Time reversal symmetry-protected transport at correlated oxide interfaces
Time-reversal symmetry (TRS) protection is core to topological physics, yet its role in correlated oxides-typically non-topological-remains underexplored. This limit hampers the potential in engineering exotic quantum states by fusing TRS protection and rich emergent phenomena in the oxide platform. Here, we report evidence of a TRS-protected subband at oxygen vacancy-free LaAlO<sub>3</sub>/SrTiO<sub>3</sub> interfaces. This subband causes a low-field quantum oscillation with anomalous characteristics: exceptionally light electron mass, aperiodicity, and susceptibility to magnetic fields. All findings align with a Rashba model in which TRS-protected transport occurs along quasi-1D ferroelastic domain walls, which possess a Dirac band topology and a giant Rashba spin-orbit coupling, two orders stronger than the 2D interface. Our results deepen the understanding of SrTiO<sub>3</sub>-based electron systems, unveiling an appealing new platform for quantum engineering.
Authors
- Can Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3351-166X)
- Chang‐Kui Duan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1016-4976)
- Mengke Ha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4940-3068)
- Zhaoliang Liao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1701-9456)
- Danqing Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2241-7723)
- Longbing Shang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3444-8105)
- Zhiyuan Qin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6745-8743)
- Pu Yan
- Zhenlan Chen
- Kecheng Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7180-7237)
- Guanglei Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6620-1479)
- Qing Xiao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2581-1366)
- Xinyi Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9347-8657)
- Jiangfeng Du (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8085-8012)
- Wei-Tao Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0566-671X)
- Yang Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5631-3768)
- Dawei Qiu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9046-8843)
- Changjian Ma
- H. Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2467-5331)
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Fudan University (CN)
- ShanghaiTech University (CN)
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (CN)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- National Science Review
- Published
- 2025-05-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaf156
- Primary Topic
- Electronic and Structural Properties of Oxides
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Central University Basic Research Fund of China
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Center for Advanced Study, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign