Growth Of Thin Films Research Articles

Heteroepitaxial growth of PMN-PT thin films on SrTiO3 buffered III-V semiconductor GaAs by pulsed laser deposition

Heteroepitaxial growth of PMN-PT thin films on SrTiO3 buffered III-V semiconductor GaAs by pulsed laser deposition

A parabolic equation modeling epitaxial growth of thin film with new growth conditions

A parabolic equation modeling epitaxial growth of thin film with new growth conditions

Growth and Characterization of NiO Thin Films for Selective Detection of Formaldehyde Vapor

The formation of nickel oxide (NiO) nanostructures using controlled thermal oxidation of thin nickel (Ni) films and their successive use as gas‐sensing materials for selective detection of low‐concentration formaldehyde vapor are discussed here. High‐purity Ni were deposited on glass/quartz substrates using a vacuum assisted electron beam (E‐beam) evaporation technique. Afterwards, thermal oxidation of these Ni thin films was conducted at various temperatures in air ambient condition. Different surface characterization techniques are employed to investigate the structure, chemistry, and electronic properties of these as‐grown oxide nanostructures. X‐ray diffraction analysis revealed that the thermal oxidation starts above 400 °C. Presence of metallic nickel peak even after oxidation at 500 °C for 5 h confirms its oxidation resistance. Increase in oxidation temperature improves the crystalline quality. Scanning electron microscopy imaging depicts an increase in particle size with oxidation temperature and a highly porous surface morphology above 800 °C. Raman spectroscopy identified the characteristic modes of NiO. UV‐Visible data exhibits a redshift in optical bandgap whereas X‐ray photoemission spectroscopy analysis reveals a gradual increase in oxygen content within the oxide layer. Finally, these NiO films show a high sensitivity and selectivity toward formaldehyde vapor sensing against a few other volatile organic compounds.

From oxide epitaxy to freestanding membranes: Opportunities and challenges.

Motivated by the growing demand to integrate functional oxides with dissimilar materials, numerous studies have been undertaken to detach a functional oxide film from its original substrate, effectively forming a membrane, which can then be affixed to the desired host material. This review article is centered on the synthesis of functional oxide membranes, encompassing various approaches to their synthesis, exfoliation, and transfer techniques. First, we explore the characteristics of thin-film growth techniques with emphasis on molecular beam epitaxy. We then examine the fundamental principles and pivotal factors underlying three key approaches of creating membranes: (i) chemical lift-off, (ii) the two-dimensional layer-assisted lift-off, and (iii) spalling. We review the methods of exfoliation and transfer for each approach. Last, we provide an outlook into the future of oxide membranes, highlighting their applications and emerging properties.

Layer-by-Layer Growth of Two-Dimensional Tellurium Thin Films via Ultrahigh-Pressure Atomic Layer Deposition for p-Type Semiconductors.

Tellurium (Te) has emerged as a prominent candidate among two-dimensional materials due to its impressive properties, such as high mobility, stability, and compatibility with low-temperature processing. However, achieving consistent uniformity over large areas for ultrathin Te films deposited at low temperatures has remained a substantial challenge. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been proposed as a promising solution, offering precise thickness control and highly conformal thin film deposition even at low temperatures. This study introduces a successful method for the layer-by-layer growth of Te thin films using high-pressure ALD (HP-ALD) with a multiple-dosing (MD) strategy. The resulting films exhibit a promising Hall mobility of 51.2 cm2 V-1 s-1, alongside high stability and excellent surface coverage. The integration of HP-ALD with MD represents a significant advancement in Te thin film fabrication, overcoming previous limitations and paving the way for the broader utilization of Te in next-generation technologies.

Nucleation study of AlN crystal growth on 6H-SiC substrates using the MOCVD

This study delves into the nucleation process of AlN crystal growth on a 6H-SiC substrate using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition technology through molecular dynamics simulations and experimental research. It was found that AlN predominantly exhibits an island growth mode, with nucleation morphologies mainly being triangular and hexagonal. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the surface morphology and atomic structure of AlN thin films and compares the fusion processes of the crystals. Through simulations, this study reveals the formation energy and adsorption energy of different nucleation morphologies and their adsorption capacities for Al and N atoms. Additionally, the research observed various types of stacking faults that may occur during the AlN thin film growth process and explored the formation mechanisms of these faults and their impact on the quality of subsequent films. Ultimately, it concludes that hexagonal AlN with double-bonded Al atoms at the edges possesses more stable structural formation energy and stronger adsorption capacity, which contributes to the outward expansion of its edges but may also lead to a transition of the nucleation morphology to triangular.

Free‐Radical Polymerization of Liquid Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate Layers Using Nanosecond Plasma Pulses

ABSTRACTPromoting both high functional group preservation and high deposition rates is a major challenge in plasma deposition. This study explores a dynamic method using nanosecond pulsed plasma discharges to polymerize thin liquid layers of 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). The influence of plasma pulse frequency (200 ns) and liquid layer thickness on chemical structure retention, polymeric growth, and thin film growth rate is examined. High‐resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) highlights that plasma curing of liquid monomer layers achieves significantly better chemical structure preservation and polymeric growth, along with deposition rates an order of magnitude higher than traditional vapour‐phase methods. This work provides valuable insights and guidelines for plasma‐induced free‐radical polymerization of liquid layers into functional thin solid films.

Polymers in Physics, Chemistry and Biology: Behavior of Linear Polymers in Fractal Structures.

We start presenting an overview on recent applications of linear polymers and networks in condensed matter physics, chemistry and biology by briefly discussing selected papers (published within 2022-2024) in some detail. They are organized into three main subsections: polymers in physics (further subdivided into simulations of coarse-grained models and structural properties of materials), chemistry (quantum mechanical calculations, environmental issues and rheological properties of viscoelastic composites) and biology (macromolecules, proteins and biomedical applications). The core of the work is devoted to a review of theoretical aspects of linear polymers, with emphasis on self-avoiding walk (SAW) chains, in regular lattices and in both deterministic and random fractal structures. Values of critical exponents describing the structure of SAWs in different environments are updated whenever available. The case of random fractal structures is modeled by percolation clusters at criticality, and the issue of multifractality, which is typical of these complex systems, is illustrated. Applications of these models are suggested, and references to known results in the literature are provided. A detailed discussion of the reptation method and its many interesting applications are provided. The problem of protein folding and protein evolution are also considered, and the key issues and open questions are highlighted. We include an experimental section on polymers which introduces the most relevant aspects of linear polymers relevant to this work. The last two sections are dedicated to applications, one in materials science, such as fractal features of plasma-treated polymeric materials surfaces and the growth of polymer thin films, and a second one in biology, by considering among others long linear polymers, such as DNA, confined within a finite domain.

Epitaxial growth of Ca-doped LaRhO3 thin films by chemical solution deposition

Epitaxial growth of Ca-doped LaRhO3 thin films by chemical solution deposition

Effect of growth temperature on crystalline quality of epitaxial MnSnO3 thin films

Epitaxial single-crystal MnSnO3 thin films were deposited on single-crystal Al2O3 substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technology, and an analysis was conducted on the impact of the growth temperature on the crystalline quality of the films. The test results show that the growth of MnSnO3 thin films at 900 °C results in sharp diffraction peaks with high intensity in the c-axis direction, better crystalline quality (FWHM of XRD 2θ peak: 0.24°), less roughness (RSM: 0.67 nm) and wider optical band gap (Eg = 2.91 eV) compared with the grown samples at other temperatures. The MnSnO3 thin film deposited at 900 °C exhibits strong photoluminescence at 341.1 and 423.1 nm, as well as high ferroelectric polarization of ∼40 μC/cm2. The fabrication of epitaxial MnSnO3 thin films opens up a new avenue for further research into their ferroelectric photovoltaic properties.

Epitaxial growth and characterization of gan thin films on 2D MoS2 substrates via plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

Gallium nitride (GaN) is an excellent material for high-performance optoelectronic and power electronic devices due to its superior thermal conductivity and exceptional electron transport properties. However, growing high-quality GaN films is challenging because of lattice mismatch and thermal expansion coefficient differences with conventional substrates like sapphire and silicon, resulting in threading dislocations and structural defects that compromise device performance. This study addresses these issues by utilizing a 2D-MoS₂ buffer layer, which provides an atomically smooth surface and quasi-van der Waals interface to minimize lattice mismatch stress and suppress defect propagation. GaN thin films were grown on MoS₂-deposited c-sapphire substrates using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE) under optimized conditions. The MoS₂ layer was prepared using a chemical vapor deposition process followed by nitridation. Characterization techniques, including Reflection High-Energy Electron Diffraction, Atomic Force Microscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, and X-ray Diffraction, confirmed that the GaN films exhibited high crystallinity, phase purity, and preferred c-axis orientation, with minimal structural defects. Surface analysis showed moderate roughness, with a root mean square value of 11.35 nm, attributed to localized growth variations. The MoS₂ buffer layer significantly reduced lattice mismatch-induced stress, as indicated by the absence of secondary phases in XRD analysis and facilitated defect-free epitaxial growth. These findings demonstrate the transformative potential of combining PA-MBE with 2D material buffers to achieve high-quality GaN films. This approach holds promise for optoelectronic applications such as LEDs and laser diodes, as well as high-frequency electronic devices like high-electron-mobility transistors

Identifying stable Nb-O clusters using evolutionary algorithm and DFT: A foundation for machine learning potentials

Crystal structure of the bulk NbO can be described as the NaCl (B1) lattice with equimolar 25 % content of ordered vacancies in both sublattices. While numerous studies have explored the phase stability ranges and crystallography of niobium oxides under various temperatures and pressures, the atomic structure of these compounds as small clusters remains unsolved. Understanding this structure is crucial for investigating the formation and growth of niobium oxide nanoparticles and thin films. In this work, the evolutionary algorithms guided by DFT calculations were employed to identify the most viable structures of NbnOm clusters with indices 1 ≤ n ≤ 6, 0 ≤ m ≤ 6. The indices of clusters with enhanced stability and higher probabilities of formation during stochastic synthesis processes were proposed. Additionally, a machine learning potential for the Nb-O system was derived from the accumulated set of DFT calculations of NbnOm clusters.

Comprehensive study on epitaxial growth of GeSn(111) layers with high Sn content on Si(111) featuring Ge buffer layer

Spin MOSFETs are attractive for new functional devices having both switching and memory functionalities. We focused on germanium tin (GeSn), which is a group-IV alloy semiconductor, for channel materials because they can be direct transition semiconductor with a sufficiently high Sn content and strain [1]. Direct transition nature will lead larger spin diffusion length and spin lifetime than those of germanium (Ge) because inter-valley scattering of electron can be suppressed at the conduction band of L points [2]. The objective of this study is to realize (111) orientated direct transition GeSn toward the epitaxial growth of Co-based Heusler alloy thin films, which are promising ferromagnetic electrodes for realizing highly efficient spin injections [3]. Theoretical calculation suggests that GeSn(111) can show the direct transition nature even at a lower Sn content under a biaxial compressive strain [2]. However, the growth and characterization of direct transition GeSn(111) epitaxial layers have not been achieved yet.In this study, we examined the pseudomorphic growth of compressively strained GeSn epitaxial layer on a strain-relaxed Ge buffer prepared on Si(111) substrate. After the chemical and thermal cleaning of Si(111) wafer, a Ge buffer layer was grown by the two-step growth method [4] using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system; a 100 nm-thick Ge layer was firstly grown at a low temperature (LT-Ge) of 320 °C and then a 300–900 nm-thick Ge layer was grown at a high temperature of 400 °C (HT-Ge). Subsequently, a 100 nm-thick GeSn layer with a Sn content of 8–9% was grown at 150 °C.The crystalline structure of Ge and GeSn layers was characterized using X-ray diffraction two-dimensional reciprocal lattice space mapping. All samples exhibit the complete strain-relaxation of the Ge buffer layers and the partly strain relaxation of GeSn layers on the Ge layers; the compressive strain to GeSn with a Sn content of 8–9% was estimated to an approximately 0.9–1.0%. Considering the theoretical estimation [3], the prepared compressively strained GeSn layers with a high Sn content are likely to become a direct transition semiconductor.Furthermore, the 𝜔-rocking curve for the GeSn layers revealed that the full-widths of half maximum (FWHM) decreases with increasing the HT-Ge thickness and FWHM was saturated for the samples with a HT-Ge thickness of 500 nm or greater. However, the samples with a HT-Ge thickness of 700 nm or greater showed a slight increase in the intensity at the tail region of the diffraction peak which related to the existence of low-crystalline-quality region. Therefore, the thickness of 500 nm for HT-Ge buffer layer was the optimum condition to achieve with the smallest FWHM and tail intensity in this study. In the presentation, the photoluminescence properties of GeSn layers will be also discussed.

Maturation of MOF-Based Sensors for the Electrical Detection of Gaseous Products

The advanced in situ detection of gaseous pollutants, such as NOx, is of great interest in many applications, including the automotive, manufacturing, energy, and defense industries. Current challenges with gas sensors include everything from power consumption, lifetime, and chemical fouling considerations to signal interference from other secondary gases present in complex environments. In this study, we continue the advancement of our low power metal oxide framework (MOF)-based sensors, previously successfully demonstrated for gaseous I2 and NO2 detection.1-5 The sensors, composed of Pt interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) with a nanoporous adsorbent layer, can be tuned to selectively adsorb gases of interest through judicious material selection, and the electrical response directly correlated to gas concentration. The sensors have been successfully demonstrated for the selective detection of trace NOx (1ppm), in complex environments (e.g., presence of H2O, CO2, SO2).6 Direct growth of thin MOF films on surface functionalized IDEs has been shown to result in increased sensor sensitivity and a faster response time.7 Our recent work has investigated the long-term durability and sensitivity of the sensors to NOx, when exposed to dry and humid environments at room temperature and 74°C over the course of three months. It was observed that the Ni-MOF-74-based sensors exhibited superior sensitivity in comparison to Mg-MOF-74 on initial exposure to NOx. On the other hand, the Mg-MOF-74-based sensors exhibited less degradation of the sensor response from prolonged humidity exposure. These findings led to our current work, exploring mixed metal MOF-on-MOF sensors for optimization of both sensor response and long-term performance. Preliminary experimental and modeling performed to elucidate the influence of metal mixing on these metrics will be presented. SNL is managed and operated by NTESS under DOE NNSA contract DE-NA0003525. References Small, L.J and Nenoff, T.M., ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2017, 9 (51), 44649.Small, L.J., et al., Meso. Mater., 2019, 280, 82.Small, L.J., et al., ACS App. Mater. Interfaces, 2019, 11 (31), 27982.Small, L.J., et al., Funct. Mater., 2020, 30 (50), 2006598.Small, L.J., et al., I&ECR, 2021, 60, 21, 7998.Small, L.J., et al., ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2023, 15 (31), 37675.Henkelis, S.E, et al., Membranes, 2021, 11 (3), 176.Percival, S.J., et al., I&ECR, 2023, 62, (5), 2336.

Deposition of SiC Thin Films By Using R. F. Power Ramps

SiC is a broadly researched and utilized material in a wide variety of known applications like coatings, MOSFETs and other miscellaneous devices; Regardless of this, SiC technology still has potential growth in new material engineering and devices through use of modern growth techniques and methods. In this study, we attempted to deposit SiC films on Si and glass substrates by using low temperature and different R. F. power ramps in a Magnetron Sputtering.The experiment presented successful growth of SiC thin films through a novel ramping method that allowed us to deposit a thin film at room temperature. The films were characterized by using AFM Microscopy, Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and Micro-Raman Spectroscopy. The valuable information obtained on surface morphology, band gap energy and crystal structure will fuel further endeavors to continually develop this material for future applications.AFM measurements presented a periodic grain pattern akin to terraces with quadrilateral grains and a meaningfully different geometry when compared to traditional semiconductor surfaces. Ellipsometry data provided a band gap energy from 3.3 eV. Raman spectra revealed broad peaks pertaining to multiple SiC polytypes.

Self-Driving Tool, Digital Twin, and Machine Learning Algorithms for the Real Time Optimization of the ALD Growth of Multicomponent Thin Films Using in Situ Techniques

The design of optimal sequences for multicomponent ALD processes can be a time-consuming procedure: transient effects can appear each time that one switches to a different precursor, making it hard to predict beforehand the desired composition. Consequently, researchers usually resort to trial runs to calibrate the film composition, and combination of precursors with well-behaved nucleation behaviors and fast transients are highly prized. While effective for processes involving two different precursors, this empirical approach makes it hard to extend ALD to explore more complex materials involving ternary or quaternary compounds.In this work we explore an alternative approach that uses machine learning integrated with in-situ techniques to optimize the composition of multicomponent films. Our approach relies on digital twins to train, optimize, and benchmark algorithms that build the sequence of ALD cycles in real time from the feedback of in-situ data. These models allow us to generate a wide range of processes with different types of nucleation behaviors, providing the ideal testbed for the development of robust algorithms. We then transfer these algorithms into our experimental reactors for the exploration and optimization of processes involving two and three different types of oxide materials. Our results show that it is possible to drive the optimization of binary and ternary ALD processes using solely the growth per cycle of the individual processes as input, with the algorithm being robust across different nucleation behaviors. The main limitation of the proposed approach is that, for techniques showing a net change in the material, such as quartz crystal microbalance, it is not possible to consider systems that exhibit a substantial amount of etching, such the ZnO/Al2O3 process involving diethyl zinc and trimethyaluminum precursors. This would not be a limitation for techniques providing direct compositional information, such as X-ray fluorescence, or those focusing on materials properties, such as in-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry.This research is based on the work supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) funding from the Argonne National Laboratory, provided by the Director, Office of Science, of the U.S. DOE under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.

Fabrication of Orientation-Controlled Fluorine-Doped SnO2 Film Grown By Atmospheric Spray Pyrolysis

Wide bandgap oxide semiconductors are attracting attention for applications such as optical devices, liquid crystal displays, and solar cells. In particular, Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO) is the most widely used transparent conductive oxide (TCO) material. Recently, due to the problem of decreasing indium resources, ZnO has been investigated as an alternative TCO material. Similarly, F-doped SnO2 (FTO) has been investigated in gas sensors, photovoltaic solar energy conversion devices, and electrochromic devices. FTO is an n-type semiconductor with a tetragonal structure similar to the rutile structure and a wide energy gap. Although various dopants are possible, films doped with fluorine exhibit high transparency and good conductivity. Many techniques have been used to prepare SnO2 thin films, including radiofrequency magnetron sputtering, chemical vapor deposition, metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, sol-gel methods, and spray pyrolysis. Spray pyrolysis is attractive for thin film growth because plasma damage to the substrate is avoided, high vacuum is not required, and equipment costs are low. However, there are not many papers on the FTO grown by spray pyrolysis. In our previous work [1], FTO films were successfully grown on glass substrates by the spray pyrolysis at 500 °C. The (200) orientation became strong with increasing fluorine concentration. In addition, F-doping caused the resistivity to decrease and the carrier concentration to increase. The lowest resistivity, 1.4 × 10-3 Ω cm, was obtained at a fluorine concentration of 4 mol%. Its carrier concentration and mobility were 6.2 × 1020 cm-3 and 7 cm2 V-1 s-1, respectively. Furthermore, the average optical transmittance in the visible region was nearly constant (at more than 80%) with increasing fluorine concentration. In this study, FTO films with various thicknesses (70 - 1550 nm) were successfully grown on glass substrates by spray pyrolysis method below 500 °C under atmospheric atmosphere. All the peak positions of XRD spectrum of the synthesized FTO film were in good agreement with the peak positions of ICDD. Furthermore, no fluorine related signals were observed in the spectra. The three-dimensional growth was associated with an increase in both grain size and film thickness and a change in orientation from (110) to (101) and (200). The preferred orientation of FTO changed at a film thickness of approximately 600 nm. It was considered to be influenced by the critical film thickness. Additionally, as the film thickness increased, the transmittance in the infrared region decreased. This was due to the absorption of free carriers at the electron plasma frequency within the film. The resistivity showed a tendency to decrease as the film thickness increased. On the other hand, the carrier concentration remained constant, but the mobility increased with increasing film thickness. This meant that the grain boundary scattering due to increasing grain size was dominant. Carrier concentration, surface structure, and film thickness were important factors in solar cells. In this study, the IR absorption increased despite the carrier concentration being constant. This result implied that at a constant high carrier concentration, the absorption was enhanced by increasing the film thickness. [1] M. Oshima and K. Yoshino: J. Electron. Mater. 39 (2010) 819.

Optimizing Na2EDTA concentration for enhanced properties of SILAR - deposited CTS thin films

Abstract This study investigates the impact of varying Na2EDTA concentrations on the properties of copper tin sulfide (CTS) thin films deposited on soda lime glass substrates using the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. The aim is to optimize CTS thin film growth for photovoltaic technology applications. CTS thin films were prepared using SILAR with Na2EDTA concentrations of 0.01 M, 0.04 M, and 0.07 M, resulting in samples CTS01, CTS04, and CTS07. Characterization techniques included XRD, SEM, EDAX, FTIR, I-V curves, transmittance spectra, and Tauc plots. The results reveal significant variations in film properties with changing Na2EDTA concentration. XRD patterns indicate polycrystalline films with an orthorhombic CTS phase. SEM images show smooth, dense films with localized clusters. FTIR spectra detect hydrocarbon chains, aromatic rings, and hydroxyl or ether groups. The I-V curves of three samples (CTS01, CTS04, and CTS07) show a voltage-dependent transition from semiconducting to ohmic behavior. The CTS01 exhibits superior conductivity (3.13 × 10−5/Ωm), while the samples’ resistance and conductivity values show an inverse relationship. Transmittance curves display low UV transmittance and high visible transmittance,suggests that the samples are highly absorptive in the UV range and become more transparent in the visible range, indicating potential applications in optical filtering and photovoltaic devices. Tauc plots estimate band gap energies of 3.66, 3.89, and 3.23 eV, indicating high band gap energies suitable for buffer layers in solar cells. The correlation between band gap energy and crystallite size as a function of Na2EDTA concentration is also observed. The study demonstrates the importance of optimizing Na2EDTA concentration for achieving high-quality CTS thin films with desirable properties for photovoltaic applications. The findings highlight the potential of CTS thin films for solar cells, optical filtering, and photonic devices.

Defect induced polar distortion in SrMnO3 thin films

Defect engineering in perovskite oxides enables novel functionalities by inducing and controlling lattice defects, effectively breaking lattice symmetry, stabilizing polar states and inducing ferroelectricity in non-polar/paraelectric or ferro/antiferromagnetic oxide thin films. A polar state can be stabilized in SrMnO3 (SMO) thin films by displacing Mn ions. However, conventional epitaxial strain engineering necessitates deposition on diverse single crystalline substrates with varying misfit strains and optimization of thin film growth conditions, posing challenges in achieving polar states in SMO thin films. In this study, polar distortion was achieved by inducing defects in SMO epitaxial thin films grown on Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 substrates La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) electrode. Scanning transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that Mn ion displacement and the c/a ratio increased on moving from the SMO/LSMO interface to the top surface of the SMO film. Electron energy loss spectroscopy depth profiles revealed variations in oxygen stoichiometry and Mn3+/Mn4+ ratio across the cross section of the SMO film. Consequently, a polar state was stabilized through strain gradient induced by defect chemistry in SMO thin films. Our study demonstrates that defect engineering can be effectively utilized in the realization of electric field-controlled magnetic devices at room temperature.

Stabilizing Metal Halide Perovskite Films via Chemical Vapor Deposition and Cryogenic Electron Beam Patterning.

Halide perovskites are hailed as semiconductors of the 21st century. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD), a solvent-free method, allows versatility in the growth of thin films of 3- and 2D organic-inorganic halide perovskites. Using CVD grown methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) films as a prototype, the impact of electron beam dosage under cryogenic conditions is evaluated. With 5 kV accelerating voltage, the dosage is varied between 50 and 50000 µC cm-2. An optimum dosage of 35 000 µC cm-2 results in a significant blue shift and enhancement of the photoluminescence peak. Concomitantly, a strong increase in the photocurrent is observed. A similar electron beam treatment on chlorine incorporated MAPbI3, where chlorine is known to passivate defects, shows a blue shift in the photoluminescence without improving the photocurrent properties. Low electron beam dosage under cryogenic conditions is found to damage CVD grown 2D phenylethlyammoinum lead iodide films. Monte Carlo simulations reveal differences in electron beam interaction with 3- and 2D halide perovskite films.