Nanoscale control of the quasi-two-dimensional electron gas at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 (LAO/STO) interface by a conductive probe tip has triggered the development of a number of electronic devices. While the spatial distribution of the conductance is crucial for such devices, it is challenging to directly visualize the local electrical properties at the buried interface. Here, we demonstrate conductivity imaging of sketched nanostructures at the LAO/STO interface by microwave impedance microscopy (MIM) with a lateral resolution on the order of 100 nm. The sheet conductance extracted from the MIM data agrees with the transport measurement. The tip-induced insulator-to-metal transition is observed above a threshold voltage of +4 V. Our work paves the way for studying emergent phenomena at oxide interfaces by probing nanoscale conductance distribution.
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4 December 2017
Research Article|
December 06 2017
Direct imaging of sketched conductive nanostructures at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface
Zhanzhi Jiang
;
Zhanzhi Jiang
1
Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin
, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
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Xiaoyu Wu;
Xiaoyu Wu
1
Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin
, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
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Hyungwoo Lee;
Hyungwoo Lee
2
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
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Jung-Woo Lee;
Jung-Woo Lee
2
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
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Jianan Li
;
Jianan Li
3
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh
, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA
4
Pittsburgh Quantum Institute
, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA
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Guanglei Cheng;
Guanglei Cheng
3
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh
, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA
4
Pittsburgh Quantum Institute
, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA
5
CAS Key Laboratory of Microscale Magnetic Resonance and Department of Modern Physics, University of Science and Technology of China
, Hefei 230026, China
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Chang-Beom Eom;
Chang-Beom Eom
2
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
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Jeremy Levy;
Jeremy Levy
3
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh
, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA
4
Pittsburgh Quantum Institute
, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA
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Keji Lai
Keji Lai
1
Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin
, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
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Appl. Phys. Lett. 111, 233104 (2017)
Article history
Received:
September 20 2017
Accepted:
November 21 2017
Citation
Zhanzhi Jiang, Xiaoyu Wu, Hyungwoo Lee, Jung-Woo Lee, Jianan Li, Guanglei Cheng, Chang-Beom Eom, Jeremy Levy, Keji Lai; Direct imaging of sketched conductive nanostructures at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface. Appl. Phys. Lett. 4 December 2017; 111 (23): 233104. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5005917
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