Atomically flat interface between a single-terminated LaAlO3 substrate and SrTiO3 thin film is insulating

Abstract

The surface termination of (100)-oriented LaAlO3 (LAO) single crystals was examined by atomic force microscopy and optimized to produce a single-terminated atomically flat surface by annealing. Then the atomically flat STO film was achieved on a single-terminated LAO substrate, which is expected to be similar to the n-type interface of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), i.e., (LaO)-(TiO2). Particularly, that can serve as a mirror structure for the typical 2DEG heterostructure to further clarify the origin of 2DEG. This newly developed interface was determined to be highly insulating. Additionally, this study demonstrates an approach to achieve atomically flat film growth based on LAO substrates.

4 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (11)

• Magnetic effects at the interface between nonmagnetic oxides
• Why Some Interfaces Cannot be Sharp
• Direct imaging of the coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface
• Coexistence of Magnetic Order and Two-dimensional Superconductivity at LaAlO${}_3$/SrTiO${}_3$ Interfaces
• The role of oxygen vacancies in SrTiO3 at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface
• Coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in two dimensions
• Tailoring a two-dimensional electron gas at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 (001) interface by epitaxial strain
• Large capacitance enhancement and negative compressibility of two-dimensional electronic systems at LaAlO${}_3$/SrTiO${}_3$ interfaces
• Carrier freeze-out induced metal-insulator transition in oxygen deficient SrTiO3 films
• Reversible metal-insulator transition in LaAlO3 thin films mediated by intragap defects: An alternative mechanism for resistive switching
• Nonlinear Insulator in Complex Oxides

Cited by in corpus (7)

• Physics of SrTiO${}_3$-based heterostructures and nanostructures: a review
• Origin of the two-dimensional electron gas at LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interfaces: The role of oxygen vacancies and electronic reconstruction
• Atomically flat single terminated oxide substrate surfaces
• Bandgap Controlling of the Oxygen-Vacancy-Induced Two-Dimensional Electron Gas in SrTiO3
• Role of polar compensation in interfacial ferromagnetism of LaNiO${}_3$/CaMnO${}_3$ superlattices
• The Conducting Channel at the LaAlO${}_3$/SrTiO${}_3$ Interface
• Metal-Insulator Transition in $n$-type bulk crystals and films of strongly compensated SrTiO${}_3$