MRI-R2: Development of a System for Real-Time X-Ray Scattering Analysis of Complex Oxide Thin Film Growth

University Of Vermont & State Agricultural College, Burlington VT

Investigators

Abstract

0959486 Headrick U. of Vermont & State Agricultural College Technical Summary: This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). X-ray scattering is an enormously powerful tool for the study of materials because of the ability to monitor length scales down to atomic dimensions and penetrating power to reach buried interfaces and structures. Synchrotron-based x-ray techniques also provide time resolution to study thin film crystal growth on time scales relevant to the fundamental surface processes and access to chemical information. This project aims to construct a unique thin-film growth system optimized for epitaxial growth of complex functional oxide materials. The system will be compatible with the existing infrastructure at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) beamline X21, where it will be used to perform in-situ x-ray scattering studies of surface roughening and smoothening, strain, phase separation, surface/interface structure, and other phenomena related to epitaxial film growth kinetics during film growth by Pulsed Laser Deposition or by Sputter Deposition. Research teams from a consortium of institutions, including Boston University, Stony Brook University, the University of Vermont, and Brookhaven National Laboratory will construct and support the facility. These groups bring to bear expertise in a wide variety of oxide materials, including materials that exhibit ferroelectric, ferromagnetic, or antiferromagnetic ordering, and materials with applications in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. The proposed instrumentation represents an exciting possibility for students to learn from a diverse group of scientists having tremendous expertise in characterization of materials by advanced methods. General users of the NSLS will also have access to the facility, which will ensure that focused high quality research will be performed with the system, while at the same time providing access and support to an international pool of scientists. Layman Summary: This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). X-rays are an enormously powerful tool for the study of materials: they can be used to measure structures down to atomic dimensions using diffraction because of their short wavelength, and they can reach inside of materials because they are not strongly absorbed. Synchrotrons are the brightest sources of x-rays routinely available to scientists, which allows time resolved studies of thin film crystal growth on the time scales at or near the time scales of atomic processes taking place on the growth surface. This project aims to construct a unique thin-film growth system optimized for crystal growth of complex oxide thin films that have potential applications in electronics and energy devices. The system will be compatible with the existing infrastructure at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), where it will be used to perform x-ray scattering studies of surface roughening and smoothening, strain, phase separation, surface/interface structure, and other phenomena related to thin film crystal growth during film growth from plumes of atoms created by laser pulses or by energetic ion erosion of a target material. Research teams from a consortium of institutions, including Boston University, Stony Brook University, the University of Vermont, and Brookhaven National Laboratory will construct and support the facility. These groups bring to bear expertise in a wide variety of oxide materials, including materials for future electronic devices that exhibit ferroelectric, ferromagnetic, or antiferromagnetic ordering, and materials with applications in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. The proposed instrumentation represents an exciting possibility for students to learn from a diverse group of scientists having tremendous expertise in characterization of materials by advanced methods. General users of the NSLS will also have access to the facility, which will ensure that focused high quality research will be performed with the system, while at the same time providing access and support to an international pool of scientists.