Staff directory José Santiso López

José Santiso López

CSIC Tenured Scientist, Nanomaterials Growth Unit Leader and X-Ray Diffraction Expert
jose.santiso(ELIMINAR)@icn2.cat
Nanomaterials Growth Unit - X-Ray Diffraction Facility

Publications

2017

  • Domain wall magnetoresistance in BiFeO3 thin films measured by scanning probe microscopy

    Domingo N., Farokhipoor S., Santiso J., Noheda B., Catalan G. Journal of Physics Condensed Matter; 29 (33, 334003) 2017. 10.1088/1361-648X/aa7a24. IF: 2.678

    We measure the magnetotransport properties of individual 71° domain walls in multiferroic BiFeO3 by means of conductive-atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) in the presence of magnetic fields up to one Tesla. The results suggest anisotropic magnetoresistance at room temperature, with the sign of the magnetoresistance depending on the relative orientation between the magnetic field and the domain wall plane. A consequence of this finding is that macroscopically averaged magnetoresistance measurements for domain wall bunches are likely to underestimate the magnetoresistance of each individual domain wall. © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd.


  • On the persistence of polar domains in ultrathin ferroelectric capacitors

    Zubko P., Lu H., Bark C.-W., Martí X., Santiso J., Eom C.-B., Catalan G., Gruverman A. Journal of Physics Condensed Matter; 29 (28, 284001) 2017. 10.1088/1361-648X/aa73c3. IF: 2.678

    The instability of ferroelectric ordering in ultra-thin films is one of the most important fundamental issues pertaining realization of a number of electronic devices with enhanced functionality, such as ferroelectric and multiferroic tunnel junctions or ferroelectric field effect transistors. In this paper, we investigate the polarization state of archetypal ultrathin (several nanometres) ferroelectric heterostructures: epitaxial single-crystalline BaTiO3 films sandwiched between the most habitual perovskite electrodes, SrRuO3, on top of the most used perovskite substrate, SrTiO3. We use a combination of piezoresponse force microscopy, dielectric measurements and structural characterization to provide conclusive evidence for the ferroelectric nature of the relaxed polarization state in ultrathin BaTiO3 capacitors. We show that even the high screening efficiency of SrRuO3 electrodes is still insufficient to stabilize polarization in SrRuO3/BaTiO3/SrRuO3 heterostructures at room temperature. We identify the key role of domain wall motion in determining the macroscopic electrical properties of ultrathin capacitors and discuss their dielectric response in the light of the recent interest in negative capacitance behaviour. © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd.


2016

  • Misfit Dislocation Guided Topographic and Conduction Patterning in Complex Oxide Epitaxial Thin Films

    Sandiumenge F., Bagués N., Santiso J., Paradinas M., Pomar A., Konstantinovic Z., Ocal C., Balcells L., Casanove M.-J., Martínez B. Advanced Materials Interfaces; 3 (14, 1600106) 2016. 10.1002/admi.201600106. IF: 3.365

    Interfacial dissimilarity has emerged in recent years as the cornerstone of emergent interfacial phenomena, while enabling the control of electrical transport and magnetic behavior of complex oxide epitaxial films. As a step further toward the lateral miniaturization of functional nanostructures, this work uncovers the role of misfit dislocations in creating periodic surface strain patterns that can be efficiently used to control the spatial modulation of mass transport phenomena and bandwidth-dependent properties on a ≈20 nm length scale. The spontaneous formation of surface strain-relief patterns in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/LaAlO3 films results in lateral periodic modulations of the surface chemical potential and tetragonal distortion, controlling the spatial distribution of preferential nucleation sites and the bandwidth of the epilayer, respectively. These results provide insights into the spontaneous formation of strain-driven ordered surface patterns, topographic and functional, during the growth of complex oxide heterostructures on lengths scales far below the limits achievable through top-down approaches. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim


  • Self-Arranged Misfit Dislocation Network Formation upon Strain Release in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/LaAlO3(100) Epitaxial Films under Compressive Strain

    Santiso J., Roqueta J., Bagués N., Frontera C., Konstantinovic Z., Lu Q., Yildiz B., Martínez B., Pomar A., Balcells L., Sandiumenge F. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces; 8 (26): 16823 - 16832. 2016. 10.1021/acsami.6b02896. IF: 7.145

    Lattice-mismatched epitaxial films of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) on LaAlO3 (001) substrates develop a crossed pattern of misfit dislocations above a critical thickness of 2.5 nm. Upon film thickness increases, the dislocation density progressively increases, and the dislocation spacing distribution becomes narrower. At a film thickness of 7.0 nm, the misfit dislocation density is close to the saturation for full relaxation. The misfit dislocation arrangement produces a 2D lateral periodic structure modulation (Λ≈ 16 nm) alternating two differentiated phases: one phase fully coherent with the substrate and a fully relaxed phase. This modulation is confined to the interface region between film and substrate. This phase separation is clearly identified by X-ray diffraction and further proven in the macroscopic resistivity measurements as a combination of two transition temperatures (with low and high Tc). Films thicker than 7.0 nm show progressive relaxation, and their macroscopic resistivity becomes similar than that of the bulk material. Therefore, this study identifies the growth conditions and thickness ranges that facilitate the formation of laterally modulated nanocomposites with functional properties notably different from those of fully coherent or fully relaxed material. © 2016 American Chemical Society.


  • Strain-induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in L a2CoMn O6-É thin films and its dependence on film thickness

    Galceran R., López-Mir L., Bozzo B., Cisneros-Fernández J., Santiso J., Balcells L., Frontera C., Martínez B. Physical Review B; 93 (14, 144417) 2016. 10.1103/PhysRevB.93.144417.

    Ferromagnetic insulating La2CoMnO6-É (LCMO) epitaxial thin films grown on top of SrTiO3 (001) substrates present a strong magnetic anisotropy favoring the out-of-plane (OP) orientation of the magnetization with a large anisotropy field (∼70 kOe for film thickness of about 15 nm). Diminishing oxygen off-stoichiometry of the film enhances the anisotropy. We attribute this to the concomitant shrinkage of the OP cell parameter and to the increasing of the tensile strain of the films. Consistently, LCMO films grown on (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2AlTaO6)0.7 and LaAlO3 substrates (with a larger OP lattice parameter and compressive stress) display in-plane (IP) magnetic anisotropy. Thus, we link the strong magnetic anisotropy observed in LCMO to the film stress: tensile strain favors perpendicular anisotropy, and compressive stress favors IP anisotropy. We also report on the thickness dependence of the magnetic properties. Perpendicular anisotropy, saturation magnetization, and Curie temperature are maintained over a large range of film thickness. © 2016 American Physical Society.


  • Thermodynamic conditions during growth determine the magnetic anisotropy in epitaxial thin-films of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3

    Vila-Fungueiriño J.M., Bui C.T., Rivas-Murias B., Winkler E., Milano J., Santiso J., Rivadulla F. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics; 49 (31, 315001) 2016. 10.1088/0022-3727/49/31/315001.

    The suitability of a particular material for use in magnetic devices is determined by the process of magnetization reversal/relaxation, which in turn depends on the magnetic anisotropy. Therefore, designing new ways to control magnetic anisotropy in technologically important materials is highly desirable. Here we show that magnetic anisotropy of epitaxial thin-films of half-metallic ferromagnet La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) is determined by the proximity to thermodynamic equilibrium conditions during growth. We performed a series of x-ray diffraction and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) experiments in two different sets of samples: the first corresponds to LSMO thin-films deposited under tensile strain on (0 0 1) SrTiO3 by pulsed laser deposition (PLD; far from thermodynamic equilibrium); the second were deposited by a slow chemical solution deposition (CSD) method, under quasi-equilibrium conditions. Thin films prepared by PLD show fourfold in-plane magnetic anisotropy, with an overimposed uniaxial term. However, the uniaxial anisotropy is completely suppressed in the CSD films. This change is due to a different rotation pattern of MnO6 octahedra to accommodate epitaxial strain, which depends not only on the amplitude of tensile stress imposed by the STO substrate, but also on the growth conditions. Our results demonstrate that the nature and magnitude of the magnetic anisotropy in LSMO can be tuned by the thermodynamic parameters during thin-film deposition. © 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd.


2015

  • Enhanced conduction and ferromagnetic order at (100)-type twin walls in L a0.7 S r0.3Mn O3 thin films

    Balcells L., Paradinas M., Baguès N., Domingo N., Moreno R., Galceran R., Walls M., Santiso J., Konstantinovic Z., Pomar A., Casanove M.-J., Ocal C., Martínez B., Sandiumenge F. Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics; 92 (7, 075111) 2015. 10.1103/PhysRevB.92.075111. IF: 3.736

    There is increasing evidence supporting the strong potential of twin walls in ferroic materials as distinct, spatially tunable, functional elements in future electronic devices. Here, we report an increase of about one order of magnitude in conductivity and more robust magnetic interactions at (100)-type twin walls in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films. The nature and microscopic origin of such distinctive behavior is investigated by combining conductive, magnetic, and force modulation scanning force microscopies with transmission electron microscopy techniques. Our analyses indicate that the observed behavior is due to a severe compressive strained state within an ∼1nm slab of material centered at the twin walls, promoting stronger Mn 3d-O2p orbital overlapping leading to a broader bandwidth and enhanced magnetic interactions. © 2015 American Physical Society.


  • Microstructure and ionic conductivity of LLTO thin films: Influence of different substrates and excess lithium in the target

    Aguesse F., Roddatis V., Roqueta J., Garcia P., Pergolesi D., Santiso J., Kilner J.A. Solid State Ionics; 272: 1 - 8. 2015. 10.1016/j.ssi.2014.12.005. IF: 2.561

    The deposition of single phase Li3xLa2/3 - xTiO3 (LLTO) thin films remains very challenging. The growth of the perovskite phase is in competition with the insulating La2Ti2O7 phase when prepared at high oxygen pressure by PLD. Nevertheless, we have achieved epitaxial growth of LLTO on different (001) oriented substrates such as LaAlO3, SrTiO3 and MgO despite a large lattice mismatch of up to + 8.8%. We also determined the percentage of lithium excess in the target necessary to reach a maximum ionic conductivity. However, the presence of the blocking La2Ti2O7 phase strongly hinders the lithium ion migration and reduces the total conductivity compared to bulk properties. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.


  • Nanostructured Ti thin films by magnetron sputtering at oblique angles

    Alvarez R., Garcia-Martin J.M., Garcia-Valenzuela A., Macias-Montero M., Ferrer F.J., Santiso J., Rico V., Cotrino J., Gonzalez-Elipe A.R., Palmero A. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics; 49 (4, 045303) 2015. 10.1088/0022-3727/49/4/045303. IF: 2.721

    The growth of Ti thin films by the magnetron sputtering technique at oblique angles and at room temperature is analysed from both experimental and theoretical points of view. Unlike other materials deposited in similar conditions, the nanostructure development of the Ti layers exhibits an anomalous behaviour when varying both the angle of incidence of the deposition flux and the deposition pressure. At low pressures, a sharp transition from compact to isolated, vertically aligned, nanocolumns is obtained when the angle of incidence surpasses a critical threshold. Remarkably, this transition also occurs when solely increasing the deposition pressure under certain conditions. By the characterization of the Ti layers, the realization of fundamental experiments and the use of a simple growth model, we demonstrate that surface mobilization processes associated to a highly directed momentum distribution and the relatively high kinetic energy of sputtered atoms are responsible for this behaviour. © 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd.


  • Persistence of ferroelectricity above the Curie temperature at the surface of Pb(Z n1/3 N b2/3) O3-12%PbTi O3

    Domingo N., Bagués N., Santiso J., Catalan G. Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics; 91 (9, 094111) 2015. 10.1103/PhysRevB.91.094111. IF: 3.736

    Relaxor-based ferroelectrics have been known for decades to possess a relatively thick surface layer ("skin") that is distinct from its interior. Yet while there is consensus about its existence, there are controversies about its symmetry, phase stability, and origin. In an attempt to clarify these issues, we have examined the surface layer of PZN-12%PT. While the bulk transitions from a ferroelastically twinned tetragonal ferroelectric state with in-plane polarization to a cubic paraphase at Tc=200C, the skin layer shows a robust labyrinthine nanodomain structure with out-of-plane polarization that persists hundreds of degrees above the bulk Curie temperature. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy analysis shows that the resilience of the skin's polarization is correlated with a compositional imbalance: lead vacancies at the surface are charge-compensated by niobium enrichment; the excess of Nb5+ - a small ion with d0 orbital occupancy - stabilizes the ferroelectricity of the skin layer. © 2015 American Physical Society.


  • Strain-Engineered Ferromagnetism in LaMnO3 Thin Films

    Roqueta J., Pomar A., Balcells L., Frontera C., Valencia S., Abrudan R., Bozzo B., Konstantinović Z., Santiso J., Martínez B. Crystal Growth and Design; 15 (11): 5332 - 5337. 2015. 10.1021/acs.cgd.5b00884. IF: 4.891

    A systematic study of the growth process of LaMnO3 (LMO) thin films, by pulsed laser deposition, on top of SrTiO3 substrates under different oxygen partial pressures (PO 2) is reported. It is found that the accommodation of the orthorhombic LMO phase onto the cubic STO structure, i.e., the amount of structural strain, is controlled by the background oxygen pressure. We demonstrate that magnetic behavior can be continuously tuned from robust ferromagnetic (FM) ordering to an antiferromagnet. These results strongly point to a strain-induced selective orbital occupancy as the origin of the observed FM behavior, in agreement with recent theoretical calculations. © 2015 American Chemical Society.


  • Tailoring thermal conductivity by engineering compositional gradients in Si1−xGe x superlattices

    Ferrando-Villalba P., Lopeandía A.F., Alvarez F.X., Paul B., de Tomás C., Alonso M.I., Garriga M., Goñi A.R., Santiso J., Garcia G., Rodriguez-Viejo J. Nano Research; 8 (9): 2833 - 2841. 2015. 10.1007/s12274-015-0788-9. IF: 7.010

    The transport properties of artificially engineered superlattices (SLs) can be tailored by incorporating a high density of interfaces in them. Specifically, SiGe SLs with low thermal conductivity values have great potential for thermoelectric generation and nano-cooling of Si-based devices. Here, we present a novel approach for customizing thermal transport across nanostructures by fabricating Si/Si1−xGex SLs with well-defined compositional gradients across the SiGe layer from x = 0 to 0.60. We demonstrate that the spatial inhomogeneity of the structure has a remarkable effect on the heat-flow propagation, reducing the thermal conductivity to ∼2.2 W·m−1·K−1, which is significantly less than the values achieved previously with non-optimized long-period SLs. This approach offers further possibilities for future applications in thermoelectricity. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2015, Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.


2004

  • Crecimiento de películas delgadas de membranas de conducción iónica mediante la técnica PIMOCVD

    Santiso, J.; Santiso J. Boletin de la Sociedad Espanola de Ceramica y Vidrio; 43 (2): 448 - 451. 2004. .