Department of Physics and AstronomyUniversity of Bologna
Publications/journal article
journal article

Formation and Observation of a Quasi-Two-DimensionaldxyElectron Liquid in Epitaxially StabilizedSr2−xLaxTiO4Thin Films

Y. F. Nie, D. Di Sante, S. Chatterjee, P. D. C. King, M. Uchida, S. Ciuchi, D. G. Schlom, K. M. Shen

Physical Review Letters · Vol. 115 · 2015

Abstract

We report the formation and observation of an electron liquid in Sr(2-x)La(x)TiO4, the quasi-two-dimensional counterpart of SrTiO3, through reactive molecular-beam epitaxy and in situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The lowest lying states are found to be comprised of Ti 3d_{xy} orbitals, analogous to the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface and exhibit unusually broad features characterized by quantized energy levels and a reduced Luttinger volume. Using model calculations, we explain these characteristics through an interplay of disorder and electron-phonon coupling acting cooperatively at similar energy scales, which provides a possible mechanism for explaining the low free carrier concentrations observed at various oxide heterostructures such as the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface.