Epitaxial SrTiO3 Thin Films Grown by ArF Excimer Laser Deposition

Abstract

SrTiO₃ (STO) thin films were prepared by an ArF excimer laser deposition method. At the growth temperature of 630°C, the natural orientation of STO was significantly changed from (111) to (100) and (110). The ratio of X-ray diffraction intensities (100)/(200) was closest to the ideal value when grown at 660°C, resulting in minimized disorder of atomic arrangement. Epitaxial STO films were obtained on STO(100) and MgO(100) substrates, and on an YBaCuO(001) epitaxial film. They showed resistivity in excess of 5×10¹⁰ Ω·cm and dielectric constant as high as 140ε₀ at room temperature. The maximum dielectric constant of 440ε₀ was obtained at 40 K.