Nucleation and growth of epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films on vicinal (001) SrTiO3 substrates

We reports the initial stage nucleation and growth of epitaxial SrRuO₃ thin films grown on miscut single crystal (001) SrTiO₃ substrates by 90 off-axis magnetron sputtering. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) indicates a difference in the initial stage growth of SrRuO₃ films on the different miscut substrates. Lower miscut substrates showed much better step-flow growth. On the other hand, higher miscut substrates showed step bunching or islands growth. Such studies on the initial stage nucleation will also help us understanding the growth kinetics and development of surface morphology and interfaces in thin film heterostructures and devices.