Nanoscale Electronic Inhomogeneity in In2Se3 Nanoribbons Revealed by Microwave Impedance Microscopy
- 12 February 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Nano Letters
- Vol. 9 (3), 1265-1269
- https://doi.org/10.1021/nl900222j
Abstract
Driven by interactions due to the charge, spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom, nanoscale inhomogeneity has emerged as a new theme for materials with novel properties near multiphase boundaries. As vividly demonstrated in complex metal oxides (see refs 1−5) and chalcogenides (see refs 6 and 7), these microscopic phases are of great scientific and technological importance for research in high-temperature superconductors (see refs 1 and 2), colossal magnetoresistance effect (see ref 4), phase-change memories (see refs 5 and 6), and domain switching operations (see refs 7−9). Direct imaging on dielectric properties of these local phases, however, presents a big challenge for existing scanning probe techniques. Here, we report the observation of electronic inhomogeneity in indium selenide (In2Se3) nanoribbons (see ref 10) by near-field scanning microwave impedance microscopy (see refs 11−13). Multiple phases with local resistivity spanning 6 orders of magnitude are identified as the coexistence of superlattice, simple hexagonal lattice and amorphous structures with ∼100 nm inhomogeneous length scale, consistent with high-resolution transmission electron microscope studies. The atomic-force-microscope-compatible microwave probe is able to perform a quantitative subsurface electrical study in a noninvasive manner. Finally, the phase change memory function in In2Se3 nanoribbon devices can be locally recorded with big signals of opposite signs.Keywords
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- Large Anisotropy of Electrical Properties in Layer-Structured In2Se3 NanowiresNano Letters, 2008
- Direct imaging of the spatial and energy distribution of nucleation centres in ferroelectric materialsNature Materials, 2008
- Mott Transition in VO 2 Revealed by Infrared Spectroscopy and Nano-ImagingScience, 2007
- Atomic-force-microscope-compatible near-field scanning microwave microscope with separated excitation and sensing probesReview of Scientific Instruments, 2007
- Strain-Induced Self Organization of Metal−Insulator Domains in Single-Crystalline VO2 NanobeamsNano Letters, 2006
- Ultra-high-density phase-change storage and memoryNature Materials, 2006
- Switching the electrical resistance of individual dislocations in single-crystalline SrTiO3Nature Materials, 2006
- Atomic-Scale Sources and Mechanism of Nanoscale Electronic Disorder in Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+δScience, 2005
- Quantized conductance atomic switchNature, 2005
- Microscopic electronic inhomogeneity in the high-Tc superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+xNature, 2001