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Register a new userPolarity-field driven conductivity in SrTiO$_3$/LaAlO$_3$: a hybrid functional study
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The origin of the 2-dimensional electron system (2DES) appearing at the (001) interface of band insulators $rm SrTiO_3$ and $rm LaAlO_3$ has been rationalized in the framework of a polar catastrophe scenario. This implies the existence of a critical thickness of polar $rm LaAlO_3$ overlayer ($4~rm u.c.$) for the appearance of the 2DES: polar catastrophe for thick $rm LaAlO_3$ overlayer is avoided either through a Zener breakdown or a stabilization of donor defects at the $rm LaAlO_3$ surface, both providing electrons to dope the substrate. The observation of a critical thickness is observed in experiments, supporting these hypotheses. Yet, there remains an open debate about which of these possible mechanisms actually occurs first. Using hybrid functional Density Functional Theory, we re-examine these mechanisms at the same level of approximation. Particularly, we clarify the role of donor defects in these heterostructures, and argue that, under usual growth conditions, electric-field driven stabilization of oxygen vacancies and hydrogen adsorbates at the LAO surface occur at a smaller LAO thickness than required for Zener breakdown.
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Recent experiments have shown that transition metal oxide heterostructures such as SrTiO$_3$-based interfaces, exhibit large, gate tunable, spintronic responses. Our theoretical study showcases key factors controlling the magnitude of the conversion, measured by the inverse Edelstein and Spin Hall effects, and their evolution with respect to an electrostatic doping. The origin of the response can be linked to spin-orbital textures. These stem from the broken inversion symmetry at the interface which produces an unusual form of the interfacial spin-orbit coupling, provided a bulk atomic spin-orbit contribution is present. The amplitudes and variations of these observables are direct consequences of the multi-orbital subband structure of these materials, featuring avoided and topological crossings. Interband contributions to the coefficients lead to enhanced responses and non-monotonic evolution with doping. We highlight these effects using analytical approaches and low energy modeling.
Ionic crystals terminated at oppositely charged polar surfaces are inherently unstable and expected to undergo surface reconstructions to maintain electrostatic stability. Essentially, an electric field that arises between oppositely charged atomic planes gives rise to a built-in potential that diverges with thickness. In ultra thin film form however the polar crystals are expected to remain stable without necessitating surface reconstructions, yet the built-in potential has eluded observation. Here we present evidence of a built-in potential across polar lao ~thin films grown on sto ~substrates, a system well known for the electron gas that forms at the interface. By performing electron tunneling measurements between the electron gas and a metallic gate on lao ~we measure a built-in electric field across lao ~of 93 meV/AA. Additionally, capacitance measurements reveal the presence of an induced dipole moment near the interface in sto, illuminating a unique property of sto ~substrates. We forsee use of the ionic built-in potential as an additional tuning parameter in both existing and novel device architectures, especially as atomic control of oxide interfaces gains widespread momentum.
Surface photovoltage (SPV) spectroscopy, which is a versatile method to analyze the energetic distribution of electronic defect states at surfaces and interfaces of wide-bandgap semiconductor (hetero-)structures, is applied to comparatively investigate heterostructures made of 5-unit-cell-thick LaAlO$_3$ films grown either on TiO$_2$- or on SrO-terminated SrTiO$_3$. As shown in a number of experimental and theoretical investigations in the past, these two interfaces exhibit dramatically different properties with the first being conducting and the second insulating. Our present SPV investigation reveals clearly distinguishable interface defect state distributions for both configurations when interpreted within the framework of a classical semiconductor band scheme. Furthermore, bare SrTiO$_3$ crystals with TiO$_2$ or mixed SrO/TiO$_2$ terminations show similar SPV spectra and transients as do LaAlO$_3$-covered samples with the respective termination of the SrTiO$_3$ substrate. This is in accordance with a number of recent works that stress the decisive role of SrTiO$_3$ and the minor role of LaAlO$_3$ with respect to the electronic interface properties.
A number of recent studies indicate that the charge conduction of the LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interface at low temperature is confined to filaments which are linked to structural domain walls in the SrTiO$_3$ with drastic consequences for example for the temperature dependence of local transport properties. We demonstrate that as a consequences of this current carrying filaments on the nano-scale the magnetotransport properties of the interface are highly anisotropic. Our magnetoresistance measurements reveal that the magnetoresistance in different nanostructures ($<500nm$) is random in magnitude and sign, respectively. Warming up nanostructures above the structural phase transition temperature (105K) results in the significant change in MR. Even a sign change of the magnetoresistance is possible. The results suggest that domain walls that are differently oriented with respect to the surface exhibit different respective magnetoresistance and the total magnetoresistance is a result of a random domain wall pattern formed during the structural phase transition in the SrTiO$_3$ at cool down.
We have studied the electronic properties of the 2D electron liquid present at the LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interface in series of samples prepared at different growth temperatures. We observe that interfaces fabricated at 650{deg}C exhibit the highest low temperature mobility ($approx 10000 textrm{ cm}^2/textrm{Vs}$) and the lowest sheet carrier density ($approx 5times 10^{12} textrm{ cm}^{-2}$). These samples show metallic behavior and Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in their magnetoresistance. Samples grown at higher temperatures (800-900{deg}C) display carrier densities in the range of $approx 2-5 times 10^{13} textrm{ cm}^{-2}$ and mobilities of $approx 1000 textrm{ cm}^2/textrm{Vs}$ at 4K. Reducing their carrier density by field effect to $8times 10^{12} textrm{ cm}^{-2}$ lowers their mobilites to $approx 50 textrm{ cm}^2/textrm{Vs}$ bringing the conductance to the weak-localization regime.
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