2013/07/31 by Feng Bi, Mengchen Huang, Sangwoo Ryu +7 · 142 citations
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Condensed matter physics #Electron #Electronic and Structural Properties of Oxides #Ferromagnetism #Interface (matter) #Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials #Magnetic field #Magnetism #Magnetization #Materials science #Physics #Superconductivity #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/ncomms6019
published in Nature Communications 5(1), 5019 (Nature Portfolio) · corrected typos, added data, results unchanged
arxiv created 2013/11/27 · crossref issued 2014/09/25 · crossref published 2014/09/25 · crossref published-online 2014/09/25 · openalex publication_date 2014/09/25 · crossref created 2014/09/25 · arxiv updated 2015/06/16 · crossref deposited 2023/01/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/05/13 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Reports of emergent conductivity, superconductivity, and magnetism at oxide interfaces have helped to fuel intense interest in their rich physics and technological potential. Here we employ magnetic force microscopy to search for room-temperature magnetism in the well-studied LaAlO3/SrTiO3 system. Using electrical top gating to deplete electrons from the oxide interface, we directly observe an in-plane ferromagnetic phase with sharply defined domain walls. Itinerant electrons, introduced by a top gate, align antiferromagnetically with the magnetization, at first screening and then destabilizing it as the conductive state is reached. Subsequent depletion of electrons results in a new, uncorrelated magnetic pattern. This newfound control over emergent magnetism at the interface between two non-magnetic oxides portends a number of important technological applications.