Dynamically Stabilized Growth of Polar Oxides: The Case of MgO(111)

By using MgO(111) as a model system for polar oxide film growth, we show by first-principles calculations that H acts as a surfactant, i.e., the H changes its position and bonding during the growth process, remaining in the surface region. Continuous presence of H during the growth of MgO(111) film efficiently removes the microscopic dipole moment, thus enabling the growth of perfect fcc-ordered MgO(111) films. These theoretical predictions are confirmed experimentally by molecular beam epitaxy single crystal growth of MgO(111) on SiC(0001).