Ultrathin Epitaxial Barrier Layer to Avoid Thermally Induced Phase Transformation in Oxide Heterostructures

Incorporating oxides with radically different physical and chemical properties into heterostructures offers tantalizing possibilities to derive new functions and structures. Recently, we have fabricated freestanding 2D oxide membranes using the water-soluble perovskite Sr₃Al₂O₆ as a sacrificial buffer layer. Here, with atomic-resolution spectroscopic imaging, we observe that direct growth of oxide thin films on Sr₃Al₂O₆ can cause complete phase transformation of the buffer layer, rendering it water-insoluble. More importantly, we demonstrate that an ultrathin SrTiO₃ layer can be employed as an effective barrier to preserve Sr₃Al₂O₆ during subsequent growth, thus allowing its integration in a wider range of oxide heterostructures.