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Transmission electron microscopy study of n= 1–5 Srn+1TinO3n+1 epitaxial thin films

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Abstract

Epitaxial Srn+1TinO3n+1 thin films with n = 1–5 were synthesized on (001) SrTiO3 substrates by reactive molecular beam epitaxy. The structure and microstructure of the films were investigated by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microbeam diffraction, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) in combination with computer image simulations. Both diffraction and HRTEM studies revealed that all the films are epitaxially oriented with their c axis perpendicular to the (001) SrTiO3 plane of the substrate. Detailed investigations using quantitative HRTEM methods indicated that the films have the expected n = 1–5 structures of the Ruddlesden–Popper Srn+1TinO3n+1 homologous series. Among these films, Sr2TiO4, Sr3Ti2O7, and Sr4Ti3O10 thin films are nearly free of intergrowths, while Sr5Ti4O13 and Sr6Ti5O16 thin films contain noticeably more antiphase boundaries in their perovskite sheets and intergrowth defects. We show that these results are consistent with what is known about the thermodynamics of Srn+1TinO3n+1 phases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Michigan, 48109-2136, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    W. Tian & X. Q. Pan

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Penn State University, 16803-6602, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    J. H. Haeni & D. G. Schlom

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  1. W. Tian
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  2. X. Q. Pan
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  4. D. G. Schlom
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Correspondence to X. Q. Pan.

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Tian, W., Pan, X.Q., Haeni, J.H. et al. Transmission electron microscopy study of n= 1–5 Srn+1TinO3n+1 epitaxial thin films. Journal of Materials Research 16, 2013–2026 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2001.0276

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