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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Dominance of interface chemistry over the bulk properties in determining the electronic structure of epitaxial metal/perovskite oxide heterojunctions

We show that despite very similar crystallographic properties and work function values in the bulk, epitaxial Fe and Cr metallizations on Nb:SrTiO3(001) generate completely different heterojunction electronic properties. Cr is Ohmic whereas Fe forms a Schottky barrier with a barrier height of 0.50 eV. This contrast arises because of differences in interface chemistry. In contrast to Cr [Chambers, S. A. et al., Adv. Mater. 2013, 25, 4001.], Fe exhibits a +2 oxidation state and occupies Ti sites in the perovskite lattice, resulting in negligible charge transfer to Ti, upward band bending, and Schottky barrier formation. The differences between Cr and Fe are understood by performing first-principles calculations of the energetics of defect formation which corroborate the observed interface chemistry and structure.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2010

Surface stoichiometry and activity control for atomically smooth low dislocation density ZnO and pseudomorphic MgZnO epitaxy on a Zn-polar ZnO substrate by the helicon-wave-excited-plasma sputtering epitaxy method

The helicon-wave-excited-plasma sputtering (HWPS) method was exemplified to be one of the versatile epitaxial growth techniques for the fabrication of low dislocation density semiconductor epilayers and heterostructures exhibiting atomically smooth surface morphology. For a case study, ZnO homoepitaxy and Mg{sub x}Zn{sub 1-x}O (x=0.08,0.19) heteroepitaxy on a Zn-polar ZnO substrate were carried out. According to the surface damage-free property, high temperature growth with appropriate stoichiometry control enabled the growth of ZnO homoepitaxial layers exhibiting a smooth surface morphology with 0.26 nm high monolayer atomic steps. Their tilt and twist mosaics reflecting the threading dislocation densities having screw and edge components were comparable to those of the substrate, being under the resolution limit (18 arcsec). The surface morphology and crystal mosaicity of pseudomorphic Mg{sub x}Zn{sub 1-x}O (x{<=}0.19) epilayers were quite similar to those of the ZnO underlayer. The luminescence spectra of the ZnO and Mg{sub x}Zn{sub 1-x}O epilayers at 293 K exhibited a predominant near-band-edge emission and negligible broad emission bands due to deep levels. The results indicate that the growth mode of the HWPS method resembles that of molecular beam epitaxy methods.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2010

Effect of GaN interlayer on polarity control of epitaxial ZnO thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Epitaxial ZnO thin films were grown on nitrided (0001) sapphire substrates with an intervening GaN layer by rf-plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. It was found that polarity of the ZnO epilayer could be controlled by modifying the GaN interlayer. ZnO grown on a distorted 3-nm-thick GaN interlayer has Zn-polarity while ZnO on a 20-nm-thick GaN interlayer with a high structural quality has O-polarity. High resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis indicates that the polarity of ZnO epilayer is controlled by the atomic structure of the interface between the ZnO buffer layer and the intervening GaN layer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Quasi-two-dimensional electron gas at the epitaxial alumina/SrTiO{sub 3} interface: Control of oxygen vacancies

In this paper, we report on the highly conductive layer formed at the crystalline γ-alumina/SrTiO{sub 3} interface, which is attributed to oxygen vacancies. We describe the structure of thin γ-alumina layers deposited by molecular beam epitaxy on SrTiO{sub 3} (001) at growth temperatures in the range of 400–800 °C, as determined by reflection-high-energy electron diffraction, x-ray diffraction, and high-resolution electron microscopy. In situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to confirm the presence of the oxygen-deficient layer. Electrical characterization indicates sheet carrier densities of ∼10{sup 13 }cm{sup −2} at room temperature for the sample deposited at 700 °C, with a maximum electron Hall mobility of 3100 cm{sup 2}V{sup −1}s{sup −1} at 3.2 K and room temperature mobility of 22 cm{sup 2}V{sup −1}s{sup −1}. Annealing in oxygen is found to reduce the carrier density and turn a conductive sample into an insulator.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Epitaxial growth of high quality WO 3 thin films

We have grown epitaxial WO 3 films on various single-crystal substrates using radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. While pronounced surface roughness is observed in films grown on LaSrAlO 4 substrates, films grown on YAlO 3 substrates show atomically flat surfaces, as demonstrated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The crystalline structure has been confirmed to be monoclinic by symmetric and skew-symmetric XRD. Furthermore, the dependence of the growth modes and the surface morphology on the lattice mismatch is discussed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Structural evolution of epitaxial SrCoO{sub x} films near topotactic phase transition

Control of oxygen stoichiometry in complex oxides via topotactic phase transition is an interesting avenue to not only modifying the physical properties, but utilizing in many energy technologies, such as energy storage and catalysts. However, detailed structural evolution in the close proximity of the topotactic phase transition in multivalent oxides has not been much studied. In this work, we used strontium cobaltites (SrCoO{sub x}) epitaxially grown by pulsed laser epitaxy (PLE) as a model system to study the oxidation-driven evolution of the structure, electronic, and magnetic properties. We grew coherently strained SrCoO{sub 2.5} thin films and performed post-annealing at various temperatures for topotactic conversion into the perovskite phase (SrCoO{sub 3-δ}). We clearly observed significant changes in electronic transport, magnetism, and microstructure near the critical temperature for the topotactic transformation from the brownmillerite to the perovskite phase. Nevertheless, the overall crystallinity was well maintained without much structural degradation, indicating that topotactic phase control can be a useful tool to control the physical properties repeatedly via redox reactions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Impact of extended defects on recombination in CdTe heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Heterostructures with CdTe and CdTe{sub 1-x}Se{sub x} (x ∼ 0.01) absorbers between two wider-band-gap Cd{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}Te barriers (x ∼ 0.25–0.3) were grown by molecular beam epitaxy to study carrier generation and recombination in bulk materials with passivated interfaces. Using a combination of confocal photoluminescence (PL), time-resolved PL, and low-temperature PL emission spectroscopy, two extended defect types were identified and the impact of these defects on charge-carrier recombination was analyzed. The dominant defects identified by confocal PL were dislocations in samples grown on (211)B CdTe substrates and crystallographic twinning-related defects in samples on (100)-oriented InSb substrates. Low-temperature PL shows that twin-related defects have a zero-phonon energy of 1.460 eV and a Huang-Rhys factor of 1.50, while dislocation-dominated samples have a 1.473-eV zero-phonon energy and a Huang-Rhys factor of 1.22. The charge carrier diffusion length near both types of defects is ∼6 μm, suggesting that recombination is limited by diffusion dynamics. For heterostructures with a low concentration of extended defects, the bulk lifetime was determined to be 2.2 μs with an interface recombination velocity of 160 cm/s and an estimated radiative lifetime of 91 μs.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2011

Reversed Remanent Magnetic Configuration in Epitaxial La 1-xSrxMnO3 Films

The polar discontinuity which can occur at oxide interfaces can modify the properties of oxide thin films. In such a system, an unusual reversed orientation of the remanent magnetic state was observed recently for La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} on Nb-doped SrTiO{sub 3}(0 0 1) deposited via pulsed laser deposition (Lee et al 2010 Phys. Rev. Lett. 105 257204). Here, we report on a similar effect for La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} grown via molecular beam epitaxy, a deposition method with different growth kinetics, onto both Nb-doped and undoped SrTiO{sub 3} (STO) substrates. The reversed magnetic state occurred in both samples, while enriched Mn{sup 3+} regions (intermediate layer) are slightly different. Intriguingly, the onset of the reversed remanent state occurred at different temperatures: {approx}125 K for the Nb : STO substrate and {approx}240 K for the undoped STO substrate. Our results point to an additional mechanism for controlling the magnetism in mixed-valence oxide films.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

GaAs Substrate Recycling Using in-situ Deposited NaCl Layers via Molecular Beam Epitaxy

This work presents an alternative method to conventional III-V substrate recycling methods via growth of NaCl on nearly-lattice matched GaAs (001) substrates. Reflection high energy electron diffraction and transmission electron microscopy confirm an epitaxial relationship between the NaCl layers and the underlying GaAs. If the sample is heated too much prior to GaAs deposition, the NaCl fully desorbs from the surface. The quality of the deposition of GaAs on NaCl ranges from amorphous at low temperature to polycrystalline at intermediate temperatures. Exposure to electron beams during growth results in larger and (001) textured grains. The substrate is separated from the GaAs film in seconds via submersion in water, revealing a substrate surface comparable to the original.

electron beams↗
DOE OSTI2015

Photodiodes based on self-assembled GeSi/Si(001) nanoisland arrays grown by the combined sublimation molecular-beam epitaxy of silicon and vapor-phase epitaxy of germanium

We investigate the photosensitivity spectra of photodiodes based on Si p-i-n structures with single-layered and multilayer self-assembled GeSi/Si(001) nanoisland arrays in the i region, which are grown using a technique combining Si molecular-beam epitaxy and Ge vapor-phase epitaxy, in dependence on the temperature, diode bias, and GeSi nanoisland parameters. We show that the temperature and field dependences of the diode photosensitivity in the spectral range of the interband optical absorption in GeSi nanoislands are determined by the ratio between the rate of emission of photoexcited holes from the nanoislands and the rate of the recombination of excess carriers in them. We demonstrate the possibility of determination of the hole recombination lifetime in GeSi nanoislands from the temperature and field dependences of the photosensitivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Spectroscopic and magnetic properties of Mn doped GaN epitaxial films grown by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy

Graphical abstract: We report here that micro-Raman scattering spectrum for Mn doped GaN thin film has displayed a new peak manifested at 578 cm{sup −1}, by which it is attributed to interior LVM originated by the incorporation of Mn ions in place of Ga sites. Mn doped GaN thin film also showed the typical negative magnetoresistance up to ∼50 K, revealing that the film showed magnetic ordering of spins below 50 K. Display Omitted Highlights: ► GaN and Mn doped GaN single phase wurtzite structures grown by PAMBE. ► The phase purity of the epilayers investigated by HRXRD, HRSEM and EDX. ► The red shift in near band edge emission has been observed using micro-PL. ► A new peak related LVM at 578 cm{sup −1} in micro-Raman scattering measurements confirmed Mn doped into GaN. ► Negative-magnetoresistance investigations have showed that the film has T{sub c} < 50 K. -- Abstract: Spectroscopic and magnetic properties of Mn doped GaN, and GaN epitaxial films have been investigated by employing micro-photoluminescence, micro-Raman, and temperature dependent magneto-resistance measurements. The HR-XRD profiles have shown that the epitaxial films are in hexagonal wurtzite structures. Morphology and composition of the films have been examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. Micro-photoluminescence spectrum displayed a dominant near band edge emission at 362 nm, which is assigned to near band edge transition within the hexagonal structure of GaN. Raman scattering profiles showed a new vibrational mode at 578 cm{sup −1}, which is attributed to the vacancy-related local vibrational mode of Mn occupying the Ga site. Temperature dependent negative magnetoresistance measurements provide a direct evidence of magnetic ordering below 50 K for the Mn doped GaN thin film.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Controlling the structure and ferroic properties of strained epitaxial NiTiO3 thin films on sapphire by post-deposition annealing

Ferroelectrically induced weak ferromagnetism had been predicted earlier in compounds MTiO3 (M = Fe, Mn, Ni) with the LiNbO3-type structure. In order to stabilize this metastable structure by oxide heteroepitaxy, we attempted to grow epitaxial NiTiO3 films on the nonpolar, non-magnetic substrate Al2O3 by pulsed laser deposition. Given the structural imperfections of the as-deposited films arising from the large lattice mismatch, which resulted in weak ferroic ordering, we investigated the effect of post-synthesis annealing on the films’ properties. Our structural data from x-ray diffraction and electron microscopy suggest that the crystalline quality of the NiTiO3 films was greatly improved by annealing the films at 600-1000 oC for 8 hours, with new phase formation along the interface at 1000 oC. Our physical property characterization indicates increased ferromagnetism and polarization after 600 oC, but a change in the magnetic state to likely ferrimagnetism, and a loss of polarization after the 1000 oC treatment. Our results suggest that the ferroic domain properties of the NiTiO3 films can be favorably altered by post-synthesis heat treatment at the proper temperature to manipulate interfacial strain and enhance the multiferroic properties. Improvement in the ferroic properties can be explained by a combination of crystallite growth, interfacial strain relief, and thermodynamic phase stability arguments. At the same time, exceeding temperatures may drive the system to a thermodynamically more favored crystalline order, and eventually to phase segregation and decomposition.

Varga, Tamas↗
DOE OSTI2020

Reversible Oxidation Quantified by Optical Properties in Epitaxial Fe2CrO4+d Films on (001) MgAl2O4

We report on the structural and optical properties of Fe2CrO4+d epitaxial films grown by molecular beam epitaxy on MgAl2O4 (001) as a function of ?. The average Fe valence can be correlated with the out-of-plane lattice parameter and the extent of light absorption in the infrared spectral region. Over-oxidized films (0 < d < 0.5) exhibit reduced lattice parameters and suppressed infrared absorption. We discuss the behavior of a novel infrared transition at ~0.6 eV in stoichiometric Fe2CrO4 films deposited on MgAl2O4 (MAO) at or above 400 °C. This research provides new insight into the atomic structure, optical processes, oxidation states, electronic structure, and application potentials of Fe2CrO4+d.

ellipsometry, Epitaxy, thin film, oxidation, reduc↗
DOE OSTI2011

X-ray magnetic circular dichroism of ferromagnetic Co{sub 4}N epitaxial films on SrTiO{sub 3}(001) substrates grown by molecular beam epitaxy

5-nm thick Co{sub 4}N layers capped with 3-nm thick Au layers were grown epitaxially on SrTiO{sub 3}(001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy using solid Co and a radio-frequency NH{sub 3} plasma. Spin and orbital magnetic moments of the Co{sub 4}N layers were estimated using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements at 300 K. The site-averaged Co 3d spin magnetic moment is evaluated to be about 1.4 {mu}{sub B}, which is smaller than that predicted theoretically (1.58 {mu}{sub B}). The element-specific XMCD intensities for the Co L{sub 3} edge and N K edge show that the magnetic moment is induced at the N atoms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Strain relaxation in single crystal SrTiO{sub 3} grown on Si (001) by molecular beam epitaxy

An epitaxial layer of SrTiO{sub 3} grown directly on Si may be used as a pseudo-substrate for the integration of perovskite oxides onto silicon. When SrTiO{sub 3} is initially grown on Si (001), it is nominally compressively strained. However, by subsequent annealing in oxygen at elevated temperature, an SiO{sub x} interlayer can be formed which alters the strain state of SrTiO{sub 3}. We report a study of strain relaxation in SrTiO{sub 3} films grown on Si by molecular beam epitaxy as a function of annealing time and oxygen partial pressure. Using a combination of x-ray diffraction, reflection high energy electron diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy, we describe the process of interfacial oxidation and strain relaxation of SrTiO{sub 3} on Si (001). Understanding the process of strain relaxation of SrTiO{sub 3} on silicon will be useful for controlling the SrTiO{sub 3} lattice constant for lattice matching with functional oxide overlayers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Molecular beam epitaxy growth of high quality p-doped SnS van der Waals epitaxy on a graphene buffer layer

We report on the systematic investigation of optoelectronic properties of tin (IV) sulfide (SnS) van der Waals epitaxies (vdWEs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technique. Energy band simulation using commercial CASTEP code indicates that SnS has an indirect bandgap of size 0.982 eV. Furthermore, our simulation shows that elemental Cu can be used as a p-type dopant for the material. Growth of high quality SnS thin films is accomplished by MBE technique using graphene as the buffer layer. We observed significant reduction in the rocking curve FWHM over the existing published values. Crystallite size in the range of 2-3 {mu}m is observed which is also significantly better than the existing results. Measurement of the absorption coefficient, {alpha}, is performed using a Hitachi U-4100 Spectrophotometer system which demonstrate large values of {alpha} of the order of 10{sup 4} cm{sup -1}. Sharp cutoff in the values of {alpha}, as a function of energy, is observed for the films grown using a graphene buffer layer indicating low concentration of localized states in the bandgap. Cu-doping is achieved by co-evaporation technique. It is demonstrated that the hole concentration of the films can be controlled between 10{sup 16} cm{sup -3} and 5 x 10{sup 17}cm{sup -3} by varying the temperature of the Cu K-cell. Hole mobility as high as 81 cm{sup 2}V{sup -1}s{sup -1} is observed for SnS films on graphene/GaAs(100) substrates. The improvements in the physical properties of the films are attributed to the unique layered structure and chemically saturated bonds at the surface for both SnS and the graphene buffer layer. Consequently, the interaction between the SnS thin films and the graphene buffer layer is dominated by van der Waals force and structural defects at the interface, such as dangling bonds or dislocations, are substantially reduced.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Au impact on GaAs epitaxial growth on GaAs (111){sub B} substrates in molecular beam epitaxy

GaAs growth behaviour under the presence of Au nanoparticles on GaAs {l_brace}111{r_brace}{sub B} substrate is investigated using electron microscopy. It has been found that, during annealing, enhanced Ga surface diffusion towards Au nanoparticles leads to the GaAs epitaxial growth into {l_brace}113{r_brace}{sub B} faceted triangular pyramids under Au nanoparticles, governed by the thermodynamic growth, while during conventional GaAs growth, growth kinetics dominates, resulting in the flatted triangular pyramids at high temperature and the epitaxial nanowires growth at relatively low temperature. This study provides an insight of Au nanoparticle impact on GaAs growth, which is critical for understanding the formation mechanisms of semiconductor nanowires.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Energy band alignment of atomic layer deposited HfO{sub 2} on epitaxial (110)Ge grown by molecular beam epitaxy

The band alignment properties of atomic layer HfO{sub 2} film deposited on epitaxial (110)Ge, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, was investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy exhibited a sharp interface between the (110)Ge epilayer and the HfO{sub 2} film. The measured valence band offset value of HfO{sub 2} relative to (110)Ge was 2.28 {+-} 0.05 eV. The extracted conduction band offset value was 2.66 {+-} 0.1 eV using the bandgaps of HfO{sub 2} of 5.61 eV and Ge bandgap of 0.67 eV. These band offset parameters and the interface chemical properties of HfO{sub 2}/(110)Ge system are of tremendous importance for the design of future high hole mobility and low-power Ge-based metal-oxide transistor devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗