Abstract

“Often, it may be said that the interface is the device,” as stated by Prof. Herbert Kroemer in his Nobel lecture in 2000 [1]. A rich set of fundamental physical phenomena can be explored in the complex oxide interface. At the interface, surprising novel properties were discovered, which are not present in their bulk counterparts. The interface between lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO₃) (LAO) and strontium titanate (SrTiO₃) (STO) is a remarkable system that was discovered in 2004 [2]; despite both materials being insulators, a quasi-two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) can be found at their interface. The discovery of 2DEG at the interface between the LAO and STO heterostructure with intriguing properties such as the ability of nanopatterning [3], magnetism [4], superconductivity [5], resistance switching behavior [6], and photoconductivity [7] has been studied extensively in recent years. The study of such properties of the LAO/STO interface is one of emerging areas in the field of condensed matter physics.