I’m guessing here.
Try this:
x = 2 + sort(rand(1, 8))*2;
y = 2.2 + sort(rand(1, 8), 'descend')*1.5;
figure
semilogy(x, y, 'x')
Ax = gca;
yt = Ax.YTick;
Ax.YTickLabel = sprintfc('10^{%.2f}', log10(yt));
You can also use the compose function:
Ax.YTickLabel = compose('10^{%.2f}', log10(yt));
Experiment to get the result you want.
