The Effect of A-Site Substitution of Ce and La on the Magnetic and Electronic Properties of Sr(Ti0.6Fe0.4)O3−δ Films

Coupling of strain, stress, and oxygen non-stoichiometry in thin film Pr0.1Ce0.9O2-δ

Stress and strain in thin films of Pr0.1Ce0.9O2-δ, supported on yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and sapphire substrates, induced by large deviations from oxygen stoichiometry (δ = 0) were investigated by in situ high temperature X-ray diffraction and wafer curvature studies. The measured stresses and strains were correlated with change in δ, measured in situ using optical transmission spectroscopy of defect centers in the films and compared with prior chemical capacitance studies. The coefficient of chemical expansion and elastic modulus values for the films were found to be 18% less than, and 16% greater than in the bulk, respectively. Irreproducible stress and strain during cycling on YSZ substrates was observed and related to microstructural changes as observed by TEM. The enthalpy of defect formation was found to be similar for films supported on sapphire and YSZ, and appeared to decrease with tensile stress, and increase with compressive stress. Larger stresses observed for YSZ supported films as compared to sapphire supported films were found and accounted for by the difference in film orientations.

Infrared optical absorption in low-spin Fe(2+)-doped SrTiO3

Band gap engineering in SrTiO3 and related titanate perovskites has long been explored due to the intriguing properties of the materials for photocatalysis and photovoltaic applications. A popular approach in the materials chemistry community is to substitutionally dope aliovalent transition metal ions onto the B site in the lattice to alter the valence band. However, in such a scheme there is limited control over the dopant valence, and compensating defects often form. Here we demonstrate a novel technique to controllably synthesize Fe(2+)- and Fe(3+)-doped SrTiO3 thin films without formation of compensating defects by co-doping with La(3+) ions on the A site. We stabilize Fe(2+)-doped films by doping with two La ions for every Fe dopant, and find that the Fe ions exhibit a low-spin electronic configuration, producing optical transitions in the near infrared regime and degenerate doping. The novel electronic states observed here offer a new avenue for band gap engineering in perovskites for photocatalytic and photovoltaic applications.

Oxygen partial pressure dependence of magnetic, optical and magneto-optical properties of epitaxial cobalt-substituted SrTiO₃ films

Cobalt-substituted SrTiO3 films (SrTi0.70Co0.30O(3-δ)) were grown on SrTiO3 substrates using pulsed laser deposition under oxygen pressures ranging from 1 μTorr to 20 mTorr. The effect of oxygen pressure on structural, magnetic, optical, and magneto-optical properties of the films was investigated. The film grown at 3 μTorr has the highest Faraday rotation (FR) and magnetic saturation moment (M(s)). Increasing oxygen pressure during growth reduced M(s), FR and optical absorption in the near-infrared. This trend is attributed to decreasing Co2+ ion concentration and oxygen vacancy concentration with higher oxygen partial pressure during growth.

SrGa(0.7)Co(0.3)O(3-δ) perovskite-cobalt oxide-metal nanocomposite films: magnetic and optical properties

Two-phase nanocomposite films consisting of metallic Co nanoparticles below 50 nm diameter in a perovskite matrix were grown by pulsed laser deposition onto (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2AlTaO6)0.7 (LSAT) and silicon substrates from a target of SrGa0.73Co0.27O3. The particles made up about 6% by volume of the film and were present within the film and at the substrate interface. The saturation magnetization of the film was up to 85 emu cm(-3) at 80 nm thickness and the Faraday rotation (FR) tracked the out-of-plane hysteresis loop, reaching 3000 deg cm(-1) at 10 kOe for 1550 nm wavelength. The magneto-optical figure of merit defined as FR divided by optical absorption was 0.04-0.06 deg dB(-1) due to the high optical absorption of the Co particles.

Combinatorial pulsed laser deposition of magnetic and magneto-optical Sr(GaxTiyFe0.34-0.40)O3-δ perovskite films

Ferromagnetic Sr(GaxTiyFe0.34-0.40)O3-δ (0.1 ≤ x, y ≤ 0.5) films with single-crystal perovskite structure were epitaxially grown on (001) (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2AlTaO6)0.7 substrates by combinatorial pulsed laser deposition (CPLD) and compared with previous results from films grown from single targets. In CPLD films the Fe was present as both Fe(2+) and Fe(3+). The distribution of Sr, Ga, Ti, and O was homogeneous, but Fe-rich nanowires with diameter of 3 nm were present perpendicular to the film plane. The unit cell was tetragonally distorted with the ratio of out-of-plane to in-plane lattice parameter decreasing from 1.06 to 1.02 as the Ga content increased. The magnetic easy axis of the films changed from out-of-plane when Ti content y > 0.3 to isotropic as the Ga content increased, consistent with a reduction in magnetoelastic anisotropy. The Ga lowered the Faraday rotation and the magnetization but increased the optical transmittance.

Demonstration of efficient electrochemical biogas reforming in a solid oxide electrolyser with titanate cathode

Direct electrochemical biogas reforming is successfully demonstrated in a solid oxide electrolyser with titanate cathode under external voltages.

Magneto-Optical Thin Films for On-Chip Monolithic Integration of Non-Reciprocal Photonic Devices

Achieving monolithic integration of nonreciprocal photonic devices on semiconductor substrates has been long sought by the photonics research society. One way to achieve this goal is to deposit high quality magneto-optical oxide thin films on a semiconductor substrate. In this paper, we review our recent research activity on magneto-optical oxide thin films toward the goal of monolithic integration of nonreciprocal photonic devices on silicon. We demonstrate high Faraday rotation at telecommunication wavelengths in several novel magnetooptical oxide thin films including Co substituted CeO_2−δ, Co- or Fe-substituted SrTiO_3−δ, as well as polycrystalline garnets on silicon. Figures of merit of 3~4 deg/dB and 21 deg/dB are achieved in epitaxial Sr(Ti_0.2Ga_0.4Fe_0.4)O_3−δ and polycrystalline (CeY₂)Fe₅O₁₂ films, respectively. We also demonstrate an optical isolator on silicon, based on a racetrack resonator using polycrystalline (CeY₂)Fe₅O₁₂/silicon strip-loaded waveguides. Our work demonstrates that physical vapor deposited magneto-optical oxide thin films on silicon can achieve high Faraday rotation, low optical loss and high magneto-optical figure of merit, therefore enabling novel high-performance non-reciprocal photonic devices monolithically integrated on semiconductor substrates.