Epitaxial NiO-Co exchange-biased bilayers grown on MgO single crystals Influence of the substrate orientation on the film morphology, the Co structure and the magnetic behavior

2001 ◽  
Vol 672 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Warot ◽  
E. Snoeck ◽  
J.C. Ousset ◽  
M.J. Casanove ◽  
S. Dubourg ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCo/NiO bilayers have been grown on MgO(001), MgO(110) and MgO(111) substrates in an ultra high vacuum sputtering chamber. Growth mode and surface morphology are investigated by X-ray diffraction, Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction (RHEED), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM). NiO layers grow epitaxially whatever the substrate orientation. Flat surfaces are observed on NiO/MgO(001) whereas on MgO(110) the NiO surface exhibits a roof-like morphology consisting in (100) and (010) facets elongated along the [001] direction. On MgO(111), the NiO surface presents pyramids with {100} facets. A temperature dependence of the cobalt layer structure is observed: on NiO(001) at room temperature it grows in its high temperature face-centered cubic structure (fcc), whereas it has the hexagonal close-packed structure (hcp) when deposited at slightly higher temperatures.

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (S2) ◽  
pp. 475-476
Author(s):  
M. Yeadon ◽  
M.T. Marshall ◽  
J.M. Gibson

Group III-nitride thin films are currently of great interest for use in wide-bandgap semiconductor applications including UV lasers and light emitting diodes (LEDs). Sapphire (a-Al2O3) is currently the substrate of choice for the growth of GaN despite a large lattice mismatch. Growth of high quality GaN epilayers typically involves the deposition of a buffer layer of either AIN or GaN at a temperature well below that used for the growth of the active GaN layer. It has been found empirically that nitridation of the sapphire surface with nascent nitrogen prior to growth of the buffer layer results in a substantial improvement in film quality. Using a novel ultra-high vacuum (UHV) in-situ TEM with in-situ RMBE, we have studied the nitridation of the (0001) sapphire surface using transmission and reflection electron microscopy (REM), reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES).An electron-transparent sapphire TEM sample was annealed at 1400°C for 12 hours in flowing oxygen, to form atomically flat surfaces for our investigation.


Author(s):  
M. Gajdardziska-Josifovska ◽  
B. G. Frost ◽  
E. Völkl ◽  
L. F. Allard

Polar surfaces are those crystallographic faces of ionically bonded solids which, when bulk terminated, have excess surface charge and a non-zero dipole moment perpendicular to the surface. In the case of crystals with a rock salt structure, {111} faces are the exemplary polar surfaces. It is commonly believed that such polar surfaces facet into neutral crystallographic planes to minimize their surface energy. This assumption is based on the seminal work of Henrich which has shown faceting of the MgO(111) surface into {100} planes giving rise to three sided pyramids that have been observed by scanning electron microscopy. These surfaces had been prepared by mechanical polishing and phosphoric acid etching, followed by Ar+ sputtering and 1400 K annealing in ultra-high vacuum (UHV). More recent reflection electron microscopy studies of MgO(111) surfaces, annealed in the presence of oxygen at higher temperatures, have revealed relatively flat surfaces stabilized by an oxygen rich reconstruction. In this work we employ a combination of optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electron holography to further study the issue of surface faceting.


Author(s):  
D. Loretto ◽  
J. M. Gibson ◽  
S. M. Yalisove

The silicides CoSi2 and NiSi2 are both metallic with the fee flourite structure and lattice constants which are close to silicon (1.2% and 0.6% smaller at room temperature respectively) Consequently epitaxial cobalt and nickel disilicide can be grown on silicon. If these layers are formed by ultra high vacuum (UHV) deposition (also known as molecular beam epitaxy or MBE) their thickness can be controlled to within a few monolayers. Such ultrathin metal/silicon systems have many potential applications: for example electronic devices based on ballistic transport. They also provide a model system to study the properties of heterointerfaces. In this work we will discuss results obtained using in situ and ex situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM).In situ TEM is suited to the study of MBE growth for several reasons. It offers high spatial resolution and the ability to penetrate many monolayers of material. This is in contrast to the techniques which are usually employed for in situ measurements in MBE, for example low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), which are both sensitive to only a few monolayers at the surface.


Author(s):  
Michael T. Marshall ◽  
Xianghong Tong ◽  
J. Murray Gibson

We have modified a JEOL 2000EX Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) to allow in-situ ultra-high vacuum (UHV) surface science experiments as well as transmission electron diffraction and imaging. Our goal is to support research in the areas of in-situ film growth, oxidation, and etching on semiconducter surfaces and, hence, gain fundamental insight of the structural components involved with these processes. The large volume chamber needed for such experiments limits the resolution to about 30 Å, primarily due to electron optics. Figure 1 shows the standard JEOL 2000EX TEM. The UHV chamber in figure 2 replaces the specimen area of the TEM, as shown in figure 3. The chamber is outfitted with Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED), Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), Residual Gas Analyzer (RGA), gas dosing, and evaporation sources. Reflection Electron Microscopy (REM) is also possible. This instrument is referred to as SHEBA (Surface High-energy Electron Beam Apparatus).The UHV chamber measures 800 mm in diameter and 400 mm in height. JEOL provided adapter flanges for the column.


1990 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 583
Author(s):  
GL Price

Recent developments in the growth of semiconductor thin films are reviewed. The emphasis is on growth by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Results obtained by reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) are employed to describe the different kinds of growth processes and the types of materials which can be constructed. MBE is routinely capable of heterostructure growth to atomic precision with a wide range of materials including III-V, IV, II-VI semiconductors, metals, ceramics such as high Tc materials and organics. As the growth proceeds in ultra high vacuum, MBE can take advantage of surface science techniques such as Auger, RHEED and SIMS. RHEED is the essential in-situ probe since the final crystal quality is strongly dependent on the surface reconstruction during growth. RHEED can also be used to calibrate the growth rate, monitor growth kinetics, and distinguish between various growth modes. A major new area is lattice mismatched growth where attempts are being made to construct heterostructures between materials of different lattice constants such as GaAs on Si. Also described are the new techniques of migration enhanced epitaxy and tilted superlattice growth. Finally some comments are given On the means of preparing large area, thin samples for analysis by other techniques from MBE grown films using capping, etching and liftoff.


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.


1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (S2) ◽  
pp. 583-584
Author(s):  
J. C. Yang ◽  
M. Yeadon ◽  
B. Kolasa ◽  
J. M. Gibson

We studied the beginning oxidation stage of a model metal system by in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in order to gain insights into the initial kinetics of oxidation. In-situ TEM experiments can distinguish between nucleation and growth since individual oxide islands are imaged. We chose to investigate Cu, since it is a simple face-centered cubic metal. Also, Cu is a highly promising metal interconnect material because of its low resistivity and good electromigration properties as compared to Al.Single crystal -1000Å 99.999% purity copper films were grown on irradiated NaCl in an UHV e-beam evaporator system. The free-standing copper film was placed on a specially designed holder, which permits resistive heating of the sample. The microscope used for this experiment is a modified ultra-high vacuum, with base pressure of 10−9 torr, JEOL200CX, operated at l00kV. To remove the native oxide formed during exposure in air, the Cu film was annealed at ∼350°C


1999 ◽  
Vol 589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen M. Plitzko ◽  
Geoffrey H. Campbell ◽  
Wayne E. King ◽  
Stephen M. Foiles

AbstractThe Σ5 (31O)/[001] symmetric tilt grain boundary (STGB) in the face centered cubic (FCC) metal aluminum with 1at% copper has been studied. The model grain boundary has been fabricated by ultra-high vacuum diffusion bonding of alloy single crystals. The segregation of the copper has been encouraged by annealing the sample after bonding at 200 °C. TEM samples of this FCCmaterial were prepared with a new low voltage ion mill under very low angles.The atomic structure of the Σ5(310)/[001] STGB for this system was modeled with electronic structure calculations. These theoretical calculations of the interface structure indicate that the Cu atoms segregate to distinct sites at the interface. High resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM) and analytical electron microscopy including electron energy spectroscopic imaging and X-ray energy dispersive spectrometry have been used to explore the segregation to the grain boundary. The HRTEM images and the analytical measurements were performed using different kinds of microscopes, including a Philips CM300 FEG equipped with an imaging energy filter. The amount of the segregated species at the interface was quantified in a preliminary way. To determine the atomic positions of the segregated atoms at the interface, HRTEM coupled with image simulation and a first attempt of a holographic reconstruction from a through-focal series have been used.


Author(s):  
Shouleh Nikzad ◽  
Channing C. Ahn ◽  
Harry A. Atwater

The universality of reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) as a structural tool during film growth by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) brings with it the possibility for in situ surface chemical analysis via spectroscopy of the accompanying inelastically scattered electrons. We have modified a serial electron energy loss spectrometer typically used on an electron microscope to work with a 30 keV RHEED-equipped MBE growth chamber in order to determine the composition of GexSi1-x alloys by reflection electron energy loss (REELS) experiments. Similar work done in transmission electron microscopes has emphasized the surface sensitivity of this technique even though these experiments have never been done under ultra-high vacuum conditions. In this work, we are primarily concerned with the accuracy with which core losses can be used to determine composition during MBE growth.


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