Effect of SrO Doping on LaGaO3 Synthesis via Magnetron Sputtering

The high temperature growth behavior of epitaxial LaGaO3 thin films with and without SrO is determined with realtime x-ray scattering. We find SrO alters the thin film growth mode of LaGaO3, both when pre-deposited on a surface as well as when SrO and LaGaO3 are co-deposited. We also find that depositing a small amount of SrO on a LaGaO3 surface induces significant structural rearrangement in the film. We describe possible mechanisms under which these transformations may occur. The strong effect of SrO on the microstructure of La1-xSrxGaO3 likely has wider implications for other ionic conducting oxide materials.