Carlier Thomas, Ferri Anthony, Saitzek Sébastien, Huvé Marielle, Bayart Alexandre, Da Costa Antonio, Desfeux Rachel, Tebano Antonello
Univ. Artois, CNRS, Centrale Lille, ENSCL, Univ. Lille, UMR 8181, Unité de Catalyse et Chimie du Solide (UCCS), Faculté des Sciences Jean Perrin Rue Jean Souvraz SP18 F-62300 Lens France
CNR-SPIN, Department of Civil Engineering and Computer Science Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via del Politecnico 00133 Rome Italy.
RSC Adv. 2018 Mar 21;8(21):11262-11271. doi: 10.1039/c8ra00824h.
Artificial [(NdTiO)/(SrTiO) ] superlattices ( = 4 and 8) were successfully epitaxially grown on SrTiO substrates by pulsed laser deposition using the high energy electron diffraction reflection diagnostic. The crystallographic relationships between NdTiO (NTO) and SrTiO (STO) (layers and substrate) were: [100]//[001], [010]//[1̄10], and (00)//(110). Nanoscale current variation was detected on both superlattices, with the (NTO/STO) heterostructure showing a higher density. The (NTO/STO) sample did not show a piezoelectric response when measured by piezo-force microscopy (PFM), while ambiguous piezoactivity was observed on the (NTO/STO) superlattice. Scanning transmission electron microscopy energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis showed the diffusion of Nd cations on Sr sites in SrTiO structure into the multilayers, which was more pronounced when the value of was lower. These particular nanoscale electrical behaviors, evidenced by electrical conducting channels and misleading PFM signals, were mainly attributed to the presence of oxygen vacancies in the SrTiO layers at higher concentrations near the interface and to the mixed valence state of the titanium (Ti/Ti). This work showed the strong influence of interface structure on nanoscale electrical phenomena in complex oxide superlattices.
采用高能电子衍射反射诊断技术,通过脉冲激光沉积法在SrTiO衬底上成功地外延生长了人工[(NdTiO)/(SrTiO) ]超晶格( = 4和8)。NdTiO(NTO)和SrTiO(STO)(层与衬底)之间的晶体学关系为:[100]//[001],[010]//[1̄10],以及(00)//(110)。在两种超晶格上均检测到纳米级电流变化,其中(NTO/STO)异质结构显示出更高的密度。通过压电力显微镜(PFM)测量时,(NTO/STO)样品未显示出压电响应,而在(NTO/STO)超晶格上观察到了不明确的压电活性。扫描透射电子显微镜能量色散光谱分析表明,SrTiO结构中Sr位点上的Nd阳离子扩散到多层结构中,当 值较低时这种扩散更为明显。这些由导电通道和误导性PFM信号所证明的特定纳米级电学行为,主要归因于界面附近SrTiO层中较高浓度的氧空位以及钛(Ti/Ti)的混合价态。这项工作表明了界面结构对复杂氧化物超晶格中纳米级电学现象的强烈影响。