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 was 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.