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Title: Interfacial stability of ultrathin films of magnetite Fe3O4 (111) on Al2O3(001) grown by ozone-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4973808 · OSTI ID:1395890
 [1];  [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [3];  [2]
  1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
  2. Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
  3. National Univ. in Daejeon (KAIST) (South Korea) Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering; Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Materials Science Division
+ Show Author Affiliations

Thin films of iron oxides including magnetite (Fe3O4) and hematite (α-Fe2O3) have many important applications. Both forms of oxide can occur naturally during film growth by iron deposition under various oxidation environment; an important issue is to understand and control the process resulting in a single-phase film. We have performed in-situ real-time studies using x-ray diffraction of such film growth on sapphire (001) under pure ozone by monitoring the (00L) rod. Stable magnetite growth can be maintained at growth temperatures below 600° C up to a certain critical film thickness, beyond which the growth becomes hematite. The results demonstrate the importance of interfacial interaction in stabilizing the magnetite phase.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; FG02-07ER46383
OSTI ID:
1395890
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 110; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (17)

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Crystal lattices
Diffractometers
Epitaxy
Gemstones
Minerals
Optical interference
Ozone
Plasma processing
Thin films
X-ray diffraction