In situ GISAXS study of the growth of Pd on MgO(001)

The morphology of growing Pd nano-particles on MgO(001) surfaces have been investigated in situ, during growth, by grazing incidence small angle x-ray scattering, for different substrate temperatures. The 2D patterns obtained are quantitatively analyzed, and the average morphological parameters (shape, size) deduced. Above 650 K, the aggregates adopt their equilibrium shape of truncated octahedron, and the interfacial energy is deduced.Comment: 10 pages, 1 Table, 2 Figure

Self-organized nanoclusters in solution-processed mesoporous In-Ga-Zn-O thin films

International audienceSelf-organized nanoclusters were obtained in annealed solution-processed In-Ga-Zn-O thin films. STEM and anomalous grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) reveal the formation of nanometer-sized nanoclusters together with the spontaneous creation of a mesopore pattern

Growth of Ag on MgO(001) studied in situ by grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering

International audienc

Defect-pinned nucleation, growth, and dynamic coalescence of Ag islands on MgO(001): An in situ grazing-incidence small-angle x-ray scattering study

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Effect of thermal annealing on the morphology of sol–gel processed barium strontium titanate thin films: Consequences on electrical properties

International audienceThe link between the morphology and the electrical properties of the sol–gel processed Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3 thin films is investigated. Previous studies have not fully explained the differences in growth morphology as a function of the elaboration conditions. The thin films were investigated by Grazing Incidence Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (GISAXS), x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. More precisely, prototype films were studied as a function of the annealing temperature: at low temperatures (140 °C–200 °C) by in situ GISAXS and at high temperatures (600 °C–800 °C) by ex situ GISAXS. At ∼150 °C, self-organized domains with a preferential distance of approximately 14 nm are formed. At high annealing temperatures, the growing domains become either nanoparticles or pores with a preferential distance of approximately 85 nm at 600 °C. This growth evolution is successfully explained by a general model based on convection and evaporation. With thermal annealing, the characteristic lengths parallel to the surface increase due to convection and the characteristic lengths perpendicular to the surface decrease due to evaporation. In addition, two types of annealing were investigated at 700 °C. For annealing after each other layer, a growth with vertically shifted particles occurs with no ferroelectric behavior. On the contrary, for annealing after each deposited layer, a columnar growth occurs and a ferroelectric hysteresis loop is obtained. The ferroelectricity of the sol–gel barium strontium titanate thin films is definitely linked to the complete removal of organic constituents leading to columnar growth

Quantitative analysis of nanoripple and nanoparticle patterns by grazing incidence small-angle x-ray scattering 3D mapping

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Adhesion of growing nanoparticles at a glance: Surface differential reflectivity spectroscopy and grazing incidence small angle x-ray scattering

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Quantitative analysis of grazing incidence small-angle x-ray scattering: Pd/MgO(001) growth

The present paper focuses on the analysis of grazing incidence small-angle x-ray scattering (GISAXS) of islands on a substrate. Getting accurate morphological parameters relevant for the elaboration process, i.e., growth curves, island equilibrium shape, and interfacial energy, implies a quantitative data analysis. The emphasis is put on the island form factor, i.e., the Fourier transform of the island shape. It is shown that the island shape and size can be obtained through the island symmetry, the presence of island facets, the asymptotic behavior at high momentum transfer for large polydispersity, and the zeros or minima of the intensity for small polydispersity. The specificity brought by the grazing incidence scattering geometry is highlighted by a careful comparison between the Born approximation and the more accurate distorted wave Born approximation. The interplay between the form factor and the interference function is all the more important in the total scattering intensity when incoherent diffuse scattering comes into play at small momentum transfer for disordered systems. Getting rid of these interpretation difficulties requires accurate measurements of the scattered intensity far in the reciprocal space. This analysis methodology is illustrated through recently acquired GISAXS patterns during the in situ molecular beam epitaxy of Pd nanoislands on MgO(001) single crystals for different thicknesses and temperatures. The morphological parameters obtained agree very well with subsequent transmission electron microscopy-results. Finally, GISAXS diffuse scattering has been shown, originating from the growth-coalescence process and from the size dependence of the island capture area