No Arabic abstract
We report on the epitaxial growth and surface structure of infinite-layer cuprate Sr1-xNdxCuO2 films on SrTiO3(001) substrates by combining ozone-assisted molecular beam epitaxy and in situ scanning tunneling microscopy. Careful substrate temperature and flux control has been used to achieve single-phase, stoichiometric, and c-axis oriented films. The surface of the films is usually characterized by a mixed CuO2 surface and gridlike superstructure. The superstructure exhibits a periodicity of 3.47 nm that corresponds to a coincidence lattice between the overlayer peroxide SrO2 and underlying CuO2 plane, and gives rise to a conductance spectrum that is distinct from the Mott-Hubbard band structure of CuO2. At a higher Nd composition x > 0.1, a (2 x 2) surface characteristic of the hole-doped CuO2 emerges, which we ascribe to the intake of apical oxygens in the intervening Sr planes.
We report growth of superconducting Sr2RuO4 films by oxide molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Careful tuning of the Ru flux with an electron beam evaporator enables us to optimize growth conditions including the Ru/Sr flux ratio and also to investigate stoichiometry effects on the structural and transport properties. The highest onset transition temperature of about 1.1 K is observed for films grown in a slightly Ru-rich flux condition in order to suppress Ru deficiency. The realization of superconducting Sr2RuO4 films via oxide MBE opens up a new route to study the unconventional superconductivity of this material.
Epitaxial films of NdFeAsO were grown on GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). All elements including oxygen were supplied from solid sources using Knudsen cells. The x-ray diffraction pattern of the film prepared with the optimum growth condition showed no indication of impurity phases. Only (00l) peaks were observed, indicating that NdFeAsO was grown with the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. The window of optimum growth condition was very narrow, but the NdFeAsO phase was grown with a very good reproducibility. Despite the absence of any appreciable secondary phase, the resistivity showed an increase with decreasing temperature.
We report the successful growth of tetragonal FeS film with one or two unit-cell (UC) thickness on SrTiO3(001) substrate by molecular beam epitaxy. Large lattice constant mismatch with the substrate leads to high density of defects in single UC FeS, while it has been significantly reduced in double UC thick film due to the lattice relaxation. The scanning tunneling spectra on the surface of FeS thin film reveal the electronic doping effect of single UC FeS from the substrate. In addition, at the Fermi level, the energy gaps of approximate 1.5 meV are observed in films of both thicknesses at 4.6 K and below. The absence of coherence peaks of gap spectra may be related to the preformed Cooper-pairs without phase coherence.
Gray tin, also known as {alpha}-Sn, has been attracting research interest recent years due to its topological nontrivial properties predicted theoretically. The Dirac linear band dispersion has been proved experimentally by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We have grown a series of {alpha}-Sn thin film samples in two types with different substrates and thicknesses by molecular beam epitaxy. To explore the possible exotic physical properties related to the topological band structures, we have measured the electrical transport properties of our {alpha}-Sn thin film samples and observed multiple superconducting transitions. We have identified the transitions above 4.5 K, besides the transition maybe related to the b{eta} phase around 3.7 K. The changes of the superconducting properties over time reflect the aging effects in our samples. We have also confirmed the strain effects on the superconducting transitions through altering the relative thickness of our samples.
We report a systematic study on the growth conditions of Sn$_{1-x}$In$_x$Te thin films by molecular beam epitaxy for maximization of superconducting transition temperature $T_mathrm{c}$. Careful tuning of the flux ratios of Sn, In, and Te enables us to find an optimum condition for substituting rich In content ($x$ = 0.66) into Sn site in a single phase of Sn$_{1-x}$In$_x$Te beyond the bulk solubility limit at ambient pressure ($x$ = 0.5). $T_mathrm{c}$ shows a dome-shaped dependence on In content $x$ with the highest $T_mathrm{c}$ = 4.20 K at $x$ = 0.55, being consistent to that reported for bulk crystals. The well-regulated Sn$_{1-x}$In$_x$Te films can be a useful platform to study possible topological superconductivity by integrating them into the state-of-the-art junctions and/or proximity-coupled devices.