Structural design of cubic Sr,V:CeFeO3 thin films with a strong magneto-optical effect and high compatibility with a Si substrate

Orthorhombic CeFeO₃ is optimized to be cubic perovskite with high compatibility with Si substrate by introducing Sr, V ions into lattice. Cubic Sr,V:CeFeO₃ film exhibit strong magneto-optical effect due to spin-coupling hybrid of Ce 4f with Fe/V 3d.

Effect of annealing treatments on CeO2 grown on TiN and Si substrates by atomic layer deposition

In this work, we investigate the effect of thermal treatment on CeO2 films fabricated by using atomic layer deposition (ALD) on titanium nitride (TiN) or on silicon (Si) substrates. In particular, we report on the structural, chemical and morphological properties of 25 nm thick ceria oxide with particular attention to the interface with the substrate. The annealing treatments have been performed in situ during the acquisition of X-Ray diffraction patterns to monitor the structural changes in the film. We find that ceria film is thermally stable up to annealing temperatures of 900 °C required for the complete crystallization. When ceria is deposited on TiN, the temperature has to be limited to 600 °C due to the thermal instability of the underlying TiN substrate with a broadening of the interface, while there are no changes detected inside the CeO2 films. As-deposited CeO2 films show a cubic fluorite polycrystalline structure with texturing. Further, after annealing at 900 °C an increase of grain dimensions and an enhanced preferential (200) orientation are evidenced. These findings are a strong indication that the texturing is an intrinsic property of the system more than a metastable condition due to the ALD deposition process. This result is interpreted in the light of the contributions of different energy components (surface energy and elastic modulus) which act dependently on the substrate properties, such as its nature and structure.

Manufacturing of inorganic nanomaterials: concepts and perspectives

The present paper aims at extracting key physical and chemical concepts for the development of inorganic nanomaterials with controlled size, shape, and topology. In particular, efforts are made to identify general guiding principles for the rational design of 0D, 1D, 2D and 3D architectures, focusing on selected model systems as representative case studies. To this aim, different strategies and approaches are discussed, in an attempt to unify concepts and ideas common to solid-, liquid- and gas-phase synthetic routes. Furthermore, the importance of tailoring the nanomaterial composition, structure and morphology is also highlighted in relation to their eventual technological applications.