How heteroepitaxy occurs on strontium titanate

In traditional models of heteroepitaxy, the substrate serves mainly as a crystalline template for the thin-film lattice, dictating the initial roughness of the film and the degree of coherent strain. Here, performing in situ surface x-ray diffraction during the heteroepitaxial growth of LaTiO on SrTiO (001), we find that a TiO adlayer composed of the 33.7° and 45.0° reconstructions is a highly active participant in the growth process, continually diffusing to the surface throughout deposition. The effects of the TiO adlayer on layer-by-layer growth are investigated using different deposition sequences and anomalous x-ray scattering, both of which permit detailed insight into the dynamic layer rearrangements that take place. Our work challenges commonly held assumptions regarding growth on TiO-terminated SrTiO (001) and demonstrates the critical role of excess TiO surface stoichiometry on the initial stages of heteroepitaxial growth on this important perovskite oxide substrate material.