Fabrication of atomically smooth SrRuO3 thin films by laser molecular beam epitaxy

High-quality SrRuO3 (SRO) thin films and SrTiO3/SRO bilayer were grown epitaxially on SrTiO3 (STO)(001) substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy. The results of in situ observation of reflection high-energy electron diffraction and ex situ X-ray diffraction theta-2 theta scan indicate that the SRO thin films have good crystallinity. The measurements of atomic force microscopy and scan tunneling microscopy reveal that the surface of the SRO thin film is atomically smooth. The resistivity of the SRO thin film is 300 mu Omega center dot cm at room temperature. Furthermore, the transmission electron microscopy study shows that the interfaces of STO/SRO and SRO/STO are very clear and no interfacial reaction layer was observed. The experimental results show that the SRO thin film is an excellent electrode material for devices based on perovskite oxide materials.