Epitaxial growth of thin films of SrTi_1-xRu_xO_3-δ by pulsed laser deposition

The pulsed laser deposition technique has been utilized for thin film synthesis of a continuous series of solid solutions of the end member perovskite compounds SrTiO3 and SrRuO3. The SrTi1-xRuxO3-d (0 ≤ × ≤ 1) films are grown epitaxially on (100)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates in a low pressure atomic oxygen ambient with in situ monitoring using reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). The as-deposited films are cubic or pseudocubic over the whole composition range with the lattice parameter increasing continuously with increasing Ru4+ substitution. Correspondingly, the resistivity evolves from insulating to metallic behavior. The solid solution films are potentially useful as latticed-matched buffer layers for heteroepitaxial growth, or as barrier layers in tunnel junctions with controlled resistive properties.