TY - JOUR
T1 - Artificial two-dimensional polar metal at room temperature
AU - Cao, Yanwei
AU - Wang, Zhen
AU - Park, Se Young
AU - Yuan, Yakun
AU - Liu, Xiaoran
AU - Nikitin, Sergey M.
AU - Akamatsu, Hirofumi
AU - Kareev, M.
AU - Middey, S.
AU - Meyers, D.
AU - Thompson, P.
AU - Ryan, P. J.
AU - Shafer, Padraic
AU - N'Diaye, A.
AU - Arenholz, E.
AU - Gopalan, Venkatraman
AU - Zhu, Yimei
AU - Rabe, Karin M.
AU - Chakhalian, J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Author(s).
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41467-018-03964-9
DO - 10.1038/s41467-018-03964-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 29670098
AN - SCOPUS:85045629538
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 9
JO - Nature communications
JF - Nature communications
IS - 1
M1 - 1547
ER -