Self-assembled Nanocomposite Oxide Films: Design, Fabrication, and Properties

Abstract

Nanocomposite metal oxides have been extensively investigated in bulk and thin film forms because of their wide range of applications in microelectronics, magneto electronics, and optoelectronics (Ramesh and Spaldin, 2007). Oxide films in nanocomposite form are particularly appealing as the interaction or coupling between the constituents can lead to enhanced or new functionalities (Zheng et al., 2006). Furthermore, the nanocomposite oxide films could lead to their applications as building blocks for the assembly of nanostructures or molecular monolayers (Cheng et al., 2006). A currently primary goal is to fabricate nanocomposite oxide films using a simple and low-cost process. Self-assembly has been the focus of much research in the last four decades. It has proved its ability to offer a rich variety of periodic nanoscale patterns in an easy way (Guiton and Davies, 2007). Recent efforts have striven to bring these two fields together. A major challenge is to control a self-assembled nanocomposite oxide film to create a desired nanostructure (Moshnyaga et al., 2003). In a film-on-substrate geometry, epitaxial composite films can be divided into two forms: horizontal and vertical. These two structures can be reviewed as the building blocks for a desired nanostructure and they are also specific architectures which show lots of potential applications (Yang et al., 2009). This chapter outlines the recent results about the material design, fabrication, and physical properties of these two nanostructures.