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Title: In-situ probing of coupled atomic restructuring and metallicity of oxide heterointerfaces induced by polar adsorbates

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4991956· OSTI ID:1418361

Microscopic understanding of the surface-controlled conductivity of the two dimensional electron gas at complex oxide interfaces is crucial for developing functional interfaces. We observe conductivity and structural modification using in-situ synchrotron surface x-ray diffraction as the surface of a model LaAlO3/SrTiO3 (001) heterostructure is changed by polar adsorbates. We find that polar adsorbate-induced interfacial metallicity reduces polar distortions in the LaAlO3 layer. First-principles density functional theory calculations show that surface dipoles introduced by polar adsorbates lead to additional charge transfer and the reduction of polar displacements in the LaAlO3 layer, consistent with the experimental observations. Our study supports that internal structural deformations controlling functionalities can be driven without the application of direct electrical or thermal bias and offers a route to tuning interfacial properties. Furthermore, these results also highlight the important role of in-situ x-ray scattering with atomic resolution in capturing and exploring structural distortions and charge density changes caused by external perturbations such as chemical adsorption, redox reaction, and generation and/or annihilation of surface defects.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; FG02-06ER46327
OSTI ID:
1418361
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1396065
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 111, Issue 14; ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 2 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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