arXiv subjects

Jens Falta

Publications and source records attributed to Jens Falta.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Low-energy electron microscopy intensity-voltage data -- factorization, sparse sampling, and classification

Low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) taken as intensity-voltage (I-V) curves provides hyperspectral images of surfaces, which can be used to identify the surface type, but are difficult to analyze. Here, we demonstrate the use of an algorithm for factorizing the data into spectra and concentrations of characteristic components (FSC3) for identifying distinct physical surface phases. Importantly, FSC3 is an unsupervised and fast algorithm. As example data we use experiments on the growth of praseodymium oxide or ruthenium oxide on ruthenium single crystal substrates, both featuring a complex distribution of coexisting surface components, varying in both chemical composition and crystallographic structure. With the factorization result a sparse sampling method is demonstrated, reducing the measurement time by 1-2 orders of magnitude, relevant for dynamic surface studies. The FSC3 concentrations are providing the features for a support vector machine (SVM) based supervised classification of the types. Here, specific surface regions which have been identified structurally, via their diffraction pattern, as well as chemically by complementary spectro-microscopic techniques, are used as training sets. A reliable classification is demonstrated on both exemplary LEEM I-V datasets.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Identifying the mechanism of single-domain single-layer MoS2 growth on Au(111)

The nucleation and growth of single-layer molybdenum disulfide single domain islands is investigated by in situ low-energy electron microscopy. We study the growth of micron-sized flakes and the correlated flattening process of the gold surface for three different elevated temperatures. Furthermore, the influence of surface step edges on the molybdenum disulfide growth process is revealed. We show that both island and underlying terrace grow simultaneously by pushing the surface step in the expansion process. Our findings point to an optimized growth procedure allowing for step-free single-domain single-layer islands of several micrometers in size, which is likely transferable to other transition metal dichalcogenides.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Massively strained VO2 thin film growth on RuO2

Strain engineering vanadium dioxide thin films is one way to alter this material's characteristic first order transition from semiconductor to metal. In this study we extend the exploitable strain regime by utilizing the very large lattice mismatch of 8.78 % occurring in the VO$_2$/RuO$_2$ system along the c axis of the rutile structure. We have grown VO$_2$ thin films on single domain RuO$_2$ islands of two distinct surface orientations by atomic oxygen-supported reactive MBE. These films were examined by spatially resolved photoelectron and x-ray absorption spectroscopy, confirming the correct stoichiometry. Low energy electron diffraction then reveals the VO$_2$ films to grow indeed fully strained on RuO$_2$(110), exhibiting a previously unreported ($2\times2$) reconstruction. On TiO$_2$(110) substrates, we reproduce this reconstruction and attribute it to an oxygen-rich termination caused by the high oxygen chemical potential. On RuO$_2$(100) on the other hand, the films grow fully relaxed. Hence, the presented growth method allows for simultaneous access to a remarkable strain window ranging from bulk-like structures to massively strained regions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Growth and Structure of Singly-Oriented Single-Layer Tungsten Disulfide on Au(111)

We present a complete characterisation at the nanoscale of the growth and structure of single-layer tungsten disulfide (WS$_2$) epitaxially grown on Au(111). Following the growth process in real time with fast x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we obtain a singly-oriented layer by choosing the proper W evaporation rate and substrate temperature during the growth. Information about the morphology, size and layer stacking of the WS$_2$ layer were achieved by employing x-ray photoelectron diffraction and low-energy electron microscopy. The strong spin splitting in the valence band of WS$_2$ coupled with the single-orientation character of the layer make this material the ideal candidate for the exploitation of the spin and valley degrees of freedom.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Adsorbate-Mediated Growth of Rare-Earth Oxides on Silicon

Ultrathin cerium oxide films have been deposited on chlorine, gallium, and silver passivated Si(111) by reactive molecular beam epitaxy in a comparative study. The crystallinity of these films has been characterized by x-ray standing waves while the oxidation state of the rare-earth oxide (REOx) films and the chemical interface composition have been revealed by hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The use of Cl as passivating agent results in the epitaxial growth of highly crystalline REOx films with the RE metal in the 3+ oxidation state while effectively suppressing silicate and silicon oxide formation at the interface. In contrast, Ga and Ag preadsorption yield films of inferior quality, in the case of Ag of even lower crystallinity than without passivation. Further investigations show that Cl-passivation also results in ultrathin lanthana films of superior quality, which facilitate the growth of well-ordered ceria on lanthana REOx multilayers.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Self-limited oxide formation in Ni(111) oxidation

The oxidation of the Ni(111) surface is studied experimentally with low energy electron microscopy and theoretically by calculating the electron reflectivity for realistic models of the NiO/Ni(111) surface with an ab-initio scattering theory. Oxygen exposure at 300 K under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions leads to the formation of a continuous NiO(111)-like film consisting of nanosized domains. At 750 K, we observe the formation of a nano-heterogeneous film composed primarily of NiO(111)-like surface oxide nuclei, which exhibit virtually the same energy-dependent reflectivity as in the case of 300 K and which are separated by oxygen-free Ni(111) terraces. The scattering theory explains the observed normal incidence reflectivity R(E) of both the clean and the oxidized Ni(111) surface. At low energies R(E) of the oxidized surface is determined by a forbidden gap in the k_parallel=0 projected energy spectrum of the bulk NiO crystal. However, for both low and high temperature oxidation a rapid decrease of the reflectivity in approaching zero kinetic energy is experimentally observed. This feature is shown to characterize the thickness of the oxide layer, suggesting an average oxide thickness of two NiO layers.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗