Epitaxial growth and the magnetic properties of orthorhombic YTiO3 thin films

High-quality YTiO3 thin films were grown on LaAlO3 (110) substrates at low oxygen pressures (<10-8 Torr) using pulsed laser deposition. The in-plane asymmetric atomic arrangements at the substrate surface allowed us to grow epitaxial YTiO3 thin films, which have an orthorhombic crystal structure with quite different a- and b-axes lattice constants. The YTiO3 film exhibited a clear ferromagnetic transition at 30 K with a saturation magnetization of about 0.7 uB/Ti. The magnetic easy axis was found to be along the [1-10] direction of the substrate, which differs from the single crystal easy axis direction, i.e., [001].Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Dielectric constants of Ir, Ru, Pt, and IrO2: Contributions from bound charges

We investigated the dielectric functions $\epsilon$($\omega$) of Ir, Ru, Pt, and IrO$_2$, which are commonly used as electrodes in ferroelectric thin film applications. In particular, we investigated the contributions from bound charges $\epsilon^{b}$($\omega$), since these are important scientifically as well as technologically: the $\epsilon_1^{b}$(0) of a metal electrode is one of the major factors determining the depolarization field inside a ferroelectric capacitor. To obtain $\epsilon_1^{b}$(0), we measured reflectivity spectra of sputtered Pt, Ir, Ru, and IrO2 films in a wide photon energy range between 3.7 meV and 20 eV. We used a Kramers-Kronig transformation to obtain real and imaginary dielectric functions, and then used Drude-Lorentz oscillator fittings to extract $\epsilon_1^{b}$(0) values. Ir, Ru, Pt, and IrO$_2$ produced experimental $\epsilon_1^{b}$(0) values of 48$\pm$10, 82$\pm$10, 58$\pm$10, and 29$\pm$5, respectively, which are in good agreement with values obtained using first-principles calculations. These values are much higher than those for noble metals such as Cu, Ag, and Au because transition metals and IrO$_2$ have such strong d-d transitions below 2.0 eV. High $\epsilon_1^{b}$(0) values will reduce the depolarization field in ferroelectric capacitors, making these materials good candidates for use as electrodes in ferroelectric applications.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, 2 table

Optical Study of the Free Carrier Response of LaTiO3/SrTiO3 Superlattices

We used infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry to investigate the electronic properties of LaTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices (SLs). Our results indicated that, independent of the SL periodicity and individual layer-thickness, the SLs exhibited a Drude metallic response with sheet carrier density per interface ~3x10^14 cm^-2. This is probably due to the leakage of d-electrons at interfaces from the Mott insulator LaTiO3 to the band insulator SrTiO3. We observed a carrier relaxation time ~ 35 fs and mobility ~ 35 cm^2V^-1s^-1 at 10 K, and an unusual temperature dependence of carrier density that was attributed to the dielectric screening of quantum paraelectric SrTiO3.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Two dimensional analysis of flow patterns and dispersion in meandering channels

River hydrodynamicsTurbulent open channel flow and transport phenomen

Multiple conducting carriers generated in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures

We have found that there is more than one type of conducting carriers generated in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures by comparing the sheet carrier density and mobility from optical transmission spectroscopy with those from dc-transport measurements. When multiple types of carriers exist, optical characterization dominantly reflects the contribution from the high-density carriers whereas dc-transport measurements may exaggerate the contribution of the high-mobility carriers even though they are present at low-density. Since the low-temperature mobilities determined by dc-transport in the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures are much higher than those extracted by optical method, we attribute the origin of high-mobility transport to the low-density conducting carriers.Comment: 3 figures, supplemental materia

Charge states and magnetic ordering in LaMnO3/SrTiO3 superlattices

We investigated the magnetic and optical properties of [(LaMnO3)n/(SrTiO3)8]20 (n = 1, 2, and 8) superlattices grown by pulsed laser deposition. We found a weak ferromagnetic and semiconducting state developed in all superlattices. An analysis of the optical conductivity showed that the LaMnO3 layers in the superlattices were slightly doped. The amount of doping was almost identical regardless of the LaMnO3 layer thickness up to eight unit cells, suggesting that the effect is not limited to the interface. On the other hand, the magnetic ordering became less stable as the LaMnO3 layer thickness decreased, probably due to a dimensional effect.Comment: 17 pages including 4 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Charge Fluctuations in Geometrically Frustrated Charge Ordering System

Effects of geometrical frustration in low-dimensional charge ordering systems are theoretically studied, mainly focusing on dynamical properties. We treat extended Hubbard models at quarter-filling, where the frustration arises from competing charge ordered patterns favored by different intersite Coulomb interactions, which are effective models for various charge transfer-type molecular conductors and transition metal oxides. Two different lattice structures are considered: (a) one-dimensional chain with intersite Coulomb interaction of nearest neighbor V_1 and that of next-nearest neighbor V_2, and (b) two-dimensional square lattice with V_1 along the squares and V_2 along one of the diagonals. From previous studies, charge ordered insulating states are known to be unstable in the frustrated region, i.e., V_1 \simeq 2V_2 for case (a) and V_1 \simeq V_2 for case (b), resulting in a robust metallic phase even when the interaction strenghs are strong. By applying the Lanczos exact diagonalization to finite-size clusters, we have found that fluctuations of different charge order patterns exist in the frustration-induced metallic phase, showing up as characteristic low energy modes in dynamical correlation functions. Comparison of such features between the two models are discussed, whose difference will be ascribed to the dimensionality effect. We also point out incommensurate correlation in the charge sector due to the frustration, found in one-dimensional clusters.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure

Two-Dimensional Confinement of 3d1 Electrons in LaTiO3/LaAlO3 Multilayers

We report spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements of the anisotropy of the interband transitions parallel and perpendicular to the planes of (LaTiO3)n(LaAlO3)5 multilayers with n = 1-3. These provide direct information about the electronic structure of the two-dimensional (2D) 3d^1 state of the Ti ions. In combination with LDA+U calculations, we suggest that 2D confinement in the TiO2 slabs lifts the degeneracy of the t_{2g} states leaving only the planar d_xy orbitals occupied. We outline that these multilayers can serve as a model system for the study of the t_{2g} 2D Hubbard model.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let