title: Conducting LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterointerfaces on atomically-flat substrates prepared by deionized-water.
abstract: We have investigated how the recently-developed water-leaching method for atomically-flat SrTiO3 (STO) substrates affects the transport properties of LaAlO3 (LAO) and STO heterointerfaces. Using pulsed laser deposition at identical growth conditions, we have synthesized epitaxial LAO thin-films on two different STO substrates, which are prepared by water-leaching and buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF) etching methods. The structural, transport, and optical properties of LAO/STO heterostructures grown on water-leached substrates show the same high-quality as the samples grown on BHF-etched substrates. These results indicate that the water-leaching method can be used to grow complex oxide heterostructures with atomically well-defined heterointerfaces without safety concerns.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Connell
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nichols
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Gruenewald
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 120-750, Korea.
authors.forename: D-W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.
authors.forename: S S A
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Seo