Highly spin-polarized conducting state at the interface between non-magnetic band insulators: LaAlO3/FeS2 (001)

Abstract

First-principles density functional calculations demonstrate that a spin-polarized two-dimensional conducting state can be realized at the interface between two non-magnetic band insulators. The (001) surface of the diamagnetic insulator FeS2 (pyrite) supports a localized surface state deriving from Fe d-orbitals near the conduction band minimum. The deposition of a few unit cells of the polar perovskite oxide LaAlO3 leads to electron transfer into these surface bands, thereby creating a conducting interface. The occupation of these narrow bands leads to an exchange splitting between the spin sub-bands, yielding a highly spin-polarized conducting state distinct from the rest of the non-magnetic, insulating bulk. Such an interface presents intriguing possibilities for spintronics applications.

5 pages, 5 figures

References in corpus (6)

• Quantum ESPRESSO: a modular and open-source software project for quantum simulations of materials
• Magnetic effects at the interface between nonmagnetic oxides
• Avoiding the polarization catastrophe in LaAlO3 overlayers on SrTiO3(001) through a polar distortion
• Tailoring a two-dimensional electron gas at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 (001) interface by epitaxial strain
• Polar Discontinuity Doping of the LaVO_3/SrTiO_3 Interface
• A First-Principles Study of the Electronic Reconstructions of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 Heterointerfaces and Their Variants

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• Hydrogen adsorption-induced nanomagnetism at the Si(111)-(7$\times$7) surface