Atomic Structure of La067Ca0.33MnO3 Thin Films on LaAlO3

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (S2) ◽  
pp. 402-403
Author(s):  
H-J. Gao ◽  
C.L. Chen ◽  
X. Fan ◽  
M. Kim ◽  
S.Y. Chen ◽  
...  

Thin films of doped perovskite manganites of the type R1-X AxMnO3-y are currently become the focus of intense theoretical and experimental research due to their promising technological implications. However, the microstructure of the film and the interface structure at the atomic level remains unclear. In this report, we will present the atomic structure of the film/substrate interface and the microstructure of the film using a combination of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Z-contrast scanning transmission microscopy (STEM), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS).The La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 (LCMO) samples were grown on (001) LaA1O3 (LAO) using pulsed laser deposition. X-ray diffraction indicated the films to be oriented with the [001] directions parallel to the <001> directions of the pseudo-cubic perovskite LAO. Rocking curve measurements using the (002) reflection from the film indicated a full width half maximum of less than 0.3°. A Philips EM-400 electron microscope at 100 kV and a VG HB603 STEM at 300 kV were employed for sample analysis.

2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1749-1754 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Wadley ◽  
A. Crespi ◽  
J. Gázquez ◽  
M.A. Roldán ◽  
P. García ◽  
...  

Determining atomic positions in thin films by X-ray diffraction is, at present, a task reserved for synchrotron facilities. Here an experimental method is presented which enables the determination of the structure factor amplitudes of thin films using laboratory-based equipment (Cu Kα radiation). This method was tested using an epitaxial 130 nm film of CuMnAs grown on top of a GaAs substrate, which unlike the orthorhombic bulk phase forms a crystal structure with tetragonal symmetry. From the set of structure factor moduli obtained by applying this method, the solution and refinement of the crystal structure of the film has been possible. The results are supported by consistent high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy and stoichiometry analyses.


Author(s):  
DJ Wallis ◽  
ND Browning ◽  
CM Megaridis

Iron is a ubiquitous element on the earth's surface, and is thus involved in most naturally occurring fires. Iron organometalic compounds have also been known to suppress carbonaceous soot emissions under certain operating conditions of practical combustors. In order to unravel the physical and chemical mechanisms of influence, of iron on the emission of carbonaceous pyrogenic particles, finescale characterization techniques need to be implemented.The combined techniques of Z-contrast imaging and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in a VG HB-501 dedicated STEM are ideally suited to study such a system. The sensitivity of the Z-contrast imaging technique to high-Z materials makes it ideal for location of the iron particles within the much lower atomic number matrix. As only the high-angle scattering is used in the image formation, EELS can be performed simultaneously from a position defined in the image. This accurate positioning of the probe by the Z-contrast image permits both compositional and bonding information to be obtained with a spatial resolution approaching the atomic scale.


1989 ◽  
Vol 169 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Pennycook ◽  
M. F. Chisholm ◽  
D. E. Jesson ◽  
D. P. Norton ◽  
J. W. Mccamy ◽  
...  

AbstractZ-contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) is a fundamentally new approach to high-resolution imaging which provides unambiguous, compositionally sensitive images on the atomic scale. Such images are intuitively interpretable, even in thick regions of the sample, tremendously simplifying determination of the structure and chemistry of defects and interfaces. To illustrate this, examples are presented of commonly observed planar defects in laser-ablated thin films of YBa2Cu3O7-x. Film/substrate interfaces are shown to be chemically diffuse on the atomic scale and steps or undulations in the substrate need not result in defects in the film. Low-angle grain boundaries are found to be chemically clean, the drastic reductions in critical currents with tilt angle being due to the array of intrinsic structural defects comprising the boundary.


1995 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 680-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Seifert ◽  
Fred F. Lange ◽  
James S. Speck

A mixed alkoxide liquid precursor was used to form epitaxial PbTiO3 thin films by spin-coating on cubic (001) SrTiO3 substrates. The films were heat-treated at temperatures between 380 °C/1 h and 800 °C/1 h. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the microstructure of the films and to evaluate the epitaxial phenomena. At ∼400 °C/1 h, a polycrystalline, metastable Pb-Ti fluorite crystallizes from the pyrolyzed amorphous precursor. At slightly higher temperatures (∼420 °C/1 h), the thermodynamically stable phase with the perovskite structure epitaxially nucleates at the film/substrate interface. A small number of epitaxial grains grow through the film toward the surface and consume the nanocrystalline fluorite grains. Coarsening of the perovskite grains leads to a reduction in mosaic spread during further heating. Pores, which concurrently coarsen with grain growth, produce a pitted surface as they disappear from within the film. At 800 °C/1 ha dense epitaxial PbTiO3 film with a smooth surface is observed. Parameters governing the formation of a- and c-domains are discussed as well as the small tilts of the domain axes away from the substrate normal.


2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 1062-1068 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Brückner ◽  
V. Weihnacht ◽  
W. Pitschke ◽  
J. Thomas ◽  
S. Baunack

The evolution in both stress and microstructure was investigated on sputtered Cu0.57Ni0.42Mn0.01thin films of 400 nm thickness during the first temperature cycle up to 550 °C. Samples from stress–temperature measurements up to various maximum temperatures were analyzed by x-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and Auger electron spectroscopy. The columnar grains with lateral diameters of about 20 nm in the as-deposited state coarsen to about 400 nm above 300 °C. Probably due to the impurity (Mn) drag effect, the coarsening occurs by abnormal grain growth rather than by normal grain growth, starting near the film–substrate interface. The stress development results from a combination of densification due to grain growth and plastic stress relaxation.


1999 ◽  
Vol 593 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Fan ◽  
E. C. Dickey ◽  
P. Eklund ◽  
K. Williams ◽  
L. Grigorian ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe Z-contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) imaging technique has been used to study dopant atoms and catalyst particles in single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT). Iodine and bromine have been doped respectively in arc-grown SWNTs. We have directly observed the dopant sites and distributions. Both dopants appear to be incorporated linearly within the SWNT bundles. SWNT were also grown by pulsed laser ablation with mixed Ni and Co catalyst, and the size and distribution of catalytic particles was studied. By using Z-contrast imaging, we found that the size distribution of the catalyst particles varied over a large range, but even the smallest were larger than the diameter of an individual SWNT. Furthermore, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) is used to determine the composition of individual nanocatalyst particles, and were found to consist of a uniform alloy of Co and Ni.


2002 ◽  
Vol 747 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Roy Chowdhuri ◽  
C. G. Takoudis ◽  
R. F. Klie ◽  
N. D. Browning

ABSTRACTThin films of aluminum oxide were deposited on clean Si(100) substrates using trimethylaluminum and oxygen at 300°C. Infrared spectroscopic and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analyses of these films showed no aluminum silicate or SiO2 phase formation at the film/substrate interface. The O/Al ratio in the as deposited film was found to be higher than that in stoichiometric Al2O3. On annealing the as deposited samples in Ar at higher temperatures, a peak due to the transverse optical phonon for the Si-O-Si stretching mode appeared in the infrared spectra. A combination of Z-contrast imaging and electron energy loss spectroscopy in the scanning transmission electron microscope confirmed that the annealed samples developed a layer of silicon dioxide at the aluminum oxide-Si interface. Z-contrast images and electron energy loss spectra, obtained while heating the sample inside the scanning transmission electron microscope were used to follow the interfacial SiO2 formation.


1992 ◽  
Vol 275 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Chen ◽  
H. A. Lu ◽  
F. DiMeo ◽  
B. W. Wessels ◽  
D. L. Schulz ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT-Heteroepitaxial superconducting Bi,Sr2CaCu2Ox (BSCCO 2212) thin films have been formed by solid phase epitaxy from amorphous films deposited on (100) LaA1O3 single crystal substrates by organometallic chemical vapor deposition. The epitaxial structure of the film is confirmed by x-ray diffraction including θ/2θ and Φ (in plane rotation) scans. Cross-sectional high resolution transmission electron microscopy indicates that the film-substrate interface is nearly atomically abrupt. Improvements in superconducting properties of the epitaxial thin films are noted in comparison to highly textured films deposited on MgO.


2005 ◽  
Vol 875 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Welz ◽  
L. F. Fu ◽  
R. Erni ◽  
M. Kurasawa ◽  
P. C. McIntyre ◽  
...  

AbstractPolarization fatigue with repeated electric cycles in ferroelectric thin films is a major degradation problem in ferroelectric nonvolatile memories. However, the origin of this phenomenon is still not properly understood. The fatigue mechanism of a ferroelectric perovskite in a multilayer ferroelectric PbTiO3 thin film material has been investigated here using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Z-contrast images of the interfaces show that the ferroelectric PbTiO3 layer has partly decomposed into a single crystal PbTiO3 layer and an amorphous layer. Nanometer-sized precipitates are present near the Pt electrode. Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) analysis reveals that the amorphous layer is a Ti-rich phase between TiO2 and PbTiO3. The precipitates are determined to be a Pt-Pb rich crystalline phase. It is suggested that the formation of the structure-distorted intermediate layer and precipitates may be associated with the ferroelectric degradation process by acting as a passive layer in a ferroelectric capacitor. In addition, the formation of the Pt-Pb rich precipitates may cause an interruption of the consistent Pt electrode, which may result in failure of the device.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Maria A. Kirsanova ◽  
Alexey S. Akmaev ◽  
Mikhail V. Gorbunov ◽  
Daria Mikhailova ◽  
Artem M. Abakumov

Na9V14O35 (η-NaxV2O5) has been synthesized via solid-state reaction in an evacuated sealed silica ampoule and tested as electroactive material for Na-ion batteries. According to powder X-ray diffraction, electron diffraction and atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy, Na9V14O35 adopts a monoclinic structure consisting of layers of corner- and edge-sharing VO5 tetragonal pyramids and VO4 tetrahedra with Na cations positioned between the layers, and can be considered as sodium vanadium(IV,V) oxovanadate Na9V104.1+O19(V5+O4)4. Behavior of Na9V14O35 as a positive and negative electrode in Na half-cells was investigated by galvanostatic cycling against metallic Na, synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and electron energy loss spectroscopy. Being charged to 4.6 V vs. Na+/Na, almost 3 Na can be extracted per Na9V14O35 formula, resulting in electrochemical capacity of ~60 mAh g−1. Upon discharge below 1 V, Na9V14O35 uptakes sodium up to Na:V = 1:1 ratio that is accompanied by drastic elongation of the separation between the layers of the VO4 tetrahedra and VO5 tetragonal pyramids and volume increase of about 31%. Below 0.25 V, the ordered layered Na9V14O35 structure transforms into a rock-salt type disordered structure and ultimately into amorphous products of a conversion reaction at 0.1 V. The discharge capacity of 490 mAh g−1 delivered at first cycle due to the conversion reaction fades with the number of charge-discharge cycles.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document