Studies of multicomponent oxide films and layered heterostructure growth processes via in situ, time-of-flight ion scattering and direct recoil spectroscopy

The understanding of film growth processes is critical for fabricating a variety of thin film-based devices. Many novel film-based devices require growth of films in background gas atmospheres such as oxygen and nitrogen for oxide or nitride films. The studies of film growth processes in background gas environments require special analytical techniques. We discuss a novel time-of-flight ion scattering and direct recoil spectroscopy (TOF-ISARS) technique developed in our laboratory that is capable of providing a wide range of information including film composition and surface structure during growth, at the atomic scale. We also discuss recent work focused on the growth of ferroelectric thin films and their integration with electrode layers relevant to the fabrication of ferroelectric capacitors.