Oxygen off-stoichiometry and phase separation in EuO thin films

We report on our study on the influence of the growth conditions on the europium/oxygen stoichiometry, morphology, magnetic properties, and electrical conductivity of EuO thin films. SQUID magnetometry and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were utilized as complementary techniques to determine the oxygen content of EuO_1±x thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy with and without the employment of the so-called Eu distillation process. We found indications for phase separation to occur in Eu-rich as well as in over-oxidized EuO for films grown at substrate temperatures below the Eu distillation temperature. Only a fraction of the excess Eu contributes to the metal-insulator transition in Eu-rich films grown under these conditions. We also observed that the surfaces of these films were ill defined and may even contain more Eu excess than the film average. Only EuO films grown under distillation conditions are guaranteed to have the same magnetic and electrical properties as stoichiometric bulk EuO, and to have surfaces with the proper Eu/O stoichiometry and electronic structure.