Phase Instability amid Dimensional Crossover in Artificial Oxide Crystal

• Published in: Physical review letters 2020-01, Vol.124 (2), p.026401
• Main Authors: Jeong, Seung Gyo, Min, Taewon, Woo, Sungmin, Kim, Jiwoong, Zhang, Yu-Qiao, Cho, Seong Won, Son, Jaeseok, Kim, Young-Min, Han, Jung Hoon, Park, Sungkyun, Jeong, Hu Young, Ohta, Hiromichi, Lee, Suyoun, Noh, Tae Won, Lee, Jaekwang, Choi, Woo Seok
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Charge transfer; Crossovers; Crystals; Ferromagnetism; Insulators; Interlayers; Metal-insulator transition; Phase transitions; Stability; Superlattices; Synthesis; Unit cell
• ISSN: 0031-9007; 1079-7114
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.026401

Artificial crystals synthesized by atomic-scale epitaxy provide the ability to control the dimensions of the quantum phases and associated phase transitions via precise thickness modulation. In particular, the reduction in dimensionality via quantized control of atomic layers is a powerful approach to revealing hidden electronic and magnetic phases. Here, we demonstrate a dimensionality-controlled and induced metal-insulator transition (MIT) in atomically designed superlattices by synthesizing a genuine two-dimensional (2D) SrRuO_{3} crystal with highly suppressed charge transfer. The tendency to ferromagnetically align the spins in an SrRuO_{3} layer diminishes in 2D as the interlayer exchange interaction vanishes, accompanying the 2D localization of electrons. Furthermore, electronic and magnetic instabilities in the two SrRuO_{3} unit cell layers induce a thermally driven MIT along with a metamagnetic transition.