Electrical properties of SrVO3/SrTiO3 superlattices grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy

SrVO3/SrTiO3 superlattices were successfully grown on SrTiO3(001) substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy. By varying thicknesses of metallic SrVO3 and insulating SrTiO3 sublayers, we could observe an interesting metal-insulator transition in the superlattices. The systematic study of electrical transport properties of the superlattices revealed interlayer coupling between SrVO3 sublayers through two unit cells of SrTiO3 sublayers. Although the dead layer was about 10 unit cells in SrVO3 films, the superlattices with much thinner SrVO3 sublayers became metallic. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.