Growth platform
Sputtering
— Coordinators: S. Collin, F. Godel
The laboratory has three sputtering chambers equipped with DC and RF cathodes. The materials deposited in thin or ultra-thin layers are of various types, with or without magnetic properties: pure metals, metal alloys, insulators. These chambers are coupled either to pulsed laser ablation reactors or to a thermal evaporation chamber (using an electron gun and joule effect), enabling development of hybrid heterostructures. Superconducting, ferroelectric, molecular or two-dimensional compounds can thus be combined with ferromagnetic materials.
Pulsed laser deposition
— Coordinators: C. Carrétéro, E. Jacquet
The laboratory has five reactors equipped with Nd-YAG solid-state lasers or KrF excimer lasers. These reactors enable a wide range of materials to be explored, including dielectric, ferroelectric, magnetic and superconducting oxides, as well as two-dimensional van der Waals materials. Three of these reactors are connected in-situ and coupled to two sputtering chambers for the elaboration of oxide/metal heterostructures. In-situ characterization facilities (RHEED, LEED, XPS, UPS) are connected to the growth chambers.
Chemical Vapor Deposition (ALD and CVD)
— Coordinators: S. Collin, F. Godel
Two reactors (ALD and CVD) are dedicated to the deposition of ultra-thin films using molecular precursors. The ALD reactor is used to produce thin dielectric layers and ferromagnetic metal layers. Two-dimensional materials such as graphene are produced in the CVD reactor on metallic substrates (ferromagnetic or not). These two reactors are linked by an ultra-high vacuum transfer case to the sputtering chamber, enabling hybrid spintronic heterostructures growth.
Deposition of molecular compounds
— Coordinators: S. Collin, F. Godel
In order to integrate molecular compounds into devices, the laboratory is equipped with a thermal evaporation chamber and glove boxes. The thermal evaporation chamber, coupled to sputtering chamber, is dedicated to the ultra-high vacuum deposition of organic semiconductors for the production of organic/inorganic hybrid heterostructures. Glove boxes are used to form self-assembled monolayers of molecules in solution under a controlled atmosphere. A transfer case connects the glove boxes to the ALD, CVD and sputtering chambers.