Strain relief and growth optimization of GaSb on GaP by molecular beam epitaxy

In this paper, the impact of growth parameters on the strain relaxation of highly lattice mismatched (11.8%) GaSb grown on GaP substrate by molecular beam epitaxy has been investigated. The surface morphology, misfit dislocation and strain relaxation of the GaSb islands are shown to be highly related to the initial surface treatment, growth rate and temperature. More specifically, Sb-rich surface treatment is shown to promote the formation of Lomer misfit dislocations. Analysis of the misfit dislocation and strain relaxation as functions of the growth temperature and rate led to an optimal growth window for a high quality GaSb epitaxial layer on (001) GaP. With this demonstrated optimized growth, a high mobility (25?500?cm(2)?V (-1)?s(-1) at room temperature) AlSb/InAs heterostructure on a semi-insulating (001) GaP substrate has been achieved.     

Epitaxial growth and magnetic exchange anisotropy in Fe3O4<Emphasis Type="Bold">/NiO bilayers grown on MgO(001) and Al</Emphasis>2O3(0001)

Epitaxial Fe3O4/NiO bilayers were epitaxially grown on MgO(001) and Al2O3(0001) substrates to investigate the influence of the fully spin compensated (001) and the non-compensated (111) NiO interface planes between the ferromagnetic (F) and antiferromagnetic (AF) layers on the AF/F exchange coupling. Bilayers of different magnetite thicknesses and constant NiO thickness were investigated. The structural characterizations indicate a perfect epitaxy of the two layers for the both growth directions in the two Fe3O4/NiO/MgO(001) and NiO/Fe3O4/Al2O3(0001) systems. An epitaxial ferrimagnetic (Ni,Fe)Fe2O4 phase is observed at the AF/F interface when the NiO oxide is grown on the top of the Fe3O4 layer while a perfectly flat AF/F interface is observed in the Fe3O4/NiO/MgO(001) system exhibiting only a very slight interdiffusion. Magnetic measurements indicate a relative strong bias at 300 K for the bilayers grown on Al2O3(0001), which decreases with the inverse of the ferrimagnetic layer thickness as theoretically expected. On the contrary, a zero exchange biasing is observed at 300 K for the bilayers grown on MgO(001).     

超薄Fe层在反铁磁NiO(001)面上沉积的研究

通过分子束外延(MBE)和脉冲激光沉积(PLD)方法，将1—10个Fe原子层(ML)以楔形方式沉积到反铁磁单晶NiO(001)基片上.表面磁光克尔效应的原位测试结果表明：通过MBE沉积的Fe原子层在Fe/NiO界面处产生了约2ML的磁死层；而通过PLD沉积的Fe原子层在Fe/NiO界面处产生了约3ML的磁死层.X射线光电子能谱对Fe/NiO界面进行研究的结果表明，在Fe原子与单晶NiO间发生了界面化学反应. 关键词： 磁性薄膜 表面磁性 X射线光电子能谱     

Evolution of stress and strain relaxation of Ge and SiGe alloy films on Si(0 0 1)

The growth of Ge and SiGe alloy films on Si substrates has attracted considerable interest in the last years because of their importance for optoelectronic devices as well as Si-based high speed transistors. Here we give a short overview on our recent real time stress measurements of Ge and SiGe alloy films on Si(0 0 1) performed with a sensitive cantilever beam technique and accompanied by structural investigations with atomic force microscopy. Characteristic features in the stress curves provide detailed insight into the development and relief of the misfit strain. For the Stranski–Krastanow system Ge/Si(0 0 1) as well as for SiGe films with Si contents below 20%, the strain relaxation proceeds mainly into two steps: (i) by the formation of 3D islands on top of the Ge wetting layer; (ii) via misfit dislocations in larger 3D islands and upon their percolation.     

Enhanced strain relaxation induced by epitaxial layer growth mode of MgO thin films

Growth of MgO films on silicon substrate was conducted by KrF excimer pulsed-laser ablation system. Two kinds of growth mode were revealed in situ by reflection high energy electron diffraction. It was found that the layer growth mode of MgO thin films could remarkably reduce the misfit strain originated from the different lattice constant and thermal expansion coefficiency between MgO films and Si. An enhanced strain relaxation was discovered for MgO films, which were grown with the layer growth mode, in the film thickness range of 40-100 nm. The value of critical thickness for the formation of misfit dislocation agrees well with the calculated one. This exceptional phenomenon should be ascribed to the layer growth mode of epitaxial MgO films.     

Intrinsic stress of ultrathin epitaxial films

The present article focuses on the stress developing during the deposition of ultrathin epitaxial films in the thickness range of a few atomic layers. The studied systems exhibit the three well-known modes of film growth: Stranski–Krastanow mode [Ge/Si(001), Ge/Si(111), Ag/Si(111)], Frank–Van der Merwe mode [Fe/MgO(001)] and Volmer–Weber mode [Ag/mica(001), Cu/mica(001)]. The experimental results demonstrate the important role of the misfit strain as well as the contribution of surface stress effects as mechanisms for the stress in single atomic layers. Received: 26 April 1999 / Accepted: 25 June 1999 / Published online: 6 October 1999     

Measurement of the energetics of metal film growth on a semiconductor: Ag/Si(100)-(2 x 1)

The first direct calorimetric measurements of the energetics of metal film growth on a semiconductor surface are presented. The heat of adsorption of Ag on Si(100)-(2 x 1) at 300 K decreases from approximately 347 to 246 kJ/mol with coverage in the first monolayer (ML) due to overlap of substrate strain from nearby Ag islands. It then rises quickly toward the bulk sublimation enthalpy (285 kJ/mol) as 3D particles grow. A wetting layer grows to 1.0 ML, but is metastable above approximately 0.55 ML and dewets when kinetics permit. This may be common when adsorbate islands induce a large strain in the substrate surface nearby.     

Influences of misfit strains on liquid phase heteroepitaxial growth

Influences of misfit strains with different signs on liquid phase heteroepitaxial growth are studied by binary phase field crystal model. It is amazing to find that double islands are formed because of lateral and vertical separation. The morphological evolution of epitaxial layer depends on signs of misfit strains. The maximum atomic layer thickness of double islands under negative misfit strain is larger than that of under positive misfit strain at the same evolutional time, and size differences between light and dark islands is much smaller under negative misfit strain than that of under positive misfit strain. In addition, concentration field and density field approximately have similar variational law along x direction under the same misfit strain but show opposite variational trend under misfit strains with different signs. Generally, free energy of epitaxial growth systems keeps similar variational trend under misfit strains with different signs.     

D(A) steps and 2D islands of double layer height in the SiGe(001) system

The surfaces of step graded, partially relaxed Si(1-x)Ge(x)/Si(001) buffers were studied by scanning tunneling microscopy. The surface slips along <110> forming the crosshatch pattern, consisting of bunches of D(A) steps of double layer height. The D(A) steps are present in regions of large surface gradients close to the slips, as well as in planar regions between the slips. These regions are also characterized by the appearance of 2D islands of double layer height. The observations can be explained by assuming the strain due to the misfit dislocations to be locally anisotropic. Anisotropic misfit strain and efficient strain relaxation by the ( 2x8) Ge reconstruction were identified as the main factors causing the unusual step structure.     

NiO-thickness dependent magnetic anisotropies in Fe/NiO/Au(001) and Fe/NiO/MgO(001) systems

The in-plane magnetic anisotropy of Fe/NiO bilayers was studied quantitatively as a function of NiO thickness using the magneto-optical Kerr effect with a rotating field. For NiO thicker than the ordering transition thickness, the total in-plane fourfold anisotropy of the Fe layer decreases with NiO thickness in Fe/NiO/Au(001), but increases in Fe/NiO/MgO(001). Our result indicates that the exchange coupling in an Fe/NiO bilayer might induce an additional in-plane fourfold anisotropy, and the opposite thickness dependent behaviors may be attributed to the different Ni²⁺ antiferromagnetic spin orientations for NiO films grown on Au(001) and MgO(001) surfaces.     

MgO单晶势垒磁性隧道结的第一性原理计算和实验研究

在MgO单晶势垒磁性隧道结中发现的室温高隧穿磁电阻现象,是近些年自旋电子学以及磁性隧道结磁电阻材料研究中的又一重大突破.本文主要评述和介绍2001年以来MgO单晶势垒磁性隧道结第一性原理计算和实验上的重要进展,以及介绍利用Layer-KKR第一性原理计算方法研究的Fe(001)/MgO/Fe、Fe(001)/FeO/MgO/Fe、Fe(001)/Mg/MgO/Fe、Fe(001)/Co/MgO/Co/Fe和Fe(001)[MgO/Fe/MgO/Fe等基于单晶MgO(001)单势垒及双势垒磁性隧道结材料的电子结构和自旋相关输运性质研究的最新进展.这些第一性原理定量计算的结果,不仅从物理上增强了对MgO单晶势垒磁性隧道结的电子结构和自旋相关输运特性的了解,而且对于研究新型室温磁电阻隧道结材料及其在自旋电子学器件中的广泛应用,具有一定的参考价值.     

Influence of a Cr seed layer on the magnetic anisotropy of epitaxial Fe/Ag films on MgO(001)

The magnetic anisotropy of epitaxial 300 Å thick Fe films on Ag and Ag/Cr buffer layers on MgO(001) has been studied by ferromagnetic resonance and magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements. The samples were grown by molecular beam epitaxy at ambient temperature. A reduction of the effective magnetization for the samples with a Ag buffer layer is attributed to strain and dislocation formation as seen from X-ray diffraction measurements at low and high angles. In the samples with a Cr seed layer, a higher magnetic anisotropy is found which correlates with a reduced roughness.     

First-principles theory of quantum well resonance in double barrier magnetic tunnel junctions

Quantum well (QW) resonances in Fe(001)/MgO/Fe/MgO/Fe double barrier magnetic tunnel junctions are calculated from first principles. By including the Coulomb blockade energy due to the finite size islands of the middle Fe film, we confirm that the oscillatory differential resistance observed in a recent experiment [T. Nozaki, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 027208 (2006)10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.027208] originates from the QW resonances from the Delta1 band of the Fe majority-spin channel. The primary source of smearing at low temperatures is shown to be the variation of the Coulomb blockade energy.     

Geometrical and compositional structure at metal-oxide interfaces: MgO on Fe(001)

The geometric structure of MgO deposited on Fe(001) in ultrahigh vacuum by electron evaporation was determined in detail by using surface x-ray diffraction. In contrast to the common belief that MgO grows in direct contact on the Fe(001) substrate, we find an FeO interface layer between the substrate and the growing MgO structure which has not been considered thus far. This result opens new perspectives for the understanding of the Fe/MgO/Fe(001) interface and the tunneling magnetoresistance effect in general.     

Direct observation of strain relaxation in iron layers on W(110) by time-resolved STM

Time-resolved,in-situ-applied STM has been used to study the epitaxial growth of iron on W(110) at room temperature. By this way, sequences of STM images show directly the atomistics of the growth process on the surface. The first layer of iron on W(110) grows pseudomorphically without a preferred growth direction. Beginning with the second layer, the islands grow anisotropically with preferred growth in the [001]-direction. The generation of an ordered two-dimensional dislocation network starts at a coverage of 1.4 pseudomorphic monolayers to relax the misfit of 9.4%. A direct correlation of the creation of misfit dislocations in the second layer and the nucleation of the third-layer islands was found. Together with the onset of strain relaxation, the growth mode abruptly changes from layer-by-layer to statistical growth. A quantitative statistical analysis of the data allows to exactly determine the onset of relaxation, the vertical location of the dislocation lines, and the lateral extension of an island that is necessary to induce the formation of dislocations.     

Evidence of a symmetry-dependent metallic barrier in fully epitaxial MgO based magnetic tunnel junctions

We report on the experimental observation of tunneling across an ultrathin metallic Cr spacer layer that is inserted at the interface of a Fe/MgO/Fe(001) junction. We show how this remarkable behavior in a solid-state device reflects a quenching in the transmission of particular electronic states, as expected from the symmetry-filtering properties of the MgO barrier and the band structure of the bcc Cr(001) spacer in the epitaxial junction stack. This ultrathin Cr metallic barrier can promote quantum well states in an adjacent Fe layer.     

The interaction of Fe on MgO(1 0 0) surfaces

The atomic interaction and magnetic properties of ultrathin Fe films grown on cleaved and polished MgO(1 0 0) surfaces were studied by conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS). ⁵⁷Fe layers were deposited as probe atoms in different layer positions in 10 ML thick Fe films. Fe layers of different thicknesses were formed on polished and cleaved substrate surfaces at RT deposition. The analysis of the spectra showed no Fe-O^2- interaction in MgO/Fe interface. FeO phase formation was excluded. The Mössbauer spectrum of 5 ML ⁵⁷Fe sample showed enhanced internal magnetic field at 80 K. No interdiffusion of ⁵⁷Fe and ⁵⁶Fe atoms was observed between the layers at room temperature.     

Nanowedge island formation on Mo(1 1 0)

The deposition of ultrathin Fe films on the Mo(1 1 0) surface at elevated temperatures results in the formation of distinctive nanowedge islands. The model of island formation presented in this work is based on both experiment and DFT calculations of Fe adatom hopping barriers. Also, a number of classical molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to illustrate fragments of the model. The islands are formed during a transition from a nanostripe morphology at around 2 ML coverage through a Bales-Zangwill type instability. Islands nucleate when the meandering step fronts are sufficiently roughened to produce a substantial overlap between adjacent steps. The islands propagate along the substrate [0 0 1] direction due to anisotropic diffusion/capture processes along the island edges. It was found that the substrate steps limit adatom diffusion and provide heterogeneous nucleation sites, resulting in a higher density of islands on a vicinal surface. As the islands can be several layers thick at their thinnest end, we propose that adatoms entering the islands undertake a so-called “vertical climb” along the sides of the island. This is facilitated by the presence of mismatch-induced dislocations that thread to the sides of the islands and produce local maxima of compressive strain. Dislocation lines also trigger initial nucleation on the surface with 2-3 ML Fe coverage. The sides of the nanowedge islands typically form along low-index crystallographic directions but can also form along dislocation lines or the substrate miscut direction.     

Correlation between ferromagnetic state and thermally stable layer of Fe on the W(001) surface

The variations of electronic and magnetic properties of ultrathin Fe overlayers on a W(001) surface as a function of Fe film thickness (1.0–4.0 ML) has been investigated using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) in conjunction with ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and low energy electron diffraction (LEED). We found that the ferromagnetic property of Fe film started to build up over 2.0 ML, as we confirmed the spin and angular moment contribution to the magnetic moment using XMCD experiments. We also confirmed that a thermally stable layer is over 2.0 ML of Fe film as we change the annealing temperature taken after Fe deposition at 300 K and at 400 K using UPS. We will systematically demonstrate that the occurrence of ferromagnetic property of Fe film on a W(001) surface is closely correlated to a thermally stable layer of Fe film on a W(001) surface.     

Bimodal growth of Au on SrTiO3(001)

We have investigated the vapor phase growth of Au on SrTiO3(001)-(2 x 1) substrates by UHV scanning tunneling microscopy. Submonolayer (ML) coverages below 300 degrees C wet the surface as disordered metastable 2D islands. Beyond 0.75 ML fcc nanocrystals with a (111) interface are nucleated and ripen by dewetting the surrounding layer. Some multiply twinned fivefold symmetric clusters are also created. Above 400 degrees C dewetting occurs for all coverages and the surface is only populated by nanocrystals and fivefold clusters. A planar ground state configuration for small Au clusters and a higher interface energy for crystals than for wetted 2D ML films explains these results.