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arXiv · 1910.02748

Unconventional co-existence of insulating nano-regions and conducting filaments in reduced SrTiO3: mode softening, local piezoelectricity and metallicity

Annette Bussmann-Holder·Hugo Keller·Arndt Simon·Krystian Roleder·Krzysztof Szot
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Abstract

Doped SrTiO3 becomes a metal at extremely low doping concentrations n and is even superconducting with the superconducting transition temperature adopting a dome-like shape with the carrier concentration. It is shown here within the polarizability model that up to a well-defined carrier concentration transverse optic mode softening takes place together with polar nano-domain formation which evidences inhomogeneity and a two-component type behavior with metallicity coexisting with polarity. Beyond this region a conventional metal is formed where superconductivity as well as mode softening is absent. For this regime the effective electron-phonon coupling follows the superconducting transition temperature. Effusion measurements as well as macroscopic and nanoscopic conductivity measurements indicate that the distribution of oxygen vacancies is local and inhomogeneous from which it is concluded that metallicity stems from filaments which are embedded in a polar matrix as long as the carrier concentration is less than the critical one.

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Annette Bussmann-Holder, Hugo Keller, Arndt Simon, Krystian Roleder, Krzysztof Szot. 2019-10-07. Unconventional co-existence of insulating nano-regions and conducting filaments in reduced SrTiO3: mode softening, local piezoelectricity and metallicity. https://arxiv.org/abs/1910.02748

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