International audienceThe electronic band structure and the work function of MgO thin films epitaxially grown on Ag(001) have been investigated using x-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy for various oxide thicknesses. The deposition of thin MgO films on Ag(001) induces a strong diminution in the metal work function. The p-type Schottky barrier height is constant at 3.85+/-0.10 eV above two MgO monolayers and the experimental value of the ionization potential is 7.15+/-0.15 eV. Our results are well consistent with the description of the Schottky barrier height in terms of the Schottky-Mott model corrected by an MgO-induced polarization effect

Heteroepitaxial SrO films grown on Si(001) are characterized by reflection high energy electron diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Special emphasis is put on the interface chemical, structural, and thermal stability because SrO films can be used as template layers for growing crystalline high-k oxides on Si(001). Ultrathin SrO layers of good crystalline quality with sharp interface with Si(001) can be grown at low temperature (50°C) and low partial oxygen pressure (<10−7Torr). In this case, plastic strain relaxation occurs rapidly at about one-monolayer SrO coverage. At higher temperature (500°C), both strontium and oxygen react with silicon to form a crystalline silicate with a composition close to Sr2SiO4. This silicate is thermodynamically unstable and, when annealed, transforms into a different silicate close to SrSiO3.

This work reports on the structural properties of an epitaxial SrTiO3 (STO) layer grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a Si(001) substrate with a two step process. The study, which includes a complete characterization of large scale plane-view images of the STO layer, is based on a careful analysis of x-ray spectra and transmission electron microscopy images. The STO layer presents a good crystalline quality and a slight texturation related to the presence of extended defects. A thin Ti-rich amorphous silicate layer (thickness ≈1.3nm) is formed at the interface between the STO and the Si substrate, evidencing the thermodynamic instability of the STO/Si interface. The difference between the thermal expansion coefficients of Si and STO is shown to be at the origin of an increased in-plane lattice parameter (3.927Å) of the STO layer as compared to its bulk value (3.905Å). This effect of differential thermal expansion is expected to be responsible for the formation of at least part of the extended defects of the STO layer.

International audienceThe molecular beam epitaxy of SrTiO3 (STO) layers on Si (001) is studied, focusing on the early stages of the growth and on the strain relaxation process. Evidence is given that even for optimized growth conditions, STO grows initially amorphous on silicon and recrystallizes, leading to the formation of an atomically abrupt heterointerface with silicon. Just after recrystallization, STO is partially strained. Further increase in its thickness leads to the onset of a progressive plastic relaxation mechanism. STO recovers its bulk lattice parameter for thicknesses of the order of 30 ML

By combining x-ray excited Auger electron diffraction experiments and multiple scattering calculations we reveal a layer-resolved shift for the Mg KL23L23 Auger transition in MgO ultrathin films (4-6 Å) on Ag(001). This resolution is exploited to demonstrate the possibility of controlling Mg atom incorporation at the MgO/Ag(001) interface by exposing the MgO films to a Mg flux. A substantial reduction of the MgO/Ag(001) work function is observed during the exposition phase and reflects both band-offset variations at the interface and band bending effects in the oxide film.

International audienceWe present an experimental investigation of the interface electronic structure of thin MgO films epitaxially grown on Ag(001) by x-ray and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy as a function of the oxide growth conditions. It is shown that the Schottky barrier height at MgO/metal interface can be tuned over 0.7 eV by a modification of the oxygen partial pressure or the sample temperature. These experimental results are explained in the framework of the extended Schottky-Mott model and the MgO-induced polarization effect by Mg enrichment of the silver surface region

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ResiScope mapping showing the strong reduction of resistance induced by a graphene sheet inserted between silicon and gold.