Heteroepitaxy of LaAlO₃(100) on SrTiO₃(100):  In Situ Growth of LaAlO₃Thin Films by Metal−Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition from a Liquid Single Source

High-quality epitaxial LaAlO3 thin films have been obtained on SrTiO3 (100) substrates by metal−organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) adopting an in-situ strategy which uses a liquid single source consisting of the second-generation La(hfa)3·diglyme (Hhfa = 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedione, diglyme = bis(2-methoxyethyl)ether) precursor and Al(acac)3 (Hacac = acetylacetone). The LaAlO3 films, 400 nm thick, are strongly c-axis oriented with a ∼0.4° fwhm of the rocking curve [(200) reflection]. Pole figures provide indication of good in-plane texture.