Abstract
Surface epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films grown by pulsed stability of nearly defect-free laser deposition was studied using low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and electron spectroscopies. Even after exposure to atmosphere, surfaces exhibited distinct LEED patterns providing evidence of unusual chemical stability. Surface order disappeared after heating to 200 °C in vacuum. To investigate, SrRuO3 thin films were annealed up to 800 °C in high vacuum and examined for chemical state and topography. Formation of unit-cell deep pits and the Ru-rich particles begins at low temperatures. Hydrocarbon contamination on the surface contributes to this process.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3447-3450 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Journal of Materials Research |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2004 |
Funding
Research was performed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the United States Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725. Support as a Eugene P. Wigner Fellow is acknowledged (S.V.K.). Research was partially sponsored as part of a BES NSET initiative on Nanoscale Cooperative Phenomena and the LDRD program (H.N.L. and H.M.C.) and by the National Science Foundation Grant No. DMR-0072998 (R.G.M.).