Microstructure and polarity of epitaxial ZnO films grown on LSAT(111) substrate studied by transmission electron microscopy

Transmission electron microscopy is used to investigate the structural characteristics of epitaxial ZnO thin films grown on (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr0.5Ta0.5O3)0.7(111) (LSAT) by rf plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. It is found that the growth temperature plays a key role in the formation of microstructures in ZnO film. Growth temperature dependence of rotation domain, interface and dislocation structures is studied, and the mechanism for polarity selection is discussed.