In-situ observation of self-cleansing phenomena during ultra-high vacuum anneal of transition metal nitride thin films: Prospects for non-destructive photoelectron spectroscopy

Titanium monoxide ultra-thin coatings evaporated onto polycrystalline copper films

We evaporated polycrystalline copper thin films of thickness between 10 and 100nm on silicon substrates with their native oxide under ultra-high-vacuum conditions. Some of them were exposed to air for a period ranging from 1 day to 2 weeks. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed a clean copper surface with a trace of oxygen. These films that were exposed to air presented oxides in the ...

X-Ray Spectroscopy of Ultra-Thin Oxide/Oxide Heteroepitaxial Films: A Case Study of Single-Nanometer VO2/TiO2

Epitaxial ultra-thin oxide films can support large percent level strains well beyond their bulk counterparts, thereby enabling strain-engineering in oxides that can tailor various phenomena. At these reduced dimensions (typically < 10 nm), contributions from the substrate can dwarf the signal from the epilayer, making it difficult to distinguish the properties of the epilayer from the bulk. Thi...

In Situ Hall Effect Monitoring of Vacuum Annealing of In2O3:H Thin Films

Hydrogen doped In₂O₃ thin films were prepared by room temperature sputter deposition with the addition of H₂O to the sputter gas. By subsequent vacuum annealing, the films obtain high mobility up to 90 cm²/Vs. The films were analyzed in situ by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ex situ by X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical transmission and Hall effect measurements. Furthermore, we presen...

Al capping layers for nondestructive x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses of transition-metal nitride thin films

In-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of the oxidation of CuGaSe2

The thermal and native oxidation of CuGaSe2 thin films was studied by in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The special design of the XPS chamber allowed to measure XP-spectra under oxidizing gas atmospheres at pressures of up to 5mbar (in-situ) or in ultra high vacuum (UHV). During thermal oxidation, the formation of predominantly Ga2O3 and some amount of SeO2 were observed, but no c...