Simple self-gettering differential-pump for minimizing source oxidation in oxide-MBE environment

Source oxidation of easily oxidizing elements such as Ca, Sr, Ba, and Ti in an oxidizing ambient leads to their flux instability and is one of the biggest problems in the multielemental oxide molecular beam epitaxy technique. Here, the authors report a new scheme that can completely eliminate the source oxidation problem: a self-gettering differential pump using the source itself as the pumping medium. The pump simply comprises a long collimator mounted in front of the source in extended port geometry. With this arrangement, the oxygen partial pressure near the source was easily maintained well below the source oxidation regime, resulting in a stabilized flux, comparable to that of an ultrahigh-vacuum environment. Moreover, this pump has a self-feedback mechanism that allows a stronger pumping effectiveness for more easily oxidizing elements, which is a desired property for eliminating the source oxidation problem.