Molecular beam epitaxy of single unit-cell FeSe superconducting films on SrTiO3(001)

Based on our previous work, we have systematically investigated the molecular beam epitaxy growth of single unit-cell FeSe films on SrTiO3(001) substrates and studied the surface morphology by scanning tunneling microscopy. We found that there are three key steps to obtain large-scale uniform one unit-cell superconducting FeSe films. First, the STO(001) substrates should be treated by HCl etching and thermal annealing under oxygen flux so that a specific TiO2-terminated STO(001) surface with well-defined step-terrace structure could be obtained. Second, the Fe and Se fluxes and substrate temperature have to be controlled delicately. At last, post-growth annealing is also critical, which can remove extra Se adatoms, and more importantly facilitate the necessary electron transfer for superconductivity transition.