Growth mode transition in complex oxide heteroepitaxy: Atomically resolved studies

Alexander Tselev, Rama K. Vasudevan, Anthony G. Gianfrancesco, Liang Qiao, Tricia L. Meyer, Ho Nyung Lee, Michael D. Biegalski, Arthur P. Baddorf, Sergei V. Kalinin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

We performed investigations of the atomic-scale surface structure of epitaxial La5/8Ca3/8MnO3 thin films as a model system dependent on growth conditions in pulsed laser deposition with emphasis on film growth kinetics. Postdeposition in situ scanning tunneling microscopy was combined with in operando reflective high-energy electron diffraction to monitor the film growth and ex situ X-ray diffraction for structural analysis. We find a correlation between the out-of-plane lattice parameter and both adspecies mobility and height of the Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier, with mobility of adatoms greater over the cationically stoichiometric terminations. The data suggest that the out-of-plane lattice parameter is dependent on the mechanism of epitaxial strain relaxation, which is controlled by the oxidative power of the deposition environment.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2708-2716
Number of pages9
JournalCrystal Growth and Design
Volume16
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 4 2016

Funding

This research was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division (A.T., R.K.V., A.G.G., T.L.M., H.N.L., S.V.K.). Research was conducted at CNMS, which also provided support (A.P.B., M.D.B., L.Q.) and which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility. A.G. acknowledges fellowship support from the UT/ORNL Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education.

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