Domain wall nature of sketched LaAlO3/SrTiO3 nanowires

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that one-dimensional LaAlO3/SrTiO3 nanowires are inherently ferroelastic domain walls, providing insights into their unique electronic properties and potential for quantum applications.

Contribution

It provides thermodynamic evidence that these nanowires are intrinsically ferroelastic domain walls, explaining their enhanced quantum transport properties.

Findings

Spreading resistance anomalies correlate with domain wall polarity.

Characteristic temperatures match domain wall thermodynamic behavior.

Insights into superconductivity and high mobility transport phenomena.

Abstract

The rich electron correlations and highly coherent transport in reconfigurable devices sketched by a conductive atomic force microscope tip at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface have enabled the oxide platform an ideal playground for studying correlated electrons and quantum technological applications. Why these one-dimensional devices possess enhanced properties over the two-dimensional interface, however, has remained elusive. Here we provide evidence that one-dimensional LaAlO3/SrTiO3 nanowires are intrinsically ferroelastic domain walls by nature through thermodynamic study. We have observed spreading resistance anomalies under thermo-stimulus and temperature cycles, with characteristic temperatures matching domain wall polarity. This information is crucial in understanding the novel phenomena including superconductivity and high mobility quantum transport.