The origin of oxygen in oxide thin films: Role of the substrate

Abstract

During the growth of oxide thin films by pulsed laser deposition, a strong oxygen substrate-to-film transfer has been experimentally observed for SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 thin films epitaxially grown on O18 exchanged SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 substrates by secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiling. This oxygen transfer effect can seriously change the respective thin film properties. Taking the oxygen substrate contribution to the overall oxygen balance into account, original ways to design material properties of oxide thin films can be envisioned like a controlled charge carrier doping of SrTiO3 thin films.