Plasma and Beam Physics Commons^™

Selective Growth Of Epitaxial Sr2Iro4 By Controlling Plume Dimensions In Pulsed Laser Deposition, Sung S. Ambrose Seo, J. Nichols, J. Hwang, Jsaminka Terzic, John H. Gruenewald, Maryam Souri, Justin K. Thompson, John G. Connell, Gang Cao

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report that epitaxial Sr₂IrO₄ thin-films can be selectively grown using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Due to the competition between the Ruddlesden-Popper phases of strontium iridates (Sr_n+1Ir_nO_3n+1), conventional PLD methods often result in mixed phases of Sr₂IrO₄ (n = 1), Sr₃Ir₂O₇ (n = 2), and SrIrO₃ (n = ∞). We have discovered that reduced PLD plume dimensions and slow deposition rates are the key for stabilizing pure Sr₂IrO₄ phase thin-films, identified by real-time in-situ monitoring of their optical spectra. …