Abstract
Modulation and δ-doping strategies, in which atomically thin layers of charged dopants are precisely deposited within a heterostructure, have played enabling roles in the discovery of new physical behavior in electronic materials. Here, we demonstrate a purely structural "δ-doping" strategy in complex oxide heterostructures, in which atomically thin manganite layers are inserted into an isovalent manganite host, thereby modifying the local rotations of corner-connected MnO6 octahedra. Combining scanning transmission electron microscopy, polarized neutron reflectometry, and density functional theory, we reveal how local magnetic exchange interactions are enhanced within the spatially confined regions of suppressed octahedral rotations. The combined experimental and theoretical results illustrate the potential to utilize noncharge-based approaches to "doping" in order to enhance or suppress functional properties within spatially confined regions of oxide heterostructures.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 197204 |
| Journal | Physical Review Letters |
| Volume | 119 |
| Issue number | 19 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 8 2017 |
Funding
E. J. M. and S. J. M. were supported by the Army Research Office under Grant No. W911NF-15-1-0133. Electron microscopy work (Q. H. and A. Y. B.) was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division. S. G. and S. T. P. were supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Grant No. DE-FG02-09ER46554, and by the McMinn endowment at Vanderbilt University. S. G and S. T. P. acknowledge the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility for providing computation time on “Titan” supercomputer under Grant No. Mat136. Some calculations were done at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, which is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. DOE under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. S. G. acknowledges SRM University supercomputing facility for partial computational support. We acknowledge the support of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce, in providing the neutron research facilities used in this work. Certain commercial equipment is identified in this Letter to foster understanding. Such identification does not imply recommendation or endorsement by NIST, nor does it imply that the materials or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| SRM University | |
| U.S. Department of Energy | DE-AC02-05CH11231 |
| National Institute of Standards and Technology | |
| Army Research Office | W911NF-15-1-0133 |
| U.S. Department of Commerce | |
| Office of Science | |
| Basic Energy Sciences | |
| Vanderbilt University | Mat136 |
| Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering | DE-FG02-09ER46554 |