Joint Annual Meeting of ÖPG and SPS 2021

【218】Bulk-terminated SrTiO3(001) studied at the atomic scale with nc-AFM

31 Aug 2021, 18:15

15m

Room C

Talk Surfaces, Interfaces and Thin Films Surfaces, Interfaces and Thin Films

Speaker

Igor Sokolović (Institute of Applied Physics, TU Wien)

Description

SrTiO3(001), a prototypical perovskite oxide surface, is a promising candidate for all-oxide electronics. Atomic configuration of a bare surface is commonly assumed to be bulk-terminated (1×1), which is far from warranted – noncontact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) reveals that only through ferroelectricity-assisted cleaving in ultrahigh vacuum [1], a (1×1) SrTiO3(001) closest to the pristine can be obtained [2]. Both surface terminations appear as two domains of opposite polarization. This provides dichotomous selectivity for applications, as these domains behave differently under UV illumination: while metallic TiO2 surface is unaffected, SrO termination traps excess positive charge.
[1] I. Sokolović et al. PRM 3,034407(2019)
[2] I. Sokolović et al. PRB,in print(2021)