Sputter Epitaxy of Lanthanum Manganate and Strontium Titanate

Hunter Lawson
B.S. HTC Engineering Physics, Class of 2017

Hunter Lawson helped Dr. Martin Kordesch grow lanthanum manganate (LaMnO3 or LMO) on lanthanum aluminum oxide (LaAlO3 or LAO) and strontium titanate (SrTiO3 or STO) in the lab. The LMO will be used as a thermionic emitter. The growth on LAO and STO is for lattice match purposes. The team obtained ball-milled LMO from Ryan Jacobs, a collaborator at the University of Wisconsin. They used LMO powder to make a sputter target. The LMO must be grown on the STO at 800 C.

One of Lawson’s tasks was to build a substrate heater that can reach 800 C and remain at high temperature for 10 to 20 hours. For this work, Lawson learned how to use a mill and a lathe and how to make parts for high-temperature vacuum equipment from ceramic and refractory metals. He also learned how to use and analyze data from X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy so that he can evaluate the quality of the sputtered films. Lawson grew the films using RF puttering and the heater he designed.

Hunter Lawson – Intern with Dr. Martin Kordesch – sophomore at Ohio University – Honors Tutorial College – engineering physics major