Tuning the work function in transition metal oxides and their heterostructures

Abstract

The development of novel functional materials in experimental labs combined with computer-based compound simulation brings the vision of materials design on a microscopic scale continuously closer to reality. For many applications interface and surface phenomena rather than bulk properties are key. One of the most fundamental qualities of a material-vacuum interface is the energy required to transfer an electron across this boundary, i.e. the work function. It is a crucial parameter for numerous applications, including organic electronics, field electron emitters, and thermionic energy converters. Being generally very resistant to degradation at high temperatures, transition metal oxides present a promising materials class for such devices. We have performed a systematic study for perovskite oxides that provides reference values and, equally important, reports on materials trends and the tunability of work functions. Our results identify and classify dependencies of the work function on several parameters including specific surface termination, surface reconstructions, oxygen vacancies, and heterostructuring.

References in corpus (8)

• Doping graphene with metal contacts
• Understanding and controlling the work function of perovskite oxides using Density Functional Theory
• Work functions of self-assembled monolayers on metal surfaces
• Long-range Coulomb interactions in surface systems: a first principles description within self-consistently combined GW and dynamical mean field theory
• Highly-Efficient Thermoelectronic Conversion of Solar Energy and Heat into Electric Power
• Characterization of the Schottky Barrier in SrRuO3/Nb:SrTiO3 Junctions
• Quantum confinement in perovskite oxide heterostructures: tight binding instead of nearly free electron picture
• Electron Emission Energy Barriers and Stability of $S{c}_2{O}_3$ with Adsorbed Ba and Ba-O

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Band alignment and charge transfer in complex oxide interfaces
• Work function and surface stability of tungsten-based thermionic electron emission cathodes
• Data-driven analysis of the electronic-structure factors controlling the work functions of perovskite oxides
• Design and realization of Ohmic and Schottky interfaces for oxide electronics
• Local polarization and valence distribution in LaNiO3/LaMnO3 heterostructures
• Polar Rectification Effect in Electro-Fatigued SrTiO3 Based Junctions
• Discovery and Engineering of Low Work Function Perovskite Materials
• Surface Stability of SrNbO${}_{3+\delta }$ Grown by Hybrid Molecular Beam Epitaxy