A continuous compositional-spread technique based on pulsed-laser deposition and applied to the growth of epitaxial films

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is a state-of-the-art technique for depositing thin films with precise stoichiometric control. However, when depositing oxides of perovskite-type ABO3, this process becomes challenging as controlling the flux rate of A and B simultaneously in the presence of oxygen is difficult. In this work, by utilizing e-beam-assisted oxide MBE, we successfully deposited SrNbO3 epitaxial thin films. A buffer layer of SrTiO3 perovskite oxide, prepared by pulsed ...

In many transition metal oxides (TMOs), oxygen stoichiometry is one of the most critical parameters that plays a key role in determining the structural, physical, optical, and electrochemical properties of the material. However, controlling the growth to obtain high quality single crystal films having the right oxygen stoichiometry, especially in a high vacuum environment, has been viewed as a challenge. In this work, we show that through proper control of the plume kinetic e...

The authors report in situ Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) of the surfaces of complex oxides thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The authors demonstrate the utility of the technique in studying chemical composition by collecting characteristic Auger spectra of elements from samples such as complex oxide thin films and single crystals as well as metal foils. In the case of thin films, AES studies can be performed with single unit cell precision by monitoring t...

We present a systematic growth study of epitaxial RuO$_2$(110) and IrO$_2$(110) on TiO$_2$(110) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. We describe the main challenges encountered in the growth process, such as a deteriorating material flux due to laser induced target metallization or the delicate balance of under- vs over-oxidation of the 'stubborn' Ru and Ir metals. We identify growth temperatures and oxygen partial pressures of 700 K, $1\times 10^{-3}$ mbar for RuO$_2$ and ...

SrVO3 thin films with a high figure of merit for applications as transparent conductors were crystallized from amorphous layers using solid phase epitaxy (SPE). Epitaxial SrVO3 films crystallized on SrTiO3 using SPE exhibit a room temperature resistivity of 2.5 x 10-5 Ohms cm, a residual resistivity ratio of 3.8, and visible light transmission above 0.5 for a 60 nm-thick film. SrVO3 layers were deposited at room temperature using radio-frequency sputtering in an amorphous for...

Homogeneous highly epitaxial LaSrMnO3 (LSMO) thin films have been grown on Yttria-stabilized-Zirconia (YsZ) / CeO2 buffer layers on technological relevant 4" silicon wafers using a Twente Solid State Technology B.V. (TSST) developed large area Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) setup. We study and show the results of the effect of an additional SrRuO3 buffer layer on the growth temperature dependent structural and magnetic properties of LSMO films. With the introduction of a thin ...

Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) is widely used to grow epitaxial thin films of quantum materials such as complex oxides. Here, we use in-situ X-ray scattering to study homoepitaxy of SrTiO$_3$ by energetic (e-) and thermalized (th-) PLD. We find that e-PLD suppresses the lateral growth of two-dimensional islands, which suggests that energetic particles break up smaller islands. Fast interlayer transport occurs for both e-PLD and th-PLD, implying a process operating on sub-micro...

Oxide electronics relies on the availability of epitaxial oxide thin films. The extreme flexibility of the chemical composition of ABO3 perovskites and the broad spectrum of properties they cover, inspire the creativity of scientists and place perovskites in the lead of functional materials for advanced technologies. Moreover, emerging properties are being discovered at interfaces between distinct perovskites that could not be anticipated on the basis of those of the adjacent...

With recent trends on miniaturizing oxide-based devices, the need for atomic-scale control of surface/interface structures by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has increased. In particular, realizing uniform atomic termination at the surface/interface is highly desirable. However, a lack of understanding on the surface formation mechanism in PLD has limited a deliberate control of surface/interface atomic stacking sequences. Here, taking the prototypical SrRuO3/BaTiO3/SrRuO3 (SRO...

BaTiO3 is a technologically relevant material in the perovskite oxide class with above room temperature ferroelectricity and a very large electro optical coefficient, making it highly suitable for emerging electronic and photonic devices. An easy, robust, straightforward, and scalable growth method is required to synthesize epitaxial BaTiO3 thin films with sufficient control over the film stoichiometry to achieve reproducible thin film properties. Here we report the growth of...