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Title: Disordered surface structure of an ultra-thin tin oxide film on Rh(100)

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3697995· OSTI ID:22038893
; ;  [1]
  1. Department of Materials, Physics and Energy Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8603 (Japan)

The composition and structure of an ultra-thin tin oxide film on Rh(100), prepared by the deposition of a submonolayer of tin followed by annealing in an O{sub 2} atmosphere, were examined by a combination of low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and ab initio calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). Although the LEED pattern exhibited c(2 x 8) spots clearly, a uniform periodicity of the c(2 x 8) unit cell was not observed in the STM images. The bright dots that were observed periodically in the STM image were similar to those of the ultra-thin Sn{sub 2}O{sub 3} film on Rh(111) and formed a zigzag arrangement with the numerous point and line defects. The XPS study revealed that the Sn 3d{sub 5/2} peak of the tin oxide film on Rh(100) showed a metallic state as well as an oxide state that was between the SnO{sub 2} and SnO states. The structural models, which were based on the Sn{sub 2}O{sub 3} structure on Rh(111), were determined using DFT total energy calculations. The simulated STM images of the two slightly different honeycomb-chain models well reproduced the zigzag arrangement in the STM image. The STM image and XPS spectrum were interpreted using a combination of the two models.

OSTI ID:
22038893
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 111, Issue 6; Other Information: (c) 2012 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English