Diluted Oxide Interfaces with Tunable Ground States

Abstract

The metallic interface between two oxide insulators, such as LaAlO₃ /SrTiO₃ (LAO/STO), provides new opportunities for electronics and spintronics. However, due to the presence of multiple orbital populations, tailoring the interfacial properties such as the ground state and metal-insulator transitions remains challenging. Here, an unforeseen tunability of the phase diagram of LAO/STO is reported by alloying LAO with a ferromagnetic LaMnO₃ insulator without forming lattice disorder and at the same time without changing the polarity of the system. By increasing the Mn-doping level, x, of LaAl_1- _x Mn_x O₃ /STO (0 ≤ x ≤ 1), the interface undergoes a Lifshitz transition at x = 0.225 across a critical carrier density of n_c = 2.8 × 10¹³ cm^-2 , where a peak T_SC ≈255 mK of superconducting transition temperature is observed. Moreover, the LaAl_1- _x Mn_x O₃ turns ferromagnetic at x ≥ 0.25. Remarkably, at x = 0.3, where the metallic interface is populated by only d_xy electrons and just before it becomes insulating, a same device with both signatures of superconductivity and clear anomalous Hall effect (7.6 × 10¹² cm^-2 < n_s ≤ 1.1 × 10¹³ cm^-2 ) is achieved reproducibly. This provides a unique and effective way to tailor oxide interfaces for designing on-demand electronic and spintronic devices.