RELAXATION AND RUMPLING MECHANISMS ON OXIDE SURFACES

We associate a self-consistent electronic structure calculation with a conjugate gradient technique for geometry optimization, to study structural distortions on stoichiometric oxide surfaces. We discuss the relaxation and rumpling effects and their consequences on the surface electronic structure in a series of three MgO surfaces: (100), (110), (211) characterized by an increasing number of broken bonds, on the (110) faces of rocksalt oxides presenting various ionic characters: MgO, CaO, SrO and BaO, and on two non-polar rutile TiO2 faces: (110) and (001). The numerical results are interpreted in the framework of an analytical model and the competition between covalent and electrostatic effects is investigated. A new mechanism of rumpling on oxide surfaces is proposed.