Title:
|
Giant step bunching from self-organized coalescence of SrRuO3 islands
|
Author:
|
Sánchez Barrera, Florencio; Herranz Casabona, Gervasi; Fontcuberta i Griñó, Josep; García-Cuenca Varona, María Victoria; Ferrater Martorell, Cèsar; Varela Fernández, Manuel, 1956-
|
Other authors:
|
Universitat de Barcelona |
Abstract:
|
Step bunching develops in the epitaxy of SrRuO3 on vicinal SrTiO3(001) substrates. We have investigated the formation mechanisms and we show here that step bunching forms by lateral coalescence of wedgelike three-dimensional islands that are nucleated at substrate steps. After coalescence, wedgelike islands become wider and straighter with growth, forming a self-organized network of parallel step bunches with altitudes exceeding 30 unit cells, separated by atomically flat terraces. The formation mechanism of step bunching in SrRuO3, from nucleated islands, radically differs from one-dimensional models used to describe bunching in semiconducting materials. These results illustrate that growth phenomena of complex oxides can be dramatically different to those in semiconducting or metallic systems. |
Subject(s):
|
-Ciència dels materials -Pel·lícules fines -Semiconductors -Materials science -Thin films -Semiconductors |
Rights:
|
(c) The American Physical Society, 2006
|
Document type:
|
Article Article - Published version |
Published by:
|
The American Physical Society
|
Share:
|
|