No Arabic abstract
The epitaxy of MoO2 on c_plane sapphire substrates is examined. A theoretical approach, based on density functional theory calculations of the strain energy, allowed to predict the preferred layer/substrate epitaxial relationships. To test the results of these calculations, MoO2/(001) Al2O3 heterostructures were grown using the chemically_driven isothermal close space vapour transport technique. At the early stages of the growth, two kinds of morphologies were obtained, using the same growth parameters: lying and standing flakes. The composition and morphology, as well as the layer/substrate epitaxial relationships were determined for both kind of morphologies. Experimental epitaxial relationships coincide with those predicted by DFT calculation as the most favourable ones in terms of strain energy. For thicker films, the standing flakes evolve to form an epitaxial porous layer composed by coalesced epitaxial flakes. The interfacial strain between the sapphire substrate and MoO2 enables a self_organization from nanometer to micron scales between separated or coalesced flakes, depending on deposition condition.
We report current-induced spin torques in epitaxial NiMnSb films on a commercially available epi-ready GaAs substrate. The NiMnSb was grown by co-sputtering from three targets using optimised parameter. The films were processed into micro-scale bars to perform current-induced spin-torque measurements. Magnetic dynamics were excited by microwave currents and electric voltages along the bars were measured to analyse the symmetry of the current-induced torques. We found that the extracted symmetry of the spin torques matches those expected from spin-orbit interaction in a tetragonally distorted half-Heusler crystal. Both field-like and damping-like torques are observed in all the samples characterised, and the efficiency of the current-induced torques is comparable to that of ferromagnetic metal/heavy metal bilayers.
Recently, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) layers have generated a lot of interest as ideal substrates for 2D stacked devices. Sapphire-supported thin hBN films of different thicknesses are grown using metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy technique by following a flow modulation scheme. Though these films of relatively large size are potential candidates to be employed in designing real devices, they exhibit wrinkling. The formation of wrinkles is a key signature of strain distribution in a film. Raman imaging has been utilized to study the residual strain distribution in these wrinkled hBN films. An increase in the overall compressive strain in the films with an increase in the layer thickness has been observed. To find whether the residual lattice strain in the films can be removed by a thermal treatment, temperature dependent Raman measurements of these films are carried out. The study demonstrates that the thermal rate of strain evolution is higher in the films of lower thickness than in the thicker films. This observation further provides a possible explanation for the variation of strain in the as-grown films. An empirical relation has been proposed for estimating the residual strain from the morphology of the films. We have also shown that the residual strain can be partially released by the delamination of the films.
We report on the formation of the dilute $Pd_{1-x}Fe_x$ compositions with tunable magnetic properties under an ion-beam implantation of epitaxial Pd thin films. Binary $Pd_{1-x}Fe_x$ alloys with a mean iron content $x$ of $0.025$, $0.035$ or $0.075$ were obtained by the implantation of $40 keV$ $Fe^+$ ions into the palladium films on MgO (001) substrate to the doses of $0.5cdot10^{16}, 1.0cdot10^{16}$ and $3.0cdot10^{16}$ $ions/cm^2$, respectively. Structural and magnetic studies have shown that iron atoms occupy regular fcc-lattice Pd-sites without the formation of any secondary crystallographic phase. All the iron implanted Pd films reveal ferromagnetism at low temperatures (below $200 K$) with both the Curie temperature and saturation magnetization determined by the implanted iron dose. In contrast to the magnetic properties of the molecular beam epitaxy grown $Pd_{1-x}Fe_x$ alloy films with the similar iron contents, the Fe-implanted Pd films possess weaker in-plane magnetocrystalline anisotropy, and, accordingly, a lower coercivity. The observed multiple ferromagnetic resonances in the implanted $Pd_{1-x}Fe_x$ films indicate a formation of a magnetically inhomogeneous state due to spinodal decomposition into regions, presumably layers, with identical crystal symmetry but different iron contents. The multiphase magnetic structure is robust with respect to the vacuum annealing at $770 K$, though develops towards well-defined local $Pd-Fe$ compositions.
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.
This is an introduction to the special issue Genome organization: experiments and simulations, published in Chromosome Research, volume 25, issue 1 (2017).