Rashba induced magnetoconductance oscillations in the LaAlO3-SrTiO3 heterostructure

TL;DR

This study investigates how Rashba spin-orbit coupling causes magnetoconductance oscillations in LaAlO3-SrTiO3 heterostructures, revealing Fermi surface reconstruction and magnetic field-induced gap modulation.

Contribution

It demonstrates the link between Rashba spin-orbit effects and magnetoconductance oscillations, providing new insights into the electronic structure of LaAlO3-SrTiO3 interfaces.

Findings

Periodic magnetoconductance oscillations with magnetic field angle

Fermi surface reconstruction due to Rashba spin-orbit coupling

Magnetic field-induced gap opening and closing at the Γ point

Abstract

We report measurements of the normal state in-plane magnetoconductance in gated LaAlO$_3$-SrTiO$_3$ samples. As the orientation of the magnetic field changes within the plane of the interface, the signal displays periodic oscillations with respect to the angle between the field and the direction of the current. We show that in the underdoped to optimally doped range, a Fermi surface reconstruction takes place due to the Rashba spin-orbit term and that the oscillations are due to a magnetic field induced opening and closing of a gap at the $\Gamma$ point for those Ti out-of-plane orbitals having their band minimum close to the Fermi energy of the system.