Anti-phase boundaries at the SrTiO3/Si(001) interface studied using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy

In this work, the atomic structure of anti-phase boundary defects at the SrTiO3/Si (001) interface is investigated by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. Atomic-resolution images reveal an abrupt SrTiO3/Si interface with no intermediate oxide layer. Both single and double Si atomic columns (dumbbells) from different terraces of the Si(001) surface are visible at the interface. Anti-phase boundaries (APB) consisting of two adjacent TiO2 planes in the SrTiO3 (STO) film resulting either from Si surface steps or from the merging of crystalline domains from different surface nucleation sites are identified. These APBs occur on either {110} or {010} planes and both types have displacement vectors of a(STO)/< 110 >. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.