Gallagher J C, Esser B D, Morrow R, Dunsiger S R, Williams R E A, Woodward P M, McComb D W, Yang F Y
Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43212, USA.
Sci Rep. 2016 Feb 29;6:22282. doi: 10.1038/srep22282.
Epitaxial films of the pyrochlore Nd2Ir2O7 have been grown on (111)-oriented yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrates by off-axis sputtering followed by post-growth annealing. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results demonstrate phase-pure epitaxial growth of the pyrochlore films on YSZ. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) investigation of an Nd2Ir2O7 film with a short post-annealing provides insight into the mechanism for crystallization of Nd2Ir2O7 during the post-annealing process. STEM images reveal clear pyrochlore ordering of Nd and Ir in the films. The epitaxial relationship between the YSZ and Nd2Ir2O7 is observed clearly while some interfacial regions show a thin region with polycrystalline Ir nanocrystals.
通过离轴溅射并在生长后进行退火，在（111）取向的氧化钇稳定氧化锆（YSZ）衬底上生长了烧绿石Nd2Ir2O7外延薄膜。X射线衍射（XRD）结果表明烧绿石薄膜在YSZ上实现了纯相外延生长。对经过短时间退火的Nd2Ir2O7薄膜进行扫描透射电子显微镜（STEM）研究，有助于深入了解退火过程中Nd2Ir2O7的结晶机制。STEM图像显示薄膜中Nd和Ir呈现出清晰的烧绿石有序结构。清晰地观察到了YSZ与Nd2Ir2O7之间的外延关系，同时一些界面区域显示出含有多晶Ir纳米晶体的薄区域。
