Nanoscale rectification at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface

摘要

Nanoscale control over electron transport at scales that are comparable tothe Fermi wavelength or mean-free path can lead to new families of electronicdevices. Here we report electrical rectification in nanowires formed bynanoscale control of the metal-insulator transition at the interface betweenLaAlO3 and SrTiO3. Controlled in-plane asymmetry in the confinement potentialproduces electrical rectification in the nanowire, analogous to what occursnaturally for Schottky diodes or by design in structures with engineeredstructural inversion asymmetry. Nanostructures produced in this manner may beuseful for electro-optic applications or in spintronic devices.