The two-dimensional electron liquid which forms between the band insulators LaAlO3 (LAO) and SrTiO3 (STO) is a promising component for oxide electronics, but the requirement of using single crystal... Show moreThe two-dimensional electron liquid which forms between the band insulators LaAlO3 (LAO) and SrTiO3 (STO) is a promising component for oxide electronics, but the requirement of using single crystal SrTiO3 substrates for the growth limits its applications in terms of device fabrication. It is therefore important to find ways to deposit these materials on other substrates, preferably Si, or Si-based, in order to facilitate integration with existing technology. Interesting candidates are micron-sized nanosheets of Ca2Nb3O10 which can be used as seed layers for perovskite materials on any substrate. We have used low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) with in-situ pulsed laser deposition to study the subsequent growth of STO and LAO on such flakes which were deposited on Si. We can follow the morphology and crystallinity of the layers during growth, as well as fingerprint their electronic properties with angle resolved reflected electron spectroscopy. We find that STO layers, deposited on the nanosheets, can be made crystalline and flat; that LAO can be grown in a layer-by-layer fashion; and that the full heterostructure shows the signature of the formation of a conducting interface. Show less
Torren, A.J.H. van der; Yuan, H.; Liao, Z.; Elshof, J.E. ten; Koster, G.; Huijben, M.; ... ; Aarts, J. 2019
The two-dimensional electron liquid which forms between the band insulators LaAlO3 (LAO) and SrTiO3 (STO) is a promising component for oxide electronics, but the requirement of using single crystal... Show moreThe two-dimensional electron liquid which forms between the band insulators LaAlO3 (LAO) and SrTiO3 (STO) is a promising component for oxide electronics, but the requirement of using single crystal SrTiO3 substrates for the growth limits its applications in terms of device fabrication. It is therefore important to find ways to deposit these materials on other substrates, preferably Si, or Si-based, in order to facilitate integration with existing technology. Interesting candidates are micron-sized nanosheets of Ca2Nb3O10 which can be used as seed layers for perovskite materials on any substrate. We have used low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) with in-situ pulsed laser deposition to study the subsequent growth of STO and LAO on such flakes which were deposited on Si. We can follow the morphology and crystallinity of the layers during growth, as well as fingerprint their electronic properties with angle resolved reflected electron spectroscopy. We find that STO layers, deposited on the nanosheets, can be made crystalline and flat; that LAO can be grown in a layer-by-layer fashion; and that the full heterostructure shows the signature of the formation of a conducting interface. Show less
Torren, A.J.H. van der; Liao, Z.; Xu, C.; Gauquelin, N.; Yin, C.; Aarts, J.; Molen, S.J. van der 2017
The two-dimensional electron gas occurring between the band insulators SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 continues to attract considerable interest, due to the possibility of dynamic control over the carrier... Show moreThe two-dimensional electron gas occurring between the band insulators SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 continues to attract considerable interest, due to the possibility of dynamic control over the carrier density and due to ensuing phenomena such as magnetism and superconductivity. The formation of this conducting interface is sensitive to the growth conditions, but despite numerous investigations there are still questions about the details of the physics involved. In particular, not much is known about the electronic structure of the growing LaAlO3 layer at the growth temperature (around 800∘C ) in oxygen (pressure around 5×10−5 mbar), since analysis techniques at these conditions are not readily available. We developed a pulsed laser deposition system inside a low-energy electron microscope in order to study this issue. The setup allows for layer-by-layer growth control and in situ measurements of the angle-dependent electron reflection intensity, which can be used as a fingerprint of the electronic structure of the surface layers during growth. By using different substrate terminations and growth conditions we observe two families of reflectivity maps, which we can connect either to samples with an AlO2 -rich surface and a conducting interface or to samples with a LaO-rich surface and an insulating interface. Our observations emphasize that substrate termination and stoichiometry determine the electronic structure of the growing layer, and thereby the conductance of the interface. Show less
