Lanthanum aluminate (110) 3 × 1 surface reconstruction

Abstract

This paper describes a 3x1 surface reconstruction on the LAO (110) surface and its atomic structure analyzed from experimental electron diffraction data coupled with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis and reinforced by density functional theory calculations. We construct the multidimensional convex hull for the system with excess Al 2 O 3 and in the presence of water. All the evidence points towards the reconstruction being very similar to the 3x1 reconstruction on the SrTiO 3 (110) surface with two hydrogen atoms added for valence neutrality.

Giant conductivity switching of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterointerfaces governed by surface protonation

“…2a ), as it exhibited peaks from three discernable species: fully coordinated lattice oxygen (M–O–M), protonated oxygen (M–OH) and oxygen in adsorbed water (H 2 O). These assignments are supported by the literature 23 and a tilting experiment ( Supplementary Fig. 4 ).…”

Atomically resolved surface phases of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3(110) thin films

“…Notice that other multi-element oxides (mostly ternary) besides LSMO(110) were shown to display numerous and complex surface reconstructions depending on the cation and/or oxygen stoichiometry. 46,49,[51][52][53][54]92 This suggests that the rich structural variety shown by the LSMO(110) surface may be the rule rather than the exception among multi-element oxides.…”

“…94,95 The surface reconstructions of other polar multi-element oxides, also related to one another by differences of near-surface stoichiometry, have been interpreted this way. 48,49,51,94 Generally, for the reconstructions to bear the same charge per unit cell despite a change in cation composition, the oxygen stoichiometry and/or the oxidation state of the cations must change. For example, the polaritycompensating reconstructions of SrTiO 3 (110) are distinguished by (i) different Ti-to-O compositions, (ii) different coordination of the cations to the oxygen species, 91 and possibly (iii) slight differences in the oxidation state of Ti.…”

“…Because of the lack of experimental input on the surface structures, processes occurring at the surfaces of multi-element oxides like LSMO are most oen modeled based on bulk terminations. 3 However, this is a crude oversimplication of reality: the many available surface science studies on binary oxides and pioneering studies on ternary oxides [47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54] have demonstrated that their surfaces rarely show a bulk termination. Instead, they tend to exhibit a variety of reconstructions with remarkable structural and electronic variability as a function of oxygen content and cation stoichiometry.…”

Towards spin-polarized two-dimensional electron gas at a surface of an antiferromagnetic insulating oxide

“…While STM can give very good information about the details of surface reconstruction, altered properties of subsurface layers cannot be examined, even for conductive surfaces. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) performed in crosssection provides an alternative route to overcome these challenges and has been used to characterize surfaces of metals, alloys, binary oxides [21][22][23][24][25], and a few insulating TMOs, namely SrTiO 3 [21,22,26] and LaAlO 3 [23,27].…”