Spatial distribution of oxygen vacancies in Cr-doped SrTiO3 during an electric-field-driven insulator-to-metal transition

Spatially resolved x-ray fluorescence maps are presented that show the introduction and the evolution of oxygen vacancies in chromium-doped strontium titanate during an electric-field-driven insulator-to-metal transition. The vacancies are introduced at the anode and diffuse through the crystal toward the cathode. The spatial distribution of vacancies is explained by a model describing the electrical breakdown as a percolation process. Strong differences in the vacancy distribution were found when the transition took place in air and in a hydrogen-enriched atmosphere. In air, the vacancies disappeared from the surface, whereas in the reducing hydrogen atmosphere, they remained at the surface.