Dresden 2011 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

HL: Fachverband Halbleiterphysik

HL 44: Poster Session I

HL 44.80: Poster

Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 18:00–21:00, P3

Cubic-tetragonal phase transition at elevated temperatures and resistivity hysteresis of surface vacuum annealed SrTiO₃ — •Tina Nestler¹, Kay Potzger², Hartmut Stöcker¹, Barbara Abendroth¹, Ralf Strohmeyer¹, Robert Zierer¹, and Dirk C. Meyer¹ — ¹TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Institut für Experimentelle Physik, 09596 Freiberg, Germany — ²Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V., Institut für Ionenstrahlphysik und Materialforschung, Bautzner Landstraße 128, 01328 Dresden, Germany

Electrical properties of SrTiO₃ single crystal samples treated by an anisotropic surface annealing technique under reducing conditions have been investigated in the temperature range of 35 K–300 K. Optical and atomic force microscopy shows that annealing gives rise to the formation of colored dendritic structures and polycrystallization. Hall and resistivity measurements show metallic behavior due to oxygen vacancy doping. Additionally, the temperature dependent resistivities indicate the cubic-tetragonal phase transition, which has not been reported to our knowledge before. Furthermore, the transition occurred up to 53 K above the known bulk transition temperature T_C at 105 K with a hysteresis up to a temperature of 220 K. Both phenomena possibly arise from dislocations and associated strains introduced by surface annealing that are assumed to lower the free energy of the tetragonal phase and simultaneously pin tetragonal domains. Thus, microregions of the tetragonal phase persist above T_C causing the hysteresis in resistivity up to ∼3 %. This possibly provides new chances for future oxide based non-volatile data storage devices.