Author: Jason LapanoPublisher:
ISBN:
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Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
The three core tenants of materials science are theory, synthesis, and characterization. A solid theoretical framework is required for understanding of the problem at hand and using that knowledge to advance new areas of research. Synthesis of pristine materials is required to study the theory in a physical system and prevent misinterpretation of results. Complex structures and compositions are often the most interesting, and when defects and impurities are of interest, perfectly-imperfect samples are required which are often the most challenging to synthesize. Characterization of these materials is equally as important and complex, requiring careful sample preparation and experimental setups. Further, it is not always clear how to observe the property of scientific interest, and new characterization techniques must be developed. This dissertation focuses on using these three tenants to understand and advance the field of transition metal perovskite complex oxides using thin films of the incipient ferroelectrics CaTiO3 and SrTiO3 and antiferromagnetic Mott-Insulators LaVO3 and YVO3. The knowledge gained in this thesis can be applied to other complex oxide materials in better understanding magnetic and electronic transitions, high Tc superconductivity and quantum hall effect. Coupled with the relatively simple structure and ease of integration of multiple different chemical compounds into a single heterostructure leads to near numerous avenues to design functionality into materials.The first sections of this thesis begin with (1) an introduction to the basic science and past work in perovskite oxides, followed by (2) exploring the most common and promising synthesis routes, and finally (3) the various characterization methods used. The 4th chapter addresses the specific challenges of growth of ternary complex oxide thin films in an industrially profitable fashion. The three primary criterion that these deposition methods must adhere to is that they must (a) control film stoichiometry to less than 1% deviations, (b) deposit conformal coatings over standard 8 silicon wafers, (c) and exhibit deposition rates in excess of 1 m/hr. We show that these can be achieved using a hybrid molecular beam (hMBE) epitaxy approach and outline a route for commercially viable growth of complex oxides on silicon. This method is applied directly to the deposition of SrTiO3 on silicon for virtual single crystal perovskite substrates. The 5th chapter of this thesis discusses the effect of epitaxial strain, stoichiometry and interfacial coupling in heterostructures of complex oxides. In the (SrTiO3)n(CaTiO3)n series of superlattices grown by hMBE, it is found that interfacial energies play a large role in dictating the macroscopic properties, particularly ferroelectricity. In coherently strained thin films, both CaTiO3 and SrTiO3 exhibit relaxor-like ferroelectric behavior below room temperature. However, certain superlattices of these materials show nonpolar behavior when probed using second harmonic generation (SHG). High resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) reveals that the symmetry in the superlattice is different from the individual parent compounds at the same strain state. It is found these are directly related to the high density of interfacial layers present in the films. Further, interfacial mixing of the constituent layers on certain superlattices leads to the development of a Ca1-xSrxTiO3 alloy which develops a ferroelectric moment at low temperatures, leading to spurious SHG signals. The findings of this experiment highlight the sensitivity of these complex layered structures to strain, stoichiometry, distortion coupling effects, and interfacial mixing.
