Synthesis of SrSnO3 thin films by pulsed laser deposition: Influence of substrate and deposition temperature

SrSnO3 thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition on amorphous silica and single crystal substrates of R-sapphire, (100)LaAlO3 and (100)SrTiO3. High quality epitaxial (100) oriented films were obtained on LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 while a texture was revealed for films on sapphire deposited at the same deposition temperature of 700 °C. Amorphous films were obtained on silica but a post annealing at 800 °C induced crystallization with a random orientation. The screening of deposition temperature showed epitaxial features on SrTiO3 from 650 °C while no crystallization was observed at 600 °C. The influence of substrate and deposition temperature was confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy observations.