Growth and properties of GdTiO3 films prepared by hybrid molecular beam epitaxy

The paper reports on the thin film growth of a protoptype Mott insulator, ferrimagnetic GdTiO3, using shuttered molecular beam epitaxy. Substrates were (001) (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2AlTaO6)0.7 (LSAT), with and without epitaxial SrTiO3 buffer layers, respectively. It was found that on bare LSAT, the starting monolayer was crucial for stabilizing the GdTiO3 perovskite phase. The quality of the films was evaluated using structural, electric, optical and magnetic characterization. Structural characterization showed that the GdTiO3 layers were free of pyrochlore impurity phases and that the lattice parameter was close to what was expected for coherently strained, stoichiometric GdTiO3. The room temperature film resistivity was 7 Ωcm and increased with decreasing temperature, consistent with Mott insulating characteristics. The Curie temperature was 30 K and a small coercivity was observed at 2 K, in good agreement with bulk GdTiO3 properties reported in the literature.

► Molecular beam epitaxy of a Mott insulator, ferrimagnetic GdTiO3, is reported.
► The starting monolayer is crucial for stabilizing the perovskite phase.
► The structural, electric, optical and magnetic properties are reported.
► They are in good agreement with bulk GdTiO3 properties.