Geometrical lattice engineering of complex oxide heterostructures: a designer approach to emergent quantum states

TL;DR

This paper reviews the emerging field of geometrical lattice engineering in complex oxide heterostructures, focusing on how unconventional growth directions like (111) can lead to novel quantum states and phases.

Contribution

It highlights recent experimental efforts and demonstrates the potential of (111)-oriented heterostructures to realize new quantum phenomena.

Findings

Unconventional growth directions enable new quantum phases.

(111) heterostructures show promising emergent phenomena.

Experimental techniques are advancing to design complex oxide interfaces.

Abstract

Epitaxial heterostructures composed of complex oxides have fascinated researchers for over a decade as they offer multiple degrees of freedom to unveil emergent many-body phenomena often unattainable in bulk. Recently, apart from stabilizing such artificial structures along the conventional [001]-direction, tuning the growth direction along unconventional crystallographic axes has been highlighted as a promising route to realize novel quantum many-body phases. Here we illustrate this rapidly developing field of geometrical lattice engineering with the emphasis on a few prototypical examples of the recent experimental efforts to design complex oxide heterostructures along the (111) orientation for quantum phase discovery and potential applications.