EPITAXIAL-GROWTH OF NDGAO3 THIN-FILMS ON (100) SRTIO3 SUBSTRATES

We report the epitaxial growth of NdGaO3 thin films on (100) SrTiO3 substrates by radio frequency (RF) sputtering. Crystallographic analysis by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (CS-TEM), Rutherford backscattering (RBS), reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) show that NdGaO3 films were epitaxially grown on (100) SrTiO3 substrates with P(O2), above 5 mTorr and at substrate temperatures of 650 to 730-degrees-C. The RHEED patterns show streaks, and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the (220)/(004) peak obtained by the XRD 2theta/theta scan method is as narrow as 0.08-degrees. The chi(min) values are less than 4%. These results show that the epitaxial growth NdGaO3 thin films have good crystallinity and a flat surface.