Growth mechanism, microstructure and transport properties of Sr1−x La x CuO2 (x=0.10−0.15) thin films

Abstract

Sr1−xLaxCuO2 (x=0.10−0.15) thin films with an infinite-layer type structure were grown on BaTiO3 buffered (001) SrTiO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The evolution of the growth front was monitored, in-situ, by high-pressure reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), while the surface morphology was analyzed by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM), ex-situ. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to determine the evolution of the film structure with deposition and cooling parameters, as well as to study the type and level of epitaxial strain in the Sr1−xLaxCuO2 films. The RHEED data showed that the Sr1−xLaxCuO2 films grow on BaTiO3/SrTiO3 following a 2D or Stranski-Krastanov mechanism, depending on the La doping level. The transition point (critical thickness dc) from layer-by-layer like (2D) to island (3D) growth depends on the film stoichiometry: decreasing the La doping concentration x from 0.15 to 0.10, the critical thickness dc increases from ∼45 nm to ∼75 nm. In order to induce superconductivity, the Sr1−xLaxCuO2 films were cooled down under reduction conditions. The as-deposited films showed semiconducting or metallic behavior, the resistivity decreasing with increasing La concentration. Post-deposition vacuum annealing resulted in a superconducting transition onset (but no zero resistance down to 4.2 K) only for some of the x=0.15 Sr1−xLaxCuO2 films.