Step Flow Growth of SrRuO3 Thin Films on Vicinal (001) SrTiO3 Substrates by using RF-Magnetron Sputtering

Epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films were fabricated on (001) SrTiO3 substrates by using radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The films were deposited on (001) SrTiO3 substrates with a 0.1°, 0.2°, 0.5° or 1.0° miscut angle. The fabrication temperatures of the SrRuO3 thin films were changed in the range of 500-650 °C for the miscut 0.1° (001) SrTiO3 substrates. X-ray diffraction confirmed cube-on-cube epitaxial structures of the SrRuO3 thin films on (001) SrTiO3. According to the atomic force microscopy (AFM) images, the SrRuO3 thin films, which had been deposited on miscut 0.1° (001) SrTiO3, grew by step flow along the miscut direction of the substrate. In case of higher miscut angle, the step height was higher than that of a single unit cell of SrRuO3 due to the step bunching process. The SrRuO3 thin films grown at 500 °C showed an island growth mode and those grown at temperatures higher than 550 °C showed a step flow growth mode.