No Arabic abstract
The magnetic and electronic nature of the gamma-Al2O3/SrTiO3 spinel/perovskite interface is explored by means of x-ray absorption spectroscopy. Polarized x-ray techniques combined with atomic multiplet calculations reveal localized magnetic moments assigned to Ti3+ at the interface with equivalent size for in- and out-of-plane magnetic field directions. Although magnetic fingerprints are revealed, the Ti3+ magnetism can be explained by a paramagnetic response at low temperature under applied magnetic fields. Modeling the x-ray linear dichroism results in a delta0 = 1.9 eV splitting between the t2g and eg states for the Ti4+ 3d0 orbitals. In addition these results indicate that the lowest energy states have the out-of-plane dxz/dyz symmetry. The isotropic magnetic moment behavior and the lowest energy dxz/dyz states are in contrast to the observations for the two-dimensional electron gas at the perovskite/perovskite interface of LaAlO3/SrTiO3, that exhibits an anisotropic magnetic dxy ground state.
Rich functionalities of transition-metal oxides and their interfaces bear an enormous technological potential. Its realization in practical devices requires, however, a significant improvement of yet relatively low electron mobility in oxide materials. Recently, a mobility boost of about two orders of magnitude has been demonstrated at the spinel/perovskite {gamma}-Al2O3/SrTiO3 interface compared to the paradigm perovskite/perovskite LaAlO3/SrTiO3. We explore the fundamental physics behind this phenomenon from direct measurements of the momentum-resolved electronic structure of this interface using resonant soft-X-ray angle-resolved photoemission. We find an anomaly in orbital ordering of the mobile electrons in {gamma}-Al2O3/SrTiO3 which depopulates electron states in the top STO layer. This rearrangement of the mobile electron system pushes the electron density away from the interface that reduces its overlap with the interfacial defects and weakens the electron-phonon interaction, both effects contributing to the mobility boost. A crystal-field analysis shows that the band order alters owing to the symmetry breaking between the spinel {gamma}-Al2O3 and perovskite SrTiO3. The band-order engineering exploiting the fundamental symmetry properties emerges as another route to boost the performance of oxide devices.
Herein, we reported giant tunability of the physical properties of 2DEGs at the spinel/perovskite interface of {gamma}-Al2O3/SrTiO3 (GAO/STO). By modulating the carrier density thus the band filling with ionic-liquid gating, the system experiences a Lifshitz transition at a critical carrier density of 3E13 cm-2, where a remarkably strong enhancement of Rashba spin-orbit interaction and an emergence of Kondo effect at low temperatures are observed. Moreover, as the carrier concentration depletes with decreasing gating voltage, the electron mobility is enhanced by more than 6 times in magnitude, leading to the observation of clear quantum oscillations. The great tunability of GAO/STO interface by EDLT gating not only shows promise for design of oxide devices with on-demand properties, but also sheds new light on the electronic structure of 2DEG at the non-isostructural spinel/perovskite interface.
Transport measurements on the two dimensional electron system in Al2O3 SrTiO3 heterostructures indicate significant noncrystalline anisotropic behavior below T = 30 K. Lattice dislocations in SrTiO3 and interfacial steps are suggested to be the main sources for electronic anisotropy. Anisotropic defect scattering likewise alters magnetoresistance at low temperature remarkably and influences spin-orbit coupling significantly by the Elliot Yafet mechanism of spin relaxation resulting in anisotropic weak localization. Applying a magnetic field parallel to the interface results in an additional field induced anisotropy of the conductance, which can be attributed to Rashba spin orbit interaction. Compared to LaAlO3 SrTiO3, Rashba coupling seems to be reduced indicating a weaker polarity in Al2O3 SrTiO3 heterostructures.
We report transport measurements, including: Hall, Seebeck and Nernst Effect. All these transport properties exhibit anomalous field and temperature dependences, with a change of behavior observed at about H 1.5T and T 15K. We were able to reconcile the low-temperature-low-field behavior of all transport properties using a simple two band analysis. A more detailed model is required in order to explain the high magnetic field regime.
We present low-temperature and high-field magnetotransport data on SrTiO3-LaAlO3 interfaces. The resistance shows hysteresis in magnetic field and a logarithmic relaxation as a function of time. Oscillations in the magnetoresistance are observed, showing a square root periodicity in the applied magnetic field, both in large-area unstructured samples as well as in a structured sample. An explanation in terms of a commensurability condition of edge states in a highly mobile two-dimensional electron gas between substrate step edges is suggested.