Thin-film growth of the quasi-one-dimensional metal Li$_{0.9}$Mo$_6$O$_{17}$

Attempts to grow epitaxial thin films of Li$_{0.9}$Mo$_6$O$_{17}$ by pulsed-laser deposition will be discussed. Single crystals of this quasi-one-dimensional (q1D) metal exhibit\footnote{J. L. Cohn {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett., {\bf 112}, 186602 (2014).} highly anisotropic Seebeck coefficients with $\Delta S=S_c-S_b\approx 200\ \mu$~V/K near 450~K (the $b$ axis corresponds to the most conducting, q1D chain direction). Suitably oriented thin films could enable possible applications in energy detection using the transverse Seebeck effect. X-ray diffraction results will be presented for films grown from a polycrystalline target on several substrates under a narrow range of temperature and pressure conditions.