Phase-selective growth of water-soluble strontium aluminate via sputtering deposition for freestanding oxide membranes
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We report the epitaxial growth of high-quality water-soluble strontium aluminate films via sputtering deposition. We systematically investigate the dependence of the films structural quality on the growth conditions and we show that we can selectively grow, using the same target, both the cubic Sr3Al2O6 and the tetragonal Sr4Al2O7 phases by varying the atmosphere during growth. Using these water-soluble sacrificial layers we then synthesize ferromagnetic freestanding Sm2NiMnO6 membranes. By means of X-ray diffraction, synchrotron spectroscopic techniques and SQUID magnetometry, we demonstrate that our freestanding films exhibit properties comparable to epitaxial films.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Institutions: TU Wien, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, École Nationale Supérieure d'Ingénieurs de Caen, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Centre de Recherche sur les Ions, les Matériaux et la Photonique, Université de Caen Normandie, Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia, University of Geneva, Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth, ALBA Synchrotron (Spain)
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7214752073