Observation of the early stages of heteroepitactic growth of BaTiO3 thin-films

Abstract

Thin-films of barium titanate (BaTiO3) have been deposited onto single-crystal MgO substrates using pulsed-laser ablation. The early stages of film growth have been examined using transmission electron microscopy by deposition of very thin films onto specially prepared electron transparent thin-foil substrates. The films, which were crystalline as deposited and close to stoichiometric composition, were formed by the nucleation and growth of small islands.