Layer-by-layer growth and growth-mode transition of SrRuO3 thin films on atomically flat single-terminated SrTiO3 (111) surfaces

Abstract

We report on growth-mode transitions in the growth of SrRuO3 thin films on atomically flat Ti4+ single-terminated SrTiO3 (111) substrates, investigated by reflection high-energy electron diffraction and atomic force microscopy. Over the first ~9 unit cells, the dominant growth mode changes from island to layer-by-layer for the growth rate of 0.074 unit cells/sec and the growth temperature of 700 C. Moreover, in the course of growing SrRuO3 films, the governing growth mode of interest can be manipulated by changing the growth temperature and the growth rate, which change allows for the selection of the desired layer-by-layer mode. The present study thus paves the way for integrations of SrRuO3 thin layers into (111)-orientated oxide heterostructures, and hence multi-functional devices, requiring control of the sharp atomic-level interfaces and the layer-by-layer growth mode.

16 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (1)

• Ab-initio prediction of a new multiferroic with large polarization and magnetization

Cited by in corpus (5)

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• Polar compensation at the surface of SrTiO3 (111)
• Magnetism and berry phase manipulation in an emergent structure of perovskite ruthenate by (111) strain engineering
• Ferroelectric polarization switching with a remarkably high activation-energy in orthorhombic GaFeO3 thin films