Preferential Orientation of Photochromic Gadolinium Oxyhydride Films
We report preferential orientation control in photochromic gadolinium oxyhydride (GdHO) thin films deposited by a two-step process. Gadolinium hydride (GdH<sub>2-x</sub>) films were grown by reactive magnetron sputtering, followed by oxidation in air. The preferential orientation, grain...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Molecules |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/25/14/3181 |
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| author | Elbruz Murat Baba Jose Montero Dmitrii Moldarev Marcos Vinicius Moro Max Wolff Daniel Primetzhofer Sabrina Sartori Esra Zayim Smagul Karazhanov |
| author_facet | Elbruz Murat Baba Jose Montero Dmitrii Moldarev Marcos Vinicius Moro Max Wolff Daniel Primetzhofer Sabrina Sartori Esra Zayim Smagul Karazhanov |
| author_sort | Elbruz Murat Baba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We report preferential orientation control in photochromic gadolinium oxyhydride (GdHO) thin films deposited by a two-step process. Gadolinium hydride (GdH<sub>2-x</sub>) films were grown by reactive magnetron sputtering, followed by oxidation in air. The preferential orientation, grain size, anion concentrations and photochromic response of the films were strongly dependent on the deposition pressure. The GdHO films showed a preferential orientation along the [100] direction and exhibited photochromism when synthesized at deposition pressures of up to 5.8 Pa. The photochromic contrast was larger than 20% when the films were deposited below 2.8 Pa with a 0.22 H<sub>2</sub>/Ar flow ratio. We argue that the relation of preferential orientation and the post deposition oxidation since oxygen concentration is known to be a key parameter for photochromism in rare-earth oxyhydride thin films. The experimental observations described above were explained by the decrease of the grain size as a result of the increase of the deposition pressure of the sputtering gas, followed by a higher oxygen incorporation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:31:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-40ecb04f6b0046e09876f73d20aa740c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:31:24Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-40ecb04f6b0046e09876f73d20aa740c2023-11-20T06:33:36ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492020-07-012514318110.3390/molecules25143181Preferential Orientation of Photochromic Gadolinium Oxyhydride FilmsElbruz Murat Baba0Jose Montero1Dmitrii Moldarev2Marcos Vinicius Moro3Max Wolff4Daniel Primetzhofer5Sabrina Sartori6Esra Zayim7Smagul Karazhanov8Department for Solar Energy, Institute for Energy Technology, NO-2027 Kjeller, NorwayDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, SE-75121 Uppsala, SwedenDepartment for Solar Energy, Institute for Energy Technology, NO-2027 Kjeller, NorwayDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, 751 20 Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, 751 20 Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, 751 20 Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Technology Systems, University of Oslo, NO-2027 Kjeller, NorwayNanoscience & Nano Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, 34469 Istanbul, TurkeyDepartment for Solar Energy, Institute for Energy Technology, NO-2027 Kjeller, NorwayWe report preferential orientation control in photochromic gadolinium oxyhydride (GdHO) thin films deposited by a two-step process. Gadolinium hydride (GdH<sub>2-x</sub>) films were grown by reactive magnetron sputtering, followed by oxidation in air. The preferential orientation, grain size, anion concentrations and photochromic response of the films were strongly dependent on the deposition pressure. The GdHO films showed a preferential orientation along the [100] direction and exhibited photochromism when synthesized at deposition pressures of up to 5.8 Pa. The photochromic contrast was larger than 20% when the films were deposited below 2.8 Pa with a 0.22 H<sub>2</sub>/Ar flow ratio. We argue that the relation of preferential orientation and the post deposition oxidation since oxygen concentration is known to be a key parameter for photochromism in rare-earth oxyhydride thin films. The experimental observations described above were explained by the decrease of the grain size as a result of the increase of the deposition pressure of the sputtering gas, followed by a higher oxygen incorporation.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/25/14/3181gadolinium oxyhydriderare earth metal oxyhydridemixed anion materialsphotochromic effectpreferential orientationband gap |
| spellingShingle | Elbruz Murat Baba Jose Montero Dmitrii Moldarev Marcos Vinicius Moro Max Wolff Daniel Primetzhofer Sabrina Sartori Esra Zayim Smagul Karazhanov Preferential Orientation of Photochromic Gadolinium Oxyhydride Films Molecules gadolinium oxyhydride rare earth metal oxyhydride mixed anion materials photochromic effect preferential orientation band gap |
| title | Preferential Orientation of Photochromic Gadolinium Oxyhydride Films |
| title_full | Preferential Orientation of Photochromic Gadolinium Oxyhydride Films |
| title_fullStr | Preferential Orientation of Photochromic Gadolinium Oxyhydride Films |
| title_full_unstemmed | Preferential Orientation of Photochromic Gadolinium Oxyhydride Films |
| title_short | Preferential Orientation of Photochromic Gadolinium Oxyhydride Films |
| title_sort | preferential orientation of photochromic gadolinium oxyhydride films |
| topic | gadolinium oxyhydride rare earth metal oxyhydride mixed anion materials photochromic effect preferential orientation band gap |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/25/14/3181 |
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