Hydrothermal epitaxy and resultant properties of EuTiO(3) films on SrTiO(3)(001) substrate

We report a novel epitaxial growth of EuTiO(3) films on SrTiO(3)(001) substrate by hydrothermal method. The morphological, structural, chemical, and magnetic properties of these epitaxial EuTiO(3) films were examined by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution X-ray diffractometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry, respectively. As-grown EuTiO(3) films with a perovskite structure were found to show an out-of-plane lattice shrinkage and room-temperature ferromagnetism, possibly resulting from an existence of Eu(3+). Postannealing at 1,000°C could reduce the amount of Eu(3+), relax the out-of-plane lattice shrinkage, and impact the magnetic properties of the films. PACS: 81.10.Aj; 81.15.-z; 61.05.-a