RETRACTED ARTICLE: Atom-vacancy hopping in ultra-high vacuum at room temperature in SrTiO3 (001)
This record is marked as retracted by the source. Review the publisher’s notice before using its findings.
Source abstract
Abstract
Abstract The diffusion at atomic scale is of considerable interest as one of the critical processes in growth and evaporation as well as a probe of the forces at an atomically flat reconstructed surface. This atomic-scale migration is critical to investigate in strontium titanate (SrTiO 3 ) as it possesses the same status in oxide electronics as does silicon in ordinary electronics based on elemental semiconductors. Here we show that (001) terminated SrTiO 3 reconstructed surface is atomically unstable enough to allow atom-vacancy hopping at room temperature. In this work, SrTiO 3 (001) single crystal (7 × 2 × 0.5 mm) was sputtered (0.5 keV, 2.5 µA, 10 min) and annealed multiple times in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) and imaged using scanning tunneling microscope (STM). A relatively unstable surface was observed at low-temperature annealing and tip–surface interactions caused dislocation of mass at the surface. Both square and zig-zag nanolines were observed with atomic resolution where an atom-vacancy hopping was observed in a square diline while imaging at room temperature. The hopping was ceased when sample was annealed at higher temperature and a more compact network of nanolines was achieved. Graphic abstract
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Electronic and Structural Properties of Oxides · Semiconductor materials and devices · Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
References (53)
Show source-provided references
1. S. Ferrer, G.A. Somorjai, UPS and XPS studies of the chemisorption of O2, H2 AND H2O on reduced and stoichiometric SrTiO3(111) surfaces; the effects of illumination. Surf. Sci. 94, 41–56 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1016/0039-6028(80)90155-710.1016/0039-6028(80)90155-7 ↗
2. G. Ayrault, G. Ehrlich, Surface self-diffusion on an fee crystal: an atomic view. J. Chem. Phys. 60, 281–294 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.168078110.1063/1.1680781 ↗
3. B.S. Thomas, N.A. Marks, B.D. Begg, Defects and threshold displacement energies in SrTiO3 perovskite using atomistic computer simulations. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. Sect. B Beam Interact. Mater. Atoms. 254, 211–218 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2006.11.06910.1016/j.nimb.2006.11.069 ↗
4. B. Cord, R. Courths, Electronic study of SrTiO3(001) surfaces by photoemission. Surf. Sci. 162, 34–38 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1016/0039-6028(85)90872-610.1016/0039-6028(85)90872-6 ↗
5. T. Tanaka, K. Matsunaga, Y. Ikuhara, T. Yamamoto, First-principles study on structures and energetics of intrinsic vacancies in SrTiO3. Phys Rev. B Condens. Matter Mater. Phys. 68, 1–8 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.68.20521310.1103/PhysRevB.68.205213 ↗
6. T. Higuchi, T. Tsukamoto, N. Sata, M. Ishigame, Y. Tezuka, S. Shin, Electronic structure of p-type SrTiO3 by photoemission spectroscopy. Phys. Rev. B. 57, 6978–6983 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.57.697810.1103/PhysRevB.57.6978 ↗
7. T. Wolfram, F.J. Morin, A model for surface states and catalysis on d-band perovskites. Appl. Phys. 8, 125–141 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-4596(75)90324-210.1016/0022-4596(75)90324-2 ↗
8. H.L. Marsh, D.S. Deak, F. Silly, A.I. Kirkland, M.R. Castell, Hot STM of nanostructure dynamics on SrTiO3(001). Nanotechnology. 17, 3543–3548 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/17/14/03110.1088/0957-4484/17/14/031 ↗
9. D.S. Deak, F. Silly, K. Porfyrakis, M.R. Castell, Template ordered open-grid arrays of paired endohedral fullerenes. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 128, 13976–13977 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1021/ja063436910.1021/ja0634369 ↗
10. D.S. Deak, F. Silly, K. Porfyrakis, M.R. Castell, Controlled surface ordering of endohedral fullerenes with a SrTiO3 template. Nanotechnology 18, 075301 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/18/7/07530110.1088/0957-4484/18/7/075301 ↗
11. D.S. Deak, F. Silly, D.T. Newell, M.R. Castell, Ordering of TiO2-based nanostructures on SrTiO3(001) surfaces. J. Phys. Chem. B. 110, 9246–9251 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1021/jp060954x10.1021/jp060954x ↗
12. F. Silly, M.R. Castell, Formation of single-domain anatase TiO2(001)-(1×4) islands on SrTiO3(001) after thermal annealing. Appl. Phys. Lett. 85, 3223–3225 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.180517710.1063/1.1805177 ↗
13. M.S.J. Marshall, M.R. Castell, Shape transitions of epitaxial islands during strained layer growth: anatase TiO2(001) on SrTiO3(001). Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 1–4 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.14610210.1103/PhysRevLett.102.146102 ↗
14. Y.W. Chung, W.B. Weissbard, Surface spectroscopy studies of the SrTiO3 (100) surface and the platinum-SrTiO3 (100) interface. Phys. Rev. B. 20, 3456–3461 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.20.345610.1103/PhysRevB.20.3456 ↗
15. A.H. Kahn, A.J. Leyendecker, Electronic energy bands in strontium titanate. Phys. Rev. 135, A1321–A1325 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.135.A132110.1103/PhysRev.135.A1321 ↗
16. O.N. Tufte, P.W. Chapman, Electron mobility in semiconducting strontium titanate. Phys. Rev. 155, 796–802 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.155.79610.1103/PhysRev.155.796 ↗
17. W.J. Lo, G.A. Somorjai, Temperature-dependent surface structure, composition, and electronic properties of the clean SrTiO3(111) crystal face: low-energy-electron diffraction, Auger-electron spectroscopy, electron energy loss, and ultraviolet-photoelectron spectroscopy studies. Phys. Rev. B. 17, 4942–4950 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.17.494210.1103/PhysRevB.17.4942 ↗
18. Y.A. Zulueta, J.A. Dawson, Y. Leyet, F. Guerrero, J. Anglada-Rivera, M.T. Nguyen, The potential existence of mixed defect incorporation modes for rare-earth doped cubic BaTiO3. Phys. Status Solidi 253, 733–737 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1002/pssb.20155232910.1002/pssb.201552329 ↗
19. A. Walsh, C.R.A. Catlow, A.G.H. Smith, A.A. Sokol, S.M. Woodley, Strontium migration assisted by oxygen vacancies in SrTiO3 from classical and quantum mechanical simulations. Phys. Rev. B Condens. Matter Mater. Phys. 83, 220301(R) (2011). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.83.22030110.1103/PhysRevB.83.220301 ↗
20. L. Jones, H. Yang, T.J. Pennycook, M.S.J. Marshall, S. Van Aert, N.D. Browning, M.R. Castell, P.D. Nellist, Smart Align—a new tool for robust non-rigid registration of scanning microscope data. Adv. Struct. Chem. Imaging 1, 1–16 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40679-015-0008-410.1186/s40679-015-0008-4 ↗
21. L. Jones, S. Wang, X. Hu, S. ur Rahman, M.R. Castell, Maximising the resolving power of the scanning tunneling microscope. Adv. Struct. Chem. Imaging 4, 1–8 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40679-018-0056-710.1186/s40679-018-0056-7 ↗
22. M.R. Castell, Scanning tunneling microscopy of reconstructions on the SrTiO3(001) surface. Surf. Sci. 505, 1–13 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0039-6028(02)01393-610.1016/S0039-6028(02)01393-6 ↗
23. S. Woo, H. Jeong, S.A. Lee, H. Seo, M. Lacotte, A. David, H.Y. Kim, W. Prellier, Y. Kim, W.S. Choi, Surface properties of atomically flat poly-crystalline SrTiO3. Sci. Rep. 5, 8822 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep0882210.1038/srep08822 ↗
24. J.C. Bourgoin, J.W. Corbett, A new mechanism for interstistitial migration. Phys. Lett. 38, 135–137 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1016/0375-9601(72)90523-310.1016/0375-9601(72)90523-3 ↗
25. A.K. Petford, L.D. Marks, M. O’Keeffe, Atomic imaging of oxygen desorption from tungsten trioxide. Surf. Sci. 172, 496–508 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1016/0039-6028(86)90770-310.1016/0039-6028(86)90770-3 ↗
26. D. Menzel, R. Gomer, Desorption from surfaces by slow-electron impact. J. Chem. Phys. 40, 1164–1165 (1964)10.1063/1.1725269 ↗
27. M. Knotek, P.J. Feibelman, Ion desorption by core-hole auger decay. Phys. Rev. Lett. 40, 964–967 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.40.96410.1103/PhysRevLett.40.964 ↗
28. M.L. Knotek, Surface chemical information from electron- and photon-stimulated desorption. Phys. Scr. 1983, 94–103 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1088/0031-8949/1983/T6/01510.1088/0031-8949/1983/T6/015 ↗
29. M.L. Knotek, Stimulated desorption. Rep. Progr. Phys. (1984). https://doi.org/10.1088/0034-4885/47/11/00210.1088/0034-4885/47/11/002 ↗
30. M.R. Castell, Nanostructures on the SrTiO3(001) surface studied by STM. Surf. Sci. 516, 33–42 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0039-6028(02)02053-810.1016/S0039-6028(02)02053-8 ↗
31. Y. Lin, A.E. Becerra-Toledo, F. Silly, K.R. Poeppelmeier, M.R. Castell, L.D. Marks, The (2 × 2) reconstructions on the SrTiO3 (001) surface: a combined scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory study. Surf. Sci. 605, L51–L55 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susc.2011.06.00110.1016/j.susc.2011.06.001 ↗
32. T. Ohsawa, M. Saito, I. Hamada, R. Shimizu, K. Iwaya, S. Shiraki, Z. Wang, Y. Ikuhara, T. Hitosugi, A single-atom-thick TiO2 nanomesh on an insulating oxide. ACS Nano 9, 8766–8772 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5b0286710.1021/acsnano.5b02867 ↗
33. M.S.J. Marshall, A.E. Becerra-Toledo, D.J. Payne, R.G. Egdell, L.D. Marks, M.R. Castell, Structure and composition of linear TiOx nanostructures on SrTiO3(001). Phys. Rev. B Condens. Matter Mater. Phys. 86, 125416 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.86.12541610.1103/PhysRevB.86.125416 ↗
34. P.W. Tasker, The stability of ionic crystal surfaces. J. Phys. C Solid State Phys. 12, 4977–4984 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3719/12/22/03610.1088/0022-3719/12/22/036 ↗
35. N.B. Brookes, D.S.L. Law, T.S. Padmore, D.R. Warburton, G. Thornton, The electronic structure of SrTiO3 from a direct-transition analysis of angle-resolved photoemission data. Solid State Commun. 57, 473–477 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-1098(86)90611-310.1016/0038-1098(86)90611-3 ↗
36. S. Bernal, F.J. Botana, J.J. Calvino, C. López, J.A. Pérez-Omil, J.M. Rodríguez-Izquierdo, High-resolution electron microscopy investigation of metal-support interactions in Rh/TiO2. J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. 92, 2799–2809 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1039/FT996920279910.1039/FT9969202799 ↗
37. S. Takatani, Y.W. Chung, Effect of high temperature reduction on the surface composition of and CO chemisorption on Ni/TiO2. Appl. Surf. Sci. 19, 341–347 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-5963(84)90071-010.1016/0378-5963(84)90071-0 ↗
38. L.C. Walters, R.E. Grace, Formation of point defects in strontium titanate. J. Phys. Chem. Solids. 28, 239–244 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3697(67)90114-X10.1016/0022-3697(67)90114-X ↗
39. N.F. Mott, M.J. Littleton, Conduction in polar crystals. I. Electrolytic conduction in solid salts. J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. II. 34, 565–579 (1938)
40. J.D. Gale, A.L. Rohl, The general utility lattice program (GULP). Mol. Simul. 29, 291–341 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1080/089270203100010488710.1080/0892702031000104887 ↗
41. H. Yamada, G.R. Miller, Point defects in reduced strontium titanate. J. Solid State Chem. 6, 169–177 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-4596(73)90216-810.1016/0022-4596(73)90216-8 ↗
42. J. Mannhart, D.G. Schlom, Oxide interfaces—an opportunity for electronics. Science 327, 1607–1611 (2010)10.1126/science.1181862 ↗
43. A.F. Santander-Syro, O. Copie, T. Kondo, F. Fortuna, S. Pailhès, R. Weht, X.G. Qiu, F. Bertran, A. Nicolaou, A. Taleb-Ibrahimi, P. Le Fèvre, G. Herranz, M. Bibes, N. Reyren, Y. Apertet, P. Lecoeur, A. Barthélémy, M.J. Rozenberg, Two-dimensional electron gas with universal subbands at the surface of SrTiO3. Nature 469, 189–193 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature0972010.1038/nature09720 ↗
44. S.A. Long, R.N. Blumenthal, Ti-Rich nonstoichiometric BaTiO3: I, high-temperature electrical conductivity measurements. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 54, 515–519 (1971)10.1111/j.1151-2916.1971.tb12191.x ↗
45. N.G. Eror, D.M. Smyth, Nonstoichiometric disorder in single-crystalline BaTiO3 at elevated temperatures. J. Solid State Chem. 24, 235–244 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-4596(78)90015-410.1016/0022-4596(78)90015-4 ↗
46. H.P.R. Frederikse, W.R. Thurber, W.R. Hosler, Electronic transport in strontium titanate. Phys. Rev. 134, A442–A445 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1136/sti.30.1.3110.1136/sti.30.1.31 ↗
47. A.E. Paladino, L.G. Rubin, J.S. Waugh, Oxygen ion diffusion in single crystal SrTiO3. J. Phys. Chem. Solids. 26, 391–397 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3697(65)90168-X10.1016/0022-3697(65)90168-X ↗
48. W.D. Kingery, J. Pappis, M.E. Doty, D.C. Hill, Oxygen ion mobility in cubic Zr0.85Ca0.15O1.85. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 42, 393–398 (1959)10.1111/j.1151-2916.1959.tb13599.x ↗
49. A. Yamaji, Oxygen-ion diffusion in single-crystal and polycrystalline SrTiO3. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 58, 152–153 (1975)10.1111/j.1151-2916.1975.tb19589.x ↗
50. L.C. Walters, R.E. Grace, Formation of point defects in strontium titanate. J. Phys. Chem. Solids. 28, 245–248 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3697(67)90115-110.1016/0022-3697(67)90115-1 ↗
51. A.E. Paladino, Oxidation kinetics of single-crystal SrTiO3. Am. Ceram. Soc. 1965, 1964–1966 (1965)
52. D. Hsieh, Y. Xia, D. Qian, L. Wray, J.H. Dil, F. Meier, J. Osterwalder, L. Patthey, J.G. Checkelsky, N.P. Ong, A.V. Fedorov, H. Lin, A. Bansil, D. Grauer, Y.S. Hor, R.J. Cava, M.Z. Hasan, A tunable topological insulator in the spin helical Dirac transport regime. Nature 460, 1101–1105 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature0823410.1038/nature08234 ↗
53. U. Diebold, The surface science of titanium dioxide. Surf. Sci. Rep. 48, 53–229 (2003)10.1016/S0167-5729(02)00100-0 ↗