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Fulminic acid, HCNO, was first synthesized in the year 1800 and has since then been used numerous times to develop new chemical theories and concepts. Nowadays, research on HCNO is mainly motivated due to its detection in interstellar space in the year 2009. In this thesis, we investigated the interaction of fulminic acid with VUV- and soft X-ray radiation, i.e., radiation that is also present in the interstellar medium. In our study using VUV radiation, we were able to record the photoelectron spectrum of HCNO with high resolution and we were able to simulate the Renner-Teller distorted ground state of the cation using simulation of wavepacket dynamics. We also elucidated the mechanism of the dissociative photoionisation up to 15.3 eV binding energy. Using soft X-ray radiation enables us to ionise or excite the 1s electrons of HCNO. The created state can decay via an Auger-Meitner process, which produces an Auger electron. We measured the kinetic energy of these auger electron and were able to analyse the observed signals using quantum chemical calculations. We also investigated how the ion fragments after the Auger-Meitner process. We observed a site-selectivity, where the initial ionisation/excitation site influenced the product distribution. We were able to explain this observation with a simple thermodynamic argument. This thesis provides a comprehensive description of the interaction of HCNO with ionising radiation. The obtained data may be valuable for the description of the behaviour of HCNO in interstellar space.
A plethora of novel material concepts are currently being investigated in the condensed matter research community. Some of them hold promise to shape our everyday world in a way that silicon-based semiconductor materials and the related development of semiconductor devices have done in the past. In this regard, the last decades have witnessed an explosion of studies concerned with so called ‘’quantum materials’’ with emerging novel functionalities. These could eventually lead to new generations of electronic and/or spintronic devices. One particular material class, the so called topological materials, play a central role. As far as their technological applicability is concerned, however, they are still facing outstanding challenges to date.
Predicted for the first time in 2005 and experimentally verified in 2007, two-dimensional topological insulators (2D TIs) (a.k.a. quantum spin Hall insulators) exhibit the outstanding property of hosting spin-polarized metallic states along the boundaries of the insulating 2D bulk material, which are protected from elastic single-particle backscattering and give rise to the quantum spin Hall effect (QSHE). Owing to these peculiar properties the QSHE holds promise for dissipationless charge and/or spin transport. However, also in today’s best 2D TIs the observation of the QSHE is still limited to cryogenic temperatures of maximum 100 K. Here, the discovery of bismuthene on SiC(0001) has marked a milestone towards a possible realization of the QSHE at or beyond room-temperature owing to the massively increased electronic bulk energy gap on the order of 1 eV. This thesis is devoted to and motivated by the goal of advancing its synthesis and to build a deeper understanding of its one-particle and two-particle electronic properties that goes beyond prior work.
Regarding the aspect of material synthesis, an improved growth procedure for bismuthene is elaborated that increases the domain size of the material considerably (by a factor of ≈ 3.2 - 6.5 compared to prior work). The improved film quality is an important step towards any future device application of bismuthene, but also facilitates all further basic studies of this material.
Moreover, the deposition of magnetic transition metals (Mn and Co) on bismuthene is investigated. Thereby, the formation of ordered magnetic Bi-Mn/Co alloys is realized, their structure is resolved with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and their pristine electronic properties are resolved with scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) and photoemission spectroscopy (PES). It is proposed that these ordered magnetic Bi-Mn/Co-alloys offer the potential to study the interplay between magnetism and topology in bismuthene in the future.
In this thesis, a wide variety of spectroscopic techniques are employed that aim to build an understanding of the single-particle, as well as two-particle level of description of bismuthene's electronic structure. The techniques involve STS and angle-resolved PES (ARPES) on the one hand, but also optical spectroscopy and time-resolved ARPES (trARPES), on the other hand. Moreover, these experiments are accompanied by advanced numerical modelling in form of GW and Bethe-Salpeter equation calculations provided by our theoretical colleagues. Notably, by merging many experimental and theoretical techniques, this work sets a benchmark for electronic structure investigations of 2D materials in general.
Based on the STS studies, electronic quasi-particle interferences in quasi-1D line defects in bismuthene that are reminiscent of Fabry-Pérot states are discovered. It is shown that they point to a hybridization of two pairs of helical boundary modes across the line defect, which is accompanied by a (partial) lifting of their topological protection against elastic single-particle backscattering.
Optical spectroscopy is used to reveal bismuthene's two-particle elecronic structure. Despite its monolayer thickness, a strong optical (two-particle) response due to enhanced electron-hole Coulomb interactions is observed. The presented combined experimental and theoretical approach (including GW and Bethe-Salpeter equation calculations) allows to conclude that two prominent optical transitions can be associated with excitonic transitions derived from the Rashba-split valence bands of bismuthene. On a broader scope this discovery might promote further experiments to elucidate links of excitonic and topological physics.
Finally, the excited conduction band states of bismuthene are mapped in energy and momentum space employing trARPES on bismuthene for the first time. The direct and indirect band gaps are succesfully extracted and the effect of excited charge carrier induced gap-renormalization is observed. In addition, an exceptionally fast excited charge carrier relaxation is identified which is explained by the presence of a quasi-metallic density of states from coupled topological boundary states of domain boundaries.
Photoelectron spectroscopy proves as a versatile tool for investigating various aspects of the electronic structure in strongly correlated electron systems. Influencing the manifestation of strong correlation in Ce-based surface alloys is the main task of this work. It is shown, that the manifestation of the Kondo ground state is influenced by a multitude of parameters such as the choice of the metal binding partner in binary Ce compounds, the surface alloy layer thickness and accompanying variations in the lattice structure as well as the interfaces to substrate or vacuum. Gaining access to these parameters allows to directly influence essential state variables, such as the f level occupancy nf or the Kondo temperature TK.
The center of this work are the intermetallic thin films of CePt5/Pt(111) and CeAgx/Ag(111). By utilizing different excitation energies, photoemission spectroscopy provides access to characteristic features of Kondo physics in the valence band, such as the Kondo resonance and its spin-orbit partner at the Fermi level, as well as the multiplet structure of the Ce 3d core levels. In this work both approaches are applied to CePt5/Pt(111) to determine nf and TK for a variety of surface alloy layer thicknesses. A temperature dependent study of the Ce 3d core levels allows to determine the systems TK for the different layer thicknesses. This leads to TK ≈200–270K in the thin layer thickness regime and TK >280K for larger layer thicknesses. These results are confirmed by fitting the Ce 3d multiplet based on the Gunnarsson-Schönhammer formalism for core level spectroscopy and additionally by valence band photoemission spectra of the respective Kondo resonances. The influence of varying layer thickness on the manifestation of strong correlation is subsequently studied for the surface alloy CeAgx/Ag(111). Furthermore, the heavy element Bi is added, to investigate the effects of strong spin-orbit coupling on the electronic structure of the surface alloy.
Realization and Spectroscopy of the Quantum Spin Hall Insulator Bismuthene on Silicon Carbide
(2022)
Topological matter is one of the most vibrant research fields of contemporary solid state physics since the theoretical prediction of the quantum spin Hall effect in graphene in 2005. Quantum spin Hall insulators possess a vanishing bulk conductivity but symmetry-protected, helical edge states that give rise to dissipationless charge transport.
The experimental verification of this exotic state of matter in 2007 lead to a boost of research activity in this field, inspired by possible ground-breaking future applications.
However, the use of the quantum spin Hall materials available to date is limited to cryogenic temperatures owing to their comparably small bulk band gaps.
In this thesis, we follow a novel approach to realize a quantum spin Hall material with a large energy gap and epitaxially grow bismuthene, i.e., Bi atoms adopting a honeycomb lattice, in a \((\sqrt{3}\times\sqrt{3})\) reconstruction on the semiconductor SiC(0001). In this way, we profit both from the honeycomb symmetry as well as the large spin-orbit coupling of Bi, which, in combination, give rise to a topologically non-trivial band gap on the order of one electronvolt.
An in-depth theoretical analysis demonstrates that the covalent bond between the Si and Bi atoms is not only stabilizing the Bi film but is pivotal to attain the quantum spin Hall phase.
The preparation of high-quality, unreconstructed SiC(0001) substrates sets the basis for the formation of bismuthene and requires an extensive procedure in ultra-pure dry H\(_2\) gas. Scanning tunneling microscopy measurements unveil the (\(1\times1\)) surface periodicity and smooth terrace planes, which are suitable for the growth of single Bi layers by means of molecular beam epitaxy. The chemical configuration of the resulting Bi film and its oxidation upon exposure to ambient atmosphere are inspected with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.
Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy reveals the excellent agreement of probed and calculated band structure. In particular, it evidences a characteristic Rashba-splitting of the valence bands at the K point. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy probes signatures of this splitting, as well, and allows to determine the full band gap with a magnitude of \(E_\text{gap}\approx0.8\,\text{eV}\).
Constant-current images and local-density-of-state maps confirm the presence of a planar honeycomb lattice, which forms several domains due to different, yet equivalent, nucleation sites of the (\(\sqrt{3}\times\sqrt{3}\))-Bi reconstruction.
Differential conductivity measurements demonstrate that bismuthene edge states evolve at atomic steps of the SiC substrate. The probed, metallic local density of states is in agreement with the density of states expected from the edge state's energy dispersion found in density functional theory calculations - besides a pronounced dip at the Fermi level.
By means of temperature- and energy-dependent tunneling spectroscopy it is shown that the spectral properties of this suppressed density of states are successfully captured in the framework of the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid theory and most likely originate from enhanced electronic correlations in the edge channel.
We report the generation, spectroscopic characterization, and computational analysis of the first free (non-stabilized) organometallic bismuthinidene, BiMe. The title compound was generated in situ from BiMe\(_3\) by controlled homolytic Bi–C bond cleavage in the gas phase. Its electronic structure was characterized by a combination of photoion mass-selected threshold photoelectron spectroscopy and DFT as well as multi-reference computations. A triplet ground state was identified and an ionization energy (IE) of 7.88 eV was experimentally determined. Methyl abstraction from BiMe\(_3\) to give [BiMe(_2\)]• is a key step in the generation of BiMe. We reaveal a bond dissociation energy of 210 ± 7 kJ mol\(^{−1}\), which is substantially higher than the previously accepted value. Nevertheless, the homolytic cleavage of Me–BiMe\(_2\) bonds could be achieved at moderate temperatures (60–120 °C) in the condensed phase, suggesting that [BiMe\(_2\)]• and BiMe are accessible as reactive intermediates under these conditions.
Das erste Ziel der vorliegenden Dissertation bestand darin, ein bereits bestehendes TOF-MS-Setup dahingehend zu erweitern, um damit Velocity Map Imaging-Experimente durchführen zu können. Dies erforderte zunächst die Konzipierung und Programmierung einiger für die Datenaufnahme, -verarbeitung und -analyse benötigter LabView-Anwendungen. Anschließend konnten erste Kalibrierexperimente an Methyliodid, in denen wichtige experimentelle Parameter identifiziert und optimiert wurden, durchgeführt werden. Außerdem gelang es dadurch, die Messgenauigkeit des Setups auf 0.7 % und dessen Auflösungsvermögen auf 4.4 % zu bestimmen, was im Bereich für VMI-Apparaturen typischer Werte liegt. Zur weiteren Überprüfung der Funktionstüchtigkeit des Setups wurde in ersten zeitaufgelösten Experimenten im Folgenden die Desaktivierung des S1-Zustands von Pyridin untersucht. Neben der Reproduktion einiger bereits literaturbekannter Resultate konnten dabei zusätzlich die im Multiphotonen-Ionisationsschritt populierten Rydberg-Zustände identifiziert werden. Anschließend wurde mit Experimenten an bisher weniger gut untersuchten organischen Aromaten und Heteroaromaten fortgefahren. Das Ziel dieser Studien lag in der Aufklärung der photoinduzierten Dynamiken der Verbindungen, wobei das zur Verfügung stehende ps-Lasersystem die Möglichkeit bot, die Desaktivierung elektronisch angeregter Zustände gezielt in Abhängigkeit von deren Schwingungsenergie zu untersuchen. Der darin bestehende Vorteil zeigte sich vor allem in Studien an Tolan und Phenanthridin, deren erste angeregte, optisch aktive Zustände am Origin Lebensdauern im ns-Bereich aufweisen, die sich mit zunehmender vibronischer Anregung jedoch auf bis zu 10 ps verringern. Als Grund dafür konnten nichtstrahlende Desaktivierungsprozesse, für deren Eintreten eine energetische Barriere überwunden werden muss, identifiziert werden. Während in Tolan nach Photoanregung ein Übergang in einen (πσ∗)-Zustand, der zur Ausbildung einer trans-bent-Struktur führt, erfolgt, ist im Falle von Phenanthridin vermutlich ein El-Sayed-erlaubter ISC-Übergang in einen 3(nπ∗)-Zustand für die drastische Verkürzung der S1-Lebensdauer verantwortlich. Ein solcher konnte weder im zu Phenanthridin isomerischen Benzo[h]quinolin, noch in dessen PAH-Muttermolekül Phenanthren beobachtet werden, was auf die höhere energetische Lage bzw. die Abwesenheit des mittels ISC populierten 3(nπ∗)-Zustands in diesen Molekülen zurückgeführt werden kann. In weiteren im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit durchgeführten Experimente wurden zudem die aromatischen Moleküle Acenaphthylen und 4-(Dimethylamino)benzethin (DMABE) untersucht. Zeitaufgelöste Studien zeigten dabei, dass die Desaktivierung der S2-Zustände beider Moleküle auf der sub-ps-Zeitskala stattfindet und mit dem vorhandenen Lasersystem daher nicht aufgelöst werden kann. In Acenaphthylen erfolgt die S2-Relaxation größtenteils über einen sequentiellen IC-Mechanismus, innerhalb dem der S1-Zustand des Moleküls intermediär besetzt wird. Dessen Lebensdauer konnte am Origin auf 380 ps bestimmt werden, fällt mit steigender Schwingungsanregung jedoch auf bis zu 55 ps ab. Für die Desaktivierung des S2-Zustands von DMABE konnte hingegen ein paralleles Relaxationsmodell, in dem neben dem S1-Zustand ein weiterer elektronisch angeregter Zustand populiert wird, nachgewiesen werden. Bei diesem könnte es sich möglicherweise um einen (πσ∗)-Zustand, dessen Besetzung die Ausbildung einer trans-bent-Geometrie innerhalb der Acetylen-Einheit des Moleküls zur Folge hat, handeln. Einen weiteren großen Teil der vorliegenden Dissertation nahmen Experimente an van-der-Waals-gebundenen Clustersystemen ein. Im Fokus der Studien standen dabei Moleküle mit ausgedehnten aromatischen π-Systemen, da solche eine hohe Relevanz für verschiedene materialwissenschaftliche Forschungsgebiete besitzen. Ein Beispiel hierfür ist Tetracen, welches als Modellsystem für die Untersuchung von Singlet Fission-Prozessen angesehen wird. In Kombination mit nichtadiabatischen Surface-Hopping-Simulationen zeigten Experimente an Tetracen-Dimeren, dass nach deren S2-Anregung zunächst ein schneller S1←S2-Übergang (τ < 1 ps), gefolgt von der Ausbildung einer Excimerstruktur, stattfindet. Letztere erfolgt mit einer Zeitkonstante von 62 ps und führt zu einem Anstieg des transienten Ionensignals, wohingegen die Desaktivierung des Excimer-Zustands von einem abklingenden Signalbeitrag mit τ = 123 ps repräsentiert wird. Wenngleich über die weitere Relaxation der Excimerspezies zum gegenwärtigen Zeitpunkt keine Aussage getroffen werden kann, besteht damit die Möglichkeit, dass Excimer-Zustände als Zwischenstufe im SF-Mechanismus isolierter Tetracen-Dimere auftreten. In zeitaufgelösten Experimenten an Phenanthren-Dimeren konnte ebenfalls ein Anstieg des transienten Signals mit einer vergleichbaren Zeitkonstante von τ = 86 ps, der jedoch auf einem konstanten Signaloffset endet, gefunden werden. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass auch Phenanthren-Dimere in der Lage sind, Excimerstrukturen, die im Gegensatz zu denen des Tetracens jedoch deutlich langlebiger sind, auszubilden. Studien an den Dimerspezies der Azaphenanthrene Benzo[h]quinolin und Phenanthridin offenbarten hingegen etwas schnellere Relaxationen mit Zeitkonstanten von 15 bzw. 40 ps. Zudem zeigten beide Spezies eine stark ausgeprägte Fragmentation, sodass für deren Untersuchung auf die VMI-Detektionsmethode zurückgegriffen werden musste. Dadurch wurde deutlich, dass sich Photoionen-Imaging-Experimente hervorragend für Studien an schwach gebundenen Clustersystemen eignen, da diese die Separation verschiedener Signalbeiträge innerhalb eines betrachteten Massenkanals ermöglichen.
The projects presented in this thesis cover the examination of the electronic and structural properties of organic thin films at noble metal-organic interfaces. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy is used as the primary investigative tool due to the connection of the emitted photoelectrons to the electronic structure of the sample. The surveyed materials are of relevance for fundamental research and practical applications on their own, but also serve as archetypes for the photoemission techniques presented throughout the four main chapters of this thesis. The techniques are therefore outlined with their adaptation to other systems in mind and a special focus on the proper description of the final state.
The most basic description of the final state that is still adequate for the evaluation of photoemission data is a plane wave. Its simplicity enables a relatively intuitive interpretation of photoemission data, since the initial and final state are related to one another by a Fourier transform and a geometric factor in this approximation. Moreover, the initial states of some systems can be reconstructed in three dimensions by combining photoemission measurements at various excitation energies. This reconstruction can even be carried out solely based on experimental data by using suitable iterative algorithms.
Since the approximation of the final state in the photoemission process by a plane wave is not valid in all instances, knowledge on the limitations of its applicability is indispensable. This can be gained by a comparison to experimental data as well as calculations with a more detailed description of the photoemission final state. One possible appraoch is based on independently emitting atoms where the coherent superposition of partial, atomic final states produces the total final state. This approach can also be used for more intricate studies on organic thin films. To this end, experimental data can be related to theoretical calculations to gain extensive insights into the structural and electronic properties of molecules in organic thin films.
The rich phase diagram of transition metal oxides essentially roots in the many body physics arising from strong Coulomb interactions within the underlying electron system.
Understanding such electronic correlation effects remains challenging for modern solid state physics, therefore experimental data is required for further progress in the field. For this reason, spectroscopic investigations of prototypical correlated materials are the scope of this thesis. The experimental methods focus on photoelectron spectroscopy, and the test materials are the correlated metal SrVO\(_3\) and the Mott insulator LaTiO\(_3\), both of which are fabricated as high quality thin films.
In SrVO\(_3\) thin films, a reduction of the film thickness induces a dimensional crossover from the metallic into the Mott insulating phase. In this thesis, an extrinsic chemical contribution from a surface over-oxidation is revealed that emerges additionally to the intrinsic change of the effective bandwidth usually identified to drive the transition. The two contributions are successfully disentangled by applying a capping layer that prevents the oxidation, allowing for a clean view on the dimensional crossover in fully stoichiometric samples. Indeed, these stoichiometric layers exhibit a higher critical thickness for the onset of the metallic phase than the bare and therefore over-oxidized thin films.
For LaTiO\(_3\) thin films, the tendency to over-oxidize is even stronger. An uncontrolled oxygen diffusion from the substrate into the film is found to corrupt the electronic properties of LaTiO\(_3\) layers grown on SrTiO\(_3\). The Mott insulating phase is only detected in stoichiometric films fabricated on more suitable DyScO\(_3\) substrates. In turn, it is demonstrated that a \(controlled\) incorporation of excess oxygen ions by increasing the oxygen growth pressure is an effective way of \(p\) doping the material which is used to drive the band filling induced Mott transition.
Gaining control of the oxygen stoichiometry in both materials allows for a systematic investigation of correlation effects in general and of the Mott transition in particular. The investigations are realized by various photoelectron spectroscopy techniques that provide a deep insight into the electronic structure. Resonant photoemission not only gives access to the titanium and vanadium related partial density of states of the valence band features, but also shows how the corresponding signal is enhanced by tuning the photon energy to the \(L\) absorption threshold. The enhanced intensity turns out to be very helpful for probing the Fermi surface topology and band dispersions by means of angular-resolved photoemission. The resulting momentum resolved electronic structure verifies central points of the theoretical description of the Mott transition, viz. the renormalization of the band width and a constant Luttinger volume in a correlated metal as the Mott phase is approached.
Als Orbitaltomographie wird eine junge Methode innerhalb der Photoelektronenspektrokopie bezeichnet, welche es ermöglicht, Molekülorbitale mit hoher Ortsauflösung abzubilden. Hierfür werden die zu untersuchenden Moleküle durch elektromagnetische Strahlung angeregt und die mittels Photoeffekt emittierten Elektronen hinsichtlich ihres Impulses und ihrer kinetischen Energie charakterisiert. Moderne Photoemissionsexperimente erlauben die simultane Vermessung des gesamten Impulshalbraumes oberhalb der Probe. Die detektierte Intensitätsverteilung stellt dann unter bestimmten Bedingungen das Betragsquadrat eines hemisphärischen Schnittes durch den Fourierraum des spektroskopierten Orbitals dar, wobei der Radius der Hemisphäre von der Energie der anregenden Strahlung abhängt.
Bei den in dieser Arbeit untersuchten Systemen handelt es sich um adsorbierte Moleküle, die hochgeordnete Schichten auf kristallinen Edelmetalloberflächen bilden. Im Fall eindomänigen Wachstums liefern die parallel orientierten Moleküle identische Photoemissionssignale. Kommt es hingegen zur Ausbildung von Rotations- und Spiegeldomänen, stellt die gemessene Impulsverteilung eine Superposition der unterschiedlichen Einzelbeiträge dar. Somit lassen sich Rückschlüsse auf die Orientierungen der Moleküle auf den Substraten ziehen. Diese Charakterisierung molekularer Adsorptionsgeometrien wird anhand verschiedener Modellsysteme vorgestellt.
Variiert man die Energie der anregenden Strahlung und somit den Radius der hemisphärischen Schnitte durch den Impulsraum, ist es möglich den Fourierraum des untersuchten Molekülorbitals dreidimensional abzubilden. Kombiniert man die gemessenen Intensitäten mit Informationen über die Phase der Wellenfunktion im Impulsraum, die durch zusätzliche Experimente oder rechnerisch gewonnen werden können, lässt sich durch eine Fouriertransformation ein dreidimensionales Bild des Orbitals generieren, wie Schritt für Schritt gezeigt wird.
Im Zuge eines Photoemissionsprozesses kann das Molekül in einen angeregten vibronischen Zustand übergehen. Mittels Photoemissionsexperimenten mit hoher Energieauflösung lassen sich Unterschiede zwischen den Impulsverteilungen der schwingenden Moleküle und denen im vibronischen Grundzustand feststellen. Ein Vergleich der Messdaten mit Simulationen kann die Identifikation der angeregten Schwingungsmode ermöglichen, was eine neue Methode darstellt, Erkenntnisse über die Elektron-Phonon-Kopplung in molekularen Materialien zu gewinnen.
Transition metal oxides (TMO) represent a highly interesting material class as
they exhibit a variety of different emergent phenomena including multiferroicity and
superconductivity. These effects result from a significant interplay of charge, spin
and orbital degrees of freedom within the correlated d-electrons. Oxygen vacancies
(OV) at the surface of certain d0 TMO release free charge carriers and prompt the
formation of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). Barium titanate (BaTiO3) is a
prototypical and promising d0 TMO. It displays ferroelectricity at room temperature
and features several structural phase transitions, from cubic over tetragonal (at
room temperature) and orthorhombic to rhombohedral. The spontaneous electric
polarization in BaTiO3 can be used to manipulate the physical properties of adjacent
materials, e.g. in thin films. Although the macroscopic properties of BaTiO3 are studied
in great detail, the microscopic electronic structure at the surface and interface of
BaTiO3 is not sufficiently understood yet due to the complex interplay of correlation
within the d states, oxygen vacancies at the surface, ferroelectricity in the bulk and
the structural phase transitions in BaTiO3.
This thesis investigates the electronic structure of different BaTiO3 systems by
means of angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES). The valence band of
BaTiO3 single crystals is systematically characterized and compared to theoretical
band structure calculations. A finite p-d hybridization of titanium and oxygen states
was inferred at the high binding energy side of the valence band. In BaTiO3 thin films,
the occurrence of spectral weight near the Fermi level could be linked to a certain
amount of OV at the surface which effectively dopes the host system. By a systematic
study of the metallic surface states as a function of temperature and partial oxygen
pressure, a model was established which reflects the depletion and accumulation of
charge carriers at the surface of BaTiO3. An instability at T ~ 285K assumes a volatile
behavior of these surface states.
The ferroelectricity in BaTiO3 allows a control of the electronic structure at the interface
of BaTiO3-based heterostructures. Therefore, the interface electronic structure
of Bi/BaTiO3 was studied with respect to the strongly spin-orit coupled states in Bi by
also including a thickness dependent characterization. The ARPES results, indeed,
confirm the presence of Rashba spin-split electronic states in the bulk band gap of the ferroelectric substrate. By varying the film thickness in Bi/BaTiO3, it was able to modify
the energy position and the Fermi vector of the spin-split states. This observation
is associated with the appearance of an interface state which was observed for very
low film thickness. Both spectral findings suggest a significant coupling between the
Bi films and BaTiO3.