Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T18:36:36.921Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effect of the growth temperature and nitrogen precursor on the structural and electrical transport properties of SmN thin films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2017

Jay R. Chan*
Affiliation:
The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Mohamed Al Khalfioui
Affiliation:
Université Côte d’Azur, Centre National de la recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherche sur l’Hétéro Épitaxie et ses Applications (CRHEA), France
Stéphane Vézian
Affiliation:
Université Côte d’Azur, Centre National de la recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherche sur l’Hétéro Épitaxie et ses Applications (CRHEA), France
Joe Trodahl
Affiliation:
The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Benjamin Damilano
Affiliation:
Université Côte d’Azur, Centre National de la recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherche sur l’Hétéro Épitaxie et ses Applications (CRHEA), France
Franck Natali
Affiliation:
The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
*
Get access

Abstract

We report on the structural and electrical properties of epitaxial SmN thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The effect of the growth temperature and nitrogen precursor, either pure molecular N2 or NH3 was investigated. The structural quality of SmN was assessed by X-ray diffraction and the epitaxial growth character is observed over the entire range of growth temperatures, from 300°C to 800°C, with both nitrogen precursors. The highest quality films are produced at a growth temperature of about 430°C by using N2 as a nitrogen precursor. Hall Effect and resistivity measurements establish that SmN films are heavily n-type doped semiconductors, suggesting the presence of nitrogen vacancies, a recurring phenomenon in rare earth nitride compounds.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Natali, F., Ruck, B. J., Plank, N. O., Trodahl, H. J., Granville, S., Meyer, C. and Lambrecht, W. R., Prog. Mater. Sci. 58, 1316 (2013).Google Scholar
Anton, E.-M., Ruck, B., Meyer, C., Natali, F., Warring, H., Wilhelm, F., Rogalev, A., Antonov, V. and Trodahl, H., Phys. Rev. B, 87, 134414 (2013).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anton, E.-M., Granville, S., Engel, A., Chong, S., Governale, M., Zülicke, U., Moghaddam, A., Trodahl, H., Natali, F., Vézian, S. and Ruck, B., Phys. Rev. B, 94, 024106 (2016).Google Scholar
Chan, J. R., Vézian, S., Trodahl, J., Khalfioui, M. A., Damilano, B. and Natali, F., Cryst. Growth Des. 16, 6454 (2016).Google Scholar
Ahn, K. H., Baik, S. and Kim, S. S., J. Mater. Res. 17 2334 (2002).Google Scholar
Mesrine, M., Grandjean, N. and Massies, J., Appl. Phys. Lett. 72, 350 (1998).Google Scholar
Natali, F., Vézian, S., Granville, S., Damilano, B., Trodahl, H. J., Anton, E.-M., Warring, H., Semond, F., Cordier, Y., Chong, S. V. and Ruck, B.J., J. Cryst. Growth, 404, 146 (2014).Google Scholar
Scarpulla, M. A., Gallinat, C., Mack, S., Speck, J. and Gossard, A., J. Cryst. Growth, 311, 1239 (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Natali, F., Plank, N., Galipaud, J., Ruck, B., Trodahl, H., Semond, F., Sorieul, S. and Hirsch, L., J. Cryst. Growth, 312, 3583 (2010).Google Scholar
Lee, C.-M., Warring, H., Vézian, S., Damilano, B., Granville, S., Al Khalfioui, M., Cordier, Y., Trodahl, H. J., Ruck, B. J. and Natali, F., Appl. Phys. Lett, 106, 022401 (2015).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Granville, S., Ruck, B. J., Budde, F., Koo, A., Pringle, D. J., Kuchler, F., Preston, A. R. H., Housden, D. H., Lund, N., Bittar, A., Williams, G.V.M. and Trodahl, H.J., Phys. Rev. B, 73, 235335 (2006).Google Scholar
Punya, A., Cheiwchanchamnangij, T., Thiess, A. and Lambrecht, W. R. L., Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 1290 (2011).Google Scholar