Growth Of Single Crystalline Films Research Articles

Growth of single crystalline films on lattice-mismatched substrates through 3D to 2D mode transition

Regarding crystalline film growth on large lattice-mismatched substrates, there are two primary modes by which thin films grow on a crystal surface or interface. They are Volmer-Weber (VW: island formation) mode and Stranski-Krastanov (SK: layer-plus-island) mode. Since both growth modes end up in the formation of three-dimensional (3D) islands, fabrication of single crystalline films on lattice-mismatched substrates has been challenging. Here, we demonstrate another growth mode, where a buffer layer consisting of 3D islands initially forms and a relaxed two-dimensional (2D) layer subsequently grows on the buffer layer. This 3D-2D mode transition has been realized using impurities. We observed the 3D-2D mode transition for the case of ZnO film growth on 18%-lattice-mismatched sapphire substrates. First, nano-sized 3D islands grow with the help of nitrogen impurities. Then, the islands coalesce to form a 2D layer after cessation of the nitrogen supply, whereupon an increase in the surface energy may provide a driving force for the coalescence. Finally, the films grow in 2D mode, forming atomically flat terraces. We believe that our findings will offer new opportunities for high-quality film growth of a wide variety of materials that have no lattice-matched substrates.

LPE Growth of Single Crystalline Film Scintillators Based on Ce3+ Doped Tb3−xGdxAl5−yGayO12 Mixed Garnets

The growth of single crystalline films (SCFs) with excellent scintillation properties based on the Tb1.5Gd1.5Al5−yGayO12:Ce mixed garnet at y = 2–3.85 by Liquid Phase Epitaxy (LPE) method onto Gd3Al2.5Ga2.5O12 (GAGG) substrates from BaO based flux is reported in this work. We have found that the best scintillation properties are shown by Tb1.5Gd1.5Al3Ga2O12:Ce SCFs. These SCFs possess the highest light yield (LY) ever obtained in our group for LPE grown garnet SCF scintillators exceeding by at least 10% the LY of previously reported Lu1.5Gd1.5Al2.75Ga2.25O12:Ce and Gd3Al2–2.75 Ga3–2.25O12:Ce SCF scintillators, grown from BaO based flux. Under α-particles excitation, the Tb1.5Gd1.5 Al3Ga2O12:Ce SCF show LY comparable with that of high-quality Gd3Al2.5Ga2.5O12:Ce single crystal (SC) scintillator with the LY above 10,000 photons/MeV but faster (at least by 2 times) scintillation decay times t1/e and t1/20 of 230 and 730 ns, respectively. The LY of Tb1.5Gd1.5Al2.5Ga2.5O12:Ce SCFs, grown from PbO flux, is comparable with the LY of their counterparts grown from BaO flux, but these SCFs possess slightly slower scintillation response with decay times t1/e and t1/20 of 330 and 990 ns, respectively. Taking into account that the SCFs of the Tb1.5Gd1.5Al3–2.25Ga2–2.75O12:Ce garnet can also be grown onto Ce3+ doped GAGG substrates, the LPE method can also be used for the creation of the hybrid film-substrate scintillators for simultaneous registration of the different components of ionization fluxes.

In situ engineering and characterization on the artificial heterostructures of correlated materials with integrated OMBE–ARPES

The combination of oxide molecular beam epitaxy (OMBE) and angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) opens a new field for studying correlated electron systems. The in situ growth of single crystalline films by OMBE increases the variety of materials available for ARPES study. Investigating the electronic structure of thin films by ARPES deepens our understanding on the interaction of different degrees of freedom at thin films and interfaces. In this paper, we review the key elements of the integrated OMBE–ARPES technique and some representative works, including the in situ ARPES investigations on thin films with cubic perovskite structure, ultra-thin films with thickness dependent metal–insulator transition, the composition and strain dependence of interfacial superconductivity, and correlated behavior in superlattices. These examples illustrate the new opportunities brought by integrating OMBE and ARPES on exploring novel physical states and functional materials.

Growth and luminescence properties of Pr3+-doped single crystalline films of garnets and perovskites

Abstract Peculiarities of growth of single crystalline films (SCF) of Pr 3+ doped Y 3 Al 5 O 12 and Lu 3 Al 5 O 12 garnets and YAlO 3 and LuAlO 3 perovskites by the liquid phase epitaxy method from melt-solutions based on PbO–B 2 O 3 flux as well as luminescent and scintillation properties of these SCFs were studied in this work. Dependence the intensity of the Pr 3+ d-f and f-f-luminescence on the activator concentration and influence of Pb 2+ flux dopant on the light yield of SCFs of the mentioned garnets and perovskites were analyzed.

Synthesis and characterization of atomically thin graphite films on a silicon carbide substrate

This paper reports the synthesis and detailed characterization of graphite thin films produced by thermal decomposition of the (0 0 0 1) face of a 6H–SiC wafer, demonstrating the successful growth of single crystalline films down to approximately one graphene layer. The growth and characterization were carried out in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. The growth process and sample quality were monitored by low-energy electron diffraction, and the thickness of the sample was determined by core level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. High-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy shows constant energy map patterns, which are very sharp and fully momentum-resolved, but nonetheless not resolution limited. We discuss the implications of this observation in connection with scanning electron microscopy data, as well as with previous studies.

Reactive Solid-Phase Epitaxy: ∼ A novel growth method for single-crystalline thin films of complex oxides with superlattice structure ∼

ABSTRACTWe have developed a novel growth method for single-crystalline film of natural superlattice oxides and named the method “Reactive Solid-Phase Epitaxy (R-SPE).” Single-crystalline thin films of homologous series In-GaO3(ZnO)m (m=integer) are fabricated by the R-SPE method and its growth mechanism, especially a role of ZnO epitaxial layer, is clarified. High-temperature annealing of bi-layer films consisting of an amorphous InGaO3(ZnO)5 layer deposited at room temperature and an epitaxial ZnO layer on YSZ substrate allows for the growth of single-crystalline film with a controlled chemical composition. The ZnO layer plays an essential role in determining the crystallographic orientation, while the thickness ratio between the two layers controls the film composition.

Oxygen-holes creating different electronic phases in Fe4+-oxides: successful growth of single crystalline films of SrFeO3 and related perovskites at low oxygen pressure

We have succeeded for the first time in preparing single crystalline films of SrFeO3, CaFeO3, and Sr2FeCoO6, perovskites containing Fe4+, at low oxygen pressure of only 1 kPa, and the dominance of oxygen hole character in transport phenomena was indicated by the positive Hall coefficient of metallic SrFeO3.