Coupling lattice instabilities across the interface in ultrathin oxide heterostructures

Abstract

Oxide heterointerfaces constitute a rich platform for realizing novel functionalities in condensed matter. A key aspect is the strong link between structural and electronic properties, which can be modified by interfacing materials with distinct lattice symmetries. Here we determine the effect of the cubic-tetragonal distortion of ${\text{SrTiO}}_3$ on the electronic properties of thin films of ${\text{SrIrO}}_3$, a topological crystalline metal hosting a delicate interplay between spin-orbit coupling and electronic correlations. We demonstrate that below the transition temperature at 105 K, ${\text{SrIrO}}_3$ orthorhombic domains couple directly to tetragonal domains in ${\text{SrTiO}}_3$. This forces the in-phase rotational axis to lie in-plane and creates a binary domain structure in the ${\text{SrIrO}}_3$ film. The close proximity to the metal-insulator transition in ultrathin ${\text{SrIrO}}_3$ causes the individual domains to have strongly anisotropic transport properties, driven by a reduction of bandwidth along the in-phase axis. The strong structure-property relationships in perovskites make these compounds particularly suitable for static and dynamic coupling at interfaces, providing a promising route towards realizing novel functionalities in oxide heterostructures.

arXiv comment5 pages, 4 figures

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• Isostructural Metal-Insulator Transition Driven by Dimensional-Crossover in SrIrO3 Heterostructures
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• Pentagonal nanowires from topological crystalline insulators: a platform for intrinsic core-shell nanowires and higher-order topology
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• Inducing ferromagnetism by structural engineering in a strongly spin-orbit coupled oxide
• Sign competing sources of Berry curvature and anomalous Hall conductance humps in topological ferromagnets
• Angular dependence of hump-shape Hall Effects for distinguishing between Karplus-Luttinger and Geometrical Origins
• Evidence for strong electron correlations in a non-symmorphic Dirac semimetal
• Nanoscale characterization of atomic positions in orthorhombic perovskite thin films