Low-temperature epitaxial growth of conductive LaNiO3 thin films by RF magnetron sputtering

Epitaxial growth of LaNiO3 (LNO) thin films was successful on CeO2/YSZ/Si(100), MgO(100) and SrTiO3 (STO)(100) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering at 300 degreesC. although pulsed laser deposition requires 600 degreesC to prepare epitaxial LNO films according to the literature. Epitaxial LNO films deposited on CeO2/YSZ/Si(100) and STO(100) had single orientation of LNO[100]//CeO2[110]//YSZ[110]//Si[110]) and LNO[100]//STO[100], respectively. On the other hand, epitaxial LNO films deposited on MgO(100) had mixed orientations of LNO[100]//MgO[100] and LNO[100]//MgO[110]. The lattice parameter, composition and resistivity of the LNO thin films were strongly dependent on the substrate temperature. The minimum resistivity of LNO films was approximately 5 X 10(-6) Omega m, which value almost agrees with the resistivity in the literature. It was found that the temperature to achieve minimum resistivity was 200 degreesC, irrespective of the type of substrate. The surface of the LNO films was smooth and flat. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.