Nanoscale current transport in epitaxial SrTiO3 on n+-Si investigated with conductive atomic force microscopy

Abstract

Were obtained simultaneously in contact mode with a bias voltage applied to the sample. Topographic images show a flat surface with a roughness of about 0.5 nm. Current images show small areas with local current flow on the order of pA for voltages larger than ;2 V in forward bias and larger than ;4 V in reverse bias. Histograms of the magnitude of the electrical current show a relatively narrow log-normal distribution, suggesting a common current mechanism with a Gaussian distribution in a parameter on which the current depends exponentially. Analysis of current images and histograms over a range of bias voltages suggests thermionic emission as the dominant current mechanism, rather than conduction associated with localized defects such as pin-holes, threading dislocations or grain boundaries. The analysis yields a barrier height of ;0.5-0.6 eV with and a relative dielectric constant of 5-15, which is in reasonable agreement with previous reports using a dead layer model. © 2004 American Vacuum Society. @DOI: 10.1116/1.1768529#