Engineering two-dimensional superconductivity and Rashba spin-orbit coupling in LaAlO₃/SrTiO₃ quantum wells by selective orbital occupancy

Nat Commun. 2015 Jan 13:6:6028. doi: 10.1038/ncomms7028.

Abstract

The discovery of two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) at oxide interfaces-involving electrons in narrow d-bands-has broken new ground, enabling the access to correlated states that are unreachable in conventional semiconductors based on s- and p- electrons. There is a growing consensus that emerging properties at these novel quantum wells-such as 2D superconductivity and magnetism-are intimately connected to specific orbital symmetries in the 2DEG sub-band structure. Here we show that crystal orientation allows selective orbital occupancy, disclosing unprecedented ways to tailor the 2DEG properties. By carrying out electrostatic gating experiments in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 wells of different crystal orientations, we show that the spatial extension and anisotropy of the 2D superconductivity and the Rashba spin-orbit field can be largely modulated by controlling the 2DEG sub-band filling. Such an orientational tuning expands the possibilities for electronic engineering of 2DEGs at LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interfaces.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.