Stoichiometry optimization of homoepitaxial oxide thin films using x-ray diffraction
- Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106-5050 (United States)
- Materials Science Division and Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)
Homoepitaxial SrTiO{sub 3} thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy are analyzed using high-resolution x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Measured 00L x-ray scans from stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric films are compared with calculations that account for the effects of film thickness, lattice parameter, fractional site occupancy, and an offset between film and substrate at the interface. It is found that thickness fringes, commonly observed around Bragg reflections even in stoichiometric homoepitaxial SrTiO{sub 3} films, arise from a film/substrate interface offset. Transmission electron microscopy studies confirm the presence of strain at those homoepitaxial interfaces that show an offset in x-ray diffraction. The consequences for stoichiometry optimization of homoepitaxial films using high-resolution x-ray diffraction and the quality of regrown oxide interfaces are discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 21294354
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 95, Issue 14; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3243696; (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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