Conducting LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterointerfaces on atomically flat substrates   prepared by deionized-water
  We have investigated how the recently-developed water-leaching method for atomically-flat SrTiO3 (STO) substrates affects the transport properties of LaAlO3 (LAO) and STO heterointerfaces. Using pulsed laser deposition at identical growth conditions, we have synthesized epitaxial LAO thin-films on two different STO substrates, which are prepared by water-leaching and buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF) etching methods. The structural, transport, and optical properties of LAO/STO heterostructures grown on water-leached substrates show the same high-quality as the samples grown on BHF-etched substrates. These results indicate that the water-leaching method can be used to grow complex oxide heterostructures with atomically well-defined heterointerfaces without safety concerns. 
J. G. Connell, J. Nichols, J. H. Gruenewald, D.-W. Kim, S. S. A. Seo
cond-mat.mtrl-sci cond-mat.mes-hall cond-mat.str-el