Tuning the growth of IrO2 on SrTiO3 (100) for spin-hall effect based oxide devices

In this study, growth of (100) oriented IrO2 using pulsed laser ablation technique is explored on (100) oriented SrTiO3 by varying different deposition conditions. We have observed that the texture formation of IrO2 can be tuned by controlling the deposition temperature, oxygen pressure and the repetition rate of the deposition using excimer laser. The best quality of the textured IrO2 thin films were evident from the temperature dependent resistivity exhibiting a typical metallic behavior, with a lowest ρ of ∼ 60 μΩ.cm at 300 K against a ρbulk of ∼ 34 μΩ.cm. Subsequently, the island growth of IrO2 was confirmed from the thickness variation of IrO2 thin films which showed the cross-over of metallic to insulating behavior for thin films of thickness; such as 25 nm.