title: Epitaxial growth of iridate pyrochlore Nd2Ir2O7 films.
abstract: Epitaxial films of the pyrochlore Nd2Ir2O7 have been grown on (111)-oriented yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrates by off-axis sputtering followed by post-growth annealing. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results demonstrate phase-pure epitaxial growth of the pyrochlore films on YSZ. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) investigation of an Nd2Ir2O7 film with a short post-annealing provides insight into the mechanism for crystallization of Nd2Ir2O7 during the post-annealing process. STEM images reveal clear pyrochlore ordering of Nd and Ir in the films. The epitaxial relationship between the YSZ and Nd2Ir2O7 is observed clearly while some interfacial regions show a thin region with polycrystalline Ir nanocrystals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.affiliation: Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43212, USA.
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Esser
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morrow
authors.affiliation: Center for Emergent Materials, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Dunsiger
authors.affiliation: Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43212, USA.
authors.forename: R E A
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Woodward
authors.affiliation: Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43212, USA.
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: McComb
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
authors.forename: F Y
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Yang