Growth of Hexagonal Delafossite CuCrO₂Thin Films via Molecular Beam Epitaxy
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2025-12-23
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Journal Article
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Abstract
With the continuous need for faster, smaller, and more energy-efficient electronics and with traditional scaling of silicon-based semiconductor technology reaching its limits, there is a surge for materials with superior properties. Among those are functional oxides, which can have applications as a semiconductor, conductor, ferroelectric, ferromagnet, or superconductor. Within the functional oxides, quasi-2D delafossite minerals such as CuCrO₂ are of special interest since they have the potential of high hole mobility, which opens the way toward high-performance p-type thin-film transistors. In this paper, we report on the layer-by-layer growth of CuCrO₂ delafossite thin films on Al₂O₃ surfaces via atomic-oxygen-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) at growth temperatures near 700 °C. The structural quality of the epitaxial films is demonstrated by X-ray diffraction and high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, tailoring of the growth parameters in the layer-by-layer approach enables us to achieve the CuCrO₂ hexagonal phase, coexisting with the commonly reported rhombohedral CuCrO₂ phase. The flexibility and high level of control over growth conditions provided by layer-by-layer MBE offer great potential for stabilizing specific phases of the layered delafossite materials.
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7 (24)
Pages / Article No.
10901 - 10907
Publisher
American Chemical Society
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Subject
delafossite; thin films; molecular beam epitaxy; atomic oxygen; p-type semiconductor oxides