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Updated: May 1, 2026
Growth and Electrostatic/chemical Properties of Metal/LaAlO3/SrTiO3 Heterostructures
Published on: February 8, 2018
Mechanisms of charge transfer and redistribution in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 revealed by high-energy optical conductivity
T C Asmara1, A Annadi2, I Santoso1
11] NUSNNI-NanoCore, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117411, Singapore [2] Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore [3] Singapore Synchrotron Light Source, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117603, Singapore.
Abstract:
In condensed matter physics the quasi two-dimensional electron gas at the interface of two different insulators, polar LaAlO3 on nonpolar SrTiO3 (LaAlO3/SrTiO3) is a spectacular and surprising observation. This phenomenon is LaAlO3 film thickness dependent and may be explained by the polarization catastrophe model, in which a charge transfer of 0.5e(-) from the LaAlO3 film into the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface is expected. Here we show that in conducting samples (≥ 4 unit cells of LaAlO3) there is indeed a ~0.5e(-) transfer from LaAlO3 into the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface by studying the optical conductivity in a broad energy range (0.5-35 eV). Surprisingly, in insulating samples (≤ 3 unit cells of LaAlO3) a redistribution of charges within the polar LaAlO3 sublayers (from AlO2 to LaO) as large as ~0.5e(-) is observed, with no charge transfer into the interface. Hence, our results reveal the different mechanisms for the polarization catastrophe compensation in insulating and conducting LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interfaces.
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