Measuring the three-dimensional structure of ultrathin insulating films at the atomic scale

Susanne Baumann; Ileana G. Rau; Sebastian Loth; Christopher P. Lutz; Andreas J. Heinrich

doi:10.1021/nn4061034

Measuring the three-dimensional structure of ultrathin insulating films at the atomic scale

Susanne Baumann, Ileana G. Rau, Sebastian Loth, Christopher P. Lutz, Andreas J. Heinrich

Department of Physics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

The increasing technological importance of thin insulating layers calls for a thorough understanding of their structure. Here we apply scanning probe methods to investigate the structure of ultrathin magnesium oxide (MgO) which is the insulating material of choice in spintronic applications. A combination of force and current measurements gives high spatial resolution maps of the local three-dimensional insulator structure. When force measurements are not available, a lower spatial resolution can be obtained from tunneling images at different voltages. These broadly applicable techniques reveal a previously unknown complexity in the structure of MgO on Ag(001), such as steps in the insulator-metal interface.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1739-1744
Number of pages	6
Journal	ACS Nano
Volume	8
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/nn4061034
State	Published - 25 Feb 2014

Keywords

atomic force microscopy
conductive AFM
magnesium oxide
scanning tunneling microscopy
thickness determination
thin insulating films
thin oxide films

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10.1021/nn4061034

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title = "Measuring the three-dimensional structure of ultrathin insulating films at the atomic scale",

abstract = "The increasing technological importance of thin insulating layers calls for a thorough understanding of their structure. Here we apply scanning probe methods to investigate the structure of ultrathin magnesium oxide (MgO) which is the insulating material of choice in spintronic applications. A combination of force and current measurements gives high spatial resolution maps of the local three-dimensional insulator structure. When force measurements are not available, a lower spatial resolution can be obtained from tunneling images at different voltages. These broadly applicable techniques reveal a previously unknown complexity in the structure of MgO on Ag(001), such as steps in the insulator-metal interface.",

keywords = "atomic force microscopy, conductive AFM, magnesium oxide, scanning tunneling microscopy, thickness determination, thin insulating films, thin oxide films",

author = "Susanne Baumann and Rau, \{Ileana G.\} and Sebastian Loth and Lutz, \{Christopher P.\} and Heinrich, \{Andreas J.\}",

year = "2014",

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T1 - Measuring the three-dimensional structure of ultrathin insulating films at the atomic scale

AU - Baumann, Susanne

AU - Rau, Ileana G.

AU - Loth, Sebastian

AU - Lutz, Christopher P.

AU - Heinrich, Andreas J.

PY - 2014/2/25

Y1 - 2014/2/25

N2 - The increasing technological importance of thin insulating layers calls for a thorough understanding of their structure. Here we apply scanning probe methods to investigate the structure of ultrathin magnesium oxide (MgO) which is the insulating material of choice in spintronic applications. A combination of force and current measurements gives high spatial resolution maps of the local three-dimensional insulator structure. When force measurements are not available, a lower spatial resolution can be obtained from tunneling images at different voltages. These broadly applicable techniques reveal a previously unknown complexity in the structure of MgO on Ag(001), such as steps in the insulator-metal interface.

AB - The increasing technological importance of thin insulating layers calls for a thorough understanding of their structure. Here we apply scanning probe methods to investigate the structure of ultrathin magnesium oxide (MgO) which is the insulating material of choice in spintronic applications. A combination of force and current measurements gives high spatial resolution maps of the local three-dimensional insulator structure. When force measurements are not available, a lower spatial resolution can be obtained from tunneling images at different voltages. These broadly applicable techniques reveal a previously unknown complexity in the structure of MgO on Ag(001), such as steps in the insulator-metal interface.

KW - atomic force microscopy

KW - conductive AFM

KW - magnesium oxide

KW - scanning tunneling microscopy

KW - thickness determination

KW - thin insulating films

KW - thin oxide films

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84894627746

U2 - 10.1021/nn4061034

DO - 10.1021/nn4061034

M3 - Article

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SN - 1936-0851

VL - 8

SP - 1739

EP - 1744

JO - ACS Nano

JF - ACS Nano

IS - 2

ER -

Measuring the three-dimensional structure of ultrathin insulating films at the atomic scale

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Keywords

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