Electronic-Reconstruction-Enhanced Tunneling Conductance at Terrace Edges of Ultrathin Oxide Films.
Adv Mater
; 29(44)2017 Nov.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29024168
ABSTRACT
Quantum mechanical tunneling of electrons across ultrathin insulating oxide barriers has been studied extensively for decades due to its great potential in electronic-device applications. In the few-nanometers-thick epitaxial oxide films, atomic-scale structural imperfections, such as the ubiquitously existed one-unit-cell-high terrace edges, can dramatically affect the tunneling probability and device performance. However, the underlying physics has not been investigated adequately. Here, taking ultrathin BaTiO3 films as a model system, an intrinsic tunneling-conductance enhancement is reported near the terrace edges. Scanning-probe-microscopy results demonstrate the existence of highly conductive regions (tens of nanometers wide) near the terrace edges. First-principles calculations suggest that the terrace-edge geometry can trigger an electronic reconstruction, which reduces the effective tunneling barrier width locally. Furthermore, such tunneling-conductance enhancement can be discovered in other transition metal oxides and controlled by surface-termination engineering. The controllable electronic reconstruction can facilitate the implementation of oxide electronic devices and discovery of exotic low-dimensional quantum phases.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Adv Mater
Assunto da revista:
BIOFISICA
/
QUIMICA
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article