Epitaxially grown sputtered LaAlO3 films

Abstract

We have grown crystalline thin films of LaAlO3 using off-axis rf sputtering from a single stoichiometric target. The films grow epitaxially on SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 (100) substrates as well as on YBa2Cu3O7 thin films. We report on the growth conditions used to make these films, the properties of the films, and the properties of bilayer and trilayer structures containing both LaAlO3 and YBa2Cu3O7 films. Transmission electron microscopy cross-sectional and x-ray diffraction analyses indicate that all the constituent films in the multilayers grow epitaxially and that the interfaces between the films are sharply defined. Preliminary transport measurements on these multilayers show that LaAlO3 can be used for dielectric layers in a variety of high-temperature superconductor electronic circuits.