Heteroepitaxial growth of highly conductive metal oxide RuO2 thin films by pulsed laser deposition

Highly conductive ruthenium oxide (RuO2) has been epitaxially grown on LaAlO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The RuO2 film is (h00) oriented normal to the substrate surface. The heteroepitaxial growth of RuO2 on LaAlO3 is demonstrated by the strong in-plane orientation of thin films with respect to the major axes of the substrate. High crystallinity of RuO2 thin films is also determined from Rutherford backscattering channeling measurements. Electrical measurements on the RuO2 thin films demonstrate a quite low room-temperature resistivity of 35±2 μΩ cm at deposition temperatures of above 500 °C.