Surface evolution of lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite thin films at low temperatures

The ultra-high vacuum surface preparation of heteroepitaxial lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite thin films has been studied using soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Specifically, the effect of annealing the films at low temperatures in low partial pressures of oxygen and argon has been investiga...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Thin solid films 2015-08, Vol.589, p.655-661
Main Authors: Newby, D., Kuyyalil, J., Laverock, J., Ludwig, K.F., Yu, Y., Davis, J., Gopalan, S., Pal, U.B., Basu, S., Smith, K.E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Annealing
Argon
Carbon
Cobalt ferrites
Evolution
Lanthanum
Lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite
Perovskite cathode materials
Solid oxide fuel cell cathodes
Strontium
Thin films
X-ray photoemission spectroscopy
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Summary:The ultra-high vacuum surface preparation of heteroepitaxial lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite thin films has been studied using soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Specifically, the effect of annealing the films at low temperatures in low partial pressures of oxygen and argon has been investigated. We find that atmospheric surface carbon contamination of the films can be removed in select anneal temperature regimes in argon, but remains bound to the surface with oxygen annealing at any temperature. Irrespective of the gas used, an insulating phase transition occurs near 300°C due to strontium segregation at the surface. The surface develops more insulating character if annealed with oxygen. Different species are proposed to be responsible for the discrepancy in insulating character.
ISSN:0040-6090
1879-2731
DOI:10.1016/j.tsf.2015.06.037