A Comparison of Magnetic Properties of Thin Films of Fe/GaAs(100) and Ni/MICA

1992 ◽  
Vol 280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Andrien ◽  
David Miller

ABSTRACTA comparison between the morphology and magnetic properties has been made with thin films of Fe grown on GaAs(lOO) and of Ni grown on natural mica in the 10Å to 1000Å thickness range, in ultra high vacuum. The films are characterized in-situ by Auger spectroscopy and by an in-situ UHV M/H hysteresis loop tracer. If the films are thermally annealed, above 550°C for less than a few seconds, the film morphology changes. The Fe films form surface assembled clusters which are epitaxial with the GaAs substrate with diameters of order of the original average film thickness, while the Ni films grow large grains. The Auger signals show that the Fe clustering exposes the GaAs substrate while the Ni films are continuous and cover the mica substrate. In-situ adsorption studies of CO on the Ni films were consistent with the continuous nature of the Ni films. Hysteresis M/H curves are taken as a function of thickness and plots of coercivity versus film thickness or average cluster size shows a maximum near 100Å for both the Ni and the Fe films. The maximum is believed to be due to a trade-off between super-paramagnetism and magnetostatic forces, but with the grains in the Ni film playing the role of the clusters in the Fe film.

1991 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 1913-1918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiong-Ping Lu ◽  
Rishi Raj

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of titanium oxide films has been performed for the first time under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions. The films were deposited through the pyrolysis reaction of titanium isopropoxide, Ti(OPri)4, and in situ characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). A small amount of C incorporation was observed during the initial stages of deposition, through the interaction of precursor molecules with the bare Si substrate. Subsequent deposition produces pure and stoichiometric TiO2 films. Si–O bond formation was detected in the film-substrate interface. Deposition rate was found to increase with the substrate temperature. Ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHV-CVD) is especially useful to study the initial stages of the CVD processes, to prepare ultra-thin films, and to investigate the composition of deposited films without the interference from ambient impurities.


1993 ◽  
Vol 318 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Lubben ◽  
F. A. Modine

ABSTRACTThe ionic conductivity of LiI thin films grown on sapphire(0001) substrates has been studied in situ during deposition as a function of film thickness and deposition conditions. LiI films were produced at room temperature by sublimation in an ultra-high-vacuum system. The conductivity of the Lil parallel to the film/substrate interface was determined from frequency-dependent impedance measurements as a function of film thickness using Au interdigital electrodes deposited on the sapphire surface. The measurements show a conduction of ∼5 times the bulk value at the interface which gradually decreases as the film thickness is increased beyond 100 nm. This interfacial enhancement is not stable but anneals out with a characteristic log of time dependence. Fully annealed films have an activation energy for conduction (σT) of ∼0.47 ± .03 eV, consistent with bulk measurements. The observed annealing behavior can be fit with a model based on dislocation motion which implies that the increase in conduction near the interface is not due to the formation of a space-charge layer as previously reported but to defects generated during the growth process. This explanation is consistent with the behavior exhibited by CaF2 films grown under similar conditions.


Author(s):  
F. Honda ◽  
M. Goto

Tribological performance of sub-nano to nanometer-thick Ag layers deposited on Si(111) have been examined to understand the role of surface thin layers to the wear and friction characteristics. The slider was made of diamond sphere of 3 mm in radius. Sliding tests were carried out in an ultra-high vacuum environment (lower than 4 × 10−8 Pa) and analyzed in-situ by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) for the quantitative thickness-measurements, by reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) to clarify the substrate cleanliness and crystallography of the Ag films, and by scanning probe microscopy (SPM) for the morphology of the deposited/slid film surfaces. As the results, a minimum of the friction coefficient 0.007 was observed from the film thickness range of 1.5–10 nm, and exactly no worn particles were found after 100 cycles of reciprocal sliding. Results have directly indicated that solid Ag(111) sliding planes allowed to reduce the friction coefficient very low without any detectable wear particles, and Ag nanocrystallites in Ag polycrystalline layers increase the size to 20–40 nm order, during sliding. The friction coefficient was slightly dependent to the normal load. Results were discussed on the role of the surface atoms to the friction, and a mechanism of sliding on Ag thin layers.


1999 ◽  
Vol 589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mridula D. Bharadwaj ◽  
Anu Gupta ◽  
J. Murray Gibson ◽  
Judith C. Yang

AbstractEffect of moisture on the oxidation of copper was studied using in situ UHV-TEM. The ultra high vacuum condition is required for minimum contamination effects. The initial observations show that the water vapor reduces the oxide as well as reduces the rate of oxidation if both oxygen gas and water vapor are simultaneously used. Based on these observations, we have speculated on the role of moisture in the solid state reactions involved in copper oxidation


2000 ◽  
Vol 619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith C. Yang ◽  
Mridula Dixit Bharadwaj ◽  
Lori Tropia

ABSTRACTWe have investigated the initial stages of Cu (001) oxidation in dry and moist oxidizing conditions using in situ ultra-high vacuum (UIHV) transmission electron microscopy (TEM). To investigate the role of moisture in the solid state reactions in Cu oxidation, we have examined the oxidation of Cu (001) with water vapor. Our observation indicate that water vapor causes reduction of Cu2O and retards the oxidation rate if both oxygen gas and water vapor are used simultaneously which contradicts the thermochemical data. We are also modeling the nucleation to coalescence of the oxide scale using the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK) equation and have noted a qualitative agreement.


2006 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 81-89
Author(s):  
L. Gavioli ◽  
M. Sancrotti

This work will provide an overview of recent experiments devoted to study the nature and properties of materials obtained in situ via cluster-assembling, by using supersonic cluster beam deposition. This technique has proved to be a powerful tool for assembling nanostructured materials with tailored physical properties, in particular for: 1) carbon-based clusters deposited in situ on appropriate substrates in Ultra High Vacuum compatible conditions; 2) a micro-structured pattern based on pristine carbon-based dots and then promoted to the formation of SiC via in situ thermal annealing; 3) thermo-chemically doped nanostructured TiO2, revealing the possibility to control the band gap of this material. The electronic structure of the systems has been studied combining a wide variety of experimental methods, including valence-band and core-level photoemission, Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy, Scanning Auger Spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy.


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