Epitaxial growth of LaB₆ thin films on the ultrasmooth sapphire substrate with an epitaxial SrB₆ buffer by Laser MBE

Abstract

In this work, we examined the epitaxial growth of LaB₆ thin films on the ultrasmooth sapphire substrate with an epitaxial SrB₆ buffer layer by laser MBE and characterized their morphologic, crystallographic, and electrical properties. As a result, epitaxy of LaB₆ thin films could be attained on ultrasmooth sapphire substrates with an epitaxial SrB₆ ultrathin (15 nm thick) buffer. On the other hand, the LaB₆ film on the ultrasmooth sapphire substrate without a SrB₆ buffer became highly-oriented polycrystalline film, not epitaxial.