Epitaxial growth and magnetic properties of the first five members of the layered Srn+1RunO3n+1 oxide series

The atomically smooth SrTiO(3) (100) with steps one unit cell in height was obtained by treating the crystal surface with a pH-controlled NH(4)F-HF solution. The homoepitaxy of SrTiO(3) film on the crystal surface proceeds in a perfect layer-by-layer mode as verified by reflection high-energy electron diffraction and atomic force microscopy. Ion scattering spectroscopy revealed that the TiO(2) atomic plane terminated the as-treated clean surface and that the terminating atomic layer could be tuned to the SrO atomic plane by homooepitaxial growth. This technology provides a well-defined substrate surface for atomically regulated epitaxial growth of such perovskite oxide films as YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta).

The concept of quantum criticality is proving to be central to attempts to understand the physics of strongly correlated electrons. Here, we argue that observations on the itinerant metamagnet Sr3Ru2O7 represent good evidence for a new class of quantum critical point, arising when the critical end point terminating a line of first-order transitions is depressed toward zero temperature. This is of interest both in its own right and because of the convenience of having a quantum critical point for which the tuning parameter is the magnetic field. The relationship between the resultant critical fluctuations and novel behavior very near the critical field is discussed.