Scalable Programming of LaAlO <sub>3</sub> /SrTiO <sub>3</sub> Interfaces via Ultra‐Low‐Voltage Electron‐Beam Lithography
Abstract Interface engineering at complex oxide heterostructures enables a wide range of electronic functionalities critical for next‐generation devices. Here it is demonstrated that ultra‐low‐voltage electron beam lithography (ULV‐EBL) creates high‐quality mesoscale structures at LaAlO 3 /SrTiO 3 (LAO/STO) interfaces with greater efficiency than conventional methods. Nanowires, tunnel barriers, and electron waveguides are successfully patterned that exhibit distinctive transport characteristics including 1D superconductivity, nonlinear current–voltage behavior, and ballistic electron flow. While conductive atomic force microscopy (c‐AFM) previously enabled similar interface modifications, ULV‐EBL provides significantly faster patterning speeds (10 mm s −1 vs 1 µm s −1 ), wafer‐scale capability (>(10 cm) 2 vs <(90 µm) 2 ), and maintenance of pattern quality under vacuum conditions. Additionally, an efficient oxygen plasma treatment method is developed for pattern erasure and surface cleaning, which reveals novel surface reaction dynamics at oxide interfaces. These capabilities establish ULV‐EBL as a versatile approach for scalable interface engineering in complex oxide heterostructures, with potential applications in reconfigurable electronics, sensors, and oxide‐based devices.
Authors
- Kyoungjun Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0472-3583)
- Kitae Eom (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8114-609X)
- Jeremy Levy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5700-2977)
- Dengyu Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8282-9618)
- Muqing Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0528-7712)
- Patrick Irvin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0248-2758)
- Chang‐Beom Eom (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8854-1439)
- Ranjani Ramachandran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0595-7677)
Institutions
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Materials Interfaces
- Published
- 2025-09-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202500442
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Electronic and Structural Properties of Oxides
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.52
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Defense
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Office of Science
- Division of Materials Research
- Basic Energy Sciences