Shao-Bo Mi

Negative spherical aberration ultrahigh-resolution imaging in corrected transmission electron microscopy

Aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy allows us to image the structure of matter at genuine atomic resolution. A prominent role for the imaging of crystalline samples is played by the negative spherical aberration imaging (NCSI) technique. The physical background of this technique is reviewed. The especially high contrast observed under these conditions owes its origin to an enhancing combination of amplitude contrast due to electron diffraction channelling and phase contrast. A number of examples of the application of NCSI are reviewed in order to illustrate the applicability and the state-of-the-art of this technique.

Properties of MgB2 thin films with carbon doping

We have studied structural and superconducting properties of MgB2 thin films doped with carbon during the hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition process. A carbon-containing precursor metalorganic bis(methylcyclopentadienyl)magnesium was added to the carrier gas to achieve carbon doping. As the amount of carbon in the film increases, the resistivity increases, Tc decreases, and the upper critical field increases dramatically as compared to clean films. The self-field Jc in the carbon doped film is lower than that in the clean film, but Jc remains relatively high to much higher magnetic fields, indicating stronger pinning. Structurally, the doped films are textured with columnar nano-grains and highly resistive amorphous areas at the grain boundaries. The carbon doping approach can be used to produce MgB2 materials for high magnetic-field applications.

Determination of the 3D shape of a nanoscale crystal with atomic resolution from a single image

Although the overall atomic structure of a nanoscale crystal is in principle accessible by modern transmission electron microscopy, the precise determination of its surface structure is an intricate problem. Here, we show that aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy, combined with dedicated numerical evaluation procedures, allows the three-dimensional shape of a thin MgO crystal to be determined from only one single high-resolution image. The sensitivity of the reconstruction procedure is not only sufficient to reveal the surface morphology of the crystal with atomic resolution, but also to detect the presence of adsorbed impurity atoms. The single-image approach that we introduce offers important advantages for three-dimensional studies of radiation-sensitive crystals.

Atomic structure of the interface between SrTiO3 thin films and Si(001) substrates

The structure of the SrTiO3/Si interface is determined by high-angle annular dark field imaging in combination with a recently developed technique based on aberration-corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. At the interface, a monolayer of SrO faces the terminating plane of silicon. In this monolayer, the strontium atoms lie above the face-center of four silicon atoms in the terminating plane, and the oxygen atoms are located directly above the terminating silicon atoms. This structure, which is the dominant type of interface structure observed in this system, agrees with one of the interface structures predicted by first-principles calculations.

High temperature conductance characteristics of LaAlO3/SrTiO3-heterostructures under equilibrium oxygen atmospheres

The interface conductance of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures was investigated under high temperature oxygen equilibrium. The dependence of the heterostructure’s conductance on oxygen partial pressure (from 10−22 to 1 bar) and temperature (800 to 1100 K) was compared to the characteristic of SrTiO3 single crystals, which is described in terms of a defect chemistry model. Up to 950 K the equilibrated heterostructures reveal an additional influence of a metallic-like conduction path with a very slight dependence on the oxygen partial pressure. Donor-type interface states which may result from either lattice distortions or A-site cation intermixing during processing are discussed as a possible origin for the exceptional interface conduction of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures.

Multilayer buffer for high-temperature superconductor devices on MgO

A multilayer thin film epitaxial passivation of single crystal MgO substrates was developed. YBa2Cu3O7−x films on the buffered MgO substrates demonstrate pure c-axis orientation, absence of in-plane disoriented grains, transition temperature Tc>91K, and critical current density Jc∼5MA∕cm2 at 77.4K and were deposited in thicknesses of up to several micrometers without cracks. High-temperature superconductor multilayer flux transformers of 2μm thickness on the buffered MgO substrates demonstrated improved insulation between the superconducting layers and an increased dynamic range compared to flux transformers on SrTiO3 substrates.

Enhanced dielectric nonlinearity in epitaxial Pb0.92La0.08Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 thin films

High quality c-axis oriented epitaxial Pb0.92La0.08Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 films were fabricated using pulsed laser deposition on (001) LaAlO3 substrates with conductive LaNiO3 buffers. Besides confirmation of the in-plane and out-of-plane orientations using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy study has revealed columnar structure across the film thickness with column width around 100 nm. Characterization of ferroelectric properties was carried out in comparison with polycrystalline Pb0.92La0.08Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 films to extract the effect of epitaxial growth. It is found that the ratio between the irreversible Rayleigh parameter and reversible parameter increased up to 0.028 cm/kV at 1 kHz on epitaxial samples, which is more than twice of that on their polycrystalline counterparts. While this ratio decreased to 0.022 cm/kV with increasing frequency to100 kHz, a much less frequency dependence was observed as compared to the polycrystalline case. The epitaxial Pb0.92La0.08Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 films exhibited...

Enhanced energy density with a wide thermal stability in epitaxial Pb0.92La0.08Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 thin films

High-quality epitaxial Pb0.92La0.08Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PLZT) films of thickness of ∼880 nm were fabricated using pulsed laser deposition on (001) Nb doped SrTiO3 (Nb:STO) substrates. Besides a confirmation of the epitaxial relationship [100]PLZT//[100]Nb:STO and (001)PLZT//(001)Nb:STO using X-ray diffraction, a transmission electron microscopy study has revealed a columnar structure across the film thickness. The recoverable energy density (Wrec) of the epitaxial PLZT thin film capacitors increases linearly with the applied electric field and the best value of ∼31 J/cm3 observed at 2.27 MV/cm is considerably higher by 41% than that of the polycrystalline PLZT film of a comparable thickness. In addition to the high Wrec value, an excellent thermal stability as illustrated in a negligible temperature dependence of the Wrec in the temperature range from room temperature to 180 °C is achieved. The enhanced Wrec and the thermal stability are attributed to the reduced defects and grain boundaries in epitaxial PLZT ...

Enhanced magnetic properties in epitaxial self-assembled vertically aligned nanocomposite (Pr0.5Ba0.5MnO3)0.5:(CeO2)0.5 thin films

Epitaxial self-assembled vertically aligned nanocomposite (VAN) Pr0.5Ba0.5MnO3:CeO2 (PBMO:CeO2) and pure PBMO films were fabricated on (001) (La,Sr)(Al,Ta)O3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Besides confirmation of the in-plane and out-of-plane orientations using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy study has revealed the columnar structure of PBMO:CeO2, with column width around 10–20 nm; furthermore, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy has revealed distinct phase separation between PBMO and CeO2. The introduction of CeO2 does not change the crystal quality of PBMO, and both films exhibit good crystalline quality. However, the vertical compressive strain induced by CeO2 partially relaxes the in-plane and out-of-plane strain of PBMO relative to the pure film. The magnetization of the VAN thin film is enhanced and almost two times higher than that of the pure film. Moreover, the relaxed strain and the insulating CeO2 nanopillar act as an energy barrier to induce the larger resistivity and enhanced magneto-resistance. All of these phenomena indicate that the VAN structure is an effective method to tune the strain states in thin films and obtain desired physical properties.

B-site ordering and strain-induced phase transition in double-perovskite La 2 NiMnO 6 films

The magnetic and electrical properties of complex oxide thin films are closely related to the phase stability and cation ordering, which demands that we understand the process-structure-property relationships microscopically in functional materials research. Here we study multiferroic thin films of double-perovskite La2NiMnO6 epitaxially grown on SrTiO3, KTaO3, LaAlO3 and DyScO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The effect of epitaxial strains imposed by the substrate on the microstructural properties of La2NiMnO6 has been systematically investigated by means of advanced electron microscopy. It is found that La2NiMnO6 films under tensile strain exhibit a monoclinic structure, while under compressive strain the crystal structure of La2NiMnO6 films is rhombohedral. In addition, by optimizing the film deposition conditions a long-range ordering of B-site cations in La2NiMnO6 films has been obtained in both monoclinic and rhombohedral phases. Our results not only provide a strategy for tailoring phase stability by strain engineering, but also shed light on tuning B-site ordering by controlling film growth temperature in double-perovskite La2NiMnO6 films.