Epitaxial growth of Fe islands on LaAlO sub(3) (001) substrates

Fe deposits were performed on LaAlO sub(3) (001) by molecular beam epitaxy at different substrate temperatures. Chemical and structural characterizations were carried out in-situ, by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), X-ray photoelectron diff...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of crystal growth 2014-04, Vol.391, p.121-129
Main Authors: Zanouni, Mohamed, Azzouz, Chiraz Ben, Derivaz, Mickael, Dentel, Didier, Denys, Emmanuel, Diani, Mustapha, Aouni, Abdessamad, Morales, Francisco M, Manuel, Jose M, Garcia, Rafael, Bischoff, Jean-Luc
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Diffraction
Epitaxial growth
Iron
Islands
Reflection
Temperature dependence
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
X-rays
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Summary:Fe deposits were performed on LaAlO sub(3) (001) by molecular beam epitaxy at different substrate temperatures. Chemical and structural characterizations were carried out in-situ, by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD), and ex-situ by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). This temperature dependence study indicates that the growth of Fe is epitaxial in a tight temperature window around 500 [degrees]C with a single epitaxial relationship, where the Fe and LaAlO sub(3)(001) lattices are brought into coincidence by a 45[degrees] rotation around the common [001] axis. This typical configuration via Fe-O bonds formation at the interface allows a minimization of the elastic strain inside Fe islands which follow a Volmer-Weber growth mode. Beyond a given thickness, and in agreement with the strain relaxation, Fe islands exhibit (001) facets, leading to islands coalescence and a possible iron 2D layer formation.
ISSN:0022-0248
DOI:10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2014.01.001