1.Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, China 2.University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China 3.Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China 4.College of Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China 5.Key Laboratory for Laser Plasma, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Fund Project:Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11805206, 11721404) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB17030500)
Received Date:09 March 2021
Accepted Date:27 April 2021
Available Online:07 June 2021
Published Online:20 September 2021
Abstract:In order to understand the relationship between the structure of materials and its function, it is necessary to investigate the changes of the transient structure of materials over time. Laser-based plasma X-ray sources are currently widely used in the study of ultrafast structure dynamics in condensed matter due to their miniaturization and ultrahigh spatial-temporal resolution. Strongly correlated transition-metal oxides have attracted enormous attention due to their peculiar properties, among them Co-based oxides has now become one of the most promising candidates for renewable energy applications. With the variation of the oxygen stoichiometry, the physical properties of SrCoO3–x, ferromagnetic metal perovskite SrCoO3 and antiferromagnetic insulator brownmillerite SrCoO2.5 can be reversibly transferred. Besides, the various complex physical properties make SrCoO2.5 quite popular for fundamental research, the development of solid oxide fuel cells, etc. However, the research of its dynamic behavior under transient photo-excitation is still limited. Therefore, it is necessary to study the strain fields of SrCoO2.5 films with different thickness. This report focuses on the structural dynamics of SrCoO2.5 films induced by ultrashort laser pulses. The ultrafast X-ray diffraction simulations exhibit transient changes of Bragg peak positions of the SrCoO2.5 excited by laser. By studying the 40 nm- and 60 nm-thick samples, we observe a continuous shift of the Bragg peak towards lower angels at first and then a backshift until it reaches a new equilibrium. In contrast, the 100 nm-thick SrCoO2.5 film exhibits a transient splitting of Bragg peak into two distinct parts until the initial peak disappears. For further research, we use Thomsen model to simulate the generation and evolution of acoustic deformation of SCO2.5 thin film on a substrate supporting the LaAlO3 film. In the case of the thicker film, we find that an inhomogeneity of temperature distribution will lead its thermal stress characteristics to change, and result in the transient splitting of Bragg peak. We believe that this work is important for analyzing the laser excited ultrafast dynamics of cobalt-based perovskite materials. Keywords:Thomsen model/ ultrafast X-ray diffraction/ photo-induced strain
其中$ {C}_{\mathrm{e}/\mathrm{l}} $为电子和晶格的热容, $ {k}_{\mathrm{e}} $为电子的热传导率, $ \alpha $为电声耦合系数, $ P\left(t\right) $为激光抽运项. 图1为100 nm厚SCO2.5样品在抽运能量为20 mJ/cm2, 脉冲宽度为20 fs的条件下, 使用400 nm激光照射样品后, 电子(图1(a))和晶格(图1(b))的温度随时间和穿透深度的演化过程. 图 1 激光照射样品后(a)电子温度和(b)晶格温度随着穿透深度和时间的演化过程 Figure1. Evolution of (a) electron temperature and (b) lattice temperature with penetration depth and time after laser irradiation.