Issue 5, 2019

Inhomogeneous energy landscape in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 nanostructures

Abstract

SrTiO3-based heterointerfaces exhibit gate-tunable superconductivity, magnetism, and several other properties that can be programmed at nanoscale dimensions using conductive atomic force microscopy (c-AFM). Spatially resolved measurements indicate that intrinsic structural distortions in the SrTiO3 layer can profoundly influence the transport characteristics. Here, we report the low temperature transport properties of quasi-1D, cross-shaped electron waveguides, “nanocrosses”, created at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface using c-AFM lithography. Inhomogeneities in the electronic band structure of the four arms are observed that are highly reproducible over several device writing/measurement cycles, provided that the writing is performed at the same location on the sample. A proposed ferroelastic domain configuration near the nanocross can provide a mechanism for the observed inhomogeneities. Our model suggests that the three-dimensional ferroelastic domain structure of SrTiO3 near the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface can significantly and reproducibly affect the transport properties of the interface. The nanocross geometry can also serve as a building block for understanding the 1D electron physics of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures.

Graphical abstract: Inhomogeneous energy landscape in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 nanostructures

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
22 Mar 2019
Accepted
24 May 2019
First published
24 May 2019

Nanoscale Horiz., 2019,4, 1194-1201

Author version available

Inhomogeneous energy landscape in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 nanostructures

A. Nethwewala, H. Lee, M. Briggeman, Y. Tang, J. Li, J. Lee, C. Eom, P. Irvin and J. Levy, Nanoscale Horiz., 2019, 4, 1194 DOI: 10.1039/C9NH00188C

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