Application fields and studied heterostructures :
The studied heterostructures mainly concern spintronics (spin valves or structures like metal/SC or metal/isulator/SC for the injection of spin polarised current into a semiconductor) and the grafting of semiconductor surfaces with functionalized organic monolayers. But we are also interested by structures for catalysis or components for nano and opto-electronics.
| Application fields | Studied heterostructures |
| Spintronic | Schottky barrier : metal/SC :
Structures : metal/isulator/SC :
Spin valves :
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| Molecular functionalization of semiconductor surfaces |
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| Catalysis | |
| thin films growth or nano-objects |
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(*) structures realized outside IPR (collaborations).
Interfacial properties and technics
For each interface between two materials, we seek to describe the physicochemical properties (morphology, crystalline structure, reactivity) and the physical properties (electronic structure, transport, magnetism, optic). The table below specifies the technics used in each case.
| Properties | Technics |
| Morphology | scanning probe microscopies (STM, AFM), XPS |
| Crystalline structure | Diffraction technics with electrons (RHEED, LEED), photoélectrons (XPD) and X-ray (XRD). |
| Reactivity | XPS, XPD |
| Electronic structure | XPS, UPS, STM/BEEM, PEELS |
| Electrical transport | I(V), C(V) measurements, local scale transport (STS/BEEM) |
| Magnetism | Magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements (MOKE) |
Equipments :
The structures are realised by epitaxial growth on monocrystalline wafers under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) or pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The growth chambers are coupled to the analysis chambers devoted to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) or scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM/BEEM). So we can follow in-situ and step by step the formation of interfaces.
Equipment under ultra-high vacuum :
- XPS analysis chamber (Mg/Al and monochromatic Al X-ray sources / HeI and HEII UV sources) coupled to a preparation chamber (heater, metallic and organic depositions).
- XPS analysis chamber (Mg/Al X-ray sources / HeI and HEII UV sources) equipped with an angle resolved analyser (for X-ray photoelectron diffraction _XPD) and coupled to the epitaxial growth chambers (MBE for III-V semiconductors, metals and PLD for complex oxides).
- STM analysis chamber working at room temperature modified into BEEM (Ballistic Electron Emission Microscopy) with magnetic field option and coupled to a preparation chamber (heater, metallic depositions).
Equipment at room atmosphere or controlled atmosphere :
- Transport measurements I(V), C(V), Hall effect, magneto-transport with low temperature option. Metallic contact on organic films with a mercury drop or by buffer layer assisted growth (BLAG).
- Magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements
Access to equipment outside the department
- Atomic force microscopy (AFM) (2CBioMIF platform)
- Raman and microphotoluminescence (SIR platform)
- 4 circles Diffractometer for thin films (Osirix platform)
- SQUID (Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes)
