Abstract
Polarization-mediated transport properties of ultrathin (4 and 10 unit cells) fully strained polar BaTiO3 films are studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. High quality BaTiO3 films are grown on SrRuO3 / SrTiO3 by pulsed laser deposition and characterized in situ in ultrahigh vacuum. Previous structural measurements have shown that these films are polarized. Current-voltage curves exhibit features at ∼±2.5 V, which show hysteresis consistent with bias-induced polarization switching. The intensity and voltage of the features indicate a stochastic process. These features are not observed on nonpolarized SrTiO 3 films grown and characterized similarly.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 032903 |
Journal | Applied Physics Letters |
Volume | 95 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2009 |
Funding
Research was sponsored by Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Division of Materials Science and Engineering (J.S.) and Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (A.P.B. and S.V.K.), sponsored by the Scientific User Facilities Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy.