Substrate-driven structural coherence in epitaxial hematite thin films for spintronics

IF 9.3 1区材料科学 Q1 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Acta Materialia Pub Date : 2025-10-09 DOI:10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121613

Meritxell Toda-Casaban , Lluis Balcells , Narcís Mestres , Alberto Pomar , Hui Chen , Alba Garzón Manjón , Jordi Arbiol , Benjamín Martínez , Carlos Frontera

{"title":"Substrate-driven structural coherence in epitaxial hematite thin films for spintronics","authors":"Meritxell Toda-Casaban , Lluis Balcells , Narcís Mestres , Alberto Pomar , Hui Chen , Alba Garzón Manjón , Jordi Arbiol , Benjamín Martínez , Carlos Frontera","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121613","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this work, we report the successful growth of high-quality epitaxial hematite (<span><math><mi>α</mi></math></span>-Fe<span><math><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub></math></span>O<span><math><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msub></math></span>) thin films on three different substrates: (0001)-oriented sapphire, and (111)-oriented perovskite-structured SrTiO<span><math><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msub></math></span> and LaAlO<span><math><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msub></math></span>. Structural characterization confirms epitaxial growth with a (0001) out-of-plane orientation across all substrates. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction reveals that the films are highly relaxed, exhibiting systematic in-plane lattice variations driven by substrate-induced strain. Notably, films grown on perovskite substrates display enhanced in-plane crystal coherence compared to those on isostructural sapphire, indicating superior structural quality. These findings demonstrate the potential for seamless integration of hematite with perovskite oxides, enabling the development of high-quality oxide heterostructures for spintronic applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"301 ","pages":"Article 121613"},"PeriodicalIF":9.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Acta Materialia","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359645425008997","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

In this work, we report the successful growth of high-quality epitaxial hematite (

α

-Fe

_{2}

_{3}

) thin films on three different substrates: (0001)-oriented sapphire, and (111)-oriented perovskite-structured SrTiO

_{3}

and LaAlO

_{3}

. Structural characterization confirms epitaxial growth with a (0001) out-of-plane orientation across all substrates. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction reveals that the films are highly relaxed, exhibiting systematic in-plane lattice variations driven by substrate-induced strain. Notably, films grown on perovskite substrates display enhanced in-plane crystal coherence compared to those on isostructural sapphire, indicating superior structural quality. These findings demonstrate the potential for seamless integration of hematite with perovskite oxides, enabling the development of high-quality oxide heterostructures for spintronic applications.

Abstract Image

查看原文本刊更多论文

自旋电子学外延赤铁矿薄膜的衬底驱动结构相干性

在这项工作中，我们报道了在三种不同的衬底上成功生长高质量的外延赤铁矿（αα-Fe22O33）薄膜：（0001）取向蓝宝石和（111）取向钙钛矿结构的SrTiO33和LaAlO33。结构表征证实了在所有衬底上具有（0001）面外取向的外延生长。同步加速器x射线衍射表明，薄膜是高度松弛的，在衬底诱导应变的驱动下表现出系统的面内晶格变化。值得注意的是，与同结构蓝宝石相比，在钙钛矿衬底上生长的薄膜显示出更强的平面内晶体相干性，表明其结构质量更好。这些发现证明了赤铁矿与钙钛矿氧化物无缝集成的潜力，从而开发出用于自旋电子应用的高质量氧化物异质结构。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Acta Materialia 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

16.10

自引率

8.50%

发文量

801

审稿时长

53 days

期刊介绍： Acta Materialia serves as a platform for publishing full-length, original papers and commissioned overviews that contribute to a profound understanding of the correlation between the processing, structure, and properties of inorganic materials. The journal seeks papers with high impact potential or those that significantly propel the field forward. The scope includes the atomic and molecular arrangements, chemical and electronic structures, and microstructure of materials, focusing on their mechanical or functional behavior across all length scales, including nanostructures.