Oxygen Electromigration and Energy Band Reconstruction Induced by Electrolyte Field Effect at Oxide Interfaces.

Electrolyte gating is a powerful means for tuning the carrier density and exploring the resultant modulation of novel properties on solid surfaces. However, the mechanism, especially its effect on the oxygen migration and electrostatic charging at the oxide heterostructures, is still unclear. Here we explore the electrolyte gating on oxygen-deficient interfaces between SrTiO_{3} (STO) crystals and LaAlO_{3} (LAO) overlayer through the measurements of electrical transport, x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectra. We found that oxygen vacancies (O_{vac}) were filled selectively and irreversibly after gating due to oxygen electromigration at the amorphous LAO/STO interface, resulting in a reconstruction of its interfacial band structure. Because of the filling of O_{vac}, the amorphous interface also showed an enhanced electron mobility and quantum oscillation of the conductance. Further, the filling effect could be controlled by the degree of the crystallinity of the LAO overlayer by varying the growth temperatures. Our results reveal the different effects induced by electrolyte gating, providing further clues to understand the mechanism of electrolyte gating on buried interfaces and also opening a new avenue for constructing high-mobility oxide interfaces.

Physical properties modulation of Fe3O4/Pb(ZrTi)O3 heterostructure via Fe diffusion.

The manipulation of material properties in perovskite oxide heterojunctions has been increasingly studied, owing to their interacting lattice, charge, spin and orbital degrees of freedom. In this work, the switching, ferroelectricity and magneto-transport properties of epitaxially grown perovskite Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 layers sandwiched between Fe3O4 (top electrode) and SrRuO3 (bottom electrode) are investigated. These films show a typical ferroelectric polarization of ∼50 µC/cm(2). Once the Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 films become thinner (∼30 nm), one can set (reset) the Fe3O4/Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/SrRuO3 structures into a low (high) resistance state via formation (rupture) of an Fe-related filament in Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 through manipulation of an electric field. Interestingly, at the low-resistance state, a prominent magnetoresistance signal of ∼3% was observed. There is no magnetoresistance signal detected in the virgin Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 film (before switching), high-resistive state Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 film and Au/Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/SrRuO3. These phenomena are attributed to the diffusion of Fe-related ions into the Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 film, turning a non-magnetic and insulating layer of perovskite Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 into a magnetic and semiconducting-like Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3. The magneto-transport properties of Fe3O4/Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/SrRuO3 have been studied extensively. Such resistance-ferroelectric-ferromagnetic coupling in a single compound paves the way to the realization of a non-volatile multiple-state Pb(ZrTi)O3 hybrid memory, as well as new computing approaches.

Room-temperature ferromagnetism of Cu-doped ZnO films probed by soft X-ray magnetic circular dichroism.

We report direct evidence of room-temperature ferromagnetic ordering in O-deficient ZnO:Cu films by using soft x-ray magnetic circular dichroism and x-ray absorption. Our measurements have revealed unambiguously two distinct features of Cu atoms associated with (i) magnetically ordered Cu ions present only in the oxygen-deficient samples and (ii) magnetically disordered regular Cu2+ ions present in all the samples. We find that a sufficient amount of both oxygen vacancies (V(O)) and Cu impurities is essential to the observed ferromagnetism, and a non-negligible portion of Cu impurities is uninvolved in the magnetic order. Based on first-principles calculations, we propose a microscopic "indirect double-exchange" model, in which alignments of localized large moments of Cu in the vicinity of the V(O) are mediated by the large-sized vacancy orbitals.

Role of RKKY torque on domain wall motion in synthetic antiferromagnetic nanowires with opposite spin Hall angles.

We experimentally show the effect of enhanced spin-orbit and RKKY induced torques on the current-induced motion of a pair of domain walls (DWs), which are coupled antiferromagnetically in synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) nanowires. The torque from the spin Hall effect (SHE) rotates the Néel DWs pair into the transverse direction, which is due to the fact that heavy metals of opposite spin Hall angles are deposited at the top and the bottom ferromagnetic interfaces. The rotation of both DWs in non-collinear fashion largely perturbs the antiferromagnetic coupling, which in turn stimulates an enhanced interlayer RKKY exchange torque that improved the DW velocity. The interplay between the SHE-induced torque and the RKKY exchange torque is validated via micromagnetic simulations. In addition, the DW velocity can be further improved by increasing the RKKY exchange strength.

Investigation of the non-volatile resistance change in noncentrosymmetric compounds.

Coexistence of polarization and resistance-switching characteristics in single compounds has been long inspired scientific and technological interests. Here, we report the non-volatile resistance change in noncentrosymmetric compounds investigated by using defect nanotechnology and contact engineering. Using a noncentrosymmetric material of ZnO as example, we first transformed ZnO into high resistance state. Then ZnO electrical polarization was probed and its domains polarized 180° along the [001]-axis with long-lasting memory effect (>25 hours). Based on our experimental observations, we have developed a vacancy-mediated pseudoferroelectricity model. Our first-principle calculations propose that vacancy defects initiate a spontaneous inverted domains nucleation at grain boundaries, and then they grow in the presence of an electrical field. The propagation of inverted domains follows the scanning tip motion under applied electrical field, leading to the growth of polarized domains over large areas.

Room temperature ferromagnetism in Teflon due to carbon dangling bonds.

The ferromagnetism in many carbon nanostructures is attributed to carbon dangling bonds or vacancies. This provides opportunities to develop new functional materials, such as molecular and polymeric ferromagnets and organic spintronic materials, without magnetic elements (for example, 3d and 4f metals). Here we report the observation of room temperature ferromagnetism in Teflon tape (polytetrafluoroethylene) subjected to simple mechanical stretching, cutting or heating. First-principles calculations indicate that the room temperature ferromagnetism originates from carbon dangling bonds and strong ferromagnetic coupling between them. Room temperature ferromagnetism has also been successfully realized in another polymer, polyethylene, through cutting and stretching. Our findings suggest that ferromagnetism due to networks of carbon dangling bonds can arise in polymers and carbon-based molecular materials.