Structural and ferromagnetic properties of epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films obtained by polymer-assisted deposition

Epitaxial ferromagnetic SrRuO3 thin films with a room-temperature resistivity of 300 microOmega.cm have been successfully grown on LaAlO3(001) substrates at a processing temperature in the range of 550-750 degrees C by a polymer-assisted deposition technique. X-ray diffraction analysis shows good epitaxial quality of SrRuO3 thin films, giving values of the full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 0.42 degrees from the rocking curve for the (002) reflection and 1.1 degrees from the in-plane phi scan for the (204) reflection. Both the resistivity and the magnetization versus temperature measurements show that the SrRuO3 films are ferromagnetic with a transition temperature of 160 K. The spontaneous magnetization near the ferromagnetic transition follows the scaling law, and the low-temperature magnetization follows the Bloch law.     

On the structural and magnetoelectrical characterization of epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films grown on (001) SrTiO3 substrates

High-quality epitaxial thin films of the ferromagnetic metallic oxide SrRuO₃ (SRO) were fabricated by dc-sputtering at high oxygen pressure and their structural and magnetoelectrical properties were carefully studied. The films featured a Curie temperature T_C ～ 160 K and a magnetic moment of ～0.7 μ_B per Ru ion. The temperature dependent magnetization could be well described by the scaling relation M(T) ∝ (T_C ? T)^β with a critical exponent β = 0.53 over the entire ferromagnetic temperature range. A negative magnetoresistance, MR, on the order of a few percent was found up to room temperature. MR showed a maximum of ～4% right at T_C where a kink structure of the resistivity, ρ, at zero field was flattened out on magnetic field application. This ρ contribution could be related to scattering due to orientational disorder of the Ru magnetic moments which become aligned by an external magnetic field. In addition, an equally strong MR effect, related to localization phenomena, could be observed at lower temperature. Particularly, the second MR peak at ～35 K might be related to a Fermi-liquid to non-Fermi-liquid crossover. A scaling behavior dρ/dT ∝ |T ? T_C|^α was observed only above T_C. Here, values for the exponent α ≈ ?0.4 and α ≈ ?1.4 were obtained in zero field and in a field of 9 T, respectively. The commonly observed ρ minimum, appearing at low temperatures (～3 K in the present case), is correlated with the structural disorder of the SRO films and is believed to have its origin in quantum corrections to the conductivity (QCC).     

Presence of in-plane anisotropy and oscillatory magnetoresistive behavior in epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films with orthogonal equivalent axes

In-plane magnetic hysteresis measurements performed on thin films of SrRuO₃ (SRO) deposited on (001)-oriented SrTiO₃ substrates showed orthogonal equivalent axes. This finding, nevertheless, was not conclusive argument to discard the presence of in-plane anisotropy in these samples. Certainly, measurements of the in-plane magnetoresistance (MR) featured anisotropic behavior with a well-defined angular dependence. The observed 180° periodicity of the function MR(θ) corresponded to that expected for the standard anisotropic magnetoresistance phenomenon (AMR). On the other hand, the longitudinal MR (zero Lorentz force) and transverse MR (nonzero Lorentz force), recorded at low temperatures and magnetic fields, displayed positive MR with a relatively broad maximum for the first field ramp up to 4 T. For the subsequent field sweep down, MR was negative for all field orientations. The described behavior was symmetric upon reversal of the applied magnetic field leading to a strong hysteretic behavior of MR.     

Magnetic characteristics of Fe4N epitaxial films grown by halide vapor phase deposition under atmospheric pressure

The thin films of Fe₄N, which were prepared by atmospheric pressure halide vapor phase deposition, were epitaxially grown on a MgO(100) substrate and have cubic structure with good crystallinity. The magnetic characteristics of Fe₄N epitaxial film show soft magnetic behavior under various temperatures and various external magnetic field directions. As the temperature is decreased, the saturation magnetization increases. Also, the magnetized behavior is observed when the magnetic field is applied parallel to the film plane. It was found that the magnetic moments of Fe₄N epitaxial film are facing parallel to the film plane.     

PMN-PT thin films grown by sputtering on silicon substrate: influence of the annealing temperature on the physico-chemical and electrical properties of the films

Studies of piezoelectric and electrostrictive properties of (1?x)PMN-xPT thin films were carried out. We have chosen the compositions 90/10 and 70/30, which exhibit, respectively, mostly electrostrictive and piezoelectric behaviour in bulk material. Annealing temperature effects on PMN-PT structural, dielectric, ferroelectric and electromechanical properties have been investigated. We demonstrate that with conventional annealing the pure perovskite phase can be obtained at very low temperature (400°C) without any pyrochlore phase for the two compositions. We show that electromechanical response is a mix between electrostrictive and piezoelectric response for the two compositions. However, as can be easily understood, piezoelectric contribution is larger for 70/30. It is shown that electrical responses of the films obtained at 400°C are largely satisfied for many applications; for higher annealing temperature we observe an enhance of the electrical properties due to an improvement of the material quality in terms of crystalline structure.     

Structural properties of lithium thio-germanate thin film electrolytes grown by radio frequency sputtering

In this study, lithium thio-germanate thin film electrolytes have been successfully prepared by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering deposition in Ar gas atmospheres. The targets for RF sputtering were prepared by milling and pressing appropriate amounts of the melt-quenched starting materials in the nLi(2)S + GeS(2) (n = 1, 2, and 3) binary system. Approximately 1 μm thin films were grown on Ni coated Si (Ni/Si) substrates and pressed CsI pellets using 50 W power and 25 mtorr (～3.3 Pa) Ar gas pressures to prepare samples for Raman and Infrared (IR) spectroscopy, respectively. To improve the adhesion between the silicon substrate and the thin film electrolyte, a sputtered Ni layer (～120 nm) was used. The surface morphologies and thickness of the thin films were determined by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The structural properties of the starting materials, target materials, and the grown thin films were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, and IR spectroscopy.     

Studies of Cu‐doped ZnS thin films prepared by sputtering technique

Radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique has been used to deposit Cu‐doped ZnS thin films on glass and n‐type Si(100) substrates at room temperature. Crystalline structure, surface morphology, and elemental oxidation states have been studied by X‐ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy has been employed to measure the transmittance, reflectance, and absorbance properties of coated films. The deposited thin films crystallize in zinc blende or sphalerite phases as proved by X‐ray diffraction analysis. The intensity of diffraction peaks decreases with increasing the dopant concentrations. The predominant diffraction peak related to (111) plane of ZnS is observed at 28.52° along with other peaks. The peak positions are shifted to higher angles with an increase of Cu concentrations. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies show that Cu is present in +1 oxidation state. Transmittance, reflectance, and absorbance properties of the deposited films have a slight variation with dopant concentrations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of order parameter of YMn0.5Fe0.5O3 epitaxial thin films by anomalous X-ray scattering technique

The crystal structure of an orthorhombic YMn_0.5Fe_0.5O₃ (010) (YMFO) epitaxial films on YAlO₃(010) substrate was studied using X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and anomalous X-ray diffraction techniques. Due to the utmost similar scattering factors of Mn and Fe atoms, it is hard to distinguish them at specific sites of the unit cell from the variations in the diffraction peak intensity. Therefore, anomalous X-ray scattering was used to determine the order or disorder structure of YMFO films. To estimate the order parameter of the YMFO film, the incident X-ray energies have been scanned around the Mn K-edge and Fe K-edge, resulting in enhanced diffraction intensities of the forbidden YMFO (010) peak by 15–20 times, respectively. This in turn revealed that YMFO films have a partially ordered structure of about 40 ± 10% in the epitaxially grown thin film.     

Electrical properties of gadolinia-doped ceria thin films deposited by sputtering in view of SOFC application

Gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) remains, up to now, the most promising candidate for replacing yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) as electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) operating at intermediate temperature. Literature data point out that GDC could be used as electrolyte, anode material, or interlayers for avoiding the chemical interactions occurring at the interfaces. In the present work, GDC thin layers were produced by d.c. reactive magnetron sputtering and deposited over a thickness domain between 450 nm and 5.5 µm. According to our knowledge, the deposition of GDC sputtered layers has never been reported. The physicochemical features of these thin films have been characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Impedance measurements have been carried out in order to determine the electrical properties of electrolyte thin films and in particular their ionic conductivity.Presented at the OSSEP Workshop Ionic and Mixed Conductors: Methods and Processes, Aveiro, Portugal, 10–12 April 2003     

Surface characterization of CuSn thin films deposited by RF co‐sputtering method

CuSn thin films were deposited by the radio‐frequency (RF) magnetron co‐sputtering method on Si(100) with Cu and Sn metal targets with various RF powers. The thickness of the films was fixed at 200 ± 10 nm. The synthesized CuSn thin films mainly consisted of Cu₂₀Sn₆ and Cu₃₉Sn₁₁ phases, which was revealed by an X‐ray diffraction (XRD) study. The high‐resolution Cu 2p XPS and Cu LMM Auger electron spectra indicate that metallic Cu oxidized to Cu⁺ and Cu²⁺ as the RF power on Cu target increased. The atomic ratios of Sn⁰ and Sn⁴⁺ decreased, while that of Sn²⁺ increased with increasing RF power on the Cu target. The polar surface free energy (SFE) component has a different tendency in comparison with the total SFE and the dispersive SFE component. The dispersive SFE component was the dominating contributing factor to the total SFE compared with the polar SFE. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Physical properties of metal-doped ZnO thin films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering at room temperature

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Transparent thin films of pure ZnO, Ca-doped ZnO (CZO), and Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) were deposited on glass by RF magnetron sputtering. The influence of calcium...     

Dopant ion size and electronic structure effects on transparent conducting oxides. Sc-doped CdO thin films grown by MOCVD

A series of Sc-doped CdO (CSO) thin films have been grown on both amorphous glass and single-crystal MgO(100) substrates at 400 degrees C by MOCVD. Both the experimental data and theoretical calculations indicate that Sc3+ doping shrinks the CdO lattice parameters due to its relatively small six-coordinate ionic radius, 0.89 angstroms, vs 1.09 angstroms for Cd2+. Conductivities as high as 18100 S/cm are achieved for CSO films grown on MgO(100) at a Sc doping level of 1.8 atom %. The CSO thin films exhibit an average transmittance >80% in the visible range. Sc3+ doping widens the optical band gap from 2.7 to 3.4 eV via a Burstein-Moss energy level shift, in agreement with the results of band structure calculations within the sX-LDA (screened-exchange local density approximation) formalism. Epitaxial CSO films on single-crystal MgO(100) exhibit significantly higher mobilities (up to 217 cm2/(V x s)) and carrier concentrations than films on glass, arguing that the epitaxial CSO films possess fewer scattering centers and higher doping efficiencies due to the highly textured microstructure. Finally, the band structure calculations provide a microscopic explanation for the observed dopant size effects on the structural, electronic, and optical properties of CSO.     

Polymorphism and phase control in titanyl phthalocyanine thin films grown by supersonic molecular beam deposition

Polymorphism in the growth of titanyl phthalocyanine films on dielectric substrates has been systematically studied by UV absorption and micro-Raman analyses, correlating structure and optical properties. We explored different growth regimes as a function of substrate temperature and growth rate using hyperthermal seeded supersonic beams. We identify and discuss specific signatures in micro-Raman spectra specifically correlated to the different phases and demonstrate the unprecedented ability of growing crystalline films and controlling the relative abundance of the different phases (amorphous, phase I, and phase II) by the beam parameters. We envisage the very promising perspective of controlling polymorphism at low temperatures via supersonic beam growth, paving the way for better performing devices.     

Electrochemical behavior of nanocrystalline diamond thin films grown in electrical arc plasma

Nitrogenated nanocrystalline diamond films with controlled electrical conductivity are grown in electrical arc plasma in CH₄/H₂/Ar/N₂ gas mixtures and characterized by scanning electron microscopy and spectroscopic measurements. Their electrochemical properties are studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Transfer coefficients of reactions in the [Fe(CN)₆]^3−/4− redox system are determined. The electrochemical behavior of the material is controlled by its nitrogenation (3–20% N₂ in the reaction gas mixture). The nitrogenated nanocrystalline diamond has higher differential capacitance in indifferent electrolyte (1 M KCl) solution than not nitrogenated one; the nitrogenation also increases the reversibility of reactions in the [Fe(CN)₆]^3−/4− redox system. By and large, with nitrogenation of diamond, its electrochemical behavior changes from the one characteristic of a “poor conductor” to that characteristic of metallike conductor. In this respect the nanocrystalline diamond electrodes grown in the electrical arc plasma are similar to those grown in microwave plasma.     

Ultra thin films of nanocrystalline Ge studied by AFM and interference enhanced Raman scattering

Initial growth stages of the ultra thin films of germanium (Ge) prepared by ion beam sputter deposition have been studied using atomic force microscope (AFM) and interference enhanced Raman scattering. The growth of the films follows Volmer-Weber growth mechanism. Analysis of the AFM images shows that Ostwald ripening of the grains occurs as the thickness of the film increases. Raman spectra of the Ge films reveal phonon confinement along the growth direction and show that the misfit strain is relieved for film thickness greater than 4 nm. Dedicated to Professor C N R Rao on his 70th birthday     

Observation of spectral interferences for the determination of volume and surface effects of thin films

Summary The application of a rapid scanning diode array spectrometer allows the time-resolved observation of the interferences caused by multiple reflections at the interfaces of thin films. This spectral interferometry enables the observation of changes in optical pathlengths and allows to separate volume-effects like polymer swelling from surface-effects like adsorption or deposition. Polymer/solvent interactions will give an example for an application of this method.Dedicated to Prof. Bernhard Schrader on occasion of his 60th birthday