystal substrates heated at 300 deg. C by ultra-high vacuum molecular beam epitaxy. The film structure and the growth mechanism are discussed. FeCo(2 1 1) films with bcc structure grow epitaxially on MgO(1 1 0) substrates with two types of variants whose orientations are rotated around the film normal by 180 deg. each other for all compositions. Fe x Co 100-x film growth follows the Volmer Weber mode. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates the out-of-plane and the in-plane lattice spacings are in agreement with the values of respective bulk Fe x Co 100-x crystals with very small errors less than ±0.4%, suggesting the strains in the films are very small. High-resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy shows that periodical misfit dislocations are preferentially introduced in the film at the Fe 50 Co 50 /MgO interface along the MgO[1 1-bar 0] direction. The presence of such periodical dislocations decreases the large lattice mismatch of about -17% existing at the FeCo/MgO interface along the MgO[1 1-bar 0] direction.

  8. Electron molecular beam epitaxy: Layer-by-layer growth of complex oxides via pulsed electron-beam deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Comes, Ryan; Liu Hongxue; Lu Jiwei; Gu, Man; Khokhlov, Mikhail; Wolf, Stuart A.

    2013-01-01

    Complex oxide epitaxial film growth is a rich and exciting field, owing to the wide variety of physical properties present in oxides. These properties include ferroelectricity, ferromagnetism, spin-polarization, and a variety of other correlated phenomena. Traditionally, high quality epitaxial oxide films have been grown via oxide molecular beam epitaxy or pulsed laser deposition. Here, we present the growth of high quality epitaxial films using an alternative approach, the pulsed electron-beam deposition technique. We demonstrate all three epitaxial growth modes in different oxide systems: Frank-van der Merwe (layer-by-layer); Stranski-Krastanov (layer-then-island); and Volmer-Weber (island). Analysis of film quality and morphology is presented and techniques to optimize the morphology of films are discussed.

  9. Growth of conductive HfO{sub 2-x} thin films by reactive molecular beam epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hildebrandt, Erwin; Kurian, Jose; Alff, Lambert [Institut fuer Materialwissenschaft, TU Darmstadt (Germany); Kleebe, Hans-Joachim [Institut fuer Angewandte Geowissenschaften, TU Darmstadt (Germany)

    2009-07-01

    Thin films of oxygen deficient hafnium oxide were grown on single crystal c-cut and r-cut sapphire substrates by reactive molecular beam epitaxy. The oxidation conditions during growth were varied within a wide range using RF-activated oxygen. Hafnium oxide thin films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, resistivity measurements ({rho}-T) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show a dramatic increase in conductivity of the deposited oxygen deficient hafnium oxide thin films with decreasing oxidation conditions during growth. The electrical properties of deficient hafnium oxide thin films varied from insulating over semiconducting to conducting. X-ray diffraction data as well as TEM data rule out the possibility of conductivity due to metallic hafnium.

  10. Epitaxial growth of Sb-doped nonpolar a-plane ZnO thin films on r-plane sapphire substrates by RF magnetron sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Hou-Guang, E-mail: houguang@isu.edu.tw [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 840, Taiwan (China); Hung, Sung-Po [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 840, Taiwan (China)

    2014-02-15

    Highlights: ► Sb-doped nonpolar a-plane ZnO layers were epitaxially grown on sapphire substrates. ► Crystallinity and electrical properties were studied upon growth condition and doping concentration. ► The out-of-plane lattice spacing of ZnO films reduces monotonically with increasing Sb doping level. ► The p-type conductivity of ZnO:Sb film is closely correlated with annealing condition and Sb doping level. -- Abstract: In this study, the epitaxial growth of Sb-doped nonpolar a-plane (112{sup ¯}0) ZnO thin films on r-plane (11{sup ¯}02) sapphire substrates was performed by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The influence of the sputter deposition conditions and Sb doping concentration on the microstructural and electrical properties of Sb-doped ZnO epitaxial films was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the Hall-effect measurement. The measurement of the XRD phi-scan indicated that the epitaxial relationship between the ZnO:Sb layer and sapphire substrate was (112{sup ¯}0){sub ZnO}//(11{sup ¯}02){sub Al{sub 2O{sub 3}}} and [11{sup ¯}00]{sub ZnO}//[112{sup ¯}0]{sub Al{sub 2O{sub 3}}}. The out-of-plane a-axis lattice parameter of ZnO films was reduced monotonically with the increasing Sb doping level. The cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) observation confirmed the absence of any significant antimony oxide phase segregation across the thickness of the Sb-doped ZnO epitaxial film. However, the epitaxial quality of the films deteriorated as the level of Sb dopant increased. The electrical properties of ZnO:Sb film are closely correlated with post-annealing conditions and Sb doping concentrations.

  11. Growth of HfO{sub x} thin films by reactive molecular beam epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hildebrandt, Erwin; Kurian, Jose; Alff, Lambert [Institut fuer Materialwissenschaft, TU Darmstadt (Germany)

    2008-07-01

    Thin films of hafnium oxide were grown on single crystal r-cut and c-cut sapphire by reactive molecular beam epitaxy. The conditions for the growth of single oriented hafnium oxide thin films have been established. Hafnium oxide thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction and optical absorption measurements. It was found that hafnium oxide thin films grown on r-cut sapphire were (00l) oriented whereas, on c-cut sapphire, hafnium oxide films showed different orientations depending on the growth temperature and oxidation conditions. The hafnium oxide films grown at higher temperature and under strong oxidation conditions yielded (001) oriented films on c-cut sapphire whereas slightly weaker oxidation condition leads to (111) oriented hafnium oxide films. The bandgap deducted from optical absorption measurement carried out on hafnium oxide films grown under optimized conditions agreed well with the values reported in literature. A range of oxygen deficient thin films of hafnium oxide were also grown on single crystal sapphire substrates in order to investigate the effect of oxygen vacancies on dielectric properties of hafnium oxide. The oxygen deficient thin films of hafnium oxide show a decrease in bandgap with increase in oxygen deficiency.

  12. Non-Epitaxial Thin-Film Indium Phosphide Photovoltaics: Growth, Devices, and Cost Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Maxwell S.

    In recent years, the photovoltaic market has grown significantly as module prices have continued to come down. Continued growth of the field requires higher efficiency modules at lower manufacturing costs. In particular, higher efficiencies reduce the area needed for a given power output, thus reducing the downstream balance of systems costs that scale with area such as mounting frames, installation, and soft costs. Cells and modules made from III-V materials have the highest demonstrated efficiencies to date but are not yet at the cost level of other thin film technologies, which has limited their large-scale deployment. There is a need for new materials growth, processing and fabrication techniques to address this major shortcoming of III-V semiconductors. Chapters 2 and 3 explore growth of InP on non-epitaxial Mo substrates by MOCVD and CSS, respectively. The results from these studies demonstrate that InP optoelectronic quality is maintained even by growth on non-epitaxial metal substrates. Structural characterization by SEM and XRD show stoichiometric InP can be grown in complete thin films on Mo. Photoluminescence measurements show peak energies and widths to be similar to those of reference wafers of similar doping concentrations. In chapter 4 the TF-VLS growth technique is introduced and cells fabricated from InP produced by this technique are characterized. The TF-VLS method results in lateral grain sizes of >500 mum and exhibits superior optoelectronic quality. First generation devices using a n-TiO2 window layer along with p-type TF-VLS grown InP have reached ˜12.1% power conversion efficiency under 1 sun illumination with VOC of 692 mV, JSC of 26.9 mA/cm2, and FF of 65%. The cells are fabricated using all non-epitaxial processing. Optical measurements show the InP in these cells have the potential to support a higher VOC of ˜795 mV, which can be achieved by improved device design. Chapter 5 describes a cost analysis of a manufacturing process using an

  13. Nanosheet controlled epitaxial growth of PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 thin films on glass substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayraktar, M.; Chopra, A.; Bijkerk, F.; Rijnders, G.

    2014-09-01

    Integration of PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT) films on glass substrates is of high importance for device applications. However, to make use of the superior ferro- and piezoelectric properties of PZT, well-oriented crystalline or epitaxial growth with control of the crystal orientation is a prerequisite. In this article, we report on epitaxial growth of PZT films with (100)- and (110)-orientation achieved by utilizing Ca2Nb3O10 (CNO) and Ti0.87O2 (TO) nanosheets as crystalline buffer layers. Fatigue measurements demonstrated stable ferroelectric properties of these films up to 5 × 109 cycles. (100)-oriented PZT films on CNO nanosheets show a large remnant polarization of 21 μC/cm2 that is the highest remnant polarization value compared to (110)-oriented and polycrystalline films reported in this work. A piezoelectric response of 98 pm/V is observed for (100)-oriented PZT film which is higher than the values reported in the literature on Si substrates.

  14. Crystalline and electronic structure of epitaxial γ-Al2O3 films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Huiyan; Lu, Dawei; Zhu, Kerong; Xu, Guoyong; Wang, Hu

    2013-01-01

    Epitaxial γ-Al 2 O 3 films were fabricated on SrTiO 3 (1 0 0) substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The high quality of epitaxial growth γ-Al 2 O 3 films was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images indicated the smooth surfaces and the step-flow growth of the films. In order to illuminate the electronic properties and the local structure of the epitaxial γ-Al 2 O 3 , we experimentally measured the X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectrum at the O K-edge and compared the spectrum with the theoretical simulations by using various structure models. Our results based on XANES spectrum analysis indicated that the structure of the epitaxial γ-Al 2 O 3 film was a defective spinel with Al vacancies, which prefer to be located at the octahedral sites

  15. Growth of Ca2MnO4 Ruddlesden-Popper structured thin films using combinatorial substrate epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lacotte, M.; David, A.; Pravarthana, D.; Prellier, W.; Grygiel, C.; Rohrer, G. S.; Salvador, P. A.; Velazquez, M.; Kloe, R. de

    2014-01-01

    The local epitaxial growth of pulsed laser deposited Ca 2 MnO 4 films on polycrystalline spark plasma sintered Sr 2 TiO 4 substrates was investigated to determine phase formation and preferred epitaxial orientation relationships (ORs) for isostructural Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) heteroepitaxy, further developing the high-throughput synthetic approach called Combinatorial Substrate Epitaxy (CSE). Both grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and electron backscatter diffraction patterns of the film and substrate were indexable as single-phase RP-structured compounds. The optimal growth temperature (between 650 °C and 800 °C) was found to be 750 °C using the maximum value of the average image quality of the backscattered diffraction patterns. Films grew in a grain-over-grain pattern such that each Ca 2 MnO 4 grain had a single OR with the Sr 2 TiO 4 grain on which it grew. Three primary ORs described 47 out of 49 grain pairs that covered nearly all of RP orientation space. The first OR, found for 20 of the 49, was the expected RP unit-cell over RP unit-cell OR, expressed as [100][001] film ||[100][001] sub . The other two ORs were essentially rotated from the first by 90°, with one (observed for 17 of 49 pairs) being rotated about the [100] and the other (observed for 10 of 49 pairs) being rotated about the [110] (and not exactly by 90°). These results indicate that only a small number of ORs are needed to describe isostructural RP heteroepitaxy and further demonstrate the potential of CSE in the design and growth of a wide range of complex functional oxides

  16. Epitaxial growth of Ge-Sb-Te based phase change materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perumal, Karthick

    2013-01-01

    Ge-Sb-Te based phase change materials are considered as a prime candidate for optical and electrical data storage applications. With the application of an optical or electrical pulse, they can be reversibly switched between amorphous and crystalline state, thereby exhibiting large optical and electrical contrast between the two phases, which are then stored as information in the form of binary digits. Single crystalline growth is interesting from both the academic and industrial perspective, as ordered Ge-Sb-Te based metamaterials are known to exhibit switching at reduced energies. The present study deals with the epitaxial growth and analysis of Ge-Sb-Te based thin films. The first part of the thesis deals with the epitaxial growth of GeTe. Thin films of GeTe were grown on highly mismatched Si(111) and (001) substrates. On both the substrate orientations the film grows along [111] direction with an amorphous-to-crystalline transition observed during the initial stages of growth. The amorphous-to-crystalline transition was studied in-vivo using azimuthal reflection high-energy electron diffraction scans and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. In the second part of the thesis epitaxy and characterization of Sb 2 Te 3 thin films are presented. The third part of the thesis deals with the epitaxy of ternary Ge-Sb-Te alloys. The composition of the films are shown to be highly dependent on growth temperatures and vary along the pseudobinary line from Sb 2 Te 3 to GeTe with increase in growth temperatures. A line-of-sight quadrupole mass spectrometer was used to reliably control the GeSbTe growth temperature. Growth was performed at different Ge, Sb, Te fluxes to study the compositional variation of the films. Incommensurate peaks are observed along the [111] direction by X-ray diffraction. The possibility of superstructural vacancy ordering along the [111] direction is discussed.

  17. Pulsed laser deposition of air-sensitive hydride epitaxial thin films: LiH

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oguchi, Hiroyuki, E-mail: oguchi@nanosys.mech.tohoku.ac.jp [Department of Nanomechanics, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579 (Japan); Micro System Integration Center (muSIC), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-0845 (Japan); Isobe, Shigehito [Creative Research Institution, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021 (Japan); Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8628 (Japan); Kuwano, Hiroki [Department of Nanomechanics, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579 (Japan); Shiraki, Susumu; Hitosugi, Taro [Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Orimo, Shin-ichi [Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan)

    2015-09-01

    We report on the epitaxial thin film growth of an air-sensitive hydride, lithium hydride (LiH), using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). We first synthesized a dense LiH target, which is key for PLD growth of high-quality hydride films. Then, we obtained epitaxial thin films of [100]-oriented LiH on a MgO(100) substrate at 250 °C under a hydrogen pressure of 1.3 × 10{sup −2} Pa. Atomic force microscopy revealed that the film demonstrates a Stranski-Krastanov growth mode and that the film with a thickness of ∼10 nm has a good surface flatness, with root-mean-square roughness R{sub RMS} of ∼0.4 nm.

  18. Pulsed laser deposition of air-sensitive hydride epitaxial thin films: LiH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oguchi, Hiroyuki; Isobe, Shigehito; Kuwano, Hiroki; Shiraki, Susumu; Hitosugi, Taro; Orimo, Shin-ichi

    2015-01-01

    We report on the epitaxial thin film growth of an air-sensitive hydride, lithium hydride (LiH), using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). We first synthesized a dense LiH target, which is key for PLD growth of high-quality hydride films. Then, we obtained epitaxial thin films of [100]-oriented LiH on a MgO(100) substrate at 250 °C under a hydrogen pressure of 1.3 × 10 −2 Pa. Atomic force microscopy revealed that the film demonstrates a Stranski-Krastanov growth mode and that the film with a thickness of ∼10 nm has a good surface flatness, with root-mean-square roughness R RMS of ∼0.4 nm

  19. Pseudomorphic growth of organic semiconductor thin films driven by incommensurate epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sassella, A.; Campione, M.; Raimondo, L.; Borghesi, A.; Bussetti, G.; Cirilli, S.; Violante, A.; Goletti, C.; Chiaradia, P.

    2009-01-01

    A stable pseudomorphic phase of α-quaterthiophene, a well known organic semiconductor, is obtained by growing films with organic molecular beam epitaxy (OMBE) on a single crystal of another organic semiconductor, namely, tetracene. The structural characteristics of the new phase are investigated by monitoring in situ the OMBE process by reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy; thus assessing that incommensurate epitaxy is in this case, the driving force for tuning the molecular packing in organic molecular films and in turn, their solid state properties

  20. Surface chemistry and growth mechanisms studies of homo epitaxial (1 0 0) GaAs by laser molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan Dawei; Wu Weidong; Zhang Hong; Wang Xuemin; Zhang Hongliang; Zhang Weibin; Xiong Zhengwei; Wang Yuying; Shen Changle; Peng Liping; Han Shangjun; Zhou Minjie

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, GaAs thin film has been deposited on thermally desorbed (1 0 0) GaAs substrate using laser molecular beam epitaxy. Scanning electron microscopy, in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction and in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are applied for evaluation of the surface morphology and chemistry during growth process. The results show that a high density of pits is formed on the surface of GaAs substrate after thermal treatment and the epitaxial thin film heals itself by a step flow growth, resulting in a smoother surface morphology. Moreover, it is found that the incorporation of As species into GaAs epilayer is more efficient in laser molecular beam epitaxy than conventional molecular beam epitaxy. We suggest the growth process is impacted by surface chemistry and morphology of GaAs substrate after thermal treatment and the growth mechanisms are discussed in details.

  1. Molecular beam epitaxy growth of InSb1-xBix thin films

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yuxin Song; Shumin Wang; Saha Roy, Ivy

    2013-01-01

    Molecular beam epitaxy growth for InSb1-xBix thin films on (100) GaAs substrates is reported. Successful Bi incorporation for 2% is achieved, and up to 70% of the incorporated Bi atoms are at substitutional sites. The effects of growth parameters on Bi incorporation and surface morphology are stu...

  2. Highly c-axis oriented growth of GaN film on sapphire (0001 by laser molecular beam epitaxy using HVPE grown GaN bulk target

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. S. Kushvaha

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Growth temperature dependant surface morphology and crystalline properties of the epitaxial GaN layers grown on pre-nitridated sapphire (0001 substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy (LMBE were investigated in the range of 500–750 °C. The grown GaN films were characterized using high resolution x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy (AFM, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS. The x-ray rocking curve full width at a half maximum (FWHM value for (0002 reflection dramatically decreased from 1582 arc sec to 153 arc sec when the growth temperature was increased from 500 °C to 600 °C and the value further decreased with increase of growth temperature up to 720 °C. A highly c-axis oriented GaN epitaxial film was obtained at 720 °C with a (0002 plane rocking curve FWHM value as low as 102 arc sec. From AFM studies, it is observed that the GaN grain size also increased with increasing growth temperature and flat, large lateral grains of size 200-300 nm was obtained for the film grown at 720 °C. The micro-Raman spectroscopy studies also exhibited the high-quality wurtzite nature of GaN film grown on sapphire at 720 °C. The SIMS measurements revealed a non-traceable amount of background oxygen impurity in the grown GaN films. The results show that the growth temperature strongly influences the surface morphology and crystalline quality of the epitaxial GaN films on sapphire grown by LMBE.

  3. Real-time growth study of plasma assisted atomic layer epitaxy of InN films by synchrotron x-ray methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nepal, Neeraj [U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375; Anderson, Virginia R. [American Society for Engineering Education, 1818 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036; Johnson, Scooter D. [U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375; Downey, Brian P. [U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375; Meyer, David J. [U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375; DeMasi, Alexander [Physics Department, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215; Robinson, Zachary R. [Department of Physics, SUNY College at Brockport, 350 New Campus Dr, Brockport, New York 14420; Ludwig, Karl F. [Physics Department, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215; Eddy, Charles R. [U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375

    2017-03-13

    The temporal evolution of high quality indium nitride (InN) growth by plasma-assisted atomic layer epitaxy (ALEp) on a-plane sapphire at 200 and 248 °C was probed by synchrotron x-ray methods. The growth was carried out in a thin film growth facility installed at beamline X21 of the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory and at beamline G3 of the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, Cornell University. Measurements of grazing incidence small angle x-ray scattering (GISAXS) during the initial cycles of growth revealed a broadening and scattering near the diffuse specular rod and the development of scattering intensities due to half unit cell thick nucleation islands in the Yoneda wing with correlation length scale of 7.1 and 8.2 nm, at growth temperatures (Tg) of 200 and 248 °C, respectively. At about 1.1 nm (two unit cells) of growth thickness nucleation islands coarsen, grow, and the intensity of correlated scattering peak increased at the correlation length scale of 8.0 and 8.7 nm for Tg = 200 and 248 °C, respectively. The correlated peaks at both growth temperatures can be fitted with a single peak Lorentzian function, which support single mode growth. Post-growth in situ x-ray reflectivity measurements indicate a growth rate of ~0.36 Å/cycle consistent with the growth rate previously reported for self-limited InN growth in a commercial ALEp reactor. Consistent with the in situ GISAXS study, ex situ atomic force microscopy power spectral density measurements also indicate single mode growth. Electrical characterization of the resulting film revealed an electron mobility of 50 cm2/V s for a 5.6 nm thick InN film on a-plane sapphire, which is higher than the previously reported mobility of much thicker InN films grown at higher temperature by molecular beam epitaxy directly on sapphire. These early results indicated that in situ synchrotron x-ray study of the epitaxial growth kinetics of InN films is a very powerful method to

  4. Epitaxial growth and characterization of CuGa2O4 films by laser molecular beam epitaxy

    OpenAIRE

    Hongling Wei; Zhengwei Chen; Zhenping Wu; Wei Cui; Yuanqi Huang; Weihua Tang

    2017-01-01

    Ga2O3 with a wide bandgap of ∼ 4.9 eV can crystalize in five crystalline phases. Among those phases, the most stable monoclinic β-Ga2O3 has been studied most, however, it is hard to find materials lattice matching with β-Ga2O3 to grown epitaxial thin films for optoelectronic applications. In this work, CuGa2O4 bulk were prepared by solid state reaction as target, and the films were deposited on sapphire substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy (L-MBE) at different substrate temperatures. Th...

  5. Epitaxial growth of textured YBa2Cu3O7-δ films on silver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Dan-Min; Liu Wei-Peng; Suo Hong-Li; Zhou Mei-Ling

    2005-01-01

    YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ (YBCO) films were deposited on (100), (110) and (111) oriented silver single crystals and {100} left angle 100 right angle, {110} left angle 211 right angle, {110} left angle 100 right angle +{110} left angle 011 right angle {110} left angle 011 right angle and {012} left angle 100 right angle textured Ag substrates using pulsed laser deposition. The relationship between the epitaxial growth YBCO film and silver substrate has been determined. It is shown that among polycrystalline Ag substrates, {110} left angle 011 right angle textured tape is suitable for the deposition of YBCO thin films having strong texture. (orig.)

  6. 3C-SiC epitaxial films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering: Growth, characterization and device development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wahab, Qamar ul.

    1994-01-01

    Epitaxial 3C-SiC films were grown on silicon substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering of pure Si target in a mixed Ar-CH[sub 4] discharges. Films were grown on Si(001), and 4 degrees off-oriented (001) substrates. Epitaxial 3C-SiC films with sharp interface to Si substrates have been grown at substrate temperatures [<=] 900 degrees C. Above 900 degrees C interfacial reaction starts resulting in a rough SiC/Si interface. The carbon content as well as the crystalline structure was also found to be strongly dependent on CH[sub 4] partial pressure (PCH[sub 4]) and stoichiometric composition can only be obtained in a narrow PCH[sub 4] range. Films grown on Si(001) substrates contained anti domain boundaries as evident by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). Films grown on (111)-oriented substrates were epitaxial at 850 degrees C but contained double positioning domains as determined by X-ray diffraction analysis and XTEM. High quality films were obtained on 4 degrees off-oriented Si(001) substrates at T[sub s]=850 degrees C and PCH[sub 4]=0.6 mTorr. Films grown on off-oriented substrates showed atomically sharp interface to Si and also a smooth top surface. SiO[sub 2] layer grown on such films showed atomically sharp oxide/film interface. Also the growth of epitaxial Si films on top of SiC films was realized. Au-Schottky diodes fabricated on (001)-oriented 3C-SiC films showed good rectification with a leakage current density = 4 [mu]A cm[sup -2], a breakdown voltage of -15 V, an ideality factor of 1.27 and a barrier height of 1.04 eV. Metal oxide semiconductor structures were fabricated by thermally grown SiO[sub 2] on (111)-oriented SiC films. The capacitance-voltage measurements showed the accumulation, depletion and deep depletion region in the C-V curve. The interface trap densities were 3-7 x 10[sup 11] cm[sup -2] eV[sup -1]. Finally 3C-SiC/Si heterojunction diodes processed showed good rectification and the diode had a breakdown at -110 V.

  7. 3C-SiC epitaxial films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering: Growth, characterization and device development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wahab, Qamar ul.

    1994-01-01

    Epitaxial 3C-SiC films were grown on silicon substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering of pure Si target in a mixed Ar-CH 4 discharges. Films were grown on Si(001), and 4 degrees off-oriented (001) substrates. Epitaxial 3C-SiC films with sharp interface to Si substrates have been grown at substrate temperatures ≤ 900 degrees C. Above 900 degrees C interfacial reaction starts resulting in a rough SiC/Si interface. The carbon content as well as the crystalline structure was also found to be strongly dependent on CH 4 partial pressure (PCH 4 ) and stoichiometric composition can only be obtained in a narrow PCH 4 range. Films grown on Si(001) substrates contained anti domain boundaries as evident by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). Films grown on (111)-oriented substrates were epitaxial at 850 degrees C but contained double positioning domains as determined by X-ray diffraction analysis and XTEM. High quality films were obtained on 4 degrees off-oriented Si(001) substrates at T s =850 degrees C and PCH 4 =0.6 mTorr. Films grown on off-oriented substrates showed atomically sharp interface to Si and also a smooth top surface. SiO 2 layer grown on such films showed atomically sharp oxide/film interface. Also the growth of epitaxial Si films on top of SiC films was realized. Au-Schottky diodes fabricated on (001)-oriented 3C-SiC films showed good rectification with a leakage current density = 4 μA cm -2 , a breakdown voltage of -15 V, an ideality factor of 1.27 and a barrier height of 1.04 eV. Metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) structures were fabricated by thermally grown SiO 2 on (111)-oriented SiC films. The capacitance-voltage measurements showed the accumulation, depletion and deep depletion region in the C-V curve. The interface trap densities were 3-7 x 10 11 cm -2 eV -1 . Finally 3C-SiC/Si heterojunction diodes processed showed good rectification and the diode had a breakdown at -110 V. 59 refs, figs, tabs

  8. Epitaxial growth of Ge-Sb-Te based phase change materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perumal, Karthick

    2013-07-30

    Ge-Sb-Te based phase change materials are considered as a prime candidate for optical and electrical data storage applications. With the application of an optical or electrical pulse, they can be reversibly switched between amorphous and crystalline state, thereby exhibiting large optical and electrical contrast between the two phases, which are then stored as information in the form of binary digits. Single crystalline growth is interesting from both the academic and industrial perspective, as ordered Ge-Sb-Te based metamaterials are known to exhibit switching at reduced energies. The present study deals with the epitaxial growth and analysis of Ge-Sb-Te based thin films. The first part of the thesis deals with the epitaxial growth of GeTe. Thin films of GeTe were grown on highly mismatched Si(111) and (001) substrates. On both the substrate orientations the film grows along [111] direction with an amorphous-to-crystalline transition observed during the initial stages of growth. The amorphous-to-crystalline transition was studied in-vivo using azimuthal reflection high-energy electron diffraction scans and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. In the second part of the thesis epitaxy and characterization of Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin films are presented. The third part of the thesis deals with the epitaxy of ternary Ge-Sb-Te alloys. The composition of the films are shown to be highly dependent on growth temperatures and vary along the pseudobinary line from Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} to GeTe with increase in growth temperatures. A line-of-sight quadrupole mass spectrometer was used to reliably control the GeSbTe growth temperature. Growth was performed at different Ge, Sb, Te fluxes to study the compositional variation of the films. Incommensurate peaks are observed along the [111] direction by X-ray diffraction. The possibility of superstructural vacancy ordering along the [111] direction is discussed.

  9. Electrical properties of epitaxially grown VOx thin films

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rata, A.D.; Chezan, A.R; Presura, C.N.; Hibma, T

    2003-01-01

    High quality VOx thin films on MgO(100) substrates were prepared and studied from the structural and electronic point of view. Epitaxial growth was confirmed by RHEED and XRD techniques. The oxygen content of VOx thin films as a function of oxygen flux was determined using RBS. The upper and lower

  10. Epitaxial growth of SrTiO3 thin film on Si by laser molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, X. Y.; Miao, J.; Dai, J. Y.; Chan, H. L. W.; Choy, C. L.; Wang, Y.; Li, Q.

    2007-01-01

    SrTiO 3 thin films have been deposited on Si (001) wafers by laser molecular beam epitaxy using an ultrathin Sr layer as the template. X-ray diffraction measurements indicated that SrTiO 3 was well crystallized and epitaxially aligned with Si. Cross-sectional observations in a transmission electron microscope revealed that the SrTiO 3 /Si interface was sharp, smooth, and fully crystallized. The thickness of the Sr template was found to be a critical factor that influenced the quality of SrTiO 3 and the interfacial structure. Electrical measurements revealed that the SrTiO 3 film was highly resistive

  11. Microstructure of epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films grown on LaAlO3 (001)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsieh, Y.; Siegal, M.P.; Hull, R.; Phillips, J.M.

    1990-01-01

    We report a microstructural investigation of the epitaxial growth of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x (YBCO) thin films on LaAlO 3 (001) substrates using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Epitaxial films grow with two distinct modes: c epitaxy (YBCO) single crystal with the c (axis normal to the surface and a epitaxy (YBCO) single crystal with the c axis in the interfacial plane), where c epitaxy is the dominant mode grown in all samples 35--200 nm thick. In 35 nm YBCO films annealed at 850 degree C, 97±1% of the surface area is covered by c epitaxy with embedded anisotropic a-epitaxial grains. Quantitative analysis reveals the effect of film thickness and annealing temperature on the density, grain sizes, areal coverages, and anisotropic growth of a epitaxy

  12. Epitaxial Growth of Permalloy Thin Films on MgO Single-Crystal Substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtake, Mitsuru; Tanaka, Takahiro; Matsubara, Katsuki; Futamoto, Masaaki; Kirino, Fumiyoshi

    2011-01-01

    Permalloy (Py: Ni - 20 at. % Fe) thin films were prepared on MgO single-crystal substrates of (100), (110), and (111) orientations by molecular beam epitaxy. Py crystals consisting of fcc(100) and hcp(112-bar 0) orientations epitaxially nucleate on MgO(100) substrates. With increasing the substrate temperature, the volume ratio of fcc(100) to hcp(112-bar 0) crystal increases. The metastable hcp(112-bar 0) structure transforms into more stable fcc(110) structure with increasing the film thickness. Py(110) fcc single-crystal films are obtained on MgO(110) substrates, whereas Py films epitaxially grow on MgO(111) substrates with two types of fcc(111) variants whose orientations are rotated around the film normal by 180 deg. each other. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the out-of-plane and the in-plane lattice spacings of these fcc-Py films agree within ±0.4% with the values of bulk fcc-Py crystal, suggesting that the strains in the films are very small. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows that periodical misfit dislocations are preferentially introduced in the films around the Py/MgO(100) and the Py/MgO(110) interfaces to reduce the lattice mismatches. The magnetic properties are considered to be reflecting the magnetocrystalline anisotropies of bulk fcc-Py and/or metastable hcp-Py crystals and the shape anisotropy caused by the surface undulations.

  13. Epitaxial Growth of Permalloy Thin Films on MgO Single-Crystal Substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ohtake, Mitsuru; Tanaka, Takahiro; Matsubara, Katsuki; Futamoto, Masaaki [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan); Kirino, Fumiyoshi, E-mail: ohtake@futamoto.elect.chuo-u.ac.jp [Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, 12-8 Ueno-koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-8714 (Japan)

    2011-07-06

    Permalloy (Py: Ni - 20 at. % Fe) thin films were prepared on MgO single-crystal substrates of (100), (110), and (111) orientations by molecular beam epitaxy. Py crystals consisting of fcc(100) and hcp(112-bar 0) orientations epitaxially nucleate on MgO(100) substrates. With increasing the substrate temperature, the volume ratio of fcc(100) to hcp(112-bar 0) crystal increases. The metastable hcp(112-bar 0) structure transforms into more stable fcc(110) structure with increasing the film thickness. Py(110){sub fcc} single-crystal films are obtained on MgO(110) substrates, whereas Py films epitaxially grow on MgO(111) substrates with two types of fcc(111) variants whose orientations are rotated around the film normal by 180 deg. each other. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the out-of-plane and the in-plane lattice spacings of these fcc-Py films agree within {+-}0.4% with the values of bulk fcc-Py crystal, suggesting that the strains in the films are very small. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows that periodical misfit dislocations are preferentially introduced in the films around the Py/MgO(100) and the Py/MgO(110) interfaces to reduce the lattice mismatches. The magnetic properties are considered to be reflecting the magnetocrystalline anisotropies of bulk fcc-Py and/or metastable hcp-Py crystals and the shape anisotropy caused by the surface undulations.

  14. Highly Crystalline C8-BTBT Thin-Film Transistors by Lateral Homo-Epitaxial Growth on Printed Templates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janneck, Robby; Pilet, Nicolas; Bommanaboyena, Satya Prakash; Watts, Benjamin; Heremans, Paul; Genoe, Jan; Rolin, Cedric

    2017-11-01

    Highly crystalline thin films of organic semiconductors offer great potential for fundamental material studies as well as for realizing high-performance, low-cost flexible electronics. The fabrication of these films directly on inert substrates is typically done by meniscus-guided coating techniques. The resulting layers show morphological defects that hinder charge transport and induce large device-to-device variability. Here, a double-step method for organic semiconductor layers combining a solution-processed templating layer and a lateral homo-epitaxial growth by a thermal evaporation step is reported. The epitaxial regrowth repairs most of the morphological defects inherent to meniscus-guided coatings. The resulting film is highly crystalline and features a mobility increased by a factor of three and a relative spread in device characteristics improved by almost half an order of magnitude. This method is easily adaptable to other coating techniques and offers a route toward the fabrication of high-performance, large-area electronics based on highly crystalline thin films of organic semiconductors. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. General Top-Down Ion Exchange Process for the Growth of Epitaxial Chalcogenide Thin Films and Devices

    KAUST Repository

    Xia, Chuan; Li, Peng; Li, Jun; Jiang, Qiu; Zhang, Xixiang; Alshareef, Husam N.

    2016-01-01

    ) epitaxial chalcogenide metallic and semiconducting films and (2) free-standing chalcogenide films and (3) completed in situ formation of atomically sharp heterojunctions by selective ion exchange. Epitaxial NiCo2S4 thin films prepared by our process show 115

  16. Growth and characterization of germanium epitaxial film on silicon (001 with germane precursor in metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD chamber

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwang Hong Lee

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The quality of germanium (Ge epitaxial film grown directly on a silicon (Si (001 substrate with 6° off-cut using conventional germane precursor in a metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD system is studied. The growth sequence consists of several steps at low temperature (LT at 400 °C, intermediate temperature ramp (LT-HT of ∼10 °C/min and high temperature (HT at 600 °C. This is followed by post-growth annealing in hydrogen at temperature ranging from 650 to 825 °C. The Ge epitaxial film of thickness ∼ 1 μm experiences thermally induced tensile strain of 0.11 % with a treading dislocation density (TDD of ∼107/cm2 and the root-mean-square (RMS roughness of ∼ 0.75 nm. The benefit of growing Ge epitaxial film using MOCVD is that the subsequent III-V materials can be grown in-situ without the need of breaking the vacuum hence it is manufacturing worthy.

  17. Modelling of epitaxial film growth with an Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier dependent on the step height

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leal, F F; Ferreira, S C; Ferreira, S O

    2011-01-01

    The formation of mounded surfaces in epitaxial growth is attributed to the presence of barriers against interlayer diffusion in the terrace edges, known as Ehrlich-Schwoebel (ES) barriers. We investigate a model for epitaxial growth using an ES barrier explicitly dependent on the step height. Our model has an intrinsic topological step barrier even in the absence of an explicit ES barrier. We show that mounded morphologies can be obtained even for a small barrier while a self-affine growth, consistent with the Villain-Lai-Das Sarma equation, is observed in the absence of an explicit step barrier. The mounded surfaces are described by a super-roughness dynamical scaling characterized by locally smooth (facetted) surfaces and a global roughness exponent α > 1. The thin film limit is featured by surfaces with self-assembled three-dimensional structures having an aspect ratio (height/width) that may increase or decrease with temperature depending on the strength of the step barrier. (fast track communication)

  18. Powder free PECVD epitaxial silicon by plasma pulsing or increasing the growth temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wanghua; Maurice, Jean-Luc; Vanel, Jean-Charles; Cabarrocas, Pere Roca i.

    2018-06-01

    Crystalline silicon thin films are promising candidates for low cost and flexible photovoltaics. Among various synthesis techniques, epitaxial growth via low temperature plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition is an interesting choice because of two low temperature related benefits: low thermal budget and better doping profile control. However, increasing the growth rate is a tricky issue because the agglomeration of clusters required for epitaxy leads to powder formation in the plasma. In this work, we have measured precisely the time evolution of the self-bias voltage in silane/hydrogen plasmas at millisecond time scale, for different values of the direct-current bias voltage applied to the radio frequency (RF) electrode and growth temperatures. We demonstrate that the decisive factor to increase the epitaxial growth rate, i.e. the inhibition of the agglomeration of plasma-born clusters, can be obtained by decreasing the RF OFF time or increasing the growth temperature. The influence of these two parameters on the growth rate and epitaxial film quality is also presented.

  19. Atomic layer epitaxy of ZnO for applications in molecular beam epitaxy growth of GaN and InGaN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Godlewski, M.; Szczerbakow, A.; Ivanov, V. Yu.; Barski, A.; Goldys, E.M.

    2000-01-01

    We report the successful atomic layer epitaxy growth of thin ZnO films and their use for GaN and InGaN epitaxy. The properties of ZnO epilayers, obtained by four different procedures, are analysed, as well as of GaN and InGaN films grown on ZnO-coated Si and GaAs by MBE. (author)

  20. Epitaxial growth of bcc-Fe{sub x}Co{sub 100-x} thin films on MgO(1 1 0) single-crystal substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ohtake, Mitsuru, E-mail: ohtake@futamoto.elect.chuo-u.ac.j [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan); Nishiyama, Tsutomu; Shikada, Kouhei [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan); Kirino, Fumiyoshi [Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, 12-8 Ueno-koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-8714 (Japan); Futamoto, Masaaki [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan)

    2010-07-15

    Fe{sub x}Co{sub 100-x} (x=100, 65, 50 at%) epitaxial thin films were prepared on MgO(1 1 0) single-crystal substrates heated at 300 deg. C by ultra-high vacuum molecular beam epitaxy. The film structure and the growth mechanism are discussed. FeCo(2 1 1) films with bcc structure grow epitaxially on MgO(1 1 0) substrates with two types of variants whose orientations are rotated around the film normal by 180 deg. each other for all compositions. Fe{sub x}Co{sub 100-x} film growth follows the Volmer Weber mode. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates the out-of-plane and the in-plane lattice spacings are in agreement with the values of respective bulk Fe{sub x}Co{sub 100-x} crystals with very small errors less than +-0.4%, suggesting the strains in the films are very small. High-resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy shows that periodical misfit dislocations are preferentially introduced in the film at the Fe{sub 50}Co{sub 50}/MgO interface along the MgO[1 1-bar 0] direction. The presence of such periodical dislocations decreases the large lattice mismatch of about -17% existing at the FeCo/MgO interface along the MgO[1 1-bar 0] direction.

  1. Ambiguous Role of Growth-Induced Defects on the Semiconductor-to-Metal Characteristics in Epitaxial VO2/TiO2 Thin Films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mihailescu, Cristian N; Symeou, Elli; Svoukis, Efthymios; Negrea, Raluca F; Ghica, Corneliu; Teodorescu, Valentin; Tanase, Liviu C; Negrila, Catalin; Giapintzakis, John

    2018-04-25

    Controlling the semiconductor-to-metal transition temperature in epitaxial VO 2 thin films remains an unresolved question both at the fundamental as well as the application level. Within the scope of this work, the effects of growth temperature on the structure, chemical composition, interface coherency and electrical characteristics of rutile VO 2 epitaxial thin films grown on TiO 2 substrates are investigated. It is hereby deduced that the transition temperature is lower than the bulk value of 340 K. However, it is found to approach this value as a function of increased growth temperature even though it is accompanied by a contraction along the V 4+ -V 4+ bond direction, the crystallographic c-axis lattice parameter. Additionally, it is demonstrated that films grown at low substrate temperatures exhibit a relaxed state and a strongly reduced transition temperature. It is suggested that, besides thermal and epitaxial strain, growth-induced defects may strongly affect the electronic phase transition. The results of this work reveal the difficulty in extracting the intrinsic material response to strain, when the exact contribution of all strain sources cannot be effectively determined. The findings also bear implications on the limitations in obtaining the recently predicted novel semi-Dirac point phase in VO 2 /TiO 2 multilayer structures.

  2. Epitaxial growth and characterization of CuGa2O4 films by laser molecular beam epitaxy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongling Wei

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Ga2O3 with a wide bandgap of ∼ 4.9 eV can crystalize in five crystalline phases. Among those phases, the most stable monoclinic β-Ga2O3 has been studied most, however, it is hard to find materials lattice matching with β-Ga2O3 to grown epitaxial thin films for optoelectronic applications. In this work, CuGa2O4 bulk were prepared by solid state reaction as target, and the films were deposited on sapphire substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy (L-MBE at different substrate temperatures. The influences of substrate temperature on structural and optical properties have been systematically investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, Transmission electron microscope and UV-vis absorption spectra. High quality cubic structure and [111] oriented CuGa2O4 film can be obtained at substrate temperature of 750 °C. It’s also demonstrated that the CuGa2O4 film has a bandgap of ∼ 4.4 eV and a best crystal quality at 750 °C, suggesting that CuGa2O4 film is a promising candidate for applications in ultraviolet optoelectronic devices.

  3. Growth of pseudomorphic structures through organic epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaviyil, Sreejith Embekkat; Sassella, Adele; Borghesi, Alessandro; Campione, Marcello; Su Genbo; He Youping; Chen Chenjia

    2012-01-01

    The control of molecular orientation in thin solid film phases of organic semiconductors is a basic factor for the exploitation of their physical properties for optoelectronic devices. We compare structural and optical properties of thin films of the organic semiconductor α-quarterthiophene grown by molecular beam epitaxy on different organic substrates. We show how epitactic interactions, characteristic of the surface of organic crystals, can drive the orientation of the crystalline overlayer and the selection of specific polymorphs and new pseudomorphic phases. We identify a key role in this phenomenon played by the marked groove-like corrugations present in some organic crystal surfaces. Since different polymorphs possess rather different performance in terms of, e.g., charge carrier mobility, this strategy is demonstrated to allow for the growth of oriented phases with enhanced physical properties, while keeping the substrate at room temperature. These results provide useful guidelines for the design of technological substrates for organic epitaxy and they substantiate the adoption of an organic epitaxy approach for the fabrication of optoelectronic devices based on thin films of organic semiconductors.

  4. Epitaxial growth of higher transition-temperature VO2 films on AlN/Si

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tetiana Slusar

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available We report the epitaxial growth and the mechanism of a higher temperature insulator-to-metal-transition (IMT of vanadium dioxide (VO2 thin films synthesized on aluminum nitride (AlN/Si (111 substrates by a pulsed-laser-deposition method; the IMT temperature is TIMT ≈ 350 K. X-ray diffractometer and high resolution transmission electron microscope data show that the epitaxial relationship of VO2 and AlN is VO2 (010 ‖ AlN (0001 with VO2 [101] ‖   AlN   [ 2 1 ̄ 1 ̄ 0 ] zone axes, which results in a substrate-induced tensile strain along the in-plane a and c axes of the insulating monoclinic VO2. This strain stabilizes the insulating phase of VO2 and raises TIMT for 10 K higher than TIMT single crystal ≈ 340 K in a bulk VO2 single crystal. Near TIMT, a resistance change of about four orders is observed in a thick film of ∼130 nm. The VO2/AlN/Si heterostructures are promising for the development of integrated IMT-Si technology, including thermal switchers, transistors, and other applications.

  5. Quasi van der Waals epitaxy of copper thin film on single-crystal graphene monolayer buffer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Zonghuan; Sun, Xin; Washington, Morris A.; Lu, Toh-Ming

    2018-03-01

    Quasi van der Waals epitaxial growth of face-centered cubic Cu (~100 nm) thin films on single-crystal monolayer graphene is demonstrated using thermal evaporation at an elevated substrate temperature of 250 °C. The single-crystal graphene was transferred to amorphous (glass) and crystalline (quartz) SiO2 substrates for epitaxy study. Raman analysis showed that the thermal evaporation method had minimal damage to the graphene lattice during the Cu deposition. X-ray diffraction and electron backscatter diffraction analyses revealed that both Cu films are single-crystal with (1 1 1) out-of-plane orientation and in-plane Σ3 twin domains of 60° rotation. The crystallinity of the SiO2 substrates has a negligible effect on the Cu crystal orientation during the epitaxial growth, implying the strong screening effect of graphene. We also demonstrate the epitaxial growth of polycrystalline Cu on a commercial polycrystalline monolayer graphene consisting of two orientation domains offset 30° to each other. It confirms that the crystal orientation of the epitaxial Cu film follows that of graphene, i.e. the Cu film consists of two orientation domains offset 30° to each other when deposited on polycrystalline graphene. Finally, on the contrary to the report in the literature, we show that the direct current and radio frequency flip sputtering method causes significant damage to the graphene lattice during the Cu deposition process, and therefore neither is a suitable method for Cu epitaxial growth on graphene.

  6. Disorder in silicon films grown epitaxially at low temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwarzkopf, J.; Selle, B.; Bohne, W.; Roehrich, J.; Sieber, I.; Fuhs, W.

    2003-01-01

    Homoepitaxial Si films were prepared by electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition on Si(100) substrates at temperatures of 325-500 deg. C using H 2 , Ar, and SiH 4 as process gases. The gas composition, substrate temperature, and substrate bias voltage were systematically varied to study the breakdown of epitaxial growth. Information from ion beam techniques, like Rutherford backscattering and heavy-ion elastic recoil detection analysis, was combined with transmission and scanning electron micrographs to examine the transition from ordered to amorphous growth. The results suggest that the breakdown proceeds in two stages: (i) highly defective but still ordered growth with a defect density increasing with increasing film thickness and (ii) formation of conically shaped amorphous precipitates. The hydrogen content is found to be directly related to the degree of disorder which acts as sink for excessive hydrogen. Only in almost perfect epitaxially grown films is the hydrogen level low, and an exponential tail of the H concentration into the crystalline substrate is observed as a result of the diffusive transport of hydrogen

  7. Growth and characterization of epitaxial ultra-thin NbN films on 3C-SiC/Si substrate for terahertz applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dochev, D; Desmaris, V; Pavolotsky, A; Meledin, D; Belitsky, V; Lai, Z; Henry, A; Janzen, E; Pippel, E; Woltersdorf, J

    2011-01-01

    We report on electrical properties and microstructure of epitaxial thin NbN films grown on 3C-SiC/Si substrates by means of reactive magnetron sputtering. A complete epitaxial growth at the NbN/3C-SiC interface has been confirmed by means of high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) along with x-ray diffractometry (XRD). Resistivity measurements of the films have shown that the superconducting transition onset temperature (T C ) for the best specimen is 11.8 K. Using these epitaxial NbN films, we have fabricated submicron-size hot-electron bolometer (HEB) devices on 3C-SiC/Si substrate and performed their complete DC characterization. The observed critical temperature T C = 11.3 K and critical current density of about 2.5 MA cm -2 at 4.2 K of the submicron-size bridges were uniform across the sample. This suggests that the deposited NbN films possess the necessary homogeneity to sustain reliable hot-electron bolometer device fabrication for THz mixer applications.

  8. Growth and characterization of epitaxial ultra-thin NbN films on 3C-SiC/Si substrate for terahertz applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dochev, D; Desmaris, V; Pavolotsky, A; Meledin, D; Belitsky, V [Group for Advanced Receiver Development, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Gothenburg (Sweden); Lai, Z [Nanofabrication Laboratory, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Gothenburg (Sweden); Henry, A; Janzen, E [Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linkoeping University, SE-581 83 Linkoeping (Sweden); Pippel, E; Woltersdorf, J, E-mail: dimitar.dochev@chalmers.se [Max-Planck-Institute of Microstructure Physics, Weinberg 2, D-06120 Halle (Germany)

    2011-03-15

    We report on electrical properties and microstructure of epitaxial thin NbN films grown on 3C-SiC/Si substrates by means of reactive magnetron sputtering. A complete epitaxial growth at the NbN/3C-SiC interface has been confirmed by means of high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) along with x-ray diffractometry (XRD). Resistivity measurements of the films have shown that the superconducting transition onset temperature (T{sub C}) for the best specimen is 11.8 K. Using these epitaxial NbN films, we have fabricated submicron-size hot-electron bolometer (HEB) devices on 3C-SiC/Si substrate and performed their complete DC characterization. The observed critical temperature T{sub C} = 11.3 K and critical current density of about 2.5 MA cm{sup -2} at 4.2 K of the submicron-size bridges were uniform across the sample. This suggests that the deposited NbN films possess the necessary homogeneity to sustain reliable hot-electron bolometer device fabrication for THz mixer applications.

  9. Initial stages of the ion-beam assisted epitaxial GaN film growth on 6H-SiC(0001)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neumann, L.; Gerlach, J.W.; Rauschenbach, B.

    2012-01-01

    Ultra-thin gallium nitride (GaN) films were deposited using the ion-beam assisted molecular-beam epitaxy technique. The influence of the nitrogen ion to gallium atom flux ratio (I/A ratio) during the early stages of GaN nucleation and thin film growth directly, without a buffer layer on super-polished 6H-SiC(0001) substrates was studied. The deposition process was performed at a constant substrate temperature of 700 °C by evaporation of Ga and irradiation with hyperthermal nitrogen ions from a constricted glow-discharge ion source. The hyperthermal nitrogen ion flux was kept constant and the kinetic energy of the ions did not exceed 25 eV. The selection of different I/A ratios in the range from 0.8 to 3.2 was done by varying the Ga deposition rate between 5 × 10 13 and 2 × 10 14 at. cm −2 s −1 . The crystalline surface structure during the GaN growth was monitored in situ by reflection high-energy electron diffraction. The surface topography of the films as well as the morphology of separated GaN islands on the substrate surface was examined after film growth using a scanning tunneling microscope without interruption of ultra-high vacuum. The results show, that the I/A ratio has a major impact on the properties of the resulting ultra-thin GaN films. The growth mode, the surface roughness, the degree of GaN coverage of the substrate and the polytype mixture depend notably on the I/A ratio. - Highlights: ► Ultra-thin epitaxial GaN films prepared by hyperthermal ion-beam assisted deposition. ► Surface structure and topography studied during and after initial growth stages. ► Growth mode dependent on nitrogen ion to gallium atom flux ratio. ► Change from three-dimensional to two-dimensional growth for Ga-rich growth conditions.

  10. Growth of Ca{sub 2}MnO{sub 4} Ruddlesden-Popper structured thin films using combinatorial substrate epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lacotte, M.; David, A.; Pravarthana, D.; Prellier, W., E-mail: wilfrid.prellier@ensicaen.fr [Laboratoire CRISMAT, CNRS UMR 6508, ENSICAEN, Université de Basse-Normandie, 6 Bd Maréchal Juin, F-14050 Caen Cedex 4 (France); Grygiel, C. [Laboratoire CIMAP, CEA, CNRS UMR 6252, ENSICAEN, Université de Basse-Normandie, 6 Bd Maréchal Juin, F-14050 Caen Cedex 4 (France); Rohrer, G. S.; Salvador, P. A. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 (United States); Velazquez, M. [CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, ICMCB, UPR 9048, F-33600 Pessac (France); Kloe, R. de [AMETEK B.V, EDAX Application Laboratory, Tilburg (Netherlands)

    2014-12-28

    The local epitaxial growth of pulsed laser deposited Ca{sub 2}MnO{sub 4} films on polycrystalline spark plasma sintered Sr{sub 2}TiO{sub 4} substrates was investigated to determine phase formation and preferred epitaxial orientation relationships (ORs) for isostructural Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) heteroepitaxy, further developing the high-throughput synthetic approach called Combinatorial Substrate Epitaxy (CSE). Both grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and electron backscatter diffraction patterns of the film and substrate were indexable as single-phase RP-structured compounds. The optimal growth temperature (between 650 °C and 800 °C) was found to be 750 °C using the maximum value of the average image quality of the backscattered diffraction patterns. Films grew in a grain-over-grain pattern such that each Ca{sub 2}MnO{sub 4} grain had a single OR with the Sr{sub 2}TiO{sub 4} grain on which it grew. Three primary ORs described 47 out of 49 grain pairs that covered nearly all of RP orientation space. The first OR, found for 20 of the 49, was the expected RP unit-cell over RP unit-cell OR, expressed as [100][001]{sub film}||[100][001]{sub sub}. The other two ORs were essentially rotated from the first by 90°, with one (observed for 17 of 49 pairs) being rotated about the [100] and the other (observed for 10 of 49 pairs) being rotated about the [110] (and not exactly by 90°). These results indicate that only a small number of ORs are needed to describe isostructural RP heteroepitaxy and further demonstrate the potential of CSE in the design and growth of a wide range of complex functional oxides.

  11. Effect of growth temperature on the epitaxial growth of ZnO on GaN by ALD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Särkijärvi, Suvi; Sintonen, Sakari; Tuomisto, Filip; Bosund, Markus; Suihkonen, Sami; Lipsanen, Harri

    2014-07-01

    We report on the epitaxial growth of ZnO on GaN template by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Diethylzinc (DEZn) and water vapour (H2O) were used as precursors. The structure and the quality of the grown ZnO layers were studied with scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) measurements and positron annihilation spectroscopy. The ZnO films were confirmed epitaxial, and the film quality was found to improve with increasing deposition temperature in the vicinity of the threshold temperature of two dimensional growth. We conclude that high quality ZnO thin films can be grown by ALD. Interestingly only separate Zn-vacancies were observed in the films, although ZnO thin films typically contain fairly high density of surface pits and vacancy clusters.

  12. Epitaxial growth and magnetic properties of ultraviolet transparent Ga2O3/(Ga1-xFex)2O3 multilayer thin films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Daoyou; An, Yuehua; Cui, Wei; Zhi, Yusong; Zhao, Xiaolong; Lei, Ming; Li, Linghong; Li, Peigang; Wu, Zhenping; Tang, Weihua

    2016-04-28

    Multilayer thin films based on the ferromagnetic and ultraviolet transparent semiconductors may be interesting because their magnetic/electronic/photonic properties can be manipulated by the high energy photons. Herein, the Ga2O3/(Ga1-xFex)2O3 multilayer epitaxial thin films were obtained by alternating depositing of wide band gap Ga2O3 layer and Fe ultrathin layer due to inter diffusion between two layers at high temperature using the laser molecular beam epitaxy technique. The multilayer films exhibits a preferred growth orientation of crystal plane, and the crystal lattice expands as Fe replaces Ga site. Fe ions with a mixed valence of Fe(2+) and Fe(3+) are stratified distributed in the film and exhibit obvious agglomerated areas. The multilayer films only show a sharp absorption edge at about 250 nm, indicating a high transparency for ultraviolet light. What's more, the Ga2O3/(Ga1-xFex)2O3 multilayer epitaxial thin films also exhibits room temperature ferromagnetism deriving from the Fe doping Ga2O3.

  13. Anatase thin film with diverse epitaxial relationship grown on yttrium stabilized zirconia substrate by chemical vapor deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyagi, Takahira; Ogawa, Tomoyuki; Kamei, Masayuki; Wada, Yoshiki; Mitsuhashi, Takefumi; Yamazaki, Atsushi

    2003-01-01

    An anatase epitaxial thin film with diverse epitaxial relationship, YSZ (001) // anatase (001), YSZ (010) // anatase (110), was grown on a single crystalline yttrium stabilized zirconia (YSZ) (001) substrate by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the (004) reflection of this anatase epitaxial film was 0.4deg, and the photoluminescence of this anatase epitaxial film showed visible emission with broad spectral width and large Stokes shift at room temperature. These results indicate that this anatase epitaxial film possessed almost equal crystalline quality compared with that grown under identical growth conditions on single crystalline SrTiO 3 substrate. (author)

  14. Preparation and Characterization of Epitaxial VO2 Films on Sapphire Using Postepitaxial Topotaxy Route via Epitaxial V2O3 Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamaguchi, Iwao; Manabe, Takaaki; Tsuchiya, Tetsuo; Nakajima, Tomohiko; Sohma, Mitsugu; Kumagai, Toshiya

    2008-02-01

    Epitaxial VO2 films were prepared on the C-planes of α-Al2O3 substrates by a metal organic deposition (MOD) process. It was difficult to obtain the single phase of (010)M-oriented VO2 films, in which the subscript M refers to the monoclinic indices, by the heat treatment of amorphous precursor films in the VO2-stable region after the pyrolysis of the coating solution. The product films consisted of discontinuous circular grains of 1-2 µm size on the substrate surface. Therefore, we prepared the (010)M-oriented epitaxial VO2 films using postepitaxial topotaxy (PET), that is, topotactic oxidation of (0001)-oriented epitaxial V2O3 films. First, epitaxial V2O3(0001) films were obtained by MOD starting with a vanadium naphthenate solution. Second, the epitaxial V2O3(0001) films were topotactically oxidized at 500 °C in an Ar-O2 gas mixture with pO2 = 10-4 atm to obtain (010)M-oriented epitaxial VO2 films. The epitaxial relationships were VO2(010)M ∥ α-Al2O3(0001) and VO2[100]M ∥ α-Al2O3[0110], [1010], [1100]. The VO2(010)M films exhibited metal-semiconductor transitions with hysteresis loops at 60-80 °C. The resistivity change before and after the transition of the VO2(010)M film oxidized for 6 h was three orders of magnitude.

  15. General Top-Down Ion Exchange Process for the Growth of Epitaxial Chalcogenide Thin Films and Devices

    KAUST Repository

    Xia, Chuan

    2016-12-30

    We demonstrate a versatile top-down ion exchange process, done at ambient temperature, to form epitaxial chalcogenide films and devices, with nanometer scale thickness control. To demonstrate the versatility of our process we have synthesized (1) epitaxial chalcogenide metallic and semiconducting films and (2) free-standing chalcogenide films and (3) completed in situ formation of atomically sharp heterojunctions by selective ion exchange. Epitaxial NiCo2S4 thin films prepared by our process show 115 times higher mobility than NiCo2S4 pellets (23 vs 0.2 cm(2) V-1 s(-1)) prepared by previous reports. By controlling the ion exchange process time, we made free-standing epitaxial films of NiCo2S4 and transferred them onto different substrates. We also demonstrate in situ formation of atomically sharp, lateral Schottky diodes based on NiCo2O4/NiCo2S4 heterojunction, using a single ion exchange step. Additionally, we show that our approach can be easily extended to other chalcogenide semiconductors. Specifically, we used our process to prepare Cu1.8S thin films with mobility that matches single crystal Cu1.8S (25 cm(2) V-1 s(-1)), which is ca. 28 times higher than the previously reported Cu1.8S thin film mobility (0.58 cm(2) V-1 s(-1)), thus demonstrating the universal nature of our process. This is the first report in which chalcogenide thin films retain the epitaxial nature of the precursor oxide films, an approach that will be useful in many applications.

  16. Buffer-layer enhanced crystal growth of BaB6 (1 0 0) thin films on MgO (1 0 0) substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kato, Yushi; Yamauchi, Ryosuke; Arai, Hideki; Tan, Geng; Tsuchimine, Nobuo; Kobayashi, Susumu; Saeki, Kazuhiko; Takezawa, Nobutaka; Mitsuhashi, Masahiko; Kaneko, Satoru; Yoshimoto, Mamoru

    2012-01-01

    Crystalline BaB 6 (1 0 0) thin films can be fabricated on MgO (1 0 0) substrates by inserting a 2-3 nm-thick epitaxial SrB 6 (1 0 0) buffer layer by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in ultra-high vacuum (i.e., laser molecular beam epitaxy). Reflection high-energy electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction measurements indicated the heteroepitaxial structure of BaB 6 (1 0 0)/SrB 6 (1 0 0)/MgO (1 0 0) with the single domain of the epitaxial relationship. Conversely, BaB 6 thin films without the buffer layer were not epitaxial instead they developed as polycrystalline films with a random in-plane configuration and some impurity phases. As a result, the buffer layer is considered to greatly affect the initial growth of epitaxial BaB 6 thin films; therefore, in this study, buffering effects have been discussed. From the conventional four-probe measurement, it was observed that BaB 6 epitaxial thin films exhibit n-type semiconducting behavior with a resistivity of 2.90 × 10 -1 Ω cm at room temperature.

  17. Laser molecular beam epitaxy of ZnO thin films and heterostructures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Opel, Matthias; Geprägs, Stephan; Althammer, Matthias; Brenninger, Thomas; Gross, Rudolf

    2014-01-01

    We report on the growth of epitaxial ZnO thin films and ZnO-based heterostructures on sapphire substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We first discuss some recent developments in laser-MBE such as flexible ultraviolet laser beam optics, infrared laser heating systems or the use of atomic oxygen and nitrogen sources, and describe the technical realization of our advanced laser-MBE system. Then we describe the optimization of the deposition parameters for ZnO films such as laser fluence and substrate temperature and the use of buffer layers. The detailed structural characterization by x-ray analysis and transmission electron microscopy shows that epitaxial ZnO thin films with high structural quality can be achieved, as demonstrated by a small out-of-plane and in-plane mosaic spread as well as the absence of rotational domains. We also demonstrate the heteroepitaxial growth of ZnO-based multilayers as a prerequisite for spin transport experiments and the realization of spintronic devices. As an example, we show that TiN/Co/ZnO/Ni/Au multilayer stacks can be grown on (0 0 0 1)-oriented sapphire with good structural quality of all layers and well defined in-plane epitaxial relations. (paper)

  18. In silico carbon molecular beam epitaxial growth of graphene on the h-BN substrate: carbon source effect on van der Waals epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jonghoon; Varshney, Vikas; Park, Jeongho; Farmer, Barry L.; Roy, Ajit K.

    2016-05-01

    Against the presumption that hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) should provide an ideal substrate for van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy to grow high quality graphene films, carbon molecular beam epitaxy (CMBE) techniques using solid carbon sublimation have reported relatively poor quality of the graphene. In this article, the CMBE growth of graphene on the h-BN substrate is numerically studied in order to identify the effect of the carbon source on the quality of the graphene film. The carbon molecular beam generated by the sublimation of solid carbon source materials such as graphite and glassy carbon is mostly composed of atomic carbon, carbon dimers and carbon trimers. Therefore, the graphene film growth becomes a complex process involving various deposition characteristics of a multitude of carbon entities. Based on the study of surface adsorption and film growth characteristics of these three major carbon entities comprising graphite vapour, we report that carbon trimers convey strong traits of vdW epitaxy prone to high quality graphene growth, while atomic carbon deposition is a surface-reaction limited process accompanied by strong chemisorption. The vdW epitaxial behaviour of carbon trimers is found to be substantial enough to nucleate and develop into graphene like planar films within a nanosecond of high flux growth simulation, while reactive atomic carbons tend to impair the structural integrity of the crystalline h-BN substrate upon deposition to form an amorphous interface between the substrate and the growing carbon film. The content of reactive atomic carbons in the molecular beam is suspected to be the primary cause of low quality graphene reported in the literature. A possible optimization of the molecular beam composition towards the synthesis of better quality graphene films is suggested.Against the presumption that hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) should provide an ideal substrate for van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy to grow high quality graphene films, carbon

  19. One unit-cell seed layer induced epitaxial growth of heavily nitrogen doped anatase TiO{sub 2} films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, T L; Hirose, Y; Hitosugi, T; Hasegawa, T [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan)], E-mail: chen@ksp.or.jp

    2008-03-21

    We present a novel way to obtain heavily nitrogen doped anatase TiO{sub 2} films by using a solid-state nitrogen source. Epitaxial growth of the films was realized by introducing one unit-cell seed layer, which was indicated by reflection high-energy electron diffraction as intensity oscillation. Results of x-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed that the films were in the anatase phase heavily doped with nitrogen of {approx}15 at%. The films obtained exhibited considerable narrowing of the optical bandgap, resulting in an enhancement of absorption in the visible-light region. (fast track communication)

  20. Growth of Ge films by cluster beam deposition

    CERN Document Server

    Xu, J L; Feng, J Y

    2002-01-01

    Ge epitaxial layers with reasonable quality were grown on the Si(1 1 1) substrates by cluster beam deposition (CBD) process. The growth temperature plays a dominant role in the epitaxial growth of Ge films. The substrate temperature for epitaxial growth is about 500 deg. C, which is lower than the reported critical temperature of Ge epitaxial growth by MBE and CVD. A stress induced phase transition of Ge lattice from cubic to tetragonal is also observed in the CBD process, and the mechanism is discussed.

  1. Growth and characterization of β-Ga2O3 thin films by molecular beam epitaxy for deep-UV photodetectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghose, Susmita; Rahman, Shafiqur; Hong, Liang; Rojas-Ramirez, Juan Salvador; Jin, Hanbyul; Park, Kibog; Klie, Robert; Droopad, Ravi

    2017-09-01

    The growth of high quality epitaxial beta-gallium oxide (β-Ga2O3) using a compound source by molecular beam epitaxy has been demonstrated on c-plane sapphire (Al2O3) substrates. The compound source provides oxidized gallium molecules in addition to oxygen when heated from an iridium crucible in a high temperature effusion cell enabling a lower heat of formation for the growth of Ga2O3, resulting in a more efficient growth process. This source also enabled the growth of crystalline β-Ga2O3 without the need for additional oxygen. The influence of the substrate temperatures on the crystal structure and quality, chemical bonding, surface morphology, and optical properties has been systematically evaluated by x-ray diffraction, scanning transmission electron microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and UV-vis spectroscopy. Under optimized growth conditions, all films exhibited pure (" separators="|2 ¯01 ) oriented β-Ga2O3 thin films with six-fold rotational symmetry when grown on a sapphire substrate. The thin films demonstrated significant absorption in the deep-ultraviolet (UV) region with an optical bandgap around 5.0 eV and a refractive index of 1.9. A deep-UV photodetector fabricated on the high quality β-Ga2O3 thin film exhibits high resistance and small dark current (4.25 nA) with expected photoresponse for 254 nm UV light irradiation suggesting that the material grown using the compound source is a potential candidate for deep-ultraviolet photodetectors.

  2. Epitaxial growth and magnetic properties of ultraviolet transparent Ga2O3/(Ga1−xFex)2O3 multilayer thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Daoyou; An, Yuehua; Cui, Wei; Zhi, Yusong; Zhao, Xiaolong; Lei, Ming; Li, Linghong; Li, Peigang; Wu, Zhenping; Tang, Weihua

    2016-01-01

    Multilayer thin films based on the ferromagnetic and ultraviolet transparent semiconductors may be interesting because their magnetic/electronic/photonic properties can be manipulated by the high energy photons. Herein, the Ga2O3/(Ga1−xFex)2O3 multilayer epitaxial thin films were obtained by alternating depositing of wide band gap Ga2O3 layer and Fe ultrathin layer due to inter diffusion between two layers at high temperature using the laser molecular beam epitaxy technique. The multilayer films exhibits a preferred growth orientation of crystal plane, and the crystal lattice expands as Fe replaces Ga site. Fe ions with a mixed valence of Fe2+ and Fe3+ are stratified distributed in the film and exhibit obvious agglomerated areas. The multilayer films only show a sharp absorption edge at about 250 nm, indicating a high transparency for ultraviolet light. What’s more, the Ga2O3/(Ga1−xFex)2O3 multilayer epitaxial thin films also exhibits room temperature ferromagnetism deriving from the Fe doping Ga2O3. PMID:27121446

  3. Thin film growth of CaFe2As2 by molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hatano, T; Fujimoto, R; Nakamura, I; Mori, Y; Ikuta, H; Kawaguchi, T; Harada, S; Ujihara, T

    2016-01-01

    Film growth of CaFe 2 As 2 was realized by molecular beam epitaxy on six different substrates that have a wide variation in the lattice mismatch to the target compound. By carefully adjusting the Ca-to-Fe flux ratio, we obtained single-phase thin films for most of the substrates. Interestingly, an expansion of the CaFe 2 As 2 lattice to the out-of-plane direction was observed for all films, even when an opposite strain was expected. A detailed microstructure observation of the thin film grown on MgO by transmission electron microscope revealed that it consists of cube-on-cube and 45°-rotated domains. The latter domains were compressively strained in plane, which caused a stretching along the c-axis direction. Because the domains were well connected across the boundary with no appreciable discontinuity, we think that the out-of-plane expansion in the 45°-rotated domains exerted a tensile stress on the other domains, resulting in the unexpectedly large c-axis lattice parameter, despite the apparently opposite lattice mismatch. (paper)

  4. Thin film growth of CaFe2As2 by molecular beam epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatano, T.; Kawaguchi, T.; Fujimoto, R.; Nakamura, I.; Mori, Y.; Harada, S.; Ujihara, T.; Ikuta, H.

    2016-01-01

    Film growth of CaFe2As2 was realized by molecular beam epitaxy on six different substrates that have a wide variation in the lattice mismatch to the target compound. By carefully adjusting the Ca-to-Fe flux ratio, we obtained single-phase thin films for most of the substrates. Interestingly, an expansion of the CaFe2As2 lattice to the out-of-plane direction was observed for all films, even when an opposite strain was expected. A detailed microstructure observation of the thin film grown on MgO by transmission electron microscope revealed that it consists of cube-on-cube and 45°-rotated domains. The latter domains were compressively strained in plane, which caused a stretching along the c-axis direction. Because the domains were well connected across the boundary with no appreciable discontinuity, we think that the out-of-plane expansion in the 45°-rotated domains exerted a tensile stress on the other domains, resulting in the unexpectedly large c-axis lattice parameter, despite the apparently opposite lattice mismatch.

  5. NiFe epitaxial films with hcp and fcc structures prepared on bcc-Cr underlayers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Higuchi, Jumpei, E-mail: higuchi@futamoto.elect.chuo-u.ac.jp [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan); Ohtake, Mitsuru; Sato, Yoichi [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan); Kirino, Fumiyoshi [Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, 12-8 Ueno-koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-8714 (Japan); Futamoto, Masaaki [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan)

    2011-09-30

    NiFe epitaxial films are prepared on Cr(211){sub bcc} and Cr(100){sub bcc} underlayers grown hetero-epitaxially on MgO single-crystal substrates by ultra-high vacuum rf magnetron sputtering. The film growth behavior and the crystallographic properties are studied by reflection high energy electron diffraction and pole figure X-ray diffraction. Metastable hcp-NiFe(11-bar 00) and hcp-NiFe(112-bar 0) crystals respectively nucleate on Cr(211){sub bcc} and Cr(100){sub bcc} underlayers, where the hcp-NiFe crystals are stabilized through hetero-epitaxial growth. The hcp-NiFe(11-bar 00) crystal is a single-crystal with the c-axis parallel to the substrate surface, whereas the hcp-NiFe(112-bar 0) crystal is a bi-crystal with the respective c-axes lying in plane and perpendicular each other. With increasing the film thickness, the hcp structure in the NiFe films starts to transform into more stable fcc structure by atomic displacement parallel to the hcp(0001) close packed plane. The resulting films consist of hcp and fcc crystals.

  6. NiFe epitaxial films with hcp and fcc structures prepared on bcc-Cr underlayers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Higuchi, Jumpei; Ohtake, Mitsuru; Sato, Yoichi; Kirino, Fumiyoshi; Futamoto, Masaaki

    2011-01-01

    NiFe epitaxial films are prepared on Cr(211) bcc and Cr(100) bcc underlayers grown hetero-epitaxially on MgO single-crystal substrates by ultra-high vacuum rf magnetron sputtering. The film growth behavior and the crystallographic properties are studied by reflection high energy electron diffraction and pole figure X-ray diffraction. Metastable hcp-NiFe(11-bar 00) and hcp-NiFe(112-bar 0) crystals respectively nucleate on Cr(211) bcc and Cr(100) bcc underlayers, where the hcp-NiFe crystals are stabilized through hetero-epitaxial growth. The hcp-NiFe(11-bar 00) crystal is a single-crystal with the c-axis parallel to the substrate surface, whereas the hcp-NiFe(112-bar 0) crystal is a bi-crystal with the respective c-axes lying in plane and perpendicular each other. With increasing the film thickness, the hcp structure in the NiFe films starts to transform into more stable fcc structure by atomic displacement parallel to the hcp(0001) close packed plane. The resulting films consist of hcp and fcc crystals.

  7. Abstracts of 4. International Workshop on Molecular Beam Epitaxy and Vapour Phase Epitaxy Growth Physics and Technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    4. International Workshop on Molecular Beam Epitaxy and Vapour Phase Epitaxy Growth Physics and Technology is the periodically held forum for discussion the problems connected with manufacturing of different nanostructures (thin films, quantum wells, quantum dots) needed in microelectronics. Preparation of such materials with desirable optical, electrical and magnetic properties being determined by their chemical composition and crystal structure has been discussed in detail during the workshop sessions. Optimization of crystal growth methods such as VPE and MBE from the view point of obtained material properties has also been extensively discussed

  8. Optical and electro-optic anisotropy of epitaxial PZT thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Minmin; Du, Zehui; Jing, Lin; Yoong Tok, Alfred Iing; Tong Teo, Edwin Hang

    2015-07-01

    Strong optical and electro-optic (EO) anisotropy has been investigated in ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.48Ti0.52)O3 thin films epitaxially grown on Nb-SrTiO3 (001), (011), and (111) substrates using magnetron sputtering. The refractive index, electro-optic, and ferroelectric properties of the samples demonstrate the significant dependence on the growth orientation. The linear electro-optic coefficients of the (001), (011), and (111)-oriented PZT thin films were 270.8, 198.8, and 125.7 pm/V, respectively. Such remarkable anisotropic EO behaviors have been explained according to the structure correlation between the orientation dependent distribution, spontaneous polarization, epitaxial strain, and domain pattern.

  9. Growth of epitaxial (Sr, Ba){sub n+1}Ru{sub n}O{sub 3n}P+{sub 1}films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schlom, D.G.; Knapp, S.B.; Wozniak, S. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Penn State University, University Park, PA (United States); Zou, L.N.; Park, J.; Liu, Y. [Department of Physics, Penn State University, University Park, PA (United States); Hawley, M.E.; Brown, G.W. [Center for Materials Science, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Dabkowski, A.; Dabkowska, H.A. [Institute of Materials Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada); Uecker, R.; Reiche, P. [Institute of Crystal Growth, Berlin (Germany)

    1997-12-01

    We have grown epitaxial (Sr,Ba){sub n+1}Ru{sub n}O{sub 3n+1} films, n = 1, 2 and {infinity}, by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and controlled their orientation by choosing appropriate substrates. The growth conditions yielding phase-pure films have been mapped out. Resistivity versus temperature measurements show that both a-axis and c-axis films of Sr{sub 2}RuO{sub 4} are metallic, but not superconducting. The latter is probably due to the presence of low-level impurities that are difficult to avoid given the target preparation process involved in growing these films by PLD. (author)

  10. Growth of layered superconductor β-PdBi{sub 2} films using molecular beam epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Denisov, N.V., E-mail: denisov@iacp.dvo.ru [Institute of Automation and Control Processes FEB RAS, 5 Radio Street, 690041 Vladivostok (Russian Federation); Matetskiy, A.V.; Tupkalo, A.V. [Institute of Automation and Control Processes FEB RAS, 5 Radio Street, 690041 Vladivostok (Russian Federation); Zotov, A.V. [Institute of Automation and Control Processes FEB RAS, 5 Radio Street, 690041 Vladivostok (Russian Federation); School of Natural Sciences, Far Eastern Federal University, 690950 Vladivostok (Russian Federation); Department of Electronics, Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service, 690600 Vladivostok (Russian Federation); Saranin, A.A. [Institute of Automation and Control Processes FEB RAS, 5 Radio Street, 690041 Vladivostok (Russian Federation); School of Natural Sciences, Far Eastern Federal University, 690950 Vladivostok (Russian Federation)

    2017-04-15

    Highlights: • Bulk β-PdBi{sub 2} is layered material with advanced properties of topological superconductor. • We present a method for growing β-PdBi{sub 2} films of a desired thickness. • Method utilizes MBE growth of β-PdBi{sub 2}, using Bi(111) film on Si(111) as a template. • Electronic and superconducting properties of the films are similar to those of bulk β-PdBi{sub 2}. - Abstract: Bulk β-PdBi{sub 2} layered material exhibits advanced properties and is supposed to be probable topological superconductor. We present a method based on molecular beam epitaxy that allows us to grow β-PdBi{sub 2} films from a single β-PdBi{sub 2} triple layer up to the dozens of triple layers, using Bi(111) film on Si(111) as a template. The grown films demonstrate structural, electronic and superconducting properties similar to those of bulk β-PdBi{sub 2} crystals. Ability to grow the β-PdBi{sub 2} films of desired thickness opens the promising possibilities to explore fascinating properties of this advanced material.

  11. Solid phase epitaxial growth of high mobility La:BaSnO_3 thin films co-doped with interstitial hydrogen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niedermeier, Christian A.; Rhode, Sneha; Fearn, Sarah; Moram, Michelle A.; Ide, Keisuke; Hiramatsu, Hidenori; Hosono, Hideo; Kamiya, Toshio

    2016-01-01

    This work presents the solid phase epitaxial growth of high mobility La:BaSnO_3 thin films on SrTiO_3 single crystal substrates by crystallization through thermal annealing of nanocrystalline thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature. The La:BaSnO_3 thin films show high epitaxial quality and Hall mobilities up to 26 ± 1 cm"2/Vs. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy is used to determine the La concentration profile in the La:BaSnO_3 thin films, and a 9%–16% La doping activation efficiency is obtained. An investigation of H doping to BaSnO_3 thin films is presented employing H plasma treatment at room temperature. Carrier concentrations in previously insulating BaSnO_3 thin films were increased to 3 × 10"1"9" cm"−"3 and in La:BaSnO_3 thin films from 6 × 10"1"9" cm"−"3 to 1.5 × 10"2"0" cm"−"3, supporting a theoretical prediction that interstitial H serves as an excellent n-type dopant. An analysis of the free electron absorption by infrared spectroscopy yields a small (H,La):BaSnO_3 electron effective mass of 0.27 ± 0.05 m_0 and an optical mobility of 26 ± 7 cm"2/Vs. As compared to La:BaSnO_3 single crystals, the smaller electron mobility in epitaxial thin films grown on SrTiO_3 substrates is ascribed to threading dislocations as observed in high resolution transmission electron micrographs.

  12. Magnetic properties of novel epitaxial films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bader, S.D.; Moog, E.R.

    1986-09-01

    The surface magneto-optic Kerr effect (SMOKE) is used to explore the magnetism of ultra-thin Fe Films extending into the monolayer regime. Both bcc α-Fe and fcc γ-Fe single-crystalline, multilayer films are prepared on the bulk-terminated (1 x 1) structures of Au(100) and Cu(100), respectively. The characterizations of epitaxy and growth mode are performed using low energy electron diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy. Monolayer-range Fe/Au(100) is ferromagnetic with a lower Curie temperature than bulk α-Fe. The controversial γ-Fe/Cu(100) system exhibits a striking, metastable, surface magnetic phase at temperatures above room temperature, but does not exhibit bulk ferromagnetism

  13. Epitaxial growth of silicon and germanium on (100-oriented crystalline substrates by RF PECVD at 175 °C

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mauguin O.

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available We report on the epitaxial growth of crystalline Si and Ge thin films by standard radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition at 175 °C on (100-oriented silicon substrates. We also demonstrate the epitaxial growth of silicon films on epitaxially grown germanium layers so that multilayer samples sustaining epitaxy could be produced. We used spectroscopic ellipsometry, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction to characterize the structure of the films (amorphous, crystalline. These techniques were found to provide consistent results and provided information on the crystallinity and constraints in such lattice-mismatched structures. These results open the way to multiple quantum-well structures, which have been so far limited to few techniques such as Molecular Beam Epitaxy or MetalOrganic Chemical Vapor Deposition.

  14. Nanosheet controlled epitaxial growth of PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 thin films on glass substrates

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bayraktar, Muharrem; Chopra, A.; Bijkerk, Frederik; Rijnders, Augustinus J.H.M.

    2014-01-01

    Integration of PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT) films on glass substrates is of high importance for device applications. However, to make use of the superior ferro- and piezoelectric properties of PZT, well-oriented crystalline or epitaxial growth with control of the crystal orientation is a prerequisite. In

  15. Epitaxial growth of YBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 minus. delta. thin films on LiNbO sub 3 substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, S.G.; Koren, G.; Gupta, A.; Segmuller, A.; Chi, C.C. (IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, P.O. Box 218, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598 (US))

    1989-09-18

    {ital In} {ital situ} epitaxial growth of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7{minus}{delta}} thin films on {ital Y}-cut LiNbO{sub 3} substrates using a standard laser ablation technique is reported. Resistance of the films shows a normal metallic behavior and a very sharp ({lt}1 K) superconducting transition with {ital T}{sub {ital c}}({ital R}=0) of 92 K. High critical current density of {ital J}{sub {ital c}}(77 K)=2{times}10{sup 5} A/cm{sup 2} is observed, which is in accordance with epitaxial growth. Film orientation observed from x-ray diffraction spectra indicates that the {ital c} axis is normal to the substrate plane and the {ital a} axis is at 45{degree} to the (11.0) direction of the hexagonal lattice of the substrate with two domains in mirror image to the (110) plane.

  16. Epitaxial growth of AlN on single crystal Mo substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okamoto, Koichiro; Inoue, Shigeru; Nakano, Takayuki; Kim, Tae-Won; Oshima, Masaharu; Fujioka, Hiroshi

    2008-01-01

    We have grown AlN films on single-crystalline Mo(110), (100), and (111) substrates using a low temperature pulsed laser deposition (PLD) growth technique and investigated their structural properties. Although c-axis oriented AlN films grow on Mo(100), the films contain 30 o rotated domains due to the difference in the rotational symmetry between AlN(0001) and Mo(100). AlN films with only poor crystalline quality grow on Mo(111) substrates, probably due to the poor surface morphology and high reactivity of the substrates. On the other hand, single crystal AlN films grow epitaxially on Mo(110) substrates with an in-plane relationship of AlN[11-20] // Mo[001]. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction or electron backscattered diffraction analysis has revealed that neither in-plane 30 deg. rotated domains nor cubic phase domains exist in the AlN films. X-ray reflectivity measurements have revealed that the heterointerface between AlN and Mo prepared by PLD at 450 deg. C is quite abrupt. These results indicate that PLD epitaxial growth of AlN on single crystal Mo substrates is quite promising for the fabrication of future high frequency filter devices

  17. Epitaxial growth of AlN on single crystal Mo substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Okamoto, Koichiro; Inoue, Shigeru [Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8505 (Japan); Nakano, Takayuki; Kim, Tae-Won [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) KSP east 301, 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, 213-0012 (Japan); Oshima, Masaharu [Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656 (Japan); Fujioka, Hiroshi [Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8505 (Japan); Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) KSP east 301, 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, 213-0012 (Japan)], E-mail: hfujioka@iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp

    2008-06-02

    We have grown AlN films on single-crystalline Mo(110), (100), and (111) substrates using a low temperature pulsed laser deposition (PLD) growth technique and investigated their structural properties. Although c-axis oriented AlN films grow on Mo(100), the films contain 30{sup o} rotated domains due to the difference in the rotational symmetry between AlN(0001) and Mo(100). AlN films with only poor crystalline quality grow on Mo(111) substrates, probably due to the poor surface morphology and high reactivity of the substrates. On the other hand, single crystal AlN films grow epitaxially on Mo(110) substrates with an in-plane relationship of AlN[11-20] // Mo[001]. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction or electron backscattered diffraction analysis has revealed that neither in-plane 30 deg. rotated domains nor cubic phase domains exist in the AlN films. X-ray reflectivity measurements have revealed that the heterointerface between AlN and Mo prepared by PLD at 450 deg. C is quite abrupt. These results indicate that PLD epitaxial growth of AlN on single crystal Mo substrates is quite promising for the fabrication of future high frequency filter devices.

  18. Epitaxial growth and control of the sodium content in Na{sub x}CoO{sub 2} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hildebrandt, Sandra; Komissinskiy, Philipp [Institute for Materials Science, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany); Major, Marton [Institute for Materials Science, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany); WIGNER RCP, RMKI, H-1525 Budapest, P.O.B. 49 (Hungary); Donner, Wolfgang [Institute for Materials Science, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany); Alff, Lambert, E-mail: alff@oxide.tu-darmstadt.de [Institute for Materials Science, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany)

    2013-10-31

    Single-phase c-axis oriented Na{sub x}CoO{sub 2} thin films were grown on (001) SrTiO{sub 3} single-crystal substrates, using pulsed laser deposition. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates the epitaxial growth of Na{sub x}CoO{sub 2} thin films in two domains, rotated in-plane by 15 and 45 degrees relative to [100] SrTiO{sub 3}. The sodium stoichiometry x of the films can be controlled in a range of 0.38 < x < 0.84 by in-situ post-deposition annealing the Na{sub x}CoO{sub 2} films at 720 – 760 °C in oxygen for 10 – 30 min. γ - Na{sub x}CoO{sub 2} films are obtained with a full width at half maximum of the (002) Na{sub x}CoO{sub 2} rocking curve below 0.2 degrees. The post-deposition annealing can substitute commonly used chemical deintercalation of Na which is typically associated with a loss in crystallinity. - Highlights: • Single phase Na{sub x}CoO{sub 2} thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition • Epitaxial relations of Na{sub x}CoO{sub 2} thin films on (001) SrTiO{sub 3} substrates • Multi-domain thin films • Control of sodium content by in-situ annealing of Na{sub x}CoO{sub 2} thin films.

  19. A new approach to epitaxially grow high-quality GaN films on Si substrates: the combination of MBE and PLD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wenliang; Wang, Haiyan; Yang, Weijia; Zhu, Yunnong; Li, Guoqiang

    2016-04-22

    High-quality GaN epitaxial films have been grown on Si substrates with Al buffer layer by the combination of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technologies. MBE is used to grow Al buffer layer at first, and then PLD is deployed to grow GaN epitaxial films on the Al buffer layer. The surface morphology, crystalline quality, and interfacial property of as-grown GaN epitaxial films on Si substrates are studied systematically. The as-grown ~300 nm-thick GaN epitaxial films grown at 850 °C with ~30 nm-thick Al buffer layer on Si substrates show high crystalline quality with the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) for GaN(0002) and GaN(102) X-ray rocking curves of 0.45° and 0.61°, respectively; very flat GaN surface with the root-mean-square surface roughness of 2.5 nm; as well as the sharp and abrupt GaN/AlGaN/Al/Si hetero-interfaces. Furthermore, the corresponding growth mechanism of GaN epitaxial films grown on Si substrates with Al buffer layer by the combination of MBE and PLD is hence studied in depth. This work provides a novel and simple approach for the epitaxial growth of high-quality GaN epitaxial films on Si substrates.

  20. van der Waals epitaxy of SnS film on single crystal graphene buffer layer on amorphous SiO2/Si

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiang, Yu; Yang, Yunbo; Guo, Fawen; Sun, Xin; Lu, Zonghuan; Mohanty, Dibyajyoti; Bhat, Ishwara; Washington, Morris; Lu, Toh-Ming; Wang, Gwo-Ching

    2018-03-01

    Conventional hetero-epitaxial films are typically grown on lattice and symmetry matched single crystal substrates. We demonstrated the epitaxial growth of orthorhombic SnS film (∼500 nm thick) on single crystal, monolayer graphene that was transferred on the amorphous SiO2/Si substrate. Using X-ray pole figure analysis we examined the structure, quality and epitaxy relationship of the SnS film grown on the single crystal graphene and compared it with the SnS film grown on commercial polycrystalline graphene. We showed that the SnS films grown on both single crystal and polycrystalline graphene have two sets of orientation domains. However, the crystallinity and grain size of the SnS film improve when grown on the single crystal graphene. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction measurements show that the near surface texture has more phases as compared with that of the entire film. The surface texture of a film will influence the growth and quality of film grown on top of it as well as the interface formed. Our result offers an alternative approach to grow a hetero-epitaxial film on an amorphous substrate through a single crystal graphene buffer layer. This strategy of growing high quality epitaxial thin film has potential applications in optoelectronics.

  1. Effects of AlN nucleation layers on the growth of AlN films using high temperature hydride vapor phase epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balaji, M.; Claudel, A.; Fellmann, V.; Gélard, I.; Blanquet, E.; Boichot, R.; Pierret, A.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Growth of AlN Nucleation layers and its effect on high temperature AlN films quality were investigated. ► AlN nucleation layers stabilizes the epitaxial growth of AlN and improves the surface morphology of AlN films. ► Increasing growth temperature of AlN NLs as well as AlN films improves the structural quality and limits the formation of cracks. - Abstract: AlN layers were grown on c-plane sapphire substrates with AlN nucleation layers (NLs) using high temperature hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HT-HVPE). Insertion of low temperature NLs, as those typically used in MOVPE process, prior to the high temperature AlN (HT-AlN) layers has been investigated. The NLs surface morphology was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and NLs thickness was measured by X-ray reflectivity. Increasing nucleation layer deposition temperature from 650 to 850 °C has been found to promote the growth of c-oriented epitaxial HT-AlN layers instead of polycrystalline layers. The growth of polycrystalline layers has been related to the formation of dis-oriented crystallites. The density of such disoriented crystallites has been found to decrease while increasing NLs deposition temperature. The HT-AlN layers have been characterized by X-ray diffraction θ − 2θ scan and (0 0 0 2) rocking curve measurement, Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopies, AFM and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Increasing the growth temperature of HT-AlN layers from 1200 to 1400 °C using a NL grown at 850 °C improves the structural quality as well as the surface morphology. As a matter of fact, full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 0 0 0 2 reflections was improved from 1900 to 864 arcsec for 1200 °C and 1400 °C, respectively. Related RMS roughness also found to decrease from 10 to 5.6 nm.

  2. Effect of epitaxial strain and lattice mismatch on magnetic and transport behaviors in metamagnetic FeRh thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Yali; Zhan, Qingfeng; Shang, Tian; Yang, Huali; Wang, Baomin; Tang, Jin; Li, Run-Wei

    2017-05-01

    We grew 80 nm FeRh films on different single crystals with various lattice constants. FeRh films on SrTiO3 (STO) and MgO substrates exhibit an epitaxial growth of 45° in-plane structure rotation. In contrast, FeRh on LaAlO3 (LAO) displays a mixed epitaxial growth of both 45° in-plane structure rotation and cube-on-cube relationships. Due to the different epitaxial growth strains and lattice mismatch values, the critical temperature for the magnetic phase transition of FeRh can be changed between 405 and 360 K. In addition, the external magnetic field can shift this critical temperature to low temperature in different rates for FeRh films grown on different substrates. The magnetoresistance appears a maximum value at different temperatures between 320 and 380 K for FeRh films grown on different substrates.

  3. Effect of epitaxial strain and lattice mismatch on magnetic and transport behaviors in metamagnetic FeRh thin films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yali Xie

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available We grew 80 nm FeRh films on different single crystals with various lattice constants. FeRh films on SrTiO3 (STO and MgO substrates exhibit an epitaxial growth of 45° in-plane structure rotation. In contrast, FeRh on LaAlO3 (LAO displays a mixed epitaxial growth of both 45° in-plane structure rotation and cube-on-cube relationships. Due to the different epitaxial growth strains and lattice mismatch values, the critical temperature for the magnetic phase transition of FeRh can be changed between 405 and 360 K. In addition, the external magnetic field can shift this critical temperature to low temperature in different rates for FeRh films grown on different substrates. The magnetoresistance appears a maximum value at different temperatures between 320 and 380 K for FeRh films grown on different substrates.

  4. Probing the bulk ionic conductivity by thin film hetero-epitaxial engineering

    KAUST Repository

    Pergolesi, Daniele

    2015-02-01

    Highly textured thin films with small grain boundary regions can be used as model systems to directly measure the bulk conductivity of oxygen ion conducting oxides. Ionic conducting thin films and epitaxial heterostructures are also widely used to probe the effect of strain on the oxygen ion migration in oxide materials. For the purpose of these investigations a good lattice matching between the film and the substrate is required to promote the ordered film growth. Moreover, the substrate should be a good electrical insulator at high temperature to allow a reliable electrical characterization of the deposited film. Here we report the fabrication of an epitaxial heterostructure made with a double buffer layer of BaZrO3 and SrTiO3 grown on MgO substrates that fulfills both requirements. Based on such template platform, highly ordered (001) epitaxially oriented thin films of 15% Sm-doped CeO2 and 8 mol% Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 are grown. Bulk conductivities as well as activation energies are measured for both materials, confirming the success of the approach. The reported insulating template platform promises potential application also for the electrical characterization of other novel electrolyte materials that still need a thorough understanding of their ionic conductivity.

  5. Homo-epitaxial diamond film growth on ion implanted diamond substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weiser, P S; Prawer, S; Nugent, K W; Bettiol, A A; Kostidis, L I; Jamieson, D N [Melbourne Univ., Parkville, VIC (Australia). School of Physics

    1997-12-31

    The nucleation of CVD diamond is a complicated process, governed by many interrelated parameters. In the present work we attempt to elucidate the effect of strain on the growth of a homo-epitaxial CVD diamond. We have employed laterally confined high dose (MeV) Helium ion implantation to produce surface swelling of the substrate. The strain is enhanced by the lateral confinement of the implanted region to squares of 100 x 100 {mu}m{sup 2}. After ion implantation, micro-Raman spectroscopy was employed to map the surface strain. The substrates were then inserted into a CVD reactor and a CVD diamond film was grown upon them. Since the strained regions were laterally confined, it was then possible to monitor the effect of strain on diamond nucleation. The substrates were also analysed using Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS), Proton induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) and Ion Beam induced Luminescence (IBIL). 7 refs., 5 figs.

  6. Homo-epitaxial diamond film growth on ion implanted diamond substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weiser, P.S.; Prawer, S.; Nugent, K.W.; Bettiol, A.A.; Kostidis, L.I.; Jamieson, D.N. [Melbourne Univ., Parkville, VIC (Australia). School of Physics

    1996-12-31

    The nucleation of CVD diamond is a complicated process, governed by many interrelated parameters. In the present work we attempt to elucidate the effect of strain on the growth of a homo-epitaxial CVD diamond. We have employed laterally confined high dose (MeV) Helium ion implantation to produce surface swelling of the substrate. The strain is enhanced by the lateral confinement of the implanted region to squares of 100 x 100 {mu}m{sup 2}. After ion implantation, micro-Raman spectroscopy was employed to map the surface strain. The substrates were then inserted into a CVD reactor and a CVD diamond film was grown upon them. Since the strained regions were laterally confined, it was then possible to monitor the effect of strain on diamond nucleation. The substrates were also analysed using Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS), Proton induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) and Ion Beam induced Luminescence (IBIL). 7 refs., 5 figs.

  7. Homo-epitaxial diamond film growth on ion implanted diamond substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weiser, P.S.; Prawer, S.; Nugent, K.W.; Bettiol, A.A.; Kostidis, L.I.; Jamieson, D.N.

    1996-01-01

    The nucleation of CVD diamond is a complicated process, governed by many interrelated parameters. In the present work we attempt to elucidate the effect of strain on the growth of a homo-epitaxial CVD diamond. We have employed laterally confined high dose (MeV) Helium ion implantation to produce surface swelling of the substrate. The strain is enhanced by the lateral confinement of the implanted region to squares of 100 x 100 μm 2 . After ion implantation, micro-Raman spectroscopy was employed to map the surface strain. The substrates were then inserted into a CVD reactor and a CVD diamond film was grown upon them. Since the strained regions were laterally confined, it was then possible to monitor the effect of strain on diamond nucleation. The substrates were also analysed using Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS), Proton induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) and Ion Beam induced Luminescence (IBIL). 7 refs., 5 figs

  8. Epitaxial growth of semiconducting β-FeSi2 and its application to light-emitting diodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suemasu, T.; Takakura, K.; Li, Cheng; Ozawa, Y.; Kumagai, Y.; Hasegawa, F.

    2004-01-01

    In this paper, we review the detailed study of epitaxial growth of β-FeSi 2 films by reactive deposition epitaxy (RDE), multilayer technique and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The p- and n-type β-FeSi 2 was formed when it was grown under an Fe-rich and an Si-rich condition, respectively. The maximum electron and hole mobilities of the β-FeSi 2 epitaxial films reached 6900 and 13000 cm 2 /V·s for the n- and p-type β-FeSi 2 , respectively, at around 50 K. Room temperature (RT) 1.6 μm electroluminescence (EL) was realized by optimizing the growth conditions for p-Si/β-FeSi 2 particles/n-Si structures prepared by RDE for β-FeSi 2 and by MBE for Si

  9. Growth of Pb(Ti,Zr)O 3 thin films by metal-organic molecular beam epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avrutin, V.; Liu, H. Y.; Izyumskaya, N.; Xiao, B.; Özgür, Ü.; Morkoç, H.

    2009-02-01

    Single-crystal Pb(Zr xTi 1-x)O 3 thin films have been grown on (0 0 1) SrTiO 3 and SrTiO 3:Nb substrates by molecular beam epitaxy using metal-organic source of Zr and two different sources of reactive oxygen—RF plasma and hydrogen-peroxide sources. The same growth modes and comparable structural properties were observed for the films grown with both oxygen sources, while the plasma source allowed higher growth rates. The films with x up to 0.4 were single phase, while attempts to increase x beyond gave rise to the ZrO 2 second phase. The effects of growth conditions on growth modes, Zr incorporation, and phase composition of the Pb(Zr xTi 1-x)O 3 films are discussed. Electrical and ferroelectric properties of the Pb(Zr xTi 1-x)O 3 films of ~100 nm in thickness grown on SrTiO 3:Nb were studied using current-voltage, capacitance-voltage, and polarization-field measurements. The single-phase films show low leakage currents and large breakdown fields, while the values of remanent polarization are low (around 5 μC/cm 2). It was found that, at high sweep fields, the contribution of the leakage current to the apparent values of remanent polarization can be large, even for the films with large electrical resistivity (˜10 8-10 9 Ω cm at an electric filed of 1 MV/cm). The measured dielectric constant ranges from 410 to 260 for Pb(Zr 0.33Ti 0.67)O 3 and from 313 to 213 for Pb(Zr 0.2Ti 0.8)O 3 in the frequency range from 100 to 1 MHz.

  10. Growth of BaSi2 continuous films on Ge(111) by molecular beam epitaxy and fabrication of p-BaSi2/n-Ge heterojunction solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takabe, Ryota; Yachi, Suguru; Tsukahara, Daichi; Toko, Kaoru; Suemasu, Takashi

    2017-05-01

    We grew BaSi2 films on Ge(111) substrates by various growth methods based on molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). First, we attempted to form BaSi2 films directly on Ge(111) by MBE without templates. We next formed BaSi2 films using BaGe2 templates as commonly used for MBE growth of BaSi2 on Si substrates. Contrary to our prediction, the lateral growth of BaSi2 was not promoted by these two methods; BaSi2 formed not into a continuous film but into islands. Although streaky patterns of reflection high-energy electron diffraction were observed inside the growth chamber, no X-ray diffraction lines of BaSi2 were observed in samples taken out from the growth chamber. Such BaSi2 islands were easily to get oxidized. We finally attempted to form a continuous BaSi2 template layer on Ge(111) by solid phase epitaxy, that is, the deposition of amorphous Ba-Si layers onto MBE-grown BaSi2 epitaxial islands, followed by post annealing. We achieved the formation of an approximately 5-nm-thick BaSi2 continuous layer by this method. Using this BaSi2 layer as a template, we succeeded in forming a-axis-oriented 520-nm-thick BaSi2 epitaxial films on Ge substrates, although (111)-oriented Si grains were included in the grown layer. We next formed a B-doped p-BaSi2(20 nm)/n-Ge(111) heterojunction solar cell. A wide-spectrum response from 400 to 2000 nm was achieved. At an external bias voltage of 1 V, the external quantum efficiency reached as high as 60%, demonstrating the great potential of BaSi2/Ge combination. However, the efficiency of a solar cell under AM1.5 illumination was quite low (0.1%). The origin of such a low efficiency was examined.

  11. Ge films grown on Si substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy below 450 deg. C

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, J.; Kim, H.J.; Hul'ko, O.; Xie, Y.H.; Sahni, S.; Bandaru, P.; Yablonovitch, E.

    2004-01-01

    Ge thin films are grown on Si(001) substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy at 370 deg. C. The low-temperature epitaxial growth is compatible with the back-end thermal budget of current generation complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology, which is restricted to less than 450 deg. C. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction shows that single-crystal Ge thin films with smooth surfaces could be achieved below 450 deg. C. Double-axis x-ray θ/2θ scans also show that the epitaxial Ge films are almost fully strain-relaxed. As expected, cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy shows a network of dislocations at the interface. Hydrogen and oxide desorption techniques are proved to be necessary for improving the quality of the Ge films, which is reflected in improved minority carrier diffusion lengths and exceptionally low leakage currents

  12. Strain induced room temperature ferromagnetism in epitaxial magnesium oxide thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jin, Zhenghe; Kim, Ki Wook [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States); Nori, Sudhakar; Lee, Yi-Fang; Narayan, Jagdish [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States); Kumar, D. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, North Carolina A & T State University, Greensboro, North Carolina 27411 (United States); Wu, Fan [Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM), Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 (United States); Prater, J. T. [Materials Science Division, Army Research Office, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709 (United States)

    2015-10-28

    We report on the epitaxial growth and room-temperature ferromagnetic properties of MgO thin films deposited on hexagonal c-sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The epitaxial nature of the films has been confirmed by both θ-2θ and φ-scans of X-ray diffraction pattern. Even though bulk MgO is a nonmagnetic insulator, we have found that the MgO films exhibit ferromagnetism and hysteresis loops yielding a maximum saturation magnetization up to 17 emu/cc and large coercivity, H{sub c} = 1200 Oe. We have also found that the saturation magnetization gets enhanced and that the crystallization degraded with decreased growth temperature, suggesting that the origin of our magnetic coupling could be point defects manifested by the strain in the films. X-ray (θ-2θ) diffraction peak shift and strain analysis clearly support the presence of strain in films resulting from the presence of point defects. Based on careful investigations using secondary ion mass spectrometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies, we have ruled out the possibility of the presence of any external magnetic impurities. We discuss the critical role of microstructural characteristics and associated strain on the physical properties of the MgO films and establish a correlation between defects and magnetic properties.

  13. Epitaxial growth and characterization of CoO/Fe(001) thin film layered structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brambilla, A.; Sessi, P.; Cantoni, M.; Duo, L.; Finazzi, M.; Ciccacci, F.

    2008-01-01

    By means of X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction, we show that it is possible to grow good quality thin epitaxial CoO films on Fe(001) substrates, through deposition in oxygen atmosphere. In particular, the composition and the structure of CoO(001)/Fe(001) bilayer systems and Fe(001)/CoO(001)/Fe(001) trilayer systems have been investigated by monitoring the evolution of the chemical interactions at the interfaces as a function of CoO thickness and growth temperature. We observe the presence of Fe oxides at the CoO/Fe interface and of a thin layer of metallic cobalt at the upper Fe/CoO interface of trilayer systems

  14. Epitaxial growth of hybrid nanostructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Chaoliang; Chen, Junze; Wu, Xue-Jun; Zhang, Hua

    2018-02-01

    Hybrid nanostructures are a class of materials that are typically composed of two or more different components, in which each component has at least one dimension on the nanoscale. The rational design and controlled synthesis of hybrid nanostructures are of great importance in enabling the fine tuning of their properties and functions. Epitaxial growth is a promising approach to the controlled synthesis of hybrid nanostructures with desired structures, crystal phases, exposed facets and/or interfaces. This Review provides a critical summary of the state of the art in the field of epitaxial growth of hybrid nanostructures. We discuss the historical development, architectures and compositions, epitaxy methods, characterization techniques and advantages of epitaxial hybrid nanostructures. Finally, we provide insight into future research directions in this area, which include the epitaxial growth of hybrid nanostructures from a wider range of materials, the study of the underlying mechanism and determining the role of epitaxial growth in influencing the properties and application performance of hybrid nanostructures.

  15. Epitaxial properties of ZnO thin films on SrTiO3 substrates grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei, X. H.; Li, Y. R.; Zhu, J.; Huang, W.; Zhang, Y.; Luo, W. B.; Ji, H.

    2007-01-01

    Epitaxial ZnO thin films with different orientations have been grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy on (001)- (011)-, and (111)-orientated SrTiO 3 single-crystal substrates. The growth behavior was in situ monitored by reflection high-energy electron diffraction, and the epitaxial orientation relations were reconfirmed by ex situ x-ray diffraction measurements. In the case of ZnO on SrTiO 3 (001), four orthogonal domains coexisted in the ZnO epilayer, i.e., ZnO(110) parallel SrTiO 3 (001) and ZnO[-111] parallel SrTiO 3 . For (011)- and (111)-orientated substrates, single-domain epitaxy with c axial orientation was observed, in which the in-plane relationship was ZnO[110] parallel SrTiO 3 [110] irrespective of the substrate orientations. Additionally, the crystalline quality of ZnO on SrTiO 3 (111) was better than that of ZnO on SrTiO 3 (011) because of the same symmetry between the (111) substrates and (001) films. The obtained results can be attributed to the difference of the in-plane crystallographic symmetry. Furthermore, those alignments can be explained by the interface stress between the substrates and the films

  16. High quality atomically thin PtSe2 films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Mingzhe; Wang, Eryin; Zhou, Xue; Zhang, Guangqi; Zhang, Hongyun; Zhang, Kenan; Yao, Wei; Lu, Nianpeng; Yang, Shuzhen; Wu, Shilong; Yoshikawa, Tomoki; Miyamoto, Koji; Okuda, Taichi; Wu, Yang; Yu, Pu; Duan, Wenhui; Zhou, Shuyun

    2017-12-01

    Atomically thin PtSe2 films have attracted extensive research interests for potential applications in high-speed electronics, spintronics and photodetectors. Obtaining high quality thin films with large size and controlled thickness is critical. Here we report the first successful epitaxial growth of high quality PtSe2 films by molecular beam epitaxy. Atomically thin films from 1 ML to 22 ML have been grown and characterized by low-energy electron diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. Moreover, a systematic thickness dependent study of the electronic structure is revealed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and helical spin texture is revealed by spin-ARPES. Our work provides new opportunities for growing large size single crystalline films to investigate the physical properties and potential applications of PtSe2.

  17. Chemically stabilized epitaxial wurtzite-BN thin film

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vishal, Badri; Singh, Rajendra; Chaturvedi, Abhishek; Sharma, Ankit; Sreedhara, M. B.; Sahu, Rajib; Bhat, Usha; Ramamurty, Upadrasta; Datta, Ranjan

    2018-03-01

    We report on the chemically stabilized epitaxial w-BN thin film grown on c-plane sapphire by pulsed laser deposition under slow kinetic condition. Traces of no other allotropes such as cubic (c) or hexagonal (h) BN phases are present. Sapphire substrate plays a significant role in stabilizing the metastable w-BN from h-BN target under unusual PLD growth condition involving low temperature and pressure and is explained based on density functional theory calculation. The hardness and the elastic modulus of the w-BN film are 37 & 339 GPa, respectively measured by indentation along direction. The results are extremely promising in advancing the microelectronic and mechanical tooling industry.

  18. Epitaxial growth of "infinite layer” thin films and multilayers by rf magnetron sputtering

    OpenAIRE

    Fàbrega, L.; Koller, E.; Triscone, J. M.; Fischer, Ø.

    2017-01-01

    We report on the preparation and characterization of epitaxial ACuO2 (A = Sr, Ca, Ba) thin films and multilayers with the so- called infinite layer (IL) structure, by rf magnetron sputtering. Films and multilayers without Ba have a remarkable crystal quality, whereas those containing this large ion are often multiphased and unstable. In spite of the excellent crystalline quality of these samples, obtaining thin films having both IL structure and displaying superconducting properties has not s...

  19. Growth of Ferromagnetic Epitaxial Film of Hexagonal FeGe on (111) Ge Surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Dushyant; Joshi, P. C.; Hossain, Z.; Budhani, R. C.

    2014-03-01

    The realization of semiconductors showing ferromagnetic order at easily accessible temperatures has been of interest due to their potential use in spintronic devices where long spin life times are of key interest. We have realized the growth of FeGe thin films on Ge (111) wafers using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The stoichiometric and single phase FeGe target used in PLD chamber has been made by arc melting. A typical θ-2 θ diffraction spectra performed on 40 nm thick FeGe film suggests the stabilization of β-Ni2In (B82-type) hexagonal phase with an epitaxial orientation of (0001)FeGe ||(111)Ge and [11-20]FeGe ||[-110]Ge. SEM images shows a granular structure with the formation of very large grains of about 100 to 500 nm in lateral dimension. The magnetization vs. temperature data taken from SQUID reveal the TC of ~ 270K. Since, PLD technique makes it easier to stabilize the B82 (Ni2In) hexagonal phase in thin FeGe films, this work opens opportunities to reinvestigate many conflicting results on various properties of the FeGe system.

  20. Model experiments on growth modes and interface electronics of CuInS{sub 2}: Ultrathin epitaxial films on GaAs(100) substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Calvet, Wolfram [Institute for Heterogeneous Materials Systems, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109, Berlin (Germany); Lewerenz, Hans-Joachim [Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101 (United States); Pettenkofer, Christian [Institute Silicon Photovoltaics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Kekulestrasse 5, 12489, Berlin (Germany)

    2014-09-15

    The heterojunction formation between GaAs(100) and CuInS{sub 2} is investigated using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and low energy electron diffraction (LEED). Thin layers of CuInS{sub 2} films were deposited in a step-by-step process on wet chemically pre-treated GaAs(100) surfaces by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) with a total upper thickness limit of the films of 60 nm. The film growth starts from a sulfur-rich GaAs(100) surface. XPS core level analysis of the substrate and film reveals initially a transitory growth regime with the formation of a Ga containing chalcopyrite phase. With increasing film thickness, a change in stoichiometry from Cu-poor to Cu-rich composition is observed. The evaluation of the LEED data shows the occurrence of a recrystallization process where the film orientation follows that of the substrate with the epitaxial relation GaAs{100} parallel CuInS{sub 2}{001}. On the completed junction with a CuInS{sub 2} film thickness of 60 nm, the band discontinuities of the GaAs(100)/CuInS{sub 2} structure measured with XPS and UPS were determined as ΔE{sub V} = 0.1 ± 0.1 eV and ΔE{sub C} = 0.0 ± 0.1 eV, thus showing a type II band alignment. (copyright 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  1. Optical properties of aluminum nitride thin films grown by direct-current magnetron sputtering close to epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stolz, A. [Institut d' Electronique de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie (IEMN), UMR CNRS 8520, PRES Lille, Université Nord de France, Avenue Poincaré, 59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex (France); Soltani, A., E-mail: ali.soltani@iemn.univ-lille1.fr [Institut d' Electronique de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie (IEMN), UMR CNRS 8520, PRES Lille, Université Nord de France, Avenue Poincaré, 59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex (France); Abdallah, B. [Department of Materials Physics, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria, Damascus, P.O. Box 6091 (Syrian Arab Republic); Charrier, J. [Fonctions Optiques pour les Technologies de l' informatiON (FOTON), UMR CNRS 6082, 6, rue de Kerampont CS 80518, 22305 Lannion Cedex (France); Deresmes, D. [Institut d' Electronique de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie (IEMN), UMR CNRS 8520, PRES Lille, Université Nord de France, Avenue Poincaré, 59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex (France); Jouan, P.-Y.; Djouadi, M.A. [Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel – IMN, UMR CNRS 6502, 2, rue de la Houssinère BP 32229, 44322 Nantes (France); Dogheche, E.; De Jaeger, J.-C. [Institut d' Electronique de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie (IEMN), UMR CNRS 8520, PRES Lille, Université Nord de France, Avenue Poincaré, 59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex (France)

    2013-05-01

    Low-temperature Aluminum Nitride (AlN) thin films with a thickness of 3 μm were deposited by Direct-Current magnetron sputtering on sapphire substrate. They present optical properties similar to those of epitaxially grown films. Different characterization methods such as X-Ray Diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy were used to determine the structural properties of the films such as its roughness and crystallinity. Newton interferometer was used for stress measurement of the films. Non-destructive prism-coupling technique was used to determine refractive index and thickness homogeneity by a mapping on the whole sample area. Results show that AlN films grown on AlGaN layer have a high crystallinity close to epitaxial films, associated to a low intrinsic stress for low thickness. These results highlight that it is possible to grow thick sample with microstructure and optical properties close to epitaxy, even on a large surface. - Highlights: ► Aluminum Nitride sputtering technique with a low temperature growth process ► Epitaxial quality of two microns sputtered Aluminum Nitride film ► Optics as a non-destructive accurate tool for acoustic wave investigation.

  2. Epitaxial growth of a methoxy-functionalized quaterphenylene on alkali halide surfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Balzer, F., E-mail: fbalzer@mci.sdu.dk [University of Southern Denmark, Mads Clausen Institute, Alsion 2, DK-6400 Sønderborg (Denmark); Sun, R. [University of Southern Denmark, Mads Clausen Institute, Alsion 2, DK-6400 Sønderborg (Denmark); Parisi, J. [University of Oldenburg, Energy and Semiconductor Research Laboratory, Institute of Physics, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9-11, D-26111 Oldenburg (Germany); Rubahn, H.-G. [University of Southern Denmark, Mads Clausen Institute, Alsion 2, DK-6400 Sønderborg (Denmark); Lützen, A. [University of Bonn, Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Gerhard-Domagk-Str. 1, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Schiek, M. [University of Oldenburg, Energy and Semiconductor Research Laboratory, Institute of Physics, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9-11, D-26111 Oldenburg (Germany)

    2015-12-31

    The epitaxial growth of the methoxy functionalized para-quaterphenylene (MOP4) on the (001) faces of the alkali halides NaCl and KCl and on glass is investigated by a combination of low energy electron diffraction (LEED), polarized light microscopy (PLM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Both domains from upright molecules as well as fiber-like crystallites from lying molecules form. Neither a wetting layer from lying molecules nor widespread epitaxial fiber growth on the substrates is detected. Our results focus on the upright standing molecules, which condense into a thin film phase with an enlarged layer spacing compared to the bulk phase. - Highlights: • Growth of a methoxy-functionalized para-phenylene on dielectric surfaces is investigated. • Low-energy electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction techniques are employed for structural characterization. • Epitaxial growth of upright molecules only is documented. • Polarized optical microscopy together with atomic force microscopy complements the findings.

  3. Epitaxial growth of a methoxy-functionalized quaterphenylene on alkali halide surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balzer, F.; Sun, R.; Parisi, J.; Rubahn, H.-G.; Lützen, A.; Schiek, M.

    2015-01-01

    The epitaxial growth of the methoxy functionalized para-quaterphenylene (MOP4) on the (001) faces of the alkali halides NaCl and KCl and on glass is investigated by a combination of low energy electron diffraction (LEED), polarized light microscopy (PLM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Both domains from upright molecules as well as fiber-like crystallites from lying molecules form. Neither a wetting layer from lying molecules nor widespread epitaxial fiber growth on the substrates is detected. Our results focus on the upright standing molecules, which condense into a thin film phase with an enlarged layer spacing compared to the bulk phase. - Highlights: • Growth of a methoxy-functionalized para-phenylene on dielectric surfaces is investigated. • Low-energy electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction techniques are employed for structural characterization. • Epitaxial growth of upright molecules only is documented. • Polarized optical microscopy together with atomic force microscopy complements the findings.

  4. UV detectors based on epitaxial diamond films grown on single-crystal diamond substrates by vapor-phase synthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharonov, G.V.; Petrov, S.A.; Bol'shakov, A.P.; Ral'chenko, V.G.; Kazyuchits, N.M.

    2010-01-01

    The prospects for use of CVD-technology for epitaxial growth of single-crystal diamond films of instrumental quality in UHF plasma for the production of optoelectronic devices are discussed. A technology for processing diamond single crystals that provides a perfect surface crystal structure with roughness less than 0,5 nm was developed. It was demonstrated that selective UV detectors based on synthetic single-crystal diamond substrates coated with single-crystal films can be produced. A criterion for selecting clean and structurally perfect single crystals of synthetic diamond was developed for the epitaxial growth technology. (authors)

  5. Characterization of structural defects in SnSe2 thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (111)B substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tracy, Brian D.; Li, Xiang; Liu, Xinyu; Furdyna, Jacek; Dobrowolska, Margaret; Smith, David J.

    2016-11-01

    Tin selenide thin films have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (111)B substrates at a growth temperature of 150 °C, and a microstructural study has been carried out, primarily using the technique of transmission electron microscopy. The Se:Sn flux ratio during growth was systematically varied and found to have a strong impact on the resultant crystal structure and quality. Low flux ratios (Se:Sn=3:1) led to defective films consisting primarily of SnSe, whereas high flux ratios (Se:Sn>10:1) gave higher quality, single-phase SnSe2. The structure of the monoselenide films was found to be consistent with the Space Group Pnma with the epitaxial growth relationship of [011]SnSe// [ 1 1 bar 0 ] GaAs, while the diselenide films were consistent with the Space Group P 3 bar m1 , and had the epitaxial growth relationship [ 2 1 bar 1 bar 0 ]SnSe2// [ 1 1 bar 0 ] GaAs.

  6. Epitaxially Grown Films of Standing and Lying Pentacene Molecules on Cu(110) Surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Here, it is shown that pentacene thin films (30 nm) with distinctively different crystallographic structures and molecular orientations can be grown under essentially identical growth conditions in UHV on clean Cu(110) surfaces. By X-ray diffraction, we show that the epitaxially oriented pentacene films crystallize either in the “thin film” phase with standing molecules or in the “single crystal” structure with molecules lying with their long axes parallel to the substrate. The morphology of the samples observed by atomic force microscopy shows an epitaxial alignment of pentacene crystallites, which corroborates the molecular orientation observed by X-ray diffraction pole figures. Low energy electron diffraction measurements reveal that these dissimilar growth behaviors are induced by subtle differences in the monolayer structures formed by slightly different preparation procedures. PMID:21479111

  7. Low-temperature atomic layer epitaxy of AlN ultrathin films by layer-by-layer, in-situ atomic layer annealing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shih, Huan-Yu; Lee, Wei-Hao; Kao, Wei-Chung; Chuang, Yung-Chuan; Lin, Ray-Ming; Lin, Hsin-Chih; Shiojiri, Makoto; Chen, Miin-Jang

    2017-01-03

    Low-temperature epitaxial growth of AlN ultrathin films was realized by atomic layer deposition (ALD) together with the layer-by-layer, in-situ atomic layer annealing (ALA), instead of a high growth temperature which is needed in conventional epitaxial growth techniques. By applying the ALA with the Ar plasma treatment in each ALD cycle, the AlN thin film was converted dramatically from the amorphous phase to a single-crystalline epitaxial layer, at a low deposition temperature of 300 °C. The energy transferred from plasma not only provides the crystallization energy but also enhances the migration of adatoms and the removal of ligands, which significantly improve the crystallinity of the epitaxial layer. The X-ray diffraction reveals that the full width at half-maximum of the AlN (0002) rocking curve is only 144 arcsec in the AlN ultrathin epilayer with a thickness of only a few tens of nm. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy also indicates the high-quality single-crystal hexagonal phase of the AlN epitaxial layer on the sapphire substrate. The result opens a window for further extension of the ALD applications from amorphous thin films to the high-quality low-temperature atomic layer epitaxy, which can be exploited in a variety of fields and applications in the near future.

  8. Epitaxial growth of chalcopyrite CuInS2 films on GaAs (001) substrates by evaporation method with elemental sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nozomu, Tsuboi; Satoshi, Kobayash; Nozomu, Tsuboi; Takashi, Tamogami

    2010-01-01

    Full text : Ternary chalcopyrite semiconductor CuInS 2 is one of the potential candidates for absorber layers in high-efficiency thin film solar cells due to its direct bandgap Eg of 1.5 eV, which matches with solar spectrum. However, CuInS 2 solar cells face the problem of lower solar conversion efficiency compared with Cu(InGa)Se 2 solar cells. Investigation of fundamental properties of CuInS 2 films is necessary to understand key issues for solar cell performance. Although in bulk CuInS 2 is known to crystallize into chalcopyrite (CH) structure, in thin film other structures such as Cu-Au (CA) and sphalerite (SP) structures may coexist. It was reported epitaxial growth of slightly Cu-rich CuInS 2 films with c-axis orientated CA only and/or with a mixture of a- and c-axes orientated CH structures on GaP (001) at substrate temperature of 500 degrees using the conventional evaporation method with three elemental sources. Successful growth of epitaxial CH structured CuInS 2 were observed for films grown on GaP at 570 degrees with slightly Cu-rich composition. In this paper, CuInS 2 films with various [Cu]/[In] ratios are grown on GaAs(001) substrates, and the composition range in terms of the [Cu]/[In] ratio where epitaxial films with CH structure grow and the structural qualities of the films are discussed in comparison with those on GaP substrates. Films with various ratios of [Cu]/[In]=0.8 ≤1.9 are grown at 500 degrees and 570 degrees using the evaporation system described in our previous reports. Regardless of the substrate temperature, noticeable X-ray diffraction (XRD) peaks of CH structured CuInS 2 phase are observed in slightly Cu-rich films. However, reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) patterns of the slightly Cu-rich films grown at 570 degrees exhibit noticeable spots not only due to the CH structure but also due to the CA structure. The amount of the CA structure is considered to be small because of the absence of the XRD peaks of the CA

  9. Growth of Highly Epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7-δ Films from a Simple Propionate-Based Solution

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yue, Zhao; Torres, Pol; Tang, Xiao

    2015-01-01

    Intensive investigations have been conducted to develop epitaxial oxide thin films with superior electromagnetic performance by low-cost chemical solution deposition routes. In this paper, a novel propionate-based precursor solution without involving any other additive was proposed and employed...... to grow superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) films on LaAlO3 (LAO) single crystals. The precursor solutions are stable with a long shelf life of up to several months. Since the primary compositions are propionates after evaporating the solvent, the toxic reagents and evolved gases during solution synthesis...... and heat treatment can be eliminated completely. In this process, rapid pyrolysis and high conversation rate can also be achieved during growth of YBCO films in comparison with the conventional trifluoroacetate metal organic deposition routes. Remarkably, a 210 nm YBCO film exhibits high superconducting...

  10. Epitaxial patterning of thin-films: conventional lithographies and beyond

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Wei; Krishnan, Kannan M

    2014-01-01

    Thin-film based novel magnetic and electronic devices have entered a new era in which the film crystallography, structural coherence, and epitaxy play important roles in determining their functional properties. The capabilities of controlling such structural and functional properties are being continuously developed by various physical deposition technologies. Epitaxial patterning strategies further allow the miniaturization of such novel devices, which incorporates thin-film components into nanoscale architectures while keeping their functional properties unmodified from their ideal single-crystal values. In the past decade, epitaxial patterning methods on the laboratory scale have been reported to meet distinct scientific inquires, in which the techniques and processes used differ from one to the other. In this review we summarize many of these pioneering endeavors in epitaxial patterning of thin-film devices that use both conventional and novel lithography techniques. These methods demonstrate epitaxial patterning for a broad range of materials (metals, oxides, and semiconductors) and cover common device length scales from micrometer to sub-hundred nanometer. Whilst we have been motivated by magnetic materials and devices, we present our outlook on developing systematic-strategies for epitaxial patterning of functional materials which will pave the road for the design, discovery and industrialization of next-generation advanced magnetic and electronic nano-devices. (topical review)

  11. Growth of group III nitride films by pulsed electron beam deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohta, J.; Sakurada, K.; Shih, F.-Y.; Kobayashi, A.; Fujioka, H.

    2009-01-01

    We have grown group III nitride films on Al 2 O 3 (0 0 0 1), 6H-SiC (0 0 0 1), and ZnO (0001-bar) substrates by pulsed electron beam deposition (PED) for the first time and investigated their characteristics. We found that c-plane AlN and GaN grow epitaxially on these substrates. It has been revealed that the growth of GaN on atomically flat 6H-SiC substrates starts with the three-dimensional mode and eventually changes into the two-dimensional mode. The GaN films exhibited strong near-band-edge emission in their room temperature photoluminescence spectra. We also found that the use of PED allows us to reduce the epitaxial growth temperature for GaN down to 200 deg. C. - Graphical abstract: We have grown group III nitride films by pulsed electron beam deposition (PED) and found that the films of group III nitrides grow epitaxially on 6H-SiC and Al 2 O 3 substrates. We also found that the use of PED allows us to reduce the epitaxial growth temperature for GaN down to 200 deg. C.

  12. Properties of Hg1-xCdxTe epitaxial films grown on (211)CdTe and (211)CdZnTe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Di Stefano, M.C.; Gilabert, U.; Heredia, E.; Trigubo, A.B.

    2004-01-01

    Hg 1-x Cd x Te (MCT) epitaxial films have been grown employing single crystalline substrates of CdTe and Cd 0.96 Zn 0.04 Te with (211)Cd and (211)Te crystalline orientations. The Isothermal Vapor Phase Epitaxy (ISOVPE) technique without Hg overpressure has been used for the epitaxial growth. Substrates and films were characterized by optical microscopy, chemical etching and X ray diffraction (Laue technique). The electrical properties were determined by Hall effect measurements. The characterization results allowed to evaluate the crystalline quality of MCT films. (copyright 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  13. Epitaxial growth of high temperature superconductors by cathodic sputtering I: thin films of YBaCuO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Navacerrada, M.A.; Sefrioui, Z.; Arias, D.; Varela, M.; Loos, G.; Leon, C.; Lucia, M.L.; Santamaria, J.; Sanchez-Quesada, F.

    1998-01-01

    High quality c-oriented YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 -x thin films have been grown on SrTiO 3 (100)substrates by high pressure sputtering in pure oxygen atmosphere. Low angle X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy were performed on films less than 250 angstrom thick showing a plenitude better than one unit cell. Moreover, the structural characterization by means of X ray φ scans showed that growth is epitaxial. The critical temperature has been measured by different ways and was always in the range 89.5-90.5K. the resistance transition is sharper than 1K and the mutual inductance response always shows magnetic losses peaks narrower than 0.3K. Critical current densities are in excess of 10''''6 angstrom/cm''''2 at 77K. (Author) 8 refs

  14. EuO and Gd-doped EuO thin films. Epitaxial growth and properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutarto, Ronny

    2009-01-01

    quality of many of the doped EuO samples used in the past bulk studies. The focus of this thesis is on the preparation and the properties of high-quality single-crystalline EuO and Gd-doped EuO thin films. The so-called Eu-distillation-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) has been employed to achieve full control of the stoichiometry. The films have been epitaxially grown on yttria-stabilized cubic zirconia (YSZ) (001) substrates. By a systematic variation of the oxygen deposition rates, we have been able to observe sustained oscillations in the intensity of the reflection high-electron energy diffraction (RHEED) pattern during growth. We thus have demonstrated that layer-by-layer growth has been achieved for the first time. We also have confirmed that YSZ indeed supplies oxygen during the initial stages of growth, yet the EuO stoichiometry can still be well maintained. In the case of Gd-doped EuO films, the presence of Gd even helps to stabilize the layer-by-layer growth mode. It is important to achieve this growth mode, since it enables the preparation of films with very smooth and at surfaces. This in turn facilitates the capping of the films with a thin Al overlayer in order to protect the films against degradation under ambient conditions. More important, the smoothness of the lm will enable the preparation of high quality device structures. By using ex-situ soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at the Eu and Gd M 4,5 edges, we have confirmed that the films are completely free from Eu 3+ contaminants, and we were able to determine reliably the actual Gd concentration. This actual Gd concentration could in fact significantly deviate from the nominal Gd/Eu evaporation ratio. From magnetization and susceptibility measurements, we found the Curie temperature to increase smoothly as a function of doping from 69 K up to a maximum of 125 K, all with a saturation moment of 7 μB. A threshold behavior was not observed for Gd concentrations as low as 0.2 %. Analysis of the

  15. EuO and Gd-doped EuO thin films. Epitaxial growth and properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sutarto, Ronny

    2009-07-06

    this respect the quality of many of the doped EuO samples used in the past bulk studies. The focus of this thesis is on the preparation and the properties of high-quality single-crystalline EuO and Gd-doped EuO thin films. The so-called Eu-distillation-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) has been employed to achieve full control of the stoichiometry. The films have been epitaxially grown on yttria-stabilized cubic zirconia (YSZ) (001) substrates. By a systematic variation of the oxygen deposition rates, we have been able to observe sustained oscillations in the intensity of the reflection high-electron energy diffraction (RHEED) pattern during growth. We thus have demonstrated that layer-by-layer growth has been achieved for the first time. We also have confirmed that YSZ indeed supplies oxygen during the initial stages of growth, yet the EuO stoichiometry can still be well maintained. In the case of Gd-doped EuO films, the presence of Gd even helps to stabilize the layer-by-layer growth mode. It is important to achieve this growth mode, since it enables the preparation of films with very smooth and at surfaces. This in turn facilitates the capping of the films with a thin Al overlayer in order to protect the films against degradation under ambient conditions. More important, the smoothness of the lm will enable the preparation of high quality device structures. By using ex-situ soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at the Eu and Gd M{sub 4,5} edges, we have confirmed that the films are completely free from Eu{sup 3+} contaminants, and we were able to determine reliably the actual Gd concentration. This actual Gd concentration could in fact significantly deviate from the nominal Gd/Eu evaporation ratio. From magnetization and susceptibility measurements, we found the Curie temperature to increase smoothly as a function of doping from 69 K up to a maximum of 125 K, all with a saturation moment of 7 {mu}B. A threshold behavior was not observed for Gd concentrations

  16. Nanoscale abnormal grain growth in (001) epitaxial ceria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Solovyov, Vyacheslav F.; Develos-Bagarinao, Katherine; Nykypanchuk, Dmytro

    2009-01-01

    X-ray reciprocal-space mapping and atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used to study kinetics and mechanisms of lateral grain growth in epitaxial (001) ceria (CeO 2 ) deposited by pulsed laser deposition on (001) yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and (12 lowbar 10) (r-cut) sapphire. Rate and character of the grain growth during postannealing at 1050 deg. C are found to be strongly dependent on the type of the epitaxial substrate. Films deposited on YSZ exhibit signatures of normal grain growth, which stagnated after the lateral grain size reaches 40 nm, consistent with the grain-boundary pinning by the thermal grooving. In contrast, when r-cut sapphire substrate was used, abnormal (secondary) grain growth is observed. A small population of grains grow to well over 100 nm consuming smaller, 100 nm large (001) terminations and rendering the sample single-crystalline quality. The grain growth is accompanied by reduction in lateral rms strain, resulting in a universal grain size--rms strain dependence. Analysis of the AFM and x-ray diffraction data leads to the conclusion that bimodal initial grain population consisting of grains with very different sizes is responsible for initiation of the abnormal growth in (001) CeO 2 films on r-cut sapphire. Due to different surface chemistry, when a YSZ substrate is used, the initial grain distribution is monomodal, therefore only normal growth is active. We demonstrate that a 2.2 deg. miscut of the sapphire substrate eliminates the large-grain population, thus suppressing abnormal grain growth. It is concluded that utilization of abnormal grain growth is a promising way for synthesis of large (001) ceria terminations.

  17. Microstructure and magnetic properties of FeCo epitaxial thin films grown on MgO single-crystal substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shikada, Kouhei; Ohtake, Mitsuru; Futamoto, Masaaki; Kirino, Fumiyoshi

    2009-01-01

    FeCo epitaxial films were prepared on MgO(100), MgO(110), and MgO(111) substrates by ultrahigh vacuum molecular beam epitaxy. FeCo thin films with (100), (211), and (110) planes parallel to the substrate surface grow on respective MgO substrates. FeCo/MgO interface structures are studied by high-resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and the epitaxial growth mechanism is discussed. Atomically sharp boundaries are recognized between the FeCo thin films and the MgO substrates where misfit dislocations are introduced in the FeCo thin films presumably to decrease the lattice misfits. Misfit dislocations are observed approximately every 9 and 1.4 nm in FeCo thin film at the FeCo/MgO(100) and the FeCo/MgO(110) interfaces, respectively. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the lattice spacing measured parallel to the single-crystal substrate surfaces are in agreement within 0.1% with those of the respective bulk values of Fe 50 Co 50 alloy crystal, showing that the FeCo film strain is very small. The magnetic anisotropies of these epitaxial films basically reflect the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of bulk FeCo alloy crystal

  18. Molecular-beam epitaxial growth and ion-beam analysis systems for functional materials research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takeshita, H.; Aoki, Y.; Yamamoto, S.; Naramoto, H.

    1992-01-01

    Experimental systems for molecular beam epitaxial growth and ion beam analysis have been designed and constructed for the research of inorganic functional materials such as thin films and superlattices. (author)

  19. From epitaxial growth of ferrite thin films to spin-polarized tunnelling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moussy, Jean-Baptiste

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a review of the research which is focused on ferrite thin films for spintronics. First, I will describe the potential of ferrite layers for the generation of spin-polarized currents. In the second step, the structural and chemical properties of epitaxial thin films and ferrite-based tunnel junctions will be presented. Particular attention will be given to ferrite systems grown by oxygen-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The analysis of the structure and chemistry close to the interfaces, a key-point for understanding the spin-polarized tunnelling measurements, will be detailed. In the third part, the magnetic and magneto-transport properties of magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) thin films as a function of structural defects such as the antiphase boundaries will be explained. The spin-polarization measurements (spin-resolved photoemission, tunnel magnetoresistance) on this oxide predicted to be half-metallic will be discussed. Fourth, the potential of magnetic tunnel barriers, such as CoFe 2 O 4 , NiFe 2 O 4 or MnFe 2 O 4 , whose insulating behaviour and the high Curie temperatures make it exciting candidates for spin filtering at room temperature will be described. Spin-polarized tunnelling experiments, involving either Meservey–Tedrow or tunnel magnetoresistance measurements, will reveal significant spin-polarizations of the tunnelling current at low temperatures but also at room temperatures. Finally, I will mention a few perspectives with ferrite-based heterostructures. (topical review)

  20. Epitaxy physical principles and technical implementation

    CERN Document Server

    Herman, Marian A; Sitter, Helmut

    2004-01-01

    Epitaxy provides readers with a comprehensive treatment of the modern models and modifications of epitaxy, together with the relevant experimental and technological framework. This advanced textbook describes all important aspects of the epitaxial growth processes of solid films on crystalline substrates, including a section on heteroepitaxy. It covers and discusses in details the most important epitaxial growth techniques, which are currently widely used in basic research as well as in manufacturing processes of devices, namely solid-phase epitaxy, liquid-phase epitaxy, vapor-phase epitaxy, including metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy and molecular-beam epitaxy. Epitaxy’s coverage of science and texhnology thin-film is intended to fill the need for a comprehensive reference and text examining the variety of problems related to the physical foundations and technical implementation of epitaxial crystallization. It is intended for undergraduate students, PhD students, research scientists, lecturers and practic...

  1. Oxygen pressure-tuned epitaxy and magnetic properties of magnetite thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Junran [Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Photonic and Electronic Materials, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Nanotechnology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Liu, Wenqing [York-Nanjing Joint Centre (YNJC) for Spintronics and Nanoengineering, Department of Electronics, The University of York, YO10 3DD (United Kingdom); Zhang, Minhao; Zhang, Xiaoqian; Niu, Wei; Gao, Ming [Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Photonic and Electronic Materials, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Nanotechnology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Wang, Xuefeng, E-mail: xfwang@nju.edu.cn [Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Photonic and Electronic Materials, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Nanotechnology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Du, Jun [School of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Zhang, Rong [Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Photonic and Electronic Materials, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Nanotechnology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Xu, Yongbing, E-mail: ybxu@nju.edu.cn [Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Photonic and Electronic Materials, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Nanotechnology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); York-Nanjing Joint Centre (YNJC) for Spintronics and Nanoengineering, Department of Electronics, The University of York, YO10 3DD (United Kingdom)

    2017-06-15

    Highlights: • Quasi-2D Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} films were obtained by PLD. • RHEED under different oxygen pressure were observed. • Influence of oxygen pressure on Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} films were investigated. • Epitaxy and magnetic properties were tuned by oxygen pressure. • The ratio of Fe{sup 2+}/Fe{sup 3+} fitted by XPS is the tuned factor of M{sub s}. - Abstract: Quasi-two-dimensional magnetite epitaxial thin films have been synthesized by pulsed laser deposition technique at various oxygen pressures. The saturation magnetizations of the magnetite films were found to decrease from 425 emu/cm{sup 3}, which is close to the bulk value, to 175 emu/cm{sup 3} as the growth atmospheres varying from high vacuum (∼1 × 10{sup −8} mbar) to oxygen pressure of 1 × 10{sup −3} mbar. The ratio of the Fe{sup 3+} to Fe{sup 2+} increases from 2 to 2.7 as oxygen pressure increasing shown by XPS fitting, which weakens the net magnetic moment generated by Fe{sup 2+} at octahedral sites as the spins of the Fe{sup 3+} ions at octahedral and tetrahedral sites are aligned in antiparallel. The results offer direct experimental evidence of the influence to the Fe{sup 3+}/Fe{sup 2+} ratio and the magnetic moment in magnetite epitaxy films by oxygen pressure, which is significant for spintronic applications.

  2. GaN Bulk Growth and Epitaxy from Ca-Ga-N Solutions, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This SBIR proposal addresses the liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) of gallium nitride (GaN) films using nitrogen-enriched metal solutions. Growth of GaN from solutions...

  3. Liquid phase electro epitaxy growth kinetics of GaAs-A three-dimensional numerical simulation study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mouleeswaran, D.; Dhanasekaran, R.

    2006-01-01

    A three-dimensional numerical simulation study for the liquid phase electro epitaxial growth kinetic of GaAs is presented. The kinetic model is constructed considering (i) the diffusive and convective mass transport, (ii) the heat transfer due to thermoelectric effects such as Peltier effect, Joule effect and Thomson effect, (iii) the electric current distribution with electromigration and (iv) the fluid flow coupled with concentration and temperature fields. The simulations are performed for two configurations namely (i) epitaxial growth from the arsenic saturated gallium rich growth solution, i.e., limited solution model and (ii) epitaxial growth from the arsenic saturated gallium rich growth solution with polycrystalline GaAs feed. The governing equations of liquid phase electro epitaxy are solved numerically with appropriate initial and boundary conditions using the central difference method. Simulations are performed to determine the following, a concentration profiles of solute atoms (As) in the Ga-rich growth solution, shape of the substrate evolution, the growth rate of the GaAs epitaxial film, the contributions of Peltier effect and electromigration of solute atoms to the growth with various experimental growth conditions. The growth rate is found to increase with increasing growth temperature and applied current density. The results are discussed in detail

  4. Epitaxial Fe3Si/Ge/Fe3Si thin film multilayers grown on GaAs(001)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jenichen, B.; Herfort, J.; Jahn, U.; Trampert, A.; Riechert, H.

    2014-01-01

    We demonstrate Fe 3 Si/Ge/Fe 3 Si/GaAs(001) structures grown by molecular-beam epitaxy and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, electron backscattered diffraction, and X-ray diffraction. The bottom Fe 3 Si epitaxial film on GaAs is always single crystalline. The structural properties of the Ge film and the top Fe 3 Si layer depend on the substrate temperature during Ge deposition. Different orientation distributions of the grains in the Ge and the upper Fe 3 Si film were found. The low substrate temperature T s of 150 °C during Ge deposition ensures sharp interfaces, however, results in predominantly amorphous films. We find that the intermediate T s (225 °C) leads to a largely [111] oriented upper Fe 3 Si layer and polycrystal films. The high T s of 325 °C stabilizes the [001] oriented epitaxial layer structure, i.e., delivers smooth interfaces and single crystal films over as much as 80% of the surface area. - Highlights: • Fe 3 Si/Ge/Fe 3 Si/GaAs(001) structures are grown by MBE. • The bottom Fe 3 Si film is always single crystalline. • The properties of the Ge film depend on the substrate temperature during deposition. • Optimum growth conditions lead to almost perfect epitaxy of Ge on Fe 3 Si

  5. Strain dependent microstructural modifications of BiCrO{sub 3} epitaxial thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kannan, Vijayanandhini, E-mail: kvnandhini@gmail.com [Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Weinberg 2, D-06120 Halle (Saale) (Germany); CNRS, University of Bordeaux, ICMCB, UPR 9048, F-33600 Pessac (France); Arredondo, Miryam; Johann, Florian; Hesse, Dietrich [Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Weinberg 2, D-06120 Halle (Saale) (Germany); Labrugere, Christine [CNRS, University of Bordeaux, ICMCB, UPR 9048, F-33600 Pessac (France); CeCaMA, University of Bordeaux, ICMCB, F-33600 Pessac (France); Maglione, Mario [CNRS, University of Bordeaux, ICMCB, UPR 9048, F-33600 Pessac (France); Vrejoiu, Ionela [Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Weinberg 2, D-06120 Halle (Saale) (Germany)

    2013-10-31

    Strain-dependent microstructural modifications were observed in epitaxial BiCrO{sub 3} (BCO) thin films fabricated on single crystalline substrates, utilizing pulsed laser deposition. The following conditions were employed to modify the epitaxial-strain: (i) in-plane tensile strain, BCO{sub STO} [BCO grown on buffered SrTiO{sub 3} (001)] and in-plane compressive strain, BCO{sub NGO} [BCO grown on buffered NdGaO{sub 3} (110)] and (ii) varying BCO film thickness. A combination of techniques like X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to analyse the epitaxial growth quality and the microstructure of BCO. Our studies revealed that in the case of BCO{sub STO}, a coherent interface with homogeneous orthorhombic phase is obtained only for BCO film with thicknesses, d < 50 nm. All the BCO{sub STO} films with d ≥ 50 nm were found to be strain-relaxed with an orthorhombic phase showing 1/2 <100> and 1/4 <101> satellite reflections, the latter oriented at 45° from orthorhombic diffraction spots. High angle annular dark field scanning TEM of these films strongly suggested that the satellite reflections, 1/2 <100> and 1/4 <101>, originate from the atomic stacking sequence changes (or “modulated structure”) as reported for polytypes, without altering the chemical composition. The unaltered stoichiometry was confirmed by estimating both valency of Bi and Cr cations by surface and in-depth XPS analysis as well as the stoichiometric ratio (1 Bi:1 Cr) using scanning TEM–energy dispersive X-ray analysis. In contrast, compressively strained BCO{sub NGO} films exhibited monoclinic symmetry without any structural modulations or interfacial defects, up to d ∼ 200 nm. Our results indicate that both the substrate-induced in-plane epitaxial strain and the BCO film thickness are the crucial parameters to stabilise a homogeneous BCO phase in an epitaxially grown film. - Highlights: • Phase pure

  6. Thickness and growth-condition dependence of in-situ mobility and carrier density of epitaxial thin-film Bi2Se3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hellerstedt, Jack; Fuhrer, Michael S.; Edmonds, Mark T.; Zheng, C. X.; Chen, J. H.; Cullen, William G.

    2014-01-01

    Bismuth selenide Bi 2 Se 3 was grown by molecular beam epitaxy, while carrier density and mobility were measured directly in situ as a function of film thickness. Carrier density shows high interface n-doping (1.5 × 10 13  cm −2 ) at the onset of film conduction and bulk dopant density of ∼5 × 10 11  cm −2 per quintuple-layer unit, roughly independent of growth temperature profile. Mobility depends more strongly on the growth temperature and is related to the crystalline quality of the samples quantified by ex-situ atomic force microscopy measurements. These results indicate that Bi 2 Se 3 as prepared by widely employed parameters is n-doped before exposure to atmosphere, the doping is largely interfacial in origin, and dopants are not the limiting disorder in present Bi 2 Se 3 films.

  7. The origin of local strain in highly epitaxial oxide thin films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Chunrui; Liu, Ming; Chen, Chonglin; Lin, Yuan; Li, Yanrong; Horwitz, J S; Jiang, Jiechao; Meletis, E I; Zhang, Qingyu

    2013-10-31

    The ability to control the microstructures and physical properties of hetero-epitaxial functional oxide thin films and artificial structures is a long-sought goal in functional materials research. Normally, only the lattice misfit between the film and the substrate is considered to govern the physical properties of the epitaxial films. In fact, the mismatch of film unit cell arrangement and the Surface-Step-Terrace (SST) dimension of the substrate, named as "SST residual matching", is another key factor that significantly influence the properties of the epitaxial film. The nature of strong local strain induced from both lattice mismatch and the SST residual matching on ferroelectric (Ba,Sr)TiO3 and ferromagnetic (La,Ca)MnO3 thin films are systematically investigated and it is demonstrated that this combined effect has a dramatic impact on the physical properties of highly epitaxial oxide thin films. A giant anomalous magnetoresistance effect (~10(10)) was achieved from the as-designed vicinal surfaces.

  8. Preparation and structural characterization of FeCo epitaxial thin films on insulating single-crystal substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishiyama, Tsutomu; Ohtake, Mitsuru; Futamoto, Masaaki; Kirino, Fumiyoshi

    2010-01-01

    FeCo epitaxial films were prepared on MgO(111), SrTiO 3 (111), and Al 2 O 3 (0001) single-crystal substrates by ultrahigh vacuum molecular beam epitaxy. The effects of insulating substrate material on the film growth process and the structures were investigated. FeCo(110) bcc films grow on MgO substrates with two type domains, Nishiyama-Wassermann (NW) and Kurdjumov-Sachs (KS) relationships. On the contrary, FeCo films grown on SrTiO 3 and Al 2 O 3 substrates include FeCo(111) bcc crystal in addition to the FeCo(110) bcc crystals with NW and KS relationships. The FeCo(111) bcc crystal consists of two type domains whose orientations are rotated around the film normal by 180 deg. each other. The out-of-plane and the in-plane lattice spacings of FeCo(110) bcc and FeCo(111) bcc crystals formed on the insulating substrates are in agreement with those of the bulk Fe 50 Co 50 (at. %) crystal with small errors ranging between +0.2% and +0.4%, showing that the strains in the epitaxial films are very small.

  9. Thickness periodicity in the auger line shape from epitaxial (111)Cu films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Namba, Y; Vook, R W; Chao, S S

    1981-01-01

    The 61 eV MMM Cu Auger line doublet was recorded in the derivative mode as a function of thickness for epitaxial (111)Cu films approximately 1500 angstrom thick. The overlap of the doublet lines makes it possible to define a measure of the doublet profile called the ''R-factor'' as a ratio of the peak-to-peak heights of the small overlap oscillation to that of the major oscillation. To within the experimental error, it was found that the R-factor varies with a periodicity of approximately one monoatomic layer as the film thickens. Since these films grow by a layer growth mechaniism, the surface topography varies periodically with the number of monolayers deposited, going from a smooth to a rough to a smooth, etc. surface. It is believed that the occurrence of such a periodicity implies that there is a difference in the electronic structure at the surface of the flat areas of the film from that at the edges of monolayer high, flat islands. The amplitude of the oscillation in R is interpreted to be a measure of the relative amounts of edge area compared to flat area. These results show that it is possible to use Auger electron spectroscopy to monitor surface topography and the electronic structure changes that accompany the topographical changes occurring when epitaxial films grow by a layer growth mechanism.

  10. Giant secondary grain growth in Cu films on sapphire

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David L. Miller

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Single crystal metal films on insulating substrates are attractive for microelectronics and other applications, but they are difficult to achieve on macroscopic length scales. The conventional approach to obtaining such films is epitaxial growth at high temperature using slow deposition in ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Here we describe a different approach that is both simpler to implement and produces superior results: sputter deposition at modest temperatures followed by annealing to induce secondary grain growth. We show that polycrystalline as-deposited Cu on α-Al2O3(0001 can be transformed into Cu(111 with centimeter-sized grains. Employing optical microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and electron backscatter diffraction to characterize the films before and after annealing, we find a particular as-deposited grain structure that promotes the growth of giant grains upon annealing. To demonstrate one potential application of such films, we grow graphene by chemical vapor deposition on wafers of annealed Cu and obtain epitaxial graphene grains of 0.2 mm diameter.

  11. Epitaxial growth and electronic structure of oxyhydride SrVO2H thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katayama, Tsukasa; Chikamatsu, Akira; Yamada, Keisuke; Shigematsu, Kei; Onozuka, Tomoya; Minohara, Makoto; Kumigashira, Hiroshi; Ikenaga, Eiji; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

    2016-08-01

    Oxyhydride SrVO2H epitaxial thin films were fabricated on SrTiO3 substrates via topotactic hydridation of oxide SrVO3 films using CaH2. Structural and composition analyses suggested that the SrVO2H film possessed one-dimensionally ordered V-H--V bonds along the out-of-plane direction. The synthesis temperature could be lowered by reducing the film thickness, and the SrVO2H film was reversible to SrVO3 by oxidation through annealing in air. Photoemission and X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements revealed the V3+ valence state in the SrVO2H film, indicating that the hydrogen existed as hydride. Furthermore, the electronic density of states was highly suppressed at the Fermi energy, consistent with the prediction that tetragonal distortion induces metal to insulation transition.

  12. Extended defects in epitaxial Sc2O3 films grown on (111) Si

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klenov, Dmitri O.; Edge, Lisa F.; Schlom, Darrell G.; Stemmer, Susanne

    2005-01-01

    Epitaxial Sc 2 O 3 films with the cubic bixbyite structure were grown on (111) Si by reactive molecular beam epitaxy. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) revealed an abrupt, reaction-layer free interface between Sc 2 O 3 and Si. The ∼10% lattice mismatch between Si and Sc 2 O 3 was relieved by the formation of a hexagonal misfit dislocation network with Burgers vectors of 1/2 Si and line directions parallel to Si . A high density of planar defects and threading dislocations was observed. Analysis of lattice shifts across the planar defects in HRTEM showed that these faults were likely antiphase boundaries (APBs). ABPs form when film islands coalesce during growth because films nucleate with no unique arrangement of the ordered oxygen vacancies in the bixbyite structure relative to the Si lattice

  13. Hetero-epitaxial growth of TiC films on MgO(001) at 100 °C by DC reactive magnetron sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braic, M.; Zoita, N.C.; Danila, M.; Grigorescu, C.E.A.; Logofatu, C.

    2015-01-01

    Hetero-epitaxial TiC thin films were deposited at 100 °C on MgO(001) by DC reactive magnetron sputtering in a mixture of Ar and CH 4 . The 62 nm thick films were analyzed for elemental composition and chemical bonding by Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy. The crystallographic structure investigation by high resolution X-ray diffraction revealed that the films consist of two layers: an interface partially strained epilayer with high crystalline quality, and a relaxed layer, formed by columnar grains, maintaining the epitaxial relationship with the substrate. The films presented smooth surfaces (RMS roughness ~ 0.55 nm), with circular equi-sized grains/crystallites, as observed by atomic force microscopy. The Hall measurements in Van der Pauw geometry revealed relatively high resistivity value ~ 620 μΩ cm, ascribed to electron scattering on interfaces, on grain boundaries and on different defects/dislocations. - Highlights: • Hetero-epitaxial TiC 0.84 thin films were grown on MgO(001) at 100 °C by magnetron sputtering. • 62 nm thick films were synthesized by magnetron sputtering, using Ti, Ar and CH 4 . • The film comprises a partially strained interface epilayer and a relaxed top layer. • Both layers preserve the epitaxial relationship with the substrate. • Low RMS surface roughness ~ 0.55 nm and grains with mean lateral size of ~ 38.5 nm were observed

  14. Hetero-epitaxial growth of TiC films on MgO(001) at 100 °C by DC reactive magnetron sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Braic, M. [National Institute for Optoelectronics, 409 Atomistilor St., 077125 Magurele (Romania); Zoita, N.C., E-mail: cnzoita@inoe.ro [National Institute for Optoelectronics, 409 Atomistilor St., 077125 Magurele (Romania); Danila, M. [National Institute for Research and Development in Microtechnology, 126A Erou Iancu Nicolae Blvd., 077190 Bucharest (Romania); Grigorescu, C.E.A. [National Institute for Optoelectronics, 409 Atomistilor St., 077125 Magurele (Romania); Logofatu, C. [National Institute of Materials Physics, 105 bis Atomistilor St., 077125 Magurele (Romania)

    2015-08-31

    Hetero-epitaxial TiC thin films were deposited at 100 °C on MgO(001) by DC reactive magnetron sputtering in a mixture of Ar and CH{sub 4}. The 62 nm thick films were analyzed for elemental composition and chemical bonding by Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy. The crystallographic structure investigation by high resolution X-ray diffraction revealed that the films consist of two layers: an interface partially strained epilayer with high crystalline quality, and a relaxed layer, formed by columnar grains, maintaining the epitaxial relationship with the substrate. The films presented smooth surfaces (RMS roughness ~ 0.55 nm), with circular equi-sized grains/crystallites, as observed by atomic force microscopy. The Hall measurements in Van der Pauw geometry revealed relatively high resistivity value ~ 620 μΩ cm, ascribed to electron scattering on interfaces, on grain boundaries and on different defects/dislocations. - Highlights: • Hetero-epitaxial TiC{sub 0.84} thin films were grown on MgO(001) at 100 °C by magnetron sputtering. • 62 nm thick films were synthesized by magnetron sputtering, using Ti, Ar and CH{sub 4}. • The film comprises a partially strained interface epilayer and a relaxed top layer. • Both layers preserve the epitaxial relationship with the substrate. • Low RMS surface roughness ~ 0.55 nm and grains with mean lateral size of ~ 38.5 nm were observed.

  15. Structural characterization of epitaxial LiFe_5O_8 thin films grown by chemical vapor deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loukya, B.; Negi, D.S.; Sahu, R.; Pachauri, N.; Gupta, A.; Datta, R.

    2016-01-01

    We report on detailed microstructural and atomic ordering characterization by transmission electron microscopy in epitaxial LiFe_5O_8 (LFO) thin films grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on MgO (001) substrates. The experimental results of LFO thin films are compared with those for bulk LFO single crystal. Electron diffraction studies indicate weak long-range ordering in LFO (α-phase) thin films in comparison to bulk crystal where strong ordering is observed in optimally annealed samples. The degree of long-range ordering depends on the growth conditions and the thickness of the film. Annealing experiment along with diffraction study confirms the formation of α-Fe_2O_3 phase in some regions of the films. This suggests that under certain growth conditions γ-Fe_2O_3-like phase forms in some pockets in the as-grown LFO thin films that then convert to α-Fe_2O_3 on annealing. - Highlights: • Atomic ordering in LiFe_5O_8 bulk single crystal and epitaxial thin films. • Electron diffraction studies reveal different level of ordering in the system. • Formation of γ-Fe_2O_3 like phase has been observed.

  16. Van der Waals epitaxy of functional MoO{sub 2} film on mica for flexible electronics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ma, Chun-Hao [Department of Electrical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, 30013 Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan (China); Lin, Jheng-Cyuan [Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan (China); Liu, Heng-Jui; Do, Thi Hien [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan (China); Zhu, Yuan-Min; Zhan, Qian [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Ha, Thai Duy; Juang, Jenh-Yih [Department of Electrophysics, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan (China); He, Qing [Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Arenholz, Elke [Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Chiu, Po-Wen, E-mail: pwchiu@ee.nthu.edu.tw [Department of Electrical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, 30013 Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China); Chu, Ying-Hao, E-mail: yhc@nctu.edu.tw [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan (China); Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan (China); Department of Electrophysics, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan (China)

    2016-06-20

    Flexible electronics have a great potential to impact consumer electronics and with that our daily life. Currently, no direct growth of epitaxial functional oxides on commercially available flexible substrates is possible. In this study, in order to address this challenge, muscovite, a common layered oxide, is used as a flexible substrate that is chemically similar to typical functional oxides. We fabricated epitaxial MoO{sub 2} films on muscovite via pulsed laser deposition technique. A combination of X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy confirms van der Waals epitaxy of the heterostructures. The electrical transport properties of MoO{sub 2} films are similar to those of the bulk. Flexible or free-standing MoO{sub 2} thin film can be obtained and serve as a template to integrate additional functional oxide layers. Our study demonstrates a remarkable concept to create flexible electronics based on functional oxides.

  17. Auger line shape changes in epitaxial (111)Pd/(111)Cu films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chao, S S; Knabbe, E A; Vook, R W

    1980-01-01

    Epitaxial Pd films ranging in thickness from a few tenths of a monolayer up to many monolayers were formed on (111)Cu substrate films at room temperature under uhv conditions. The growth of these Pd films was monitored in situ by Auger electron spectroscopy. The line profiles of the Cu MMM (61 eV) and Pd MVV (329 eV) AES doublets varied significantly with the amount of Pd deposited. A new measure of the AES doublet line profile, called the R-factor, was defined. A graph of R/sub Pd/ versus Pd film thickness shows a sharp decline with increasing thickness. Superimposed on the major trends is a cyclical variation. A corresponding periodicity in R/sub Cu/ was observed for the Cu MMM (61 eV) AES doublet. The results suggest that the R-factor provides a direct measure of changes in the electronic structures of the overgrowth and substrate films as the former thickens by a layer-growth mechanism.

  18. Abnormal growth kinetics of h-BN epitaxial monolayer on Ru(0001) enhanced by subsurface Ar species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Wei; Meng, Jie; Meng, Caixia; Ning, Yanxiao; Li, Qunxiang; Fu, Qiang; Bao, Xinhe

    2018-04-01

    Growth kinetics of epitaxial films often follows the diffusion-limited aggregation mechanism, which shows a "fractal-to-compact" morphological transition with increasing growth temperature or decreasing deposition flux. Here, we observe an abnormal "compact-to-fractal" morphological transition with increasing growth temperature for hexagonal boron nitride growth on the Ru(0001) surface. The unusual growth process can be explained by a reaction-limited aggregation (RLA) mechanism. Moreover, introduction of the subsurface Ar atoms has enhanced this RLA growth behavior by decreasing both reaction and diffusion barriers. Our work may shed light on the epitaxial growth of two-dimensional atomic crystals and help to control their morphology.

  19. Hybrid molecular beam epitaxy for the growth of stoichiometric BaSnO{sub 3}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prakash, Abhinav, E-mail: praka019@umn.edu; Dewey, John; Yun, Hwanhui; Jeong, Jong Seok; Mkhoyan, K. Andre; Jalan, Bharat, E-mail: bjalan@umn.edu [Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 (United States)

    2015-11-15

    Owing to its high room-temperature electron mobility and wide bandgap, BaSnO{sub 3} has recently become of significant interest for potential room-temperature oxide electronics. A hybrid molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) approach for the growth of high-quality BaSnO{sub 3} films is developed in this work. This approach employs hexamethylditin as a chemical precursor for tin, an effusion cell for barium, and a radio frequency plasma source for oxygen. BaSnO{sub 3} films were thus grown on SrTiO{sub 3} (001) and LaAlO{sub 3} (001) substrates. Growth conditions for stoichiometric BaSnO{sub 3} were identified. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) intensity oscillations, characteristic of a layer-by-layer growth mode were observed. A critical thickness of ∼1 nm for strain relaxation was determined for films grown on SrTiO{sub 3} using in situ RHEED. Scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with electron energy-loss spectroscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy confirmed the cube-on-cube epitaxy and composition. The importance of precursor chemistry is discussed in the context of the MBE growth of BaSnO{sub 3}.

  20. Nanoselective area growth of GaN by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy on 4H-SiC using epitaxial graphene as a mask

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Puybaret, Renaud; Jordan, Matthew B.; Voss, Paul L.; Ougazzaden, Abdallah; Patriarche, Gilles; Sundaram, Suresh; El Gmili, Youssef; Salvestrini, Jean-Paul; Heer, Walt A. de; Berger, Claire

    2016-01-01

    We report the growth of high-quality triangular GaN nanomesas, 30-nm thick, on the C-face of 4H-SiC using nanoselective area growth (NSAG) with patterned epitaxial graphene grown on SiC as an embedded mask. NSAG alleviates the problems of defects in heteroepitaxy, and the high mobility graphene film could readily provide the back low-dissipative electrode in GaN-based optoelectronic devices. A 5–8 graphene-layer film is first grown on the C-face of 4H-SiC by confinement-controlled sublimation of silicon carbide. Graphene is then patterned and arrays of 75-nm-wide openings are etched in graphene revealing the SiC substrate. A 30-nm-thick GaN is subsequently grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. GaN nanomesas grow epitaxially with perfect selectivity on SiC, in the openings patterned through graphene. The up-or-down orientation of the mesas on SiC, their triangular faceting, and cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy show that they are biphasic. The core is a zinc blende monocrystal surrounded with single-crystal wurtzite. The GaN crystalline nanomesas have no threading dislocations or V-pits. This NSAG process potentially leads to integration of high-quality III-nitrides on the wafer scalable epitaxial graphene/silicon carbide platform.

  1. Nanoselective area growth of GaN by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy on 4H-SiC using epitaxial graphene as a mask

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Puybaret, Renaud; Jordan, Matthew B.; Voss, Paul L.; Ougazzaden, Abdallah, E-mail: aougazza@georgiatech-metz.fr [School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States); CNRS UMI 2958, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2 Rue Marconi, 57070 Metz (France); Patriarche, Gilles [CNRS, Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures, Route de Nozay, 91460 Marcoussis (France); Sundaram, Suresh; El Gmili, Youssef [CNRS UMI 2958, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2 Rue Marconi, 57070 Metz (France); Salvestrini, Jean-Paul [Université de Lorraine, CentraleSupélec, LMOPS, EA4423, 57070 Metz (France); Heer, Walt A. de [School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States); Berger, Claire [School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States); CNRS, Institut Néel, BP166, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France)

    2016-03-07

    We report the growth of high-quality triangular GaN nanomesas, 30-nm thick, on the C-face of 4H-SiC using nanoselective area growth (NSAG) with patterned epitaxial graphene grown on SiC as an embedded mask. NSAG alleviates the problems of defects in heteroepitaxy, and the high mobility graphene film could readily provide the back low-dissipative electrode in GaN-based optoelectronic devices. A 5–8 graphene-layer film is first grown on the C-face of 4H-SiC by confinement-controlled sublimation of silicon carbide. Graphene is then patterned and arrays of 75-nm-wide openings are etched in graphene revealing the SiC substrate. A 30-nm-thick GaN is subsequently grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. GaN nanomesas grow epitaxially with perfect selectivity on SiC, in the openings patterned through graphene. The up-or-down orientation of the mesas on SiC, their triangular faceting, and cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy show that they are biphasic. The core is a zinc blende monocrystal surrounded with single-crystal wurtzite. The GaN crystalline nanomesas have no threading dislocations or V-pits. This NSAG process potentially leads to integration of high-quality III-nitrides on the wafer scalable epitaxial graphene/silicon carbide platform.

  2. Structural and magentic characterization of rare earth and transition metal films grown on epitaxial buffer films on semiconductor substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farrow, R.F.C.; Parkin, S.S.P.; Speriosu, V.S.; Bezinge, A.; Segmuller, A.P.

    1989-01-01

    Structural and magnetic data are presented and discussed for epitaxial films of rare earth metals (Dy, Ho, Er) on LaF 3 films on the GaAs(TTT) surface and Fe on Ag films on the GaAs(001) surface. Both systems exhibit unusual structural characteristics which influence the magnetic properties of the metal films. In the case of rare earth epitaxy on LaF 3 the authors present evidence for epitaxy across an incommensurate or discommensurate interface. Coherency strain is not transmitted into the metal which behaves much like bulk crystals of the rare earths. In the case of Fe films, tilted epitaxy and long-range coherency strain are confirmed by X- ray diffractometry. Methods of controlling some of these structural effects by modifying the epitaxial structures are presented

  3. Epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7 films on rolled-textured metals for high temperature superconducting applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norton, D.P.; Park, C.; Prouteau, C.

    1998-04-01

    The epitaxial growth of high temperature superconducting (HTS) films on rolled-textured metal represents a viable approach for long-length superconducting tapes. Epitaxial, 0.5 microm thick YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 (YBCO) films with critical current densities, J c , greater than 1 MA/cm 2 have been realized on rolled-textured (001) Ni tapes with yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)/CeO 2 oxide buffer layers. This paper describes the synthesis using pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) of epitaxial oxide buffer layers on biaxially-textured metal that comprise the so-called rolling-assisted biaxially-textured substrates (RABiTs trademark). The properties of the buffer and YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 films on rolled-textured Ni are discussed, with emphasis given to the crystallographic and microstructural properties that determine the superconducting properties of these multilayer structures

  4. Atomic oxygen effect on the in situ growth of stoichiometric YBa2Cu3O7 - delta epitaxial films by facing targets 90° off-axis radiofrequency magnetron sputtering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oya, Gin-ichiro; Diao, Chien Chen; Imai, Syozo; Uzawa, Takaaki; Sawada, Yasuji; Sugai, Tokuko; Nakajima, Kensuke; Yamashita, Tsutomu

    1995-06-01

    (110)- and (103)-oriented almost stoichiometric YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) films have been grown epitaxially on hot SrTiO3 (110) substrates using a 90° off-axis rf magnetron sputtering technique, for fabrication of vertical sandwich-type YBCO/insulator/YBCO or YBCO/normal metal/YBCO Josephson junctions utilizing the high-quality YBCO films. The YBCO epitaxial films with high transition temperatures Tc of ˜90 K have been deposited in situ only under the conditions of substrate temperatures Ts of ˜650-˜700 °C and oxygen partial pressure PO2 of ˜5×10-3-˜10×10-3 Torr, which are in close proximity to the critical stability/decomposition line for YBa2Cu3O6 in the ordinary Y-Ba-Cu-O phase diagram. Using a quadrupole mass spectrometer, a high density of atomic oxygen has directly been observed to be efficiently produced in the sputter glow discharge under the above optimum conditions of PO2. This atomic oxygen has played a key role in promoting the formation of the perovskite structure and the epitaxial growth of the YBCO films. Furthermore, Shapiro steps have successfully been observed for a Nb-YBCO point-contact junction, which is made by pressing a Nb needle on a surface-etched YBCO epitaxial film, under 525.4 GHz submillimeter-wave irradiation.

  5. Epitaxy, thin films and superlattices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jagd Christensen, Morten

    1997-05-01

    This report is the result of structural investigations of 3d transition metal superlattices consisting of Fe/V, Cr/Mn, V/Mn and Fe/Mn, and a structural and magnetic study of a series of Ho/Pr alloys. The work includes preparation and characterization of substrates as well as growth of thin films and Fe/V superlattices by molecular beam epitaxy, including in-situ characterization by reflection high energy electron diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy. Structural characterization has been done by x-ray diffraction and neutron diffraction. The x-ray diffraction experiments have been performed on the rotating copper anode at Risoe, and at synchrotron facilities in Hamburg and Brookhaven, and the neutron scattering was done at the Danish research reactor DR3 at Risoe. In addition to longitudinal scans, giving information about the structural parameters in the modulation direction, non-specular scans were also performed. This type of scans gives information about in-plane orientation and lattice parameters. From the analysis, structural information is obtained about lattice parameters, epitaxial strain, coherence lengths and crystallographic orientation for the superlattice systems, except Fe/Mn superlattices, which could not be modelled. For the Ho/Pr alloys, x-ray magnetic scattering was performed, and the crystal and magnetic structure was investigated. (au)

  6. Epitaxy, thin films and superlattices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jagd Christensen, Morten

    1997-05-01

    This report is the result of structural investigations of 3d transition metal superlattices consisting of Fe/V, Cr/Mn, V/Mn and Fe/Mn, and a structural and magnetic study of a series of Ho/Pr alloys. The work includes preparation and characterization of substrates as well as growth of thin films and Fe/V superlattices by molecular beam epitaxy, including in-situ characterization by reflection high energy electron diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy. Structural characterization has been done by x-ray diffraction and neutron diffraction. The x-ray diffraction experiments have been performed on the rotating copper anode at Risoe, and at synchrotron facilities in Hamburg and Brookhaven, and the neutron scattering was done at the Danish research reactor DR3 at Risoe. In addition to longitudinal scans, giving information about the structural parameters in the modulation direction, non-specular scans were also performed. This type of scans gives information about in-plane orientation and lattice parameters. From the analysis, structural information is obtained about lattice parameters, epitaxial strain, coherence lengths and crystallographic orientation for the superlattice systems, except Fe/Mn superlattices, which could not be modelled. For the Ho/Pr alloys, x-ray magnetic scattering was performed, and the crystal and magnetic structure was investigated. (au) 14 tabs.; 58 ills., 96 refs.

  7. Growth and structural investigations of epitaxial hexagonal YMnO3 thin films deposited on wurtzite GaN(001) substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balasubramanian, K.R.; Chang, Kai-Chieh; Mohammad, Feroz A.; Porter, Lisa M.; Salvador, Paul A.; DiMaio, Jeffrey; Davis, Robert F.

    2006-01-01

    Epitaxial hexagonal YMnO 3 (h-YMnO 3 ) films having sharp (00l) X-ray diffraction peaks were grown above 700 deg. C in 5 mTorr O 2 via pulsed laser deposition both on as-received wurtzite GaN/AlN/6H-SiC(001) (w-GaN) substrates as well as on w-GaN surfaces that were etched in 50% HF solution. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed an interfacial layer between film and the unetched substrate; this layer was absent in those samples wherein an etched substrate was used. However, the substrate treatment did not affect the epitaxial arrangement between the h-YMnO 3 film and w-GaN substrate. The epitaxial relationships of the h-YMnO 3 films with the w-GaN(001) substrate was determined via X-ray diffraction to be (001) YMnO 3 -parallel (001) GaN : [11-bar0] YMnO 3 -parallel [110] GaN ; in other words, the basal planes of the film and the substrate are aligned parallel to one another, as are the most densely packed directions in planes of the film and the substrate. Interestingly, this arrangement has a larger lattice mismatch than if the principal axes of the unit cells were aligned

  8. Film-thickness and composition dependence of epitaxial thin-film PZT-based

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nguyen, Duc Minh; Dekkers, Jan M.; Vu, Hung Ngoc; Rijnders, Augustinus J.H.M.

    2013-01-01

    The transverse piezoelectric coefficient e31,f and mass-sensitivity were measured on piezoelectric cantilevers based on epitaxial PZT thin-films with film-thicknesses ranging from 100 to 2000 nm. The highest values of e31,f and mass-sensitivity were observed at a film thickness of 500–750 nm, while

  9. Ga-assisted catalyst-free growth mechanism of GaAs nanowires by molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colombo, C.; Spirkoska, D.; Frimmer, M.; Abstreiter, G.; Fontcuberta i Morral, A.

    2008-01-01

    The mechanisms of Ga-assisted GaAs nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy are addressed. The axial and radial growth rates as a function of the Ga rate and As pressure indicate that on the opposite of what is observed in thin film epitaxy, the growth rate of the nanowires is arsenic limited. As a consequence, the axial growth rate of the wires can be controlled by the As 4 pressure. Additionally, due to the small As 4 pressure leading to nanowire growth, the deposition on the facets is very slow, leading to a much lower radial growth rate. Finally, we present a model that is able to accurately describe the presented observations and predicts a maximum length of nontapered nanowires of 40 μm

  10. Properties of ZrN films as substrate masks in liquid phase epitaxial lateral overgrowth of compound semiconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dobosz, D.; Zytkiewicz, Z.R.; Jakiela, R.; Golaszewska, K.; Kaminska, E.; Piotrowska, A.; Piotrowski, T.T.; Barcz, A.

    2005-01-01

    The usefulness of ZrN films as masks for epitaxial lateral overgrowth of GaAs and GaSb by liquid phase epitaxy is studied. It was observed that during the growth process ZrN masks are mechanically stable, they adhere strongly to the substrate and do not show any signs of degradation even at the growth temperature as high as 750 C. Moreover, perfect selectivity of GaAs and GaSb epitaxy was obtained on ZrN masked substrates ensuring the growth wide and thin layers. To study the influence of growth conditions on electrical resistivity of the mask, ZrN films deposited on GaAs substrates were annealed in various atmospheres. It was found that at temperatures higher than about 580 C the ZrN masks become highly resistive when heat-treated in hydrogen flow employed during growth. Usually, LPE growth temperature for GaAs is higher. Thus, ELO growth of GaAs by LPE becomes more difficult, though still possible, if ZrN masks are to be applied as buried electrical contacts. For GaSb ELO layers however, typical LPE growth temperature is about 480 C. This allows us to grow high quality GaSb ELO layers by LPE still preserving high electrical conductivity of ZrN mask. (copyright 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  11. Structural characterization of ZnO films grown by molecular beam epitaxy on sapphire with MgO buffer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pecz, B.; El-Shaer, A.; Bakin, A.; Mofor, A.-C.; Waag, A.; Stoemenos, J.

    2006-01-01

    The structural characteristics of the ZnO film grown on sapphire substrate using a thin MgO buffer layer were studied using transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution x-ray diffraction. The growth was carried out in a modified plasma-molecular beam epitaxy system. The observed misfit dislocations were well confined at the sapphire overgrown interface exhibiting domain matching epitaxy, where the integral multiples of lattice constants match across the interface. The main extended defects in the ZnO film were the threading dislocations having a mean density of 4x10 9 cm -2 . The formation of the MgO buffer layer as well as the ZnO growth were monitored in situ by reflection high-energy electron diffraction. The very thin ∼1 nm, MgO buffer layer can partially interdiffuse with the ZnO as well as react with the Al 2 O 3 substrate forming an intermediate epitaxial layer having the spinel (MgO/Al 2 O 3 ) structure

  12. Epitaxial growth of GaSb on V-grooved Si (001) substrates with an ultrathin GaAs stress relaxing layer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Qiang; Lai, Billy; Lau, Kei May

    2017-10-01

    We report epitaxial growth of GaSb nano-ridge structures and planar thin films on V-groove patterned Si (001) substrates by leveraging the aspect ratio trapping technique. GaSb was deposited on {111} Si facets of the V-shaped trenches using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition with a 7 nm GaAs growth initiation layer. Transmission electron microscopy analysis reveals the critical role of the GaAs layer in providing a U-shaped surface for subsequent GaSb epitaxy. A network of misfit dislocations was uncovered at the GaSb/GaAs hetero-interface. We studied the evolution of the lattice relaxation as the growth progresses from closely pitched GaSb ridges to coalesced thin films using x-ray diffraction. The omega rocking curve full-width-at-half-maximum of the resultant GaSb thin film is among the lowest values reported by molecular beam epitaxy, substantiating the effectiveness of the defect necking mechanism. These results thus present promising opportunities for the heterogeneous integration of devices based on 6.1 Å family compound semiconductors.

  13. Growth, structural, and electrical properties of germanium-on-silicon heterostructure by molecular beam epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, Aheli; Clavel, Michael B.; Nguyen, Peter D.; Meeker, Michael A.; Khodaparast, Giti A.; Bodnar, Robert J.; Hudait, Mantu K.

    2017-09-01

    The growth, morphological, and electrical properties of thin-film Ge grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si using a two-step growth process were investigated. High-resolution x-ray diffraction analysis demonstrated ˜0.10% tensile-strained Ge epilayer, owing to the thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between Ge and Si, and negligible epilayer lattice tilt. Micro-Raman spectroscopic analysis corroborated the strain-state of the Ge thin-film. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy revealed the formation of 90° Lomer dislocation network at Ge/Si heterointerface, suggesting the rapid and complete relaxation of Ge epilayer during growth. Atomic force micrographs exhibited smooth surface morphology with surface roughness published Dit data for Ge MOS devices, as a function of threading dislocation density within the Ge layer. The results obtained were comparable with Ge MOS devices integrated on Si via alternative buffer schemes. This comprehensive study of directly-grown epitaxial Ge-on-Si provides a pathway for the development of Ge-based electronic devices on Si.

  14. Epitaxial growth and structural characterization of Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng, W.; Lemee, N.; Holc, J.; Kosec, M.; Blinc, R.; Karkut, M.G.

    2009-01-01

    We have grown lead iron niobate thin films with composition Pb(Fe 1/2 Nb 1/2 )O 3 (PFN) on (0 0 1) SrTiO 3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The influence of the deposition conditions on the phase purity was studied. Due to similar thermodynamic stability spaces, a pyrochlore phase often coexists with the PFN perovskite phase. By optimizing the kinetic parameters, we succeeded in identifying a deposition window which resulted in epitaxial perovskite-phase PFN thin films with no identifiable trace of impurity phases appearing in the X-ray diffractograms. PFN films having thicknesses between 20 and 200 nm were smooth and epitaxially oriented with the substrate and as demonstrated by RHEED streaks which were aligned with the substrate axes. X-ray diffraction showed that the films were completely c-axis oriented and of excellent crystalline quality with low mosaicity (X-ray rocking curve FWHM≤0.09 deg.). The surface roughness of thin films was also investigated by atomic force microscopy. The root-mean-square roughness varies between 0.9 nm for 50-nm-thick films to 16 nm for 100-nm-thick films. We also observe a correlation between grain size, surface roughness and film thickness.

  15. Avoiding polar catastrophe in the growth of polarly orientated nickel perovskite thin films by reactive oxide molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, H. F.; Liu, Z. T.; Fan, C. C.; Xiang, P.; Zhang, K. L.; Li, M. Y.; Liu, J. S.; Yao, Q.; Shen, D. W.

    2016-01-01

    By means of the state-of-the-art reactive oxide molecular beam epitaxy, we synthesized (001)- and (111)-orientated polar LaNiO 3 thin films. In order to avoid the interfacial reconstructions induced by polar catastrophe, screening metallic Nb-doped SrTiO 3 and iso-polarity LaAlO 3 substrates were chosen to achieve high-quality (001)-orientated films in a layer-by-layer growth mode. For largely polar (111)-orientated films, we showed that iso-polarity LaAlO 3 (111) substrate was more suitable than Nb-doped SrTiO 3 . In situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction, ex situ high-resolution X-ray diffraction, and atomic force microscopy were used to characterize these films. Our results show that special attentions need to be paid to grow high-quality oxide films with polar orientations, which can prompt the explorations of all-oxide electronics and artificial interfacial engineering to pursue intriguing emergent physics like proposed interfacial superconductivity and topological phases in LaNiO 3 based superlattices.

  16. Investigation on orientation, epitaxial growth and microstructure of a-axis-, c-axis-, (103)/(110)- and (113)-oriented YBa2Cu3O7-δ films prepared on (001), (110) and (111) SrTiO3 single crystal substrates by spray atomizing and coprecipitating laser chemical vapor deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Pei; Wang, Ying; Huang, Zhi liang; Mao, Yangwu; Xu, Yuan Lai

    2015-04-01

    a-axis-, c-axis-, (103)/(110)- and (113)-oriented YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) films were pareared by spray atomizing and coprecipitating laser chemical vapor deposition. The surface of the a-axis-oriented YBCO film consisted of rectangular needle-like grains whose in-plane epitaxial growth relationship was YBCO [100] // STO [001] (YBCO [001] // STO [100]), and that of the c-axis-oriented YBCO film consisted of dense flat surface with epitaxial growth relationship of YBCO [001] // STO [001] (YBCO [100] //STO [100]). For the (103)/(110)-oriented and (113)-oriented YBCO film, they showed wedge-shaped and triangle-shaped grains, with corresponding in-plane epitaxial growth relationship of YBCO [110] // STO [110] (YBCO [010] // STO [010]) and YBCO [100] // STO [100] (YBCO [113] // STO [111], respectively.

  17. The epitaxial growth and interfacial strain study of VO{sub 2}/MgF{sub 2} (001) films by synchrotron based grazing incidence X-ray diffraction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fan, L.L. [Key Laboratory for Advanced Technology in Environmental Protection of Jiangsu Province, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051 (China); National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029 (China); Chen, S. [National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029 (China); Liu, Q.H. [Science and Technology on Electro-optical Information Security Control Laboratory, Tianjin 300300 (China); Liao, G.M.; Chen, Y.L.; Ren, H. [National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029 (China); Zou, C.W., E-mail: czou@ustc.edu.cn [National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029 (China)

    2016-09-05

    High quality VO{sub 2} films with different thickness were epitaxially grown on MgF{sub 2} (001) substrates by oxide molecular beam epitaxy method. The evolution of interfacial strain was investigated by synchrotron based grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. By adjusting the incidence angles, the penetration depth of X-ray in VO{sub 2} film could be controlled and the thickness-depend lattice distortion in the epitaxial VO{sub 2} film was investigated. Due to the lattice mismatching, the pronounced tensile strain was observed in ultra-thin VO{sub 2} film. As the film thickness increasing, the interfacial strain relaxed gradually and became fully relaxed for thick VO{sub 2} films. Combined with the electric transport measurement, it was revealed that the phase transition temperature of ultra-thin VO{sub 2} film decreased greatly. The effect of interfacial strain induced phase transition modulation and the intrinsic mechanism was systematically discussed. - Highlights: • We prepared high quality VO{sub 2} epitaxial films on MgF{sub 2} (001) substrates by oxide molecular beam epitaxy method. • Synchrotron radiation grazing incidence X-ray diffraction was employed to detect evolution of strain along depth profile. • Based on a classic band structure model, the mechanism of strain controlled phase transition of VO{sub 2} was discussed.

  18. Thin film epitaxy and structure property correlations for non-polar ZnO films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pant, P.; Budai, J.D.; Aggarwal, R.; Narayan, Roger J.; Narayan, J.

    2009-01-01

    Heteroepitaxial growth and strain relaxation were investigated in non-polar a-plane (1 1 -2 0)ZnO films grown on r-plane (1 0 -1 2)sapphire substrates in the temperature range 200-700 deg. C by pulsed laser deposition. The lattice misfit in the plane of the film for this orientation varied from -1.26% in [0 0 0 1] to -18.52% in the [-1 1 0 0] direction. The alignment of (1 1 -2 0)ZnO planes parallel to (1 0 -1 2)sapphire planes was confirmed by X-ray diffraction θ-2θ scans over the entire temperature range. X-ray φ-scans revealed the epitaxial relationship:[0 0 0 1]ZnO-parallel [-1 1 0 1]sap; [-1 1 0 0]ZnO-parallel [-1 -1 2 0]sap. Depending on the growth temperature, variations in the structural, optical and electrical properties were observed in the grown films. Room temperature photoluminescence for films grown at 700 deg. C shows a strong band-edge emission. The ratio of the band-edge emission to green band emission is 135:1, indicating reduced defects and excellent optical quality of the films. The resistivity data for the films grown at 700 deg. C shows semiconducting behavior with room temperature resistivity of 2.2 x 10 -3 Ω-cm.

  19. Accompanying growth and room-temperature ferromagnetism of η-Mn3N2 thin films by molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Fengmei; Liu, Yajing; Yang, Mei; Wu, Shuxiang; Zhou, Wenqi; Li, Shuwei

    2013-01-01

    η-phase manganese nitride films have been grown on LaAlO 3 (100) and LaSrAlO 4 (001) substrates by using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. On the basis of reflective high energy electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, it is confirmed that two types of η-Mn 3 N 2 with different lattice constants coexist in the films due to the lattice mismatches between the Mn 3 N 2 films and the substrates. Magnetic properties of the films were characterized by a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer at room temperature. The Mn 3 N 2 films on LaAlO 3 substrate were found to have room-temperature ferromagnetism. Two potential interaction mechanisms are proposed regarding the origin of the observed ferromagnetism. - Highlights: ► The films of two types of η-Mn 3 N 2 have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy. ► Mn 3 N 2 A and Mn 3 N 2 B coexisted in the films on LaAlO 3 and LaSrAlO 4 . ► The room-temperature ferromagnetism of the Mn 3 N 2 films on LaAlO 3 was obtained

  20. Growth of epitaxial Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 films by pulsed laser deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, J.; Safari, A.; Pfeffer, R. L.

    1992-10-01

    Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films with a composition near the morphotropic phase boundary have been grown on MgO (100) and Y1Ba2Cu3Ox (YBCO) coated MgO substrates. Substrate temperature and oxygen pressure were varied to achieve ferroelectric films with a perovskite structure. Films grown on MgO had the perovskite structure with an epitaxial relationship with the MgO substrate. On the other hand, films grown on the YBCO/MgO substrate had an oriented structure to the surface normal with a misorientation in the plane parallel to the surface. The measured dielectric constant and loss tangent at 1 kHz were 670 and 0.05, respectively. The remnant polarization and coercive field were 42 μC/cm2 and 53 kV/cm. A large internal bias field (12 kV/cm) was observed in the as-deposited state of the undoped PZT films.

  1. Hydride vapor phase epitaxy growth of GaN, InGaN, ScN, and ScAIN

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bohnen, T.

    2010-01-01

    Chemical vapor deposition (CVD); hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE); gallium nitride (GaN); indium gallium nitride (InGaN); scandium nitride (ScN); scandium aluminum nitride (ScAlN); semiconductors; thin films; nanowires; III nitrides; crystal growth - We studied the HVPE growth of different III

  2. Polarity control of GaN epitaxial films grown on LiGaO2(001) substrates and its mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Yulin; Wang, Wenliang; Li, Xiaochan; Li, Yuan; Huang, Liegen; Li, Guoqiang

    2017-08-16

    The polarity of GaN epitaxial films grown on LiGaO 2 (001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition has been well controlled. It is experimentally proved that the GaN epitaxial films grown on nitrided LiGaO 2 (001) substrates reveal Ga-polarity, while the GaN epitaxial films grown on non-nitrided LiGaO 2 (001) substrates show N-polarity. The growth mechanisms for these two cases are systematically studied by first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. Theoretical calculation presents that the adsorption of a Ga atom preferentially occurs at the center of three N atoms stacked on the nitrided LiGaO 2 (001) substrates, which leads to the formation of Ga-polarity GaN. Whereas the adsorption of a Ga atom preferentially deposits at the top of a N atom stacked on the non-nitrided LiGaO 2 (001) substrates, which results in the formation of N-polarity GaN. This work of controlling the polarity of GaN epitaxial films is of paramount importance for the fabrication of group-III nitride devices for various applications.

  3. Strain-induced properties of epitaxial VOx thin films

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rata, AD; Hibma, T

    We have grown VOx thin films on different substrates in order to investigate the influence of epitaxial strain on the transport properties. We found that the electric conductivity is much larger for films grown under compressive strain on SrTiO3 substrates, as compared to bulk material and VOx films

  4. Low temperature epitaxy of Ge-Sb-Te films on BaF{sub 2} (111) by pulsed laser deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thelander, E., E-mail: erik.thelander@iom-leipzig.de; Gerlach, J. W.; Ross, U.; Lotnyk, A.; Rauschenbach, B. [Leibniz-Institut für Oberflächenmodifizierung e.V., Leipzig 04318 (Germany)

    2014-12-01

    Pulsed laser deposition was employed to deposit epitaxial Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5}-layers on the (111) plane of BaF{sub 2} single crystal substrates. X-ray diffraction measurements show a process temperature window for epitaxial growth between 85 °C and 295 °C. No crystalline growth is observed for lower temperatures, whereas higher temperatures lead to strong desorption of the film constituents. The films are of hexagonal structure with lattice parameters consistent with existing models. X-ray pole figure measurements reveal that the films grow with one single out-of-plane crystal orientation, but rotational twin domains are present. The out-of-plane epitaxial relationship is determined to be Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5}(0001) || BaF{sub 2}(111), whereas the in-plane relationship is characterized by two directions, i.e., Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} [-12-10] || BaF{sub 2}[1-10] and Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5}[1-210] || BaF{sub 2}[1-10]. Aberration-corrected high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy was used to resolve the local atomic structure and confirm the hexagonal structure of the films.

  5. Epitaxial growth of Er, Ti doped LiNbO3 films prepared by sol-gel method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Makoto; Yoshiga, Tsuyoshi; Kajitani, Naofumi; Takeda, Yuki; Sato, Shoji; Wakita, Koichi; Ohnishi, Naoyuki; Hotta, Kazutoshi; Kurachi, Masato

    2006-01-01

    Erbium (Er 3+ ) doped lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ) thick films were deposited on z-cut congruent LiNbO 3 (LN) substrate by the sol-gel method from the 0.20 mol/dm 3 precursor solution containing various Er 3+ concentration and 0.10 mol/dm 3 poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and their crystal characteristics were evaluated. The Er 3+ concentration in the LN film was controlled by the Er 3+ concentration in the starting solution. The orientation relationships between Er doped LN films and substrates were determined by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, and (006) oriented Er doped LN epitaxial layers with parallel epitaxial relationships could be grown on the z-cut LN wafer. Moreover, it was made clear from the electron beam diffraction measurements that the film came to be polycrystalline, when the Er concentration was over 3 mol%. The refractive index of Er-doped LN films decreased with increasing Er concentration. 1.5 mol% Ti: 1.0 mol% Er LN films, which acted as a waveguide, were prepared by our so-gel method. It showed the 1530 nm emission by 980 nm excitation, which was considered to be due to the Er 3+ corresponding to the 4 I 13/2 → 4 I 15/2 transition. (author)

  6. Step driven competitive epitaxial and self-limited growth of graphene on copper surface

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lili Fan

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available The existence of surface steps was found to have significant function and influence on the growth of graphene on copper via chemical vapor deposition. The two typical growth modes involved were found to be influenced by the step morphologies on copper surface, which led to our proposed step driven competitive growth mechanism. We also discovered a protective role of graphene in preserving steps on copper surface. Our results showed that wide and high steps promoted epitaxial growth and yielded multilayer graphene domains with regular shape, while dense and low steps favored self-limited growth and led to large-area monolayer graphene films. We have demonstrated that controllable growth of graphene domains of specific shape and large-area continuous graphene films are feasible.

  7. A comparative study of transport properties in polycrystalline and epitaxial chromium nitride films

    KAUST Repository

    Duan, X. F.

    2013-01-08

    Polycrystalline CrNx films on Si(100) and glass substrates and epitaxial CrNx films on MgO(100) substrates were fabricated by reactive sputtering with different nitrogen gas flow rates (fN2). With the increase of fN2, a lattice phase transformation from metallic Cr2N to semiconducting CrN appears in both polycrystalline and epitaxial CrNx films. At fN2= 100 sccm, the low-temperature conductance mechanism is dominated by both Mott and Efros-Shklovskii variable-range hopping in either polycrystalline or epitaxial CrN films. In all of the polycrystalline and epitaxial films, only the polycrystalline CrNx films fabricated at fN2 = 30 and 50 sccm exhibit a discontinuity in ρ(T) curves at 260-280 K, indicating that both the N-vacancy concentration and grain boundaries play important roles in the metal-insulator transition. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.

  8. Preparation and structure characterization of SmCo5(0001) epitaxial thin films grown on Cu(111) underlayers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtake, Mitsuru; Nukaga, Yuri; Futamoto, Masaaki; Kirino, Fumiyoshi

    2009-01-01

    SmCo 5 (0001) epitaxial films were prepared on Cu(111) single-crystal underlayers formed on Al 2 O 3 (0001) substrates at 500 deg. C. The nucleation and growth mechanism of (0001)-oriented SmCo 5 crystal on Cu(111) underlayer is investigated and a method to control the nucleation is proposed. The SmCo 5 epitaxial thin film formed directly on Cu underlayer consists of two types of domains whose orientations are rotated around the film normal by 30 deg. each other. By introducing a thin Co seed layer on the Cu underlayer, a SmCo 5 (0001) single-crystal thin film is successfully obtained. Nucleation of SmCo 5 crystal on Cu underlayer seems controllable by varying the interaction between the Cu underlayer and the SmCo 5 layer

  9. InAs film grown on Si(111) by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caroff, P; Jeppsson, M; Mandl, B; Wernersson, L-E; Wheeler, D; Seabaugh, A; Keplinger, M; Stangl, J; Bauer, G

    2008-01-01

    We report the successful growth of high quality InAs films directly on Si(111) by Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy. A nearly mirror-like and uniform InAs film is obtained at 580 0 C for a thickness of 2 μm. We measured a high value of the electron mobility of 5100 cm 2 /Vs at room temperature. The growth is performed using a standard two-step procedure. The influence of the nucleation layer, group V flow rate, and layer thickness on the electrical and morphological properties of the InAs film have been investigated. We present results of our studies by Atomic Force Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, electrical Hall/van der Pauw and structural X-Ray Diffraction characterization

  10. Epitaxial growth and electronic structure of oxyhydride SrVO{sub 2}H thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Katayama, Tsukasa; Chikamatsu, Akira, E-mail: chikamatsu@chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Yamada, Keisuke; Onozuka, Tomoya [Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Shigematsu, Kei [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 213-0012 (Japan); Minohara, Makoto; Kumigashira, Hiroshi [Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801 (Japan); Ikenaga, Eiji [Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI)/SPring-8, Mikazuki-cho, Hyogo 679-5198 (Japan); Hasegawa, Tetsuya [Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 213-0012 (Japan)

    2016-08-28

    Oxyhydride SrVO{sub 2}H epitaxial thin films were fabricated on SrTiO{sub 3} substrates via topotactic hydridation of oxide SrVO{sub 3} films using CaH{sub 2}. Structural and composition analyses suggested that the SrVO{sub 2}H film possessed one-dimensionally ordered V-H{sup −}-V bonds along the out-of-plane direction. The synthesis temperature could be lowered by reducing the film thickness, and the SrVO{sub 2}H film was reversible to SrVO{sub 3} by oxidation through annealing in air. Photoemission and X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements revealed the V{sup 3+} valence state in the SrVO{sub 2}H film, indicating that the hydrogen existed as hydride. Furthermore, the electronic density of states was highly suppressed at the Fermi energy, consistent with the prediction that tetragonal distortion induces metal to insulation transition.

  11. Growth of (100)-highly textured BaBiO{sub 3} thin films on silicon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ferreyra, C. [GIyA and INN, CNEA, Av. Gral Paz 1499, 1650 San Martín, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Departamento de Física, Facultad Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón 1, Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Marchini, F. [Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) (Argentina); Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química-Física, INQUIMAE-CONICET, Facultad Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón 2, Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Granell, P. [INTI, CMNB, Av. Gral Paz 5445, B1650KNA San Martín, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Golmar, F. [Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) (Argentina); INTI, CMNB, Av. Gral Paz 5445, B1650KNA San Martín, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología, UNSAM, Campus Miguelete, 1650 San Martín, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Albornoz, C. [GIyA and INN, CNEA, Av. Gral Paz 1499, 1650 San Martín, Buenos Aires (Argentina); and others

    2016-08-01

    We report on the growth and characterization of non-epitaxial but (100)-highly textured BaBiO{sub 3} thin films on silicon substrates. We have found the deposition conditions that optimize the texture, and show that the textured growth is favoured by the formation of a BaO layer at the first growth stages. X-ray diffraction Φ-scans, together with the observation that the same textured growth is found on films grown on Pt and SiO{sub 2} buffered Si, demonstrate the absence of epitaxy. Finally, we have shown that our (100)-oriented BaBiO{sub 3} films can be used as suitable buffers for the growth of textured heterostructures on silicon, which could facilitate the integration of potential devices with standard electronics. - Highlights: • BaBiO{sub 3} thin films were grown on Si substrates and characterized. • Films prepared using optimized conditions are highly textured in the (100) direction. • The absence of in-plane texture was demonstrated by X-ray diffraction. • Our films are suitable buffers for the growth of (100)-textured oxide heterostructures.

  12. Selective epitaxial growth of stepwise SiGe:B at the recessed sources and drains: A growth kinetics and strain distribution study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sangmo Koo

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The selective epitaxial growth of Si1-xGex and the related strain properties were studied. Epitaxial Si1-xGex films were deposited on (100 and (110 orientation wafers and on patterned Si wafers with recessed source and drain structures via ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition using different growing steps and Ge concentrations. The stepwise process was split into more than 6 growing steps that ranged in thicknesses from a few to 120 nm in order to cover the wide stages of epitaxial growth. The growth rates of SiGe on the plane and patterned wafers were examined and a dependence on the surface orientation was identified. As the germanium concentration increased, defects were generated with thinner Si1-xGex growth. The defect generation was the result of the strain evolution which was examined for channel regions with a Si1-xGex source/drain (S/D structure.

  13. Epitaxial rare-earth superlattices and films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salamon, M.B.; Beach, R.S.; Flynn, C.P.; Matheny, A.; Tsui, F.; Rhyne, J.J.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports on epitaxial growth of rare-earth superlattices which is demonstrated to have opened important new areas of research on magnetic materials. The propagation magnetic order through non-magnetic elements, including its range and anisotropy, has been studied. The importance of magnetostriction in determining the phase diagram is demonstrated by the changes induced by epitaxial clamping. The cyrstallinity of epitaxial superlattices provides the opportunity to study interfacial magnetism by conventional x-ray and neutron scattering methods

  14. Epitaxial effects in thin films of high-Tc cuprates with the K2NiF4 structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naito, Michio; Sato, Hisashi; Tsukada, Akio; Yamamoto, Hideki

    2018-03-01

    La2-xSrxCuO4 (LSCO) and La2-xBaxCuO4 (LBCO) have been recognized as the archetype materials of "hole-doped" high-Tc superconductors. Their crystal structures are relatively simple with a small number of constituent cation elements. In addition, the doping level can be varied by the chemical substitution over a wide range enough to obtain the full spectrum of doping-dependent electronic and magnetic properties. These attractive features have dedicated many researchers to thin-film growth of LSCO and LBCO. The critical temperature (Tc) of LSCO and LBCO is sensitive to strain as manifested by a positive pressure coefficient of Tc in bulk samples. In general, films are strained if they are grown on lattice-mismatched substrates (epitaxial strain). Early attempts (before 1997) at the growth of LSCO and LBCO films resulted in depressed Tc below 30 K as they were grown on a commonly used SrTiO3 substrate (in-plane lattice parameter asub = 3.905 Å): the in-plane lattice parameters of LSCO and LBCO are ≤3.80 Å, and hence tensile epitaxial strain is introduced. The situation was changed by the use of LaSrAlO4 substrates with a slightly shorter in-plane lattice constant (asub = 3.756 Å). On LaSrAlO4 substrates, the Tc reaches 45 K in La1.85Sr0.15CuO4, 47 K in La1.85Ba0.15CuO4, and 56 K in ozone-oxidized La2CuO4+δ films, substantially higher than the Tc's of the bulk compounds. The Tc increase in La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 films on LaSrAlO4 and decrease on SrTiO3 are semi-quantitatively in accord with the phenomenological estimations based on the anisotropic strain coefficients of Tc (dTc/dεi). In this review article, we describe the growth and properties of films of cuprates having the K2NiF4 structure, mainly focusing on the increase/decrease of Tc by epitaxial strain and quasi-stable phase formation by epitaxial stabilization. We further extract the structural and/or physical parameters controlling Tc toward microscopic understanding of the variation of Tc by epitaxial strain.

  15. Influence of in-situ deposited SiNx interlayer on crystal quality of GaN epitaxial films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Teng; Jia, Wei; Tong, Guangyun; Zhai, Guangmei; Li, Tianbao; Dong, Hailiang; Xu, Bingshe

    2018-05-01

    GaN epitaxial films with SiNx interlayers were prepared by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on c-plane sapphire substrates. The influences of deposition times and locations of SiNx interlayers on crystal quality of GaN epitaxial films were studied. Under the optimal growth time of 120 s for the SiNx interlayer, the dislocation density of GaN film is reduced to 4.05 × 108 cm-2 proved by high resolution X-ray diffraction results. It is found that when the SiNx interlayer deposits on the GaN nucleation islands, the subsequent GaN film has the lowest dislocation density of only 2.89 × 108 cm-2. Moreover, a model is proposed to illustrate the morphological evolution and associated propagation processes of TDs in GaN epi-layers with SiNx interlayers for different deposition times and locations.

  16. A study of strain in thin epitaxial films of yttrium silicide on Si(111)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegal, Michelle F.; Martínez-Miranda, L. J.; Santiago-Avilés, J. J.; Graham, W. R.; Siegal, M. P.

    1994-02-01

    We present the results of an x-ray diffraction analysis of epitaxial yttrium silicide films grown on Si(111), with thicknesses ranging from 14 to 100 Å. The macroscopic strain along the out-of-plane direction for films containing pits or pinholes follows the trend observed previously in films of thicknesses up to 510 Å. The out-of-plane lattice parameter decreases linearly with film thickness. We show preliminary evidence that pinhole-free films do not follow the above trend, and that strain in these films has the opposite sign than in films with pinholes. Finally, our results also indicate that the mode of growth, coupled to the interfacial thermal properties of the films, affects the observed value for the strain in the films.

  17. A study of strain in thin epitaxial films of yttrium silicide on Si(111)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siegal, M.F.; Martinez-Miranda, L.J.; Santiago-Aviles, J.J.; Graham, W.R.; Siegal, M.P.

    1994-01-01

    We present the results of an x-ray diffraction analysis of epitaxial yttrium silicide films grown on Si(111), with thicknesses ranging from 14 to 100 A. The macroscopic strain along the out-of-plane direction for films containing pits or pinholes follows the trend observed previously in films of thicknesses up to 510 A. The out-of-plane lattice parameter decreases linearly with film thickness. We show preliminary evidence that pinhole-free films do not follow the above trend, and that strain in these films has the opposite sign than in films with pinholes. Finally, our results also indicate that the mode of growth, coupled to the interfacial thermal properties of the films, affects the observed value for the strain in the films

  18. Epitaxial growth of indium oxyfluoride thin films by reactive pulsed laser deposition: Structural change induced by fluorine insertion into vacancy sites in bixbyite structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okazaki, Sohei; Hirose, Yasushi; Nakao, Shoichiro; Yang, Chang; Harayama, Isao; Sekiba, Daiichiro; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

    2014-01-01

    InO x F y thin films were epitaxially grown on Y-stabilized ZrO 2 (111) substrates by reactive pulsed laser deposition. By changing the substrate temperature (T S ), we were able to control the fluorine content of the film. Phase-pure epitaxial thin films with bixbyite-like ordering in the anion-site occupancy were obtained at high T S (≥ 240 °C), where fluorine was inserted into the vacancy sites in the bixbyite lattice up to y / (x + y) ∼ 0.3. By decreasing T S , y / (x + y) increased and the bixbyite-like ordering disappeared; simultaneously, fluorine-rich and fluorine-poor subphases emerged. The films grown at T S ≤ 150 °C were amorphous and exhibited higher optical absorbance and electrical resistivity than the epitaxial films. - Highlights: • InO x F y epitaxial thin films with high fluorine concentration were grown on Y:ZrO 2 . • Anion composition and structural, optical and transport properties were studied. • Fluorine is topotactically inserted into the oxygen vacancy sites in bixbyite cell. • Bixbyite-like ordering of the anion site occupancy was conserved in y / (x + y) ≤ ∼ 0.3

  19. A nonlinear model for surface segregation and solute trapping during planar film growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Xiaoying; Spencer, Brian J.

    2007-01-01

    Surface segregation and solute trapping during planar film growth is one of the important issues in molecular beam epitaxy, yet the study on surface composition has been largely restricted to experimental work. This paper introduces some mathematical models of surface composition during planar film growth. Analytical solutions are obtained for the surface composition during growth

  20. Microwave impedance of epitaxial high-temperature superconductor films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Melkov, G.A.; Malyshev, V.Yu.; Bagada, A.V.

    1995-01-01

    In the 3 cm band dependences of the epitaxial HTS film surface resistance on the magnitude of ac and dc magnetic fields have been measured. YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-σ films on sapphire were investigated. It was established that alternating magnetic field produces a stronger impact on the surface resistance than dc field. To explain experimental results the assumption is made that a HTS film is not an ideal superconductor and consists of series-connected sections of various types: sections of an ideal superconductor, sections of low and large resistance intragranular Josephson junctions, shunted by the ideal superconductor, and finally, sections of intergranular Josephson junctions few for epitaxial films. In these conditions the dependences of the surface resistance on dc magnetic field are caused by Abrikosov's vortices moving in ideal superconductive sections, and dependences on the amplitude of ac magnetic field are caused by switching of large resistance junctions to a low resistance state

  1. Growth modes and epitaxy of FeAl thin films on a-cut sapphire prepared by pulsed laser and ion beam assisted deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yao, Xiang; Trautvetter, Moritz; Ziemann, Paul [Institut für Festkörperphysik, Universität Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89069 Ulm (Germany); Wiedwald, Ulf [Institut für Festkörperphysik, Universität Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89069 Ulm (Germany); Fakultät für Physik, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Lotharstraße 1, 47057 Duisburg (Germany)

    2014-01-14

    FeAl films around equiatomic composition are grown on a-cut (112{sup ¯}0) sapphire substrates by ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at ambient temperature. Subsequent successive annealing is used to establish chemical order and crystallographic orientation of the films with respect to the substrate. We find a strongly [110]-textured growth for both deposition techniques. Pole figures prove the successful preparation of high quality epitaxial films by PLD with a single in-plane orientation. IBAD-grown films, however, exhibit three in-plane orientations, all of them with broad angular distributions. The difference of the two growth modes is attributed to the existence of a metastable intermediate crystalline orientation as concluded from nonassisted sputter depositions at different substrate temperatures. The formation of the chemically ordered crystalline B2 phase is accompanied by the expected transition from ferromagnetic to paramagnetic behavior of the films. In accordance with the different thermally induced structural recovery, we find a step-like magnetic transition to paramagnetic behavior after annealing for 1 h at T{sub A} = 300 °C for IBAD deposition, while PLD-grown films show a gradual decrease of ferromagnetic signals with rising annealing temperatures.

  2. The effect of metal-rich growth conditions on the microstructure of Sc{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N films grown using molecular beam epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tsui, H.C.L.; Moram, M.A. [Department of Materials, Imperial College London (United Kingdom); Goff, L.E. [Department of Materials, Imperial College London (United Kingdom); Department of Physics, University of Cambridge (United Kingdom); Barradas, N.P. [CTN - Centro de Ciencias e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Bobadela LRS (Portugal); Alves, E. [IPFN - Instituto de Plasmas e Fusao Nuclear, Lisboa (Portugal); Laboratorio de Aceleradores e Tecnologias de Radiacao, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Bobadela LRS (Portugal); Pereira, S. [CICECO and Department of Physics, Universidade de Aveiro (Portugal); Beere, H.E.; Farrer, I.; Nicoll, C.A.; Ritchie, D.A. [Department of Physics, University of Cambridge (United Kingdom)

    2015-12-15

    Epitaxial Sc{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N films with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.50 were grown using molecular beam epitaxy under metal-rich conditions. The Sc{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N growth rate increased with increasing Sc flux despite the use of metal-rich growth conditions, which is attributed to the catalytic decomposition of N{sub 2} induced by the presence of Sc. Microstructural analysis showed that phase-pure wurtzite Sc{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N was achieved up to x = 0.26, which is significantly higher than that previously reported for nitrogen-rich conditions, indicating that the use of metal-rich conditions can help to stabilise wurtzite phase Sc{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N. (copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  3. The growth of III-V nitrides heterostructure on Si substrate by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beh, K.P.; Yam, F.K.; Chin, C.W.; Tneh, S.S.; Hassan, Z.

    2010-01-01

    This paper reports the growth of InGaN/GaN/AlN epitaxial layer on Si(1 1 1) substrate by utilizing plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE) system. The as-grown film was characterized using high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) and photoluminescence (PL). High work function metals, iridium and gold were deposited on the film as metal contacts and their electrical characteristics at pre- and post-annealing were studied. The structural quality of this film is comparative to the values reported in the literature, and the indium molar fraction is 0.57 by employing Vegard's law. The relatively low yellow band emission signifies the grown film is of high quality. For metal contact studies it was found that the post-annealed sample for 5 min shows good conductivity as compared to the other samples.

  4. Hydrogen reduction in GaAsN thin films by flow rate modulated chemical beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saito, K.; Nishimura, K.; Suzuki, H.; Ohshita, Y.; Yamaguchi, M.

    2008-01-01

    The amount of residual H in the GaAsN film grown by chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) can be decreased by flow rate modulation growth. Many H atoms in the films grown by CBE exist as N-H or N-H 2 structures. Although a higher growth temperature was required for decreasing the H concentration ([H]), it caused a decrease in the N concentration ([N]). A reduction in [H] while keeping [N] constant was necessary. By providing an intermittent supply of Ga source while continuously supplying As and N sources, [H] effectively decreased in comparison with the [H] value in the film grown at the same temperature by conventional CBE without reducing [N

  5. Deposition and characterisation of epitaxial oxide thin films for SOFCs

    KAUST Repository

    Santiso, José

    2010-10-24

    This paper reviews the recent advances in the use of thin films, mostly epitaxial, for fundamental studies of materials for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) applications. These studies include the influence of film microstructure, crystal orientation and strain in oxide ionic conducting materials used as electrolytes, such as fluorites, and in mixed ionic and electronic conducting materials used as electrodes, typically oxides with perovskite or perovskite-related layered structures. The recent effort towards the enhancement of the electrochemical performance of SOFC materials through the deposition of artificial film heterostructures is also presented. These thin films have been engineered at a nanoscale level, such as the case of epitaxial multilayers or nanocomposite cermet materials. The recent progress in the implementation of thin films in SOFC devices is also reported. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.

  6. Epitaxial growth of indium oxyfluoride thin films by reactive pulsed laser deposition: Structural change induced by fluorine insertion into vacancy sites in bixbyite structure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Okazaki, Sohei [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan); CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Hirose, Yasushi, E-mail: hirose@chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan); CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Nakao, Shoichiro [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan); CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Yang, Chang [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan); CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Harayama, Isao; Sekiba, Daiichiro [Tandem Accelerator Complex, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577 (Japan); Hasegawa, Tetsuya [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan); CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan)

    2014-05-30

    InO{sub x}F{sub y} thin films were epitaxially grown on Y-stabilized ZrO{sub 2} (111) substrates by reactive pulsed laser deposition. By changing the substrate temperature (T{sub S}), we were able to control the fluorine content of the film. Phase-pure epitaxial thin films with bixbyite-like ordering in the anion-site occupancy were obtained at high T{sub S} (≥ 240 °C), where fluorine was inserted into the vacancy sites in the bixbyite lattice up to y / (x + y) ∼ 0.3. By decreasing T{sub S}, y / (x + y) increased and the bixbyite-like ordering disappeared; simultaneously, fluorine-rich and fluorine-poor subphases emerged. The films grown at T{sub S} ≤ 150 °C were amorphous and exhibited higher optical absorbance and electrical resistivity than the epitaxial films. - Highlights: • InO{sub x}F{sub y} epitaxial thin films with high fluorine concentration were grown on Y:ZrO{sub 2}. • Anion composition and structural, optical and transport properties were studied. • Fluorine is topotactically inserted into the oxygen vacancy sites in bixbyite cell. • Bixbyite-like ordering of the anion site occupancy was conserved in y / (x + y) ≤ ∼ 0.3.

  7. Growth process and structure of Er/Si(100) thin film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujii, S.; Michishita, Y.; Miyamae, N.; Suto, H.; Honda, S.; Okado, H.; Oura, K.; Katayama, M.

    2006-01-01

    The solid-phase reactive epitaxial growth processes and structures of Er/Si(100) thin films were investigated by coaxial impact-collision ion scattering spectroscopy (CAICISS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The as-deposited Er film grown at room temperature was transformed into crystalline rectangular-shaped islands after annealing at 900 deg. C. These islands have a hexagonal AlB 2 -type structure and the epitaxial relationship is determined to be ErSi 2 (011-bar0)[0001]//Si(100)[011-bar]. It has been revealed that the surface of the Er silicide island is terminated with an Er plane

  8. Junction Transport in Epitaxial Film Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Young, D. L.; Li, J. V.; Teplin, C. W.; Stradins, P.; Branz, H. M.

    2011-07-01

    We report our progress toward low-temperature HWCVD epitaxial film silicon solar cells on inexpensive seed layers, with a focus on the junction transport physics exhibited by our devices. Heterojunctions of i/p hydrogenated amorphous Si (a-Si) on our n-type epitaxial crystal Si on n++ Si wafers show space-charge-region recombination, tunneling or diffusive transport depending on both epitaxial Si quality and the applied forward voltage.

  9. Layered growth model and epitaxial growth structures for SiCAlN alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Zhaoqing; Ni Jun; Su Xiaoao; Dai Zhenhong

    2009-01-01

    Epitaxial growth structures for (SiC) 1-x (AlN) x alloys are studied using a layered growth model. First-principle calculations are used to determine the parameters in the layered growth model. The phase diagrams of epitaxial growth are given. There is a rich variety of the new metastable polytype structures at x=1/6 ,1/5 ,1/4 ,1/3 , and 1/2 in the layered growth phase diagrams. We have also calculated the electronic properties of the short periodical SiCAlN alloys predicted by our layered growth model. The results show that various ordered structures of (SiC) 1-x (AlN) x alloys with the band gaps over a wide range are possible to be synthesized by epitaxial growth.

  10. Study on structural properties of epitaxial silicon films on annealed double layer porous silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yue Zhihao; Shen Honglie; Cai Hong; Lv Hongjie; Liu Bin

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, epitaxial silicon films were grown on annealed double layer porous silicon by LPCVD. The evolvement of the double layer porous silicon before and after thermal annealing was investigated by scanning electron microscope. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to investigate the structural properties of the epitaxial silicon thin films grown at different temperature and different pressure. The results show that the surface of the low-porosity layer becomes smooth and there are just few silicon-bridges connecting the porous layer and the substrate wafer. The qualities of the epitaxial silicon thin films become better along with increasing deposition temperature. All of the Raman peaks of silicon films with different deposition pressure are situated at 521 cm -1 under the deposition temperature of 1100 °C, and the Raman intensity of the silicon film deposited at 100 Pa is much closer to that of the monocrystalline silicon wafer. The epitaxial silicon films are all (4 0 0)-oriented and (4 0 0) peak of silicon film deposited at 100 Pa is more symmetric.

  11. Upconversion photoluminescence of epitaxial Yb{sup 3+}/Er{sup 3+} codoped ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3} films on silicon substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Yang, E-mail: zhangy_acd@hotmail.com [IFW Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden (Germany); Kämpfe, Thomas [Institut für Angewandte Physik, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Bai, Gongxun [Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong (China); Mietschke, Michael; Yuan, Feifei; Zopf, Michael [IFW Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden (Germany); Abel, Stefan [IBM Research GmbH, Saümerstrasse 4, 8803 Rüschlikon (Switzerland); Eng, Lukas M. [Institut für Angewandte Physik, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Hühne, Ruben [IFW Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden (Germany); Fompeyrine, Jean [IBM Research GmbH, Saümerstrasse 4, 8803 Rüschlikon (Switzerland); Ding, Fei, E-mail: f.ding@ifw-dresden.de [IFW Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden (Germany); Schmidt, Oliver G. [IFW Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden (Germany); Material Systems for Nanoelectronics, Chemnitz University of Technology, Reichenhainer strasse 70, 09107 Chemnitz (Germany)

    2016-05-31

    Thin films of Yb{sup 3+}/Er{sup 3+} codoped Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3} (PZT:Yb/Er) have been epitaxially grown on the SrTiO{sub 3} buffered Si wafer by pulsed laser deposition. Strong upconversion photoluminescence was observed in the PZT:Yb/Er thin film. Using piezoresponse force microscopy, polar domains in the PZT:Yb/Er film can be reversibly switched with a phase change of 180°. Ferroelectric hysteresis loop shape with a well-saturated response was observed. The epitaxially grown lanthanide-doped PZT on silicon opens up a promising route to the integration of luminescent functional oxides on the silicon platform. - Highlights: • Epitaxial growth of Yb{sup 3+}/Er{sup 3+} codoped Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3} films on SrTiO{sub 3} buffered silicon • Upconversion emissions were obtained from the lanthanide ion doped thin films. • Saturated ferroelectric hysteresis loops were observed. • Polar domains were switched by PFM with a phase change of 180°.

  12. Understanding the Growth Mechanism of GaN Epitaxial Layers on Mechanically Exfoliated Graphite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Tianbao; Liu, Chenyang; Zhang, Zhe; Yu, Bin; Dong, Hailiang; Jia, Wei; Jia, Zhigang; Yu, Chunyan; Gan, Lin; Xu, Bingshe; Jiang, Haiwei

    2018-04-27

    The growth mechanism of GaN epitaxial layers on mechanically exfoliated graphite is explained in detail based on classic nucleation theory. The number of defects on the graphite surface can be increased via O-plasma treatment, leading to increased nucleation density on the graphite surface. The addition of elemental Al can effectively improve the nucleation rate, which can promote the formation of dense nucleation layers and the lateral growth of GaN epitaxial layers. The surface morphologies of the nucleation layers, annealed layers and epitaxial layers were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, where the evolution of the surface morphology coincided with a 3D-to-2D growth mechanism. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy was used to characterize the microstructure of GaN. Fast Fourier transform diffraction patterns showed that cubic phase (zinc-blend structure) GaN grains were obtained using conventional GaN nucleation layers, while the hexagonal phase (wurtzite structure) GaN films were formed using AlGaN nucleation layers. Our work opens new avenues for using highly oriented pyrolytic graphite as a substrate to fabricate transferable optoelectronic devices.

  13. Interface formation and defect structures in epitaxial La2Zr2O7 thin films on (111) Si

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seo, J.W.; Fompeyrine, J.; Guiller, A.; Norga, G.; Marchiori, C.; Siegwart, H.; Locquet, J.-P.

    2003-01-01

    We have studied the growth of epitaxial La 2 Zr 2 O 7 thin films on (111) Si. Although the interface structure can be strongly affected by the Si oxidation during the deposition process, epitaxial growth of La 2 Zr 2 O 7 was obtained. A detailed study by means of transmission electron microscopy reveals two types of structures (pyrochlore and fluorite) with the same average chemical composition but strong differences in reactivity and interface formation. The structural complexity of the ordered pyrochlore structure seems to prevent excess oxygen diffusion and interfacial SiO 2 formation

  14. Effect of carbon additive on microstructure evolution and magnetic properties of epitaxial FePt (001) thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding, Y.F.; Chen, J.S.; Liu, E.; Lim, B.C.; Hu, J.F.; Liu, B.

    2009-01-01

    FePt:C thin films were deposited on CrRu underlayers by DC magnetron co-sputtering. The effects of C content, FePt:C film thickness and substrate temperature on the microstructural and magnetic properties of the epitaxial FePt (001) films were studied. Experimental results showed that even with 30 vol.% C doping, the FePt films could keep a (001) preferred orientation at 350 deg. C . When a FePt:C film was very thin (< 5 nm), the film had a continuous microstructure instead of a granual structure with C diffused onto the film surface. With further increased film thickness, the film started to nucleate and formed a column microstructure over continuous FePt films. A strong exchange coupling in the FePt:C films was believed to be due to the presence of a thin continuous FePt layer attributed to the carbon diffusion during the initial stage of the FePt:C film growth. Despite the presence of a strong exchange coupling in the FePt:C (20 vol.% C) film, the SNR ratio of the FePt:C media was about 10 dB better than that of the pure FePt media. The epitaxial growth of the FePt:C films on the Pt layers was observed from high resolution TEM cross sectional images even for the films grown at about 200 deg. C . The TEM images did not show an obvious change in the morphology of the FePt:C films deposited at different temperatures (from 200 deg. C to 350 deg. C ), though the ordering degree and coercivity of the films increased with increased substrate temperature

  15. Misfit strain-film thickness phase diagrams and related electromechanical properties of epitaxial ultra-thin lead zirconate titanate films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qiu, Q.Y.; Mahjoub, R. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 (Australia); Alpay, S.P. [Materials Science and Engineering Program and Institute of Materials Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269 (United States); Nagarajan, V., E-mail: nagarajan@unsw.edu.au [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 (Australia)

    2010-02-15

    The phase stability of ultra-thin (0 0 1) oriented ferroelectric PbZr{sub 1-x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 3} (PZT) epitaxial thin films as a function of the film composition, film thickness, and the misfit strain is analyzed using a non-linear Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire thermodynamic model taking into account the electrical and mechanical boundary conditions. The theoretical formalism incorporates the role of the depolarization field as well as the possibility of the relaxation of in-plane strains via the formation of microstructural features such as misfit dislocations at the growth temperature and ferroelastic polydomain patterns below the paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transformation temperature. Film thickness-misfit strain phase diagrams are developed for PZT films with four different compositions (x = 1, 0.9, 0.8 and 0.7) as a function of the film thickness. The results show that the so-called rotational r-phase appears in a very narrow range of misfit strain and thickness of the film. Furthermore, the in-plane and out-of-plane dielectric permittivities {epsilon}{sub 11} and {epsilon}{sub 33}, as well as the out-of-plane piezoelectric coefficients d{sub 33} for the PZT thin films, are computed as a function of misfit strain, taking into account substrate-induced clamping. The model reveals that previously predicted ultrahigh piezoelectric coefficients due to misfit-strain-induced phase transitions are practically achievable only in an extremely narrow range of film thickness, composition and misfit strain parameter space. We also show that the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of epitaxial ferroelectric films can be tailored through strain engineering and microstructural optimization.

  16. Deposition of yttrium oxysulfide thin films by atomic layer epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kukli, K.; University of Tartu, Tartu,; Johansson, L-S.; Nykaenen, E.; Peussa, M.; Ninistoe, L.

    1998-01-01

    Full text: Yttrium oxysulfide is a highly interesting material for optoelectronic applications. It is industrially exploited in the form of doped powder in catholuminescent phosphors, e.g. Y 2 O 2 S: Eu 3+ for colour TV. Attempts to grow thin films of Y 2 O 2 S have not been frequent and only partially successful due to the difficulties in obtaining crystalline films at a reasonable temperature. Furthermore, sputtering easily leads to a sulphur deficiency. Evaporation of the elements from a multi-source offers a better control of the stoichiometry resulting in hexagonal (0002) oriented films at 580 deg C. In this paper we present the first successful thin film growth experiments using a chemical process with molecular precursors. Atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) allows the use of a relatively low deposition temperature and thus compatibility with other technologies. Already at 425 deg C the reaction between H 2 S and Y(thd) 3 (thd = 2,2,6,6 - tetramethyl-heptane-3,5- dione) yields a crystalline Y 2 O 2 S thin film which was characterized by XRD, XRF and XPS

  17. Growth of InN on 6H-SiC by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, April S.; Kim, Tong-Ho; Choi, Soojeong; Wu, Pae; Morse, Michael [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, 128 Hudson Hall, Durham, NC (United States); Losurdo, Maria; Giangregorio, Maria M.; Bruno, Giovanni [Institute of Inorganic Methodologies and of Plasmas, IMIP-CNR and INSTM UdR Bari, via Orabona, 4, 70126 Bari (Italy); Moto, Akihiro [Innovation Core SEI, Inc., 3235 Kifer Road, Santa Clara, CA 95051 (United States)

    2006-06-15

    We have investigated the growth of InN films by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy on the Si-face of 6H-SiC(0001). Growth is performed under In-rich conditions using a two-step process consisting of the deposition of a thin, low-temperature 350 C InN buffer layer, followed by the subsequent deposition of the InN epitaxial layer at 450 C. The effect of buffer annealing is investigated. The structural and optical evolution of the growing layer has been monitored in real time using RHEED and spectroscopic ellipsometry. Structural, morphological, electrical and optic properties are discussed. (copyright 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  18. Single orientation graphene synthesized on iridium thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dangwal Pandey, A., E-mail: arti.pandey@desy.de; Grånäs, E.; Shayduk, R.; Noei, H.; Vonk, V. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Krausert, K.; Franz, D.; Müller, P.; Keller, T. F.; Stierle, A., E-mail: andreas.stierle@desy.de [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Fachbereich Physik, Universität Hamburg, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany)

    2016-08-21

    Heteroepitaxial iridium thin films were deposited on (0001) sapphire substrates by means of molecular beam epitaxy, and subsequently, one monolayer of graphene was synthesized by chemical vapor deposition. The influence of the growth parameters on the quality of the Ir films, as well as of graphene, was investigated systematically by means of low energy electron diffraction, x-ray reflectivity, x-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Our study reveals (111) oriented iridium films with high crystalline quality and extremely low surface roughness, on which the formation of large-area epitaxial graphene is achieved. The presence of defects, like dislocations, twins, and 30° rotated domains in the iridium films is also discussed. The coverage of graphene was found to be influenced by the presence of 30° rotated domains in the Ir films. Low iridium deposition rates suppress these rotated domains and an almost complete coverage of graphene was obtained. This synthesis route yields inexpensive, air-stable, and large-area graphene with a well-defined orientation, making it accessible to a wider community of researchers for numerous experiments or applications, including those which use destructive analysis techniques or irreversible processes. Moreover, this approach can be used to tune the structural quality of graphene, allowing a systematic study of the influence of defects in various processes like intercalation below graphene.

  19. Growth and characterization of epitaxial anatase TiO2(001) on SrTiO3-buffered Si(001) using atomic layer deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McDaniel, M.D.; Posadas, A.; Wang, T.; Demkov, A.A.; Ekerdt, J.G.

    2012-01-01

    Epitaxial anatase titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) films have been grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on Si(001) substrates using a strontium titanate (STO) buffer layer grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) to serve as a surface template. The growth of TiO 2 was achieved using titanium isopropoxide and water as the co-reactants at a substrate temperature of 225–250 °C. To preserve the quality of the MBE-grown STO, the samples were transferred in-situ from the MBE chamber to the ALD chamber. After ALD growth, the samples were annealed in-situ at 600 °C in vacuum (10 −7 Pa) for 1–2 h. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction was performed during the MBE growth of STO on Si(001), as well as after deposition of TiO 2 by ALD. The ALD films were shown to be highly ordered with the substrate. At least four unit cells of STO must be present to create a stable template on the Si(001) substrate for epitaxial anatase TiO 2 growth. X-ray diffraction revealed that the TiO 2 films were anatase with only the (004) reflection present at 2θ = 38.2°, indicating that the c-axis is slightly reduced from that of anatase powder (2θ = 37.9°). Anatase TiO 2 films up to 100 nm thick have been grown that remain highly ordered in the (001) direction on STO-buffered Si(001) substrates. - Highlights: ► Epitaxial anatase films are grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on Si(001). ► Four unit cells of SrTiO 3 on silicon create a stable template for ALD. ► TiO 2 thin films have a compressed c-axis and an expanded a-axis. ► Up to 100 nm thick TiO 2 films remain highly ordered in the (001) direction.

  20. Growth and structure of L1 sub 0 ordered FePt films on GaAs(001)

    CERN Document Server

    Nefedov, A; Theis-Broehl, K; Zabel, H; Doi, M; Schuster, E; Keune, W

    2002-01-01

    The structural properties of epitaxial L1 sub 0 ordered FePt(001) films, grown by molecular beam epitaxy (alternating deposition of Fe and Pt atomic layers) on buffer-Pt/seed-Fe/GaAs(001) have been studied by in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction and by ex situ x-ray scattering as a function of the growth conditions. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction intensity oscillations measured during FePt layer growth provide evidence for island growth at T sub s = 200 deg. C and quasi layer-by-layer growth at T sub s = 350 deg. C. From small-angle and wide-angle x-ray scattering it was found that the degree of epitaxy depends critically on morphology of the seed layer and the substrate roughness. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the long-range order parameter increases from near zero for films grown at 200 deg. C to 0.65 for films grown at 350 deg. C. This confirms the fact that the order parameter is mainly determined by the surface mobility of the atoms which is controlled experimentally ...

  1. Epitaxially influenced boundary layer model for size effect in thin metallic films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bazant, Zdenek P.; Guo Zaoyang; Espinosa, Horacio D.; Zhu Yong; Peng Bei

    2005-01-01

    It is shown that the size effect recently observed by Espinosa et al., [J. Mech. Phys. Solids51, 47 (2003)] in pure tension tests on free thin metallic films can be explained by the existence of a boundary layer of fixed thickness, located at the surface of the film that was attached onto the substrate during deposition. The boundary layer is influenced by the epitaxial effects of crystal growth on the dislocation density and texture (manifested by prevalent crystal plane orientations). This influence is assumed to cause significantly elevated yield strength. Furthermore, the observed gradual postpeak softening, along with its size independence, which is observed in short film strips subjected to pure tension, is explained by slip localization, originating at notch-like defects, and by damage, which can propagate in a stable manner when the film strip under pure tension is sufficiently thin and short. For general applications, the present epitaxially influenced boundary layer model may be combined with the classical strain-gradient plasticity proposed by Gao et al., [J. Mech. Phys. Solids 47, 1239 (1999)], and it is shown that this combination is necessary to fit the test data on both pure tension and bending of thin films by one and the same theory. To deal with films having different crystal grain sizes, the Hall-Petch relation for the yield strength dependence on the grain size needs to be incorporated into the combined theory. For very thin films, in which a flattened grain fills the whole film thickness, the Hall-Petch relation needs a cutoff, and the asymptotic increase of yield strength with diminishing film thickness is then described by the extension of Nix's model of misfit dislocations by Zhang and Zhou [J. Adv. Mater. 38, 51 (2002)]. The final result is a proposal of a general theory for strength, size effect, hardening, and softening of thin metallic films

  2. Epitaxially influenced boundary layer model for size effect in thin metallic films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bažant, Zdeněk P.; Guo, Zaoyang; Espinosa, Horacio D.; Zhu, Yong; Peng, Bei

    2005-04-01

    It is shown that the size effect recently observed by Espinosa et al., [J. Mech. Phys. Solids51, 47 (2003)] in pure tension tests on free thin metallic films can be explained by the existence of a boundary layer of fixed thickness, located at the surface of the film that was attached onto the substrate during deposition. The boundary layer is influenced by the epitaxial effects of crystal growth on the dislocation density and texture (manifested by prevalent crystal plane orientations). This influence is assumed to cause significantly elevated yield strength. Furthermore, the observed gradual postpeak softening, along with its size independence, which is observed in short film strips subjected to pure tension, is explained by slip localization, originating at notch-like defects, and by damage, which can propagate in a stable manner when the film strip under pure tension is sufficiently thin and short. For general applications, the present epitaxially influenced boundary layer model may be combined with the classical strain-gradient plasticity proposed by Gao et al., [J. Mech. Phys. Solids 47, 1239 (1999)], and it is shown that this combination is necessary to fit the test data on both pure tension and bending of thin films by one and the same theory. To deal with films having different crystal grain sizes, the Hall-Petch relation for the yield strength dependence on the grain size needs to be incorporated into the combined theory. For very thin films, in which a flattened grain fills the whole film thickness, the Hall-Petch relation needs a cutoff, and the asymptotic increase of yield strength with diminishing film thickness is then described by the extension of Nix's model of misfit dislocations by Zhang and Zhou [J. Adv. Mater. 38, 51 (2002)]. The final result is a proposal of a general theory for strength, size effect, hardening, and softening of thin metallic films.

  3. Ion Beam Assisted Deposition of Thin Epitaxial GaN Films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rauschenbach, Bernd; Lotnyk, Andriy; Neumann, Lena; Poppitz, David; Gerlach, Jürgen W

    2017-06-23

    The assistance of thin film deposition with low-energy ion bombardment influences their final properties significantly. Especially, the application of so-called hyperthermal ions (energy GaN thin films on (0001)-oriented 6H-SiC substrates at 700 °C. The films are studied in situ by reflection high energy electron diffraction, ex situ by X-ray diffraction, scanning tunnelling microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. It is demonstrated that the film growth mode can be controlled by varying the ion to atom ratio, where 2D films are characterized by a smooth topography, a high crystalline quality, low biaxial stress, and low defect density. Typical structural defects in the GaN thin films were identified as basal plane stacking faults, low-angle grain boundaries forming between w-GaN and z-GaN and twin boundaries. The misfit strain between the GaN thin films and substrates is relieved by the generation of edge dislocations in the first and second monolayers of GaN thin films and of misfit interfacial dislocations. It can be demonstrated that the low-energy nitrogen ion assisted molecular beam epitaxy is a technique to produce thin GaN films of high crystalline quality.

  4. Process for forming epitaxial perovskite thin film layers using halide precursors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clem, Paul G.; Rodriguez, Mark A.; Voigt, James A.; Ashley, Carol S.

    2001-01-01

    A process for forming an epitaxial perovskite-phase thin film on a substrate. This thin film can act as a buffer layer between a Ni substrate and a YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-x superconductor layer. The process utilizes alkali or alkaline metal acetates dissolved in halogenated organic acid along with titanium isopropoxide to dip or spin-coat the substrate which is then heated to about 700.degree. C. in an inert gas atmosphere to form the epitaxial film on the substrate. The YBCO superconductor can then be deposited on the layer formed by this invention.

  5. Molecular beam epitaxy of GeTe-Sb2Te3 phase change materials studied by X-ray diffraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shayduk, Roman

    2010-01-01

    The integration of phase change materials into semiconductor heterostructures may lead to the development of a new generation of high density non-volatile phase change memories. Epitaxial phase change materials allow to study the detailed structural changes during the phase transition and to determine the scaling limits of the memory. This work is dedicated to the epitaxial growth of Ge-Sb-Te phase change alloys on GaSb(001). We deposit Ge-Sb-Te (GST) films on GaSb(001) substrates by means of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The film orientation and lattice constant evolution is determined in real time during growth using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GID). The nucleation stage of the growth is studied in situ using reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED). Four growth regimes of GST on GaSb(001) were observed: amorphous, polycrystalline, incubated epitaxial and direct epitaxial. Amorphous film grows for substrate temperatures below 100 C. For substrate temperatures in the range 100-160 C, the film grows in polycrystalline form. Incubated epitaxial growth is observed at temperatures from 180 to 210 C. This growth regime is characterized by an initial 0.6nm thick amorphous layer formation, which crystallizes epitaxially as the film thickness increases. The determined lattice constant of the films is 6.01 A, very close to that of the metastable GST phase. The films predominantly possess an epitaxial cube-on-cube relationship. At higher temperatures the films grow epitaxially, however the growth rate is rapidly decreasing with temperature. At temperatures above 270 C the growth rate is zero. The composition of the grown films is close to 2:2:5 for Ge, Sb and Te, respectively. The determined crystal structure of the films is face centered cubic (FCC) with a rhombohedral distortion. The analysis of X-ray peak widths gives a value for the rhombohedral angle of 89.56 . We observe two types of reflections in reciprocal space indicating two FCC sublattices in

  6. Deposition and characterisation of epitaxial oxide thin films for SOFCs

    KAUST Repository

    Santiso, José ; Burriel, Mó nica

    2010-01-01

    This paper reviews the recent advances in the use of thin films, mostly epitaxial, for fundamental studies of materials for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) applications. These studies include the influence of film microstructure, crystal orientation

  7. Preparation of ZnO:N films by radical beam gettering epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rogozin, I. V.

    2007-01-01

    ZnO:N epitaxial films are obtained by radical beam gettering epitaxy. The properties of the films are studied using X-ray diffraction, atomic-force microscopy, secondary-ion mass spectroscopy, and photoluminescence. A narrow (002) peak is observed in the X-ray diffraction spectra, which indicates that the ZnO:N films are oriented along the c axis. Secondary-ion mass spectroscopy indicates that N is present in the ZnO films. In the low-energy luminescence spectrum of the ZnO:N films, a peak at 3.31 eV is observed. This peak is presumably attributed to the exciton bound at the neutral acceptor N O . The postannealing of the ZnO:N films was carried out in atomic oxygen. The nature of the donor-acceptor (3.23 eV) and green (2.56 eV) luminescence bands is discussed

  8. Sintered tantalum carbide coatings on graphite substrates: Highly reliable protective coatings for bulk and epitaxial growth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nakamura, Daisuke; Suzumura, Akitoshi; Shigetoh, Keisuke [Toyota Central R and D Labs., Inc., Nagakute, Aichi 480-1192 (Japan)

    2015-02-23

    Highly reliable low-cost protective coatings have been sought after for use in crucibles and susceptors for bulk and epitaxial film growth processes involving wide bandgap materials. Here, we propose a production technique for ultra-thick (50–200 μmt) tantalum carbide (TaC) protective coatings on graphite substrates, which consists of TaC slurry application and subsequent sintering processes, i.e., a wet ceramic process. Structural analysis of the sintered TaC layers indicated that they have a dense granular structure containing coarse grain with sizes of 10–50 μm. Furthermore, no cracks or pinholes penetrated through the layers, i.e., the TaC layers are highly reliable protective coatings. The analysis also indicated that no plastic deformation occurred during the production process, and the non-textured crystalline orientation of the TaC layers is the origin of their high reliability and durability. The TaC-coated graphite crucibles were tested in an aluminum nitride (AlN) sublimation growth process, which involves extremely corrosive conditions, and demonstrated their practical reliability and durability in the AlN growth process as a TaC-coated graphite. The application of the TaC-coated graphite materials to crucibles and susceptors for use in bulk AlN single crystal growth, bulk silicon carbide (SiC) single crystal growth, chemical vapor deposition of epitaxial SiC films, and metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy of group-III nitrides will lead to further improvements in crystal quality and reduced processing costs.

  9. Sintered tantalum carbide coatings on graphite substrates: Highly reliable protective coatings for bulk and epitaxial growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakamura, Daisuke; Suzumura, Akitoshi; Shigetoh, Keisuke

    2015-01-01

    Highly reliable low-cost protective coatings have been sought after for use in crucibles and susceptors for bulk and epitaxial film growth processes involving wide bandgap materials. Here, we propose a production technique for ultra-thick (50–200 μmt) tantalum carbide (TaC) protective coatings on graphite substrates, which consists of TaC slurry application and subsequent sintering processes, i.e., a wet ceramic process. Structural analysis of the sintered TaC layers indicated that they have a dense granular structure containing coarse grain with sizes of 10–50 μm. Furthermore, no cracks or pinholes penetrated through the layers, i.e., the TaC layers are highly reliable protective coatings. The analysis also indicated that no plastic deformation occurred during the production process, and the non-textured crystalline orientation of the TaC layers is the origin of their high reliability and durability. The TaC-coated graphite crucibles were tested in an aluminum nitride (AlN) sublimation growth process, which involves extremely corrosive conditions, and demonstrated their practical reliability and durability in the AlN growth process as a TaC-coated graphite. The application of the TaC-coated graphite materials to crucibles and susceptors for use in bulk AlN single crystal growth, bulk silicon carbide (SiC) single crystal growth, chemical vapor deposition of epitaxial SiC films, and metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy of group-III nitrides will lead to further improvements in crystal quality and reduced processing costs

  10. Growth of n-alkane films on a single-crystal substrate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wu, Z. U.; Ehrlich, S. N.; Matthies, B.

    2001-01-01

    The structure and growth mode of alkane films (n-C/sub n/H/sub 2n+2/; n=4, 6, 7) adsorbed on a Ag(111) surface have been investigated by synchrotron X-ray scattering. New models are proposed for the butane (n=4) and hexane (n=6) monolayer and butane bilayer structures. Specular reflectivity scans...... reveal that growth of all films is preempted between two and three layers by nucleation of bulk particles oriented with a single bulk crystal plane parallel to the film. In the case of butane, the bulk particles also have a fixed azimuthal relationship with the film resulting in complete epitaxy....

  11. Effects of growth rate on structural property and adatom migration behaviors for growth of GaInNAs/GaAs (001) by molecular beam epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jingling; Gao, Peng; Zhang, Shuguang; Wen, Lei; Gao, Fangliang; Li, Guoqiang

    2018-03-01

    We have investigated the structural properties and the growth mode of GaInNAs films prepared at different growth rates (Rg) by molecular beam epitaxy. The crystalline structure is studied by high resolution X-ray diffraction, and the evolution of GaInNAs film surface morphologies is studied by atomic force microscopy. It is found that both the crystallinity and the surface roughness are improved by increasing Rg, and the change in the growth mode is attributed to the adatom migration behaviors particularly for In atoms, which is verified by elemental analysis. In addition, we have presented some theoretical calculation results related to the N adsorption energy to show the unique N migration behavior, which is instructive to interpret the growth mechanism of GaInNAs films.

  12. Integration and electrical properties of epitaxial LiNbO{sub 3} ferroelectric film on n-type GaN semiconductor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hao Lanzhong, E-mail: hao_lanzhong@live.cn [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Faculty of Science, China University of Petroleum, Tsingtao, Shandong 266555 (China); Zhu Jun, E-mail: junzhu@uestc.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Liu Yunjie [Faculty of Science, China University of Petroleum, Tsingtao, Shandong 266555 (China); Wang Shuili; Zeng Huizhong; Liao Xiuwei; Liu Yingying; Lei Huawei; Zhang Ying; Zhang Wanli; Li Yanrong [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China)

    2012-01-31

    LiNbO{sub 3} (LNO) films were epitaxially grown on n-type GaN templates using pulsed laser deposition technique. The microstructures and electrical properties of the LNO/GaN heterostructure were characterized by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, and capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. The LNO films had two variants of grains rotated 60 Degree-Sign in-plane to each other. The epitaxial relationship of the respective variants could be built as [10-10]LNO//[1-210]GaN and [1-100]LNO//[11-20]GaN via 30 Degree-Sign in-plane rotation of the LNO film relative to the GaN layer. Interface analysis of the heterostructure demonstrated that two different epitaxial growth mechanisms vertical heteroepitaxy and lateral homoepitaxy, should happen at the interface of LNO/GaN. Counterclockwise C-V windows induced by the ferroelectric polarizations of LNO film could be observed clearly. The size of the window increased with increasing the sweep bias and a large window of 5.8 V was achieved at {+-} 15 V. By solving Poisson and drift-diffusion equations, the physical mechanisms of the C-V characteristics were demonstrated.

  13. Thin film phase diagram of iron nitrides grown by molecular beam epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gölden, D.; Hildebrandt, E.; Alff, L.

    2017-01-01

    A low-temperature thin film phase diagram of the iron nitride system is established for the case of thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy and nitrided by a nitrogen radical source. A fine-tuning of the nitridation conditions allows for growth of α ‧ -Fe8Nx with increasing c / a -ratio and magnetic anisotropy with increasing x until almost phase pure α ‧ -Fe8N1 thin films are obtained. A further increase of nitrogen content below the phase decomposition temperature of α ‧ -Fe8N (180 °C) leads to a mixture of several phases that is also affected by the choice of substrate material and symmetry. At higher temperatures (350 °C), phase pure γ ‧ -Fe4N is the most stable phase.

  14. Structure and optical band gaps of (Ba,Sr)SnO{sub 3} films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schumann, Timo; Raghavan, Santosh; Ahadi, Kaveh; Kim, Honggyu; Stemmer, Susanne, E-mail: stemmer@mrl.ucsb.edu [Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106-5050 (United States)

    2016-09-15

    Epitaxial growth of (Ba{sub x}Sr{sub 1−x})SnO{sub 3} films with 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 using molecular beam epitaxy is reported. It is shown that SrSnO{sub 3} films can be grown coherently strained on closely lattice and symmetry matched PrScO{sub 3} substrates. The evolution of the optical band gap as a function of composition is determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The direct band gap monotonously decreases with x from to 4.46 eV (x = 0) to 3.36 eV (x = 1). A large Burnstein-Moss shift is observed with La-doping of BaSnO{sub 3} films. The shift corresponds approximately to the increase in Fermi level and is consistent with the low conduction band mass.

  15. Effect of extrapolation length on the phase transformation of epitaxial ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Z.S.; Tang, M.H.; Wang, J.B.; Zheng, X.J.; Zhou, Y.C.

    2008-01-01

    Effects of extrapolation length on the phase transformation of epitaxial ferroelectric thin films on dissimilar cubic substrates have been studied on the basis of the mean-field Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire (LGD) thermodynamic theory by taking an uneven distribution of the interior stress with thickness into account. It was found that the polarization of epitaxial ferroelectric thin films is strongly dependent on the extrapolation length of films. The physical origin of the extrapolation length during the phase transformation from paraelectric to ferroelectric was revealed in the case of ferroelectric thin films

  16. Epitaxial growth of SrTiO3/YBa2Cu3O7 - x heterostructures by plasma-enhanced metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, S.; Chern, C. S.; Shi, Z. Q.; Lu, P.; Safari, A.; Lu, Y.; Kear, B. H.; Hou, S. Y.

    1994-06-01

    We report heteroepitaxial growth of SrTiO3 on YBa2Cu3O7-x/LaAlO3 substrates by plasma-enhanced metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. X-ray diffraction results indicated that SrTiO3 films were epitaxially grown on a (001) YBa2Cu3O7-x surface with [100] orientation perpendicular to the surface. The film composition, with Sr/Ti molar ratio in the range of 0.9 to 1.1, was determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The thickness of the SrTiO3 films is 0.1-0.2 μm. The epitaxial growth was further evidenced by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area diffraction. Atomically abrupt SrTiO3/YBa2Cu3O7-x interface and epitaxial growth with [100]SrTiO3∥[001]YBa2Cu3O7-x were observed in this study. The superconducting transition temperature of the bottom YBa2Cu3O7-x layer, as measured by ac susceptometer, did not significantly degrade after the growth of overlayer SrTiO3. The capacitance-voltage measurements showed that the dielectric constant of the SrTiO3 films was as high as 315 at a signal frequency of 100 KHz. The leakage current density through the SrTiO3 films is about 1×10-6 A/cm2 at 2-V operation. Data analysis on the current-voltage characteristic indicated that the conduction process is related to bulk-limited Poole-Frenkel emission.

  17. Magnetization reversal of in-plane uniaxial Co films and its dependence on epitaxial alignment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Idigoras, O., E-mail: o.idigoras@nanogune.eu; Suszka, A. K.; Berger, A. [CIC nanoGUNE Consolider, Tolosa Hiribidea 76, E-20018 Donostia-San Sebastian (Spain); Vavassori, P. [CIC nanoGUNE Consolider, Tolosa Hiribidea 76, E-20018 Donostia-San Sebastian (Spain); IKERBASQUE, The Basque Foundation for Science, E-48011 Bilbao (Spain); Obry, B.; Hillebrands, B. [Fachbereich Physik and Landesforschungzentrum OPTIMAS, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Erwin-Schrödinger-Straße 56, D-67663 Kaiserslautern (Germany); Landeros, P. [Departamento de Física, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Avenida España 1680, 2390123 Valparaíso (Chile)

    2014-02-28

    This work studies the influence of crystallographic alignment onto magnetization reversal in partially epitaxial Co films. A reproducible growth sequence was devised that allows for the continuous tuning of grain orientation disorder in Co films with uniaxial in-plane anisotropy by the controlled partial suppression of epitaxy. While all stable or meta-stable magnetization states occurring during a magnetic field cycle exhibit a uniform magnetization for fully epitaxial samples, non-uniform states appear for samples with sufficiently high grain orientation disorder. Simultaneously with the occurrence of stable domain states during the magnetization reversal, we observe a qualitative change of the applied field angle dependence of the coercive field. Upon increasing the grain orientation disorder, we observe a disappearance of transient domain wall propagation as the dominating reversal process, which is characterized by an increase of the coercive field for applied field angles away from the easy axis for well-ordered epitaxial samples. Upon reaching a certain disorder threshold level, we also find an anomalous magnetization reversal, which is characterized by a non-monotonic behavior of the remanent magnetization and coercive field as a function of the applied field angle in the vicinity of the nominal hard axis. This anomaly is a collective reversal mode that is caused by disorder-induced frustration and it can be qualitatively and even quantitatively explained by means of a two Stoner-Wohlfarth particle model. Its predictions are furthermore corroborated by Kerr microscopy and by Brillouin light scattering measurements.

  18. Epitaxial growth of Co(0 0 0 1)hcp/Fe(1 1 0)bcc magnetic bi-layer films on SrTiO3(1 1 1) substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtake, Mitsuru; Shikada, Kouhei; Kirino, Fumiyoshi; Futamoto, Masaaki

    2008-01-01

    Co(0 0 0 1) hcp /Fe(1 1 0) bcc epitaxial magnetic bi-layer films were successfully prepared on SrTiO 3 (1 1 1) substrates. The crystallographic properties of Co/Fe epitaxial magnetic bi-layer films were investigated. Fe(1 1 0) bcc soft magnetic layer grew epitaxially on SrTiO 3 (1 1 1) substrate with two type variants, Nishiyama-Wasserman and Kurdjumov-Sachs relationships. An hcp-Co single-crystal layer is obtained on Ru(0 0 0 1) hcp interlayer, while hcp-Co layer formed on Au(1 1 1) fcc or Ag(1 1 1) fcc interlayer is strained and may involve fcc-Co phase. It has been shown possible to prepare Co/Fe epitaxial magnetic bi-layer films which can be usable for patterned media application

  19. Epitaxial growth of CZT(S,Se) on silicon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bojarczuk, Nestor A.; Gershon, Talia S.; Guha, Supratik; Shin, Byungha; Zhu, Yu

    2016-03-15

    Techniques for epitaxial growth of CZT(S,Se) materials on Si are provided. In one aspect, a method of forming an epitaxial kesterite material is provided which includes the steps of: selecting a Si substrate based on a crystallographic orientation of the Si substrate; forming an epitaxial oxide interlayer on the Si substrate to enhance wettability of the epitaxial kesterite material on the Si substrate, wherein the epitaxial oxide interlayer is formed from a material that is lattice-matched to Si; and forming the epitaxial kesterite material on a side of the epitaxial oxide interlayer opposite the Si substrate, wherein the epitaxial kesterite material includes Cu, Zn, Sn, and at least one of S and Se, and wherein a crystallographic orientation of the epitaxial kesterite material is based on the crystallographic orientation of the Si substrate. A method of forming an epitaxial kesterite-based photovoltaic device and an epitaxial kesterite-based device are also provided.

  20. Contribution of numerical simulation to silicon carbide bulk growth and epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meziere, Jerome; Pons, Michel; Cioccio, Lea Di; Blanquet, Elisabeth; Ferret, Pierre; Dedulle, Jean-Marc; Baillet, Francis; Pernot, Etienne; Anikin, Michail; Madar, Roland; Billon, Thierry

    2004-01-01

    High temperature epitaxial processes for SiC bulk and thin films by physical vapour transport and chemical vapour deposition are reviewed from an academic point of view using heat and mass transfer modelling and simulation. The objective is to show that this modelling approach could provide information on fabrication and characterization for the improvement of the knowledge of the growth history. Recent results of our integrated research programme on SiC, taking into account the fabrication, process modelling and characterization, will be presented

  1. Layer-by-Layer Epitaxial Growth of Defect-Engineered Strontium Cobaltites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andersen, Tassie K. [Materials Science; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States; Cook, Seyoung [Materials Science; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States; Wan, Gang [Materials Science; Hong, Hawoong [Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States; Marks, Laurence D. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States; Fong, Dillon D. [Materials Science

    2018-01-31

    Control over structure and composition of (ABO(3)) perovskite oxides offers exciting opportunities since these materials possess unique, tunable properties. Perovskite oxides with cobalt B-site cations are particularly promising, as the range of the cations stable oxidation states leads to many possible structural frameworks. Here, we report growth of strontium cobalt oxide thin films by molecular beam epitaxy, and conditions necessary to stabilize different defect concentration phases. In situ X-ray scattering is used to monitor structural evolution during growth, while in situ X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy is used to probe oxidation state and measure changes to oxygen vacancy concentration as a function of film thickness. Experimental results are compared to kinetically limited thermodynamic predictions, in particular, solute trapping, with semiquantitative agreement. Agreement between observations of dependence of cobaltite phase on oxidation activity and deposition rate, and predictions indicates that a combined experimental/theoretical approach is key to understanding phase behavior in the strontium cobalt oxide system.

  2. Electron-diffraction and spectroscopical characterisation of ultrathin ZnS films grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaP(0 0 1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, L.; Szargan, R.; Chasse, T.

    2004-01-01

    ZnS films were grown by molecular beam epitaxy employing a single compound effusion cell on GaP(0 0 1) substrate at different temperatures, and characterised by means of low energy electron diffraction, X-ray and ultra-violet photoelectron spectroscopy, angle-resolved ultra-violet photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray emission spectroscopy. The GaP(0 0 1) substrate exhibits a (4x2) reconstruction after Ar ion sputtering and annealing at 370 deg. C. Crystal quality of the ZnS films depends on both film thickness and growth temperature. Thinner films grown at higher temperatures and thicker films grown at lower temperatures have better crystal quality. The layer-by-layer growth mode of the ZnS films at lower (25, 80 and 100 deg. C) temperatures changes to layer-by-layer-plus-island mode at higher temperatures (120, 150 and 180 deg. C). A chemical reaction takes place and is confined to the interface. The valence band offset of the ZnS-GaP heterojunction was determined to be 0.8±0.1 eV. Sulphur L 2,3 emission spectra of ZnS powder raw material and the epitaxial ZnS films display the same features, regardless of the existence of the Ga-S bonding in the film samples

  3. RHEED oscillations in spinel ferrite epitaxial films grown by conventional planar magnetron sputtering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ojima, T.; Tainosho, T.; Sharmin, S.; Yanagihara, H.

    2018-04-01

    Real-time in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) observations of Fe3O4, γ-Fe2O3, and (Co,Fe)3O4 films on MgO(001) substrates grown by a conventional planar magnetron sputtering was studied. The change in periodical intensity of the specular reflection spot in the RHEED images of three different spinel ferrite compounds grown by two different sputtering systems was examined. The oscillation period was found to correspond to the 1/4 unit cell of each spinel ferrite, similar to that observed in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) experiments. This suggests that the layer-by-layer growth of spinel ferrite (001) films is general in most physical vapor deposition (PVD) processes. The surfaces of the films were as flat as the surface of the substrate, consistent with the observed layer-by-layer growth process. The observed RHEED oscillation indicates that even a conventional sputtering method can be used to control film thickness during atomic layer depositions.

  4. RHEED oscillations in spinel ferrite epitaxial films grown by conventional planar magnetron sputtering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Ojima

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Real-time in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED observations of Fe3O4, γ-Fe2O3, and (Co,Fe3O4 films on MgO(001 substrates grown by a conventional planar magnetron sputtering was studied. The change in periodical intensity of the specular reflection spot in the RHEED images of three different spinel ferrite compounds grown by two different sputtering systems was examined. The oscillation period was found to correspond to the 1/4 unit cell of each spinel ferrite, similar to that observed in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE and pulsed laser deposition (PLD experiments. This suggests that the layer-by-layer growth of spinel ferrite (001 films is general in most physical vapor deposition (PVD processes. The surfaces of the films were as flat as the surface of the substrate, consistent with the observed layer-by-layer growth process. The observed RHEED oscillation indicates that even a conventional sputtering method can be used to control film thickness during atomic layer depositions.

  5. Epitaxial growth of metallic buffer layer structure and c-axis oriented Pb(Mn1/3,Nb2/3)O3-Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin film on Si for high performance piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thao, Pham Ngoc; Yoshida, Shinya; Tanaka, Shuji

    2017-12-01

    This paper reports on the development of a metallic buffer layer structure, (100) SrRuO3 (SRO)/(100) Pt/(100) Ir/(100) yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) layers for the epitaxial growth of a c-axis oriented Pb(Mn1/3,Nb2/3)O3-Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PMnN-PZT) thin film on a (100) Si wafer for piezoelectric micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) application. The stacking layers were epitaxially grown on a Si substrate under the optimal deposition condition. A crack-free PMnN-PZT epitaxial thin films was obtained at a thickness up to at least 1.7 µm, which is enough for MEMS applications. The unimorph MEMS cantilevers based on the PMnN-PZT thin film were fabricated and characterized. As a result, the PMnN-PZT thin film exhibited -10 to -12 C/m2 as a piezoelectric coefficient e 31,f and ˜250 as a dielectric constants ɛr. The resultant FOM for piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (pMUT) is higher than those of general PZT and AlN thin films. This structure has a potential to provide high-performance pMUTs.

  6. Molecular beam epitaxy of GeTe-Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} phase change materials studied by X-ray diffraction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shayduk, Roman

    2010-05-20

    The integration of phase change materials into semiconductor heterostructures may lead to the development of a new generation of high density non-volatile phase change memories. Epitaxial phase change materials allow to study the detailed structural changes during the phase transition and to determine the scaling limits of the memory. This work is dedicated to the epitaxial growth of Ge-Sb-Te phase change alloys on GaSb(001). We deposit Ge-Sb-Te (GST) films on GaSb(001) substrates by means of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The film orientation and lattice constant evolution is determined in real time during growth using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GID). The nucleation stage of the growth is studied in situ using reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED). Four growth regimes of GST on GaSb(001) were observed: amorphous, polycrystalline, incubated epitaxial and direct epitaxial. Amorphous film grows for substrate temperatures below 100 C. For substrate temperatures in the range 100-160 C, the film grows in polycrystalline form. Incubated epitaxial growth is observed at temperatures from 180 to 210 C. This growth regime is characterized by an initial 0.6nm thick amorphous layer formation, which crystallizes epitaxially as the film thickness increases. The determined lattice constant of the films is 6.01 A, very close to that of the metastable GST phase. The films predominantly possess an epitaxial cube-on-cube relationship. At higher temperatures the films grow epitaxially, however the growth rate is rapidly decreasing with temperature. At temperatures above 270 C the growth rate is zero. The composition of the grown films is close to 2:2:5 for Ge, Sb and Te, respectively. The determined crystal structure of the films is face centered cubic (FCC) with a rhombohedral distortion. The analysis of X-ray peak widths gives a value for the rhombohedral angle of 89.56 . We observe two types of reflections in reciprocal space indicating two FCC sublattices in

  7. Oxygen engineering of HfO{sub 2-x} thin films grown by reactive molecular beam epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hildebrandt, Erwin; Kurian, Jose; Alff, Lambert [Institut fuer Materialwissenschaft, TU-Darmstadt (Germany); Zaumseil, Peter; Schroeder, Thomas [IHP, Frankfurt, Oder (Germany)

    2010-07-01

    Reactive molecular beam epitaxy (R-MBE) is an ideal tool for tailoring physical properties of thin films to specific needs. For the development of cutting-edge oxides for thin film applications a precise control of oxygen defects is crucial. R-MBE in combination with rf-activated oxygen allows reproducibly growing oxide thin films with precise oxidation conditions enabling oxygen engineering. R-MBE was used to grow Hf and HfO{sub 2{+-}}{sub x} thin films with different oxidation conditions on sapphire single crystal substrates. Structural characterization was carried out using rotating anode x-ray diffraction revealing highly textured to epitaxial thin films on c-cut sapphire. Furthermore, switching of film orientation by varying the oxidation conditions was observed demonstrating the role of oxygen in the growth procedure. The investigation of electrical properties using a four probe measurement setup showed conductivities in the range of 1000 {mu}{omega}cm for oxygen deficient HfO{sub 2-x} thin films. Optical properties were investigated using a photospectrometer and additionally x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was carried out to study the band gap and valence states. Both techniques were used to monitor the oxygen content in deficient HfO{sub 2-x} thin films. Our results demonstrate the importance of oxygen engineering even in the case of 'simple' oxides.

  8. Epitaxial growth of mixed conducting layered Ruddlesden–Popper Lan+1NinO3n+1 (n = 1, 2 and 3) phases by pulsed laser deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Kuan-Ting; Soh, Yeong-Ah; Skinner, Stephen J.

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • High quality epitaxial thin films of layered Ruddlesden–Popper nickelates were prepared. • For the first time this has been achieved by the PLD process. • n = 1, 2 and 3 films were successfully deposited on SrTiO 3 and NdGaO 3 substrates. • c-Axis oriented films were confirmed by XRD analysis. • In-plane and out-of-plane strain effects on lattice are discussed. - Abstract: Layered Ruddlesden–Popper phases of composition La n+1 Ni n O 3n+1 (n = 1, 2 and 3) have been epitaxially grown on SrTiO 3 (0 0 1) or NdGaO 3 (1 1 0) single crystal substrates using the pulsed laser deposition technique. X-ray diffraction analyses (θ/2θ, rocking curves, and φ-scans) and atomic force microscopy confirms the high-quality growth of the series of films with low surface roughness values (less than 1 nm). In particular, epitaxial growth of the higher order phases (n = 2 and 3) of lanthanum nickelate have been demonstrated for the first time

  9. Investigation of Au/Au(100) film growth with energetic deposition by kinetic Monte Carlo simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Qingyu; Ma Tengcai; Pan Zhengying; Tang Jiayong

    2000-01-01

    The Au/Au(100) epitaxial growth with energetic deposition was simulated by using kinetic Monte Carlo method. The influences of energetic atoms on morphology and atomistic processes in the early stage of film growth were investigated. The reentrant layer-by-layer growth was observed in the temperature range of 450 K to 100 K. The authors found the energetic atoms can promote the nucleation and island growth in the early stages of film growth and enhance the smoothness of film surface at temperatures of film growth in 3-dimensional mode and in quasi-two-dimensional mode. The atomistic mechanism that promotes the nucleation and island growth and enhances the smoothness of film surface is discussed

  10. Controllable factors affecting the epitaxial quality of LaCoO3 films ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2018-03-23

    Mar 23, 2018 ... ... larger molecular weight contribute to the improvement of epitaxial quality of LaCoO3 epitaxial film. ..... Research Fund of Education Department of Sichuan Province. (grant nos. 16ZA0133 and 15ZB0108); and the Doctoral.

  11. Direct growth of hexagonal boron nitride/graphene heterostructures on cobalt foil substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Zhongguang; Khanaki, Alireza; Tian, Hao; Zheng, Renjing; Suja, Mohammad; Liu, Jianlin, E-mail: jianlin@ece.ucr.edu [Quantum Structures Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California 92521 (United States); Zheng, Jian-Guo [Irvine Materials Research Institute, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-2800 (United States)

    2016-07-25

    Graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (G/h-BN) heterostructures have attracted a great deal of attention because of their exceptional properties and wide variety of potential applications in nanoelectronics. However, direct growth of large-area, high-quality, and stacked structures in a controllable and scalable way remains challenging. In this work, we demonstrate the synthesis of h-BN/graphene (h-BN/G) heterostructures on cobalt (Co) foil by sequential deposition of graphene and h-BN layers using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. It is found that the coverage of h-BN layers can be readily controlled on the epitaxial graphene by growth time. Large-area, uniform-quality, and multi-layer h-BN films on thin graphite layers were achieved. Based on an h-BN (5–6 nm)/G (26–27 nm) heterostructure, capacitor devices with Co(foil)/G/h-BN/Co(contact) configuration were fabricated to evaluate the dielectric properties of h-BN. The measured breakdown electric field showed a high value of ∼2.5–3.2 MV/cm. Both I-V and C-V characteristics indicate that the epitaxial h-BN film has good insulating characteristics.

  12. Crystallization engineering as a route to epitaxial strain control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew R. Akbashev

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The controlled synthesis of epitaxial thin films offers opportunities for tuning their functional properties via enabling or suppressing strain relaxation. Examining differences in the epitaxial crystallization of amorphous oxide films, we report on an alternate, low-temperature route for strain engineering. Thin films of amorphous Bi–Fe–O were grown on (001SrTiO3 and (001LaAlO3 substrates via atomic layer deposition. In situ X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies of the crystallization of the amorphous films into the epitaxial (001BiFeO3 phase reveal distinct evolution profiles of crystallinity with temperature. While growth on (001SrTiO3 results in a coherently strained film, the same films obtained on (001LaAlO3 showed an unstrained, dislocation-rich interface, with an even lower temperature onset of the perovskite phase crystallization than in the case of (001SrTiO3. Our results demonstrate how the strain control in an epitaxial film can be accomplished via its crystallization from the amorphous state.

  13. Polarized Emission from Conjugated Polymer Chains Aligned by Epitaxial Growth during Off-Center Spin-Coating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takuya Anzai

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to their macromolecular nature, conjugated polymers can be relatively easily aligned by applying a variety of processes resulting in either elongation or ordering of their conjugated backbones. Processes that induce chain alignment include electrospinning, mechanical rubbing, epitaxial growth, and nanoconfinement and unidirectional deposition techniques such as off-center spin-coating. In this study, we compare these deposition techniques by applying them to a green-emitting conjugated polymer material that exhibits liquid crystalline phase behavior. Our study reveals that while methods such as electrospinning and mechanical rubbing can be useful to locally generate polymer chain alignment, the combination of epitaxial growth using 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene as crystallizing agent with off-center spin-coating results in the formation of anisotropic nanofiber-like structures with enhanced crystallinity degree and polarized light-emission properties. The unidirectional epitaxial growth was also applied to a red-emitting polymer that exhibits polarization ratios up to 4.1. Our results emphasize that this simple solution formulation and process can be used for the fabrication of polarized thin films of a variety of conjugated polymers with potential applications in the advanced display technologies or analytical equipment fields.

  14. The liquid phase epitaxy method for the construction of oriented ZIF-8 thin films with controlled growth on functionalized surfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Shekhah, Osama; Eddaoudi, Mohamed

    2013-01-01

    Highly-oriented ZIF-8 thin films with controllable thickness were grown on an -OH-functionalized Au substrate using the liquid phase epitaxy method at room temperature, as evidenced by SEM and PXRD. The adsorption-desorption properties of the resulting ZIF-8 thin film were investigated for various VOCs using the QCM technique. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2013.

  15. Probing the bulk ionic conductivity by thin film hetero-epitaxial engineering

    KAUST Repository

    Pergolesi, Daniele; Roddatis, Vladimir; Fabbri, Emiliana; Schneider, Christof W; Lippert, Thomas; Traversa, Enrico; Kilner, John A

    2015-01-01

    Highly textured thin films with small grain boundary regions can be used as model systems to directly measure the bulk conductivity of oxygen ion conducting oxides. Ionic conducting thin films and epitaxial heterostructures are also widely used

  16. Synchrotron radiation excited silicon epitaxy using disilane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akazawa, Housei; Utsumi, Yuichi

    1995-01-01

    Synchrotron radiation (SR) excited chemical reactions provide new crystal growth methods suitable for low-temperature Si epitaxy. The growth kinetics and film properties were investigated by atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) and photochemical vapor deposition (CVD) modes using Si 2 H 6 . SR-ALE, isolating the surface growth channel mediated by photon stimulated hydrogen desorption, achieves digital growth independent of gas exposure time, SR irradiation time, and substrate temperature. On the other hand in SR-CVD, photolysis of Si 2 H 6 is predominant. In the nonirradiated region, Eley-Rideal type reaction between the photofragments and the surface deposit Si adatoms in a layer-by-layer fashion. In the irradiated region, however, multi-layer photolysis and rebounding occurs within the condensed Si 2 H 6 layer. The pertinent elementary processes were identified by using the high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. The SR-CVD can grow a uniform and epitaxial Si film down to 200degC. The surface morphology is controlled by the surfactant effect of hydrogen atoms. (author)

  17. Quasi-epitaxial barium hexaferrite thin films prepared by a topotactic reactive diffusion process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Siqin; Yue, Zhenxing; Zhang, Xiaozhi; Li, Longtu

    2014-01-01

    Quasi-epitaxial barium hexaferrite thin films (BaM) with crystallographic c-axis parallel to film normal were prepared through a topotactic reactive diffusion process using two-step solution deposition on c-plane sapphire. The two-step spin coating process involves preparing an epitaxial hematite film, coating the film with barium precursor solution and thermal annealing. The crystal orientation and magnetic anisotropy of BaM thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis, SEM observation and magnetic measurements. Hysteresis loops showed good magnetic anisotropy and high remanence ratio (RR) Mr/Ms = 0.97. The films fabricated by two-step spin coating process displayed wider rocking curve width but better magnetic anisotropy than one-step spin coating. The possible mechanism of this discrepancy is discussed in this paper.

  18. Quasi-epitaxial barium hexaferrite thin films prepared by a topotactic reactive diffusion process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meng, Siqin; Yue, Zhenxing, E-mail: yuezhx@tsinghua.edu.cn; Zhang, Xiaozhi; Li, Longtu

    2014-01-30

    Quasi-epitaxial barium hexaferrite thin films (BaM) with crystallographic c-axis parallel to film normal were prepared through a topotactic reactive diffusion process using two-step solution deposition on c-plane sapphire. The two-step spin coating process involves preparing an epitaxial hematite film, coating the film with barium precursor solution and thermal annealing. The crystal orientation and magnetic anisotropy of BaM thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis, SEM observation and magnetic measurements. Hysteresis loops showed good magnetic anisotropy and high remanence ratio (RR) Mr/Ms = 0.97. The films fabricated by two-step spin coating process displayed wider rocking curve width but better magnetic anisotropy than one-step spin coating. The possible mechanism of this discrepancy is discussed in this paper.

  19. Epitaxial growth and magnetic properties of Fe4-xMnxN thin films grown on MgO(0 0 1) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anzai, Akihito; Takata, Fumiya; Gushi, Toshiki; Toko, Kaoru; Suemasu, Takashi

    2018-05-01

    Epitaxial Fe4-xMnxN (x = 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4) thin films were successfully grown on MgO(0 0 1) single-crystal substrates by molecular beam epitaxy, and their crystalline qualities and magnetic properties were investigated. It was found that the lattice constants of Fe4-xMnxN obtained from X-ray diffraction measurement increased with the Mn content. The ratio of the perpendicular lattice constant c to the in-plane lattice constant a of Fe4-xMnxN was found to be about 0.99 at x ⩾ 2. The magnetic properties evaluated using a vibrating sample magnetometer at room temperature revealed that all of the Fe4-xMnxN films exhibited ferromagnetic behavior regardless of the value of x. In addition, the saturation magnetization decreased non-linearly as the Mn content increased. Finally, FeMn3N and Mn4N exhibited perpendicular anisotropy and their uniaxial magnetic anisotropy energies were 2.2 × 105 and 7.5 × 105 erg/cm3, respectively.

  20. Investigation of the growth of In2O3 on Y-stabilized ZrO2(100) by oxygen plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bourlange, A.; Payne, D.J.; Palgrave, R.G.; Foord, J.S.; Egdell, R.G.; Jacobs, R.M.J.; Schertel, A.; Hutchison, J.L.; Dobson, P.J.

    2009-01-01

    Thin films of In 2 O 3 have been grown on Y-stabilised ZrO 2 (100) substrates by oxygen plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy over a range of substrate temperatures between 650 o C and 900 o C. Growth at 650 o C leads to continuous but granular films and complete extinction of substrate core level structure in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. However with increasing substrate temperature the films break up into a series of discrete micrometer sized islands. Both the continuous and the island films have excellent epitaxial relationship with the substrate as gauged by X-ray diffraction and selected area electron diffraction and lattice imaging in high resolution transmission electron microscopy.

  1. High-quality nonpolar a-plane GaN epitaxial films grown on r-plane sapphire substrates by the combination of pulsed laser deposition and metal–organic chemical vapor deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Weijia; Zhang, Zichen; Wang, Wenliang; Zheng, Yulin; Wang, Haiyan; Li, Guoqiang

    2018-05-01

    High-quality a-plane GaN epitaxial films have been grown on r-plane sapphire substrates by the combination of pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). PLD is employed to epitaxial growth of a-plane GaN templates on r-plane sapphire substrates, and then MOCVD is used. The nonpolar a-plane GaN epitaxial films with relatively small thickness (2.9 µm) show high quality, with the full-width at half-maximum values of GaN(11\\bar{2}0) along [1\\bar{1}00] direction and GaN(10\\bar{1}1) of 0.11 and 0.30°, and a root-mean-square surface roughness of 1.7 nm. This result is equivalent to the quality of the films grown by MOCVD with a thickness of 10 µm. This work provides a new and effective approach for achieving high-quality nonpolar a-plane GaN epitaxial films on r-plane sapphire substrates.

  2. Anisotropic electrical properties of epitaxial Yba2Cu3O7-gd films on (110) SrTiO3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, A.; Koren, G.; Baseman, R.J.; Segmuller, A.; Holber, W.

    1989-01-01

    Epitaxial thin films of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 - δ were deposited on (110) SrTiO 3 at 600 degrees C in the presence of atomic oxygen using the laser ablation technique. X-ray diffraction patterns in the standard Bragg and grazing incidence modes show epitaxial growth of the films with their c-axis and axis parallel to the and directions in the plane of the substrate, respectively. Superconductivity with T c (R = ) = 82 K was found along the direction in the basal plane, whereas finite resistivity down to 5 k was observed along the c-axis direction. The authors maintain that these preliminary results suggest that YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 - δ behaves like a true two-dimensional superconductor

  3. Electrical properties of GaAsN film grown by chemical beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishimura, K.; Suzuki, H.; Saito, K.; Ohshita, Y.; Kojima, N.; Yamaguchi, M.

    2007-01-01

    The local vibrational modes (LVMs) observed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy in GaAsN films grown by chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) was studied, and the influence of the nitrogen-hydrogen bond (N-H) concentration on the hole concentration was investigated. The absorption peak around 936 cm -1 is suggested to be the second harmonic mode of the substitutional N, N As , LVM around 469 cm -1 . The absorption peak around 960 cm -1 is suggested to be the wagging mode of the N-H, where the stretch mode is observed around 3098 cm -1 . The hole concentration linearly increases with increasing N-H concentration, and the slope increases with increasing growth temperature. It indicates that the hole concentration in GaAsN film is determined by both the number of the N-H and unknown defect, such as impurities, vacancies, and interstitials. This defect concentration increases with increasing growth temperature, suggesting that it is determined by Arrhenius type reaction

  4. Synthesis and electronic properties of Fe2TiO5 epitaxial thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osada, Motoki; Nishio, Kazunori; Hwang, Harold Y.; Hikita, Yasuyuki

    2018-05-01

    We investigate the growth phase diagram of pseudobrookite Fe2TiO5 epitaxial thin films on LaAlO3 (001) substrates using pulsed laser deposition. Control of the oxygen partial pressure and temperature during deposition enabled selective stabilization of (100)- and (230)-oriented films. In this regime, we find an optical gap of 2.1 eV and room temperature resistivity in the range of 20-80 Ω cm, which are significantly lower than α-Fe2O3, making Fe2TiO5 potentially an ideal inexpensive visible-light harvesting semiconductor. These results provide a basis to incorporate Fe2TiO5 in oxide heterostructures for photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical applications.

  5. Dielectric and ferroelectric properties of strain-relieved epitaxial lead-free KNN-LT-LS ferroelectric thin films on SrTiO3 substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abazari, M.; Akdoǧan, E. K.; Safari, A.

    2008-05-01

    We report the growth of single-phase (K0.44,Na0.52,Li0.04)(Nb0.84,Ta0.10,Sb0.06)O3 thin films on SrRuO3 coated ⟨001⟩ oriented SrTiO3 substrates by using pulsed laser deposition. Films grown at 600°C under low laser fluence exhibit a ⟨001⟩ textured columnar grained nanostructure, which coalesce with increasing deposition temperature, leading to a uniform fully epitaxial highly stoichiometric film at 750°C. However, films deposited at lower temperatures exhibit compositional fluctuations as verified by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. The epitaxial films of 400-600nm thickness have a room temperature relative permittivity of ˜750 and a loss tangent of ˜6% at 1kHz. The room temperature remnant polarization of the films is 4μC /cm2, while the saturation polarization is 7.1μC/cm2 at 24kV/cm and the coercive field is ˜7.3kV/cm. The results indicate that approximately 50% of the bulk permittivity and 20% of bulk spontaneous polarization can be retained in submicron epitaxial KNN-LT-LS thin film, respectively. The conductivity of the films remains to be a challenge as evidenced by the high loss tangent, leakage currents, and broad hysteresis loops.

  6. Growth, structural, and electrical properties of germanium-on-silicon heterostructure by molecular beam epitaxy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aheli Ghosh

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The growth, morphological, and electrical properties of thin-film Ge grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si using a two-step growth process were investigated. High-resolution x-ray diffraction analysis demonstrated ∼0.10% tensile-strained Ge epilayer, owing to the thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between Ge and Si, and negligible epilayer lattice tilt. Micro-Raman spectroscopic analysis corroborated the strain-state of the Ge thin-film. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy revealed the formation of 90  ° Lomer dislocation network at Ge/Si heterointerface, suggesting the rapid and complete relaxation of Ge epilayer during growth. Atomic force micrographs exhibited smooth surface morphology with surface roughness < 2 nm. Temperature dependent Hall mobility measurements and the modelling thereof indicated that ionized impurity scattering limited carrier mobility in Ge layer. Capacitance- and conductance-voltage measurements were performed to determine the effect of epilayer dislocation density on interfacial defect states (Dit and their energy distribution. Finally, extracted Dit values were benchmarked against published Dit data for Ge MOS devices, as a function of threading dislocation density within the Ge layer. The results obtained were comparable with Ge MOS devices integrated on Si via alternative buffer schemes. This comprehensive study of directly-grown epitaxial Ge-on-Si provides a pathway for the development of Ge-based electronic devices on Si.

  7. Evolution of superconducting properties with disorder in epitaxial NbN films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chockalingam, S P; Chand, Madhavi; Jesudasan, John; Raychaudhuri, Pratap; Tripathi, Vikram

    2009-01-01

    NbN is a conventional BCS superconductor in which disorder can be tuned from moderately clean limit to dirty limit without affecting its epitaxial nature. We studied the superconducting properties of epitaxial NbN films of different disorder characterized by k F l ranging from 8.77 to 2.56 through the transport measurements. Using reactive magnetron sputtering NbN films of different disorder are deposited by varying the sputtering power and amount of N 2 in Ar:N 2 mixture of sputtering gas. The disorder parameter k F l is obtained from the carrier density (n) and the resistivity (ρ) of the films. NbN films with higher disorder have lower transition temperature (T c ) and larger resistivity which decreases with decreasing disorder. The carrier density determined from Hall measurements show that highly disordered films have lower carrier density and vice versa. Our studies show that NbN is a good system to investigate the effects of disorder on superconductivity where the superconducting properties evolve with the disorder in thin films.

  8. Growth of ultra-thin Ag films on Ni(111)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meyer, Axel; Flege, Jan Ingo; Falta, Jens [Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen (Germany); Senanayake, Sanjaya [Chemistry Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973-5000 (United States); Alamgir, Faisal [Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0245 (United States)

    2009-07-01

    The physical and chemical properties of ultra-thin metal films on metallic substrates strongly depend on their morphology and the structure of the buried interface. Hence, detailed knowledge of the growth mechanisms is essential for the creation of new functional materials with novel characteristics. In this contribution, we present a comprehensive structural study of the growth and properties of epitaxial Ag films on Ni(111) by in-situ low energy electron microscopy (LEEM). For lower temperatures, the growth of the Ag film proceeds in a Stranski-Krastanov mode after completion of the wetting layer, while for higher temperatures layer-by-layer growth is observed. Quantitative information about the film structure were obtained by analyzing the intensity-voltage (I-V) dependence of the local electron reflectivity (IV-LEEM). The corresponding I(V) spectra showed intensity oscillations depending on local thickness of the Ag film due to the quantum size effect (QSE). Modeling of the I(V) spectra was performed both within the framework of a one-dimensional Kronig-Penney model and multiple scattering IV-LEED calculations. The results of both approaches concerning the variation of the layer spacings and interface characteristics for different temperatures and film thicknesses will be discussed.

  9. Thickness-modulated anisotropic ferromagnetism in Fe-doped epitaxial HfO2 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Wenlong; Liu, Ming; Zhang, Ruyi; Ma, Rong; Wang, Hong

    2017-10-01

    Epitaxial tetragonal Fe-doped Hf0.95Fe0.05O2 (FHO) thin films with various thicknesses were deposited on (001)-oriented NdCaAlO4 (NCAO) substrates by using a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) system. The crystal structure and epitaxial nature of the FHO thin films were confirmed by typical x-ray diffraction (XRD) θ-2θ scan and reciprocal space mapping (RSM). The results indicate that two sets of lattice sites exist with two different crystal orientations [(001) and (100)] in the thicker FHO thin films. Further, the intensity of the (100) direction increases with the increase in thicknesses, which should have a significant effect on the anisotropic magnetization of the FHO thin films. Meanwhile, all the FHO thin films possess a tetragonal phase structure. An anisotropy behavior in magnetization has been observed in the FHO thin films. The anisotropic magnetization of the FHO thin films is slowly weakened as the thickness increases. Meanwhile, the saturation magnetization (Ms) of both in-plane and out-of-plane decreases with the increase in the thickness. The change in the anisotropic magnetization and Ms is attributed to the crystal lattice and the variation in the valence of Fe ions. These results indicate that the thickness-modulated anisotropic ferromagnetism of the tetragonal FHO epitaxial thin films is of potential use for the integration of metal-oxide semiconductors with spintronics.

  10. Superconducting thin films of As-free pnictide LaPd{sub 1-x}Sb{sub 2} grown by reactive molecular beam epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Retzlaff, Reiner; Buckow, Alexander; Kurian, Jose; Alff, Lambert [Institute of Materials Science, Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, Petersenstr. 23, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany)

    2013-07-01

    We use reactive molecular beam epitaxy as synthesis technique for the search of arsenic free pnictide superconductors. Epitaxial thin films of LaPd{sub 1-x}Sb{sub 2} were grown on (100) MgO substrates from elemental sources by simultaneous evaporation of high purity La, Pd and Sb metals by e-gun. LaPd{sub 1-x}Sb{sub 2} belongs to a novel class of pnictide superconductors with a peculiar pnictide square net layer. Previously, we have reported epitaxial growth of isostructural Bi based compounds. The substitution of Bi by Sb leads to thin films with metallic behavior and room temperature resistivity of about 85 μΩ cm. The highest observed transition temperature T{sub c} inLaPd{sub 1-x}Sb{sub 2} is 3.1 K and does not depend on x. We discuss strategies to increase T{sub c} in this pnictide subfamily.

  11. Dewetting of Epitaxial Silver Film on Silicon by Thermal Annealing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, Charlotte E.; Kellogg, Gary L.; Shih, C.-K.

    2013-03-01

    It has been shown that noble metals can grow epitaxially on semiconducting and insulating substrates, despite being a non-wetting system: low temperature deposition followed by room temperature annealing leads to atomically flat film morphology. However, the resulting metastable films are vulnerable to dewetting, which has limited their utility for applications under ambient conditions. The physics of this dewetting is of great interest but little explored. We report on an investigation of the dewetting of epitaxial Ag(111) films on Si(111) and (100). Low energy electron microscopy (LEEM) shows intriguing evolution in film morphology and crystallinity, even at temperatures below 100oC. On the basis of these findings, we can begin to draw compelling inferences about film-substrate interaction and the kinetics of dewetting. Financial support is from NSF, DGE-0549417 and DMR-0906025. This work was performed, in part, at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, User Facility operated for the U.S. DOE Office of Science. Sandia National Lab is managed and operated by Sandia Corp., a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp., for the U.S. DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration under DE-AC04-94AL85000.

  12. Epitaxial growth and new phase of single crystal Dy by molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Kai-Yueh; Homma, Hitoshi; Schuller, I.K.

    1987-09-01

    We have grown two novel epitaxial phases of dysprosium (Dy) on vanadium (V) by molecular beam epitaxy technique. Surface and bulk structures are studied by in-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and x-ray diffraction techniques. The new hcp phases are ∼4% expanded uniformly in-plane (0001), and ∼9% and ∼4% expanded out of plane along the c-axes for non-interrupted and interrupted deposition case, respectively. We also observed (2 x 2), (3 x 3), and (4 x 4) Dy surface reconstruction patterns and a series of transitions as the Dy film thickness increases. 12 refs., 3 figs

  13. Single crystalline metal films as substrates for graphene growth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zeller, Patrick; Henss, Ann-Kathrin; Wintterlin, Joost [Department Chemie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen (Germany); Weinl, Michael; Schreck, Matthias [Institut fuer Physik, Universitaet Augsburg (Germany); Speck, Florian; Ostler, Markus [Lehrstuhl fuer Technische Physik, Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg, Erlangen (Germany); Institut fuer Physik, Technische Universitaet Chemnitz (Germany); Seyller, Thomas [Institut fuer Physik, Technische Universitaet Chemnitz (Germany)

    2017-11-15

    Single crystalline metal films deposited on YSZ-buffered Si(111) wafers were investigated with respect to their suitability as substrates for epitaxial graphene. Graphene was grown by CVD of ethylene on Ru(0001), Ir(111), and Ni(111) films in UHV. For analysis a variety of surface science methods were used. By an initial annealing step the surface quality of the films was strongly improved. The temperature treatments of the metal films caused a pattern of slip lines, formed by thermal stress in the films, which, however, did not affect the graphene quality and even prevented wrinkle formation. Graphene was successfully grown on all three types of metal films in a quality comparable to graphene grown on bulk single crystals of the same metals. In the case of the Ni(111) films the originally obtained domain structure of rotational graphene phases could be transformed into a single domain by annealing. This healing process is based on the control of the equilibrium between graphene and dissolved carbon in the film. For the system graphene/Ni(111) the metal, after graphene growth, could be removed from underneath the epitaxial graphene layer by a pure gas phase reaction, using the reaction of CO with Ni to give gaseous Ni(CO){sub 4}. (copyright 2017 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  14. Growth and magnetotransport properties of epitaxial films of the layered perovskite La2-2xSr1+2xMn2O7

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Philipp, J.B.; Alff, L.; Gross, R.; Klein, J.; Recher, C.

    2002-01-01

    Epitaxial thin films of the bilayered perovskite La 2-2x Sr 1+2x Mn 2 O 7 (x=0.3, 0.4) have been grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy on NdGaO 3 substrates. Magnetotransport measurements with the current in the ab-plane and along the c-axis direction showed an intrinsic c-axis tunneling magnetoresistance effect associated with nonlinear current-voltage-characteristics for the x=0.3 compound. Besides the colossal magnetoresistance effect around the Curie temperature T C , at temperatures below about 40 K an additional high-field magnetoresistance was found most likely due to a strain and disorder induced re-entrant spin glass state in both the x=0.3 and 0.4 compounds. Our experiments show that the substrate induced coherency strain in the high quality epitaxial films results in magnetotransport properties that show markedly different behavior from those of single crystals. (orig.)

  15. YCo5±x thin films with perpendicular anisotropy grown by molecular beam epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, S.; Hildebrandt, E.; Sharath, S. U.; Radulov, I.; Alff, L.

    2017-06-01

    The synthesis conditions of buffer-free (00l) oriented YCo5 and Y2Co17 thin films onto Al2O3 (0001) substrates have been explored by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The manipulation of the ratio of individual atomic beams of Yttrium, Y and Cobalt, Co, as well as growth rate variations allows establishing a thin film phase diagram. Highly textured YCo5±x thin films were stabilized with saturation magnetization of 517 emu/cm3 (0.517 MA/m), coercivity of 4 kOe (0.4 T), and anisotropy constant, K1, equal to 5.34 ×106 erg/cm3 (0.53 MJ/m3). These magnetic parameters and the perpendicular anisotropy obtained without additional underlayers make the material system interesting for application in magnetic recording devices.

  16. Structural and dielectric properties of (001) and (111)-oriented BaZr0.2Ti0.8O3 epitaxial thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ventura, J.; Fina, I.; Ferrater, C.; Langenberg, E.; Coy, L.E.; Polo, M.C.; Garcia-Cuenca, M.V.; Fabrega, L.; Varela, M.

    2010-01-01

    We have grown and characterized BaZr 0.2 Ti 0.8 O 3 (BZT) epitaxial thin films deposited on (001) and (111)-oriented SrRuO 3 -buffered SrTiO 3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Structural and morphological characterizations were performed using X-ray diffractometry and atomic force microscopy, respectively. A cube-on-cube epitaxial relationship was ascertained from the θ-2θ and φ diffractograms in both (001) and (111)-oriented films. The (001)-oriented films showed a smooth granular morphology, whereas the faceted pyramid-like crystallites of the (111)-oriented films led to a rough surface. The dielectric response of BZT at room temperature was measured along the growth direction. The films were found to be ferroelectric, although a well-saturated hysteresis loop was obtained only for the (001)-oriented films. High leakage currents were observed for the (111) orientation, likely associated to charge transport along the boundaries of its crystallites. The remanent polarization, coercive field, dielectric constant, and relative change of dielectric permittivity (tunability) of (111)-oriented BZT were higher than those of (001)-oriented BZT.

  17. Fast growth rate of epitaxial β-Ga2O3 by close coupled showerhead MOCVD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alema, Fikadu; Hertog, Brian; Osinsky, Andrei; Mukhopadhyay, Partha; Toporkov, Mykyta; Schoenfeld, Winston V.

    2017-10-01

    We report on the growth of epitaxial β-Ga2O3 thin films on c-plane sapphire substrates using a close coupled showerhead MOCVD reactor. Ga(DPM)3 (DPM = dipivaloylmethanate), triethylgallium (TEGa) and trimethylgallium (TMGa) metal organic (MO) precursors were used as Ga sources and molecular oxygen was used for oxidation. Films grown from each of the Ga sources had high growth rates, with up to 10 μm/hr achieved using a TMGa precursor at a substrate temperature of 900 °C. As confirmed by X-ray diffraction, the films grown from each of the Ga sources were the monoclinic (2 bar 0 1) oriented β-Ga2O3 phase. The optical bandgap of the films was also estimated to be ∼4.9 eV. The fast growth rate of β-Ga2O3 thin films obtained using various Ga-precursors has been achieved due to the close couple showerhead design of the MOCVD reactor as well as the separate injection of oxygen and MO precursors, preventing the premature oxidation of the MO sources. These results suggest a pathway to overcoming the long-standing challenge of realizing fast growth rates for Ga2O3 using the MOCVD method.

  18. Enhanced dielectric nonlinearity in epitaxial Pb0.92La0.08Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma, Chunrui; Wu, Judy; Ma, Beihai; Mi, Shao-Bo; Liu, Ming

    2014-01-01

    High quality c-axis oriented epitaxial Pb 0.92 La 0.08 Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 O 3 films were fabricated using pulsed laser deposition on (001) LaAlO 3 substrates with conductive LaNiO 3 buffers. Besides confirmation of the in-plane and out-of-plane orientations using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy study has revealed columnar structure across the film thickness with column width around 100 nm. Characterization of ferroelectric properties was carried out in comparison with polycrystalline Pb 0.92 La 0.08 Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 O 3 films to extract the effect of epitaxial growth. It is found that the ratio between the irreversible Rayleigh parameter and reversible parameter increased up to 0.028 cm/kV at 1 kHz on epitaxial samples, which is more than twice of that on their polycrystalline counterparts. While this ratio decreased to 0.022 cm/kV with increasing frequency to100 kHz, a much less frequency dependence was observed as compared to the polycrystalline case. The epitaxial Pb 0.92 La 0.08 Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 O 3 films exhibited a higher mobility of domain wall and the higher extrinsic contribution to the dielectric properties, as well as reduced density of defects, indicating that it is promising for tunable and low power consumption devices

  19. Atomic layer epitaxy of Ruddlesden-Popper SrO(SrTiO3)n films by means of metalorganic aerosol deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jungbauer, M.; Hühn, S.; Moshnyaga, V.; Egoavil, R.; Tan, H.; Verbeeck, J.; Van Tendeloo, G.

    2014-01-01

    We report an atomic layer epitaxial growth of Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) thin films of SrO(SrTiO 3 ) n (n = ∞, 2, 3, 4) by means of metalorganic aerosol deposition (MAD). The films are grown on SrTiO 3 (001) substrates by means of a sequential deposition of Sr-O/Ti-O 2 atomic monolayers, monitored in-situ by optical ellipsometry. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveal the RP structure with n = 2–4 in accordance with the growth recipe. RP defects, observed by TEM in a good correlation with the in-situ ellipsometry, mainly result from the excess of SrO. Being maximal at the film/substrate interface, the SrO excess rapidly decreases and saturates after 5–6 repetitions of the SrO(SrTiO 3 ) 4 block at the level of 2.4%. This identifies the SrTiO 3 substrate surface as a source of RP defects under oxidizing conditions within MAD. Advantages and limitations of MAD as a solution-based and vacuum-free chemical deposition route were discussed in comparison with molecular beam epitaxy

  20. GaN epitaxial layers grown on multilayer graphene by MOCVD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Tianbao; Liu, Chenyang; Zhang, Zhe; Yu, Bin; Dong, Hailiang; Jia, Wei; Jia, Zhigang; Yu, Chunyan; Gan, Lin; Xu, Bingshe

    2018-04-01

    In this study, GaN epitaxial layers were successfully deposited on a multilayer graphene (MLG) by using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Highly crystalline orientations of the GaN films were confirmed through electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). An epitaxial relationship between GaN films and MLG is unambiguously established by transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis. The Raman spectra was used to analyze the internal stress of GaN films, and the spectrum shows residual tensile stress in the GaN films. Moreover, the results of the TEM analysis and Raman spectra indicate that the high quality of the MLG substrate is maintained even after the growth of the GaN film. This high-quality MLG makes it possible to easily remove epitaxial layers from the supporting substrate by micro-mechanical exfoliation technology. This work can aid in the development of transferable devices using GaN films.

  1. Epitaxially grown strained pentacene thin film on graphene membrane.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kwanpyo; Santos, Elton J G; Lee, Tae Hoon; Nishi, Yoshio; Bao, Zhenan

    2015-05-06

    Organic-graphene system has emerged as a new platform for various applications such as flexible organic photovoltaics and organic light emitting diodes. Due to its important implication in charge transport, the study and reliable control of molecular packing structures at the graphene-molecule interface are of great importance for successful incorporation of graphene in related organic devices. Here, an ideal membrane of suspended graphene as a molecular assembly template is utilized to investigate thin-film epitaxial behaviors. Using transmission electron microscopy, two distinct molecular packing structures of pentacene on graphene are found. One observed packing structure is similar to the well-known bulk-phase, which adapts a face-on molecular orientation on graphene substrate. On the other hand, a rare polymorph of pentacene crystal, which shows significant strain along the c-axis, is identified. In particular, the strained film exhibits a specific molecular orientation and a strong azimuthal correlation with underlying graphene. Through ab initio electronic structure calculations, including van der Waals interactions, the unusual polymorph is attributed to the strong graphene-pentacene interaction. The observed strained organic film growth on graphene demonstrates the possibility to tune molecular packing via graphene-molecule interactions. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  2. Vortex pinning landscape in YBa2Cu3O7 films grown by hybrid liquid phase epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maiorov, B; Kursumovic, A; Stan, L; Zhou, H; Wang, H; Civale, L; Feenstra, R; MacManus-Driscoll, J L

    2007-01-01

    The influence of film thickness and growth rate on the vortex pinning in hybrid liquid phase epitaxy (HLPE) films was explored. Film growth rates as high as 12 nm s -1 (0.7 μm min -1 ) produced high J c films. Weak or no thickness dependence was found in films of thickness ranging from 0.4 to 3 μm. Field and angular measurements of the critical current density (J c ) and the power-law exponent (N) of the current-voltage curves were used to determine the nature of pinning. Films thinner than 0.6 μm showed a higher density of correlated defects parallel to the ab plane than thicker films. Using HLPE, it was possible to achieve very strong pinning in films ∼3 μm thick, yielding critical currents over 300 A cm -1 width at self-field, and as high as 35 A cm -1 width at μ 0 H = 3 T at T = 75.5 K. Decreasing the deposition rate allowed improving the high field performance, opening up the possibility to engineer the pinning landscape of the HLPE films

  3. High-quality GaN epitaxially grown on Si substrate with serpentine channels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Tiantian; Zong, Hua; Jiang, Shengxiang; Yang, Yue; Liao, Hui; Xie, Yahong; Wang, Wenjie; Li, Junze; Tang, Jun; Hu, Xiaodong

    2018-06-01

    A novel serpentine-channeled mask was introduced to Si substrate for low-dislocation GaN epitaxial growth and the fully coalesced GaN film on the masked Si substrate was achieved for the first time. Compared with the epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELOG) growth method, this innovative mask only requires one-step epitaxial growth of GaN which has only one high-dislocation region per mask opening. This new growth method can effectively reduce dislocation density, thus improving the quality of GaN significantly. High-quality GaN with low dislocation density ∼2.4 × 107 cm-2 was obtained, which accounted for about eighty percent of the GaN film in area. This innovative technique is promising for the growth of high-quality GaN templates and the subsequent fabrication of high-performance GaN-based devices like transistors, laser diodes (LDs), and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on Si substrate.

  4. Mn doping effect on structure and magnetism of epitaxial (FePt)1-xMnx films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, J.C.A.; Chang, Y.C.; Yu, C.C.; Yao, Y.D.; Hu, Y.M.; Fu, C.M.

    2003-01-01

    We study the structure and perpendicular magnetism of molecular beam epitaxy grown (FePt) 1-x Mn x films with doping concentration x=0, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5%. The (FePt) 1-x Mn x films were made by multilayers growth of [Fe/Pt/Mn]xN at 100 deg. C and annealed at 600 deg. C. X-ray diffraction scans indicate that relatively better L1 0 ordered structure for low Mn doping (x 3%. The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy effect of the (FePt) 1-x Mn x films tends to decrease with the increase of Mn doping for x>1%. However, the x=1% doped films possess slightly better perpendicular magnetic anisotropy effect than the zero doped film. The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy constant are of about 1.3x10 7 and 1.6x10 7 erg/cm 3 for x=0% and x=1%, respectively

  5. Synchrotron X-ray studies of epitaxial ferroelectric thin films and nanostructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klug, Jeffrey A.

    The study of ferroelectric thin films is a field of considerable scientific and technological interest. In this dissertation synchrotron x-ray techniques were applied to examine the effects of lateral confinement and epitaxial strain in ferroelectric thin films and nanostructures. Three materials systems were investigated: laterally confined epitaxial BiFeO3 nanostructures on SrTiO3 (001), ultra-thin commensurate SrTiO 3 films on Si (001), and coherently strained films of BaTiO3 on DyScO3 (110). Epitaxial films of BiFeO3 were deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on SrRuO3 coated SrTiO 3 (001) substrates. Laterally confined nanostructures were fabricated using focused ion-beam processing and subsequently characterized with focused beam x-ray nanodiffraction measurements with unprecedented spatial resolution. Results from a series of rectangular nanostructures with lateral dimensions between 500 nm and 1 mum and a comparably-sized region of the unpatterned BiFeO3 film revealed qualitatively similar distributions of local strain and lattice rotation with a 2-3 times larger magnitude of variation observed in those of the nanostructures compared to the unpatterned film. This indicates that lateral confinement leads to enhanced variation in the local strain and lattice rotation fields in epitaxial BiFeO3 nanostructures. A commensurate 2 nm thick film of SrTiO3 on Si was characterized by the x-ray standing wave (XSW) technique to determine the Sr and Ti cation positions in the strained unit cell in order to verify strain-induced ferroelectricity in SrTiO3/Si. A Si (004) XSW measurement at 10°C indicated that the average Ti displacement from the midpoint between Sr planes was consistent in magnitude to that predicted by a density functional theory (DFT) calculated ferroelectric structure. The Ti displacement determined from a 35°C measurement better matched a DFT-predicted nonpolar structure. The thin film extension of the XSW technique was employed to

  6. Controlling the growth of epitaxial graphene on metalized diamond (111) surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cooil, S. P.; Wells, J. W.; Hu, D.; Evans, D. A.; Niu, Y. R.; Zakharov, A. A.; Bianchi, M.

    2015-01-01

    The 2-dimensional transformation of the diamond (111) surface to graphene has been demonstrated using ultrathin Fe films that catalytically reduce the reaction temperature needed for the conversion of sp 3 to sp 2 carbon. An epitaxial system is formed, which involves the re-crystallization of carbon at the Fe/vacuum interface and that enables the controlled growth of monolayer and multilayer graphene films. In order to study the initial stages of single and multilayer graphene growth, real time monitoring of the system was preformed within a photoemission and low energy electron microscope. It was found that the initial graphene growth occurred at temperatures as low as 500 °C, whilst increasing the temperature to 560 °C was required to produce multi-layer graphene of high structural quality. Angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy was used to study the electronic properties of the grown material, where a graphene-like energy momentum dispersion was observed. The Dirac point for the first layer is located at 2.5 eV below the Fermi level, indicating an n-type doping of the graphene due to substrate interactions, while that of the second graphene layer lies close to the Fermi level

  7. Magnetic Field Enhanced Superconductivity in Epitaxial Thin Film WTe2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asaba, Tomoya; Wang, Yongjie; Li, Gang; Xiang, Ziji; Tinsman, Colin; Chen, Lu; Zhou, Shangnan; Zhao, Songrui; Laleyan, David; Li, Yi; Mi, Zetian; Li, Lu

    2018-04-25

    In conventional superconductors an external magnetic field generally suppresses superconductivity. This results from a simple thermodynamic competition of the superconducting and magnetic free energies. In this study, we report the unconventional features in the superconducting epitaxial thin film tungsten telluride (WTe 2 ). Measuring the electrical transport properties of Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) grown WTe 2 thin films with a high precision rotation stage, we map the upper critical field H c2 at different temperatures T. We observe the superconducting transition temperature T c is enhanced by in-plane magnetic fields. The upper critical field H c2 is observed to establish an unconventional non-monotonic dependence on temperature. We suggest that this unconventional feature is due to the lifting of inversion symmetry, which leads to the enhancement of H c2 in Ising superconductors.

  8. Scintillation efficiency and X-ray imaging with the RE-Doped LuAG thin films grown by liquid phase epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tous, Jan; Blazek, Karel; Kucera, Miroslav; Nikl, Martin; Mares, Jiri A.

    2012-01-01

    Very thin scintillator imaging plates have recently become of great interest. In high resolution X-ray radiography, very thin scintillator layers of about 5–20 μm are used to achieve 2D-spatial resolutions below 1 μm. Thin screens can be prepared by mechanical polishing from single crystals or by epitaxial growth on single-crystal substrates using the Liquid Phase Epitaxy technique (LPE). Other types of screens (e.g. deposited powder) do no reach required spatial resolutions. This work compares LPE-grown YAG and LuAG scintillator films doped with different rare earth ions (Cerium, Terbium and Europium). Two different fluxes were used in the LPE growth procedure. These LPE films are compared to YAG:Ce and LuAG:Ce screens made from bulk single crystals. Relative light yield was detected by a highly sensitive CCD camera. Scintillator screens were excited by a micro-focus X-ray source and the generated light was gathered by the CCD camera’s optical system. Scintillator 2D-homogeneity is examined in an X-ray imaging setup also using the CCD camera.

  9. Band offsets and growth mode of molecular beam epitaxy grown MgO (111) on GaN (0002) by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craft, H. S.; Collazo, R.; Losego, M. D.; Mita, S.; Sitar, Z.; Maria, J.-P.

    2007-10-01

    MgO is a proposed dielectric for use as a tunneling barrier in devices integrating GaN and ferroelectric oxides. In this study, we present data regarding the growth mode and band offsets of MgO grown epitaxially on GaN (0002) surfaces using molecular beam epitaxy. Using in situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and molecular beam epitaxy, we determine, from sequential growth experiments, that the growth of MgO proceeds via the Volmer-Weber (three-dimensional) mode, and full coalescence of the film does not occur until approximately 12nm of MgO has been deposited. The observation of a three-dimensional growth mode is in agreement with previously published data. For the valence band offset, we find a value of 1.2±0.2eV, which corresponds to a 3.2eV conduction band offset. XPS measurements suggest a chemically abrupt interface and no effect on band lineup due to the slow coalescence behavior.

  10. Band offsets and growth mode of molecular beam epitaxy grown MgO (111) on GaN (0002) by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Craft, H. S.; Collazo, R.; Losego, M. D.; Mita, S.; Sitar, Z.; Maria, J.-P.

    2007-01-01

    MgO is a proposed dielectric for use as a tunneling barrier in devices integrating GaN and ferroelectric oxides. In this study, we present data regarding the growth mode and band offsets of MgO grown epitaxially on GaN (0002) surfaces using molecular beam epitaxy. Using in situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and molecular beam epitaxy, we determine, from sequential growth experiments, that the growth of MgO proceeds via the Volmer-Weber (three-dimensional) mode, and full coalescence of the film does not occur until approximately 12 nm of MgO has been deposited. The observation of a three-dimensional growth mode is in agreement with previously published data. For the valence band offset, we find a value of 1.2±0.2 eV, which corresponds to a 3.2 eV conduction band offset. XPS measurements suggest a chemically abrupt interface and no effect on band lineup due to the slow coalescence behavior

  11. Thin film growth studies using time-resolved x-ray scattering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kowarik, Stefan

    2017-02-01

    Thin-film growth is important for novel functional materials and new generations of devices. The non-equilibrium growth physics involved is very challenging, because the energy landscape for atomic scale processes is determined by many parameters, such as the diffusion and Ehrlich-Schwoebel barriers. We review the in situ real-time techniques of x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray growth oscillations and diffuse x-ray scattering (GISAXS) for the determination of structure and morphology on length scales from Å to µm. We give examples of time resolved growth experiments mainly from molecular thin film growth, but also highlight growth of inorganic materials using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and electrochemical deposition from liquids. We discuss how scaling parameters of rate equation models and fundamental energy barriers in kinetic Monte Carlo methods can be determined from fits of the real-time x-ray data.

  12. In induced reconstructions of Si(1 1 1) as superlattice matched epitaxial templates for InN growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuyyalil, Jithesh; Tangi, Malleswararao; Shivaprasad, S.M.

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Display Omitted Highlights: ► A novel growth method to form InN at low growth temperatures. ► Use of Si reconstruction as a growth template for group III nitrides. ► Band gap variation of InN – Moss–Burstein shift – non-parabolic conduction band for InN. ► Super lattice matching epitaxy of metal induced reconstructions with III–V unit cell. -- Abstract: Indium induced surface reconstructions of Si(1 1 1)-7 × 7 are used as templates to grow high quality InN. We grow InN on Si(1 1 1)-7 × 7, Si(1 1 1)-4 × 1-In and Si(1 1 1)-1 × 1-In reconstructed surfaces and study the quality of the films formed using complementary characterization tools. InN grown on Si(1 1 1)-1 × 1-In reconstruction shows superior film quality with lowest band-edge emission having a narrow full width at half maximum, intense and narrow 0 0 0 2 X-ray diffraction, low surface roughness and carrier concentration an order lower than other samples. We attribute the high quality of the film formed at 300 °C to the integral matching of InN and super lattice dimensions, we also study the reasons for the band gap variation of InN in the literature. Present study demonstrates the proposed Superlattice Matched Epitaxy can be a general approach to grow good quality InN at much lower growth temperature on compatible In induced reconstructions of the Si surface.

  13. A high resolution cross section transmission electron microscopy study of epitaxial rare earth fluoride/GaAs(111) interfaces prepared by molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chien, C.J.; Bravman, J.C.

    1990-01-01

    The authors report the HRXTEM study of epitaxial rare earth fluoride/GaAs(111) interfaces. Such interfaces are of interest because they are the starting point for growth of buried epitaxial rare earth/rare earth fluoride sandwich structures which exhibit interesting and non bulk-like magnetic properties. Also, the optical transitions in ultrathin epitaxial NdF 3 films may be influenced by strain and defects in the NdF 3 film and the nature of the interface to GaAs. The authors find that the rare earth fluoride/GaAs interfaces are semi-coherent but chemically abrupt with the transition taking place within 3 Angstrom. However, the interface is physically rough and multiple monolayer steps in the GaAs surface tend to tilt boundaries in the fluoride. The origin of these steps is believed to be thermal etching of the GaAs during the heat- cleaning stage prior to epitaxy. The surface of the fluoride film is much smoother than the initial GaAs surface indicating planarization during epitaxy

  14. Structural properties of relaxed thin film germanium layers grown by low temperature RF-PECVD epitaxy on Si and Ge (100) substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cariou, R., E-mail: romain.cariou@polytechnique.edu [LPICM-CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128, Palaiseau (France); III-V lab a joint laboratory between Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs France, Thales Research and Technology and CEA-LETI, route de Nozay, 91460, Marcoussis, France. (France); Ruggeri, R. [LPICM-CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128, Palaiseau (France); CNR-IMM, strada VIII n°5, zona industriale, 95121, Catania (Italy); Tan, X.; Nassar, J.; Roca i Cabarrocas, P. [LPICM-CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128, Palaiseau (France); Mannino, Giovanni [CNR-IMM, strada VIII n°5, zona industriale, 95121, Catania (Italy)

    2014-07-15

    We report on unusual low temperature (175 °C) heteroepitaxial growth of germanium thin films using a standard radio-frequency plasma process. Spectroscopic ellipsometry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveal a perfect crystalline quality of epitaxial germanium layers on (100) c-Ge wafers. In addition direct germanium crystal growth is achieved on (100) c-Si, despite 4.2% lattice mismatch. Defects rising from Ge/Si interface are mostly located within the first tens of nanometers, and threading dislocation density (TDD) values as low as 10{sup 6} cm{sup −2} are obtained. Misfit stress is released fast: residual strain of −0.4% is calculated from Moiré pattern analysis. Moreover we demonstrate a striking feature of low temperature plasma epitaxy, namely the fact that crystalline quality improves with thickness without epitaxy breakdown, as shown by TEM and depth profiling of surface TDD.

  15. Structural characterization of metastable hcp-Ni thin films epitaxially grown on Au(100) single-crystal underlayers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtake, Mitsuru; Tanaka, Takahiro; Futamoto, Masaaki; Kirino, Fumiyoshi

    2010-01-01

    Ni(1120) epitaxial thin films with hcp structure were prepared on Au(100) single-crystal underlayers at 100 deg. C by ultra high vacuum molecular beam epitaxy. The detailed film structure is studied by in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction, x-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The hcp-Ni film consists of two types of variants whose c-axes are rotated around the film normal by 90 deg. each other. An atomically sharp boundary is recognized between the film and the underlayer, where misfit dislocations are introduced. Presence of such dislocations seems to relieve the strain caused by the lattice mismatch between the film and the underlayer.

  16. Microstructural and domain effects in epitaxial CoFe2O4 films on MgO with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Comes, Ryan; Gu Man; Khokhlov, Mikhail; Lu Jiwei; Wolf, Stuart A.

    2012-01-01

    CoFe 2 O 4 (CFO) epitaxial thin films of various thicknesses were grown on MgO substrates using the pulsed electron-beam deposition technique. The films have excellent in-plane coherence with the substrate, exhibit layer-by-layer growth and have well-defined thickness fringes in x-ray diffraction measurements. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements indicate that misfit dislocations form in thicker films and the critical thickness for the dislocation formation is estimated. Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in CFO due to epitaxial in-plane tensile strain from the substrate was found. A stripe-like domain structure in the demagnetized state is demonstrated using magnetic force microscopy (MFM), in agreement with previous predictions. Coercivity increased in thicker films, which is explained by domain wall pinning due to misfit dislocations at the CFO/MgO interface. - Highlights: → X-ray diffraction and rocking curves indicate films are amongst highest quality in the literature. → Domain structure of CoFe 2 O 4 films on MgO was found to be stripe-like using MFM. → Critical thickness for misfit dislocations estimated and agrees with experiment. → Effect of misfit dislocations on surface morphology explained. → Role of dislocations and antiphase boundaries in domain wall formation and motion explained.

  17. Ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of epitaxial PZT films and devices on silicon

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nguyen, Duc Minh

    2010-01-01

    In this thesis, the integration of lead zirconate titanate Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) thin films into piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) based on silicon is studied. In these structures, all epitaxial oxide layers (thin film/electrode/buffer-layer(s)) were deposited by pulsed laser

  18. Epitaxial growth of matched metallic ErP0.6As0.4 layers on GaAs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guivarc'h, A.; Le Corre, A.; Gaulet, J.; Guenais, B.; Minier, M.; Ropars, G.; Badoz, P.A.; Duboz, J.Y.

    1990-01-01

    Successful growth of (001)ErP 0.6 As 0.4 single crystal film on (001) GaAs has been demonstrated. The epitaxial metallic layers reproducibly showed lattice mismatch below 5 10 -4 . This is, to the authors' knowledge, the first report of a stable, epitaxial and lattice-matched metal/compound semiconductor heterostructure. The ErP 0.6 As 0.4 /n-GaAs diodes yielded excellent I-V characteristics with an ideality factor of 1.1 and barrier height of 0.88 eV. For a 240 Angstrom- thick film, metallic behavior was observed with resistivities of 25 and 86 μΩcm at 1.5 K and room temperature, respectively. As the other Er compounds ErP, ErAs, ErSb and ErSi 2 , ErP 0.6 As 0.4 presents an abrupt drop in resistivity in the vicinity of the liquid helium temperature, due to a paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic phase transition

  19. Vapor phase epitaxial growth of FeS sub 2 pyrite and evaluation of the carrier collection in liquid-junction solar cell

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ennaoui, A.; Schlichthoerl, G.; Fiechter, S.; Tributsch, H. (Hahn-Meitner-Inst., Abt. Solare Energetik und Materialforschung, Berlin (Germany))

    1992-01-01

    Photoactive epitaxial layers of FeS{sub 2} were grown using bromine as a transport agent and a simple closed ampoule technique. The substrates used were (100)-oriented slices of natural pyrite 1 mm thick. A vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism was elucidated by means of optical microscopy. Macrosteps, terrace surfaces and protuberances are often accompanied with the presence of liquid FeBr{sub 3} droplets. In the absence of a liquid phase growth hillocks are found. Localized photovoltaic response for the evaluation of carrier collection using a scanning laser spot system has been used to effectively locate and characterize non-uniformities present in the epitaxial thin films. (orig.).

  20. Epitaxial growth of Si1−xGex alloys and Ge on Si(100) by electron-cyclotron-resonance Ar plasma chemical vapor deposition without substrate heating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ueno, Naofumi; Sakuraba, Masao; Murota, Junichi; Sato, Shigeo

    2014-01-01

    By using electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) Ar-plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) without substrate heating, the epitaxial growth process of Si 1−x Ge x alloy and Ge films deposited directly on dilute-HF-treated Si(100) was investigated. From the reflection high energy electron diffraction patterns of the deposited Si 1−x Ge x alloy (x = 0.50, 0.75) and Ge films on Si(100), it is confirmed that epitaxial growth can be realized without substrate heating, and that crystallinity degradation at larger film thickness is observed. The X-ray diffraction peak of the epitaxial films reveals the existence of large compressive strain, which is induced by lattice matching with the Si(100) substrate at smaller film thicknesses, as well as strain relaxation behavior at larger film thicknesses. The Ge fraction of Si 1−x Ge x thin film is in good agreement with the normalized GeH 4 partial pressure. The Si 1−x Ge x deposition rate increases with an increase of GeH 4 partial pressure. The GeH 4 partial pressure dependence of partial deposition rates [(Si or Ge fraction) × (Si 1−x Ge x thickness) / (deposition time)] shows that the Si partial deposition rate is slightly enhanced by the existence of Ge. From these results, it is proposed that the ECR-plasma CVD process can be utilized for Ge fraction control in highly-strained heterostructure formation of group IV semiconductors. - Highlights: • Si 1−x Ge x alloy and Ge were epitaxially grown on Si(100) without substrate heating. • Large strain and its relaxation behavior can be observed by X-ray diffraction. • Ge fraction of Si 1−x Ge x is equal to normalized GeH 4 partial pressure. • Si partial deposition rate is slightly enhanced by existence of Ge

  1. Direct Measurements of Island Growth and Step-Edge Barriers in Colloidal Epitaxy

    KAUST Repository

    Ganapathy, R.; Buckley, M. R.; Gerbode, S. J.; Cohen, I.

    2010-01-01

    -scale particles into microstructures that have numerous technological applications. To determine whether atomic epitaxial growth laws are applicable to the epitaxy of larger particles with attractive interactions, we investigated the nucleation and growth dynamics

  2. Thickness dependence of the strain, band gap and transport properties of epitaxial In{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films grown on Y-stabilised ZrO{sub 2}(111)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, K H L; Oropeza, F E; Egdell, R G [Department of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA (United Kingdom); Lazarov, V K [Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PH (United Kingdom); Veal, T D; McConville, C F [Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Walsh, A, E-mail: Russell.egdell@chem.ox.ac.uk [Department of Chemistry, Kathleen Lonsdale Materials Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ (United Kingdom)

    2011-08-24

    Epitaxial films of In{sub 2}O{sub 3} have been grown on Y-stabilised ZrO{sub 2}(111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy over a range of thicknesses between 35 and 420 nm. The thinnest films are strained, but display a 'cross-hatch' morphology associated with a network of misfit dislocations which allow partial accommodation of the lattice mismatch. With increasing thickness a 'dewetting' process occurs and the films break up into micron sized mesas, which coalesce into continuous films at the highest coverages. The changes in morphology are accompanied by a progressive release of strain and an increase in carrier mobility to a maximum value of 73 cm{sup 2} V{sup -1} s{sup -1}. The optical band gap in strained ultrathin films is found to be smaller than for thicker films. Modelling of the system, using a combination of classical pair-wise potentials and ab initio density functional theory, provides a microscopic description of the elastic contributions to the strained epitaxial growth, as well as the electronic effects that give rise to the observed band gap changes. The band gap increase induced by the uniaxial compression is offset by the band gap reduction associated with the epitaxial tensile strain.

  3. Epitaxial Growth and Cracking Mechanisms of Thermally Sprayed Ceramic Splats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Lin; Yang, Guan-jun

    2018-02-01

    In the present study, the epitaxial growth and cracking mechanisms of thermally sprayed ceramic splats were explored. We report, for the first time, the epitaxial growth of various splat/substrate combinations at low substrate temperatures (100 °C) and large lattice mismatch (- 11.26%). Our results suggest that thermal spray deposition was essentially a liquid-phase epitaxy, readily forming chemical bonding. The interface temperature was also estimated. The results convincingly demonstrated that atoms only need to diffuse and rearrange over a sufficiently short range during extremely rapid solidification. Concurrently, severe cracking occurred in the epitaxial splat/substrate systems, which indicated high tensile stress was produced during splat deposition. The origin of the tensile stress was attributed to the strong constraint of the locally heated substrate by its cold surroundings.

  4. Origin of green luminescence in ZnO thin film grown by molecular-beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heo, Y.W.; Norton, D.P.; Pearton, S.J.

    2005-01-01

    The properties of ZnO films grown by molecular-beam epitaxy are reported. The primary focus was on understanding the origin of deep-level luminescence. A shift in deep-level emission from green to yellow is observed with reduced Zn pressure during the growth. Photoluminescence and Hall measurements were employed to study correlations between deep-level/near-band-edge emission and carrier density. With these results, we suggest that the green emission is related to donor-deep acceptor (Zn vacancy V Zn - ) and the yellow to donor-deep acceptor (oxygen vacancy, O i - )

  5. Surface morphology and in-plane-epitaxy of SmBa2Cu3O7-δ films on SrTiO3 (001) substrates studied by STM and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jiang, Q.D.; Smilgies, D.M.; Feidenhans'l, R.

    1996-01-01

    The surface morphology and in-plane epitaxy of thin films of SmBa(2)Cu3O(7-delta) (Sm-BCO) grown on SrTiO3 (001) substrates with various thicknesses have been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD). As revealed by GIXRD, SmBCO films as ...... films above h(c2), introduction of screw dislocations leads to spiral growth.......The surface morphology and in-plane epitaxy of thin films of SmBa(2)Cu3O(7-delta) (Sm-BCO) grown on SrTiO3 (001) substrates with various thicknesses have been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD). As revealed by GIXRD, SmBCO films...... substrate. Three different types of surface morphology were observed by STM with increasing film thickness h: a) 2D growth for hh(c2). With GIXRD, a density modulation is observed in the films with a thickness below h(c2). For thicker...

  6. Epitaxial GaN films by hyperthermal ion-beam nitridation of Ga droplets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gerlach, J. W.; Ivanov, T.; Neumann, L.; Hoeche, Th.; Hirsch, D.; Rauschenbach, B. [Leibniz-Institut fuer Oberflaechenmodifizierung (IOM), D-04318 Leipzig (Germany)

    2012-06-01

    Epitaxial GaN film formation on bare 6H-SiC(0001) substrates via the process of transformation of Ga droplets into a thin GaN film by applying hyperthermal nitrogen ions is investigated. Pre-deposited Ga atoms in well defined amounts form large droplets on the substrate surface which are subsequently nitridated at a substrate temperature of 630 Degree-Sign C by a low-energy nitrogen ion beam from a constricted glow-discharge ion source. The Ga deposition and ion-beam nitridation process steps are monitored in situ by reflection high-energy electron diffraction. Ex situ characterization by x-ray diffraction and reflectivity techniques, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, and electron microscopy shows that the thickness of the resulting GaN films depends on the various amounts of pre-deposited gallium. The films are epitaxial to the substrate, exhibit a mosaic like, smooth surface topography and consist of coalesced large domains of low defect density. Possible transport mechanisms of reactive nitrogen species during hyperthermal nitridation are discussed and the formation of GaN films by an ion-beam assisted process is explained.

  7. Control growth of silicon nanocolumns' epitaxy on silicon nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chong, Su Kong, E-mail: sukong1985@yahoo.com.my [University of Malaya, Low Dimensional Materials Research Centre, Department of Physics (Malaysia); Dee, Chang Fu [Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectronics (IMEN) (Malaysia); Yahya, Noorhana [Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Faculty of Science and Information Technology (Malaysia); Rahman, Saadah Abdul [University of Malaya, Low Dimensional Materials Research Centre, Department of Physics (Malaysia)

    2013-04-15

    The epitaxial growth of Si nanocolumns on Si nanowires was studied using hot-wire chemical vapor deposition. A single-crystalline and surface oxide-free Si nanowire core (core radius {approx}21 {+-} 5 nm) induced by indium crystal seed was used as a substance for the vapor phase epitaxial growth. The growth process is initiated by sidewall facets, which then nucleate upon certain thickness to form Si islands and further grow to form nanocolumns. The Si nanocolumns with diameter of 10-20 nm and aspect ratio up to 10 can be epitaxially grown on the surface of nanowires. The results showed that the radial growth rate of the Si nanocolumns remains constant with the increase of deposition time. Meanwhile, the radial growth rates are controllable by manipulating the hydrogen to silane gas flow rate ratio. The optical antireflection properties of the Si nanocolumns' decorated SiNW arrays are discussed in the text.

  8. Germanium growth on electron beam lithography patterned Si3N4/Si(001) substrate using molecular beam epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarkar, Subhendu Sinha; Katiyar, Ajit K.; Sarkar, Arijit; Dhar, Achintya; Rudra, Arun; Khatri, Ravinder K.; Ray, Samit Kumar

    2018-04-01

    It is important to investigate the growth dynamics of Ge adatoms under different surface stress regimes of the patterned dielectric to control the selective growth of self-assembled Ge nanostructures on silicon. In the present work, we have studied the growth of Ge by molecular beam epitaxy on nanometer scale patterned Si3N4/Si(001) substrates generated using electron beam lithography. The pitch of the patterns has been varied to investigate its effect on the growth of Ge in comparison to un-patterned Si3N4. For the patterned Si3N4 film, Ge did not desorbed completely from the Si3N4 film and hence no site selective growth pattern is observed. Instead, depending upon the pitch, Ge growth has occurred in different growth modes around the openings in the Si3N4. For the un-patterned substrate, the morphology exhibits the occurrence of uniform 3D clustering of Ge adatoms on Si3N4 film. This variation in the growth modes of Ge is attributed to the variation of residual stress in the Si3N4 film for different pitch of holes, which has been confirmed theoretically through Comsol Multiphysics simulation. The variation in stress for different pitches resulted in modulation of surface energy of the Si3N4 film leading to the different growth modes of Ge.

  9. Epitaxial Garnets and Hexagonal Ferrites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1982-04-20

    guide growth of the epitaxial YIG films. Aluminum or gallium substitu- tions for iron were used in combination with lanthanum substitutions for yttrium... gallate spinel sub- strates. There was no difficulty with nucleation in the melt and film quality appeared to be similar to that observed previously...hexagonal ferrites. We succeeded in growing the M-type lead hexaferrite (magnetoplumbite) on gallate spinel substrates. We found that the PbO-based

  10. Influence of metallic surface states on electron affinity of epitaxial AlN films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mishra, Monu; Krishna, Shibin; Aggarwal, Neha [Advanced Materials and Devices Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi110012 (India); Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-NPL Campus, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi 110012 (India); Gupta, Govind, E-mail: govind@nplindia.org [Advanced Materials and Devices Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi110012 (India); Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-NPL Campus, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi 110012 (India)

    2017-06-15

    The present article investigates surface metallic states induced alteration in the electron affinity of epitaxial AlN films. AlN films grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy system with (30% and 16%) and without metallic aluminium on the surface were probed via photoemission spectroscopic measurements. An in-depth analysis exploring the influence of metallic aluminium and native oxide on the electronic structure of the films is performed. It was observed that the metallic states pinned the Fermi Level (FL) near valence band edge and lead to the reduction of electron affinity (EA). These metallic states initiated charge transfer and induced changes in surface and interface dipoles strength. Therefore, the EA of the films varied between 0.6–1.0 eV due to the variation in contribution of metallic states and native oxide. However, the surface barrier height (SBH) increased (4.2–3.5 eV) adversely due to the availability of donor-like surface states in metallic aluminium rich films.

  11. Preparation of metastable bcc permalloy epitaxial thin films on GaAs(011)B3 single-crystal substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtake, Mitsuru; Higuchi, Jumpei; Yabuhara, Osamu; Kirino, Fumiyoshi; Futamoto, Masaaki

    2011-01-01

    Permalloy (Py) single-crystal films with bcc structure were obtained on GaAs(011) B3 single-crystal substrates by ultra high vacuum rf magnetron sputtering. The film growth and the detailed film structures were investigated by refection high energy electron diffraction and pole figure X-ray diffraction. bcc-Py films epitaxially grow on the substrates in the orientation relationship of Py(011)[011-bar] bcc || GaAs(011)[011-bar] B3 . The lattice constant of bcc-Py film is determined to be a = 0.291 nm. With increasing the film thickness, parts of the bcc crystal transform into more stable fcc structure by atomic displacement parallel to the bcc{011} close-packed planes. The resulting film thus consists of a mixture of bcc and fcc crystals. The phase transformation mechanism is discussed based on the experimental results. The in-plane magnetization properties reflecting the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of bcc-Py crystal are observed for the Py films grown on GaAs(011) B3 substrates.

  12. Lanthanum gallate substrates for epitaxial high-temperature superconducting thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandstrom, R. L.; Giess, E. A.; Gallagher, W. J.; Segmuller, A.; Cooper, E. I.

    1988-11-01

    It is demonstrated that lanthanum gallate (LaGaO3) has considerable potential as an electronic substrate material for high-temperature superconducting films. It provides a good lattice and thermal expansion match to YBa2Cu3O(7-x), can be grown in large crystal sizes, is compatible with high-temperature film processing, and has a reasonably low dielectric constant and low dielectric losses. Epitaxial YBa2Cu3O(7-x) films grown on LaGaO3 single-crystal substrates by three techniques have zero resistance between 87 and 91 K.

  13. Formation of epitaxial Al 2O 3/NiAl(1 1 0) films: aluminium deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lykhach, Y.; Moroz, V.; Yoshitake, M.

    2005-02-01

    Structure of epitaxial Al 2O 3 layers formed on NiAl(1 1 0) substrates has been studied by means of reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). The elucidated structure was compared to the model suggested for 0.5 nm-thick Al 2O 3 layers [K. Müller, H. Lindner, D.M. Zehner, G. Ownby, Verh. Dtsch. Phys. Ges. 25 (1990) 1130; R.M. Jaeger, H. Kuhlenbeck, H.J. Freund, Surf. Sci. 259 (1991) 235]. The stepwise growth of Al 2O 3 film, involving deposition and subsequent oxidation of aluminium onto epitaxial 0.5 nm-thick Al 2O 3 layers, has been investigated. Aluminium was deposited at room temperature, whereas its oxidation took place during annealing at 1070 K. The Al 2O 3 thickness was monitored by means of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). It was found that Al 2O 3 layer follows the structure of 0.5 nm thick Al 2O 3 film, although a tilting of Al 2O 3(1 1 1) surface plane with respect to NiAl(1 1 0) surface appeared after Al deposition.

  14. Magnetotransport investigations of single- and heterostructure epitaxial films of IV/VI-semiconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ambrosch, K.-E.

    1985-01-01

    Lead salts are small gap semiconductors that are used for infrared detectors and lasers. PbMnTe and PbEuTe are semimagnetic semiconductors. Magnetotransport properties of epitaxial films and epitaxial heterostructures (PbTe / PbSnTe) are investigated. Epitaxial films of PbSnTe, PbMnTe and PbEuTe have been used for Shubnikov de Haas - experiments in tilted magnetic fields. This method allows the quantitative determination of the electric carrier distribution with respect to the crystal directions. The nonequal distribution is caused by strain effects that are more important for PbMnTe than for PbSnTe and PbEuTe. Magnetoresistance experiments show a deviation from cubic symmetry that leads to the same results for the carrier distribution as the Shubnikov de Haas effect. Magnetoresistance experiments performed with PbTe / PbSnTe heterostructures show no megnetoresistance if the magnetic field is in plane with the layers. The difference of the magnetoresistance for single films and heterostructures is explained by 'quasitwodimensional' carriers. Shubnikov de Haas experiments performed on heterostructures as a function of the tilt angle of the magnetic field show different behaviour compared to that of single films. Using additional information about effective masses and strain it was possible to distinguish between 'two-' and 'threedimensional' electronic systems. The distribution of carriers in single films and heterostructures has been determined by means of magnetotransport experiments. The results are explained by strain effects of the crystal lattice. In addition heterostructures show a 'quasitwodimensional' behaviour caused by interaction of their layers. (Author)

  15. Development of Epitaxial GaN Films for RF Communications, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The primary objective of this SBIR is to develop epitaxial GaN films with threading dislocation density less than 10^6 cm^-2. We propose an innovative approach...

  16. Epitaxially grown polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells on solid-phase crystallised seed layers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Wei, E-mail: weili.unsw@gmail.com; Varlamov, Sergey; Xue, Chaowei

    2014-09-30

    Highlights: • Crystallisation kinetic is used to analyse seed layer surface cleanliness. • Simplified RCA cleaning for the seed layer can shorten the epitaxy annealing duration. • RTA for the seed layer can improve the quality for both seed layer and epi-layer. • Epitaxial poly-Si solar cell performance is improved by RTA treated seed layer. - Abstract: This paper presents the fabrication of poly-Si thin film solar cells on glass substrates using seed layer approach. The solid-phase crystallised P-doped seed layer is not only used as the crystalline template for the epitaxial growth but also as the emitter for the solar cell structure. This paper investigates two important factors, surface cleaning and intragrain defects elimination for the seed layer, which can greatly influence the epitaxial grown solar cell performance. Shorter incubation and crystallisation time is observed using a simplified RCA cleaning than the other two wet chemical cleaning methods, indicating a cleaner seed layer surface is achieved. Cross sectional transmission microscope images confirm a crystallographic transferal of information from the simplified RCA cleaned seed layer into the epi-layer. RTA for the SPC seed layer can effectively eliminate the intragrain defects in the seed layer and improve structural quality of both of the seed layer and the epi-layer. Consequently, epitaxial grown poly-Si solar cell on the RTA treated seed layer shows better solar cell efficiency, V{sub oc} and J{sub sc} than the one on the seed layer without RTA treatment.

  17. Atomic layer epitaxy of Ruddlesden-Popper SrO(SrTiO{sub 3}){sub n} films by means of metalorganic aerosol deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jungbauer, M.; Hühn, S.; Moshnyaga, V. [Erstes Physikalisches Institut, Universität Göttingen, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen (Germany); Egoavil, R.; Tan, H.; Verbeeck, J.; Van Tendeloo, G. [EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp (Belgium)

    2014-12-22

    We report an atomic layer epitaxial growth of Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) thin films of SrO(SrTiO{sub 3}){sub n} (n = ∞, 2, 3, 4) by means of metalorganic aerosol deposition (MAD). The films are grown on SrTiO{sub 3}(001) substrates by means of a sequential deposition of Sr-O/Ti-O{sub 2} atomic monolayers, monitored in-situ by optical ellipsometry. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveal the RP structure with n = 2–4 in accordance with the growth recipe. RP defects, observed by TEM in a good correlation with the in-situ ellipsometry, mainly result from the excess of SrO. Being maximal at the film/substrate interface, the SrO excess rapidly decreases and saturates after 5–6 repetitions of the SrO(SrTiO{sub 3}){sub 4} block at the level of 2.4%. This identifies the SrTiO{sub 3} substrate surface as a source of RP defects under oxidizing conditions within MAD. Advantages and limitations of MAD as a solution-based and vacuum-free chemical deposition route were discussed in comparison with molecular beam epitaxy.

  18. Structural properties of In0.53Ga0.47As epitaxial films grown on Si (111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Fangliang; Wen, Lei; Zhang, Xiaona; Guan, Yunfang; Li, Jingling; Zhang, Shuguang; Li, Guoqiang

    2015-01-01

    In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As epitaxial films are grown on 2-inch diameter Si (111) substrates by growing a low-temperature In 0.4 Ga 0.6 As buffer layer using molecular beam epitaxy. The effect of the buffer layer thickness on the as-grown In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As films is characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It is revealed that the crystalline quality and surface morphology of as-grown In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As epilayer are strongly affected by the thickness of the In 0.4 Ga 0.6 As buffer layer. From TEM investigation, we understand that the type and the distribution of dislocations of the buffer layer and the as-grown In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As film are different. We have demonstrated that the In 0.4 Ga 0.6 As buffer layer with a thickness of 12 nm can advantageously release the lattice mismatch stress between the In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As and Si substrate, ultimately leading to a high-quality In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As epitaxial film with low surface roughness. - Highlights: • We provide a simple approach to achieve high-quality In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As films on Si. • An appropriate thickness of In 0.4 Ga 0.6 As buffer layer can release mismatch strain. • High-quality In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As film is grown on Si using 12-nm-thick buffer layer. • Smooth surface In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As film is grown on Si using 12-nm-thick buffer layer

  19. Molecular beam epitaxy of three-dimensional Dirac material Sr3PbO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samal, D.; Nakamura, H.; Takagi, H.

    2016-07-01

    A series of anti-perovskites including Sr3PbO are recently predicted to be a three-dimensional Dirac material with a small mass gap, which may be a topological crystalline insulator. Here, we report the epitaxial growth of Sr3PbO thin films on LaAlO3 using molecular beam epitaxy. X-ray diffraction indicates (001) growth of Sr3PbO, where [110] of Sr3PbO matches [100] of LaAlO3. Measurements of the Sr3PbO films with parylene/Al capping layers reveal a metallic conduction with p-type carrier density of ˜1020 cm-3. The successful growth of high quality Sr3PbO film is an important step for the exploration of its unique topological properties.

  20. Preparation of YBa2Cu3O7-δ epitaxial thin films by pulsed ion-beam evaporation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sorasit, S.; Yoshida, G.; Suzuki, T.; Suematsu, H.; Jiang, W.; Yatsui, K.

    2001-01-01

    Thin films of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ (Y-123) grown epitaxially have been successfully deposited by ion-beam evaporation (IBE). The c-axis oriented YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ thin films were successfully deposited on MgO and SrTiO 3 substrates. The Y-123 thin films which were prepared on the SrTiO 3 substrates were confirmed to be epitaxially grown, by X-ray diffraction analysis. The instantaneous deposition rate of the Y-123 thin films was estimated as high as 4 mm/s. (author)

  1. Molecular-beam epitaxy growth and structural characterization of semiconductor-ferromagnet heterostructures by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Satapathy, D.K.

    2005-12-19

    The present work is devoted to the growth of the ferromagnetic metal MnAs on the semiconductor GaAs by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). The MnAs thin films are deposited on GaAs by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). Grazing incidence diffraction (GID) and reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) are used in situ to investigate the nucleation, evolution of strain, morphology and interfacial structure during the MBE growth. Four stages of the nucleation process during growth of MnAs on GaAs(001) are revealed by RHEED azimuthal scans. GID shows that further growth of MnAs films proceed via the formation of relaxed islands at a nominal thickness of 2.5 ML which increase in size and finally coalesce to form a continuous film. Early on, an ordered array of misfit dislocations forms at the interface releasing the misfit strain even before complete coalescence occurs. The fascinating complex nucleation process of MnAs on GaAs(0 0 1) contains elements of both Volmer-Weber and Stranski-Krastanov growth. A nonuniform strain amounting to 0.66%, along the [1 -1 0] direction and 0.54%, along the [1 1 0] direction is demonstrated from x-ray line profile analysis. A high correlation between the defects is found along the GaAs[1 1 0] direction. An extremely periodic array of misfit dislocations with a period of 4.95{+-}0.05 nm is formed at the interface along the [1 1 0] direction which releases the 7.5% of misfit. The inhomogeneous strain due to the periodic dislocations is confined at the interface within a layer of 1.6 nm thickness. The misfit along the [1 -1 0] direction is released by the formation of a coincidence site lattice. (orig.)

  2. GaN growth via HVPE on SiC/Si substrates: growth mechanisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharofidinov, Sh Sh; Redkov, A. V.; Osipov, A. V.; Kukushkin, S. A.

    2017-11-01

    The article focuses on the study of GaN thin film growth via chloride epitaxy on SiC/Si hybrid substrate. SiC buffer layer was grown by a method of substitution of atoms, which allows one to reduce impact of mechanical stress therein on subsequent growth of III-nitride films. It is shown, that change in GaN growth conditions leads to change in its growth mechanism. Three mechanisms: epitaxial, spiral and stepwise growth are considered and mechanical stresses are estimated via Raman spectroscopy.

  3. In situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction study on epitaxial-growth dynamics of III–V semiconductors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahasi, Masamitu

    2018-05-01

    The application of in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) to the molecular-beam epitaxial (MBE) growth of III–V semiconductors is overviewed along with backgrounds of the diffraction theory and instrumentation. X-rays are sensitive not only to the surface of growing films but also to buried interfacial structures because of their large penetration depth. Moreover, a spatial coherence length up to µm order makes X-rays widely applicable to the characterization of low-dimensional structures, such as quantum dots and wires. In situ XRD studies during growth were performed using an X-ray diffractometer, which was combined with an MBE chamber. X-ray reciprocal space mapping at a speed matching a typical growth rate was achieved using intense X-rays available from a synchrotron light source and an area detector. The importance of measuring the three-dimensional distribution of XRD intensity in a reciprocal space map is demonstrated for the MBE growth of two-, one-, and zero-dimensional structures. A large amount of information about the growth process of two-dimensional InGaAs/GaAs(001) epitaxial films has been provided by three-dimensional X-ray reciprocal mappings, including the anisotropic strain relaxation, the compositional inhomogeneity, and the evolution of surface and interfacial roughness. For one-dimensional GaAs nanowires grown in a Au-catalyzed vapor-liquid–solid mode, the relationship between the diameter of the nanowires and the formation of polytypes has been suggested on the basis of in situ XRD measurements. In situ three-dimensional X-ray reciprocal space mapping is also shown to be useful for determining the lateral and vertical sizes of self-assembled InAs/GaAs(001) quantum dots as well as their internal strain distributions during growth.

  4. Electrical, optical, and structural properties of GaN films prepared by hydride vapor phase epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Polyakov, A.Y.; Smirnov, N.B.; Yakimov, E.B.; Usikov, A.S.; Helava, H.; Shcherbachev, K.D.; Govorkov, A.V.; Makarov, Yu N.; Lee, In-Hwan

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • GaN films are prepared by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). • Residual donors and deep traps show a minimum density versus growth temperature. • This minimum is located close to the HVPE growth temperature of 950 °C. • Good crystalline GaN with residual donor density < 10 16 cm −3 can be grown at 950 °C. - Abstract: Two sets of undoped GaN films with the thickness of 10–20 μm were prepared by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) and characterized by capacitance–voltage (C–V) profiling, microcathodoluminescence (MCL) spectra measurements, MCL imaging, electron beam induced current (EBIC) imaging, EBIC dependence on accelerating voltage, deep levels transient spectroscopy, high resolution X-ray diffraction measurements. The difference in growth conditions was mainly related to the lower (850 °C, group 1) or higher (950 °C, group 2) growth temperature. Both groups of samples showed similar crystalline quality with the dislocation density close to 10 8 cm −2 , but very different electrical and optical properties. In group 1 samples the residual donors concentration was ∼10 17 cm −3 or higher, the MCL spectra were dominated by the band-edge luminescence, and the diffusion length of charge carriers was close to 0.1 μm. Group 2 samples had a 2–4.5 μm thick highly resistive layer on top, for which MCL spectra were determined by green, yellow and red defect bands, and the diffusion length was 1.5 times higher than in group 1. We also present brief results of growth at the “standard” HVPE growth temperature of 1050 °C that show the presence of a minimum in the net donor concentration and deep traps density as a function of the growth temperature. Possible reasons for the observed results are discussed in terms of the electrical compensation of residual donors by deep traps

  5. Microstructure evolution in pulsed laser deposited epitaxial Ge-Sb-Te chalcogenide thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ross, Ulrich; Lotnyk, Andriy, E-mail: andriy.lotnyk@iom-leipzig.de; Thelander, Erik; Rauschenbach, Bernd

    2016-08-15

    The thin film deposition and structure of highly oriented telluride compounds is of particular interest for phase-change applications in next-generation non-volatile memory such as heterostructure designs, as well as for the investigation of novel optical, thermoelectric and ferroelectric properties in layered telluride compounds. In this work, epitaxial Ge-Sb-Te thin films were successfully produced by pulsed laser deposition on silicon with and without amorphous SiO{sub x} interlayer at elevated process temperatures from a Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} target. Aberration-corrected high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) imaging reveals a distinct interface configuration of the trigonal phase connected by a quasi van der Waals gap (vacancy) to the Sb/Te-passivated single crystalline Si substrate, yet also an intermediate textured growth regime in which the substrate symmetry is only weakly coupled to the thin film orientation, as well as strong deviation of composition at high deposition temperatures. Textured growth of Ge-Sb-Te thin film was also observed on SiO{sub x}/Si substrate with no evidence of an intermediate Sb/Te surface layer on top of an SiO{sub x} layer. In addition, particular defect structures formed by local reorganization of the stacking sequence across the vacancy gap are observed and appear to be intrinsic to these van der Waals-layered compounds. Theoretical image simulations of preferred stacking sequences can be matched to individual building blocks in the Ge-Sb-Te grain. - Highlights: • Atomic-resolution Cs-corrected STEM imaging of PLD deposited Ge-Sb-Te thin films. • Changing of overall composition with increasing deposition temperature. • Direct imaging of surface passivation Sb/Te layer at the Ge-Sb-Te/Si(111) interface. • The Sb/Te passivation layer is not a prerequisite for highly oriented growth of Ge-Sb-Te thin films.

  6. The preparation of Zn-ferrite epitaxial thin film from epitaxial Fe3O4:ZnO multilayers by ion beam sputtering deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su, Hui-Chia; Dai, Jeng-Yi; Liao, Yen-Fa; Wu, Yu-Han; Huang, J.C.A.; Lee, Chih-Hao

    2010-01-01

    A new method to grow a well-ordered epitaxial ZnFe 2 O 4 thin film on Al 2 O 3 (0001) substrate is described in this work. The samples were made by annealing the ZnO/Fe 3 O 4 multilayer which was grown with low energy ion beam sputtering deposition. Both the Fe 3 O 4 and ZnO layers were found grown epitaxially at low temperature and an epitaxial ZnFe 2 O 4 thin film was formed after annealing at 1000 o C. X-ray diffraction shows the ZnFe 2 O 4 film is grown with an orientation of ZnFe 2 O 4 (111)//Al 2 O 3 (0001) and ZnFe 2 O 4 (1-10)//Al 2 O 3 (11-20). X-ray absorption spectroscopy studies show that Zn 2+ atoms replace the tetrahedral Fe 2+ atoms in Fe 3 O 4 during the annealing. The magnetic properties measured by vibrating sample magnetometer show that the saturation magnetization of ZnFe 2 O 4 grown from ZnO/Fe 3 O 4 multilayer reaches the bulk value after the annealing process.

  7. Mechanisms of stress generation and relaxation during pulsed laser deposition of epitaxial Fe-Pd magnetic shape memory alloy films on MgO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edler, Tobias; Mayr, S G; Buschbeck, Joerg; Mickel, Christine; Faehler, Sebastian

    2008-01-01

    Mechanical stress generation during epitaxial growth of Fe-Pd thin films on MgO from pulsed laser deposition is a key parameter for the suitability in shape memory applications. By employing in situ substrate curvature measurements, we determine the stress states as a function of film thickness and composition. Depending on composition, different stress states are observed during initial film growth, which can be attributed to different misfits. Compressive stress generation by atomic peening is observed in the later stages of growth. Comparison with ex situ x-ray based strain measurements allows integral and local stress to be distinguished and yields heterogeneities of the stress state between coherent and incoherent regions. In combination with cross-sectional TEM measurements the relevant stress relaxation mechanism is identified to be stress-induced martensite formation with (111) twinning

  8. Growth of AlN films and their characterization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jain, Rakesh B.; Gao, Ying; Zhang, Jianping; Qhaleed Fareed, R.S.; Gaska, Remis [Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc., 1195 Atlas Rd., Columbia, SC 29209 (United States); Li, Jiawei; Arjunan, Arulchakkravarthi; Yang, Jinwei; Asif Khan, M. [Department of Electrical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208 (United States); Kuokstis, Edmundas [MTMI, Vilnius University, Vilnius (Lithuania)

    2006-06-15

    Single crystal AlN layers have been produced by migration enhanced metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MEMOCVD), hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) and their combination. The growth was carried out on 2'' basal plane sapphire substrates. In MEMOCVD, the duration and waveforms of precursors were varied to achieve better surface mobility and thus better atomic incorporation. It resulted in superior layer quality templates with the narrowest (002) X-ray rocking curve full width half maximum (FWHM). Such high quality AlN templates were used as seeds for subsequent HVPE growth. Thick films with thickness ranging from 1-25 {mu}m have been grown by HVPE with growth rates as high as 200 {mu}m/min, highest ever reported. Films grown by the two methods have been extensively characterized by Nomarski microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), high-resolution X-ray diffractometry (HRXRD), and photoluminescence (PL). (copyright 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  9. Anisotropic strain relaxation in (Ba0.6Sr0.4)TiO3 epitaxial thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, W. K.; Akdogan, E. K.; Safari, A.

    2005-05-01

    We have studied the evolution of anisotropic epitaxial strains in ⟨110⟩-oriented (Ba0.60Sr0.40)TiO3 paraelectric (m3m) thin films grown on orthorhombic (mm2) ⟨100⟩-oriented NdGaO3 by high-resolution x-ray diffractometry. All the six independent components of the three-dimensional strain tensor were measured in films with 25-1200-nm thickness, from which the principal stresses and strains were obtained. Pole figure analysis indicated that the epitaxial relations are [001]m3m‖[001]mm2 and [1¯10]m3m‖[010]mm2 in the plane of the film, and [110]m3m‖[100]mm2 along the growth direction. The dislocation system responsible for strain relief along [001] has been determined to be ∣b ∣(001)=3/4∣b∣. Strain relief along the [1¯10] direction, on the other hand, has been determined to be due to a coupled mechanism given by ∣b∣(1¯10)=∣b∣ and ∣b∣(1¯10)=√3 /4∣b∣. Critical thicknesses, as determined from nonlinear regression using the Matthews-Blakeslee equation, for misfit dislocation formation along [001] and [1¯10] direction were found to be 5 and 7 nm, respectively. The residual strain energy density was calculated as ˜2.9×106J/m3 at 25 nm, which was found to relax an order of magnitude by 200 nm. At 200 nm, the linear dislocation density along [001] and [1¯10] are ˜6.5×105 and ˜6×105cm-1, respectively. For films thicker than 600 nm, additional strain relief occurred through surface undulations, indicating that this secondary strain-relief mechanism is a volume effect that sets in upon cooling from the growth temperature.

  10. Defects in heavily phosphorus-doped Si epitaxial films probed by monoenergetic positron beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uedono, Akira; Tanigawa, Shoichiro; Suzuki, Ryoichi; Ohgaki, Hideaki; Mikado, Tomohisa.

    1994-01-01

    Vacancy-type defects in heavily phosphorus-doped Si epitaxial films were probed by monoenergetic positron beams. Doppler broadening profiles of the annihilation radiation and lifetime spectra of positrons were measured for the epitaxial films grown on the Si substrates by plasma chemical vapor deposition. For the as-deposited film, divacancy-phosphorus complexes were found with high concentration. After 600degC annealing, vacancy clusters were formed near the Si/Si interface, while no drastic change in the depth distribution of the divacancy-phosphorus complexes was observed. By 900degC annealing, the vacancy clusters were annealed out; however, the average number of phosphorus atoms coupled with divacancies increased. The relationship between the vacancy-type defects probed by the positron annihilation technique and the carrier concentration was confirmed. (author)

  11. Defects in heavily phosphorus-doped Si epitaxial films probed by monoenergetic positron beams

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uedono, Akira; Tanigawa, Shoichiro [Tsukuba Univ., Ibaraki (Japan). Inst. of Materials Science; Suzuki, Ryoichi; Ohgaki, Hideaki; Mikado, Tomohisa

    1994-11-01

    Vacancy-type defects in heavily phosphorus-doped Si epitaxial films were probed by monoenergetic positron beams. Doppler broadening profiles of the annihilation radiation and lifetime spectra of positrons were measured for the epitaxial films grown on the Si substrates by plasma chemical vapor deposition. For the as-deposited film, divacancy-phosphorus complexes were found with high concentration. After 600degC annealing, vacancy clusters were formed near the Si/Si interface, while no drastic change in the depth distribution of the divacancy-phosphorus complexes was observed. By 900degC annealing, the vacancy clusters were annealed out; however, the average number of phosphorus atoms coupled with divacancies increased. The relationship between the vacancy-type defects probed by the positron annihilation technique and the carrier concentration was confirmed. (author).

  12. Tunable band gap in epitaxial ferroelectric Ho(Mn,Ga)O{sub 3} films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Daesu; Noh, Tae Won, E-mail: twnoh@snu.ac.kr [Center for Correlated Electron Systems, Institute for Basic Science, Seoul 151-742 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742 (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Woo Seok [Department of Physics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-09

    Ferroelectrics have recently attracted attention as a new class of materials for use in optical and photovoltaic devices. We studied the electronic properties in epitaxially stabilized ferroelectric hexagonal Ho(Mn{sub 1−x}Ga{sub x})O{sub 3} (x = 0, 0.33, 0.67, and 1) thin films. Our films exhibited systematic changes in electronic structures, such as bandgap and optical transitions, according to the Ga concentration. In particular, the bandgap increased systematically from 1.4 to 3.2 eV, including the visible light region, with increasing Ga concentration from x = 0 to 1. These systematic changes, attributed to lattice parameter variations in epitaxial Ho(Mn{sub 1−x}Ga{sub x})O{sub 3} films, should prove useful for the design of optoelectronic devices based on ferroelectrics.

  13. A comparative study of transport properties in polycrystalline and epitaxial chromium nitride films

    KAUST Repository

    Duan, X. F.; Mi, Wenbo; Guo, Zaibing; Bai, Haili

    2013-01-01

    Polycrystalline CrNx films on Si(100) and glass substrates and epitaxial CrNx films on MgO(100) substrates were fabricated by reactive sputtering with different nitrogen gas flow rates (fN2). With the increase of fN2, a lattice phase transformation

  14. In-situ epitaxial growth of heavily phosphorus doped SiGe by low pressure chemical vapor deposition

    CERN Document Server

    Lee, C J

    1998-01-01

    We have studied epitaxial crystal growth of Si sub 1 sub - sub x Ge sub x films on silicon substrates at 550 .deg. C by low pressure chemical vapor deposition. In a low PH sub 3 partial pressure region such as below 1.25x10 sup - sup 3 Pa, both the phosphorus and carrier concentrations increased with increasing PH sub 3 partial pressure, but the deposition rate and the Ge fraction remained constant. In a higher PH sub 3 partial pressure region, the deposition rate, the phosphorus concentration, and the carrier concentration decreased, while the Ge fraction increased. These suggest that high surface coverage of phosphorus suppresses both SiH sub 4 and GeH sub 4 adsorption/reactions on the surfaces, and its suppression effect on SiH sub 4 is actually much stronger than on GeH sub 4. In particular, epitaxial crystal growth is largely controlled by surface coverage effect of phosphorus in a higher PH sub 3 partial pressure region.

  15. Molecular beam epitaxy of Cd3As2 on a III-V substrate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timo Schumann

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Epitaxial, strain-engineered Dirac semimetal heterostructures promise tuning of the unique properties of these materials. In this study, we investigate the growth of thin films of the recently discovered Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 by molecular beam epitaxy. We show that epitaxial Cd3As2 layers can be grown at low temperatures (110 °C–220 °C, in situ, on (111 GaSb buffer layers deposited on (111 GaAs substrates. The orientation relationship is described by ( 112 Cd 3 As 2 || (111 GaSb and [ 1 1 ¯ 0 ] Cd 3 As 2 || [ 1 ¯ 01 ] GaSb . The films are shown to grow in the low-temperature, vacancy ordered, tetragonal Dirac semimetal phase. They exhibit high room temperature mobilities of up to 19300 cm2/Vs, despite a three-dimensional surface morphology indicative of island growth and the presence of twin variants. The results indicate that epitaxial growth on more closely lattice matched buffer layers, such as InGaSb or InAlSb, which allow for imposing different degrees of epitaxial coherency strains, should be possible.

  16. Methods for enhancing P-type doping in III-V semiconductor films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Feng; Stringfellow, Gerald; Zhu, Junyi

    2017-08-01

    Methods of doping a semiconductor film are provided. The methods comprise epitaxially growing the III-V semiconductor film in the presence of a dopant, a surfactant capable of acting as an electron reservoir, and hydrogen, under conditions that promote the formation of a III-V semiconductor film doped with the p-type dopant. In some embodiments of the methods, the epitaxial growth of the doped III-V semiconductor film is initiated at a first hydrogen partial pressure which is increased to a second hydrogen partial pressure during the epitaxial growth process.

  17. Epitaxial growth of SrTiO3 (001) films on multilayer buffered GaN (0002) by pulsed laser deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo, W B; Jing, J; Shuai, Y; Zhu, J; Zhang, W L; Zhou, S; Gemming, S; Du, N; Schmidt, H

    2013-01-01

    SrTiO 3 films were grown on CeO 2 /YSZ/TiO 2 multilayer buffered GaN/Al 2 O 3 (0001) substrates with and without the YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x (YBCO) bridge layer by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The deposition process of the buffer layers was in situ monitored by reflection high-energy electron diffraction. The crystallographical orientation of the heterostructure was studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD). With the introduction of the YBCO (001) layer, the STO (001) film was epitaxially grown on the GaN substrate. There were three sets of inplane domains separated from each other by 30° in both STO and YBCO buffer layers. The epitaxial relationship was STO (002)[110]∥YBCO(001)[110]∥CeO 2 (002)[010]∥YSZ (002)[010]∥GaN(0001)[1 1 -2 0] according to XRD results. By comparing the orientation of STO grown on GaN with and without the YBCO top buffer layer, the surface chemical bonding was found to be a very important factor in determining the orientation relationship of STO.

  18. Epitaxial growth of mixed conducting layered Ruddlesden–Popper La{sub n+1}Ni{sub n}O{sub 3n+1} (n = 1, 2 and 3) phases by pulsed laser deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Kuan-Ting; Soh, Yeong-Ah; Skinner, Stephen J., E-mail: s.skinner@imperial.ac.uk

    2013-10-15

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • High quality epitaxial thin films of layered Ruddlesden–Popper nickelates were prepared. • For the first time this has been achieved by the PLD process. • n = 1, 2 and 3 films were successfully deposited on SrTiO{sub 3} and NdGaO{sub 3} substrates. • c-Axis oriented films were confirmed by XRD analysis. • In-plane and out-of-plane strain effects on lattice are discussed. - Abstract: Layered Ruddlesden–Popper phases of composition La{sub n+1}Ni{sub n}O{sub 3n+1} (n = 1, 2 and 3) have been epitaxially grown on SrTiO{sub 3} (0 0 1) or NdGaO{sub 3} (1 1 0) single crystal substrates using the pulsed laser deposition technique. X-ray diffraction analyses (θ/2θ, rocking curves, and φ-scans) and atomic force microscopy confirms the high-quality growth of the series of films with low surface roughness values (less than 1 nm). In particular, epitaxial growth of the higher order phases (n = 2 and 3) of lanthanum nickelate have been demonstrated for the first time.

  19. Molecular Beam Epitaxial Growth and Characterization of Graphene and Hexagonal Boron Nitride Two-Dimensional Layers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Renjing

    Van der Waals (vdW) materials (also called as two-dimensional (2D) material in some literature) systems have received extensive attention recently due to their potential applications in next-generation electronics platform. Exciting properties have been discovered in this field, however, the performance and properties of the systems rely on the materials' quality and interface significantly, leading to the urgent need for scalable synthesis of high-quality vdW crystals and heterostructures. Toward this direction, this dissertation is devoted on the study of Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) growth and various characterization of vdW materials and heterostructures, especially graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). The goal is to achieve high-quality vdW materials and related heterostructures. There are mainly four projects discussed in this dissertation. The first project (Chapter 2) is about MBE growth of large-area h-BN on copper foil. After the growth, the film was transferred onto SiO2 substrate for characterization. It is observed that as-grown film gives evident h-BN Raman spectrum; what's more, h-BN peak intensity and position is dependent on film thickness. N-1s and B-1s XPS peaks further suggest the formation of h-BN. AFM and SEM images show the film is flat and continuous over large area. Our synthesis method shows it's possible to use MBE to achieve h-BN growth and could also pave a way for some unique structure, such as h-BN/graphene heterostructures and doped h-BN films by MBE. The second project (Chapter 3) is focused on establishment of grapehene/h-BN heterostructure on cobalt (Co) film. In-situ epitaxial growth of graphene/h-BN heterostructures on Co film substrate was achieved by using plasma-assisted MBE. The direct graphene/h-BN vertical stacking structures were demonstrated and further confirmed by various characterizations, such as Raman spectroscopy, SEM, XPS and TEM. Large area heterostructures consisting of single- /bilayer graphene and

  20. Growth and Characterization of (211)B Cadmium Telluride Buffer Layer Grown by Metal-organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy on Nanopatterned Silicon for Mercury Cadmium Telluride Based Infrared Detector Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shintri, Shashidhar S.

    Mercury cadmium telluride (MCT or Hg1-xCdxTe) grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is presently the material of choice for fabricating infrared (IR) detectors used in night vision based military applications. The focus of MCT epitaxy has gradually shifted since the last decade to using Si as the starting substrate since it offers several advantages. But the ˜19 % lattice mismatch between MCT and Si generates lots of crystal defects some of which degrade the performance of MCT devices. Hence thick CdTe films are used as buffer layers on Si to accommodate the defects. However, growth of high quality single crystal CdTe on Si is challenging and to date, the best MBE CdTe/Si reportedly has defects in the mid-105 cm -2 range. There is a critical need to reduce the defect levels by at least another order of magnitude, which is the main motivation behind the present work. The use of alternate growth technique called metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) offers some advantages over MBE and in this work MOVPE has been employed to grow the various epitaxial films. In the first part of this work, conditions for obtaining high quality (211)B CdTe epitaxy on (211)Si were achieved, which also involved studying the effect of having additional intermediate buffer layers such as Ge and ZnTe and incorporation of in-situ thermal cyclic annealing (TCA) to reduce the dislocation density. A critical problem of Si cross-contamination due to 'memory effect' of different reactant species was minimized by introducing tertiarybutylArsine (TBAs) which resulted in As-passivation of (211)Si. The best 8-10 µm thick CdTe films on blanket (non-patterned) Si had dislocations around 3×105 cm-2, which are the best reported by MOVPE till date and comparable to the highest quality films available by MBE. In the second part of the work, nanopatterned (211)Si was used to study the effect of patterning on the crystal quality of epitaxial CdTe. In one such study, patterning of ˜20 nm holes in SiO2

  1. Optical Epitaxial Growth of Gold Nanoparticle Arrays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Ningfeng; Martínez, Luis Javier; Jaquay, Eric; Nakano, Aiichiro; Povinelli, Michelle L

    2015-09-09

    We use an optical analogue of epitaxial growth to assemble gold nanoparticles into 2D arrays. Particles are attracted to a growth template via optical forces and interact through optical binding. Competition between effects determines the final particle arrangements. We use a Monte Carlo model to design a template that favors growth of hexagonal particle arrays. We experimentally demonstrate growth of a highly stable array of 50 gold particles with 200 nm diameter, spaced by 1.1 μm.

  2. Epitaxial c-axis oriented BaTiO3 thin films on SrTiO3-buffered Si(001) by atomic layer deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ngo, Thong Q.; McDaniel, Martin D.; Ekerdt, John G.; Posadas, Agham B.; Demkov, Alexander A.; Hu, Chengqing; Yu, Edward T.; Bruley, John

    2014-01-01

    Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of epitaxial c-axis oriented BaTiO 3 (BTO) on Si(001) using a thin (1.6 nm) buffer layer of SrTiO 3 (STO) grown by molecular beam epitaxy is reported. The ALD growth of crystalline BTO films at 225  °C used barium bis(triisopropylcyclopentadienyl), titanium tetraisopropoxide, and water as co-reactants. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals a high degree of crystallinity and c-axis orientation of as-deposited BTO films. Crystallinity is improved after vacuum annealing at 600  °C. Two-dimensional XRD confirms the tetragonal structure and orientation of 7–20-nm thick films. The effect of the annealing process on the BTO structure is discussed. A clean STO/Si interface is found using in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and confirmed by cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy. The capacitance-voltage characteristics of 7–20 nm-thick BTO films are examined and show an effective dielectric constant of ∼660 for the heterostructure

  3. Lattice distortion and strain relaxation in epitaxial thin films of multiferroic TbMnO3 probed by X-ray diffractometry and micro-Raman spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Y.; Stender, D.; Medarde, M.; Lippert, T.; Wokaun, A.; Schneider, C. W.

    2013-08-01

    A detailed structural XRD analysis of (1 1 0)-oriented TbMnO3 thin films grown on (1 1 0)-YAlO3 substrates shows the co-existence of a strained and relaxed "sublayer" within the films due to strain relaxation during epitaxial growth by pulsed laser deposition. The substrate-film lattice mismatch yields a compressive strain anisotropy along the two in-plane directions, i.e. [1 -1 0] and [0 0 1] and a monoclinic distortion. A further manifestation of the growth-induced strain is the hardening of Raman active modes as a result of changed atomic motions along the [1 -1 0] and [0 0 1] directions.

  4. Interface amorphization in hexagonal boron nitride films on sapphire substrate grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xu; Nitta, Shugo; Pristovsek, Markus; Liu, Yuhuai; Nagamatsu, Kentaro; Kushimoto, Maki; Honda, Yoshio; Amano, Hiroshi

    2018-05-01

    Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) films directly grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by pulsed-mode metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy exhibit an interlayer for growth temperatures above 1200 °C. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy shows that this interlayer is amorphous, while the crystalline h-BN layer above has a distinct orientational relationship with the sapphire substrate. Electron energy loss spectroscopy shows the energy-loss peaks of B and N in both the amorphous interlayer and the overlying crystalline h-BN layer, while Al and O signals are also seen in the amorphous interlayer. Thus, the interlayer forms during h-BN growth through the decomposition of the sapphire at elevated temperatures.

  5. Direct formation of thin films and epitaxial overlayers at low temperatures using a low-energy (10-500 eV) ion beam deposition system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zuhr, R.A.; Alton, G.D.; Appleton, B.R.; Herbots, N.; Noggle, T.S.; Pennycook, S.J.

    1987-01-01

    A low-energy ion beam deposition system has been developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and has been applied successfully to the growth of epitaxial films at low temperatures for a number of different elements. The deposition system utilizes the ion source and optics of a commercial ion implantation accelerator. The 35 keV mass- and energy-analyzed ion beam from the accelerator is decelerated in a four-element electrostatic lens assembly to energies between 10 and 500 eV for direct deposition onto a target under UHV conditions. Current densities on the order of 10 μA/cm 2 are achieved with good uniformity over a 1.4 cm diameter spot. The completed films are characterized by Rutherford backscattering, ion channeling, cross-section transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. The effects of substrate temperature, ion energy, and substrate cleaning have been studied. Epitaxial overlayers which show good minimum yields by ion channeling (3 to 4%) have been produced at temperatures as low as 375 0 C for Si on Si(100) and 250 0 C for Ge on Ge(100) at growth rates that exceed the solid-phase epitaxy rates at these temperatures by more than an order of magnitude

  6. Lanthanum gallate substrates for epitaxial high-temperature superconducting thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sandstrom, R.L.; Giess, E.A.; Gallagher, W.J.; Segmueller, A.; Cooper, E.I.; Chisholm, M.F.; Gupta, A.; Shinde, S.; Laibowitz, R.B.

    1988-01-01

    We demonstrate that lanthanum gallate (LaGaO 3 ) has considerable potential as an electronic substrate material for high-temperature superconducting films. It provides a good lattice and thermal expansion match to YBa 2 Cu 3 O/sub 7-//sub x/, can be grown in large crystal sizes, is compatible with high-temperature film processing, and has a reasonably low dielectric constant (ε≅25) and low dielectric losses. Epitaxial YBa 2 Cu 3 O/sub 7-//sub x/ films grown on LaGaO 3 single-crystal substrates by three techniques have zero resistance between 87 and 91 K

  7. Void Shapes Controlled by Using Interruption-Free Epitaxial Lateral Overgrowth of GaN Films on Patterned SiO2 AlN/Sapphire Template

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-An Chen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available GaN epitaxial layers with embedded air voids grown on patterned SiO2 AlN/sapphire templates were proposed. Using interruption-free epitaxial lateral overgrowth technology, we realized uninterrupted growth and controlled the shape of embedded air voids. These layers showed improved crystal quality using X-ray diffraction and measurement of etching pits density. Compared with conventional undoped-GaN film, the full width at half-maximum of the GaN (0 0 2 and (1 0 2 peaks decreased from 485 arcsec to 376 arcsec and from 600 arcsec to 322 arcsec, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy results showed that the coalesced GaN growth led to bending threading dislocation. We also proposed a growth model based on results of scanning electron microscopy.

  8. Resistance switching in epitaxial SrCoOx thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tambunan, Octolia T.; Parwanta, Kadek J.; Acharya, Susant K.; Lee, Bo Wha; Jung, Chang Uk; Kim, Yeon Soo; Park, Bae Ho; Jeong, Huiseong; Park, Ji-Yong; Cho, Myung Rae; Park, Yun Daniel; Choi, Woo Seok; Kim, Dong-Wook; Jin, Hyunwoo; Lee, Suyoun; Song, Seul Ji; Kang, Sung-Jin; Kim, Miyoung; Hwang, Cheol Seong

    2014-08-01

    We observed bipolar switching behavior from an epitaxial strontium cobaltite film grown on a SrTiO3 (001) substrate. The crystal structure of strontium cobaltite has been known to undergo topotactic phase transformation between two distinct phases: insulating brownmillerite (SrCoO2.5) and conducting perovskite (SrCoO3-δ) depending on the oxygen content. The current-voltage characteristics of the strontium cobaltite film showed that it could have a reversible insulator-to-metal transition triggered by electrical bias voltage. We propose that the resistance switching in the SrCoOx thin film could be related to the topotactic phase transformation and the peculiar structure of SrCoO2.5.

  9. Resistance switching in epitaxial SrCoOx thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tambunan, Octolia T.; Parwanta, Kadek J.; Acharya, Susant K.; Lee, Bo Wha; Jung, Chang Uk; Kim, Yeon Soo; Park, Bae Ho; Jeong, Huiseong; Park, Ji-Yong; Cho, Myung Rae; Park, Yun Daniel; Choi, Woo Seok; Kim, Dong-Wook; Jin, Hyunwoo; Lee, Suyoun; Song, Seul Ji; Kang, Sung-Jin; Kim, Miyoung; Hwang, Cheol Seong

    2014-01-01

    We observed bipolar switching behavior from an epitaxial strontium cobaltite film grown on a SrTiO 3 (001) substrate. The crystal structure of strontium cobaltite has been known to undergo topotactic phase transformation between two distinct phases: insulating brownmillerite (SrCoO 2.5 ) and conducting perovskite (SrCoO 3−δ ) depending on the oxygen content. The current–voltage characteristics of the strontium cobaltite film showed that it could have a reversible insulator-to-metal transition triggered by electrical bias voltage. We propose that the resistance switching in the SrCoO x thin film could be related to the topotactic phase transformation and the peculiar structure of SrCoO 2.5

  10. Catalytic Activity Enhancement for Oxygen Reduction on Epitaxial Perovskite Thin Films for Solid-Oxide Fuel Cells

    KAUST Repository

    la O', Gerardo Jose; Ahn, Sung-Jin; Crumlin, Ethan; Orikasa, Yuki; Biegalski, Michael D.; Christen, Hans M.; Shao-Horn, Yang

    2010-01-01

    Figure Presented The active ingredient: La0.8Sr 0.2CoO3-δ (LSC) epitaxial thin films are prepared on (001 )-oriented yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) single crystals with a gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) buffer layer (see picture). The LSC epitaxial films exhibit better oxygen reduction kinetics than bulk LSC. The enhanced activity is attributed in part to higher oxygen nonstoichiometry. © 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KCaA, Weinheim.

  11. Catalytic Activity Enhancement for Oxygen Reduction on Epitaxial Perovskite Thin Films for Solid-Oxide Fuel Cells

    KAUST Repository

    la O', Gerardo Jose

    2010-06-22

    Figure Presented The active ingredient: La0.8Sr 0.2CoO3-δ (LSC) epitaxial thin films are prepared on (001 )-oriented yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) single crystals with a gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) buffer layer (see picture). The LSC epitaxial films exhibit better oxygen reduction kinetics than bulk LSC. The enhanced activity is attributed in part to higher oxygen nonstoichiometry. © 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KCaA, Weinheim.

  12. Magnetic anisotropy basis sets for epitaxial (110) and (111) REFe2 nanofilms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bowden, G J; Martin, K N; Fox, A; Rainford, B D; Groot, P A J de

    2008-01-01

    Magnetic anisotropy basis sets for the cubic Laves phase rare earth intermetallic REFe 2 compounds are discussed in some detail. Such compounds can be either free standing, or thin films grown in either (110) or (111) mode using molecular beam epitaxy. For the latter, it is useful to rotate to a new coordinate system where the z-axis coincides with the growth axes of the film. In this paper, three symmetry adapted basis sets are given, for multi-pole moments up to n = 12. These sets can be used for free-standing compounds and for (110) and (111) epitaxial films. In addition, the distortion of REFe 2 films, grown on sapphire substrates, is also considered. The distortions are different for the (110) and (111) films. Strain-induced harmonic sets are given for both specific and general distortions. Finally, some predictions are made concerning the preferred direction of easy magnetization in (111) molecular beam epitaxy grown REFe 2 films

  13. Flexoelectricity induced increase of critical thickness in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Hao; Hong Jiawang; Zhang Yihui; Li Faxin; Pei Yongmao; Fang Daining

    2012-01-01

    Flexoelectricity describes the coupling between polarization and strain/stress gradients in insulating crystals. In this paper, using the Landau-Ginsburg-Devonshire phenomenological approach, we found that flexoelectricity could increase the theoretical critical thickness in epitaxial BaTiO 3 thin films, below which the switchable spontaneous polarization vanishes. This increase is remarkable in tensile films while trivial in compressive films due to the electrostriction caused decrease of potential barrier, which can be easily destroyed by the flexoelectricity, between the ferroelectric state and the paraelectric state in tensile films. In addition, the films are still in a uni-polar state even below the critical thickness due to the flexoelectric effect.

  14. Flexoelectricity induced increase of critical thickness in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou Hao [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Hong Jiawang; Zhang Yihui [Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Li Faxin [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Pei Yongmao, E-mail: peiym@pku.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Fang Daining, E-mail: fangdn@pku.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

    2012-09-01

    Flexoelectricity describes the coupling between polarization and strain/stress gradients in insulating crystals. In this paper, using the Landau-Ginsburg-Devonshire phenomenological approach, we found that flexoelectricity could increase the theoretical critical thickness in epitaxial BaTiO{sub 3} thin films, below which the switchable spontaneous polarization vanishes. This increase is remarkable in tensile films while trivial in compressive films due to the electrostriction caused decrease of potential barrier, which can be easily destroyed by the flexoelectricity, between the ferroelectric state and the paraelectric state in tensile films. In addition, the films are still in a uni-polar state even below the critical thickness due to the flexoelectric effect.

  15. Hydrogen absorption in epitaxial Nb-films. A STM-study; Wasserstoffabsorption in epitaktischen Niobschichten. Eine STM-Studie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Noerthemann, K.

    2006-07-01

    In this work the phase transition of the system Niobium Hydrogen in thin films was investigated. The epitaxial Niobium films were fabricated using ion sputtering on sapphire substrates. The changes due to the hydrogen loading were observed with the scanning tunnel microscope (STM). With this method it is possible to detect the changes in the nanometer scale. With help of theoretical models it was possible to establish volume changes through the measured surface data. This is possible due to the linear relationship between hydrogen concentration and volume expansion. Comparisons between experimental data and calculations, which were done using the 'finite element method', allows to establish that the hydride precipitates are of cylindrical form. Thereafter the time continuously measurements of nuclei formation and precipitations growth was investigated. The growth is described through a 'Johnson-Mehl-Avrami' kinetic. Whereas coherent precipitations at first stage were observed, afterwards at higher Hydrogen concentration these transformed to incoherent. This coherent - incoherent transition occur at precipitation sizes which shows a film thickness dependency. (orig.)

  16. The effect of sulphur-terminated GaAs substrates on the MOVPE growth of CuGaS2 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berndt, P.R.; Botha, J.R.; Branch, M.S.; Leitch, A.W.R.; Kirmse, H.; Neumann, W.; Weber, J.

    2007-01-01

    In this study, various CuGaS 2 layers were grown on GaAs (001) substrates using metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy, for the purpose of studying the effect of sulphur-termination of the substrate on layer quality. The resultant films were investigated using X-ray diffractometry, and transmission electron microscopy, with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy providing additional insights into crystallite growth on the control substrates. This paper will demonstrate that sulphur-termination limits substrate degradation. In the absence of sulphur-termination, atypical three-dimensional MOVPE growth is observed, with epitaxial crystallites varying in size from 10 nm to 200 nm. Substrate degradation inhibits lateral growth at the interface resulting in amorphous regions, cavities, and epitaxial crystallites demonstrating overgrowth into mushroom-like structures

  17. Effects of substrate material on carbon films grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, M.; Xu, X.Y.; Man, B.Y.; Kong, D.M.; Xu, S.C.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We prepared tri-layers by laser molecular beam epitaxy (LMBE) on sapphire substrate. ► We found that the formation of the graphene film has a strong relation to the structure and properties of the substrate. ► The different carbon film formation mechanism of the buffer layers can affect the morphology of the film. - Abstract: The carbon thin films were grown on different substrates with different buffer layers by laser molecular beam epitaxy (LMBE) with a high purity graphite carbon target. A UV pulsed KrF excimer laser with a wavelength of 248 nm was used as laser source. The structure, surface morphology and other properties of the carbon thin films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results show that the properties of the carbon thin films and the formation of the graphene film have a strong relation to the structure and properties of the substrate. The substrate with a hexagonal wurtzite structure which is similar to the hexagonal honeycomb structure of the carbon atoms arranged in the graphene is more beneficial for the formation of the graphene thin film. In our experiment conditions, the carbon films grown on sapphire substrates with different buffer layers have an ordered structure and a smooth surface, and form high quality tri-layer graphene films.

  18. MgO monolayer epitaxy on Ni (100)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarpi, B.; Putero, M.; Hemeryck, A.; Vizzini, S.

    2017-11-01

    The growth of two-dimensional oxide films with accurate control of their structural and electronic properties is considered challenging for engineering nanotechnological applications. We address here the particular case of MgO ultrathin films grown on Ni (100), a system for which neither crystallization nor extended surface ordering has been established previously in the monolayer range. Using Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Auger Electron Spectroscopy, we report on experiments showing MgO monolayer (ML) epitaxy on a ferromagnetic nickel surface, down to the limit of atomic thickness. Alternate steps of Mg ML deposition, O2 gas exposure, and ultrahigh vacuum thermal treatment enable the production of a textured film of ordered MgO nano-domains. This study could open interesting prospects for controlled epitaxy of ultrathin oxide films with a high magneto-resistance ratio on ferromagnetic substrates, enabling improvement in high-efficiency spintronics and magnetic tunnel junction devices.

  19. High growth rate GaN on 200 mm silicon by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy for high electron mobility transistors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charles, M.; Baines, Y.; Bavard, A.; Bouveyron, R.

    2018-02-01

    It is increasingly important to reduce the cycle time of epitaxial growth, in order to reduce the costs of device fabrication, especially for GaN based structures which typically have growth cycles of several hours. We have performed a comprehensive study using metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) investigating the effects of changing GaN growth rates from 0.9 to 14.5 μm/h. Although there is no significant effect on the strain incorporated in the layers, we have seen changes in the surface morphology which can be related to the change in dislocation behaviour and surface diffusion effects. At the small scale, as seen by AFM, increased dislocation density for higher growth rates leads to increased pinning of growth terraces, resulting in more closely spaced terraces. At a larger scale of hundreds of μm observed by optical profiling, we have related the formation of grains to the rate of surface diffusion of adatoms using a random walk model, implying diffusion distances from 30 μm for the highest growth rates up to 100 μm for the lowest. The increased growth rate also increases the intrinsic carbon incorporation which can increase the breakdown voltage of GaN films. Despite an increased threading dislocation density, these very high growth rates of 14.5 μm/hr by MOVPE have been shown to be appealing for reducing epitaxial growth cycle times and therefore costs in High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) structures.

  20. Effects of substrate temperature and Cu underlayer thickness on the formation of SmCo5(0001) epitaxial thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtake, Mitsuru; Nukaga, Yuri; Futamoto, Masaaki; Kirino, Fumiyoshi

    2010-01-01

    SmCo 5 (0001) epitaxial thin films were prepared on Cu(111) underlayers heteroepitaxially grown on Al 2 O 3 (0001) single-crystal substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The effects of substrate temperature and Cu underlayer thickness on the crystallographic properties of SmCo 5 (0001) epitaxial films were investigated. The Cu atoms of underlayer diffuse into the SmCo 5 film and substitute the Co sites in SmCo 5 structure forming an alloy compound of Sm(Co,Cu) 5 . The ordered phase formation is enhanced with increasing the substrate temperature and with increasing the Cu underlayer thickness. The Cu atom diffusion into the SmCo 5 film is assisting the formation of Sm(Co,Cu) 5 ordered phase.

  1. Quantitative evaluation about property of thin-film formation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen Huawei [Department of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo (Japan) and School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University (China)]. E-mail: chen_hua_wei@yahoo.com; Hagiwara, Ichiro [Department of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo (Japan); Huang Tian [Department of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University (China); Zhang Dawei [School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University (China)

    2006-03-15

    Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is gradually emphasized as one promising method for nanomaterial formation. Such growth mechanism has been mainly investigated on basis of experiment. Due to large cost of the equipment of experiment and low level of current measurement, the comprehension about authentic effect of formation condition on properties of nanomaterial is limited in qualitative manner. Three quantitative items: flatness of primary deposition, adhesion between cluster and substrate, and degree of epitaxial growth were proposed to evaluate the property of thin film. In this simulation, three different cluster sizes of 203, 653, 1563 atoms with different velocities (0, 10, 100, 1000, 3000 m/s) were deposited on a Cu(0 0 1) substrate whose temperatures were set between 300 and 1000 K. Within one velocity range, not only the speed of epitaxial growth and adhesion between thin film and substrate were enhanced, but also the degree of epitaxy increased and the shape of thin film became more flat with velocity increasing. Moreover, the epitaxial growth became well as the temperature of substrate was raised within a certain range, and the degree of epitaxy of small cluster was larger than larger cluster. The results indicated that the property of thin film could be controlled if the effect of situations of process was made clear.

  2. Quantitative evaluation about property of thin-film formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Huawei; Hagiwara, Ichiro; Huang Tian; Zhang Dawei

    2006-01-01

    Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is gradually emphasized as one promising method for nanomaterial formation. Such growth mechanism has been mainly investigated on basis of experiment. Due to large cost of the equipment of experiment and low level of current measurement, the comprehension about authentic effect of formation condition on properties of nanomaterial is limited in qualitative manner. Three quantitative items: flatness of primary deposition, adhesion between cluster and substrate, and degree of epitaxial growth were proposed to evaluate the property of thin film. In this simulation, three different cluster sizes of 203, 653, 1563 atoms with different velocities (0, 10, 100, 1000, 3000 m/s) were deposited on a Cu(0 0 1) substrate whose temperatures were set between 300 and 1000 K. Within one velocity range, not only the speed of epitaxial growth and adhesion between thin film and substrate were enhanced, but also the degree of epitaxy increased and the shape of thin film became more flat with velocity increasing. Moreover, the epitaxial growth became well as the temperature of substrate was raised within a certain range, and the degree of epitaxy of small cluster was larger than larger cluster. The results indicated that the property of thin film could be controlled if the effect of situations of process was made clear

  3. Superconductivity of Rock-Salt Structure LaO Epitaxial Thin Film.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaminaga, Kenichi; Oka, Daichi; Hasegawa, Tetsuya; Fukumura, Tomoteru

    2018-06-06

    We report a superconducting transition in a LaO epitaxial thin film with the superconducting transition onset temperature ( T c ) at around 5 K. This T c is higher than those of other lanthanum monochalcogenides and opposite to their chemical trend: T c = 0.84, 1.02, and 1.48 K for LaX (X = S, Se, Te), respectively. The carrier control resulted in a dome-shaped T c as a function of electron carrier density. In addition, the T c was significantly sensitive to epitaxial strain in spite of the highly symmetric crystal structure. This rock-salt superconducting LaO could be a building block to design novel superlattice superconductors.

  4. Nanostructural origin of semiconductivity and large magnetoresistance in epitaxial NiCo2O4/Al2O3 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhen, Congmian; Zhang, XiaoZhe; Wei, Wengang; Guo, Wenzhe; Pant, Ankit; Xu, Xiaoshan; Shen, Jian; Ma, Li; Hou, Denglu

    2018-04-01

    Despite low resistivity (~1 mΩ cm), metallic electrical transport has not been commonly observed in inverse spinel NiCo2O4, except in certain epitaxial thin films. Previous studies have stressed the effect of valence mixing and the degree of spinel inversion on the electrical conduction of NiCo2O4 films. In this work, we studied the effect of nanostructural disorder by comparing the NiCo2O4 epitaxial films grown on MgAl2O4 (1 1 1) and on Al2O3 (0 0 1) substrates. Although the optimal growth conditions are similar for the NiCo2O4 (1 1 1)/MgAl2O4 (1 1 1) and the NiCo2O4 (1 1 1)/Al2O3 (0 0 1) films, they show metallic and semiconducting electrical transport, respectively. Post-growth annealing decreases the resistivity of NiCo2O4 (1 1 1)/Al2O3 (0 0 1) films, but the annealed films are still semiconducting. While the semiconductivity and the large magnetoresistance in NiCo2O4 (1 1 1)/Al2O3 (0 0 1) films cannot be accounted for in terms of non-optimal valence mixing and spinel inversion, the presence of anti-phase boundaries between nano-sized crystallites, generated by the structural mismatch between NiCo2O4 and Al2O3, may explain all the experimental observations in this work. These results reveal nanostructural disorder as being another key factor for controlling the electrical transport of NiCo2O4, with potentially large magnetoresistance for spintronics applications.

  5. Epitaxial Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 thin films synthesized by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bai, G. R.; Streiffer, S. K.; Baumann, P. K.; Auciello, O.; Ghosh, K.; Stemmer, S.; Munkholm, A.; Thompson, Carol; Rao, R. A.; Eom, C. B.

    2000-01-01

    Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition was used to prepare Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 (PMN) thin films on (001) SrTiO 3 and SrRuO 3 /SrTiO 3 substrates, using solid Mg β-diketonate as the Mg precursor. Parameters including the precursor ratio in the vapor phase, growth temperature, growth rate, and reaction pressure in the reactor chamber were varied in order to determine suitable growth conditions for producing phase-pure, epitaxial PMN films. A cube-on-cube orientation relationship between the thin film and the SrTiO 3 substrate was found, with a (001) rocking curve width of 0.1 degree sign , and in-plane rocking-curve width of 0.8 degree sign . The root-mean-square surface roughness of a 200-nm-thick film on SrTiO 3 was 2 to 3 nm as measured by scanning probe microscopy. The zero-bias dielectric constant and loss measured at room temperature and 10 kHz for a 200-nm-thick film on SrRuO 3 /SrTiO 3 were approximately 1100 and 2%, respectively. The remnant polarization for this film was 16 μC/cm 2 . (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics

  6. Roles of kinetics and energetics in the growth of AlN by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Im, I. H.; Minegishi, T.; Hanada, T.; Lee, S. W.; Cho, M. W.; Yao, T.; Oh, D. C.; Chang, J. H.

    2006-01-01

    The roles of kinetics and energetics in the growth processes of AlN on c-sapphire by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy are investigated by varying the growth rate from 1 to 31 A/min and the substrate temperature from 800 to 1000 .deg. C. The energetics is found to govern the growth of AlN in the low-growth rate region even at a low substrate temperature of 800 .deg. C owing to the enhanced residence time of adatoms, thereby increasing the surface migration length. As the growth rate increases, the growth tends to be governed by kinetics because of a reduction in the residence time of adatoms. Consequently, the surface roughness and crystal quality are greatly improved for the low-growth-rate case. In addition, the lattice strain relaxation is completed from the beginning of epitaxy for energetics-limiting growth while lattice strain relaxation is retarded for kinetics-limiting growth because of pre-existing partial strain relaxation. Energetics becomes more favorable as the substrate temperature is raised because of an increase in the surface diffusion length owing to an enhanced diffusion coefficient. Consequently high-crystal-quality AlN layers are grown under the energetics-limiting growth condition with a screw dislocation density of 7.4 x 10 8 cm -2 even for a thin 42-nm thick film.

  7. Structure and functional properties of epitaxial PBZRxTI1-xO3 films

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vergeer, Kurt

    2017-01-01

    The work described in this thesis is focused on the characterization and understanding of epitaxial, clamped, dense PbZrxTi1-xO3 (PZT) films. A thermodynamic model is developed, which is used to simulate properties of clamped PZT films throughout this work. The free energy equations for single- and

  8. Advanced Photon Source Activity Report 2002 at Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, December 2003 - contribution title:''Microdiffraction Study of Epitaxial Growth and Lattice Tilts in Oxide Films on Polycrystalline Metal Substrates''

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Budai, J.D.

    2004-01-01

    Texture, the preference for a particular crystallographic orientation in polycrystalline materials, plays an important role in controlling such diverse materials properties as corrosion resistance, recording density in magnetic media and electrical transport in superconductors [1]. Without texture, polycrystalline oxide superconductors contain many high-angle, weak-linked grain boundaries which reduce critical current densities by several orders of magnitude [2]. One approach for inducing texture in oxide superconductors has been the epitaxial growth of films on rolling-assisted biaxially-textured substrates (RABiTS) [3]. In this approach, rolled Ni foils are recrystallized under conditions that lead to a high degree of biaxial {001} cube texture. Subsequent deposition of epitaxial oxide buffer layers (typically CeO 2 and YSZ as chemical barriers) and superconducting YBCO preserves the lattice alignment, eliminating high-angle boundaries and enabling high critical current densities, J c > 10 6 /cm 2 . Conventional x-ray diffraction using ω- and φ-scans typically shows macroscopic biaxial texture to within ∼5 o -10 o FWHM for all layers, but does not describe the local microstructural features that control the materials properties. Understanding and controlling the local texture and microstructural evolution of processes associated with heteroepitaxial growth, differential thermal contraction and cracking remain significant challenges in this complex system [4], as well as in many other technologically important thin-film applications

  9. Fluorination of an epitaxial YBaCuO thin film with controlled oxygen vacancies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perrin, C. (Lab. de Chimie du Solide et Inorganique Moleculaire, Univ. de Rennes 1, 35 (France)); Pena, O. (Lab. de Chimie du Solide et Inorganique Moleculaire, Univ. de Rennes 1, 35 (France)); Mokhtari, M. (Lab. de Chimie du Solide et Inorganique Moleculaire, Univ. de Rennes 1, 35 (France)); Thivet, C. (Lab. de Chimie du Solide et Inorganique Moleculaire, Univ. de Rennes 1, 35 (France)); Guilloux-Viry, M. (Lab. de Chimie du Solide et Inorganique Moleculaire, Univ. de Rennes 1, 35 (France)); Perrin, A. (Lab. de Chimie du Solide et Inorganique Moleculaire, Univ. de Rennes 1, 35 (France)); Sergent, M. (Lab. de Chimie du Solide et Inorganique Moleculaire, Univ. de Rennes 1, 35 (France))

    1993-05-10

    An intentionally oxygen-deficient thin film, epitaxially grown in-situ on a (100) MgO substrate by laser ablation at 750 C under a low pressure oxygen atmosphere, has been treated under NF[sub 3] diluted in N[sub 2] at temperatures not exceeding 280 C. During the fluorination process the epitaxy of the thin film is maintained; its Tc onset progressively increases from 54 K up to 85.6 K and the width of the inductive transition is narrow at the end of treatment (1.2 K). These results are discussed and compared to those obtained during the fluorination of oxygen-deficient YBa[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]O[sub x] ceramics. (orig.)

  10. Preparation and characterization of epitaxially grown unsupported yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Götsch, Thomas; Mayr, Lukas [Institute of Physical Chemistry, Universität Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck (Austria); Stöger-Pollach, Michael [University Service Center for Transmission Electron Microscopy (USTEM), Vienna University of Technology, A-1040 Vienna (Austria); Klötzer, Bernhard [Institute of Physical Chemistry, Universität Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck (Austria); Penner, Simon, E-mail: simon.penner@uibk.ac.at [Institute of Physical Chemistry, Universität Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck (Austria)

    2015-03-15

    Highlights: • Preparation of unsupported yttrium-stabilized zirconia films. • Control of ordering and epitaxy by temperature of deposition template. • Adjustment of film defectivity by deposition and post-oxidation temperature. • Reproducibility of target stoichiometry in the deposited films. • Lateral and vertical chemical homogeneity. - Abstract: Epitaxially grown, chemically homogeneous yttria-stabilized zirconia thin films (“YSZ”, 8 mol% Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}) are prepared by direct-current sputtering onto a single-crystalline NaCl(0 0 1) template at substrate temperatures ≥493 K, resulting in unsupported YSZ films after floating off NaCl in water. A combined methodological approach by dedicated (surface science) analytical characterization tools (transmission electron microscopy and diffraction, atomic force microscopy, angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) reveals that the film grows mainly in a [0 0 1] zone axis and no Y-enrichment in surface or bulk regions takes place. In fact, the Y-content of the sputter target is preserved in the thin films. Analysis of the plasmon region in EEL spectra indicates a defective nature of the as-deposited films, which can be suppressed by post-deposition oxidation at 1073 K. This, however, induces considerable sintering, as deduced from surface morphology measurements by AFM. In due course, the so-prepared unsupported YSZ films might act as well-defined model systems also for technological applications.

  11. In-plane microwave dielectric properties of paraelectric barium strontium titanate thin films with anisotropic epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, W. K.; Akdogan, E. K.; Safari, A.; Bellotti, J. A.

    2005-08-01

    In-plane dielectric properties of ⟨110⟩ oriented epitaxial (Ba0.60Sr0.40)TiO3 thin films in the thickness range from 25-1200nm have been investigated under the influence of anisotropic epitaxial strains from ⟨100⟩ NdGaO3 substrates. The measured dielectric properties show strong residual strain and in-plane directional dependence. Below 150nm film thickness, there appears to be a phase transition due to the anisotropic nature of the misfit strain relaxation. In-plane relative permittivity is found to vary from as much as 500-150 along [11¯0] and [001] respectively, in 600nm thick films, and from 75 to 500 overall. Tunability was found to vary from as much as 54% to 20% in all films and directions, and in a given film the best tunability is observed along the compressed axis in a mixed strain state, 54% along [11¯0] in the 600nm film for example.

  12. Strain quantification in epitaxial thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cushley, M

    2008-01-01

    Strain arising in epitaxial thin films can be beneficial in some cases but devastating in others. By altering the lattice parameters, strain may give a thin film properties hitherto unseen in the bulk material. On the other hand, heavily strained systems are prone to develop lattice defects in order to relieve the strain, which can cause device failure or, at least, a decrease in functionality. Using convergent beam electron diffraction (CBED) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), it is possible to determine local strains within a material. By comparing the results from CBED and HRTEM experiments, it is possible to gain a complete view of a material, including the strain and any lattice defects present. As well as looking at how the two experimental techniques differ from each other, I will also look at how results from different image analysis algorithms compare. Strain in Si/SiGe samples and BST/SRO/MgO capacitor structures will be discussed.

  13. Bi-epitaxial YBa2Cu3Ox Thin Films on Tilted-axes NdGaO3 Substrates with CeO2 Seeding Layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mozhaev, P B; Mozhaeva, J E; Jacobsen, C S; Hansen, J Bindslev; Bdikin, I K; Luzanov, V A; Kotelyanskii, I M; Zybtsev, S G

    2006-01-01

    Bi-epitaxial YBa 2 Cu 3 O x (YBCO) thin films with out-of-plane tilt angle in the range 18 - 27 0 were manufactured using pulsed laser deposition on NdGaO 3 tilted-axes substrates with CeO 2 seeding layers. The YBCO thin film orientation over the seeding layer depended on deposition conditions. Removal of the seeding layer from part of the substrate surface by ionbeam etching resulted in formation of a bi-epitaxial thin film with different c-axis orientation of two parts of the film. The bi-epitaxial film orientation and structure were studied using X-ray diffraction techniques, and surface morphology was observed with atomic force microscope (AFM). Photolithography and ion-beam etching techniques were used for patterning bi-epitaxial thin films. Electrical characterization of the obtained structures was performed

  14. Coercive force features in stressed epitaxial ferrite-garnet films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dubinko, S.V.; Nedviga, A.S.; Vishnevskij, V.G.; Shaposhnikov, A.N.; Yagupov, V.S.; Nesteruk, A.G.; Prokopov, A.R.

    2005-01-01

    One has investigated into effect of a relative mismatching of periods of lattices of a film and of a substrate within 0.5-0.85% range on behavior of the coercive force of (Bi, Sm, Lu, Ca) 3 (Fe, Sc, Ga, Al) 5 O 12 composition ferrite garnet epitaxial films (FGEF) synthesized at (111) orientation gadolinium-gallium garnet substrates. One has revealed that the FGEF coercive force at increase of the relative mismatching of periods of lattices of a film and of a substrate increases at first, while when reaching the maximum value it begins to decrease. The coercive force maximum value is shown to result from the periodical localized stresses. The period of the localized stresses is determined by the value of mismatching of periods of lattices of a film and of a substrate [ru

  15. High-rate deposition of epitaxial layers for efficient low-temperature thin film epitaxial silicon solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oberbeck, L.; Schmidt, J.; Wagner, T.A.; Bergmann, R.B. [Stuttgart Univ. (Germany). Inst. of Physical Electronics

    2001-07-01

    Low-temperature deposition of Si for thin-film solar cells has previously been hampered by low deposition rates and low material quality, usually reflected by a low open-circuit voltage of these solar cells. In contrast, ion-assisted deposition produces Si films with a minority-carrier diffusion length of 40 {mu}m, obtained at a record deposition rate of 0.8 {mu}m/min and a deposition temperature of 650{sup o}C with a prebake at 810{sup o}C. A thin-film Si solar cell with a 20-{mu}m-thick epitaxial layer achieves an open-circuit voltage of 622 mV and a conversion efficiency of 12.7% without any light trapping structures and without high-temperature solar cell process steps. (author)

  16. Molecular beam epitaxy growth of [CrGe/MnGe/FeGe] superlattices: Toward artificial B20 skyrmion materials with tunable interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Adam S.; Esser, Bryan D.; Rowland, James; McComb, David W.; Kawakami, Roland K.

    2017-06-01

    Skyrmions are localized magnetic spin textures whose stability has been shown theoretically to depend on material parameters including bulk Dresselhaus spin orbit coupling (SOC), interfacial Rashba SOC, and magnetic anisotropy. Here, we establish the growth of a new class of artificial skyrmion materials, namely B20 superlattices, where these parameters could be systematically tuned. Specifically, we report the successful growth of B20 superlattices comprised of single crystal thin films of FeGe, MnGe, and CrGe on Si(1 1 1) substrates. Thin films and superlattices are grown by molecular beam epitaxy and are characterized through a combination of reflection high energy electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction, and cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS) distinguishes layers by elemental mapping and indicates good interface quality with relatively low levels of intermixing in the [CrGe/MnGe/FeGe] superlattice. This demonstration of epitaxial, single-crystalline B20 superlattices is a significant advance toward tunable skyrmion systems for fundamental scientific studies and applications in magnetic storage and logic.

  17. Squid measurement of the Verwey transition on epitaxial (1 0 0) magnetite thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dediu, V.; Arisi, E.; Bergenti, I.; Riminucci, A.; Solzi, M.; Pernechele, C.; Natali, M.

    2007-01-01

    We report results on epitaxial magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) thin films grown by electron beam ablation on (1 0 0) MgAl 2 O 4 substrates. At 120 K magnetite undergoes a structural and electronic transition, the so-called Verwey transition, at which magnetic and conducting properties of the material change. We observed the Verwey transition on epitaxial films with a thickness of 50 nm by comparing zero-field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) curves measured with a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer. Observation of the Verwey transition by SQUID measurements in the films is sign of their high crystalline quality. Room temperature ferromagnetism has also been found by magneto-optical Kerr rotation (MOKE) and confirmed by SQUID measurements, with a hysteresis loop showing a coercive field of hundreds of Oe

  18. Strain Induced Magnetism in SrRuO3 Epitaxial Thin Films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grutter, A.; Wong, F.; Arenholz, E.; Liberati, M.; Suzuki, Y.

    2010-01-10

    Epitaxial SrRuO{sub 3} thin films were grown on SrTiO{sub 3}, (LaAlO{sub 3}){sub 0.3}(SrAlO{sub 3}){sub 0.7} and LaAlO{sub 3} substrates inducing different biaxial compressive strains. Coherently strained SrRuO{sub 3} films exhibit enhanced magnetization compared to previously reported bulk and thin film values of 1.1-1.6 {micro}{sub B} per formula unit. A comparison of (001) and (110) SrRuO{sub 3} films on each substrate indicates that films on (110) oriented have consistently higher saturated moments than corresponding (001) films. These observations indicate the importance of lattice distortions in controlling the magnetic ground state in this transitional metal oxide.

  19. Diamagnetism to ferromagnetism in Sr-substituted epitaxial BaTiO{sub 3} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singamaneni, Srinivasa Rao, E-mail: ssingam@ncsu.edu; Prater, John T. [Materials Science Division, Army Research Office, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709 (United States); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States); Punugupati, Sandhyarani; Narayan, Jagdish [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States)

    2016-04-04

    We report on the ferromagnetic-like behavior in otherwise diamagnetic BaTiO{sub 3} (BTO) thin films upon doping with non-magnetic element Sr having the composition Ba{sub 0.4}Sr{sub 0.6}TiO{sub 3} (BST). The epitaxial integration of BST (∼800 nm) thick films on Si (100) substrate was achieved using MgO (40 nm) and TiN (20 nm) as buffer layers to prepare BST/MgO/TiN/Si (100) heterostructure by pulsed laser deposition. The c-axis oriented and cube-on-cube epitaxial BST is formed on Si (100) as evidenced by the in-plane and out-of-plane X-ray diffraction. All the deposited films are relaxed through domain matching epitaxy paradigm as observed from X-ray diffraction pattern and A{sub 1}TO{sub 3} mode (at 521.27 cm{sup −1}) of Raman spectra. As-deposited BST thin films reveal ferromagnetic-like properties, which persist up to 400 K. The magnetization decreases two-fold upon oxygen annealing. In contrast, as-deposited un-doped BTO films show diamagnetism. Electron spin resonance measurements reveal no evidence of external magnetic impurities. XRD and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra show significant changes influenced by Sr doping in BTO. The ferromagnetic-like behavior in BST could be due to the trapped electron donors from oxygen vacancies resulting from Sr-doping.

  20. The effect of sulphur-terminated GaAs substrates on the MOVPE growth of CuGaS{sub 2} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berndt, P.R. [Department of Physics, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth (South Africa)]. E-mail: pearl.berndt@nmmu.ac.za; Botha, J.R. [Department of Physics, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth (South Africa); Branch, M.S. [Department of Physics, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth (South Africa); Leitch, A.W.R. [Department of Physics, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth (South Africa); Kirmse, H. [Institute of Physics, Chair of Crystallography, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin (Germany); Neumann, W. [Institute of Physics, Chair of Crystallography, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin (Germany); Weber, J. [Institute for Applied Physics-Semiconductor Physics, University of Technology, Dresden (Germany)

    2007-05-31

    In this study, various CuGaS{sub 2} layers were grown on GaAs (001) substrates using metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy, for the purpose of studying the effect of sulphur-termination of the substrate on layer quality. The resultant films were investigated using X-ray diffractometry, and transmission electron microscopy, with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy providing additional insights into crystallite growth on the control substrates. This paper will demonstrate that sulphur-termination limits substrate degradation. In the absence of sulphur-termination, atypical three-dimensional MOVPE growth is observed, with epitaxial crystallites varying in size from 10 nm to 200 nm. Substrate degradation inhibits lateral growth at the interface resulting in amorphous regions, cavities, and epitaxial crystallites demonstrating overgrowth into mushroom-like structures.

  1. Epitaxial growth of YBa2Cu307−δ films on SrTiO3 (100) by direct solution precursor deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bustamante, A; Garcia, Jorge; Osorio, Ana M; Valladares, Luis De Los Santos; Barnes, C H W; González, J C; Azuma, Y; Majima, Y; Aguiar, J Albino

    2014-01-01

    We study the optimal temperature to obtain YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ epitaxial films grown onto SrTiO 3 substrates by direct solution deposition. The samples received heat treatment at 820, 840 and 860 °C, then characterized by XRD, observing the (00l) profiles; and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The T C-onset for all the samples was 90 K. In addition, the current – voltage (I-V) measurements shows typical tunneling signals corresponding to normal metal-superconducting junctions indicating the films are promising for potential electrical applications.

  2. Preparation of hcp-Ni(112-bar 0) epitaxial thin films on Au(100) single-crystal underlayers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtake, Mitsuru; Tanaka, Takahiro; Futamoto, Masaaki; Kirino, Fumiyoshi

    2010-01-01

    Ni epitaxial films with an hcp structure are successfully obtained on Au(100) single-crystal underlayers formed on MgO(100) substrates at temperatures lower than 300 0 C by molecular beam epitaxy. With increasing the substrate temperature, the volume ratio of more stable fcc phase inc r eases in the film. The Ni film prepared at 100 0 C consists primarily of hcp crystal with the (112-bar 0) plane parallel to the substrate surface coexisting with a small amount of fcc-Ni(100) crystal. The lattice constant of hcp-Ni crystal is determined as a = 0.249 nm, c = 0.398 nm, and c/a = 1.60.

  3. The roles of buffer layer thickness on the properties of the ZnO epitaxial films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang, Kun, E-mail: ktang@nju.edu.cn [Nanjing National Laboratory of Microstructures and School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023 (China); Huang, Shimin [Nanjing National Laboratory of Microstructures and School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023 (China); Gu, Shulin, E-mail: slgu@nju.edu.cn [Nanjing National Laboratory of Microstructures and School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023 (China); Zhu, Shunming [Nanjing National Laboratory of Microstructures and School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023 (China); Ye, Jiandong [Nanjing National Laboratory of Microstructures and School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023 (China); Nanjing University Institute of Optoelectronics at Yangzhou, Yangzhou 225009 (China); Xu, Zhonghua; Zheng, Youdou [Nanjing National Laboratory of Microstructures and School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023 (China)

    2016-12-01

    Highlights: • The growth mechanism has been revealed for the ZnO buffers with different thickness. • The surface morphology has been determined as the key factor to affect the epitaxial growth. • The relation between the hexagonal pits from buffers and epi-films has been established. • The hexagonal pits formed in the epi-films have been attributed to the V-shaped defects inheriting from the dislocations in the buffers. • The structural and electrical properties of the V-defects have been presented and analyzed. - Abstract: In this article, the authors have investigated the optimization of the buffer thickness for obtaining high-quality ZnO epi-films on sapphire substrates. The growth mechanism of the buffers with different thickness has been clearly revealed, including the initial nucleation and vertical growth, the subsequent lateral growth with small grain coalescence, and the final vertical growth along the existing larger grains. Overall, the quality of the buffer improves with increasing thickness except the deformed surface morphology. However, by a full-scale evaluation of the properties for the epi-layers, the quality of the epi-film is briefly determined by the surface morphology of the buffer, rather than the structural, optical, or electrical properties of it. The best quality epi-layer has been grown on the buffer with a smooth surface and well-coalescent grains. Meanwhile, due to the huge lattice mismatch between sapphire and ZnO, dislocations are inevitably formed during the growth of buffers. More importantly, as the film grows thicker, the dislocations may attracting other smaller dislocations and defects to reduce the total line energy and thus result in the formation of V-shape defects, which are connected with the bottom of the threading dislocations in the buffers. The V-defects appear as deep and large hexagonal pits from top view and they may act as electron traps which would affect the free carrier concentration of the epi-layers.

  4. The roles of buffer layer thickness on the properties of the ZnO epitaxial films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, Kun; Huang, Shimin; Gu, Shulin; Zhu, Shunming; Ye, Jiandong; Xu, Zhonghua; Zheng, Youdou

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • The growth mechanism has been revealed for the ZnO buffers with different thickness. • The surface morphology has been determined as the key factor to affect the epitaxial growth. • The relation between the hexagonal pits from buffers and epi-films has been established. • The hexagonal pits formed in the epi-films have been attributed to the V-shaped defects inheriting from the dislocations in the buffers. • The structural and electrical properties of the V-defects have been presented and analyzed. - Abstract: In this article, the authors have investigated the optimization of the buffer thickness for obtaining high-quality ZnO epi-films on sapphire substrates. The growth mechanism of the buffers with different thickness has been clearly revealed, including the initial nucleation and vertical growth, the subsequent lateral growth with small grain coalescence, and the final vertical growth along the existing larger grains. Overall, the quality of the buffer improves with increasing thickness except the deformed surface morphology. However, by a full-scale evaluation of the properties for the epi-layers, the quality of the epi-film is briefly determined by the surface morphology of the buffer, rather than the structural, optical, or electrical properties of it. The best quality epi-layer has been grown on the buffer with a smooth surface and well-coalescent grains. Meanwhile, due to the huge lattice mismatch between sapphire and ZnO, dislocations are inevitably formed during the growth of buffers. More importantly, as the film grows thicker, the dislocations may attracting other smaller dislocations and defects to reduce the total line energy and thus result in the formation of V-shape defects, which are connected with the bottom of the threading dislocations in the buffers. The V-defects appear as deep and large hexagonal pits from top view and they may act as electron traps which would affect the free carrier concentration of the epi-layers.

  5. Deposition of epitaxial thin films of Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-y by laser ablation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, A.; Koren, G.; Tsuei, C.C.; Segmuller, A.; McGuire, T.R.

    1989-01-01

    Thin films of the electron-doped superconductor Nd 1.85 Ce 0.15 CuO 4-y have been deposited on (100) SrTiO 3 substrates at 780 degree C using the laser ablation technique. The deposited films are very smooth and show epitaxial growth with the c axis normal to the substrate. The transport properties of the films are very sensitive to the concentration of oxygen vacancies. Films deposited and cooled in the presence of 150 mTorr O 2 exhibit localization behavior with no evidence of superconductivity down to 5 K. Superconductivity is observed on vacuum annealing the films in situ after deposition. Films with optimum concentration of oxygen vacancies show a superconducting onset temperature of 21 K and T c (R=0) of 20 K, with a critical current density of 2x10 5 A/cm 2 at 5.5 K in zero magnetic field

  6. A novel epitaxially grown LSO-based thin-film scintillator for micro-imaging using hard synchrotron radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Douissard, P.A.; Martin, T.; Chevalier, V.; Rack, A. [European Synchrotron Radiat Facil, F-38043 Grenoble, (France); Cecilia, A.; Baumbach, T.; Rack, A. [Karlsruhe Inst Technol ANKA, D-76021 Karlsruhe, (Germany); Couchaud, M. [CEA LETI, F-38054 Grenoble, (France); Dupre, K. [FEE GmbH, D-55743 Idar Oberstein, (Germany); Kuhbacher, M. [Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin Mat and Energie, D-14109 Berlin, (Germany)

    2010-07-01

    The efficiency of high-resolution pixel detectors for hard X-rays is nowadays one of the major criteria which drives the feasibility of imaging experiments and in general the performance of an experimental station for synchrotron-based microtomography and radiography. Here the luminescent screen used for the indirect detection is focused on in order to increase the detective quantum efficiency a novel scintillator based on doped Lu{sub 2}SiO{sub 5} (LSO), epitaxially grown as thin film via the liquid phase epitaxy technique. It is shown that, by using adapted growth and doping parameters as well as a dedicated substrate, the scintillation behaviour of a LSO-based thin crystal together with the high stopping power of the material allows for high-performance indirect X-ray detection. In detail, the conversion efficiency, the radioluminescence spectra, the optical absorption spectra under UV/visible-light and the afterglow are investigated. A set-up to study the effect of the thin-film scintillator's temperature on its conversion efficiency is described as well it delivers knowledge which is important when working with higher photon flux densities and the corresponding high heat load on the material. Additionally, X-ray imaging systems based on different diffraction-limited visible-light optics and CCD cameras using among others LSO-based thin film are compared. Finally, the performance of the LSO thin film is illustrated by imaging a honey bee leg, demonstrating the value of efficient high-resolution computed tomography for life sciences. (authors)

  7. Tuning piezoelectric properties through epitaxy of La2Ti2O7 and related thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaspar, Tiffany C.; Hong, Seungbum; Bowden, Mark E.; Varga, Tamas; Yan, Pengfei; Wang, Chongmin; Spurgeon, Steven R.; Comes, Ryan B.; Ramuhalli, Pradeep; Henager, Charles H.

    2018-02-14

    Current piezoelectric sensors and actuators are limited to operating temperatures less than ~200°C due to the low Curie temperature of the piezoelectric material. High temperature piezoelectric materials such as La2Ti2O7 (LTO) would facilitate the development of high-temperature sensors if the piezoelectric coupling coefficient could be maximized. We have deposited epitaxial LTO films on SrTiO3(001), SrTiO3(110), and rutile TiO2(110) substrates by pulsed laser deposition, and show that the crystalline orientation of the LTO film, and thus its piezoelectric coupling direction, can be controlled by epitaxial matching to the substrate. The structure and phase purity of the films were investigated by x-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy. To characterize the piezoelectric properties, piezoresponse force microscopy was used to measure the in-plane and out-of-plane piezoelectric coupling in the films. We find that the strength of the out-of-plane piezoelectric coupling can be increased when the piezoelectric crystalline direction is rotated partially out-of-plane via epitaxy. The strongest out-of-plane coupling is observed for LTO/STO(001). Deposition on TiO2(110) results in epitaxial La2/3TiO3, an orthorhombic perovskite of interest as a microwave dielectric material. La2/3TiO3 can be difficult to stabilize in bulk form, and epitaxial deposition has not been previously reported. These results confirm that control of the crystalline orientation of LTO-based materials can increase the out-of-plane strength of its piezoelectric coupling, which can be exploited in piezoelectric devices.

  8. Epitaxial growth and dielectric properties of Bi sub 2 VO sub 5 sub . sub 5 thin films on TiN/Si substrates with SrTiO sub 3 buffer layers

    CERN Document Server

    Lee, H Y; Choi, B C; Jeong, J H; Joseph, M; Tabata, H; Kawai, T

    2000-01-01

    Bi sub 2 VO sub 5 sub . sub 5 (BVO) thin films were epitaxially grown on SrTiO sub 3 /TiN/Si substrates by using pulsed laser ablation. A TiN thin film was prepared at 700 .deg. C as a bottom electrode. The TiN film exhibited a high alpha axis orientation and a very smooth morphology. Before the preparation of the BVO thin film, a crystallized SrTiO sub 3 thin film was deposited as a buffer layer on TiN/Si. The BVO thin film grown at a substrate temperature at 700 .deg. C and an oxygen pressure of 50 mTorr was found to be epitaxial along the c-axis. Also, BVO films were observed to have flat surfaces and the step-flow modes. The dielectric constant of the BVO film on STO/TiN/Si was constant at about 8 approx 4 in the applied frequency range between 10 sup 2 and 10 sup 6 Hz.

  9. Controllable factors affecting the epitaxial quality of LaCoO 3 films ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    treatment temperature and a relatively rapid rate of heating can effectively preventnucleus from growing in other orientations, thereby improving the epitaxial quality of film. Besides, the choice of spin speed will directly affect the thickness and ...

  10. Epitaxial Fe16N2 thin film on nonmagnetic seed layer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hang, Xudong; Zhang, Xiaowei; Ma, Bin; Lauter, Valeria; Wang, Jian-Ping

    2018-05-01

    Metastable α″ -Fe16N2 has attracted much interest as a candidate for rare-earth-free hard magnetic materials. We demonstrate that Fe16N2 thin films were grown epitaxially on Cr seed layers with MgO (001) substrates by facing-target sputtering. Good crystallinity with the epitaxial relation MgO (001 )[110 ] ∥ Cr (001 )[100 ] ∥ Fe16N2 (001 )[100 ] was obtained. The chemical order parameter, which quantifies the degree of N ordering in the Fe16N2 (the N-disordered phase is α' -Fe8N martensite), reaches 0.75 for Cr-seeded samples. Cr has a perfect lattice constant match with Fe16N2, and no noticeable strain can be assigned to Fe16N2. The intrinsic saturation magnetization of this non-strained Fe16N2 thin film at room temperature is determined to be 2.31 T by polarized neutron reflectometry and confirmed with vibrating sample magnetometry. Our work provides a platform to directly study the magnetic properties of high purity Fe16N2 films with a high order parameter.

  11. An ultrahigh vacuum, low-energy ion-assisted deposition system for III-V semiconductor film growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rohde, S.; Barnett, S. A.; Choi, C.-H.

    1989-06-01

    A novel ion-assisted deposition system is described in which the substrate and growing film can be bombarded with high current densities (greater than 1 mA/sq cm) of very low energy (10-200 eV) ions. The system design philosophy is similar to that used in III-V semiconductor molecular-beam epitaxy systems: the chamber is an all-metal ultrahigh vacuum system with liquid-nitrogen-cooled shrouds, Knudsen-cell evaporation sources, a sample insertion load-lock, and a 30-kV reflection high-energy electron diffraction system. III-V semiconductor film growth is achieved using evaporated group-V fluxes and group-III elemental fluxes sputtered from high-purity targets using ions extracted from a triode glow discharge. Using an In target and an As effusion cell, InAs deposition rates R of 2 microns/h have been obtained. Epitaxial growth of InAs was observed on both GaSb(100) and Si(100) substrates.

  12. Wet chemical deposition of single crystalline epitaxial manganite thin films with atomically flat surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mishra, Amita; Dutta, Anirban; Samaddar, Sayanti; Gupta, Anjan K.

    2013-01-01

    We report the wet chemical deposition of single crystalline epitaxial thin films of the colossal magneto-resistive manganite La 0.67 Sr 0.33 MnO 3 on the lattice-matched (001)-face of a La 0.3 Sr 0.7 Al 0.65 Ta 0.35 O 3 substrate. Topographic images of these films taken with a scanning tunneling microscope show atomically flat terraces separated by steps of monatomic height. The resistivity of these films shows an insulator-metal transition at 310 K, nearly coincident with the Curie temperature of 340 K, found from magnetization measurements. The films show a magnetoresistance of 7% at 300 K and 1.2 T. Their saturation magnetization value at low temperatures is consistent with that of the bulk. - Highlights: ► Wet chemical deposition of La 0.67 Sr 0.33 MnO 3 (LSMO) on a lattice-matched substrate. ► Single crystalline epitaxial LSMO films obtained. ► Flat terraces separated by monatomic steps observed by scanning tunneling microscope

  13. Disorder and defect formation mechanisms in molecular-beam-epitaxy grown silicon epilayers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akbari-Sharbaf, Arash; Baribeau, Jean-Marc; Wu, Xiaohua; Lockwood, David J.; Fanchini, Giovanni

    2013-01-01

    We investigate the role of disorder, stress and crystallite size in determining the density of defects in disordered and partially ordered silicon thin films deposited at low or moderate temperatures by molecular beam epitaxy. We find that the paramagnetic defect density measured by electron spin resonance (ESR) is strongly dependent on the growth temperature of the films, decreasing from ∼ 2 · 10 19 cm −3 at 98 °C to ∼ 1 · 10 18 cm −3 at 572 °C. The physical nature of the defects is strongly dependent on the range of order in the films: ESR spectra consistent with dangling bonds in an amorphous phase are observed at the lowest temperatures, while the ESR signal gradually becomes more anisotropic as medium-range order improves and the stress level (measured both by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy) is released in more crystalline films. Anisotropic ESR spectra consistent with paramagnetic defects embedded in an epitaxial phase are observed at the highest growth temperature (572 °C). - Highlights: ► Disordered Si epilayers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. ► Growth has been carried out at temperatures T = 98 °C–514 °C. ► A correlation between defect density and disorder in the films has been found. ► Lack of medium range order and stress cause the formation of defects at low T. ► At high T, defects are associated to grain boundaries and oriented stacking faults

  14. Adsorption-controlled growth of ferroelectric PbTiO{sub 3} and Bi{sub 4}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12} films for nonvolatile memory applications by MBE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Theis, C.D.; Yeh, J.; Schlom, D.G. [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering; Hawley, M.E.; Brown, G.W. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States). Center for Materials Science

    1997-09-01

    Epitaxial PbTiO{sub 3} and Bi{sub 4}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12} thin films have been grown on (100) SrTiO{sub 3} and (100) LaAlO{sub 3} substrates by reactive molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Titanium is supplied to the film in the form of shuttered bursts each containing a one monolayer dose of titanium atoms for the growth of PbTiO{sub 3} and three monolayers for the growth of Bi{sub 4}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12}. Lead, bismuth, and ozone are continuously supplied to the surface of the depositing film. Growth of phase pure, c-axis oriented epitaxial films with bulk lattice constants is achieved using an overpressure of these volatile species. With the proper choice of substrate temperature (600--650 C) and ozone background pressure (P{sub O{sub 3}} = 2 {times} 10{sup {minus}5} Torr), the excess of the volatile metals and ozone desorb from the surface of the depositing film leaving a phase-pure stoichiometric crystal. The smooth PbTiO{sub 3} surface morphology revealed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) suggests that the PbTiO{sub 3} films grow in a layer-by-layer fashion. In contrast the Bi{sub 4}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12} films contain islands which evolve either continuously or around screw dislocations via a spiral-type growth mechanism.

  15. Mechanical responses of Zn{sub 1-x}Mn{sub x}O epitaxial thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Teng-Ruey [Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Nan Kai University of Techonology, Nantou 54243, Taiwan (China); Tsai, Chien-Huang, E-mail: chtsai12@gmail.com [Department of Automation Engineering, Nan Kai University of Techonology, Nantou 54243, Taiwan (China)

    2011-10-15

    In this study, we used nanoindentation to investigate the effect of the doping of Mn into ZnO buffer layers on the epitaxial growth of ZnO through plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on c-plane sapphire substrates. We characterized the variation of the mechanical properties of Zn{sub 1-x}Mn{sub x}O alloys as a function of the Mn content in the range (x) from 0 to 0.16, as well as analyzing their microstructures using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The presence of the Mn-doped ZnO buffer layer enhanced the nanomechanical properties of the ZnO epilayers significantly. From their Berkovich indenter responses, plots of the Young's modulus (E) and hardness (H) of these films revealed that the value of E increased relatively steadily upon increasing the Mn composition, whereas the value of H reached its maximum when x was equal to 0.16. This discrepancy suggests that Zn{sub 1-x}Mn{sub x}O epilayers of higher Mn contents had higher shear resistances.

  16. Epitaxial c-axis oriented BaTiO{sub 3} thin films on SrTiO{sub 3}-buffered Si(001) by atomic layer deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ngo, Thong Q.; McDaniel, Martin D.; Ekerdt, John G., E-mail: ekerdt@che.utexas.edu [Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 (United States); Posadas, Agham B.; Demkov, Alexander A. [Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 (United States); Hu, Chengqing; Yu, Edward T. [Department of Electrical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 (United States); Bruley, John [IBM Research Division, Yorktown Heights, New York 10593 (United States)

    2014-02-24

    Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of epitaxial c-axis oriented BaTiO{sub 3} (BTO) on Si(001) using a thin (1.6 nm) buffer layer of SrTiO{sub 3} (STO) grown by molecular beam epitaxy is reported. The ALD growth of crystalline BTO films at 225  °C used barium bis(triisopropylcyclopentadienyl), titanium tetraisopropoxide, and water as co-reactants. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals a high degree of crystallinity and c-axis orientation of as-deposited BTO films. Crystallinity is improved after vacuum annealing at 600  °C. Two-dimensional XRD confirms the tetragonal structure and orientation of 7–20-nm thick films. The effect of the annealing process on the BTO structure is discussed. A clean STO/Si interface is found using in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and confirmed by cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy. The capacitance-voltage characteristics of 7–20 nm-thick BTO films are examined and show an effective dielectric constant of ∼660 for the heterostructure.

  17. Preparation of metastable bcc permalloy epitaxial thin films on GaAs(011){sub B3} single-crystal substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ohtake, Mitsuru, E-mail: ohtake@futamoto.elect.chuo-u.ac.jp [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan); Higuchi, Jumpei; Yabuhara, Osamu [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan); Kirino, Fumiyoshi [Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, 12-8 Ueno-koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-8714 (Japan); Futamoto, Masaaki [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan)

    2011-09-30

    Permalloy (Py) single-crystal films with bcc structure were obtained on GaAs(011){sub B3} single-crystal substrates by ultra high vacuum rf magnetron sputtering. The film growth and the detailed film structures were investigated by refection high energy electron diffraction and pole figure X-ray diffraction. bcc-Py films epitaxially grow on the substrates in the orientation relationship of Py(011)[011-bar]{sub bcc} || GaAs(011)[011-bar]{sub B3}. The lattice constant of bcc-Py film is determined to be a = 0.291 nm. With increasing the film thickness, parts of the bcc crystal transform into more stable fcc structure by atomic displacement parallel to the bcc{l_brace}011{r_brace} close-packed planes. The resulting film thus consists of a mixture of bcc and fcc crystals. The phase transformation mechanism is discussed based on the experimental results. The in-plane magnetization properties reflecting the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of bcc-Py crystal are observed for the Py films grown on GaAs(011){sub B3} substrates.

  18. Microstructure and Magnetic Properties of Fe and Fe-alloy Thin Films Epitaxially Grown on MgO(100) Substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matsubara, Katsuki; Ohtake, Mitsuru; Futamoto, Masaaki [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan); Kirino, Fumiyoshi, E-mail: matsubara@futamoto.elect.chuo-u.ac.jp [Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, 12-8 Ueno-koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-8714 (Japan)

    2011-07-06

    Fe, Fe{sub 50}Co{sub 50}, and Fe{sub 80}Ni{sub 20} (at. %) single-crystal films with the (100){sub bcc} plane parallel to the substrate surface were prepared on MgO(100) single-crystals heated at 300 {sup 0}C by ultra high vacuum molecular beam epitaxy. The film growth mechanism, the film structure, and the magnetic properties were investigated. In-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction analyses indicate that the strains in the films are very small though there are fairly large mismatches of -3.7{approx}-4.3% at the film/substrate interface. Cross-sectional high-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows that misfit dislocations are introduced in the film at the interface. Dislocations are also observed in the film up to around 10{approx}20 nm distance from the interface. The presence of such dislocation relieves the strain caused by the lattice mismatch. The in-plane magnetization properties of these films reflect the magnetocrystalline anisotropies of respective bulk Fe, Fe{sub 50}Co{sub 50}, and Fe{sub 80}Ni{sub 20} crystals.

  19. Microstructure and Magnetic Properties of Fe and Fe-alloy Thin Films Epitaxially Grown on MgO(100) Substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsubara, Katsuki; Ohtake, Mitsuru; Futamoto, Masaaki; Kirino, Fumiyoshi

    2011-01-01

    Fe, Fe 50 Co 50 , and Fe 80 Ni 20 (at. %) single-crystal films with the (100) bcc plane parallel to the substrate surface were prepared on MgO(100) single-crystals heated at 300 0 C by ultra high vacuum molecular beam epitaxy. The film growth mechanism, the film structure, and the magnetic properties were investigated. In-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction analyses indicate that the strains in the films are very small though there are fairly large mismatches of -3.7∼-4.3% at the film/substrate interface. Cross-sectional high-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows that misfit dislocations are introduced in the film at the interface. Dislocations are also observed in the film up to around 10∼20 nm distance from the interface. The presence of such dislocation relieves the strain caused by the lattice mismatch. The in-plane magnetization properties of these films reflect the magnetocrystalline anisotropies of respective bulk Fe, Fe 50 Co 50 , and Fe 80 Ni 20 crystals.

  20. Epitaxial integration of CoFe2O4 thin films on Si (001) surfaces using TiN buffer layers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prieto, Pilar; Marco, José F.; Prieto, José E.; Ruiz-Gomez, Sandra; Perez, Lucas; del Real, Rafael P.; Vázquez, Manuel; de la Figuera, Juan

    2018-04-01

    Epitaxial cobalt ferrite thin films with strong in-plane magnetic anisotropy have been grown on Si (001) substrates using a TiN buffer layer. The epitaxial films have been grown by ion beam sputtering using either metallic, CoFe2, or ceramic, CoFe2O4, targets. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rutherford spectrometry (RBS) in random and channeling configuration have been used to determine the epitaxial relationship CoFe2O4 [100]/TiN [100]/Si [100]. Mössbauer spectroscopy, in combination with XRD and RBS, has been used to determine the composition and structure of the cobalt ferrite thin films. The TiN buffer layer induces a compressive strain in the cobalt ferrite thin films giving rise to an in-plane magnetic anisotropy. The degree of in-plane anisotropy depends on the lattice mismatch between CoFe2O4 and TiN, which is larger for CoFe2O4 thin films grown on the reactive sputtering process with ceramic targets.

  1. Photo-irradiation effects on GaAs atomic layer epitaxial growth. GaAs no genshiso epitaxial seicho ni okeru hikari reiki koka

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mashita, M.; Kawakyu, Y.; Sasaki, M.; Ishikawa, H. (Toshiba Corp., Kawasaki (Japan). Research and Development Center)

    1990-08-10

    Single atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) aims at controlling a growing film at a precision of single molecular layer. In this article, it is reported that the growth temperature range of ALE was expanded by the vertical irradiation of KrF exima laser (248 nm) onto the substrate for the ALE growth of GaAs using the metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method. Thanks for the results of the above experiment, it was demonstrated that the irradiation effect was not thermal, but photochemical. In addition, this article studies the possibility of adsorption layer irradiation and surface irradiation as the photo-irradiation mechanism, and points out that coexistence of both irradiation mechanisms can be considered and, in case of exima laser, strong possibility of direct irradiation of the adsorption layer because of its high power density. Hereinafter, by using both optical growth ALE and thermal growth ALE jointly, the degree of freedom of combination of hetero ALE increases and its application to various material systems becomes possible. 16 refs., 6 figs.

  2. Magnetic x-ray dichroism in ultrathin epitaxial films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tobin, J.G.; Goodman, K.W. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (United States); Cummins, T.R. [Univ. of Missouri, Rolla, MO (United States)] [and others

    1997-04-01

    The authors have used Magnetic X-ray Linear Dichroism (MXLD) and Magnetic X-ray Circular Dichroism (MXCD) to study the magnetic properties of epitaxial overlayers in an elementally specific fashion. Both MXLD and MXCD Photoelectron Spectroscopy were performed in a high resolution mode at the Spectromicroscopy Facility of the ALS. Circular Polarization was obtained via the utilization of a novel phase retarder (soft x-ray quarter wave plate) based upon transmission through a multilayer film. The samples were low temperature Fe overlayers, magnetic alloy films of NiFe and CoNi, and Gd grown on Y. The authors results include a direct comparison of high resolution angle resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy performed in MXLD and MXCD modes as well as structural studies with photoelectron diffraction.

  3. Magnetic x-ray dichroism in ultrathin epitaxial films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tobin, J.G.; Goodman, K.W.; Cummins, T.R.

    1997-01-01

    The authors have used Magnetic X-ray Linear Dichroism (MXLD) and Magnetic X-ray Circular Dichroism (MXCD) to study the magnetic properties of epitaxial overlayers in an elementally specific fashion. Both MXLD and MXCD Photoelectron Spectroscopy were performed in a high resolution mode at the Spectromicroscopy Facility of the ALS. Circular Polarization was obtained via the utilization of a novel phase retarder (soft x-ray quarter wave plate) based upon transmission through a multilayer film. The samples were low temperature Fe overlayers, magnetic alloy films of NiFe and CoNi, and Gd grown on Y. The authors results include a direct comparison of high resolution angle resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy performed in MXLD and MXCD modes as well as structural studies with photoelectron diffraction

  4. Highly Oriented Growth of Piezoelectric Thin Films on Silicon using Two-Dimensional Nanosheets as Growth Template Layer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nguyen, Duc Minh; Yuan, H.; Houwman, Evert Pieter; Dekkers, Jan M.; Koster, Gertjan; ten Elshof, Johan E.; Rijnders, Augustinus J.H.M.

    2016-01-01

    Ca2Nb3O10 (CNOns) and Ti0.87O2 (TiOns) metal oxide nanosheets (ns) are used as a buffer layer for epitaxial growth of piezoelectric capacitor stacks on Si and Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si (Pt/Si) substrates. Highly (001)- and (110)-oriented Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) films are achieved by utilizing CNOns and TiOns,

  5. Structural and superconducting properties of epitaxial Fe{sub 1+y}Se{sub 1-x}Te{sub x} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Richter, Stefan; Yuan, Feifei; Grinenko, Vadim; Huehne, Ruben [Institute for Metallic Materials, IFW Dresden (Germany); Sala, Alberto; Putti, Marina [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Genova (Italy)

    2015-07-01

    The iron based superconductor Fe(Se,Te) is in the center of much ongoing research. The reason for this is on the one hand its simple crystal structure, that consists only of stacked Fe(Se,Te) layers so that structural and superconducting properties can be connected more easily, on the other hand FeSe itself shows a high sensibility for strain and changes in stoichiometry and can have potentially very high critical temperatures under hydrostatic pressure or in monolayers. We investigate epitaxial thin films of Fe{sub 1+y}Se{sub 1-x}Te{sub x} grown by pulsed laser deposition on different single crystalline substrates. A high crystalline quality and a superconducting transition of up to about 20 K can be achieved using optimized deposition parameters. The influence of growth conditions, Te-doping, film thickness and post growth oxygen treatment on the structural and superconducting properties on these films will be presented in detail.

  6. Electrodeposition of epitaxial CdSe on (111) gallium arsenide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cachet, H.; Cortes, R.; Froment, M. [Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris (France). Phys. des Liquides et Electrochimie; Etcheberry, A. [Institut Lavoisier (IREM) UMR CNRS C0173, Universite de Versailles- St Quentin en Yvelynes, 45 Avenue des Etats Unis, 78035, Versailles (France)

    2000-02-21

    Epitaxial growth of CdSe has been achieved on GaAs(111) by electrodeposition from an aqueous electrolyte. The structure of the film corresponds to the cubic modification of CdSe. The quality of epitaxy has been investigated by reflection high energy electron diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. By XPS measurements the chemistry of the CdSe/GaAs interface and the composition of CdSe are determined. (orig.)

  7. Process for depositing epitaxial alkaline earth oxide onto a substrate and structures prepared with the process

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKee, Rodney A.; Walker, Frederick J.

    1996-01-01

    A process and structure involving a silicon substrate utilize molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and/or electron beam evaporation methods and an ultra-high vacuum facility to grow a layup of epitaxial alkaline earth oxide films upon the substrate surface. By selecting metal constituents for the oxides and in the appropriate proportions so that the lattice parameter of each oxide grown closely approximates that of the substrate or base layer upon which oxide is grown, lattice strain at the film/film or film/substrate interface of adjacent films is appreciably reduced or relieved. Moreover, by selecting constituents for the oxides so that the lattice parameters of the materials of adjacent oxide films either increase or decrease in size from one parameter to another parameter, a graded layup of films can be grown (with reduced strain levels therebetween) so that the outer film has a lattice parameter which closely approximates that of, and thus accomodates the epitaxial growth of, a pervoskite chosen to be grown upon the outer film.

  8. Epitaxial growth of ZnO layers on (111) GaAs substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding Jian; Zhang Di; Konomi, Takaharu; Saito, Katsuhiko; Guo Qixin

    2012-01-01

    ZnO layers were grown on (111) GaAs substrates by laser molecular epitaxy at substrate temperatures between 200 and 550 °C. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that c-axis of ZnO epilayer with a wurtzite structure is perpendicular to the substrate surface. X-ray rocking curves and Raman spectroscopy showed that the crystal quality of ZnO epilayers depends on the substrate temperature during the growth. Strong near-band-edge emission in the UV region without any deep-level emissions was observed from the ZnO epilayers at room temperature. The results indicate that laser molecular beam epitaxy is a promising growth method for obtaining high-quality ZnO layers on (111) GaAs substrates.

  9. Lattice distortion and strain relaxation in epitaxial thin films of multiferroic TbMnO{sub 3} probed by X-ray diffractometry and micro-Raman spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Y.; Stender, D. [Paul Scherrer Institute, General Energy Research Department, 5232 Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Medarde, M. [Paul Scherrer Institute, Laboratory for Developments and Methods, 5232 Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Lippert, T., E-mail: thomas.lippert@psi.ch [Paul Scherrer Institute, General Energy Research Department, 5232 Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Wokaun, A.; Schneider, C.W. [Paul Scherrer Institute, General Energy Research Department, 5232 Villigen-PSI (Switzerland)

    2013-08-01

    A detailed structural XRD analysis of (1 1 0)-oriented TbMnO{sub 3} thin films grown on (1 1 0)-YAlO{sub 3} substrates shows the co-existence of a strained and relaxed “sublayer” within the films due to strain relaxation during epitaxial growth by pulsed laser deposition. The substrate-film lattice mismatch yields a compressive strain anisotropy along the two in-plane directions, i.e. [1 −1 0] and [0 0 1] and a monoclinic distortion. A further manifestation of the growth-induced strain is the hardening of Raman active modes as a result of changed atomic motions along the [1 −1 0] and [0 0 1] directions.

  10. Epitaxial growth mechanisms of graphene and effects of substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Özçelik, V. Ongun; Cahangirov, S.; Ciraci, S.

    2012-06-01

    The growth process of single layer graphene with and without substrate is investigated using ab initio, finite temperature molecular dynamic calculations within density functional theory. An understanding of the epitaxial graphene growth mechanisms in the atomic level is provided by exploring the transient stages which occur at the growing edges of graphene. These stages are formation and collapse of large carbon rings together with the formation and healing of Stone-Wales like pentagon-heptagon defects. The activation barriers for the healing of these growth induced defects on various substrates are calculated using the climbing image nudge elastic band method and compared with that of the Stone-Wales defect. It is found that the healing of pentagon-heptagon defects occurring near the edge in the course of growth is much easier than that of Stone-Wales defect. The role of the substrate in the epitaxial growth and in the healing of defects are also investigated in detail, along with the effects of using carbon dimers as the building blocks of graphene growth.

  11. Domain structure and magnetic properties of epitaxial SrRuO sub 3 films grown on SrTiO sub 3 (100) substrates by ion beam sputtering

    CERN Document Server

    Oh, S H

    2000-01-01

    The domain structure of epitaxial SrRuO sub 3 thin films grown on SrTiO sub 3 (100) substrates by using ion beam sputtering has been investigated with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The SrRuO sub 3 films grown in the present study revealed a unique cube-on-cube epitaxial relationship, i.e., (100) sub S sub R sub O ll (100) sub S sub T sub O , [010] sub S sub R sub O ll [101] sub S sub T sub O , prevailing with a cubic single-domain structure. The cubic SrRuO sub 3 thin films that were inherently with free from RuO sub 6 octahedron tilting exhibited higher resistivity with suppressed magnetic properties. The Curie temperature of the thin films was suppressed by 60 K from 160 K for the bulk specimen, and the saturation magnetic moment was reduced by a significant amount. The tetragonal distortion of the SrRuO sub 3 thin films due to coherent growth with the substrate seemed to result in a strong magnetic anisotropy.

  12. Preparation of hcp-Ni(112-bar 0) epitaxial thin films on Au(100) single-crystal underlayers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ohtake, Mitsuru; Tanaka, Takahiro; Futamoto, Masaaki [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan); Kirino, Fumiyoshi, E-mail: ohtake@futamoto.elect.chuo-u.ac.j [Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, 12-8 Ueno-koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-8714 (Japan)

    2010-01-01

    Ni epitaxial films with an hcp structure are successfully obtained on Au(100) single-crystal underlayers formed on MgO(100) substrates at temperatures lower than 300 {sup 0}C by molecular beam epitaxy. With increasing the substrate temperature, the volume ratio of more stable fcc phase inc{sub r}eases in the film. The Ni film prepared at 100 {sup 0}C consists primarily of hcp crystal with the (112-bar 0) plane parallel to the substrate surface coexisting with a small amount of fcc-Ni(100) crystal. The lattice constant of hcp-Ni crystal is determined as a = 0.249 nm, c = 0.398 nm, and c/a = 1.60.

  13. Critical thickness and strain relaxation in molecular beam epitaxy-grown SrTiO3 films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Tianqi; Ganguly, Koustav; Marshall, Patrick; Xu, Peng; Jalan, Bharat

    2013-01-01

    We report on the study of the critical thickness and the strain relaxation in epitaxial SrTiO 3 film grown on (La 0.3 Sr 0.7 )(Al 0.65 Ta 0.35 )O 3 (001) (LSAT) substrate using the hybrid molecular beam epitaxy approach. No change in the film's lattice parameter (both the in-plane and the out-of-plane) was observed up to a film thickness of 180 nm, which is in sharp contrast to the theoretical critical thickness of ∼12 nm calculated using the equilibrium theory of strain relaxation. For film thicknesses greater than 180 nm, the out-of-plane lattice parameter was found to decrease hyperbolically in an excellent agreement with the relaxation via forming misfit dislocations. Possible mechanisms are discussed by which the elastic strain energy can be accommodated prior to forming misfit dislocations leading to such anomalously large critical thickness

  14. Characterization of reclaimed GaAs substrates and investigation of reuse for thin film InGaAlP LED epitaxial growth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Englhard, M.; Klemp, C.; Behringer, M.; Rudolph, A. [OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH, Leibnizstr. 4, 93055 Regensburg (Germany); Skibitzki, O.; Zaumseil, P. [IHP, Im Technologiepark 25, 15236 Frankfurt (Oder) (Germany); Schroeder, T. [IHP, Im Technologiepark 25, 15236 Frankfurt (Oder) (Germany); Institute of Physics and Chemistry, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, Konrad-Zuse-Str. 1, 03046 Cottbus (Germany)

    2016-07-28

    This study reports a method to reuse GaAs substrates with a batch process for thin film light emitting diode (TF-LED) production. The method is based on an epitaxial lift-off technique. With the developed reclaim process, it is possible to get an epi-ready GaAs surface without additional time-consuming and expensive grinding/polishing processes. The reclaim and regrowth process was investigated with a one layer epitaxial test structure. The GaAs surface was characterized by an atomic force microscope directly after the reclaim process. The crystal structure of the regrown In{sub 0.5}(Ga{sub 0.45}Al{sub 0.55}){sub 0.5}P (Q{sub 55}) layer was investigated by high resolution x-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy. In addition, a complete TF-LED grown on reclaimed GaAs substrates was electro-optically characterized on wafer level. The crystal structure of the epitaxial layers and the performance of the TF-LED grown on reclaimed substrates are not influenced by the developed reclaim process. This process would result in reducing costs for LEDs and reducing much arsenic waste for the benefit of a green semiconductor production.

  15. Effect of the nand p-type Si(100) substrates with a SiC buffer layer on the growth mechanism and structure of epitaxial layers of semipolar AlN and GaN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bessolov, V. N.; Grashchenko, A. S.; Konenkova, E. V.; Myasoedov, A. V.; Osipov, A. V.; Red'kov, A. V.; Rodin, S. N.; Rubets, V. P.; Kukushkin, S. A.

    2015-10-01

    A new effect of the n-and p-type doping of the Si(100) substrate with a SiC film on the growth mechanism and structure of AlN and GaN epitaxial layers has been revealed. It has been experimentally shown that the mechanism of AlN and GaN layer growth on the surface of a SiC layer synthesized by substituting atoms on n- and p-Si substrates is fundamentally different. It has been found that semipolar AlN and GaN layers on the SiC/Si(100) surface grow in the epitaxial and polycrystalline structures on p-Si and n-Si substrates, respectively. A new method for synthesizing epitaxial semipolar AlN and GaN layers by chloride-hydride epitaxy on silicon substrates has been proposed.

  16. EDITORIAL: Epitaxial graphene Epitaxial graphene

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Heer, Walt A.; Berger, Claire

    2012-04-01

    nanostructured without patterning the graphene itself. This method produces graphene nanostructures with atomically smooth edges that ultimately determine the transport properties of these structures. The coherent collection of papers in this special issue of Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics provides a snapshot of the current state of the art, presented by leading experts, highlighting various aspects of the science and technology of epitaxial graphene. This collection systematically addresses the production of epitaxial graphene on the two polar faces of silicon carbide, as well as the structural and electronic properties of the graphene films. Special attention is paid to the rapidly emerging field of chemically modified graphene, which promises to introduce a bandgap into the electronic structure of graphene, which is critical for many electronic applications. Also presented are methods to incorporate properties of the silicon carbide itself, as well as advanced methods to produce high-quality graphene and graphene nanostructures using structured growth methods.

  17. Atomically flat platinum films grown on synthetic mica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Hiroyuki; Taniguchi, Masateru

    2018-04-01

    Atomically flat platinum thin films were heteroepitaxially grown on synthetic fluorophlogopite mica [KMg3(AlSi3O10)F2] by van der Waals epitaxy. Platinum films deposited on a fluorophlogopite mica substrate by inductively coupled plasma-assisted sputtering with oxygen introduction on a synthetic mica substrate resulted in the growth of twin single-crystalline epitaxial Pt(111) films.

  18. Growth-temperature- and thermal-anneal-induced crystalline reorientation of aluminum on GaAs (100) grown by molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, H. F.; Chua, S. J.; Xiang, N.

    2007-01-01

    The authors investigated the growth of Al thin films on GaAs (100) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. It is found that the growth at 550 degree sign C results in a texture that consists of (100)Al[010](parallel sign)(100)GaAs[011] and (100)Al[010](parallel sign)(100)GaAs[010] rotated 45 degree sign with respect to each other, while the growth at 300 degree sign C leads to a mixture phase of (100)Al[010](parallel sign)(100)GaAs[011] and (110)Al[001](parallel sign)(100)GaAs[011]. In situ annealing of the Al film grown at 300 degree sign C causes a reorientation of the crystalline from (100)Al[010](parallel sign)(100)GaAs[011] to (110)Al[001](parallel sign)(100)GaAs[011]. The grain sizes of the Al film are increased by the increased growth temperature and in situ annealing; the ratio of the exposed to the covered surface is not changed significantly by changing the growth temperature but decreased by annealing; and the small islands in between the large ones are removed by annealing. These observations are explained based on island migration and coalescence

  19. Growth and domain structure of YBa2Cu3Ox films on neodymium gallate substrates with deviation of surface normal from [110] NdGaO3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bdikin, I.K.; Mozhaev, P.B.; Ovsyannikov, G.A.; Komissinskij, F.V.; Kotelyanskij, I.M.; Raksha, E.I.

    2001-01-01

    One investigated into growth, crystalline structure and electrophysical properties of YBa 2 Cu 3 O x (YBCO) epitaxial films grown on NdGaO 3 (NGO) substrates with substrate surface normal deviation from [110] by 5-26.6 deg angle around [001] with CeO 2 epitaxial sublayer or without it. Orientation of YBCO epitaxial films grown at these substrates is shown to be governed by occurrence of symmetrically equipment directions in substrates and in CeO 2 layer, as well as, by film precipitation rate. At precipitation high rate YBCO films on CeO 2 sublayer grow in [001] orientation independently of orientation of substrate and sublayer. One determined that at increase of substrate plane deviation angle from (110) NGO twinning of one or of both twin complexes in YBCO might be suppressed [ru

  20. Study of epitaxial YBa2Cu3Ox films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, S.G.; Chi, C.C.; Koren, G.; Gupta, A.; Segmuller, A.

    1990-01-01

    In this paper, the authors present a systematic study of epitaxial YBa 2 Cu 3 O x films laser ablated on Y-cut LiNbO 3 substrates. X-ray diffraction pattern indicates that the c-axis is perpendicular to the substrate plane and the (110) direction of the film is parallel to the (110) of the substrate with two domains with the (110) as a mirror plane. Resistivity of the film shows a typical metallic behavior in the normal state with a sharp transition at 92K. The effects of oxygen deficiency on the resistivity are also studied. Oxygen content is controlled by annealing the sample either in low oxygen pressure or in vacuum and estimated from the c-axis lattice parameter determined by X-ray diffraction. As oxygen is depleted gradually, the film resistivity shows metallic, semiconducting, and eventually insulating behaviors. Superconducting percolation phenomenon is observed for the semiconducting sample at low temperatures

  1. Pulsed laser deposition of epitaxial yttrium iron garnet films with low Gilbert damping and bulk-like magnetization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. C. Onbasli

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Yttrium iron garnet (YIG, Y 3Fe5O12 films have been epitaxially grown on Gadolinium Gallium Garnet (GGG, Gd3Ga5O12 substrates with (100 orientation using pulsed laser deposition. The films were single-phase, epitaxial with the GGG substrate, and the root-mean-square surface roughness varied between 0.14 nm and 0.2 nm. Films with thicknesses ranging from 17 to 200 nm exhibited low coercivity (<2 Oe, near-bulk room temperature saturation moments (∼135 emu cm−3, in-plane easy axis, and damping parameters as low as 2.2 × 10−4. These high quality YIG thin films are useful in the investigation of the origins of novel magnetic phenomena and magnetization dynamics.

  2. Fabrication of GaN epitaxial thin film on InGaZnO4 single-crystalline buffer layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shinozaki, Tomomasa; Nomura, Kenji; Katase, Takayoshi; Kamiya, Toshio; Hirano, Masahiro; Hosono, Hideo

    2010-01-01

    Epitaxial (0001) films of GaN were grown on (111) YSZ substrates using single-crystalline InGaZnO 4 (sc-IGZO) lattice-matched buffer layers by molecular beam epitaxy with a NH 3 source. The epitaxial relationships are (0001) GaN //(0001) IGZO //(111) YSZ in out-of-plane and [112-bar 0] GaN //[112-bar 0] IGZO //[11-bar 0] YSZ in in-plane. This is different from those reported for GaN on many oxide crystals; the in-plane orientation of GaN crystal lattice is rotated by 30 o with respect to those of oxide substrates except for ZnO. Although these GaN films showed relatively large tilting and twisting angles, which would be due to the reaction between GaN and IGZO, the GaN films grown on the sc-IGZO buffer layers exhibited stronger band-edge photoluminescence than GaN grown on a low-temperature GaN buffer layer.

  3. Enhanced dielectric nonlinearity in epitaxial Pb{sub 0.92}La{sub 0.08}Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48}O{sub 3} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ma, Chunrui, E-mail: chunrui.ma@gmail.com, E-mail: jwu@ku.edu; Wu, Judy, E-mail: chunrui.ma@gmail.com, E-mail: jwu@ku.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 66045 (United States); Ma, Beihai [Energy Systems Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States); Mi, Shao-Bo [Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education and International Center for Dielectric Research, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016 (China); Liu, Ming [Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education and International Center for Dielectric Research, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China)

    2014-04-21

    High quality c-axis oriented epitaxial Pb{sub 0.92}La{sub 0.08}Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48}O{sub 3} films were fabricated using pulsed laser deposition on (001) LaAlO{sub 3} substrates with conductive LaNiO{sub 3} buffers. Besides confirmation of the in-plane and out-of-plane orientations using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy study has revealed columnar structure across the film thickness with column width around 100 nm. Characterization of ferroelectric properties was carried out in comparison with polycrystalline Pb{sub 0.92}La{sub 0.08}Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48}O{sub 3} films to extract the effect of epitaxial growth. It is found that the ratio between the irreversible Rayleigh parameter and reversible parameter increased up to 0.028 cm/kV at 1 kHz on epitaxial samples, which is more than twice of that on their polycrystalline counterparts. While this ratio decreased to 0.022 cm/kV with increasing frequency to100 kHz, a much less frequency dependence was observed as compared to the polycrystalline case. The epitaxial Pb{sub 0.92}La{sub 0.08}Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48}O{sub 3} films exhibited a higher mobility of domain wall and the higher extrinsic contribution to the dielectric properties, as well as reduced density of defects, indicating that it is promising for tunable and low power consumption devices.

  4. Direct growth of superconducting NdFeAs(O,F) thin films by MBE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chihara, Masashi, E-mail: chihara@iku.xtal.nagoya-u.ac.jp [Department of Crystalline Materials Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603 (Japan); Sumiya, Naoki; Arai, Kenta [Department of Crystalline Materials Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603 (Japan); Ichinose, Ataru; Tsukada, Ichiro [Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Yokosuka-shi, Kanagawa 240-0101 (Japan); Hatano, Takafumi; Iida, Kazumasa; Ikuta, Hiroshi [Department of Crystalline Materials Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603 (Japan)

    2015-11-15

    Highlights: • Highly textured NdFeAs(O,F) thin films were obtained by a direct growth method. • Enhancing the migration was crucial to realize the direct growth. • The critical current density exceeded 3 MA/cm{sup 2} at self-field and 1 MA/cm{sup 2} at 9 T. • A two-dimensional growth was confirmed by the observation of surface morphology. - Abstract: We report on the growth of NdFeAs(O,F) superconducting thin films by molecular beam epitaxy without having a NdOF secondary layer that was necessary for fluorine doping in our previous studies. The key to realizing the direct growth of a superconducting film was the enhancement of migration of the raw materials on the substrate, which was accomplished by two steps. Firstly, we increased the growth temperature that improved the crystalline quality of parent NdFeAsO thin films. Secondly, the atmosphere in the chamber during the growth was improved by changing the crucible material of the Fe source cell. Highly textured NdFeAs(O,F) thin films with critical temperatures up to 50 K were obtained, and terraces were observed by atomic force microscope, indicating a two-dimensional growth. However, precipitates were also found on the surface, which suggests that enhancing further the migration is necessary for obtaining a NdFeAs(O,F) thin film with a better quality.

  5. Tuning piezoelectric properties through epitaxy of La2Ti2O7 and related thin films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaspar, Tiffany C; Hong, Seungbum; Bowden, Mark E; Varga, Tamas; Yan, Pengfei; Wang, Chongmin; Spurgeon, Steven R; Comes, Ryan B; Ramuhalli, Pradeep; Henager, Charles H

    2018-02-14

    Current piezoelectric sensors and actuators are limited to operating temperatures less than ~200 °C due to the low Curie temperature of the piezoelectric material. Strengthening the piezoelectric coupling of high-temperature piezoelectric materials, such as La 2 Ti 2 O 7 (LTO), would allow sensors to operate across a broad temperature range. The crystalline orientation and piezoelectric coupling direction of LTO thin films can be controlled by epitaxial matching to SrTiO 3 (001), SrTiO 3 (110), and rutile TiO 2 (110) substrates via pulsed laser deposition. The structure and phase purity of the films are investigated by x-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy. Piezoresponse force microscopy is used to measure the in-plane and out-of-plane piezoelectric coupling in the films. The strength of the out-of-plane piezoelectric coupling can be increased when the piezoelectric direction is rotated partially out-of-plane via epitaxy. The strongest out-of-plane coupling is observed for LTO/STO(001). Deposition on TiO 2 (110) results in epitaxial La 2/3 TiO 3 , an orthorhombic perovskite of interest as a microwave dielectric material and an ion conductor. La 2/3 TiO 3 can be difficult to stabilize in bulk form, and epitaxial stabilization on TiO 2 (110) is a promising route to realize La 2/3 TiO 3 for both fundamental studies and device applications. Overall, these results confirm that control of the crystalline orientation of epitaxial LTO-based materials can govern the resulting functional properties.

  6. Resistivity Effects of Cation Ordering in Highly-Doped La2-xSrxCu4 Epitaxial Thin Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burquest, Franklin; Marmol, Rodrigo; Cox, Nicholas; Nelson-Cheeseman, Brittany

    Highly-doped La2-xSrxCuO4 (LSCO) films (0.5 causes internal polar electrostatic forces, which have been shown to cause stretching of the apical oxygen bond in analogous epitaxial nickelate films. Thin film samples are grown concurrently to minimize extraneous effects on film structure and properties. Atomic force microscopy and x-ray reflectivity demonstrate that the films are single crystalline, epitaxial, and smooth. X-ray diffraction is used to measure the c-axis of the films as a function of doping and dopant cation ordering. Electrical transport data of the ordered samples is compared with transport data of conventional disordered cation samples. Preliminary data indicates significant differences in resistivity at both 300K and 10K between the cation-ordered and cation-disordered samples. This work indicates that dopant cation ordering within the layered cuprates could significantly modify the conduction mechanisms at play in these materials.

  7. Transformation behaviour of freestanding epitaxial Ni–Mn–Ga films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yeduru, S.R.; Backen, A.; Fähler, S.; Schultz, L.; Kohl, M.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► The complex martensite microstructure of free-standing epitaxial Ni–Mn–Ga films. ► A two-stage transformation in the temperature range between 40 °C and 160 °C. ► Temperature dependent mechanical properties of free-standing Ni–Mn–Ga films. ► With increasing temperature, the twinning stress decreases due to thermal activation of twin boundaries. ► Large superplastic strain increases from about 10% at 110 °C to 14% at RT. -- Abstract: We analyze the transformation behaviour of a 2 μm thick epitaxial Ni–Mn–Ga film by combining temperature dependent measurements of magnetization, electrical resistance, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and tensile stress–strain characteristics. While the magnetization measurements hint for a simple austenite–martensite transformation below the Curie temperature at about 90 °C, resistivity measurements reveal a two-stage transformation in the temperature regimes (I) of 40–80 °C and (II) of 140–160 °C. XRD and pseudoplastic behaviour prove the presence of martensite well above the Curie point. The combination of four independent methods suggests that the transformation at (II) may originate from a weakly first order transformation followed by an intermartensitic transformation at (I). This interpretation is in line with the large superplastic strain observed for the tensile direction parallel to the [1 0 0] direction of the Ni–Mn–Ga unit cell. The strain increases from about 10% at 110 °C to 14% at room temperature suggesting an increase in tetragonal distortion

  8. Dynamic nonlinearity in epitaxial BaTiO.sub.3./sub. films

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Tyunina, Marina; Savinov, Maxim

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 94, č. 5 (2016), 1-6, č. článku 054109. ISSN 2469-9950 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-15123S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : dynamic nonlinearity * epitaxial * BaTiO 3 films Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 3.836, year: 2016

  9. Adsorption-controlled growth of La-doped BaSnO3 by molecular-beam epitaxy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanjong Paik

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Epitaxial La-doped BaSnO3 films were grown in an adsorption-controlled regime by molecular-beam epitaxy, where the excess volatile SnOx desorbs from the film surface. A film grown on a (001 DyScO3 substrate exhibited a mobility of 183 cm2 V−1 s−1 at room temperature and 400 cm2 V−1 s−1 at 10 K despite the high concentration (1.2 × 1011 cm−2 of threading dislocations present. In comparison to other reports, we observe a much lower concentration of (BaO2 Ruddlesden-Popper crystallographic shear faults. This suggests that in addition to threading dislocations, other defects—possibly (BaO2 crystallographic shear defects or point defects—significantly reduce the electron mobility.

  10. Direct growth of Ge1-xSnx films on Si using a cold-wall ultra-high-vacuum chemical-vapor-deposition system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aboozar eMosleh

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Germanium tin alloys were grown directly on Si substrate at low temperatures using a cold-wall ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition system. Epitaxial growth was achieved by adopting commercial gas precursors of germane and stannic chloride without any carrier gases. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed the incorporation of Sn and that the Ge1-xSnx films are fully epitaxial and strain relaxed. Tin incorporation in the Ge matrix was found to vary from 1% to 7%. The scanning electron microscopy images and energy dispersive X-ray spectra maps show uniform Sn incorporation and continuous film growth. Investigation of deposition parameters shows that at high flow rates of stannic chloride the films were etched due to the production of HCl. The photoluminescence study shows the reduction of bandgap from 0.8 eV to 0.55 eV as a result of Sn incorporation.

  11. Metallic transport and large anomalous Hall effect at room temperature in ferrimagnetic Mn4N epitaxial thin film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen, Xi; Shigematsu, Kei; Chikamatsu, Akira; Fukumura, Tomoteru; Hirose, Yasushi; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

    2014-01-01

    We report the electrical transport properties of ferrimagnetic Mn 4 N (001) epitaxial thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition on MgO (001) substrates. The Mn 4 N thin films were tetragonally distorted with a ratio of out-of-plane to in-plane lattice constants of 0.987 and showed perpendicular magnetic anisotropy with an effective magnetic anisotropy constant of 0.16 MJ/m 3 , which is comparable with that of a recently reported molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown film. The thin films exhibited metallic transport with a room temperature resistivity of 125 μΩ cm in addition to a large anomalous Hall effect with a Hall angle tangent of 0.023.

  12. Synthesis and electronic properties of Ruddlesden-Popper strontium iridate epitaxial thin films stabilized by control of growth kinetics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Xiaoran; Cao, Yanwei; Pal, B.; Middey, S.; Kareev, M.; Choi, Y.; Shafer, P.; Haskel, D.; Arenholz, E.; Chakhalian, J.

    2017-12-01

    We report on the selective fabrication of high-quality Sr2IrO4 and SrIrO3 epitaxial thin films from a single polycrystalline Sr2IrO4 target by pulsed laser deposition. Using a combination of x-ray diffraction and photoemission spectroscopy characterizations, we discover that within a relatively narrow range of substrate temperature, the oxygen partial pressure plays a critical role in the cation stoichiometric ratio of the films, and triggers the stabilization of different Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) phases. Resonant x-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements taken at the Ir L edge and the O K edge demonstrate the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling, and reveal the electronic and orbital structures of both compounds. These results suggest that in addition to the conventional thermodynamics consideration, higher members of the Srn+1IrnO3n+1 series can possibly be achieved by kinetic control away from the thermodynamic limit. These findings offer an approach to the synthesis of ultrathin films of the RP series of iridates and can be extended to other complex oxides with layered structure.

  13. Molecular Beam Epitaxy Growth of High Crystalline Quality LiNbO3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tellekamp, M. Brooks; Shank, Joshua C.; Goorsky, Mark S.; Doolittle, W. Alan

    2016-12-01

    Lithium niobate is a multi-functional material with wide reaching applications in acoustics, optics, and electronics. Commercial applications for lithium niobate require high crystalline quality currently limited to bulk and ion sliced material. Thin film lithium niobate is an attractive option for a variety of integrated devices, but the research effort has been stagnant due to poor material quality. Both lattice matched and mismatched lithium niobate are grown by molecular beam epitaxy and studied to understand the role of substrate and temperature on nucleation conditions and material quality. Growth on sapphire produces partially coalesced columnar grains with atomically flat plateaus and no twin planes. A symmetric rocking curve shows a narrow linewidth with a full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 8.6 arcsec (0.0024°), which is comparable to the 5.8 arcsec rocking curve FWHM of the substrate, while the film asymmetric rocking curve is 510 arcsec FWHM. These values indicate that the individual grains are relatively free of long-range disorder detectable by x-ray diffraction with minimal measurable tilt and twist and represents the highest structural quality epitaxial material grown on lattice mismatched sapphire without twin planes. Lithium niobate is also grown on lithium tantalate producing high quality coalesced material without twin planes and with a symmetric rocking curve of 193 arcsec, which is nearly equal to the substrate rocking curve of 194 arcsec. The surface morphology of lithium niobate on lithium tantalate is shown to be atomically flat by atomic force microscopy.

  14. Microstructure of Co/X (X=Cu,Ag,Au) epitaxial thin films grown on Al2O3(0001) substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtake, Mitsuru; Akita, Yuta; Futamoto, Masaaki; Kirino, Fumiyoshi

    2007-01-01

    Epitaxial thin films of Co/X (X=Cu,Ag,Au) were prepared on Al 2 O 3 (0001) substrates at substrate temperatures of 100 and 300 degree sign C by UHV molecular beam epitaxy. A complicated microstructure was realized for the epitaxial thin films. In-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction observation has shown that X atoms of the buffer layer segregated to the surface during Co layer deposition, and it yielded a unique epitaxial granular structure. The structure consists of small Co grains buried in the X buffer layer, where both the magnetic small Co grains and the nonmagnetic X layer are epitaxially grown on the single crystal substrate. The structure varied depending on the X element and the substrate temperature. The crystal structure of Co grains is influenced by the buffer layer material and determined to be hcp and fcc structures for the buffer layer materials of Au and Cu, respectively

  15. Quantized dissipation and random telegraph voltage noise in epitaxial BiSrCaCuO thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, G.; Savo, B.; Vecchione, A.

    1993-01-01

    In this paper we report on the observation of correlated multiple-voltage RTN switching in high quality epitaxial BiSrCaCuO thin film. We ascribe the correlated noise to the quantization of flux flow dissipation in the film. (orig.)

  16. High-mobility BaSnO{sub 3} grown by oxide molecular beam epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Raghavan, Santosh; Schumann, Timo; Kim, Honggyu; Zhang, Jack Y.; Cain, Tyler A.; Stemmer, Susanne, E-mail: stemmer@mrl.ucsb.edu [Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106-5050 (United States)

    2016-01-01

    High-mobility perovskite BaSnO{sub 3} films are of significant interest as new wide bandgap semiconductors for power electronics, transparent conductors, and as high mobility channels for epitaxial integration with functional perovskites. Despite promising results for single crystals, high-mobility BaSnO{sub 3} films have been challenging to grow. Here, we demonstrate a modified oxide molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) approach, which supplies pre-oxidized SnO{sub x}. This technique addresses issues in the MBE of ternary stannates related to volatile SnO formation and enables growth of epitaxial, stoichiometric BaSnO{sub 3}. We demonstrate room temperature electron mobilities of 150 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1} in films grown on PrScO{sub 3}. The results open up a wide range of opportunities for future electronic devices.

  17. Influence of layer thickness on the structure and the magnetic properties of Co/Pd epitaxial multilayer films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tobari, Kousuke, E-mail: tobari@futamoto.elect.chuo-u.ac.jp [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan); Ohtake, Mitsuru; Nagano, Katsumasa; Futamoto, Masaaki [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan)

    2012-03-15

    Co/Pd epitaxial multilayer films were prepared on Pd(111){sub fcc} underlayers hetero-epitaxially grown on MgO(111){sub B1} single-crystal substrates at room temperature by ultra-high vacuum RF magnetron sputtering. In-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction shows that the in-plane lattice spacing of Co on Pd layer gradually decreases with increasing the Co layer thickness, whereas that of Pd on Co layer remains unchanged during the Pd layer formation. The CoPd alloy phase formation is observed around the Co/Pd interface. The atomic mixing is enhanced for thinner Co and Pd layers in multilayer structure. With decreasing the Co and the Pd layer thicknesses and increasing the repetition number of Co/Pd multilayer film, stronger perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is observed. The relationships between the film structure and the magnetic properties are discussed. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Epitaxial Co/Pd multilayer films are prepared on Pd(111){sub fcc} underlayers. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Lattice strain in Co layer and CoPd-alloy formation are noted around the interface. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Magnetic property dependence on layer thickness is reported.

  18. Preferential orientation relationships in Ca2MnO4 Ruddlesden-Popper thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lacotte, M.; David, A.; Prellier, W.; Rohrer, G. S.; Salvador, P. A.

    2015-01-01

    A high-throughput investigation of local epitaxy (called combinatorial substrate epitaxy) was carried out on Ca 2 MnO 4 Ruddlesden-Popper thin films of six thicknesses (from 20 to 400 nm), all deposited on isostructural polycrystalline Sr 2 TiO 4 substrates. Electron backscatter diffraction revealed grain-over-grain local epitaxial growth for all films, resulting in a single orientation relationship (OR) for each substrate-film grain pair. Two preferred epitaxial ORs accounted for more than 90% of all ORs on 300 different microcrystals, based on analyzing 50 grain pairs for each thickness. The unit cell over unit cell OR ([100][001] film ∥ [100][001] substrate , or OR1) accounted for approximately 30% of each film. The OR that accounted for 60% of each film ([100][001] film ∥ [100][010] substrate , or OR2) corresponds to a rotation from OR1 by 90° about the a-axis. OR2 is strongly favored for substrate orientations in the center of the stereographic triangle, and OR1 is observed for orientations very close to (001) or to those near the edge connecting (100) and (110). While OR1 should be lower in energy, the majority observation of OR2 implies kinetic hindrances decrease the frequency of OR1. Persistent grain over grain growth and the absence of variations of the OR frequencies with thickness implies that the growth competition is finished within the first few nm, and local epitaxy persists thereafter during growth

  19. Structure characterization of Pd/Co/Pd tri-layer films epitaxially grown on MgO single-crystal substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tobari, Kousuke, E-mail: tobari@futamoto.elect.chuo-u.ac.jp; Ohtake, Mitsuru; Nagano, Katsumasa; Futamoto, Masaaki

    2011-09-30

    Pd/Co/Pd tri-layer films were prepared on MgO substrates of (001), (111), and (011) orientations at room temperature by ultra high vacuum rf magnetron sputtering. The detailed film structures around the Co/Pd and the Pd/Co interfaces are investigated by reflection high energy electron diffraction. Pd layers of (001){sub fcc}, (111){sub fcc}, and (011){sub fcc} orientations epitaxially grow on the respective MgO substrates. Strained fcc-Co(001) single-crystal layers are formed on the Pd(001){sub fcc} layers by accommodating the fairly large lattice mismatch between the Co and the Pd layers. On the Co layers,, Pd polycrystalline layers are formed. When Co films are formed on the Pd(111){sub fcc} and the Pd(011){sub fcc} layers, atomic mixing is observed around the Co/Pd interfaces and fcc-CoPd alloy phases are coexisting with Co crystals. The Co crystals formed on the Pd(111){sub fcc} layers consist of hcp(0001) + fcc(111) and Pd(111){sub fcc} epitaxial layers are formed on the Co layers. Co crystals epitaxially grow on the Pd(011){sub fcc} layers with two variants, hcp(11-bar 00) and fcc(111). On the Co layers, Pd(011){sub fcc} epitaxial layers are formed.

  20. Growth and structure of Co/Au magnetic thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marsot, N.

    1999-01-01

    We have studied the growth and the crystallographic structure of magnetic ultra thin cobalt/gold films (Co/Au), in order to investigate the correlations between their magnetic and structural properties. Room temperature (R.T.) Co growth on Au (111) proceeds in three stages. Up to 2 Co monolayers (ML), a bilayer island growth mode is observed. Between 2 and 5 ML, coalescence of the islands occurs, covering the substrate surface and a Co/Au mixing is observed resulting from the de-construction of the Herringbone reconstruction. Finally, beyond 5 ML, the CoAu mixing is buried and the Co growth continues in a 3-D growth. Annealing studies at 600 K on this system show a smoothing effect of the Co film, and at the same time, segregation of Au atoms. The quality of the Co/Au interface (sharpness) is not enhanced by the annealing. The local order was studied by SEXAFS and the long range order by GIXRD showing that the Co film has a hexagonal close packed structure, with an easy magnetization axis perpendicular to the surface. From a local order point of view, the Co grows with an incoherent epitaxy and keeps its own bulk parameters. The GIXRD analysis shows a residual strain in the Co film of 4%. The difference observed between the local order analysis and the long range order results is explained in terms of the low dimensions of the diffracting domains. The evolution of film strains, as a function of the Co coverage, shows a marked deviation from the elastic strain theory. Modification of the strain field in the Co film as a function of the Au coverage is studied by GIXRD analysis. The Au growth study, at R.T., shows no evidence of a Au/Co mixing in the case of the Au/Co interface. The Au overlayer adopts a twinned face centred cubic structure on the rough Co film surface. (author)

  1. The Growth of Thin Epitaxial Copper Films on Ruthenium (0001)and Oxygen-Precovered Ruthenium (0001) as studied by X-ray Photoelectron diffraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruebush, Scott Daniel

    1997-01-01

    In the first part of this dissertation, the variation of mean emitter depths with direction for core photoelectron emission from single crystals, including the effects of both isotropic inelastic scattering and single and multiple elastic scattering was theoretically studied. The mean emitter depth was found to vary by as much as ±30% with direction. In the second part of this dissertation, x-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) was used to study the structure and growth mechanisms of Cu films grown on a clean and an oxygen-precovered Ru(OOO1) surface. Experimental Cu 2p3/2 (E kin = 556 eV) and Ru 3d (E kin = 1205 eV) intensities were measured for Cu coverages from submonolayer up to several monolayer (ML) on the clean Ru(OOO1) surface. In addition, the O 1s (E kin = 958 eV) intensity was measured for Cu grown on oxygen precovered Ru(OOO1). These XPD intensities have been analyzed using single scattering cluster (SSC) and multiple scattering cluster (MSC) models. The first Cu layer has been found to grow pseudomorphically on the Ru(OOO1) surface in agreement with prior studies of the Cu/Ru(OOO 1) system. Thus, the initial growth is layer-by-layer. For higher coverages, XPD shows that the short-range structure of the Cu films is fcc Cu(l 11), but with significant interlayer relaxation (compared to bulk Cu(l 11)) that persists up to ≥8 ML. When oxygen is preadsorbed on the Ru(OOO1) surface before Cu film growth (possibly to act as a surfactant promoting smoother growth), XPD shows that the first 3 ML of Cu grow as 3-D islands. In addition, XPD shows that, during Cu growth, all of the oxygen ''floats'' on the CU surface, in contrast to prior studies which found that 30% of the oxygen remains at the Cu/Ru intetiace. XPD also indicates that the oxygen is highly disordered on the Cu overlayer surface. In thicker layers with oxygen present, the Cu grows as Cu(l 11) with equal occupations of two possible domains rotated by 1800 from each other. In general, this work

  2. Direct growth of transparent conducting Nb-doped anatase TiO2 polycrystalline films on glass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamada, Naoomi; Kasai, Junpei; Hitosugi, Taro; Hoang, Ngoc Lam Huong; Nakao, Shoichiro; Hirose, Yasushi; Shimada, Toshihiro; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

    2009-01-01

    This paper proposes a novel sputter-based method for the direct growth of transparent conducting Ti 1-x Nb x O 2 (TNO) polycrystalline films on glass, without the need for any postdeposition treatments, by the use of an initial seed-layer. Anatase TNO epitaxial films grown on LaAlO 3 (100) substrates under a reducing atmosphere exhibited a low resistivity (ρ) of (3-6)x10 -4 Ω cm. On glass, however, highly resistive rutile phase polycrystalline films (ρ∼100 Ω cm) formed preferentially under the same conditions. These results suggest that epitaxial stabilization of the oxygen-deficient anatase phase occurs on lattice-matched substrates. To produce a similar effect on a glass surface, we deposited a seed-layer of anatase TNO with excellent crystallinity under an increased oxygen atmosphere. As a result, anatase phase TNO polycrystalline films could be grown even under heavily reducing atmospheres. An optimized film exhibited ρ=1.1x10 -3 Ω cm and optical absorption lower than 10% in the visible region. This ρ value is more than one order of magnitude lower than values reported for directly deposited TNO polycrystalline films. This indicates that the seed-layer method has considerable potential for producing transparent conducting TNO polycrystalline films on glass.

  3. Growth of semiconductor alloy InGaPBi on InP by molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, K; Wang, P; Pan, W W; Wu, X Y; Yue, L; Gong, Q; Wang, S M

    2015-01-01

    We report the first successful growth of InGaPBi single crystals on InP substrate with Bi concentration far beyond the doping level by gas source molecular beam epitaxy. The InGaPBi thin films reveal excellent surface and structural qualities, making it a promising new III–V compound family member for heterostructures. The strain can be tuned between tensile and compressive by adjusting Ga and Bi compositions. The maximum achieved Bi concentration is 2.2 ± 0.4% confirmed by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. Room temperature photoluminescence shows strong and broad light emission at energy levels much smaller than the InP bandgap. (paper)

  4. Reactively sputtered epitaxial γ′-Fe4N films: Surface morphology, microstructure, magnetic and electrical transport properties

    KAUST Repository

    Mi, Wenbo; Guo, Zaibing; Feng, X. P.; Bai, Haili

    2013-01-01

    Epitaxial γ′-Fe4N films with (1 0 0) and (1 1 0) orientations have been fabricated by reactive sputtering; these films were characterized by X-ray θ-2θ and φ scans, pole figures and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The film surface

  5. As-free pnictide LaNi{sub 1-x}Sb{sub 2} thin films grown by reactive molecular beam epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Retzlaff, Reiner; Buckow, Alexander; Kurian, Jose; Alff, Lambert [Institute of Materials Science, Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, Petersenstr. 23, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany)

    2012-07-01

    We use reactive molecular beam epitaxy (RMBE) as synthesis technique for the search of arsenic free pnictide superconductors. Epitaxial thin films of LaNi{sub 1-x}Sb{sub 2} were grown on (100)MgO substrates from elemental sources by simultaneous evaporation of high purity La, Ni and Sb metals by e-gun. The LaNi{sub 1-x}Sb{sub 2} thin films grow epitaxially and are (00l) oriented with high crystalline quality, as evident from RHEED and X-Ray diffraction studies. The Ni deficient LaNi{sub 1-x}Sb{sub 2} thin films show metallic behavior with a room temperature resistivity of 110 {mu}{Omega} cm, while the stoichiometric compound is a semiconductor/insulator. The isostructural compound with Bi as pnictide shows a superconducting transition with a T{sub C}(0) of 3.1 K.

  6. Characterization of bicrystalline epitaxial LaNiO{sub 3} films fabricated on MgO (1 0 0) substrates by pulsed laser deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zheng Liang [School of Microelectronics and Solid-State Electronics, University of Electronics Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Zhu Jun [School of Microelectronics and Solid-State Electronics, University of Electronics Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China)]. E-mail: junzhu@uestc.edu.cn; Zhang Ying [School of Microelectronics and Solid-State Electronics, University of Electronics Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Jiang Shuwen [School of Microelectronics and Solid-State Electronics, University of Electronics Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Li Yanrong [School of Microelectronics and Solid-State Electronics, University of Electronics Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Huawei Xian [School of Microelectronics and Solid-State Electronics, University of Electronics Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Li Jinlong [School of Microelectronics and Solid-State Electronics, University of Electronics Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China)

    2006-03-15

    A series of metallic LaNiO{sub 3} (LNO) thin films were deposited on MgO (1 0 0) substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) under the oxygen pressure of 20 Pa at different substrate temperatures from 450 to 750 deg. C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to characterize the crystal structure of LNO films. {theta}-2{theta} scans of XRD indicate that LNO film deposited at a substrate temperature of 700 deg. C has a high orientation of (l l 0). At other substrate temperatures, the LNO films have mixed phases of (l l 0) and (l 0 0). Furthermore, pole figure measurements show that LNO thin films, with the bicrystalline structure, were epitaxially deposited on MgO (1 0 0) substrates in the mode of LNO (1 1 0)//MgO (1 0 0) at 700 deg. C. Reflection high-energy electric diffraction (RHEED) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were also performed to investigate the microstructure of LNO films with the high (l l 0) orientation. RHEED patterns clearly confirm this epitaxial relationship. An atomically smooth surface of LNO films at 700 deg. C was obtained. In addition, bicrystalline epitaxial LNO films, fabricated at 700 deg. C, present a excellent conductivity with a lower electrical resistivity of 300 {mu} {omega} cm. Thus, the obtained results indicate that bicystalline epitaxial LNO films could serve as a promising candidate of electrode materials for the fabrication of ferroelectric or dielectric films.

  7. Combinatorial screening of halide perovskite thin films and solar cells by mask-defined IR laser molecular beam epitaxy

    OpenAIRE

    Kawashima, Kazuhiro; Okamoto, Yuji; Annayev, Orazmuhammet; Toyokura, Nobuo; Takahashi, Ryota; Lippmaa, Mikk; Itaka, Kenji; Suzuki, Yoshikazu; Matsuki, Nobuyuki; Koinuma, Hideomi

    2017-01-01

    Abstract As an extension of combinatorial molecular layer epitaxy via ablation of perovskite oxides by a pulsed excimer laser, we have developed a laser molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system for parallel integration of nano-scaled thin films of organic?inorganic hybrid materials. A pulsed infrared (IR) semiconductor laser was adopted for thermal evaporation of organic halide (A-site: CH3NH3I) and inorganic halide (B-site: PbI2) powder targets to deposit repeated A/B bilayer films where the thic...

  8. Growth and etching characteristics of (001) β-Ga2O3 by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oshima, Yuichi; Ahmadi, Elaheh; Kaun, Stephen; Wu, Feng; Speck, James S.

    2018-01-01

    We investigated the homoepitaxial growth and etching characteristics of (001) β-Ga2O3 by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The growth rate of β-Ga2O3 increased with increasing Ga-flux, reaching a clear plateau of 56 nm h-1, and then decreased at higher Ga-flux. The growth rate decreased from 56 to 42 nm h-1 when the substrate temperature was increased from 750 °C to 800 °C. The growth rate was negative (net etching) when only Ga-flux was supplied. The etching rate proportionally increased with increasing the Ga-flux, reaching 84 nm h-1. The etching was enhanced at higher temperatures. It was found that Ga-etching of (001) β-Ga2O3 substrates prior to the homoepitaxial growth markedly improved the surface roughness of the film.

  9. Superconducting Electronic Film Structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-02-14

    Segmuller, A., Cooper, E.I., Chisholm, M.F., Gupta, A. Shinde, S., and Laibowitz, R.B. Lanthanum gallate substrates for epitaxial high-T superconducting thin...M. F. Chisholm, A. Gupta, S. Shinde, and R. B. Laibowitz, " Lanthanum Gallate Substrates for Epitaxial High-T c Superconducting Thin Films," Appl...G. Forrester and J. Talvacchio, " Lanthanum Copper Oxide Buffer Layers for Growth of High-T c Superconductor Films," Disclosure No. RDS 90-065, filed

  10. Surface impedance of epitaxial films Y-Ba-Cu-O in short wave region of range millimetric

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vojnovskij, I.V.; Pustyl'nik, O.D.; Boguslavskij, Yu.M.; Shapovalov, A.P.

    1992-01-01

    Epitaxial Y-Ba-Cu-O films on MgO substrate with perfect crystal structure are obtained due to nonaxial magnetron HF-spraying. Temperature dependence of the surface impedance of the films within 66 and 134 GHz frequency is studied. The obtained value of residual surface resistance within 134 GHz frequency (60 mohm) confirms high quality of the films

  11. Microstructure of Co(112-bar 0) epitaxial thin films, grown on MgO(100) single-crystal substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nukaga, Yuri; Ohtake, Mitsuru; Futamoto, Masaaki [Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551 (Japan); Kirino, Fumiyoshi, E-mail: nukaga@futamoto.elect.chuo-u.ac.j [Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, 12-8 Ueno-koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-8714 (Japan)

    2010-01-01

    Co(112-bar 0) epitaxial thin films with hcp structure were prepared on MgO(100) single-crystal substrates heated at 300 {sup 0}C by ultra high vacuum molecular beam epitaxy. The microstructure is investigated by employing X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The film consists of two types of domains whose c-axes are rotated around the film normal by 90{sup 0} each other. Stacking faults are observed for the film along the Co[0001] direction. An atomically sharp boundary is recognized between the film and the substrate, where some misfit dislocations are introduced in the film at the Co/MgO interface. Dislocations are also observed in the film up to 15 nm thickness from the interface. Presence of such stacking faults and misfit dislocations seem to relieve the strain caused by the lattice mismatch between the film and the substrate. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the out-of-plane and the in-plane lattice spacings of the film are in agreement within 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively, with those of the bulk hcp-Co crystal, suggesting the strain in the film is very small.

  12. Microstructure of Co(112-bar 0) epitaxial thin films, grown on MgO(100) single-crystal substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nukaga, Yuri; Ohtake, Mitsuru; Futamoto, Masaaki; Kirino, Fumiyoshi

    2010-01-01

    Co(112-bar 0) epitaxial thin films with hcp structure were prepared on MgO(100) single-crystal substrates heated at 300 0 C by ultra high vacuum molecular beam epitaxy. The microstructure is investigated by employing X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The film consists of two types of domains whose c-axes are rotated around the film normal by 90 0 each other. Stacking faults are observed for the film along the Co[0001] direction. An atomically sharp boundary is recognized between the film and the substrate, where some misfit dislocations are introduced in the film at the Co/MgO interface. Dislocations are also observed in the film up to 15 nm thickness from the interface. Presence of such stacking faults and misfit dislocations seem to relieve the strain caused by the lattice mismatch between the film and the substrate. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the out-of-plane and the in-plane lattice spacings of the film are in agreement within 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively, with those of the bulk hcp-Co crystal, suggesting the strain in the film is very small.

  13. Epitaxial growth and characterization of approximately 300-nm-thick AlInN films nearly lattice-matched to c-plane GaN grown on sapphire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyoshi, Makoto; Yamanaka, Mizuki; Egawa, Takashi; Takeuchi, Tetsuya

    2018-05-01

    AlInN epitaxial films with film thicknesses up to approximately 300 nm were grown nearly lattice-matched to a c-plane GaN-on-sapphire template by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The AlInN films showed relative good crystal qualities and flat surfaces, despite the existence of surface pits connected to dislocations in the underlying GaN film. The refractive index derived in this study agreed well with a previously reported result obtained over the whole visible wavelength region. The extinction coefficient spectrum exhibited a clear absorption edge, and the bandgap energy for AlInN nearly lattice-matched to GaN was determined to be approximately 4.0 eV.

  14. Epitaxial strain-engineered self-assembly of magnetic nanostructures in FeRh thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Witte, Ralf; Kruk, Robert; Molinari, Alan; Wang, Di; Brand, Richard A; Hahn, Horst; Schlabach, Sabine; Provenzano, Virgil

    2017-01-01

    In this paper we introduce an innovative bottom–up approach for engineering self-assembled magnetic nanostructures using epitaxial strain-induced twinning and phase separation. X-ray diffraction, 57 Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy show that epitaxial films of a near-equiatomic FeRh alloy respond to the applied epitaxial strain by laterally splitting into two structural phases on the nanometer length scale. Most importantly, these two structural phases differ with respect to their magnetic properties, one being paramagnetic and the other ferromagnetic, thus leading to the formation of a patterned magnetic nanostructure. It is argued that the phase separation directly results from the different strain-dependence of the total energy of the two competing phases. This straightforward relation directly enables further tailoring and optimization of the nanostructures’ properties. (paper)

  15. An epitaxial transparent conducting perovskite oxide: double-doped SrTiO3

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ravichandran, Jayakanth; Siemons, W.; Heijmerikx, Herman; Huijben, Mark; Majumdar, Arun; Ramesh, Ramamoorthy

    2010-01-01

    Epitaxial thin films of strontium titanate doped with different concentrations of lanthanum and oxygen vacancies were grown on LSAT substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique. Films grown with 5−15% La doping and a critical growth pressure of 1−10 mTorr showed high transparency (>70−95%) in the

  16. Epitaxial growth of high purity cubic InN films on MgO substrates using HfN buffer layers by pulsed laser deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohba, R.; Ohta, J.; Shimomoto, K.; Fujii, T.; Okamoto, K.; Aoyama, A.; Nakano, T.; Kobayashi, A.; Fujioka, H.; Oshima, M.

    2009-01-01

    Cubic InN films have been grown on MgO substrates with HfN buffer layers by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). It has been found that the use of HfN (100) buffer layers allows us to grow cubic InN (100) films with an in-plane epitaxial relationship of [001] InN //[001] HfN //[001] MgO . X-ray diffraction and electron back-scattered diffraction measurements have revealed that the phase purity of the cubic InN films was as high as 99%, which can be attributed to the use of HfN buffer layers and the enhanced surface migration of the film precursors by the use of PLD. - Graphical abstract: Cubic InN films have been grown on MgO substrates with HfN buffer layers by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). It has been revealed that the phase purity of the cubic InN films was as high as 99 %, which can be attributed to the use of HfN buffer layers and the enhanced surface migration of the film precursors by the use of PLD.

  17. Metallic transport and large anomalous Hall effect at room temperature in ferrimagnetic Mn{sub 4}N epitaxial thin film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shen, Xi; Shigematsu, Kei [Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Chikamatsu, Akira, E-mail: chikamatsu@chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Fukumura, Tomoteru [Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Hirose, Yasushi; Hasegawa, Tetsuya [Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan)

    2014-08-18

    We report the electrical transport properties of ferrimagnetic Mn{sub 4}N (001) epitaxial thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition on MgO (001) substrates. The Mn{sub 4}N thin films were tetragonally distorted with a ratio of out-of-plane to in-plane lattice constants of 0.987 and showed perpendicular magnetic anisotropy with an effective magnetic anisotropy constant of 0.16 MJ/m{sup 3}, which is comparable with that of a recently reported molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown film. The thin films exhibited metallic transport with a room temperature resistivity of 125 μΩ cm in addition to a large anomalous Hall effect with a Hall angle tangent of 0.023.

  18. Raman measurements of epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7-δ films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burns, G.; Dacol, F.H.; Gield, C.A.; Gupta, A.; Holtzberg, F.; Koren, G.; Laibowitz, R.; McGuire, T.R.; Segmuller, A.P.; Worthington, T.K.

    1990-01-01

    The authors report Raman measurements on good (high J c ) epitaxial YBa 2 Cu 3 O -δ (Y123) films (δ ∼ 0). The results are compared to those from oriented Y123 single crystals. The comparisons are made for superconducting δ ∼ 0 and semiconducting δ ∼ 1 materials

  19. Bulk photovoltaic effect in epitaxial (K, Nb) substituted BiFeO3 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwal, Radhe; Zheng, Fan; Sharma, Yogesh; Hong, Seungbum; Rappe, Andrew; Katiyar, Ram

    We studied the bulk photovoltaic effect in epitaxial (K, Nb) modified BiFeO3 (BKFNO) thin films using theoretical and experimental methods. Epitaxial BKFNO thin films were grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). First, we have performed first principles density function theory (DFT) using DFT +U method to calculate electronic band structure, including Hubbard-Ueff (Ueff =U-J) correction into Hamiltonian. The electronic band structure calculations showed a direct band gap at 1.9 eV and a defect level at 1.7 eV (in a 40 atom BKFNO supercell), sufficiently lower in comparison to the experimentally observed values. Furthermore, the piezoforce microscopy (PFM) measurements indicated the presence of striped polydomains in BKFNO thin films. Angle-resolved PFM measurements were also performed to find domain orientation and net polarization directions in these films. The experimental studies of photovoltaic effect in BKNFO films showed a short circuit current of 59 micro amp/cm2 and open circuit voltage of 0.78 V. We compared our experimental results with first principles shift current theory calculations of bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE).The synergy between theory and experimental results provided a realization of significant role of BPVE in order to understand the photovoltaic mechanism in ferroelectrics.

  20. STM investigation of epitaxial Si growth for the fabrication of a Si-based quantum computer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oberbeck, Lars; Hallam, Toby; Curson, Neil J.; Simmons, Michelle Y.; Clark, Robert G

    2003-05-15

    We investigate the morphology of epitaxial Si layers grown on clean and on hydrogen terminated Si(0 0 1) to explore the growth strategy for the fabrication of a Si-based quantum computer. We use molecular beam epitaxy to deposit 5 monolayers of silicon at a temperature of 250 deg. C and scanning tunnelling microscopy to image the surface at room temperature after growth and after various rapid annealing steps in the temperature range of 350-600 deg. C. The epitaxial layer grown on the hydrogenated surface shows a significantly higher surface roughness due to a lower mobility of silicon surface atoms in the presence of hydrogen. Annealing at temperatures {>=}550 deg. C reduces the roughness of both epitaxial layers to the value of a clean silicon surface. However, the missing dimer defect density of the epitaxial layer grown on the hydrogenated surface remains higher by a factor of two compared to the layer grown on clean Si(0 0 1). Our results suggest a quantum computer growth strategy in which the hydrogen resist layer is desorbed before the epitaxial silicon layer is grown at low temperature to encapsulate phosphorus quantum bits.

  1. BiFeO3 epitaxial thin films and devices: past, present and future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sando, D.; Barthélémy, A.; Bibes, M.

    2014-11-01

    The celebrated renaissance of the multiferroics family over the past ten years has also been that of its most paradigmatic member, bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3). Known since the 1960s to be a high temperature antiferromagnet and since the 1970s to be ferroelectric, BiFeO3 only had its bulk ferroic properties clarified in the mid-2000s. It is however the fabrication of BiFeO3 thin films and their integration into epitaxial oxide heterostructures that have fully revealed its extraordinarily broad palette of functionalities. Here we review the first decade of research on BiFeO3 films, restricting ourselves to epitaxial structures. We discuss how thickness and epitaxial strain influence not only the unit cell parameters, but also the crystal structure, illustrated for instance by the discovery of the so-called T-like phase of BiFeO3. We then present its ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties and their evolution near morphotropic phase boundaries. Magnetic properties and their modification by thickness and strain effects, as well as optical parameters, are covered. Finally, we highlight various types of devices based on BiFeO3 in electronics, spintronics, and optics, and provide perspectives for the development of further multifunctional devices for information technology and energy harvesting.

  2. FY 1997 report on the study on lamination control technology for functional multi-element oxide thin films by complex beam epitaxy (CxBE) process; 1997 nendo chosa hokokusho (sakutaisen epitaxy (CxBE) ho ni yoru kinosei tagenso sankabutsu usumaku no sekiso seigyo gijutsu ni kansuru kenkyu)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-03-01

    Complex beam epitaxy (CxBE) process was proposed and demonstrated as new deposition process of multi-element oxide thin films. This process radiates excimer laser onto a metal complex target of ethylenediamine-tetraacetate complex under reduced pressure oxygen atmosphere condition in a reaction vessel to supply raw material onto a heated substrate. This process allowed deposition of YBCO123 phase hetero-epitaxial film onto a single-crystalline SrTiO3 substrate. This process was proved to be promising through study on crystal orientation, composition transcription and surface smoothness of the obtained oxide thin films. In addition, epitaxial ZnO film was also deposited onto a single crystalline Al2O3 substrate by this process. The relation between the obtained film and substrate epitaxy was examined, and photoluminescence of specimens was measured by triple wave of Nd:YAG laser. As a result, it was clarified that the epitaxial ZnO film prepared by this process is useful as laser material. 60 refs., 48 figs., 5 tabs.

  3. Multiferroic fluoride BaCoF4 Thin Films Grown Via Molecular Beam Epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borisov, Pavel; Johnson, Trent; García-Castro, Camilo; Kc, Amit; Schrecongost, Dustin; Cen, Cheng; Romero, Aldo; Lederman, David

    Multiferroic materials exhibit exciting physics related to the simultaneous presence of multiple long-range orders, in many cases consisting of antiferromagnetic (AF) and ferroelectric (FE) orderings. In order to provide a new, promising route for fluoride-based multiferroic material engineering, we grew multiferroic fluoride BaCoF4 in thin film form on Al2O3 (0001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The films grow with the orthorhombic b-axis out-of-plane and with three in-plane structural twin domains along the polar c-axis directions. The FE ordering in thin films was verified by FE remanent hysteresis loops measurements at T = 14 K and by room temperature piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). An AF behavior was found below Neel temperature TN ~ 80 K, which is in agreement with the bulk properties. At lower temperatures two additional magnetic phase transitions at 19 K and 41 K were found. First-principles calculations demonstrated that the growth strain applied to the bulk BaCoF4 indeed favors two canted spin orders, along the b- and a-axes, respectively, in addition to the main AF spin order along the c-axis. Supported by FAME (Contract 2013-MA-2382), WV Research Challenge Grant (HEPC.dsr.12.29), and DMREF-NSF 1434897.

  4. Epitaxial condition and polarity in GaN grown on a HfN-buffered Si(111) wafer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, X.; Armitage, R.; Shinkai, Satoko; Sasaki, Katsutaka; Kisielowski, C.; Weber, E. R.

    2005-05-01

    Single-crystal GaN thin films have been deposited epitaxially on a HfN-buffered Si(111) substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy. The microstructural and compositional characteristics of the films were studied in detail by transmission electron microscopy (TEMs). Cross-sectional TEM investigations have revealed the crystallographic orientation relationship in different GaN /HfN/Si layers. GaN film polarity is studied by conventional TEM and convergent beam electron diffraction simulations, and the results show that the GaN film has a Ga polarity with relatively high density of inversion domains. Based on our observations, growth mechanisms related to the structural properties are discussed.

  5. Vertical epitaxial wire-on-wire growth of Ge/Si on Si(100) substrate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimizu, Tomohiro; Zhang, Zhang; Shingubara, Shoso; Senz, Stephan; Gösele, Ulrich

    2009-04-01

    Vertically aligned epitaxial Ge/Si heterostructure nanowire arrays on Si(100) substrates were prepared by a two-step chemical vapor deposition method in anodic aluminum oxide templates. n-Butylgermane vapor was employed as new safer precursor for Ge nanowire growth instead of germane. First a Si nanowire was grown by the vapor liquid solid growth mechanism using Au as catalyst and silane. The second step was the growth of Ge nanowires on top of the Si nanowires. The method presented will allow preparing epitaxially grown vertical heterostructure nanowires consisting of multiple materials on an arbitrary substrate avoiding undesired lateral growth.

  6. Use of halide transport in epitaxial growth of InP and related compounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Somogyi, K. [Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest (Hungary). Research Inst. for Technical Physics

    1996-12-31

    In this paper methods and results in the InP (and related) growth practice are reviewed, classified and summarized on the basis of the recent literature. The aim is to show the present place and role of the halogen transport in the epitaxial growth. In the case of InP the importance of the classical hydride method is still high. Though MOVPE technique dominates in the case of growth of the compounds with In content, atomic layer epitaxy and selective area growth are successful with auxiliary application of the halogen transport. Chlorine assisted MOVPE has an increasing role.

  7. Aluminum Gallium Nitride Alloys Grown via Metalorganic Vapor-Phase Epitaxy Using a Digital Growth Technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodak, L. E.; Korakakis, D.

    2011-04-01

    This work investigates the use of a digital growth technique as a viable method for achieving high-quality aluminum gallium nitride (Al x Ga1- x N) films via metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy. Digital alloys are superlattice structures with period thicknesses of a few monolayers. Alloys with an AlN mole fraction ranging from 0.1 to 0.9 were grown by adjusting the thickness of the AlN layer in the superlattice. High-resolution x-ray diffraction was used to determine the superlattice period and c-lattice parameter of the structure, while reciprocal-space mapping was used to determine the a-lattice parameter and evaluate growth coherency. A comparison of the measured lattice parameter with both the nominal value and also the underlying buffer layer is discussed.

  8. Si(001):B gas-source molecular-beam epitaxy: Boron surface segregation and its effect on film growth kinetics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, H.; Glass, G.; Spila, T.; Taylor, N.; Park, S.Y.; Abelson, J.R.; Greene, J.E. [Department of Materials Science, Coordinated Science Laboratory, and Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, 1101 West Springfield, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States)

    1997-09-01

    B-doped Si(001) films, with concentrations C{sub B} up to 1.7{times}10{sup 22}cm{sup {minus}3}, were grown by gas-source molecular-beam epitaxy from Si{sub 2}H{sub 6} and B{sub 2}H{sub 6} at T{sub s}=500{endash}800{degree}C. D{sub 2} temperature-programed desorption (TPD) spectra were then used to determine B coverages {theta}{sub B} as a function of C{sub B} and T{sub s}. In these measurements, as-deposited films were flash heated to desorb surface hydrogen, cooled, and exposed to atomic deuterium until saturation coverage. Strong B surface segregation was observed with surface-to-bulk B concentration ratios ranging up to 1200. TPD spectra exhibited {beta}{sub 2} and {beta}{sub 1} peaks associated with dideuteride and monodeuteride desorption as well as lower-temperature B-induced peaks {beta}{sub 2}{sup {asterisk}} and {beta}{sub 1}{sup {asterisk}}. Increasing {theta}{sub B} increased the area under {beta}{sub 2}{sup {asterisk}} and {beta}{sub 1}{sup {asterisk}} at the expense of {beta}{sub 2} and {beta}{sub 1} and decreased the total D coverage {theta}{sub D}. The TPD results were used to determine the B segregation enthalpy, {minus}0.53eV, and to explain and model the effects of high B coverages on Si(001) growth kinetics. Film deposition rates R increase by {ge}50{percent} with increasing C{sub B}{tilde {gt}}1{times}10{sup 19}cm{sup {minus}3} at T{sub s}{le}550{degree}C, due primarily to increased H desorption rates from B-backbonded Si adatoms, and decrease by corresponding amounts at T{sub s}{ge}600{degree}C due to decreased adsorption site densities. At T{sub s}{ge}700{degree}C, high B coverages also induce {l_brace}113{r_brace} facetting. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}

  9. Role of dual-laser ablation in controlling the Pb depletion in epitaxial growth of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 thin films with enhanced surface quality and ferroelectric properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherjee, Devajyoti; Hyde, Robert; Mukherjee, Pritish; Srikanth, Hariharan; Witanachchi, Sarath

    2012-03-01

    Pb depletion in Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) thin films has remained as a major setback in the growth of defect-free PZT thin films by pulsed laser ablation techniques. At low excimer (KrF) laser fluences, the high volatility of Pb in PZT leads to non-congruent target ablation and, consequently, non-stoichiometric films, whereas, at high laser fluences, the inherent ejection of molten droplets from the target leads to particulate laden films, which is undesirable in heterostructure growth. To overcome these issues, a dual-laser ablation (PLDDL) process that combines an excimer (KrF) laser and CO2 laser pulses was used to grow epitaxial PZT films on SrTiO3 (100) and MgO (100) substrates. Intensified-charge-coupled-detector (ICCD) images and optical emission spectroscopy of the laser-ablated plumes in PLDDL revealed a broader angular expansion and enhanced excitation of the ablated species as compared to those for single-laser ablation (PLDSL). This led to the growth of particulate-free PZT films with higher Pb content, better crystallinity, and lower surface roughness as compared to those deposited using PLDSL. For FE measurements, PZT capacitors were fabricated in situ using the latticed-matched metallic oxide, La0.7Sr0.3MnO3, as the top and bottom electrodes. PZT films deposited using PLDDL exhibited enhanced polarization for all driving voltages as compared to those deposited using PLDSL. A highest remanent polarization (Pr) of ˜91 μC/cm2 and low coercive field of ˜40 kV/cm was recorded at 9 V driving voltage. Fatigue characterization revealed that PZT films deposited using PLDDL showed unchanging polarization, even after 109 switching cycles.

  10. Magnetic state controllable critical temperature in epitaxial Ho/Nb bilayers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuanzhou Gu

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available We study the magnetic properties of Ho thin films with different crystallinity (either epitaxial or non-epitaxial and investigate their proximity effects with Nb thin films. Magnetic measurements show that epitaxial Ho has large anisotropy in two different crystal directions in contrast to non-epitaxial Ho. Transport measurements show that the superconducting transition temperature (Tc of Nb thin films can be significantly suppressed at zero field by epitaxial Ho compared with non-epitaxial Ho. We also demonstrate a direct control over Tc by changing the magnetic states of the epitaxial Ho layer, and attribute the strong proximity effects to exchange interaction.

  11. Epitaxial growth on porous GaAs substrates

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Grym, Jan; Nohavica, Dušan; Gladkov, Petar; Hulicius, Eduard; Pangrác, Jiří; Piksová, K.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 16, č. 1 (2013), s. 59-64 ISSN 1631-0748 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP102/10/1201; GA ČR GAP108/10/0253 Institutional support: RVO:67985882 ; RVO:68378271 Keywords : Electrochemical etching * Porous semiconductors * Epitaxial growth * GaAs Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers; JA - Electronics ; Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering (FZU-D) Impact factor: 1.483, year: 2013

  12. Magnetoresistance at artificial interfaces in epitaxial ferromagnetic thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fontcuberta, J.; Bibes, M.; Martinez, B.; Trtik, V.; Ferrater, C.; Sanchez, F.; Varela, M.

    2000-01-01

    Epitaxial La 2/3 Sr 1/3 MnO 3 and SrRuO 3 thin films have been grown by laser ablation on single-crystalline SrTiO 3 substrates. Prior to manganite or ruthenate deposition tracks have been patterned on the SrTiO 3 substrate by using an appropriately focused laser beam. In the experiments here reported linear tracks have been formed. The magnetotransport properties of the films, particularly the magnetoresistance, along paths parallel and perpendicular to the track have been extensively investigated and compared to similar data recorded on films grown on bicrystalline STO substrates. Whereas in LSMO a significant low-field tunnel magnetoresistance develops across the artificial interface, in SRO this tunnel contribution is absent. However, a significant high-field magnetoresistance is observed for both metallic and ferromagnetic systems. The results are analysed and discussed within the framework of the current understanding of double exchange and itinerant ferromagnets. Magnetoresistance data for various configurations of the track array are presented

  13. Magnetic-property changes in epitaxial metal-film sandwiches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brodsky, M.B.

    1982-08-01

    Epitaxial metal-film sandwiches (EMFS) containing Pd or Cr, have been prepared between single-crystal Ag or Au. The modified Pd/Cr show major changes in physical properties. Pd has a stretched lattice parameter in Au-Pd-Au, which combines with a tetragonal distortion to cause exchange enhancements up to 28,000 and spin-fluctuation temperatures of 1 to 10 K. In Au-Cr-Au, Cr takes up the fcc structure, leading to superconductivity due to a high N(E/sub F/). These results are contrasted to data for Ag-Pd-Ag and Ag-Cr-Ag EMFS

  14. High-Temperature Growth of GaN and Al x Ga1- x N via Ammonia-Based Metalorganic Molecular-Beam Epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Billingsley, Daniel; Henderson, Walter; Doolittle, W. Alan

    2010-05-01

    The effect of high-temperature growth on the crystalline quality and surface morphology of GaN and Al x Ga1- x N grown by ammonia-based metalorganic molecular-beam epitaxy (NH3-MOMBE) has been investigated as a means of producing atomically smooth films suitable for device structures. The effects of V/III ratio on the growth rate and surface morphology are described herein. The crystalline quality of both GaN and AlGaN was found to mimic that of the GaN templates, with (002) x-ray diffraction (XRD) full-widths at half- maximum (FWHMs) of ~350 arcsec. Nitrogen-rich growth conditions have been found to provide optimal surface morphologies with a root-mean-square (RMS) roughness of ~0.8 nm, yet excessive N-rich environments have been found to reduce the growth rate and result in the formation of faceted surface pitting. AlGaN exhibits a decreased growth rate, as compared with GaN, due to increased N recombination as a result of the increased pyrolysis of NH3 in the presence of Al. AlGaN films grown directly on GaN templates exhibited Pendellösung x-ray fringes, indicating an abrupt interface and a planar AlGaN film. AlGaN films grown for this study resulted in an optimal RMS roughness of ~0.85 nm with visible atomic steps.

  15. Structural defects and epitaxial rotation of C-60 and C-70(111) films on GeS(001)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bernaerts, D.; Van Tendeloo, G.; Amelinckx, S.

    1996-01-01

    A transmission electron microscopy study of epitaxial C60 and C70 films grown on a GeS (001) surface is presented. The relationship between the orientation of the substrate and the films and structural defects in the films, such as grain boundaries, unknown in bulk C60 and C70 crystals, are studied...

  16. Epitaxial Ni films, e-beam nano-patterning and BMR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukaszew, R. Alejandra; Zhang, Zhengdong; Pearson, Dave; Zambano, Antonio

    2004-05-01

    We have attempted to clarify possible domain-wall processes present in the recently reported large ballistic magnetoresistance effects in nano-contacts. To that effect we have used e-beam lithography applied to epitaxial Ni films to fabricate nano-bridges in more controlled geometry than electrochemical deposition. Our preliminary results indicate that magnetic domains do play a role in the magneto-resistance of these nano-bridges but the order of magnitude of the observed effect is considerably smaller than the reported observations in electrochemically prepared nano-contacts.

  17. Epitaxial Ni films, e-beam nano-patterning and BMR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lukaszew, R.A.; Zhang Zhengdong; Pearson, Dave; Zambano, Antonio

    2004-01-01

    We have attempted to clarify possible domain-wall processes present in the recently reported large ballistic magnetoresistance effects in nano-contacts. To that effect we have used e-beam lithography applied to epitaxial Ni films to fabricate nano-bridges in more controlled geometry than electrochemical deposition. Our preliminary results indicate that magnetic domains do play a role in the magneto-resistance of these nano-bridges but the order of magnitude of the observed effect is considerably smaller than the reported observations in electrochemically prepared nano-contacts

  18. Surface reconstruction: An effective method for the growth of mismatched materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun, Yu; Zheng, Beining; Wu, Xiaofeng; Yuan, Long; Wu, Jie; Guo, Hongping; Huang, Keke; Feng, Shouhua, E-mail: shfeng@mail.jlu.edu.cn

    2016-01-01

    Graphical abstract: High quality thin film of GaSb was fabricated with molecular beam epitaxy technique on the reconstructed Si(1 1 1) surface. - Highlights: • Surface reconstruction formed by different surface treatments controls the heteroepitaxial growth. • Mismatched stress can be effectively released when the mismatched material epi-film tilts out of the epitaxial interface plane to create a coincidence-site lattice. • GaSb films grown on Si(1 1 1)-(5√3 × 5√3)-Sb surface show better crystal quality and morphology for its self-assembled 2D fishbone structure. - Abstract: The crystalline quality of epitaxial films depends on the degree of lattice match between substrates and films. Here, we report a growth strategy for large mismatched epi-films to grow GaSb films on Si(1 1 1) substrates. The epitaxial strategy can be influenced by controlling the surface reconstructions of Sb-treated Si(1 1 1). The film with the best quality was grown on Si(1 1 1)-(5√3 × 5√3)-Sb surface due to the stress release and the formation of a self-assembled 2D fishbone structure. Controlled surface engineering provides an effective pathway towards the growth of the large mismatched materials.

  19. Dynamics of ferroelectric nanodomains in BaTiO3 epitaxial thin films via piezoresponse force microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pertsev, N A; Petraru, A; Kohlstedt, H; Waser, R; Bdikin, I K; Kiselev, D; Kholkin, A L

    2008-01-01

    Ferroelectric nanodomains were created in BaTiO 3 thin films by applying a voltage to a sharp conducting tip of a scanning force microscope (SFM). The films were epitaxially grown on SrRuO 3 -covered (001)-oriented SrTiO 3 substrates by a high-pressure sputtering. They appeared to be single-crystalline with the (001) crystallographic orientation relative to the substrate. Using the piezoresponse mode of the SFM to detect the out-of-plane film polarization, the domain sizes were measured as a function of the applied writing voltage and the pulse time. It was found that the time dependence of the domain diameter in a 60 nm thick BaTiO 3 film deviates significantly from the logarithmic law observed earlier in Pb(Zr 0.2 Ti 0.8 )O 3 (PZT) films. At a given writing time, the domain size increases nonlinearly with increasing applied voltage, in contrast to the linear behavior reported earlier for PZT films and LiNbO 3 single crystals. The dynamics of domain growth is analyzed theoretically taking into account the strong inhomogeneity of the external electric field in the film and the influence of the bottom electrode. It is shown that the observed writing time and voltage dependences of the domain size can be explained by the domain-wall creep in the presence of random-bond disorder

  20. Resistance switching in epitaxial SrCoO{sub x} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tambunan, Octolia T.; Parwanta, Kadek J.; Acharya, Susant K.; Lee, Bo Wha; Jung, Chang Uk, E-mail: cu-jung@hufs.ac.kr [Department of Physics, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Yongin 449-791 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Yeon Soo; Park, Bae Ho [Division of Quantum Phases and Devices, Department of Physics, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-791 (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, Huiseong; Park, Ji-Yong [Department of Physics and Division of Energy System Research, Ajou University, Suwon 443-749 (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Myung Rae; Park, Yun Daniel [Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Subwavelength Optics, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747 (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Woo Seok [Department of Physics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Dong-Wook [Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 120-750 (Korea, Republic of); Jin, Hyunwoo; Lee, Suyoun [Electronic Materials Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 136-791 (Korea, Republic of); Song, Seul Ji; Kang, Sung-Jin; Kim, Miyoung; Hwang, Cheol Seong [Department of Material Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747 (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-08-11

    We observed bipolar switching behavior from an epitaxial strontium cobaltite film grown on a SrTiO{sub 3} (001) substrate. The crystal structure of strontium cobaltite has been known to undergo topotactic phase transformation between two distinct phases: insulating brownmillerite (SrCoO{sub 2.5}) and conducting perovskite (SrCoO{sub 3−δ}) depending on the oxygen content. The current–voltage characteristics of the strontium cobaltite film showed that it could have a reversible insulator-to-metal transition triggered by electrical bias voltage. We propose that the resistance switching in the SrCoO{sub x} thin film could be related to the topotactic phase transformation and the peculiar structure of SrCoO{sub 2.5}.