Two-dimensional electron gas at the (001) surface of ferromagnetic EuTiO_{3}

Studies on oxide quasi-two-dimensional electron gas (q2DEG) have been a playground for the discovery of novel and sometimes unexpected phenomena, like the reported magnetism at the surface of SrTiO_{3} (001) and at the interface between nonmagnetic LaAlO_{3} and SrTiO_{3} band insulators. However, m...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: R. Di Capua, M. Verma, M. Radović, N. C. Plumb, J. H. Dil, Z. Ristić, E. B. Guedes, G. M. De Luca, D. Preziosi, Z. Wang, A. P. Weber, R. Pentcheva, M. Salluzzo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2021-12-01
Series:Physical Review Research
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.L042038
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Summary:Studies on oxide quasi-two-dimensional electron gas (q2DEG) have been a playground for the discovery of novel and sometimes unexpected phenomena, like the reported magnetism at the surface of SrTiO_{3} (001) and at the interface between nonmagnetic LaAlO_{3} and SrTiO_{3} band insulators. However, magnetism in this system is weak and there is evidence of a nonintrinsic origin. Here, by using in situ high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission, we demonstrate that ferromagnetic EuTiO_{3}, the magnetic counterpart of SrTiO_{3} in the bulk, hosts a q2DEG at its (001) surface. This is confirmed by density functional theory calculations with Hubbard U terms in the presence of oxygen divacancies in various configurations, all of them leading to a spin-polarized q2DEG related to the ferromagnetic order of Eu-4f magnetic moments. The results suggest EuTiO_{3}(001) as a new material platform for oxide q2DEGs, characterized by broken inversion and time-reversal symmetries.
ISSN:2643-1564