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Title: Formation of a strontium buffer layer on Si(001) by pulsed-laser deposition through the Sr/Si(001)(2 × 3) surface reconstruction

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4913464· OSTI ID:22412646
;  [1]
  1. Advanced Materials Department, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia)

The formation of a ½ monolayer (ML) of strontium (Sr) on Si(001) represents the most widely used and effective passivation procedure for the epitaxial growth of strontium titanate (SrTiO{sub 3}) on Si with molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). In the present study, we demonstrate experimentally the possibility of preparing such a buffer layer with the pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) technique. In-situ analysis using reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) showed surface structure evolution from two-domain (2 × 1) + (1 × 2), exhibited by the bare silicon surface, to a (3 × 2) + (2 × 3) structure at 1/6 ML Sr coverage, which is then replaced by (1 × 2) + (2 × 1) structure at ¼ ML and maintained up to ½ ML coverage. In addition, two different processes for the removal of native silicon dioxide (SiO{sub 2}) layer were studied: thermal and Sr-induced deoxidation process. Annealing above 1100 °C proved to be the most efficient in terms of carbon contamination. The results highlight the possibilities of using the PLD technique for the synthesis of an epitaxial SrTiO{sub 3} layer on Si, needed for the integration of different functional oxides with a Si platform.

OSTI ID:
22412646
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 7; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English