Recovery and recrystallization of SrTiO3(100) surface characterized by ion channeling

The surface crystallinity of SrTiO3(100) (STO) substrates and recovery of the damaged STO surfaces were investigated using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry in conjunction with channeling technique. We have found that STO single crystal substrates coated with an amorphous STO layer up to 80 Å thick can be completely recrystallized by annealing at 1100°C in 1 atm O2 for 30 min, while those with an amorphous layer thicker than 260Å cannot be fully recovered by this 30 min annealing process, nor by extending the annealing time to 3 hours.