Growth dynamics of the epitaxial SrO film on SrTiO3(001)

Abstract The initial growth of SrO thin films was investigated by in-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and scanning tunneling microscope (STM). When SrO was deposited under epitaxial growth conditions on B-site terminated SrTiO 3 (0 0 1) substrate, the first layer reacted with the B-site layer to grow as A site layer of the perovskite. Once this A-site layer was completed, the subsequent SrO layers were grown in a layer-by-layer manner. The basic unit for layer-by-layer growth is a rock-salt unit cell. The growth mode of SrO on SrTiO 3 (0 0 1) is discussed in relation to the crystal lattice habit.