arXiv subjects

J. Mannhart

Publications and source records attributed to J. Mannhart.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Alex Müller, the High-Tc Field-Effect Transistor and Electric-Field Gated Quantum Materials

Alex Müller and Georg Bednorz are widely recognized for their trailblazing discovery of high-temperature superconductivity and their groundbreaking research on SrTiO3. In comparison, their substantial contributions to inventing the high-Tc superconducting field-effect transistor remain relatively unknown. Nevertheless, their efforts were crucial in developing the electric field effect into a valuable tool for studying a broad spectrum of complex materials. This article provides a brief overview of these developments and of the current status in this field, with a particular focus on Alex Müller's visionary role in advancing the field following the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Decoherence Effects Break Reciprocity in Matter Transport

The decoherence of quantum states defines the transition between the quantum world and classical physics. Decoherence or, analogously, quantum mechanical collapse events pose fundamental questions regarding the interpretation of quantum mechanics and are technologically relevant because they limit the coherent information processing performed by quantum computers. We have discovered that the transition regime enables a novel type of matter transport. Applying this discovery, we present nanoscale devices in which decoherence, modeled by random quantum jumps, produces fundamentally novel phenomena by interrupting the unitary dynamics of electron wave packets. Noncentrosymmetric conductors with mesoscopic length scales act as two-terminal rectifiers with unique properties. In these devices, the inelastic interaction of itinerant electrons with impurities acting as electron trapping centers leads to a novel steady state characterized by partial charge separation between the two leads, or, in closed circuits to the generation of persistent currents. The interface between the quantum and the classical worlds therefore provides a novel transport regime of value for the realization of a new category of mesoscopic electronic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Determination of the phase coherence length of PdCoO$_2$ nanostructures

The two-dimensional layered compound PdCoO$_2$ is one of the best oxide conductors, providing an intriguing research arena opened by the long mean free path and the very high mobility of ~51000 cm2/Vs. These properties turn PdCoO$_2$ into a candidate material for nanoscale quantum devices. By exploring universal conductance fluctuations originating at nanoscale PdCoO$_2$ Hall-bar devices, we determined the phase coherence length of electron transport in c-axis oriented PdCoO$_2$ thin films to equal ~100 nm. The weak temperature dependence of the measured phase coherence length suggests that defect scattering at twin boundaries in the PdCoO$_2$ thin film governs phase breaking. These results suggest that phase coherent devices can be achieved by realizing the devices smaller than the size of twin domains, via refined microfabrication and suppression of twin boundaries.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Non-unitary Quantum Electronics: Novel Functions from the Edge of the Quantum World

Novel categories of electronic devices and quantum materials are obtained by pipelining the unitary evolution of electron quantum states as described by Schroedinger's equation with non-unitary processes that interrupt the coherent propagation of electrons. These devices and materials reside in the fascinating transition regime between quantum mechanics and classical physics. The devices are designed such that a nonreciprocal unitary state evolution is achieved by means of a broken inversion symmetry, for example as induced at material interfaces. This coherent state evolution is interrupted by individual inelastic scattering events caused by defects coupled to an environment. Two-terminal non-unitary quantum devices, for example, feature nonreciprocal conductance in linear response. Thus, they are exemptions to Onsager's reciprocal relation, and they challenge the second law of thermodynamics. Implementing the device function into the unit cells of materials or meta-materials yields novel functionalities in 2D and 3D materials, at interfaces, and in heterostructures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Ferromagnetism and conductivity in atomically thin SrRuO3

Atomically thin ferromagnetic and conducting electron systems are highly desired for spintronics, because they can be controlled with both magnetic and electric fields. We present (SrRuO3)1-(SrTiO3)5 superlattices and single-unit-cell-thick SrRuO3 samples that are capped with SrTiO3. We achieve samples of exceptional quality. In these samples, the electron systems comprise only a single RuO2 plane. We observe conductivity down to 50 mK, a ferromagnetic state with a Curie temperature of 25 K, and signals of magnetism persisting up to approximately 100 K.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Phase Filters for a Novel Kind of Asymmetric Transport

We present the concept of nonreciprocal interferometers. These two-way devices let particles pass in both directions, but in one direction break the phase of the particles' wave functions. Such filters can be realized by using, for example, asymmetric quantum rings. Furthermore, we propose arrangements of these interferometers to obtain larger interferometers which are expected to exhibit a puzzling behavior that resembles Maxwell demon action. We indicate an opportunity to resolve this puzzle experimentally.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Hydrostatic pressure response of an oxide two-dimensional electron system

Two-dimensional electron systems with fascinating properties exist in multilayers of standard semiconductors, on helium surfaces, and in oxides. Compared to the two-dimensional (2D) electron gases of semiconductors, the 2D electron systems in oxides are typically more strongly correlated and more sensitive to the microscopic structure of the hosting lattice. This sensitivity suggests that the oxide 2D systems are highly tunable by hydrostatic pressure. Here we explore the effects of hydrostatic pressure on the well-characterized 2D electron system formed at LaAlO$_{3}$ -SrTiO$_{3}$ interfaces[1] and measure a pronounced, unexpected response. Pressure of $\sim$2 GPa reversibly doubles the 2D carrier density $n_{s}$ at 4 K. Along with the increase of $n_{s}$, the conductivity and mobility are reduced under pressure. First-principles pressure simulations reveal the same behavior of the carrier density and suggest a possible mechanism of the mobility reduction, based on the dielectric properties of both materials and their variation under external pressure.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Evidence for Superconducting Phase Coherence in the Metallic/Insulating Regime of the LaAlO3-SrTiO3 Interface Electron System

A superconducting phase with an extremely low carrier density of the order of 10^13 cm^-2 is present at LaAlO3-SrTiO3 interfaces. If depleted from charge carriers by means of a gate field, this superconducting phase undergoes a transition into a metallic/insulating state that is still characterized by a gap in the spectral density of states. Measuring and analyzing the critical field of this gap, we provide evidence that macroscopically phase-coherent Cooper pairs are present in the metallic/insulating state. This is characterized by fluctuating vortex-antivortex pairs, and not by individual, immobile Cooper pairs. The measurements furthermore yield the carrier-density dependence of the superconducting coherence length of the two-dimensional system.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Field Effect Transistors with Sub-Micrometer Gate Lengths Fabricated from LaAlO$_3$-SrTiO$_3$-Based Heterostructures

The possible existence of short-channel effects in oxide field-effect transistors is investigated by exploring field-effect transistors with various gate lengths fabricated from LaAlO$_3$-SrTiO$_3$ heterostructures. The studies reveal the existence of channel-length modulation and drain-induced barrier lowering for gate lengths below 1 μm, with a characteristic behavior comparable to semiconducting devices. With the fabrication of field-effect transistors with gate lengths as small as 60 nm the results demonstrate the possibility to fabricate by electron-beam lithography functional devices based on complex oxides with characteristic lengths of several ten nanometers.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Emerging magnetism and electronic phase separation at titanate interfaces

The emergence of magnetism in otherwise nonmagnetic compounds and its underlying mechanisms have become the subject of intense research. Here we demonstrate that the nonmagnetic oxygen vacancies are responsible for an unconventional magnetic state common for titanate interfaces and surfaces. Using an effective multiorbital modelling, we find that the presence of localized vacancies leads to an interplay of ferromagnetic order in the itinerant t2g band and complex magnetic oscillations in the orbitally-reconstructed eg-band, which can be tuned by gate fields at oxide interfaces. The magnetic phase diagram includes highly fragmented regions of stable and phase-separated magnetic states forming beyond nonzero critical defect concentrations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Direct k-space mapping of the electronic structure in an oxide-oxide interface

The interface between LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 hosts a two-dimensional electron system of itinerant carriers, although both oxides are band insulators. Interface ferromagnetism coexisting with superconductivity has been found and attributed to local moments. Experimentally, it has been established that Ti 3d electrons are confined to the interface. Using soft x-ray angle-resolved resonant photoelectron spectroscopy we have directly mapped the interface states in k-space. Our data demonstrate a charge dichotomy. A mobile fraction contributes to Fermi surface sheets, whereas a localized portion at higher binding energies is tentatively attributed to electrons trapped by O-vacancies in the SrTiO3. While photovoltage effects in the polar LaAlO3 layers cannot be excluded, the apparent absence of surface-related Fermi surface sheets could also be fully reconciled in a recently proposed electronic reconstruction picture where the built-in potential in the LaAlO3 is compensated by surface O-vacancies serving also as charge reservoir.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

LaAlO3 stoichiometry found key to electron liquid formation at LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interfaces

Emergent phenomena, including superconductivity and magnetism, found in the two-dimensional electron liquid (2-DEL) at the interface between the insulators LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 distinguish this rich system from conventional two-dimensional electron gases at compound semiconductor interfaces. The origin of this 2-DEL, however, is highly debated with focus on the role of defects in the SrTiO3 while the LaAlO3 has been assumed perfect. Our experiments and first principles calculations show that the cation stoichiometry of the nominal LaAlO3 layer is key to 2-DEL formation: only Al-rich LaAlO3 results in a 2-DEL. While extrinsic defects including oxygen deficiency are known to render LaAlO3/SrTiO3 samples conducting, our results show that in the absence of such extrinsic defects, an interface 2-DEL can form. Its origin is consistent with an intrinsic electronic reconstruction occurring to counteract a polarization catastrophe. This work provides a roadmap for identifying other interfaces where emergent behaviors await discovery.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Highly-Efficient Thermoelectronic Conversion of Solar Energy and Heat into Electric Power

Electric power may, in principle, be generated in a highly efficient manner from heat created by focused solar irradiation, chemical combustion, or nuclear decay by means of thermionic energy conversion. As the conversion efficiency of the thermionic process tends to be degraded by electron space charges, the efficiencies of thermionic generators have amounted to only a fraction of those fundamentally possible. We show that this space-charge problem can be resolved by shaping the electric potential distribution of the converter such that the static electron space-charge clouds are transformed into an output current. Although the technical development of practical generators will require further substantial efforts, we conclude that a highly efficient transformation of heat to electric power may well be achieved.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Electric-field-induced pyroelectric order and localization of the confined electrons in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures

With infrared ellipsometry, x-ray diffraction, and electric transport measurements we investigated the electric-field-effect on the confined electrons at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface. We obtained evidence that the localization of the electrons at low temperature and negative gate voltage is induced, or at least strongly enhanced, by a pyroelectric phase transition in SrTiO3 which strongly reduces the lattice polarizability and the subsequent Coulomb screening. In particular, we show that the charge localisation and the polar order of SrTiO3 both develop below about 50 K and exhibit similar, unipolar hysteresis loops as a function of the gate voltage. Our findings suggest that the pyroelectric order also plays an important role in the quantum phase transition at very low temperatures where superconductivity is suppressed by an electric field.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Oxygen vacancies at titanate interfaces: two-dimensional magnetism and orbital reconstruction

We show that oxygen vacancies at titanate interfaces induce a complex multiorbital reconstruction which involves a lowering of the local symmetry and an inversion of t2g and eg orbitals resulting in the occupation of the eg orbitals of Ti atoms neighboring the O vacancy. The orbital reconstruction depends strongly on the clustering of O vacancies and can be accompanied by a magnetic splitting between the local eg orbitals with lobes directed towards the vacancy and interface dxy orbitals. The reconstruction generates a two-dimensional interface magnetic state not observed in bulk SrTiO3. Using generalized gradient approximation (LSDA) with intra-atomic Coulomb repulsion (GGA+U), we find that this magnetic state is common for titanate surfaces and interfaces.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Large Negative Electronic Compressibility of LaAlO3-SrTiO3 Interfaces with Ultrathin LaAlO3 Layers

A two-dimensional electron liquid is formed at the n-type interface between SrTiO3 and LaAlO3. Here we report on Kelvin probe microscopy measurements of the electronic compressibility of this electron system. The electronic compressibility is found to be negative for carrier densities of \approx10^13/cm^2. At even smaller densities, a metal-to-insulator transition occurs. These local measurements corroborate earlier measurements of the electronic compressibility of LaAlO3-SrTiO3 interfaces obtained by measuring the capacitance of macroscopic metal-LaAlO3-SrTiO3 capacitors.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Field-Effect Devices Utilizing LaAlO$_3$-SrTiO$_3$ Interfaces

Using LaAlO$_3$-SrTiO$_3$ bilayers, we have fabricated field-effect devices that utilize the two-dimensional electron liquid generated at the bilayers' {\textit n}-type interfaces as drain-source channels and the LaAlO$_3$ layers as gate dielectrics. With gate voltages well below 1\,V, the devices are characterized by voltage gain and current gain. The devices were operated at temperatures up to 100\,°C.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Magnetism and superconductivity at LAO/STO-interfaces: the role of Ti 3d interface electrons

Ferromagnetism and superconductivity are in most cases adverse. However, recent experiments reveal that they coexist at interfaces of LaAlO3 and SrTiO3. We analyze the magnetic state within density functional theory and provide evidence that magnetism is not an intrinsic property of the two-dimensional electron liquid at the interface. We demonstrate that the robust ferromagnetic state is induced by the oxygen vacancies in SrTiO3- or in the LaAlO3-layer. This allows for the notion that areas with increased density of oxygen vacancies produce ferromagnetic puddles and account for the previous observation of a superparamagnetic behavior in the superconducting state.

cond-mat.str-el↗