We have investigated the growth of BaTiO3 thin films deposited on pure and 1% Nb-doped SrTiO3(001) single crystals using atomic oxygen assisted molecular beam epitaxy (AO-MBE) and dedicated Ba and Ti Knudsen cells. Thicknesses up to 30 nm were investigated for various layer compositions. We demonstrate 2D growth and epitaxial single crystalline BaTiO3 layers up to 10 nm before additional 3D features appear; lattice parameter relaxation occurs during the first few nanometers and is completed at {guillemotright}10 nm. The presence of a Ba oxide rich top layer that probably favors 2D growth is evidenced for well crystallized layers. We show that the Ba oxide rich top layer can be removed by chemical etching. The present work stresses the importance of stoichiometry and surface composition of BaTiO3 layers, especially in view of their integration in devices.
The surface electronic properties of the important topological insulator Bi2Te3 are shown to be robust under an extended surface preparation procedure which includes exposure to atmosphere and subsequent cleaning and recrystallization by an optimized in-situ sputter-anneal procedure under ultra high vacuum conditions. Clear Dirac-cone features are displayed in high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectra from the resulting samples, indicating remarkable insensitivity of the topological surface state to cleaning-induced surface roughness.
Smooth interfaces and surfaces are beneficial for most (opto)electronic devices based on thin films and their heterostructures. For example, smoother interfaces in (010) beta-Ga2O3/(AlxGa1-x)2O3 heterostructures, whose roughness is ruled by that of the Ga2O3 layer, can enable higher mobility 2DEGs by reducing interface roughness scattering. To this end we experimentally prove that a substrate offcut along the [001] direction allows to obtain smooth beta-Ga2O3 layers in (010)-homoepitaxy under metal-rich conditions. Applying In-mediated metal-exchange catalysis (MEXCAT) in molecular beam epitaxy at high substrate temperatures (Tg = 900 {deg}C) we compare the morphology of layers grown on (010)-oriented substrates with different unintentional offcuts. The layer roughness is generally ruled by (i) (110) and (-110)-facets visible as elongated features along the [001] direction (rms < 0.5 nm), and (ii) trenches (5-10 nm deep) orthogonal to [001]. We show that an unintentional substrate offcut of only 0.1{deg} almost oriented along the [001] direction suppresses these trenches resulting in a smooth morphology with a roughness exclusively determined by the facets, i.e., rms 0.2 nm. Since we found the facet-and-trench morphology in layers grown by MBE with and without MEXCAT, we propose that the general growth mechanism for (010)-homoepitaxy is ruled by island growth whose coalescence results in the formation of the trenches. The presence of a substrate offcut in the [001] direction can allow for step-flow growth or island nucleation at the step edges, which prevents the formation of trenches. Moreover, we give experimental evidence for a decreasing surface diffusion length or increasing nucleation density with decreasing metal-to-oxygen flux ratio. Based on our results we can rule-out step bunching as cause of the trench formation as well as a surfactant-effect of indium during MEXCAT.
Type-II nodal line semimetal (NLS) is a new quantum state hosting one-dimensional closed loops formed by the crossing of two bands which have the same sign in their slopes along the radial direction of the loop. According to the theoretical prediction, Mg3Bi2 is an ideal candidate for studying the type-II NLS by tuning its spin-orbit coupling (SOC). In this paper, high quality Mg3Bi2 films are grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). By in-situ angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), a pair of surface resonance bands (SRBs) around Gamma point is clearly seen. It shows that Mg3Bi2 films grown by MBE is Mg(1)-terminated by comparing the ARPES data with the first principles calculations results. And, the temperature dependent weak anti-localization (WAL) effect in Mg3Bi2 films is observed under low magnetic field, which shows a clear two dimensional (2D) e-e scattering characteristics by fitting with the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka (HLN) model. Combining with ARPES, magneto-transport measurements and the first principles calculations, this work proves that Mg3Bi2 is a semimetal with topological surface states TSSs, which paves the way for Mg3Bi2 as an ideal materials platform for studying the exotic features of type-II nodal line semimetals (NLSs) and the topological phase transition by tuning its SOC.
Atomically thin PtSe2 films have attracted extensive research interests for potential applications in high-speed electronics, spintronics and photodetectors. Obtaining high quality, single crystalline thin films with large size is critical. Here we report the first successful layer-by-layer growth of high quality PtSe2 films by molecular beam epitaxy. Atomically thin films from 1 ML to 22 ML have been grown and characterized by low-energy electron diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. Moreover, a systematic thickness dependent study of the electronic structure is revealed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and helical spin texture is revealed by spin-ARPES. Our work provides new opportunities for growing large size single crystalline films for investigating the physical properties and potential applications of PtSe2.
Transparent conducting or semiconducting oxides are important materials for (transparent) optoelectronics and power electronics applications. While most of these oxides can be doped n-type only with room-temperature electron mobilities on the order of 100cm^2/Vs p-type oxides are needed for the realization of pn-junction devices but typically suffer from exessively low (<<1cm^2/Vs) hole mobilities. Tin monoxide (SnO) is one of the few p-type oxides with a higher hole mobility, lacking a well-established understanding of its hole transport properties. Moreover, growth of SnO is complicated by its metastability with respect to SnO2 and Sn, requiring epitaxy for the realization of single crystalline material typically required for high-end applications. Here, we give a comprehensive account on the epitaxial growth of SnO, its (meta)stability, and its thermoelectric transport properties in the context of the present literature. Textured and single-crystalline, unintentionally-doped p-type SnO(001) films are grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The metastability of this semiconducting oxide is addressed theoretically through an equilibrium phase diagram. Experimentally, the related SnO growth window is rapidly determined by an in-situ growth kinetics study as function of Sn-to-O-plasma flux ratio and growth temperature. The presence of secondary Sn and SnOx (1 < x <= 2) phases is comprehensively studied by different methods, indicating the presence of Sn3O4 or Sn as major secondary phases, as well as a fully oxidized SnO2 film surface. The hole transport properties, Seebeck coefficient, and density-of-states effective mass are determined and critically discussed in the context of the present literature on SnO, considering its anisotropic hole-effective mass.