Atomic-scale dynamic observation reveals temperature-dependent multistep nucleation pathways in crystallization

Li, Junjie; Li, Yunping; Li, Qiang; Wang, Zhongchang; Deepak, Francis Leonard

doi:10.1039/c9nh00308h

Cited by 20 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…The morphology evolution during the PLD growth of metal films on insulators has mainly been investigated by such microscopic methods like scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). − These latter are also important tools to study the crystal nucleation and growth. In the most recent reports, the dependency of the nucleation and of the growth mechanisms on the substrate and temperature have been investigated at atomic scale using in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). − Most metals do not wet insulating substrates. The growth of metal films on such substrates undergoes different stages varying from 3D-islands to the coalescence of single-crystal islands to a later stage of formation of elongated structures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time-Resolved Morphology and Kinetic Studies of Pulsed Laser Deposition-Grown Pt Layers on Sapphire at Different Growth Temperatures by in Situ Grazing Incidence Small-Angle X-ray Scattering

et al. 2021

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Optimizing and monitoring the growth conditions of Pt films, often used as bottom electrodes in multiferroic material systems, represents a highly relevant issue that is of importance for controlling the crystalline quality and performance of ferroelectric oxides such as, e.g. LuFeO 3 . We performed a time-resolved monitoring of the growth and morphology of Pt films during pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in dependence on the grown film effective thickness and on the growth temperature Tg using in situ grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). Through real-time analysis and modeling of GISAXS patterns, we could fully characterize the influence of Tg on the morphology and on the growth kinetics of the Pt layers. Consequently, critical and characteristic effective thicknesses for the transitions nucleation phase (I)/coalescence phase (II) and coalescence phase (II)/coarsening phase (III) could be determined. In combination with complementary microscopic imaging and chemical mapping via combined SEM/EDXS, we demonstrate the occurrence of a morphological progression in the Pt PLD-grown Pt films, changing from grains at room temperature to a 3D-island morphology at 300 °C, further to a hole-free structure at 500 °C, and finally to a channel structure for 700 and 900 °C. The film topography, as characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), favors the PLD growth of Pt layers at temperatures beyond 700 °C where the film is homogeneous, continuous, and hole-free with a flat and smooth surface. The double dependency of the percolation transition on the film effective thickness and on the growth temperature has been established by measuring the electrical conductivity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time-Resolved Morphology and Kinetic Studies of Pulsed Laser Deposition-Grown Pt Layers on Sapphire at Different Growth Temperatures by in Situ Grazing Incidence Small-Angle X-ray Scattering

et al. 2021

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“…A very focused electron beam can lead to significant thermal effects. [ 42–46 ] The creation of single skyrmions by the electron beam can thus be attributed to local heating. The local temperature increase causes the “melting” of the exchange bias, resulting in the loss of single domain stability of the local Co magnetic moments at zero‐field.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Electron Beam Lithography of Magnetic Skyrmions

et al. 2020

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The recently discovered topological magnetic skyrmion spin texture promises future innovative memory and logic devices owing to its nanoscale size and low driving current density. [1-4] Concerning their nontrivial real-space topology, skyrmions exhibit many intriguing properties, [5-8] such as the topological Hall effect, [6] the skyrmion Hall effect, [9] and the rich ferromagnetic resonance states. [10] Furthermore, long-range ordered and disordered skyrmion lattices also give rise to fascinating phenomena like a chiral magnon state [11,12] and skyrmion glass state, [13] thus providing an arena for exploring topological physics, [14,15] nonreciprocal responses, [16] and unconventional spintronic devices. [17,18] To further elucidate the physics of skyrmions and their lattices, the crucial task is to create skyrmions in a controllable manner. The emergence of magnetic skyrmions, topological spin textures, has aroused tremendous interest in studying the rich physics related to their topology. While skyrmions promise high-density and energy-efficient magnetic memory devices for information technology, the manifestation of their nontrivial topology through single skyrmions and ordered and disordered skyrmion lattices could also give rise to many fascinating physical phenomena, such as chiral magnon and skyrmion glass states. Therefore, generating skyrmions at designated locations on a large scale, while controlling the skyrmion patterns, is the key to advancing topological magnetism. Here, a new, yet general, approach to the "printing" of skyrmions with zero-field stability in arbitrary patterns on a massive scale in exchange-biased magnetic multilayers is presented. By exploiting the fact that the antiferromagnetic order can be reconfigured by local thermal excitations, a focused electron beam with a graphic pattern generator to "print" skyrmions is used, which is referred to as skyrmion lithography. This work provides a route to design arbitrary skyrmion patterns, thereby establishing the foundation for further exploration of topological magnetism.

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“…The development of structural chemistry and the exploration of new functional materials depend on the discovery of new compounds with distinctive crystal structures. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Metal chalcogenides have recently attracted great interest in photoelectric functional materials, [10][11][12][13][14] especially in infrared (IR) nonlinear optical (NLO) materials, due to their abundant structural diversity and adjustable band gaps. [15][16][17] To enlarge the band gap and enhance the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of chalcogenides, introduction of alkali-and/or alkaline earthmetals has been demonstrated as a feasible method.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Na₄Ga₈S₁₄: a Ga-enriched wide band gap ternary alkali-metal sulfide with unique [Ga₁₂S₄₂] 12-membered rings

et al. 2022

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Atomic-scale dynamic observation reveals temperature-dependent multistep nucleation pathways in crystallization

Abstract: Temperature-dependent multistep nucleation pathways: (I) droplet-crystal two-step pathway; (II) droplet-local ordered structure-crystal three-step pathway; (III) cluster-crystal two-step classical pathway.

Cited by 20 publications

References 65 publications

Time-Resolved Morphology and Kinetic Studies of Pulsed Laser Deposition-Grown Pt Layers on Sapphire at Different Growth Temperatures by in Situ Grazing Incidence Small-Angle X-ray Scattering

Time-Resolved Morphology and Kinetic Studies of Pulsed Laser Deposition-Grown Pt Layers on Sapphire at Different Growth Temperatures by in Situ Grazing Incidence Small-Angle X-ray Scattering

Electron Beam Lithography of Magnetic Skyrmions

Na₄Ga₈S₁₄: a Ga-enriched wide band gap ternary alkali-metal sulfide with unique [Ga₁₂S₄₂] 12-membered rings

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Atomic-scale dynamic observation reveals temperature-dependent multistep nucleation pathways in crystallization

Abstract: Temperature-dependent multistep nucleation pathways: (I) droplet-crystal two-step pathway; (II) droplet-local ordered structure-crystal three-step pathway; (III) cluster-crystal two-step classical pathway.

Cited by 20 publications

References 65 publications

Time-Resolved Morphology and Kinetic Studies of Pulsed Laser Deposition-Grown Pt Layers on Sapphire at Different Growth Temperatures by in Situ Grazing Incidence Small-Angle X-ray Scattering

Time-Resolved Morphology and Kinetic Studies of Pulsed Laser Deposition-Grown Pt Layers on Sapphire at Different Growth Temperatures by in Situ Grazing Incidence Small-Angle X-ray Scattering

Electron Beam Lithography of Magnetic Skyrmions

Na4Ga8S14: a Ga-enriched wide band gap ternary alkali-metal sulfide with unique [Ga12S42] 12-membered rings

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Na₄Ga₈S₁₄: a Ga-enriched wide band gap ternary alkali-metal sulfide with unique [Ga₁₂S₄₂] 12-membered rings