Growth of strontium ruthenate films by hybrid molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract

We report on the growth of epitaxial Sr2RuO4 films using a hybrid molecular beam epitaxy approach in which a volatile precursor containing RuO4 is used to supply ruthenium and oxygen. The use of the precursor overcomes a number of issues encountered in traditional MBE that uses elemental metal sources. Phase-pure, epitaxial thin films of Sr2RuO4 are obtained. At high substrate temperatures, growth proceeds in a layer-by-layer mode with intensity oscillations observed in reflection high-energy electron diffraction. Films are of high structural quality, as documented by x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The method should be suitable for the growth of other complex oxides containing ruthenium, opening up opportunities to investigate thin films that host rich exotic ground states.

arXiv commentIn press, APL Mater

References in corpus (5)

• Formation of a Nematic Fluid at High Fields in Sr3Ru2O7
• Strain Control of Fermiology and Many-Body Interactions in Two-Dimensional Ruthenates
• Surface Reconstructions in Molecular Beam Epitaxy of SrTiO3
• Two-dimensional electron gas in a modulation-doped SrTiO3/Sr(Ti,Zr)O3 heterostructure
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Cited by in corpus (5)

• Molecular beam epitaxy growth of superconducting Sr2RuO4 films
• Electron nematic fluid in a strained Sr3Ru2O7 film
• Electronic and vibrational signatures of ruthenium vacancies in Sr${}_2$RuO${}_4$ thin films
• Inverse Proximity Effects at Spin-Triplet Superconductor-Ferromagnet Interface
• Low-dimensionality-induced tunable ferromagnetism in SrRuO${}_3$ ultrathin films