Oxygen-vacancy clustering and pseudogap behaviour at LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface

Abstract

The 2DEG at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface promises to add a new dimension to emerging electronic devices due to its high tunability. Defects in the form of Oxygen vacancies in titanate surfaces and interfaces, on the other hand, play a key role in the emergence of novel phases. Based on an effective model, we study the influence of Oxygen vacancies on superconductivity and ferromagnetism at LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface. Using the Bogoliubov-de Gennes formulation in conjunction with Monte-Carlo simulation, we find a clustering of the Oxygen vacancies at the interface that favours formation of coexisting ferromagnetic puddles spatially separated from superconductivity. We also find a carrier freeze-out at low temperatures, observed experimentally in wide-variety of samples. Sufficiently large amount of Oxygen vacancy leads to pseudo-gap like behaviour in the superconducting state.