title: Imaging the phase separation in atomically thin buried SrTiO(3) layers by electron channeling.
abstract: A phase-separation instability, resulting in the dewetting of thin SrTiO(3) films grown on Si(100) is shown by scanning transmission electron microscopy. Plan-view imaging of 1-nm thick, buried SrTiO(3) films was achieved by exploiting electron channeling through the substrate to focus the incident 0.2 nm beam down to a 0.04 nm diameter, revealing a nonuniform coverage by epitaxial SrTiO(3) islands and 2 x 1 Sr-covered regions. Density-functional calculations predict the ground state is a coexistence of 2 x 1 Sr-reconstructed Si and Sr-deficient SrTiO(3), in correspondence with the observed islanding.
authors.affiliation: School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: L Fitting
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Kourkoutis
authors.forename: C Stephen
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Hellberg
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vaithyanathan
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Schlom
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Muller