Patterning Oxide Nanopillars at the Atomic Scale by Phase Transformation
Patterning Oxide Nanopillars at the Atomic Scale by Phase Transformation
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DOI：
10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b01847
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发表时间：
2015-10-01
期刊：
影响因子：
10.8
通讯作者：
Bednorz, Johannes Georg
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Chen, Chunlin;Wang, Zhongchang;Bednorz, Johannes Georg
晶体材料中的相变在自然界中是常见的，并且经常显著地改变材料的性质。以高空间精度精确控制它们的能力代表了在有限尺寸中实现新功能的重要一步。然而，由于以高空间精度控制热力学条件的复杂性，这种控制特别是在原子尺度上极具挑战性。在这里，我们应用扫描透射电子显微镜的聚焦电子束照射SrNbO3.4晶体，并展示了在原子尺度上从层状SrNbO3.4到钙钛矿SrNbO3的相变的精确控制。通过有目的地将O原子从顶点共享的NbO6八面体板中挤出，它们的相邻板压缩在一起，导致SrNbO3.4基质中SrNbO3纳米柱的图案化。这种相变可以在空间上以原子精度进行操纵，为材料设计和加工以及先进的纳米器件制造开辟了一条新的途径。
Phase transformations in crystalline materials are common in nature and often modify dramatically properties of materials. The ability to precisely control them with a high spatial precision represents a significant step forward in realizing new functionalities in confined dimensions. However, such control is extremely challenging particularly at the atomic scale due to the intricacies in governing thermodynamic conditions with a high spatial accuracy. Here, we apply focused electron beam of a scanning transmission electron microscope to irradiate SrNbO3.4 crystals and demonstrate a precise control of a phase transformation from layered SrNbO3.4 to perovskite SrNbO3 at the atomic scale. By purposely squeezing O atoms out of the vertex-sharing NbO6 octahedral slabs, their neighboring slabs zip together, resulting in a patterning of SrNbO3 nanopillars in SrNbO3.4 matrix. Such phase transformations can be spatially manipulated with an atomic precision, opening up a novel avenue for materials design and processing and also for advanced nanodevice fabrication.