Letter abstract
Nature Materials 6, 493 - 496 (2007)
Published online: 3 June 2007 | doi:10.1038/nmat1931
Subject Categories: Electronic materials | Magnetic materials | Surface and thin films
Magnetic effects at the interface between non-magnetic oxides
A. Brinkman1, M. Huijben1,4, M. van Zalk1, J. Huijben1, U. Zeitler2, J. C. Maan2, W. G. van der Wiel3, G. Rijnders1, D. H. A. Blank1 & H. Hilgenkamp1
The electronic reconstruction at the interface between two insulating oxides can give rise to a highly conductive interface1, 2. Here we show how, in analogy to this remarkable interface-induced conductivity, magnetism can be induced at the interface between the otherwise non-magnetic insulating perovskites SrTiO3 and LaAlO3. A large negative magnetoresistance of the interface is found, together with a logarithmic temperature dependence of the sheet resistance. At low temperatures, the sheet resistance reveals magnetic hysteresis. Magnetic ordering is a key issue in solid-state science and its underlying mechanisms are still the subject of intense research. In particular, the interplay between localized magnetic moments and the spin of itinerant conduction electrons in a solid gives rise to intriguing many-body effects such as Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yosida interactions3, the Kondo effect4 and carrier-induced ferromagnetism in diluted magnetic semiconductors5. The conducting oxide interface now provides a versatile system to induce and manipulate magnetic moments in otherwise non-magnetic materials.
- Faculty of Science and Technology and MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
- High Field Magnet Laboratory, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Strategic Research Orientation NanoElectronics, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
- Present address: Physics Department, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
Correspondence to: A. Brinkman1 e-mail: a.brinkman@utwente.nl
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Electron microscopy Interfaces under focusNature Materials News and Views (01 Mar 2006)
Perovskite oxides An atomic force pencil and eraserNature Materials News and Views (01 Apr 2008)
See all 7 matches for News And ViewsRESEARCH
A high-mobility electron gas at the LaAlO 3 /SrTiO 3 heterointerfaceNature Letters to Editor (29 Jan 2004)
Why some interfaces cannot be sharpNature Materials Article (01 Mar 2006)
See all 53 matches for Research
