Determination of Grain-Boundary Structure and Electrostatic Characteristics in a SrTiO<sub>3</sub> Bicrystal by Four-Dimensional Electron Microscopy.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34672612.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c02960 and PMC identifier 8587898.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The grain boundary (GB) plays a critical role in a material's properties and device performance. Therefore, the characterization of a GB's atomic structure and electrostatic characteristics is a matter of great importance for materials science. Here, we report on the atomic structure and electrostatic analysis of a GB in a SrTiO<sub>3</sub> bicrystal by four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM). We demonstrate that the Σ5 GB is Ti-rich and poor in Sr. We investigate possible effects on the variation in the atomic electrostatic field, including oxygen vacancies, Ti-valence change, and accumulation of cations. A negative charge resulting from a space-charge zone in SrTiO<sub>3</sub> compensates a positive charge accumulated at the GB, which is in agreement with the double-Schottky-barrier model. It demonstrates the feasibility of characterizing the electrostatic properties at the nanometer scale by 4D-STEM, which provides comprehensive insights to understanding the GB structure and its concomitant effects on the electrostatic properties.