Enhanced Metallic Properties of SrRuO\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3e Thin Films via Kinetically Controlled Pulsed Laser Epitaxy

Metal electrodes are a universal element of all electronic devices. Conducting SrRuO3 (SRO) epitaxial thin films have been extensively used as electrodes in complex-oxide heterostructures due to good lattice mismatches with perovskite substrates. However, when compared to SRO single crystals, SRO thin films have shown reduced conductivity and Curie temperatures (TC), which can lead to higher Joule heating and energy loss in the devices. Here, we report that high-quality SRO thin films can be synthesized by controlling the plume dynamics and growth rate of pulsed laser epitaxy (PLE) with real-time optical spectroscopic monitoring. The SRO thin films grown under the kinetically controlled conditions, down to ca. 16 nm in thickness, exhibit both enhanced conductivity and TC as compared to bulk values, due to their improved stoichiometry and a strain-mediated increase of the bandwidth of Ru 4d electrons. This result provides a direction for enhancing the physical properties of PLE-grown thin films and paves a way to improved device applications

Enhanced Metallic Properties of SrRuO\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3e Thin Films via Kinetically Controlled Pulsed Laser Epitaxy

Metal electrodes are a universal element of all electronic devices. Conducting SrRuO3 (SRO) epitaxial thin films have been extensively used as electrodes in complex-oxide heterostructures due to good lattice mismatches with perovskite substrates. However, when compared to SRO single crystals, SRO thin films have shown reduced conductivity and Curie temperatures (TC), which can lead to higher Joule heating and energy loss in the devices. Here, we report that high-quality SRO thin films can be synthesized by controlling the plume dynamics and growth rate of pulsed laser epitaxy (PLE) with real-time optical spectroscopic monitoring. The SRO thin films grown under the kinetically controlled conditions, down to ca. 16 nm in thickness, exhibit both enhanced conductivity and TC as compared to bulk values, due to their improved stoichiometry and a strain-mediated increase of the bandwidth of Ru 4d electrons. This result provides a direction for enhancing the physical properties of PLE-grown thin films and paves a way to improved device applications

Extraordinary Off-Stoichiometric Bismuth Telluride for Enhanced n-Type Thermoelectric Power Factor

Thermoelectrics directly converts waste heat into electricity and is considered a promising means of sustainable energy generation. While most of the recent advances in the enhancement of the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) resulted from a decrease in lattice thermal conductivity by nanostructuring, there have been very few attempts to enhance electrical transport properties, i.e., the power factor. Here we use nanochemistry to stabilize bulk bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) that violates phase equilibrium, namely, phase-pure n-type K0.06Bi2Te3.18. Incorporated potassium and tellurium in Bi2Te3 far exceed their solubility limit, inducing simultaneous increase in the electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient along with decrease in the thermal conductivity. Consequently, a high power factor of ≈43 μW cm-1 K-2 and a high ZT > 1.1 at 323 K are achieved. Our current synthetic method can be used to produce a new family of materials with novel physical and chemical characteristics for various applications. © 2016 American Chemical Society212