Stability and electronic structure studies of LaAlO_3/SrTiO_3 (110) heterostructures

The first-principles calculations are employed to investigate the stability, magnetic, and electrical properties of the oxide heterostructure of LaAlO3/SrTiO3(110). By comparing their interface energies, it is obtained that the buckled interface is more stable than the abrupt interface. This result is consistent with experimental observation. At the interface of LaAlO3/SrTiO3(110) heterostructure, the Ti–O octahedron distortions cause the Ti t2 gorbitals to split into the twofold degenerate dxz/dyz and nondegenerate dxy orbitals. The former has higher energy than the latter. The partly filled two-fold degenerate t2 gorbitals are the origin of two-dimensional electron gas, which is confined at the interface. Lattice mismatch between LaAlO3 and SrTiO3leads to ferroelectric-like lattice distortions at the interface, and this is the origin of spin-splitting of Ti 3d electrons. Hence the magnetism appears at the interface of LaAlO3/SrTiO3(110).