Reduction of mosaic spread using iridium interlayers: A route to improved oxide heteroepitaxy on silicon

Using epitaxial SrTiO3 and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) buffer layers deposited on silicon as a starting point, epitaxial iridium layers were grown by electron-beam evaporation using a two-step growth process with an extremely low initial deposition rate. The iridium layers had in-plane (twist) and out-of-plane (tilt) full widths at half maximum as narrow as 0.08° and 0.15°, respectively, up to an order of magnitude narrower than the underlying SrTiO3 and YSZ layers. SrTiO3 and ZnO films grown on the iridium showed significantly narrower twist and tilt values than without the iridium interlayer, demonstrating a route to improved oxide heteroepitaxy on silicon.