Spin polarization of the two-dimensional electron gas at the <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">EuO/SrTiO</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mn>3</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:math> (001) interfa
Spin-polarized two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) are of particular interest for functional oxide electronics applications. The redox-created 2DEG residing on the strontium titanate, <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><a:msub><a:mi>SrTiO</a:mi><a:mn>3</a:mn></a:msub></a:math> (STO), side of a europium monoxide <b:math xmlns:b="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><b:mrow><b:mrow><b:mo>(</b:mo><b:mi>EuO</b:mi><b:mo>)</b:mo></b:mrow><b:mo>/</b:mo><b:msub><b:mi>SrTiO</b:mi><b:mn>3</b:mn></b:msub></b:mrow></b:math> (001) interface is expected to be significantly spin polarized due to the proximity to the strong (<c:math xmlns:c="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><c:mrow><c:mn>7</c:mn><c:mspace width="0.16em"/><c:msub><c:mi>μ</c:mi><c:mi>B</c:mi></c:msub><c:mo>/</c:mo><c:mi>f</c:mi><c:mo>.</c:mo><c:mi>u</c:mi><c:mo>.</c:mo></c:mrow></c:math>) Heisenberg ferromagnet EuO. We apply magnetic circular dichroism in the angular distribution (MCDAD) of photoemitted electrons to investigate whether and how the induced spin polarization of the 2DEG depends on the dimensionality of the overlaying EuO layer. The experimental data are complemented by density functional theory calculations with a Hubbard <e:math xmlns:e="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><e:mi>U</e:mi></e:math> term (<f:math xmlns:f="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><f:mrow><f:mi>DFT</f:mi><f:mo>+</f:mo><f:mi>U</f:mi></f:mrow></f:math>). We show that the EuO/STO interfacial 2DEG is spin polarized even for ultrathin EuO overlayers, starting at an EuO threshold thickness of only two monolayers. Additional EuO monolayers even increase the induced magnetic Ti moment and thus the spin polarization of the 2DEG. Our results and the potential to enhance the magnetic order of EuO by other proximity effects indicate that the EuO/STO(001) interface is an ideal template for creating (multi-)functional spin-polarized 2DEGs for application in oxide electronics.
Authors
- Kai Roßnagel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5107-0090)
- G. Schoenhense (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8921-2901)
- H. J. Elmers (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2525-9954)
- Paul Rosenberger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9608-9545)
- Dmytro Kutnyakhov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6294-4600)
- Moritz Hoesch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0114-2110)
- Markus Scholz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5669-9912)
- Rossitza Pentcheva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4423-8980)
- Martina Müller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6082-9038)
- O. Fedchenko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6159-7934)
- Olena Tkach
- Andri Darmawan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3065-2096)
- S. V. Chernov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4605-8673)
Institutions
- University of Konstanz (DE)
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY (DE)
- Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (DE)
- Stony Brook University (US)
- University of Duisburg-Essen (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Materials
- Published
- 2025-06-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevmaterials.9.064401
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Electronic and Structural Properties of Oxides
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.52
Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron