Microstructure of epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films on (001) SrTiO3

Abstract

Metallic oxide films of SrRuO3 deposited on (001) SrTiO3 by pulsed laser deposition have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. These films have a single crystalline structure with an extremely smooth surface. A TEM study of cross-sectional samples shows that the film grew epitaxially on the (001) surface of the SrTiO3 substrate. The films grew along the [110] directions with an in-plane orientation relationship of either SrRuO3[1̄10]//SrTiO3 [100] and SrRuO3[001]//SrTiO3[010], or SrRuO3[11̄0]//SrTiO3[010] and SrRuO3[001]//SrTiO3 [100]. Domains with a rotation of 90° around SrRuO3[110] were observed in the dark-field image of plan-view samples. © 1998 American Institute of Physics.