Nanometer-scale striped surface terminations on fractured SrTiO${}_3$ surfaces

Abstract

Using cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy on in situ fractured SrTiO${}_3$, one of the most commonly used substrates for the growth of complex oxide thin films and superlattices, atomically smooth terraces have been observed on (001) surfaces. Furthermore, it was discovered that fracturing this material at room temperature results in the formation of stripe patterned domains having characteristic widths (~10 nm to ~20 nm) of alternating surface terminations that extend over a long-range. Spatial characterization utilizing spectroscopy techniques revealed a strong contrast in the electronic structure of the two domains. Combining these results with topographic data, we are able to assign both TiO${}_2$ and SrO terminations to their respective domains. The results of this proof-of-principle experiment reveal that fracturing this material leads to reproducibly flat surfaces that can be characterized at the atomic-scale and suggests that this technique can be utilized for the study of technologically relevant complex oxide interfaces.

15 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (2)

• Mapping the Spatial Distribution of Charge Carriers in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 Heterostructures
• Cleaving-temperature dependence of layered-oxide surfaces

Cited by in corpus (12)

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• Incipient ferroelectricity: A route towards bulk-terminated SrTiO3
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• Visualizing nanoscale electronic band alignment at the La${}_{2/3}$Ca${}_{1/3}$MnO${}_3$/Nb:SrTiO${}_3$ interface
• Vacancy clusters at domain boundaries and band bending at the SrTiO${}_3$(110) surface
• Band Gap Modulation of SrTiO3 upon CO2 Adsorption
• Suppression of Surfaces States at Cubic Perovskite (001) Surfaces by CO${}_2$ Adsorption
• Thermally Driven Imbibition and Drainage Induced by Terraced Nanostructures
• A survey of fractured SrTiO${}_3$ surfaces: from the micro-meter to nano-meter scale
• Direct visualization and control of SrOx segregation on semiconducting Nb doped SrTiO3 (100) surface