Direct Determination of Grain Boundary Atomic Structure in SrTiO3

An atomic structure model for a 25� [001] symmetric tilt grain boundary in SrTiO3 has been determined directly from experimental data with the use of high-resolution Z-contrast imaging coupled with electron energy loss spectroscopy. The derived model of the grain boundary was refined by bond-valence sum calculations and reveals candidate sites for dopant atoms in the boundary plane. These results show how the combined techniques can be used to deduce the atomic structure of defects and interfaces without recourse to preconceived structural models or image simulations.

[1]  D. Muller,et al.  Mapping sp2 and sp3 states of carbon at sub-nanometre spatial resolution , 1993, Nature.

[2]  David E. Luzzi,et al.  High-resolution electron microscopy of the Σ = 5 [001] (310) grain boundary in NiAl , 1993 .

[3]  Vinayak P. Dravid,et al.  Atomic structure of undoped Σ = 5 symmetrical tilt grain boundary in strontium titanate , 1993 .

[4]  N. Browning,et al.  Atomic-resolution chemical analysis using a scanning transmission electron microscope , 1993, Nature.

[5]  D. Bonnell,et al.  Measurement of space charge adjacent to oxide grain boundaries by tunneling spectroscopy , 1992 .

[6]  F. Hofer,et al.  Electron energy-loss near-edge structures at the oxygen K edges of titanium(IV) oxygen compounds , 1992 .

[7]  Stephen J. Pennycook,et al.  High-resolution Z-contrast imaging of crystals , 1991 .

[8]  Y. Chiang,et al.  Grain‐Boundary Chemistry of Barium Titanate and Strontium Titanate: II, Origin of Electrical Barriers in Positive‐Temperature‐Coefficient Thermistors , 1990 .

[9]  D. Payne,et al.  Interfacial Segregation in Perovskites: I, Theory , 1990 .

[10]  Pennycook,et al.  High-resolution incoherent imaging of crystals. , 1990, Physical review letters.

[11]  G. Dunlop,et al.  The effect of Bi2O3 content on the microstructure and electrical properties of ZnO varistor materials , 1989 .

[12]  Smith,et al.  Atomic structure of symmetric tilt grain boundaries in NiO. , 1987, Physical review letters.

[13]  I. Brown,et al.  The automatic searching for chemical bonds in inorganic crystal structures , 1985 .

[14]  I. D. Brown,et al.  Bond‐valence parameters obtained from a systematic analysis of the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database , 1985 .

[15]  M. Fujimoto,et al.  Microstructures of SrTiO3 Internal Boundary Layer Capacitors During and After Processing and Resultant Electrical Properties , 1985 .

[16]  Richard D. Leapman,et al.  Oxygen K near-edge fine structure: An electron-energy-loss investigation with comparisons to new theory for selected 3 d Transition-metal oxides , 1982 .

[17]  A V Crewe,et al.  Visibility of Single Atoms , 1970, Science.

[18]  P. Batson,et al.  Simultaneous STEM imaging and electron energy-loss spectroscopy with atomic-column sensitivity , 1993, Nature.

[19]  H. Merle-Béral.  A further characterization of B-CLL lymphocytes: phenotypic and functional studies. , 1990, Nouvelle revue francaise d'hematologie.

[20]  P. Buseck,et al.  The determination of Ti, Mn and Fe oxidation states in minerals by electron energy-loss spectroscopy , 1985 .

[21]  M. Fukui,et al.  SrTiO3-based boundary layer capacitor having varistor characteristics , 1983 .