What is it about?
An algorithm is proposed for determining the orientational relationships and crystal lattice parameters of thin films using a laboratory X-ray diffractometer and stereographic projections. It is illustrated by treatment of experimental data obtained for the yttrium orthoferrite YFeO3 films on single crystalline sapphire (Al2O3) substrates for film thicknesses in the range from 10 to 700 nm Precise determination of lattice constants and angles is possible by combining the results of X-ray measurements made for in-plane and out-of-plane geometries. For the studied films, typical errors in determining lattice constants and angles are better than 0.017 nm and 0.17 deg, respectively.
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Why is it important?
Numerous physical properties of single crystalline thin films, for example, optical, magnetic, electrical, are anisotropic or directionally dependent. This means that one needs to know the orientation of crystallographic axes of a sample before planning any measurements. This task is not trivial for thin films and nanostructures with thicknesses in the nanometer range. One needs first to be sure that the film has a single-crystal structure, then to determine lattice constants and orientation of its crystallographic axes for a specific sample shape. We show how to do this using a laboratory X-ray diffractometer. Our results can be of great importance for development of novel technologies of growth and optimization of properties of thin films and nanostructures with nanometer thicknesses of individual layers.
Perspectives
We hope that the procedure described in our article can be widely used in many laboratories working in the field of preparation and characterization of thin films and nanostructures.
Aleksandr Nosov
M.N.Mikheev Institute of Metal Physics Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Orientational and crystallographic relationships in thin films of yttrium orthoferrite on sapphire substrates, Acta Crystallographica Section B Structural Science Crystal Engineering and Materials, July 2024, International Union of Crystallography,
DOI: 10.1107/s2052520624005675.
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