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At least 1,243 records · Page 69
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Photoluminescence of Gallium Phosphide-Based Nanostructures with Germanium Quantum Dots, Grown by Liquid-Phase Epitaxy

We have used liquid-phase epitaxy with pulsed substrate cooling using two structural designs to grow samples of nanoheteroepitaxial structures with Ge quantum dots in a GaP matrix on Si substrates. We have measured the photoluminescence spectra of the samples at temperatures of 77 K and 300 K with excitation by laser emission at λ = 4880 Å and 5145 Å. We draw conclusions concerning the factors influencing the spectrum and intensity of emission for nanostructures with quantum dots. It was found that in order to reduce nonradiative recombination in multilayer p–n structures, we need to create quantum dot arrays inside p and n regions rather than in the central portion of the depletion layer of the p–n junction. We show that the theoretical energies for Ge quantum dots of the calculated sizes are comparable with the energies of their photoluminescence maxima.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

The demise of superfluid density in overdoped La 2-x Sr x CuO 4 films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Here, we synthesize La 2–x Sr x CuO 4 thin films using atomic layer-by-layer molecular beam epitaxy (ALL-MBE). The films are high-quality—singe crystal, atomically smooth, and very homogeneous. The critical temperature (T c ) shows a very little (<1 K) variation within a film of 10×10 mm 2 area. The large statistics (over 2000 films) is crucial to discern intrinsic properties. We measured the absolute value of the magnetic penetration depth λ with the accuracy better than 1 % and mapped densely the entire overdoped side of the La 2–x Sr x CuO 4 phase diagram. A new scaling law is established accurately for the dependence of T c on the superfluid density. The scaling we observe is incompatible with the standard Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer picture and points to local pairing.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Anomalous Hall Effect in Epitaxial Ni–Mn–Ga Thin Films Grown on MgO(001) Substrate during the Martensitic Transformation

Epitaxial Ni–Mn–Ga thin films had been grown on MgO (001) by DC magnetron sputtering. And the anomalous Hall effect (AHE), microstructures, magnetism, and magnetoresistance (MR) were investigated. The AHE was measured in the film of Ni{sub 47.8}Mn{sub 30.8}Ga{sub 21.4} during the martensitic transformation. Meanwhile, the mechanism of the AHE was explained which indicates that the hall resistivity measured in our sample is primarily determined by AHE. The microstructures of the austenite phase and 7M martensite plates at room temperature had been observed on the film of Ni{sub 46.7}Mn{sub 31.7}Ga{sub 21.6} and Ni{sub 47.8}Mn{sub 30.8}Ga{sub 21.4}, respectively. Magnetic measurements reveal that all films possessed the martensitic transformation during the heating and cooling processes. In addition, the MR showed a negative value during the martensitic transformation which is mainly due to the reduction of spin-dependent scattering.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Studying the Formation of Si (100) Stepped Surface in Molecular-Beam Epitaxy

Experimental studies of the formation of a stepped surface structure during molecular-beam epitaxy of silicon on a Si (100) substrate have been carried out in wide ranges of variation of the substrate temperature and silicon growth rate. The conditions of the transition from a two-domain structure of the Si (100) surface to a single-domain structure associated with the formation of diatomic steps are determined using reflection high-energy electron diffraction. It is shown that the effect of an increase in the substrate temperature on the transition to a single-domain structure is non-monotonic: a single-domain surface forms in the region of relatively low temperatures, whereas a two-domain surface forms at high temperatures. The transition to a single-domain structure during the experiment is possible only, if the silicon growth rate is increased above a certain minimum value.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Atomically precise synthesis of oxides with hybrid molecular beam epitaxy

Advancements in synthesis science are revolutionizing the way we create atomically precise materials. Techniques like molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) have set the benchmark for addressing long-standing questions in materials science by leveraging improved control over the composition and structure of existing materials and enabling materials discovery. In this review, we discuss recent innovations in MBE that are redefining its capabilities, enabling the fabrication of ultra-pure, defect-engineered films and the stabilization of metastable phases that were previously unattainable. These advancements are unlocking new opportunities in electronic, magnetic, and quantum technologies, where the precise tuning of material properties is essential for advancing device functionality and performance.

complex oxides↗
DOE OSTI2018

In-situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of copper-oxide thin films synthesized by molecular beam epitaxy

We present that angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is the key momentum-resolved technique for direct probing of the electronic structure of a material. However, since it is highly surface-sensitive, it has been applied to a relatively small set of complex oxides that can be easily cleaved in ultra-high vacuum. Here we describe a new multi-module system at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in which an oxide molecular beam epitaxy (OMBE) is interconnected with an ARPES and a spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy (SI-STM) module. This new capability largely expands the range of complex-oxide materials and artificial heterostructures accessible to these two most powerful and complementary techniques for studies of electronic structure of materials. Lastly, we also present the first experimental results obtained using this system — the ARPES studies of electronic band structure of a La 2-x Sr x CuO 4 (LSCO) thin film grown by OMBE.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Numerical approximations for the molecular beam epitaxial growth model based on the invariant energy quadratization method

The Molecular Beam Epitaxial model is derived from the variation of a free energy, that consists of either a fourth order Ginzburg–Landau double well potential or a nonlinear logarithmic potential in terms of the gradient of a height function. One challenge in solving the MBE model numerically is how to develop proper temporal discretization for the nonlinear terms in order to preserve energy stability at the time-discrete level. In this paper, we resolve this issue by developing a first and second order time-stepping scheme based on the “Invariant Energy Quadratization” (IEQ) method. The novelty is that all nonlinear terms are treated semi-explicitly, and the resulted semi-discrete equations form a linear system at each time step. Moreover, the linear operator is symmetric positive definite and thus can be solved efficiently. We then prove that all proposed schemes are unconditionally energy stable. The semi-discrete schemes are further discretized in space using finite difference methods and implemented on GPUs for high-performance computing. Various 2D and 3D numerical examples are presented to demonstrate stability and accuracy of the proposed schemes.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

GaN nanowires with pentagon shape cross-section by ammonia-source molecular beam epitaxy

In this study, ammonia-based molecular beam epitaxy (NH 3 -MBE) was used to grow catalyst-assisted GaN nanowires on (11¯02) r-plane sapphire substrates. Dislocation free [112¯0] oriented nanowires are formed with pentagon shape cross-section, instead of the usual triangular shape facet configuration. Specifically, the cross-section is the result of the additional two nonpolar {101¯0} side facets, which appear due to a decrease in relative growth rate of the {101¯0} facets to the {101¯1} and {101¯1} facets under the growth regime in NH 3 -MBE. Compared to GaN nanowires grown by Ni-catalyzed metal–organic chemical vapor deposition, the NH 3 -MBE grown GaN nanowires show more than an order of magnitude increase in band-edge to yellow luminescence intensity ratio, as measured by cathodoluminescence, indicating improved microstructural and optical properties.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Molecular beam epitaxy growth of SrO buffer layers on graphite and graphene for the integration of complex oxides

Here, we report the successful growth of high-quality SrO films on highly-ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and single-layer graphene by molecular beam epitaxy. The SrO layers have (001) orientation as confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) while atomic force microscopy measurements show continuous pinhole-free films having rms surface roughness of <1.5 Å. Moreover, transport measurements of exfoliated graphene, after SrO deposition, show a strong dependence between the Dirac point and Sr oxidation. As a result, the SrO is leveraged as a buffer layer for more complex oxide integration via the demonstration of (001) oriented SrTiO3 grown atop a SrO/HOPG stack.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Phase degradation in B x Ga 1–x N films grown at low temperature by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

Using metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy, a comprehensive study of B x Ga 1-x N growth on GaN and AlN templates is described. BGaN growth at high-temperature and high-pressure results in rough surfaces and poor boron incorporation efficiency, while growth at low-temperature and low-pressure (750–900 °C and 20 Torr) using nitrogen carrier gas results in improved surface morphology and boron incorporation up to ~7.4% as determined by nuclear reaction analysis. However, further structural analysis by transmission electron microscopy and x-ray pole figures points to severe degradation of the high boron composition films, into a twinned cubic structure with a high density of stacking faults and little or no room temperature photoluminescence emission. Films with <1% triethylboron (TEB) flow show more intense, narrower x-ray diffraction peaks, near-band-edge photoluminescence emission at ~362 nm, and primarily wurtzite-phase structure in the x-ray pole figures. For films with >1% TEB flow, the crystal structure becomes dominated by the cubic phase. As a result, only when the TEB flow is zero (pure GaN), does the cubic phase entirely disappear from the x-ray pole figure, suggesting that under these growth conditions even very low boron compositions lead to mixed crystalline phases.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Molecular beam epitaxy of GaAs templates on water soluble NaCl thin films

Expensive III-V substrates are cost limiting for the adoption of many technologies. Consequently, being able to reuse the original substrate is highly desirable. Existing substrate reuse techniques have significant drawbacks, but this work discusses a new method using molecular beam epitaxy deposition of water soluble NaCl thin films on commonly employed (0 0 1) GaAs substrates. Single-crystal GaAs templates are grown on continuous NaCl layers utilizing careful exposure of the NaCl to an in-situ electron beam and a low temperature nucleation layer. The template layers can be quickly removed from the substrate via dissolution of the NaCl. After liftoff, the original wafer shows an increase in rms surface roughness of only 0.2 nm.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2010

A nitrilo-tri-acetic-acid/acetic acid route for the deposition of epitaxial cerium oxide films as high temperature superconductor buffer layers

A water based cerium oxide precursor solution using nitrilo-tri-acetic-acid (NTA) and acetic acid as complexing agents is described in detail. This precursor solution is used for the deposition of epitaxial CeO{sub 2} layers on Ni-5at%W substrates by dip-coating. The influence of the complexation behavior on the formation of transparent, homogeneous solutions and gels has been studied. It is found that ethylenediamine plays an important role in the gelification. The growth conditions for cerium oxide films were Ar-5% gas processing atmosphere, a solution concentration level of 0.25 M, a dwell time of 60 min at 900 {sup o}C and 5-30 min at 1050 {sup o}C. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), pole figures and spectroscopic ellipsometry were used to characterize the CeO{sub 2} films with different thicknesses. Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) was used to determine the carbon residue level in the surface of the cerium oxide film, which was found to be lower than 0.01%. Textured films with a thickness of 50 nm were obtained. - Graphical abstract: Study of the complexation and hydrolysis behavior of Ce{sup 4+} ions in the presence of nitrilo-tri-acetic acid and the subsequent development of an aqueous chemical solution deposition route suited for the processing of textured CeO{sub 2} buffer layers on Ni-W tapes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Stable metal-insulator transition in epitaxial SmNiO{sub 3} thin films

Samarium nickelate (SmNiO{sub 3}) is a correlated oxide that exhibits a metal-insulator transition (MIT) above room temperature and is of interest for advanced electronics and optoelectronics. However, studies on SmNiO{sub 3} thin films have been limited to date, in part due to well-known difficulties in stabilizing the Ni{sup 3+} valence state during growth, which are manifested in non-reproducible electrical characteristics. In this work, we show that stable epitaxial SmNiO{sub 3} thin films can be grown by rf magnetron sputtering without extreme post-deposition annealing conditions using relatively high growth pressure (>200 mTorr). At low growth pressure, SmNiO{sub 3} is insulating and undergoes an irreversible MIT at {approx}430 K. As pressure is increased, films become metallic across a large temperature range from 100 to 420 K. At high pressure, films are insulating again but with a reversible and stable MIT at {approx}400 K. Phase transition properties can be continuously tuned by control of the sputtering pressure. - Graphical Abstract: X-ray diffraction (left) and resistivity-temperature characteristics (right) of sputtered SmNiO{sub 3} thin films as a function of sputtering pressure. As sputtering pressure increases, the out-of-plane lattice constant of SmNiO{sub 3} decreases, consistent with enhanced oxygen concentration. Concordantly, the electrical properties are strongly modified, and a reversible metal-insulator phase transition is observed at {approx}400 K in the film grown at high pressure. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Stable SmNiO{sub 3} films grown by rf sputtering without extreme annealing conditions. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer High sputtering pressures needed to fully stabilize SmNiO{sub 3}. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Reversible metal-insulator transition observed at {approx}400 K, similar to bulk. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Electrical properties strongly modifiable by varying sputtering pressure.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of annealing on Curie temperature and phase transition in La{sub 0.55}Sr{sub 0.08}Mn{sub 0.37}O{sub 3} epitaxial films grown on SrTiO{sub 3} (100) substrates by reactive radio frequency magnetron sputtering

Mn-poor LaSrMnO{sub 3} (LSMO) epitaxial films were grown on SrTiO{sub 3} (100) substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering in an argon and oxygen gas mix, and then the samples were annealed in air at various temperatures (T{sub a}). 2 theta-chi X-ray diffraction mapping, nano-beam diffraction analysis through transmission electron microscopy, and electron back scatter diffraction through scanning electron microscopy revealed that the crystal symmetry of the LSMO films changed from monoclinic/orthorhombic to rhombohedral on annealing in air. Curie temperature (T{sub C}) of the LSMO films was found to increase with increasing T{sub a}, and become higher than the room temperature at T{sub a} ≥ 861 °C, indicating that the cause of these changes was the filling of oxygen and the transition of the crystal symmetry into rhombohedral. - Highlights: •Mn-poor LSMO changed from monoclinic/orthorhombic to rhombohedral by oxygen supply. •Mn-poor LSMO was increased T{sub C} by changed crystal symmetry, and it showed T{sub C} above RT. •Annealed in air effectively supplied O{sub 2} more than O{sub 2} gas during sputtering •EBSD is useful to evaluate crystal symmetry of complex oxide film from the substrate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Characterization of niobium-doped titania epitaxial films deposited by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Highlights: • The undoped and Nb-doped TiO{sub 2} films were deposited on SrTiO{sub 3} (100) substrates. • The epitaxial growth relationship between TiO{sub 2} film and the substrate was confirmed. • The microstructures of the films were explored. • The electrical and optical properties of the films were revealed. - Abstract: Titania (TiO{sub 2}) films with different niobium (Nb) doping concentrations were deposited on SrTiO{sub 3} (STO) (100) substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The crystal structures, surface morphologies, electrical and optical properties of the Nb-doped TiO{sub 2} (TiO{sub 2}:Nb) films varying with Nb content were investigated. The single crystal TiO{sub 2} films with anatase structure were obtained at low Nb doping levels. The highest Hall mobility of the prepared films reached as high as 16.50 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1}. The lowest resistivity of 5.75 × 10{sup −2} Ω cm with a Hall mobility of 7.40 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1} and a carrier concentration of 1.47 × 10{sup 19} cm{sup −3} were obtained from the 1.20% Nb-doped TiO{sub 2} film. This resistivity was about 6 orders of magnitude lower than the undoped TiO{sub 2} film. Moreover, all the deposited films exhibited high average transmittances of over 88% in the visible wavelength range.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Oxygen plasma power dependence on ZnO grown on porous silicon substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

ZnO thin films were deposited on porous silicon by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy using different radio frequency power settings. Optical emission spectrometry was applied to study the characteristics of the oxygen plasma, and the effects of the radio frequency power on the properties of the ZnO thin films were evaluated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and photoluminescence. The grain sizes for radio frequency powers of 100, 200, and 300 W were 46, 48, and 62 nm, respectively. In addition, the photoluminescence intensities of the ultraviolet and the visible range increased at 300 W, because the density of the atomic oxygen transitions increased. The quality of the ZnO thin films was enhanced, but the deep-level emission peaks increased with increasing radio frequency power. The structural and optical properties of the ZnO thin films were improved at the radio frequency power of 300 W. Moreover, the optical properties of the ZnO thin films were improved with porous silicon, instead of Si.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Epitaxial growth of non-polar m-plane ZnO thin films by pulsed laser deposition

Highlights: ► Unique m-plane ZnO films were deposited on m-plane sapphire substrate by PLD. ► The epitaxial relationship between the film and the substrate was studied. ► The surface morphology showed stripes due to in-plane anisotropy. ► PL spectra showed strong NBE emission and weak deep level emission. -- Abstract: Non-polar ZnO thin films were deposited on m-plane sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition at various temperatures from 300 to 700 °C. The effects of growth temperature on surface morphology, structural, electrical, and optical properties of the films were investigated. All the films exhibited unique m-plane orientation indicated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Based on the scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, the obtained films had smooth and highly anisotropic surface, and the root mean square roughness was less than 10 nm above 500 °C. The maximum electron mobility was ∼18 cm{sup 2}/V s, with resistivity of ∼0.26 Ω cm for the film grown at 700 °C. Room temperature photoluminescence of the m-plane films was also investigated.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Study of epitaxial lateral overgrowth of semipolar (1 1 − 2 2) GaN by using different SiO{sub 2} pattern sizes

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • We examine comparative studies of semipolar ELO-GaN film. • Semipolar ELO-GaN film was grown by three step growth method. • The achievement of smooth surface morphology of semipolar ELO-GaN. • The crystal and optical properties was significantly improved by ELO process. - Abstract: We investigated the growth mode and the crystal properties of lateral epitaxial overgrowth (LEO) semipolar (1 1 − 2 2) GaN by using the various SiO{sub 2} pattern sizes of 6, 8, 10 and 12 μm with the window width of 4.0 μm. By using three-step growth technique, we successfully obtained the fully-coalescenced semipolar (1 1 − 2 2) LEO-GaN films regardless of the SiO{sub 2} pattern sizes. However, the coalescence thickness of LEO-GaN film was decreased with decreasing SiO{sub 2} pattern size, indicating that the coalescence of semipolar (1 1 − 2 2) GaN was easily formed by decreasing the pattern size of SiO{sub 2} mask. The full width at half maximums (FWHMs) of X-ray rocking curves (XRCs) of LEO-GaN films decreased with increasing SiO{sub 2} pattern size. In the pattern size of 4 × 10 μm, we achieved the minimum XRCs FWHM of 537 and 368 arc s with two different X-ray incident beam directions of [1 1 − 2 − 3] and [1 − 1 0 0], respectively. Moreover, the photoluminescence bandedge emission of semipolar (1 1 − 2 2) GaN was 45 times increased by LEO process. Based on these results, we concluded that the LEO pattern size of 4 × 10 μm would effectively decrease crystal defects of semipolar (1 1 − 2 2) GaN epilayer, resulting in an improvement of the optical properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗