Atomic-scale physical manipulation of metal oxides by in-situ TEM method

In-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) method is powerful in a way that it can directly correlate the atomic-scale structure with physical and chemical properties. Here, we will report on the construction and applications of the in-situ TEM setup including mechanical, electrical and optical holders, which were built by STM technique. So the manipulation and physical measurement have been realized inside TEM, where the real-time imaging of electrically and/or mechanically driven structural evolution at atomic scale has been carried out by the homemade in-situ TEM setup.
Exploring the lattice degree of freedom of metal oxides in transition between different structural phases may provide a route to the new properties in oxide materials. Here we report on the electrically driven oxygen vacancy ordering in CeO₂ films, and the experimental finding of strain-inhibited structural transition from perovskite to brownmillerite during the oxygen vacancy electromigration in epitaxial LaCoO₃ thin films, as well as the mechanically induced ferroelectric vortices transformation in PbTiO₃/SrTiO₃ superlattice will be included. This is a fundamental research for the future nanoelectronics such as memories and also the valuable insight into lattice–charge interactions at nanoscale.