Probing hot electron transport across an epitaxial Schottky interface of SrRuO3/Nb:SrTiO3

TL;DR

This study investigates nanoscale electron transport across a SrRuO3/Nb:SrTiO3 interface, revealing local variations caused by growth conditions affecting interface energy bands and dipole distributions, with implications for oxide device engineering.

Contribution

It provides new insights into local transport variations at epitaxial oxide interfaces, highlighting the impact of growth-induced surface termination differences.

Findings

Local differences in transport due to surface termination effects

Variation in interface energy band characteristics

Spatial distribution of interface dipoles influences transport

Abstract

SrRuO3 (SRO), a conducting transition metal oxide, is commonly used for engineering domains in BiFeO3. New oxide devices can be envisioned by integrating SRO with an oxide semiconductor as Nb doped SrTiO3 (Nb:STO). Using a three-terminal device configuration, we study vertical transport in a SRO/Nb:STO device at the nanoscale and find local differences in transport, that originate due to the high selectivity of SRO growth on the underlying surface terminations in Nb:STO. This causes a change in the interface energy band characteristics and is explained by the differences in the spatial distribution of the interface-dipoles at the local Schottky interface.