  Elemental defects in transition metal oxides is an important and intriguing
subject that result in modifications in variety of physical properties
including atomic and electronic structure, optical and magnetic properties.
Understanding the formation of elemental vacancies and their influence on
different physical properties is essential in studying the complex oxide thin
films. In this study, we investigated the physical properties of epitaxial
SrRuO3 thin films by systematically manipulating cation and/or oxygen
vacancies, via changing the oxygen partial pressure (P(O2)) during the pulsed
laser epitaxy (PLE) growth. Ru vacancies in the low-P(O2)-grown SrRuO3 thin
films induce lattice expansion with the suppression of the ferromagnetic TC
down to ~120 K. Sr vacancies also disturb the ferromagnetic ordering, even
though Sr is not a magnetic element. Our results indicate that both A and B
cation vacancies in an ABO3 perovskite can be systematically engineered via
PLE, and the structural, electrical, and magnetic properties can be tailored
accordingly.
