Epitaxial synthesis of unintentionally doped p-type SnO (001) via suboxide molecular beam epitaxy

By employing a mixed SnO2 + Sn source, we demonstrate suboxide molecular beam epitaxy (S-MBE) growth of phase-pure single-crystalline metastable SnO (001) thin films on Y-stabilized ZrO2 (001) substrates at a growth rate of ∼1.0 nm/min without the need for additional oxygen. These films grow epitaxially across a wide substrate temperature range from 150 to 450 °C. Hence, we present an alternative pathway to overcome the limitations of high Sn or SnO2 cell temperatures and narrow growth windows encountered in previous MBE growth of metastable SnO. In situ laser reflectometry and line-of-sight quadrupole mass spectrometry were used to investigate the rate of SnO desorption as a function of substrate temperature. While SnO ad-molecule desorption at TS = 450 °C was growth-rate limiting, the SnO films did not desorb at this temperature after growth in vacuum. The SnO (001) thin films are transparent and unintentionally p-type doped, with hole concentrations and mobilities in the range of 0.9–6.0 × 1018 cm−3 and 2.0–5.5 cm2 V−1 s−1, respectively. These p-type SnO films obtained at low substrate temperatures are promising for back-end-of-line (BEOL) compatible applications and for integration with n-type oxides in pn heterojunctions and field-effect transistors.