Artificial two-dimensional polar metal at room temperature

Yanwei Cao, Zhen Wang, Se Young Park, Yakun Yuan, Xiaoran Liu, Sergey M. Nikitin, Hirofumi Akamatsu, M. Kareev, S. Middey, D. Meyers, P. Thompson, P. J. Ryan, Padraic Shafer, A. N'Diaye, E. Arenholz, Venkatraman Gopalan, Yimei Zhu, Karin M. Rabe, J. Chakhalian

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

65 Scopus citations

Abstract

Polar metals, commonly defined by the coexistence of polar crystal structure and metallicity, are thought to be scarce because the long-range electrostatic fields favoring the polar structure are expected to be fully screened by the conduction electrons of a metal. Moreover, reducing from three to two dimensions, it remains an open question whether a polar metal can exist. Here we report on the realization of a room temperature two-dimensional polar metal of the B-site type in tri-color (tri-layer) superlattices BaTiO3/SrTiO3/LaTiO3. A combination of atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy with electron energy-loss spectroscopy, optical second harmonic generation, electrical transport, and first-principles calculations have revealed the microscopic mechanisms of periodic electric polarization, charge distribution, and orbital symmetry. Our results provide a route to creating all-oxide artificial non-centrosymmetric quasi-Two-dimensional metals with exotic quantum states including coexisting ferroelectric, ferromagnetic, and superconducting phases.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number1547
JournalNature communications
Volume9
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2018

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemistry
  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Physics and Astronomy

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