Surface Reconstructions in Molecular Beam Epitaxy of SrTiO3

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) effectively monitors surface and film stoichiometry during molecular beam epitaxy of SrTiO3, revealing surface reconstruction changes linked to growth conditions and film quality.

Contribution

It introduces RHEED as a sensitive tool for tracking surface reconstructions and stoichiometry in SrTiO3 film growth, correlating surface phases with film properties.

Findings

Surface reconstructions change from (1x1) to (2x1) to c(4x4) with Ti source pressure.

Surface termination shifts from mixed SrO/TiO2 to pure TiO2 during growth.

Optimal film quality occurs under TiO2-saturated surface conditions with c(4x4) reconstruction.

Abstract

We show that reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) can be used as a highly sensitive tool to track surface and resulting film stoichiometry in adsorption-limited molecular beam epitaxy of (001) SrTiO3 thin films. Even under growth conditions that yield films with a lattice parameter that is identical to that of stoichiometric bulk crystals within the detection limit of high-resolution x-ray diffraction (XRD), changes in surface reconstruction occur from (1x1) to (2x1) to c(4x4) as the equivalent beam pressure of the Ti metalorganic source is increased. These surface reconstructions are correlated with a shift from mixed SrO/TiO2 termination to pure TiO2 termination. The crossover to TiO2 surface termination is also apparent in a phase shift in RHEED oscillations observed at the beginning of growth. Comparison with prior results for carrier mobilities of doped films shows that the best films are grown under conditions of a TiO2-saturated surface [c(4x4) reconstruction] within the XRD growth window.