Abstract
We investigate the complex relationship between the growth conditions and the structural and transport properties of thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Transport properties ranging from metallicity to superconductivity and insulating states are stabilized by effectively tuning the O/Ti ratio via the Ti flux rate and the O partial pressure for films grown on substrates at C. A cubic buffer layer is formed for low O/Ti ratios, while a corundum layer is formed under higher-oxidizing conditions. Metallicity is observed for buffer layers. The superconducting Magnéli phase is found to nucleate on a buffer for intermediate conditions, and an insulator-superconducting transition is observed at 4.5 K for 85 nm thick films. Strain relaxation of occurs with increasing film thickness and correlates with a thickness-dependent increase in observed for thin films.
- Received 2 March 2022
- Accepted 8 June 2022
- Corrected 28 November 2022
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.6.064805
©2022 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Corrections
28 November 2022
Correction: The previously published Figure 3 contained incorrect axis labeling along the ordinate of part (c) and has been replaced.