Accessing a growth window for SrVO₃ thin films

Stoichiometric SrVO₃ thin films were grown over a range of cation fluxes on (001) (La_0.3Sr_0.7)(Al_0.65Ta_0.35)O₃ substrates using hybrid molecular beam epitaxy, where a thermal effusion cell was employed to generate a Sr flux and V was supplied using the metal-organic precursor vanadium oxytriisopropoxide (VTIP). By systematically varying the VTIP flux while keeping the Sr flux constant, a range of flux ratios were discovered in which the structural and electronic properties of the SrVO₃ films remained unaltered. The intrinsic film lattice parameter and residual resistivity were found to be the smallest inside the growth window, indicating the lowest defect concentration of the films, and rapidly increased for cation flux ratios deviating from ideal growth condition. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction showed that films grown within this range had smooth surfaces and diffraction patterns were free of additional spots, while otherwise the growing surface was rough and contained additional crystalline phases. Results show the existence of a SrVO₃ growth window at sufficiently high growth temperature, in which high-quality, stoichiometric films can be grown in a robust, highly reproducible manner that is invulnerable to unintentional flux variation.