TY - JOUR
T1 - In situ transmission electron microscope formation of a single-crystalline Bi film on an amorphous substrate
AU - Neklyudova, M.
AU - Sabater, C.
AU - Erdamar, A. K.
AU - Van Ruitenbeek, J. M.
AU - Zandbergen, H. W.
PY - 2017/3/6
Y1 - 2017/3/6
N2 - We have performed a range of in situ heating experiments of polycrystalline Bi films of 22-25 nm-thickness in a transmission electron microscope (TEM). This shows that it is possible to locally transform a polycrystalline thin film into a [111]-oriented single-crystalline film, whereby the unique feature is that the original thickness of the film is maintained, and the substrate used in our experiments is amorphous. The single-crystalline areas have been created by heating the Bi film to temperatures close to the melting temperature with additional heating by focusing of the electron beam (e-beam), which results in local melting of the film. The film does not collapse by dewetting, and upon subsequent cooling, the film transforms into a single-crystalline [111] oriented area. The observed phenomenon is attributed to the presence of a thin Bi-oxide layer on top of Bi film. We show that removal of the Bi-oxide layer by heating the film in a H2 gas atmosphere results in changes in the Bi film thickness and dewetting upon in situ heating in the TEM.
AB - We have performed a range of in situ heating experiments of polycrystalline Bi films of 22-25 nm-thickness in a transmission electron microscope (TEM). This shows that it is possible to locally transform a polycrystalline thin film into a [111]-oriented single-crystalline film, whereby the unique feature is that the original thickness of the film is maintained, and the substrate used in our experiments is amorphous. The single-crystalline areas have been created by heating the Bi film to temperatures close to the melting temperature with additional heating by focusing of the electron beam (e-beam), which results in local melting of the film. The film does not collapse by dewetting, and upon subsequent cooling, the film transforms into a single-crystalline [111] oriented area. The observed phenomenon is attributed to the presence of a thin Bi-oxide layer on top of Bi film. We show that removal of the Bi-oxide layer by heating the film in a H2 gas atmosphere results in changes in the Bi film thickness and dewetting upon in situ heating in the TEM.
UR - http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:99a69062-6385-4004-8d50-f1985af408f1
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85014519057&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1063/1.4977940
DO - 10.1063/1.4977940
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85014519057
SN - 0003-6951
VL - 110
JO - Applied Physics Letters
JF - Applied Physics Letters
IS - 10
M1 - 103101
ER -