TY - JOUR
T1 - Full determination of individual reconstructed atomic columns in intermixed heterojunctions
AU - Wang, Zhongchang
AU - Saito, Mitsuhiro
AU - Chen, Chunlin
AU - Matsubara, Yuya
AU - Ueno, Kazunori
AU - Kawasaki, Masashi
AU - Ikuhara, Yuichi
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 American Chemical Society.
Copyright:
Copyright 2014 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2014/11/12
Y1 - 2014/11/12
N2 - Heterojunctions offer a tremendous opportunity for fundamental as well as applied research, ranging from the unique electronic phases in between oxides to the contact issues in semiconductor devices. Despite their pivotal roles, determining individual building atom of matter in heterojunctions is still challenging, especially for those between highly dissimilar structures, in which breaking of symmetry, chemistry, and bonds may give rise to complex reconstruction and intermixing at the junction. Here, we combine electron microscopy, spectroscopy, and first-principles calculations to determine individual reconstructed atomic columns and their charge states in a complex, multicomponent heterojunction between the delafossite CuScO2 and spinel MgAl2O4. The high resolution enables us to demonstrate that the reconstructed region can accommodate a highly selective intermixing of Cu cations at specific Sc cation sites with half atomic density, forming a complex ordered superstructure. Such ability to resolve reconstructed heterojunctions to the atomic dimensions helps elucidate atomistic mechanisms and discover novel properties with applications in a diverse range of scientific disciplines.
AB - Heterojunctions offer a tremendous opportunity for fundamental as well as applied research, ranging from the unique electronic phases in between oxides to the contact issues in semiconductor devices. Despite their pivotal roles, determining individual building atom of matter in heterojunctions is still challenging, especially for those between highly dissimilar structures, in which breaking of symmetry, chemistry, and bonds may give rise to complex reconstruction and intermixing at the junction. Here, we combine electron microscopy, spectroscopy, and first-principles calculations to determine individual reconstructed atomic columns and their charge states in a complex, multicomponent heterojunction between the delafossite CuScO2 and spinel MgAl2O4. The high resolution enables us to demonstrate that the reconstructed region can accommodate a highly selective intermixing of Cu cations at specific Sc cation sites with half atomic density, forming a complex ordered superstructure. Such ability to resolve reconstructed heterojunctions to the atomic dimensions helps elucidate atomistic mechanisms and discover novel properties with applications in a diverse range of scientific disciplines.
KW - CuScO/MgAlO interface
KW - atomic reconstruction
KW - density functional theory
KW - ordered superstructure
KW - transmission electron microscopy
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U2 - 10.1021/nl503212j
DO - 10.1021/nl503212j
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84909988828
VL - 14
SP - 6584
EP - 6589
JO - Nano Letters
JF - Nano Letters
SN - 1530-6984
IS - 11
ER -