Anisotropic two-dimensional electron gas at SrTiO3(110)

Zhiming Wang, Zhicheng Zhong, Xianfeng Hao, Stefan Gerhold, Bernhard Stoeger, Michael Schmid, Jaime Sanchez-Barriga, Andrei Varykhalov, Cesare Franchini, Karsten Held, Ulrike Diebold (Corresponding author)

Publications: Contribution to journalArticlePeer Reviewed

Abstract

Two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) at oxide heterostructures are attracting considerable attention, as these might one day substitute conventional semiconductors at least for some functionalities. Here we present a minimal setup for such a 2DEG-the SrTiO3(110)-(4 x 1) surface, natively terminated with one monolayer of tetrahedrally coordinated titania. Oxygen vacancies induced by synchrotron radiation migrate underneath this overlayer; this leads to a confining potential and electron doping such that a 2DEG develops. Our angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and theoretical results show that confinement along (110) is strikingly different from the (001) crystal orientation. In particular, the quantized subbands show a surprising "semiheavy" band, in contrast with the analog in the bulk, and a high electronic anisotropy. This anisotropy and even the effective mass of the (110) 2DEG is tunable by doping, offering a high flexibility to engineer the properties of this system.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3933-3937
Number of pages5
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)
Volume111
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Mar 2014

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 103025 Quantum mechanics
  • 103036 Theoretical physics
  • 103015 Condensed matter
  • 103009 Solid state physics

Keywords

  • oxide surface
  • electronic structure
  • quantum confinement
  • perovskite
  • ARPES
  • LOCALIZED WANNIER FUNCTIONS
  • MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS
  • SURFACE
  • OXIDE
  • INTERFACES
  • METALS
  • STATES
  • Quantum confinement
  • Oxide surface
  • Perovskite
  • Electronic structure

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