Yu. I. Golovko

The synthesis mechanism of complex oxide films formed in dense RF — plasma by reactive sputtering of stoichiometric targets

The paper presents new experimental data on the synthesis and crystallization of complex oxide films produced by rf sputtering of ceramic targets. The deposition system has threshold states, the transition through which sets off a qualitative modification of its properties. The main feature of this modification is the appearance of a new structured system in plasma.

Strain engineering of perovskite thin films using a single substrate

Combining temperature-dependent x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and first-principles-based effective Hamiltonian calculations, we show that varying the thickness of (Ba0.8Sr0.2)TiO3 (BST) thin films deposited on the same single substrate (namely, MgO) enables us to change not only the magnitude but also the sign of the misfit strain. Such previously overlooked control of the strain allows several properties of these films (e.g. Curie temperature, symmetry of ferroelectric phases, dielectric response) to be tuned and even optimized. Surprisingly, such desired control of the strain (and of the resulting properties) originates from an effect that is commonly believed to be detrimental to functionalities of films, namely the existence of misfit dislocations. The present study therefore provides a novel route to strain engineering, as well as leading us to revisit common beliefs.

Structure and Lattice Dynamics of Heterostructures Based on Bismuth Ferrite and Barium Strontium Titanate on Magnesium Oxide Substrates

Bismuth ferrite films doped with neodymium on MgO single-crystal substrates with an epitaxial barium strontium titanate thin (1–2 nm) sublayer have been prepared by rf sputtering of ceramic targets at an elevated oxygen partial pressure and at temperatures below the ferroelectric and magnetic transition temperatures. It has been revealed using X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering spectroscopy that, in these bismuth ferrite films, a new phase (not observed in bulk samples) is formed. The symmetry of this phase is monoclinic, the unit cell contains two formula units, and the spontaneous polarization vector deviates from the [111]cub direction and can have different components along the x, y, and z axes.

Structural phase transitions in nanosized ferroelectric barium strontium titanate films

The lattice parameters of epitaxial barium strontium titanate films with various thicknesses (from 6 to 960 nm) were measured as a function of temperature in the normal and tangential directions with respect to the film plane using x-ray diffraction. The films were grown through the layer-by-layer mechanism by rf cathode sputtering under elevated oxygen pressure. A critical film thickness (∼ 50 nm) was found to exist, below and above which the films are subjected to compressive and tensile stresses, respectively. As the temperature varies from 780 to 100 K, the films undergo two diffuse structural phase transitions of the second order over the entire thickness range. The transitions in the films under tensile stresses are likely to be transformations from the paraelectric tetragonal to aa phase and then to r phase, whereas the transitions under compressive stresses are transformations from the tetragonal paraelectric to ferroelectric c phase and then, with further decreasing temperature, to r phase.

Surface acoustic waves in thin films of barium strontium titanate on magnesium oxide substrates

It is established that, using a thin barium strontium titanate (BST) film as the active element in a surface acoustic wave (SAW) device, it possible to double the working frequency of the converter due to the formation of a periodic domain structure in the BST film. A thin ferroelectric film device with a standard electrode structure is capable of effectively exciting the SAW second harmonic. Variation of the external polarizing voltage applied to the electrodes ensures field-controlled electromechanical feedback in the converter.

Heteroepitaxial films of (Ba,Sr)TiO3

Abstract Experimental data about certain peculiarities of ferroelectric phase transition revealed by the temperature dependences of unit cell parameters and domain structure specificity are presented.

Effect of growth mechanisms on the deformation of a unit cell and polarization reversal in barium–strontium titanate heterostructures on magnesium oxide

The effect of a growth mechanism on the unit cell strain and the related change in the properties of single-crystal Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 films grown on MgO substrates according to the Frank–van der Merwe and Volmer–Weber growth mechanisms is studied. The unit cell strain is shown to depend substantially on the film thickness and the growth mechanism. It is found that the same film–substrate pair can be used to vary stresses in the film from two-dimensional tensile to compressive stresses due to a change in the growth mechanism and the film thickness.

Optical properties of thin epitaxial Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 films

The properties of nanodimensional (Ba0.8, Sr0.2)TiO3 films on single-crystal magnesia substrates are studied. The films are applied by rf sputtering and grow in the layer-by-layer mode. The lattice parameters are measured by the X-ray diffraction method. The transmission of the films with different thicknesses is studied in the wavelength range 190–1100 nm. When analyzing experimental optical parameters, additional relaxation parameters depicting a final lifetime of the oscillator are used to characterize the refractive index and absorption factor in the dispersion relation. Such an approach allows a more accurate approximation of experimental data.

Mechanism of the rf sputtering of mixed oxides

New experimental data on the growth mechanisms of multicomponent Pb(Zr,Ti)O3, (Ba,Sr)TiO3, and Y-Ba-Cu-O films in an rf discharge plasma are presented. An investigation of the spatial distribution of the radiated intensity of the sputtered particles in the rf plasma during the deposition of films of these mixed oxides in the epitaxial state reveals general laws governing their transport from the target to the substrate, which are stipulated by features of the negative glow of the rf discharge. The roles of external and internal parameters are examined from the standpoint of describing the mechanisms of the heteroepitaxial growth of mixed oxides.

Dielectric properties of nanometer-thick barium-strontium titanate films

Using submillimeter and infrared spectroscopies, the reflectance R(ν) and transmittance T(ν) spectra of heteroepitaxial barium-strontium titanate films of different thicknesses on MgO substrates are taken for the first time in the frequency range 10 < ν < 3000 cm−1. By modeling the experimental spectra by the Fresnel formulas for layered media, the spectra of complex permittivity ɛ*(ν) = ɛ′(ν) + iɛ″(ν) of the films are determined. It is shown that when the film thicknesses decrease down to 10 nm, there appear tensile stresses in the direction parallel to the substrate surface. As a result, the dielectric contribution of a low-frequency soft mode becomes several times larger than before.