Epitaxially-stabilized growth of wüstite FeO on 4H-SiC
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866908859637956608 |
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| author | Kimbugwe, Faisal Baan, Marzieh Montenegro, Alexandra Fonseca Myers, Roberto C Grassman, Tyler J |
| author_facet | Kimbugwe, Faisal Baan, Marzieh Montenegro, Alexandra Fonseca Myers, Roberto C Grassman, Tyler J |
| contents | Iron(II) monoxide (FeO) is thermodynamically stable in the halite (wüstite) structure only at elevated temperatures in a typically non-stoichiometric, Fe-deficient, Fe$_{1-z}$O form that tends to phase separate and/or transform into metallic $α$-Fe and magnetite Fe$_3$O$_4$ at ambient conditions. Here we report on the successful growth of up to 180 nm thick $(111)$-oriented FeO heteroepitaxial films on slightly lattice-matched 4H-SiC$(0001)$ using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The films have flat, terraced surfaces with tall multi-layer steps. X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and core-level electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) collectively confirm the epilayer as phase-pure wüstite FeO, with atomically sharp FeO/SiC interfaces. The films are found to exhibit a slight misfit strain-induced rhombohedral distortion that does not appear to vary over the range of thicknesses examined. These results demonstrate the power of epitaxial stabilization for integrating a thermodynamically unstable, yet functionally interesting material with a commercially available and technologically important semiconductor platform. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_02531 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Epitaxially-stabilized growth of wüstite FeO on 4H-SiC Kimbugwe, Faisal Baan, Marzieh Montenegro, Alexandra Fonseca Myers, Roberto C Grassman, Tyler J Materials Science Iron(II) monoxide (FeO) is thermodynamically stable in the halite (wüstite) structure only at elevated temperatures in a typically non-stoichiometric, Fe-deficient, Fe$_{1-z}$O form that tends to phase separate and/or transform into metallic $α$-Fe and magnetite Fe$_3$O$_4$ at ambient conditions. Here we report on the successful growth of up to 180 nm thick $(111)$-oriented FeO heteroepitaxial films on slightly lattice-matched 4H-SiC$(0001)$ using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The films have flat, terraced surfaces with tall multi-layer steps. X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and core-level electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) collectively confirm the epilayer as phase-pure wüstite FeO, with atomically sharp FeO/SiC interfaces. The films are found to exhibit a slight misfit strain-induced rhombohedral distortion that does not appear to vary over the range of thicknesses examined. These results demonstrate the power of epitaxial stabilization for integrating a thermodynamically unstable, yet functionally interesting material with a commercially available and technologically important semiconductor platform. |
| title | Epitaxially-stabilized growth of wüstite FeO on 4H-SiC |
| topic | Materials Science |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.02531 |