Growth of SrTiO3 films on Si(0 0 1)–Sr(2 1) surfaces

The growth and characterization of a SrTiO3 film by molecular beam deposition process have been studied. After Sr deposition on the chemically formed SiO2/Si surface, a stable and well-ordered Si(0 0 1)–Sr(2 1) surface was formed. The SrTiO3 films were grown on the Si(0 0 1)–Sr(2 1) surface at 80 8C in a molecular oxygen partial pressure of approximately 3 10 7 Torr and subsequently in situ post-annealed at various high temperatures without oxygen supply in ultra-high vacuum (<2.5 10 9 Torr). The combined reflection high-energy electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy analyses suggest that the SrTiO3 film grown at 80 8C is amorphous nature. The lowest post-annealing temperature from amorphous-to-crystal transformation of the SrTiO3 film is approximately 485 8C. The quality of the crystalline SrTiO3 films is further improved by post-annealing at temperatures between 600 and 700 8C.