Phase separation in LuFeO₃ films

Authors

Shi Cao, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Xiaozhe Zhang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Kishan Sinha, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Wenbin Wang, Fudan University
Jian Wang, Canadian Light Source, Inc
Peter A. Dowben, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Xiaoshan Xu, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

2016

Citation

APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 108, 202903 (2016)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4950991

Comments

Published by AIP Publishing.

Abstract

The structural transition at about 1000°C, from the hexagonal to the orthorhombic phase of LuFeO₃, has been investigated in thin films of LuFeO₃. Separation of the two structural phases of LuFeO₃ occurs on a length scale of micrometer, as visualized in real space using X-ray photoemission electron microscopy. The results are consistent with X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy obtained from LuFeO₃ thin films undergoing the irreversible structural transition from the hexagonal to the orthorhombic phase of LuFeO₃, at elevated temperatures. The sharp phase boundaries between the structural phases are observed to align with the crystal planes of the hexagonal LuFeO₃ phase. The coexistence of different structural domains indicates that the irreversible structural transition, from the hexagonal to the orthorhombic phase in LuFeO₃, is a first order transition, for epitaxial hexagonal LuFeO₃ films grown on Al₂O₃.