Abstract
Our anomalous surface x-ray diffraction study of the interface between SrTiO(001) substrates and thin polar films of LaAlO shows La/Sr interdiffusion leading to neutrally charged SrLaO layers. From a thickness of two unit cells, the LaAlO film's interior retains its polar stacking sequence, which is compensated by a cationic compositional change of the substrate's terminating TiO layer. While such valence-retaining -site intermixing does not resolve the polar catastrophe, it may be a general feature at oxide interfaces influencing the electronic and magnetic properties.
- Received 23 November 2011
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.85.045401
©2012 American Physical Society