SRCUO2 (SR,CA)CUO2 SUPERLATTICE GROWTH BY PULSED-LASER DEPOSITION

Superlattice structures, consisting of SrCuO2 and (Sr,Ca)CuO2 layers in the tetragonal, "infinite layer" crystal structure, have been grown by pulsed-laser deposition. Superlattice chemical modulation is observed for structures with SrCuO2 and (Sr,Ca)CuO 2 layers as thin as a single unit cell (∼3.4 Å). X-ray diffraction intensity oscillations, due to the finite thickness of the film, indicate that these films are extremely flat with a thickness variation of only ∼20 Å over a length scale of several thousand angstroms. These results show that unit-cell control of (Sr,Ca)CuO2 growth is possible in an oxygen pressure regime in which in situ surface analysis is not possible. © 1994 American Institute of Physics.