Phys.org February 6, 2024
Unraveling local dynamic charge processes relies on the ability to map charge carrier motion across multiple length- and timescales and understanding how these processes interact with the inherent material heterogeneities. An international team of researchers (South Korea, USA – Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Case Western University, Australia) introduced high-speed sparse scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy, which combined sparse scanning and image reconstruction. They showed that with their approach sub-second imaging of nanoscale charge dynamic was possible. They demonstrated electrochemically mediated diffusion of mobile surface ions on a LaAlO3/SrTiO3 planar device. By monitoring the diffusion of oxygen vacancies at the single grain level in polycrystalline TiO2, they identified a charge diffusion activation energy of 0.18 eV, which was in good agreement with previously reported values and confirmed by DFT calculations. According to the researchers their results validates the effectiveness and versatility of their method in understanding ionic charge carrier motion in microelectronics or nanoscale material systems… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Experimental setup and technique validation. Credit: Nature Communications volume 14, Article number: 7196 (2023)