Imaging pulsed laser deposition oxide growth by in situ atomic force microscopy

W A Wessels; T R J Bollmann; D Post; G Koster; G Rijnders

doi:10.1063/1.5004567

Imaging pulsed laser deposition oxide growth by in situ atomic force microscopy

Rev Sci Instrum. 2017 Dec;88(12):123902. doi: 10.1063/1.5004567.

Authors

W A Wessels¹, T R J Bollmann¹, D Post¹, G Koster¹, G Rijnders¹

Affiliation

¹ Inorganic Materials Science, MESA Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, NL-7500AE Enschede, The Netherlands.

PMID: 29289154
DOI: 10.1063/1.5004567

Abstract

To visualize the topography of thin oxide films during growth, thereby enabling to study its growth behavior quasi real-time, we have designed and integrated an atomic force microscope (AFM) in a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) vacuum setup. The AFM scanner and PLD target are integrated in a single support frame, combined with a fast sample transfer method, such that in situ microscopy can be utilized after subsequent deposition pulses. The in situ microscope can be operated from room temperature up to 700 °C and at (process) pressures ranging from the vacuum base pressure of 10^-6 mbar up to 1 mbar, typical PLD conditions for the growth of oxide films. The performance of this instrument is demonstrated by resolving unit cell height surface steps and surface topography under typical oxide PLD growth conditions.