Event Type:
MSE Grad Presentation
Date:
Talk Title:
Developing Thin Film Deposition Methods to Promote Orientation and Control Layering in SnSe for Ferroelectric Analysis
Location:
Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering & Bioscience (IBB) Suddath Seminar Room 1128
Event Link:
https://gatech.zoom.us/j/94267893671?pwd=PEp4S9F1IfB8dN9NaMpQV8u5ujo62P.1

Abstract

2D ferroelectric materials offer significant potential as lightweight, scalable sensors, actuators, transistors, and energy harvesters, but there is currently a lack of 2D materials with a robust and scalable ferroelectric response. Tin selenide (SnSe) is a layered monochalcogenide that will exhibit piezoelectricity, and potentially ferroelectricity, when scaled to the monolayer limit. Part of the difficulty in assessing ferroelectricity in SnSe stems from the relatively strong van der Waals bonds that make it difficult to isolate a monolayer using conventional mechanical exfoliation. Therefore, processing routes that simultaneously allow for the control of the layer number, stoichiometry, crystallographic orientation, and grain size are critically needed for SnSe. This work investigates the impact of flux ratio on the stoichiometry of SnSe thin films deposited via molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The substrate preparation methods, like cleaving and vacuum annealing, will also be discussed with respect to the impact on the in-plane orientation and planar growth of the SnSe thin films. Finally, a method is proposed to assess the presence of ferroelectricity and the mechanisms that drive ferroelectric switching in this material.

Committee

  • Professor Lauren M. Garten - School of Materials Science and Engineering
  • Professor Juan-Pabo Correa-Baena - School of Materials Science and Engineering
  • Professor Mark Losego - School of Materials Science and Engineering
  • Professor Eric Vogel - School of Materials Science and Engineering
  • Professor Stephanie Law - Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University