How heteroepitaxy occurs on strontium titanate

Abstract

In traditional models of heteroepitaxy, the substrate serves mainly as a crystalline template for the thin-film lattice, dictating the initial roughness of the film and the degree of coherent strain. Here, performing in situ surface x-ray diffraction during the heteroepitaxial growth of LaTiO₃ on SrTiO₃ (001), we find that a TiO₂ adlayer composed of the <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>(</mml:mo> <mml:msqrt><mml:mn>13</mml:mn></mml:msqrt> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:msqrt><mml:mn>13</mml:mn></mml:msqrt> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo></mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> <i>R</i>33.7° and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>(</mml:mo> <mml:msqrt><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msqrt> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:msqrt><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msqrt> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo></mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> <i>R</i>45.0° reconstructions is a highly active participant in the growth process, continually diffusing to the surface throughout deposition. The effects of the TiO₂ adlayer on layer-by-layer growth are investigated using different deposition sequences and anomalous x-ray scattering, both of which permit detailed insight into the dynamic layer rearrangements that take place. Our work challenges commonly held assumptions regarding growth on TiO₂-terminated SrTiO₃ (001) and demonstrates the critical role of excess TiO₂ surface stoichiometry on the initial stages of heteroepitaxial growth on this important perovskite oxide substrate material.