Abstract

Polar metals are commonly defined as metals with polar structural distortions. Strict symmetry restrictions make them an extremely rare breed as the structural constraints favor insulating over metallic phase. Moreover, no polar metals are known to be magnetic. Here we report on the realization of a magnetic polar metal phase in a BaTiO3/SrRuO3/BaTiO3 heterostructure. Electron microscopy reveals polar lattice distortions in three-unit-cells thick SrRuO3 between BaTiO3 layers. Electrical transport and magnetization measurements reveal that this heterostructure possesses a metallic phase with high conductivity and ferromagnetic ordering with high saturation moment. The high conductivity in the SrRuO3 layer can be attributed to the effect of electrostatic carrier accumulation induced by the BaTiO3 layers. Density-functional-theory calculations provide insights into the origin of the observed properties of the thin SrRuO3 film. The present results pave a way to design materials with desired functionalities at oxide interfaces.

Details

Title
Interface-induced magnetic polar metal phase in complex oxides
Author
Meng, Meng 1 ; Wang, Zhen 2 ; Aafreen Fathima 3 ; Ghosh, Saurabh 4 ; Saghayezhian, Mohammad 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Taylor, Joel 1 ; Jin, Rongying 1 ; Zhu, Yimei 5 ; Pantelides, Sokrates T 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Zhang, Jiandi 1 ; Plummer, E W 1 ; Guo, Hangwen 1 

1  Department of Physics & Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA 
2  Department of Physics & Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Condensed Matter Physics & Materials Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA 
3  Department of Physics & Nanotechnology and SRM Research Institute, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India 
4  Department of Physics & Nanotechnology and SRM Research Institute, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India; Department of Physics and Astronomy and Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA 
5  Condensed Matter Physics & Materials Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA 
6  Department of Physics and Astronomy and Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA 
Pages
1-7
Publication year
2019
Publication date
Nov 2019
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20411723
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13270-7
ProQuest document ID
2316417605
Copyright
© 2019. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.