Substrate-induced anisotropy of c-axis textured NaxCoO2 thin films

NaxCoO2 [x = 0.51, 0.54, and 0.59] thin films have been grown on SrTiO3 (100)-oriented single crystals with a 5° vicinal cut towards [010] by pulsed laser deposition. We analysed the films by X-ray diffractometry, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and dc-transport measurements. X-ray diffraction patterns of the films show single phase and c-axis textured growth with the film plane closely aligned to the [001]-direction of 5° miscut SrTiO3 (001) substrates. In addition to the structural analysis of these films we performed transport measurements along and perpendicular to the substrate tilt direction and determined the resistivity anisotropy as a function of temperature. The results enable the development of a strategy for the fabrication of NaxCoO2 based thermoelectric thin film devices.