SrTiO3 termination control: a method to tailor the oxygen exchange kinetics

Abstract

We provide insights into the influence of surface termination on the oxygen vacancy incorporation for the perovskite model material SrTiO $_3 $ during annealing in reducing gas environments. We present a novel approach to tailor the oxygen vacancy formation by controlling the termination. We prove that a SrO-termination can inhibit the incorporation of oxygen vacancies across the (100)-surface and apply this to control their incorporation during thin film growth. Utilizing the conducting interface between LaAlO $_3 $ and SrTiO $_3 $, we could tailor the oxygen-vacancy based conductivity contribution by the level of SrO termination at the interface.

Keywords

• surface kinetics
• 2degs
• defect chemistry
• substrate termination
• oxide interfaces