Films with Fe–25 at.% Ge composition are deposited by the process of laser ablation on single crystal NaCl and Cu substrates at room temperature. Both the vapor and liquid droplets generated in this process are quenched on the substrate. The microstructures of the embedded droplets show size as well as composition dependence. The hierarchy of phase evolution from amorphous to body-centered cubic (bcc) to DO3 has been observed as a function of size. Some of the medium-sized droplets also show direct formation of ordered DO19 phase from the starting liquid. The evolution of disordered bcc structure in some of the droplets indicates disorder trapping during liquid to solid transformation. The microstructural evolution is analyzed on the basis of heat transfer mechanisms and continuous growth model in the solidifying droplets.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) films doped with aluminum (Al) were deposited with a pulsed laser deposition technique to characterize the charge compensation phenomena in ZnO. In particular, oxygen radical (O*) irradiation during film deposition was used to modify the oxygen stoichiometry. Irradiation with O* decreased electron concentration in Al-doped ZnO. The lattice parameter of the resultant films also varied with the growth conditions. However, no obvious correlation between electron concentration and lattice parameter was found. The self-diffusion coefficients indicated the presence of non-equilibrium defects. The properties of the films are discussed from the viewpoint of non-equilibrium compensated defects detected in the diffusion measurements.

Conventional plasma-sprayed hydroxyapatite coatings suffer from many difficulties that have limited their use in orthopaedic implants, including uneven resorption rates, poor fracture toughness, and poor adhesion to medical alloys. The placement of a diamondlike carbon buffer layer may overcome these obstacles by providing unique chemical inertness, hardness, and cell-interaction properties at the implant–tissue interface. Nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite and amorphous diamondlike carbon films were prepared by room-temperature pulsed-laser deposition of hydroxyapatite and graphite targets, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and microscratch adhesion testing were used to determine surface morphology, interfacial structure, and adhesion of the bilayer coatings. Nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite/diamondlike carbon coatings have several potential orthopaedic applications, including use in hip prostheses.

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)-Au composite coatings have great potential as solid film lubricants for aerospace applications over a wide range of environmental conditions. They were grown on steel disks or silicon wafers by pulsed laser ablation of YSZ and simultaneous magnetron sputtering of a Au target. Such a combination of ceramics with soft metals improved the toughness of the composite coating and increased its ability to lubricate at high temperature. Information on the time-dependent response of these microstructures to changes in temperature is essential to tribological investigations of high temperature performance. In situ transmission electron microscopy was used to directly measure the dynamic change of YSZ-Au coating structure at elevated temperatures. High-resolution electron microscopy and electron diffraction showed that amorphous YSZ-5 at.% Au coatings proceeded to crystallize under the irradiation of electron beams. Time varying x-ray energy dispersive spectra measured a loss of oxygen in the sample during about 10 min of irradiation with subsequent slight oxygen recovery. This behavior was related to the activation of oxygen diffusion under electron irradiation. X-ray diffraction patterns from vacuum annealed samples verified crystallization of the coatings at 500 °C. Real-time growth of Au nanograins in the sample was observed as the temperature was increased to 500 °C in a TEM specimen holder that could be heated. The grain growth process was recorded using a charge-coupled device camera installed on the transmission electron microscope. The crystallization and growth of zirconia and Au nanograins resulted in low friction during tribological tests. The nucleation of Au islands on heated ball-on-flat specimens was responsible for lowering friction.

The relationship between crystal structure and piezo-response was investigated in epitaxially grown PbZr1−xTixO3 (PZT) thin films on Pt(001)/MgO(001) with a thin PbTiO3 interlayer. Insertion of the interlayer resulted in significant relaxation ofthe strain that could be developed in the course of deposition of the PZT films, consequently leading us to single out only the effect of composition. Composition of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB), at which tetragonal and rhombohedral phases are mixed with the same volume fraction, was found to be ∼0.55 in Ti/(Zr + Ti) ratio in our films, which is close to the value for bulk polycrystalline PZT (∼0.50). The piezoelectric response peaks were two times higher in the MPB regime than in the single phase regime due to structural instability caused by the coexistence of two phases. The results indicate that epitaxial PZT films having the MPB composition are advantageous over those of other compositions for nano-storage devices based on scanning force microscopy.

The influence of the microstructure of strontium-titanate-oxide (SrTiO3 or STO) thin films on their optical properties was investigated through an extensive characterization. The STO films have been deposited on silicon substrates by reactive pulsed laser deposition. The effect of the oxygen deposition pressure on the crystalline quality of the films was systematically studied by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and secondary ion mass spectrometry were used to determine the atomic density and depth concentration profiles of the various species forming the film. The refractive index and extinction coefficient were obtained using variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. Based on this full characterization, it is demonstrated that the optical characteristics of the films are directly correlated to their microstructural properties. In particular, the refractive index increases with film density, while losses decrease. In addition, the interface between STO and Si is characterized by an interdiffusion layer. As the deposition pressure is enhanced, the width of this layer significantly increases, inducing localized inhomogeneity of the refractive index.

Surface stability of nearly defect-free epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition was studied using low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and electron spectroscopies. Even after exposure to atmosphere, surfaces exhibited distinct LEED patterns providing evidence of unusual chemical stability. Surface order disappeared after heating to 200 °C in vacuum. To investigate, SrRuO3 thin films were annealed up to 800 °C in high vacuum and examined for chemical state and topography. Formation of unit-cell deep pits and the Ru-rich particles begins at low temperatures. Hydrocarbon contamination on the surface contributes to this process.

The nanoscale behavior of high-temperature flow deformation for silicate-based oxide glass ultrathin films was characterized with focus on forming a nano-patterned glass surface. The oxide glass thin films were deposited at room temperature by pulsed laser deposition onto the ultrasmooth sapphire substrates with 0.2-nm-high atomic steps. It was found from atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements that the silicate ultrathin films (about 3 nm thick) started to deform at a temperature 50 °C lower than the glass transition point of the bulk glass. The glass thin films annealed at high temperatures exhibited the nano-stepped surface structure reflecting the sapphire substrate surface. By scanning the AFM tip on the as-deposited glass film in a contact mode and then thermal annealing the film, we could pattern the nano-stepped glass surface at a nanoscale.

Room-temperature epitaxy of AlN thin films on sapphire (0001) substrates was achieved by pulsed laser deposition using an epitaxial NiO ultrathin buffer layer (approximately 6 nm thick). Four-circle x-ray diffraction analysis indicates a double heteroepitaxial structure of AlN (0001)/NiO(111)/sapphire (0001) with the epitaxial relationship of AlN [10-10] ‖ NiO [11-2] ‖ sapphire [11-20]. The surface morphology of room-temperature grown AlN thin films was found to be atomically smooth and nanostepped, reflecting the surface of the ultrasmooth sapphire substrate with 0.2-nm-high steps.

C-axis oriented lithium niobate (LiNbO3) films were deposited by pulsed-laser deposition on silicon using a transparent conducting interlayer of aluminum (Al)-doped zinc oxide (ZnO). Only two x-ray diffraction reflections corresponding to (006) and (0012) planes of LiNbO3 were observed in the films deposited at a 100-mTorr oxygen pressure and a 450–500 °C substrate temperature. Presence of sharp modes corresponding to E(TO) and A(LO), and absence of any superfluous peaks mainly around 900–905 cm−1 in the Raman spectra confirmed the formation of textured LiNbO3 film. Measured value of direct current and alternate current (AC) conductivities and dielectric constant are 8.6 × 10-12 Ω−1cm-1, 1.16 × 10-6 Ω−1cm-1, and 29.3, respectively, at room temperature. Behavior of dielectric constant and AC conductivity with frequency and temperature are close to the reported single-crystal data.

An approach to pattern directly thin films of various materials deposited by different physical vapor deposition methods is presented. Co and Ag films deposited by pulsed laser deposition and e-beam evaporation, respectively, were fabricated into 650- and 1000-nm-spaced parallel stripes on Si(100) surfaces by simultaneous two-beam ultraviolet laser interference irradiation of the substrate surface during deposition. The resulting morphology consists of 1- to 2-nm-height stripes, which have the same direction and spacing as the interference fringes. This approach has the potential to allow long-range ordering of well-defined patterns over large areas because the spacing and geometrical patterns are defined by the laser interference. Furthermore, the fact that this method works for different materials and does not require any lithography masks, etching steps, or substrate prepatterning, makes it promising as a simple and economical lateral patterning approach.