Wetting & Interfaces

Leader: Dominique Chatain

Introduction

We focus on the properties (thermodynamic, crystallographic and atomistic) of solid-solid interfaces and grain boundaries in inorganic materials, and their impact on wetting and thin film stability.

We are interested in understanding the anisotropy of solid/solid interfaces and how it impacts the properties of multiphased and polycrystalline materials. We perform basic research to frame the complexity of interfaces in their 5-dimensional space. It relies on the design of sample in which the chemistry is mastered. We develop methods to prepare interfaces or grain boundaries using thin films equilibrated on substrates. Interfaces are analysed by multi-scale probes/tools, atomistic simulation and thermodynamic modelling. Our most recent studies are dedicated to:

  • orientation relationship and hetero-epitaxy in metal-oxide and metal-metal systems
  • stability of thin films of pure metal and high entropy alloys on sapphire
  • Gibbs adsorption and interfacial complexions

Aside the academic studies, "interface engineering" applications are performed (e.g. single-crystal film growth, stability upon dewetting, ...).

We have developed a ultra-high vacuum scanning electron microscope (**link to UHV-SEM**) equipped with an Auger spectromer and an EBSD camera (end 2018), to analyze in-situ temperature dependent phenomena (wetting/dewetting, single-crystal or polycrystalline thin film stability and reactivity, particle organization, recrystallisation and orientation relationship, ...). This unic instrumental platform has been equipped in close-collaboration with providers of tools for electron microscopy.

Mouillage et interfaces
Left: Ag crystals (light grey) dewetted form a single-crystal film on Ni grain surfaces of different orientations (dark grey). Different orientation relationships can be identified looking at the shapes of the collections of Ag cristals. Right: summary of the orientation relationships of Ag on Ni related to the nano-facetting of the Ni surface.

Group leader

Researchers

University Lecturer

Publications

2024

Polarization structure of nanostrip domain intersections in GeTe films

Boris Croes, Fabien Cheynis, Salia Cherifi Cherifi-Hertel, Kokou Dodzi Dorkenoo, Pierre Müller, Stefano Curiotto, Frédéric Leroy

Physical Review B 109:024103 (2024)10.1103/PhysRevB.109.024103

Rim nucleation and step-train orientation effects in SOI(111) dewetting

Stefano Curiotto, Pierre Müller, Fabien Cheynis, Igor Ozerov, Frédéric Leroy

Surfaces and Interfaces 45:103912 (2024)10.1016/j.surfin.2024.103912

Morphological evolution and structural study of annealed amorphous-Ge films: Interplay between crystallization and dewetting

Sonia Freddi, Gianfranco Sfuncia, Michele Gherardi, Giuseppe Nicotra, Chiara Barri, Luca Fagiani, Mohammed Bouabdellaoui, Alexey Fedorov, Stefano Sanguinetti, Dominique Chatain, Marco Abbarchi, Monica Bollani

Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing 174:108228 (2024)10.1016/j.mssp.2024.108228

2023

Early-stage growth of GeTe on Si(111)-Sb

Boris Croes, Fabien Cheynis, Yannick Fagot-Revurat, Pierre Müller, Stefano Curiotto, Frédéric Leroy

Physical Review Materials 7:014409 (2023)10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.7.014409

Size-dependent diffusion of 3D nanovoids in a bcc solid

Stefano Curiotto, Pierre Müller, Fabien Cheynis, Loic Corso, Elodie Bernard, Frédéric Leroy

Applied Physics Letters 123:241603 (2023)10.1063/5.0175752

2022

Polar surface of ferroelectric nanodomains in GeTe thin films

B. Croes, F. Cheynis, P. Müller, S. Curiotto, F. Leroy

Physical Review Materials 6:064407 (2022)10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.6.064407

Automatic Ferroelectric Domain Pattern Recognition Based on the Analysis of Localized Nonlinear Optical Responses Assisted by Machine Learning

Boris Croes, Iaroslav Gaponenko, Cédric Voulot, Olivier Grégut, Kokou D Dorkenoo, Fabien Cheynis, Stefano Curiotto, Pierre Müller, Frédéric Leroy, Kumara Cordero‐edwards, Patrycja Paruch, Salia Cherifi Cherifi-Hertel

Advanced Physics Research 2200037 (2022)10.1002/apxr.202200037

Reflections on the effect of an external flux in surface physics

Stefano Curiotto, F. Leroy, F. Cheynis, P. Müller

Surface Science : A Journal Devoted to the Physics and Chemistry of Interfaces 725:122158 (2022)10.1016/j.susc.2022.122158

Statistical behaviour of interfaces subjected to curvature flow and torque effects applied to microstructural evolutions

Sebastian Florez, Karen Alvarado, Brayan Murgas, Nathalie Bozzolo, Dominique Chatain, Carl E Krill, Mingyan Wang, Gregory S Rohrer, Marc Bernacki

Acta Materialia 222:117459 (2022)10.1016/j.actamat.2021.117459

Heteroepitaxy of FCC-on-FCC Systems of Large Misfit

Paul Wynblatt, Dominique Chatain, Ulrich Dahmen

Acta Materialia (2022)10.1016/j.actamat.2021.117550

2021

Mechanism of droplet motion and in-plane nanowire formation with and without electromigration

Stefano Curiotto, Pierre Müller, Fabien Cheynis, Frédéric Leroy

Applied Surface Science 579:152015 (2021)10.1016/j.apsusc.2021.152015

Nanocrystalline equiatomic CoCrFeNi alloy thin films: Are they single phase fcc?

Maya K Kini, Subin Lee, Alan Savan, Benjamin Breitbach, Younes Addab, Wenjun Lu, Matteo Ghidelli, Alfred Ludwig, Nathalie Bozzolo, Christina Scheu, Dominique Chatain, Gerhard Dehm

Surface and Coatings Technology 126945 (2021)10.1016/j.surfcoat.2021.126945

Structure and hardness of in situ synthesized nano-oxide strengthened CoCrFeNi high entropy alloy thin films

Subin Lee, Dominique Chatain, Christian Liebscher, Gerhard Dehm

Scripta Materialia 203:114044 (2021)10.1016/j.scriptamat.2021.114044

2020

Microstructure evolution and thermal stability of equiatomic CoCrFeNi films on (0001) alpha-Al2O3

Younès Addab, Maya K Kini, Blandine Courtois, Alan Savan, Alfred Ludwig, Nathalie Bozzolo, Christina Scheu, Gerhard Dehm, Dominique Chatain

Acta Materialia 200:908-921 (2020)10.1016/j.actamat.2020.09.064

Influence of step structure on preferred orientation relationships of Ag deposited on Ni(111)

Dominique Chatain, Saransh Singh, Blandine Courtois, Jérémie Silvent, Elodie Verzeroli, Gregory S Rohrer, Marc de Graef, Paul Wynblatt

Acta Materialia 200:287-296 (2020)10.1016/j.actamat.2020.08.082

2D Manipulation of Nanoobjects by Perpendicular Electric Fields: Implications for Nanofabrication

Stefano Curiotto, F. Cheynis, Pierre Müller, Frédéric Leroy

ACS Applied Nano Materials 3:1118-1122 (2020)10.1021/acsanm.9b02517

Dynamics of Au-Ge liquid droplets on Ge(1 1 1) terraces: Nucleation, growth and dynamic coalescence

Ali El-Barraj, Stefano Curiotto, Fabien Cheynis, Pierre Müller, Frédéric Leroy

Applied Surface Science 509:144667 (2020)10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.144667

Electric forces on a confined advacancy island

Frédéric Leroy, Ali El-Barraj, Fabien Cheynis, Pierre Müller, Stefano Curiotto

Physical Review B 102 (2020)10.1103/PhysRevB.102.235412

Kinetics and coupled dynamics of dewetting and chemical reaction in Si/SiO2/Si system

Frédéric Leroy, D Landru, Fabien Cheynis, O Kononchuk, Pierre Müller, Stefano Curiotto

Journal of Materials Science (2020)10.1007/s10853-020-05161-w

Nanomateriaux Structure, morphologie et stabilite

Pierre Müller

Techniques de l’Ingénieur. Techniques d'Analyse NM3010 (2020)

Propriétés des nano-objets: Longueurs critiques, effets de taille et de forme

Pierre Müller

Techniques de l’Ingénieur. Techniques d'Analyse (2020)

2019

Growth and orientation relationships of Ni and Cu films annealed on slightly miscut (1-102) r-sapphire substrates

Dominique Chatain, Blandine Courtois, Igor Ozerov, Nathalie Bozzolo, Madeleine Kelly, Gregory S Rohrer, Paul Wynblatt

Journal of Crystal Growth 508:24-33 (2019)10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2018.11.024

2D nanostructure motion on anisotropic surfaces controlled by electromigration

Stefano Curiotto, Pierre Müller, Ali El-Barraj, Fabien Cheynis, Olivier Pierre-Louis, Frédéric Leroy

Applied Surface Science 469:463-470 (2019)10.1016/j.apsusc.2018.11.049

On pinning-depinning and microkink-flow in solid state dewetting: Insights by in-situ ESEM on Al thin films

Stefan Werner Hieke, Marc-Georg Willinger, Zhu-Jun Wang, Günther H.S. Richter, Dominique Chatain, Gerhard Dehm, Christina Scheu

Acta Materialia 165:153-163 (2019)10.1016/j.actamat.2018.11.028

Atomic Transport in Au-Ge Droplets: Brownian and Electromigration Dynamics

Frédéric Leroy, Ali El-Barraj, Pierre Müller, Fabien Cheynis, Stefano Curiotto

Physical Review Letters (2019)

2017

Dewetting of patterned solid films: Towards a predictive modelling approach

M. Trautmann, F. Cheynis, F. Leroy, S. Curiotto, O. Pierre-Louis, Pierre Müller

Applied Physics Letters 110:263105 (2017)10.1063/1.4990005

Financement

Ingénierie moléculaire et matériaux fonctionnels Sources et sondes ponctuelles 2 Mouillage et interfaces 1

  • ANR AHEAD (Analysis of High Entropy Alloy Dewetting)

  • ANR GIBBS (Grain Interface) Boundaries:  Behaviour and Segregation)

  • ESA (European Space Agency) LIPHASE (Liquid Phase Separation in Metallic Alloys)

Facilities

e-PICS

Mouillage et Interfaces 6
e-PICS platform

This is a Platform for in-situ ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) studies of the Chemistry and Structure of materials by means of a multiple-use electron-beam-based analysis probe.

A UHV electron gun (Orsay-Physics) has been mounted in a UHV chamber equiped with various electron analyzers:
  • secondary electron detector for imaging (Orsay-Physics)
  • Auger spectrometer for surface chemistry analysis (STAIB)
  • Back Scattered Electron Diffraction Pattern camera for structure and orientation imaging (OXFORD instruments)

Samples can be prepared in a separate chamber and transfered through UHV to a heating x-y-z-rotation stage in the main chamber.

Sample preparation
  • Sputter-cleaning  by Ar+ ions
  • In-situ PVD (from different sources inside the main chamber)

Mouillage et Interfaces 5
Sketch

Phase and morphological change characterization
  • In-situ heating (up to 1050 K)
Data acquisition and processing
  • Imaging by secondary electrons with a resolution of 10 nm at 25 kV
  • Surface chemistry (by Auger electron spectroscopy) resolution 80 microns (mapping with a resolution better than 1 micron in 2019)
  • Mapping of 3D structure and orientation (EBSD) with a resolution of 30-50 nm
  • Other measurements can be performed (in principle) by adding new sensors/connections.

FOX

Furnace equipped with an air-proof alumina tube for annealing samples under gas mixtures at controlled OXygen partial pressure (PO2). Windows fitted to the ends of the furnace tube allow observation of sample shape changes as a function of temperature and PO2 for melting point and wetting measurements.

Sample preparation
  • Annealing in gas mixtures (Ar, O2, H2, CO2) up to 1250°C
  • Switchable alumina tube dedicated to each material (for avoiding contamination).
Data acquisition
  • Thermal cycle monitoring and melting point measurement
  • Optical observation of sample profiles or sessile drops using a camera-monitor system with acquisition and/or printing of images.

 

Mouillage et Interfaces 8
FOX in a configuration for wetting analysis

Collaborations

CINAM

  • NM (L. Michez, L. Santinacci)
  • TSN (C. Varvenne)

 

National

  • Ecoles des Mines-Paritech (Sophia-Antipolis, Saint Etienne)
  • IMN (Institut des Matériaux de Nantes)

 

International

  • Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, USA)
  • MPIE, Max Planck Institute fur Eisenforschung (Dusseldorf, Germany)

 

Industry

  • Orsay Physics (Rousset)
  • Oxford Instrument (Cambridge, GB)

Patents

  • Growth process of thin single-crystal films on sapphire wafer

069 // STEPPHIRE - Réf/CNRS : DI11692-01 - Réf/AMU : 18D051 - Dépôt de la demande de brevet européen.