Structural engineering of Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 epitaxial films

Ba_0.5Sr_0.5TiO₃ single-layered and multilayered films were epitaxially grown on a (001) LaAlO₃ substrate using single target and dual target pulsed laser deposition, respectively. Compared to the single-layered films, the multilayered films exhibited broader phase transition and improved thermo-stability. The microstructure of these epitaxial films was investigated using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy in details. Misfit and threading dislocations were observed in the single-layered film, while the threading dislocations were dramatically decreased and no misfit dislocations were found in the multilayered film. It is suspected that the difference in dislocation densities is responsible for the different behaviors of the permittivity with temperature.     

Band gap and intergrain barrier activation energies in Bi90Sb10 thin films

The electrical resistivity and Hall effect measurements have been made on vacuum evaporated Bi₉₀ Sb₁₀ alloy films of various thickness (350 A to 4500 A), in the temperature range of 77 to 510 K. As observed earlier, the alloy system behaves like a semiconductor, but with a band gap quite higher than previously reported for bulk single crystals. Also a kind of intergrain barrier is found in these films. The activation energy of these barriers is found to decrease with increasing film thickness and substrate temperature. This trend agrees with the earlier observations in other materials and also in the same alloy system. The higher band gaps in these films are attributed to quantum size effect and high dislocation density in these films. The decrease in the inter-grain barrier activation energy with increasing thickness and substrate temperature has been attributed to increased grain size of the films.     

Misfit dislocations in GaAsN/GaAs interface

Highly strained GaAsN layers were grown on GaAs by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy and studied by synchrotron X-ray topography and X-ray diffraction. The critical thickness for misfit dislocation formation of the GaAs_0.965N_0.035 epitaxial layer on GaAs was found to be between 50 and 80 nm. In layers thicker than the critical thickness a misfit dislocation network was observed. The network was found to be isotropic and uniform. The relaxation of the strained epilayer begins through the misfit-dislocation generation and continues via formation of cracks. The cracks are not distributed as uniformly as misfit dislocations.     

Film thickness dependence of critical current density for YBa2Cu3O7 films post-annealed at a low oxygen partial pressure

The variation of critical current density at 77 K as a function of film thickness was studied for YBa₂Cu₃O₇ films on (100) LaAlO₃ substrates. Film thicknesses were in the range 0.2–1.6m. The films were deposited by co-evaporation and post-annealed under conditions which have previously resulted in high-quality films (750°C and an oxygen partial pressure of 29 Pa). The critical current density at 77 K exceeds 1 MA cm^–2 for the thinner films, and decreases with increasing film thickness in excess of about 0.4m. The decrease is in rough agreement with a switch fromc-axis toa-axis growth at about this critical thickness. A good anticorrelation was found between room temperature resistivity and critical current density at 77 K. The results are compared to those obtained before by post-annealing at 850°C in 1 atm of oxygen.     

Quantum size effect in thin Cd3As2 films

An investigation has been carried out of the resistivity ?, Hall coefficient R_H and Hall mobility μ_H as functions of film thickness for vacuum-evaporated thin Cd₃As₂ films. The films were evaporated in a vacuum of 10^?5 torr onto mica substrates heated to a temperature t_s of about 160 °C at a rate of deposition v of about 40 Å s^?1. The thicknesses of the films were in the range 0.02–0.2 μm. An oscillating character of the resistivity and the carrier mobility was observed for thicknesses of 0.03–0.1 μm. No distinct oscillations of the Hall coefficient were found. The analysis of the results obtained was performed on the basis of theories of the quantum size effect (QSE). The period of the oscillations measured from the experimental data was about 100 Å, which is in good agreement with the calculated value of about 80 Å.     

Formation of CuxMo6S8−y thin film on an MoS2 substrate by a chemical transport technique

Thin films of Cu_xMo₆S_8?y were produced by transport of a gaseous copper compound onto an MoS₂ substrate by using a chemical transport technique. The films with thichness of about 10 to 30 μm were always grown on the substrate, and it was found that the thickness of the film may be estimated by that of the initial MoS₂ substrate. The micro-structure of the films was investigated by using both the x-ray diffraction and the scanning electron microscope techniques. It was found that the Cu_xMo₆S_8?y lattice growth preferred the hexagonal c-axis direction on the substrate. The copper content of the bulk specimen was determined by the atomic absorption method and the gradient of copper composition in the film was investigated by the electron probe micro-analysis. No concetration gradient of copper was observed within the product film.     

Thickness dependence of microcrack formation in YBa2Cu3O6 + x thin films on NdGaO3 (001) substrates

Thickness dependence of parallel microcrack formation in YBa₂Cu₃O_6 + x thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition from nano- (n) and microcrystalline (μ) targets on NdGaO₃ (001) is systematically investigated. Atomic force microscope and x-ray diffraction measurements show parallel microcracks normal to uniaxial twin boundaries. The amount of microcracks increases with film thickness. Superconducting properties of the films decrease very strongly with film thickness as a result of microcrack formation. The n-films have more rigid lattice and thus show more extensive cracking than μ-films. It is found that the μ-films have a thickness threshold (∼ 70 nm) where the first signs of cracking appear.     

Fully strained low-temperature epitaxy of TiN/MgO(001) layers using high-flux, low-energy ion irradiation during reactive magnetron sputter deposition

Epitaxial TiN layers, 0.3 μm thick, are grown on MgO(001) in the absence of applied substrate heating using very high flux, low-energy (below the lattice atom displacement threshold), ion irradiation during reactive magnetron sputter deposition in pure N₂ discharges. High-resolution x-ray diffraction, reciprocal lattice maps, and transmission electron microscopy analyses reveal that the TiN(001) films grow with an (001)_TiN||(001)_MgO and [100]_TiN||[100]_MgO orientation relationship to the substrate. The layers are fully coherent with no detectable misfit dislocations. For comparison, TiN/MgO(001) films grown at temperatures of 700-850 °C under similar conditions, but with no intentional ion irradiation, are fully relaxed with a high misfit dislocation density. Thus, the present results reveal that intense low-energy ion irradiation during film growth facilitates high adatom mobilities giving rise to low-temperature epitaxy, while the low growth temperature quenches strain-induced relaxation and suppresses misfit dislocation formation.     

Control of properties during the growth of a large number of (Y,Sm)3(Ga,Fe)5O12 films from the same melt

For the growth of a large number of (Y, Sm)₃(Ga, Fe)₅O₁₂ films from the same melt, we describe the drift and methods to control the drift in film properties, so that the films are suitable for making magnetic bubble memory devices. The melt was based on PbO-B₂O₃ flux. The film thickness h and the characteristic length l were kept at around 5.4 μm and 0.54 μm respectively. The desired h was achieved by adjusting the growth time. The desired values for l were achieved by adjusting the growth temperature and by periodically adding small amounts of Ga₂O₃. The lattice constant was kept within the specified limits by periodic additions of Y₂O₃. Using these techniques we were able to grow more than a hundred films, out of which ～ 85% were acceptable for device fabrication. Based on the deduced values for the composition of our films, we have calculated the melt depletion resulting from the growth of a single film. We find that the experimentally determined additions of Ga₂O₃ and Y₂O₃ that gave us good control over film properties are almost equal to the calculated depletions for these two oxides.     

Critical current density and microstructure of YBa2Cu3O7 thin films post-annealed at a low oxygen partial pressure

Post-annealing of thin films of YBa₂Cu₃O₇ (YBCO) has been performed at 29 Pa and 750°C. For films 0.6 m thick, a critical current density >1 MA cm^–2 is obtained at 77 K, with a sharp eddy current response at 25 MHz. Microstructural investigation of these films by crosssectional and planar transmission electron microscopy reveals that the YBCO film has thec-axis normal to the plane of the substrate in a continuous sheet of varying thickness, frequently covering the entire thickness of the film. Mutually perpendicular rods with thec-axis in the plane of the LaAlO₃ substrate are also seen. The microstructure and critical current density of these films are compared with those of previously reported films post-annealed in atmosphericpressure oxygen.     

Misfit dislocation sources in epitaxial films part II: Growth of Pd on (111) Au substrates

Direct observations of the epitaxial growth of Pd films on (111) Au substrates in the transmission electron microscope have revealed new misfit dislocation sources. The Pd film grew pseudomorphically up to a mean deposit thickness of about 6 Å, when “trigons” of misfit dislocation comprising three perfect dislocations with Burgers vectors lying in the film plane and meeting in a threefold node nucleated and grew by dislocation climb to relieve misfit strains. In situ results and the dislocation analysis are described; weak-beam electron microscopy is used to show that the trigons are faulted on a fine scale. Mechanisms for the nucleation of dislocation trigons and for subsequent misfit dislocation growth are presented and discussed in detail.     

Misfit dislocations and stress in In<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Ga<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>As/GaAs heterostructures

We have estimated the elastic properties of In_{1 − x} Ga _x As/GaAs heterostructures and the characteristics of misfit dislocations in such heterostructures: misfit dislocation spacing, Burgers vector length in various interfaces, surface density of dangling bonds, film/substrate interface energy, critical film thickness below which pseudomorphic growth is possible without misfit dislocations, elastic strain energy of the film-substrate system, average elastic strain of a thin-film island as a function of its radius, thermal stresses induced by the thermal-expansion and lattice mismatches between the layers in contact, and crack length in the film.     

Photoelectrochemical property of ZnFe2O4/TiO2 double-layered films

ZnFe₂O₄/TiO₂ double-layered films on indium-tin oxide (ITO) substrate were prepared by a dip-coating method, and the optical absorption and photocurrent of the as-prepared films were measured. In the double-layered films, the onset of fundamental absorption edge shifts to a longer wavelength, and even shifts to a longer wavelength than that of ZnFe₂O₄-only film as the ZnFe₂O₄ layer thickness increases. Application of the coupled photoanodes double-layered films composed of ZnFe₂O₄ and TiO₂ can obviously increase the photocurrent. It was found that the photocurrent density of ZnFe₂O₄/TiO₂ double-layered films first increased and then decreased with increasing the ZnFe₂O₄ layer thickness. A five-fold increase in the photocurrent density was obtained compared with TiO₂-only films under optimum condition.     

Characterization of strain relaxation of (0 0 1) oriented SrTiO3 thin films grown on LaAIO3 (1 1 0) by means of reciprocal space mapping using x-ray diffraction

The strain relaxation of SrTiO₃ r.f. magnetron sputter-deposited thin films on LaAlO₃ substrates have been studied by x-ray diffraction mapping. An investigation of different x-ray optics shows that a, so called, hybrid mirror monochromator in combination with a triple-bounce analyser crystal provides very good conditions for characterization of thin distorted films grown epitaxially onto substrates with high structural order. The in-plane and out-of-plane lattice parameters of the SrTiO₃ films could accurately be determined since the x-ray diffraction optics enabled the splitting of substrate peaks, caused by the twinning in the rhombohedral LaAlO₃ to be resolved and, provided film peak intensities are high enough, to precisely establish their positions. Films in the thickness range 9.3–144.0 nm were found to be partially relaxed, having a tetragonal distortion due to in-plane strain that was found to decrease with increasing film thickness, approaching an undistorted SrTiO₃ lattice parameter of 0.3927 nm. This value is 0.6% larger than the bulk indicating that the compositions of the films were slightly non-stoichiometric. The strain relaxation of the grown films was found to follow the general trend of a predicted strain–thickness relation based on energy density balance considerations regarding misfit dislocations and lattice strain.     

Transition from a disordered to a crystalline state in II–VI and III–V films

The initial stages of HgCdTe growth on Al₂O₃, GaAs, CdTe, and KCl substrates have been studied by electron diffraction. HgCdTe films were produced by pulsed laser deposition and isothermal vapor phase epitaxy. InGaAs films were grown by isothermal chloride epitaxy on GaAs substrates. In the initial stages of the growth process, we observed a transition from an amorphous to a textured polycrystalline phase and then to a mosaic single-crystal structure. We have calculated the critical size of crystalline grains below which amorphization occurs in II-VI and III-V compounds. The critical grain size agrees with the grain size of the disordered (amorphous) phase that forms in the initial stage of epitaxy. We have determined some characteristics of the heterostructures: critical film thickness below which pseudomorphic growth is possible without misfit dislocation generation, elastic stress in the epitaxial system, surface density of dangling bonds at dislocations, and the critical island radius above which no interfacial misfit dislocations are generated.     

Microstructure and electrical properties of Al2O3-ZrO2 composite films for gate dielectric applications

Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ composite films were fabricated on Si by ultrahigh vacuum electron-beam coevaporation. The crystallization temperature, surface morphology, structural characteristics and electrical properties of the annealed films are investigated. Our results indicate that the amorphous and mixed structure is maintained up to an annealing temperature of 900 °C, which is much higher than that of pure ZrO₂ film, and the interfacial oxide layer thickness does not increase after annealing at 900 °C. However, a portion of the Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ film becomes polycrystalline after 1000 °C annealing and interfacial broadening is observed. Possible explanations are given to explain our observations. A dielectric constant of 20.1 is calculated from the 900 °C-annealed ZrO₂-Al₂O₃ film based on high-frequency capacitance-voltage measurements. This dielectric characteristic shows an equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) as low as 1.94 nm. An extremely low leakage current density of ∼2×10⁻⁷ A/cm² at a gate voltage of 1 V and low interface state density are also observed in the dielectric film.     

Comparison of Bi3Fe5O12 film giant Faraday rotators grown on (111) and (001) Gd3Ga5O12 single crystals

Bismuth iron garnet (Bi₃Fe₅O₁₂, BIG) epitaxial thin films were grown on single crystal (Gd₃Ga₅O₁₂, GGG) (111) and (001) substrates by rf-magnetron sputtering technique. Processing parameters have been optimized to obtain high deposition rate (2.74 μm/h) and the surface rms roughness less than 10 nm. X-ray diffraction reveals films epitaxial quality: exclusive (111) or (001) orientation with narrow rocking curves and strong in-plane texture. Films possess low optical loss and magneto-optical Faraday rotation (FR) as high as 5 deg/μm at 677 nm wavelength. Comparative analysis of films grown on (111) and (001) substrates clearly shows significant superiority of BIG/GGG(001) film. For this film, the coercive field ∼100 Oe appears to be 2.5 times lower while the optical transmission to be 10% higher than that for BIG/GGG(111) film. Enhanced magneto-optical performance of BIG/GGG(001) films relies upon better accommodation of the film-to-substrate mismatch strain through the tetragonal BIG lattice distortions compared to the rhombohedral one in BIG/GGG(111) films.     

Scanning tunneling microscopy of laser-deposited YBa2Cu3O7 thin films on Y-stabilized zirconia substrate

The surface morphology and growth mechanism ofc-oriented YBa₂Cu₃O₇ thin films deposited on Y-stabilized zirconia substrate by laser deposition has been investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy. Both screw dislocation and layered island growth processes took place. Surface features such as screw dislocation, steps, subgrain boundaries, holes, and troughs were present, suggesting that they may act as pinning sites for flux lines. A thin layer of nonsuperconducting material with a thickness of a few angstroms is seen on the surface of the film.     

Electron emission from Pb(Zr0.65Ti0.35)O3 film cathode by pulse electric field

Pulse electric field induced electron emission from the Pb(Zr_0.65Ti_0.35)O₃ ferroelectric films has been investigated as a function of the film thickness from 0.2 to 4.0 μm and the upper electrode diameter from 200 to 1100 μm. The electron emission charge from the 3.0 μm film was several nC per pulse, which was comparable to that of the bulk ferroelectrics. However, the local dielectric breakdown occurred in the films below 1.0 μm without the electron emission, which was confirmed by the optical microscopy observation after the emission tests. As the upper electrode size decreased and the film thickness increased, electrons were more easily emitted without breakdown.     

Influence of the film thickness on structural and optical properties of CdTe thin films electrodeposited on stainless steel substrates

CdTe thin films of different thicknesses were deposited by electrodeposition on stainless steel substrates (SS). The dependence of structural and optical properties on film thickness was evaluated for thicknesses in the range 0.17–1.5 μm. When the film is very thin the crystallites lack preferred orientation, however, thicker films showed preference for (111) plane. The results show that structural parameters such as crystallite size, lattice constant, dislocation density and strain show a noticeable dependence on film thickness, however, the variation is significant only when the film thickness is below 0.8 μm. The films were successfully transferred on to glass substrates for optical studies. Optical parameter such as absorption coefficient (α), band gap (E_g), refractive index (n), extinction coefficient (k_e), real (?_r) and imaginary (?_i) parts of the dielectric constant were studied. The results indicate that all the optical parameters strongly depend on film thickness.