The Effect of the Oxygen Exchange at Electrodes on the High-Voltage Electrocoloration of Fe-Doped SrTiO3 Single Crystals: A Combined SIMS and Microelectrode Impedance Study

The effect of the electrode material on the high voltage stoichiometry-polarization (“electrocoloration”) of Fe-doped SrTiO3 single crystals has been studied. For different electrode materials (150-nm Ag/15-nm Cr and 150-nm Au/15-nm Cr) secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) was used to measure the depth profile of the 18O-isotope after high-field stress. The results were compared with spatially resolved impedance measurements on electrocolored Fe-doped SrTiO3 single crystals. For Au/Cr as well as Ag/Cr electrodes a large dc voltage leads to moving color fronts which are usually correlated with a pronounced stoichiometry polarization of the samples due to electrodes blocking the ionic current. However, the local impedance measurements demonstrate that the conductivity profiles near the cathode depend on the electrode material. This finding is in accordance with the SIMS measurements which indicate that the Ag/Cr-electrodes are, in contrast to Au/Cr-electrodes not completely inactive for the oxygen incorporation into the Fe-doped SrTiO3. The results are discussed in terms of defect chemical models.