No Arabic abstract
We examine the magnetic ordering of UN and of a closely related nitride, U2N3, by preparing thin epitaxial films and using synchrotron x-ray techniques. The magnetic configuration and subsequent coupling to the lattice are key features of the electronic structure. The well-known antiferromagnetic (AF) ordering of UN is confirmed, but the expected accompanying distortion at Tn is not observed. Instead, we propose that the strong magneto-elastic interaction at low temperature involves changes in the strain of the material. These strains vary as a function of the sample form. As a consequence, the accepted AF configuration of UN may be incorrect. In the case of cubic a-U2N3, no single crystals have been previously prepared, and we have determined the AF ordering wave-vector. The AF Tn is close to that previously reported. In addition, resonant diffraction methods have identified an aspherical quadrupolar charge contribution in U2N3 involving the 5f electrons; the first time this has been observed in an actinide compound.
Single crystal epitaxial thin films of UN and U$_2$N$_3$ have been grown for the first time by reactive DC magnetron sputtering. These films provide ideal samples for fundamental research into the potential accident tolerant fuel, UN, and U$_2$N$_3$, its intermediate oxidation product. Films were characterised using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), with XRD analysis showing both thin films to be [001] oriented and composed of a single domain. The specular lattice parameters of the UN and U$_2$N$_3$ films were found to be 4.895,AA{} and 10.72,AA{}, respectively, with the UN film having a miscut of 2.6,$^circ$. XPS showed significant differences in the N-1s peak between the two films, with area analysis showing both films to be stoichiometric.
Molecular beam epitaxy of Fe3Si on GaAs(001) is studied in situ by grazing incidence x-ray diffraction. Layer-by-layer growth of Fe3Si films is observed at a low growth rate and substrate temperatures near 200 degrees Celsius. A damping of x-ray intensity oscillations due to a gradual surface roughening during growth is found. The corresponding sequence of coverages of the different terrace levels is obtained. The after-deposition surface recovery is very slow. Annealing at 310 degrees Celsius combined with the deposition of one monolayer of Fe3Si restores the surface to high perfection and minimal roughness. Our stoichiometric films possess long-range order and a high quality heteroepitaxial interface.
We analyze the lineshape of x-ray diffraction profiles of GaN epitaxial layers with large densities of randomly distributed threading dislocations. The peaks are Gaussian only in the central, most intense part of the peak, while the tails obey a power law. The $q^{-3}$ decay typical for random dislocations is observed in double-crystal rocking curves. The entire profile is well fitted by a restricted random dislocation distribution. The densities of both edge and screw threading dislocations and the ranges of dislocation correlations are obtained.
We report the results of x-ray scattering studies of AlN on c-plane sapphire during reactive radiofrequency magnetron sputtering. The sensitivity of in situ x-ray measurements allowed us to follow the structural evolution of strain and roughness from initial nucleation layers to fullyrelaxed AlN films. A growth rate transient was observed, consistent with the initial formation of non-coalesced islands with significant oxygen incorporation from the substrate. Following island coalescence, a steady state growth rate was seen with a continuous shift of the c and a lattice parameters towards the relaxed bulk values as growth progressed, with films reaching a fully relaxed state at thicknesses of about 30 nm.
We analyze X-ray diffraction data used to extract cell parameters of ultrathin films on closely matching substrates. We focus on epitaxial La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 films grown on (001) SrTiO3 single crystalline substrates. It will be shown that, due to extremely high structural similarity of film and substrate, data analysis must explicitly consider the distinct phase of the diffracted waves by substrate and films to extract reliable unit cell parameters. The implications of this finding for the understanding of strain effects in ultrathin films and interfaces will be underlined