Interface electronic structure in a metal/ferroelectric heterostructure under applied bias

Abstract : The effective barrier height between an electrode and a ferroelectric (FE) depends on both macroscopic electrical properties and microscopic chemical and electronic structure. The behavior of a prototypical electrode/FE/electrode structure, Pt/BaTiO$_3$ /Nb-doped SrTiO$_3$ , under in-situ bias voltage is investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The full band alignment is measured and is supported by transport measurements. Barrier heights depend on interface chemistry and on the FE polarization. A differential response of the core levels to applied bias as a function of the polarization state is observed, consistent with Callen charge variations near the interface.