Self-organization processes in highly epitaxial La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 thin films grown on SrTiO3 (001) substrates

We report on the growth of highly epitaxial La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 thin films on SrTiO3 (001) oriented substrates by rf magnetron sputtering. It is shown that structural strain caused by lattice mismatch between film and substrate and kinetics growing instabilities may offer unique opportunities to control the film morphologies. By increasing growth rate, the surface morphology undergoes a dramatic transformation: from very smooth surface through arrays of mounds or antidots to hatched morphology. All nano-objects form long-range ordered arrays running in the steps direction defined by the miscut angle of underlying substrate. These self-assembled structures are of high interest envisaging a new route for the fabrication of oxide-based magnetoelectronic devices by using a bottom-up approach.