Single-Crystalline SrRuO₃ Nanomembranes: A Platform for Flexible Oxide Electronics

Abstract

The field of oxide electronics has benefited from the wide spectrum of functionalities available to the ABO3 perovskites, and researchers are now employing defect engineering in single crystalline heterostructures to tailor properties. However, bulk oxide single crystals are not conducive to many types of applications, particularly those requiring mechanical flexibility. Here, we demonstrate the realization of an all-oxide, single-crystalline nanomembrane heterostructure. With a surface-to-volume ratio of 2 × 10(7), the nanomembranes are fully flexible and can be readily transferred to other materials for handling purposes or for new materials integration schemes. Using in situ synchrotron X-ray scattering, we find that the nanomembranes can bond to other host substrates near room temperature and demonstrate coupling between surface reactivity and electromechanical properties in ferroelectric nanomembrane systems. The synthesis technique described here represents a significant advancement in materials integration and provides a new platform for the development of flexible oxide electronics.

Atomic‐Scale Metal–Insulator Transition in SrRuO3 Ultrathin Films Triggered by Surface Termination Conversion

“…To overcome this challenge, we developed a room‐temperature ex situ water‐leaching method. Although bulk SRO is resistant to most acid etching processes, the water solubilities of SrO and RuO 2 atomic layers at the film surface are distinct: SrO can react with H 2 O molecular to produce water‐soluble Sr(OH) 2 , whereas RuO 2 cannot dissolve in water . Therefore, the structure change of the as‐grown SRO surface in water is expected to have a self‐limiting nature.…”

Fabrication and convergent X-ray nanobeam diffraction characterization of submicron-thickness SrTiO3 crystalline sheets

“…A second method, epitaxial growth and lift-off, involves etching a sacrificial layer and transfer to a new substrate. 8,9 Lift-off requires a specific combination of etchant chemistries and sacrificial layers and has so far been developed for only a few layer compositions and orientations. Lithographic methods for the creation of nanostructures have employed physical patterning methods, including FIB lithography and reactive ion etching.…”

Assembly and Self‐Assembly of Nanomembrane Materials—From 2D to 3D

“…Various electrical and optical devices based on nanomembranes of different materials have so far been produced due to their unique properties. [53][54][55][119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126] Especially, the nanomembranes are mechanically soft compared with the bulk counterpart because of the small thickness, and therefore, they can be easily assembled into 3D geometries for application purpose. [106,120] The nanomembranes with wrinkles or buckles can accommodate vast strain, and thus paving the way for their use in wearable, stretchable, or curvilinear devices.…”

“…Vapor phase deposition is commonly used in producing nanomembrane structures. The examples are chemical vapor deposition, [45][46][47][48][49][50] physical vapor deposition, [51][52][53][54][55] atomic layer deposition, [56][57][58][59] and molecular beam epitaxy, [60][61][62][63] etc. In these approaches, source materials travel through reduced background Gaoshan Huang received his PhD in condensed Figure 3. a) MOSFET devices fabricated by transfer printing of III-V compound semiconductor nanomembranes on Si/SiO 2 substrate.…”