TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of capping layers on the near-surface region of SrVO3films
AU - Caspi, Shaked
AU - Shoham, Lishai
AU - Baskin, Maria
AU - Weinfeld, Kamira
AU - Piamonteze, Cinthia
AU - Stoerzinger, Kelsey A.
AU - Kornblum, Lior
N1 - Funding Information: We dedicate this work to Scott Chambers, whose decades of leadership in the development of this field have made this work possible. Happy birthday! The authors are grateful to Maria Koifman Khristosov for her continuous support with XRD characterization and to Jesús Lacasa for support with AFM measurements. This work was made possible with the support of the Israeli Science Foundation (ISF Grant No. 375/17), with partial support from the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute (RBNI). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Author(s).
PY - 2022/1/1
Y1 - 2022/1/1
N2 - Surfaces of correlated electron oxides are of significant interest from both fundamental and applied perspectives. Many such oxides feature a near-surface region (NSR) that differs from the bulk's properties. The NSR can significantly affect the interpretation of the material's electronic structure, especially for those in thin film form, and have detrimental effects for applications such as field effect devices and catalysts. In this work, we study the changes in the composition and the electronic structure of the NSR of SrVO3 (SVO) thin films. We employ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and compare TiOx-capped SVO films to identical uncapped films that were exposed to ambient conditions. The significant overoxidation of the SVO surface in the bare film, illustrated by a primary V5+ component, is prevented by the TiOx layer in the capped film. The capped film further exhibits a decrease in Sr surface phases. These results demonstrate the importance and potential of such capping layers in preserving the bulk properties of correlated oxides in their NSR, enabling more accurate probes for their underlying physics and offering a route for their integration into devices.
AB - Surfaces of correlated electron oxides are of significant interest from both fundamental and applied perspectives. Many such oxides feature a near-surface region (NSR) that differs from the bulk's properties. The NSR can significantly affect the interpretation of the material's electronic structure, especially for those in thin film form, and have detrimental effects for applications such as field effect devices and catalysts. In this work, we study the changes in the composition and the electronic structure of the NSR of SrVO3 (SVO) thin films. We employ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and compare TiOx-capped SVO films to identical uncapped films that were exposed to ambient conditions. The significant overoxidation of the SVO surface in the bare film, illustrated by a primary V5+ component, is prevented by the TiOx layer in the capped film. The capped film further exhibits a decrease in Sr surface phases. These results demonstrate the importance and potential of such capping layers in preserving the bulk properties of correlated oxides in their NSR, enabling more accurate probes for their underlying physics and offering a route for their integration into devices.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85120940387
U2 - 10.1116/6.0001419
DO - 10.1116/6.0001419
M3 - Article
SN - 0734-2101
VL - 40
JO - Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces and Films
JF - Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces and Films
IS - 1
M1 - 013208
ER -