Growth of unexpected phases from a composite target of BiFeO3:BiMnO3 and/or BiFeO3:BiCrO3 has been explored using pulsed laser deposition. The Bi2FeMnO6 tetragonal phase can be grown directly on SrTiO3 (STO) substrate, while two phases (S1 and S2) were found to grow on LaAlO3 (LAO) substrates with narrow growth windows. However, introducing a thin CeO2 buffer layer effectively broadens the growth window for the pure S1 phase, regardless of the substrate. Moreover, we discovered two new phases (X1 and X2) when growing on STO substrates using a BiFeO3:BiCrO3 target. Pure X2 phase can be obtained on CeO2-buffered STO and LAO substrates. This work demonstrates that some unexpected phases can be stabilized in a thin film form by using composite perovskite BiRO3 (R = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) targets. Furthermore, it also indicates that CeO2 can serve as a general template for the growth of bismuth compounds with potential room-temperature multiferroicity.

Emergent behavior can be achieved in composites by interfacing different materials at the nano- or mesoscales. Integrating different materials on a single platform or forming composite provides a new design paradigm to yield enhanced or novel functionalities that cannot be obtained in individual constituents. Nanocomposites, in particular, have been model systems for enhancing interface effects on physical properties because they provide reduced dimensionality or enlarged interfacial areas. To fabricate technologically relevant multifunctional materials, one needs to understand and control the interactions in different materials by manipulating interfaces at the nano- or mesoscales. This issue of MRS Bulletin focuses on nanocomposites, with an emphasis on approaches to the design and control of the functionalities of composite materials through controlled synthesis and advanced characterization in concert with simulation and modeling.

We report our effort to quantify atomic-scale chemical maps obtained by collecting energy-dispersive X-ray spectra (EDS) using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) (STEM-EDS). With thin specimen conditions and localized EDS scattering potential, the X-ray counts from atomic columns can be properly counted by fitting Gaussian peaks at the atomic columns, and can then be used for site-by-site chemical quantification. The effects of specimen thickness and X-ray energy on the Gaussian peak width are investigated using SrTiO3 (STO) as a model specimen. The relationship between the peak width and spatial resolution of an EDS map is also studied. Furthermore, the method developed by this work is applied to study cation occupancy in a Sm-doped STO thin film and antiphase boundaries (APBs) present within the STO film. We find that Sm atoms occupy both Sr and Ti sites but preferably the Sr sites, and Sm atoms are relatively depleted at the APBs likely owing to the effect of strain.

Oxide composites are a class of materials with potential uses for nuclear, space, and coating applications. Exploiting their promise, however, requires a detailed understanding of their interfacial structure and chemistry. Using analytical microscopy, we have examined the radiation damage behavior at the interface of a model oxide bilayer, SrTiO3/MgO. The as-synthesized SrTiO3 thin film contained both (100) and (110) oriented domains. We found that after ion beam implantation the (110) domains amorphized at a lower radiation fluence than the (100) domains. Further, a persistent crystalline layer of SrTiO3 forms at the interface even as the rest of the SrTiO3 film amorphizes. We hypothesize that the enhanced amorphization susceptibility of the (110) domains is a consequence of how charged irradiation-induced defects at the interfaces interact with the charged planes of the (110) domains. These results demonstrate the complex relationship between interfacial structure and radiation damage evolution at oxide interfaces.

The effects of boundaries such as grain boundaries and phase boundaries on low-field magnetoresistance (LFMR) have been investigated in single-phase lanthanum strontium manganates, in this case La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) and LSMO: zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposite thin films. In the pure LSMO films with similar grain size, it is found that the LFMR increases as the grain misorientation factor (β) increases. The LFMR in the nanocomposite films is greatly enhanced, as compared with single-phase films, due to the reduced grain size, and increased phase boundary (PB) and β effects. The composition study shows that the LFMR can be dramatically enhanced when the secondary phase content approaches the percolation threshold. The increased β and secondary phase concentration reduce the cross-section of electron conduction paths and favor the formation of the quasi-one-dimensional transport channels. Our results demonstrate that the reduction of cross-section of the electron conduction paths by tuning the grain orientation and secondary phase composition is necessary for enhancing LFMR effect.

Self-separated Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) films were processed by a hydrothermal deposition and a rapid thermal separation method, followed by a sol–gel filling and sintering process. The films possess excellent piezoelectric and electromechanical properties close to those of bulk material. The maximum remnant polarization is over 30 μC/cm2 and the electromechanical coupling factor (kt) reaches as high as 0.52. The unique microstructure characteristics of the PZT films, such as their highly dense structure, columnar grains, well-connected grain boundaries, and well-dispersed nanopores, could all contribute to the enhanced piezoelectric and electromechanical properties.

We examine the electronic structure of δ-Pu, PuCoGa5, and PuO2 using high resolution as well as angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. The fermiology of the strongly correlated metals δ-Pu and PuCoGa5 is investigated by determining the primary quasiparticle peak position with respect to the Fermi energy as well as the crystal momentum dependence of this peak for PuCoGa5. For the Mott insulator PuO2, the photoemission results are compared against the hybrid functional calculations and the prediction of significant covalency, is found to be reasonable.

Currently, there are a variety of techniques to deposit metal thin films ranging from high vacuum techniques such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD), through to solution methods like sol-gel. While the vacuum techniques can be limited by size and cost, sol-gel can be limited be the availability of appropriate precursors. All of these techniques have the further limitation that they cannot be used to coat porous materials conformally.

Polymer assisted deposition (PAD) addresses some of the limitations of sol-gel and costs of high vacuum techniques. PAD utilizes an aqueous polymer to bind a metal or metal complex that serves both to encapsulate the metal to prevent chemical reaction and maintain an even distribution of the metal in solution. Another advantage that PAD has is that the same solution can be used as precursors for the growth of metal oxide or reduced metal films. Herein, we report on the utility of PAD in preparing metal oxide films used to conformally coat porous material and reduced metal films.

We have studied the growth of magnesium oxide using ion-beam assisted deposition (IBAD) to achieve (100) oriented, bi-axially textured films with low mosaic spread, for film thicknesses of 10 nm on silicon substrates. We have refined the process by using reflected high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) to monitor the growth of IBAD MgO films and found that the diffracted intensity can be used to determine (and ultimately control) final in-plane texture of the film. Here we present results on our work to develop the use of real-time RHEED monitoring to deposit well-oriented IBAD MgO films. The results have been corroborated with extensive grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GID). Results of these analyses have allowed us to deposit films on metallic substrates with in-plane mosaic spread less than 7°.

The plasma-enhanced MOCVD is developed to prepare high-Tc oxide superconducting thin films. Plasmas generated by microwave and rf discharges decompose effectively the source materials ( β-diketonate chelates) into their elements and oxides. YBaCuO thin films were deposited on the MgO substrate of 500–650 °C at total pressure of 0.6–5 Torr with O2 contents less than 30%. The as-grown films produced by two kinds of plasma enhancement were porous and consisted of crystalline grains, but showed the superconducting transition after heating procedure at around 800 °C. It is shown that the inherent crystalline orientations of the as-grown films determine the crystal structure of the post-annealed films. The film of the metal atomic ratios of 0.91 for Ba/Y and 2.64 for Cu/Y showed the superconducting properties with Tc(zero) of 89 K and the critical current density (at 77 K) of 5×104 A/cm2. Spectroscopic analysis showed that the plasmas are composed of many excited species such as Y, Y+, Ba, Ba+, Cu, YO, BaO, CuO. Formation of the metal-oxides through the gas phase reaction is essential for the high-quality YBaCuO superconducting thin film preparation in the PEMOCVD.

High temperature superconducting Y1Ba2Cu3O7−x(YBCO) thin films have been grown on GaAs substrates by in situ laser deposition with a double buffer layer of yttrium-stabilized ZrO2(YSZ)/Si3N4. A barrier layer using a combination of YSZ/Si3N4 was used to grow high quality YBCO thin films without the degradation of the GaAs during YBCO film deposition. Strongly c-axis oriented superconducting YBCO thin films with a zero resistance temperature of 85.5 K and a critical current density of 1.9×103 A/cm2 at 77 K have been obtained. The electrical properties of the YBCO thin films were mainly dependent on YSZ buffer layer deposition condition.

High temperature superconducting Y1Ba2Cu3O7-x(YBCO) thin films have been grown on GaAs substrates by in situ laser deposition with a double buffer layer of yttrium-stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ)/Si3N4. A barrier layer using a combination of YSZ/Si3N4 was used to grow high quality YBCO thin films without the degradation of the GaAs during YBCO film deposition. Strongly c-axis oriented superconducting YBCO thin films with a zero resistance temperature of 85.5 K and a critical current density of 1.9x103 A/cm2 at 77 K have been obtained. The electrical properties of the YBCO thin films were mainly dependent on YSZ buffer layer deposition condition.