Systems with a ferroelectric to paraelectric transition in the vicinity of room temperature are useful for devices. Adjusting the ferroelectric transition temperature (T(c)) is traditionally accomplished by chemical substitution-as in Ba(x)Sr(1-x)TiO(3), the material widely investigated for microwave devices in which the dielectric constant (epsilon(r)) at GHz frequencies is tuned by applying a quasi-static electric field. Heterogeneity associated with chemical substitution in such films, however, can broaden this phase transition by hundreds of degrees, which is detrimental to tunability and microwave device performance. An alternative way to adjust T(c) in ferroelectric films is strain. Here we show that epitaxial strain from a newly developed substrate can be harnessed to increase T(c) by hundreds of degrees and produce room-temperature ferroelectricity in strontium titanate, a material that is not normally ferroelectric at any temperature. This strain-induced enhancement in T(c) is the largest ever reported. Spatially resolved images of the local polarization state reveal a uniformity that far exceeds films tailored by chemical substitution. The high epsilon(r) at room temperature in these films (nearly 7,000 at 10 GHz) and its sharp dependence on electric field are promising for device applications.

/pdf/room-temperature-ferroelectricity-in-strained-srtio3-4u1ustezxf.pdf

Room-temperature ferroelectricity in strained SrTiO3.

Biaxial compressive strain has been used to markedly enhance the ferroelectric properties of BaTiO 3 thin films. This strain, imposed by coherent epitaxy, can result in a ferroelectric transition temperature nearly 500°C higher and a remanent polarization at least 250% higher than bulk BaTiO 3 single crystals. This work demonstrates a route to a lead-free ferroelectric for nonvolatile memories and electro-optic devices.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/306/5698/1005.full.pdf

Enhancement of ferroelectricity in strained BaTiO3 thin films.

Predictions and measurements of the effect of biaxial strain on the properties of epitaxial ferroelectric thin films and superlattices are reviewed. Results for single-layer ferroelectric films of biaxially strained SrTiO3, BaTiO3, and PbTiO3 as well as PbTiO3/SrTiO3 and BaTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices are described. Theoretical ap- proaches, including first principles, thermodynamic analysis, and phase-field models, are applied to these biaxially strained materials, the assumptions and limitations of each technique are explained, and the predictions are compared. Measurements of the effect of biax- ial strain on the paraelectric-to-ferroelectric transition temperature (TC) are shown, demonstrating the ability of percent-level strains to shift TC by hundreds of degrees in agreement with the predic- tions that predated such experiments. Along the way, important ex- perimental techniques for characterizing the properties of strained ferroelectric thin films and superlattices, as well as appropriate sub- strates on which to grow them, are mentioned.

/pdf/strain-tuning-of-ferroelectric-thin-films-i3r81086fk.pdf

Strain Tuning of Ferroelectric Thin Films

Magnetic oxides show a variety of extrinsic magnetotransport phenomena: grain-boundary, tunnelling and domain-wall magnetoresistance. In view of these phenomena the role of some magnetic oxides is outstanding: these are believed to be half-metallic having only one spin-subband at the Fermi level. These fully spin-polarized oxides have great potential for applications in spin-electronic devices and have, accordingly, attracted intense research activity in recent years. This review is focused on extrinsic magnetotransport effects in ferromagnetic oxides. It consists of two parts; the second part is devoted to an overview of experimental data and theoretical models for extrinsic magnetotransport phenomena. Here a critical discussion of domain-wall scattering is given. Results on surface and interfacial magnetism in oxides are presented. Spin-polarized tunnelling in ferromagnetic junctions is reviewed and grain-boundary magnetoresistance is interpreted within a model of spin-polarized tunnelling through natural oxide barriers. The situation in ferromagnetic oxides is compared with data and models for conventional ferromagnets. The first part of the review summarizes basic material properties, especially data on the spin polarization and evidence for half-metallicity. Furthermore, intrinsic conduction mechanisms are discussed. An outlook on the further development of oxide spin-electronics concludes this review.

Extrinsic magnetotransport phenomena in ferromagnetic oxides

Using epitaxy and the misfit strain imposed by an underlying substrate, it is possible to elastically strain oxide thin films to percent levels—far beyond where they would crack in bulk. Under such strains, the properties of oxides can be dramatically altered. In this article, we review the use of elastic strain to enhance ferroics, materials containing domains that can be moved through the application of an electric field (ferroelectric), a magnetic field (ferromagnetic), or stress (ferroelastic). We describe examples of transmuting oxides that are neither ferroelectric nor ferromagnetic in their unstrained state into ferroelectrics, ferromagnets, or materials that are both at the same time (multiferroics). Elastic strain can also be used to enhance the properties of known ferroic oxides or to create new tunable microwave dielectrics with performance that rivals that of existing materials. Results show that for thin films of ferroic oxides, elastic strain is a viable alternative to the traditional method of chemical substitution to lower the energy of a desired ground state relative to that of competing ground states to create materials with superior properties.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0883769414000013

Elastic strain engineering of ferroic oxides

By lifting an epitaxial thin film off its growth substrate, we directly and quantitatively demonstrate how elastic strain can alter the magnetic and electrical properties of single-domain epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films (1000 A thick) on vicinal (001) SrTiO3 substrates. Free-standing films were then obtained by selective chemical etching of the SrTiO3. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the free-standing films are strain free, whereas the original as-grown films on SrTiO3 substrates are strained due to the lattice mismatch at the growth interface. Relaxation of the lattice strain resulted in a 10 K increase in the Curie temperature to 160 K, and a 20% increase in the saturation magnetic moment to 1.45 μB/Ru atom. Both values for the free-standing films are the same as that of the bulk single crystals. Our results provide direct evidence of the crucial role of the strain effect in determining the properties of the technologically important perovskite epitaxial thin films.

Direct measurement of strain effects on magnetic and electrical properties of epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films

We report the effect of both miscut angle (α) and miscut direction (β) of vicinal substrates on the epitaxial growth and domain structure of isotropic metallic oxide SrRuO3 thin films. The thin films have been grown on vicinal (001) SrTiO3 substrates with α up to 4.1° and β up to 37° away from the in-plane [010] axis. Single-crystal epitaxial (110)o SrRuO3 thin films were obtained on vicinal SrTiO3 substrates with a large miscut angle (α=1.9°, 2.1°, and 4.1°) and miscut direction close to the [010] axis. Decreasing the substrate miscut angle or aligning the miscut direction close to the [110] axis (β=45°) resulted in an increase of 90° domains in the plane. The films grown on vicinal substrates displayed a significant improvement in crystalline quality and in-plane epitaxial alignment as compared to the films grown on exact (001) SrTiO3 substrates. Atomic force microscopy revealed that the growth mechanism changed from two-dimensional nucleation to step flow growth as the miscut angle increased.

Control of the growth and domain structure of epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films by vicinal (001) SrTiO3 substrates

We report the deliberately controlled growth of epitaxial metallic oxide SrRuO3 thin films in three distinctly different growth modes. Scanning tunneling microscopy and x-ray diffraction indicate that the growth mechanism for films on exact (001) SrTiO3 substrates is two-dimensional nucleation, which results in a two domain in-plane structure. As the miscut angle of vicinal (001) SrTiO3 substrates is increased, the growth mechanism changes to step flow which leads to single domain thin films. Films on (001) LaAlO3 substrates have an incoherent three-dimensional island growth due to the large lattice mismatch, resulting in a bulk-like lattice. The vast difference in the growth mechanisms of these films leads to a corresponding difference in their electrical transport and magnetic behavior. Such nanoscale control of growth mechanism, surface morphology, and domain structure can be very important in the fabrication of novel perovskite oxide devices.

Growth mechanisms of epitaxial metallic oxide SrRuO3 thin films studied by scanning tunneling microscopy

We report the observation of both metallic and semiconducting behavior in epitaxial thin films of the metallic oxide CaRuO3 deposited under identical conditions. X-ray diffraction studies showed that while semiconducting films with enlarged unit cells were obtained on single-crystal (100) SrTiO3 substrates, metallic films with lattice parameters close to the bulk material grew on (100) LaAlO3 substrates and poor crystalline quality SrTiO3 substrates. It is believed that a strain induced substitution of the small Ru4+ cations by the larger Ca2+ cations occurs, breaking the conduction pathway within the three-dimensional network of the RuO6 octahedra and leading to a metal–insulator transition. This unique phenomenon, which is not observed in bulk material, can be significant in technologically important epitaxial perovskite oxide heterostructures.

Strain stabilized metal–insulator transition in epitaxial thin films of metallic oxide CaRuO3

The uniform deposition of YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) thin films over an 8‐in‐diam area, using a 3‐in‐diam sputtering target and optimized substrate rotation in a single target 90° off‐axis sputtering technique, is reported Two dimensional maps of the thickness profile of YBCO films deposited on a stationary substrate have been obtained using surface profilometry These thicknesses were used in a computer simulation to predict which distance of the target from the center of the substrate rotation will produce the maximum area with uniform thickness The films deposited on substrates mounted on a rotating arm displayed uniform thickness ( 875° K) and critical current density (Jc 42 K>2×107 A/cm2) over an 8‐in‐diam area

Q. Gan

Papers

Direct measurement of strain effects on magnetic and electrical properties of epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films

Control of the growth and domain structure of epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films by vicinal (001) SrTiO3 substrates

Growth mechanisms of epitaxial metallic oxide SrRuO3 thin films studied by scanning tunneling microscopy

Strain stabilized metal–insulator transition in epitaxial thin films of metallic oxide CaRuO3

Uniform deposition of YBa2Cu3O7 thin films over an 8 inch diameter area by a 90° off‐axis sputtering technique