Engineering Commons^™

Magneto-Ionic Control Of Interfacial Magnetism, Geoffrey Beach

Composites at Lake Louise (CALL 2015)

Voltage control of magnetism has the potential to substantially reduce power consumption in spintronic memory and logic devices, while offering new functionalities through field-effect operation [1-4]. Magneto-electric coupling has most often been achieved using complex oxides such as ferroelectrics, piezoelectrics, or multiferroic materials. Here I describe a new approach to voltage control of magnetism based on solid-state electrochemical switching of the interfacial oxidation state [2-4] in thin metallic ferromagnets. In ultrathin ferromagnet/oxide bilayers, strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) often arises from arises from interfacial hybridization between the ferromagnetic metal and oxygen ions. By using a solid-state ionic conductor with high …

Crystallization Engineering As A Route To Epitaxial Strain Control, Andrew R. Akbashev, Aleksandr V. Plokhikh, Dmitri Barbash, Samuel Lofland, Jonathan E. Spanier

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

The controlled synthesis of epitaxial thin films offers opportunities for tuning their functional properties via enabling or suppressing strain relaxation. Examining differences in the epitaxial crystallization of amorphous oxide films, we report on an alternate, low-temperature route for strain engineering. Thin films of amorphous Bi–Fe–O were grown on (001)SrTiO3 and (001)LaAlO3substrates via atomic layer deposition. In situ X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies of the crystallization of the amorphous films into the epitaxial (001)BiFeO3 phase reveal distinct evolution profiles of crystallinity with temperature. While growth on (001)SrTiO3 results in a coherently strained film, the same films obtained on (001)LaAlO3 …

Mechanical And Optical Properties Of Silicon Nitride Thin Films On Glass, Lukas Simurka, Selen Erkam, Tuncay Turutoglu

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Optical thin films have been widely used in glass coating industry for various energy saving applications such as solar control and low emissivity glasses. However, handling and processing of these systems can lead into various mechanical defects decreasing its lifetime and optical performance. Therefore, understanding and control of the mechanical properties plays an important role in thin films production. Silicon nitride is one of the most commonly used materials in the optical systems. Its high refractive index and good mechanical properties provide different functionalities. It can be used as a buffer layer for tuning of the optical performance or as …

Combining In Situ Tensile Testing And Orientation Microscopy In The Sem: A Mems Based Setup For Studying Time Dependent Deformation Of Thin Films By Tkd And Stem, Jan Philipp Liebig, Benoit Merle, Mathias Goken

Nanomechanical Testing in Materials Research and Development V

Structures in integrated devices are constantly subjected to residual or thermal stresses during operation. Understanding the relaxation behavior of thin films is therefore critical for improving their reliability.

Recently it was shown that Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction (TKD) in the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) enables the determination of local crystal orientations with high spatial resolution using standard Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) instrumentation [1, 2]. Giving access to quantitative information on mechanisms like grain growth, grain rotation and strain gradient evolution, time resolved TKD stands out as a promising technique for the characterization of microstructural changes upon relaxation of thin films.

We …

Improved Terahertz Modulation Using Germanium Telluride (Gete) Chalcogenide Thin Films, Alexander H. Gwin, Christopher H. Kodama, Tod V. Laurvick, Ronald Coutu Jr., Philip F. Taday

Faculty Publications

We demonstrate improved terahertz (THz) modulation using thermally crystallized germanium telluride (GeTe) thin films. GeTe is a chalcogenide material that exhibits a nonvolatile, amorphous to crystalline phase change at approximately 200 °C, as well as six orders of magnitude decreased electrical resistivity. In this study, amorphous GeTe thin films were sputtered on sapphire substrates and then tested using THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). The test samples, heated in-situ while collecting THz-TDS measurements, exhibited a gradual absorbance increase, an abrupt nonvolatile reduction at the transition temperature, followed by another gradual increase in absorbance. The transition temperature was verified by conducting similar thermal …

Impact Of Symmetry On The Ferroelectric Properties Of Catio₃ Thin Films, Michael D. Biegalski, Liang Qiao, Yijia Gu, Apurva Mehta, Qian He, For Full List Of Authors, See Publisher's Website.

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Epitaxial strain is a powerful tool to induce functional properties such as ferroelectricity in thin films of materials that do not possess ferroelectricity in bulk form. In this work, a ferroelectric state was stabilized in thin films of the incipient ferroelectric, CaTiO₃, through the careful control of the biaxial strain state and TiO₆ octahedral rotations. Detailed structural characterization was carried out by synchrotron x-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy. CaTiO₃ films grown on La_0.18Sr_0.82Al_0.59Ta_0.41O₃ (LSAT) and NdGaO₃ (NGO) substrates experienced a 1.1% biaxial strain state …

Continual Cell Deformation Induced Via Attachment To Oriented Fibers Enhances Fibroblast Cell Migration, Sisi Qin, Vincent Ricotta, Marcia Simon, Richard A. F. Clark, Miriam Rafailovich

Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Fibroblast migration is critical to the wound healing process. In vivo, migration occurs on fibrillar substrates, and previous observations have shown that a significant time lag exists before the onset of granulation tissue. We therefore conducted a series of experiments to understand the impact of both fibrillar morphology and migration time. Substrate topography was first shown to have a profound influence. Fibroblasts preferentially attach to fibrillar surfaces, and orient their cytoplasm for maximal contact with the fiber edge. In the case of en-mass cell migration out of an agarose droplet, fibroblasts on flat surfaces emerged with an enhanced velocity, v …

The Ph Sensing Properties Of Rf Sputtered Ruo2 Thin-Film Prepared Using Different Ar/O2 Flow Ratio, Ali Sardarinejad, Devendra Kumar Maurya, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The influence of the Ar/O₂ gas ratio during radio frequency (RF) sputtering of the RuO₂ sensing electrode on the pH sensing performance is investigated. The developed pH sensor consists in an RF sputtered ruthenium oxide thin-film sensing electrode, in conjunction with an electroplated Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The performance and characterization of the developed pH sensors in terms of sensitivity, response time, stability, reversibility, and hysteresis are investigated. Experimental results show that the pH sensor exhibits super-Nernstian slopes in the range of 64.33-73.83 mV/pH for Ar/O₂ gas ratio between 10/0-7/3. In particular, the best pH sensing performance, in …