Microstructures and electrical properties of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 films synthesized by sol-gel method

La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ (LSMO) thin films were fabricated on alumina substrates by an improved sol-gel dip-coating process. It was found that multiple dip-coating process could not be performed until the pre-firing temperature reached 600 °C. Different amounts of LSMO powders were added to precursor solution with an aim to avoid cracks in LSMO thin films during calcining caused by the shrinkage mismatch between the film and the substrate. The structure and surface morphology of the films prepared from precursors with and without LSMO powders were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the addition of 56.4 wt.% LSMO powders into the sol-gel precursor solution significantly modified the microstructure of films. A single LSMO perovskite phase was obtained on alumina substrate after calcining at 800 °C for 4 h by the improved sol-gel method. The sheet resistance of the films prepared with different processing parameters was measured by four-point dc method. Results indicated that the sheet resistance of films decreased with increasing the number of coating applications and the amount of LSMO powders.     

Structure and electronic properties calculation of ultrathin α-Al2O3 films on (0 0 0 1) α-Cr2O3 templates

Ab initio total energy Hartree-Fock calculations of ultrathin films of α-Al₂O₃ on (0 0 0 1) α-Cr₂O₃ templates are presented. The surface relaxation, the in-plane reconstruction and the surface and strain energies of the slabs are studied as a function of alumina film thickness. The surface Al layer is found to relax inwards considerably, with the magnitude of the inwards relaxation depending on the thickness of the ultrathin alumina film in a non-linear manner. The calculations also reveal that ultrathin films of alumina lower the surface energy of (0 0 0 1) α-chromia substrates. This indicates that the (0 0 0 1) α-chromia surface provides favourable conditions for the templated growth of α-alumina. However, increasing the alumina film thickness is found to give rise to a significant increase in strain energy. Finally, the electronic properties at the surface of the (0 0 0 1) α-Al₂O₃/α-Cr₂O₃ slabs are investigated. Here it is found that the alumina coating gives rise to an increase in the covalency of the bonds at the surface of the slabs. In contrast, the influence of an alumina layer on the electrostatic potential at the surface of the chromia slab is relatively minor, which should also be beneficial for the templated growth of α-alumina on (0 0 0 1) α-chromia substrates.     

Thickness dependence of magnetic domain formation in La0.6Sr0.4MnO3 epitaxial thin films studied by XMCD-PEEM

We have used photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) to study the effect of thin film thickness on the magnetic domain formation in La_0.6Sr_0.4MnO₃ samples that were epitaxially grown on stepped SrTiO₃ (0 0 1) substrates. The magnetic image exhibited a stripe structure elongated along the step direction, irrespective of film thickness, suggesting that uniaxial magnetic anisotropy induced by step-and-terrace structures plays an important role in the magnetic domain formation. Additional domains evolved gradually with increasing film thickness. In these domains, the direction of magnetization differed from the step direction due to biaxial magneto-crystalline anisotropy. The evolution of additional magnetic domains with increasing film thickness implies that a competition exists between the two anisotropies in LSMO films.     

Effect of microstructure of MgO buffer layer on BaTiO3 grown on silicon substrates

MgO ultrathin films were grown on Si(1 0 0) substrates as buffer layers for the growth of ferroelectric BaTiO₃ thin films by laser molecular beam epitaxy (L-MBE). The deposition process of MgO buffer layers grown on silicon was in situ monitored by reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). The structure of BaTiO₃ films fabricated on MgO buffers was investigated by X-ray diffraction. Biaxially textured MgO was obtained at high laser energy density, but when the laser energy was lowered, MgO buffer was transformed to the form of texture with angular dispersion with the increase of the film thickness. BaTiO₃ films grown on the former buffer were completely (0 0 1) textured, while those on the latter were (0 0 1) preferred orientated. Furthermore, the fabricated MgO buffers and BaTiO₃ films had atomically smooth surface and interface. All these can reveal that the quality of textured MgO buffer is a key factor for the growth of BaTiO₃ films on silicon.     

Influence of microstructures on exchange bias behaviors of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/La0.33Ca0.67MnO3 bilayers

Ferromagnetic La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (LSMO) and antiferromagnetic La_0.33Ca_0.67MnO₃ (LCMO) layers were grown on SrTiO₃ (STO) substrates by the pulsed laser deposition technique. LSMO films had rougher surfaces and larger grain sizes than LCMO films. Fully strained bilayers, in which each layer was as thin as 10 nm, were prepared by changing their stacking sequences, i.e. LSMO/LCMO/STO and LCMO/LSMO/STO. The former had higher T_C (350 K) than the latter (300 K), and exchange bias effects were only observed in the former bilayers. This revealed that microstructures could play an important role in the transport and magnetic properties of manganese oxide thin films.     

Influence of the laser wavelength on the epitaxial growth and electrical properties of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 films grown by excimer laser-assisted MOD

Epitaxial La_1−xSr_xMnO₃ (LSMO) films were prepared by excimer laser-assisted metal organic deposition (ELAMOD) at a low temperature using ArF, KrF, and XeCl excimer lasers. Cross-section transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) observations confirmed the epitaxial growth and homogeneity of the LSMO film on a SrTiO₃ (STO) substrate, which was prepared using ArF, KrF, and XeCl excimer lasers. It was found that uniform epitaxial films could be grown at 500 °C by laser irradiation. When an XeCl laser was used, an epitaxial film was formed on the STO substrate at a fluence range from 80 to 140 mJ/cm² of the laser fluence for the epitaxial growth of LSMO film on STO substrate was changed. When the LaAlO₃ (LAO) substrate was used, an epitaxial film was only obtained by ArF laser irradiation, and no epitaxial film was obtained using the KrF and XeCl lasers. When the back of the amorphous LSMO film on an LAO substrate was irradiated using a KrF laser, no epitaxial film formed. Based on the effect of the wavelength and substrate material on the epitaxial growth, formation of the epitaxial film would be found to be photo thermal reaction and photochemical reaction. The maximum temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of the epitaxial La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ film on an STO substrate grown using an XeCl laser is 4.0%/K at 275 K. XeCl lasers that deliver stabilized pulse energies can be used to prepare LSMO films with good a TCR.     

Effect of thickness on the structure, morphology and optical properties of sputter deposited Nb2O5 films

Nb₂O₅ films with the thickness (d) ranging from 55 to 2900 nm were deposited on BK-7 substrates at room temperature by a low frequency reactive magnetron sputtering system. The structure, morphology and optical properties of the films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and spectrophotometer, respectively. The experimental results indicated that the thickness affects drastically the structure, morphology and optical properties of the film. There exists a critical thickness of the film, d_cri =2010 nm. The structure of the film remains amorphous as d < d_cri. However, it becomes crystallized as d > d_cri. The root mean square of surface roughness increases with increasing thickness as d > 1080 nm. Widths and depths of the holes on film surface increase monotonously with increasing thickness, and widths of the holes are larger than 1000 nm for the crystalline films. Refractive index increases with increasing thickness as d < d_cri, while it decreases with increasing thickness as d > d_cri. In addition, the extinction coefficient increases with increasing thickness as d > d_cri.     

Preparation of the La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 films on STO and LAO substrates by excimer laser-assisted metal organic deposition using the KrF laser

La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ films were prepared on SrTiO₃ (STO) and LaAlO₃ (LAO) substrates using excimer laser-assisted metal organic deposition (ELAMOD). For the LAO substrate, no epitaxial La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ film was obtained by laser irradiation in the fluence range from 60 to 110 mJ/cm² with heating at 500 °C. On the other hand, an epitaxial La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ film on the STO substrate was formed by laser irradiation in the fluence range from 60 to 100 mJ/cm² with heating at 500 °C. To optimize the electrical properties for an IR sensor, the effects of the laser fluence, the irradiation time and the film thickness on the temperature dependence of the resistance and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR: defined as 1/R·(dR/dT)) of the LSMO films were investigated. An LSMO film on the STO substrate that showed the maximum TCR of 3.9% at 265 K was obtained by the ELAMOD process using the KrF laser.     

Microstructure and dielectric properties of La2O3 doped amorphous SiO2 films as gate dielectric material

As a potential gate dielectric material, the La₂O₃ doped SiO₂ (LSO, the mole ratio is about 1:5) films were fabricated on n-Si (0 0 1) substrates by using pulsed laser deposition technique. By virtue of several measurements, the microstructure and electrical properties of the LSO films were characterized. The LSO films keep the amorphous state up to a high annealing temperature of 800 °C. From HRTEM and XPS results, these La atoms of the LSO films do not react with silicon substrate to form any La-compound at interfacial layer. However, these O atoms of the LSO films diffuse from the film toward the silicon substrate so as to form a SiO₂ interfacial layer. The thickness of SiO₂ layer is only about two atomic layers. A possible explanation for interfacial reaction has been proposed. The scanning electron microscope image shows the surface of the amorphous LSO film very flat. The LSO film shows a dielectric constant of 12.8 at 1 MHz. For the LSO film with thickness of 3 nm, a small equivalent oxide thickness of 1.2 nm is obtained. The leakage current density of the LSO film is 1.54 × 10⁻⁴ A/cm² at a gate bias voltage of 1 V.     

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

We have grown lead iron niobate thin films with composition Pb(Fe_1/2Nb_1/2)O₃ (PFN) on (0 0 1) SrTiO₃ 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°). 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.     

Microstructure of epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films on MgO substrates

SrRuO₃ thin films have been grown on singular (1 0 0) MgO substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in 30 Pa oxygen ambient and at a temperature of 400-700 °C. Ex situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD) θ/2θ scan indicated that the films deposited above 650 °C were well crystallized though they had a rough surface as shown by atom force microscopy (AFM). XRD Φ scans revealed that these films were composed of all three different types of orientation domains, which was further confirmed by the RHEED patterns. The heteroepitaxial relationship between SrRuO₃ and MgO was found to be [1 1 0] SRO//[1 0 0] MgO and 45°-rotated cube-on-cube [0 0 1] SRO//[1 0 0] MgO. These domain structures and surface morphology are similar to that of ever-reported SrRuO₃ thin films deposited on the (0 0 1) LaAlO₃ substrates, and different from those deposited on (0 0 1) SrTiO₃ substrates that have an atomically flat surface and are composed of only the [1 1 0]-type domains. The reason for this difference was ascribed to the effect of lattice mismatch across the film/substrate interface. The room temperature resistivity of SrRuO₃ films fabricated at 700 °C was 300 μΩ cm. Therefore, epitaxial SrRuO₃ films on MgO substrate could serve as a promising candidate of electrode materials for the fabrication of ferroelectric or dielectric films.     

Effect of annealing temperature on the decomposition of reactively sputtered Ag2Cu2O3 films

Ag₂Cu₂O₃ films were deposited on glass substrates by reactive sputtering of a composite silver-copper target. The deposited films were annealed in air at 100, 200 and 300 °C. The structure of the films was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), their surface morphology was characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and their electrical resistivity at room temperature was measured using the four point probe method. The 100 °C annealing did not modify either the film structure or the film morphology. On the other hand, Ag₂Cu₂O₃ films were partially decomposed into Ag and CuO after a 200 °C annealing. The decomposition was complete for a 300 °C annealing. The evolution of the film surface morphology as a function of the annealing temperature was discussed in connection to the evolution of the molar volume of the phases constituting the films.     

Growth and structure of Bi0.5(Na0.7K0.2Li0.1)0.5TiO3 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition technique

Bi_0.5(Na_0.7K_0.2Li_0.1)_0.5TiO₃ (BNKLT) thin films were prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The films prepared were examined by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The effects of the processing parameters, such as oxygen pressure, substrate temperature and laser power, on the crystal structure, surface morphology, roughness and deposition rates of the thin films were investigated. It was found that the substrate temperature of 600 °C and oxygen pressure of 30 Pa are the optimized technical parameters for the growth of textured film, and all the thin films prepared have granular structure, homogeneous grain size and smooth surfaces.     

Luminescent characteristics of CaTiO3:Pr thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition method with various substrates

CaTiO₃:Pr³⁺ films were deposited on different substrates such as Al₂O₃ (0 0 0 1), Si (1 0 0), MgO (1 0 0), and fused silica using pulsed laser deposition method. The crystallinity and surface morphology of these films were investigated by XRD and SEM measurements. The films grown on the different substrates have different crystallinity and morphology. The FWHM of (2 0 0) peak are 0.18, 0.25, 0.28, and 0.30 for Al₂O₃ (0 0 0 1), Si (1 0 0), MgO (1 0 0), and fused silica, respectively. The grain sizes of phosphors grown on different substrates were estimated by using Scherrer's formula and the maximum crystallite size observed for the thin film grown on Al₂O₃ (0 0 0 1). The room temperature PL spectra exhibit only the red emission peak at 613 nm radiated from the transition of (¹D₂ → ³H₄) and the maximum PL intensity for the films grown on the Al₂O₃ (0 0 0 1) is 1.1, 1.4, and 3.7 times higher than that of the CaTiO₃:Pr³⁺ films grown on MgO (1 0 0), Si (1 0 0), and fused Sillica substrates, respectively. The crystallinity, surface morphology and luminescence spectra of thin-film phosphors were highly dependent on substrates.     

Preparation and characterization of electrodeposited Sb2Se3 thin films from non-aqueous media

Semiconducting Sb₂Se₃ thin films have been prepared onto the stainless steel and fluorine doped tin oxide coated glass substrates from non-aqueous media using an electrodeposition technique. The electrodeposition potentials for different bath compositions and concentrations of solution have been estimated from the polarization curves. SbCl₃ and SeO₂ in the volumetric proportion as 1:1 with their equimolar solution concentration of 0.05 M form good quality films. The films are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and optical absorption techniques. The SEM studies show that the film covers the total substrate surface with uneven surface morphology. The XRD patterns of the films obtained by varying compositions and concentrations show that the as-deposited films are polycrystalline with relatively higher grain size for 1:1 composition and 0.05 M concentration. The optical band gap energy for indirect transition in Sb₂Se₃ thin films is found to be 1.195 eV.     

Fabrication of textured SnO2:F thin films by spray pyrolysis

Transparent conductive SnO₂:F thin films with textured surfaces were fabricated on soda-lime-silica glass substrates by spray pyrolysis. Structure, morphology, optical and electrical properties of the films were investigated. Results show that the film structure, morphology, haze, transmittance and sheet resistance are dependent on the substrate temperature and film thickness. An optimal 810 nm-thick SnO₂:F film with textured surface deposited at 520 °C exhibits polycrystalline rutile tetragonal structure with a (2 0 0) orientation. The sheet resistance, average transmittance in visible region, and haze of this film were 8 Ω/□, 80.04% and 11.07%, respectively, which are suitable for the electrode used in the hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells.     

Enhanced magnetoresistance in La0.82Sr0.18MnO3-π-conjugated semiconducting polymer heterostructure

We report a large enhancement (∼90%) in magnetoresistance in La_0.82Sr_0.18MnO₃ (LSMO) layers by incorporating a π-conjugated semiconducting polymer layer in between them. The epitaxial LSMO layers were deposited by DC magnetron sputtering on SrTiO₃ single crystal substrates and have FM transition temperature (T_C)∼310 K. A semiconducting polymer poly(3-octylthiophene) (P3OT) layer was deposited over the epitaxial LSMO layer by solution dip coating technique and with subsequent deposition of another epitaxial LSMO layer, forming a LSMO-P3OT-LSMO heterostructure. The effect of P3OT incorporation on magnetotransport properties of this heterostructure has been examined in the temperature range 77-350 K. Large MR enhancement observed near room temperature in the FM regime is explained in terms of efficient magnetic field dependent carrier injection at LSMO/P3OT interface.     

Structural evolution and epitaxial stabilisation of pulsed laser deposited Sm0.55Nd0.45NiO3 solid solution nanostructured films on undoped Si (1 0 0) and NdGaO3 substrates

We report on the effects of substrate, ambient oxygen pressure and deposition time on the crystal structure, and morphology of Sm_0.55Nd_0.45NiO₃ solid solution nanostructured films synthesized by pulsed-laser deposition. In each film the structure was found to be consistent with a perovskite structure with preferential planes growth and reveals a strong orientation along the orthorhombic (2 1 0) plane of the perovskite subcell for the film deposited on NdGaO₃ where highly crystalline films were obtained within 15 min deposition time with a low surface roughness of 8.79 nm. Similar structure is observed on Si (1 0 0) substrate only at O₂ pressure of 0.4 mbar. The surface morphology of the different samples shows a net dense film structure with several droplets population. The nano-scaled droplets are in general spherical in shape; a detailed analysis indicates that the laser ablation of this nickelate family is governed to a certain extent by a heat transfer phenomenon.     

Role of growth temperature and oxygen partial pressure on the structural and electrical properties of pulsed laser deposited La1−xSrxnO3−δ thin films

The paper presents the fabrication and characterization of La_0.65Sr_0.35MnO_3−δ (LSMO) polycrystalline thin films deposited directly on Si (1 0 0) substrates using pulsed laser deposition technique. Various deposition parameters like substrate temperature and oxygen partial pressure have been varied systematically to obtain stoichiometric, crack-free films with smooth surface morphology having nearly monodisperse grain size distribution. The substrate temperature variation from 600 to 800 °C had profound effects on the microstructure and topography of the deposited film, with optimum result being obtained at 700 °C. The variation of partial pressure of oxygen controls the deposition kinetics as well as the stoichiometry of the film in terms of oxygen vacancy, which influences the magnetic and electrical transport properties of the manganate films. The microstructure and crystallinity of the deposited films have been studied using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. A correlation between the oxygen stoichiometry and micro-structural and transport properties of the deposited films has been obtained.