Search Results
Femtosecond X-ray diffraction from nanolayered oxides
2010, Von Korff Schmising, C., Harpoeth, A., Zhavoronkov, N., Woerner, M., Elsaesser, T., Bargheer, M., Schmidbauer, M., Vrejoiu, I., Hesse, D., Alexe, M.
Femtosecond X-ray scattering offers the opportunity to investigate reversible lattice dynamics with unprecedented accuracy. We show in a prototype experiment how strain propagation modifies the functionality of a ferroelectric system on its intrinsic time scale.
Surface effects of vapour-liquid-solid driven Bi surface droplets formed during molecular-beam-epitaxy of GaAsBi
2016, Steele, J.A., Lewis, R.A., Horvat, J., Nancarrow, M.J.B., Henini, M., Fan, D., Mazur, Y.I., Schmidbauer, M., Ware, M.E., Yu, S.-Q., Salamo, G.J.
Herein we investigate a (001)-oriented GaAs1−xBix/GaAs structure possessing Bi surface droplets capable of catalysing the formation of nanostructures during Bi-rich growth, through the vapour-liquid-solid mechanism. Specifically, self-aligned “nanotracks” are found to exist trailing the Bi droplets on the sample surface. Through cross-sectional high-resolution transmission electron microscopy the nanotracks are revealed to in fact be elevated above surface by the formation of a subsurface planar nanowire, a structure initiated mid-way through the molecular-beam-epitaxy growth and embedded into the epilayer, via epitaxial overgrowth. Electron microscopy studies also yield the morphological, structural and chemical properties of the nanostructures. Through a combination of Bi determination methods the compositional profile of the film is shown to be graded and inhomogeneous. Furthermore, the coherent and pure zincblende phase property of the film is detailed. Optical characterisation of features on the sample surface is carried out using polarised micro-Raman and micro-photoluminescence spectroscopies. The important light producing properties of the surface nanostructures are investigated through pump intensity-dependent micro-PL measurements, whereby relatively large local inhomogeneities are revealed to exist on the epitaxial surface for important optical parameters. We conclude that such surface effects must be considered when designing and fabricating optical devices based on GaAsBi alloys.
Step-flow growth in homoepitaxy of β-Ga2O3 (100)—The influence of the miscut direction and faceting
2019, Schewski, R., Lion, K., Fiedler, A., Wouters, C., Popp, K., Levchenko, S.V., Schulz, T., Schmidbauer, M., Bin Anooz, S., Grüneberg, R., Galazka, Z., Wagner, G., Irmscher, K., Scheffler, M., Draxl, C., Albrecht, M.
We present a systematic study on the influence of the miscut orientation on structural and electronic properties in the homoepitaxial growth on off-oriented β-Ga2O3 (100) substrates by metalorganic chemical vapour phase epitaxy. Layers grown on (100) substrates with 6° miscut toward the [001⎯⎯] direction show high electron mobilities of about 90 cm2 V−1 s−1 at electron concentrations in the range of 1–2 × 1018 cm−3, while layers grown under identical conditions but with 6° miscut toward the [001] direction exhibit low electron mobilities of around 10 cm2 V−1 s−1. By using high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, we find significant differences in the surface morphologies of the substrates after annealing and of the layers in dependence on their miscut direction. While substrates with miscuts toward [001⎯⎯] exhibit monolayer steps terminated by (2⎯⎯01) facets, mainly bilayer steps are found for miscuts toward [001]. Epitaxial growth on both substrates occurs in step-flow mode. However, while layers on substrates with a miscut toward [001⎯⎯] are free of structural defects, those on substrates with a miscut toward [001] are completely twinned with respect to the substrate and show stacking mismatch boundaries. This twinning is promoted at step edges by transformation of the (001)-B facets into (2⎯⎯01) facets. Density functional theory calculations of stoichiometric low index surfaces show that the (2⎯⎯01) facet has the lowest surface energy following the (100) surface. We conclude that facet transformation at the step edges is driven by surface energy minimization for the two kinds of crystallographically inequivalent miscut orientations in the monoclinic lattice of β-Ga2O3.
Huge impact of compressive strain on phase transition temperatures in epitaxial ferroelectric KxNa1-xNbO3 thin films
2019, Von Helden, L., Bogula, L., Janolin, P.-E., Hanke, M., Breuer, T., Schmidbauer, M., Ganschow, S., Schwarzkopf, J.
We present a study in which ferroelectric phase transition temperatures in epitaxial KxNa1-xNbO3 films are altered systematically by choosing different (110)-oriented rare-earth scandate substrates and by variation of the potassium to sodium ratio. Our results prove the capability to continuously shift the ferroelectric-to-ferroelectric transition from the monoclinic MC to orthorhombic c-phase by about 400 °C via the application of anisotropic compressive strain. The phase transition was investigated in detail by monitoring the temperature dependence of ferroelectric domain patterns using piezoresponse force microscopy and upon analyzing structural changes by means of high resolution X-ray diffraction including X-ray reciprocal space mapping. Moreover, the temperature evolution of the effective piezoelectric coefficient d33,f was determined using double beam laser interferometry, which exhibits a significant dependence on the particular ferroelectric phase. © 2019 Author(s).