title: Electronic structure and band alignment at an epitaxial spinel/perovskite heterojunction.
abstract: The electronic properties of solid-solid interfaces play critical roles in a variety of technological applications. Recent advances of film epitaxy and characterization techniques have demonstrated a wealth of exotic phenomena at interfaces of oxide materials, which are critically dependent on the alignment of their energy bands across the interface. Here we report a combined photoemission and electrical investigation of the electronic structures across a prototypical spinel/perovskite heterojunction. Energy-level band alignment at an epitaxial Co3O4/SrTiO3(001) heterointerface indicates a chemically abrupt, type I heterojunction without detectable band bending at both the film and substrate. The unexpected band alignment for this typical p-type semiconductor on SrTiO3 is attributed to its intrinsic d-d interband excitation, which significantly narrows the fundamental band gap between the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band. The formation of the type I heterojunction with a flat-band state results in a simultaneous confinement of both electrons and holes inside the Co3O4 layer, thus rendering the epitaxial Co3O4/SrTiO3(001) heterostructure to be a very promising material for high-efficiency luminescence and optoelectronic device applications.
authors: Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences and #Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States.
authors: Liang
authors: L
authors: Qiao
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Li
authors: Haiyan
authors: H
authors: Xiao
authors: Harry M
authors: HM
authors: Meyer
authors: Xuelei
authors: X
authors: Liang
authors: N V
authors: NV
authors: Nguyen
authors: William J
authors: WJ
authors: Weber
authors: Michael D
authors: MD
authors: Biegalski