Early stages of YBa2Cu3O7- epitaxial growth on MgO and SrTiO3

Xiang Yang Zheng, Douglas H. Lowndes, Shen Zhu, J. D. Budai, R. J. Warmack

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99 Scopus citations

Abstract

The initial stages of epitaxial growth of c-axis-perpendicular laser-ablated YBa2Cu3O7- (YBCO) thin films on SrTiO3 and MgO substrates were studied by scanning tunneling microscopy. Surface images of films grown on SrTiO3 with a sequential thickness variation reveal a transition from layerlike to island growth between 8 and 16 unit cells thickness, i.e., YBCO grows on SrTiO3 by a Stranski-Krastanov mechanism. Evidence also points to the existence of a slightly larger critical thickness for the introduction of screw dislocations into those films. In contrast, even the thinnest (8 cells thick) YBCO films were found to grow on MgO by an island mechanism, with screw-growth features clearly present.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7584-7587
Number of pages4
JournalPhysical Review B
Volume45
Issue number13
DOIs
StatePublished - 1992
Externally publishedYes

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