RF magnetron sputtering growth of epitaxial SrRuO3 films with high conductivity

SrRuO3 films were grown on (001)SrTiO3 single crystal substrates by rf magnetron sputtering under various total pressures, and their crystal structure, room temperature resistivity, and temperature dependency of resistivity were investigated. High-resolution X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the unit cell volume of these films decreased with increasing total pressure from 1.3 to 27 Pa and almost constant above 27 Pa corresponding to that of bulk SrRuO3. SrRuO3 films deposited under a total pressure of 27 Pa showed the lowest room temperature resistivity, i.e., 250 μΩ·cm, almost the same as the reported one of the SrRuO3 single crystal. This film also showed a positive temperature dependency of resistivity with a temperature dependency change at about 150 K, which was also in good agreement with the reported one of the SrRuO3 single crystal. (author)