| AVS 60th International Symposium and Exhibition | |
| Accelerating Materials Discovery for Global Competitiveness Focus Topic | Friday Sessions |
| Session MG+AS+EM+NS+SA+SE+SP+SS+TF-FrM |
| Session: | Novel Synthesis Approaches and Innovative Characterization Techniques Coupled with Theory & Computations |
| Presenter: | D.H.A. Blank, MESA+Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
In general, nanotechnology provides the tools for controlling key parameters for thin films performance: chemical composition (and crystalline structure at nano-sized domains), thickness and topography (including nano-scale patterning of thin films’ surface) and controlled interfaces at the nanoscale.
As research in nanotechnology develops, new characterization and production tools, new materials and process models as well as more computational power will become available. Nanotechnology is giving a new boost to thin films’ application development.
Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) is one of the attractive research tools for complex materials because it is fast and one can easily investigate a wide range of different materials and compositions. Currently, a major issue in the growth of oxide materials with PLD is the control of the surface morphology. For most materials it is necessary to control the thickness and roughness of the thin films down to an atomic scale. Such well-controlled growth can also be used to manufacture artificially layered structures. In this way it is possible to create a whole new class of materials.
Much effort is put in the deposition of excellent textured layers without grain boundaries. In general the properties of highly oriented films approximate the properties of single crystals. Single or multi-layer structures require a well-conditioned process technique. The deposited layers must have a large homogeneity with well-defined material properties, smooth surfaces, and, in the case of oxides, the correct oxygen stoichiometry. Important is the possibility to combine PLD with standard in-situ diagnostic techniques, like high pressure Reflecting High Energy Electron Diffraction (RHEED).
With our development of pulsed laser deposition with control at atomic level we are able to control the growth of complex materials and to introduce new growth manipulations, like pulsed laser interval deposition. At present, new superlattices can be synthesized that exhibit rare properties, like multiferroics. Extremely sharp and homogeneous interfaces can be realized and this is, for example, yet utilized in SrTiO3-LaAlO3 interfaces and artificial ferroelectric structures. In this presentation I like to show this unique technique and their use in obtaining complex materials systems ‘on demand’.