A termination-insensitive and robust electron gas at the heterointerface of two complex oxides

Zhang, Meng; Du, Kai; Ren, Tianshuang; Tian, He; Zhang, Ze; Hwang, Harold Y.; Xie, Yanwu

doi:10.1038/s41467-019-12036-5

Title: A termination-insensitive and robust electron gas at the heterointerface of two complex oxides

Journal Article · 06 September 2019 · Nature Communications

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12036-5 · OSTI ID:1597947

^[1]; Du, Kai ^[1]; Ren, Tianshuang ^[1];

^[1]; Zhang, Ze ^[1]; Hwang, Harold Y. ^[2];

^[3]

Zhejiang Univ., Hangzhou (China)
Stanford Univ., CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Zhejiang Univ., Hangzhou (China); Nanjing Univ. (China)

The single-crystal SrTiO₃ (001) has two different surface terminations, TiO₂ and SrO. One most remarkable observation in previous studies is that only the heterointerfaces with TiO₂-terminated SrTiO₃, which usually combines with polar oxides such as LaAlO₃, host an electron gas. Here we show that a robust electron gas can be generated between a non-polar oxide, CaHfO₃, and SrTiO₃ (001) with either termination. Unlike the well-known electron gas of LaAlO₃/SrTiO₃, the present one of CaHfO₃/SrTiO₃ essentially has no critical thickness of CaHfO₃, can survive a long-time oxygen annealing at high temperature, and its transport properties are stable under exposure to water and other polar solvents. By electrostatic gating through CaHfO₃, field-effect devices are demonstrated using CaHfO₃/SrTiO₃ heterointerfaces with both terminations. These results show that the electron gas reported in the present study is unique and promising for applications in oxide electronics.

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Research Organization:: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC); Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-76SF00515; 2016YFA0300204; 2017YFA0303002

OSTI ID:: 1597947

Journal Information:: Nature Communications, Vol. 10, Issue 1; ISSN 2041-1723

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 12 works

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Coexistence of Magnetic Order and Two-dimensional Superconductivity at LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ Interfaces Li, Lu; Richter, C.; Mannhart, J. arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1105.0235	text	January 2011
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The Effect of Polar Fluctuation and Lattice Mismatch on Carrier Mobility at Oxide Interfaces Huang, Z.; Han, K.; Zeng, S. W. arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1507.01675	text	January 2015
Tuning the two-dimensional electron liquid at oxide interfaces by buffer-layer-engineered redox reactions Chen, Y. Z.; Green, R. J.; Sutarto, R. arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1710.08121	text	January 2017

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