No Arabic abstract
Superconducting epitaxial FeSe0.5Te0.5 thin films were prepared on SrTiO3 (001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The high purity of the phase, the quality of the growth and the epitaxy were studied with different experimental techniques: X-rays diffraction, reflection high energy electron diffraction, scanning tunnelling microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The substrate temperature during the deposition was found to be the main parameter governing sample morphology and superconducting critical temperature. Films obtained in the optimal conditions show an epitaxial growth with c axis perpendicular to the film surface and the a and b axis parallel to the substrates one, without the evidence of any other orientation. Moreover, such films show a metallic behavior over the whole measured temperature range and critical temperature above 17K, which is higher than the target one.
The crystal structures of LaAlO3 films grown by pulsed laser deposition on SrTiO3 substrates at oxygen pressure of 10-3 mbar or 10-5 mbar, where kinetics of ablated species hardly depend on oxygen background pressure, are compared. Our results show that the interface between LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 is sharper when the oxygen pressure is lower. Over time, the formation of various crystalline phases is observed while the crystalline thickness of the LaAlO3 layer remains unchanged. X-ray scattering as well as atomic force microscopy measurements indicate three-dimensional growth of such phases, which appear to be fed from an amorphous capping layer present in as-grown samples.
A series of MgB2 thin films were fabricated by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), doped with various amounts of Si up to a level of 18wt%. Si was introduced into the PLD MgB2 films by sequential ablation of a stoichiometric MgB2 target and a Si target. The doped films were deposited at 250 C and annealed in situ at 685 C for 1min. Up to a Si doping level of ~11wt%, the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of the film does not change significantly, as compared to the control, undoped film. The magnetic critical current density (Jc) of the film at 5K was increased by 50% for a Si doping level of ~3.5wt%, as compared to the control film. Also, the irreversibility field of Si-doped MgB2 films (Hirr) at low temperature is higher than for the undoped film.
Pulsed-laser deposition has been used to grow epitaxial thin films of the giant-dielectric-constant material CaCu_3Ti_4O_{12} on LaAlO_3 and SrTiO_3 substrates with or without various conducting buffer layers. The latter include YBa_2Cu_3O_7, La_{1.85}Sr_{0.15}CuO_{4+delta} and LaNiO_3. Above 100K - 150K the thin films have a temperature independent dielectric constant as do single crystals. The value of the dielectric constant is of the order of 1500 over a wide temperature region, potentially making it a good candidate for many applications. The frequency dependence of its dielectric properties below 100K - 150K indicates an activated relaxation process.
Epitaxial titanium diboride thin films have been deposited on sapphire substrates by Pulsed Laser Ablation technique. Structural properties of the films have been studied during the growth by Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction (RHEED) and ex-situ by means of X-ray diffraction techniques; both kinds of measurements indicate a good crystallographic orientation of the TiB2 film both in plane and along the c axis. A flat surface has been observed by Atomic Force Microscopy imaging. Electrical resistivity at room temperature resulted to be five times higher than the value reported for single crystals. The films resulted to be also very stable at high temperature, which is very promising for using this material as a buffer layer in the growth of magnesium diboride thin films.
The surface structure of SrTiO3(001) thin films homoepitaxially grown by PLD in step-flow mode was characterized using low temperature STM. It was found that one-dimensional (1D) TiOx-based nanostructures were formed on the thin film surface and their density increased with increasing thin film thickness. Most of the 1D nanostructures disappeared after a post-deposition annealing, indicating that this structure is metastable due to the nonequilibrium growth mode. The resulting surface after annealing exhibited similar features to that of a thinner film, having a domain structure with (2x1) and (1x2) reconstructions, but with fewer oxygen-vacancy-type defects. These results imply that the step-flow growth is likely to produce TiOx-rich surface and Ti deficiencies in the film. By the post-deposition annealing, the rich TiOx would diffuse from the surface into the film to compensate defects associated with Ti vacancies and oxygen vacancies, resulting in the stable surface structure with fewer oxygen vacancies. Thus, STM measurements can provide us with a microscopic picture of surface stoichiometry of thin films originating in the dynamics of the growth process, and can present a new approach for designing functional oxide films.