journal article·2020-09-23Open access

Two-Dimensional Electron Gas at the Spinel/Perovskite Interface: Suppression of Polar Catastrophe by an Ultrathin Layer of Interfacial Defects

Junfeng Ding, Jianli Cheng, Fatih Dogan, Yangyang Li, Weinan Lin, Yingbang Yao, Aurelien Manchon, Kesong Yang, Tom Wu

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces· Volume 12· Issue 38

Abstract

Two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the interface between two insulating perovskite oxides has attracted much interest for both fundamental physics and potential applications. Here, we report the discovery of a new 2DEG formed at the interface between spinel MgAl2O4 and perovskite SrTiO3. Transport measurements, electron microscopy imaging, and first-principles calculations reveal that the interfacial 2DEG is closely related to the symmetry breaking at the MgAl2O4/SrTiO3 interface. The critical film thickness for the insulator-to-metal transition is approximately 32 Å, which is twice as thick as that reported on the widely studied LaAlO3/SrTiO3 system. Scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging indicates the formation of interfacial Ti–Al antisite defects with a thickness of ∼4 Å. First-principles density functional theory calculations indicate that the coexistence of the antisite defects and surface oxygen vacancies may explain the formation of interfacial 2DEG as well as the observed critical film thickness. The discovery of 2DEG at the spinel/perovskite interface introduces a new material platform for designing oxide interfaces with desired characteristics.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Electronic and Structural Properties of Oxides · Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials · Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, People’s Republic of China

Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0448, United States

College of Engineering and Technology, American University of the Middle East, Kuwait

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117575 Singapore

School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, People’s Republic of China

Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, CINaM, Marseille 13288, France

School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

Funding

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China · National Natural Science Foundation of China · Academic Senate General Campus Research Grant Committee at University of California San Diego · CASHIPS Director's Fund

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