Paper TF+SE-ThM2
Probing the Atomic Scale Structure of Polar Oxide Interfaces

Thursday, November 2, 2017, 8:20 am, Room 20

Complex oxide heterostructures possess a wide range of functional electronic and magnetic properties including metal-insulator transitions, superconductivity, ferroelectricity and colossal magnetoresistance effects. At epitaxial interfaces formed between atomically thin complex oxide films, electronic, chemical and structural interactions can be used to effectively tune the physical properties of these materials. Using a combination of atomic-scale controlled thin film synthesis and high resolution synchrotron diffraction based imaging, we show that structural distortions at the interfaces between polar La_1-xSr_xMnO₃ films and non-polar substrates can be effectively tuned by chemical modifications at these interfaces to control ferromagnetism in [001]-oriented La_1-xSr_xMnO₃ films with thickness less than 1 nm. We show that atomic-scale chemical control at polar/non polar oxide interfaces provides a powerful route to engineer novel electronic and magnetic phenomena at complex oxide interfaces.