Oxygen transport in epitaxial SrTiO3/SrTi1 − xFexO3 multilayer stacks
Abstract. Nano-ionic materials made of strontium titanate (SrTiO3, STO) and solid solutions of strontium ferrite in STO (SrTi1 − xFexO3, STF) are grown on single crystalline STO substrates and characterized. Since STF exhibits an oxygen deficiency and, simultaneously, enables oxygen interstitial defects, a space charge area close to the STO | STF interface is present. Oxygen tracer diffusion experiments and impedance spectroscopy at temperatures from 500 to 700 °C and at oxygen partial pressure ranging from 10−3 to 10−23 bar confirm fast oxygen transport caused by enhanced ionic conductivity at the interface. There, an oxygen diffusion coefficient of 3. 4 × 10−10 m2 s−1 at 600 °C and a p type conductivity of about 360 S m−1 at 700 °C are calculated. Such structures open new options in design of nano-ionic materials for oxygen sensors and energy conversion at temperatures lower than those of conventional materials such as yttrium-doped zirconia.
