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Institute
Spin- and \(k\)-resolved hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) is a powerful tool to probe bulk electronic properties of complex metal oxides. Due to the low efficiency of common spin detectors of about \(10^{-4}\), such experiments have been rarely performed within the hard X-ray regime since the notoriously low photoionization cross sections further lower the performance tremendously. This thesis is about a new type of spin detector, which employs an imaging spin-filter with multichannel electron recording. This increases the efficiency by a factor of \(10^4\) and makes spin- and \(k\)-resolved photoemission at high excitation energies possible. Two different technical approaches were pursued in this thesis: One using a hemispherical deflection analyzer (HDA) and a separate external spin detector chamber, the other one resorting to a momentum- or \(k\)-space microscope with time-of-flight (TOF) energy recording and an integrated spin-filter crystal. The latter exhibits significantly higher count rates and - since it was designed for this purpose from scratch - the integrated spin-filter option found out to be more viable than the subsequent upgrade of an existing setup with an HDA. This instrumental development is followed by the investigation of the complex metal oxides (CMOs) KTaO\(_3\) by angle-resolved HAXPES (HARPES) and Fe\(_3\)O\(_4\) by spin-resolved HAXPES (spin-HAXPES), respectively.
KTaO\(_3\) (KTO) is a band insulator with a valence-electron configuration of Ta 5\(d^0\). By angle- and spin-integrated HAXPES it is shown that at the buried interface of LaAlO\(_3\)/KTO - by the generation of oxygen vacancies and hence effective electron doping - a conducting electron system forms in KTO. Further investigations using the momentum-resolution of the \(k\)-space TOF microscope show that these states are confined to the surface in KTO and intensity is only obtained from the center or the Gamma-point of each Brillouin zone (BZ). These BZs are furthermore square-like arranged reflecting the three-dimensional cubic crystal structure of KTO. However, from a comparison to calculations it is found that the band structure deviates from that of electron-doped bulk KTaO\(_3\) due to the confinement to the interface.
There is broad consensus that Fe\(_3\)O\(_4\) is a promising material for spintronics applications due to its high degree of spin polarization at the Fermi level. However, previous attempts to measure the spin polarization by spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy have been hampered by the use of low photon energies resulting in high surface sensitivity. The surfaces of magnetite, though, tend to reconstruct due to their polar nature, and thus their magnetic and electronic properties may strongly deviate from each other and from the bulk, dependent on their orientation and specific preparation. In this work, the intrinsic bulk spin polarization of magnetite at the Fermi level (\(E_F\)) by spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, is determined by spin-HAXPES on (111)-oriented thin films, epitaxially grown on ZnO(0001) to be \(P(E_F) = -80^{+10}_{-20}\) %.
Two-dimensional triangular lattices of group IV adatoms on semiconductor substrates provide a rich playground for the investigation of Mott-Hubbard physics. The possibility to combine various types of adatoms and substrates makes members of this material class versatile model systems to study the influence of correlation strength, band filling and spin-orbit coupling on the electronic structure - both experimentally and with dedicated many-body calculation techniques. The latter predict exotic ground states such as chiral superconductivity or spin liquid behavior for these frustrated lattices, however, experimental confirmation is still lacking. In this work, three different systems, namely the \(\alpha\)-phases of Sn/SiC(0001), Pb/Si(111), and potassium-doped Sn/Si(111) are investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy and photoemission spectroscopy in this regard. The results are potentially relevant for spintronic applications or quantum computing.
For the novel group IV triangular lattice Sn/SiC(0001), a combined experimental and theoretical study reveals that the system features surprisingly strong electronic correlations because they are boosted by the substrate through its partly ionic character and weak screening capabilities. Interestingly, the spectral function, measured for the first time via angle-resolved photoemission, does not show any additional superstructure beyond the intrinsic \(\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3} R30^{\circ}\) reconstruction, thereby raising curiosity regarding the ground-state spin pattern.
For Pb/Si(111), preceding studies have noted a phase transition of the surface reconstruction from \(\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3} R30^{\circ}\) to \(3 \times 3\) at 86 K. In this thesis, investigations of the low-temperature phase with high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy unveil the formation of a charge-ordered ground state. It is disentangled from a concomitant structural rearrangement which is found to be 2-up/1-down, in contrast to previous predictions. Applying an extended variational cluster approach, a phase diagram of local and nonlocal Coulomb interactions is mapped out. Based on a comparison of theoretical spectral functions with scattering vectors found via quasiparticle interference, Pb/Si(111) is placed in said phase diagram and electronic correlations are found to be the driving force of the charge-ordered state.
In order to realize a doped Mott insulator in a frustrated geometry, potassium was evaporated onto the well-known correlated Sn/Si(111) system. Instead of the expected insulator-to-metal transition, scanning tunneling spectroscopy data indicates that the electronic structure of Sn/Si(111) is only affected locally around potassium atoms while a metallization is suppressed. The potassium atoms were found to be adsorbed on empty \(T_4\) sites of the substrate which eventually leads to the formation of two types of K-Sn alloys with a relative potassium content of 1/3 and 1/2, respectively. Complementary measurements of the spectral function via angle-resolved photoemission reveal that the lower Hubbard band of Sn/Si(111) gradually changes its shape upon potassium deposition. Once the tin and potassium portion on the surface are equal, this evolution is complete and the system can be described as a band insulator without the need to include Coulomb interactions.
Due to their complex chemical structure transition metal oxides display many fascinating properties which conventional semiconductors lack.
For this reason transition metal oxides hold a lot of promise for novel electronic functionalities.
Just as in conventional semiconductor heterostructures, the interfaces between different materials play a key role in oxide electronics.
The textbook example is the (001) interface between the band insulators LaAlO\(_3\) and SrTiO\(_3\) at which a two-dimensional electron system (2DES) forms.
In order to utilize such a 2DES in prospective electronic devices, it is vital that the electronic properties of the interface can be controlled and manipulated at will.
Employing photoelectron spectroscopy as well as electronic transport measurements, this thesis examines how such interface engineering can be realized in the case of the LaAlO\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) heterostructure:
By photoemission we manage to unambiguously distinguish the different mechanisms by which SrTiO\(_3\) can be doped with electrons.
An electronic reconstruction is identified as the driving mechanism to render stoichiometric LaAlO\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) interfaces metallic.
The doping of the LaAlO\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) heterointerface can furthermore be finely adjusted by changing the oxygen vacancy \(V_{\mathrm{O}}\) concentration in the heterostructure.
Combining intense x-ray irradiation with oxygen dosing, we even achieve control over the \(V_{\mathrm{O}}\) concentration and, consequently, the doping in the photoemission experiment itself.
Exploiting this method, we investigate how the band diagram of SrTiO\(_3\)-based heterostructures changes as a function of the \(V_{\mathrm{O}}\) concentration and temperature by hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy.
With the band bending in the SrTiO\(_3\) substrate changing as a function of the \(V_{\mathrm{O}}\) concentration, the interfacial band alignment is found to vary as well.
The relative permittivity of the SrTiO\(_3\) substrate and, in particular, its dependence on temperature and electric field is identified as one of the essential parameters determining the electronic interface properties.
That is also why the sample temperature affects the charge carrier distribution.
The mobile charge carriers are shown to shift toward the SrTiO\(_3\) bulk when the sample temperature is lowered.
This effect is, however, only pronounced if the total charge carrier concentration is small.
At high charge carrier concentrations the charge carriers are always confined to the interface, independent of the sample temperature.
The dependence of the electronic interface properties on the \(V_{\mathrm{O}}\) concentration is also investigated by a complementary method, viz. by electronic transport measurements.
These experiments confirm that the mobile charge carrier concentration increases concomitantly to the \(V_{\mathrm{O}}\) concentration.
The mobility of the charge carriers changes as well depending on the \(V_{\mathrm{O}}\) concentration.
Comparing spectroscopy and transport results, we are able to draw conclusions about the processes limiting the mobility in electronic transport.
We furthermore build a memristor device from our LaAlO\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) heterostructures and demonstrate how interface engineering is used in practice in such novel electronic applications.
This thesis furthermore investigates how the electronic structure of the 2DES is affected by the interface topology:
We show that, akin to the (001) LaAlO\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) heterointerface, an electronic reconstruction also renders the (111) interface between LaAlO\(_3\) and SrTiO\(_3\) metallic.
The change in interface topology becomes evident in the Fermi surface of the buried 2DES which is probed by soft x-ray photoemission.
Based on the asymmetry in the Fermi surface, we estimate the extension of the conductive layer in the (111)-oriented LaAlO\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) heterostructure.
The spectral function measured furthermore identifies the charge carriers at the interface as large polarons.
In oxidischen Heterostrukturen rufen Neuordnung von Ladung und Spin eine Vielzahl von unerwarteten physikalischen Eigenschaften hervor. Die Möglichkeit, Leitfähigkeit, Magnetismus oder auch Hochtemperatur-Supraleitung zu kontrollieren, machen diese künstlich hergestellten Materialien vor allem in Hinblick auf eine zukünftige Anwendung in der Mikroelektronik äußerst interessant. Dies erfordert jedoch ein grundsätzliches Verständnis für die zugrunde liegenden Mechanismen. Die vorliegende Doktorarbeit befasst sich mit photonengestützter Spektroskopie, die einen direkten Zugang zur elektronischen Struktur dieser Heterostruktursysteme ermöglicht. Ein weiteres Ziel ist es, geeignete spektroskopische Methoden zur Charakterisierung der vergrabenen Schichten zu etablieren.
Zwei prototypische oxidische Mehrschichtsysteme stehen im Zentrum der hier vorgestellten Untersuchungen. Das LaAlO3/SrTiO3-Heterostruktursystem weist ab einer kritischen LaAlO3-Filmdicke an der Grenzfläche ein zweidimensionales Elektronensystem mit hochmobilen Ladungsträgern auf. Als treibender Mechanismus wird die elektronische Rekonstruktion diskutiert. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde dieses zweidimensionale Elektronensystem mithilfe der Photoelektronenspektroskopie und der resonanten inelastischen Röntgenstreuung charakterisiert. Die daraus bestimmten Ladungsträgerdichten weisen im Vergleich mit Daten aus Transportmessungen auf eine Koexistenz von lokalisierten und mobilen Ladungsträgern an der Grenzfläche hin. Die Analyse von Rumpfniveau- und Valenzbandspektren zeigt, dass man zur Erklärung der experimentellen Resultate ein modifiziertes Bild der elektronischen Rekonstruktion benötigt, bei der Sauerstofffehlstellen an der LaAlO3-Oberfläche als Ladungsreservoir dienen könnten. Mithilfe der resonanten Photoelektronenspektroskopie war es möglich, die metallischen Zustände am chemischen Potential impulsaufgelöst zu spektroskopieren. So gelang es erstmals, die vergrabene Fermi-Fläche einer oxidischen Heterostruktur zu vermessen. Außerdem konnten Titan-artige Zustände identifiziert werden, die höchstwahrscheinlich durch Sauerstofffehlstellen im SrTiO3 lokalisiert sind. Diese werden als mögliche Quelle für den Ferromagnetismus interpretiert, der mit der supraleitenden Phase in der LaAlO3/SrTiO3-Heterostruktur koexistiert.
Bei dem anderen hier untersuchten Mehrschichtsystem handelt es sich um die LaNiO3-LaAlO3-Übergitterstruktur. Der Einbau des metallischen LaNiO3 in eine Heterostruktur ist aufgrund seiner Nähe zu einer korrelationsinduzierten isolierenden Phase hinsichtlich einer kontrollierten Ausbildung von neuartigen Phasen besonders interessant. In der Tat beobachtet man unterhalb einer LaNiO3-Schichtdicke von vier Einheitszellen einen kontinuierlichen Metall-Isolator-Übergang, der sich in den Valenzbandspektren durch einen Verlust an Quasiteilchenkohärenz äußert. Auch wenn die impulsaufgelösten
Daten am Fermi-Niveau durch Photoelektronenbeugung beeinflusst sind, so lässt sich dennoch eine Fermi-Fläche identifizieren. Ihre Topologie bietet die Möglichkeit eines Fermi-Flächen-Nestings mit der Ausbildung einer Spindichtewelle. Die Resultate unterstützen die Hinweise auf eine magnetische Ordnung im zweidimensionalen Grundzustand.
In the past decades correlated-electron physics due to strong Coulomb interactions and topological physics caused by band inversion often induced by strong spin-orbit coupling have been the workhorses of solid state research.
While commonly considered as disparate phenomena, it was realized in the early 2010s that the interplay between the comparably strong Coulomb and spin-orbit interactions in the $5d$ transition metal oxides may result in hitherto unforeseen properties.
The layered perovskite Sr$\textsubscript{2}$IrO$\textsubscript{4}$ has attracted special attention due to the observation of an unconventional Mott-insulating phase and predictions of exotic superconductivity.
Less is known about its three-dimensional counterpart SrIrO$\textsubscript{3}$, since rather than the cubic perovskite structure it adopts the thermodynamically stable hexagonal polymorph thereof.
This thesis therefore sets out to establish the synthesis of epitaxially stabilized perovskite SrIrO$\textsubscript{3}$ by pulsed laser deposition and to investigate its electronic and magnetic structure by state-of-the-art x-ray spectroscopy techniques.
In this endeavor the appropriate thermodynamic conditions for the growth of high-quality SrIrO$\textsubscript{3}$ are identified with a focus on the prevention of cation off-stoichiometry and the sustainment of layer-by-layer growth.
In the thus-optimized films the cubic perovskite symmetry is broken by a tetragonal distortion due to epitaxial strain and additional cooperative rotations of the IrO$\textsubscript{6}$ octahedra.
As a consequence of the thermodynamic instability of the IrO$\textsubscript{2}$ surface layer, the films unexpectedly undergo a conversion to a SrO termination during growth.
In an attempt to disentangle the interplay between spin-orbit and Coulomb interaction the three-dimensional electronic structure of perovskite SrIrO$\textsubscript{3}$ is investigated in a combined experimental and theoretical approach using soft x-ray angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and \textit{ab initio} density functional theory calculations.
The experimentally found metallic ground state hosts coherent quasiparticle peaks with a well-defined Fermi surface and is theoretically described by a single half-filled band with effective total angular momentum $J_\text{eff} = 1/2$ only upon incorporation of a sizeable local Coulomb repulsion and -- to a lesser extent -- the broken cubic crystal symmetry in the film.
Upon reduction of the SrIrO$\textsubscript{3}$ thickness below a threshold of four unit cells the scales are tipped in favor of a Mott-insulating phase as the on-site Coulomb repulsion surmounts the diminishing kinetic energy upon transition into the two-dimensional regime.
Concomitantly, a structural transition occurs because the corner-shared octahedral network between substrate and film imposes constraints upon the IrO$\textsubscript{6}$ octahedral rotations in the thin-film limit.
The striking similarity between the quasi-two-dimensional spin-orbit-induced Mott insulator Sr$\textsubscript{2}$IrO$\textsubscript{4}$ and SrO-terminated SrIrO$\textsubscript{3}$ in the monolayer limit underlines the importance of dimensionality for the metal-insulator transition and possibly opens a new avenue towards the realization of exotic superconductivity in iridate compounds.
Whether the analogy between SrIrO$\textsubscript{3}$ in the two-dimensional limit and its Ruddlesden-Popper bulk counterparts extends to their complex magnetic properties ultimately remains an open question, although no indications for a remanent (anti)ferromagnetic order were found.
The unprecedented observation of an x-ray magnetic circular dichroism at the O~$K$-absorption edge of iridium oxides in an external magnetic field promises deeper insights into the intricate connection between the $J_\text{eff} = 1/2$ pseudospin state, its hybridization with the oxygen ligand states and the magnetic order found in the Ruddlesden-Popper iridates.
> In oxidischen Heterostrukturen kann es zur Ausbildung unerwarteter elektronischer und magnetischer Phasen kommen. Ein bekanntes Beispiel ist das Heterostruktursystem LaAlO\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\), an dessen Grenzfläche ein zweidimensionalen Elektronensystem (2DES) entsteht, sofern die LaAlO\(_3\)-Filmdicke einen kritischen Wert von mindestens vier Einheitszellen aufweist. Ähnliches Verhalten konnte an der Heterostruktur γ-Al\(_2\)O\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) beobachtet werden. Die gemessenen Elektronenbeweglichkeiten und Flächenladungsträgerdichten übertreffen hierbei die in LaAlO\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) um mehr als eine Größenordnung. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Herstellung sowie der Analyse dieser beiden Heterostruktursysteme. Die Hauptaspekte sind dabei die Untersuchung der physikalischen Eigenschaften an der Grenzfläche sowie das Verständnis der zugrundeliegenden Mechanismen.
>
> Im Hinblick auf das Wachstum wird demonstriert, dass die für LaAlO\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) etablierte Wachstumsroutine der gepulsten Laserablation sowie die zur Überwachung des Schichtwachstums verwendete Methode der Beugung hochenergetischer Elektronen in Reflexion (RHEED) für das γ-Al\(_2\)O\(_3\)-Wachstum modifiziert werden müssen. So kann gezeigt werden, dass durch eine geeignete Variation der Wachstumsgeometrie die Resonanz von Oberflächenwellen, welche im Falle des γ-Al\(_2\)O\(_3\)-Wachstums die Beobachtung von RHEED-Oszillationen erschwert, vermieden werden kann und somit auch hier die Überwachung des heteroepitaktischen Schichtwachstum mittels Elektronenbeugung möglich wird.
>
> Für die Ausbildung des 2DES in LaAlO\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) wird das Szenario der elektronischen Rekonstruktion als mögliche Ursache diskutiert, wonach das divergierende Potential innerhalb des polaren LaAlO\(_3\)-Films durch einen Ladungstransfer von der Probenoberfläche in die obersten Atomlagen des unpolaren SrTiO\(_3\)-Substrats kompensiert wird. Zudem sind die Eigenschaften der Heterostruktur von den Wachstumsparametern abhängig. So wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit eine deutliche Zunahme der Ladungsträgerkonzentration und der räumliche Ausdehnung der leitfähigen Schicht insbesondere für Proben, welche bei sehr niedrigen Sauerstoffhintergrunddrücken gewachsen wurden, gezeigt und auf die Erzeugung von Sauerstofffehlstellen innerhalb des Substrats zurückgeführt. Darüber hinaus wird erstmalig die Herstellung atomar scharfer Grenzflächen mit sehr geringer Defektdichte selbst bei sehr niedrigen Wachstumsdrücken belegt und erstmals auch direkt elektronenmikroskopisch nachgewiesen. Es werden allenfalls vernachlässigbare Effekte der Sauerstoffkonzentration auf charakteristische, strukturelle Merkmale der Probe beobachtet. Desweiteren zeigt diese Arbeit erstmalig eine von den Wachstumsbedingungen abhängige Gitterverzerrung des Films, was in Übereinstimmung mit Rechnungen auf Basis der Dichtefunktionaltheorie einen Hinweis auf ein komplexes Zusammenspiel von elektronischer Rekonstruktion, Sauerstofffehlstellen an der LaAlO\(_3\)-Oberfläche und einer Verzerrung der Kristallstruktur als Ursache für die Entstehung des 2DES in LaAlO\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) liefert.
>
> Neben der mikroskopischen Analyse des 2DES in LaAlO\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) wird die elektronische Struktur dieses Systems zudem mithilfe der resonanten inelastischen Röntgenstreuung charakterisiert. Die vorliegende Dissertation zeigt dabei, neben dem Nachweis lokalisierter Ladungsträger vor dem Einsetzen metallischen Verhaltens ab einer kritischen Schichtdicke von vier Einheitszellen, die Existenz eines Raman- und eines fluoreszenzartigen Signals in Abhängigkeit der verwendeten Photonenenergie, was wiederum auf einen unterschiedlichen elektronischen Charakter im Zwischenzustand zurückgeführt werden kann. Gestützt wird diese Interpretation durch vergleichbare Messungen an γ- Al\(_2\)O\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\). In diesem System finden sich zudem ebenfalls Anzeichen lokalisierter Ladungsträger unterhalb der kritischen Schichtdicke für metallisches Verhalten, was ein Hinweis auf einen mit LaAlO\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) vergleichbaren Grundzustand sein könnte.
>
> Weitere Messungen mithilfe der resonanten Photoelektronenspektroskopie ermöglichen zudem eine direkte Beobachtung und Analyse der Ti 3d-Valenzelektronen. Messungen an LaAlO\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) und γ-Al\(_2\)O\(_3\)/SrTiO\(_3\) liefern dabei Hinweise auf verschiedene elektronische Ti 3d-artige Zustände. Diese werden zum einen den mobilen Ladungsträgern des 2DES zugeschrieben, zum anderen als lokalisierte Elektronen in der Nähe von Sauerstofffehlstellen identifiziert. Eine Analyse des Resonanzverhaltens sowie der spektralen Form der beobachteten Signale zeigt quantitative Unterschiede, was auf einen unterschiedlichen treibenden Mechanismus in beiden Systemen hindeutet und im Hin- blick auf den Einfluss von Sauerstofffehlstellen auf das System diskutiert wird. Zudem zeigen impulsaufgelöste Messungen der Zustände am chemischen Potential eine unterschiedliche Intensitätsverteilung im k -Raum. Dies wird im Zusammenhang mit Matrixelementeffekten diskutiert und kann vermutlich auf Photoelektronendiffraktion bedingt durch die unterschiedliche Kristallstruktur des Filmmaterials, zurückgeführt werden.
The aim of the present thesis is to explore the potential of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism(XMCD) experiments on gaining new insights into Kondo and heavy fermion materials. XMCD, which is derived from X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), allows probing magnetic polarization specific to the different elements in a material and to their atomic orbitals. In particular, at the Ce M4,5 edges the method is sensitive to the localized 4f level, which provides the magnetic impurity moment responsible for Kondo physics in Ce compounds. Hence, Ce M4,5 XMCD is ideally suited to investigate local magnetism in the presence of interaction of impurity and conduction electrons in such materials.
As a model material, CePt5/Pt(111) surface intermetallics were chosen for the present study. This thin-film material can be prepared by well-defined procedures involving molecular beam epitaxy. Crystalline Ordered samples are obtained by exploiting the single-crystallinity of the Pt(111) substrate. The surface character of thin films ideally matches the probing depth of soft X-ray spectroscopy in the total electron yield mode.
The XMCD and XAS experiments, taking into account dependence on temperature, angle of incidence, sample thickness and external magnetic field, revealed the presence of four relevant energy scales that influence the magnetic response:
1. The 4f level in CePt5/Pt(111) is subject to significant crystal field (CF) splitting, which leads to reorganization of the six j = 5/2 sublevels. The hexagonal symmetry of the crystal structure conserves mj as a good quantum number. The proposed CF scheme, which is derived from measurements of the paramagnetic susceptibility by XMCD as well as linear dichroism in XAS, consists of nearly degenerate |1/2> and |3/2> doublets with the |5/2> doublet excited by E5/2 = 15 ... 25 meV.
2. Single impurity Kondo interaction significantly couples the magnetic moments of the impurity and conduction electrons. A signature thereof is the f0 -> f1 contribution to Ce M4,5 XAS, the strength of which can be tuned by control of the sample thickness. This finding is in line with the observation of reduced effective 4f moments as detected by XMCD.
3. Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction induces ferromagnetic correlations on the impurity lattice, which induces a positive Curie-Weiss temperature in the temperature-dependent inverse susceptibility.
4. Indications for the transition to a coherent heavy fermion state are found in the inverse susceptibility at T ~ 20 K; the ferromagnetic ground state is not observed. The fielddependence of the magnetic moment in the coherent state can be interpreted in terms of a metamagnetic transition. This allows studying basic characteristics of the renormalized band structure of a heavy fermion system by XMCD.
The disentanglement of these different contributions to the 4f magnetism not only required extensive Ce M4,5 XAS and XMCD data, but also a thorough structural characterization of the material, a fundamental study of the Ce M4,5 line shape in relation to the degree of 4f hybridization and the development of a model for the paramagnetic susceptibility.
The unit cell dimensions and sample morphology of CePt5/Pt(111) intermetallics were studied by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). These experiments showed that well-defined intermetallic films form on top of the substrate. This lead to introduction of the film thickness t, measured in unit cells (u.c.), as a key feature to characterize the samples.
Systematic LEED measurements in the thickness range t ~ 1 ... 15 u.c. allowed identification of six different phases, which could be interpreted as resulting from the same crystal structure with different rotational alignments and lattice constants. An accurate determination of the surface lattice constant at t ~ 3 u.c. could be achieved by interpretation of additional superstructure spots as arising from a well-defined combination of substrate and film lattices. The thicknessdependence of the lateral lattice constant could be explained in terms of lattice relaxation.
Confirmation of the CePt5 stoichiometry and structure was performed by use of thicknessdependent XAS and a representative LEED-IV study. The results of this study indicate that the intermetallic films exhibit hexagonal CaCu5 structure over the entire range of thicknesses that were studied. The terminating layer consists purely of Pt with one additional Pt atom per unit cell compared to the bulk structure.
The line shape of Ce M4,5 spectra was analyzed with the help of full multiplet calculations.
Experimentally, characteristic variations of the line shape were observed with increasing f0 -> f1 contribution. The calculations show that these variations are not due to an admixture of j = 7/2 character to the ground state, as often stated in the literature. As alternatives, this observation can be explained by either considering an additional contribution to the spectrum or by assumption of an asymmetric lifetime profile.
The model that was developed for the inverse paramagnetic susceptibility contains the hexagonal crystal field, magnetic coupling of the impurity moments in a mean field scheme and Kondo screening. The latter is included phenomenologically by screening factors for the effective moment. Assumption of doublet-specific screening factors, which means that the degree of Kondo interaction depends on the mj character of the 4f sublevels, allows satisfactory reproduction of the experimental data.
This thesis describes the growth and characterization of both the all-oxide heterostructure
Fe3O4/ZnO and the spin-orbit coupling driven layered perovskite iridates.
As for Fe3O4/ZnO, the 100% spin-polarized Fe3O4 is a promising spin electrode candidate
for spintronic devices. However, the single crystalline ZnO substrates exhibit different polar surface termination which, together with substrate preparation method, can drastically affect the physical properties of Fe3O4/ZnO heterostructures. In this thesis two different methods of substrate preparation were investigated: a previously used in situ method involving sputtering and annealing treatments and a recent ex situ method containing only the annealing procedure. For the latter, the annealing treatment was performed in dry and humid O2 gas flow for the O- and Zn-terminated substrates, respectively, to produce atomically at surfaces as verified by atomic force microscopy(AFM). With these methods, four different ZnO substrates were fabricated and used further for Fe3O4 film growth. Fe3O4 films of 20 nm thickness were successfully grown by reactive molecular beam epitaxy. AFM measurements reveal a higher film surface roughness for the samples with in situ prepared substrates. Moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements indicate significant Zn substitution within the Fe3O4 film for these samples, whereas the samples with ex situ prepared substrates show stoichiometric Fe3O4 films. X-ray diffraction measurements confirm the observations from XPS, revealing additional peaks due to Zn substitution in Fe3O4 films grown on in situ prepared ZnO substrates. Conductivity, as well as magnetometry, measurements show the presence of Zn-doped ferrites in films grown on in situ prepared substrates. Such unintentionally intercalated Zn-doped ferrites dramatically change the electrical and magnetic properties of the films and, therefore, are not preferred in a high-quality heterostructure.
X-ray reflectivity (XRR) measurements show for the film grown on ex situ prepared Zn-terminated substrate a variation of film density close to the interface which is also confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Using polarized neutron reflectometry, magnetic depth profiles of the films grown on ex situ prepared substrates clearly indicate Fe3O4 layers with reduced magnetization at the interfaces. This result is consistent with earlier observations made by resonant magnetic X-ray reflectometry (RMXR), but in contrast to the findings from XRR and TEM of this thesis. A detailed TEM study of all four samples shows that the sample with ex situ prepared O-terminated substrate has the sharpest interface, whereas those with ex situ prepared Zn-terminated as well as in situ prepared substrates indicate rougher interfaces. STEM-EELS composition profiles of the samples reveal the Zn substitution in the films with in situ prepared substrates and therefore confirm the presence of Zn-doped ferrites. Moreover, a change of the Fe oxidation state of the first Fe layer at the interface which was observed in previous studies done by RMXR, was not verified for the samples with in situ prepared substrates thus leaving the question of a possible presence of the magnetically dead layer open. Furthermore, density functional theory calculations were performed to determine the termination dependent layer sequences which are ...-Zn-O-(interface)-[Fe(octa)-O-Fe(tetra)-Fe(octa)-Fe(tetra)-O]-[...]-... and ...-O-Zn-(interface)-[O-Fe(octa)-O-Fe(tetra)-Fe(octa)-Fe(tetra)]-[...]-... for the samples with O- and Zn-terminated substrates, respectively. Spin density calculations show that in case of O-termination the topmost substrate layers imitate the spin polarization of film layers close to the interface. Here, the first O layer is affected much stronger than the first Zn layer. Due to the strong decrease of this effect toward deeper substrate layers, the substrate surface is supposed to be sensitive to the contiguous spin polarization of the film. Thus, the topmost O layer of the O-terminated substrate could play the most essential role for effective spin injection into ZnO.
The 5d transition metal oxides Ba2IrO4 (BIO) and Sr2IrO4 (SIO) are associated with the Ruddlesden-Popper iridate series with phase type "214" (RP{214), and due to the strong spin-orbit coupling belong to the class of Mott insulators. Moreover, they show many similarities of the isostructural high Tc-cuprate superconductors, e.g. crystal structure, magnetism and electronic band structure. Therefore, it is of great interest to activate a potential superconducting phase in (RP{214) iridates. However, only a small number of publications on PLD grown (RP{214) iridates in the literature exists. Furthermore, published data of soft X-ray angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (SX-ARPES) experiments mainly originate from measurements which were performed on single crystals or MBE grown films of SIO and BIO. In this thesis La-doped SIO films (La0:2Sr1:8IrO4, further referred as LSIO) were used to pursue a potential superconducting phase.
A set of characterization methods was used to analyze the quality of the PLD grown BIO, SIO and LSIO films. AFM measurements demonstrate that thick PLD grown(RP{214) iridate films have rougher surfaces, indicating a transition from a 2D layer-bylayer growth (which is demonstrated by RHEED oscillations) to a 3D island-like growth mode. In addition, chemical depth profiling XPS measurements indicate an increase of the O and Ir relative concentrations in the topmost film layers. Constant energy k-space maps and energy distribution curves (EDCs) measured by SX-ARPES show for every grown film only weak energy band dispersions, which are in strong contrast to the results obtained on the MBE grown films and single crystals from the literature. In this thesis,
a subsequent TEM study reveals missing SrO layers within the grown films which occur mainly in the topmost layers, confirming the results and suggestions from XPS and SX-ARPES data: the PLD grown films have defects and, therefore, incoherently scatter photoelectrons. Nevertheless, the LSIO film shows small additional spectral weight between the highsymmetry M points close to the Fermi level which can be attributed to quasiparticle states which, in turn, indicates the formation of a Fermi-arc. However, neither conductivity measurements nor valence band analysis via XPS confirm an activation of a superconducting phase or presence of spectral weight of quasiparticle states at the Fermi level in this LSIO film.
It is possible that these discovered difficulties in growth are responsible for the low number of SX-ARPES publications on PLD grown (RP{214) iridate films. For further investigations of (RP{214) iridate films by SX-ARPES, their PLD growth recipes have to be improved to create high quality single crystalline films without imperfections.
Neue physikalische Erkenntnisse vervollständigen die Sicht auf die Welt und erschließen gleichzeitig Wege für Folgeexperimente und technische Anwendungen. Das letzte Jahrzehnt der Festkörperforschung war vom zunehmenden Fokus der theoretischen und experimentellen Erkundung topologischer Materialien geprägt. Eine fundamentale Eigenschaft ist ihre Resistenz gegenüber solchen Störungen, welche spezielle physikalische Symmetrien nicht verletzen. Insbesondere die Topologischen Isolatoren - Halbleiter mit isolierenden Volumen- sowie gleichzeitig leitenden und spinpolarisierten Oberflächenzuständen - sind vielversprechende Kandidaten zur Realisierung breitgefächerter spintronischer Einsatzgebiete. Bis zur Verwirklichung von Quantencomputern und anderer, heute noch exotisch anmutender Konzepte bedarf es allerdings ein umfassenderes Verständnis der grundlegenden, physikalischen Zusammenhänge. Diese kommen vor allem an Grenzflächen zum Tragen, weshalb oberflächensensitive Methoden bei der Entdeckung der Topologischen Isolatoren eine wichtige Rolle spielten.
Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit werden daher strukturelle, elektronische und magnetische Eigenschaften Topologischer Isolatoren mittels Tieftemperatur-Rastertunnelmikroskopie und -spektroskopie sowie begleitenden Methoden untersucht.
Die Veränderung der Element-Ausgangskonzentration während dem Wachstum des prototypischen Topologischen Isolators Bi2Te3 führt zur Realisierung eines topologischen p-n Übergangs innerhalb des Kristalls. Bei einem spezifischen Verhältnis von Bi zu Te in der Schmelze kommt es aufgrund unterschiedlicher Erstarrungstemperaturen der Komponenten zu einer Ansammlung von Bi- und Te-reichen Gegenden an den gegenüberliegenden Enden des Kristalls. In diesen bildet sich infolge des jeweiligen Elementüberschusses durch Kristallersetzungen und -fehlstellen eine Dotierung des Materials aus. Daraus resultiert die Existenz eines Übergangsbereiches, welcher durch Transportmessungen verifiziert werden kann. Mit der räumlich auflösenden Rastertunnelmikroskopie wird diese Gegend lokalisiert und strukturell sowie elektronisch untersucht. Innerhalb des Übergangsbereiches treten charakteristische Kristalldefekte beider Arten auf - eine Defektunterdrückung bleibt folglich aus. Dennoch ist dort der Beitrag der Defekte zum Stromtransport aufgrund ihres gegensätzlichen Dotiercharakters vernachlässigbar, sodass der topologische Oberflächenzustand die maßgeblichen physikalischen Eigenschaften bestimmt. Darüber hinaus tritt der Übergangsbereich in energetischen und räumlichen Größenordnungen auf, die Anwendungen bei Raumtemperatur denkbar machen.
Neben der Veränderung Topologischer Isolatoren durch den gezielten Einsatz intrinsischer Kristalldefekte bieten magnetische Störungen die Möglichkeit zur Prüfung des topologischen Oberflächenzustandes auf dessen Widerstandsfähigkeit sowie der gegenseitigen Wechselwirkungen. Die Zeitumkehrinvarianz ist ursächlich für den topologischen Schutz des Oberflächenzustandes, weshalb magnetische Oberflächen- und Volumendotierung diese Symmetrie brechen und zu neuartigem Verhalten führen kann.
Die Oberflächendotierung Topologischer Isolatoren kann zu einer starken Bandverbiegung und einer energetischen Verschiebung des Fermi-Niveaus führen. Bei einer wohldosierten Menge der Adatome auf p-dotiertem Bi2Te3 kommt die Fermi-Energie innerhalb der Volumenzustands-Bandlücke zum Liegen. Folglich wird bei Energien rund um das Fermi-Niveau lediglich der topologische Oberflächenzustand bevölkert, welcher eine Wechselwirkung zwischen den Adatomen vermitteln kann. Für Mn-Adatome kann Rückstreuung beobachtet werden, die aufgrund der Zeitumkehrinvarianz in undotierten Topologischen Isolatoren verboten ist. Die überraschenderweise starken und fokussierten Streuintensitäten über mesoskopische Distanzen hinweg resultieren aus der ferromagnetischen Kopplung nahegelegener Adsorbate, was durch theoretische Berechnungen und Röntgendichroismus-Untersuchungen bestätigt wird. Gleichwohl wird für die Proben ein superparamagnetisches Verhalten beobachtet.
Im Gegensatz dazu führt die ausreichende Volumendotierung von Sb2Te3 mit V-Atomen zu einem weitreichend ferromagnetischen Verhalten. Erstaunlicherweise kann trotz der weitläufig verbreiteten Theorie Zeitumkehrinvarianz-gebrochener Dirac-Zustände und der experimentellen Entdeckung des Anormalen Quanten-Hall-Effektes in ähnlichen Probensystemen keinerlei Anzeichen einer spektroskopischen Bandlücke beobachtet werden. Dies ist eine direkte Auswirkung der dualen Natur der magnetischen Adatome: Während sie einerseits eine magnetisch induzierte Bandlücke öffnen, besetzen sie diese durch Störstellenresonanzen wieder. Ihr stark lokaler Charakter kann durch die Aufnahme ihrer räumlichen Verteilung aufgezeichnet werden und führt zu einer Mobilitäts-Bandlücke, deren Indizien durch vergleichende Untersuchungen an undotiertem und dotiertem Sb2Te3 bestätigt werden.
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.