A. G. Banshchikov

Electrical characterization and modeling of the Au/CaF2/nSi(111) structures with high-quality tunnel-thin fluoride layer

Au/CaF2/nSi(111) structures with 4–5 monolayers of epitaxial fluoride are fabricated and electrically tested. The leakage current in these structures was substantially smaller than in similar samples reported previously. Simulations adopting a Franz-type dispersion relation with Franz mass of mF∼1.2m0 for carriers in the forbidden band of CaF2 reproduced the measured current-voltage curves quite satisfactorily. Roughly, these curves could also be reproduced using the parabolic dispersion law with the electron mass of me=1.0m0, which is a material constant rather than a fitting parameter. Experimental facts and their comparison to modeling results allow qualification of the crystalline quality of fabricated structures as sufficient for device applications.

Proximity effects and exchange bias in Co/MnF2(111) heterostructures studied by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism

Cobalt nano-structured ultrathin films were grown on orthorhombic MnF(2) by molecular beam epitaxy on CaF(2) epitaxial layers deposited on Si(111) substrates. The Co film was grown at room temperature. It was found to be polycrystalline, forming nano-islands with height≈diameter≤10 nm. X-ray absorption evidences the chemical stability of the Co/MnF(2) interface. Remarkably, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) demonstrates that the Co induces a net magnetization on the Mn ions close to the interface. The magnetic moments of these Mn ions couple antiparallel to the Co and rotate upon field reversal following the magnetization of the Co both below and high above the Néel temperature of MnF(2) (T(N) = 67 K). The density of coupled Mn moments is found to be temperature dependent, with an equivalent thickness of ~1.5 MnF(2) monolayers at 20 K, decreasing to about ~0.5 ML as the temperature is raised to 300 K. Interestingly, the intensity of the Mn XMCD signal appears to be related to the coercivity of the Co layer. This behavior is interpreted in terms of the competition between thermal fluctuations, exchange coupling between Co and Mn at the interface and, at low temperature, the antiferromagnetic order in MnF(2).

Structure and surface morphology of MnF2 epitaxial layers grown on grooved and ridged CaF2 (1 1 0) surface

Structural and surface morphology studies of MnF2 epitaxial layers have been performed by x-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy (AFM). MnF2 layers of different thicknesses (0.12–1.25 µm) were grown by MBE on Si(0 0 1) substrates with the deposited CaF2-buffer layer having a 1 1 0 orientation and a grooved and ridged surface. X-ray diffraction patterns in the 10°–60° angular range have been measured. Profiles of diffraction peaks in two directions—parallel and normal to the diffraction vector—as well as the intensity distribution around 2 2 0 reciprocal lattice points were obtained. It was found that the metastable orthorhombic phase of α-PbO2 type with [1 1 0] growth direction dominates in the films; a much smaller portion of the stable rutile type phase was also detected, though it increases with the film thickness. As follows from the x-ray diffraction data, the films have a mosaic block structure. Parameters of the crystallites were determined using the Williamson–Hall analysis of angular width of the diffraction peaks. It was obtained that the crystallites of the orthorhombic phase have an elongated shape oriented along the direction of the CaF2 ridges. The AFM study confirms a regular distribution of the orthorhombic crystallites and shows the appearance of some irregular shaped crystallites on the top of the thick MnF2 films.

Manganese fluoride epitaxial growth on Si(111)

Abstract Epitaxial MnF2 layers were grown on CaF2/Si(111) substrates using molecular beam epitaxy. Layer-by-layer growth was observed at room temperature. The first three molecular layers of MnF2 have cubic fluorite lattice inherited from CaF2. Thicker layers have tetragonal lattice of rutile with (110) plane parallel to the substarte surface and [001] axis along 〈110〉 directions of CaF2. Thus there are three orientations of rotational domains in the MnF2 layer. At a temperature higher than 400°C, nucleation begins with three-dimensional clusters which are aligned with respect to steps on CaF2 surface. After coalescence of the clusters, single domain film can be obtained.

Epitaxial growth on silicon and characterization of MnF2 and ZnF2 layers with metastable orthorhombic structure

The growth of MnF2 and ZnF2 layers on Si(001) and Si(111) substrates was studied by molecular-beam epitaxy. Calcium fluoride buffer layers with (001), (110), and (111) orientations were used to prevent chemical interaction of MnF2 and ZnF2 molecules with the Si substrate. The analysis of x-ray and reflection high-energy electron-diffraction (RHEED) patterns showed that MnF2 layers grow on all of these planes in the orthorhombic α‐PbO2-type crystal phase observed earlier only at high pressures and temperatures. Atomic force microscopy revealed a strong dependence of the surface morphology on the buffer orientation and growth temperature. The best-ordered MnF2 growth occurred at 500 °C on a CaF2 (110) buffer layer. The diffraction analysis enabled us to find the epitaxial relations at the MnF2∕CaF2 interface. A careful analysis of the RHEED patterns of the films grown on CaF2(001) showed a similarity in the structure and growth modes between MnF2 and ZnF2 layers, with ZnF2 tending to form multiphase layers....

Magnetization reversal in YIG/GGG(111) nanoheterostructures grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract Thin (4–20 nm) yttrium iron garnet (Y3Fe5O12, YIG) layers have been grown on gadolinium gallium garnet (Gd3Ga5O12, GGG) 111-oriented substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy in 700–1000 °C growth temperature range. The layers were found to have atomically flat step-and-terrace surface morphology with step height of 1.8 Å characteristic for YIG(111) surface. As the growth temperature is increased from 700 to 1000 °C the terraces become wider and the growth gradually changes from layer by layer to step-flow regime. Crystal structure studied by electron and X-ray diffraction showed that YIG lattice is co-oriented and laterally pseudomorphic to GGG with small rhombohedral distortion present perpendicular to the surface. Measurements of magnetic moment, magneto-optical polar and longitudinal Kerr effect (MOKE), and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) were used for study of magnetization reversal for different orientations of magnetic field. These methods and ferromagnetic resonance studies have shown that in zero magnetic field magnetization lies in the film plane due to both shape and induced anisotropies. Vectorial MOKE studies have revealed the presence of an in-plane easy magnetization axis. In-plane magnetization reversal was shown to occur through combination of reversible rotation and abrupt irreversible magnetization jump, the latter caused by domain wall nucleation and propagation. The field at which the flip takes place depends on the angle between the applied magnetic field and the easy magnetization axis and can be described by the modified Stoner–Wohlfarth model taking into account magnetic field dependence of the domain wall energy. Magnetization curves of individual tetrahedral and octahedral magnetic Fe3+ sublattices were studied by XMCD.

Static current-voltage characteristics of Au/CaF2/n-Si(111) MIS tunneling structures

Using molecular-beam epitaxy, Au/CaF2/n-Si(111) structures were fabricated that exhibit lower currents at a given fluoride film thickness (1.5–2 nm) than those of all similar structures studied. At a positive voltage at the metal, the current is in agreement with that calculated within the model with conservation of the transverse component of the wave vector during tunneling transport. Relative contributions of electron and hole components were analyzed for forward and reverse biases. The effect of the nonuniform distribution of the insulator thickness over the area on measured currents was estimated. The thin CaF2 layers that were grown are potentially applicable as barrier layers in various devices of functional electronics.

Exciton luminescence in orthorhombic-structure MnF2 epitaxial films

The low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) of 100 to 300-nm thick MnF2 epitaxial films of the α-PbO2-type orthorhombic structure was studied. The PL spectrum consists mainly of a broad band peaking around 575 nm and a slowly decaying long-wavelength wing. The short-wavelength part of the main band revealed relatively weak spectral features, which are due to magnon replicas of the Mn2+ excitonic line perturbed by Mg and Ca impurities. These features were found to shift toward shorter wavelengths by 12 nm relative to their position in bulk MnF2 crystals. The shift can be accounted for by a change in the crystal field acting on the Mn2+ ions in the orthorhombic phase.

Growth of nanosized MnAs/Si(111) magnetoelectronic heterostructures and their magnetooptical study

Thin (6–12 nm) epitaxial MnAs films were MBE-grown on Si(111) substrates under different technological conditions. The films feature essentially different surface morphology. This manifests itself in the formation, on the silicon surface, of hexagonal-shaped crystallites, whose dimensions vary depending on the growth conditions. The volume and surface magnetic properties of the films were studied using the magnetooptical Kerr effect and optical second harmonic generation. The Kerr effect was found to scale linearly with the effective thickness of the magnetic layer. The thickness of the magnetically disordered transition layer formed near the interface with the substrate was estimated. The surface and volume hysteresis properties of the films were found to be different. A contribution to the second-harmonic intensity was observed which is an odd function of magnetization. This effect originates from the interference of the magnetic and nonmagnetic contributions to the nonlinear polarization.

Stabilization of the NiF2 orthorhombic phase in epitaxial heterostructures on CaF2/Si(111) substrates

AbstractEpitaxial NiF2 layers have been grown for the first time on CaF2(111)/Si(111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. By high-energy electron diffraction and X-ray diffractometry, it has been established that the layers crystallize in the metastable orthorhombic phase and the epitaxial relations at the NiF2/CaF2 heterointerface have been determined: