).Epitaxial Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO) thin films were grown using oxygen plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on (001) oriented yttria stabilized zirconia. Low-energy-electron-diffraction shows that ITO(001) surface is oxygen terminated and has a c(1×1)-structure with p4g symmetry. Atomically-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy suggests that surface oxygen atoms undergo dimerization; possible adsorption sites are identified. The density of surface oxygen depends on the Sn concentration and it is suggested that both, dimerization and doping stabilize the polar ITO(001) surface.
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