Novel phenomena appear when two different oxide materials are combinedtogether to form an interface. For example, at the interface of LaAlO3/SrTiO3,two dimensional conductive states form to avoid the polar discontinuity andmagnetic properties are found at such interface. In this work, we propose a newtype of interface between two nonmagnetic and nonpolar oxides that could host aconductive state with magnetic properties, where it is the ferroelectricpolarization discontinuity instead of the polar discontinuity that leads to thecharge transfer, forming the interfacial conductive or magnetic states. As aconcrete example, we investigate by first-principles calculations theheterostructures made of ferroelectric perovskite oxide PbTiO3 andnon-ferroelectric polarized oxides TiO2. We show that charge is transferred tothe interfacial layer forming an interfacial conductive state withferromagnetic ordering that may persist up to room temperature. Especially, thestrong coupling between bulk ferroelectric polarization and interfaceferromagnetism represents a new type of magnetoelectric effect, which providesan ideal platform for exploring the intriguing interfacial multiferroics. Thefindings here are important not only for fundamental science but also forpromising applications in nanoscale electronics and spintronics.
展开▼
