Two-dimensional electron gas with universal subbands at the surface of SrTiO(3).

As silicon is the basis of conventional electronics, so strontium titanate (SrTiO(3)) is the foundation of the emerging field of oxide electronics. SrTiO(3) is the preferred template for the creation of exotic, two-dimensional (2D) phases of electron matter at oxide interfaces that have metal-insulator transitions, superconductivity or large negative magnetoresistance. However, the physical nature of the electronic structure underlying these 2D electron gases (2DEGs), which is crucial to understanding their remarkable properties, remains elusive. Here we show, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, that there is a highly metallic universal 2DEG at the vacuum-cleaved surface of SrTiO(3) (including the non-doped insulating material) independently of bulk carrier densities over more than seven decades. This 2DEG is confined within a region of about five unit cells and has a sheet carrier density of ∼0.33 electrons per square lattice parameter. The electronic structure consists of multiple subbands of heavy and light electrons. The similarity of this 2DEG to those reported in SrTiO(3)-based heterostructures and field-effect transistors suggests that different forms of electron confinement at the surface of SrTiO(3) lead to essentially the same 2DEG. Our discovery provides a model system for the study of the electronic structure of 2DEGs in SrTiO(3)-based devices and a novel means of generating 2DEGs at the surfaces of transition-metal oxides.

Bad-Metal Behavior Reveals Mott Quantum Criticality in Doped Hubbard Models.

Bad-metal (BM) behavior featuring linear temperature dependence of the resistivity extending to well above the Mott-Ioffe-Regel (MIR) limit is often viewed as one of the key unresolved signatures of strong correlation. Here we associate the BM behavior with the Mott quantum criticality by examining a fully frustrated Hubbard model where all long-range magnetic orders are suppressed, and the Mott problem can be rigorously solved through dynamical mean-field theory. We show that for the doped Mott insulator regime, the coexistence dome and the associated first-order Mott metal-insulator transition are confined to extremely low temperatures, while clear signatures of Mott quantum criticality emerge across much of the phase diagram. Remarkable scaling behavior is identified for the entire family of resistivity curves, with a quantum critical region covering the entire BM regime, providing not only insight, but also quantitative understanding around the MIR limit, in agreement with the available experiments.

First-order insulator-to-metal Mott transition in the paramagnetic 3D system GaTa4Se8.

The nature of the Mott transition in the absence of any symmetry breaking remains a matter of debate. We study the correlation-driven insulator-to-metal transition in the prototypical 3D Mott system GaTa(4)Se(8), as a function of temperature and applied pressure. We report novel experiments on single crystals, which demonstrate that the transition is of first order and follows from the coexistence of two states, one insulating and one metallic, that we toggle with a small bias current. We provide support for our findings by contrasting the experimental data with calculations that combine local density approximation with dynamical mean-field theory, which are in very good agreement.

Electronic subband reconfiguration in a d0-perovskite induced by strain-driven structural transformations.

It is well known that transport in lightly n-doped SrTiO(3) involves light and heavy electron bands. We have found that upon application of moderate quasi-isotropic pressures, the relative positions of these subbands are changed by a few meV and, eventually, a band inversion occurs at ~1 kbar. Such effects are, however, suppressed in the closely related KTaO(3) perovskite. We show that the extremely subtle electronic reconfiguration in SrTiO(3) is triggered by strain-induced structural transformations that are accompanied by remarkable mobility enhancements up to about Δµ/µ≈300%. Our results provide a microscopic rationale for the recently discovered transport enhancement under strain and underscore the role of the internal structural degrees of freedom in the modulation of the perovskite electronic properties.

Non-volatile resistive switching in the dielectric superconductor YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-δ).

We report on the reversible, non-volatile and polarity-dependent resistive switching between superconductor and insulator states at the interfaces of an Au/YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-δ) (YBCO)/Au system. We show that, upon application of electric pulses, the superconducting state of YBCO in regions near the electrodes can be reversibly removed and restored. In addition, four-wire measurements reveal that pulsing also induces significant non-volatile changes in the bulk resistance. We argue that our observations are compatible with a scenario where the switching effect is due to migration of oxygen ions along grain boundaries that control the inter-grain superconducting coupling.

An ultra-compact leaky-integrate-and-fire model for building spiking neural networks.

We introduce an ultra-compact electronic circuit that realizes the leaky-integrate-and-fire model of artificial neurons. Our circuit has only three active devices, two transistors and a silicon controlled rectifier (SCR). We demonstrate the implementation of biologically realistic features, such as spike-frequency adaptation, a refractory period and voltage modulation of spiking rate. All characteristic times can be controlled by the resistive parameters of the circuit. We built the circuit with out-of-the-shelf components and demonstrate that our ultra-compact neuron is a modular block that can be associated to build multi-layer deep neural networks. We also argue that our circuit has low power requirements, as it is normally off except during spike generation. Finally, we discuss the ultimate ultra-compact limit, which may be achieved by further replacing the SCR circuit with Mott materials.

Manganite-based memristive heterojunction with tunable non-linear I-V characteristics.

A resistive random access memory (ReRAM) based on the memristive effect allows high-density integration through a cross-point array (CPA) structure. However, a significant common drawback of the CPA configuration is the crosstalk between cells. Here, we introduce a solution based on a novel heterojunction stack solely made of members of the perovskite manganite family Pr(1-x)Ca(x)MnO3 (PCMO) and CaMnO(3-δ) (CMO) which show electroforming-free bipolar resistive switching. The heterojunction consists of rectifying interfaces and shows a symmetrical and tunable non-linear current-voltage curve. The spectromicroscopic measurements support the scenario of specialized roles, with the memristive effect taking place at the active Al-PCMO interface via a redox mechanism, while non-linearity was achieved by adopting a rectifying double interface PCMO-CMO-PCMO.

Memristive and neuromorphic behavior in a Li(x)CoO2 nanobattery.

The phenomenon of resistive switching (RS), which was initially linked to non-volatile resistive memory applications, has recently also been associated with the concept of memristors, whose adjustable multilevel resistance characteristics open up unforeseen perspectives in cognitive computing. Herein, we demonstrate that the resistance states of Li(x)CoO2 thin film-based metal-insulator-metal (MIM) solid-state cells can be tuned by sequential programming voltage pulses, and that these resistance states are dramatically dependent on the pulses input rate, hence emulating biological synapse plasticity. In addition, we identify the underlying electrochemical processes of RS in our MIM cells, which also reveal a nanobattery-like behavior, leading to the generation of electrical signals that bring an unprecedented new dimension to the connection between memristors and neuromorphic systems. Therefore, these LixCoO2-based MIM devices allow for a combination of possibilities, offering new perspectives of usage in nanoelectronics and bio-inspired neuromorphic circuits.

Two-dimensional electron gas with six-fold symmetry at the (111) surface of KTaO3.

Two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) at transition-metal oxide (TMO) interfaces, and boundary states in topological insulators, are being intensively investigated. The former system harbors superconductivity, large magneto-resistance, and ferromagnetism. In the latter, honeycomb-lattice geometry plus bulk spin-orbit interactions lead to topologically protected spin-polarized bands. 2DEGs in TMOs with a honeycomb-like structure could yield new states of matter, but they had not been experimentally realized, yet. We successfully created a 2DEG at the (111) surface of KTaO3, a strong insulator with large spin-orbit coupling. Its confined states form a network of weakly-dispersing electronic gutters with 6-fold symmetry, a topology novel to all known oxide-based 2DEGs. If those pertain to just one Ta-(111) bilayer, model calculations predict that it can be a topological metal. Our findings demonstrate that completely new electronic states, with symmetries not realized in the bulk, can be tailored in oxide surfaces, promising for TMO-based devices.

Dynamical mean field theory of an effective three-band model for NaxCoO2.

We derive an effective Hamiltonian for highly correlated t_{2g} states centered at the Co sites of NaxCoO2. The essential ingredients of the model are an O mediated hopping, a trigonal crystal-field splitting, and on-site effective interactions derived from the exact solution of a multiorbital model in a CoO6 cluster, with parameters determined previously. The effective model is solved by dynamical mean field theory. We obtain a Fermi surface and electronic dispersion that agrees well with angle-resolved photoemission spectra. Our results also elucidate the origin of the "sinking pockets" in different doping regimes.

Non-Fermi-liquid behavior in the periodic anderson model.

We study the Mott metal-insulator transition in the periodic Anderson model with dynamical mean field theory (DMFT). Near the quantum transition, we find a non-Fermi-liquid metallic state down to a vanishing temperature scale. We identify the origin of the non-Fermi-liquid behavior as being due to magnetic scattering of the doped carriers by the localized moments. The non-Fermi-liquid state can be tuned by either doping or external magnetic field. Our results show that the coupling to spatial magnetic fluctuations (absent in DMFT) is not a prerequisite to realizing a non-Fermi-liquid scenario for heavy fermion systems.

Metal-insulator transitions in the periodic Anderson model.

We solve the periodic Anderson model in the Mott-Hubbard regime, using dynamical mean field theory. Upon electron doping of the Mott insulator, a metal-insulator transition occurs which is qualitatively similar to that of the single band Hubbard model, namely, with a divergent effective mass and a first order character at finite temperatures. Surprisingly, upon hole doping, the metal-insulator transition is not first order and does not show a divergent mass. Thus, the transition scenario of the single band Hubbard model is not generic for the periodic Anderson model, even in the Mott-Hubbard regime.

Mechanism of electric-pulse-induced resistance switching in manganites.

We investigate the electric-pulse-induced resistance switching in manganite systems. We find a "complementarity" effect where the contact resistance of electrodes at opposite ends show variations of opposite sign and is reversible. The temperature dependence of the magnitude of the effect reveals a dramatic enhancement at a temperature T*, below the metal-insulator transition. We qualitatively capture these features with a theoretical model, providing evidence for the physical mechanism of the resistance switching. We argue that doping control of the electronic state of the oxide at the interfaces is the mechanism driving the effect.

Dynamical response of quantum spin-glass models at t = 0.

We study the behavior of two archetypal quantum spin glasses at T = 0 by exact diagonalization techniques: the random Ising model in a transverse field and the random Heisenberg model. The behavior of the dynamical spin response is obtained in the spin-glass ordered phase. In both models it is gapless and has the general form chi(")(omega) = qdelta(omega)+chi(")(reg)(omega), with chi(")(reg)(omega) approximately omega for the Ising and chi(")(reg)(omega) approximately const for the Heisenberg, at low frequencies. The method provides new insight to the physical nature of the low-lying excitations.

Compressibility divergence and the finite temperature Mott transition.

In the context of the dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) of the Hubbard model, we study the behavior of the compressibility near the density driven Mott transition at finite temperatures. We demonstrate this divergence using DMFT and quantum Monte Carlo simulations in the one-band and the two-band Hubbard model. We supplement this result with considerations based on the Landau theory framework, and discuss the relevance of our results to the alpha-gamma end point in cerium.

Nonvolatile memory with multilevel switching: a basic model.

There is a current upsurge in research on nonvolatile two-terminal resistance random access memory (RRAM) for next generation electronic applications. The RRAM is composed of a simple sandwich of a semiconductor with two metal electrodes. We introduce here an initial model for RRAM with the assumption that the semiconducting part has a nonpercolating domain structure. We solve the model using numerical simulations and the basic carrier transfer mechanism is unveiled in detail. Our model captures three key features observed in experiments: multilevel switchability of the resistance, its memory retention, and hysteretic behavior in the current-voltage curve.