EPITAXIAL-GROWTH OF THIN-FILMS OF SRTI1-XRUXO3-DELTA BY PULSED-LASER DEPOSITION

The pulsed laser deposition technique has been utilized for thin film synthesis of a continuous series of solid solutions of the end member perovskite compounds SrTiO3 and SrRuO3. The SrTi1-xRuxO3-d (0 less tha n or equal to x less than or equal to 1) films are grown epitaxially o n (100)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates in a low pressure atomic oxygen amb ient with in situ monitoring using reflection high-energy electron dif fraction (RHEED). The as-deposited films are cubic or pseudocubic over the whole composition range with the lattice parameter increasing con tinuously with increasing Ru4+ substitution. Correspondingly, the resi stivity evolves from insulating to metallic behavior. The solid soluti on films are potentially useful as latticed-matched buffer layers for heteroepitaxial growth, or as barrier layers in tunnel junctions with controlled resistive properties.