Thin Solid Films, Vol.353, No.1-2, 85-92, 1999
Characterization of the interfacial region of epitaxial TlBiSe2 thin films by infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy
TlBiSe2 epitaxial thin films were grown on NaCl substrates by electron beam evaporation under different growth conditions. The as-grown films were characterised by infrared reflectance measurements and transmission electron microscopy observations. It is determined that the interfacial region of such films under certain supersaturation conditions presents a new fee cubic phase sub-layer which grows with the substrate lattice parameter to a considerable thickness. The occurrence of this phase has a dependence on the deposition rate which is evident particularly when low substrate temperatures are employed in the growth process. A plausible explanation is offered for the observed cubic phase in terms of a pressure induced structural modification. Finally, it is shown that the complimentary nature of the two methods allows a complete structural and electrical characterisation of thin film structures.
Keywords:Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy;growth mechanism;structural properties;transmission electron microscopy