NUCLEATION AND GROWTH OF SRTIO3 SI(100) OBSERVED BY ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPY/

Strontium titanate thin films were studied with X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy during growth at different pressures and tempe ratures. The nucleation process on top of the islands grown was direct ly observed with high-resolution. The surface morphology of the films was found to depend on the ambient oxygen pressure and substrate tempe rature during growth. The films were grown by pulsed laser deposition at different ambient oxygen pressure. The surface roughness of the fil ms decreased with decreasing ambient oxygen growth pressure and with i ncreasing substrate temperatures. The high nucleation probability on t op of the films results in an effective mass transport on top of the f irst-layer islands. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.